Chapter Two: When shit goes down -

„We live in a rainbow of chaos." – Paul Cezanne

When Sakura opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of the infirmary as she was lying on the bed found in the room.

"Finally, you're coming to your senses." A vaguely familiar voice spoke.

Once her vision got less blurry and she deciphered the situation, her eyes shot wide open.

"You - !"

"Dobe, didn't you say Sakura was waiting for us?" Sasuke asked, surprised not to see her by the shoe lockers as Naruto had stated before.

Catching up with his comrade, the blond cocked his head to the side in pure astonishment; the first thing he did was to check his phone for any messages, missed calls but couldn't find any.

"Am I going crazy? –"

"About time you realized it."

Attempting to strangle Sasuke, Naruto let out an irritated noise.

"I swear you're such a bastard! But, did you get any message from Sakura-chan?"

"None."

Naruto walked up ahead and checked her shoe locker, but there was nothing unusual about it and after scanning their surroundings, he turned to the raven haired and suggested that they give her a call, because he wouldn't want to leave without her if she had been waiting for them.

Sasuke calmly dialled her number, but still couldn't shake the sour taste in his throat, the feeling that something was wrong, he'd been having it the whole day.

"I can't reach her."

Naruto scratched his head.

"Do you think she's gone home ahead and her phone just died out? But it's not like we took so long!"

The Uchiha felt like he should give this incident some importance, not only to please the bad feeling he was having but also because it was very unlike the pinkette to be letting her phone run out of batteries without giving some sort of sign. Perhaps someone had stolen her phone? Or maybe she got hypoglycaemia and collapsed?

Hypoglycaemia? But if that had happened, wouldn't Sakura quickly become aware of it and, perhaps, head to the infirmary?

Infirmary.

"Naruto," Sasuke began, turning on his heel, "Let's just go to the infirmary."

Sakura struggled, and pulled, and fought but to no avail. Her limbs were tightly and safely tied to the bed and 2 inches was the most she could muster to move. The man sitting on the chair next to her bed, watching her futile struggle to free herself wore this blank yet satisfied smirk on his quite expressionless face.

"I really should do it, but it's so amusing watching you fight, flower."

In her rage, the roseate shot him a deadly glare and, well, spit on his face. As he wiped it, the smirk wiped itself as well.

"Not a very gentle flower, now are you. I'll let you have it rough then."

His hand reached for her hair and pulled her head upwards, closer to himself as he bent and he licked her neck, and up to her ear before throwing her back down on the bed. Satisfaction was plastered on his face and Sakura could swear he became more vivid.

"Why are you doing this, Sasori?" she hissed between her gritted teeth.

It took her a few moments in the beginning to recognize him, but since she was that close with Uchiha Sasuke, it was only normal to have basic knowledge of Uchiha Itachi's, Sasuke's brother's friends. She'd always found the whole bunch strange, how they'd always look at her somewhat intently and the Haruno wished it was only her imagination, but now she was convinced she had suspected the truth.

"Why are you trying to rape me?"

His finger traced along her neck and down to her cleavage before beastly ripping her shirt and exposing her white bra to him.

"I wouldn't want you to despair, since they didn't tell you anything …"

Sasori removed the belt from his pants and proceeded to unzip them, only to place himself on top of her.

"STOP IT!" she yelled, fervently trying to move.

"I'm not romantic, you know, so I won't kiss you, but – but your fruit is too good to pass in the end."

"YOU DIRTBAG!" and she forced herself to bend her knees and with all her might keep her legs tightly closed.

"It's just too funny how you keep struggling, but what's even funnier is that you were actually named after a flower…"

And the redheaded man forcibly spread her legs open with a brute force Sakura hadn't witnessed before and it caused her such pain that she knew her legs would be completely bruised from the unimaginable pressure. She fought and fought, but couldn't stop the eventual few tears that dripped down her cheek as he ripped off her skirt and pulled off her panties.

"You'll enjoy it … eventually."

