29. Stranger

The atmosphere in the van as Kiba drove was incredibly tensed, almost dreadful. Miku was sitting still in the passenger seat. Her usual smile and relaxed expression had given way to a worried, frightened look. Her blue eyes were wide as she glanced everywhere around, as though the night held answers as to who would win this battle.

Nagato and his boyfriend Kamijo sat in the middle. The young police officer had his handgun ready. He might as well have been wearing his uniform. Nagato had refused to bring a weapon. He was relying solely on his powers. This would be, he had said, his revenge for his sister Kushina. She had been killed by vampires working for Varin, after all.

Naruto sat in the back seat, uncomfortable in between Suigetsu and Deidara. The three of them, unlike Nagato, held guns. Furnished by none other than Deidara. He seemed to be really on their side this time. He said he wanted revenge from Varin too. Because he hadn't given him any money. Naruto really couldn't care less. With Suigetsu they kept exchanging determined glances. If Sasuke was still alive – and they didn't want to think otherwise – well they would save him no matter what.

The blonde, new born vampire thought back about what his uncle had said. Revenge for Kushina. It was true. This wasn't only for Sasuke. It was for his mother. And for all the Uzumaki that Varin had tormented throughout the years. This would be a good thing. The old, powerful vampire deserved to die once and for all. Also, Naruto thought about his father. He had stayed behind which was for the best. Truth be told, Kamijo should have stayed behind too. But Nagato hadn't been able to convince him.

"I always said," the dark-haired young man kept saying to Nagato, "that if you had to fight, then I'd be by your side. You always agreed with me."

"Never thought it'd actually happen again…" the red-head would reply in a low, irritated voice. In truth, it was obvious he was scared for his lover.

Naruto's heart clenched in pain at the thought of anything bad happening to these people. Kiba and Miku. Nagato and his boyfriend. Even Suigetsu and… okay maybe not Deidara. To be honest Naruto didn't really care about Deidara. But Suigetsu seemed to like him in spite of it all and so Naruto thought, it would be great if they could all come out of this alive.

The silence was heavy. It was broken only when Deidara gave directions, talking loudly from the back seat so Kiba could hear. Kiba would just nod and take a left or right, the headlights dancing in the dark. Naruto had never been so tensed and nervous in his life.

He'd drank so much blood before leaving the apartment. Deidara and Suigetsu had done likewise. They were as ready as they would ever be. Thirst wasn't a problem. Their supernatural bodies were as strong as could be. But Suigetsu had warned them.

"You guys let me handle Sakura. She's too old, and strong. I know she doesn't look it but she'll tear you apart. You guys can maybe take on Neji. I don't know what Ino's gonna do but… stay away from her too."

Deidara and Naruto had just nodded. This was no time to defend their honor as males and good fighters or whatever. And they knew it. This was serious. Tonight… there was something weird in the air. Naruto was scared. He'd never been so scared in his life. He couldn't shake it off.

He just wanted to be with Sasuke. He wanted to hold him and caress his silky raven hair. He wanted to be somewhere quiet and peaceful with him, alone, just the two of them. He wanted to tell him that everything was okay again. He wanted to kiss him.

"There's maybe fifteen minutes left before we get there," Deidara mentioned at some point, clutching his gun as he glanced out the window.

"So as soon as we get there Kiba and I transform…" Miku began.

"You let us attack first," Nagato continued, "and you come to our help when the enemy least expects it. You guys are our best asset in this fight."

"We all aim at their leader," Kamijo said questioningly as he looked behind his shoulder, "can you describe him again, Naruto?"

If the young cop was uncomfortable with the fact that his boyfriend's nephew was a vampire now, well he was hiding it very well. Naruto was grateful.

He nodded and said, "Tall, short dark hair…"

"You'll know right away," Suigetsu cut him, "I mean Neji has really long hair, and he looks kinda young, maybe late teens. Varin looks older. The two others are girls."

