Trigger warning: blood, scenes of torture, death and sex
"You're alive."
"Did you really doubt the woman who's stolen your heart?" asked Sakura cheekily.
Standing amongst his latest feeding frenzy, she waited until he beckoned her closer, Gaara's palm momentarily gracing her cheek as he shared his prey with her. Their tongues tangled and she savoured every drop of blood on his lips, nipping to show her appreciation.
He growled lowly, unceremoniously dropping the whimpering woman to grab at her body, dragging her closer.
"He messed up," she whispered triumphantly into Gaara's ear.
He busied himself with twisting a hand in her hair, lips running along her throat, sucking and leaving love bites that lasted mere moments. Unable to resist when he moved up once more, she met his lips with an equal hunger, legs wrapping around his waist at Gaara's insistence.
The prey attempting to make a run for it caused him to break the kiss, though he never left her lips for too long or even looked away from her, simply muttering, "Don't bother. I will find you."
Of course, Gaara was never one to compel his prey to be obedient, or to not feel fear or pain. He relished their human reactions and the thrill of the chase often times created a high for him. The more desperate they were to escape and survive, the more excited he grew, for he loved decimating that will. He relished breaking them and witnessing all hope being extinguished before devouring them.
"Tell me," ordered Gaara while pressing his hardness up into her clothed centre.
Was he getting off on her besting an original? Sakura hoped so because she was still thrumming from the high it'd given her, and she'd gone straight to Gaara knowing he'd celebrate in the right way with her.
"He was keeping a pet," she breathed into his next kiss, showing her displeasure at the words by dragging her nails down his back and arm harshly.
Taking full control and spinning them closer to the prey dragging themselves across the room (and actually being able to due to both his and Itachi's blood in her system), she tossed them with a careless kick towards the pile of drained bodies, leaving her to release a bloodcurdling scream when faced with her dead friends.
"He left her wide open," whispered Sakura. To demonstrate her killing, she disentangled herself from Gaara's wandering hands and flashed behind him, gripping his hair and tilting his head back, teeth grazing his throat. "So I killed her in front of him."
Gaara's smirk was undeniably feral and he turned in her grasp, the exhilaration in his gaze melting her insides. "He was feeding her his blood."
"A substantial amount," she responded, smirking. "He's always had a soft spot for humans."
"That makes you stronger than all of us at this moment in time," he murmured, and Sakura nipped at him once more, blood scorching through her veins at the excitement in his eyes.
Knowing exactly what her next words would mean to him, she said smugly, "That's not the best part."
"Oh?"
His back hit the wall with a thunderous bang and Sakura wasted no time in tugging the collar of his shirt down, kissing his skin heatedly.
"With his blood inside me, and their being blood brothers–" She met his eye with a mischievous smirk. "–I had a witch use that blood to link my life to Sasuke's."
A groan of utter need barely had the chance to reach her ears before their positions were reversed, her legs effortlessly wrapping around Gaara's hips once more. "Please tell me he threw a tantrum."
"Sadly, no. He was controlled by him." That didn't seem to bother him too greatly, for Gaara continued to grace her slender neck with hot, open mouthed kisses that melted her insides, leaving her to clutch at his body. "But that look of disturbed realisation and fear was just…"
Green eyes rolled back from the mixture of pleasure and recollection of her victory.
"I wish I was there to see it for myself," muttered Gaara before he slanted his lips on hers again, the aftertaste of blood on his tongue as it glided with hers eliciting a soft sigh. Kissing him mid-meal was messy and chaotic and quite possibly one of the most erotic sensations she'd ever experienced, perhaps ranking just as high as their sex. "It has been much too long since someone put that whiny brat in his place."
He said brat like Sasuke was younger than him, when in fact, the Uchiha clan had at least fifty years on Gaara's clan – not including their years as humans.
Still, those fifty years didn't make too much of a difference between Gaara and Sasuke in terms of strength. No, it was Itachi and Shisui who were the real issue, and it was no secret that the majority of the clan relied mostly on those two when they needed real strength. The rest were indescribably powerful and there was no getting close to them (before ingesting original blood, that was), but as explained, they relied heavily on them both doing their dirty work.
The last being who bested Sasuke in battle was a werewolf who'd managed to take a hearty chunk out of his shoulder, leaving him in unrivalled agony as its deadly venom coursed through his veins. Had he been an ordinary vampire, the bite would have killed him in a matter of days. At least he suffered just as greatly as the rest of them did, Sakura thought darkly. She'd seen second-hand how horrific the hallucinations could be, mirroring the unstoppable human disease dementia in many ways, and knowing that Sasuke had gone through such agony? Oh, it made her day.
"It's far from over," she murmured both towards their situation and the prey who was once more attempting to escape, arm clutching her middle and telling her she'd more than likely cracked a few ribs with that kick. Rolling her eyes at the persistence, Sakura's head fell back to the wall, asking her lover, "Are you going to finish that?"
