Chapter 29: Bloodlust

"Kakashi," Crystal called.

He turned just in time to see her put a hand to her chest. Immediately, he knelt before her like a knight bowing to his lord. "Yes, your Highness?"

So he's still under her influence, Naruto thought. He stood off to the side and watched.

"I request your immediate assistance," she told him. When Kakashi nodded, she went on. "I need you to build coffins for my friends here." She gestured to the trio behind her.

"Coffins, princess?"

"Yes. They need three coffins and they need to be finished by the end of the week. Can you construct them for me?"

Kakashi took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "For you, dear princess, anything."

Sasuke was clenching and unclenching his shirt again. It seemed that he even had a problem with Kakashi being 'nice' to her.

Naruto inhaled the scent of rain in the air. It had just finished raining and everything was damp and gloomy. It had taken a lot of persistence to convince the vampires to leave the house. If the combined efforts of both Naruto and Crystal didn't go into it, they would probably still be sulking in that house. But Naruto understood.

It was a hard concept to grasp. Within a few days, all the vampires would be asleep for God knows how long. The hibernation cycle was different every time so there was no way to tell how long they'd be asleep or when they'd wake up. It could be a matter of months or years.

Crystal had also warned him about the symptoms that they would experience prior to the actual hibernation. They would get weaker and weaker by the day and they would feel very tired at times. Usually the day before the hibernation starts, they would experience an increase in their need for blood. This meant that they needed to be watched when they fed otherwise they might suck them dry and end up killing the person.

But there was another problem, too. What were they going to tell everyone? Surly their families or teams would notice if they disappear for a few years. What were they going to do?

"Naruto?"

Startled, Naruto jumped up. "Huh? What?"

"Are you alright?" Crystal asked.

"Uh, yeah… Yeah, I was just thinking. Sorry. What's up?"

"Kakashi's going to make coffins for the boys. I already have mine back home, so I don't need one."

"Oh, that's great."

"By the way," Shikamaru piped up. "How long is Kakashi going to be under your control? Will he snap out of it when hibernation starts?"

"Yes," she answered. "Once I go to sleep, the spell, all the spells I've put on people will be broken."

More silence. Then…

"Should we inform our teams?" Neji asked.

They looked at each other. After a while, Crystal nodded her head.

"If you want to, go ahead. The choice is up to you. We should tell Tsunade at the very least. Right, Sasuke?"

He nodded.

Everyone was so quiet. Naruto couldn't blame any of them for that. After all, what were you supposed to do when you found out that some of your closest friends were about to go into hibernation for an unknown period of time. On top of that, there was a chance that the male vampires wouldn't remember the humans when they woke up. That was especially hard for Naruto to accept.

~*~*~

Choji entered the flower shop and found Ino flipping through a magazine behind the counter. Of course, she wasn't really reading it. She glanced up when Choji entered. "Yeah?"

"Shikamaru told you, huh?"

"Told me what? That he was going to go to sleep for God knows how long and leave us on our own without a strategist and a teammate? That he decided to tell us this a few days before it actually happens?"

"…yeah, that."

She violently flipped through the magazine.

"At least he told us." She ignored him. "Look, I'm as upset about this as you are."

"Upset? I'm not upset! All I wanted was a little heads up about this. And, yeah, I got it, but still… I mean would it kill the guy to let us know about this a little sooner so that we can prepare?"

Choji watched her violently tear through the magazine as she spoke.

"He couldn't have told us about this when we were talking about vampires? I had no idea vampires hibernated! I mean, I'm grateful to Sasuke for saving him. I mean, the guy saved his life by turning him into a vampire, but I mean… I mean, I was going to lose him before! Now we're going to lose him again! Sure, he's not gonna die, but still!"

The pages in the magazine started to rip.

"And on top of all that, he might not remember us?! He's going to sleep and leave us and when he wakes up, he's going to forget us?!"

"But that's not for sure!"

"I know and I don't care!" The magazine ripped in half. Huffing in anger, Ino threw it across the room and into the wall. "Forget this! I've got work to do!" With that, she stomped off into the backroom.

Choji watched her in silence. Then he turned to the shredded magazine on the floor and murmured, "Yeah, I'm gonna miss him, too."

~*~*~

Shikamaru looked up.

"What's the matter?"

He looked back at Asuma. "Nothing. Your move."

