The glaring sun was passing through the openings between the heavy draperies. The slivers of the light shined into the study room and made patterns along the countless shelves of books. Little specks of dust were floating in the sun's brightest rays – rays that a vampire should be avidly avoiding.

A barely moving form was perched on a velvet throne, behind a sturdy, antique desk. He yawned with the coming of the sun; he could already feel himself growing faintly weary as the flaming fireball traveled across the sky. But it wasn't enough to make him pass out.

Compared to the chronic fatigue that used to plague his life, this was nothing.

He flipped through a textbook before standing up. After moving the curtains aside, the ceiling-high windows let in a generous amount of sunshine. His body naturally responded, but it wasn't enough to take him down.

The window opened and gusts of fresh, autumn air circled the room. He took in a deep breath and relaxed. It was sad how he would normally be sleeping at this time of day, but not anymore. No, not today.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. A precious part of the weekend. A special day, no doubt. He didn't want to waste Halloween in some musty old library.

Fuck no.

Sakura Haruno was dead and he couldn't be happier.

Nothing could ruin today. Not one fucking thing…

[10] The Déjà Vu

Hina sat patiently on the kitchen counter as she witnessed daylight spread over the horizon. She waited at the front entrance, secretly hoping someone would come home. The feline was all alone with nothing to eat. Sakura was out partying for God knows how long. Shizuka was called to work without warning. How did they expect a simple vampire cat to go out and hunt when she's trapped indoors?

Stacks of neatly piled cat food failed to satisfy Hina's appetite. She ignored the bowl of soggy, chicken-flavored mush and tried to pry open the window. With no such luck, she wondered why evolution had to be so cruel…

"Thumbs would be a great asset to animals everywhere…," she murmured as she tried for another window in the living room. When she stepped onto the windowsill, she spotted Sakura's mother approaching the door. Hina quickly scurried over.

The door squeaked open and the cat jolted outside. Yes, finally!

Mebuki jumped at the sudden movement, but soon recovered.

"Good morning, to you too…," She smiled at Hina who was trying to catch the pigeons flying around the yard. The sous-chef entered, slid off her shoes, and rubbed her sore feet. The late night business planning was really taking a toll on the dark bags under her eyes. She was just about ready to fall asleep on the cold kitchen floor. But before she could take a little catnap, she noticed the only pair of shoes at the door was her own.

"Sakura?" she called. No answer. She called out again, only to end with the same results. That was certainly strange. Her voice was Sakura's alarm clock. If the girl was sleeping, she'd at least groan or yell or… something.

The mother stepped into her daughter's room, only to find it completely untouched. School books and papers exactly where she left them. Sweaters and shoes lying around the room. No sign of Sakura anywhere.

That must be some party.

Sasuke, clad in a light jacket and shoes, grabbed his keys and was ready to take on the day from a new and maybe even happier perspective. His foot couldn't even make it out the door before his housemate called out to him. He cringed at the nagging voice.

"Where ya goin'? Trick-o-treating?" came a muffled sound. Naruto resurfaced from the depths of the heavily polluted Ramen-bowl Ocean. Styrofoam containers were scattered along the coffee table along with plastic spoons, forks, and sporks. Naruto swam in the center of the garbage pile. Sasuke couldn't help but find this to be quite appropriate.

"Out," he replied, ready to leave the glutton out at sea. Sasuke didn't really have a schedule for his best day ever, but as far as he knew, it definitely didn't include Naruto.

"Take me with you! I wanna get some candy and ramen, anyway."

"…"

.

The humming of the engine died and the two stepped out of the Oto-Viper. Filth on his genuine leather seats. Grimy finger smudges all over the exterior. Sasuke was on edge after allowing Naruto within a 10 feet radius of his car, but the only supermarket open this early was in the south-city. But so be it, he already had a plan to get rid of him.

