The Blood Boutique
II
2332 E Rosewood used to be luxurious. Tall and grand, the old Victorian styled home sat enthroned upon a rise in the land, white linings bright against the warm wood that held up the structure. A railed patio ran the length of the house and wrapped around the back like silver ribbon, interrupted briefly here and there by pillars that held up lattice-work arches. Concrete stairs meandered up the lawn before leading to a venerable entryway heralded by twin lions, stone maws partially open in pregnant threat.
Time had washed out most of the home's brilliance—the lawn wasn't as neatly kept, stoned lined garden patches lay dark and empty, the paint was chipping and sun-bleached, and the designs carved into the arches resembled cobwebs more than ever—but despite its brittle appearance and slumping tiles, it was still the most respected plot of land within a thirty mile radius.
Shizune marveled for the hundredth time, bumping the car door closed with her hip, at just how the area managed to stay mostly unoccupied when residential booms continued to pop up through the years.
Must be the lions, she thought with a wry smile, skipping up the stones steps in her little black boots. It took some maneuvering to get in the door, balancing the cooler against her side as she convinced the key to turn, but once the heavy oak was open the faint notes of piano she could hear became clear.
"Sakura!" She called into the house, her voice echoing strangely down the halls. The song—Canon in D—stopped abruptly and the soft pad of footsteps could be tracked from the ceiling by where the wood creaked. "Shizune? Do you have the groceries?"
"Yeah—kind of a big shipment this time," she swung fully inside and kicked the door closed with the back of her foot. "They dropped by the college campus for two days."
Sakura whistled, pink hair appearing at the top of the steps as she tumbled down the spiral staircase, throwing a grey cardigan over bare shoulders. "Hidan won't have to mix his drinks anymore, then will he?" She raised her eyebrows at Shizune and bounced off the last step. Lithe arms swung up and suddenly the weight of the cooler was gone, held aloft like it was nothing. "Already spiked, am I right?"
Shizune laughed at Sakura's retreating back, depositing her keys in the key dish and hanging her pea coat on the old-fashioned coat hanger. She'd always wanted a top hat to perch on the higher spokes but those had long gone out of style. Sakura assured her that was a good thing; she couldn't picture Kakuzu with one without shuddering a little.
"He'll have to tell us," she answered, following Sakura into the kitchen. The girl was working fast, already unhitching the false cupboard from the rest of the wall so it could slide out. "For now I'm just happy its big. We'll be having company."
Shizune hadn't made any sort of effort to hide her news, but after being badgered by Sakura with constant texts and concerned voicemails she took pleasure in finally, finally being able to dangle good news in front of the girl.
Sakura didn't disappoint, promptly abandoning her task and whipping around so quickly that the pen holding up her hair nearly shook loose. "He called?"
Shizune grinned and patting the counter definitively. "He called."
If vampires and vampire kind really didn't have bones, then she figured Sakura was the picture of it.
"Oh, thank god. Finally." She voiced with feeling. "I thought they'd get him for sure!"
"Mmhmm, so did I. Took him long enough." In truth Shizune was certain that after the week was over he was dead. Orion wasn't known for their mercy.
"What was he like?"
"Skittish," Shizune's brow wrinkled. "Real suspicious too. Probably why it took him so long to make contact. I got the feeling he thought we were mad scientists ready to put him under the knife." She rolled her dark eyes and popped open the cooler lid. The air was noticeably colder but nothing had frozen.
"Well, he's half right," Sakura nudged Shizune's shoulder and grinned. "When should we expect him?"
"He'll be dropping by the hospital tomorrow. I set up his appointment with you if that's alright? It's at one."
"That's fine. I'm actually kind of glad," she shook her head. "I'll be able to feed him, at least. Maybe even bring him back here for a tour or something. Do you think he's genetic or turned?"
