Chapter 6
The corridors were dark and quiet as Sasuke led Sakura to her new room. The main Uchiha house seemed large and eerily empty to her. Her footsteps seemed to echo unnaturally loudly, disrupting the silence, while Sasuke's made no sound at all. Silver-green light streamed in through the uncurtained windows so Sakura wasn't completely blind and it was easy enough to see where she was going. Sasuke didn't seem to have this problem so she kept close to him and followed his lead.
Sakura thought back to when she had arrived at her new, indefinite, home as they walked, Sasuke carrying the last box of her belongings from her old apartment. Only his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, had met them at the gates, dressed in white lace with Sasuke's sharp, obsidian eyes and the same raven-black hair.
"You must please forgive my husband and eldest. I'm sure they would have loved to be here to welcome you, but alas, they are in a meeting. Family affairs," Mikoto smiled gently, the smile of a mother, and Sakura heard Sasuke snort discreetly. Mikoto walked forward and took Sakura's hands gently into her own, cold, but the gesture was warm. "It's lovely to meet you, Sakura." The woman beamed, her dark eyes bright, and Sakura couldn't help but smile back.
Sasuke stopped outside a door at the end of the corridor and disappeared inside; Sakura followed and froze in place. The room was beautiful, open and airy and lit by the same pale-green light from the corridor, a gentle wind blew in from the open windows and Sakura had never been in the presence of such luxury before. The walls were painted a pale blue, the floors covered by dark carpets.
Her belongings, still in their boxes, sat in the corner beside an intricate, antique dresser made from dark wood and the rest of the furnishings were made from the same wood, polished and unmarred. Sakura's eyes were drawn to the large double bed leaning against the wall to the left of the room, piled high with blankets and pillows. She fought the urge to just fall on it and let sleep take her.
"This is my room?" She asked in awe and Sasuke nodded and set the box down against the wall beside her. Sakura could see the faint dark lines under his eyes, but Sasuke hid his exhaustion well.
"You're tired, Sasuke," she said, feeling exhausted herself and reaching up to touch a cold cheek. He shrugged. "It's 6am. Most vampires go to sleep round about now."
"Then why don't you?" She asked, watching his face closely. He pulled her to him gently and his voice became muffled by her hair. "Will you be alright on your own?" Sakura nodded, more enthusiastically then she felt. "Of course."
"Hn," his voice was sceptical but Sakura knew he was too tired to argue and pushed him towards the door. "Don't make me make you sleep," she said mock-threateningly before giggling and leaning tiredly against the doorframe. "I mean it though. I'll be fine." Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned in to press his lips gently against hers; sending electricity through her veins but it faded when he pulled away and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Sakura."
"I think you mean good morning," she giggled but he was already gone.
Sakura yawned as she changed into the oversized, white tank top she always slept in with a pair of loose, indigo gym shorts and fell into bed. No bed she had slept in had ever been this comfortable and she closed her eyes and drifted off.
xxxxxxx
"Good," Tsunade said as she finished inspecting Sakura, "You're both dressed for combat." Sakura looked down at her attire. Black shorts, black tank top, and her black combat boots. Sasuke was dressed in a black hoodie that had had the sleeves cut off to the shoulder and exposed his muscle toned arms, with dark jeans and black sneakers but Sakura doubted vampires needed to 'dress for combat'.
"If you don't mind me asking, Lady Tsunade, but why do I even need combat training?" Sakura asked and Tsunade eyed her wearily and sighed, glancing at Sasuke. "I know Sasuke Uchiha has already told you the reason why," Sasuke nodded and Tsunade looked at Sakura seriously. "We are at war, Sakura and you are the only human, as far as I know, that has known of our existence after the last one was killed in the twentieth century. You will be targeted." Sakura shivered at the thought and Tsunade continued. "That is why I had you stay here. It's too dangerous up on the surface now that word has spread of your existence."
Sakura nodded, feeling suddenly cold, and bowed her head. "I understand, Lady Tsunade."
"Good," the Hokage said shortly, heading towards the door at a brisk pace. "Come."
Tsunade led them to a large clearing covered by dark, emerald-green grass, and surrounded by very tall trees, to Sakura's astonishment. A training ground.
"How did you manage to grow plants down here?" She asked Sasuke in amazement and he pointed to the ceiling high above them. "The crystals radiate sunlight from the surface, but in a way that doesn't harm us." Sakura couldn't help but stare wide-eyed as Tsunade led them to the centre of the training ground. The Hokage turned to Sakura. "You will need to get stronger first if you want to survive. You will fight Sasuke."
Sakura felt her stomach drop and saw Sasuke blink with surprise. Putting her against Sasuke would be the same as putting her against a giant bear, or a lion, or a dinosaur.
"Um, is that safe?" she stuttered, feeling her body begin to tremble. Tsunade snarled and bared her fangs viciously, her eyes flashing. "This is exactly the kind of weakness we need to eliminate!" she barked and the sound of the Hokage's growl brought goose bumps to Sakura's arms and legs. It had to have been one of the most terrifying and threatening sounds she had ever heard in her life. This is why she's the Hokage, she thought dryly.
Sasuke gently took her hand and pressed his lips to it. "You know I would never harm you." Tsunade put her hands on her hips and narrowed her translucent, golden eyes dangerously. "Would you rather fight me instead?" Sakura shook her head quickly and grabbed Sasuke's arm. "Sasuke's fine." Sasuke chuckled and Tsunade smirked. "Excellent. Let us begin."
xxxxxxx
"Sakura, duck!" Tenten shouted and Sakura did, her head narrowly missing Sasuke's fist.
"Good!" Tsunade shouted, "Now do it again!"
