26. Blood exchange

As soon as Suigetsu had woken up, and realized Deidara was gone, he had suspected something wasn't quite right. First he had tried to call or text Sasuke; no answer. Same with Naruto and Deidara; nothing.

Suigetsu didn't wait for night fall. He had too much of a bad feeling about this. Sasuke had texted him the address of the Uzumaki family's house the night before, so he borrowed a car – it wasn't really stealing if he compelled some guy to let him use his car for the day, was it? – and used the GPS in his cell to get there.

The sun was bothering him. He wore sunglasses, black trench coat and leather gloves, but still. He drove fast, eager to get to safety.

When he got to the right address and parked the car he froze. He could smell blood, so much blood. And it wasn't just any random blood scent; it was Sasuke's. Suigetsu could recognize the unique, bittersweet aroma amongst countless others. Sasuke had shared his life for so long. He was so important to him. Suigetsu's heart raced madly as he slammed the car door shut and walked determinedly toward the front door.

He could feel Naruto's presence, although faint. He couldn't feel Sasuke's. What if something had happened…? What if it was too late…?

But as Suigetsu pushed open the unlocked door and entered the house it became clear that Sasuke wasn't here, alive or dead. There was just his blood, staining the floor and living room carpet as it had spread. And Naruto lay down not too far, unconscious. Suigetsu ran to his side and sat down. Naruto's thin body was shivering, and he was pale. His neck was expectedly hurt, and some blood had slid on his black and gray shirt.

Suigetsu took off his coat and put it on Naruto to warm him up. Suigetsu wore the same violet button down shirt and black jeans as the day before; there had been no time to rummage through his suitcase or anything. He'd had an intuition that something bad had happened, and now he didn't regret rushing over here. Naruto didn't have that much time left.

The silver-haired vampire could feel the human's heart having trouble pumping the little blood left in his system. He couldn't function like this for much longer. And even if Suigetsu brought him to a hospital, it would be too late. The vampire was just in time, it seemed.

"Naruto," he said softly, but firmly, as he rolled him onto his back, "wake up…" he touched the abnormally cold face, and brushed aside some messy blonde locks.

Long pale eyelashes fluttered and blurry blue eyes opened only slightly. He was barely conscious but it was better than nothing. Suigetsu gripped at his thin shoulders.

"Naruto I need to turn you. Or you'll die…" He said urgently, "Is that okay?"

"N-No…" he whispered. It was difficult to hear but Suigetsu leaned close and managed to grasp what he was saying. "It was supposed to be… Sasuke… Oh my god… Sasuke… we need to go and… save him…"

"You can't save him if you die Naruto," he whispered fervently as he touched the blonde's neck. His pulse was way too slow. "Listen I did this really often, and I know it's gonna be too late soon, so listen to me," he insisted as Naruto's eyes were closing, "you have to let me do this…"

"No…" Naruto whispered again and tried to struggle but he could barely lift his arms. Clearly he wasn't thinking properly. He was being unreasonable.

"I don't care," Suigetsu frowned, "whatever. You're an idiot. I'm not gonna let you die."

He leaned in and pressed his deathly fangs into Naruto's neck. He had no choice but to drink, if only a sip or two, so that some of Naruto's blood was in him to perform the transformation. That was why it was nearly too late for him. Even losing just slightly more blood could finish him off.

Naruto's blood tasted sinfully good, but Suigetsu had perfect self-control. He took as little as he could. Naruto's heart was strong, because he managed to stay alive long enough, thank god. Suigetsu ripped at his wrist until it bled in between his parted lips. He continued doing this, ignoring the pain, until Naruto was able to hold his wrist and drink by himself.

The human's survival instincts finally took over as he drank hungrily, pale eyebrows furrowed slightly. This blood was already healing him, making him stronger. The transformation was incredibly fast. Sure he would lose his powers, Suigetsu thought sadly, but at least he would be alive. Different, perhaps, but deep down, still the same. Sasuke wouldn't have wanted him to die, Suigetsu thought as he frowned, looking at the young man currently drinking from him, eyes squeezed shut and golden locks all messy around his beautiful face. Naruto was special. He could've been the most powerful warlock, but his destiny was otherwise now.

