The Ripple Effect

By: Sweet Bliss

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, however I do own this story and its plot

………

Chapter 3

Sakura smiled happily, dancing about in the sun's warm rays. She hadn't been in the sun like this in so long. Where she lived with Sasuke wasn't that sunny. Mountains surrounded the small village, and snow was the only thing that greeted her in the morning. She was also glad that she was away from Itachi, and back with Sasuke. Nothing else at the moment mattered but the fact he was here with her.

Watching the cat girl from his spot in the shade, Sasuke smirked. She was so clueless that it rivaled Naruto. She was so innocent where as, he was tainted. She was an angel; something pure and bright. He was a demon; evil and dark. So different yet alike in so many ways. Ways that he himself didn't even understand. Looking at the tear-shaped, jade stone in his hands he sighed. A small hole was drilled into it, and a silver chain was looped through the stone. 'Perfect.'

Sensing someone nearby, Sakura looked in the direction of the sound. It was just Sasuke. "Hi, Sasuke!" she greeted cheerfully causing him to wince. He'd be deaf soon. Remembering why he'd come over, the vampire opened his hand where the necklace sat in his palm. It had immediately caught Sakura's eye as she squealed, "For me?" Not answering, the raven haired teen placed the necklace around her neck.

The cat humanoid latched onto the boy in a quick hug but quickly broke away when she heard another noise. Her cat instincts taking over, the bubble gum pink haired girl made her way up the tree. At the edge of the limb sat an elfin boy with a fairy perched on top of his shoulder. "Hi!" Sakura said startling him and the small fairy on his shoulder. Both the elf and the fairy were soon on the ground twitching.

Ino rubbed her small head and groaned, "That has to be the LOUDEST person we've ever come across!" Sakura giggled, picking up the fairy with her small hand. Shikamaru bit his lip and covered his long, pointy ears as Ino wailed, "PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT, FOREHEAD BITCH!" The green eyed kitty tilted her head to the side and frowned. She immediately let go of the winged girl as Shikamaru called out to his friend. Sakura smiled wickedly as she asked, "Did I hurt the pig?" The blue eyed small fairy shook her fist menacingly at the pink haired angel.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and Shikamaru muttered a short 'troublesome' under his breath. Each boy finally grew tired of the bickering and pulled the feisty girls away from each other. Once the fighting had ceased, Sasuke then questioned, "Who the hell are you? What do you want?" The brunette elf sighed. He then spoke, "Introductions are quite troublesome, but I am Nara Shikamaru and this here is Yamanaka Ino." The Uchiha nodded and motioned for the two to continue. This time it was Ino that spoke, "Well, where me and Shika live is pretty poor and run-down. There is very little food so Shikamaru steals things from travelers and gives it to our village."

The blue eyed pixie then got her first glimpse of Sasuke. She looked him over and smiled. "Who are you? To be such a cutie why are you traveling with this ugly… monster?" Ino asked seductively, her tiny body right up in his face. "You're short," Sakura muttered under her breath. The blond, unfortunately, heard and made a few hand seals. And instead of a short sprite there was a regular sized version of Ino. "Who's short now?" Ino mocked. Folding her arms across her chest, Sakura frowned. Besides Shikamaru, she was the shortest, and that wasn't saying anything because Shikamaru was almost taller than her too.

Shikamaru then asked what Ino had already once more, "So, who are you?" Sasuke looked down at the elf, who was about Sakura's height, and answered, "I'm Sasuke. This is Haruno Sakura. There are a few others with us but they don't matter at the moment." The elf nodded to this, even if the young vampire hadn't given him a last name. Ino then took it upon herself to offer, "Why don't you come back to our village! It's not big or fancy but it's quite friendly! Even the pussycat can come." Sakura hid behind Sasuke as the insult came from Ino's mouth. She'd always been shy and self conscious about her looks.

Walking back into camp, the group noticed Sasuke and Sakura talking to two other people. A blond girl was clinging to Sasuke and nuzzling into his shoulder. And then there was a very angry Sakura sitting beside them along with a boy that had pointy ears. "Yo! Sasuke, who are they?" Naruto called out completely confused. Now he knew that when he left there were only two people, but now there were four. What the hell!

