Sakura had woken up calmly at first. Her sight was blurry and her brain felt squished. Then, as her consciousness came back to her slowly and she was able to make out the outline of the bedroom she was in, her eyes widened and she sat up with a start. She wasn't in Sasuke's bedroom. She didn't think she was even in the house anymore.
She frowned as she studied the slight details on the stony walls and the weird looking items and appliances placed at one side of the medium sized oval shaped room.
Where am I? She moved her legs on the surprisingly fluffy bed she was on and that's when she felt a deadly jab of pain in her neck. Shocked to her nerves, she stayed put in bed and looked to her side, then she adjusted the cloth covering her shoulders and saw something imprinted in the curve of her neck. She couldn't make out what it was well so she looked around for anything she could use as a mirror and found one, built from pure marbles, sitting right infront of her on a foreign carved wooden table. She took the mirror and held it few inches from her face and that's when she could properly see her neck.
It was like a drawing, made in white silvery lines, etched in black shining surfacing. It looked like the drawing of a small pink fluffy cloud, with an uchiwa drawn on the top of it. It was a pretty design, but she wondered when she got a tattoo. As far as she could remember. She didn't have one.
The throbbing in her neck came back, bored into her spine and sent her bones crashing. With a short, labored scream she fell back to the sheets and just laid there.
What was happening to her? Why did she have a tattoo on her nape and why did it hurt so bad? She frowned at the high marbled ceiling.
"Now now, child, you shouldn't be up by now. Rest."
A weak, strained voice came from her side and she turned her head to see an old woman with unusual eye color and a younger woman with red hair and red eyes beside her, carrying a circular tray of a bowl of water and a small wet white towel, which the old woman spread carefully on her head.
Who are they?
She tried to open her mouth and speak but she found out that she couldn't. The pain must've affected her vocal cords too. She was too weak to speak. Or was the cause lack of nutrients? How long has she been out?
She couldn't ask. She could only stare at the old woman and the other standing behind her with observing eyes.
The old woman smiled and patted her hands. "You won't be able to speak until you've eaten." She told her. "You'll have to make up for the blood you've lost." Then her eyes watered a bit. "I'm just so happy you're awake. Lord Sasuke would be so glad."
Sakura's eye widened when she heard his name. Sasuke! She tried to sit up but against her will, she fell back and passed out.
But before she lost her consciousness, she heard the younger woman say something. "Tsk tsk, don't move when you don't have the strength to."
Masashi turned to her with a snap, scolding her with her gaze. "Karin!"
"She shouldn't have given up herself to be bitten. Now, look at her." Poor girl. Karin averted her eyes rebelliously.
Masashi sighed. She knew the sea goddess was just as worried when she heard that the girl was someone special. "Why did you even come?" She stated as she walked away from the sleeping girl after tucking her properly and patting the sheet.
"Um, hello?!" Karin walked after her. "You're the one who needed a double remember?" Masashi had asked her to stay in the shrine in her stead while she was away from Isekai.
The old woman grunted in reply.
"Besides, I wanted to help out in the war. I don't think the Alpha remembers."
"He probably doesn't think you can do much."
"Now that's just unfair."
Masashi knew. She knew very well that Karin was a great advantage and that she'd do well in the war but she's known the goddess for a long time, a slight teasing won't be a lot.
She took the bowl of water from the tray to throw it out but stopped when Karin held her wrist.
"Wait, let me." The red head offered but Masashi stubbornly shook her off.
"I'm not that helpless. I just have white hair."
"Yes, and you have a long life ahead of you." Karin said mockingly, taking the bowl away from her hand and walking outside.
Masashi looked on as her back disappeared. She was a good girl, overly excited but good. The goddess bless her soul. And help her with her mate. That boy's been kept in for too long. Karin had a weird obsession with keeping her 'belongings' locked up.
She sighed as she glanced at the girl on the bed. Her color was finally coming back but she still looked pale as ever. Thank Selene, you've brought her to Isekai. Though, I don't know if it's good news or bad news. She still looks so youthful. How sad it is for life to be taken away from her.
Masashi couldn't do anything. She wasn't the chosen one. She might have a long life ahead of her but she could only watch the young die.