"Hard to tell," Shizune muttered, counting the pint sized plastic pouches that lined the cooler, dancing her fingers over their sharp edges. Thirty-two. Enough to last Hidan a month but with this new boy she might have to order more. He hadn't looked healthy. "The melanin was still in the process of dying so I'm putting him in around the ending of phase two, maybe even early stages of phase three."
Sakura looked horrified. "Are you sure they haven't caught him?"
Shizune frowned. "I don't think so."
It was hard to keep tabs on Orion. They were just normal ("normal") people after all, not spies trained to keep eyes and ears on everything and stick their noses to the ground like wolves. If Sasuke had a couple of tails...
Well. Once he was registered it would take the heat off his back at least. They couldn't hurt someone that wasn't doing anything wrong; past transgressions could be waved under extenuating circumstances once he was protected under Haven's umbrella.
"But anyway," Shizune continued. "I'm thinking he's genetic, if he can stave off eating for that long."
"Or just stubborn," Sakura worried, biting her lip as she pulled the paperwork for the latest shipment. The hidden compartment was set up so that the back wall was divided into four storage shelves, and below that was a fridge that could comfortably fit a human being inside. "I'm assuming you gave him at least something though, right?"
"Of course, along with a little crash course." Shizune lifted a few packs out of the cooler, the blood a deep red-black behind the frosted plastic, and passed them to Sakura who propped the fridge door up and began sliding the packs onto metal rods. "But speaking of our fair and so very righteous justice warriors, they sent out the notice."
Sakura paused to share with Shizune a true moment of dread and exasperation. "Already? It has not been six months."
"Oh, I checked. The time stamp was at midnight. Sometimes I feel like their whole," she flapped her hand in a sharp movement. "Cult just sits around computers all day and waits until they can legally," she held up quotation fingers. "Arbitrate."
"If only," Sakura said dryly. "Then we could nail them for lack of performance and overthrow the operation."
"Careful. You speak of dangerous things, little girl," Shizune mocked, deepening her voice to match last visits inquisitor. He hadn't taken kindly to Sakura's frank logic and, as he termed it, outright belligerence. In Sakura's defense the man was picking at the way the mess in her office was set up to purposely distract him from potentially suspicious content.
"But, the reason I'm even bringing it up now is because I thought you might like the warning."
Sakura shut the fridge lid, now stocked with fresh blood, and peered over her shoulder at Shizune with pained green eyes. "Please tell me it's not."
Shizune popped her lips. "It is."
The petite pink-haired woman let out a whine. "Not again! There should be a rule against sending a person who clearly does not get on with the doctor in charge."
Technically Tsnade was the doctor in charge, but since she always had errands to run for the hospital the dubious honor of leading Haven inspections fell to Sakura. Tsunade would have an interview later in the evening to cross-check Sakura's information but everyone knew she was getting the better end of the deal. Sakura would rather sit in a room for half an hour than entertain an inquisitor for half a day. Even Shizune was let off the leash!
"At least they gave us the warning," The dark-haired resident offered in sympathy.
"Only because they're paranoid," Sakura scoffed. With a roll of her eyes she slid the cupboard back into place and whipped out her phone, quickly typing up the notice email that the monthly supply was stocked and then a second, informal text saying the same thing.
None of her boys checked their damn emails but it was protocol.
"Ten days then," Sakura mourned. "Ten days before Judgment Day. Do you think you'll be on shift then or am I left to the wolves?"
"Actually, Genma and I are going to Hokkaido," Shizune explained sheepishly. "We've been wanting to go for a while and he finally got that promotion so," she shrugged, a little grin deepening the corners of her mouth.
Sakura raised a brow, then looked to her window. "In the winter?"
"We figured we might as well see it when its coldest—get the most out of the scenery, visit a few hot springs and whatnot. We leave next week."
"Well," Sakura grinned, sweeping towards the front door and catching Shizune up in her tide. "At least you'll miss the chaos. I hope you'll have fun, really. You two deserve it after working so hard."
"You're sweet, Sakura," Shizune leaned in to kiss Sakura's cheek goodbye, throwing on her coat at the same time.
