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Chapter nine

One time, when he was no more than seven years old, Sasuke fell down a rooftop while playing hide-and-seek with his brother. As he descended to the ground, he felt the most scared he had ever felt. He broke his left arm and had to walk around with a cast for more than a month. Itachi, who had been thirteen years of age at the time, never stopped making fun of him during this period of time, because Sasuke was not a real vampire yet, he was too young, and that was why he had taken so long to heal. Ever since, Sasuke could not wait for his instincts to awake; he wanted to heal fast, drink blood, not get scared, and be as cool as his brother.

Six years later, a similar accident happened. This time, though, it was his leg that broke, and the cause had been Naruto's reckless idea of seeing who could climb a tree faster, a challenge that Sasuke, as proud as ever, stupidly accepted. Fortunately, only a couple of months before that, Sasuke's instincts had awakened, so this time he was able to heal in less than a week. He realized, then, how great it felt to be so... superior. No wonder Itachi had made so much fun of him.

He thought about all that as he watched his broken wrist slowly heal. The change was almost imperceptible in the dark and through his blurry eyes, but if he concentrated enough, he could feel the dull movements beneath his skin as it happened: the bone moving on its own, assisted by the tendons and the muscles, and putting itself together. Now that he was older and stronger as a vampire, he was healing in a matter of hours instead of days. He wondered if maybe, in ten years or so, his bones would amend themselves in a few seconds instead.

However, the only advantage this ability of his offered right now was fixing the beat-up he had been given a few hours ago. It could not even fight back the numbing pills he had been forced to swallow down, let alone get him out of this dark, smelly cell.

His only real hope of escaping this place was Gaara. Sasuke had noticed, when Sai and the wizards caught them in Munich, that the blond wizard had a red cloth poking out of his pocket. Undeniably, it had been Sakura's headscarf, the one she had lost before they teleported from Venice. Sasuke realized that the wizards had tracked them down with a spell, just like Gaara had said, and that said spell involved Sakura's former belonging somehow. That was why, before having to go with Sai, Sasuke had given Gaara his wallet. He had not been able to give any explanation, so now it was all up to the red-haired boy: he had to figure out that the wallet was meant for the tracking spell. If he didn't... then Sasuke would be utterly hopeless.

Sighing, he weakly reached for the plastic bottle he'd put beside the mattress he sat upon. Sasori had dropped by and wordlessly gave it to him a few minutes ago. It used to contain half a liter of authentic human blood. Sasuke had tried not to think how they had gotten it and, responding to the terrible thirst that had struck him as soon as he woke up from the beat-up, he had immediately drank most of it. Now, there were only a few drops left, and he swallowed them down too, hoping their nutrients would do something about the drug in his system.

He should have forced himself to puke the pills out. However, his attackers (they had been wearing masks; he could not identify them, although none of them had smelled like humans) had shoved them down his throat, surely wanting him to be absolutely defenseless, right after they had pushed him into this cell, cuffed his hands and feet, and battered him until he had almost fainted. Therefore, Sasuke had been in no condition to even consider rejecting the pills; he had passed out as soon as they reached his stomach. There was no way he could have avoided this misfortune...

Well, he could have not gotten himself into this situation, on the first place. Then, maybe he would be at home now, safe and sound. His worries would only be having to marry someone he didn't love and choosing a career he didn't want, but those were definitely better than the ones he had right now. At least his life would not be in danger – only his happiness would.

But would I really rather be alive if it meant Sakura would not be with me...? What the hell is wrong with me!

Sasuke threw the empty bottle away and leaned against the cold wall behind him, running his undamaged hand through his hair. He felt terrible, both for thinking such things and for the beat-up. Not only was his entire body bruised, his wrist broken, his sight blurry, and his movements heavy and clumsy: his head also hurt, as if several little men were pounding their tiny fists from inside his skull. Perhaps it was because not even his mighty vampire brain could deal with this kind of stress. He wondered how Sakura was doing, if she was suffering the same... if she was still even alive.

The thought squeezed at his heart like a huge, powerful hand. Suddenly desperate, he sat up straight and tried to listen outside the cell by sharpening his hearing the most he could. He wanted to hear her voice, to know she was okay, but he caught nothing but muffled thumps and quiet echoes. He tried to distinguish the noises and make something – anything – out of them.

