[ untold myth chap I act II commentary]
Last of the commentaries meme:
For velvet_strings
title: Untold Mythology
chapter: two | act one
series: Naruto (AU)
pairing: Sasusaku, InoShika
rating: T
There was only one thing to describe this...
Heavenly.
A relieved sigh escaped her firm lips.
In the massive Alapaap, there was no existence of flora, no entertainment except watching the clouds float by, no humorous people to have witty conversations with (except Kakashi, perhaps)
And especially NO hot springs that are nice enough to bathe in.
[Sakura is bathing in the hot springs!]
That (supposed-to-be) promised place of milk and honey cannot give even one nice bathing area. Typically, when she asks for cleansing, only a sole clay water jug being held by a blindfolded angel would shower a piercing downpour of ice-cold water on her usually flushed skin.
Not to mention that it was a totally big, boring place that are only filled with drifting clouds and endless numbers of mazes that never change.
The scrunched expression on her face for that passing thought gave away the fact that the deity was still sore about the earlier incident with the cherubs.
Horrible.
The tresses that created elongated pink trails along the surface of the water were gathered unceremoniously as she tossed her head to shake off the excess water.
I swear, one more ear-deafening note, and I will personally rip their wings off!
As her tensed muscles unknotted along with the calm currents of the languid water, her eyes drifted over the small precipice where the tepid fluid fell. She could see the soft mist that floated around the sulfur-scented area, numbing her senses and only attuning them to the sweet sensation of relief.
[I made Alapaap, or Heaven in English, a little bit uncomfortable for Sakura. Having Tsunade as their head goddess can be annoying. LOL.]
This splendid spring was a holy place for mortals. Found in the inner recesses of volcanic rainforests and quite a steep cliff away from the village of the Leaf. It was a marginalized area that was only inhabited by uncultivated critters of the wild. Yet, the place was forbidden for them to come without any permission from, lest they wanted to be buried six feet under the ground.
Most especially now...
Besides her babaylans, no matter how peculiar they may be, were more than capable of disarming men. The ever vivacious Ino promised that no man in this world could disturb her needed rituals while holding her robes earlier. The trustworthy Tenten, in the other hand, offered to prepare something for her to eat from the flourishing wildlife along with the newly ordained Hinata.
As she trusted them with all of her unblemished life, she gave them the responsibility to call her and descend to her shrine, even for no particular reason.
Raising her arms, she distinctly watched her skin as she saw the iridescent glow that had always covered her; indeed, she had been the personification of light. Her flesh glowed amongst heavens and the mortals which made it hard for her to cover and hide herself.
Like the halo of a burning candle.
[I seemed to like candle similes a lot.]
Those were the words Ino used to describe her skin when she had descended into the mortal world for the first time. Kakashi had been kind with her that time. He knew that she was already getting tired of studying such heavy subjects of natural laws and things that could not be comprehended by an eight year old kid.
It was a surprise that her pestering to bring her to explore the mortal world was not brushed aside from that enigmatic male mentor of hers. Instead, the white-haired Kidlat even considers her every whim and breaks every single regulation in order for her to play all around with the mortals.
[Kakashi is so smitten with a wiley, chibi-cheeky Sakura]
For the first time then, she had met Ino. The blonde girl at the age of eight insulted her forehead, much to her parent's surprise (and horror) when they realized who she really was. But instead of the deity's anger, she welcomed that refreshing assault as something to awaken her from the usual teachings of the heavens that they were perfect.
Now there were times that Sakura needed to be alone in age of thirteen, during attending some cleansing ceremonies and her presence was needed by mortals. By one particular incident, this was where she met the striking Tenten. At first, she thought that this famed warrior of the women was going to turn down her friendship. But it astonished her (and remained a mystery why), that she offered to be a priestess and her guardian on the mortal world. So it was no surprise that Shizune and Tenten communicated so well many times, for they were the level-headed ones in the group.
[There is a serious backstory on Tenten’s side on why she became Sakura’s priestess. Tenten was a famous warrior in the mortal lands, but something painful occurred that she quickly succumbed to the shadows instead. When Tenten met Sakura, she saw something in the deity that she offered her loyalty to Sakura.]
Hinata was the recent addition, since she had always seen her near this particular spring. The pale white eyes always bowed and offered help to the other two priestesses whenever the dark-haired lady would finish her tasks and chores from a certain kind noble family. They often ask why she always seems to appear near these areas and accompany them whenever they need help. It seems that she was in close relation with one of the trusted friends of the deity, blushing whenever 'Naruto' is mentioned in a conversation. But she has not yet confirmed this with the introverted girl who clamped her mouth shut whenever asked about that particular topic.
[And there is also a backstory for Hinata too. Nyahhahah. The reason why Hinata wandered off to their direction instead of residing in the village.]
She tilted her head back, wanting to savor more of the therapeutic touch of the water. As she did so, her hair fell again past behind her back, exposing the flesh of her neck and the small diamond-shaped tattoo on her white forehead. Her mother told her that Sakura had already this on as soon as she was birthed from the earth.
A symbol of her divinity, a sign of her immortality.
A lock to freedom.
Yes, she was an extraordinary being. Trained, educated and feared--
--but still treated as an outcast of her own kind.
[churvah, ang drama kong sumulat. Naboboringan akoooo!]
Sakura was disliked in the heavens, because of the status that she inherited. As the bride of that legendary promised god, there were many given privileges to her that was not given to her fellow deities. But those deities were scrutinizing her close relationship with the 'low' mortals. This was the reason that every single day she dealt with every criticism, nudging and sneers from these crowd. Most especially that she was the weakest of them.
[At first yeah, she was the weakest. Pero syempre dahil AU to, at I’m very cliché, She’s going to be given with mysterious powahs! LOL,just kidding]
With a stifling yawn, the young lass emerged from the waters touching up to her mid-thigh. She wanted to stand over the pour of the rivulet from the precipice to ease the process of disentangling her extensive cherry strands. With effort, she gradually waddled to the spot underneath the descending waters.
[Nyahah, swimming lessons! I took them and nearly failed it too. They called my freestyle as waddling. LOL.]
Hands running through her elongated scalp, she suddenly wished that she could have brought a coconut husk to thoroughly wash her one and only vanity. Draping herself within the warmth of the spring, her senses failed to notice the sudden decrease of twittering noise of the fowls. When she was already half-finished with her activities, she suddenly felt dark, sinking eyes upon her.
[…Stalker! Stalker! HENTAI STALKER ON THE LOOSE!]
A gleam of sweat formed over her forehead. [Oi. Oi. Don’t worry! It’s going to be fun, Sakura, I promise.] This was the first time, since she had bathed here, that there was a dangerous aura cloaking the area. Most especially that she was bare-naked in the middle of an isolated myriad of vines and trees. [It’s such a compromising situation.]
Apprehensively, she whipped her head to every direction. With a pair of narrowed olive orbs, her eyes scanned the surroundings to every bit of boulder that were supposed to hide her nude body. Finding nothing, she descended from the elevated rocks and came to the welcoming waters. Yet she could not help but gaze suddenly behind her, expecting a brave pervert settling his feet upon these grounds. [A prowling sexy pervert, that is.]
With that thought alone, the Liwanag had decided to end her 'should-be' luxurious bath.
With a graceful haste of her lithe body, small ripples from her thigh's movements lapped all over. The deity went to the slight curvy stream where a circular cove, found inside amidst the flow of the water and the heavy, thick mist, hid her clothes. It was always out of her sight, but nevertheless it concealed things well for the nearby palm plants hid the cave discreetly. [Hmmm, I don’t have an image for this. But the place was from the nearby rivers in Ilocos Sur.]
Wait...!!
Ino was supposed to be sitting beside the cove.
[LOL, OUT OF POST! DEMERIT.]
Still upon the water, she slightly leaned on the bank with her palms and gave a slight push to grab her--
--clothes?
Her clothes were GONE!
[Busily being sniffed by the closet pervert extraordinaire.]
With a terrified gaze at the empty cove, all the color of her face drained as her knees weakened to return to the waters.
Where's that annoying piggy priestess! She fumed.
[Trying to spot the closet pervert extraordinaire]
That woman should be guarding her and her things, of all people!
[She had more important things to deal with, Forehead.]
