Huh… I have absolutely no idea what to say here…so yeah…
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Keo and Salina are mine.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Sakura sat on the bed in the room she always changed in for work. She swung her legs quietly, examining the dress she was wearing. Why was she wearing a fancy dress? She really didn't know.
She had been setting up some kind of decorations in the ballroom of the Uchiha Mansion when Mikoto had come in and rushed her up here. Mikoto hastily told Sakura to get changed, keep the windows locked, and stay in the room. Before the pink haired teenager could ask what was going on, Mikoto nudged her into the bedroom and shut the door. Sakura turned and saw a plastic bag over what she expected was the dress along with hair products and makeup strewn along the dresser. Deciding she would find out what was going on sooner or later, Sakura went to the dresser and started working on her hair.
So there she sat, bored out of her mind and still as clueless as ever. The cherry blossom glanced out the window. It was dusk. Salina had told her that Sasuke would be back that afternoon and still nothing. Sakura knew it was ridiculous for her to be worried, but she was anxious to see him again.
Out of nowhere, Sakura felt another presence in the room. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
"Sakura."
The pink haired girl gasped and whipped around.
"Sasuke?!"
Normal POV:
Sakura was gaping at the boy in complete shock. Sasuke merely lifted an eyebrow and inquired, "Who were you expecting?"
The cherry blossom got a hold of herself and shrugged. "No one, I just heard that you were out hunting. But if that were true, then what are you doing here?"
Sasuke smirked in amusement, "I live here."
Sakura frowned at him in irritation. "That's not what I meant. What are you doing in this room?"
"I couldn't let you sit here alone all night," He replied simply, "Now come on, we're already late."
Sakura was about to persist in her interrogation, but Sasuke was already at the door, looking at her over his shoulder expectantly. Silently, Sakura walked up to him and slowly took the arm he offered her.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Sakura's POV:
Sasuke led me through the hallway and down the massive staircase that led to the main foyer, which was, for the first time that I knew of, having its size put to good use.
The crystal chandeliers dangling from the high ceiling were lit and cast ample bright light to every corner of the room and the heavy velvet curtains were drawn back to reveal the moonlight gleaming through the tall windows. However, none of this compared to the crowd below.
An innumerable quantity of people filled the room to the brim. People in extravagant evening gowns and well-designed suits talked and laughed, holding glasses of champagne while others danced breathtakingly to the orchestra music that was seemingly coming out of thin air.
As Sasuke continued to lead me through the crowds of people, I noticed that each face I passed was extremely pale……And why was some of the champagne red?
"Sasuke," I said in a hushed tone. He looked at me questioningly, a hint of worry in his eyes when he noticed my volume level.
"Are the people here…vampires?"
I was almost embarrassed that I sounded concerned. Never before had I been known to fear supernatural creatures, but when you find out that you're in a room filled with people who would tear you apart from one paper cut, one tends to get a little uneasy.
The corner of Sasuke's mouth lifted a tad, and I assumed it was in amusement.
"I believe there are some other creatures in the mix, but yes, for the most part, everyone here is a vampire."
Before I could reply, a scowl shoved Sasuke's smirk away from his face. An instant later, Itachi was standing in front of us, seemingly ignorant of his younger brother's glare.
"Sakura, I'm glad to see you came. You look stunning tonight," He said calmly, taking my hand and kissing the back of it softly.
As I stuttered out a jumbled 'thank you,' I noticed two things: first, that Sasuke had gone completely stiff when Itachi had taken my hand; second, that I wanted to scream in terror at such a harmlessly polite gesture.
When Itachi straightened up and let go of my hand, there was a strange glint in his eye; a sort of I-know-something-that-you-don't kind of shine with a dark and demented twist. A knot formed in my stomach as I remembered the girl from our school.
Itachi hadn't even taken three steps away from us before Sasuke sucked in a deep breathe and brought me to see his parents. Mikoto was exceedingly glad to see me on Sasuke's arm and kept complimenting me on 'how utterly gorgeous I was' (At this point I was really beginning to wonder why everyone in Sasuke's family kept saying this to me and why people lowered their voices when Sasuke and I walked by). After a few minutes of conversation, Sasuke whisked me off through one of the many side doors, down another staircase and out to the terrace.
The scene was completely different, and yet the exact same. Paper lanterns seemed to float over a crowd of elegantly dressed people, all of whom were mingling or dancing (this time to songs from this century that, yet again, seemed to come from nowhere). However, this time, the throng of people was no longer composed of adults, but teenagers.
