Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto - not me. Life doesn't give you those privileges so easily, I'm afraid.
The pairings in this story include SasuNaru (main), OC/Sasu (forced), SaiSaku (side)
After a long and lengthy absence, I had returned with a new updated chapter for everyone to read! The reason for this absence was because I was graduating from my 'Australian' University with a BA (Bachelor of Arts) degree in Professional Writing!
Hopefully, this will help me create some really good updates for all of you to make up for it. I cannot stress my apologies enough, but rest assured I haven't abandoned my stories. I have just been busily planning and writing down my ideas for this story and my other stories as well.
Keep your flames and trolling comments to yourself - if you don't like my story, please don't read it. Let others who enjoy it, read it!
Note: This is the last chapter before the Epilogue.
TILL WE MEET AGAIN
"Life is short, break the rules.
Forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably;
and never forget anything that makes you smile."
~Mark Twain
The vial shattered.
The curse upon Sasuke was finally broken and he was free. The only problem now was Akumu, who was seething.
He did it. He actually fucking did it!
Naruto's face threatened to split apart with joy as he watched Sasuke stiffen, taking in his first deep breath in nearly a hundred years. A blinding yellow-orange light burst over the horizon and washed over Sasuke. He flinched feeling the warm sun rays touch his sensitive skin, but then realised that he didn't need to fear the sun anymore; he was alive and human. He closed his eyes and allowed the warmth to consume him.
"No! This was not supposed to happen!" Akumu shrieked from the safety of the shadows. "Sasuke is mine!" Everyone turned to look at her. "He was supposed to be mine forever!" Sasuke smirked triumphantly, while Naruto glared hatefully at her from across the ballroom.
"Well get over it, you possessive bitch." Naruto snapped, finally at the end of his tether. He noticed Sasuke grinning lovingly at him, and he fought down an embarrassed flush on his face.
"You better leave now, Akumu. Unless you wish to die, of course?" Only, Akumu had other plans in mind for the blonde. In fact before Sasuke could even take a step towards his beloved idiot and embrace him tenderly, Akumu intercepted; grabbing the horrified ninja in her clutches.
"NO!" Sasuke froze where he stood glaring at Akumu, fearful for Naruto's life. "Don't do it!" He pleaded. Akumu ignored him as she squeezed at Naruto's throat. The stubborn blonde ninja fought desperately for his freedom – knowing almost instinctively what was about to happen next.
"Oh yes. If I can't have you, then nobody will." Akumu deliberately licked a slow trail up Naruto's neck, causing him to shudder before screaming out in unbearable pain and sheer terror when the mad vampire savagely bit into his neck like a fresh apple, pulling at his thick, rich blood.
"NARUTO!" screamed Sasuke, drawing his sword and rapidly advancing on Akumu who paused pulling away, licking Naruto's blood from her lips.
"It's definitely a unique flavour that's for sure." Akumu commented like she was sampling a particular vintage of wine. She studied Naruto in a puzzlement before shrugging and continuing to feast. Naruto flinched again, which was like a dagger in Sasuke's heart.
"S-sasu-ke—" Naruto croaked groggily as Akumu dragged him into the shadows. Sasuke cursed, believing that Naruto only had seconds before he would be damned for eternity. He was determined to stop that from happening. Even if he had to kill Naruto as a result. But before he could follow them, an icy hand descended on his shoulder and held him fast.
"Wait."
Sasuke reacted to that familiar voice and turned his head to see his brother standing there with a serious look on his flawless face.
"What do you mean 'wait'!?" Itachi ignored Sasuke's outburst.
"Nii-san, he only has seconds—"
"Stop being so foolish!" Itachi snapped sternly, glaring down at his foolish little brother. Sasuke was about to protest once again when he heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart. His eyes widened, believing that it was Naruto being mutilated. But the following feminine shriek of pain stopped him. Itachi face spread into a sadistic grin as somebody walked calmly towards them dragging a struggling figure behind him by the hair. A tall, gangly man wearing Naruto's clothes walked into the early morning light, licking fresh blood from his long, graceful fingers. His spiky shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair was hanging in the man's equally red catlike eyes, and his fingernails were sharp talons.
It was the Kyuubi no Kitsune.
Sasuke relaxed a little as he looked down at the struggling figure he had by the hair, relieved that it hadn't been Naruto. But then his stomach leapt straight into his throat when he saw the state of Akumu. Her arms had been forcibly dislocated from its sockets and were currently dangling in strange angles from her body, the early morning sunlight that was now awash over her old, fragile skin was starting to make it crackle, burn and otherwise turn a grisly charcoal black. Sasuke winced, but otherwise held no remorse. She would survive. But for how long, Sasuke wasn't positive. The being formerly known as Akumu was whimpering from the pain in both her arms, the pain the sunlight reflecting on her skin was causing her, and the hold Kyuubi had on her long black hair.
"How is this possible? I thought Akumu's presence repelled you." Sasuke demanded, brushing off his brother's hand from his shoulder once he knew Naruto was safe.