They had been playing Shogi for a good part of the morning. Asuma wasn't stupid. He could tell that something was going on with his student. It wasn't unlike Shikamaru to space out during a game, but today he seemed very distracted for some reason.

Shikamaru didn't know what to do. Should he tell him or not? They were very close, but…

"Your turn."

Shikamaru looked at the board. He moved his piece. "Checkmate."

Asuma blinked and looked at the board. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. Good game."

"Hey, Asuma..?"

"Yes, what is it?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again and gave a shake of his head. "No, it's nothing. Never mind."

Asuma nodded and set up a new game. "I haven't seen you around much lately. What's been going on? Been too busy for training with your team?"

Shikamaru didn't answer. He just stared at the board, deep in thought.

"Shikamaru?"

His head snapped up. "What?"

"Is everything alright? You seem distant."

"No, I'm fine…" He looked back at the board. "I… Asuma… I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

He inhaled deeply. "It's not going to be easy, but… I have to tell you this. It all started on that mission a while ago…"

~*~*~

Sasuke spent the night with Crystal alone on a rooftop, staring at the stars. He squeezed her hand gently and breathed in her scent. He tried to put the whole hibernation thing out of his mind, but he just couldn't. It was too big of a deal.

"Crystal?"

"Hmm?"

"Before you leave… is there anything you want to do before hibernation?"

She rested her head against his chest. She made a small noise, but it wasn't an answer.

"I want to spend the time I have with you guys." She paused, then added, "But I would also like to sing a little bit. Just for the love of singing."

"Like a concert?"

"Maybe…"

Sasuke gave a small smile. "I think I can make that happen." He sealed his promise with a kiss.

~*~*~

Crystal stood next to Sasuke on the rooftop later that night. Sasuke held a violin to his chin and a bow in the other hand. He was going to play her a song and she was going to sing.

"What's up?" Naruto asked, spying the two other vampires on the road.

Shikamaru pointed up. "Crystal's going to sing."

"She's putting on a concert? What for?"

Neji shrugged. "It's her wish. Sasuke's taken it upon himself to please her final requests."

"Yeah, but… her powers…" Naruto stuttered.

"Don't worry. She's not trying anything. It's just for her love of singing."

Naruto was about to object again when he heard it. Crystal's song. It was beautiful. He turned his head skyward to watch. Sasuke played the violin so skillfully and Crystal sang so beautifully. It was amazing. Suddenly, Naruto no longer wanted to interfere. He just wanted to listen. It was a magnificent performance.

All the unanswered questions, all the uncertainties, all the stress melted away with the song leaving behind a feeling of bliss. This was the power of Crystal's vampire song. It calmed everything. It quelled the storm in their hearts. It made everything right.

Naruto stood next to the vampires and listen in quiet awe. Shikamaru closed his eyes to listen and Neji swayed slightly to the melody. Vampire or human, no one could resist her song. This was her power. The song made everything right.

~*~*~

Naruto wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before the hibernation started. But between training and missions, Naruto didn't know how long he could keep this up. Tsunade was aware of the situation and decided not to send any of the boys out on missions. But you don't tell that to a determined Uchiha and Hyuga. Both of them still wanted to be able to go out on missions and help out.

That being said, it didn't take a genius to figure out who wanted to come along once they found out that Naruto had a mission.

"But guys!" Naruto whined. "Grandma said-!"

"We're not useless!" Neji protested. "We can still fight. We want to come along."

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

Naruto looked at Crystal. There was no way Sasuke would go anywhere without her. "What about Crystal?"

"Don't worry. I'm coming, too."

His jaw dropped and he let out a loud moan of frustration. "Fine! Be that way! The group left for the mission and, much to Naruto's surprise, Kakashi didn't protest. Sakura kept her distance from the group as much as possible and walked in silence. After traveling for a couple of miles, Sakura motioned for Naruto to come closer.

"Say, uh, Naruto?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You know what's going on with Sasuke and the others, right? I want you to tell me what's going on."

His eyes shifted from side to side, feigning innocence. "I, uh… have no idea what you're-"

"I heard you the other day. You and Sasuke used the word 'vampire'. Now tell me the truth. Is Sasuke a vampire? And if he is, then who else is one, too?"

It was unavoidable. "Yes, Sasuke is a vampire and so are Neji, and Shikamaru."