She was just about to leave, the door was open and ready, her car waiting just beyond the lions, when she suddenly turned around with a frown on her face. "Look…I know that you're strong. Like, really strong, but…" She bit her lip and tugged at her bangs. "I don't think Sasuke-san is a bad person, but people do crazy things. It would make me feel better if Hidan went with you for the appointment. Just in case."
Sakura gave Shizune a highly unimpressed look.
"Please? I—I can't explain it but I just…I just have a bad feeling is all. Gut instinct."
"So you want me to take along Hidan—Hidan—into the midst of the delicate public? C'mon Shizune, you know I'm not some wilting flower. You know it."
Shizune looked torn for a moment, then shook off any feelings of doubt. "I know," she said with conviction. "But there are things, people, out there who are stronger. And meaner. Take it from a soon-to-be mother, okay?"
"Or chalk it up to haywire hormones?"
"Sakrua! I'm being serious!"
"All right, all right! Sorry, just had to poke a little fun. Look I don't know if Hidan would be super cool about the idea but I'll ask him, and if he says no," Sakura added quickly when it looked like Shizune was about to protest. "Then I'll make sure he's on-call. I have blood in my office; if anything I can bribe him with a treat."
Shizune let out great sigh. "I'm being silly I know it, but believe me Sakura I wouldn't even say anything unless I really, really felt it. This…this whatever it is, its prevailing. I've been feeling it for days now."
"As a doctor I'm pretty sure it's just stress, but as a friend I'll take it under serious consideration." Sakura's tone turned thoughtful. "You've been right about things before."
"Thank you," Shizune's relief was palpable.
At least before she made the mistake of glancing at her watch. Tension zinged through her as if a teacher had just caught her passing notes. "Oh my god, I'm going to be late. I'll see you next shift, okay? Love you!" Sakura was graced with one last hug and a tossed, "Be safe!" over a shoulder before the dark-haired woman was sliding into her little silver sedan and pulling out of the cul-de-sac.
Sakura shook her head and shut the door.
Then she remembered the impending inspections (and just who was conducting them this time around) and sulked her way up the stairs and back to the piano where she could play something appropriately dark and broody. Ironically, the tune sounded vaguely Gothic.
Sasuke rapped lightly on the cheap wood of Iruka's office door. It was already slightly ajar, so when his manager went from sitting normally to nearly tipping over his chair to get a look at who was at the door, dragging the telephone console by its resisting cord, Sasuke pushed his way inside before Idiot #2 fell over.
"Yes, that's right. It's a little early but we want to cater to those who start work early as well—" Iruka, still straining with a phone attached to the side of his head, promptly lost his train of thought when he finally got a good look at the shadow menacing his doorway. His slack-jawed concern was instant.
"…Ah—uh yes! Yes, I look forward to seeing you here then ma'am; welcome to the membership!" He returned the phone quickly to its cradle and sat forward in his chair, hands braced on the armrests as if he were about to launch himself twenty feet. "Good god, Sasuke, what are you doing here!"
"Working."
"Looking like that?"
Sasuke scowled and dropped his chin. It was difficult to see past the thick tint of his glasses but he knew he was dressed in the stupidly peppy gym uniform. Usually he'd wear his workout clothes, being a trainer, but his skin was nearing the translucent level and besides his paranoia a sickly physical trainer was an unemployed physical trainer.
"You can take more sick days—it's not a problem."
"I've already been out a week," Sasuke grumbled. "I need something to do." And money. And food.
Iruka moaned something about idiot students who pop back into his life to cause even more ulcers before putting the metaphorical hammer down. "No," he said curtly. "You look like you have the bubonic plague. You'd be useless out on the floor and you'd scare away our customers with the whole," he summed up his employee's appearance with a hesitant flick of his fingers. "resurrected body-guard. What's with the glasses?"
"Migraine. Stop trying to make me go home and get out of the chair, sensei. I can do the books."