If this reaches the ears of the heavens, this would cause a lot of trouble.
[It’s your fault, anyway! Bathing naked, in the middle of nowhere, ALONE?!]
It will mean another round of Shizune's frenzy lectures, her mother's cryptic (and sarcastic) comments that would make her unable to look on her smirk again and even an irritating nonchalant crease on the exposed eye of that dirty old pervert, which meant a freaky smile behind his mask and stinky scrolls.
That accursed Thunder... a grunting deity thought with a growl Kakashi is someone that you would mistake as a porn peddler on those merchant ships.
[I still love Kakashi’s nickname. He’s the revered God of Thunder, being reduced to a incorrigible lecher. LOL]
Well, Ino might still be around. Surely, the good-for-nothing priestess might have wandered a bit to stretch her legs.
So with a deep breath, she prepared to call that Ino-pig-
"Looking for these?"
[AAAAAAAAAAY~! DRAMATIC ENTRANCE!]
It was a rich, dark sneer from a masculine voice.
Instead of a call, she yelped and reflexively submerged herself on the water up to her chest. With arms tucked on the middle, she indignantly turned to the source of the voice at her rear.
[…No use, Sakura. He saw it aaaaaall.]
It was a mortal.
A pretty mortal, that is.
[A very pwetty one, right?]
With dark mesmerizing obsidian eyes.
Barely hidden beneath a mahogany leather vest, his bronze chest glistened with the small illumination given by the horizons and her natural radiating light. The chiseled torso were also slightly shown by the tight ragged strips of bandages, confined with a large, coarse embroiled russet colored belt.
[I’ve written this before the time-skip, or even before encantadia, a Filipino myth based teleserye. XD I’ve wanted to write Sasuke as a well-traveled warrior who goes island-hoping, the reason for his diverse clothing. I wanted Sasuke abs in this fic, so I opted for an open leather vest. And I was pretty surprised that the time-SkipSasuke showed his chest! LOL.]
Surely this man could be rich and educated, for it is hard to afford such rich ebony silk pants that loosely hang on his sandaled feet. His arms were also adorned with the same ragged bandages, also covering his neck, but she can still see trails of dark swirls on its edge and the luster of a large silver hoop on his right ear. And yes, with that stoic face holding her robes with his filthy, silver-ringed hands.
[Hispanic Filipinos loves jewelries and tattoos. The more accessories, the more honor they had obtained in battles.]
He was leaning over the small terrain of rocks that surrounded the spring, one hand supporting his balance on the ground with a bended knee.
"Such blasphemy." her voice turned into frost as her emerald eyes locked with his onyx ones.
[Of course, the obstinate Uchiha doesn’t care. He loves to see her squirm.]
The earth trembled slightly with a draft of wind brushing his dark locks over his face.
"Hn." His equally bitter eyes flashed as he seemingly contemplated if he should lower bundle to the waters. "Let me be damned," he said with a sneering smirk. "But you won't be getting your clothes dry."
[Wahahahhaa! Because he’s going to sniff eeeeem! Wet UNDIES!]
A pair of widened jade eyes stared at him in shock.
"You dare..." the woman was now truly looking ferocious, her words low and edgy, “…to insult me, human?"
[Nyahahah~! Yes, insult he does.]
The young man merely raised an eyebrow with a slight twitch on his cheek.
"I admire your composure Lady Liwanag." With a mock respectful voice, he slightly outstretched the bundle of clothing, threatening to fall everything. "But you are just a helpless little pixie right now."
[I still find the Filipino names amusing.]
At that time, the deity of light snapped.
Calculating cold eyes saw candle-like hands perform seals with rapid accuracy.
The hot water began to increase...
Before the (unlucky) fellow knew it, a big wave arose from such a small spring.
[Final Fantasy effects! Spell! LOL]
Just as quickly, the waves turned into soft currents of the spring.
A small satisfied smile grazed the deity's face.
"Drown yourself, moron," she whispered beneath her raspy breath. Never mind that her clothes might be at the bottom of the rocky stream bed right now. She was not the deity of this world for nothing. A blast of cold wind can make them dry in less than a second.
[She didn’t even consider that Sasuke might be swimming underneath her? My, my, inconsistencies. TT___TT]
So she dipped her head underwater and tried to look on the ground, swimming to the bank.
Yet there was no sign of her clothes, or of her obnoxious visitor.
With a disappointed sigh, she held her head again up the water.
Only to met his (more) triumphant gaze up close, with the breeze casually caressing the hanging fabric at his sides. Feet firmly standing a few meters away from the bank, his hands held her clothes securely and dry.
[Sasuke escaaaped!]
A convulsive shiver ran down her spine because of that disturbing, piercing stare.
"You are really interesting, Sakura."
A mere ordinary mortal.
...knows her name?
[Sasuke, of course, does his research.]
"Wha...What?" she sputtered, trying to distance herself away with arms failing to cover herself entirely.
"The deity of light has been rumored to be wrathful as hell--"
Sakura gave a intense glare.
"--and beautiful as the heavens."
[I FAIL, Sasuke giving a compliment! But it’s mocking, right, right?]
His face remained impassive as he laid the clothes upon the rocks in front of her, safe and unharmed.
Yet there was a flickering spark that glowered in those dark eyes.
"But it exceeded the rumors--"
A ghost of an eerie, small, smile.
"--and my expectations."
[Indeed, Sasuke didn’t expect to see that much. LOL.]
The obnoxious stranger gave a rigid half-bow and a parting, annoying glance at her body, her NAKED body, from head to the desperately crossed arms (Not to mention that the deity was blushing so hardly that she cannot distinguish the steam coming out from her and from the waters). He left silently, merging with the shadows, his enigmatic aura dissipating slowly.
[It ended rather abruptly. *sigh* Inspired from the Ibong Adarna where Juan spots Princess Maria bathing? But of course, I added a pervy voyeuristic streak in this version]
His hypnotizing eyes that held no iota of any emotion was imprinted on her mind.
"Lady Liwanag!" came a scream from the other end, where the cove was supposed to be.
Great.
Just when everything worst can happen in an empty, marginalized spring already occurred, the woman who promised to keep an eye for her well-being was absent.
"Ino!" she thundered viciously, the deity rising rapidly from the waters with a yank of her clothes. The angered features that marred the beautiful visage made the young babaylan confused. Most especially when the hand swiftly grabbed a course fabric and wrapped it around her drenched body. The deity strode quickly towards the cavern and scrutinized angrily left and right before entering the cove.
Peeking inside, the priestess asked carefully. "Can I ask something?"
Snort.
"What happened when I was go--?"
"Where were you, Ino!" A fast snap interrupted her, echoing from the spacious cavern. The priestess flinched at the very unusual mood of her mistress. It was usually taking until the thirteenth turn of the hourglass before she rose from the soothing waters. What's stranger is she does not usually come out of it cranky.
"Ah." the priestess now was fishing out an excuse. She would not like the real reason. "I was...!!"
"The truth."
Oh well, it was hard to lie to a deity. At least, she tried.
"Ah, while I was guarding your precious belongings..." While Ino was trailing off, the deity gave a sound that she was listening intently a midst the sound of clothes.
Then Ino gave a smile that told of a stricken woman. "I saw a HUNK over the south side beyond the borders of these boulders! He looked like one of those famed warriors from some of those legends! Delicious dark eyes, flawless ivory skin, that shiny black hair falling so softly...!" The priestess was squeaking as she relentlessly relayed this information.
[HAHAHA. SASUKE = HUNK. Omigawd. I’m stumped. And Ino describing like he’s a savory meal in the menu. I think I always go overboard. TT__TT]
"Ino?"
"Yes? Ah, of course. I ran towards him to stop that gorgeous guy going here. Funny... he disappeared as soon as I got to the spot." The priestess gushed on excitedly. "So I have to look for him, to make sure."
"Ino." Again the deity’s voice echoed sternly. "You are a babaylan. A priestess." She stressed, grating upon the word. "One of your qualities must be CHASTE." She emphasized the last word with an angry sound.
[But I think priestesses during the Hispanic times were allowed to marry? But sstill, most cultures needed their holy figures to be celibate.]