Oh well, Suigetsu didn't believe in destiny, or fate. He believed people made their own choices, and influenced other people's lives in this way, as well as the world itself. Suigetsu hoped that Sasuke, wherever he was, was hanging in there. And with Naruto, magical powers or not, they would save him for sure.

A long moment passed. Eventually Naruto pulled away. Now they both felt a bit weak. Naruto's body was transitioning already, for now going from cold and almost dead to feverish due to the supernatural blood now running in his veins. Suigetsu hadn't fed in a while and was simply weak due to letting Naruto drink so much of his blood.

But he would be fine. He just needed to rest. They both did. Somewhere dark and safe.

"Naruto," he said in a low, rasp voice as he got up to his feet painfully, "we need to… sleep… until night fall, at least…"

But Naruto wasn't listening. He hugged himself and his big blue eyes looked frightened as he got up to his feet as well. He was completely freaking out as he held his own arms tightly.

"What did you do? What did you do?"

"Please don't freak out, I just wanted to save you," Suigetsu said sincerely as he touched the taller male's arm and led him further in the hallway, where the sunlight flooding in through the living room window couldn't reach.

Naruto flinched and stepped away, practically throwing himself onto the nearest wall, and letting himself crawl down to the floor. He held his stomach as he looked down and his whole body started trembling violently.

"What did you do?" He asked again.

"I turned you," Suigetsu said, almost desperately, as he nervously ran his fingers through his silvery locks. "I had no choice. You're gonna have to tell me what happened…"

"I don't know," Naruto was freaking out now more than ever, as he held his head with both hands, "Sasuke was acting weird. And then Varin… showed up… with... others and… Deidara was there. Ino was there. And fucking Neji. Hinata's cousin, I can't believe… And Sakura. I recognized her from Sasuke's drawing… But they didn't do anything. I tried to…" Naruto sighed shakily, and tugged at his messy hair as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I tried to burn them… didn't work… cause of Varin… he can… repel my magic, or something. Ah fuck, what did you do… now I don't even have my powers, how am I supposed to save him now… how am I supposed to…?"

"Naruto," Suigetsu said firmly and he took the male's wrists to pull his hands away from his face. Naruto slowly looked up at him with feverish blue eyes. The transition was causing his body to heat up. His cheeks were flushed. He looked very sick. Suigetsu frowned, "Listen to me. Tell me what happened to Sasuke. Why is there so much blood…?"

"I told you," he said in a weak, rasp voice, "I don't know. Varin… blocked my attack… next thing… he was fucking drinking my blood… I've never seen anyone move so fast in my life. And Sasuke tried to help me but he couldn't… I don't know what happened to him Suigetsu. They took him away." Naruto locked eyes with Suigetsu's deep violet irises and made a sad, so sad smile, "We couldn't protect him after all…"

"It's not too late," Suigetsu said, trying to convince himself more than anything, "Sasuke's stronger than he thinks. As soon as you're feeling better we'll save him. He'll come out of this just fine. And so will you."

He shook his head, so feverish, "I can't." He held onto Suigetsu's arms as he looked up, "I can't do this. I can't be a vampire. I thought I could, maybe, after everything was over, and if Sasuke was with me, but I can't do this alone. I don't… I don't want to kill anyone…"

"Alone?" Suigetsu tilted his head slightly, and searched Naruto's eyes, "I'm right here. And honestly, I don't want to brag but, I know what I'm doing all right?"

But Naruto wasn't listening. He frowned, and whispered, "I need blood. Oh my god. Fuck. I…" he looked at Suigetsu's neck, "I wanna drink more of your blood, please…" He leaned in but Suigetsu pushed his shoulders firmly.

"No. First of all, you rest. Your body's transitioning. Then, when night falls, we get up, and we get you some human blood. Got it? Whatever. You don't have a choice anyway."

Naruto grabbed the collar of his violet shirt and his eyes widened, "But fuck," he said in a strained voice, "I really need it you don't understand…"

"Ha, funny one. But still no. You don't even have fangs yet you moron what are you doing?"

Naruto was indeed leaning close again as though smelling the aroma of the blood flowing through his jugular. Suigetsu pushed him onto the wall, sighing. Then he frowned slightly as he realized that he'd been wrong. He brought one finger to Naruto's lips to part them a little more, intrigued, and acting as if he was observing an animal.

