Authors Note: This story looses much of its 'bloody' quality a few chapters in, and in the middle/end, it looses it completely. So if you are not in to that, never fear, it goes away in a chapter or two. :)
She isn't supposed to be, but I made Inner Sakura a separate character.
Penelope is my own character.
Eripmav
Part One, Chapter Two
Sasuke was silent for the rest of the night. He sat with his back against the tree and his eyes were closed.
Naruto watched him from a distance, ready to bolt if he so much as twitched. Sakura lay nearby sleeping and Kakashi was -most likely- reading something somewhere.
Sasuke's eyes fluttered open and focused on the blonde. Naruto shuddered then stiffened when he saw the raven-head awaken. Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood causing the blonde to yelp and leap to his feet, stumbling into the glowing embers of the fire Kakashi had built. He shrieked painfully and started stomping his sandal shaking the sparks off. His eyes rose and met Sasuke's briefly, he turned sharply as if to run, but hit his head on a low tree branch with a loud crack. He fell in a heap to the ground and groaned.
Sasuke laughed.
"What's th' matter dead-last, can't find your footing?" He laughed again waking the slumbering Sakura. Her bright green eyes widened as they fell upon Sasuke laughing evilly and Naruto sprawled on the ground at his feet.
"I'm not going to eat you, you know." Sasuke smirked down at the boy, not moving to help him up.
"HOW DO I KNOW THAT?" Naruto cried his eyes blazing. A number of emotions openly flashed across his face – anger and fear among them. Sasuke fell quiet. "I… I'm sorry." He added quietly, getting to his feet. His features pained at the blow he must have caused – The blow that Sasuke would never admit to receiving.
"Sasuke…?" Sakura whispered sitting up awkwardly. "…Did I taste good? I –" her eyes widened. "I mean, did my blood taste good?" she blushed.
It was the question Sasuke had least been expecting. He thought she would have screamed at him the first chance she got. He sputtered for a minute then gave up trying to find words and just stared at her in shock. She cocked an eyebrow.
'Umm…" he began again. "Y… No? ...Yes? ..." Sweat began to bead on his temples and his stuffed his hands into his pockets so his teammates would not see them shake. He replaced his look of shock for his trademark glare and started at her calmly... as calmly as he could anyway… He blinked.
"Never mind." Sakura sighed shaking her head. Naruto looked from one to the other in blank confusion.
--
The moon was high in the sky when Kakashi returned holding two dead rabbits by the ears. Sasuke eyed them suspiciously, fearing he knew what they were for. Kakashi winked and threw one of the dead animals in Sasuke's direction. He scrunched up his nose in distaste and looked down at the animal in his lap.
"Snack food!" Kakashi said a little too cheerfully. Sasuke sighed and picked up the animal and hesitantly bit into its neck.
Since it was dead he had to suck to get anything. And as soon as its bitter, cold blood touched his lips he coughed and hacked, tossing the rabbit to the side.
"No?" Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. He handed him the other rabbit. Sasuke slowly bit into it, feeling rather stupid. (Who wouldn't?) Sakura watched from a safe distance, one hand over her mouth, Naruto watched from even further away in horror, his face white as a sheet.
The taste was better, but not by much. He gulped down as much as he could, knowing that if he didn't, he would go hungry. He forced his thoughts into thinking that he was actually drinking milk… sour milk… Uhh… he was drinking tea… no… day-old coffee? Umm…
No.
He was drinking the blood of a dead rabbit. He gagged, tossing the rabbit aside.
Sasuke sighed and leaned against his tree and closed his eyes, not wanting to face the expressions on his friend's faces. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.
--
Sasuke woke with a start, smelling something sweet hanging in the air around him, thick like a storm cloud. If he had been human, he would not have awoken just by the smell. But then again, he was no longer human, and it was pointless to try and tell himself otherwise.