Kamijo nodded, looking at Nagato, "So we aim for that guy, and then…?"

"We join in," Kiba said. He reached out to take Miku's hand and squeezed it comfortingly. Naruto saw and made a little smile. He loved them so much. If anything happened he'd never forgive himself.

"We have to win," he whispered, almost desperately.

Suigetsu nudged him and shrugged, "Don't worry about it. We'll win for sure okay? We've got freakin' werewolves on our side."

"And guns," Deidara said looking down at his semi automatic like it was the love of his life, but they ignored him.

"We're shape shifters," Miku corrected. "But he's right Naruto. We're seven against four, aren't we? They don't stand a chance."

"I guess…" Naruto swallowed hard. God he hoped they were right.

"You have to attack Varin, Kiba," Suigetsu said almost urgently. They could see a house in the distance now. Suigetsu added, "You're the only one who can."

"I know, I know," Kiba nodded, tapping the wheel with his hands nervously. They kept telling him. Of course he knew.

Naruto wanted to tell everyone to be careful, to fucking stay alive, but what good would that do? He just wanted everything to be okay again... but it wasn't that easy.

F & I

They really were in the middle of nowhere. Everything was so calm, and quiet. The house had this decrepit thing going on, like leaning against it would cause a wall to collapse. For a moment as they stood outside, Naruto wondered if they were at the right place. Just a moment. It didn't last very long.

Varin appeared from the back. Flanked to his sides were Sakura, Ino and Neji. It was strange. They were all nicely dressed. They all looked young. In any other circumstances, they might have looked for the world like runway models, with the wind blowing in their hair.

Everything happened so fast, but they soon realized one thing. Aiming for Varin had been a mistake. Naruto and Suigetsu weren't experts. Either they missed, or the powerful vampire dodged easily. As for Kamijo and Deidara, they had perfect aim. Really, it was impressive. Oh they got him, that wasn't the problem. Actually the human cop got him in the shoulder, and Deidara got him in the chest.

But in a matter of seconds the two bullets had fallen to the ground; Varin's skin was already healed. Naruto and the others hesitated before firing again. This hesitation almost cost their lives. Varin wasn't the only one with extremely fast movements.

Next thing Naruto knew, Neji was attacking him. For a split second there, Naruto found himself wondering, why was Neji doing this? What had possibly happened to Hyuga Neji, cousin of the sweet, kind girl Hinata? Why were they fighting? This was madness.

And then there was no time for existential questions. It wasn't Naruto's first fight. He knew the familiar tingling in the legs, the adrenaline, anticipation, and fear. But it was his first fight as a vampire. Blood boiled in his veins and he felt in control of his inhuman strength. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before – or it was the same feeling as a human getting into a fight, but tenfold. The new born vampire's senses were alert. Time seemed to slow down.

Neji threw a deathly punch, but Naruto shifted, dodged, and instead grabbed Neji's arm to throw him to the ground in a swift movement. The dark-haired vampire graciously rolled over and jumped back to his feet. He wasn't harmed. He jumped on Naruto again.

Next to them, Naruto noticed from the corner of his eye, Deidara was fighting Sakura. And the pink-haired female had the upper hand. Deidara's precious gun was on the ground, out of reach. Deidara couldn't afford to lose his focus, or else he'd die.

In fact, these brief observations cost Naruto. Neji hit him in the gut, hard. Naruto was sent flying a few meters. But then the pain disappeared, just like that. As a human, he would've been hurting for hours, maybe even days. He would've been sore for a while. He would've had trouble laughing or even bending over. As a vampire, well, the pain was already gone, a few seconds after getting hit. Naruto smirked despite himself, gaining confidence. He really couldn't help it. The adrenaline made him go crazy. He launched at Neji.

F & I

"You think we should go now?" Miku seemed to ask.

