CHAPTER 10.

She is his sunset.

He is her storm.

Unknown

Karin had told Sakura that Eros wanted to meet her. This made her nervous, because Sakura did not expect to meet other gods during her stay in the castle, who, for her, until now, only existed in books. She found it amusing, but at the same time a little overwhelming because those gods from the stories she had read; from the paintings and statues she had seen in museums, really existed. Karin hurried her since they did not want to make him wait, so they headed towards the room where Eros was at a quick pace.

Karin entered the room first and Sakura hesitated to go through the door for fear of what could happen. Karin with an irritable face stuck her head out and told Sakura to come in immediately with a gesture with her hand. Sakura was surprised by Karin's change of mood, she did not understand why she was like that, she thought that the god of love would not be a threat so she decided to act with caution.

Upon entering the room, it was not much different from the other rooms in the castle. It was very similar to the throne room, but it didn't have the large windows that resembled a gothic church. In the back sat a figure that could easily be Sasuke, but from the clothing and hair color she quickly knew it wasn't him. He had lighter hair and the clothing he wore was light, off-white. He was slender and attractive looking almost like Sasuke, but for Sakura he wasn't as handsome as him. Sakura shook her head to get rid of that intrusive thought she quickly had. The man who was sitting looked bored, and when he saw her enter his expression quickly changed. He looked directly at her amused, the expression was kind, but part of her was telling her that there was something odd behind that smile and she didn't like it. Sakura walked up to Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin, but he motioned with his hand for her to move closer to him.

"Come closer young woman, don't be afraid," he said. Sakura looked at Karin as if expecting some sign that would give her some indication of caution or confidence, but Karin didn't look back at her. When she found herself in front of him, she saw that he was just as tall as Sasuke, but a little older. He looked at her curiously from head to toe, observing every gesture and every inch of her clothing. "I expected Morpheus to have treated you much better. What are you wearing?" Sakura was dressed comfortably in leggings and a long sweater. Since Sasuke had brought her there, they had provided her with all kinds of clothing; from dresses to underwear and pajamas. Although she had very nice clothes, some dresses looked like princess clothes, but she preferred to always be comfortable in leggings. After all, she was always inside the castle, dressing elegantly made no sense.

"It's comfortable..." Sakura answered without giving any further explanation. Sakura was beginning to understand that perhaps her way of dressing was not very appropriate in that world. She remembered that when she met Sasuke's mother, she was wearing a silky dress, which she would only have seen among Hollywood actresses, but Sakura would never have thought of wearing such clothes for every day. Perhaps the gods always dressed elegantly. Sasuke was no exception, although he dressed almost casually, but his clothes screamed elegance, in addition to his way of carrying it and his figure, they helped everything together. She tried to divert her thoughts from Sasuke again, and focused on how Karin was dressed. Karin was also wearing a dress, although more casual and less elegant. She imagined that, because she was a subject of the Lord of Dreams, just like Suigetsu and Jugo's clothes also showed their status. Middle Ages, Sakura repeated to herself, this is like the Middle Ages. And, therefore, for everyone else, Sakura dressed anachronistically.

"When Sasuke comes, I'll tell him to bring you some clothes. He can't let you go dressed… like that," he said gesturing with his hand contemptuously towards her Sakura looked herself up and down thinking that most probably what she was thinking was right, she didn't dress properly to that place. But for her it was comfortable and, besides, she wasn't leaving the castle, no one was going to see her dressed like that. But she didn't say anything. "I hope that, at least he's treating you properly," he changed his expression and the subject drastically. Sakura noticed that Karin tensed up, as did Suigetsu and Jugo. And Sakura took a step back as a precaution.

"Yes… Lord Morpheus is treating me well, I have no complaints," she said, pretending to be confident. She didn't want to make Sasuke look bad in the eyes of other gods. After all, it wasn't a lie either. She had all the freedom in the world, except that she couldn't leave the castle. But he respected her spaces and gave her freedom as to what to eat, wear, read and do. Except for the most important fact: without being able to leave. But she left that to herself.

"I'm glad to hear that" he replied with a mocking smile without looking away. This time he approached her, standing a few centimeters away from her. "I can see why Sasuke has taken a fancy to you," he said as he walked around Sakura without taking his eyes off her. "With a little help, you could be even more beautiful than Aphrodite," he spoke again and this time he openly caressed a lock of Sakura's hair. At such an act Sakura tensed up, she didn't expect him to even dare to touch her. His mere presence made her nervous, he was a god, after all, but she didn't expect him to be able to do whatever he wanted.

