Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and company. -sobs- But I do, however, own Penelope and Christoph

Eripmav

Part Two, Chapter Two

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Sakura sighed heavily, sitting herself down on an abandoned park bench. She didn't even look at him. What if he took that as a sign she was mad at him? Did he even care? – Probably not. She buried her face in her hands.

Why had she wasted her life away trying to win a losing game? Sasuke would never – could never even like her. It just wasn't like him… to be all nice and happy… romantic and… and… And?

Sasuke was cold and… mean – truth be told. His pleasure was ignoring her and beating up Naruto.

He trained to kill.

Sakura suddenly noticed the silent tears running down her cheeks.

"Ooh…" she sobbed. "My makeup is going to run…" This sucked.

She was all alone on a cold, hard park bench with not a sole around, Sasuke couldn't love her, and her makeup was a mess. /Ha, ha/ Inner Sakura pushed into her mind. She sobbed harder – Even her inner self was laughing at her.

Well, as the saying goes, 'Life sucks, and then–

"Sakura?" Said a small voice; she looked up and saw Sasuke fidgeting a few paces away.

'Life sucks and then the boy you are totally in love with shows up in time to see you look your absolute worst.'

"Sasuke!" She covered her face. "No! Don't look at me! I'm a mess and" – Something warm was wrapping itself around her shoulders. She slowly peeked through her fingers and saw Sasuke's arms circling around her.

"Sakura?" he asked again a little louder. Sakura was tempted to start sobbing into his shoulders and snuggle deeper into his chest. "I… I know how to change back." He paused and took a deep breath. "I have to drink… drain the blood of somebody I love…" Sakura shuddered. How horrible! But… why was he telling her this?

"But," he continued, "That would mean killing that person… (God that sounded stupid)…" Sakura nodded slowly, not picking up where this was going. "And I don't want that to happen to you." He finished lamely. Sakura's head snapped up, her mouth parted in shock.

Did… did he just say, in an odd way that she may not have fully understood, that he loved her?

"You… have… to… ME?" she squeaked. Sasuke nodded turning away, his cheeks starting to color. He let her go and folded his hands in his lap. "B-but you drank my blood before and…" she trailed off. She knew full well that he had said drain the blood of… Too much information was trying to crowd its way into her brain. But the one article that took up the most space was the fact that Sasuke had just admitted he loved her. HER! Most of her mind cheered wildly, Inner Sakura groaned loudly.

But…

"Here," she heard herself say without realizing what she was doing… She suddenly found a kunai in her hand and was just noticing that she was about to slice her wrist when Sasuke grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard; she gasped.

"No." he said firmly.

"But… We're alone, nobody will know. It'll look like a freak accident, and you can get your life back." That probably sounded rash …

"I wouldn't be able to live with something like that on my shoulders." He said quickly. "No." he said again slowly letting her go.

/AH! I DUN WANNA DIE! I DUN WANNA DIE/ Inner Sakura shrieked running around in circles. Sakura was numbed of all thoughts but one.

"I want you to be happy."

"Sakura, that's just lame." He rolled his eyes.

"Sasuke…"

"Don't even try. I wouldn't if my life depended on it."

"What do you know! It DOES! You almost killed me before…!" Sasuke glared at her. What did that have to do with anything? "Would you do it if I asked you to?" Sakura smiled weakly.

"I... no." sweat started to bead on his forehead. Sakura leaned over and kissed him lightly. He knew he would if she asked him to, and she knew it as well… and she planned on asking.

Sasuke started to pull back, but relaxed after a few seconds. Sakura broke the kiss and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"Please?" That was all it took. She could actually see the moment when his heart shattered into a million pieces and he crumbled from the inside out. She knew that he would now.

And seeing the pain in his eyes, she almost changed her mind. But she wasn't given the time to think about it because he leaned forward and pressed his mouth against her neck.