"I thought so too. Until the moment the kit retrieved that bottle for you. Then it was like some barrier had shattered and suddenly things changed." Kyuubi muttered before brutally tossing Akumu across the room where she collided against the wall, unable to escape the lethal rays of sunlight. "It feels so good to be able to breathe fresh air again." He commented, stretching and yawning contentedly.
"How did you survive being bitten?" Sasuke asked, coming forward to inspect Kyuubi's neck before the fox growled and took a step back. Sasuke frowned and tried again before Itachi grabbed his brother's shirt and yanked him back.
"You really are a glutton for punishment aren't you?" He admonished, earning a glare from Sasuke in the process.
"Lord Kyuubi is still dangerous despite being trapped in Naruto-kun's body. Maintain your distance." Itachi warned.
"Like all foxes, I am a wild animal – and therefore I consume blood." Sasuke's eyes widened.
"Any attempt to change the kit into a vampire, would be impossible." Kyuubi said matter-of-factly.
"You mean—" the Kyuubi grinned tauntingly.
"The penny has dropped. Great, there's hope for you yet." Sasuke glared. "Yes, young one. Essentially, the kit became a 'vampire' the very moment his father sealed me into him as a newborn." Akumu made an odd noise from across the room and the trio turned towards her.
"How?!" Akumu struggled to get to her feet, and failed miserably. Akumu rasped, barely coherent because of the sunlight's effects.
"How have I not heard of you?" Kyuubi snorted and sauntered over to the pathetic vampire grovelling on the dusty linoleum floor. He crouched down to her level and stared at her condescendingly.
"I am considerably older than you or any other living thing that walks this earth. I am more than you can possibly comprehend. You haven't heard of me before now, because I didn't want you to know." Kyuubi sneered. "The tailed-bijuu have always despised and will always be despised by vampires until the end of time. We are natural enemies." He smirked at her, showing all of his sharp teeth. "We just choose not to associate with each other. Kind of like how vampires prefer not to associate with Lycans." He then grabbed her harshly by her hair and forced her to her feet.
"And now, I will take the greatest pleasure in bestowing upon you, your demise." Kyuubi promised, grabbing both sides of Akumu's head and beginning to twist, eliciting terrified pleas of mercy from the defenceless vampire…
"Wait!" Kyuubi sighed with frustration and focused his attention on Itachi who had raised his hand, in objection. Kyuubi was not amused.
"What is it now, Uchiha? Can't you see I'm a little busy at the moment?"
"I can see that. But don't you think that Sasuke should do the honours?" Both Kyuubi and Sasuke considered this suggestion, before Kyuubi shrugged and dumped Akumu on the floor. He made a point, however, of planting a foot on her back to make sure that she couldn't escape. Sasuke looked as though he wanted to object, but Itachi merely sighed and crouched before his hesitating baby brother.
"Sasuke, this bitch destroyed your life and everything you hold dear, all because she wanted you. She killed our parents, she enslaved you and nearly killed your precious person." Itachi brushed away an angry tear that made its way down his brother's cheek.
"You owe it to yourself to end it, right now. Free yourself from the nightmare once and for all!" Sasuke was silent for a few moments as he made his decision. Finally he stood up and drew in a deep breath before turning and focusing on a defiant looking Akumu.
"As usual, my brother is right. I owe it to myself to avenge what I had lost and almost lost." He unsheathed his sword and brandished it at Akumu who stared him down, helpless and resigned to her fate – mostly because Kyuubi had his foot pressing down into her back. Sasuke swung back his blade as Akumu closed her eyes and waited for the final blow … that never came. She peered up hopeful, believing that Sasuke was having a change of heart.
"I knew it. I knew that you must feel something for me after all." She whispered, hopefully. Sasuke snorted.
"Tsh, delusional." An inhuman shriek pierced the dank air of the ballroom as Sasuke was sprayed with Akumu's old blood. The body of Sasuke's former tormentor disintegrated into ash before the trio's very eyes. Sasuke flicked the blood of his blade with a swift swipe in the air before sheathing his sword.
"Wow, didn't know you had it in you, brat." The Kyuubi drawled. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
Was there a compliment hidden there? He thought. But before he could continue to dwell more on his thoughts, he suddenly sensed some nearby chakra readings not too far away from the castle gates.
"We've got company." He announced. The Kyuubi grunted with annoyance. He knew who belonged to those chakra readings and he was hoping that he would've been able to spend at least a little while longer in Naruto's body before they arrived to 'rescue' him.
"It's the gaki's friends. Must have been sent down here for extra backup." Sasuke nodded.
"That's my cue to leave." Sasuke decided. Itachi stepped forward and smiled sadly at him. It was that smile that made Sasuke remember that Itachi wasn't alive and walking on this earth and that it was time for him to depart as well. "It's not fair!" Sasuke protested as Itachi walked over to him and wrapped his baby brother into his arms.
"Life isn't supposed to be fair, otouto. But this is your life to live, so make it a good one. I want to hear all about it, when we meet again." He indicated towards the Kyuubi, who frowned in confusion until he realised that he was still inhabiting the body of the blonde haired ninja who had captured the weeping dark-haired boy's heart.
