Chapter 14 – Under the moonlight

Itachi parked his car at the end of the gravel road and together they walked towards the small village beneath the hills. Sasuke relived the moment when he had come here with Naruto and tensed slightly.

"How will everyone react to me being here?"

Itachi glanced at him, "Don't worry, you're my brother and you come alone this time. They'll welcome you."

The sky was getting dark slowly and it turned out the werewolves were already gone to walk deeper within the mountains. Only Konan and Nagato had stayed to wait for Itachi's return.

Itachi walked up to his girlfriend and entangled his long pale fingers in her bluish black locks, pulling her into a soft kiss.

"Are you excited?" Nagato asked the seventeen year old on the meantime.

"Yeah I am," he admitted.

"It's gonna be your first night of freedom," the red-headed male shrugged slightly, "so it's pretty normal for you to be excited."

"If everyone's ready then let's go join the others," Konan suggested.

With Itachi they advanced and Nagato and Sasuke followed closely. He was looking everywhere around him in fascination. Some trees and plants had started blooming already on the lower hills. The fresh wind was bringing all sorts of wild and sweet scents – being here was all too different from the city. And the sunset was gorgeous. The sky was painted with shades of pink and purple as the light faded.

When Sasuke glanced at the young man walking next to him he realized the latter had been staring at him rather fondly.

"You look like you've never seen a sunset before."

"It's different, in central Tokyo…"

"That's an understatement," Itachi chuckled, glancing at them behind his shoulder.

Konan took her boyfriend's hand and smiled at Sasuke, "I'm glad Itachi brought you here. You should never be locked up."

"But," Sasuke frowned, "when I transform, I lose control. I'm not myself anymore."

"That's because you're alone and confused," Nagato explained, "and also very young. But you'll see, when you're in a pack it's easier. It's like real wolves. You're relying on the strongest male."

"The strongest…?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"That would be me… and your brother," he added.

"We still haven't settled our score," Itachi explained.

"They're constantly fighting," Konan sighed, tilting her head back in annoyance.

"Let us have our fun," her boyfriend replied.

Sasuke went back to admiring the landscapes around him thoughtfully. He still couldn't believe he was really here.

His three guides stopped in front of the entrance to a hideout in one of the hills. Sasuke followed them inside and realized that the fourteen other members of the pack were in there.

They were mostly males; there were only two women excluding Konan. Sasuke recognized some of them from the last time, but he'd rather not think about that right now. In the hideout there was a large area with a fire in the middle, and everyone was sitting in a circle.

"This is where we spend the evenings before the full moon," Nagato explained, "we also leave here all our things and clothes before transforming. It's very important to have a place like this in the winter, for obvious reasons…"

"It can be a little cold butt naked in the snow," one of the other men said making a few werewolves laugh.

Nagato and Konan went to join the rest. Sasuke stayed slightly behind with Itachi, and the latter turned to look at him, concerned.

"Is your transformation still painful, Sasuke?"

"Yeah a little," he admitted.

"It will get better soon," Itachi said in a reassuring voice, "It stopped hurting when I was eighteen. Sure it's still not the most pleasant thing in the world but at least your body adapts and gets used to it."

"It's already better than it was in the beginning…" Sasuke almost winced in pain as he remembered the first few times.

He noticed Konan was sitting near the fire with a small pocket mirror, and she was taking off her few piercings. Sasuke went to sit next to her and Itachi followed. When she was finished he asked to borrow her mirror.

"Here," she smiled and looked at him as he took off his piercings and Naruto's necklace. He put them in his jacket's pocket safely.

"So is your wolf form all black like Itachi's?" she asked as the other conversations continued around them.

"Pretty much," he said.

He was beginning to get a little nervous. He couldn't help it; he always felt anxious and fidgety before the full moon. And night fall was close now. But he felt excited, almost feverish, at the same time. He wasn't trapped, he wasn't locked away, he was completely free… For the first time he would be able to run, to feel the ground under his paws and the cool night air brushing his fur… it sounded silly, but it was how he felt.

Eventually people started taking off their clothes. Sasuke thought it was weird, undressing like that in front of everyone. But these guys seemed to think it was perfectly normal.

The oldest ones were the first to transform, it seemed. And then they ran out of the hideout. But Sasuke was only beginning to feel the pain and uneasiness in his body. Maybe, he thought, the transformation was faster with the years.

A few minutes later he started taking off his clothes. He had no choice; he would transform soon. Konan, Itachi and Nagato, as well as a few others, stripped completely and transformed before his very eyes. It was Sasuke's first time seeing it. The transformation was somewhat fascinating, terrifying and impressive at the same time.

