Lips weren't supposed to burn.

Sure, mouths were hot. Sure, kissing could get steamy.

But this was way beyond that.

Kissing Sasuke was like stepping into the shower when the water was freezing cold – only the exact opposite. His skin was scalding. It burned, and Hinata was not exaggerating even a smidge.

When she shoved away, barely breathing, her hand first went to her lips, which felt like they were on fire. Just the brush of her fingertips against them hurt, and with a gasp, she threw the same hand out and smacked him.

"Gah!"

But as previously mentioned, his skin was hot, and when she pulled her hand from his cheek, her fingers were red, as if burned. She stared at them in awe, then snapped her head up at him. And not an inch of him looked shocked or hurt – in fact, he looked absolutely pleased with himself as those fiery lips that had just burned hers tilted into a crooked, hellish smirk.

Chapter 3

The Guy Who Kissed Me … Might Not Be Human

"We can go about this however you wish, Hinata. Simply, sternly, loudly – whatever you please."

The owner of the small café was a powerful woman whom Hinata has always looked up to. Kurenai Sarutobi had a force to her name that both attracted and absolutely scared the shit out of men. Even her own husband – Asuma, a rather easy-going man from what Hinata could gather from the handful of times she's met him – would sometimes come to hide in the back alley of the cafe to escape the ferocious wrath of his wife. She was cunning, her kindness never too stubborn to allow people to walk over her, and most of all, she had the instincts of a mother.

When Temari had run into the back to tell her how one of the customers had just harassed poor Hinata in front of the entire customer population, she had already tapped her phone on and called up her lawyer by the time Hinata, shocked and lightheaded, was pulled into the back.

"Did he hurt you?" Kurenai asked, eying the sharp red of Hinata's lips. "Did he touch you?"

"He kissed her," Temari hissed. "He just stood and kissed her. You – You don't even know the guy, do you, Hinata?"

She didn't think so.

He looked like her classmate. He sounded like him. Their cadence, their mannerisms – it was all the same. But Sasuke Uchiha was blind and hated coffee, and this Sasuke – this strange, smoldering Sasuke – had looked her right in the eye as he had – had –

"No," she whispered.

Kurenai pursed her ruby lips, a droned hum buzzing in the shadows of her throat. "We can get a restraining order on him – or at least ban him from the cafe." Her sharp gaze slid about the break room, not focusing on anything in particular. But when she snapped out of her pondering to find Hinata was trembling, she quickly pulled out a chair and allowed her to sit. "Do we know his name?"

"No," Temari answered, cracking open the door to look out at the sitting area. Sakura was still out there, handling customers and making sure the strange man did not leave the cafe. "He hasn't paid for anything yet. Just got water that he hasn't even touched."

Kurenai's nose wrinkled. Hinata knew where her thoughts were leading her. She thought he came just for the show, just to ogle at the girls without really getting anything. And … maybe he was.

But how did that explain the perching last night?

"Sasuke," she eventually said. "It's Sasuke."

"Last name?" Kurenai asked.

Uchiha.

The name almost left her mouth, but she stopped herself. There was no way.

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, hon. None of this is." Pulling her hair behind her shoulders, Kurenai made her way towards Temari's side. "Give me a moment to go –"

"Wait. Sir, you can't –"

But then the door to the break room suddenly shot open, and it was as if the entire sun had just stepped in. Hot. Sweltering. Her lips burned, and the red swells on her hands ached and throbbed. Hinata jumped out of her chair, stumbling back, as hooved feet led the dark, smug man into the employees-only room. Temari's eyes flashed, and Kurenai's shoulders squared as she gave him a hard look.

"You're not allowed to be back here."

Sasuke didn't even look at her – it was like she didn't even exist to him. He moved. To come to Hinata. To chase her down. To capture her. And when Kurenai reached to stop him, Hinata tried to yell for her to stop, to warn her his skin was made out of lava, to keep her from hurting herself.

But –

"Don't touch me."

While the words struggled to leave her mouth, they slipped from his with ease. There was nothing to that voice. No anger, no smugness, no silkiness. It was void of everything, and Hinata's eyes flashed to Kurenai, who wouldn't dare be talked to in such a way.

"Oh." A pale hand dropped, giving Sasuke a clear way to the back of the room. "I'm sorry."

Wait.

That's … not … .

He skirted past Kurenai and took one, mighty step her way, peering down at her.

"I don't want them here." He stared for a moment, then turned to the two behind him. "Leave."

Temari sighed, as if mystified of all things. "I'll go take your tables, Hinata. Take your time."

As Temari left the break room, Kurenai held the door open for herself, smiling back at them. Smiling. Just moments ago, she had been arranging to get a restraining order on the guy! "You can go on break now, Hinata. It's no trouble."

