The room where they must face the final trial is smaller than the last, but grander in a way. The sweeping ceiling is decorated with stone mosaics; ancient, solemn statues hold court in tiny alcoves hewn into the walls. At the other end of the chamber, Sasuke can make out a final staircase that leads to a raised platform. Any other details are obscured by a wall of flame that bisects the room.

The line stretches from the right wall to the left, with no break in it to slip through. The flames themselves rise twice as high as Sasuke's head and give off such a punishing heat that even standing in the archway, he begins to sweat. Several feet in front of the flaming curtain, they find a low, crude altar, little more than a dusty slab blackened by the flames.

Carefully, they approach. Sasuke winces as they get closer, the heat searing his skin even from a distance. Only Sakura seems unbothered, and she busies herself with studying the pedestal from all angles.

"I don't see anything that can stop the flames," she says, "There's something carved here, though." She squints. "I can't read it. The language isn't one I know."

"Let me," Kakashi says, and takes her place. "Ah, that is an old common dialect from the Suna Empire. Not something you would find in most linguistic books."

"But you can read it?"

"Yes."

"Just like that?" Sasuke asks, sceptical.

"It is always good to have hobbies," Kakashi returns, and refocuses on what to Sasuke seems like meaningless scratches in the surface. "'Cast off the trappings of worldly life and cloak yourself in the goodness of spirit. King and slave, lord and beggar, be born anew in the Goddess sight.'"

"What's that mean?" Naruto asks.

"You do not understand? It is another riddle," Sasuke returns.

"Sakura?"

"Read it again, Kakashi?" she asks, and the mage does so. She frowns in contemplation. "Hm. It's a lot vaguer than the ones I answered before. And if I'm wrong, I think the consequences would be worse than a few wraiths."

Sasuke eyes the wall of flame. "More Rage demons?"

He is not keen to face that overwhelming, burning anger again so soon.

"No, I don't think so..."

"Why can't they ever just say, 'go to this place, here's the urn, use it wisely'?" Naruto bemoans.

"'Cast off the trappings of worldly life'...they can't mean to die, can they?" Sakura wonders. "Or maybe you have to be willing to die...?"

"We've all already proven that though!"

"Or perhaps it's a literal directive," Sakura suggests. "It wouldn't be the first time an ancient spell was verbatim."

"Ah," Kakashi nods and quips, "Speak, friend, and enter."

"Right!"

Sasuke and Naruto exchange looks of confusion; it must be some dwarven myth. Though he does not understand what they are referring to, their meaning at least makes sense.

"So, when you mean literally cast off the trappings, you mean..."

Naruto's eyes go wide, and he emits a startled guffaw. "Take off our clothes?!"

"It would seem so."

"Hah! Okay, Sakura, after you—ow!"

Sasuke is not even aware of his hand snapping out and slapping the other man upside the head. When Sakura raises an eyebrow at him, half-amused and half questioning, he explains, "I was closer than you were."

"My hero," she deadpans.

"He is," Kakashi muses. "If you had gravely injured Naruto, we would have to wait an inordinate amount of time for him to recover so he could undergo this trial."

"Hah! Good point."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto whines, looking at them each with an injured expression. As they gaze back at him in meaningful silence, it dawns on him.

Naruto blinks, frowns, and then goes pale with panic. "No! No way am I stripping down to my dangly bits and get them burnt them off! Can't you feel how hot that fire is, even from here?!"

"Oh, but it was fine when you wanted me to do it?" Sakura counters.

"You are the Templar, felasil—"

"Templar trained! I never technically took my vows, so—"

"And all of this is to save the man who raised you," Kakashi reminds him. "None of us are as well-suited to this task as you."

"Besides, the rest of us have already faced our tests, so for once in your life stop clinging to Sakura's coattails and take some initiative," Sasuke growls.

Naruto makes a face at him. "Says the guy who didn't have to walk through fire! And hey, it could mean you as much as it means me!"

"No, it can't," Sakura replies. "'King and slave, lord and beggar'. You're the only one that description fits."

"I'm not king!"

"Yet. But you are meant for it by birth. None of us can say the same. And as a Warden, you're a slave to the Blight, like me. You're a lord, again, by birth. As for beggar...you told me what it was like to grow up in Uzushiogakure when Arl Hiruzen wasn't looking out for you. You slept in a barn."

"I told you that in confidence!"

"Would you grow a pair already?" Sasuke snaps.

Naruto glowers.

After a long spell of mutual glaring, though, his cheeks puff out in exasperation, and he growls, "Fine!"

And marches toward the flames.

"But no peeking!" He removes his bracers. "And if I burn to death doing this, I'm coming back to haunt all of you." He unclasps his chest-plate. "Think about it! You'll be trying to get up to naughty things, and I'll pop up—ass-naked and oozing burns—and dance the Remigold in front of you. No! Through you! Because I'll be a ghost...just watch." He reaches for the drawstring of his pants and Sasuke makes a noise of disgust. "Oh, shut up, pointy-ears, you wish you were as buff as me."

"Not if it meant taking a penalty to my intelligence," Sasuke retorts, turning away from the unwanted sight of the human stripping himself. His comment earns an elbow to his side from Sakura, but she is busy fighting back giggles, so he does not think she means it.

"...fucking ridiculous," Naruto continues to complain. "When we get back to Arl Hiruzen's estate and all the others, no one says a word about this, got it? We'll say I fought an army of darkspawn or had to eat a hundred wheels of cheese or something. Something that is not me walking around in my nameday suit."

The last sounds of armour and cloth hitting the floor echoes throughout the chamber, and he sighs. "You guys owe me so much noodle soup after this. I swear."