"My mom figured out a long time ago that teenagers and classical music don't always mix, so every time she throws a huge party, she arranges for a "Teen Ball" as she likes to call it." Sasuke explained before I could ask. Despite what he had told me previously, I was truly beginning to believe that he could read my mind.
We wandered around for a while before I noticed that Sasuke's arm was still entwined with my own.
"Um Sasuke? Why are you still holding onto my arm?" I asked feebly, hoping that the question wouldn't offend him without really realizing that Sasuke wasn't the kind of person who was offended easily.
He rose and eyebrow at me and looked solidly into my eyes. "Like I said before, most of the people around here are vampires. If you were alone right now, it wouldn't take long for someone to pull you aside and suck you dry." Sasuke seemed to notice my unease at his bluntness because he added, "As long as you're with me though, you're safe. None of the people you see here would dare mess with me. The exception to that would be Naruto, but he'd sooner commit suicide before hurting you."
I laughed once at his half hearted joke when Salina seemed to pop up out of nowhere.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Normal POV:
Salina didn't waste anytime when she reached them.
"Hey Sakura! Sorry that you had to be locked upstairs so long, but Sasuke was late and I couldn't find my extra charm bracelet."
Sakura stared at her in confusion before asking, "What's the charm bracelet for?" The cherry blossom already knew that Salina usually had some sort of reason for most things she carried around, so she automatically figured it wasn't just an accessory.
"It has a special spell on it that repels supernatural creatures. That way, no one can come up and have you for dinner. 'Cept maybe Sasuke, 'cuz the spell doesn't include him or Naruto, but there's not even a chance of him doing that."
As Salina was talking, she had magically produced an embroidered cloth. She quickly unwrapped the fabric to reveal a black leather bracelet (that actually looked nothing like a charm bracelet so Sakura assumed it was just a name) with a gleaming red jewel and hastily tied it onto Sakura's wrist.
Sakura examined it for a moment before glancing at Salina and inquiring, "Why aren't you wearing one?"
The young girl didn't miss a beat as she replied, "I'm a witch, so my blood is poisonous to vampires."
During the brief silence, Salina noticed a dim, flickering light go on in mansion through the corner of her eye.
"I just remembered I have to do something," She said distractedly before turning to Sasuke and Sakura with a grin. "You probably have another two minutes to enjoy yourselves before Ino and the others find out you're here."
With that, Salina turned and strode off, disappearing into the crowd. Before Sasuke could stop her (as he had noticed her sudden urgency to get away), Naruto charged up to them with his signature grin on his face and Hinata in tow.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
TenTen squeezed her way through a horde of closely packed vampires, only to trip and fall flat on her face the moment she was free. Damn vampires….
"Need a hand?" The familiar voice came from above her, and when she looked up, she was torn between dread and glee to find that it was Neji.
Sucking up her unease, she took his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull her up and away from the growing crowd. They stood next to each other for a while, watching the teenage vamps in front of them dance their hearts out in utter silence.
A moment later, to TenTen's immense shock, Neji was the first to say something.
"TenTen, do you remember that conversation we had that night everyone was locked in the school?"
'Very formal and straight to the point; he must be nervous,' the brunette thought with a tiny spurt of amusement. Neji only talked to her in that formal tone when he was uneasy. Then TenTen actually remembered what they had both said in the school and understood his discomfort.
"Yeah, I guess so, why?" She replied, looking at him curiously. She already knew why, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder how the great Neji Hyuuga would go about asking a girl out.
The white eyed boy was stiff and speechless for a moment or two before he finally composed himself and stated with careful clarity, "You never specified what you wanted us to be right now."
"Right," I grimaced, "Ino's been bugging me to go out with you." I said this last part with distaste, looking back at the crowd instead of Neji's eyes. I already knew that he was mentally preparing himself for a rejection.
"I see," He began, his tone sounded like he was trying to speak when he was losing his voice. I cut him off before he could continue his formal I-won't-bug-you-anymore-since you-won't-date-me rant.
"That does not mean that I'm turning you down," Neji visibly released a silent sigh of relief at this, "I just don't want to be forced into anything. So as long as you don't pressure me every waking moment like a certain boy-crazed maniac I know, we can officially start dating right now if you want."
Neji didn't say anything. He didn't smile either. The corner of his mouth simply lifted into a rare smirk-like half-smile, which told TenTen that yes, he did want that.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Skye wandered around the endless mass of people, waving and smiling at some of the people she had come to know growing up. She had just walked away from Sakura and the others (who had by now tracked her and Sasuke down and mobbed them as soon as the two were in sight) to try and hunt down some food (she knew there was a refreshment table around here somewhere…) when a tall figure blocked her path.
