Under the Moon's Eye

Prologue: A Game of Cards

Under the Moon's Eye

Prologue

A Game of Cards

.....................................................................................

"Sakura."

"Kakashi."

The names were breathed out effortlessly, rolled off their lips in quick pants. The air was thick on their skin, only adding to the heat that already caused a thin sheen of sweat to coat their naked bodies. Moans filled the room, the tones and rhythm of them alternating smoothly between desperate and restless, muted and strained. Just like their voices deepened and intensified with every thrust of his hips, the tension in their cores tightened, not allowing them a moment's freedom from their bodies' incessant demands.

Red and black eyes locked with emerald eyes, the same way emerald eyes captured red and black eyes.

The same way he thrusted into her, she rolled her hips into his, trapping him in her warmth.

Ravenous, his lips latched onto hers, tasting their sweetness with unabashed greed. Fuller, pinker lips responded just as insistent, pressing too hard in a characteristic lack of patience and control. Just as selfish, they imposed her own pace.

"Hold me tighter," she blatantly ordered.

"Don't rip my hair out," he chuckled.

Her head rolled back, her lips parted in a silent whimper when he obeyed her command.

His mismatched eyes visibly clouded, never leaving the green color that had them hypnotised.

The image shifted out of focus, rendering the couple to nothing but a blur.

"No, not yet."

The feel of their constricted throats groaning in joint pleasure shifted them back into view once more, returning the entangled bodies to the forefront.

Darkness veiled the scene quietly, slowly muting the sounds.

"No."

The sounds of their voice still echoed in the background, demanding nothing short of the most complete attention.

Nonetheless, Kakashi’s eyes opened to a wasteland, perfectly in time with Sakura’s eyes that saw nothing but corpses.

Never missing a beat, their gazes met again, locked together as the truth dawned on them.

The Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Sakura and Kakashi lunged forward, not allowing themselves to spare each other another glance before they met at the edge of a gorge that had appeared during their captivity.

"I don't see them," Sakura breathed out, standing straight at Kakashi's side among the silent chaos that was the battlefield.

Kakashi's lack of words only exacerbated the absurdity that laid ahead.

Hundreds upon hundreds of mangled corpses covered the ground, littered with cocoons that contained the zombies that Madara's insanity had created. Not one body remained standing in sight. The lack of a single sound was maddening. Sakura's every limb trembled, incoherent and furious protests at the situation's revolting result burning in the back of her throat. Kakashi's mind remained a blank, in blatant refusal to believe the image his brain forced on him.

With the strength of character only ninja could bring themselves to exert, they snapped out of their trance and glanced at each other, nodding before they leapt across the gap and ran to their respective targets.

While Sakura scouted the east side, Kakashi sprinted through the west side.

It wasn't long before Kakashi skidded to a stop near Sasuke's battered body.

Kakashi’s hand reached for Sasuke's throat without even taking a look at the boy, with the impatience only perfect panic and denial could strike in a person.

"Sakura!"

Immediately, Sakura turned and bolted towards the direction his harsh cry had come from.

"Kakashi!"

It was barely a few seconds before she, too, dropped to her knees at the Uchiha's side. Only for an instant, Kakashi and Sakura’s eyes met, before her palms glowed green and searched their friend's unconscious body. When Sasuke’s internal injury was located, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was nothing serious, as he proved by coughing and hurrying to sit up.

"Sasuke!" Sakura whispered, frozen in anguish.

"Is it over?" Kakashi questioned, eyes locked with the Uchiha's.

Sasuke's silent nod released the iron grip on Sakura and Kakashi's hearts, causing them to plop down where they kneeled in exhaustion.

While the duo relished in their newfound relief, Sasuke stood and scanned the area, hands balling into fists at his sides.

After throwing a glance at their companion, Sakura and Kakashi's eyes met in a hurry, wide and quivering, the same horrid scene playing in their minds.

"No." Sakura shook her head. "No."

When Sakura's body sprang up, Kakashi's followed fluidly, repeating her steps until he was ahead of her.

They both knew -- as soon as Kakashi's sprint had slowed to a sluggish and heavy pace, before he caught Sakura in his arms and trapped her there, keeping her from throwing herself at him.

Solemn, Sasuke walked past them, his own feet leaden regardless of the emptiness in his dark eyes.

Quietly, he kneeled by his friend and remained silent.

Sakura's knees buckled and her weight collapsed in her sensei's arms. As desperate and broken, his grip on her flak jacket tightened, trembled.

"No," Sakura cried brokenly.

Sasuke brushed his palm over his friend's eyes, closing them for the last time so he could finally rest.

"No!" Sakura shouted in Kakashi's chest, fighting his hold on her body. "No!"

Not him. Please, not him.