Gaara's smirk was devilish. "Is that jealousy I see?"
"Hardly," she snorted.
With one firm push, she was free and Sakura didn't fail to notice the exhilaration that shone in Gaara's eyes in response to the display of strength. Of course, he basically lived for the game – their first couple of decades were spent playing cat and mouse and Gods, when he caught her, their sex was downright animalistic. Sakura sincerely doubted she would have survived it had she been human.
Tsking with annoyance, she walked over to the whimpering woman, strutting with purposeful clicks of her heels through the trail of blood that stained his tiles. The whole time, she felt Gaara's eyes devouring the sight of her approaching his prey, first appreciating the way her hips dipped, then the way her foot nonchalantly knocked the struggling woman onto her back, the end of her heel pressing uncomfortably to her jugular.
"I don't want any interruptions," Sakura told him in no uncertain terms, flicking her hair over her shoulder to meet his heated gaze, uncaring of the helpless eyes staring up at her.
"Then do it already."
Without breaking their connection, she applied just enough pressure to pierce the skin, slowly pushing all the through until her whole heel was lost in the woman's neck. Desperate fingers clawed at her calf for only a few seconds, the gargled sounds of mercy evidently appeasing the redhead and when all fell silent, Sakura licked her lips, drawing his gaze to the movement.
And then he was on her, barely even granting Sakura with enough chance to save her heel before she was on her back only a couple of feet from their victim. The blood that slowly approached them through the grout was ignored for the time being, their whole focus being only each other, the desperation to be close, to satisfy that primal need that overcame them every time they happened to meet, taking control of them once more.
If there was ever anyone who could force her to give into those violent urges and throw away any shred of humanity within her, then it was undoubtedly Gaara. Everything that was so blaringly wrong didn't matter when they were together and like that thought needed to be proven, as he entered her roughly from behind, Gaara ran his tongue along her bare shoulder, lapping up the blood they'd rolled around in while getting to that stage. He shared the taste of their victim after yanking her upwards by her hair and Sakura moaned into the kiss, eyes squeezing shut when he thrust his hips upwards, fingers digging into her body in a way that should have been painful.
Gaara's low growl shot straight through her and Sakura rewarded him with a playful tug of his lip between her teeth, swiping away the blood that oozed to the surface, his wound closing barely even a second later.
It wasn't until hours later that they finally parted and even then, she knew Gaara was far from done with her, his stare heavy with arousal while watching her pour glasses of celebratory sake for them both. Had she not felt the same never-ending need to feel him, Sakura knew she would have been offended by his still being horny, worrying herself sick over Gaara potentially being unsatisfied.
Fuck, she was so glad she wasn't human any longer.
"You have likely caused a stir," he told her proudly, fingers tracing her smooth skin the moment Sakura returned to him, sliding a thigh over his body to straddle him.
"That's not worry I see in your eyes, is it?" she asked teasingly.
Gaara watched as she took a long sip of her sake, gaze drawn to the movement of her throat as she swallowed. "There are many enemies of the Uchiha clan and in his era of madness, Uchiha Sasuke potentially acquired the most enemies of them all."
Yes, Sakura had already thought of that – of course she had. Only a fool would blindly tether themselves to another without considering the fallout of their actions, which was exactly why her coven had gifted her with an object they enchanted to keep her whereabouts hidden from other witches and their location spells. As long as she was always wearing it, then tracking Sakura was impossible.
"You have already thought that through," Gaara surmised without her having to say a word, making her smirk. Their minds were very alike in some ways, though the unpredictability of the other made for the most entertaining games. "What of the Uchiha who don't particularly care for Sasuke?"
"Oh, Madara and Obito?" Much to his amusement, Sakura shrugged carelessly and took another generous sip, placing her empty glass down on the nightstand. "You know he won't let anything happen to his darling baby brother should they try to eliminate the threat through him."
His smirk was lazy and proud and left her itching with the need to have him once more. Gods, the man before her was a work of art and Sakura showed her appreciation by grazing her nails down his chest, relishing in the twitching of his muscles and length.
"And should they decide to take the risk of putting you down, believing Sasuke will simply wake up again in a few hours?"
The response to her wicked smirk was immediate and she sighed at the hardness pushing against her, rolling her hips approvingly.
"Did I ever tell you that I have one of Orochimaru's direct descendants as a partner?" Gaara groaned at that, head falling back and hands finding their way to her tireless hips, forcing her to quicken her grinding. Breathlessly, she whispered, "Orochimaru has a whole fucking grimoire dedicated to Sasuke. The guy was obsessed."
Sitting up but keeping their bodies flush, Gaara muttered, "I know the feeling."
She grinned wickedly.
"Oh? Is that the woman who tamed the beast?"