He took in a deep breath of the intoxicating something that hung around him before opening his eyes. He could sense what it came from. Sakura. He slowly let his eyes lift, but they widened suddenly at the sight of her kneeling in front of him holding out two bleeding fingers.
"Sakura!" He whispered madly sitting straighter, his back tensing.
"Shut up, you idiot. Hurry and drink some while the others sleep!"
"Are you mad?" he growled trying desperately to ignore the scent that pulled at him to accept her crazy offer.
"I saw what happened earlier, we all did. I have enough blood, I can spare a little more!" she pushed her fingers closer to him.
"Sakura…" Sasuke said darkly, trying to sound as dangerous as possible, which was hard in his condition. No matter how tempting it was, he couldn't risk hurting her again. "You – "
Sakura cut him off by pressing her fingers to his lips. Her warm blood spilled onto his tongue; he shuddered hungrily. He locked his eyes with hers while he licked her cuts, not allowing himself to suck and draw more fluid.
He turned his head away. This wasn't right.
"Sasuke," she looked at him her eyes big and unreadable. This was odd, in knowing her.
"No." he said firmly. "Go to bed." He closed his eyes. "You can't go cutting yourself every time I feel hungry. Forget about me for once in your life and think about you."
Sakura blinked. Forget about this piece of eye-candy sitting in front of her? Was that even possible? No matter what he was, she didn't think that she could do it. His dark eyes and black hair begging for fingers to get lost in their depth; Strong muscular arms and killer body. Sure, he was dark and cold to others the majority of the time, but that just added to the want to win him over.
He looked pale in the moonlight, but his eyes flickered with life. Sakura rose to her feet and walked away, defeated.
Sasuke let out his breath, not realizing he had been holding it. Thank the gods she left. He was tempted to drain her right there. Her blood was warm and sweet – not that he had a lot to compare it to…
He fell asleep again thinking about the good old days when 'real' food had an effect on his hunger…
--
Thankfully, the clouds hung heavy and close together the next day. Even though he was uncomfortable in the daylight, he was thankful that vampire rumors were not true (where as soon as a vampire was hit with sunlight, he or she burst into flames).
They reached Konohagakure by early afternoon. Sasuke made a beeline to his house where he promptly locked himself in the darkest corner, Kakashi headed for the library where the next volume of Make-Out Paradise awaited him, Naruto could be found at a local ramen shop, and Sakura wandered aimlessly.
'There has got to be a way to reverse this.' Sasuke thought about himself pulling al his blinds shut. 'There has to.' He sighed when he found himself poking around in his refrigerator. He came upon a raw steak in his freezer which he sucked dry after thawing it in the microwave then started pacing.
What he really wanted was a big, fat, greasy cheeseburger. Which he could have, just, it wouldn't be the same. He sat down at his table with an annoyed 'huff'.
Something crashed in the entrance of his apartment. Sasuke sat erect and listened carefully. The up-side to his change was he had an incredible sense of hearing. He folded his hands carefully on the table's surface.
He could hear something heavy swish and light footsteps coming down his hall. And if he tilted his head just right, he could make out the faint sound of breathing. He waited patiently.
"Hello." He said calmly when a figure appeared in the kitchen doorway. They stiffened for a second then relaxed and laughed lightly.
'Why, hello!" she said stepping into the semi light. "Do you know who I am, then?" she asked grinning down at him. Sasuke was silent.
She wore a long black gown that fell nearly to the floor; her hair, too was black, that he could see in this light, and hung straight to her shoulders. Her sleeves covered most of her hands, but Sasuke could just make out the tips of long, black fingernails poking out from under the hem. (AN: Not meaning to sound Goth or anything… -bows-)
"No, I suppose you don't," she sighed. "You were un-conscious, after all… I am the one who changed you." She said cheerfully, inspecting her left hand. Sasuke stood so fast he knocked over the chair which he was sitting in to the floor with a clatter. He balled his hands into tight fists and clenched his teeth.