"Huh, your fangs are actually growing already. Weird. It's going pretty fast huh? All right let's get you to bed you need to sleep this off…"

He took the trembling male's arm and pulled him up. Naruto half-stumbled in the hallway as he held onto Suigetsu for support. He stopped next to a small room and stumbled inside, Suigetsu still by his side. There was a small, unmade bed, and the blinds were properly shut, plunging the room in the dark, or as much as could be, anyway.

Naruto went to collapse on the bed horizontally. He no longer had the strength to stay conscious, it seemed. Well, it was only normal. Suigetsu observed him for a moment, before sighing and walking over to the bed himself. He decided to take off Naruto's shirt.

"Sasuke would hate me so much if he saw me doing this right now," he whispered more to himself as he struggled with the sleeves. But as he finally managed to take off the blood stained shirt, he thought that this was what a friend would do. He also used the shirt to wipe off the remaining blood on Naruto's neck. It was better than nothing for now.

His cold fingers lingered in the slightly spiky tips of Naruto's hair. He wasn't so sure, but it seemed it was becoming paler and shinier already, and also softer. His skin also seemed somewhat pale now. The transformation really was happening fast for this one. Suigetsu removed his hand, instead placing it on his lap calmly. A sort of bond would exist between them now, he supposed. This always happened when a vampire changed a human. It wasn't a big deal, just… a friendship. Suigetsu made a little smile.

"I hope you don't hate me. But I didn't want you to die… Sasuke wouldn't have wanted you to die…"

Naruto moaned in his sleep, as though reacting to his lover's name. He rolled onto his side and sprawled his tall, lean body some more, gripping the sheets with his fists. His sleep was agitated. Suigetsu tugged at the comforter and pulled it over him. He simply watched over his sleep for a while, although he felt very tired himself.

"If there's someone you must hate, then hate Varin," Suigetsu spoke quietly, even though he knew the unconscious male couldn't hear him, "everyone hates him anyway. Guy really knows how to make enemies that's for sure…"

F & I

When Kiba came back from school with Miku, they were shocked to feel strange presences in their house. Well first there was Naruto but… it didn't feel quite like Naruto. If it did, they wouldn't sense his presence in the first place. No, his presence was like a vampire's now. And then there was another one, for sure. Miku's eyes were wide in fear. Kiba pulled her close as he glanced around. No neighbors were out at the moment. The sky was starting to get dark. It was so cold outside. Kiba frowned, worried. He had a really, really bad feeling.

"You think your brother's been changed?" He finally spoke up.

Miku pressed herself closer and shivered violently. "Yeah… and that's not Sasuke…"

"No it's not," Kiba hissed. What the hell had happened? Who could have done such a thing to Naruto? Surely the Uzumaki hadn't asked for this.

The brunet and the fair-haired girl walked on the small path in the front yard leading to the door. It wasn't locked – it seemed the lock was broken, actually – so they stepped inside hesitantly. Miku suddenly tugged at Kiba's jacket sleeve.

"You think we should transform?" she whispered. "We'd be stronger… In case we need to fight."

Kiba hesitated. He glanced toward Naruto's makeshift bedroom, where he could feel the suspicious presences with his sixth sense. He frowned, recalling when Sasuke had come to his house unannounced, what seemed like ages ago. It had been a mistake, back then, to transform in his dog form and attack.

Miku was looking at him expectantly with her deep blue eyes and Kiba didn't know what to tell her. He was a little bit scared… And also, he freaked out when he noticed the blood on the floor. The two young adults didn't bother with their shoes or jackets as they advanced. The floor creaked making Miku jump slightly.

"Should we…?" she was about to ask again when a stranger made its appearance.

A vampire. Average height, pale, almost white hair, violet eyes, somewhat tired appearance, but strangely beautiful, like most of those blood suckers, Kiba thought. They all had something special to them. Some sort of aura. Kiba used to hate them all, until meeting Sasuke. He supposed the guy wasn't so bad. But this one, well he didn't know him. He pulled Miku close protectively as he glared harshly at the guy. It was very silly and human-like of him, but Kiba was much taller and larger than this guy so he felt like he could intimidate him by staring him down.

