Blue Monotony.

Chapter 10: Forbidden Fruit

It had to be poison.

The sickly feeling of something foreign, unhealthy, pulsing through her veins was all she could concentrate on. Nothing else seemed to matter apart from the dull ache that began to spread from her neck downwards. The beginnings of a fever cause tiny pinpricks of moisture to form on her heated skin. She did not register the fact that another body was pressed tightly against her own; nothing but the pain was known in her hazy mind.

The removal of poison was a complex and difficult procedure; one she had only begun to read about. One she did not understand. Not that she would have been able to use it anyway; when she tried to reach for her chakra all she was rewarded with was a stab of pain somewhere close to her heart. Almost helpless...

No, definitely helpless.

Those old insecurities were dragged up at that thought; weak, worthless, pitiful... The pain was fading slowly but that was probably not a good thing, numbness was never a sign of things going well. It was not that feeling that frightened her the most - it was the blackness. When she opened her eyes she saw nothing, no one.

It made her feel as though she was alone.

Her entire body shook as she was shifted and moved around. Sakura vaguely realised that her sweat slicked limbs were being lifted and positioned carefully as though she were a living puppet. The harsh sound of her own slow, laboured breathing could not completely cover the sounds of another's heartbeat, another's soft breathing.

Who could it be? Lifting her hand she gently ran her fingers across smooth skin, muscles tightened beneath her touch. Her lack of sight troubled her deeplyand she was forced to take a deep breath of their scent in a desperate attempt to identify them. Masculine and almost achingly familiar. The name stayed on the tip of her tongue and she was left scrabbling for answers.

She was barely lucid.

How long before she succumbed and breathed her last? Would the poison kill her or, simply leave her helpless? Neither seemed like a good option. That thought slipped away suddenly and all she was left with was what she felt. The surface she was on shifted just as her short hair was swept back to reveal her neck completely.

"Poison. I see the mark, kunoichi." A rough voice purred in her ear, for a moment she could not place the owner.

Sakura laughed, suddenly, though she could not place why, and pressed her lips to the warm skin in front of her. The sharp intake of breath did not startle her in the least and she continued to press kisses urgently on any part of him she could reach. An arm snaked around her waist and she was pulled flush against him. Words sprung from the depths of her addled mind.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you, S..." Her next words were cut off abruptly as his mouth slammed down on hers.

That so called kiss was nothing more than a clash of lips and teeth but she did not pull away from him; she would not have even if she possessed the strength to do so. Something within her seemed to know that would hurt him and she did not want to hurt him. Never. Her shaking hands moved up and down his back in a soothing motion.

Calloused fingers swept across her cheek lightly before settling at the edge of her jaw. His other hand slid up her arm and across her neck before stopping amongst the shorn strands of pink hair. His fingers tightened around the strands and he jerked her head roughly to one side. The pain did not even register over the numbness that had enveloped that part of her body.

"Do not compare me to him."

Something warm and wet, like heated velvet, slid across her neck slowly, leaving a fierce trail of heat behind. By all reason she should not have been able to feel it; the numbness should have blocked it out. Her strange attraction to the boy before her seemed to defy all logic. The words whispered in her ear barely seemed to have any meaning anymore. The only thing she knew was that he was angry, furious.

"I am not your precious Sasuke."

Teeth sank into her neck at the precise spot that the numbness originated from. It hurt. Writhing weakly she cried out and tried to pull away. He held fast and continued until his blunt teeth broke through her skin. Her body seemed to give up entirely at that moment and she slumped against him helplessly. The heat he was giving off did nothing to alleviate her now raging fever.

It almost felt as though she was being drained...

He sucked at the wound fiercely before pulling away, spitting her lifeblood on the ground and starting all over again. The strange fire that raged within her seemed to dull and she calmed a little. The numbness was slowly receding. Her sightless eyes began to close bit by bit as the poison was slowly removed. She trusted him enough to let herself go limp and not to struggle.

