I can't escape this hell
So many times I've tried
But I'm still caged inside
Somebody get me through this nightmare
I can't control myself
Animal I have Become3 Days Grace
Gaara opened his eyes and found that there was no difference. He blinked to make sure, and noted that, indeed, there was no light for his pupils to absorb and use to see. He took inventory of his body and noted that while everything was indeed intact, he felt like he had been hit by a Mack truck. A Mack truck that had decided for whatever reason to back up and hit him again just for good measure. He knew that part of it was from his body rejecting what those damn Trackers had done to him, but the pin and needle tingling that was rapidly creeping from his toes up his body was the beginnings of the Lust. He knew that this meant his ability to think half coherently was now ticking away. Growling low in his throat he made to move, only to find that he couldn't. He was in some kind of box that was a very tight squeeze. There was barely an inch from the tip of his nose and the lid of the box. He had been in too much pain before to notice that the sides of his body were flush against the box's sides.
As the realization of this hit him, his mind noted what he was in. He was in the box, a tool normally used by Lords to punish their subjects. He knew without seeing that the outside of the box was covered in thick chains that had been bathed in holy water of some kind, if not blessed. He pushed using the sides of his hands and felt the burning sensation that let him know they had picked the right religion. Vampires were limited by the religions that saw their risings as abominations, and then only by the religion they had practiced. Gaara cursed the fact that he had been born Irish, that it made him Christian. It made it ridiculously easy for Lords to find the correct box to put him in. Why couldn't he have been born in Haiti? Then he could believe in Voodoo and not have this damn weakness. Never mind the fact that he was a couple hundred years too early for the religion.
He stifled this train of thought and concentrated on feeling his siblings. They were his only hope now. One of them had to be in the area, because he could feel the steady stream of power as it flowed through him trying to stave off the Lust. He did not have time to be wondering why only one of them was giving him anything. He sent the impulse to seek him through the link and prayed that one would find him soon.
Naruto flicked open his eyes, taking note of the familiar ache that came with waking from a Rest. He stretched, knowing that he needed to get the blood that was left in his body circulating. He gave a little half grin, the most he could manage without it being painful this early, as he thought about just whose blood was sluggishly making it's way through his body. Naruto stared at the ceiling absently as the shower he hadn't been consciously aware was running turned off. It answered one of the questions he had floating in his head. He now knew where Sasuke was. And that in and of itself was enough to almost sour his good mood. He had enjoyed last night, it was not everyday that you got to drink blood with that much raw power sliding through it. He felt like a wine connoisseur that had been given an especially rare vintage. A few sips and he was in heaven, but now that wine was in danger of being taken away.
He sat up on his elbows as the door to the bathroom opened. He knew that on some level Sasuke had enjoyed last night as well, but he also knew how fragile what he had with Sasuke earlier was. Frankly, he would not be surprised to find that he was back to square one. He watched Sasuke move as he went about digging around in the wardrobe looking for something to wear, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sasuke on the other hand was doing the best he could to ignore the feeling of someone else's eyes on his back. Not that he wanted to. Oh, no, he wanted to march over to his bed and demand that he do it again, damn it. Just thinking that had Sasuke blushing and he was glad he had his back turned. He pulled on the pair of red boxers he had gotten out as well as his most hated pair of jeans. They were really too small, but nothing else was clean. He made a note to tell Sakura to do laundry soon. Sasuke turned back to the bed and found Naruto still staring at him.
"What?" Sasuke snapped glaring. He felt like a fish in a fishbowl with a hungry cat watching him. Naruto ignored the tone of the remark and carefully schooled his face into it's familiar pleasant mask. He and Sasuke really needed to talk about some things and he was not going to let their tendency to fight get in the way this time. He was serious. Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine as he saw that look settle on Naruto's face. It was the same one he had given his Master in his dream. Something about the look frightened him and it was not the good kind of frightened.
"We need to talk, Sasuke," his voice was a soft monotone, and Sasuke found himself hating it. That was not how he wanted his name to come off those lips. Yes, he was admitting that he was attracted to the other. Yes, he was admitting that he had other ideas for how they could do things. But that did not mean he was going to act on them or voice them. No, he could play this game just the same as the other. He moved so he was sitting on the edge of his bed looking at the other. He raised an arched brow in a silent signal to continue. "About what happened last night…I never meant for that to happen."
