The Scent of Blood
A virgin's blood is an acquired taste. And Hidan had always had a morbid fascination for it.
A/N: Erm... yes, a crack shipping fic... XD I was watching a very lovely AMV recently that made me fall in love with HidaSaku so here I am, writing my first fanfiction for it. I may just put the rating higher in later chapters as this is quite a dark fic (though, I think my humourous side always manages to come through) but we'll see how we go, yes? Also, this chapter has scenes that go in a different order to the manga, so yeah. D: Am I the only one too lazy to check if Mr and Mrs Haruno have names? Oh well...
...
The sound of her parents bickering was something she had become accustomed to, to the point where she could sit calmly at the table as they had a "family meal" together whilst her mother and father yelled across the table at one another.
A 10 year old Sakura Haruno had learned to ignore it all.
It was the same thing she was forced to deal with everyday, so it was no different when her father decided to take her with them on the mission the Haruno parents had been put on as a family under-cover in another country. Knowing that it was better to obey than to argue with her father (arguing was only something she did with her mum who she had learnt to retort from), she followed behind her parents as they journeyed to the country where they were to complete their one week mission, in a village she overhead from her parents' conversations to be a Hidden Village of Hot Springs.
"Why did you bring her?" she heard her mother hiss ahead of her to her father.
"It's better that we be a family under cover rather than a couple alone as it could possibly draw more suspicion towards us. You didn't think of that, did you?" her father answered back in a cold tone.
By this time Sakura was no longer paying attention, knowing that she would simply be listening to another fight between her parents. Sometimes, she would feel some sort of resentment towards her parents for this, for putting a child in such a poor family situation.
The breeze blew gently against her hair and she raised her gaze to the view of the countryside before them, a peaceful sight in her jade-coloured eyes. She raised her arms to the sky and stretched widely, wondering how long this moment of peace may last, her eyes turning up to the azure sky above, a small smile lighting her face.
Even with her parents arguing ahead of her, she could smell the peaceful freedom that beckoned them, that awaited them at the village where they were to be situated in.
And in a hot spring village, Sakura mused, her smile widening at the thought of soaking in a steamy hot spring.
She was not, however, aware of the horrors that could possibly await her in the coming days.
Turning the door knob and pushing open the door to the room that she would be occupying for the next few days, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that they had finally reached their destination and slowly walked over to the bed that awaited her, dropping her backpack on the floor along the way.
"Sakura, make sure to pack away your things properly!"
Sakura rolled her eyes as she flopped onto her bed. "Yes, mum," she replied into her pillow, too exhausted from their trip to do as her mum wanted.
"I'll check if you've done it properly later!"
"Yes mum," Sakura sighed, sinking into her bed comfortably, too relaxed to get back up again.
I'll just sleep for a little while, she thought to herself as sleep slowly washed over her and claimed her.
…
It was the next morning by the time Sakura had woken up and she groggily pulled herself up into a sitting position in bed, yawning widely as she stretched and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she pulled the blankets around her away and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She noticed that her things had been packed away and mentally decided to thank her mother later for doing that.
She ran a hand through her shoulder-length locks as she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wondered what she could possibly do today. Usually, she would go to her kunoichi classes and hang out with Ino but seeing as she was in a village far from Konoha, there was no possible way she could do that.
Having brushed her teeth and combed out her bubblegum-coloured hair, she told her parents that she was going to head out for some fresh air before she headed out of the door, the sunlight of the morning greeting her warmly.
She sighed and breathed in deeply as she walked along the pathway away from her temporary house, running her hand along the tall grass and flowers that grew in the field alongside the pathway. She paused, her hand still against one of the flowers and then decided to change her route, stepping through the fields and pushing through the grass and flowers that reached up to her chest. The field was so dense that at one moment she stepped on a rather strange piece of ground and could've sworn she heard the earth groan under her.
"What the fuck are you doing?" yelled a voice from below her, making her jump.
Perturbed, Sakura gulped and slowly lowered her gaze to the grass below her, wondering whether she were going insane and the ground really was talking to her. However, to her surprise and horror, she found a silver-haired teenaged boy laying sprawled eagle under her foot; surprised because she wasn't sure why he would be lying under her foot and horrified because he was currently looking up her skirt.