Instantly they heard the presence of someone, Eros looked behind Sakura changing his expression and taking a step back.

"Oh, you've arrived. I was here exchanging words with your new toy," he said almost maliciously. Hearing his words she understood that who was there was him. Sakura automatically, and without understanding why, calmed down. His mere presence calmed her and she knew that nothing bad could happen to her being in his presence. She turned to look at him, they hadn't seen each other for several days, since her mother's visit. He was as usual, in his dark, elegant clothes. Her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met, and her stomach felt butterflies.

"What have you come for, Indra?" he asked bluntly, Sasuke's voice showed irritation.

"Hello to you too," he replied with a wry smile.

"Hello, Indra. Which is the reason that bring you to my kingdom?" this time he said sarcastically, not wanting to hide his irritation.

"I came to see the beautiful girl who has made the Lord of Dreams fall in love, nothing more, nothing less, and without my intervention!" he said almost shouting "I had to see it with my own eyes, when they told me I didn't believe it," he let out a chuckle.

"Is that all? Well, you can go now. It was a pleasure to see you again after a hundred thousand years. See you later," he replied as he approached Sakura and grabbed her by the arm, holding her tightly and pulling her towards him. Sasuke's touch made Sakura's body tense, she didn't expect him to approach so quickly, much less to grab her and hold her in his arms. She noticed how his hand that had grabbed her arm placed her equally firmly by the waist, putting her back against his strong chest.

"Is this how you're going to welcome your uncle after not seeing each other for so many millennia?" At those words Sakura looked at Sasuke and then at Eros. Uncle? She didn't know that the god of love was related to the god of dreams, but well, she wasn't an expert in gods either.

"I've had enough family gatherings lately, I just came back from seeing your brothers," he said dryly.

"Oh, how are my dear little brothers?" his words seemed kind, but deep down they showed malice and resentment.

"Both of them are fine," he replied calmly hoping he would leave soon.

"Well, since you're here I'll take the opportunity to tell you that Dionysus has made a welcome party for your partner. Obviously, you're invited, but you already know what Dionysus is like, even if you don't come the party will still take place." he said mockingly knowing what the god was like.

"Tch," Sasuke protested irritably. "There was no need to make such a fuss about me bringing a dream to my kingdom, and the world it belongs to," he said as he tightened his grip on Sakura's waist.

"Oh, Sasuke, my little nephew. You, I, and everyone present know that this girl is not just any dream to you," his smile was starting to irritate Sakura, especially the fact that they were talking about her as if she wasn't present. Damn arrogant gods full of themselves.

"I'll consider it," he said dryly, hoping he would leave already. Sakura got angry that he spoke in the singular as if her opinion didn't matter.

"Okay," Eros replied nodding, and then said addressing Sakura as he took her hand. "It was nice to meet you, Sakura," he stared into her eyes as he gave her a kiss on the hand, at which Sasuke pushed her away from him, bringing her closer to him. Sakura felt like a doll that Sasuke could do whatever he wanted to, as if she couldn't decide for herself. She was beginning to understand that the gods were quite behind on the rights of women in the 21st century. "See you soon, nephew," and he disappeared, dropping a small white feather.

When Eros' figure disappeared from Sakura and Sasuke's sight, she quickly pulled away from his contact, glaring at him angrily. Sasuke didn't quite understand what he had done to anger her now, he was starting to get a little irked by Sakura's mood swings. Women are annoying, well, she's annoying, Sasuke thought.

"Leave us alone," Sasuke said, referring to Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin. And the three of them quickly left the room, leaving them alone. Now Sakura wasn't looking at him, she was looking away. "What's wrong with you now?" he said, running his hand through his hair irritably.

"Nothing," Sakura spat without looking at him.

"If it's nothing, why are you acting like this?" he asked.

"Like this, how?" she looked at him directly, challenging him now.

"By moving away from me," he stared at her light green eyes with his dark ones.

"And why should I be so close to you?" Do you still think I belong to you?" she asked maliciously.

"I don't think so, you belong to me," he replied taking several steps towards her and she took several steps back preventing him from approaching her. She didn't want to notice his touch because it was too intoxicating and she knew she would get carried away by it, and she was too angry to give in and show him that she really felt the same way about him.