At last, he thought he understood something: "What the fuck. Why did you-" The next words were different, quieter, and he could not figure them out.

Confused, Sasuke pondered on this for a long moment. People were arguing somewhere near his cell. Could it be that wherever the Akatsuki gathered was very close to him? Could it be that, maybe, if he fought the drug back and gathered enough strength, he could tear down a wall and find himself in a room full of criminals? The idea excited him. Unfortunately, it was all highly unlikely, especially because of the delusion that he could take them all down by himself. If only he weren't in this deplorable condition, perhaps he could have a chance... but he didn't. It was useless.

Eventually, he closed his eyes, prompting himself to sleep and get rid of his annoying headache. After a while, when he was just drifting off to slumber, the sound of the cell's door opening jolted him back to full consciousness. Disoriented and still light-headed, Sasuke tried to stand up, and surprisingly, he succeeded. He noticed with relief that he had more energy than earlier... but then all his thoughts vanished when he saw Sakura.

She stood at the doorway, pale and fragile, her eyes bright and enchanting and her features refined by her vampire genes. Two masked men were at each side of her, grabbing her arms as if to hold her in place, despite the fact that she was already handcuffed.

Sasori and Deidara were behind her. They stepped around and into the room, blocking Sasuke's view of her. "We have brought you a gift, Uchiha," the blond wizard said, petulant. "Enjoy it while you can."

The masked men proceeded to shove Sakura into the room. Her feet were cuffed, as well, so she lost her balance and fell to the floor. Sasuke hurried over to her just as Sasori threw him another bottle of blood, which he automatically caught mid-air. "Make sure she drinks," he told him, and then the four enemies exited the cell, slamming the door behind them.

Groaning, Sakura sat up. She looked into Sasuke's eyes and managed a small, feeble smile. "I did it," she whispered. "I'm with you."

He put the bottle aside and helped her up and towards the mattress."Sakura, what happened?" he asked, worried, angry and extremely glad to see her at the same time. "Why are you here? Are you okay? Why do you look... vampire right now?"

"Vampire?" she repeated, settling on the spot he had been occupying before. "Oh. It must be because I'm thirsty."

He remembered what Sasori had ordered him. "What is going on? Have they not given you blood?"

"They have. But I refused to drink any of it, unless they let me se you."

"What?"

She shook her head, smiling reassuringly. "It's okay. It worked. Could you give me...?" She pointed at the full bottle, and he handed it to her quickly. As she urgently took the lid off and gulped the blood down, he had a brief flashback of that time, eons ago, when he had found her hiding in a bathroom after a maid cut her finger. Just like back then, the liquid flowed thickly down her throat and dripped from the corners of her mouth. But now, Sasuke allowed himself to watch, mesmerized. It did not make him uncomfortable anymore.

When she finished all the blood, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand and put the bottle aside. She then looked fondly into his eyes before planting a chaste kiss on his lips. Driven by the desire to hold her in his arms, Sasuke decided to use his newly acquired energy and break his handcuffs. Frowning with determination, he pulled his wrists apart with all the strength he could muster, until finally, the chain linking the bracelets together broke.

Sasuke put his arms around Sakura, bringing her as close as possible, and asked softly, "Why did you do that? Do you know what would have happened if they had not been as tolerable, if they had decided to deprive you of blood for weeks? You would have been gone, Sakura – not dead, but insane, which is even worse. Do you know how hard it is for a vampire to regain their sanity after such thing, even if they feed again?"

"Stop," Sakura murmured against his chest. "It's alright now. Besides, I knew what I was doing. I suspected they depended on me for something important, so I just took the risk to prove it. Now I know how much they need me: enough to be this permissive, just to keep me alive."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke questioned, perplexed.

She pulled away to look him soberly in the eyes. "They don't want to kill us, Sasuke. Sasori said it himself. We are here because they need me to do something only I can do; I have no idea what, but I'm sure that is their true goal, not to exterminate me. And you... He said you're here because you're a pure-blooded vampire. He said something about your power, your clan and your red eyes... Sasuke, what did he mean?"