Sakura cried and cried, but closed her eyes and still shook fervently from side to side, as hectic as she could. She would not be that weak to give into him, whatever he would do to her. She'd fight, because it was her virginity at stake, it was a girl's virginity at stake – not just that, but also her integrity, and the possible pregnancy that would lead to later on. And for a moment there she thought of Sasuke as she struggled, of the love she bore for him, and of Naruto, and how she cared for him, and how both of her boys would be disappointed that she hadn't put up a tough fight.

She was the top member of the boxing club, she had been taught by the Uchiha basic judo and self-defence moves, she could keep up with him jogging for God's sake! So she rapidly moved from side to side hoping that either the rope would loosen or it would break.

Snap!

She felt the burning pain the hand left after it slapped her face.

"You're going to regret this. I was going to leave you alive once I was done, but I suppose that's not the case anymore."

And he punched her, causing her cheek to redden and the pain stung her. Sakura felt a slight despair raising in her chest, burdening her heart and making her clench her fists, and she pleaded for help, screamed as much as she could and then –

Her prayers were answered.

The door burst open and he, he shot towards them and threw himself on Sasori with such strength that he caused him to fall on the floor with a loud thud, such a strong impact that the nearby furniture piece shook so much that flacons and medicine bottles fell and shattered to pieces of glass.

Sasuke Uchiha continuously punched the redhead that he had managed to catch so off-guard and Uzumaki Naruto was untying her ropes, and for once – they looked so utterly similar. Both wielded that disgusted expression impregnated with the will to murder the villain.

She rejoiced and cried, muffled words coming out her mouth and all the blond could make out was 'don't look at me' and 'thank you'. The Uzumaki freed her and turned to look at his comrade who had successfully beaten Sasori senseless, as he was completely bruised and he had definitely passed out at some point. Whilst not doubting the strength of his friend for a second, Naruto still found it insane how he managed to do it so fast and so strong, that the whole infirmary was wrecked.

Sakura swallowed and hugged herself as she was completely shaking, post-shock symptoms manifesting. The unstoppable tears she was crying blurred her vision and she closed her eyes, gratefulness being the only thing she was feeling, not even the pain the redheaded had caused her.

Before the Uzumaki could do anything however, he witnessed an act that Uchiha Sasuke had never really committed before his eyes, or before anyone's else. He sprung up and pulled her so tightly into his chest that her petite form blended into his large embrace and the only sign you were given that she was there were her cries.

"Naruto… Sasuke-kun…"

The raven haired, whose eyes were tightly shut, stroke her hair gently and internally cursed himself for not arriving there earlier, for not trusting his gut entirely.

"Thank you… Thank you both so much…"

Naruto swallowed and accepted, accepted that he could not interfere between them but also felt genuinely happy – because they, all 3 of them, shared such a deep bond that he decided it wasn't even important that she had not chosen them and he gave them his blessing, entirely.

After a few moments though, he stepped closer to them and sat on the bed as well, and pat her head.

"We're sorry that we allowed this to happen, Sakura-chan…"

The embrace slowly broke and she turned to look at him, eyes bloodshot but lips curled into a relieved smile. She leant forward rapidly and hugged him as well, hands wrapped around his neck shortly before pulling away.

"No, thank you, really. It's a miracle you figured I was here anyway." Her gaze shifted between the both of them.

As she breathed in, a loud snore could be heard and she wiped the last traces of the tears she had been crying.

"I don't know how you guys did it, but I'm so grateful you did."

The turmoil inside Sasuke's chest wasn't lightening, as he felt a mixture of regret, despair, self-hate and hate targeted at the passed out Sasori lying on the floor. His hands were balled into fists but he still looked at her, at the happiness that had come over her when they rescued her.

"Sakura." His lips parted slightly and the deep frown was still on his face.

"Did he…?"

Despite still feeling the shock, she mustered a reassuring smile and shook her head.

"No. You arrived just in time."

Despite not being enough, that did lighten the anger and despair that had overcome him. As he looked her over once more, he became aware of the fact that she wasn't wearing any underwear as she had her legs tightly closed, but she was probably too exhausted to tell them not to look.