Sasuke felt panic start to bloom in his chest. Was Naruto regretting drinking his blood? Had he come to accept his attraction only to be rejected by the other? The thought alone was enough to make his blood boil. Naruto kept his features carefully controlled as he felt the rage flow through the link. Sasuke had not cut him off last night like he had thought. But the feeling was confusing him. Wasn't this what he wanted to hear? Not only that, but it was partially the truth. He had not meant to roll him that deeply and completely. How was he supposed to know that Sasuke was that sensitive to a roll?
"So it was a mistake, then?" Sasuke tried to keep his voice neutral, but it was hard to do when he was clenching his teeth. Naruto reached for him, not thinking, and the other jerked back, nearly falling off the bed in his haste. He looked back at Naruto, completely unaware that in his anger he had let his control slip and the sharingan were dancing in his eyes. The eyes pulled the other in, they demanded an answer, and he would give it.
"Yes. No." Naruto said still trapped in a world of reds. He knew he was rolled by Sasuke, but he did not care. He knew Sasuke would not hurt him. He trusted him. Sasuke was bewildered by the answer. It was either yes or no, not both.
"Explain," he demanded unaware of the fact that he had caught Naruto in his gaze.
"I never meant to roll you so fully. I just wanted you to enjoy the experience. But I don't regret doing it. I don't regret the taste of you on my tongue," Naruto said simply. Sasuke was shocked enough by the other's admission that he broke eye contact and released him. Naruto blinked as he shook off the after affects. He reached out and ran the pads of his fingers down the side of Sasuke's cheek as he studied the black and red of his sheets. His anger was gone, but confusion was quickly replacing it. What did this mean?
"Whatever you want it to," Naruto said softly. Sasuke jerked around and looked at him. Had he said that out loud? More importantly, what did he want this to mean? Part of him wanted to pretend that it never happened, and that it would never happen again. But another, softer voice, wanted to know when it would happen again, wanted to tell him that he had loved every minute of it. He was splitting again and he knew it. He closed his eyes and decided that he was going to listen to that little voice.
"Do you need a feed now?" he asked softly and tilted his head to the side in invitation. Naruto let out a breath he was holding. He was not going to push him away? He was not mad? He felt almost giddy with relief. He grinned and pulled Sasuke to him. It was a hug, pure and simple. The feel of their bare chests touching sent pleasure rushing through both and had Sasuke pulling back early. If he stayed there a problem would develop. Naruto let him go as he pondered the other's question. He knew the most about his body and it's needs.
"I'll need one before the night's out. We can do it now or later," Naruto said his large grin turning slightly darker. The look was enough to cause his blood to run south. Oh, yes, he would like to do it now. Please and thank you. But…
"We're going out, Naruto. I can't have visible bite marks," Sasuke said pursing his lips together. Naruto couldn't help but think the pout was way too tempting to be possible. His grin became devious as he thought.
"There is more than one place to take blood from, sunshine," as he said it a finger ran down the inside of one jean clad thigh. There were three places a vampire could draw blood from: the neck, the wrists, and the femoral artery in the thigh. The blood flow there was strong enough to aid in the drinking. Sasuke shuddered under the touch. Okay, he could do that.
Sakura hummed softly to herself as she moved through the kitchen. It was close to the time when Sasuke would wake up, so she was putting the coffee on. Sasuke never ate after he had just gotten up, preferring to settle with two cups of dark roast coffee. She smiled as she realized just how well she knew his habits. She knew that he would never love her the way she loves him, but she was content in the knowledge that he would never feel that way for anyone. Let alone that annoying little vampire he saved. The ringing of the phone brings her out of her thoughts. She picks up the black cordless phone, a small smile on her face.
"Uchiha residence, Sakura speaking," she said cheerfully. She knew she sounded like a secretary when she did it, but Sasuke demanded she answer the phone like that, and so she did.
"Hello, Sakura. It's Neji. Could you get Sasuke for me please?" Sakura was already moving down the hall as she recognized the voice. She could just picture the other bowing stiffly into the phone. It would be so like him; always concerned with formality. It did not help that he was a first generation American. His family was not native to the Americas, and were trying to stick as much to their traditions as possible. This resulted in them coming off as either stiffly polite or rudely cold.
"Of course. Just one second," she said reaching for the dull gold of the door knob. She moved the phone away from her ear, and used her hand to cover the mouth piece as she pushed the door open. The sight the greeted her caused the phone to slide from nerveless fingers. Naruto was sitting inbetween Sasuke's bare legs, head bent. He lifted his head up and turned toward her, a few drops of blood running down the corner of his mouth. His eyes were wide in shock.