"Oh, come on!" Now, the blonde's demeanor changed from her nearly squealing look to an affronted frown. "Do not ruin my mood." Her scolding tone was carried through the darkness of the cove, enough to emphasize her annoyance. "It does not mean I am going to be a prude and not appreciate good-looking men!" She huffed with arms crossed on the entrance of the cave.
Really, this deity might be pretty intelligent yet when it comes to attraction, she was downright dense as Naruto.
Maybe it’s got to do something with being engaged.
Suddenly two white blurs created a spray of warm water beside her.
"You two!" The blond priestess admonished as she glanced at the ragged appearances of her companions. "Took you long enough!" Noting that they were breathing rather roughly, she inquired "What happened to both of you?"
"It's nice that you're here, Ino." The auburn eyes softened and her tense posture relaxed. Then she turned to the gasping younger priestess. "Were you really sure about it, Hinata?"
"I-I am sure, Miss Tenten." She nodded with firmness. "I heard a rush of water, like a wave.” Judging the way she seems to be steadfast with her words, Tenten steeled herself for more. "Lady Liwanag seems to be in trouble earlier."
"Hinata, thank you for your concern."
The deity came out of the cavern wearing the usual clothes that she uses in Alapaap. The off-shoulder robes that she borrowed from the heavens earlier was now bundled with care and kept carefully. Her twinkling jade orbs now met the opulent ones in deepest sincerity.
"Call me Sakura, Please?"
[uwah, awkward shifting! I’m not really used to writing multi-chapter fics. TT__TT]
"B-But the ru-rules say that im-immortals must be called--"
"With their title?" the deity gave a wry smile as she completely emerged herself from the darkness of the cove and into the welcoming green grass. Taking out the beaded sandals, she slipped on her adorned feet upon the sandals and wiggled her toes in delight.
"I think it’s more comfortable to say Sakura, don't you think?" She added as she placed the dangling semi-precious stoned beaded coronet on her forehead.
“…”
"Tenten always calls me 'Lady Liwanag' and I think I hear that with almost everyone." Her voice carried the dullness of such action, yet a green orb winked at her jovially. "I promise that you won't be put to death mentioning a more comfortable name."
The shy priestess gazed at the deity with wavering eyes. The rosette-haired woman now fixed the transparent chiffon that covered her neck, white shoulders and her peachy arms as she also tried to untangle the messy rose strands tumbling from her face. She stood there, the deity of light accessorized of golden tribal, circular bracelets reaching her elbows, three or four anklets also has that amorous luster on the ivory long legs.
[I want to draw theeeem. I wanna kill meee!]
She is such a young goddess that is so unearthly beautiful.
But she was different from the other deities she had met. Immortals would normally ignore the mortals unless they were pleased with the offered sacrifices that humans toiled for.
Yet, this high-positioned heavenly divinity wanted to be with them.
To be among them.
"I-If you wi-wish, Miss Sakura."
"That's better!" Her head now rose to beam at the youngest priestess. "And you were right!"
"P-Pardon me?" Hinata blinked while the two priestesses looked curiously at the feral smile on the deity's lips.
"Ino, that man that you just chased to ravage--"
The glowering lady, who was smiling so serenely earlier, rounded her attention at the sweat-dropping blonde priestess. The deity’s hands now placed themselves at the sides of her waist firmly.
“--is an arrogant pervert!"
[YESH. HEISHEISHEIS]
"WHAT!" The look of horror and mouth agape expression that made those blonde tresses stand upright.
"Lady Liwanag?" came the oldest priestess to grab the hands of the deity quickly. "Are you alright!"
The panicked babaylan gazed at the deity with any signs of wounds or scratches, which was a futile action for someone like the deity.
When she was finally assured that Sakura was really fine, the older priestess began rambling. "That is impossible! Where did he go? How come that a man--?" and just as suddenly, the realization dawned upon her at that moment.
[a maaaan. Yes he is.]
Thebabaylan brandished a long knife that she sheathed from her upper arm on her left. It's tip was pointed at yelping woman, and dark brown eyes glared at turquoise ones.
"And where were you when that happened, Ino!"
[LOL, knives are the best things ever.]
"Ah, Miss Tenten!" Hinata placed a placating hand on the tense shoulders of the eldest priestess. "It was not Miss Ino's fault."
Sakura smiled indulgently. She was right to include Hinata, for she seems to be the type who can pacify any murderous thoughts that could cross Tenten's mind, especially when sometimes the two of them can act irrationally when furious.
"It's alright, Tenten." Sakura now reached for the hand that gripped the blonde tightly. Then she turned to the pale-eyed priestess. "That will be your job, to make sure these two will not kill themselves."
The sweet face framed from those dark curls gave a terrified squeak.
But still, Ino was someone who was not fazed even in the threshold of death.
"Are you sure he is a pervert, forehead girl?" A flabbergasted Ino made her way from the tangle of limbs made by the surprised older priestess. "I mean, any man, most especially the likes of THAT, would be turned off by your flat chest!"
[…I always wonder why hentai artists always draws Sakura with a very huge chest. TT__TT]
No more than less a second, Ino found herself coughing with water.
"I-I'm drenched, Sakura!" the blonde priestess argued with a deity that twirled one of her long rose curls behind her pierced ears.
"A male idiot walks upon here."
[Stupid, hormonal Sasuke.]
The deity's voice grew strength as she continued speaking.
“Then he takes my clothes."
[Pervert Sasuke.]
She continued as she gave a menacing step to Ino, who cowered slightly.
"The he insults me"
[Real Sasuke]
Another step and she stopped twirling her strands to place her hands to her hips.
"And finally stares at me naked for all those time you were gone."
[I know,I know..the real Sasuke will never, ever stare at Sakura’s body. He’ll just go and ravage her. What’s the use of staring anyway? It just wastes everyone’s time and patience!]
Then as soon as Ino was an inch away from falling off the rock and finally submerging herself in the waters, Sakura exclaimed with a homicidal glare.
"Tell me, isn’t that what one could call a pervert!"
[Voyeur, in Ate mel’s exact words.]
"Fine. Okay. I stand corrected." The blonde babaylan waved her arms wildly in resignation as she sidestepped a little, making Sakura step a minute forward.
An eyebrow rose in to her spacious forehead as if to prove her point.
"So what did you do?" The defeated priestess retorted.
The deity blinked and was taken aback
"Stare, take cover and then turn yourself maroon with modesty?"
[LOL, what else do you do when Uchiha Sasuke looks at you? and don’t give me that look, guys]
Sakura took a sharp inhalation of breath.
."She did." The eldest priestess rolled her eyes as she swiftly returned the knife and paced to descend to the soft ground where it leads to the exit of this small terrain.
"B-But I th-think Miss Sakura d-did a water spell." Hinata spoke in a small voice. "T-That might be the splash I heard earlier..."
"But one man is not hard to drown." Ino gave a haughty smirk. "So he said something?"
"Wha-What?"
"He said you were cute or what?”It was another surprising rapid question from that cunning Ino, bombarding Sakura’s mind.
She stood still on the spot with her mouth slightly agape. Her hands were tightly fiddling with the bundle.
"Well?" Ino asked with a smirk on her face. Sakura just hates how that blonde seem to be ahead of her.
"That lecherous man told me I look like hell when angry!" she spat in fury, wanting to stop that pig from looking at her indulgently.
[Well, Sakura is really scary when she’s really angry. Pissed off. Totally bent in murder.]
It did stop them from that curious looks they were giving her, yet Ino and Tenten merely walked nonchalantly, quipping "true" beneath their breaths.
"Is that all?"
"--and." but then Sakura's voice faltered.
She can't. She cannot even say those words.
Beautiful as the heavens.
[Sasuke is saying beautiful! BEAUTIFUL? SHOOT MEEE! OH GAWWWD.]
"And...?" Now, Hinata was giving an interested look.
Those two women can be a bad influence to such an innocent girl.
But it exceeded the rumors.
"Oh, forget it." The deity gathered the long fabric and paced quickly, passing ahead of the two to hide her flaming face. "It's nothing."
"Nothing ever makes Sakura glow that red." Ino crooned.
Now, she could not even think of those words...
"You have to tell what happened there, Sakura." Tenten gave a worried glance.
And my expectations.
"Some other time, alright?" She responded instead.
"F-Forgive me, My Lady." Hinata followed. "But it does looks interesting."
