The Ripple Effect

By: Sweet Bliss

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Maybe what he hated the most about being a vampire was having no reflection. He really didn't know what he looked like. Many women have stopped and told him he was very handsome, but what did that describe. Was his hair all black, how long was it exactly, did it really take the shape of a chicken as Naruto had once said?

No one had ever bothered with things like that. He didn't really care though. Who would take the time to describe someone's appearances? Especially those of a cursed descent that he belonged to.

"Sasuke?" Obsidian orbs saw as a figure stepped beside him. He saw her reflection clearly. Pink locks that hung loosely around her pale face. Jade eyes that were always full of life. Did his eyes do that? Did his own eyes tell what he was thinking? The girl also stared down at the water. She saw what he did. Two figures stood looking at a lake but only one image was reflected onto the waters.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked moving his eyes away from the lake to stare at the girl. Didn't she say she hated him? "I'm sorry, Sasuke," she whispered and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He just now noticed how much shorter she was than him. "I didn't mean what I said. I don't hate you at all!" she cried tears slipping from her green orbs.

Sasuke gently pushed her away after a few minutes. She looked at him and sniffed. "Don't cry. It's a weakness," Sasuke stated averting his gaze elsewhere. She wiped away the tears and she then queried, "Do you regret being a vampire?" It was completely unexpected but Sasuke just nodded in reply. "It wasn't your choice though," Sakura added trying to make him feel better. Sasuke glanced sideways at the female.

"Do you know what you look like?" she asked staring back down at the waters. Sasuke shook his head no and answered, "Why would I care to know about silly meaningless things such as looks?" The cat girl sighed and sat down on the wet grass, not minding her dress that was just cleaned by Tsume. She tugged at his arm until he sat down beside her.

"I think you want to know, Sasuke," she stated calmly, her fingers plucking at the grass beside her. "Okay, then, if you must continue this. What do I look like?" Sasuke spoke calmly his eyes boring into hers. The cherry blossom smiled and scooted closer to the boy.

"Your hair is a raven color. It's quite spiky and does resemble a chicken, but just a little bit," she added the last part when he had frowned at the chicken statement. "Your skin is so pale. Its ivory color contrasting with the ebony of your hair." Sasuke raised his right brow and she gave him a small smile. "But I think your eyes are the best part of you," she whispered. He watched silently as she leaned in closer to him. "They give off traces of pain and sadness. They give you a sense of humanity that no one else I've met has."

Soon her face was just a few inches from his. She blinked her eyes shut and then opened them once more. Here they were on the cool ground in a middle of a forest. A lake that despite the cool weather was not frozen. Small flurries of snow falling down, and scattering amongst their bodies and the surrounding area. Sakura shyly leaned in closer to him but a scream echoed throughout the forest, startling both of the teenagers. Sasuke gently shoved her away and stared out over the trees, Sakura followed suit.

"The village… it's on fire!" Sakura cried out as the smoke lifted into the sky above. "Damn," Sasuke cursed himself for not paying attention. "That scream was from Hana." The cherry blossom frowned at Sasuke's worry over the brunette dog-woman. Hana not only ruined her moment with her vampire 'prince', but the werewolf also had won over his care and worry. The green eyed girl lowered her beautiful orbs down to the ground as she whispered to Sasuke, "Go and save her…"

The vampire looked, startled, over his shoulder at his 'friend'. Her hands were trembling at her sides and her head was drooped to the ground. "Go already!" she commanded her voice quivering. He didn't want her… he only wanted that stupid Hana. He didn't want a feline lover… he wanted a canine. Something loyal and trustworthy. The flower drooped to her knees, eyes still downcast. When she heard no word from Sasuke, she suspected he had left to rescue the Inuzuka princess.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Nobody wanted her at all. Why didn't he let her die when they first met? Why didn't he leave her to the snake-like vampire and his weasel of a brother? Why couldn't he have kept her from meeting him in the first place? If they hadn't met then she wouldn't be feeling all of these odd emotions.

Sasuke turned to face the weeping girl. "Sakura," he sighed out her name to get her attention. She stopped her sobbing when he tilted her chin up. "You're coming with me." A few more tears streaked down her pale cheeks as she asked the boy why he wanted her to go with him. He remained silent at first then he spoke up, "I don't want to lose you again."