Sasuke shrugged off the blonde and answered, "They're going to shelter us from Itachi." Shikamaru jumped at the mention of Itachi and Ino had turned back into her small, pixie-like self. "He's the one who destroyed our village!" Ino shrieked. Shikamaru then put in, "Is he after you?" The young vampire nodded his head. The sprites flinched and calmed themselves down.

Shikamaru then stated hesitantly, "I guess our village could hide you, but don't do anything to place our town in danger." Kakashi nodded in agreement and then ordered everyone to pack. They had to get to the village before night.

Their journey to the village was a silent one. Shikamaru and Ino were up front leading the way with Neji and Kakashi following close behind. Ten-Ten, Hinata, and Naruto were behind them and the mage seemed to be thinking up a conversation but he found none. Sasuke was in the back with Sakura walking behind him, her head down.

"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked shifting his onyx orbs to the girl. She put on a fake smile and said, "N-nothing. E-everything is just fine." Deciding not to further his questions, Sasuke turned back to the path before them.

Once into the clearing, the group could see the moon just now rising before them and snow had begun to fall. Sakura shivered from the cold and rubbed her bare arms to warm herself up. Until something was placed upon her shoulders. "I don't need you to way me down," Sasuke stated bluntly and walked passed her. She put the jacket on and didn't have time to worry about how weird it looked on her.

Reaching the small town, Shikamaru decided to give them a few bits and pieces of information about the village. "Okay, we're at the eastern entrance. It's not the best place, I know. Stay on your guard, some villagers in the western part have resorted to thievery and other methods not… normal. My home is the one that reads 'Flower Shop' on the sign above. You can stay with me until further notice." After his brief explanation, the group decided to split up. "C'mon, Hinata, we're going exploring, but stick close to me!" The blond mage said grabbing the girl's hand and tugging her off to most likely a ramen stand. Neji was about to intervene, but quickly decided against it when he spotted a weapon shop. He saw Kakashi in the same direction and immediately caught up with him.

Shikamaru and Ino had headed home. They most likely were going to find something to eat. That left Ten-Ten, Sasuke and Sakura. "I'm going out for a while." Sasuke nodded to the brunette girl and then turned to Sakura. "Stay out of trouble," he ordered beginning to leave but the little cat-like girl held him back. "Can I go with you?" she asked her jade eyes reflecting everything she felt. Sasuke groaned and motioned for her to follow.

"This is good ramen!" Naruto said slurping down his second bowel of ramen. Hinata giggled as the noodle twisted and slapped the juice all over his whiskered face. "Are you travelers?" the chef asked taking up Naruto's bowels and placing another in front of the mage. Nodding their heads the chef continued, "We don't get much of those. I haven't seen a visitor since I came here… that was about two years ago. My stay isn't permanent, though. I leave to visit my daughter, Tsunami, and her son, Inari, every other month and manage to smuggle in some food for these villagers." Naruto dropped his spoon in the third bowel and sputtered, "S-smuggle?"

The man behind the counter nodded, "In my hometown lives a very wicked man named Gato. He makes illegal products and some of my men sell the goods to me. Whether it be drugs or food, I take them all. I just fear of my family getting caught. My son-in-law was captured and killed by Gato once." He choked up a bit and his sad eyes glossed over, but the gray haired man turned. "Tazuna, one day… maybe I'll come back and destroy that man once and for all!" Naruto swore and the man smiled saying, "I'll hold you to that, Naruto."

"T-that was r-real nice of you Naruto," Hinata said silently. Naruto's sapphire orbs lit up as he grinned. "I'll stay true to my words. I've yet to break a promise," the magic wielder stated happily. The ivory orbed girl giggled and smiled. The old man, Tazuna, gave a low chuckle and went back to his work.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei." Ten-Ten stated now dressed in a judogi, and her chestnut hair wound in two buns bound by a black ribbon to match her belt. She bowed to the taller man. His pointy ears stuck out from his dark locks and he smiled. "No need to thank me. It was your exploding power of youth that helped you get this far," the man said, his smile taking up half of his face.

Ten-Ten smiled back and turned around. Her old sensei had once told her about this town and Gai. Maito Gai, a half elf, was one of the greatest martial arts masters she'd ever seen. Gai had set up his dojo here at this village because of the lowness of the security and defense in the community. "Good day, sensei," Ten-Ten bid the man farewell as she left through the shoji door.