"You…" he growled dangerously.
"Me." She smiled "my name is Penelope." She gave a short bow, "and you are Uchiha Sasuke."
"How is that important?" He asked feeling his hands relax slightly.
"At the moment, it's not. I came to tell you the few rules about being a Vampire."
"About that," Sasuke snarled, "Why the hell – "
"Don't eat garlic (though I can see that you figured that out, it does nasty things), Watch out for silver, it causes pain." She winked. "Sunlight. You can be in it, but it feels like forty degrees on most days. (AN: That's about 100 degrees Fahrenheit) Crosses. They don't do anything really, but they can jump out at you in some places and cause quite a scare. Mirrors, obviously you can see your reflection is there. Don't worry you don't have to sleep in a coffin." She laughed "Unless you want to, of course. To change somebody you drink their blood and bite yourself so they can drink yours… I think that's it."
Sasuke blinked. Change somebody? He didn't think he would need to do that. Ever. He swallowed and asked: "Is there any way to reverse this?" Penelope frowned.
"I believe, in order to change back, you must drink the blood of the one you love." Sasuke stared at her, utterly appalled.
"I… don't love anybody!" his voice cracked.
"Oh," Penelope grinned. "Well, you're screwed then!" She turned on her heel and with a swish, glided out of the kitchen.
"Wait!" Sasuke called to her retreating back. "Why did you change me?" She paused mid-stride.
"Because," she said without turning to face him. "You are Uchiha Sasuke." She shifted her weight slightly. "And… I was hungry. You were going to die anyway. (Stupid men, getting themselves into messes they cant get out of again). You looked like you wanted to live longer, and I could give you another chance." She disappeared. Sasuke cursed.
---------------
"Idiot girl." Inner Sakura growled as her outer self roamed the streets in the direction of Sasuke's house. "Go to bed already! I'm tired!" Outer Sakura ignored her and wandered up Sasuke's street. "DON'T BE STUPID!" inner Sakura screamed as outer Sakura stopped at the end of his walk. /Oh, shut up/ Sakura sighed.
The front door opened and a figure clad in black glided down the steps.
/Hello/ The person – female – said cheerfully when passing Sakura.
/Hi/ Outer Sakura said cautiously. /Who are you? What are you doing… here/ "Idiot." Inner Sakura added.
/Cousin/ the woman said with a wink and turned to leave.
/Oh, okay/ Sakura sighed, smiling. "STUPID, IDIOT, GULLIBLE, PEA-BRAINED GIRL!" Inner Sakura screeched lunging at the woman's back as she walked down the sidewalk. "SASUKE HAS NO MORE FAMILY!"… /…/… "…"… /SHIT/ Sakura sprang for the front door and kicked it open. "NOOO!" Inner Sakura screamed trying to hold back her outer personality.
/SASUKE/ She screamed frantically as he appeared in the entrance.
/Sakura! What the hell are you doing/ "Yeah!" inner Sakura growled. "What the hell are you doing?"
/I… You… There was this woman outside your house… I…/ Inner Sakura sighed.
/So…/ Sasuke asked, sounding annoyed.
/She said she was your cousin, and I know you have no family…/ she paused to swallow. /And I thought… Maybe…. Something happened to you/ Outer Sakura looked down.
"You're such a sentimental fool. Why does the weaker half always get the body?" Sasuke rolled his eyes.
/I'm fine, see/ he held out his hands palm up. Sakura nodded and slowly turned to leave.
"That was embarrassing." Inner Sakura giggled.
/Oh, shut up/
--
Sakura walked slowly down the street, the sun was setting, and it would have been really pretty if her inner self would be quiet.
She sighed heavily when she found herself at her front door. 'What a day.' She thought glancing at the bite mark on her hand as she unlocked her front door.
She plopped herself down on the couch and picked up pair of knitting needles. Inner Sakura commented that it was a stupid way to kill time, but Sakura ignored her. She continued making the only thing she knew how. A scarf.