"Lord Orochimaru and Master Itachi, we've burnt the village to the ground and searched everywhere. Sasuke and his pet aren't anywhere in sight." The two men that were called upon turned to the young vampire who was on his knees as a sign of respect. Itachi turned back to the flaming village and smirked saying, "Oh, he'll come out. My brother may not admit it but he's too kindhearted for his own good." Orochimaru dismissed the vampire and turned back to watch as the small village turned into ashes.

Villagers stood before the platform in which they had held meetings and gatherings of any sort, whether it be a punishment or good news in general. Their hands knotted tightly and Itachi's subordinates watched closely. There wasn't a way to escape.

"Now, now, Tsume. Are you going to tell us where Master Itachi's brother is?" The leader of the werewolves spit in the man's face and growled. "Not going to talk, eh? Well, we'll see what your beloved daughter has to say." Tsume's eyes watched in fear as Hana was dragged onto the stage. They sat her on the ground , the splintered wood ripping into her pants and the flesh of her legs. The man from before pulled her hair so she would look directly ahead. "Now where is the traitor of a vampire and his doll," the man hissed into her ear.

Sasuke moved quickly from tree to tree holding the surprisingly light Sakura in his arms. His wings were spread out helping him land gracefully onto the limbs of the trees he jumped onto. "Are we almost there?" Sakura asked quietly her face buried into his shirt. Small fists clenched his cloak tightly, assuring that she wouldn't fall. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Sasuke. No, that wasn't the case at all. She was just afraid of heights. Funny thing since she was part natural born climber.

She also wanted to be as close to him as possible. Despite the spewing of blood from his victims each day, the Uchiha was oddly enough clean and smelled nice. Maybe it wasn't a good thing to be attracted to a vampire, let alone a murderer, but something about Sasuke was different than the others. She had almost forgotten about her question but she heard a short reply of, "Yes," that brought her back to reality.

He dropped her softly on the ground and frowned. "This won't do," he said barely above a whisper. Sakura cocked her head to the side as Sasuke began removing his cloak. Her face flushed pink as she shyly queried, "W-what are you doing!" She got her answer when he placed the long jacket on her and pulled the hood up in the back. "Don't let them see you," he ordered.

As he turned around to walk into the flaming village he felt a tug on his sleeve. Warm green eyes greeted him. "Put the hood back on!" he hissed. Sakura reached behind her for the hood but moved them back down to her sides. She walked closer to him, head tilted upwards so she could look into his onyx eyes. "Promise you'll be safe," she whispered and waited for his answer. When none came she placed the hood on over her head. The vampire watched her walk on ahead and silently wished he could promise her that.

From his spot in the trees, Sasuke could make out where Sakura was standing. The cloak reaching to her feet and the hood veiling her eyes. Making sure no one noticed, the Uchiha turned his attention to the werewolf on the stage. Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto the backside of her hand.

He growled as the vampire torturing her took out a knife. The man swiped the blade through her dark brown locks, making them uneven. The torturer let go of the locks in his hand and Hana unleashed more tears. "Damn woman. You wouldn't tell us though." The man smirked as he shoved Hana's face onto the floor of the stage.

Sasuke's gaze narrowed when he saw the image of his brother making his way through the crowd. The evil look that seemed to radiate from his red eyes. "Well, well, Hana. According to my spies, you did save and help my brother. So where is he?" Hana glared and kept her mouth shut.

Itachi shook his head and with a sigh he said, "My, my, my. You can't really protect that wimp of a vampire forever, now can you?" Hana opened her mouth but then clamped it back shut. The older Uchiha smirked and bent down near Hana's height. "That's a very pretty neck you have here." At this Itachi's hand slipped around her neck. "Too bad your blood belongs to those whom I despise, or I would make you mine." The young werewolf's eyes shut tightly, tears visible along her long eyelashes. The vampire pulled a shiny item from his own cloak and shifted it close to the brunette's neck.

Sasuke silently crept along hurriedly, trying to reach Hana before Itachi killed her. As he came closer he noticed that she was yet to be harmed. "Get away from her, Itachi!" he shouted as he landed from the treetops onto the stage. Itachi moved his eyes to the left to see his brother just a few feet away. "Why, if it isn't Sasuke? Long time no see, brother." Sasuke narrowed his gaze as his brother smirked and spoke in an all too familiar tone. Something was up… something bad.