He thought for a long moment, still trying to let the realization that the Akatsuki didn't mean to kill them fully sink in. He tried to get inside their minds, to find a reasonable motive to need a half-breed vampire and a pure-blooded Uchiha so badly. Then, he said, "I don't know. It's true I am... different from the average vampire, but there are many others like me and also several other Uchihas. Perhaps they want specifically me because I'm already within their reach... But still, if I were them, I would have just gotten rid of me. I am an obstacle between them and you, in a way. It does not surprise me that they need you, though. You are more singular than any other half-breed."

"But how does that make me useful? What can I even do?" Frustrated, she rubbed her eyes; her handcuffs clanked as she did. "Ah. I guess it doesn't matter right now. All I really care about is that... that I am here with you."

Only then did Sasuke realize the true significance of this moment. It could be the last time in a while that he got to be with her like this, alone and relatively safe. Wasting it with speculations and babbler was the worst he could do.

She put her head against his chest again, and he buried his face in her pink hair with blond roots, closing his eyes. Even after falling into a river and being in a filthy cell, she still smelled like red fruits and delicate flowers. Her skin, moist with sweat like his, was still smooth and welcoming. Her body, small and soft, fit perfectly against his. Nothing could compare to the way he felt when she was near. He wanted to feel like this forever.

"I was afraid you'd be dead," he blurted out.

Sakura tightened her grasp on his shirt. "I wasn't. I'm not. I will be with you forever. I love you, Sasuke."

Those three words... She beat him to utter them. But that didn't matter at all. Nothing did, really; not even the fact that they were trapped, or that they could and very possibly would die soon, or that his head still hurt, or that they had just drunk blood of questionable origin, or that the room they were in was absolutely unpleasant. Nothing, except one thing: She loved him too.

"I love you," he echoed lowly, and then he kissed her lips like they were the most exquisite thing in the entire world.

Sai paced around Orochimaru's office. Said vampire sat at his desk, staring blankly at the space as if in stupor. Outraged, the young man slammed his hands on the desk, but he obtained no answer. He shouted, "Why didn't you just stop feeding her and let her rot in that cell? Why do you please her? Why is she so goddamned important?"

"You know why," Orochimaru answered, closing his eyes and frowning thoughtfully. "The Prophecy. She is the one who will decide the destiny of-"

"Yes, I know about the stupid Prophecy! But this girl is causing too much trouble. If I were you, I would have just killed her already."

"Should you not have a bit more of mercy towards your fellow creature, Sai?"

"I am not like her," Sai spat out, resuming his pace. "She was a product of the immorality of a weak vampire and a twisted hunter. I was fabricated in order to fulfill a purpose – which I am trying to do, by the way."

"You must not kill her," the vampire said, raising his voice. "Not until she does what she has to."

Shaking his head, Sai sat on the closest sofa and jeered at his so-called boss. "But why must you be so indulgent? Punish her. Frighten her. Let her see who is in charge. Do not give in at the first fucking time she challenges us! What kind of leader are you!"

Orochimaru glared at him. "A smart one, clearly. My strategy is different and better than yours. I want her to believe we are her friends, so that she decides to cooperate voluntarily. Like this, we could manipulate her more easily."

"And does Madara agree with this strategy of yours?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. We already talked about it. I wanted to give her an introduction, to begin duping her already, but that will have to wait. If I give her a couple of hours to ponder on what I told Sasori to tell her, perhaps it might increase her hopes of us not being as evil as she thought we were. After that, Madara would be the one to conclude the process. We could even brain-wash Sasuke Uchiha and use him as a motivation for her. It's a good plan, Sai. You simply don't understand how the mind of a person works – perhaps because you aren't a person."

Sai let out a dry chuckle. "You're right. I am a monster. But then again, so is she, right?"

Sakura never thought this would happen. Of course she had fantasized about it, but she never imagined it would happen now and here. She had truly expected something far more romantic: a luxurious hotel room in an exotic city, on their wedding night, with nothing but scented candles and the full moon to lit their silhouettes...

However, she just could not hold her desire in. Sitting on his lap, hips and chests aligned, she was greedy of his touch, obsessed with his flavor, and electrified by the way his fingers grabbed and caressed her. She was high on his smell, his warmth, his kisses, and his low grunts of pleasure. She was going crazy and it was his fault: for making her feel like this, for being so beautiful and gentle, and for causing such wonderful friction between their two bodies.