The three big wolves, two black and one dark red, waited for him while most of the others left. There were only two others who looked to be the same age as Sasuke; a boy and a girl. Their transformations seemed to be just as slow as his. Sasuke was in too much pain to be embarrassed at being naked in front of these people he barely knew. His back was facing them as his body started to go through the change. At least it went even faster then the last time. Sasuke was thankful.

As usual he pretty much lost all notion of who he was as a human. He forgot about his life problems and all that was left was the hunter instinct, and mostly curiosity for this new environment and those other wolves.

The youngest wolves followed the three others outside. The pack was complete. Sasuke looked up. The moon was beautiful in the dark, starry sky. It was such an amazing sight to behold. After all, for an entire year now he hadn't been able to witness it.

The eighteen wolves separated in two groups and went hunting. His older brother motioned for him to follow the group he was leading.

Everything was so exciting and new. And even though he was a human the rest of the month all of this felt so normal. He even helped in the hunt and ate with the others. After that they went to a stream of water to drink and some wolves played a little, chasing each other or doing whatever they felt like at the moment. They were completely free.

There was even some kind of ritual howling session in the middle of the night and Sasuke took part in it and it felt completely natural. Actually he felt good. He ran with the others. He was running so damn fast and it felt so amazing. He felt like nothing could hurt him, like he was invincible.

He fought with a pale brown male wolf at some point, just for fun. They barely hurt each other. He also picked a playful fight with his brother and they kept at it for almost an hour.

In the morning, Sasuke didn't remember everything very clearly. Well, he was a bit freaked out by the things he did remember, but he decided not to give it too much thought. And he'd had fun after all.

He certainly remembered the feelings of freedom, adrenaline and power. The feeling of actually belonging in a group with other wolves was also pretty amazing.

But now it was time to get back to reality. Time to wake up…

His blurry dark eyes opened slowly, and the first thing felt was pain in his entire body. It was even worst than the previous mornings after full moons. He looked around and recognized the hideout. The fire had been remade but the place was empty, except for…

"Itachi?" he whispered in a rasp voice. He was lying down on a blanket and covered with Itachi's long gray trench coat. He tried to sit up, wincing in pain. Itachi came to sit next to him.

"How are you feeling?" He looked worried. Sasuke frowned.

"What happened? Where's everyone."

"They already went back. You passed out after the transformation so I carried you inside. Konan and Nagato offered to stay but I thought it'd be better if it was just me."

"Yeah," Sasuke whispered, embarrassed. He looked around him and reached for his clothes without a word.

"Hey it's not a big deal," Itachi ruffled his hair briefly, "it happened to all of us. It was your first time spending a crazy night like that so of course your body wasn't used to it."

Sasuke did feel a little better after knowing that it had happened to the others too. He got dressed as quickly as he could in his slightly dizzy state and gave back his coat to Itachi.

"Let's go," he said as he rubbed Sasuke's back briefly in a comforting manner.

As they walked there was a moment of silence. But eventually Sasuke said, "I had a great time…"

"Yeah?" Itachi smiled.

"Hmm," Sasuke gave a slight nod, "it's all blurry when I try to remember… But the last times I always remembered being so angry and frustrated… Now I remember feeling good. And," he chuckled, "I think we fought…"

"Yeah," Itachi laughed, "I was really holding back. You're gonna have to work on your wolf fighting skills little bro."

"Shut up," he said but he was smiling. "We're just like real animals when we transform… It's so weird."

"There's nothing we can do about it, right?" He shrugged, "So might as well try to enjoy it. That's what I think anyway."

"Yeah," Sasuke said thoughtfully.

When they went back to the compound Itachi invited Sasuke inside the small house he shared with Konan and Nagato. Even though they lived in the middle of nowhere they still had their basic comfort; electricity, hot water, normal household appliances…

Konan and her brother were sitting at the small table drinking some coffee. The young woman's hair was wet and she still had a towel around her neck, evidently she'd just gotten out of the shower.

"How are you doing Sasuke?" Nagato asked, looking up from his book.

"Better."

"Good," the red-head smiled, crossing his arms, "so are you gonna come back some time?"

"Yeah I think so," he nodded and the three others seemed happy with his decision.

"Great! You looked like you were enjoying yourself," Konan said. She got up and prepared some more coffee for them.

Sasuke fell down in an empty chair. He still felt a bit weak.

"So you guys actually… remember everything?"

"Pretty much," Nagato nodded, "you'll see, it comes with time. But the feeling that you're someone different remains. It's like an alter-ego I guess."