"Where are my manners? I don't really have time for you, I've got other things to attend to," Itachi said in that formal matter in which Sasuke so despised. Sasuke watched as his elder brother walked back to Hana, and before Sasuke could stop the man, a skillful cut ran smoothly along her neck.

It wasn't deep, but it stretched far along her tanned skin. She gasped and a small trickle of blood trailed down from her wound. "Hana!" Sasuke cried as he ran to catch her as she fell backwards. She landed limply in his arms, tears spilling down her cheeks. Her dark locks were cut unevenly from the vampire's assault on her. "I'm sorry, Hana. I wasn't here in time," Sasuke apologized as the red liquid from her neck dripped onto his gloved hands. Hana smiled sadly and she pulled her hand up to his face. "It's okay. I fulfilled my purpose as the oracle prophesized."

When Sasuke gave her a confused look, the girl chuckled softly and stated, "It's tradition that when a new baby is born in our village that they see an oracle. My mother told me that the oracle said I was to save an enemy of our clan and that I'd fall in love with him. And when that day were to come that I would surely die trying to save him." Sasuke shook his head no and told her, "You don't need to live by rules and traditions. This is throwing your life away, Hana." She silenced him by a gentle kiss upon his lips. Her hand fell from his cheek and her eyes shut never to open again.

He laid the deceased body of Hana down softly and turned to his brother's retreating figure. "What the hell are you trying to accomplish by killing innocent people? Answer me, damn it!" Sasuke said, his eyes flickering angrily. Itachi glanced over his shoulder at his little brother and smiled wickedly. "You always ask me that question, little brother. And don't I always give you the same answer? I'm just testing my abilities." Sasuke glared at his brother. Death was just a joke to him.

Sasuke turned to look back at the motionless body, the sad faces of the werewolves who protected him, and then to the cloaked figure in the back. "Why must you always do this? You're hurting too many!" Itachi merely laughed it off. "Sasuke, have you forgotten what you are? You're a vampire. We stand alone while our enemies team up to destroy us. Have you ever once thought about how all these people will turn on you? Just like you turned on them." Sasuke's eyes went wide. He wasn't there to save Sakura when she was captured and hurt. Not there when the vampires attacked the village. Or when Hana needed him.

"Oh, don't feel bad, little one. You can join me and we'll conquer those who treat us like dirt!" Itachi invited him giving a small, malicious smile. The Uchiha heir stepped forward to his brother and drew his sword from the sheath at his side. "Hmm, this could get quite interesting," the betrayer of his clan stated drawing his own blade.

Watching from afar stood the cloaked figure. Her identity shielded by the heavy jacket Sasuke gave her. She had witnessed everything. From the fall Hana to Sasuke and Itachi's battle. But what bothered her the most was that irritating fact that she could have been the one to give Sasuke his first kiss. Yes, Sasuke had kissed her but he was affected by those strange black markings, so that kiss didn't count at all. Green orbs, veiled by darkness, watched every movement of the two brothers with awe. It was like some sort of intricate dance. Both beautiful and haunting at the same time.

She noticed that both were nearing the edge of some cliff. Sakura's eyes widened when Sasuke began to inch closer to the edge. His left foot slipped on the small amount of ground he had left to stand on. When he realized he was about to fall, he cast aside his sword, gaining a large cut across his abdomen. His fists clenched tightly onto the fabric of Itachi's clothes, and both boys fell from the upraised area.

Sasuke had managed to pull Itachi over first. His hands had grabbed hold of the cliff's edge at the last minute. It was quite uncomfortable to be dangling over what seemed to be a bottomless pit. As long as Itachi had died then his goal was finished. He could rest in peace.

But when he closed his eyes he saw all the people he'd met during this journey. Kakashi, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, Ino, Ten-Ten… and Sakura. He knew he could've flown, and that would've saved his life, but he was always like this. He was too scared to move. Afraid of the outcome. Itachi was probably still alive or he could've already died by the air pressure.

"Sasuke! Hang on." That voice. He opened his obsidian orbs to see watery green eyes staring back down at him. "Please, hang on," she cried tears slipping down her cream colored cheeks. She grabbed hold of his hands and tried helping him up. But her grip kept slipping due to the rain that had just begun to fall. More tears streamed down her face as she desperately tried to help him up. But to no avail. Sasuke's hands themselves were slipping from the wet blades of grass and watery dirt. "I'm sorry, Sakura," he whispered to her as he completely lost grip and fell from the cliff.