Kiba couldn't use telepathy to communicate with his girlfriend when they were both in their animal forms, respectively a big white dog and red fox, but it came pretty close. Their instincts immediately told them what the other was thinking. They could communicate through noises, movements, and especially gazes.

The night was freezing, and they were sitting in the snow. But with their thick fur they weren't bothered by it.

The dog glanced at the fight developing before their eyes. Varin had taken down Kamijo first. The poor human had been sent harshly across the lawn, until his body hit the van and collapsed. Varin had most likely wanted to take him down since he was being annoying and shooting bullets. Now Nagato was freaking out as he sat next to his injured boyfriend. Kiba couldn't be sure with the distance – they were hidden on the other side of the country road, behind some trees – but it didn't look like he was dead. Or else Nagato would really be going batshit.

That blonde vampire chick was fighting Suigetsu. But it looked like they were talking, as though they didn't really want to fight, like they were just pretending or something. That girl with bright pink hair had the upper hand on Deidara. And Naruto was trying really hard, but the vampire with long black hair had the upper hand too. Things did not look good. For now, Varin just stood and watched, expressionless. Might as well be eating popcorn, Kiba thought darkly.

Kiba exchanged a glance with Miku and it was enough. They were going now. Show time. The pressure on Kiba's shoulders disappeared, replace by pure magical energy. The blood running through his veins was on fire.

Miku in her fox appearance directly went by her brother's side, to help him in his fight against the vampire with long black hair. If he were in his human form Kiba would have smirked; that guy didn't stand a chance. Miku was really strong. They'd been training together a lot. Kiba knew.

As for Kiba himself, in his big white dog appearance, which looked kind of like a wolf, well he attacked Varin straight away. He knew what he had to do. The others couldn't have insisted more on this. Kiba was their only chance to defeat Varin. He had to do this. It had to work. After all the training with Miku, the male shape shifter was confident in his powers. So with a positive attitude and high hopes, Kiba launched at the old vampire with the treacherous youthful appearance of a handsome brunet guy. Not treacherous enough; Kiba knew it was him. He could feel his powers. They scared him a little, but not enough to stop him.

His naive hopes were shattered in one instant; Varin, barely moving, lifted his arm and powerfully hit Kiba's side. This vampire's movements were so fast that they were hard to follow with human eyes. Kiba fell with a low growl as he rolled over and got back up on all fours. Varin had hit him the same way he would just flick off a bug. And those creepy green eyes of his were taunting him. He would pay.

Anger taking over, Kiba jumped back into the fight. He tried to bite Varin's neck, remembering how effective it had been when fighting Sasuke. But this one wouldn't let him. Varin was on the defensive now, blocking his every move skillfully. Kiba tried to surprise him by biting other body parts, or even clawing at him; anything. But the situation got extremely frustrating as Varin seemed to know his moves in advance, as though this was a rehearsed fight. He remained unharmed.

On the contrary, Kiba took quite a few hits. His ribs ached where Varin had hit him before. His front legs hurt from being blocked and crushed. The fight went on. Kiba only got weaker. This was not good.

Finally Varin got tired of this it seemed, and he maneuvered so he could kick his aching side again roughly. Kiba fell and couldn't get back up. His ribs were broken and he was too hurt.

F & I

Ino winked at him, as she reached for the knife in her boot. She was going to attack now. Suigetsu panicked.

"No," he tried one last time, "don't go, it's no use…"

But she wouldn't listen. She had taken her decision. It turned out she'd remained on his side the whole time. She'd wanted to betray Varin at the last second. It felt good to know that. He had missed her. But now he feared for her life.

She made a run for it. But even though he had just finished fighting Kiba, it seemed Varin saw her coming miles away. He looked somewhat amused as he just sidestepped and the knife missed by merely an inch. Ino stopped in her tracks, and prepared to attack again. Sure, she was incredibly fast and strong. But not enough.