--really interesting, Sakura.
And she merely squashed the grass more forcefully with her foot.
[Heehehe,she’s really affected.]
"Good Morning." said a young man, whose hands were preoccupied with eating a hot, toasty bun, to a certain landowner. "Is he sleeping?"
"Oh, Chouji." The tenant gave a cautious smile, with a finger slightly rubbing his scar indented nose. "Yes, he's just sleeping inside. You can come."
As soon as the kind Iruka gave consent, the bulging young man of eighteen untied the sandals that bounded his feet.
[Yay, Iruka! Hiiii~!]
"Oi, Shikamaru."
There was a nudge on his side, which he tried to ignore with all his might. He knew that his companion will give up if he gave a groan and tell him to just wake him up after a minute. But the nudging became a little insistent, and an exasperated sigh made him give up and sat on the rough, handmade rattan cot.
And he opened one obsidian eye, "Chouji?"
"Sorry." The image of his friend was blurred and out of focus. "But the Holy Babaylan calls for you." and his hearing did not miss the cynical note in saying that title.
"What does that loud-mouthed woman want?" Finally he sat up from the mattress and cracked the slumbering muscles and bones with a scratch and a satisfying yawn.
"I heard that she was searching for you," the horizontally-challenged man supplied as the drooping face slowly made its way to the arranged brown clay jars. [I remember I had a cooling jar when I was a kid. Too many childhood references in this fiction] "She has pestered almost everyone until she finally declared she’ll be going here." His mandarin head shook exhaustedly. "I'm really sorry. But you know how can she be-"
"A pain in the ass, yeah," Shikamaru cut in, as his hands scooped the cooling liquid and splashed some of it on his face. [Well, she’s a lovable pain for you, right?]
"You could always get out of her clutches." The free man told the poor slave. "Pay all the necessary wages and be free from all the deities and priestesses that hover over you."
"Nah. It’s troublesome." The relaxed slave simply yawned as his grubby hand swept the sand from his tiny eyeholes. "It means I have to be an ordinary mortal, do farming and keep food on the table." He grabbed a tepid rag and wiped the excess water from his face.
"I guess." The stout young man on the floor rose as well.
"Both of you," The landlord gave a loud cry somewhere outside the wooden house "...tell me when Naruto is coming back."
[I think I will always love Iruka, no matter how less screen time he has.]
And one of his lazy lodgers gave a indistinguishable snort. "Later."
As soon as Shikamaru walked out and descend from the bamboo stairs, a draft of a warm wind whipped his face. The horizon was a little bit lighter shade of gray.
"Lady Liwanag is here? Again?" The slave gave a wry raise of an eyebrow.
"That is why Ino requested me to get you."
But both of them knew that this naturally meant that he was forcefully coerced, blackmailed and tortured by the vibrant priestess. "She was busy in burning the things that the Lady Liwanag used in cleansing yesterday."
"Yesterday?" The slave gave a snort.
"I was wondering." Chouji spoke hesitantly, "Why Lord Kidlat does not see Lady Liwanag easily. She has a very radiant skin and can be spotted even a mile away."
[Sakura is using..er, Dove soap?]
"Don't ask me about them." he replied blandly. "Understanding complex divine eccentricity makes my head throb."
"But it was odd, too," Chouji mused, walking along the small hill with little difficulty. "Lady Liwanag finished rather quickly than usual."
"Her bath?" Shikamaru now raised both eyebrows. "Now, that's more questionable."
[I should have explained it more thoroughly! Stupid miko.]
It usually takes about an ungodly hour before the deity of light will finally come out into her senses to rise from the springs. "So, that blonde woman needs me?" He brought up a hand to cup his chin. "Information, I suppose?"
"Naturally." Chouji now stopped in front of a small, secluded fence. Above it, a small hut was surrounded with a number of homegrown flowers. The smell of the blossoming jasmine flowers from the surrounding area floated, marking the residence of a particular woman. "Searching for someone, I think."
[Nyaaah, jasmine flowers. I miss those shrubs at home.]
The circular tattooed cheeks, a mark of status for a free man, twitched in annoyance. "What could be--" He stopped, as he saw the confident smirk on the slave's face.
"Someone got the audacity to peek on Lady Liwanag." Shikamaru gave a breath of boredom as he hopped over the low fence.
"WHAT?" Eyes bulged in Chouji's sockets. He accepted the offered hand on the other side of the wooden border. "That is punishable by death, right?"
[Bulge and large fonts. Oh dear. XD And one of my main problems, awkward dialogue.]
"Lady Liwanag usually does not return from the springs here on the clearings before three days." the slave drawled as he pulled his companion. After Chouji settled firmly on his feet, he put his hands on the side pockets of his skirt. "And the deity is not really frequently going to the mortals these days."
"Well." Chouji scratched his head as he clambered up the small hill, "It's not Naruto, I hope."
"Nah." Shikamaru waved a dismissed hand. "He returns today from the mountains after the thirteenth turn of the hourglass." With a look of complete aloofness, he brushed his bare feet to the soil slowly, dragging them rather languidly. "Besides, he does not even stoop low, even if he goes with that pervert hermit."
[I love this statement, that instead saying of hours, you say thirteenth turn.]
"It could be the hermit." Chouji supplied. "That man could have done it." With a thoughtful rub of his hand to his chin, he gazed at the slave with a grim face. "But there's another one."
"And he's the less likely." Shikamaru nodded. "So far, that hermit is the most probable sus-"
"Late, lazy and lousy, Shikamaru!" hollered a blonde woman emerging from the open door and descending noisily on the creaking bamboo stairs. Her turquoise eyes furiously scrutinizing his seemingly languid state, hissing some rude remarks under her breath.
[Inoooo~!]
"You should have been here earlier! You know that this house needs to be guarded for three consecutive days!" The breeze whipped her amber tresses wildly, and her pale arms were now forcing them to be enraptured within her reach and secure them into a solid, single bun on the crown of her head. She came face to face with Shikamaru, her face scrunched in a dangerous scowl. "It is a good thing for you that priestesses are NOT allowed to mistreat the slaves of the deities or I could have-"
[True babaylans in the ancient times were not as neatly portrayed as described here. They looked like people with scrungy hair and plants sticking out of their heads. But I used the references of priestesses from the tribal priests of Igorots who wore unpolished golden trinkets on their arms and wore woolen skirts. LOL.]
The said slave, as usual, ignored the threats.
Troublesome women.
"Ino, if you called to rant on me, at least state who is the guy you are looking for."
"Huh?" The babaylan was dumbfounded in the middle of castrating his head to the deity of wind. It has always been a surprise to her how would this amazing (grunt) slave would know exactly what the dilemma is and already prepared with a ready answer even before saying the problem to his face. Even though he was a slave, his status was already deemed to be higher than kings and captains due to his intellect. It has been said that he might have been blessed with the prowess of Karunungan herself.
Furrowing her golden eye brows, she paused to think.
"Alright." She placed one careful finger to her cheek and seemed to knot her golden brows to gather the right words.
Honestly, for Shikamaru, he prefered this loud-mouth better if she kept her lips closed for a while.
Especially that way.
[LOL, my men are hormonal. TT___TT]
But that short seconds of silence was cut short when she suddenly gushed and started swinging like a giddy child.
"About as tall as those sturdy timbers of the forest, as lean as the bamboos, as mysterious as the darkest caves--"
[Honestly, I’m not cut out to be a poet. Looks like ino can be a femaleGai. Huhuhu]
Oh no... Shikamaru groaned. He could swear that the priestess was swooning.
"--dark granite eyes, gorgeous black hair. Why, he looks like the rumored mandirigma!" Ino prompted with an infectious, sappy smile. "But it can't be him, you know."
"He was wearing dark clothes, expensive ones?" Chouji supplied in a doubtful voice.
"Oh yes, how did you know?" Another surprise! Was Chouji becoming insightful too?
"And he will have that jackass attitude," Shikamaru confirmed with a forlorn sigh. "Where is Lady Liwanag?"
[Jackass. LOL, is there already a word for that in those times?]
"In town." the priestess answered without batting an eyelash. "With Tenten and Hinata."
Shikamaru smacked a hand to his knotted forehead,
This is really troublesome.
[Uwah, laraaaaaa!?]