"AGH!" the teen cried as Sakura hurriedly stomped on his face and quickly began to run away, pushing hurriedly through the field, suddenly wishing that she had stuck to the road. "HEY!" she heard him yell, as loud rustling came from somewhere close behind her. He was chasing her.
Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Sakura pushed herself harder, not wanting to be caught by him. She had heard about people like him from her parents who would warn her not to go anywhere near these strangers (well, strangers in general that was) and almost felt the urge to cry as she heard him panting from behind her as he attempted to catch her. Regret, fear and horror seized her as she felt his hand close around her upper arm and pull her roughly back, spinning her around to face him.
"Fucking moron!" he shouted, his brows pulled down in anger as his grip tightened on her arm. "First you step on me and then you fucking stomp on my face!" he yelled, shaking her slightly.
As he said this, Sakura couldn't help but feel satisfaction and pride as she looked at the shoeprint marked on the middle of his face.
As if her pride at her actions radiated off of her, the teen slammed his hand into her throat, choking her. "Don't make me fucking kill you," he breathed warningly.
Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes from the pain and she coughed, struggling against his hold, her small hands attempting to pry his off of her throat. "I-I d-didn't see y-you! I'm s-sorry!" she choked out, too afraid of dying to care about her pride or dignity.
The teen's eyes narrowed and there was a tense moment of silence. Slowly, he loosened his hold on her throat and pulled his hand away. "Pfft, I shouldn't be wasting time on piss brains like you," he grumbled as he turned away, shoving his hands into his pocket as he prepared to walk away. "Jashin would be mad if I'm late again anyway."
Completely shaken, Sakura fell to her knees, her hand touching her throat where he had gripped it painfully hard and swallowed thickly, tears streaming down her face as she realised how close he had been to completely cutting off her air supply.
"By the way," he called over his shoulder, "you have a bad taste in panties."
Despite her horror at the near death experience, Sakura's cheeks burned rouge as she stared at his back incredulously. She had the sudden urge to chase after him and slap him. Yet the pain on her neck was still present and she remained where she was, watching his retreating back. She did not move until he completely vanished from her sight and she deemed it safe to leave the fields, running hastily home, deciding to never go too far from the house for the rest of the week.
She returned home and raced to her bedroom to avoid bumping into her parents who would undoubtedly ask her questions if they saw that she had been crying. She shut the door behind herself and leaned against it, her heart still racing from the adrenaline rush and slowly sank to the floor, hugging her knees.
For some reason, she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her underwear.
"Stupid weirdo!" she sobbed, pulling her skirt securely around her.
She also decided that day to always wear shorts under her skirts.
...
They had only been in the village for three days and during that time, Sakura would make sure to listen in on her parent's conversations as they would often exchange new information they had obtained during their time out. During these times, Sakura discovered the reason they had been brought out to this village.
There had been a serious issue recently with a cult, who consisted of a group of people who worshipped an evil god named Jashin and it had been confirmed that a series of murders had been caused by this cult, with investigators finding the mark of the Jashin god at every crime scene.
However, anyone who investigated the case or attempted to speak up against the cult were brutally murdered the following night and the entire village lived in fear of their lives and thus the village leader had called for assistance from all the villages it was alliances to, yet, no village except Konoha was willing to help them.
The Harunos had then been selected on this secret mission to gather enough information about the Jashin cult and send for back up whenever necessary ,which was currently waiting for a call in the neighbouring village.
Sakura now understood the danger that her parents and herself was placed in and was careful to not go to far from the house whenever she went out for some fresh air to firstly, avoid being caught by anyone who may torture the information about the mission out of her and to secondly, avoid seeing the silver-haired teen from two days before.
...
It was around evening when Sakura's father returned home, shrugging off the jacket he had been wearing and sitting himself wearily into his seat at the dining table.
Recently, dinner became filled with quiet exchanges about the latest information gathered and Sakura secretly was glad that there was something to occupy her parents to stop them from arguing.
"If the Jashin cult try anything, our sources will make sure to alert us," her father said before guzzling down some water. He placed his cup back down. "They know how much danger their lives are in as well, so they're only able to help us because of the protection we're offering them," he explained, Sakura's mother nodding in agreement.
Suddenly, there was pounding on their front door and the Haruno family froze with both Mr and Mrs Haruno looking at each other and Sakura's father jerking his head in the direction of the door silently.
Understanding, Mrs Haruno rose from her seat and walked to the door, opening it cautiously before throwing it back open wide as a wounded man fell onto their living room floor, blood splattering around him on the carpet.