Varin grabbed her wrist, and twisted her arm behind her back. Ino yelled in pain, and the knife fell. Varin bent over, grabbed it, and sliced it through her back. She choked out in pain as blood escaped her lips and he tossed her to the ground.

Things weren't going so well. Kamijo was down, and Nagato was in shock apparently. Kiba was down. So was Deidara; Sakura had just won the fight. Still, Suigetsu was impressed that Deidara had lasted at least a little while against her. Next Sakura wanted to fight Suigetsu, of course.

"Oh was he your friend?" She tilted her head, smiling, as she watched him look down at Deidara. She had broken his neck. "Oh I'm so sorry," she exaggerated her apologetic tone to mock him, "I didn't know…"

"I'll break your fucking neck, see if you like that," Suigetsu snapped.

They started fighting.

On the meantime, Naruto and Miku had brought Neji down, and next they attacked Varin together. Apparently they had forgotten the spell cursing the Uzumaki or maybe they wanted to try anyway. Either way, it failed. In fox form, Miku couldn't even approach him, like an invisible force was pushing her away. As for Naruto, he did jump on him to attack, but he wasn't much more successful than Kiba or Ino before him.

Naruto wasn't in such a good state and he couldn't get back up just yet. He had been too reckless, and had broken limbs and bruises all over and his lip was bleeding. Everything was healing but it was taking some more time now. Miku stayed next to him protectively but Varin didn't care. He walked over to Kamijo and Nagato, actually.

Suigetsu took in all this from the corner of his eye, while he fought Sakura. It was good to realize that they were pretty much on the same level of skill, even though she was much older. Suigetsu had more fighting experience, he supposed, since he'd always been a trouble maker whereas Sakura had stayed by Varin's side pretty much her whole life, never getting in danger and never faced with the necessity to fight.

He managed to hit her face pretty bad, which gave him a great amount of satisfaction. At some point though, that nasty little bitch, enraged, grabbed his silver hair to yank his head back and bit his neck ferociously. Suigetsu gasped and screamed as he gathered his strength and managed to push her away. He was horrified when she spat out a chunk of his skin. Sakura's dress was all blood stained at this point.

She yelled angrily as she attacked him again. Suigetsu backed away and got defensive. He had no choice. His neck stung. He felt tired and emotionally drained. Where was Sasuke? Was he okay? What was the point of this fight? It looked like they weren't going to win. What happened then?

He saw his gun which had been tossed aside on the ground during his previous fight with Ino, and hope filled him again. If he could just reach for it… He dived down, startling Sakura. She hadn't expected this. He tried to aim at her but missed. It wasn't because of his poor skills though. Something else was happening.

The earth had started trembling. There was an earthquake, or rather, not exactly. It was caused by Nagato's magical powers. Surely he had panicked and feared for his partner's life as Varin approached so he was using this as a last resort. The only problem being, it didn't affect only his enemies.

Actually it didn't affect Varin at all. The spell on the Uzumaki worked against them once more. Well either that or the eldest vampire was able to regain perfect balance even through a violent earthquake.

But for the rest of them, it was chaos. Sakura fell. Their fight was interrupted. Ino had regained consciousness at this point, and she tried to reach Suigetsu but it was difficult with the unstable ground. Naruto tried to stand but he fell again. He seemed panicked, and Suigetsu soon understood why. The house was not going to stand through this. And what if Sasuke was trapped inside? The walls were already starting to crumble.

"Nagato!" Naruto yelled, "Stop!"

But he didn't stop. He was like in some sort of trance, or frenzy. It didn't make any sense, but the ground below him and Kamijo wasn't moving. Then again, magic never really made sense. As for Varin, he had jumped on top on the van and he watched the scenery before him, expressionless. Neji and Deidara were still unconscious.

Suigetsu reached Ino and they held each other. Nearby, Miku and Kiba, still in their animal shapes, snuggled closer as well. Maybe this wouldn't help them survive this night, but at least it provided momentary comfort.