What? Hinata blinked at the owner, gobsmacked. "N-No, I –"

"Hi-na-ta." Those thin, scorching lips whispered her name with slow delicacy. "So that's your name, angelus." Her fingers curled against the back of the chair as he gave her a sparing glance, then he turned back to Kurenai. "You're bothering us. Leave."

Red lips parted as she laughed. "I didn't know you had such a kind boyfriend, Hinata. Really. I thought you would have told me these things."

That made Hinata's mind go totally blank. "B-B-Boyfriend?" Where did such an idea even come from? She slapped him in the middle of work! He had barely said three sentences to her. "He's not my –"

The door clicked shut, and they were alone.

He turned to her, and she pushed the chair between them.

"D-D-Don't!" Her trembling hands made the chair shake, but he didn't give it a glance and he walked to her. "Sasuke, I –"

"Where did you learn my name?" His left hand grabbed the chair and shoved it to the side, throwing it into the wall. The loud bang made her heart jump. She looked at the door, hoping someone would come. But no one did. The door stayed shut, and she was trapped. "Who told you?"

She didn't know what to say. He was dangerous. When he touched her, everything burned. If she mentioned the other Sasuke at college, would he hurt him, too? Her mouth snapped shut as she looked around the room, trying to find something to protect herself. He was right between her and the only exit, so escaping was out of the picture. That, and with how he managed to corner her against the wall, it really began to feel hopeless for her.

It was quiet for a moment as he waited. But as it stretched, he lost his patience and swooped in, like he had in the sitting room just a few minutes ago –

"No!" Her head turned to the side, getting a clear view of one of his hands slamming against the wall near her skull. "Stop!"

Again, it was quiet. No slamming doors or approaching footsteps. Why weren't they coming? Why did they leave her with him? That wasn't like Temari and Kurenai at all. They always had her back, always looked out for her, always helped her; and right now, their help was exactly what she needed.

It was hot. Of course it was.

But not the burning, painful kind. Her skin felt like it could melt off her bones, but nothing was pressed against her or hurting her. When she gathered enough courage to look, he was inches away from her face, flashing her an expectant look.

"I'm waiting," he droned.

"What?" was all she could say, think, understand. Everything was so confusing.

His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the white-knuckled grip she had on the front of her blouse. "Do it again."

Do what again? She blinked and shook her head, trying to clear it up so she could think. "I-I don't understand." Maybe it was best to play along. Maybe he'd leave her alone if she just gave him what he wanted.

He pulled his right hand away and pressed it against his cheek – the very one she slapped not too long ago. "The touch," he said. "Do it again."

He … was asking her to slap him again? A cosplaying stalker with boiling skin who also happened to be a masochist. And she had been so sure this was her awkward classmate just the night before.

"I can't," she said, pulling her hands away from her blouse. "It hurts."

He frowned. "It did not hurt."

Yeah, she figured it didn't hurt him. He was practically simpering after she had done it. "Your skin burns," she said, showing him the burns on her fingers. "It hurts me." Her eyes glanced over to the sink to the right of her, behind the table. "I need to run it under cold water. C-Can I do that, please?"

Sasuke – it felt so weird to call him that – moved just enough to give her room. She slunk against the wall, and he followed closely. When she reached the sink, she twisted the knob, and the faucet rumbled before it spewed out cool water. She dipped her fingers in, hissed at the pain, but kept them under the running water until it slowly faded away. The large body nearly brushing against her left shoulder was hard to ignore, and once again, she felt watched, followed.

"C-Can …" Her voice cracked. She swallowed hard, not wanting him to hear how scared she was. "Can I go, please? I-I don't want to be here."

When he didn't answer, she peeked back to find him stood on top of the table, glaring down at her hand under the water.

"If you leave," he said, "I will find you."

Panic shot through her system. Petrified tears trickled down her face, dropping from her jaw and staining her pink uniform top. Sasuke stared, no remorse or guilt coming to his blank face – not that she figured he'd feel such things. Instead, he stepped over to the counter where the sink was, crouched down so he was somewhat on her eye level, and lifted a hand to her face.

She flinched away. "Don't hurt me."

"Your mouth," he drawled. "Put it under the water."

Upon him mentioning it, a sudden, throbbing pain stung her lips, and Hinata eyed him as she pulled her hand out, which was numb from the cold water. When he did not move, she bent down and pushed her mouth under the faucet. Water bit at her sensitive skin and washed over her face. Some trails slid down her neck and dampened the collar of her shirt. She stayed there for a moment, breathing through her nose, smelling the stench of sulfur that took up the break room. After a while, she pulled away from the water, turned the water off, and examined her hand.

It was still red and ugly, but the pain had stopped momentarily. There was a First-Aid on the top of the fridge, but she didn't dare try to walk past Sasuke to get to it.

"Um." With her untouched hand, she pointed to the red box on the refrigerator. "Could you … um … ."