Panacea coming up shortly. ^_^
For velvet_strings
title: Untold Mythology
chapter: two | act one
series: Naruto (AU)
pairing: Sasusaku, InoShika
rating: T
There was only one thing to describe this...
Heavenly.
A relieved sigh escaped her firm lips.
In the massive Alapaap, there was no existence of flora, no entertainment except watching the clouds float by, no humorous people to have witty conversations with (except Kakashi, perhaps)
And especially NO hot springs that are nice enough to bathe in.
[Sakura is bathing in the hot springs!]
That (supposed-to-be) promised place of milk and honey cannot give even one nice bathing area. Typically, when she asks for cleansing, only a sole clay water jug being held by a blindfolded angel would shower a piercing downpour of ice-cold water on her usually flushed skin.
Not to mention that it was a totally big, boring place that are only filled with drifting clouds and endless numbers of mazes that never change.
The scrunched expression on her face for that passing thought gave away the fact that the deity was still sore about the earlier incident with the cherubs.
Horrible.
The tresses that created elongated pink trails along the surface of the water were gathered unceremoniously as she tossed her head to shake off the excess water.
I swear, one more ear-deafening note, and I will personally rip their wings off!
As her tensed muscles unknotted along with the calm currents of the languid water, her eyes drifted over the small precipice where the tepid fluid fell. She could see the soft mist that floated around the sulfur-scented area, numbing her senses and only attuning them to the sweet sensation of relief.
[I made Alapaap, or Heaven in English, a little bit uncomfortable for Sakura. Having Tsunade as their head goddess can be annoying. LOL.]
This splendid spring was a holy place for mortals. Found in the inner recesses of volcanic rainforests and quite a steep cliff away from the village of the Leaf. It was a marginalized area that was only inhabited by uncultivated critters of the wild. Yet, the place was forbidden for them to come without any permission from, lest they wanted to be buried six feet under the ground.
Most especially now...
Besides her babaylans, no matter how peculiar they may be, were more than capable of disarming men. The ever vivacious Ino promised that no man in this world could disturb her needed rituals while holding her robes earlier. The trustworthy Tenten, in the other hand, offered to prepare something for her to eat from the flourishing wildlife along with the newly ordained Hinata.
As she trusted them with all of her unblemished life, she gave them the responsibility to call her and descend to her shrine, even for no particular reason.
Raising her arms, she distinctly watched her skin as she saw the iridescent glow that had always covered her; indeed, she had been the personification of light. Her flesh glowed amongst heavens and the mortals which made it hard for her to cover and hide herself.
Like the halo of a burning candle.
[I seemed to like candle similes a lot.]
Those were the words Ino used to describe her skin when she had descended into the mortal world for the first time. Kakashi had been kind with her that time. He knew that she was already getting tired of studying such heavy subjects of natural laws and things that could not be comprehended by an eight year old kid.
It was a surprise that her pestering to bring her to explore the mortal world was not brushed aside from that enigmatic male mentor of hers. Instead, the white-haired Kidlat even considers her every whim and breaks every single regulation in order for her to play all around with the mortals.
[Kakashi is so smitten with a wiley, chibi-cheeky Sakura]
For the first time then, she had met Ino. The blonde girl at the age of eight insulted her forehead, much to her parent's surprise (and horror) when they realized who she really was. But instead of the deity's anger, she welcomed that refreshing assault as something to awaken her from the usual teachings of the heavens that they were perfect.
Now there were times that Sakura needed to be alone in age of thirteen, during attending some cleansing ceremonies and her presence was needed by mortals. By one particular incident, this was where she met the striking Tenten. At first, she thought that this famed warrior of the women was going to turn down her friendship. But it astonished her (and remained a mystery why), that she offered to be a priestess and her guardian on the mortal world. So it was no surprise that Shizune and Tenten communicated so well many times, for they were the level-headed ones in the group.
[There is a serious backstory on Tenten’s side on why she became Sakura’s priestess. Tenten was a famous warrior in the mortal lands, but something painful occurred that she quickly succumbed to the shadows instead. When Tenten met Sakura, she saw something in the deity that she offered her loyalty to Sakura.]
Hinata was the recent addition, since she had always seen her near this particular spring. The pale white eyes always bowed and offered help to the other two priestesses whenever the dark-haired lady would finish her tasks and chores from a certain kind noble family. They often ask why she always seems to appear near these areas and accompany them whenever they need help. It seems that she was in close relation with one of the trusted friends of the deity, blushing whenever 'Naruto' is mentioned in a conversation. But she has not yet confirmed this with the introverted girl who clamped her mouth shut whenever asked about that particular topic.
[And there is also a backstory for Hinata too. Nyahhahah. The reason why Hinata wandered off to their direction instead of residing in the village.]
She tilted her head back, wanting to savor more of the therapeutic touch of the water. As she did so, her hair fell again past behind her back, exposing the flesh of her neck and the small diamond-shaped tattoo on her white forehead. Her mother told her that Sakura had already this on as soon as she was birthed from the earth.
A symbol of her divinity, a sign of her immortality.
A lock to freedom.
Yes, she was an extraordinary being. Trained, educated and feared--
--but still treated as an outcast of her own kind.
[churvah, ang drama kong sumulat. Naboboringan akoooo!]
Sakura was disliked in the heavens, because of the status that she inherited. As the bride of that legendary promised god, there were many given privileges to her that was not given to her fellow deities. But those deities were scrutinizing her close relationship with the 'low' mortals. This was the reason that every single day she dealt with every criticism, nudging and sneers from these crowd. Most especially that she was the weakest of them.
[At first yeah, she was the weakest. Pero syempre dahil AU to, at I’m very cliché, She’s going to be given with mysterious powahs! LOL,just kidding]
With a stifling yawn, the young lass emerged from the waters touching up to her mid-thigh. She wanted to stand over the pour of the rivulet from the precipice to ease the process of disentangling her extensive cherry strands. With effort, she gradually waddled to the spot underneath the descending waters.
[Nyahah, swimming lessons! I took them and nearly failed it too. They called my freestyle as waddling. LOL.]
Hands running through her elongated scalp, she suddenly wished that she could have brought a coconut husk to thoroughly wash her one and only vanity. Draping herself within the warmth of the spring, her senses failed to notice the sudden decrease of twittering noise of the fowls. When she was already half-finished with her activities, she suddenly felt dark, sinking eyes upon her.
[…Stalker! Stalker! HENTAI STALKER ON THE LOOSE!]
A gleam of sweat formed over her forehead. [Oi. Oi. Don’t worry! It’s going to be fun, Sakura, I promise.] This was the first time, since she had bathed here, that there was a dangerous aura cloaking the area. Most especially that she was bare-naked in the middle of an isolated myriad of vines and trees. [It’s such a compromising situation.]
Apprehensively, she whipped her head to every direction. With a pair of narrowed olive orbs, her eyes scanned the surroundings to every bit of boulder that were supposed to hide her nude body. Finding nothing, she descended from the elevated rocks and came to the welcoming waters. Yet she could not help but gaze suddenly behind her, expecting a brave pervert settling his feet upon these grounds. [A prowling sexy pervert, that is.]
With that thought alone, the Liwanag had decided to end her 'should-be' luxurious bath.
With a graceful haste of her lithe body, small ripples from her thigh's movements lapped all over. The deity went to the slight curvy stream where a circular cove, found inside amidst the flow of the water and the heavy, thick mist, hid her clothes. It was always out of her sight, but nevertheless it concealed things well for the nearby palm plants hid the cave discreetly. [Hmmm, I don’t have an image for this. But the place was from the nearby rivers in Ilocos Sur.]
Wait...!!
Ino was supposed to be sitting beside the cove.
[LOL, OUT OF POST! DEMERIT.]
Still upon the water, she slightly leaned on the bank with her palms and gave a slight push to grab her--
--clothes?
Her clothes were GONE!
[Busily being sniffed by the closet pervert extraordinaire.]
With a terrified gaze at the empty cove, all the color of her face drained as her knees weakened to return to the waters.
Where's that annoying piggy priestess! She fumed.
[Trying to spot the closet pervert extraordinaire]
That woman should be guarding her and her things, of all people!
[She had more important things to deal with, Forehead.]
If this reaches the ears of the heavens, this would cause a lot of trouble.