Due to the violent earthquake, the house expectedly collapsed in a cloud of dust and pieces of crumbling stone. Some of the vampires were hit by the flying projectiles. Ino removed herself from Suigetsu's hold, and went to protect Neji's unconscious body. Suigetsu swallowed his jealousy for now wasn't the time. Actually he decided to do the same for Deidara.

When it was over, and only the dust was left hanging in the cold night air, all fell silent. Nagato was barely conscious due to all this magical energy he had unleashed. Suigetsu gasped as he noticed that, in the distance, the forest hadn't been left unharmed. So many trees had fallen. This was insane.

Sakura, Ino and Suigetsu slowly stood. They looked at one another but made no move to resume fighting. There was something strange in the air now. A foreign presence, something as strong and threatening as Varin, or perhaps even more. Fear gripped at Suigetsu's heart. What was going on?

He flicked messy silvery locks away from his face. His clothes were torn and blood stained but he didn't care. He narrowed his violet eyes as he looked at a silhouette in the distance, walking through the dust surrounding the collapsed house.

At first Suigetsu thought it was Sasuke. It looked like him, anyway. But then he frowned as he realized it couldn't be. The presence was different, the scent, everything. It wasn't Sasuke. But who was it then?

As he emerged from the dust Suigetsu was startled. He really did look like Sasuke. He could be his twin brother. Everyone was shocked, and speechless. The ones who were conscious sent glances at one another, forgetting for a moment that they were supposed to be enemies. But clearly no one knew what was going on. No one but Varin. He smiled and jumped down the van, before walking toward a pile of debris. He took out a suitcase, then a long black trench coat. He threw it at the strange vampire.

"It's been such a long time, Izuna," Varin said simply, voice full of contained emotions. Although Suigetsu couldn't tell what these emotions were precisely. Was he happy to see him, or angry? Was it love or hatred in those deep green eyes? It was impossible to tell.

"I can't believe it," the other whispered in reply, speaking Japanese. His voice was rasp and strangled.

The male was skeletic, and had pure white skin, it was almost frightening. He put on the coat to cover himself. His movements were somewhat slow and clumsy. His jet black hair was long; it reached his lower back. His face was delicate but not quite as pretty as Sasuke's. His eyes were pure black.

Naruto burst out, as he got up on trembling legs. His clothes were just as torn and dirtied as Suigetsu's. His blonde locks were infinitely messy. He clearly couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Who is he? Where the fuck is Sasuke? Answer me!"

The stranger and Varin both looked at him, then seemed to dismiss him as unimportant for now.

"Has it really been a thousand years?" The pale, black-haired male asked in a low voice.

Wait, what, a thousand years? Suigetsu's violet eyes widened, and the others were equally shocked by the exchange before them. What the hell was going on? Who was this guy?

"Day for day. Tonight." Varin said, stepping closer to the other. He wasn't like the rest of them, worn out and tired after fighting, no, he was perfect as always. Except for his pale green silk shirt, which had a part of the sleeve ripped off.

"Why did you do it?" He searched the other's eyes with wide black orbs.

"The witch was too easy on you, putting you to a peaceful sleep like that, don't you think? You could say I've had more than enough time to think of better ways to get my revenge."

The tension was building up. Suigetsu and Ino reflexively got closer to each other again. Miku and Kiba ran to the other side of the deserted road. They hid behind the trees, perhaps to transform back into their human forms. Naruto glanced at them, then his blue gaze drifted back to the two strange, old vampires reuniting before their very eyes.

"Don't you think you got your revenge already?" He spoke in Japanese, but his accent was old, and strange. Suigetsu understood to an extent. But he could tell the others were having trouble.

"So you know." Varin spoke in English. But they understood each other without a problem, it seemed.

"Let's just say, I wasn't sleeping peacefully."