"Makes sense," Sasuke said and he thanked Konan when she handed him a cup of coffee.

Itachi removed the towel from her shoulders and ran his fingers through her damp hair, before leaning closer to kiss her cheek. The sight made Sasuke happy; his brother had found someone special to him…

"So when are you going back?" Nagato asked.

"Today, I need to be at the studio early tomorrow morning so…"

"Ah yeah that's right," Konan exclaimed, "Itachi told me you were in a band."

"He's the guitarist," Itachi said, returning to stand next to her, "and a really good one at that. I heard their song on the radio."

"That's great!" Nagato said, impressed, "I'd love to hear it."

"Do you guys have a computer?" Sasuke asked. The song was on their website.

"It's kinda broken right now," Konan scratched the back of her head, "well we have a radio with cd player…"

Sasuke chuckled. He couldn't help it. "How can you guys live without a computer? Tsk just like Naruto… idiot barely knows how to use his laptop. All right well when the cd comes out I'll bring you a copy."

"Naruto…" Konan said hesitantly, "that's the vampire who was with you the first time you came here?"

He tensed, realizing his mistake. "Uh… yeah…" Looking down, he fumbled with the hem of his jacket nervously.

"I actually have a lot of respect for the guy," Itachi said and the three others looked at him. "He got captured and tortured by humans – vampire hunters – and when he managed to get away he knocked them out, but he was careful not to hurt them too badly."

"Wow," the blue-haired girl bit her lip, and glanced at Sasuke, "I guess he's not like the other vampires."

"Not all vampires are complete asses," Sasuke said, thinking about Hinata and Neji. They were all right. Even Deidara was okay.

"But this threat he spoke of," Nagato said slowly as he sipped at his coffee, "what's happening with that now?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said sincerely, "all I know is that… three strong vampires just arrived in Tokyo and… basically their favorite hobby is to hunt down werewolves. So you guys really have to be careful."

"Do you think there's a chance that Naruto will tell them about our location?" the red-head asked calmly.

"Of course not," Sasuke said without hesitating, "he'd never do that."

"Well that does make me feel a little safer," Konan smiled, "to know that at least one vampire is on our side."

After their conversation Itachi and Sasuke decided it was time to go. Before getting to the car Itachi yawned.

"Are you gonna be okay to drive?"

"Hmm… yeah should be fine. If I'm really too tired we'll just stop somewhere."

Sasuke felt guilty that everyone always had to drive him around. He had his license but he hadn't bothered buying a car yet. He promised himself to get one as soon as possible. He still had enough money from his parents' inheritance.

Itachi drove in silence and Sasuke leaned against the window, stretching his booted legs as much as he could in the restricted space. His body still felt a bit sore.

"Konan's pretty cool," he said at some point. Itachi's pleased smile was priceless. "Her brother's pretty great too."

"Nagato's a really great guy," Itachi agreed, "and I think he likes you… He's gay, you know?"

"Itachi! What the hell!" Sasuke's dark eyes widened in horror. "Do not try to play match makers for me! Ugh…"

"I'm just saying…"

"Isn't he too old for me?" The teenager cut him, "How old is he anyway?"

"Twenty five, but…"

"See," Sasuke interrupted him again, crossing his arms, "too old."

"Oh really," Itachi glanced at him, "and how old is Naruto, might I ask?"

"Twenty."

"You know what I mean."

Sasuke snorted and didn't answer. He couldn't believe it. Even after their talk the day before, Itachi still didn't get it. His feelings for Naruto were incredibly intense… he didn't want to be with anyone else.

After a long silence Itachi sighed, "I'm sorry okay?"

"Whatever…"

"You know I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Well don't."

Another long silence followed. Eventually they stopped at a restaurant to have lunch. But Sasuke was looking down at his food without much appetite.

"I kinda…" he lowered his voice, looking up at his brother, "just remembered that we ate… raw, bloody meat and…" he swallowed hard and pressed a hand to his chest. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Itachi leaned forward worriedly and touched his shoulder, squeezing gently, "Sasuke just breathe okay? Don't think about it."

"Okay," he whispered weakly. He didn't throw up, but he didn't eat either. He just drank a lot of water as if to wash it all down – especially the unwanted memories of last night.

"Try to just think about the things that made you feel good," Itachi advised.

"Hmm…"

Later, in the car, he fell asleep.

He dreamed of Naruto – a normal dream for once, in which he was actually a guy – and it was really great at first, but then the images changed and Naruto was dying. He was covered in blood just like after that time the vampire hunters had tortured him. But this time, for some reason, his wounds wouldn't heal. And then Sasuke tried to give him his blood to save him but it was too late…

Sasuke woke up with a start as Itachi was shaking his shoulder softly.

