DISCLAIMER: Even though I desperately wished I did – I do not own 'Naruto' or 'Naruto: Shippuden'. If they were real, Naruto would be my best friend and Sasuke would be mine! Hell yeah!

PAIRINGS: SasuNaru (primary pairing), AkuSasu (secondary pairing/forced relationship), SaiSaku

A/N: No flames or mean comments, please. Saying 'No offence' only intensifies the offence felt.

THEME SONG: (I Hate) Everything About You – Three Days Grace.


WALKING THROUGH FIRE

"Do you believe in destiny?
That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose?
That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds true love?"

~ Count Dracula (Bram Stoker's Dracula)

NARUTO'S P.O.V

I woke up at roughly noon lying on the wooden floor of my Apartment, feeling shaken with the beginnings of a throbbing headache forming just above my left eyebrow. I groaned, rubbing that place and peeled myself off the floor, stumbling drunkenly to my bathroom to wash away the strange dream I had had the night before.

That Ramen must have been expired. Next time, I check the expiry date before chowing down...

I thought angrily to myself for such a dumb move. As I stripped down and stepped into the shower, I absently lathered up with the soap and started going over in my head what I was planning on doing for my day off. My eyes grew heavy and as they closed, my dream started drifting through my head again.

Eyes that felt so real burning into the back of my head...

I blinked.

Obsidian black eyes, which were for a split second blood red, then so full of life and sadness – like he was regretting what he was doing – a smirk? – no wait, was it really a smirk? It looked more like a smile, hesitant? Friendly?... filled with a hidden promise that everything would be alright... icy, glacier-like hands holding me in a vice-like grip... soft, spoken words...lips barely making contact with my skin then something, sharp?

I jolted awake, shaking wet hair from my eyes. I shrugged and continued making myself clean.

As I reached the pulse point of my neck, I suddenly winced in pain and jerked away the bar of soap – instantly seeing a red stain on the porcelain white.

Eh? What's this?

I reached up and touched where the soap had just been. Pulling my hand away and staring at my fingertips, I noticed that there was red on my fingers, and now a stinging sensation was ripping across my neck. Immediately, I shut off the water, pushed aside the shower curtain and headed for the mirror. Wiping away the condensation and examining my neck, I instantly froze – two slight puncture marks, that shouldn't have been there, were visible. My eyes widened and I looked back down at my fingers realising exactly what the red was:

My blood...

Instantly, the events of last night flooded my brain and I yelled out in horror, realising that it wasn't some fucked up dream I just had.

Two solid thuds on my bathroom door bought me back to reality.

"Naruto? Are you alright?"

It was Sakura.

I could barely breathe. I was shaking so hard as I remembered with distaste when Sasuke had just barely broken the skin on my neck with his fangs while I was struggling to free myself from his restraining grip.

"Naruto? Are you ignoring me?"

I shook my head no.

"Answer me, you baka!"

Sakura's voice was pitchy, I hadn't answered her yet and she thought I was being rude. Somehow, I managed to wrap a towel around myself, then sunk down into the foetal position rocking slowly back and forth as she broke down the door. She stared down at me with a thoroughly annoyed expression on her face, her bright green eyes flashing with rage until she realised that something was very wrong – I had temporarily become catatonic with the shock of what Sasuke had done to me.

Panic began to raise its head.

"Naruto!"

She crouched down to my side and started shaking me. I stared without seeing. Sakura went into 'medical-nin mode' and pulled me to my feet, leading me out of the bathroom, seating me down on my bed, and beginning an inspection to find out what was wrong.

"Naruto? Where did this blood come from?" she asked.

I silently turned my head, showing her my neck and heard her gasp in horror when she saw the puncture marks.

"Oh Kami! Naruto, you need Lady Tsunade. She'll know what to do."

I looked at her.

"What can she do?" I whispered, standing up and moving away.

Sakura looked at me in disbelief.

"Naruto, you've obviously been bitten by the Vampire Uchiha! I have no idea what to do now. A vampire bite is supposed to be poisonous."

I winced, remembering what had happened. Noticing this, she pulled me into a hug in an effort to try and reassure me.

"Don't worry, Naruto. Everything will be fine."

I nodded into her hair still shaking with fear but somehow reassured. Releasing me from her embrace, she led me to my chest of drawers.

"Hurry! Get dressed. We need to get to Lady Tsunade before things get worse!"

I stared after Sakura as she left my room and then with some effort started to dress myself as best I could.