Suigetsu was just really worried about Sasuke and he knew he wasn't the only one. But the atmosphere was so tensed that they were all afraid to speak. Slowly Kiba and Miku, now fully dressed again, and looking tired as hell, came to join the rest. They stood next to Naruto.

"I was aware of the world changing, all around…" The pale man narrowed his eyes. The cold wind blew in his ridiculously long black hair. "Granted, it was like a long night of sleep for me. I was mostly unconscious – but at times I was aware. I know what you did. I know everything. You've made quite a reputation for yourself in this world."

Varin raised a hesitant hand, as if to caress the other's hair, but then he dropped it as he said, "You should know, it's all because of you."

His hand was smacked away. "I know what you did to him. Was that your sick, twisted idea of revenge?"

"Oh, but I'm only getting started…"

Naruto suddenly did what no one else could. He stepped closer to the two, and interrupted them, staring bravely, and clenching his fists. Suigetsu thought that he could never get tired of admiring the blonde. His very own creation. He was by far the most beautiful vampire Suigetsu had turned.

Even like this, tired, and hurt, Naruto was quite a sight. The transformation had made his skin a pure, almost glowing pale gold. His hair was sleeker, and blonder than before. But his eyes were amazing. They were gems. They had been breath taking as a human. Now they were so beautiful, the blue shade so dark, so deep, and so intense that it was intimidating. His tall, lean body had been rendered even more graceful and perfect.

Varin and Izuna looked at him this time.

Naruto asked urgently, "Are you talking about Sasuke? Where is he now?"

Suigetsu held his breath as he waited for the reply. Surprisingly Varin looked away, almost ashamed, an expression Suigetsu had never thought he would see on the man's face. Izuna spoke instead.

"You should go to him. You should know where he is."

As though struck by lightning, Naruto tensed, and his eyes widened in realization. He looked at the forest. As though someone had needed to tell him for him to remember that he could indeed sense Sasuke's presence out there. But Suigetsu was confused. How come he couldn't sense it then?

Naruto started walking, but Izuna took his arm. They locked eyes. Naruto seemed troubled by the resemblance with his lover. Suigetsu could certainly understand his feelings.

"You still have your powers," the raven-haired male said, before letting Naruto go.

The blonde looked confused, but he took off running without a word. He soon disappeared in the dark, thick, and partly destroyed forest.

F & I

As soon as that Sasuke look-alike guy – Izuna was his name if Naruto wasn't mistaken – had told him that he should know where Sasuke was exactly, well Naruto realized he could indeed feel his presence, although so faintly… He just knew where he was. It was that simple. He had no idea how, but he knew. So he ran to the forest ravaged by Nagato's earthquake. Naruto was panting.

He had fought Neji. It hadn't been easy. Miku had been forced to come to his help in her fox form. Then they had tried fighting Varin together. Bad idea. Since Miku was using magic she couldn't approach him because of the spell. As for Naruto he hadn't been able to harm him either. Varin was too fast and strong compared to the new born vampire. Actually that was an understatement. There was no comparison.

Naruto's body ached but at least his wounds were healed. He swallowed hard as he finally spotted Sasuke's body in the dark forest. He was in a bad shape. Blood stained the snowy ground all around him. Moreover, a tree had fallen on his back – most likely during the earthquake – thus crushing his lithe body. Naruto gathered his supernatural strength and with a low growl picked up the trunk and threw it away. He wasn't amazed that he was able to do this. There was no time.

Kneeling down, Naruto swiftly flicked messy pale blonde strands from his face before reaching out to roll Sasuke's body over. A torn black jacket barely covered him. Naruto let out a pained gasp at seeing his lover so beat up as he held him closer carefully. There was a piece of green clothing used as a makeshift blindfold. There was blood staining it. Sasuke's eyes were hurt. And on his chest was a terrible open wound. His heart had literally been crushed.