Electronic doors slid open and welcomed the costumers to a store that was practically deserted. Naruto was already running through the aisles, on a hunt of his own. Meanwhile, Sasuke lagged behind and noticed the empty shelves of Halloween candy. He half expected kids in costumes to run around with pumpkin baskets and fairy wands, but he was kind of glad they wouldn't be anywhere near the Dead End. Little kids would just ruin his mood.

He veered towards the produce section instead. He examined the pile of ripe tomatoes and picked one up in his hand. He instantly remembered how these succulent fruit were once a pathetic substitute for something much more amazing. It was also around this part of town that Sasuke would feel those random intense cravings.

Ah, those were the days…

As if.

Without much concern, he tossed the bruising tomato back into the pile and scanned the area around him. No sight of Naruto, and he wasn't willing to wait for him either. Operation: Ditch the Dumbass is now a-go. There wasn't much to it. He just had to leave without Naruto noticing. Easy as pie, especially when the only supermarket that opened at 7AM carried over 100 brands of instant ramen. What a coincidence.

Sasuke walked out the same doors he used to come in. He went straight for his car, started up the engine, and backed out of the parking lot. Naruto would have a grand ol' time finding his way back home, carrying boxes and boxes of his latest obsession. He was lucky that lifer food didn't have much of an effect on the living dead, besides the sensation of taste. Otherwise, Naruto would be the fattest and unhealthiest vampire alive.

Even so, the only emotion Sasuke could feel was complete and utter apathy.

The Viper glided smoothly down the street while its driver expertly maneuvered through the morning rush hour. Even with his best efforts, he still couldn't avoid the crappy city drivers that nearly scratch his car. Choosing to not take any chances, he swerved down an empty street and moved away from the main roads. With his new found freedom, he instantly decided on where to go next.

An adult novel hit the desk with a soft thud as Kakashi finally decided to take out his mighty red pen. Even though the weekend was considered "his" time, he figured it couldn't kill him to get a jump start on his work. He flipped through the recent ungraded homework and marked the pages with splotches of red. After a few checks and Xs, he found himself looking outside and daydreaming about a wonderful day for Trick-o-Treating. Behind his mask was a deep, saddening frown.

Because today was Teacher Detention.

Once a month, all the teachers were called in on a Saturday – yes, a Saturday – for conferences regarding students, lesson plans, and other subjects that a qualified teacher should already know in the first place. In Kakashi's eyes, this was just a giant waste of time, but his contract "clearly stated" the required monthly meetings. Damn fine print.

When he got to the end of the pile, he noticed a beautiful failing grade that didn't belong there. It was a quiz, previously marked with a large zero at the top of the page. He instantly recognized it.

"Ahh, Ms. Haruno…," he said to himself, "Cheaters never prosper…" He looked over the page again and brought out her homework she did the other night. The handwriting was similar. The calculations were right. Everything was so perfect. Too perfect. Impossible. It boggled his mind, especially since he used to be known as the "copycat" back in his schooldays. He knew all the tricks and trades but he couldn't figure out her secret.

No matter. She can spend the rest of her high school life in detention for all he cared. He could always use the company, even on Saturdays. Misery just loved company.

.

Kakashi watched the clock tick slower and slower as the day went on. The math department's meeting was in less than an hour, but he desperately needed something to do. He already finished reading the latest Paradise novels twice and had his third coffee break. And it wasn't even noon. He turned on his laptop and started filling in grades into his computer. Once he finished the mindless calculations, he was surprised to see one student had a perfect grade. It wasn't Shikamaru Nara, the lazy genius. It wasn't Sakura Haruno, the hard-working brainiac. It was the transfer student.

Sasuke Uchiha.

100 on all his homework. 100 on every test, every quiz, everything. In his 10 years of teaching, Kakashi Hatake has never come across a student with a "perfect" score. He issued the toughest questions to ensure his students were properly prepared for college exams. He assigned hours of homework to keep them on their toes. He always made failing an option; he only wanted to prepare them for the harsh realities of life.