I felt like I was observing my own body from above with a feeling of helplessness as Sakura led me through the village towards the Hokage's office. The sight of a 5'5 kunoichi supporting a 5'10 rag-doll ninja, must have looked really weird, but the glares and curious glances from those along the route were the furtherest thing from my mind. There would be time enough for an explanation should our expedition be successful and although I knew most wouldn't care whether I died or not, something pushed me on.

The entrance to the Hokage's office came into view and Shizune, Baa-chan's assistant, came out holding a bundle of important looking documents in one hand and Tonton under her arm.

"Shizune-san!"

Sakura groaned in frustration as she shifted most of my weight off her shoulder. Shizune looked up giving Sakura and I a fleeting glance which quickly narrowed into a look of concern as I watched her 'medical-nin' instincts kick in when she saw my slightly lethargic condition.

"Naruto?"

Shizune came over to us.

"What happened?"

"We need to speak to Lady Tsunade, please. It's important." requested Sakura, calmly, even though I could feel her shaking with worry.

I sighed. Shizune nodded.

"Of course. Follow me."

She turned and walked at a brisk pace towards the Hokage's office with Sakura and I hot at her heels.

"Wait here for a moment." She requested.

Sakura and I nodded as Shizune shifted Tonton more securely underneath her arm and knocked on the heavy wooden door.

"Come." came Tsunade's tired, bored voice.

Shizune stepped in and addressed Tsunade.

"Sorry to disturb you m'lady. But Sakura and Naruto are here to see you."

"Send them in please."

Shizune popped her head back out the door and gestured for us to come in. The moment we stepped through the threshold, the air in the room grew tense. The tension radiating from Tsunade as her sharp golden-amber eyes took in the state I was in.

"What the hell happened to you, gaki?" demanded Tsunade, rising from her seat and coming over to help Sakura bring me in.

"I...uh?"

"Naruto was bitten by the Vampire Uchiha." Sakura answered for me before I could get my sentence out and pushed me down into the chair opposite Baa-chan's desk.

I glared at her.

"I haven't lost the ability to speak, Sakura. I can still talk."

Tsunade's hands balled into fists, ignoring my complaining, as she towered over me.

"What? Show me!"

I unzipped my jacket and turned my head, exposing my neck, showing her the puncture marks. Tsunade's warm, calloused fingers brushed across the wound, causing me wince as she examined the damage.

"Ah, thank Kami, it's just a scratch." she murmured.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Then yelled out in pain when a fist collided with the top of my head.

"Ow! Hey!"

I growled, but faltered when I saw the pissed off glare from Tsunade and the shocked expression on Sakura's face – apparently even she disapproved of Tsunade bashing me over the head.

"That's for not heeding my warning, brat."

"Woah, wait a second! I didn't plan for this to happen you know. HE sought me out. Not the other way round!"

Tsunade returned to her desk and surveyed me over her interlinked fingers.

"Well, at least he didn't do anything else other than scratch you with his fangs."

I nodded and moved to get up, but then I immediately felt dizzy and collapsed on the chair again, alarming everyone.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sakura, crouching to my side and doing things like checking my temperature and pulse.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?"

"To be honest, I feel like crap and I'm really confused."

I brushed Sakura's helping hands aside as Tsunade frowned slightly and studied me for a few more minutes.

"It seems to me that for me to give you treatment, I need an accurate account of what occurred last night."

I paled at the prospect of reliving my encounter with Sasuke in my apartment.

"From the both of you."

Tsunade pointed a well-manicured finger at a surprised Sakura as well. I felt like a cornered puppy as Sakura and I exchanged glances before answering our Hokage's question. Including Sakura in our explanation meant that Tsunade wanted to know everything, soup to nuts.

My headache was getting worse and I groaned in frustration and put my head in my hands.

"I know it's hard for you to do this, Naruto. But it's essential—"

"It's not that."

I politely interrupted.

"It's just...I've got this headache and it's pissing me off..."

Sakura placed her cool hands on my neck and forehead and it seemed to dull the pain a bit. I hummed gratefully and closed my eyes, laying my head against Sakura's shoulder.

"Well, it was after we got back from our escort mission-"

Sakura began the tale.
But before she could say anything else, another member of our team came in through the window behind Tsunade's desk.

"I heard Naruto was attacked."

I cracked open one eye to see Kakashi-sensai perched on the window ceil and fixing me with a concerned eye.

"How?" I asked irritably.

Kakashi shrugged, stepping into the room.

"I have my sources."

A soft pop was heard just outside the window. It was a bunshin clone dissipating. I rolled my eyes and winced forgetting my headache.

"Please continue, Sakura."

Tsunade's patience was ebbing away rapidly. Sakura nodded.

"Naruto temporarily left Sai and I to go home and get his stupid frog purse and told us that he'd meet us at the restaurant we were meeting Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata and Chouji at for dinner."