The acrid smell of the cell, the uncomfortable rise of temperature, the unyielding mattress beneath them, the criminals plotting against them, the people waiting and hoping for them, the imminent danger... She ignored and forgot it all at that moment. The world could have stopped spinning and she would not have noticed it. In her head, there was only space for his body, his mouth, and his hands – traveling up her trembling thighs, under her dress, towards her ribcage and her chest...

"I love you," she said again, frightened and exhilarated, as he planted wet kisses all over her collarbone. "I love you, I love you, I love you so much..."

The dress was pulled off and thrown away, landing somewhere near his long-forgotten shirt. There were no fabrics between their torsos anymore; it was bare skin against bare skin, sweat and scents mixing and hearts palpitating in unison.

Sasuke laid her on the mattress and climbed on top. Their gazes locked for a long pause, and the emotion in his orbs was so overwhelming that a knot formed in her throat. "You've to promise something to me," she managed quietly.

"Anything."

Her fingers tangled in his dark locks, brushing the nape of his neck. "You cannot die before I do, Sasuke. You must survive, move on, and have a long, wonderful life, even if I am not in it. You're the only thing that makes me feel alive, so you deserve everything that's good in this world."

"Nothing will happen to you," he said, frowning and cupping her face with one hand. "I'll make sure of it."

"But in case it does, let it go. You can't sacrifice your life because of me. Promise me you won't"

His lips pulled into a rueful smirk. "Look... I didn't even choose to care about you like this, Sakura; I just do. I love you. I will keep you safe. None of us can help it."

"But I-"

"Sakura. Picture yourself in my place. Wouldn't you do the same?"

She knew she would. She was so in love with him; she appreciated his life perhaps more than she did her own. It was wrong and unhealthy to love someone more than yourself, she was aware of that. But, like him, she never chose this, and she really could not help it anymore.

Not allowing her to insist, Sasuke kissed her again, so deeply and fiercely that her bones shook and her heart went frantic. She let him rummage through her body like she had never even imagined she would let someone, and enjoyed it so much she almost felt guilty. It was incredible how unreal she suddenly felt; like she wasn't even substantial, like she had not existed on Earth until now. If heaven truly existed, this had to be something a lot like it.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked hoarsely, his hot breath crashing against her left ear and sending shivers down her spine. "I can stop if you want..."

"Don't stop," she replied in a sigh. "I want this. I really do."

Sasuke hesitated, so she had to give the first step. Tangling her fingers through his hair again, she gently pushed his face into the angle of her neck, and simultaneously put her lips on the spot below his ear. In her head, she pictured his blood, deliciously flowing through his veins, hot and thick and hers...

The pain of his bite was abrupt and not as brief as she had expect it would be. To dull it, she pierced his flesh with her fangs and tasted him back, establishing their Bond.

Inoichi Yamanaka walked steadily towards the set of heavy oak doors. His pace not faltering, he pushed them open and walked into the continuos room, not hesitating for a single moment. He stopped only when he stood right on the middle of the unnecessarily spacious office, his blue gaze fixed intensely on the man standing by the glass wall, which really functioned more as a window, offering a breath-taking view of Tokyo's skyscrapers. Said man wore a black cape and an eye patch, reaching the expectations of the stereotypical vampire, and he stood imposingly as he admired the scenery. He did not turn around, but he did acknowledged Inoichi's presence.

"Mr. Yamanaka, huh? What a surprise."

The blond man bowed respectfully, unable to hold back his manners despite the anger boiling inside him. "Mr. Shimura, good morning. I apologize for the sudden visit."

"It is okay. I assume whatever you want to tell me is very important, correct?"

"Yes," Inoichi answered. "I would like to say it bluntly, in order to get this over with as soon as possible."

Danzo turned around and faced him. His only visible eye always had a wistful, nostalgic look, as if he carried many burdens. Now, it sparked with something else: interest. "I did not recall your being so straight-forward. Perhaps your urgency is forcing you to make an exception..."

"Indeed it is."

"Alright, then." The man walked towards his desk, his dark cape fluttering slightly behind him. He sat down on his leather chair, put his elbows on the desk, and intertwined his fingers below his chin. "Go ahead. I am listening attentively."