He took off his blazer and placed it on her shoulders.

"Naruto," he began, eyes falling to the ground, "Go to the club room. Go get my trousers."

Without further ado, the blond left the room to complete the task assigned to him.

"He hurt you."

Despite the betrayal of her eyebrows and the weakness they showed, she attempted a cocky smile.

"I resisted, and fought. That's why he hit me."

Damn did he feel proud of her.

Waiting for Sakura to return outside of her house, dressed in her own clean clothes, Sasuke shove his hands into his pockets and despaired even more.

"I'm just as angry and desperate as you, Sasuke." Naruto commented. "I don't want to calm down, or to forget about this."

As the pinkette opened the door, the raven haired led the way to his house across the street and as the door opened he felt enraged but thankful he spotted his brother there. Thankful that he could storm right it and grab his collar, slamming him into a wall.

"Mind explaining me what's gotten into your fucking friend?!" his loud yell startled both Sakura and Naruto, but more than that his violent act towards his brother frightened her a bit.

"Sasuke, calm down!" Itachi replied, strongly pushing his little brother away to free himself. "What's wrong?"

In the meantine, Mikoto had also joined them, astonished and worried sick.

"Sasuke, explain yourself! What is wrong with you?" she inquired.

Turning to face her then back to his brother, he shot him the deadliest glare that had been seen of him thus far.

"One of your fuckers, that redhead, tied her in the infirmary and tried to rape her, that's what's wrong!" Sasuke loudly yelled, fists clenched and ready to hit Itachi in his rage.

Whilst understanding his anger and being happy because of the depth of his feelings for her, Sakura shot forward and caught his hand, holding tightly onto it.

"Sasuke-kun, please stop it. Don't…"

And he stopped in his tracks, despairing. Still, he glared at his sibling, blood boiling. The astonishment on Itachi's face spoke rather of betrayal than of disbelief.

"Sasori tried to rape Sakura?"

Mikoto's hands covered her mouth, and she stepped closer, arms stretched towards the pinkette so as to pull her close and soothe her. Her expression showed a painful regret and she settled on holding the pinkette's hands.

Sasuke, not even knowing what response to expect from his brother let alone how he wanted him to respond, gritted his teeth and glared, futilely hoping glares could hurt. Somehow though, during the few moments that Itachi's expression shifted from shock to one of being betrayed and not knowing how to handle the situation or even where to start.

The younger Uchiha, on the other hand, was very attentive to the elder's face, and one seemingly unbelievable thought crossed his mind rapidly, but still, since he was unable to control himself properly, let it slip out of his mouth.

"You're not surprised, you thought this might happen one day."

Sasuke's words threw both Sakura and Naruto off-guard, earning a loud 'huh?!' from the latter as the former cocked her head in both disbelief and confusion.

"How could that be, Sasuke-kun," her gaze slowly shifted to Itachi's, "How could Itachi-san know?"

The said shut his eyes in a calm motion as though he was searching for the right words to expose an ugly truth. Mikoto had let go of Sakura's hands and when her youngest son's eyes landed on her, she was seen bearing the same expression her eldest son did. One of regret, and entirely troubled.

"What is going on?" Sasuke strongly inquired, pushing himself to be as calm and as reasonable as he could be.

"Sasuke, we're so sorry." The mother let out, reaching out for him. Her attempt was however cut off, as he rejected her apologetic sign of affection.

"What is this all about?"

An hour later, the five of them were seated in the living room, Sakura placed between her two friends on the couch and her eyes wandered around. They had all been waiting for the head of the Uchiha family, Uchiha Fugaku to arrive home and when he did, he was not pleased to say the least to hear about the recent course of events.

"Father, tell us what's going on." Sasuke inquired, the strength in his steady voice startling his mother.

Fugaku closed his eyes for brief moments as he crossed his arms, brows furrowing.

"If you lose your temper, I will do what it takes to calm you down." was his reply.