"What the hell is going on here? Who are you?"

The vampire raised a hand in surrender, "I'm Suigetsu, Sasuke's friend. I'd very much like to know what happened to him too, actually." He scratched his silvery locks as he looked at the pool of blood spread on the floor. "All we know is that Varin took him away…"

"What happened to my brother?" Miku asked. She tried to sound brave, but she wasn't pulling it off. She was scared. Kiba knew just how much she had gotten attached to Naruto in such a short amount of time. Lately, when he looked at them, it was as if the twins had never been separated in their lives.

The vampire seemed even more tired as he leaned onto the wall, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. Kiba noticed for the first time that his silver hair was slightly messy, and his shirt was wrinkled, as if he had slept in it. Suigetsu. What a strange name. But it sounded familiar. Kiba had heard it before…

"I had no choice," the vampire explained, scratching his hair again as he averted his eyes, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Naruto was dying from blood loss, that asshole Varin just left him like that… I had a bad feeling so I came here – Sasuke texted me the address… seems he had a bad feeling too. It's complicated, I…"

Kiba interrupted him, pointing a finger toward him, "You're on the list too!"

"Excuse me?" Suigetsu tilted his head, locking eyes with him at last. It was kind of disturbing how pretty his violet eyes were, but Kiba cleared his throat and explained his point.

"The Inuzuka list. Of vampires who did us wrong."

"Baby that's not really important right now…" Miku mentioned but Suigetsu cut her.

"Ha! Did you wrong? What a joke. Your ancestor tried to fucking kill me. If Sasuke hadn't saved my ass I'd be dead cause of that psycho. So you guys have a death list huh? Can't we just call a truce for now?"

"There must have been a reason he tried to kill you."

Miku looked up at him desperately, "Kiba please…"

"Heh, fine," Kiba sighed dryly, "whatever. Truce for now. So what's happening to Naruto now? Can we see him? Or is he going batshit or something?"

"He's still sleeping," Suigetsu said, and then slowly he returned in the small room. Hesitantly Kiba and Miku followed him in there.

Kiba bit his lip as he looked worriedly at his girlfriend. Of course, she was immediately by her twin's side. He didn't look so good. He was curled up on his side, and his skin was abnormally pale. His hair was all messy and there was a thin layer of sweat covering his body. Actually he looked like he was sick and had a pretty bad fever.

"So…" Kiba frowned, glancing at Suigetsu, "what happens when he wakes up?"

"He needs human blood, first thing," the vampire said tiredly, "don't worry, no one will be in danger. I'll be there to help if he loses control."

"Don't forget I'm a witch," Miku addressed him directly, with slightly watery blue eyes, "I won't let him lose control. He wouldn't want this…" Her voice broke and Kiba went to hold her in his arms.

"Let's let him sleep for now," he said more for her sake than anything.

She nodded and let him bring her to the living room. Kiba sighed heavily as he glanced down at the mess on the floor. They'd need to clean this up. God damn vampires.

Before they could do anything though, they heard Minato's car pull in the driveway. Soon enough, the handsome middle-aged man was stepping into his house. But even though he couldn't feel supernatural presences or anything, he knew something wasn't quite right. The blood on the floor and the fact that a strange guy like Suigetsu stood right in the middle of his living room was kind of a giveaway.

"What happened here?" Minato was alarmed as he looked at his daughter.

He still took the time to take off his jacket and hang it in the hall, as well as put away his briefcase as he always did when he got back from work. Concerned, he then walked over to Miku.

"Are you okay? What happened? Tell me."

Miku seemed to be in shock. She glanced toward Naruto's bedroom, speechless. Suigetsu just stood awkwardly, his fingers fumbling with his bleached hair. Kiba had to explain.

"Look, Minato, we're pretty much at a loss too… We just got here, and we saw this… And this guy's a vampire… His name is Suigetsu, apparently…"

The vampire made a little smile flashing a fang inadvertently as he said, "Hi, nice to meet you."

Minato just flinched and brought his attention back to his daughter and her boyfriend. "He's not dangerous?" He asked.

Kiba sighed again. Damn, he was doing that a lot. But how could he explain to Minato…? His long lost son was now a blood sucker, apparently. Fuck. Even Kiba was shocked by this.