Since they were celebrating and she was assured the safety of her clan thanks to the truce, Sakura saw no need to return immediately to her mansion, deciding to spend the next couple of days lost in his embrace. Ino was more than capable of running things, anyways. They were all in safe hands with her quick thinking and deviousness there.
However, she should have anticipated the return of his siblings. News travelled fast, especially within the supernatural world. It wasn't every day that somebody bested an original, so for one ordinary vampire to back the notorious Uchiha Clan into a corner?
"Kankuro-san," she greeted with an impish smirk. "Which beast are you referring to?"
"It can't be our baby brother," came another's smug voice and at the sight of the blonde entering the bloodied room, Sakura felt herself relaxing fully. "It must have something to do with those absurd rumours flying about."
"Rumours?"
"Of you besting the Uchiha Clan," said Kankuro proudly.
Having sat up out of excitement of seeing them, she lounged back into Gaara's chest once more, her gaze drifting to the compelled humans cleaning the grossly large hall with fear evident in their features, part of her even feeling bad for them since they no doubt knew already that they were to be Gaara's next meal. Of course, being who he was, he didn't take away that fear, merely ordering them to clean up without saying a word (the loophole there being that their noises of fright or anxiety still escaped, since they were not words).
There weren't many who agreed with Gaara's ruthlessness. Hell, had she met him before turning her humanity off, or before she'd even turned into a vampire, Sakura knew she would have been horrified by his antics. It only went to show how dramatically a person could change when their hearts were so carelessly shattered, because for the last fifty years, she'd joined him in his vicious games and enjoyed them thoroughly.
"What are you both doing here?" questioned Gaara languorously.
It was with a frustrated sigh that Temari entered the hall first, stepping over the pool of blood that was yet to be mopped up like it was an everyday occurrence. To them, it probably had been at one point.
"We received a summons."
"A personal summons," added Kankuro.
A personal summons? Fully intrigued, Sakura sat up once more, fingers lingering on Gaara's thigh, the other hand bringing her glass of sake to her lips to sip. "Who?" she asked.
"The spineless one – Obito, believe it or not," Temari chuckled. Coming to sit on the other end of the chaise, she crossed one leg over the other, settling herself backwards with her arms spread over the frame. "You know it's serious when they get him out of hiding."
She could feel Gaara's grin and it brought her own to her lips, biting the lower one mischievously. Their antics seemed to amuse his siblings, though that also could have been due to their being used to it by now. Temari had once told her she was glad Gaara found someone who could not only keep up with his personality, but didn't shy away from it, instead accepting him for who he was.
Helping himself to the sake, Kankuro said casually over his shoulder, "We're expected to meet in neutral territory in two days."
Neutral, Sakura wanted to snort, not surprised in the least when Gaara did. If Obito was involved, then it was a safe bet that Madara was too – nothing that ever involved that guy was ever neutral and she knew that he would not hesitate to turn on his own clansman to put her down.
The feeling of Gaara's skin brushing against her back as he sat up behind her, keeping her flush with him and his hand coming to her hip possessively, eradicated any apprehension she may have felt. Without him even needing to say the words, Sakura knew she was safe, and not just because Itachi would tear Madara's throat out for even contemplating ending Sasuke's life. Although their transgressions were hardly that of a healthy couple, she knew she was safe because Gaara cared dearly for her. People thought he was ruthless with his prey? Then they certainly hadn't seen what was left behind of his enemies once he was through with them.
And the thought of tangling with his enemies and tormenting them with his games of cat and mouse?
She could feel Gaara's malicious grin.
"Finally, some real entertainment."
They travelled during the night towards her home and Sakura sighed at the repairs in process, the state of her town disheartening after all the work she'd put into it. Sasuke really had done a number on it, sparing no one in his rampage.
She fucking hated that guy.
Hunters scoured the area and the trio of originals were palpably impressed by her handling of them, for not once did a single hunter dare to approach them even after they were so blatantly spotted. Sakura didn't have to utter a word, didn't have to exude any killing intent. All she did was glance their way blandly, even sharing a single, congratulatory nod with Konohamaru as she realised the brat had come out of his skirmish with Sasuke alive.
"You're back," Ino greeted warmly, loyally, as she left the mansion. Behind her stood three others, though Sakura knew they wouldn't approach – not because they were cowards, but out of self-preservation, which she actually admired, since it was a strong trait of her own.
"How have things been?" she asked and glanced around, pleased to find that the majority of her clan were still relatively intact. Last time she returned from Gaara's place, there'd been piles of dead bodies messing up her lawn. This time, there was only one and it was currently on fire, several of her clansmen loitering as they paid their respects with bottles of alcohol in hand. "The coven?"
"In one piece," came her calm assurance, those blue eyes curious as they took in the sight of the originals flanking her. "So, are you going to introduce us, or…?"
Of course, Sakura reminded herself with an impish smirk. The Sabaku Clan was notorious for rarely ever being seen, choosing to travel in the night and leaving destruction in their wake to alert others that they were once there. It was rare for anyone who interacted with them to survive, for they were the very definition of a predator. Not even their own kind was safe.