He must've cheated, too. There's no way… Kakashi reached for the Uchiha's file, looking through phone numbers and a contact sheet to notify his parents. Whether he cheated or not, it would be fitting to congratulate him on such an amazing feat. It's hard to cheat on just one test, but through every test, quiz, and homework? Now that takes real effort.

.

Kakashi stood in the main office after finding that the phone numbers he had on file weren't working. He was on the phone with the boy's old school. A pleasant voice answered the call.

"Good morning, this is Konohagakure High School, calling for transfer files on Sasuke Uchiha," voiced Kakashi, sounding professional yet robotic.

"Mmm, yes, one moment please…," answered the woman on the other end. After the click-clack of computer keys, she responded. "I'm sorry, but there's no record of a 'Sasuke Uchiha' attending here last year… I found records on a boy who went here 30 years ago? But I'm sure it's not the same one, haha!"

"Is that so…," Kakashi muttered.

"Maybe it's a relative? Who knows, haha!"

"Maybe... Thank you for your time."

"Alrightie, no problem. Bye bye."

Well, that was odd. For a second, Kakashi humored the idea that maybe Sasuke was a fully grown man posing as a high school student with sick, twisted fantasies about girls in plaid skirts. But he looked young enough, maybe even into his early twenties at most if he wanted to look the part. And there's no way he was a 30 year old man…

And then sudden red flag entered his mind. A very dangerous red flag. But before he could make any outlandish accusations, he needed more proof. Kakashi pulled out another sheet in the student file that listed his other past schools. If they had records dating back 30, 40, maybe even 50 years ago, then he'd have to worry about something a lot worse than cheating...

But before Kakashi can dive deeper into his investigation, he felt a pat on his shoulder. He turned to see his old friend that landed him a job in vampire city in the first place, Asuma Sarutobi. The history teacher gave an optimistic thumbs up.

"The department meeting wasn't so bad," he reported, already grabbing at another cigarette. "I'm sure yours won't be so bad either."

"Eh, we'll see." Kakashi stacked the papers and placed them back into the folder. The clock signaled it was time to face the droning voice of the department head, going on and on about nothing. Watching paint dry would be more interesting. Watching grass grow would be more productive. But what bothered him the most was that he couldn't make the urgent calls while sitting in detention.

"So, me and a bunch of the guys are going out for lunch later. You're invited, if you can make it," Asuma offered. He took a quick look around the room before lighting up.

"I think I'll pass. Few things to take care of…" Kakashi defensively held the folder behind his back.

"Suit yourself, but you, my friend, need a vacation…" He took a drag and exhaled. "You know, there's no need to work yourself to death…"

"I'll take my chances."

"7...8…9…" Sasuke had his eyes closed as he leaned against a giant tree in his backyard. His ears could pick up the laughter of the many girls running away and scattering all around the property. The smell of human blood was enticing.

"10."

He opened his onyx eyes and took notice of the tall, beautiful women who had nothing better to do but run around and play with nature's sexiest gift to the world. If he wanted to, they could all be dead in less than a minute. But that's not how tag is played.

"Oooh, Sasuke! Over here!"

"No! Tag me, tag me!"

"Me first!"

They didn't seem to understand how tag was played either. He just shrugged. Whatever it took to have some fun, right? He sauntered towards the viridian-eyed girl standing closest to him. The young woman was so deeply manipulated, she couldn't even remember her own name or even how much trouble she was in. She waved frantically, trying her best to get his attention. The vampire roughly yanked her sand-colored hair and forced her to look up so he could see into her green eyes.

How he hated green eyes.

Sasuke reached for her dainty hand and pulled her wrist to his lips. He could feel the pulse: quickened, excited. In a flash, his fangs ripped away at her skin. She yelped, but it only makes him even hungrier. He inhaled the blood rushing through her veins as she moaned under her breath. In a minute, she dropped to the floor, limp and motionless. The vampire licked his lips and eyed the women around him.