When they turn around, he has his back to them and is, as befitting of his complaints, stark naked. It is way more of Naruto's pasty white arse than Sasuke has ever wanted to see, and even Sakura seems to be trying to look everywhere except their companion.

Kakashi clears his throat, like he is stifling an inappropriate bout of laughter, and forces himself to remain sombre. "Careful, Naruto."

The words force Sasuke to focus. If this goes wrong, the bastard prince of Konoha is about to die a very painful, very humiliating death.

"Right...here goes nothing," Naruto says, squaring his shoulders and stepping toward the fire.

The rest of them hold a collective breath as he enters the blaze inferno—and then vanishes in an explosive plume of flame. The wall of fire explodes in force, roaring higher than before, and Sakura gasps, hands flying to her mouth.

"Naruto!"

Kakashi makes an aborted move forward, and even Sasuke physically jolts in disbelief. He did not expect that.

The poor bastard did not even have time to call out!

Then there's a shout from beyond the flames. "Hey, guys! I'm okay!"

They cannot see him through the thick billowing smoke, but no pain laces his words.

"Oh, thank the Stone," Sakura breathes.

"That could have gone so much worse," Kakashi murmurs, passing a hand down the front of his face in relief.

"And there's some kind of switch over here," Naruto's distant voice continues. "Give me a second..." There's an echoing metallic click, and then the wall of flame simmers down, before parting in the middle. A path wide enough for their group to walk through emerges. "You guys should come through—and bring my damn pants!"

Kakashi chuckles and reaches for Naruto's gear.

They lead the way through the path of flame to find Naruto standing on the other side, grinning and rubbing at his nose with pride. There is no sign of burns or anything on him, and that is more than plain with the amount of flesh on display.

"Cover up, would you?" Sasuke barks as Kakashi tosses him his gear while Sakura determinedly turns around.

"Five minutes ago, you all wanted me naked...make up your minds," Naruto complains, but accepts his clothing.

"Look!" Sakura says, pointing at something beyond Naruto. The staircase Sasuke noticed earlier is easier to discern now. It leads to another level of the room, upon which they find a raised platform. Light beams down from an unknown overhead source, falling upon the stone table in the centre.

Upon that, an urn.

"You have been through the trials of the Gauntlet," a familiar voice intones, and they all turn in surprise to see the Guardian again. He wanders through the gap in the flames, which rise again behind him, once more barring the way. "You have all walked the path of Kaguya, and like her you have been cleansed. You have proven yourselves worthy, pilgrims. And so, I bid you, approach."

He gestures for the stairs, and the four comrades exchange looks. Together, they climb the steps until they reach the dais and the ancient urn upon it.

"Well," Sakura says after a time, still gazing upon their prize. "We did it."

"I thought no one could find Kaguya's final resting place, let alone her ashes," Naruto breathes. "But...but here she is."

"I may not believe in the teachings of her followers, but her importance to history is not negligible," Kakashi says. "It is my honour to be here."

"Tch." Sasuke crosses his arms. "You humans have such odd traditions...storing your dead in a pot. It is not natural."

But he still feels an odd chill creeping up his back as he stares down at the ashes of the shemlen woman. This woman who was a friend to the Elvhen even when her followers would turn them into homeless wanderers.

Naruto approaches the urn, and lifts the lid with reverence; reaching inside, he takes a pinch of ash between his thumb and fingers, and with care, deposits it in a vial that Sakura hands him.

"Here, you carry it," he tells Sakura. "You're less likely than me to lose it."

"I'm also the most likely to be attacked and have it ruined," Sakura counters. "Kakashi or Sasuke should take it. They'll protect it." She offers the hard-won prize to Sasuke, who deliberates for a moment, before accepting it and slipping it into his pouch pocket.

"Great!" Naruto cheers, punching the air. "Now, let's get off this mountain and go heal Arl Hiruzen with the ashes!" He turns on his heal, then pauses, staring at the wall of flame. "Heeey. How are we supposed to get out of here, anyway? Ancient Spirit-Guy? Where are you?"

They are once more alone in the chamber.

"It seems we are meant to exit through that door," Kakashi says, pointing to a small, cramped looking opening at the edge of the room. "But take a moment to make sure you have all your gear put on again. You will not wish to get frostbite on anything important..."

"Ugh, don't even joke..."

Sakura watches them head for the door, smiling in satisfaction. "D'you think all this will be worth it in the end?"

"It may be so," Sasuke says, his eyes are on her when he says it.

She glances back at him then, and he cannot hide his face from her before she does. Whatever she sees causes her lips to part in surprise then, a blush of red spreading across her cheeks.

Sasuke does not bother hiding his smirk.

"I-I...uh...come on," she says, clearing her throat, a bit awkward. "I bet it'll be faster going down the mountain than climbing it. With luck, we might even make it without running into anymore dragons."

"I would appreciate a cooked meal for once," Sasuke admits, falling into step behind her.

"And a bath!" Sakura chirps." Oh, what I wouldn't give for a bath...and a bed! There are so many great things about a bed, don't you agree, Sasuke-kun?"

She side-eyes him then, and there is something heavy in the way she says you that makes him deliberate before answering.

"I am sure there are," he says, as neutral as he can manage.

He suspects some of his thoughts are visible in his eyes, though, because the way Sakura's eyes gleam in the torchlight suggest surprise...and approval. He expects her to say something to that; no doubt brazen dwarven innuendo or outright invitation.

Instead, she straightens her back and says, "Well, all this talking isn't getting us there any faster. Come on, before the other two leave us behind!"

And then she darts forward through the heavy door, leaving Sasuke blinking at her back, wondering if he missed something.

_____ 

Translations:

Felasil – fool, idiot, literally "slow mind"

Shemlen – quick children; derogatory slang for non-Dalish, usually in reference to humans

Elvhen – The elven people

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