Naruto skidded to halt on the wet ground he ran across. The rain came down heavier now and sleet was mixed in with it. Cuts from the ice were evident on his tanned skin. They had just saved the last of the villagers of this town after beating down the surprised vampires that held them hostage.

He stumbled upon Hana's corpse and he immediately grew sick. The sickening long slash across her throat that oozed with blood. Her hair scattered across the stage and some strands lay in the blood she slept in. He stood in a puddle of red liquid that was mixing with the fresh rain. Avoiding the sudden urge to vomit he made his over to a huddled figure near the edge of the cliff. The rest of the gang were leading the villagers to Shikamaru and Ino's hometown, and he'd promised to meet up with them there after he found Sasuke and Sakura.

When he got closer to the person he realized who it was. Sakura. She was wrapped in what appeared to be Sasuke's coat and she clutched his sword close to her chest. "He's gone." Naruto stopped walking to her when she uttered those words. "W-what?" he asked quietly trying hard not to believe her words.

Sakura glanced back at him and spoke once more, "He's gone…" The words were choked and hesitant as if it pained her dearly that the boy was gone. Wait, scratch that. It did pain her dearly that her beloved vampire was dead.

Sapphire orbs watched as Sakura took hold of the blade, and a beautiful sword it was, and shoved into the damp dirt beneath. Droplets of the water ran down across the silver surface of the metal, washing away all sins and sorrows it had caused. The hilt, inscribed with characters that spelled out the vampire's family name, was drenched by the waters' wrath.

The whiskered mage stooped beside the cherry blossom and whispered, "It was his final wish to kill Itachi. He succeeded, so he must have thought that it was time for him to rest in peace." Sakura shifted her gaze from Naruto back to his sword. She then stated calmly, "There's more to life than revenge. He should've known that. He could've stayed with us… with me."

More tears spilled from her cheeks but weren't seen due to the rain. Naruto pulled her closer into an embrace as he whispered, "He knew that. But he was afraid that if he did then somebody would hurt us. Sasuke and Itachi aren't full-blooded vampires to begin with after all. Their mother a human and their father a vampire king with demon blood. The brothers could die by any mortal standards but live on longer than any human could hope." Sakura nodded understanding. She really hadn't known that at all. Probably under his confidential section.

"C'mon and we'll leave him to rest in peace," Naruto said offering his hand. She took his outstretched hand and stood up. As they walked back to the poor village the flower glanced over her shoulder one more time. The blade was becoming distant. His last standing. His final memento of his existence.

"50 laps around the beach, Rock Lee!" shouted a buff looking merman. The boy who he was talking to nodded and began to do as told. His bowl-cut black hair glistened in the ale moonlight. Ice cold rain water fell onto his bare arms, not that the sea water was any warmer.

Coming to the end of his intensified training he noticed something laying halfway in the water and halfway on the sand. He swam up to the figure and pushed his body all the way onto the sand. "Leave it there, Lee. He's probably dead anyways." The boy named Lee turned to face another man. With one last glance at the body he dove back under the water.

"Shino, I think you should take the body back to your house," Lee explained to the man that stood over the body. Gray storm clouds hung overhead blocking all sunlight. "He won't survive under water with me if he's still alive in the first place. And you're a scientist not to mention a doctor." The man named Shino nodded and dropped a few garments onto the boy's body. "I'll make sure to give him a proper burial if he is dead." Rock Lee nodded and watched as Shino lifted the body up.

Standing outside the small home of the Nara elf, a cloaked figure stared into one window that was lit by a single candle. He turned around to walk awaybut quicklyglanced backwards once more at the small room containing the Haruno blossom. The moonlight streamed down on him as he stalked off inot the night.

A/N: I decided to update finally! Sorry, that it took long. I was busy battling with new obsessions. And see if you can guess who the cloaked figure is! It could range from Sai (whom I've grown to love so much) to any Akatsuki member! Oro-sama to Gaara. It won't be revealed till later.

And I'm sorry that I killed off Hana. I know most of you are probably jumping with joy right now, but for those who actually liked her… sorry! It was a little gory though… Anyways Read and Review!

Sweet Bliss