Sasuke was flying high, though not as high as before. It seemed as though Naruto had taken his sensitivity to a roll into account this time. There was no painful overload of pleasure, just a pleasant buzz like what one got after going under at the dentist's. While he liked the fact that he was not overwhelmed this time, he could not help but feel a little disappointed. It did not help things that his body had reacted the same to Naruto's calling of his power. He knew he was sporting a tent in his boxers, the only article of clothing he was wearing. He heard the door open and lifted his head off the pillows in an attempt to work up enough energy to tell Sakura to come back later.
Suddenly, the pleasurable sensation was gone and in it's place was the pain from the bite. He whimpered as the pain rushed over him, too fast for him to stifle it. Naruto was sitting up and had his head turned over his shoulder. Sasuke sat up and saw Sakura crumple to the floor in a dead faint. He swore and got off the bed, only noticing the phone when he was right next to it. He could hear Neji asking if she was alright on the other end of the phone. He lifted the phone to his ear, and bent at the waist to check her pulse. It was steady; she would come round soon.
"Sasuke," he said to get the other to stop talking. Neji was quiet for a minute before he started talking again.
"What was all that about? Is Sakura alright? Are you alright?" Neji asked without waiting for the other to answer. Sasuke sighed into the phone.
"Everything is fine," Sasuke said as Naruto handed him a damp washcloth. He raised an eyebrow as Naruto pointed to the puncture marks he had reopened getting off the bed like that. "She just saw something she should not of. Why are you calling?" Sasuke pressed the cloth into the wound, trying to stem the blood flow, and winced as he saw the small trail of blood leading from his bed to where he was. Blood was bitch to get out of normal carpeting; light colored carpet was nigh impossible. Naruto had picked Sakura up and taken her to her room.
"You remember the blonde that was admitted to the ICU last night?" Neji asked. Sasuke nodded before he remembered that Neji could not see him.
"Yeah. What about her?" he asked moving so he was on the black bottom sheet of his bed, lessening the chance of any of the blood he missed staining the sheets.
"She woke up about 20 minutes ago…," something in Neji's tone told him that this was not necessarily a good thing. "She woke up crazy. Took down two orderlies before they managed to tranquilize her. Took enough tranquilizers to down a bull elephant, too. We put her in the containment ward, but, Sasuke, she punched through the one way mirror and is still coming," Neji sounded concerned now. Sasuke swore and stood, pulling on his discarded jeans.
"We'll be there in 15," he said buttoning the fly. He pressed the end button as he heard the startled "we?" coming from the other end. Naruto watched him and began pulling on his own clothes from the night before. Sasuke pulled on a dark green T-shirt as he explained to the other what was going on.
Naruto and Sasuke hit the hospital at a dead run. People stared as they sped past looking like nothing so much as tan and white blurs. There was a definite squeak as they came to a halt before the containment ward. Neji, Shikamaru, the two trackers from before, and a black haired woman were leaning against the metal door with all their might. The sound of screeching metal could be heard as the steel door started to bend out. The hall had been emptied of staff save for the black haired woman. Naruto turned, took one look, and knew what was going on.
"Move," he said as he advanced toward the door. They looked at him like he was insane.
"Are you nuts? Sure you're a vampire, you'll be okay, but what about the rest of us? That's tempered steel she's bending," the metal let out a sickening groan as if agreeing with what the tattooed brunette was saying. Naruto snarled at him.
"Move, damn it. I know what I'm doing," Naruto said looking at him. They flicked their eyes to Sasuke who stood behind him panting. Naruto did not need to breathe, but he did and that run had taken a bit out of him. He was keeping up with a vampire afterall. He nodded.
"It's your funeral," the brunette said as he moved, not thinking about how ridiculous his statement sounded. The door flew open not a second after they were gone. Temari stood in the doorway panting with the effort she had been using to escape. Her eyes were wild as they fixed on Naruto. Her chest heaving she moved toward him. She grabbed his collar and lifted. Naruto stayed carefully limp in her grip. He felt Sasuke's worry and sent reassurance back down the link. Any sudden moves could set her off.
"WHERE is Gaara? He's calling me. He's in pain," her voice was hoarse as though she had been screaming for hours. He looked her in the eyes and gently began drowning her in them. He felt her relax as the cool blue soothed her.
"He was captured, remember, Tem?" he said as she fell against him. She buried her face into his shirt.