[It’s your fault, anyway! Bathing naked, in the middle of nowhere, ALONE?!]
It will mean another round of Shizune's frenzy lectures, her mother's cryptic (and sarcastic) comments that would make her unable to look on her smirk again and even an irritating nonchalant crease on the exposed eye of that dirty old pervert, which meant a freaky smile behind his mask and stinky scrolls.
That accursed Thunder... a grunting deity thought with a growl Kakashi is someone that you would mistake as a porn peddler on those merchant ships.
[I still love Kakashi’s nickname. He’s the revered God of Thunder, being reduced to a incorrigible lecher. LOL]
Well, Ino might still be around. Surely, the good-for-nothing priestess might have wandered a bit to stretch her legs.
So with a deep breath, she prepared to call that Ino-pig-
"Looking for these?"
[AAAAAAAAAAY~! DRAMATIC ENTRANCE!]
It was a rich, dark sneer from a masculine voice.
Instead of a call, she yelped and reflexively submerged herself on the water up to her chest. With arms tucked on the middle, she indignantly turned to the source of the voice at her rear.
[…No use, Sakura. He saw it aaaaaall.]
It was a mortal.
A pretty mortal, that is.
[A very pwetty one, right?]
With dark mesmerizing obsidian eyes.
Barely hidden beneath a mahogany leather vest, his bronze chest glistened with the small illumination given by the horizons and her natural radiating light. The chiseled torso were also slightly shown by the tight ragged strips of bandages, confined with a large, coarse embroiled russet colored belt.
[I’ve written this before the time-skip, or even before encantadia, a Filipino myth based teleserye. XD I’ve wanted to write Sasuke as a well-traveled warrior who goes island-hoping, the reason for his diverse clothing. I wanted Sasuke abs in this fic, so I opted for an open leather vest. And I was pretty surprised that the time-SkipSasuke showed his chest! LOL.]
Surely this man could be rich and educated, for it is hard to afford such rich ebony silk pants that loosely hang on his sandaled feet. His arms were also adorned with the same ragged bandages, also covering his neck, but she can still see trails of dark swirls on its edge and the luster of a large silver hoop on his right ear. And yes, with that stoic face holding her robes with his filthy, silver-ringed hands.
[Hispanic Filipinos loves jewelries and tattoos. The more accessories, the more honor they had obtained in battles.]
He was leaning over the small terrain of rocks that surrounded the spring, one hand supporting his balance on the ground with a bended knee.
"Such blasphemy." her voice turned into frost as her emerald eyes locked with his onyx ones.
[Of course, the obstinate Uchiha doesn’t care. He loves to see her squirm.]
The earth trembled slightly with a draft of wind brushing his dark locks over his face.
"Hn." His equally bitter eyes flashed as he seemingly contemplated if he should lower bundle to the waters. "Let me be damned," he said with a sneering smirk. "But you won't be getting your clothes dry."
[Wahahahhaa! Because he’s going to sniff eeeeem! Wet UNDIES!]
A pair of widened jade eyes stared at him in shock.
"You dare..." the woman was now truly looking ferocious, her words low and edgy, “…to insult me, human?"
[Nyahahah~! Yes, insult he does.]
The young man merely raised an eyebrow with a slight twitch on his cheek.
"I admire your composure Lady Liwanag." With a mock respectful voice, he slightly outstretched the bundle of clothing, threatening to fall everything. "But you are just a helpless little pixie right now."
[I still find the Filipino names amusing.]
At that time, the deity of light snapped.
Calculating cold eyes saw candle-like hands perform seals with rapid accuracy.
The hot water began to increase...
Before the (unlucky) fellow knew it, a big wave arose from such a small spring.
[Final Fantasy effects! Spell! LOL]
Just as quickly, the waves turned into soft currents of the spring.
A small satisfied smile grazed the deity's face.
"Drown yourself, moron," she whispered beneath her raspy breath. Never mind that her clothes might be at the bottom of the rocky stream bed right now. She was not the deity of this world for nothing. A blast of cold wind can make them dry in less than a second.
[She didn’t even consider that Sasuke might be swimming underneath her? My, my, inconsistencies. TT___TT]
So she dipped her head underwater and tried to look on the ground, swimming to the bank.
Yet there was no sign of her clothes, or of her obnoxious visitor.
With a disappointed sigh, she held her head again up the water.
Only to met his (more) triumphant gaze up close, with the breeze casually caressing the hanging fabric at his sides. Feet firmly standing a few meters away from the bank, his hands held her clothes securely and dry.
[Sasuke escaaaped!]
A convulsive shiver ran down her spine because of that disturbing, piercing stare.
"You are really interesting, Sakura."
A mere ordinary mortal.
...knows her name?
[Sasuke, of course, does his research.]
"Wha...What?" she sputtered, trying to distance herself away with arms failing to cover herself entirely.
"The deity of light has been rumored to be wrathful as hell--"
Sakura gave a intense glare.
"--and beautiful as the heavens."
[I FAIL, Sasuke giving a compliment! But it’s mocking, right, right?]
His face remained impassive as he laid the clothes upon the rocks in front of her, safe and unharmed.
Yet there was a flickering spark that glowered in those dark eyes.
"But it exceeded the rumors--"
A ghost of an eerie, small, smile.
"--and my expectations."
[Indeed, Sasuke didn’t expect to see that much. LOL.]
The obnoxious stranger gave a rigid half-bow and a parting, annoying glance at her body, her NAKED body, from head to the desperately crossed arms (Not to mention that the deity was blushing so hardly that she cannot distinguish the steam coming out from her and from the waters). He left silently, merging with the shadows, his enigmatic aura dissipating slowly.
[It ended rather abruptly. *sigh* Inspired from the Ibong Adarna where Juan spots Princess Maria bathing? But of course, I added a pervy voyeuristic streak in this version]
His hypnotizing eyes that held no iota of any emotion was imprinted on her mind.
"Lady Liwanag!" came a scream from the other end, where the cove was supposed to be.
Great.
Just when everything worst can happen in an empty, marginalized spring already occurred, the woman who promised to keep an eye for her well-being was absent.
"Ino!" she thundered viciously, the deity rising rapidly from the waters with a yank of her clothes. The angered features that marred the beautiful visage made the young babaylan confused. Most especially when the hand swiftly grabbed a course fabric and wrapped it around her drenched body. The deity strode quickly towards the cavern and scrutinized angrily left and right before entering the cove.
Peeking inside, the priestess asked carefully. "Can I ask something?"
Snort.
"What happened when I was go--?"
"Where were you, Ino!" A fast snap interrupted her, echoing from the spacious cavern. The priestess flinched at the very unusual mood of her mistress. It was usually taking until the thirteenth turn of the hourglass before she rose from the soothing waters. What's stranger is she does not usually come out of it cranky.
"Ah." the priestess now was fishing out an excuse. She would not like the real reason. "I was...!!"
"The truth."
Oh well, it was hard to lie to a deity. At least, she tried.
"Ah, while I was guarding your precious belongings..." While Ino was trailing off, the deity gave a sound that she was listening intently a midst the sound of clothes.
Then Ino gave a smile that told of a stricken woman. "I saw a HUNK over the south side beyond the borders of these boulders! He looked like one of those famed warriors from some of those legends! Delicious dark eyes, flawless ivory skin, that shiny black hair falling so softly...!" The priestess was squeaking as she relentlessly relayed this information.
[HAHAHA. SASUKE = HUNK. Omigawd. I’m stumped. And Ino describing like he’s a savory meal in the menu. I think I always go overboard. TT__TT]
"Ino?"
"Yes? Ah, of course. I ran towards him to stop that gorgeous guy going here. Funny... he disappeared as soon as I got to the spot." The priestess gushed on excitedly. "So I have to look for him, to make sure."
"Ino." Again the deity’s voice echoed sternly. "You are a babaylan. A priestess." She stressed, grating upon the word. "One of your qualities must be CHASTE." She emphasized the last word with an angry sound.
[But I think priestesses during the Hispanic times were allowed to marry? But sstill, most cultures needed their holy figures to be celibate.]