"I better get out of here before I am violently ill. Happy trails, Uchihas." He drawled before fainting outright. Sasuke stumbled forward and caught Naruto's body before the fall could cause even more damage to the blonde's already wounded body. He gently laid him on the ground before turning to finish saying goodbye to his brother.
"I promise, Aniki."
Itachi smirked before extending two fingers and poking his brother on the forehead, like he used to do when they were younger and still alive. With a short, but affectionate wave goodbye, Itachi turned and walked towards the window where the sunlight was increasing and seemed to disappear before Sasuke's very eyes. Ignoring the pain lingering in his heart, the youngest Uchiha turned back towards Naruto and inspected him.
"NARUTO!" The suddenly yell brought him back to reality and he realised he'd better leave before Naruto's friends caught him.
Walking into a dark, forbidding looking castle was not something Kiba was about to add to his bucket list of things he would like to do before he died. But since that blonde moron had taken fucking forever to complete his solo mission, a worried and overly paranoid Tsunade sent him, Akamaru, Sakura, Sai and Hinata to go and retrieve him.
"When I get my hands on that idiot, he's going to beg me to kill him instead of the Vampire Uchiha!" Sakura promised as they forced open a heavy set of double doors which led into an extremely dusty entrance hall.
"Yeah, we've heard you say that for the one-hundredth time, Sakura. Can you just let it go!?" Kiba complained before turning to Akamaru and crouching down to his level. "Okay, buddy. Go find Naruto!" Akamaru barked in agreement before sniffing the air and bounding up a long staircase.
"Geez, this place gives me the creeps. Why the fuck did Naruto agree to this mission anyway?" Kiba complained, while opening a door and peering inside, seeing the large Greenroom and marvelling at all the plants.
Woah... That's far too much green.
"You know just as much as I do, Kiba." Sakura replied. She had just immerged from yet another room looking just as frustrated as Kiba felt, before she came in behind Kiba and scanned the room. "Wow, glad Ino-pig isn't here. She would've had a field day with this room." Suddenly, they heard Akamaru barking.
"It sounds like he found something." Hinata rushed from the room with Kiba hot on her heels.
"Wait! Don't wonder off, you don't know where the Vampire Uchiha could be lurking!" scolded Sakura.
Said former-Vampire Uchiha had decided not to leave, but instead had decided to stay behind to check out Naruto's so-called friends. To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure what Naruto actually saw in these shinobi as he followed them room to room from the shadows, observing them. Sasuke was almost tempted to just go back to the ballroom, scoop up Naruto and leave with him for a new life somewhere unknown. Where they could be together in peace. However, after listening in to their conversations, about how worried they were about the blonde misfit's safety, and up until the moment that wolf-like brat's animal had finally recovered Naruto's location, Sasuke realised that if he had actually gone and done that, that Naruto would eventually start resenting him for doing such a thing. Naruto had told him, during his imprisonment here in this castle, that love, friendship and family meant everything to him.
"Life would be meaningless without them. The same way that life would be meaningless without you in it. Do you get it?" Sasuke smiled at the memory. He realised that ultimately, if he wished to remain with Naruto forever, he would have to return to Konoha under a false family history.
"NARUTO! Oh my God!"
Good, they've found him… Sasuke watched as a horrified Sakura crouched beside him and started searching for wounds. She gasped when she found deep, bloodied puncture marks imbedded in his neck.
"Oh fuck!" exclaimed Kiba and Sai when they saw the bite marks.
"Is he still alive?" asked Hinata frantically, as Sakura checked his pulse and relaxed instantly when she found it beating away strong and steady. Her hand glowed green as she hovered it over the wound site, healing it over completely.
"He's fine. Just out cold." Sakura reassured them.
"But he's not gonna turn into a vampire, is he?" demanded Kiba. Sakura threw him an annoyed glare.
"IF he were, he'd be cold and dead wouldn't he. Now calm down already, you're bugging the hell out of me." Sakura finished healing up Naruto's wound, but was dismayed when he wouldn't wake up.
"Why isn't he waking up?" demanded Kiba. Sakura pulled her gloves back on and stood up.
"I don't know. We better take him back to Lady Tsunade. She'd know what to do." Sakura suggested. Kiba, Sai and Hinata nodded in agreement before picking up Naruto's limp body and perching it on Akamaru's back.
"Take good care of him, buddy." Kiba instructed the large white dog. Akamaru barked soberly, taking extra care not to jostle Naruto too much. Sasuke retreated from his hiding place. He had seen enough, and knew he had made the right choice. Smiling, he watched as the five of them with Naruto in tow, headed out of the ballroom and out the front doors, before sprinting out of the castle gates and out of sight. Sasuke withdrew permanently from the castle, not looking back at the place that had been his imprisonment for the past century.
He had plans to make and a future to look forward to … with Naruto.
A/N: Another upload completed. Stand by soon for the final instalment of 'While Your Lips are Still Red'. Till then xx