The world came back into focus in a single blinding flash that left her gasping for air. Gulping greedily she took in as much oxygen as possible and tried to hold down the nausea that came with her sight. Bile rose in her throat leaving a burning trail. Her mouth felt dry. Instead of coughing up blood, as she had done earlier, a strange, congealed black liquid splattered across the ground.

Her convulsive coughing fit only made him hold on harder. She was afraid to open her eyes and look at him. Murderer of Rock Lee. Killer of innocents. Monster. Lover. It could only be him.

Sakura knew it would only hurt more if it wasn't.

She cracked open one of her bright green eyes and looked at him. The sight of her blood around his mouth brought a choked sob to her lips. Holding it back she used the last of her strength to speak but her mouth was too dry and sore to pass anything other than laboured breaths past her cracked lips to his. She wanted to thank him. Her body crumpled before she could manage and the last of her strength faded abruptly.

It felt as though she had been burnt from the inside out.

oOo

"She's gone." The blond was, apparently, still in shock.

He stared at his dirt caked tanned hands for a moment before whipping around to face his raven haired teammate. Sasuke was utterly silent and had been since the Sound had ran almost an hour ago. The strange, black, flame marks had almost completely receded and Naruto had not mentioned it. Even speaking of the incident seemed wrong.

As though even then they could tell just what that mark would bring.

Sakura's chakra signal had disappeared completely when the ground swallowed her whole and it had yet to re-appear. Everything had went downhill from there. Sure, they had managed to fight off the Sound without gaining any major injuries, Sasuke hadn't went insane from his newly gained curse mark and the strange seal on Naruto's stomach had not crippled him but...

Sakura had gone.

She had freaking gone and Sasuke was acting as though nothing had happened; like he always did.

Naruto just couldn't take it any more. He really couldn't stand the thought of what could be happening to her or, maybe, it was the fact that he just didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that he had been so damned happy when he saw her approach them - dirt stained, weary but still intact - with nothing but a fierce expression on her face to tell him that she had suffered.

It felt as though he had barely had a calm moment, with the three of them together, before she was snatched away. He still remembered so vividly what it had felt like resting against her; almost like no more bad things were going to happen... Almost like he thought they were all going to be alright. Sasuke hadn't seemed surprised when he realised she had been taken. Slightly angry, irritated, but not surprised or sad.

When his eyes might the dark, onyx ones of his only male teammate he realised... Sasuke knew something. There was that glint, that slightly frightening spark, that told him so. Sasuke may have always kept his emotions under lock and key but sometimes things filtered out and Naruto had been around him long enough to catch them.

He didn't gave any warning when he leapt off the branch and smashed into him; knocking them both to the floor.

"You know something, Teme! What happened to Sakura-chan!" Before he knew it something snapped and they were both tumbling wildly through the undergrowth; kicking, biting and punching...

Just trying to tear lumps out of one another, just wanting to hurt one another in any way possible. His stomach ached as he tried to reach for his chakra but Sasuke had no such problem. Seconds later he was pinned to the trunk of a tree with a kunai at his throat. Sasuke, Sasuke just seemed unaffected. Like always.

"Gaara of the Sand." Was all he said before withdrawing and jumping into the trees.

They had been tracking an injured team before Naruto snapped. Sasuke seemed to think it was more important to find and retrieve a scroll than it was to get Sakura. At first they had agreed to search for her, again, but like the last time it was almost as though she had vanished off the face of the Earth. No scent, no trail and no chakra signal.

When an obviously injured team had slipped past them they both stopped and looked at each other. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and began to follow them without a word. They had an unspoken assent - get the scroll, then look for Sakura. It would be quick and would definitely help in the long run. All the while Naruto kept his senses open in an attempt to feel their precious, female teammate.

He looked up for a moment before leaping to his feet and following; they were closing in fast. For a moment there, just a moment, he had been tempted to just curl up into a ball and cry as he had done when he was younger.

Gaara of the Sand.