Today had started off so normal. Okay except for the fact that Sasuke was being all flirty with his girlfriend but even he could tell that, although it was annoying, the vampire had just wanted her to like him, for Naruto's sake. But yeah they'd had a pretty normal, boring day at school. Well his day had been kinda boring. Miku's days were never boring, since she was so passionate when it came to her art. But his thoughts were drifting away. He needed to focus here.

"Dad," Miku looked up and tears lingered at the corner of her eyes. Minato seemed so confused.

It seemed both Kiba and Suigetsu were about to speak at once, to explain, perhaps, as best as they could, but then Naruto got out of the bedroom. He was still shirtless. He looked ill. His hazy blue gaze drifted across the room, and he had to lean onto the wall not to stumble and fall face down. When he reached Suigetsu he clung to him. He averted his eyes from the three others desperately.

"You need to give me more," he said in a low, strangled voice. As he parted his lips they could see his new sharp fangs and Kiba felt Miku flinch in his arms.

"What is he talking about?" Minato asked worriedly, stepping back, "Is he…? What's going on? What happened?"

Still clinging onto Suigetsu's shoulders, Naruto finally met his father's gaze, then his sister's. He looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry, you guys," he whispered, "I didn't want this. I swear. But, it's already too late…"

It was simply too much and Miku started crying as Kiba held her. Minato seemed traumatized, and like frozen right there.

"All this blood, Naruto, is it yours then?"

Kiba glanced at Naruto. The poor guy looked like he was about to cry, just like his sister.

"It's Sasuke's… we were attacked. We didn't expect it to happen so soon… It wasn't supposed to happen. I swear, I never wanted anything like this to… I mean, I wouldn't have stayed here if I knew…"

"Calm down," Suigetsu whispered as he held Naruto in a comforting hug, "You'll be just fine, and then we'll save your boyfriend… Your family's gonna accept you, in time, cause they know it's not your fault, right guys?"

Suigetsu looked meaningfully at Kiba, then at the two others. Kiba gave a brief nod. He understood. Now wasn't the time to upset Naruto even more. He was in an extremely vulnerable state, to say the least. Minato and Miku weren't idiots, and they seemed to understand as well.

"He's right Naruto," Minato said.

Miku sniffed and looked up timidly, meeting her brother's gaze across the room, "Yeah. Everything's gonna be okay. This isn't your fault."

Bloody tears rolled down Naruto's cheeks and the three humans freaked out at the sight. But it was nothing compared to Naruto's reaction when he realized this. He held Suigetsu tight as he buried his face in the crook of his shoulder.

"What's happening to me, Suigetsu?" Naruto sobbed.

"You can rest some more," the silver-haired male said calmly, patting his back soothingly, "or drink now. Are you thirsty?"

"Yeah," Naruto breathed.

Kiba felt Miku tense. He looked over at Minato, and saw the worry in his eyes.

"Suigetsu, was it? I know he's my son, but you seem close friends, and I trust you, so could you take him somewhere else for the night, please? I just don't want my daughter and Kiba to be exposed… I know it's not Naruto's fault but…"

"It's okay, Minato," Naruto slowly said as he pulled away from Suigetsu. He looked like he was about ready to fall over, but he held his ground. His gaze was unsteady as well. "I understand," he muttered.

Naruto took Suigetsu's arm suddenly, and led him toward the door. On his way out he slipped in his sneakers and grabbed his slim black leather jacket. Suigetsu could only follow him without a word. Kiba, Miku and Minato were also speechless.

Kiba knew Minato had taken the right decision, but he still felt sorry for the guy. And when you looked at things from a different point of view, well, that Suigetsu dude had been nice enough to save Naruto's life, even though he was a vampire now, he was still better off than dead, so instead of treating them both like shit, they should be happy, and thankful… This was his opinion anyway. So he briefly said that he needed to tell them something, and stormed outside.

He practically ran on the front yard until he reached the street. Then he took a few steps, erasing the distance between himself and the two vampires. It felt strange to refer to Naruto as such, but it was inevitable now, wasn't it? As Naruto had mentioned before, it was already too late, so might as well accept it.