"Why didn't you tell me this?!"

"Because Sasuke told me to keep it a secret."

"Oh, but he told you?"

"Actually, I found out by accident. But look, now that you know, you gotta understand. They're still the same people. They're not really all that dangerous. At least, no more than usual… But Sakura-"

"I'll keep it a secret."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"If it's supposed to be a secret, then I'll keep it that way." She turned her sad eyes up to his. "I just wish you'd tell me these things before I make a disaster happen. Ok?"

He nodded. "Uh, sure." What's up with her? Why does she look so sad?

~*~*~

Later that night, the ninja and vampires set out to look for the enemy. Three rogue ninja were terrorizing a village and it was their job to stop them. With the help of four vampires, it shouldn't be too hard to apprehend the bad guys. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't take into account that the vampires happened to be weakened, despite the fact that it was nighttime. Hibernation was well on its way.

Sakura was put in charge of helping the injured in the village while the others went ahead to stop the ninja. Kakashi, as their team leader, pointed them in the right directions. Finally, they were close enough to attack. Naruto and the vampires sprang out of the trees and surrounded them. The three rouge ninja weren't fazed.

In fact, one ninja thought it was a joke and laughed out loud. "Please. Is this all the Leaf had to offer? A bunch of kids? And a girl, no less! She's not even dressed like a ninja."

Crystal looked down at her dress. "At least I look nice…"

"Yeah, you do," Sasuke swooned. He had on that same goofy smile that Naruto didn't know whether to find funny or sickening.

One of the ninja took this opportunity to attack with a few long needles aimed at their legs. Neji effortlessly slapped them away and charged after the ninja on the right. Shikamaru zigzagged after the one on the left and Kakashi went after the one in the middle. Naruto stood back and watched for a moment to see if the vampires could handle things without his help. He wanted more than anything to beat the stuffing out of those rouge ninja, but there was a chance that the vampires might suffer some sort of lapse and look at him as fast-food if he got in their way.

"Don't you think you should help them?" Crystal asked Sasuke.

He glanced over his shoulder at the fight taking place behind him. Giving a smirk, he dove right in to help Shikamaru.

The ninja fighting Neji aimed three kunai straight ahead. Thinking that the ninja was aiming at him, Neji caught one blade effortlessly in his bare hands and side-stepped to avoid the second. The third, however, made contact with its intended target.

"OW!"

All three vampires stopped in their tracks and turned around.

The handle of the kunai was sticking out of Crystal's arm. She pulled it out and covered the wound with her hand.

A full second went by before the vampires reacted. Eyes glowing bright red, Sasuke bellowed in rage and rounded on the ninja responsible. Neji and Shikamaru also had the same look in their eyes and followed Sasuke in his stampede. Something triggered in their brains when they saw Crystal injured like that. Sasuke's reaction came as no surprise, but the other two? That Naruto couldn't understand.

As all three vampires attacked the one who harmed Crystal and Kakashi continued to fight his opponent, the third snuck around to attack the injured Crystal. But her reflexes were as keen as ever. Sensing the danger behind her, she instantly responded. Without even turning around, she delivered a powerful kick to his jaw, stepped off to the side and slugged him in the face.

Naruto just stood there, thoroughly impressed. No wonder Sasuke has the hots for you

But something was wrong.

Kicking butt one second, Crystal was laying on the ground the next. Why did she just collapse like that? Was her injury that severe? Naruto rushed to her side with a few shadow clones. While they kept the ninja at bay, Naruto bent down next to her body in the grass.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Crystal shook her head. "It's not that… I'm just weakening… That's all."

"Weak? But…" It hit him. "Wait. If you're getting weak, then are they going to..?"

"Yes," she nodded. "You have to keep an eye on them. Sasuke and the others will feel the effects soon, I think. But I can't help you in this fight anymore." She turned away. "Kakashi!"

The silver-haired ninja turned.

Crystal put a hand to her chest.

His implanted disposition kicked in. Throwing down the ninja he had been fighting, he rushed to her side. "Yes, your Highness?"

"I'm in the way," she told him. "I'm injured and weak. I can't stay here."

"Understood, Princess." Kakashi knelt down and picked her put in his arms. "We'll retreat for now. I'll take you to a safe place."