What could he want with Sakura? He didn't even want to think about that. His hands slid down to the kunai pouch strapped firmly to his thigh as they both went for weapons. Just a few more minutes... The cold, razor sharp, steel was heavy and almost comforting in his hand. He ran a calloused thumb across the edge as the both slowed slightly and began to fan out.

It didn't matter what he wanted Sakura for. They would get her back and rip him to shreds if he had hurt her. He blamed himself for getting injured, for letting her slip through his fingers. The sharp memory of the first night she stayed over hit him full force just as they broke through the trees and began their attack.

"I won't let him hurt you again."

But he had.

Just then he felt so angry; raw fury actually surged through his being. He had let him hurt her. He couldn't do anything about it. He'd let her be taken when she was right within his grasp. Anything could be happening to her right now and he couldn't stop it.

I won't.

The team were all male and looked very strong but they crumbled under each attack. The unrelenting anger and frustration he felt only made his attacks sharper, harder and more unrelenting than usual. It wasn't long before they were cornered.

Let him hurt you.

Each punch seemed to let a little of his frustration out so he punched harder. It stung to use his chakra and he could only create the minimum amount of clones but that didn't seem to matter at the moment. All that mattered was that they had to find Sakura, but, first they had to get another scroll. The sooner they got the scroll, the sooner they could look for her.

Again.

That gnawing guilt, that almost painful protective instinct spurred him on and he was the one to land the final blow on the last enemy standing. It had been so easy. Sasuke plucked out the scroll and stowed it away. What was happening to her now? Kami, was she still even alive. No, Sakura was strong. They moved on quickly, searching.

I promise I'll save you, Sakura-chan.

And yet, he didn't give a thought to whether she really wanted to be saved.

oOo

Night and day no longer seemed to mean anything to her. When she awoke it was dark and her eyesight was still hazy but she felt - marginally - better. Well, she at least she didn't feel like she was going to throw up anymore. When was the last time she had eaten anyway? She didn't know. At the mere thought of food her stomach churned but she wasn't sure whether it was from nausea, or hunger.

Her fever had gone down a little, though it still felt as though molten lava poured through her veins, and she could no longer feel the presence of poison in her system. Her poison-addled mind seemed to have erased the few memories she had after being separated from her team mates; after being swallowed by the ground itself.

She remembered waking again, faintly, but little else after that.

"So, you're finally awake?"

"Good."

Sakura turned her head to watch him approach. One by one the memories seeped back into her conscious mind just at the sight of his eyes shining faintly in the darkness. He sat beside her and looked down without saying another word. Her blood was still staining his lips, his hands... It would be a long time before she got over the shock of him helping her.

It was supposed to be the other way around but, she always seemed to end up playing the damsel in distress. It was sickening. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked at him.

"Thank you." Those two words seemed so inadequate.

"Thank you, for helping me." He regarded her quietly before a smirk began to form on his features.

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her straight into his lap - slumped across him as though she had no will of her own. His fingers moved quickly seeking the bite mark on her neck. She tried hard not to wince when his fingers dragged slowly across the damaged flesh. The wound was still raw, she felt a few warm drops of her blood seep out onto his already stained fingers.

"I had enough." He lifted his hand slowly to his mouth but she closed her eyes tightly; knowing what he was about to do.

"I had enough of him staring at you, enough of you staring at him. We made a deal, kunoichi, he lost. I won." He squeezed her chin lightly until she opened her eyes.

"But why won't you look at me the way you look at him? I can still see fear in your eyes." His hand dropped from her face just as the sand from his gourd began to pour out.

"And it sickens me." His fingers were clean now.

She had no idea what to say to him. It was true, that, when she was faced with him she froze and perhaps... Perhaps she was afraid. He could see it, and it repulsed him. Sakura could feel the sand crawling up her limbs; cold and rough. He was getting angry; his pupils were dilated and his breathing was harsh. Her show of gratitude had seemed hollow even to herself.

That was probably what was upsetting him.

"If I kill you then all of this will be over. Then the Uchiha brat will come and he'll die too. You can go together..." He was rambling, angry, his chakra flared violently.