She had once decided to make a scarf for Sasuke for Christmas, but that was over a year ago, and she never could bring herself to finish and give it to him. It had grown to be a very long, blue scarf. Now reaching eleven feet.
She finished it, she decided, making it twelve feet even, and then started one for herself. Bright pink.
She gave up with a huff after making several mistakes and crawled into bed. Inner Sakura cheered.
----
The next morning, cell seven met together to get their next assignment.
"You will be escorting Mr. –"
"WAIT!" Naruto shrieked, interrupting the Hokage, "I'm sorry sir, but escorting? That's something that –"
"I know," the Hokage said calmly folding his hands. "Now, as I was saying, you will be escorting Mr. Tazuna to where he needs to go." He waved his hand in dismissal.
"How boring…" Naruto sighed stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Hn." Sasuke said automatically. Sakura just smiled sweetly, her inner self straining to get kunai into the old man's chest.
"I won't be coming with you three." Kakashi announced. "I'm needed elsewhere," he added upon seeing their crestfallen faces. "You can't have your old teacher with you forever." He said cheerily, and left.
"Aw…" Naruto sighed sadly. "Darn." Sasuke 'Hn'ed' again and Sakura nodded her head, kicking a rock on the ground.
The three wandered to the cliff where they used to sit and wait for Kakashi when they were younger. Naruto grinned at the sky randomly, Sakura tossed rocks into the trees below, and Sasuke stood, thinking in the shade of a large tree.
"Sasuke-Kun!" A girl cried running up the path. "I thought I would find you here!" She said in a sing-song voice and throwing her arms around Sasuke's neck. Sakura began to growl. "How are you?" she batted her eyelashes up at him.
"I-Ino!" Sasuke coughed. "Umm…" he detached himself from her grasp and took a pace back. "Good?"
"INO YOU PIG! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Sakura began to stalk forward, hands clenching and unclenching. Sasuke had never been so relieved to have Sakura step in.
"Why, hello to you too, Sakura." Ino looked her up and down and sighed. "Well, at least you grew into your large forehead.
"Yeah? Too bad you never grew into your –"
"Sakura! Ino! SHUT UP!" Naruto covered his ears. "If you were fighting over me, I'd gladly let you continue; but since you are fighting over Sasuke, you are being extremely annoying...!" Sakura took a shuddery breath in hopes to calm herself.
Sasuke rolled his eyes – when an idea hit him.
"Hey, Ino…" he did his best to cover his words with sweetness. Not something he was used to. She turned to him smiling prettily.
"What is it hot-stuff?" she batted her eyelashes again. Sasuke took a deep breath, bracing himself, he tried to think of happy thoughts as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. Sakura shrieked; Naruto made a shocked-gurgling sound. Ino giggled happily.
Sasuke tilted his head to the side and brushed his lips against her neck. Ino's giggles swiftly changed to laughter.
"Ha, ha, Sakura! I won – Ooh!" she gave a pleasant shudder. She suddenly stopped mid-giggle, her eyes widening in shock. She gasped as Sasuke's fangs sank deeper into her flesh. She squirmed frantically as she tried to free herself from his hungry grasp. Sakura watched in horror as Ino slowly paled and her eyes seemed to droop with sleep.
/YEAH/ Inner Sakura pumped her fist into the air, Naruto shivered with a now shocked-happy expression on his face. Sasuke stepped back and licked his lips, watching Ino crumple to the ground; he looked up at his companions, smirking.
"She won't be bothering us for a while." He said proudly.
"D…did you kill her…?" Sakura asked starting to grin.
"Don't be stupid." Sasuke frowned. "Of course not… though, it was tempting." He turned on his heel and walked purposely down the path.
Author Note: I apologize about the Ino thing. I really loath Ino with an unexplainable passion… And it seemed like a good idea at the time. No flames on that, please:)