"Mr Haroshima!" Sakura's mother gasped as she got onto her knees to check his vital signs.
Both Sakura and her father left their seats, rushing to the injured man's side.
"Haruno..." Haroshima rasped, reaching out and grabbing Mr Haruno's shirt as he knelt over him. "The Jashin c-cult... h-hurry..." he gasped before screaming out as if he were stabbed, a fresh wound opening up in his chest. He let out one last struggling breath before life left his eyes and he lay limp on the floor.
"F-father..." Sakura began weakly, her legs shaking as she stared down, horrified at the dead man before her.
"Sakura! You stay here with your mother!" Mr Haruno ordered as he ran to the room he shared with Sakura's mother, hastily grabbing a few ninja tools before running out of the house. "Lock the doors!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran and Mrs Haruno quickly obeyed, shutting the door and locking it before rushing past Sakura and locking the back door.
Numb and terrified, Sakura remained where she was, staring down at the lifeless man before she was ushered away by her mother. Her mother carried her to her bedroom and closed the door behind them, sinking to the ground as she held her daughter close.
"Whatever I say, you do, understand?" her mother breathed and Sakura realised that she too was frightened as she heard her mother strain to keep her voice levelled.
Sakura nodded mutely, unable to speak and her mother let go before crashing was heard from their living room.
"Stay in here!" her mother ordered in a hurried whisper before leaving the room quickly, shutting the door securely behind herself.
Sakura could hear muffled voices from behind her door and although she was terrified, the thought of her parents dying drove her to open her bedroom door with trembling fingers, her heart beating painfully fast in her chest as she struggled to breathe from her suffocating fear.
The splattering of blood greeted her and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of her father defending her mother despite being slashed to ribbons.
"Hah! You're tough Mr Haruno!" laughed one of the men who were attacking her parents as he sliced himself, a similar wound then opening up in her father's side.
"FATHER!" Sakura screamed as she ran forward, catching her falling father and crumbling under his weight.
"SAKURA!" her mother screamed, hastily pulling her father off of her. "GET OUT OF HERE!" she bellowed as Sakura pushed herself back up off of the floor.
"B-but...!"
"Don't let the little girl escape!" ordered the person who appeared to be the leader of the cult.
Sakura's mother cursed and swiftly dodged a scythe aimed at her. "GET OUT OF HERE, PLEASE SAKURA!" her mother cried pleadingly before narrowly avoiding another scythe swung at her. "GET OUT OF HERE SAKURA, NOW!"
With her mother's pleas ringing in her ears, Sakura quickly ran back to her bedroom and grabbed the one kunai she was allowed to carry with her at her age and rushed to her window, opening it and jumping off it, knowing it wasn't safe to leave through any of the doors to their house.
She could see it even from far away, that there were Jashin cult members slaughtering people across the entire village and her fear drove her to run faster even though she had no idea where she was running to.
Her footsteps echoed about her as she ran, panting hard, heart pounding painfully against her ribcage.
She could hear the screams of people dying behind her, slowly fading as she raced further away, but never ending.
Tears streamed down her face and her breaths came in quick, sharp, successive breaths, her lungs burning with the need for oxygen as she sobbed, her muscles cramping and screaming for rest yet she knew she couldn't stop.
Even though she knew she wouldn't have been able to do anything, she hadn't wanted to leave her parents behind when the Jashin cult had arrived at their household. She hadn't wanted to turn tail and leave but what could she have done?
What could I have done? Sakura asked as she sobbed, more tears cascading down her face.
Eventually, her feet led her to the field and she was pushing through the grass and flowers, struggling to get away, the only thing driving her now was fear.
She had to get out of the village. She had to find her way back to Konoha.
Her foot became caught in some grass and she tripped, her hands instinctively thrown out to cushion her fall, the kunai falling from her hand. She didn't get back up. She couldn't do it. She was crippled with fear and horror as the image of her dying father and the man named Haroshima would not leave her mind.
She let out a sob before quickly clamping her hand over her mouth.
The sound of rustling resounded throughout the night air.
Someone had come to kill her.
And she knew she wouldn't be able to get up fast enough to run away.
More tears ran down her face and she pressed her hands over her eyes, too horrified to see anymore, wishing that she weren't here, that she hadn't left Konoha at all.