Maybe she had said something about Sasuke while she was sleeping; that would explain his anger. Though this deal he spoke of... She had no idea what that could be at all. When the sand reached her waist she realised that she had to speak now or he would just kill her. She knew he would. Then Sasuke... And probably Naruto as well.

She could not forget her promise to help him.

"I don't love him any... anymore." Her voice cracked at the end.

As she watched his face twisted and he forcefully pushed her away with his bare hands. She was surprised by the sharp ache in her chest when she muttered those words. It had hurt more than she could have expected. The tendrils of sand woven around her broke away just as she smashed into something hard and unyielding. The pain distracted her momentarily and she did not notice him approach, quiet as ever. This time she really thought he would just crush her but, intsead, he crouched down and touched her face surprisingly gently.

"Liar. Just like everyone else. Just like Yash-" His body shook convulsively; her heart wrenched just looking at him.

He tilted her head up just as she reached out for him. He leaned down until the tips of his hair brushed her neck. His teeth brushed against sore skin, for a moment she was sure he was going to bite her again but he withdrew slightly. Blowing air over the wound, making it sting.

"You tasted better than I thought, even with that bitter poison mixing with your blood. Shukaku was pleased." His demon.

"If I kill you I'll no longer have to suffer the temptation, the weakness, that you bring." He moved back and let go of her completely. His jade eyes regarded her calmly; though her senses told her his chakra was in turmoil.

"If you kill me who else will seek you, Gaara-kun." His sand bit into her skin when she uttered the familiar honorific after his name.

"I am not him." He screamed at her; the first real time she had seen him so out of control.

"But I don't want Sasuke... I want you." It took everything, all of her, to force that out and she watched with baited breath as he considered what she had just said. She was probably just testing his control even more.

"All of you."

It reminded her so much of the very first day she confessed her feelings to Sasuke. The hope, the longing, the fact that she laid herself out before him completely open and defenseless. She had never thought she would say those words to anyone other than Sasuke. She had never thought she would make herself this vulnerable to anyone else.

And the truth hurt because if he was to reject her now...

Well, he would just become another Sasuke.

And she didn't want another Sasuke. She wanted him.

He seemed to calm a little as he leaned in towards her again. Seconds later she found she was supporting his weight entirely. His head was buried in the crook of her neck entirely so that she could not see what he was doing; his messy red hair obscured her vision completely, though the darkness didn't help. His tongue dragged across the bite mark making her shudder in pain.

"You don't know what you're asking for."

Something malevolent invaded her conscious then making her reel and clutch her head. It just swarmed in and cloaked her thoughts in blackness, in blood. She knew what it was, that terrifying beast with more chakra than even a God should possess, and just the lightest brush of it against her mind made her feel as though she was going mad.

How could he stand it?!

"I want you too." He was sealing his chakra inside of her... Sealing it's chakra inside of her.

She had heard of this in some old tome back in the dusty recesses of Konoha's library and thought it was just some old tale told to convince people that demons were truly terrible. She hadn't believed it could possibly be true. The demon always stole some young, pure, beautiful female and spirited her away to some deserted place where he bound them for all eternity, stole her purity... etc. That same old story.

It didn't seem so cliched now that it was happening to her. The massive flow of chakra seemed to cease after around a minute when it ebbed to a steady flow before disappearing all together. She felt... shaken but little else. Grateful that the malevolent sand demon had receded from her mind. She held a sort of new found respect for Gaara after having experienced - what she was sure had only been a small part of - the demon inside of her.

She couldn't even begin to imagine the mental strength he possessed.

Suddenly, an almost all consuming urge for blood gripped her and as she tried to fight it off yet more things assaulted her senses. Every sound and every smell was caught by her seemingly massively heightened senses. She could do little other than shudder as it all flowed in and out of her body. Trying vainly to fight off the horrible, inhuman urges that were gripping her she dug her nails into his back.