"Sasuke? Are you okay? We're here. Were you having a nightmare or something?"

He blinked and looked out his window. Indeed they were in front of Kakashi's house.

"I… I'm fine."

"You sure? Do you want me to come inside?"

"No I'm fine really… I think I'll just take a shower and go to bed."

"All right…" Itachi leaned closer a bit hesitantly, and hugged him briefly, "You can call me if there's anything…"

"Now that you actually have a phone…" He teased.

"Yeah," his older brother chuckled, "and even if you just need to talk, you can call any time."

"Okay…"

"Take care of yourself."

"You too. Thanks for everything."

Once inside the house Sasuke did exactly as he had told Itachi; shower and bed. He actually felt much better when he woke up in the evening. He threw on some comfy sweat pants and a plain black t-shirt and went to join Kakashi in the kitchen.

"Hey," the latter said, "I was really curious but I didn't want to wake you up. So how was it?"

"It was amazing," Sasuke leaned against the counter, watching as Kakashi showed off his cooking skills – as in heated up some food in the microwave.

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

"Come on give me details here," Kakashi complained.

Sasuke chuckled and ran his fingers through his messy hair.

"I don't remember much… Let's just say we were a bunch of crazy wolves running around everywhere… Is that detailed enough?"

"Not really, but if you don't want to talk about it it's fine."

"Sorry…"

They sat together and ate the microwave food – more like stared disgustedly at it in Sasuke's case.

When Kakashi spoke again he asked, "So are you gonna go back…?"

"Probably."

"You know… Sasuke… we had some pretty rough times recently but I do like having you here. So I'd hate for you to leave, but if you do well… I'd rather you go with your brother and the others than go live with Naruto."

Sasuke face palmed. Great, he was gonna get another speech.

"I'm just trying to…"

"Look out for me," he interrupted, "I know. And I know why you don't want Naruto to change me. Itachi told me."

"So you do understand the danger…" Kakashi looked at him intently.

He sighed, "Of course I understand, I'm not an idiot. Now can we stop talking about it?"

His adoptive father obliged and soon after Sasuke returned to his bedroom. He opened the window slightly because he wanted to breathe some fresh air and it wasn't that cold.

Of course the real reason was that he hoped Naruto would come see him.

He picked up his guitar and sat on his bed, working on some of his recent ideas for new songs. It helped him clear his mind from all his troubles. He really had no idea what he would do without music.

At some point in the late evening the window slid open and Sasuke smiled.

"Hey," he looked up.

And there he was, his sexy boyfriend, looking good in pale blue jeans and black v-neck tee, his hair messy and windblown and his smile making Sasuke feel warm inside.

"Hey," he said back and jumped down on the bed. "I missed you!" He threw his arms around Sasuke, uncaring of the guitar that was still in the way, and kissed his lips.

Sasuke had missed him too, of course, and he realized it now. The longing he had been feeling was gone, replaced by this warm and sort of tingling sensation. He put the guitar away and moved closer to the vampire. He placed his hand behind his neck, feeling the soft skin and hair, and kissed him again. Naruto ran his hands all over his back before finally placing one in his hair and the other at his waist. Suddenly he pulled Sasuke closer in a swift movement, so that he was sitting in Naruto's lap with his legs wrapped around his lower back. They kissed even more passionately and Sasuke felt himself getting hard.

This was so intense… they couldn't even stop. Soon their clothes went flying everywhere and the bed became a mess with Sasuke moaning and writhing under Naruto. The latter seemed intent on kissing and licking every inch of his skin it seemed, and Sasuke couldn't repress small moans of pleasure especially when his lips got closer to his now painfully hard member.

"So I take it you missed me too?" Naruto smirked devilishly before kissing the tip of his cock and licking the shaft.

Sasuke moaned, "Yeah… oh god yeah…"

"You missed me or just this?" Naruto teased as he gave it another lick.

"Both…"

"You wanna know what I missed?" Naruto purred and Sasuke shivered in anticipation.

The vampire turned him around and kissed his back.

"You don't have any lube, do you?"

"Ah… fuck… no…"

"Then why don't you…" Naruto placed his fingers next to Sasuke's face, and the latter took the hint and licked them.

"Mm… that was hot," the blond whispered before bringing his fingers to Sasuke's entrance.

As he stretched him the raven grew a little impatient. He really wanted Naruto inside of him, badly…

"You can… now…"

"What was that?" The blond asked teasingly before placing another soft kiss in between his shoulder blades.