"Oh, come on!" Now, the blonde's demeanor changed from her nearly squealing look to an affronted frown. "Do not ruin my mood." Her scolding tone was carried through the darkness of the cove, enough to emphasize her annoyance. "It does not mean I am going to be a prude and not appreciate good-looking men!" She huffed with arms crossed on the entrance of the cave.
Really, this deity might be pretty intelligent yet when it comes to attraction, she was downright dense as Naruto.
Maybe it’s got to do something with being engaged.
Suddenly two white blurs created a spray of warm water beside her.
"You two!" The blond priestess admonished as she glanced at the ragged appearances of her companions. "Took you long enough!" Noting that they were breathing rather roughly, she inquired "What happened to both of you?"
"It's nice that you're here, Ino." The auburn eyes softened and her tense posture relaxed. Then she turned to the gasping younger priestess. "Were you really sure about it, Hinata?"
"I-I am sure, Miss Tenten." She nodded with firmness. "I heard a rush of water, like a wave.” Judging the way she seems to be steadfast with her words, Tenten steeled herself for more. "Lady Liwanag seems to be in trouble earlier."
"Hinata, thank you for your concern."
The deity came out of the cavern wearing the usual clothes that she uses in Alapaap. The off-shoulder robes that she borrowed from the heavens earlier was now bundled with care and kept carefully. Her twinkling jade orbs now met the opulent ones in deepest sincerity.
"Call me Sakura, Please?"
[uwah, awkward shifting! I’m not really used to writing multi-chapter fics. TT__TT]
"B-But the ru-rules say that im-immortals must be called--"
"With their title?" the deity gave a wry smile as she completely emerged herself from the darkness of the cove and into the welcoming green grass. Taking out the beaded sandals, she slipped on her adorned feet upon the sandals and wiggled her toes in delight.
"I think it’s more comfortable to say Sakura, don't you think?" She added as she placed the dangling semi-precious stoned beaded coronet on her forehead.
“…”
"Tenten always calls me 'Lady Liwanag' and I think I hear that with almost everyone." Her voice carried the dullness of such action, yet a green orb winked at her jovially. "I promise that you won't be put to death mentioning a more comfortable name."
The shy priestess gazed at the deity with wavering eyes. The rosette-haired woman now fixed the transparent chiffon that covered her neck, white shoulders and her peachy arms as she also tried to untangle the messy rose strands tumbling from her face. She stood there, the deity of light accessorized of golden tribal, circular bracelets reaching her elbows, three or four anklets also has that amorous luster on the ivory long legs.
[I want to draw theeeem. I wanna kill meee!]
She is such a young goddess that is so unearthly beautiful.
But she was different from the other deities she had met. Immortals would normally ignore the mortals unless they were pleased with the offered sacrifices that humans toiled for.
Yet, this high-positioned heavenly divinity wanted to be with them.
To be among them.
"I-If you wi-wish, Miss Sakura."
"That's better!" Her head now rose to beam at the youngest priestess. "And you were right!"
"P-Pardon me?" Hinata blinked while the two priestesses looked curiously at the feral smile on the deity's lips.
"Ino, that man that you just chased to ravage--"
The glowering lady, who was smiling so serenely earlier, rounded her attention at the sweat-dropping blonde priestess. The deity’s hands now placed themselves at the sides of her waist firmly.
“--is an arrogant pervert!"
[YESH. HEISHEISHEIS]
"WHAT!" The look of horror and mouth agape expression that made those blonde tresses stand upright.
"Lady Liwanag?" came the oldest priestess to grab the hands of the deity quickly. "Are you alright!"
The panicked babaylan gazed at the deity with any signs of wounds or scratches, which was a futile action for someone like the deity.
When she was finally assured that Sakura was really fine, the older priestess began rambling. "That is impossible! Where did he go? How come that a man--?" and just as suddenly, the realization dawned upon her at that moment.
[a maaaan. Yes he is.]
Thebabaylan brandished a long knife that she sheathed from her upper arm on her left. It's tip was pointed at yelping woman, and dark brown eyes glared at turquoise ones.
"And where were you when that happened, Ino!"
[LOL, knives are the best things ever.]
"Ah, Miss Tenten!" Hinata placed a placating hand on the tense shoulders of the eldest priestess. "It was not Miss Ino's fault."
Sakura smiled indulgently. She was right to include Hinata, for she seems to be the type who can pacify any murderous thoughts that could cross Tenten's mind, especially when sometimes the two of them can act irrationally when furious.
"It's alright, Tenten." Sakura now reached for the hand that gripped the blonde tightly. Then she turned to the pale-eyed priestess. "That will be your job, to make sure these two will not kill themselves."
The sweet face framed from those dark curls gave a terrified squeak.
But still, Ino was someone who was not fazed even in the threshold of death.
"Are you sure he is a pervert, forehead girl?" A flabbergasted Ino made her way from the tangle of limbs made by the surprised older priestess. "I mean, any man, most especially the likes of THAT, would be turned off by your flat chest!"
[…I always wonder why hentai artists always draws Sakura with a very huge chest. TT__TT]
No more than less a second, Ino found herself coughing with water.
"I-I'm drenched, Sakura!" the blonde priestess argued with a deity that twirled one of her long rose curls behind her pierced ears.
"A male idiot walks upon here."
[Stupid, hormonal Sasuke.]
The deity's voice grew strength as she continued speaking.
“Then he takes my clothes."
[Pervert Sasuke.]
She continued as she gave a menacing step to Ino, who cowered slightly.
"The he insults me"
[Real Sasuke]
Another step and she stopped twirling her strands to place her hands to her hips.
"And finally stares at me naked for all those time you were gone."
[I know,I know..the real Sasuke will never, ever stare at Sakura’s body. He’ll just go and ravage her. What’s the use of staring anyway? It just wastes everyone’s time and patience!]
Then as soon as Ino was an inch away from falling off the rock and finally submerging herself in the waters, Sakura exclaimed with a homicidal glare.
"Tell me, isn’t that what one could call a pervert!"
[Voyeur, in Ate mel’s exact words.]
"Fine. Okay. I stand corrected." The blonde babaylan waved her arms wildly in resignation as she sidestepped a little, making Sakura step a minute forward.
An eyebrow rose in to her spacious forehead as if to prove her point.
"So what did you do?" The defeated priestess retorted.
The deity blinked and was taken aback
"Stare, take cover and then turn yourself maroon with modesty?"
[LOL, what else do you do when Uchiha Sasuke looks at you? and don’t give me that look, guys]
Sakura took a sharp inhalation of breath.
."She did." The eldest priestess rolled her eyes as she swiftly returned the knife and paced to descend to the soft ground where it leads to the exit of this small terrain.
"B-But I th-think Miss Sakura d-did a water spell." Hinata spoke in a small voice. "T-That might be the splash I heard earlier..."
"But one man is not hard to drown." Ino gave a haughty smirk. "So he said something?"
"Wha-What?"
"He said you were cute or what?”It was another surprising rapid question from that cunning Ino, bombarding Sakura’s mind.
She stood still on the spot with her mouth slightly agape. Her hands were tightly fiddling with the bundle.
"Well?" Ino asked with a smirk on her face. Sakura just hates how that blonde seem to be ahead of her.
"That lecherous man told me I look like hell when angry!" she spat in fury, wanting to stop that pig from looking at her indulgently.
[Well, Sakura is really scary when she’s really angry. Pissed off. Totally bent in murder.]
It did stop them from that curious looks they were giving her, yet Ino and Tenten merely walked nonchalantly, quipping "true" beneath their breaths.
"Is that all?"
"--and." but then Sakura's voice faltered.
She can't. She cannot even say those words.
Beautiful as the heavens.
[Sasuke is saying beautiful! BEAUTIFUL? SHOOT MEEE! OH GAWWWD.]
"And...?" Now, Hinata was giving an interested look.
Those two women can be a bad influence to such an innocent girl.
But it exceeded the rumors.
"Oh, forget it." The deity gathered the long fabric and paced quickly, passing ahead of the two to hide her flaming face. "It's nothing."
"Nothing ever makes Sakura glow that red." Ino crooned.
Now, she could not even think of those words...
"You have to tell what happened there, Sakura." Tenten gave a worried glance.
And my expectations.
"Some other time, alright?" She responded instead.
"F-Forgive me, My Lady." Hinata followed. "But it does looks interesting."
--really interesting, Sakura.