Gaara did little other than stay where he was, breathing heavily as though he had just run for days on end without a rest. Her limbs felt like lead and her body just felt weak - like it was unable to house the unnatural chakra that now flowed within it. She knew the after effects of the poison were not helping things.

"Now you can never leave me." She should have known something like this would happen. He had been turned down, ignored and hated for so much of his life it was not surprising at all that he had done this.

Bound her to him so she couldn't run. So he wouldn't be alone.

Sakura sighed and ran her fingers through his hair, ignoring the sticky clumps that were sure to be dried blood. She just felt drained now; both physically and mentally and yet... At the same time she felt stronger than ever before. Like at the very same time she was both at her weakest and her strongest. Though she dared not try to reach the demonic chakra he had sealed inside her body.

"The exam... You have to take me back to my teammates." She said, softly, so that he didn't react violently to her statement.

He lifted his head to look at her, as usual she was struck by his eyes and sat there waiting to see what he had to say. She kept moving her hand through his hair because he seemed to like it or, maybe she just like the feel of the thick strands slipping through her fingers. He stood in a single fluid movement that made her feel intensely inadequate.

Although he seemed to be suffering just as much from the transfer just as much as she was he never let it show. Her muscles screamed in protest as she stood shakily and leaned against a tree trunk for support.

"I will take you to them." He sounded angry about that as though he grudged doing it. Which she knew he did.

As usual the near emotionless expression was set firmly on his face and a cautious no contact space was set between them as they spoke. She was acutely aware of his smell, the warmth radiating off him and even the soft thud of his heartbeat, of the blood pumping round his body. At the thought of blood her body ached and she must have showed that outwardly.

He didn't show any sign that he had noticed though she knew he had.

A flick of his hands and she appeared before a massive set of doors, alone. He spoke to her quietly before she left, his tone completely at odds with his harsh voice.

I will always know where you are.

As Naruto came crashing through the bushes behind her she wondered if they would notice a difference in her, if they would reject her for her choice. He threw his arms around her in a bone crushing hug that made her weak body cry out in pain. Her blood blood boiled at the smell of him, at the feel of his strange chakra. She had never noticed it before but his chakra, or at least part of it, felt far too much like the one that had recently invaded her system.

"Thank Kami! Sakura-chan."

Sasuke stared at her, blazing red sharigan activated. She smiled at him but, inwardly cringed. He could probably feel the difference in her.

"When we go through these doors the second exam will be over." He held the two scrolls up.

"Team seven rules!" Naruto grinned as he let go of her.

They stepped through the door together, as a team, though she knew they were breaking apart at the seams. Naruto seemed to have gotten over his initial joy of seeing her again and a frown was now painted on his features.

"How did you get here, Sakura-chan? Sasuke said..." She looked at her raven haired teammate.

Yes, just what had Sasuke said...

The doors slammed shut behind them.

Halle – freaking – lujah. I'm back online at last and ready for action. Sorry for the delay – moving house was kind of traumatic.

This part of the exam seems to be taking ages doesn't it?

Yeah, about the whole vampire-esque sucking out the poison thing... I was watching Vampire Knight recently when I was struck by a small block trying to start this chapter (the start is always the bit that gets me) and I was struck by inspiration. So, yeah...

I love that anime and I really suggest watching it. Right now I'm actually thinking of writing something Zero x Yuuki. Love it!

I know you're thinking:

Is that blatant advertisement?

Well, yes, yes it is. Blame Shadow.Raven.x she was the one who introduced me to it.

Once again I had a bit of a problem picking a title (they always seem to get me) only this time it was between - Forbidden Fruit or Till Death Do Us Part. I'm just sure I've heard the latter somewhere before... So I went with FF. You really don't care; I know.

Anyway, I'm rambling and there is something important I have to say.

Once again I'm in need of a Beta. I know a few other people offered their services and I turned them down but being the stupid person I am I completely forgot to write down who they were. If you're still interested please feel free to drop me a line.

Thanks for reading. I'm so happy to be back.

Silver xxx.