Naruto was freaking out, and frantically whispering, "No, no, no, no…"

Lifting the pale, injured body carefully under his arms Naruto pulled him closer, resting his head on his knees. He tore at his own wrists with his pointy fangs, barely flinching at the pain, and as he breathed heavily and nervously, he offered the blood to Sasuke. He placed one bleeding, trembling wrist right above his slightly parted lips, and the other loomed over his chest. If his supernatural, healing blood was pouring down directly in the wound, surely it would heal, no? It just seemed to make sense to Naruto.

He had to rip off his wrists again and repeat his actions, because his own skin was healing. If only Sasuke could heal, too… But it didn't seem to be working. Sasuke wasn't waking up. He wasn't coming back to life to drink the blood that could save him. He was really dead this time, wasn't he?

And just as Naruto was starting to despair, he remembered Izuna's words. You still have your powers.

Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes. He hadn't even realized he was crying tears of blood. He didn't notice the freezing cold wind, or the snow slowly starting to fall either. His blue eyes saw nothing but Sasuke. He needed to fix him. This was worth a shot.

He didn't rip off his wrists this time. But he kept his hands above both injuries. He concentrated. His dark blue eyes widened in shock as he realized there was indeed this magical energy still inside of him. It had been there the whole time. But he had been so sure his powers were lost that it had just seemed to vanish. But no, the magic was really there, inside of him, waiting to be used.

It was like a warm, tingling, familiar sensation in his hands. And Naruto's magic could heal. It was still working now, even though he was a vampire. Tears of joy mixed in with the previous sad ones as he saw the wound on Sasuke's chest repair itself. It was a gruesome sight, but Naruto didn't drift his eyes from it. He didn't care. All he cared about was fixing him. He needed him.

"Sasuke…" he whispered in a teary voice, "please... be okay."

The chest wound was almost completely healed now. The bones were no longer broken. Sasuke's heart started beating again. It was a miracle. And Naruto's magic was the cause for it. He smiled as he slowly put his hand on the now completely healed, pale chest. Some color returned to Sasuke's skin. It was no longer grayish. Naruto carefully removed the bloodied blindfold. His eyes were closed, but they seemed perfectly fine. There was only dried blood, which Naruto tenderly tried to clean with the hem of his sleeves.

After using so much energy the blonde felt weak, but he didn't care. He lifted Sasuke's skinny, limp body again so he could hold him in his arms. His pale skin was freezing cold. Determined, Naruto brought his wrist to his own lips again to rip off the skin with his fangs. Then he pressed it to his lover's lips. This had to wake him up.

It did. Sasuke's eyelids fluttered but he didn't open them just yet. Instead he parted his dry lips a little more and he slowly sank his own fangs in the offered wrist. Naruto was hurting, but he cried in happiness, and sighed in relief. He squeezed Sasuke's thin shoulders tight as he held him close, and he rested his chin on top of Sasuke's head. He was going to be okay.

"I'm never letting you leave my sight again," he whispered. He didn't care if it didn't make sense. He wanted to say this. He kissed Sasuke's hair. Even messy and dirty, his hair was soft and smelled sweet. Sasuke's scent. Sasuke's presence. Just, him. No one had the right to take that from Naruto.

He murmured, "I'm gonna take care of you."

Sasuke drank hungrily and Naruto felt himself going weak but it didn't matter. He just held Sasuke and he continued talking softly. He knew that Sasuke could hear him.

"After you got captured, Suigetsu found me and changed me. He had no choice," he explained in a low voice. "I was so sure that I had lost my powers. But turns out I still have them," he chuckled disbelievingly, "can you believe it? I'm so glad… I could heal you."

He squeezed him tight. Sasuke stopped drinking. He opened his eyes and they were fine. They were beautiful and dark and perfect and Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms around him, sliding his hands under the suit jacket to touch his smooth skin. But then Sasuke pushed him away gently and held his shoulders. He looked fascinated, and a bit freaked out.

"You saved me, again," he said in a raspy voice, "thank you."