The rustling stopped and she sensed a figure looming above her and prayed that he wouldn't prolong her death.
"Hey," called a familiar voice as someone crouched beside her huddled form. "What the fuck are you doing out here?"
Sakura slowly pulled her hands away, her tear-filled eyes meeting the silver-haired teen's crimson ones. She opened her mouth but found she couldn't speak. More tears poured down her face and she pushed herself up onto her elbows, reaching out and grabbing the hem of his shirt.
He watched her warily as she inched closer to him, a look of desperation and fear on her face. He could say that it was somewhat amusing to watch her crawl towards him, a hand holding onto his shirt as she struggled to speak, never-ending tears pouring down her face. Noticing that she was covered in blood, something in his chest burned.
The sight of blood was something he relished.
"F-father..." she spoke hoarsely, her grip tightening on his shirt. "M-mother..."
"Shh," whispered the teen as he grabbed her wrist, bringing her quivering hand up to his lips where he licked the blood off of the palm of her hand. He paused before tasting the blood once more, his tongue tickling the young Haruno's hand. "Someone else's blood," he stated rather than questioned, his crimson eyes piercing Sakura's.
She simply stared at him mutely, numb as she lowered her eyes, unable to look away from the necklace he wore.
It was there. She recognised it from the photographs her parents had of it, taken at the various crime scenes.
The symbol of Jashin, hanging from the chain around his neck.
He would kill her after he had his fun, she was sure of it.
The teen watched her carefully as he raised her hand up to his lips once more, knowing that she had noticed the Jashin symbol.
He knew exactly who she was. The daughter of the Harunos who had intended to interfere with their cult.
His tongue ran over her wrist and he wondered who's blood it was as it tasted somewhat older. A person's blood loss its fresh taste after they had lost their innocence, it was something that he had made sure to take important note of.
It amused him to sense the fear radiating off of her after she had realised exactly what he was a part of. Yet what amused him more was the fact that she had instantly recognised the Jashin symbol. For someone from outside of the village and of her age to be knowledgeable of their cult was something he found rather amusing.
After a few moments of silence that was filled with the sound of him licking the blood off her hand, he drew back, never releasing her wrist. "Your mother's quite a fighter."
Instantly, Sakura's fist was thrown forward towards his face which he swiftly dodged. "Man! You're fucking feisty!" he laughed, smirking at her reaction. He dodged another swing aimed at his head. Reaching forward, he grabbed her face one-handed, his thumb and fingers pressing down against her cheeks. "Look, I'm offering you a fucking chance here. I'm bored of staying in this shithole and I've heard of a wondering group of S-rank criminals who I'm thinking of joining. So I'm wondering whether or not I should bring you out of this village safely with me or leave you here to be slaughtered by the other Jashin worshippers." His words caused her to stop. He smirked. "So, what do you say, Haruno?"
There was a tense moment of silence until Sakura gripped the wrist of the hand that held her face. "What are you getting out of it?" she asked through gritted teeth.
The teen stared at her before his smirk widened. "You're bright for a little kid."
And with that, he leaned forward and brushed her hair away from her neck before leaning towards her, pausing, his mouth poised near the side of her neck. Her breath had quickened and he could feel her trembling as he hadn't released her wrist-it nearly made him laugh. He breathed onto her neck and she shivered in response, amusing him further.
She hadn't moved away yet. She knew this was what he wanted out of it and he knew this was her silently saying that she was willing to leave the village with him.
Without warning, he bit into her neck and Sakura let out a small scream that she tried to suppress as he bit hard enough to draw blood. He sucked at her neck, relishing the taste of young and pure blood.
Sakura gritted her teeth, more tears falling from her eyes as she closed them, feeling sick to her stomach at what she was willing to do to escape the horrors of the village.
"Fuck," he muttered as he pulled back slightly. "You have a fucking crazy scent to your blood," he breathed before leaning in once more to drink up some more of her blood. His grip on her wrist tightened as he sucked more urgently on her neck.
After a minute or so, the Jashin worshipper forced himself to pull away and licked his lips. "Fuck, if I hadn't agreed... but anyway, now, if you try anything after we get out of this village, I'm able to easily kill you."
Sakura's eyes opened wide in horror. "Wh-what?"