"Deidara? Why the hell are you out here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of the Akatsuki?" The now irate girl huffed. There was no way that this Blondie was getting the best of her tonight. Not after he got her to admit she was falling for him in that damn school hallway.
Said 'Blondie' was completely unperturbed, if not amused by her anger.
"I had something to do down here first…yeah" He stated, staring her down with a smirk that could melt anyone who wasn't used to it.
Skye tried listening to the slow song that was playing to help her appear uninterested as she inquired, "And what would that be?"
"Simple," He replied airily, suddenly reaching out and taking her hand in one of his and her waist with the other. "I'm not going to let you leave my side until you agree to go on a date with me…hn."
Several strings of curses and death threats flowed through Skye's mind at his words, but she knew that this wasn't the best place to make a scene. So she tried to content herself with shooting him a steady string of fatal glares while he continued to grin at her, moving her along to the music.
The song hadn't even ended when she huffed and muttered, "Fine. Pick me up at seven next Friday; I don't really care where we go. But it is not a date!" She said the last part with so much malice that most people (who had never had the misfortune of coming in contact with her rage) would have fainted.
Deidara merely grinned a little wider, released her, and replied with a cheeky, "Fair enough…yeah," before he disappeared in the direction of the mansion.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Salina had been wandering the halls for at least half an hour trying to figure out where the light was coming from. She may have practically grown up here, but that didn't change the fact that there were countless rooms with numerous windows leading in just about every direction.
Just when she was about to give up, a heavy set of footsteps came from around the corner. She quickly cast an anti-detection charm on herself (she found that simple invisibility spells by themselves didn't help you much when you were in a house full of vampires that could sniff you out in a heartbeat) and backed up to the wall as Deidara stalked past her with an expression that stated he was trying to cover up his joy about something and replace a grin with a serious look.
The young witch trailed silently behind him, stopping at the doorway when he slipped into the library. Luckily for Salina, the door stayed open a crack so she could just barely peek inside.
There was a group of people huddled around a reading desk. She couldn't quite tell who they were or how many people there were though, since the single candle that was lit on the desk didn't even cast enough light to reach the closest bookshelves, let alone illuminate the faces enough for her to make out.
"Your late," I voice stated emotionlessly. A sensation like cold, wet fingers running along her spine immediately informed Salina that the voice belonged to Itachi.
"'Doesn't look like I've missed much…hn," Deidara replied glumly, joining the circle.
"No, you've already seen the passage," Itachi replied, gesturing to what Salina assumed was a book. However, she was still a little freaked at how the rest of the silhouettes didn't talk, let alone move.
"So you're sure that your Sasuke and Sakura are the ones…yeah?"
"Yes. The plan is in order, so we simply have to wait for the proper time."
Apparently, this sentence ended the meeting. The book slammed shut and was put back in place while the candle was snuffed out by a pair of gloved fingers. Salina had to leap out of the way to avoid the getting hit by the door as the people exited. In the moonlight streaming the windows, Salina could distinguish the figures of all the Akatsuki members and a few more that she assumed were also members, just not the ones everyone at her school knew about.
Salina waited at least five minutes after they disappeared to creep into the library. She cast a sort of fingerprint spell that led her to the book that they had been examining (it was a crusty leather bound book shoved in the back of the room) and showed her the page and passage. The young girl scanned it over, then, feeling sick to her stomach, clutched the book more tightly and read the passage thoroughly:
Centuries ago, a young prince of the Vampire Monarchy created the base to an amazing and grueling discovery.
An activist for vampire/human interaction, it was no surprise when the Prince had fallen in love with a human girl (and a meager peasant at that). That morning after he drank her blood, the Prince found his strength had exponentially increased (which he then used to end a rather bloody war that threatened to expose our kind).
Later, another vampire, who was awestruck by the Prince's newfound power, bit the girl, thinking that her blood gave vampires power. He too gained immense strength, though it was not as much as the Prince had.
After that, one more vampire bit the girl, this time out of bloodlust. Unlike the first and second however, nothing about him changed. The only difference was that the third vampire died instantly of poisoning.
Through this experience, multiple findings have been made. It has been proved that if a vampire of royal descent bites a human (due to affections to said human) without changing them or out of bloodlust or thirst, that human's blood will then have the ability to grant vampires who drink it enormous power. However, this power comes at a price. If the blood is drunk purely out of thirst, the drinker shall die instantaneously.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Oooooohh……I wonder what's gonna happen next…Seriously, I'm still working on that. But it's done!!! Wohoo!
I need help though! I desperately need ideas for some kind of Naruto/Hinata thing because my mind is at a blank!
reviews are well loved,
~spirit