"Don't mention it," Naruto couldn't help but smile. But it faded as Sasuke looked more and more freaked out with every passing second.

The raven brought pale hands to his neck, and slid his fingers up to his defined jaw line. He locked eyes with Naruto, before looking down at his lips – or, Naruto understood, at his fangs. Then he looked up again.

"He had no choice…?"

Naruto just shook his head sadly. Sasuke dropped one hand. Naruto caught it and laced their fingers. Sasuke's free hand caressed Naruto's hair. They kissed. It was comforting, soft, and sweet more than anything. It didn't last long. They were exhausted. They held each other close, leaning into one another. The snow intensified. Some flakes stuck to Sasuke's black hair.

Since he still had his powers, Naruto reached out to read Sasuke's mind.

Where is Izuna now? And Varin…?

Sasuke's mind was full of unanswered questions. Naruto locked eyes with him as he replaced some raven strands behind his ears delicately.

"You know about that... Izuna guy?"

"Earlier," Sasuke said, "when he clawed his way out of the ground, he drank my blood. That's what finished me off…"

For the first time, Naruto looked around, and noticed there was indeed a large gash in the ground, with a pile of earth surrounding it. Difficult to notice with all the fallen trees and branches everywhere, but it was there. So Izuna had literally clawed his way out? That was fucked up. Naruto wasn't sure he understood.

But Sasuke wasn't finished. "He can use telepathy, like you. So he sort of told me his story when he drank my blood. It was so intense," Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and Naruto held him comfortingly, "actually he didn't really tell his story per say… it was more like… he showed it to me. The images were there and I could only watch. But I don't know what he hoped by telling me about his and Varin's past…" Sasuke's expression hardened as he pulled away weakly, "I won't change my mind. I still want Varin dead."

He got up to his feet, trembling. The jacket barely covered his thighs. Naruto kept his arms around him, as though afraid to let go. His pale eyebrows furrowed.

"You're in no shape to…"

"I know," Sasuke cut him, his voice softer now. He seemed so tired, as the wind blew in his long raven hair wildly. He said, "You and me, we're gonna rest. We're gonna get better, drink blood, and then, we're gonna go find Varin and kill him. I don't care if we have to fucking use dynamite this time."

Naruto almost smiled, "Whatever you want. You know that ever since I heard the story I've wanted that guy dead. I'm at your orders."

"I love you Naruto," Sasuke said, his tone emotional all of a sudden. They locked eyes and Sasuke leaned closer, "I love you so much. I don't care if you're a human or a vampire. I'll always love you. Tonight, I really thought that I was gonna die, for good, and… I just… couldn't stand the thought of never seeing you again. And before, when I thought… you'd died, I just…"

He was panting. His body was clearly still going through the shock of what had happened in the past few hours. Naruto held him tight, so tight. He rubbed soothing circles on his back.

"Shh… you don't have to say anything. We should go see what the others are up to."

As he said this he pulled away so that he could button up the jacket covering Sasuke. It was better than nothing. They walked, and Sasuke leaned on Naruto for support. The blonde wrapped his arm around his waist, keeping him close protectively.

"This… Izuna…" Naruto said hesitantly, "he's your ancestor, isn't he?"

Sasuke just nodded slightly. He took in the sight of the collapsed stone house. He didn't comment. He pressed himself closer to Naruto. They realized that, on the ravaged front yard, only Ino, Suigetsu, Miku and Kiba were standing - barely - close to the van. Deidara lay down unconscious on the ground. Naruto looked passed them and saw that Nagato sat behind the wheel of the van, and Kamijo was lying down on the backseat. Right, he'd been hurt before. Naruto bit his lip with one fang as he thought.

Sure he wondered where the hell were the rest; their enemies, and the new comer… But there would be time for questions later. There was something Naruto wanted to do. These people had come here to help him, and they'd gotten hurt. Now, weakened or not, he had to use his powers to heal them.