Except for her (and, by proxy, her clan – as long as they didn't push their luck).
"Ino, this is Gaara, Temari and Kankuro," she introduced, then took a step aside, gesturing to the blonde with a proud smile. "Everyone, this is my righthand woman, Ino."
Although she and Gaara had played their games for the better part of fifty years, he'd never interacted with her clan before, as his main focus had always been her and honestly? Sakura hadn't trusted her clan enough to not get on his bad side – and she needed them alive. So, the safest option was to keep them separated, was to keep Gaara guessing as she steered him away from her clan.
"I heard it was rare for your clan to travel together," Ino noted, her gaze appreciative as it lingered on Temari, who smirked widely at the attention. "What changed?"
"Obito tracked us down," came the other blonde's sigh of annoyance. Her hand came to her hip, teal eyes assessing the mansion before her curiously until she looked to Sakura, saying, not asking, "We need to be invited in."
Not before she laid a few ground rules, mainly to Gaara as she turned on her heel and settled her hands on her hips, making his eyes flash with amusement at her assertiveness. "They can be infuriating as hell, but don't go killing anyone in that mansion, Gaara, especially not my coven. Got it?"
"The same coven who aided you in wrapping Sasuke around your finger?" Snorting, he approached, snapping his teeth playfully at her when she tilted her head to the side, demanding that his attention remained on her. "That brat has been a pain in my ass for the better part of a millennia. I'm not about to take out a coven of Orochimaru's descendants, especially not when they don't possess the same sickening obsession as him."
Nodding since that was all she could really ask, Sakura broke their connection before they got carried away once more, turning her gaze onto an impressed Ino. Of course, that only made sense, considering everyone else had only heard horror stories of the vicious clan before them. And Sakura hadn't really wanted to put a kink in those ideals, instead choosing to remain silent as they spoke only of Gaara's sadistic tendencies. They didn't deserve to see the other side of him. He was hers.
"Go and bring me the human," Sakura ordered with a tip of her chin in the direction of the mansion.
The stories of their cruelness should hopefully keep her clan from pissing them off, she thought with an inward sigh. For the few who were sired to her, Sakura knew she could offhandedly throw out there that they weren't to mingle with them or say anything out of line (offhandedly because the last time a creation of hers realised they were sired and opened their damn mouth, a few of the others detested the notion of losing their free will and turned on her for it, attempting a coup – a whole mess of blood and body parts that she wanted to avoid, since the aftermath of cleaning and creating more vampires was a pain and so not worth it).
Pausing just as she turned to leave, Ino shook her head, demanding disbelievingly, "Wait, did you say Obito? As in the recluse Obito?"
Temari snorted. "Right?"
"Shit, Sakura." Rubbing at her forehead and finally heading into their home, the blonde muttered wearily, "You sure have a knack for pissing people off, don't you?"
She grinned wickedly.
She was nowhere near finished with the Uchiha Clan. Truce or not, nothing was set in stone and she could tell from the mood creeping in the air around them that Gaara needed his pound of flesh too.
Although considerably younger and less experienced than the original families, Sakura was no idiot. The truce was merely put in place to prevent any recklessness, to keep her from getting lost in the heat of the moment and taking out one of the most precious people in his life. A wise move on his part, for it gave them the chance to retreat and strategize on ways of taking out a powerful coven of Orochimaru's descendants, but she had already anticipated that.
He wasn't one for taking risks. If he truly believed Sasuke's life was on the line, then he would do just about anything to ensure his safety.
His clan, on the other hand…
The sight of the man entering their line of vision had her holding up a hand in silent warning, ordering him not to come any closer and effectively cross the threshold. Precaution more than anything, on the off chance there was a lackey of the Uchiha clan hanging around and waiting for the moment to take out the owner of the home (once the human owner was dead, it was fair game and anyone could enter the mansion), putting her coven at risk, should someone like Sasuke or Shisui or him happen to bypass the rest of them somehow.
She looked to Gaara out of the corner of her eyes when he inhaled the human's scent appreciatively, though thankfully didn't have to utter a word as they were granted entry to the mansion. For the most part, he was containing himself, and Sakura wondered if it was the promise of causing mayhem for the Uchiha clan that was aiding in his self-control.
Compelled to follow her every order, the owner of the mansion greeted them calmly, his countenance not that of a prisoner, but rather like he belonged with the rest of them. Brown eyes watched them entering, his nod of greeting appeasing the original clan as they preferred to not interact with others outside of what was necessary.
"Follow me," Sakura instructed after sending the human on his way. He was safe in his mansion, for her clan knew not to get on her wrong side and nobody else could enter without her knowledge (vampires needed voiced permission from the owner, whereas they would sense a living person attempting to infiltrate). "We'll head straight down to see the coven. Ino, you should come too."