"Who would like to go next?"

"Sasuke, pick me!"

"I want to goooo!"

"Hey, hey–"

"YOU BASTARD!"

Sasuke dropped a girl's hand and dodged an incoming punch aimed at his face. The brunette stepped out of the way and whimpered as she craved the vampire's touch. He then stood upright, composed, and brushed the dirt off his shoulder.

The newly arrived Naruto was fuming.

"Way to just leave me at some random grocery store, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! I wasn't even sure how to get back hooo – … oooh, hello ladies," Naruto purred out of the blue. He slicked back his blonde hair and wiggled his eyebrows seductively. The ladies giggled in unison. He laughed along with them.

"I like 'em! Where'd you get 'em? At a supermodels' convention?"

"A photo shoot downtown," Sasuke said, lifting up the girl's dainty hand. "Useless stand-ins."

"Haha, who cares! They're hot," Naruto growled at a redhead smiling playfully. "They can use my stand-in, if you get what I mean! Hahaha! Man, I wonder if they taste as good as they look…"

"Take them," Sasuke replied, shoving the brunette towards Naruto. I'm bored with them, anyway.

"Ya sure? Not one bite?"

Sasuke looked at his watch and noticed the sun setting in the distance. He waved his friend off as he disappeared in a flash. He stopped by the cellar at the end of the Uchiha compound and descended down the stairs. A steel door creaked open as he entered his previously used room where a pile of distorted bodies were scattered along. A stunning leg here, a luscious arm there – all belonging to attractive frontline models and not just useless stand-ins. His first round of tag was much more productive. And yet he was still…

Bored.

"Satisfied?" asked Denka, coming in. He sat in the shadows at a safe distance away.

"I have it under control."

"Do you? Because the girl's dead and yet you still continue these habits–"

"I said…," Sasuke growled, clenching his fists tightly.

The last thing he needed was a conscience.

"I have it under control."

.

Darkness fell all around him as the night set in. The morning-drowsiness completely vanished and Sasuke felt stronger, among other things...

He could feel the flickering sensation take over again. At first, he thought it was just another time to feed, but even as the heap of beautiful bodies accumulated, the ache remained. It started small. And it was growing little by little as the day went on. He really didn't know what to do if it got any worse. He grumbled a few curses before starting up his car.

In a few minutes of ignoring red lights and speeding through stop signs, Sasuke stood at the entrance of the Konohagakure Medical Center. He waltzed in, seeing the same young receptionist from the last time he visited. Sharingan activated, he manipulated his way to the blood bank. It was time to restock if worse came to worst. But before Sasuke could paint the town red, he felt a pat on his shoulder. His eyes narrowed instantly.

"Well, well, well," spoke a woman in a lab coat, tapping her heel against the floor. She had a pen behind her ear and a clipboard in her grip. It's been around a hundred years since he last saw her. She still looked exactly the same. He wasn't surprised. "Someone's back in town."

"Tsunade," he greeted rudely. The grip on his backpack tightened. He didn't have time to chat with an old lady vampire. He figured for some twisted reason, she decided to go into the medical field. Whether it was because she liked watching people die or because she loved taunting herself with blood, he had no idea. But either way, he never really found her profession to be quite noble for someone like them. She was the complete opposite of a real vampire. Saving lives instead of taking them away. She was definitely in denial.

"That's Doctor Tsuande to you, kid. Learn some manners," she shook her head. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

Breaking in, stealing blood. You know, the usual. "Visiting someone."

"Uh huh…and who might that be?" She made a disbelieving face. It wasn't like him to visit someone out of the kindness of his heart.

"Sakura…" he said, thinking on his feet. He pretended to look around the room for a girl he knew was no longer with them.

"Sakura? Sakura Haruno?" Tsunade smiled the second she thought of her. "She's a bright girl, definitely a future asset to the hospital. You know her?"