She should send a message to Sasuke and tell him that his mate has awoken, and also the fact that she's the person he's been searching for.
Sakura woke up the next morning to a lighter headache and a painless shoulder. It didn't feel as though her head was going to split into two from the neck again. She sat up gently, noticing the old lady by her side arguing with the redhead.
For a moment, they didn't notice she had woken up. She just stared at them as they continued bickering like old friends. Sakura almost smiled. She didn't know why but it felt good witnessing something humane like this especially when she was sure that she wasn't in the human world anymore.
The girl she saw in the dark realm while she was unconscious flashed in her mind and her attention was shifted from the women before her.
She frowned. That girl. She's supernatural, and I called her Selene. Who's Selene? It was faint, but she felt like she knew the person.
She remembered the scene she'd witnessed.
Right, the girl said that that was her desire. Her eyes glazed over as thoughts crossed her mind. It's justifiable if it's my desire. In the real world, would Sasuke ever look at her that way, look at her out of his own free will and like he's not being controlled by some bond? She lowered her head and sighed.
But what if, he also has a desire similar to mine. She could laugh at herself. Of course not.
She sighed. He's only bound to me,. that's what.
Her peripheral vision caught something in the mirror on a round table beside her and her eyes flickered to the side unconsciously. Her heart thumped a rapid two by two when she saw the figure in the mirror standing outside behind the long beady curtains and she immediately swerved her head to the door behind her. Sasuke. Her eyes searched but no one was at the door.
Confused, she glanced back at the mirror. She didn't see anybody's reflection but she still glanced at the door.
Finally, convinced that she must've been hallucinating, she straightened up in her bed and leaned her back gently against the headboard. Then she scoffed unconsciously. It was rare, for her heart to be beating fast anytime she thought of Sasuke. She placed a hand on her chest, staring into space vaguely as she felt the pressure of her heart beat. She wasn't...was she? No one needed to tell her what she suspected. It wasn't something they taught in school.
Unbeknownst to her, the two bickering women had stopped arguing and were now staring at her.
Masashi sighed, closing her eyes. That frustrating Alpha.
Karin gave one look at Sakura and inched closer to the old woman, whispering into her ear. "Sasuke came, didn't he?"
Masashi nodded.
"Then why didn't he come in?"
Masashi sighed and shook her head.
"She saw him huh?"
Masashi nodded. "She probably thinks she's hallucinating."
Karin straightened and folded her arms. "Sasuke is a fool."
"I agree but can you blame him? He doesn't know how to handle things that don't need rough handling. He's... clueless. I tried talking to him and he almost ate my head up."
Karin sucked on her teeth, producing a tsk sound before walking over to the pinkette and sitting beside her.
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts and looked to see the redhead patting her bedsheets. "How are you feeling now?" She asked in a light tone but her aura seemed upset. She focused her attention on the bedsheets she was seriously smoothing over with her hands.
"I feel a lot better, thanks." Sakura replied honestly. It was concerning her physical state, she had no means to tell them anything emotional.
Karin hummed with her attention fixed on the sheets she was patting. "What's it like?"
"What's what like?"
"What's it like having feelings for someone who doesn't regard you enough to pay a visit?"
Shocked, Sakura stuttered. "Wh...what?"
"Karin!" Masashi reprimanded sharply from behind her. She knew what the sea goddess was trying to do, but it was too early. The war might be impending and the need for the sacrifice was urgent but it was still too early for her to overcome her past and trauma and make her stronger by targeting her mentally and emotionally where her vulnerable points were easy hits.
Sakura frowned when she realized how serious the woman before her sounded. "I don't think prying into my emotional life will do yours any good."
So, she's stylishly telling me to mind my business. That basically interprets to go to hell. Karin lowered her head to hide a smirk. A hard nut, she is. "I don't think it's fair that you have to be the only one having natural feelings in a relationship. Do you wish to remain like that for eternity?" She paused. "I am a sea goddess. I grant desires and wishes, even bringing people back from the dead." She added, raising her head and staring at her provocatively. "Anything you want."
For a moment, Sakura's brain churned. Desires and wishes. Her parents and Uncle Rasa would be alive again. She would get to see them again...