Looking around the shop, Neji sighed. It hadn't the biggest selection in the world but the weapons weren't so bad. Kakashi had already bought him a few kunai and some shuriken. The silver haired ninja was now walking around and flirting with the brown haired person behind the counter. Neji hadn't bothered looking at the person Kakashi was talking to, it wasn't any of his business one way or another.

Picking up a katana off a nearby shelf, Neji tested it out. Lightweight and easy to use. The blade was smooth and sharp. It was mostly likely able to pierce with a mere trace of the tip. A smirk found its way to his lips as the Hyuuga twirled it around in his hand. He turned back to the counter and said, "I want this one."

Sasuke sighed as he finally found a quiet place for him to rest and Sakura to play. She was quite fond of the snow and somehow Sasuke needed her busy for the moment. The raven haired teen brushed the snowflakes from his dark locks and his white shirt, and took a seat on a barely visible bench.

His pink haired companion didn't seem worried by her current situation. Now that Itachi knew about her, would he really take her away? Or was he trying to tick his little brother off by saying all those things about her? It wasn't working, Sasuke thought to himself over and over again. It was in the rules of being a vampire. He'd read them over and over again when he was little. He knew them by heart. And one of the rules just so happened to be:

'Never fall in love. We are of cursed descent and we show no emotion. Emotion distracts our real duties. We are pawns, tools used for others. Nothing more…'

Sasuke had lived his life by the rules his clan and species passed down from generation to generation. The only reason his father married his mother was because she was beautiful and strong, highly qualified for producing his heirs. Mikoto, however, once told him that she did very much love Fugaku and she'd do anything for him. But Sasuke didn't want to be like them. They succumbed to emotions and never saw their deaths coming. Sasuke would never fall for someone, even Sakura, yet… Maybe there was more…

Sakura was twirling around on the frosted grass, the cloak Sasuke lent her draped around her shoulders. The snow scattering across her roseate locks. She decided not to worry with the Ita-Oro incident at all. Finally tired of playing in the cold air, the cat humanoid sat herself down beside Sasuke.

"I'm tired, Sasuke," she said yawning and scooting closer to him, taking off the coat in the process. "What the hell!" Sasuke said as she wrapped his coat around both of them. She rested her head on his shoulder and purred. Stupid cat antics. Uncomfortable by their close proximity the Uchiha tried to shake her off of him but she had already fallen asleep.

The vampire sighed as he felt her breath tickling his neck. Obsidian orbs broke away from Sakura and placed them upon the sky. The moon had a bright glow and blended well with the pitch black sky. Removing the cloak from his body, he placed it on Sakura. Lifting her protectively in his arms the raven haired teen walked silently back to the house of Shikamaru and Ino.

Directly before the west entrance Sasuke went to a halt. Standing before him was Itachi's second hand man, Orochimaru. Orochimaru's smirk widened as he saw Sasuke's grip on the cat-girl tighten. "So you do like the girl. A pity really. You could have come to me, Sasuke, and had everything you want," Orochimaru said his yellow eyes keeping Sasuke in place.

He was trembling. He almost dropped Sakura but he quickly tightened the hold on her. Sasuke closed his eyes trying to block the sickening, haunting yellow orbs, but those eyes penetrated through everything. When he opened his eyes once more, Orochimaru was no longer in front of the west entrance. The man was right behind the teenaged vampire. Orochimaru bore his sharp, white fangs into Sasuke's neck and left a black bruise in its place. "Your pet will come to us and so will you. That is if you don't destroy your pet while you are at it. Goodbye for now… Sasuke." Destroying her? What was Orochimaru talking about?

…TBC…

A/N: This is the third chapter and I'm so happy to have it up! YAY! Anyways, the next chapter is going to be quite long and more… violent with a big helping of fluff sprinkled on top. Violent fluff… that right there is an oxymoron. But anyways I hoped you liked this chapter. Asuma and Kurenai might appear next chapter (I'm still editing).

And another note… If you are wondering why Sasuke doesn't give his last name to others, the reason will be revealed soon. Well, read, enjoy and review!

Love you all!

Sweet Bliss