"Are you sure?" He whispered his breath tickling. She nodded, gasping when his teeth sank into her flesh. She welcomed the feeling… ……

---

"STOP!" Sasuke shifted his eyes upward. Penelope was running towards him, skirts flying. He pulled away from Sakura, she fell limp against him. "NO! I WAS WRONG!" she came to a sliding halt in front of him.

"What…?" Sasuke asked calmly.

"I was wrong. All that will get you is a full belly and a dead girl." Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked down at Sakura. She slowly opened one eye and smiled weakly.

"Is… that… all?" she managed to gasp, eyes slightly wider than before drooping closed again.

"She's on a straight path to death." Penelope said sadly, shaking her head.

"No! Is there no way to help her?" Sasuke looked around frantically. It couldn't end like this. Why did he listen to her in the first place? It was a crazy idea!

"Don't be an idiot!" Penelope rolled her eyes. "You are a vampire."

"That means nothing to me." He growled. Penelope rolled her eyes again and brought her wrist to her mouth and bit it. She held it out to him.

"What's that for?" he asked hugging Sakura tightly.

"Duh." Penelope sighed. "How do you think you got changed?"

"CHANGED! NO! NOT SAKURA!" He looked down at her pale face and touched her hair.

"Well, then kiss her goodbye. There is no other way." Sasuke ran his tongue over his teeth. He held up his hand.

"I guess… I…" He took a deep breath and bit himself. He felt his wrist throb as blood pumped freely out of it. "Sakura…" he called softly. She, again, cracked one eye open.

"I… think I'm going to die." She sighed. She knew she was. She could already feel everything inside her slowing down. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, you're not. Drink this." He held up his wrist to her lips. She stiffened for a second, but didn't protest...

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"You." Sasuke glared at Penelope.

"Me!" she said cheerfully.

"You… told me the wrong thing! I could have KILLED her!"

"True. But you would have anyway, realize."

"I…" Sasuke huffed. "It might have been…" he growled in frustration.

"Yes, you could have killed her, but you didn't." Penelope laughed.

"But –"

"Oh, you were lucky this time, so take a chill-pill! What happened happened."

"True." Sakura added. Sasuke turned and watched her for a moment. She seemed to take her change very well. Naruto hadn't been told yet. Sasuke and Sakura were waiting for the right time…

"Is there no way to reverse it?" Sasuke found himself asking again and beginning to pace to length of his living room.

Sakura was curled up on the couch, elbow on the arm and head in her hand. Penelope stood in the corner, hands neatly folded behind her back.

"Who knows!" she replied happily. "Best not ask me, though. I haven't needed to remember, so I have forgotten. You should ask Christoph, he would know." She winked and glided to the door.

"Oh!" she turned, "forgot to mention last time, you cannot turn into bats. (I mean, really! Who thought up that one?) And prepare to be around for a long, long time… if you don't get changed back, that is." She winked again and disappeared.

"Where can we find Christoph?" Sakura asked looking up at Sasuke. He shrugged.

"I'm sure she'll come back and tell us in a few days." He sighed and sat down. "Welcome to hard living. I'm sorry you had to get changed." Sasuke slumped forward placing his elbows heavily onto his knees and burying his face in his hands. This was all his fault. And it went as far back as the attack just after their mission. He should have listened to her…

"Sasuke! We're all tired… you should take a break! Pay no attention to them. Besides, they may be tougher to handle than they look!" Sakura looked up at him, her green eyes tired and worried.

But he was Uchiha Sasuke, and he didn't run from fights…

"Don't worry about it!" Sakura smiled. "I'm glad I got changed!" Sasuke lift his head and blinked at her.

"Why?" But before Sakura could answer him, Naruto walked in. "DO YOU EVER KNOCK?" Sasuke shouted aggravated, and rose to his feet.

"Nope!" Naruto grinned making a beeline for Sasuke's fridge. "Drat, nothing good for humans to eat…" he sighed and wandered back to the living room. "So," he plopped down opposite of Sakura. "Now what?"