Tenten, Kiba and Hinata cheered while Neji watched the fight with interest from the edge of the clearing as Tsunade barked out commands. They had arrived twenty minutes into the fight, which really only involved Sasuke trying to touch her while she evaded his attacks more fluidly and gracefully than her friends had anticipated.
Sakura knew that she had been faster and more agile than Tsunade and Sasuke had expected, but still not even nearly as fast as Sasuke was, as well as her endurance and stamina being higher than an average human's. Thank you contemporary and gymnastics,
It was already forty minutes into the fight and she wasn't collapsing from exhaustion yet, but Sakura did notice that almost every inch of her body was coated with sweat, something that Sasuke lacked to her annoyance. Don't vampires tire out? she panted as she arched her back backwards, her palms touching the grass as she propelled herself backwards out of reach. The toe of her boot connected to Sasuke's jaw and Kiba whooped loudly.
"STOP!" Tsunade barked and Sakura froze before she collapsed forward as her legs gave out from underneath her. She could hear the sound of moving air before she was suddenly surrounded. "Are you alright, Sakura?" Hinata squeaked with concern and Tenten rolled her over onto her back so that Sakura could see all the worried faces, except for Tsunade and Sasuke who looked at her with grave understanding.
"So tired," she murmured, her eyes flicking over to Tsunade. "How did I do?" Sasuke frowned as he rubbed his jaw. "You landed a hit." The Hokage nodded with approval. "Yes. The whole point was to fight until one of you landed a hit. I was going to end it when you reached an hour but," she smirked with satisfaction. "I guess I didn't have to. None of the humans I ever trained were able to land a hit without first making use of Vampire Blood." Sakura heard the group gasp, which sparked her curiosity and unease. Vampire Blood.
"You mean, you're going to make her-" Tenten began, shocked, before Neji silenced her with a look. "Do not question the Hokage's actions." Tenten pouted and fell into a sulky silence. Sakura noticed how serious they had all become as they looked down at her with grim expressions, even Kiba was serious. She pushed herself up onto her elbows, ignoring the burning ache of her arm muscles. "What are you talking about?" She asked uneasily and paled when Tsunade handed Sasuke a thin, golden dagger. "You know what you must do, Sasuke Uchiha." He nodded grimly and Hinata hid behind her hair. Sakura noticed that Tsunade's arm was bleeding; blood was seeping from a deep cut at the bottom of her wrist. A cut that would have killed a human. It dripped, shimmering red drops, into a small, golden goblet that the Hokage held in her uninjured hand.
She held it underneath Sasuke's arm and Sakura watched in confused awe as he slowly drew the dagger across his wrist, not even flinching as he sliced his pale skin open. His blood ran into the golden cup and mixed with the Hokage's. He passed the knife wordlessly to Neji, who did the same. Sakura couldn't bring herself to look away or break the silence that had fallen over the group as each vampire filled the small goblet until it was almost filled to the brim with shimmering red.
"The blood of six vampires. Vampire Blood," Tsunade said quietly, waiting for Sasuke to gently pull Sakura to her feet before handing her the goblet. "You must drink this, Sakura."
"What will it do to me?" Sakura asked in a small voice, handling the small cup like it was a sacred object, unable to take her eyes off of the shimmering liquid. She could feel all their eyes on her, Sasuke's most of all.
"It will make you stronger, faster and it will alter your humanity." Sakura had never heard Tsunade sound so serious. "Drinking this is the only way you will ever be able to stand a chance against the enemy. They are trained to kill without hesitation. But I must warn you," she said in a low voice. "This is going to hurt, Sakura. No pain will ever compare." Sakura felt bile in her throat and tasted metal in her mouth. The taste of fear.
"It's to keep you safe, Sakura," Sasuke said softly, and Sakura almost dropped the cup when she heard the pleading tone in his voice and saw the complete sincerity and anguish in his dark eyes.
"Will I still be human?" Sakura whispered, feeling ice slowly spreading throughout her body. She felt numb.
"Of course you will," Tenten said firmly but Sakura could see the brunette's hands shaking. Sakura nearly jerked with surprise when she felt Neji's hand, cool, over her own and she found that it was oddly comforting. "It is a blessing, Sakura," he smiled gently and Hinata nodded as she wiped her eyes, also smiling. "Most good things come from pain." Seeing the silver-eyed girl smile made some of the numbness go away. Kiba grinned and ruffled her hair like an older sibling would do and Tenten took a shuddery breath and grinned toothily as well.
Slowly the atmosphere of the group got warmer and Sakura felt warmth spread through her when Tsunade smiled, her golden eyes warm with affection and the kindest she had ever seen the Hokage and Sasuke brought the golden goblet to her lips. "Do it, Sakura," he murmured and Sakura looked at around at the confident and encouraging faces of her friends. "We're all here for you." Sakura willed herself to be brave.
I will be brave.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and calm her furiously beating heart, parting her lips to allow the liquid through; it was smooth like velvet and tasted sweet, which surprised her. The instant Sakura swallowed the last drop of the Vampire Blood, her vision blurred. A strange and painful burning engulfed her heart and she could feel it spreading through each vein, tearing through every muscle fibre and stinging every nerve to the point where tears sprang to her eyes, but she couldn't cry out.
I will not scream.
The goblet dropped from her hands as she fell to her knees, gasping as she lost the ability to move her limbs. The burning reached her thighs and Sakura toppled sideways. She could hear voices but they were obscured and fuzzy and Sakura couldn't make out what they were saying. Shadowy figures moved across her field of vision but Sakura couldn't even identify who was who anymore. Her veins were on fire and she twitched. The burning attacked her brain and her vision went white from the pain.
I cannot scream.
She could hear ripping resonating through her ears as she felt each limb rip itself from her body, she felt each finger break and then each toe. Her vision went black as her head was torn from her shoulders.
And Sakura screamed.