"It hurts. He hurts. I need to help him," she whispered. The others were watching him in shock now. How had he managed to calm the mad woman down so fast? He brought a hand up and stroked her hair.
"I know, Tem, I know," he pulled her away from him enough so he could look into her eyes. "But you have to stay here and get better. You can't help him using all your power to punch through walls," his tone was that of an indulgent parent scolding a young child. She shook her head.
"Can't. He's calling," she said almost pouting. Naruto frowned. There was nothing he could do to stop her if Gaara was really calling her through the link. He had no way of separating her from him without killing one of them. Sasuke could sense the worry coming from the other and knew why. Gaara had sent a compulsion out for his human servants to return to him most likely in an effort to regroup. But he knew that if Temari went Orochimaru would have both of Gaara's human servants and control over him. He frowned as a thought hit him. He was a necromancer, wasn't he? And didn't the book say that he should go with the flow as far as what he could and couldn't do? He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and motioned for him to release Temari. Naruto raised both eyebrows (he was, unfortunately, devoid of the genetic quirk that allowed the raising of only one eyebrow), but let her go.
Sasuke took a deep breath and slowly eased the blanket covering his powers off. He looked into her eyes and began looking for the part of her connected to Gaara. He could feel the strain behind his eyes as he worked. She was not dead, just connected strongly to them, and as such was harder to work with. He finally found the red-gold cord of power that connected the two together. He could feel the pulse that was the compulsion. He had found the link, but what to do? He needed to dampen the link, not destroy it…Inspiration struck and he smirked. He summoned his power, imagining a think wool blanket. Once he felt like he had enough he carefully wrapped it around the link. Finished, he dismissed his own power, only to find the ground rushing to meet him. His descent was halted, however, by Naruto. He smirked as he saw the pair of concerned blue eyes and passed out.
Sasuke woke a few minutes later with a pounding headache. It felt like the entire population of a small European country was tap dancing on his brain. He opened his eyes and found himself regretting it. The room was blindingly white like all hospital rooms were. He blinked a few times to get used to the light and noticed the pleasurable tingling just under the back of his jaw were Naruto had two fingers placed. He could feel a warm rippling sensation running through his blood and realized just what Naruto was doing. Another helpful hint was the smell of forest thick in the air.
"Nice to see you're back among the living," the black haired woman said with a smile. She was petite with a neat bob-cut. "You used too much power to do whatever you did to that girl. You should be much more careful in the future," she said sternly.
"Thank you, Shizune," Neji said from the doorway. She nodded and left. Neji walked into the room as Naruto removed his fingers. "Looks like you've got yourself into some deep shit this time, Uchiha," he smirked. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and sat up, ignoring the dizziness that came with the motion. "Thanks all the same," he said with a nod before leaving. Sasuke swung his legs around and found himself looking at Naruto. He seemed like he could not decide whether to be concerned or amused. Sasuke stood and swayed with the motion, nearly tumbling back into the bed.
"Take it easy there, sunshine," Naruto said amusement seeming to win out. Sasuke did his best to glare at him before moving to the door. Naruto followed him down the hallway, hands in his pockets. They made it out of the building without a problem, though Sasuke had wavered dangerously a couple of times. Naruto was so amused at his servant's determination to make it to his car without help that he failed to notice the presence of other humans until they were on them. They surrounded Sasuke's car, or rather what was left of it. All the windows were broken, the hood bent in the middle through the engine, all the tires slashed. Kabuto stood there leaning up against it, five others sitting on the trunk. Kabuto straightened as they approached.
"Ah, Sasuke-san. It's a pleasure to see you," he said bowing mockingly. "You too, Kyuubi-san. I'm just here to deliver a little message," he paused to motion towards the car. "Your challenge has been heard and accepted. I assume you know the rules, Kyuubi-san?" He waited for Naruto to nod, before he and the others made a move to leave. Sasuke stared at what was left of his car, a burning rage consuming him. That was his baby. He had saved for years to be able to afford it, and the bastards had destroyed it. He moved toward them, only to be stopped by Naruto's restraining hand.
"Sasuke, you can't. They've accepted the challenge, any move against them now would have us forfeit," Naruto said sounding as neutral as he could. He knew that the car meant something to his servant and was angry on his behalf, but he knew vampire law. To raise a hand against any of them was to cheat and make their claim illegitimate. That was why Kabuto had made sure Naruto knew the laws. They could not claim ignorance now. Sasuke growled deep in his throat as he pulled out his cell. He glared at their retreating backs. They would pay for this. Things had just gotten personal.