"I want you to drink my blood," he said and they both turned around in a swift movement.

Kiba swallowed but didn't falter. He clenched his fists.

"Naruto I know you're not feeling well right now, and your father didn't mean to abandon you. He's just worried about Miku, and I can certainly understand that… That's why… you should drink my blood, so you can feel better."

"Kiba, I…" Naruto was weak and leaned on Suigetsu for support. He frowned, and looked like he didn't know what to say.

"I'm serious," Kiba stepped forward. He interrupted himself when a neighbor stepped outside his house and eyed them curiously. Then he just leaned closer and lowered his voice, "I'm serious Naruto. Remember that time I hurt Sasuke and then I gave him my blood? I was fine after. No dizziness, no problem. So drink from me instead of hurting whatever random person…"

"I wasn't gonna hurt anyone," Naruto said in a small voice. The twenty one year old looked so vulnerable and Kiba regretted his words.

"I know," he said simply, "look just do it all right? I really don't care. I just wanna help."

"What do you think?" Suigetsu nudged the blonde gently, tilting his head.

Naruto eventually nodded.

"Thanks Kiba," he said in a voice full of emotion, "but I have no idea what I'm doing. God I don't even know what's happening to me," he brought a hand to his lips, and flinched in pain.

Suigetsu exchanged a glance with Kiba, and explained, "It's like a human child growing teeth, I think, no? The fangs. It hurts at first."

"Not just that," Naruto said weakly, "everything, my whole… my body… I just…" he flinched and almost unconsciously stepped forward, leaning closer to Kiba, "I really fucking need it…"

"It's like you're a drug addict," Kiba chuckled although it wasn't funny. He knew any attempt at lightening the mood wouldn't work right now.

To his surprise Suigetsu nodded and said, "Actually you got that straight. It's exactly the same."

Kiba decided he kind of liked this guy. Before Naruto could drink from him, he said, "You know, if you manage to get my friend here," he held Naruto's shoulder, "out of this mess in one piece, and without letting him hurt anyone, well I'll scratch you off the Inuzuka list, how does that sound?"

"You have a deal."

Kiba made a little smile, then it disappeared as Naruto sank his new fangs into his neck. It fucking hurt. Kiba flinched and clung to Naruto's jacket making every possible effort not to just push him away and shove him to the concrete. He managed. He swallowed his pride, and let him drink, for his sake. This was for Miku, for Naruto, for their family. Vampire or human, he realized, it didn't matter. Not in this case, anyway.

When Kiba felt himself going weak from the loss of blood, as Naruto drank almost aggressively, well Suigetsu saved the situation. He yanked Naruto away forcefully, and kept him at a distance, as he somehow managed to hold Kiba up as well. The human felt really weak and dizzy all of a sudden, even nauseous. And his neck stung. But then as Naruto was freaking out at what he'd almost done, well Suigetsu healed Kiba using his blood.

But… the guy… actually licked his neck. It was very disturbing. But yeah it healed after that. Suigetsu apologized.

"It's just easier that way, biting my tongue and healing the wound directly, wouldn't want your blood to go to waste, you know, it's just, a habit, I'm so sorry, heh," he said awkwardly as he pulled away.

"It's okay, I guess," Kiba stumbled slightly as he held his neck. He looked down at Naruto. He had fallen to the sidewalk and he was crawling away.

He touched his lips in horror as he looked up and returned Kiba's gaze.

"I'm so sorry… I took too much."

"Well I do feel a little weak but it's not so bad dude, don't worry about it. I'll just go get some sleep and… you guys do the same and… tomorrow maybe we can meet again, in the evening, maybe you'll feel better, and we can talk and figure out what's our next move…"

Kiba really just wanted to go home. Suigetsu nodded. Naruto was in no state to talk now anyway.

With one last nod and wave of his hand Kiba hurried back to the house. He just wanted to be with Miku right now. Damn, this was one crazy evening. He had never thought this would happen… Man, poor Naruto.

Hey, thanks so much for the reviews last time, telling me your opinions... I really appreciate. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know some of you didn't want Naruto to be turned just yet but it had to happen. I'm glad I got two chapters out this week. I'll try to do the same next week, cause I don't like leaving you guys with cliffhangers. So 'til next time!