Fearing another outburst of her beloved, Sakura sneakily placed her right hand on top of his left one, as though to ensure him that she was okay and she was there and that was something they had to endure.

"We're not human."

This few words and the impact they had was unimaginable – the three seated on the couched were left wide eyed, in disbelief rather than surprise.

"Not human? Do you think this is some sort of joke, father?"

Itachi gesticulated towards him to stop interrupting, and the importance he seemed to give that statement made Naruto gulp. Just then, knocking could be heard on the door.

"It should be Naruto's parents, I'll go and let them in." Mikoto explained and proceeded.

"Mom and dad?! What do they have to do with this?"

Naruto got up and watched his parents, Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato enter the room, sharing the same troubled expressions as the Uchiha's wore.

"As I was saying," Fugaku sighed, eyes fallen to the floor, "We're not human."

He pointed to a couple empty chairs for the Uzumaki's to sit themselves on.

"For a more proper explanation, there're 3 types of human-like beings in this world."

Sakura blinked finding this sort of premise not only disheartening for some reason but also completely unexpected.

"There're the humans, normal people as all of you believed to be, as you believed every other person to be, then there're the predators, which we are."

"Predators?" Sasuke sneered.

"We're human like, with few differences. Differences in physical strength, couple sensory abilities and other things I will present you shortly. As I was saying, us predators have stronger bodies, both to sicknesses and in brute force, literally and you might have noticed it – how in the past couple of years you've gotten really strong, my son and how, surprisingly," the father's eyes turned from his son's to his blond friend's, "You're the only one that can match him in strength."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other for a couple of seconds before reverting to the head of the Uchiha's.

"Some of our senses are also more developed – our sense of smell is the most important out of them. It is not like that of a dog, but is better developed in the sense that we can determine the nature of those around you just by it. For example, Naruto here has always smelled differently to you, a specific, spicy scent that both his parents had as well, and you felt that, Sasuke. The other way around as well. The girl here however, smells unique, and strongly alike a flower."

Sakura gulped as her subconscious finally let it sink in, let the way Sasori had been calling her back in the infirmary in – flower.

"We predators don't necessarily have a longer life span than your average human, we're not immortal by any means. We don't have a goal in life different to humans, and we do not feed ourselves differently – you've been living like normal humans for your entire life, so you know you're not very peculiar. What is specific to us and what makes us call ourselves predators is how we can take life energy from the third type of human-like beings found in this world."

"Life energy?" Sakura murmured, feeling unpleasant saying that.

Fugaku only nodded his head.

"Life energy, or chakra, is the energy found within the body, the soul if you want. Normal humans have weak life energy which makes us unable to consume it, and as to us predators, our life energy depends on our kind. Predators can be saviours and killers."

At the sound of the word killers, Sakura shifted in her seat, following by a gulp from Naruto. Sasuke, however, was as still as dead, icy cold as well.

"Saviours, as the Uzumaki clan here, can consume life energy from others but also give back to the ones they take it from at the same time. Their blood can heal if drunk, with a mediocre effect. The killers, on the other hand do the exact opposite – they take, or steal this chakra, even more than a saviour. Their blood is usually known to be strong poison depending on the quantity. They can't heal others but they are usually physically superior, both in strength and senses. The Uchiha clan has been known for centuries for being the strongest killers dynasty. We're no exception."

Processing the newly offered information, Sakura raised her hand as to ask for permission to speak, which she was rewarded with.

"And the third type of human-like creature, sir? What is it?"

The lack of light in her features told Fugaku that she had already predicted the answer.

"You seem to have found the answer. Since there are predators, there should be prey as well. And that is exactly what you are."

The Haruno felt shivers running down her spine and despite knowing that nor Sasuke nor his family were dangerous, she couldn't help anxiety pilling up in her chest.

"The preys are beings with very strong life energy, and possess a lot of it. Generally, they are harmless, or as harmless as normal humans could be. What is different about them is their smell, that allows any predator to spot them and depending on the intensity of their scent, possibly determine whether or not it's a stronger prey, meaning has more and better quality chakra for the predator to steal. You, are a very unique, very strong type of prey – the most rare. For as long as we have existed, there have been very few preys of this kind, as in one per decades even."