Iruka looked surprised for a moment before slanting his eyes suspiciously. "Do you have a fever? I swear if its pneumonia and you hallucinate I'll—"
"I won't screw up the numbers," Sasuke drawled, just a touch louder than he wanted to. Stage three, as Shizune put it, felt a hell of a lot like a hangover after doing the world's stupidest keg stand marathon. If he didn't need to be here he really, really wouldn't be. "Just…c'mon."
Iruka didn't look pleased, ("M'not worried about the stupid numbers. Idiot.") but he swallowed it with all the grace of a drowning chicken eventually.
Sasuke only really relaxed when the door closed behind the older man and he'd sank into the cushioned office chair, alone at last.
The weirdest part about this entire situation wasn't the fact that he was turning into a vampire. It was that he was turning into a vampire and going to work. Like a mundane, fat, balding salesman who couldn't have been picked out of a lineup if he'd doused himself in highlighter fluid.
"Fuck," said Sasuke, rubbing at his eyes under the thick snowboard glasses he'd had to dig out of storage, because going to work was a freakishly normal thing to do. And 'freakishly normal' creeped him out more than the aching in the roof of his mouth did.
Suppressing the idea that an armed S.W.A.T. team was about to knock down his door in hazmat suits while he entered yesterday's attendance, Sasuke logged into the manager's computer and started doing just that. He entered comments about repeated absences, felt generally unsympathetic to those who had called out and claimed personal illness, and then moved on to sorting paychecks.
He was just taking a breather to crack his knuckles and try to get some flexibility back into his wrists when his phone, resting on the desk, started vibrating. Sasuke watched 'IDIOT' flash across the screen as it buzzed itself closer to the computer keyboard, and felt the dull throbbing of his migraine sharpen to a pickaxe.
Rolling his eyes he snatched the mobile and hit the answer button. "Chill," he preempted immediately. "I'm at work."
There was silence on the other end and for a second he thought he might have just gone fuckboy on Hinata, which wouldn't be cool. It was considered bad to attack saints.
"…at work? Bastard I'm here."
"Oh," Sasuke dashed any thoughts of apology at once. "It is you."
"Who the hell else would it be? Where are you?"
"I just said. I'm on books today, dipshit, so stop sounding like you're some bigwig with a gavel."
And then he hung up with a click, because he was kind of an Asshole. And Assholes didn't take the high-road without some serious convincing first.
About a minute later Naruto burst into the office, wearing an equally peppy uniform, sans jacket, and a gob smacked expression.
Sasuke's mood went from thunderclouds to lightning in zero-point-three seconds. "What."
Sometimes, in weirdly contemplative moments, Sasuke wondered what he might have been in a past life. Maybe a soldier. Maybe a murder. Possibly both. But whatever he was he'd always had this faint certainty that Naruto had been an actor. He tried on moods like they were masks, clicking through emotions as if he were in the middle of an improv exercise, each one as devastatingly sincere as the last. And Asshole that he was, Sasuke was also perceptive, so he could see stuff like that.
Naruto went through a fairly negative montage before settling on guilt, making Sasuke feel strangely like he was holding the gavel now.
"Oh…hey. You're here."
Sasuke didn't answer, turning back to the keyboard in clear dismissal. He was supposed to be entering a shift—puzzling out the weekly schedule was a nightmare—but he couldn't think with the thick smog of tension looming between them. His tongue felt oddly like a balloon, rising to the roof of his mouth, preparing to speak, but he fought the impulse just like he fought against the sensation that the ball was in his court. It wasn't. He was ignoring the idiot.
But the idiot, the true idiot of the year, just stood there completely and totally ignoring the social nicety dictating that if someone wasn't talking to you, it means that you should excuse yourself from their presence. And he did it while stuttering out a sheepish, guilty, infuriating "sorry bro" and scratching his cheek.
The ball really was in his court now.
Sasuke grunted, struggled for a moment with his petty, vindictive nature, gave up, and abandoned the computer to swivel towards Naruto and slide his hands underneath his glasses to rub roughly at his eyes. Okay so maybe he wasn't as much of an Asshole as he thought.