"Fuck me… now…"

"I thought you'd never ask."

When Naruto's cock slid inside of him Sasuke arched his back and repressed a loud moan. He didn't want Kakashi to hear them so he had to keep it down. But it wasn't easy… this felt so good… kind of painful but so damn good…

"Naruto," he moaned as he reached behind with his hand to touch the blond's thigh.

The vampire slid his arm around Sasuke's waist flushing their bodies together as he continued thrusting inside of him harshly. The raven couldn't take it anymore and he let out a lustful moan as Naruto hit that spot repeatedly… It was just too much, and yet not enough. He couldn't help wanting more, always more.

"Say my name again," the vampire whispered in his ear and Sasuke moaned.

"Naruto…"

"I love your voice," he said huskily, "I love everything about you. Sasuke… you make me crazy, you know that?"

Oh god he loved Naruto's voice too. He loved everything about him too. But instead of saying this he moaned again and closed his eyes, lost in the sensations.

When the vampire used his hand to stroke Sasuke's cock he lost it. A few more thrusts later he came and Naruto also finished right after.

Sasuke was still trembling and panting when Naruto rolled him over tenderly. He kissed his lips softly.

"That was amazing," the blond whispered, "I really needed that. Thank you."

Sasuke wanted to say it back, everything, but instead he just wrapped his arms around Naruto and pulled him close. He felt the vampire slowly relax in his arms and he realized he didn't mind having him resting on top of him like that. It actually felt kind of nice. He trailed his hands on Naruto's smooth backside, feeling his defined muscles.

Eventually Naruto pulled away, and used tissues to clean himself and Sasuke as much as possible. Then he sat on the bed and took his hand.

"So hey tell me… how was it, your night with the werewolves?"

"It was great," he said, "but weird. So weird… It's like, we really become animals you know? So fucked up… but it definitely beats being locked in the basement."

"I can imagine," Naruto chuckled and lifted his fingers to brush his dark bangs aside.

"…Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"You wanna stay here tonight? We can go to the studio by foot tomorrow." He suggested, assuming Naruto didn't have his car. He always took long walks at night to come see him.

"What about Shikamaru and Kiba?"

"Let them figure it out they're big boys."

"Hmm I guess you're right."

Naruto lay down next to him and pulled the sheets to cover them up. He turned on his side so that they were facing each other. Sasuke thought he could get lost in those deep, dark blue eyes. But he noticed something. Naruto looked a bit… worn out. And then he remembered his nightmare.

"Did you feed recently? You know, after those assholes hurt you…" he frowned.

"No," Naruto said.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"I forgot…"

"Hn… idiot." He brushed his hair behind his shoulder and said, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

The vampire shook his head slightly and kissed his lips. "You're amazing. Thanks." He leaned even closer, resting his hand on Sasuke's hip, and bit his neck with his sharpened fangs.

Sasuke didn't get any flashes this time and he was relieved actually. He didn't want to remember a long lost past. He didn't want to think at all right now. He just wanted to be with Naruto. And that was it.

The feeling of Naruto's body so close while his soft lips were pressed on his neck wasn't all that unpleasant. He closed his eyes, giving his full trust to Naruto.

But perhaps he shouldn't have, because the vampire took a little bit too much. He licked his neck to heal his wound but Sasuke barely felt it. He was dizzy and black was creeping into his vision.

"I'm sorry," the blond whispered, "I got carried away. I guess I was really thirsty…"

"It's okay," Sasuke breathed, struggling to keep his eyes open. He felt a bit nauseous…

Naruto pulled him close and held him tight, caressing his hair. Sasuke took a few deep breaths and then he felt better. He smiled as he felt Naruto's skin becoming warm.

"Is it creepy that I like when you're so warm because you fed on my blood?"

Naruto chuckled, "Who cares?"

They stayed like this for a moment. Sasuke closed his eyes, simply enjoying the feel of his perfect body, his strong arms holding him, his subtle masculine scent, and his soft blond hair mixing in with his own raven locks slightly. He didn't want to move.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.

They pulled away so they could look at each other. "Yeah?"

"I love you…"

Dark gray eyes widened and his lips parted but no sound came out. His mind was blank except for this annoying confusion; the uneasy mix of love and fear. Fear of what? He wasn't sure… But he couldn't say it back…

The vampire smiled fondly and kissed his forehead. Then he rolled on his back pulling Sasuke with him, so that his head was now resting on his chest.

"You don't have to say anything," Naruto said softly, caressing his hair, "Don't get so worked up. Just close your eyes… you look tired."

As if the vampire had cast a spell on him, Sasuke closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.