Hearing these last words, Sasuke grew restless, unable to hold himself back from asking the most important question at hand.

"How do predators take life energy from preys?"

For a moment there, Fugaku seemed disgusted.

"Through physical contact, or rather pleasure. Sharing kisses anywhere on the body but most importantly on the lips, caresses, embraces, skin contact, but the supreme of all is the sexual contact itself. Chakra is exchanged by doing these said things, and as I have said, depending on the type of predator, either both parties get each other's life energy within their bodies or the killers steal it from their prey."

Uchiha Mikoto had long since joined her husband, holding onto his arm and caressing it now and then, she watched her son's and his friends' expressions shift from surprise to confusion and back to fear and ultimately to an embarrassed understanding of her husband's words.

"So, why didn't you tell us, why didn't you tell Naruto and I?" Sasuke stood himself and his voice slowly but steadily rose. He felt his self-control running out and considering what had just been explained to him, he felt it was justified to spat himself at them.

"What were you thinking, keeping this all a secret, and whilst there apparently was such an important prey in our lives?"

"We concluded that you weren't born predators, the both of you. For one to be born as a predator, you need to inherit this – meaning, if one of your parents is a normal human, a normal human could easily be born. That's the effect the weak life energy of humans has on the descendants in a family."

Naruto, who had been silent all along, but still deeply affected by this hidden truth, eyed both of his parents and bit his lip.

"So, one of you is normal?"

Kushina let go of her husband's hand and stepped closer to her son.

"Your father is a prey. I, on the other hand, am the heiress of the Uzumaki clan, the most powerful saviours clan."

"So, otou-chan was a prey?!" it was Naruto's turn to sprung up, but unlike Sasuke, the blond was utterly surprised.

"Yes," Kushina nodded, reaching for her son's hand, "He was a pretty strong prey."

Thus, it was concluded that if between two predators a child was born, it would only be of the same nature, whereas if between a prey or normal human and a predator, the child born between the two could either be normal or necessarily a predator. Apparently, preys did not have a chance to manifest their nature in the lineage.

"I suppose mother is a normal human." Sasuke mustered the patience to talk as calmly as possible.

A nod.

"And you thought we wouldn't turn out to be the way you are."

Another nod.

"And you thought this was acceptable, even so? To hide it from us even though we had the right to know, and," his hand pointed to the still seated Sakura, "Leave her unprotected?! What is wrong with you?"

Fugaku's features sharpened as he silently forced Sasuke to sit back down and control himself. However, disappointment could be read in the pain swimming in his dark orbs. Disappointment in himself, most likely.

"We took what measures we could to protect you. If you're not a predator, you should not have to deal with this."

"Why?! Maybe it would've been expected when there was no one vulnerable in our lives, but since that was obviously not the case – " the son stopped amidst his sentence, and closed his eyes, "Father. You stated that our blood has different effects if drunk. Since mine should be poisoning the one who drinks it and Naruto somewhat healing, I suppose Sakura's is what? Some elixir that makes you immortal?"

To be completely honest, as her beloved spoke those words, Sakura's knees had weakened and she pleaded the heavens if there were any that no one saw her slightly trembling as she had deducted the answer to that question.

"While it doesn't make you immortal, the blood of a prey, or their virginity can expand one's life span and heal their wounds. To what extent, it depends on the strength of the prey. Hers particularly is very potent – it could give you up to 50 years and entirely heal and rejuvenate you."

Sasuke swallowed and let his gaze wander around the room to help him defocus from his rage and process the information. Apart from the disgust that he felt, his heartstrings pulled strongly when he thought of the pinkette and the situation she was in.

"So, you mean to say that you hid all this from me," and everyone went wide eyed when the seeing the fierce look and the peculiar colour in his own orbs, "Fully knowing that she could be kidnapped and depending on the predator raped or killed at the same time?"