If she knew what really happened to her star pupil, she would be nowhere near smiling.

"Classmates."

"Haha! High school! That's funny, Uchiha, really," she laughed, but the look on her face went south the second the laughter stopped. Her expression darkened and her hazel eyes gave off a heated stare. "But she has enough to worry about. If you hurt her, you'll have to answer to me. Clear?"

"Not everyone can be a vegetarian, Doctor," Sasuke countered sarcastically. He condemned the pussy diet of vegetarian vampires. Why deny yourself the euphoric experience of drinking warm, human blood? Animal blood was such a dirty poor substitute. But then again, it was a lot better than tomatoes…

"As if I had a choice. A vegetarian diet is the only way someone like me could survive around here." She was surrounded by blood day by day. Dealing with the sick and injured. It would without a doubt be bad for her reputation if she suddenly pounced on every patient who needed a blood transfusion. The blonde woman sighed and straightened her appearance. "So, you hear me loud and clear? Be careful with the poor girl! She has her whole life ahead of her..."

Not so sure about that. "Hn."

"Right. You're not much of a chatter. I don't know what she could possibly see in you."

Do you ever stop talki- What? "What?"

"It doesn't take much to see what's going on here." Tsunade smiled and crossed her arms over her inhumanly large chest. "She even told me she has boy troubles. The second you told me you knew her, it was obvious. It's not like she could help herself in the matter anyway. Ahh, teen love…well, in her case, it's still considered teen love…"

"…" He was at a loss for words. And thoughts.

"Oh, come on. She really is a good girl. Maybe if you just got to know her safely, you'd see what I mean."

"...I'm leaving." Sasuke turned his back to walk away.

"Rude! This generation is just so rude…But fine, you better stay out of trouble," she warned again before being called away by female nurse. The chief of medicine shot the young man a piercing glare before the two women quickly power-walked out of sight.

Sasuke took this chance to raid what was left of the blood bank.

.

The vampire shoved the packets of blood into his knapsack. He moved swiftly out of there and began to walk casually in the hallways to avoid suspicion. Cravings were creeping up on him again, getting worse and worse. He assured himself that blood bags would be the best way to handle this. No more unnecessary bloodshed, worthless killings, and death threats from old ladies. Plus, he was running out of room to store dead bodies in his basement. He always had the option of chopping them up and throwing them into the ocean, but there was just too much garbage to take out. Nature could always just do its job and let them decompose in peace.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was reluctant to call this mission a job well done. He still had to make it downstairs, out the door, and into his car before he could finally release some of the tension.

But it was such a nice night. No Sakura. No annoyances. No worries.

He stood at the closed doors of an elevator, watching the numbers light up. Just when he was about to reach for one of the buttons, he felt his whole body shiver. The quiet urge spiked and the room immediately felt like hell on earth. His eyes widen as he felt every bit of his being ignite with that familiar burn. His own skin felt like a flaming tomb that was ready to encase him and eat him alive.

I need her...

His fist slammed against the elevator button and a door opened on contact. He stumbled inside the empty car and started scratching at his throat in desperation, drawing vampire plasma that seeped down his pallid skin. He ripped apart his backpack and grabbed at the blood bags that scattered on the floor. His fangs tore the plastic and he downed the red liquid as his existence depended on it.

Yet the ache remained.

I need her. Her BLOOD.

There was no denying it. This excruciating pain that he loathed ever so much was back. Except this time, there was no cure. She was gone.

Unless…

The elevators jerked to a stop. He threw the plastics into his bag and held it closed. He tried to compose himself by lifting up his collar to hide the open wounds on his neck. Sasuke slowly walked out onto the main floor and noticed a head of pink standing at the receptions desk. He couldn't believe his eyes, but the smell of the sickening sweet flowers… the smell of her. Maybe he was the one in denial because she looked very much…

Alive.

Again.

You have to be fucking kidding me…

The Déjà Vu

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