Tsunade nodded.

"When he got there, I realised he looked kinda distracted."

I opened my eyes to find suspicious glances looking at me. I sat up from my perch.

"Why were you distracted, Naruto?"

Tsunade asked me pleasantly. I thought back to why I was sitting on my Apartment roof and immediately felt like brooding again. That stupid castle just seemed really outta place. And for the millionth time, Sasuke's face appeared in my head.

I flinched.

"I was checking out this freaky looking castle from the roof of my Apartment. I was curious about why I hadn't seen it before."

I admitted.

"Continue." Tsunade stared pointedly at Sakura and I, waiting for one of us to take the reins and continue the explanation.

"Then as we were going home, we were stopped by the ANBU guards, who told us that you were going to be giving us a speech. Naruto was being rude as usual-"

"Oi!"

Sakura smirked at me.

"-and complaining as usual about how we weren't children and that we could take care of ourselves."

"You're trying to get me killed aren't you, Sakura?"

Tsunade growled at me.

"Unless you have something constructive to add to this explanation, Naruto, please shut up."

I mimed pulling a zipper across my lips.

"Then Naruto started acting paranoid and looking around himself. He started telling Sai and I that he felt like he was being watched."

I decided to step in and continue the story because everything that Tsunade needed to know was pretty much what had happened at my Apartment.

"I was being watched by Sasuke."

Four pairs of eyes blinked at me in confusion.

"Who's Sasuke, Naruto?"

Sakura must have seemed disturbed by how soft and afraid my voice sounded, because I suddenly found myself being held tenderly in my teammate's arms.

"That's the Vampire Uchiha's real name. He asked me to call him that when he followed me back to my Apartment."

Sakura gasped in horror.

"So, we've finally got a name for that bloodsucker."

Tsunade smirked at Kakashi and Shizune triumphantly. Sakura and I stared at the older ninja incredulously.

"Uh? Hello? Are we forgetting that he stalked me back to my Apartment?"

I reminded them, feeling ignored for some reason.

"Yes sorry, Naruto. I apologise. It's just that you've given us the final piece of information we needed to identify him. The only thing we had on him was his last name. And believe it or not, there were a lot of members in the Uchiha clan."

Tsunade looked like she really needed a strong drink. I thought I saw her sneak longing glances towards her desk drawer, but a sharp look from Shizune stopped her in her tracks.

"Please continue, Naruto. You're doing extremely well." Kakashi beamed at me.

I threw him a dubious look. I always knew my teacher was weird, because of the 'Icha Icha Paradise' books of Jiraiya-sensai's he liked to read constantly. But this outburst took the cake completely. All I was doing was recapping an event in my life that I was not likely to forget in a hurry.

"Uh... right? Anyway, I went home and fixed myself some Ramen and headed for the bathroom for a moment before coming back out and starting to eat. Then he came out of the shadows without any warning and caused me to choke on my Ramen."

"I see. What did 'Sasuke' do next?"

I shuddered openly.

"That was the freaky bit. He was... I dunno... trying to seduce me?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Seduce you? Explain."

I pulled a mortified face. Tsunade smiled kindly at me and I felt a warm hand descending onto my shoulder. I looked up and saw Kakashi-sensai who was smiling down at me and was obviously trying to give me support.

"I understand that this is a topic that you'd rather ignore completely, Naruto, but if we're going to help you and protect you, we need all the facts."

I nodded again and drew in a deep breath before sifting through the freaky memories.

"He didn't try anything straight away. First, he greeted me and called me by my first name – which scared the shit out of me, cause I hadn't met the teme before, and then he took a step towards me."

Sakura tightened her grip on my shoulders.

"I told him to keep the hell away from me and I reached for a kunai for defense."

"Oooh. Bad move."

Kakashi frowned as he reprimanded me. Sakura reacted in her usual way.

"You idiot!"

"You never make any sudden movements around Vampires, Naruto. It leaves you open for attack."

Thank You, Captain Obvious...

I scowled at everybody.

"Yeah. I found that part out the hard way after I told him to fuck off."

Sakura's scowl changed to concern.

"He bit you then?"

I shook my head.

"Not right away. He came at me and slammed me up against the wall and pinned my wrists over my head. Then leaned in really close to my face."

I instantly pictured his black eyes staring deeply into mine. My stomach flipped again as I remembered watching them smoulder and taking in the fear I knew was all over my face. I remembered feeling his sweet breath saturating every pore on my face and a small smile crept across. Though, I was sure nobody noticed this.

"He said something about 'not threatening him with a good time' and then he asked me to call him 'Sasuke'."