That was more than he could handle, and the next moment, much to everyone's surprise, Sasuke had leapt forward and whilst grabbing his collar, slammed his father on the wall. Anger was no longer the word to describe the bitter taste this betrayal left in his mouth. It had a lot to do with Sakura, and how they threatened her safety, but it was also the fact that had things not gone the way they had he would have been left out on the family's secrets.

And just as rapid as Sasuke was to corner his father, so was Itachi in separating the two and holding his brother into place until he no longer struggled.

"The sharingan. It seems you've just awakened it." Fugaku muttered, between coughs caused by the lack of air he'd been exposed to by his son.

"Sharingan?" Sakura inquired in a low voice.

"Predators possess particular abilities, depending on the family they belong to. Us Uchiha's can awaken the sharingan if strong enough. It is an ability that manifests by offering the user a greater and sharper eyesight to the point where you can clearly see up to 50 metres, and you're able to see the strength of others' life energy and even predict their movements. It is also a feature that allows you to entice and lure prey without their awareness. The irises of the users of sharingan turn to crimson and have black comma shaped dots spiralling."

Closely listening to his father's explanation, Sasuke instinctively turned to look in the closest mirror and his brows furrowed. His eyes, as the elder had said, were crimson red, bloody even and they looked fierce. He felt as though it was not his reflection there, it was not the Uchiha Sasuke he had grown to be but some starving, bastardly animal. His gaze slowly and fearfully turned to Sakura, whom was still seated and much to his surprise and relief, she did not express any fear, nor was she seduced.

Her soft features spoke of surprise and acknowledgement, and it relieved him – he was still the same Uchiha Sasuke to her, even with eyes of that inhuman colour. His orbs fell on Naruto next and he became aware of the fact that he could literally see their aura and the strength of it – Naruto's aura was a bright yellow that many would describe as comforting, and so was his mother's. Minato's, on the other hand, was a soft blue, quite faint but not really and it really gave him a rejuvenating feeling; so, he looking back at Sakura, whose much stronger blue aura he had one way or another overlooked.

The strongest prey, he recalled.

His eyes finally falling on his family, the family he had cherished so much, he felt betrayed, betrayed by his own apparent nature – their auras, except for his mother whom had none, were black, but Itachi's was more proemiment, meaning he was stronger, perhaps? Feeling compelled to look into the mirror once more, Sasuke felt disgusted at himself.

His aura was truly pitch black.

"We're scum." He found himself murmuring.

"Indeed," and for once the son found support in his father's expression, "But we can't change who we are. We can live without taking life energy however."

After another few seconds of silence, Sakura sat herself up at last.

"Fugaku-san."

All eyes were on her.

"Or, rather, Itachi-san. Puppetry. Puppetry is Sasori's abilities, or something of the sort, am I right?"

The eldest son felt purely amazed at how fast she had been gluing the puzzle pieces back together and, with a gentle smile, nodded.

"That's correct. Even though it's more like a long-distance hypnosis, with a lot of room for error."

"What do you mean?" the Haruno inquired.

"He doesn't need contact to make his victims follow his orders, nor does he need to be really close. He only needs to be able to sense your chakra, and for you to be weaker in that moment, or weakened over time. Then, without any sort of reason, the victim will feel the urge to do what he had implanted in their mind to do."

Sakura pounded her open hand with her fist, as to mimic that she had come to the realisation of an important matter.

"Which was to compel me to head for the infirmary. Due to some reason, I had been absentminded for the entire day and, while waiting for Naruto and Sasuke-kun by the shoe lockers, I suddenly felt that I had to head for the infirmary."

The mention of Sasori and his specific ability as a predator reminded Sasuke of why he had been so angry in the first place.

"Now that that's cleared, tell me nii-san, how could you befriend such predators, knowing that they couldn't be trusted?!"

Seeing the now bitter look on Itachi's face, Sakura wished Sasuke hadn't been so harsh on him.

"I didn't befriend them, I made a pact. That was my only way of protecting Sakura, even if poorly."

The little brother's balled fist dropped and muscles loosening, his hand swung parallel to his hips.