"Have you chosen a ring yet?"
And just like that, Naruto switched masks. His entire being brightened up like well-seasoned furniture did after soaking up oil, rich and warm. He pranced further into the room and perched himself on the desk separating him from Sasuke, using his backside as a point to swivel his feet around and dangle directly in front of his friend. Fishing around in his pockets procured a soft box, its black velvet haloed at the edges by the cheap fluorescent lighting.
The was some lint clinging stubbornly to the velvet and Naruto brushed it off with a flick. "I got it. You were right; I totally needed a savings fund."
Sasuke scoffed, taking the box and popping the lid open. "Of course you did. These things don't come cheap."
Snuggled between two white blocks was a ring of silver, its band thin and dainty, but just thick enough to support weaving designs that somehow reminded him of water. They flowed up, casually building like some sort of reverse waterfall, dotted with diamonds.
What surprised Sasuke was that a diamond wasn't the centerpiece of the ring. He fingered the pale stone, tilting it this way and that and watching the hypnotic, soft, white, needle pointed star of light move with him. "What is this?"
"It's a star sapphire," said Naruto proudly. "Didn't want to be lame and get her a diamond. I mean sure they're pretty and all, but literally everyone gets a diamond. I wanted something custom, and besides," he grinned broadly. "This fits her better." He gestured to the ring. "The two on the sides are moonstones—I thought they matched her eyes."
Sasuke turned his attention to the iridescent circles sandwiching the still eye-catching star sapphire and figured Naruto was more romantic than he'd ever given him credit for. The entire piece was feminine but unique, and if he was going to get really mushy, a little mysterious. Just like Hinata.
And because that thought was a little too mushy to swallow he passed the ring back to a beaming Naruto. "Hn. It's good, dobe. Really."
"Yeah. Hinata's going to freak."
"Hopefully she won't faint again," Sasuke said dryly, one corner of his mouth kicking up in a teasing smirk.
Honestly when Sasuke had gone to breakfast with the pair after rock-climbing, he hadn't expected Hinata to get up and leave half-way through. She'd had to make a quick trip downtown to visit her family and so had left Naruto and himself alone in the booth. That's when Naruto had dropped the bomb. "I mean, we've talked about it a bunch," he'd said, stuffing fries into his face. "But she doesn't know I'm actually going to ask her. But believe it! I so am!"
Suddenly the unprecedented advice about saving money that Naruto had pestered Sasuke for months ago, made sense.
His idiot of a friend was getting married.
"Ah stuff it, duckass. At least I'm getting some."
"Fuck off. You're going to be late for your shift and if Iruka sees you in here he's going to think I'm not doing my own shit."
Naruto got up with minimal whining, putting the ring box back in his pocket (Can't risk Hinata seeing it or some dipshit stealing it. So I'm just going to keep it with me!) and heaved himself towards the door. At the threshold he swung around, face pensive.
"Oy. Are you going to a doctor for that?"
Sasuke frowned. "For what?"
"For the vampire bite, duh—"
Sasuke's ice went subzero in the time it took for a bullet to fly. And in what felt like even less his heart was already galloping. Through the sudden black spots in his vision—he honestly thought he was going to be sick the dread was so intense—some haywire part of his brain registered that Naruto had rolled his eyes.
He was joking. Right.
"—but no, seriously, you look like a vampire right now. What kind of bastardized bacteria did you sniff up?"
Just joking, Sasuke thought firmly to himself, discomfited to realize he could not only feel his heart pounding, but he was also aware of where the beat pulsed in other places. His thigh, under his jaw, behind one knee…
He shook off the shivers that had raced down his spine and nabbed the stapler, flinging it at the stupid blonde blocking the doorway.
"Woah! Hey! Okay, okay I get it! Sheesh, take a joke asshole."
"Get out," Sasuke snipped. Had that been too obvious? That had been too obvious.