"It's a power Jashin has given to his worshippers," he explained as he got to his feet, picking up the scythe that Sakura had not noticed he had put down behind himself. "But what's the fucking point of explaining to you? Hurry up if you want to leave here alive," he spoke as he turned and began to walk away.
Though her legs felt awkward and heavy beneath her, Sakura got to her feet and rushed after him, staying close to his side as even though she was afraid of him, he was offering her a way out and she somehow felt more afraid of the Jashin worshippers still out slaughtering village people.
"Shit, the Konoha ninjas are here now," he cursed under his breath before sweeping Sakura up into his arms and rushing out of the field.
Sakura could hear the shouts of the Konoha ninja from far behind them and wished that they would catch up to them to save her from the madman who held her now. Her head hurt too much from the events that night and from crying so much. Everything hurt.
Slowly, she closed her eyes and sleep found her in the arms of the Jashin worshipper.
She had never found out the name of the teenager who had saved her that night (though with rather sickening methods). He had left her sleeping in an inn of a village nearby Konoha and she had had to find her way back to her home village, numb from the events of the previous night, only sheer will driving her forward. Upon returning, she had found out that her mother had survived and was currently recuperating in the hospital. Her father however, had been slaughtered at the village and although she knew this already, she couldn't stop the fresh tears from pouring down her face.
...
It was on that date that a now 16 year old Sakura Haruno tied on her Konoha headband in front of her mirror, preparing for the new mission that her master, Tsunade, had put her team on. Team Yamato were to head out and support Team Asuma (headed by Kakashi) who were currently dealing with two Akatsuki members.
Quickly packing her ninja tools, Sakura hastily made her way out of the house, waving goodbye to her mother as she went, the memories of the horror-filled night six years ago pushed to the back of her mind as she preferred to forget about it, learning it was better to live her life without dwelling on those memories. It had been traumatising enough at the time and Sakura preferred it to remain in the past.
She raced to Team Yamato's meeting place where Yamato quickly filled them in on the mission before they headed off, racing against time to reach Team Asuma as they knew from experience that the Akatsuki were a dangerous group to fight with.
"Shit!" Hidan cursed, rubbing the side of his neck that had been sewn back on easily by his Akatsuki partner. "These guys are a pain, Kakuzu! What the hell is their problem cutting my head off like that?"
"What the..." Shikamaru stared at the pair, wide-eyed, unable to believe the sight before him.
They had cut off the silver-haired Akatsuki's head off and yet he was still alive and had had his head placed back on by the thread from his partner.
"Shikamaru!" shouted the unmistakable voice of Naruto as the back up Team Yamato landed beside the remaining members of Team Asuma and Kakashi.
"Shit, more piss brains!" Hidan grumbled loudly.
"Shut up, will you?" Kakuzu replied, irritated with his loud partner.
At the crude manner in which he spoke, Sakura's eyes fell on the silver-haired Akatsuki member, freezing her momentarily as she recognised him. The symbol of Jashin glinted on the chain around his neck. His crimson eyes that passed over her as he looked at the new arrivals. Although he had grown into an adult, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind who he was.
"Wh-who are they?" she found herself asking, attempting to prevent herself from showing her fear as memories of that night in the Hidden Village of Hot Springs returned to her.
Shikamaru glanced over at her and then returned his attention to the Akatsuki. "I assume their names are Hidan and Kakuzu; they've been calling each other by those names. It's to be expected of the Akatsuki but they're extremely powerful, so be careful!"
"Right!" Naruto said with a nod of his head.
Sakura stared at Hidan, clenching her fists. Hidan... you're the one from six years ago!
And without thinking, Sakura charged forward, drawing as much chakra as she could to her fist as she prepared to attack, Hidan turning to her, his expression somewhat amused.
"SAKURA!" Naruto and Shikamaru yelled, alarmed by her irrational thinking.
Hidan quickly sliced at Sakura with his scythe which she dodged narrowly before directing her punch at his face which he blocked by drawing back his scythe in time. The force of her punch on his scythe pushed him back a foot, his feet dragging along the dirt. He smirked. "Nice! Now," he swung his scythe about himself as he prepared himself to retaliate, "who the fuck are you?"
...
End of chapter one.
A/N: Erm, yes... I'm sorry if it's a bit rushed. (cough) I'm definitely going to put up the rating for this later if it continues on this way... D: I apologise for any spelling or grammatical errors... D: Well, anyway, please kindly leave a review!