"I traded my services for their agreement on not touching her. And because Sasori couldn't help himself anymore, he broke it and thus became our enemy."

"Services?"

Fugaku turned to faced Sasuke head on and the latter could not decipher what the former was thinking of.

"Itachi has been giving this group of predators, the Akatsuki, that you always believed to be his friends his blood on a regular basis to serve as poison. As I have said before, the Uchiha blood is a very strong poison, and judging by the quantity they have accumulated, they have enough to poison an army."

A glare.

"They won't be getting any anymore. We can defend ourselves and Sakura as well. They betrayed the pact."

The room fell into an awkward silence, but not for long – the pinkette hadn't had all of her questions answered yet.

"I understand why I'm being targeted," she began, "But I don't understand why I'm being targeted that badly."

Fugaku only sighed in response, and much to everyone's surprise, for the first time, Minato spoke up.

"As a fellow prey, I believe I can answer most of your questions." He smiled gently, sending off a much more comforting vibe.

"Then, Minato-san, please tell me. Please tell me everything."

A nod of agreement.

"Another important thing to us predators and prey is our age, or so to say initiation. You can be of either nature but, when you reach your 18th birthday, your development takes a turn. For a prey, that's when you reach your climax, your full potential. If you are to be claimed, or stripped of your virginity on that day, you will give your partner most of your life energy granting them strength to the point where any other virgin predator can't even hope to equal yours. However, a prey is to die shortly after their 18th birthday if not claimed, and usually death comes about 1-2 weeks after the said date."

Things are getting really serious, Sakura thought to herself and gulped.

"With predators on the other hand, they can live up to 30 years at most without claiming any sort of prey. They grow weaker and weaker and age much faster as time goes by from their 18th birthday. If they do claim someone however, they can lead a normal life without the need to prey on another victim. The unfortunate thing with most predators is that barely anyone settles with just one victim. As you might have guessed, the more preys, the more strength you get."

"Another thing, Minato-san," she rose her finger, "The quality of a prey."

"Ah, yes. While those of the potential I possessed can be claimed repeatedly, it would take over a hundred of victims on their peak of potential to equal you as you are right now."

She felt her knees weaken at how bad things looked and if not for Naruto now holding onto her arm, Sakura would've crashed.

"B-but, what am I? How come I can be this valuable?"

"Shinseina hana, that is the proper term for the type of prey you are. And in the case this wasn't explained before, preys occur randomly. As long as none of the parents is a predator, any child born can be a prey. We do not know enough about that as of yet."

Sacred flower, Sakura thought. That's what these people or whatever they wore referred to her as apparently. The whole explanation process stirred up her insides and the fact that she was being hunted to be either raped or killed brought to a critical point.

"It's getting quite late," Itachi gazed out the window and softly spoke, "maybe you should go home, rest and meditate on all this."

"One last question," the Haruno pushed, "please."

Mikoto nodded understandingly.

"Which is better for the predator – taking the virginity of their prey or killing them?"

Having kept quiet because of how grim this whole situation had turned out to be, Kushina no longer felt comfortable.

"Since life energy is a spiritual thing," the redhead began, "Drinking the blood of the prey could be seen as a violation, you know? It offers you great strength, and it can only be rivalled and surpassed by sexual contact, but it's for a limited period of time. You would need to kill 10 average preys to get the same amount and quality of chakra of 2 whom you've claimed. So, sexual contact is usually preferred."

Naruto gave out a dry chuckle.

"So much for us being innocent children that don't think about sleeping together."

Shinseina Hana = sacred flower (I hope that's correct at least)

Hey guys! As promised, here is the second chapter to this story and although this might not be all romantic and all, it is packed with explanations that might or might not be readdressed later. I hope you guys enjoy this so far!

Also, if there are any things that aren't clear you can ask, but most things that I've left hidden were left like that on purpose, so who knows if I can give out the answer! ;)

Please review and tell me what you think of it so far, and thanks to all of you that were so kind to review and follow this story :3

/Ella