Fortunately, Naruto really was stupid so he didn't notice the sharpness in Sasuke's tone, or even comment really on his strange attire today, because who wore a jacket in a heated room anyways? He just laughed and tossed the stapler back, saying that he'd better not ruin his perfect face before he proposed to Hinata, because two dots in the middle of his forehead from a stapler attack wouldn't look cool.
"Dobe," Sasuke growled, and then because he knew the stubborn dolt really wouldn't leave until he had his answer, he tagged on a, "I have an appointment at one tomorrow, now get out."
Naruto looked relieved, then stuck his hands behind his head and walked, grinning, out the door. He left it open on purpose too, just to mess with Sasuke.
And Sasuke was feeling pretty messed with at the moment. Potential discovery scare aside having the door open always felt too vulnerable to him. He'd never liked it, and now more than ever he couldn't stand it.
So he got up to undo the mess Naruto had made of him. Shutting the door, straightening out his clothes, running hands along the legs of his glasses to make sure that they were still secured, and for the thousandth time adjusted his hair so that the back of his head, where he hadn't really been able to reach with the hair dye, was covered.
And then he got back to work. Because money. And food.
"Music. I hate that you listen to music on shift."
"…ah, my deep and sincerest apologies. Really. I'm ashamed. After all this is all just so riveting."
"It will be."
"I know. But for now, babysitting these," the man waved a hand to the dozen or so cylinders lined up across his desk. Each one cultivating an embryo. Each one with a name written in marker on tape and slapped haphazardly across the glass. "Isn't the most stimulating of exercise. Out of boredom I've already calculated the probability of each one surviving until implantation, and then the probability of taking to the mother despite our best hopes and matching."
The other man, clearly unimpressed, leaned over to examine the scribbled calculations and formulas spread across the notebook like children's art. He was unmoved, but his eyes glittered. "And?"
"And? What? Their probability?"
"It is always best," said the man, eyes still glittering, voice rasping. "To size up the survival of your pawns before you place them on the board."
There was silence as the two of them drank in the chilling wisdom of these words.
"Of the fourteen cultivated an estimated five will survive until implantation," said the other man with considerable professionalism. "Of those five, perhaps two will continue on in the womb to the growth stage. Of course," his voice turned mournful. "It's quite possible that neither will actually be born. I haven't calculated their survival yet."
"Not the best of news."
"No…
"But. Good news is hardly easily earned. We have made progress. At least one success walks among our ranks, although sterile. Unfortunate, that."
"It would have made things easier." Although he reflected that everything got easier the further along the family tree they got. First generations always sucked.
"Yes, however so do resources." A friendly hand landed on the scientist's shoulder, pale and cold. "Send word to Danzo for me. We need additional funding, and if at all possible, more bodies. Anko can only pull in so many."
"Of course. Anything else?"
"A time machine," said the rasping voice, now dry as bone. "So that I could go back and give this wealth of technology to my past self and start working on this much, much sooner."
The scientist laughed. "Perhaps that will be our next project."
"Yes…yes, perhaps. Goodnight, and if you insist on music keep one of those infernal headphones out. The guards are incompetent."
Fun fact: One of the rumors circling about the wide and wonderful web about vampires, and more specifically identifying vampires, is that they had no bones and that their bodies were "soft and feeling of jelly." Who knows where I found this tidbit of information, but I thought it would be fun to include. When I went out to see if I could find it again the closest I got was that in the olden days people would exhume corpses, see them bloated and ruddy-giving them a "healthful" appearance, and presume them to be a vampire. Because, you know, bloating wasn't something they were used to seeing in decomposition.
And if you have never seen a star sapphire google that AT ONCE. And once you've had your share of pictures go to a jewelry counter at the mall and look at one because pictures can only do so much. The six-pointed star actually moves. It has to do with the way the stone was cut but it is beautiful. For Hinata's ring, I decided to make the overall color of the stone a pale blue rather than traditionally dark so it would match the moonstones.
Thanks for reading!