"I don't belong to anyone," she spat angrily "And therefore you can't decide for me either," she spoke revealing what had bothered her. To which Sasuke realized and his face changed realizing why she was angry.

"So that's it," he said this time smiling amused "You don't like me deciding for you," he again took several steps towards her, but this time she didn't move.

"I'm already imprisoned here, what else do you want from me? That I don't have a voice?" she answered angrily.

"It's true, you're right. I'm sorry," his voice changed, this time it was soft and calm. He kept moving closer to her, as if he needed to hold her in his arms again. Sakura's expression towards his response also changed, her body relaxed and her brow no longer furrowed.

"Thank you," she said simply looking into the depths of the darkness of Sasuke's eyes who was now just a few inches away from her.

"Still, I don't think it would be good for us to go to that party," he spoke as if he had already made up his mind.

"And what if I want to go?" she asked challenging him.

"What? Why would you want to go?" he asked, this time surprised.

"I don't know, maybe because I spend my days here alone doing nothing but reading, sleeping and wandering around the castle. I'm bored, Sasuke, while you spend all your time there doing who knows what you do…" she put her arms crossed on her chest while looking at him angrily.

"While you're here bored, doing nothing," he said the last sarcastically "I'm taking care of important things," he answered annoyed.

"And what are those important things?" she asked.

"Nothing you have to worry about," he replied, and Sakura put on her angry face again, looking at him with a frown.

"Okay, don't tell me, I don't care either. But I'm going to go to that party," she said this time without looking at him. And Sasuke sighed, exhausted and tired of arguing.

"Okay, we'll go to the party," he gave in to her request, and Sakura looked at him surprised that he had changed his mind, "But I want you to stay with me all the time," he fixed his eyes on hers seriously. Sakura tried to protest, but fell silent, knowing it would be in vain.

"Okay," she finally said, also giving in to his condition. She turned around and prepared to leave the room.

"Who gave you permission to leave?" he said with a serious and irritating voice. Sakura stopped short and closed her eyes in anger, how could he be so arrogant? She thought to herself.

"Can I leave, Sasuke?" her tone was sarcastic, which irritated Sasuke even more. Suddenly, without realizing how, he appeared in front of her.

"I think I haven't taught you the manners of how to address a god yet," he said as he grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. Sakura tensed, his mere touch made her nervous, but this time his eyes were shining with anger.

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered almost as a plea.

"If you want to attend that party where it's going to be full of gods maybe you should start learning how to behave around us," Sasuke was clearly angry, but that didn't make Sakura take a step back, she was tired of him treating her like a mere object.

"Since when are you interested in how I behave?" she asked maliciously. Sasuke looked at her up and down, that look was devouring her and at the same time it scared her, because it seemed like he was calculating what he was going to do, Sakura gulped.

"Sakura…" he whispered in a voice that sent shivers down her spine, "I'm interested in everything about you. Isn't that clear to you?" His hand slid down her neck to her shoulder. "I understand that you're having a hard time understanding all of this, but you must show respect. Is that clear to you?" and he frowned as he stared at her waiting for any sign of a response. Sakura simply nodded, and at that gesture Sasuke released her and left the room leaving her standing there confused.

Sakura watched as he left the room feeling a confusing sensation in her body and mind. Sasuke's presence was so powerful in Sakura that many times she couldn't even think straight, it brought out the teenager side of her, although Sakura fought that he wouldn't notice the effect he had on her. She was beginning to be afraid that she might be slowly falling in love with him. It had been months since she was there and that effect he had on her was growing stronger. Sometimes she even thought it might be a spell he had cast on her to make her submissive to him, but from what she heard about him and about others, it was possible that he also felt desire for her. So, it would just be attraction and nothing more, she tried to convince herself.

A/N: I get inspired by the mythology lore, so as some of you will know there are a lot of authors who wrote about these characters, and some authors wrote different stuff about their procedence and origen. So, maybe some of it sounds odd but i promise that i always got the original reference of the classical authors. Of course some times i will get the freedom to change that... but for example that Thanatos and Hypnos are brothers is mentioned in Homero stories but not in Ovid. And about Eros being their brother; Hesiodo wrote that he was born from Chaos and Gaia, but in the other hand, Aristophanes says that he was born from Nix (who is also the mother of Hypnos and Thanatos) so I chose this version.