The blonde remained by her side as they walked, chin tipped upwards in that haughty manner she boasted, but posture briefly indicating that she was uncomfortable – Sakura couldn't really blame her. Being in the presence of the Sabaku clan and knowing they were going against the Uchiha clan was enough to make anyone uneasy. Had she not been filled to the brim with Gaara's blood as well as his, then perhaps she would have felt the same urge to turn tail, trusting her gut instinct and following her self-preservation trait blindly.
Much to her gratefulness, the coven were awake despite it being so late. Karin and Tayuya lounged back in the reading corner, engrossed in their grimoires until they caught sight of them all and stiffened, which alerted Anko to her return as the feisty woman stood perusing a shelf of herbs, brow lifting in muted surprise as she assessed the new additions. There was no unease like the other two women displayed, merely surprise that they were involving themselves. Then, finally, was Kabuto, the man's expression nothing short of impressed as he came to greet them.
The fact that they knew instantly who the clan was, despite never meeting them before and only hearing of them through rumours, boated their prowess. Newbie witches couldn't sense a fellow supernatural without touching them, never mind know what or who they were. For them to be spotted around the basement and at considerable distances from the clan, yet able to feel the raw power coming from them and knowing who they were…
She picked them well, Sakura praised herself and that praise went up a notch at the stunned vampires' expressions behind her.
"I had a vision you may be coming," Karin murmured, shocked. Previously, she'd informed Sakura that visions were subjective and always capable of changing, although at least two thirds of what she saw, came true. "But to actually see an original, never mind three…"
"Where are the others?" questioned Temari. Sniffing at the air, she stepped further into the basement, attention soon drawn to the only other door. "I can sense three more behind there."
Huffing with annoyance, the redhead spun on her heel and tipped her chin upwards, the responding slam of the door hitting the wall as it was swung open with her magic powerful enough to leave an indentation.
"Get out here," Tayuya ordered of her fellow witches. "We have visitors."
The first to leave was a woman with light blue hair and dark, calculating eyes, followed closely by a teenaged boy Sakura didn't really care for, the sight of his uncertainty and nervousness as he clung to the woman never failing to annoy her, for it reminded her way too much of her past life with him. However, to remain on the coven's good side (for they were more than capable of taking her out, should they wish to), she tolerated the boy, merely hoped he never showed his face to save her the embarrassment of having such a mama's boy on her side.
Finally, the most promising witch to join them was by far her favourite, his golden eyes an exact match to the powerful witch Sasuke had worked alongside of. Although considerably younger than the rest at only thirteen years old, he was already the most powerful in the room and should the others attempt to match his level, they would need three of them to pool their powers together.
"Mitsuki-kun," Sakura chided with a sigh and approached, gently poking the dark circles beneath his eyes. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
It was insane how without even meaning to, Mitsuki awakened her more motherly instincts, absolutely flooring Sakura (and the others of her clan) since she hadn't even known they existed. None of them had. To everyone, including herself, she was nothing more than a cold, scorned vampire who didn't necessarily care who got caught in the crossfire when trying to save her own ass.
But Mitsuki was…
He was everything she would have wanted in a child: smart, well-mannered, independent, able to stand up for himself. But despite all that, Sakura felt an intense need to protect him, to shield him from the others and she could only think of one, simple reason.
Mitsuki was just a child, one who reminded her of herself.
"The direct descendant," Gaara murmured appreciatively.
Without batting an eye, for she knew how risky it was to show how much she cared for him, Sakura carelessly slung an arm over his shoulder and grinned. "The eyes are a dead giveaway, right?"
"It's like seeing Orochimaru all over again," stated Temari in surprise. Blinking owlishly, she dared to step closer, and Sakura didn't fail to notice how the other witches all looked to Mitsuki unsurely, despite the fact he was unaffected by her proximity. "Of course, that's the only part that resembles him, but…"
"It's eerie," Kankuro finished for her, and Temari nodded once.
Dismissing their gawking over him and glancing up at her, Mitsuki asked, "Did you do it?"
"You better believe I did it, kid."
"You have him under protection spells, correct?" questioned Gaara suddenly, glancing around the room like that would give him his answers. "Should Sasuke discover this boy exists, he will stop at nothing to take him out."
"Like we'll let that happen," muttered the new woman, Guren. The boy remained close to her side but didn't hinder her as she placed a hand on Mitsuki's shoulder, uncaring of Sakura's arm as it remained in place. "We owe Mitsuki a massive debt, thanks to his unwavering strength when Yukimaru needed it most."
"I would be dead without him," Yukimaru added with a smile.
"There are spells in place," Gaara reiterated with a growing annoyance and Sakura knew it was because they hadn't directly answered his question. He wasn't one who cared for backstories or reasons why or how they found one another.