And she merely squashed the grass more forcefully with her foot.
[Heehehe,she’s really affected.]
"Good Morning." said a young man, whose hands were preoccupied with eating a hot, toasty bun, to a certain landowner. "Is he sleeping?"
"Oh, Chouji." The tenant gave a cautious smile, with a finger slightly rubbing his scar indented nose. "Yes, he's just sleeping inside. You can come."
As soon as the kind Iruka gave consent, the bulging young man of eighteen untied the sandals that bounded his feet.
[Yay, Iruka! Hiiii~!]
"Oi, Shikamaru."
There was a nudge on his side, which he tried to ignore with all his might. He knew that his companion will give up if he gave a groan and tell him to just wake him up after a minute. But the nudging became a little insistent, and an exasperated sigh made him give up and sat on the rough, handmade rattan cot.
And he opened one obsidian eye, "Chouji?"
"Sorry." The image of his friend was blurred and out of focus. "But the Holy Babaylan calls for you." and his hearing did not miss the cynical note in saying that title.
"What does that loud-mouthed woman want?" Finally he sat up from the mattress and cracked the slumbering muscles and bones with a scratch and a satisfying yawn.
"I heard that she was searching for you," the horizontally-challenged man supplied as the drooping face slowly made its way to the arranged brown clay jars. [I remember I had a cooling jar when I was a kid. Too many childhood references in this fiction] "She has pestered almost everyone until she finally declared she’ll be going here." His mandarin head shook exhaustedly. "I'm really sorry. But you know how can she be-"
"A pain in the ass, yeah," Shikamaru cut in, as his hands scooped the cooling liquid and splashed some of it on his face. [Well, she’s a lovable pain for you, right?]
"You could always get out of her clutches." The free man told the poor slave. "Pay all the necessary wages and be free from all the deities and priestesses that hover over you."
"Nah. It’s troublesome." The relaxed slave simply yawned as his grubby hand swept the sand from his tiny eyeholes. "It means I have to be an ordinary mortal, do farming and keep food on the table." He grabbed a tepid rag and wiped the excess water from his face.
"I guess." The stout young man on the floor rose as well.
"Both of you," The landlord gave a loud cry somewhere outside the wooden house "...tell me when Naruto is coming back."
[I think I will always love Iruka, no matter how less screen time he has.]
And one of his lazy lodgers gave a indistinguishable snort. "Later."
As soon as Shikamaru walked out and descend from the bamboo stairs, a draft of a warm wind whipped his face. The horizon was a little bit lighter shade of gray.
"Lady Liwanag is here? Again?" The slave gave a wry raise of an eyebrow.
"That is why Ino requested me to get you."
But both of them knew that this naturally meant that he was forcefully coerced, blackmailed and tortured by the vibrant priestess. "She was busy in burning the things that the Lady Liwanag used in cleansing yesterday."
"Yesterday?" The slave gave a snort.
"I was wondering." Chouji spoke hesitantly, "Why Lord Kidlat does not see Lady Liwanag easily. She has a very radiant skin and can be spotted even a mile away."
[Sakura is using..er, Dove soap?]
"Don't ask me about them." he replied blandly. "Understanding complex divine eccentricity makes my head throb."
"But it was odd, too," Chouji mused, walking along the small hill with little difficulty. "Lady Liwanag finished rather quickly than usual."
"Her bath?" Shikamaru now raised both eyebrows. "Now, that's more questionable."
[I should have explained it more thoroughly! Stupid miko.]
It usually takes about an ungodly hour before the deity of light will finally come out into her senses to rise from the springs. "So, that blonde woman needs me?" He brought up a hand to cup his chin. "Information, I suppose?"
"Naturally." Chouji now stopped in front of a small, secluded fence. Above it, a small hut was surrounded with a number of homegrown flowers. The smell of the blossoming jasmine flowers from the surrounding area floated, marking the residence of a particular woman. "Searching for someone, I think."
[Nyaaah, jasmine flowers. I miss those shrubs at home.]
The circular tattooed cheeks, a mark of status for a free man, twitched in annoyance. "What could be--" He stopped, as he saw the confident smirk on the slave's face.
"Someone got the audacity to peek on Lady Liwanag." Shikamaru gave a breath of boredom as he hopped over the low fence.
"WHAT?" Eyes bulged in Chouji's sockets. He accepted the offered hand on the other side of the wooden border. "That is punishable by death, right?"
[Bulge and large fonts. Oh dear. XD And one of my main problems, awkward dialogue.]
"Lady Liwanag usually does not return from the springs here on the clearings before three days." the slave drawled as he pulled his companion. After Chouji settled firmly on his feet, he put his hands on the side pockets of his skirt. "And the deity is not really frequently going to the mortals these days."
"Well." Chouji scratched his head as he clambered up the small hill, "It's not Naruto, I hope."
"Nah." Shikamaru waved a dismissed hand. "He returns today from the mountains after the thirteenth turn of the hourglass." With a look of complete aloofness, he brushed his bare feet to the soil slowly, dragging them rather languidly. "Besides, he does not even stoop low, even if he goes with that pervert hermit."
[I love this statement, that instead saying of hours, you say thirteenth turn.]
"It could be the hermit." Chouji supplied. "That man could have done it." With a thoughtful rub of his hand to his chin, he gazed at the slave with a grim face. "But there's another one."
"And he's the less likely." Shikamaru nodded. "So far, that hermit is the most probable sus-"
"Late, lazy and lousy, Shikamaru!" hollered a blonde woman emerging from the open door and descending noisily on the creaking bamboo stairs. Her turquoise eyes furiously scrutinizing his seemingly languid state, hissing some rude remarks under her breath.
[Inoooo~!]
"You should have been here earlier! You know that this house needs to be guarded for three consecutive days!" The breeze whipped her amber tresses wildly, and her pale arms were now forcing them to be enraptured within her reach and secure them into a solid, single bun on the crown of her head. She came face to face with Shikamaru, her face scrunched in a dangerous scowl. "It is a good thing for you that priestesses are NOT allowed to mistreat the slaves of the deities or I could have-"
[True babaylans in the ancient times were not as neatly portrayed as described here. They looked like people with scrungy hair and plants sticking out of their heads. But I used the references of priestesses from the tribal priests of Igorots who wore unpolished golden trinkets on their arms and wore woolen skirts. LOL.]
The said slave, as usual, ignored the threats.
Troublesome women.
"Ino, if you called to rant on me, at least state who is the guy you are looking for."
"Huh?" The babaylan was dumbfounded in the middle of castrating his head to the deity of wind. It has always been a surprise to her how would this amazing (grunt) slave would know exactly what the dilemma is and already prepared with a ready answer even before saying the problem to his face. Even though he was a slave, his status was already deemed to be higher than kings and captains due to his intellect. It has been said that he might have been blessed with the prowess of Karunungan herself.
Furrowing her golden eye brows, she paused to think.
"Alright." She placed one careful finger to her cheek and seemed to knot her golden brows to gather the right words.
Honestly, for Shikamaru, he prefered this loud-mouth better if she kept her lips closed for a while.
Especially that way.
[LOL, my men are hormonal. TT___TT]
But that short seconds of silence was cut short when she suddenly gushed and started swinging like a giddy child.
"About as tall as those sturdy timbers of the forest, as lean as the bamboos, as mysterious as the darkest caves--"
[Honestly, I’m not cut out to be a poet. Looks like ino can be a femaleGai. Huhuhu]
Oh no... Shikamaru groaned. He could swear that the priestess was swooning.
"--dark granite eyes, gorgeous black hair. Why, he looks like the rumored mandirigma!" Ino prompted with an infectious, sappy smile. "But it can't be him, you know."
"He was wearing dark clothes, expensive ones?" Chouji supplied in a doubtful voice.
"Oh yes, how did you know?" Another surprise! Was Chouji becoming insightful too?
"And he will have that jackass attitude," Shikamaru confirmed with a forlorn sigh. "Where is Lady Liwanag?"
[Jackass. LOL, is there already a word for that in those times?]
"In town." the priestess answered without batting an eyelash. "With Tenten and Hinata."
Shikamaru smacked a hand to his knotted forehead,
This is really troublesome.
[Uwah, laraaaaaa!?]
Panacea coming up shortly. ^_^