Crystal nodded and turned to the blond. "Naruto, please look after them, ok?"

He nodded back. "No problem! It's nothing I can't handle."

"Thanks."

"Come, Princess." Carrying her bridal style, Kakashi retreated into the woods.

Naruto looked back at the rest of the group. So far everything seemed fine. That is, until Neji started staggering. He was always so surefooted so it was very obvious that something was wrong. Shikamaru tripped over his own feet and face-planted into the ground. Aside from stumbling around a little bit, Sasuke didn't seem to be doing too badly.

Shikamaru tried to get up, but ended up slamming into a tree and slumping down onto its roots. Naruto rushed to his aid.

"Are you ok?"

All he got was a soft moan.

Sasuke came flying through the air and landed next to Shikamaru by the tree. "Something's wrong with me," he groaned. "I've never left like this before. I feel so weak…"

Naruto kept an eye on Neji, worried that he, too, might keel over any second and make himself an easy target for the ninja he was fighting.

"Naruto…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really… thirsty…"

His blue eyes turned to Sasuke's red ones. "Uh… hang on a second. Let me find you…"

"Naruto?"

"What?"

"You… you're full of blood, aren't you?"

Naruto took a large step back. He didn't like the strange gleam in Sasuke's eyes. "Hang on a second. Wait a minute."

Sasuke crawled after Naruto. He grabbed his orange jacket and pulled himself up, leaning into his face. "Just a little taste. It'll be quick."

Naruto backed up even further. "Sasuke… please, stop it. I know you don't really mean that. It's the… the hibernation side-effects talking, not you."

"If you like, I could put you in a trance so you won't feel anything. It won't hurt, I promise."

Naruto looked frantically around for an escape. He found one of the rouge ninja lying unconscious in the grass where Crystal had been not too long ago. That would work.

Sasuke clawed at Naruto's collar trying to get to his neck. "Just a bite… One little bite won't hurt."

"Sasuke, snap out of it! I'm not your food supply, I'm your friend."

He paused for a moment, as if contemplating this.

"It's me: Naruto!"

Sasuke's eyes flickered from red to his normal dark coals. He shut his eyes and winced as if something were hurting him. "No… No, I can't!" he moaned. "I can't think like that…"

"Sasuke..?" Naruto asked cautiously.

"I can't… think like that… No, I won't… No!"

He was fighting for control. His instincts were screaming for him to bite but he wouldn't allow himself to do it. Naruto could feel his nails digging into his shoulders as he fought to regain control. Even as he pled, his fangs inched closer and closer to Naruto's neck. He was losing the battle.

Thinking fast, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's head and pushed him down, forcing him to his knees. "Drink this," Naruto ordered him, shoving his face into the rouge ninja's neck.

He sniffed the man's neck and his mouth watered. He peeled back his collar and bit down on his throat.

Naruto turned away. Now that Sasuke was happily drinking the man's blood, that meant that he was free to watch over the other vampires. Neji was still taking on the ninja in front of him and Sasuke was slurping up the other's blood and Shikamaru was still over by the tree.

Wait. That was only two rouge ninja and three vampires. Where was the third ninja?

He got his answer in the form of a loud battle cry from above. He jumped away as the third ninja jumped down from the trees. He pulled out a knife and Naruto pulled out a shadow clone. But before Naruto could do anything, the third person had joined the fray.

Shikamaru jumped out of nowhere and latched onto the man from behind. Eyes aglow, he bit down on the man's neck and drank the fresh blood that poured forth.

Naruto backed away. It seemed like Shikamaru had a good handle on things here. He hurried to help Neji.

The Hyuga was too weak to stand anymore and fell to the ground. He couldn't move his body anymore. The ninja stood above him and raised his blade above his head.

"Rasengan!"

The ninja looked up in time to see an orange blur followed by incredible pain in his chest. The force of the attack sent him flying into a tree and onto the ground.

Wasting no time, Naruto lifted Neji over his shoulder and over to the ninja. He helped Neji over to the ninja's neck and allowed him to drink.

Naruto sat in the grass and watched the vampires drink their fill of blood. Was this what it was going to be like for the rest of the week? Even at night, they were so weak and couldn't summon up that much power for too long. On top of that, their bloodlust seemed to have increased a lot.

Why was he the one who had to babysit hem, anyway? This whole hibernation thing was just troublesome.