"Well, um…" Sakura shifted her position as Sasuke sat down next to her. "We have something to tell you –"

"YOU'RE PREGNANT!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "I KNEW IT!" His eyes blazed and he turned his angry gaze onto Sasuke, who turned pale.

"No, Naruto, not this time," Sakura giggled furiously when Sasuke turned to her, shocked, the rest of his color draining away from his face. "Actually, I have been turned too." She looked back up at Naruto who had gone nearly as pale as Sasuke, if not more. (Sasuke, at this time is thinking: 'What the hell does she mean 'not this time…'?')

"I think," Naruto said weakly as he sat back down, "You being pregnant would have been a better answer. – So like, really… Now what?" he swallowed.

"We look for somebody named Christoph." Sakura smiled. "… I'm hungry." She added rather suddenly, Naruto jumped to his feet and started backing away. "Oh, don't worry! I'm not in the mood for Naruto… At the moment." She licked her lips playfully.

"Right, well… Just the same… I should be running along…" He bowed goodbye and leapt for the door.

"Wow." Sasuke leaned against the back of the sofa, his arms folded across his chest. "You got rid of him." He smirked. "All you have to do is mention hunger and he'll bolt. I should remember that…"

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The next morning Penelope was standing in Sasuke's doorway. He didn't bother asking her how she got there (he knew for a fact he locked his door) because he probably wouldn't get a straight answer.

"You're back sooner than expected." He drawled brushing the hair out of his eyes.

"Oh, shut up." She glared at him. "I came to tell you, I forgot the mention where to find Christoph."

"Figured." Sasuke rolled his eyes pulling on a smoky-grey T-shirt and heading towards the coffee machine.

"Coffee stunts your growth, you know." Penelope stated. "You shouldn't drink it so much, it's horrible for you!" She crossed her arms.

"Yeah, well, you should drink coffee," Sasuke looked her up and down. "You're the living Empire State Building!" The tall vampire snarled at him before adjusting his posture so she looked shorter. "What about Christoph." Sasuke sighed looking over his steaming mug and sipping it.

"He lives on the top of Citnagig Mountain." And with that, she left.

Sasuke re-filled his cup of coffee and sat down on his couch. He closed his eyes – savoring the silence around him. He sighed, sinking deeper into the cushions. He thought… Sakura. Her change… That would forever be weight on his shoulders, no matter what she said. She almost died, and it was his fault… But she had been so willing and eager to give up her life so he could live normally again. 'I want you to be happy.'

… Odd. Her saying that struck a chord somewhere in his chest. Yes, he already loved her, but her saying that seemed to push him a little further so he fell down deeper. He fell even further for her, even when he didn't think he could.

He wasn't one for expressing emotions, so throughout the years, nobody would have guessed. But he admired her, and appreciated everything she did. Just, this year, he cracked and couldn't hold it in any longer. He thought he had more time to prepare himself… But his sudden vampiric change twisted things around…

He was just drifting off when there was a faint knocking on his front door. He heaved himself up off the couch and trotted to his front door.

"Um, hi." Sakura shifted her weight. "I didn't know you would be up yet, but I came over just in case… I saw Penelope wandering by my house, and I was wondering if you heard… about Christoph…" Sasuke didn't say anything but stepped aside to let her in.

Sasuke admitting that he loved her, so far, hadn't changed much. Sakura sighed inwardly. Too bad… Yes, he was slightly more friendly than usual… Maybe he just needed to sort out his feelings and see if he was ready for the emotional struggle that would be ahead if they got together. Sakura smiled. He was such a shy guy…

She began fidgeting nervously when she noticed he was wearing something other than his traditional Uchiha garb… A simple shirt and boxers… (Well obviously he didn't wear his normal clothes to bed!) She cleared her throat.

"So… did you…?" Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, he's somewhere on the top of Citnagig Mountain." Sakura gasped and said: "That Mountain is gigantic! I hope she's right this time…"