Knowing that that was their one and only warning before he lost his temper, she stepped towards the three other women of the coven, gesturing in the general direction. "Don't underestimate these guys, Gaara," Sakura warned teasingly, redirecting his attention onto her with the cockiness in her tone. "They're not like other covens – they actually protect one another."
She'd come across several covens in her lifetime, their numbers growing fewer as the years went by due to the betrayal or the lust for more power of some members. Some stopped at nothing to delve deeper, to be the most powerful of their kind, even if it meant throwing the entire coven to the wolves in the process. They essentially wiped themselves out, their kind being a dying breed. So, for the witches that didn't rely on a certain place that was tied to their ancestors or needed a coven to tap into their powers, they chose to travel or live as nomads, trusting only themselves or even denouncing their magic altogether, choosing to live as ordinary humans. The majority of Orochimaru's descendants lived as nomads, spread out throughout the world. It was incredibly lucky that she had so many together under one roof, let alone working with her.
"Damn right we do," Tayuya spoke up.
"I thought that this was an unusually large coven for this day and age," muttered Temari thoughtfully. "And you're all descendants of Orochimaru's?"
"Not as directly as Mitsuki, admittedly," answered Anko. "But in one way or another, yes."
"Can you all channel him?"
"If he allows us to."
However, it came at great risks, seeing as Orochimaru was a snake who couldn't be trusted. While the coven didn't necessarily mind plunging into dark magic and devoting themselves fully to what it asked of them, they were wary of channelling someone like Orochimaru, even with him being their ancestor. The only one who could fully control himself during the channelling was Mitsuki and even then, it drained him horrifically and opened the boy up to all kinds of fuckery that required weeks of recovery.
He was a boy, but one who was wise beyond his years. Mitsuki was well aware of the risks that came with his magic and knew not to exhaust himself too greatly, lest he leave himself open to the needy ancestor that was Orochimaru. Not only could it prove disastrous for the rest of his coven, but it ran the risk of granting the Uchiha clan more power, should Orochimaru's obsession with Sasuke manage to take hold of him.
He was just a boy.
Mitsuki was their trump card, but simultaneously, he was one of her weaknesses. One she vehemently refused to put out there in the world, to the extent where she wouldn't even think of him, on the tiniest of chances that someone could read her thoughts. It simply wasn't worth the risk.
"I take it your plan is advancing to the next stage?" questioned Kabuto curiously as he moved back towards the grimoires, only sparing her a glance. In Orochimaru's unnaturally long lifetime, many had been written up or acquired in not entirely ethical ways, making the coven the most knowledgeable (should they choose to read the grimoires, of course) of the witching world.
Smiling victoriously, she said, "You should have seen the look on Sasuke's face."
"It was perfect," Ino added with equal amounts of satisfaction. Sighing happily, she helped herself to a seat on the plush purple sofa nearest to the candles, kicking back. "And hurting him was–"
"You hurt him?" came Temari's impressed demand.
"Via Sakura," she relented, pouting only for a moment until she realised the other woman was still interested in the news and her, bringing forth a mischievous smirk to Ino's lips, her tongue briefly making an appearance as it grazed her fang admiringly. "But it hurt him nonetheless."
She didn't blame Ino or hold it against her for enjoying hurting Sasuke, even if it meant hurting her in the process. They'd discussed it in great depth, with Sakura stating she would be disappointed in her righthand woman if she didn't go all out to get revenge on the bastard who'd killed her friends during his first rampage against her clan.
They'd lost many that night, though there was no way she could possibly deny that Ino possessed stronger bonds with them all. Many saw her as a leader with questionable methods at times and for that reason, followed her simply because she always came out on top. If they lost their lives in the process? Well, her vampires could only hope they left a great enough impression on her to secure their lives by her side. They essentially lived to impress her, to leave a mark in the hopes of living long lives, whereas with Ino, they laughed and fought and cried together. If Sakura really thought about it, she knew the blonde was perhaps more of a leader than herself.
"Someone who is feared can never become a true leader," she recalled someone telling her a long time ago. "If that was the case then that leader would never have a loyal following."
Stupid Uchiha.
Although, he did have a point and it had Sakura wondering if that was why Gaara and the others didn't have followers, despite having created many vampires themselves. She knew plenty who would give their right arm to work for them, but they were rejected at every turn unless compelled to ensure complete loyalty, even if it was unwilling. The Sabaku clan vehemently refused to open themselves up to deceit.
"Uchiha Sasuke is more often than not ruled by his madness and it is the main reason why he can rarely be harmed," explained Temari. Strutting towards Kabuto and the grimoires, the blonde ran her index finger across the shelf, knowing not to actually touch the books, seeing as they were once Orochimaru's. Sakura knew that they were potentially enchanted against her kind to prevent the spells falling into the wrong hands. "With or without his humanity, he is a formidable foe."
Without a doubt it was down to his genes. "The ripper gene, right?"