She remembered something Uncle Rasa had said a long time ago. People who have died have gone to rest, away from the world, away from it's hurdles. That was why summoning them or bringing them back to life was improper and disrespectful. It was selfish, reviving people back to life just for the person's personal gain. No...
Sakura looked away and closed her eyes. "No, I don't need it. I won't disturb the spirit of the dead and I won't force someone to love me. It's all on me. I chose to have this feelings. He might only be bound to me, but it doesn't stop me from liking him for who he is."
Karin stared with her eyebrows raised, then she stood and walked to Masashi who had shock written all over her face. "I've always thought humans were selfish and crazy. But you are crazier and kindhearted." She said loud enough for Sakura to hear, then she turned to Masashi and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Who said she was someone who can't get passed her trauma and past? It will only be a little time before she toughens up and when she does, I guarantee that she will be a badass kicking menace."
Masashi's eyes teared up. She grew up so well, Selene.
A knock came at the door, grabbing the three women attention, and Sakura saw a young girl in a pink ball dress made out of cotton and silk walk in.
She was about 4'11. Her black hair was tied into curly pigtails and her golden brown eyes shone with enthusiasm as she looked at the three of them with a slightly lowered head. "Forgive me for intruding into your midst, Royal Priestess, Sea goddess and the Luna of Dark Crescent pack. I bare a message from the Queen."
Sakura was amused. The Queen?
Karin glanced at the pinkette and read her expression. "This is Koiko. She's the Queen's messenger."
Koiko turned to Sakura and bowed to her immediately. "Forgive me, I didn't introduce myself properly."
Instantly overwhelmed by the sudden homage, Sakura put out her hands. "No no no, it's okay. Please, go on."
"Hai!" Koiko straightened, "the Queen has requested for the presence of the Luna of the Dark Crescent pack at the castle, to join her at tea."
"Ah." Karin said.
"That explains how she knows about Sasuke's mate." Masashi said quietly and looked at Sakura.
The pinkette was still trying to process what she had just heard. The Queen wants... Sasuke's mother wants to see her?? How? When? Why? Just the thought of it made her gut rumble and andrenaline start to flow into her bloodstream in excess.
"Would you look at that, Sakura, you haven't spent three days here and you're already popular." She heard Karin say. "They didn't even have to see your face."
Just then, five other girls dressed up like Koiko came into the room and arranged themselves beside the messenger. "We'll have to get you ready to meet with the Supreme Luna, my Lady. Is she ready to go priestess?" Koiko asked as the other girls remained still, bowing their heads to their waists and being silent.
Masashi walked over to Sakura who seemed overwhelmed and was still trying to take everything in. "You'll have to follow them. Are you strong enough to walk?"
Sakura looked up at the old woman, becoming spellbound in her distinctive eye color. "Yes, I feel less pain than before." She answered, getting out of the bed.
"Good. Here." Masashi threw a scarf over the pinkette's head and gave her a shawl to wear. "Wear this."
Sakura nodded, putting them on.
Masashi and Karin watched as the girls led Sakura out of the shrine. "She won't be back for awhile."
"I would've been worried about the scarf and shawl. It's obvious that you're hiding something, and with the guards patrolling, something unfortunate would come out of it."
"But no one would dare question the Queen." Masashi completed for her. She was feared throughout all the lands, although Danzo was an exception.
The two women stared into space in silence, until Karin spoke up. "Sasuke's going to burn your shrine if he finds out."
Masashi sighed, an irkmark appearing on the side of her head. He wouldn't go against his mother's wishes if anything. But she had to admit that Karin was logically right. "I'm going to tell him."
Karin glanced at her in shock at first. She understood what she meant. "Yeah, that will bring him to his senses. He'll learn to open up to her more before her last days." The redhead sighed, crossing her arms. "My girls are coming in two days time." Her girls were her mermaid warriors. "I have spoken with Itachi, the Alphas in Raikanrando and the leaders except Sasuke." She almost groaned. "Why is he so hard to get to talk with?"
"Maybe because you're a weirdo keeping your mate in bounds in your territory." Masashi deadpanned, turning her back and focusing her attention on the relics she'd aligned on the floor by a white figurine.
Karin's eyes widened. "Don't even start."
"Only a psycho does that."
"Masashi, do I really have to explain my reason to you??"
"I don't need to hear it."