I heard a giggle escape from Sakura and I turned to see that she had flushed bright red, and I thought I heard her whisper 'Yaoi' under her breath.

I glared at her.

"What's so funny, Sakura-chan?"

I looked around at the other faces and saw that Kakashi had an evil, mischievous smirk (I think it was a smirk – I can't tell underneath his stupid mask) while Tsunade had her head in her hand and was shaking her head exasperatedly at how Sakura and Kakashi were reacting.

"What's the gag?"

I insisted and Tsunade waved a dismissive hand at me.

"It's not important, Naruto. You'll understand soon enough."

"Understand what?"

Sakura gaped at me.

"Kami, you're so naïve, Naruto!"

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, Sakura. In fact, it can be quite endearing."

Tsunade and Kakashi smiled fondly at me and my supposed naiveness. I suddenly felt exposed again.

"Stop that! You're making me feel awkward."

I complained. Sakura giggled again and hugged me to the point that my eyeballs threatened to pop from my eye-sockets.

"Sorry, Naruto. Please continue."

I opened my mouth to speak again, but then the weirdest thing happened. A large black raven suddenly flew into the office and perched itself on my knee.

Everybody sweat-dropped at the same time.

"Okay. That was weird." Sakura voiced everybody's thoughts.

No kidding...

I thought sarcastically. Kakashi went to move the bird from my knee but the raven suddenly dug its talons into my knee – refusing to let go. I roared with pain and glared corrosively at the stupid bird and felt my breath hitch when I looked into its eyes.

Very, very familiar eyes.

Gulp...

"How strange. I don't believe the bird wants to leave Naruto. I wonder why that is?"

Kakashi crouched down in front of my leg and studied the raven curiously. The bird flexed its talons again.

"Stop freaking the damn bird out!"

I snarled, curling my hands into fists to stop myself from striking out.

"Well, the bird isn't doing Naruto any serious harm, so if we can get back to Naruto's explanation?"

We nodded and Kakashi straightened up again.

"Actually, apart from Sasuke scratching my neck with his teeth. Nothing else really happened."

Not entirely true, but we already know what happened next and I didn't want to embarrass myself more by going into what Sasuke was doing to my body.

It seemed too personal.

Tsunade frowned at me, studying my face. She wasn't fooled. She knew that I had more to say. I blushed and looked away.

"Would everybody please leave Naruto and I alone for a moment."

Tsunade suddenly said, quietly. Sakura looked at her in surprise, while I stared with apprehension.

"But-"

"Now!"

Sakura immediately got to her feet, squeezed my shoulder for support before leaving the room with Shizune. Kakashi went to follow them but was stopped by Tsunade.

"Kakashi, can you stay please."

Kakashi frowned but nodded and remained where he stood.

"Now that everybody has gone-"

Tsunade's eyes glared into mine with a fierce but loving intensity.

"-tell me EVERYTHING."

I hesitated, looking between them, catching Kakashi's eye. Kakashi's face softened and he nodded at me with a gesture that said 'c'mon mate, you can trust us'.

I sighed heavily and started to reveal the embarrassing truth.

"Well...OW!"

Kakashi noticed me wince and realised with some distress now who the bird was. But chose to remain silent waiting for the opportunity to act. I tried again, this time the talons dug deeper into the muscle of my thigh but I breathed through the pain and continued on revealing all.

Baa-chan looked thoughtfully at the table in front of her for a moment and then stood up. At that moment the raven's grip on my leg released and the bird flew to the top of a nearby bookshelf, where it could survey the situation more clearly to plot its next move. Tsunade moved silently to a hidden compartment on the other side of the room and took out a bottle containing a greeny-grey liquid and came over to me.

Placing the bottle on the desk, she paid close attention to my leg attending to the wound that was present with her healing chakra. Once my leg was healed, Tsunade then reached for the bottle and handed it to me.

"Drink this." Tsunade instructed.

I obeyed and pulled a face at the bitter taste that appeared in my mouth. Tsunade then moved towards the door and opened it.

"Sakura, you can come back now."

Sakura came back in, and noticing my torn pants, her eyes widened and she gasped.

"Sakura. I want you and Kakashi to accompany Naruto back to his Apartment. Under NO circumstances is he to be left alone until I say so. Am I clear?"

Both Sakura and Kakashi nodded.

Rising, Kakashi came over to my side and helped me to my feet. My eyes met Baa-chan and I smiled gratefully as she nodded in acknowledgement. We moved slowly to the door and were gone.


"Naruto? May I have your keys please?"

I fumbled around in my pocket and producing the keys, handed them to Kakashi who opened the door...