"The very first of his kind," came Kankuro's mutter of disdain. "Unlike the rest of us who have some form of control over our feeding and can stop midway, Sasuke can't. A frenzy begins and he can't stop until his prey is in pieces and completely drained of blood."
Rippers were a nasty bunch – not intentionally, of course. They were basically the addicts of the vampire world, unable to control their bloodlust and weak to the smell or sight of blood. In some cases, even catching a glimpse of a human or their tracks was enough to trigger those powerful urges. That wasn't to be mistaken with vampires like Gaara, however. As ruthless as he could be towards his prey, he was not a ripper. Just a good old psychopath.
Not long after her transition, she'd happened across Sasuke during a feeding frenzy and had almost lost her life as a result – would have, had it not been for his fierce interference.
"You can tear into him all you want, but it won't have much effect," Gaara added like he was speaking from experience. The way his eyes attempted to glaze over had Sakura pondering the possibilities of their clashing, and part of her secretly hoped to see the Uchiha go up against someone as brutal as Gaara. "He will merely regenerate and come after you with a vengeance."
"Fun," Sakura threw in with a smirk, one that was soon returned by her lover.
"It makes for the most entertaining fights."
"For those of us who don't enjoy pissing originals off and fighting to the death," Anko drawled sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "What do we do now?"
"I like this one," Temari murmured, circling the other woman, much to Anko's amusement.
Ino pouted.
Her righthand woman didn't have a sexual preference and didn't care for labels. No, instead, Ino claimed to be a free woman who would go with whatever her body was craving in that moment, so Sakura wasn't surprised in the least that she was interested in Temari – the older woman was hot, even she could admit that.
"We have been summoned by the Uchiha clan," she informed her coven seriously, causing them all to straighten. "However, while we weren't aware of the entire clan being involved, we anticipated this reaction to a certain degree, so we will stick with the original plan."
"Keeping up with our protection and barrier spells," Mitsuki spoke up blandly and tilted his head in Sakura's direction, discreetly looking to her collarbone more specifically, until he spotted the faint gleam of a necklace peeping out from beneath her dress. He would spot it a mile away, she knew – it was his personal possession, after all. "To add another layer of protection, we could conceal ourselves and remain close by."
Not a chance in–
Sakura shook her head with a teasing smile, throwing in a good hair ruffle to make her response seem more natural. "Do you really think so lowly of my skills?"
"On the contrary your survival skills are otherworldly," came his smiled response. "It was just a suggestion."
No. She couldn't risk the other clan getting too close to her coven, to Mitsuki. They would put him down for his connection with Orochimaru for definite, and chances were, some members of the clan would put him down simply because she cared for him.
After all, she'd taken out his latest pet. She had to anticipate that he wanted revenge for it, even if he didn't actually care all that much. Would he kill an innocent child? No, definitely not. But Mitsuki was not innocent and posed a great risk to Sasuke, especially with his ability to resist Orochimaru while wielding his powers.
He wouldn't hesitate.
But neither would she.
"I advise against it," Gaara muttered just as she sensed Mitsuki about to push the proposal further. "You are too powerful an asset against that clan to wander so blindly."
Did he…?
Shit, Gaara knew. How she believed she could hide such a bond from him was… Sakura knew she'd been ridiculous to try such a thing – the guy had known her intimately for over fifty years. Part of her would have been disappointed had he failed to notice the changes in her demeanour.
"Even with this treaty, there's no guarantee that they'll uphold their end," Kankuro agreed with a grave nod in his brother's direction. "We need to keep our guards up. The likelihood of their taking advantage of a momentary truce is too high, especially if they find out who this kid is."
The same applied for other supernatural beings, also. If they weren't careful, then the werewolves were going to descend upon them in their packs, contaminating her town with their stenches. In human forms, most didn't pose a threat to humans, but in their beast forms, anyone was fair game to them. They tore into anything that unintentionally crossed their paths – sometimes not even then. Their primal instinct was to slaughter vampires. If they caught a few humans in the process? It was no biggie to most.
"As a precaution, you guys should stay here for the meeting," Sakura eventually instructed, then looked to Kabuto, asking, "You have the ability of astral projection, right?"
"Like all spells, it carries risks, but for the most part, yes." Pushing his glasses further up his nose and shifting his weight to his other foot, Kabuto added, "A benefit is that while invisible to others, I will be physically capable of moving objects or landing blows."
The thought of Kabuto throwing a punch was downright laughable, and she could tell Ino believed so too, although they hid their amusement well.
"Perhaps you should remain as a bystander for now," Temari murmured, lips quirking. "We wouldn't want to spook them with the thought of spirits being involved."
"Especially not with all the blood on their hands," Ino cackled. "It might push Sasuke further into madness."
"And that's a bad thing because…?"
Gaara rolled his gaze towards Tayuya's lilting voice, muttering, "Because he is tied to Sakura. He may regenerate and come back to life, but she won't."