Inoichi nodded. "Thank you. You'll see... As the head of the Council, I respect you very much, Mr. Shimura. I know you are pertinent and intelligent, so I trust your decisions. However, I have recently heard of what happened with the Uchihas, and in representation of my entire clan, I would like to announce that I do not agree with the Council's decision."

"Were you not present during the trial?" Danzo asked.

"No, sir. I was on a business trip."

"I see... So you clearly have not been well informed."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow. "Sir?"

Danzo dropped his hands to his lap and leaned back on his seat, his eye observing the Yamanaka vampire with slight disdain. "The Council did not force anyone to do anything. We simply acted as an intermediary between the Hyugas and the Uchihas. Hiashi Hyuga has never been pleased with having to share lead of our society with the Uchiha clan, and he took advantage of the unfortunate disappearance of Sasuke Uchiha, his daughter's fiancee, by using it as a proof of the clan's unreliability. He demanded the Hyugas became the sole main clan in our country. Fugaku could have fought back somehow... He tried for a while, at least. But at the end, he was the one to agree with Hiashi's demands. It was his decision."

"So he simply gave in?" Inoichi questioned, disbelieving.

The head of the vampire Council nodded. "He didn't seem to have a better choice. Prolonging the dispute would have been stubborn. He gave in, for the entire society's sake. No one forced him."

Inoichi frowned at the space, unable to see why Fugaku would do such thing. The Uchihas had been the strongest clan in Japan for centuries; they deserved nothing less than the leadership. The Hyugas, although fairly powerful, were not as fierce and talented, and even they knew it. Inoichi thought that Hiashi's strong need to be the only leader had its roots on the immense inferiority of his blood compared to the Uchihas'. If only Sasuke hadn't left... if only he had not fallen for Sakura... the Hyugas would have never had a chance. Fugaku, he realized, truly had been helpless.

As Sakura's uncle, Inoichi could not help but feel responsible for the Uchihas' misfortune. It was absurd, really, because it definitely hadn't been the Yamanakas' fault that Sasuke had wanted to take such measures in order to protect the half-breed; it was all entirely the young man's decision. Still, the Yamanakas carried a burden somehow. It should have been one of them taking care of the girl as she traveled around the world in search for the wizard that had put Tsunade in a comma, because Sakura was a Yamanaka too, although unrecognized by the majority of the clan. If the young Uchiha was causing such trouble to his clan in order to kindly look out for Sakura, the least Inoichi's clan could do was give back a favor.

"Is there any way," he said quietly, "that the Uchihas can regain their reliability?"

"Why are you so interested, Mr. Yamanaka? I knew you had ties with that clan, but I didn't know they were so strong..."

"I just believe it is unfair. They do not deserve to lose their entire prestige just because of a single member's foolish actions." He clenched his fists at this, feeling guilty of having to call Sasuke, who he owed so much to, a fool. "As a neutral clan when it comes to politics, the Yamanakas have never interfered with anything like this. But this needs to be an exception, sir."

Danzo nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. However, answering your question, there is nothing I or the rest of the Council can do. The Uchihas were the ones who willingly gave up. Unless you manage to make them want to regain the leadership, nothing can change."

"And if they do want it back, if they decide to fight... what would happen?"

"We would have to make a trial again. They would expose their arguments and such. Then, it would be up to democracy. All clans would vote for whatever they think is best for the society."

Inoichi sighed softly. "Okay. Well, I believe that is all I needed to say. Thank you, again, for your time and attention, Mr. Shimura."

"It was my pleasure."

The Yamanaka bowed again, turned around and calmly headed to the exit. As he was about to pull the doors open, he heard Danzo say behind him, "I don't know what you think you owe to the Uchihas, Inoichi. But do not forget your own clan is more important than any other."

The words struck the man as supposed to mean he should not put her niece's matters before his clan's well-being and peace. The image of his deceased sister suddenly invaded his mind, along with Sakura's. They looked so much like each other; the girl was practically a replica of Hikari with green eyes and different hair color. He closed his eyes tightly, painfully, and replied, "I won't, sir. I won't."

Notes: I'm baaaaaack!