The meeting of the two younger boys' eyes had Mitsuki nodding once, thoughtfully, before saying, "We could try tweaking the spell."
Another reason to love that boy (and perhaps tolerate Yukimaru a little more, she allowed). "Are you trying to make me overpowered?" she asked with a carefree laugh. "They're already threatened by us."
"No, no, he's onto something," Anko agreed with him, smirking wickedly. "While we initially said we couldn't make you an original once you have already turned, we can tie you to Sasuke in such a way that will bring you back to life using his life energy, as long as the link isn't broken."
Smiling happily, she threw herself back besides Ino on the sofa, her heels coming to the coffee table delicately and she pushed, "Continue."
Without pause, Gaara turned on the faucet to the highest pressure then rounded on her, saying, "You care for him."
He'd taken it upon himself to share her rooms with her for the duration of his stay, but instead of taking the time to appreciate how great they were, Gaara had dragged her into the bathroom the moment the door shut behind them and not in a sexy way.
She met his gaze and frowned.
"Keep the kid as far from this as possible," Gaara warned lowly, the rush of water pounding into the bathtub easily covering his whispers. "You care deeply for him and it is obvious to anyone who knows you–"
"They don't know–"
"They knew you," he corrected without giving her a chance to continue. "Itachi knows you. Trust me, they will know."
Grimacing, she looked up at him, hands trailing up his arms. "I don't know why, but… Mitsuki-kun got under my skin."
"It happens," he shocked her by saying. "As does death. If you don't want to lose him, keep him away."
Like she didn't already know that. The Uchiha Clan would stop at nothing to take her down and reclaim Konoha, even if it meant murdering a child. Death was going to hang around like a bad smell for the next few decades – or until she surrendered – and everyone would become a target. Luckily one of the three people who truly meant something to her was immortal, but the other two…
She had to win.
"I'm going to order Ino to stay behind too," she confided in him, trusting that Gaara would keep her secrets.
"What about me?" he asked playfully.
Snorting with amusement at the mere notion of telling someone like Gaara to stay behind, Sakura questioned, "And deny you your chance of screwing with them all? I know better than that."
"Are you sure?"
Her breathing grew shallow as the collar of her dress was gently pulled further down, allowing those sinful lips to dance across the exposed skin with a touch that made her knees weaken.
"Actually, I think I need you to remind me," she whispered, fingers threading through his hair.
"You're a stubborn woman," Gaara murmured just moments before his tongue ran up the length of her much too sensitive neck, eliciting a sharp intake of breath. "It will probably take most of the night."
That was perfectly okay with her and to prove as much, Sakura reached down and removed her dress without hesitating, dropping it carelessly to the ground. "Then you better get started. We have to set out in the morning."
Fortunately for her sake, there wasn't room for nerves at the sight of the neutral territory.
They stood opposite it for six whole hours to ensure they weren't walking into an ambush, watching secretly from atop the apartment complex opposite it. With the concealment spell the spirit version of Kabuto placed upon them, they remained undetected as they counted each Uchiha who entered the bar that was chosen, their entering in separate groups telling Sakura that they weren't all on the same page.
Uchiha Madara was the first to arrive, followed closely by Obito, who was his exact opposite in the way he ducked inside, attempting to keep his identity hidden. Then came Fugaku and Mikoto, their gazes calculating and suspicious as they lingered on the surrounding area, no doubt also checking for signs of an ambush. Finally, came the trio she'd made a treaty with, Sasuke trailing behind since it would no doubt be his first time meeting with the rest of his family since the clash.
Rather than speak out loud and risk being discovered, Sakura looked to the man beside her, then to the other two who'd scoped out the area surrounding the bar.
They'd chosen to remain in Konoha for the meeting and she knew that was mainly down to her protecting the town. In their eyes, she wouldn't purposely cause destruction to the town she'd nurtured back from the brink of poverty and plagues – and they were totally right. She wouldn't turn on Konoha.
However…
Damn, she was tempted to say screw it all.
Not only had they chosen to remain in Konoha, but they'd purposely chosen a bar that held a deeper meaning than merely a place to drink.
It was where she first met Itachi.
It was where they had their first date only a few nights later.
Sakura shut her eyes, upper lip curling.
That was why she wasn't nervous about the meeting. There wasn't any room to feel nervous or frightened. The outcome didn't matter in that moment. They could tear her to shreds the moment she walked through that fucking door and she wouldn't care.
Itachi was playing on her emotions.
And she was so fucking angry about that.
The tips of Gaara's fingers briefly brushed against hers like he could sense her slip in composure, the spark grounding Sakura long enough to breathe deeply, to will away the rage that was attempting to consume her.
"I believe it is time we put them out of their misery," he ordered. "Let's go."
A/N - Wow. I really wasn't expecting the first part to do as well as it did and the responses inspired me to write this! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, followed etc! I really appreciate the support.