He must have gotten the message, for he stood and grabbed it. He did not hand it to her, but rather dropped it on the table, and she had almost expected for the handle of the box to have been touched in some way, either by being halfway melted or with steam emitting from where his hand had once been. But it was perfectly intact, and Hinata didn't give it a second thought as she pulled out burn jelly and bandages.

Applying the jelly was not difficult, but when it came to the bandage, she had a bit of trouble wrapping it securely with her non-dominant hand. And the fact that the dark, feathered man watched her with such an intense gaze did not help either.

"Tch."

Suddenly, a white hand yanked the bandage out of her hand, and she jumped back. "P-Please don't –"

He scowled. "I know how to hurt people, angelus. If I wanted you in pain, you would be in pain." His hand yanked at her sleeve, pulling her forward, and he quickly and tightly wrapped the bandage around her hand.

That's … unexpected.

Was he trying to get on her good side now?

Resisting the urge to bite her lips, Hinata glanced at his horns. "Your name is Sasuke." No answer. He just finished his work and leaned back on the heels of his … hooves. "But it's not Sasuke Uchiha, right?"

She didn't know how common a name Sasuke was, but she supposed there had to be at least two of them out there.

Again, no answer. Maybe that was a good thing. Hinata didn't know why she was trying to make small talk with this guy.

"I … um … I need to get back to work."

Sasuke watched as she placed the roll of bandages and the jelly back into the First-Aid box, doing nothing, saying nothing. That gave her some relief, and she took a practice step to see if he would react at all. He did not, and she went over to the fridge and placed the box back on top of it.

"Oi."

Her shoulders jumped, but when her head snapped his way, she saw he was staring at the door.

Footfalls could be heard outside, and a moment later, it opened, revealing Kurenai, smiling. Of course.

"Can I do anything for you?"

"She is not working today." Hopping off the counter, tattered cloak flowing behind him, Sasuke gazed at her. "She is going home."

Huh?

Hinata blinked as Kurenai hummed and examined the bandages around her right hand. "Of course," she said. "Take the day off. I hope you'll feel better tomorrow."

"No." Hinata shook her head, trying to wrap her head around things. "I –"

But when she looked back at Sasuke, he was gone.

…

He must have done something to them.

That was the only thing Hinata could come up with as she hauled a full bag of trash out the back door and into the alleyway. She's been working at that cafe since last summer. Since day one, her coworkers and bosses have always been there for her. Leaving her alone with the very man who had kissed her – without even asking first, mind you – on the job was not something they would ever do … ever. In fact, she was surprised Temari hadn't jumped him the moment he stepped into the break room, no matter how attractive she supposedly found him. So for them to turn on a dime so suddenly … it didn't make sense.

He must have done something to them.

But … how?

And that was what she was still trying to figure out as she pulled open the lid of the dumpster and struggled to lift up the heavy bag with one hand.

Maybe that get-up of his went beyond simple cosplay. Maybe he was some sort of witch doctor. What if he was a magician of sorts who used tricks to get people to do his bidding?

What if … it was something more paranormal? He could be a demon or a ghost. Could ghosts change how people acted? She wasn't sure. But he did have a habit of disappearing into thin air – and maybe this was just her paranoia thinking, but Hinata was sure she'd heard tales of the park across the street once being burial grounds.

But … ghosts were supposed to be cold, right? And he was burning hot.

Sighing, Hinata finally managed to throw the trash into the dumpster, and she wiped the grime on her hands from the lid on the side of her pants. "Ghosts do not exist, Hinata," she told herself. "There's no way he's a ghost."

"Well, you're right about one thing."

Heart pouncing into her throat, choking her gasp, Hinata spun around to find him sitting on a pile of boxes next to the dumpster. He looked how he always did – horns, long ears, hooves, weird clothes and feathers. If he kept showing up like that, she would really start to believe the whole cosplaying thing was a lie her brain was simply trying to make her believe. Instinctively, her bandaged hands lifted to her mouth, hiding it from his sharp gaze, and the turn of his lips quirked as he stood and loomed over her.

"I'm no ghost," he droned, "but just because you cannot see things does not mean they do not exist."

Again, she found that he was between her and the door to the cafe. Behind her, yards away, the alley connected with a street, but she knew if she ran, he would catch her.

"What do y-you want?" Her attempt at sounding brave failed miserably as her nervous stutter popped up, and she blushed, ashamed.

But he did not smirk or make any sort of move to belittle her. Instead, his neck bent slightly, and he asked, "Does it burn?"

That was when she became aware of the hand holding her unbandaged one. When she looked down, she saw it was his. It was warm. Hot. But not burning, not scorching. When she blinked and focused, she realized it was because he was wearing gloves of some kind.

Snapping her hand back, she brought it to her chest. He looked at it, saw the lack of burn marks, and the corner of his mouth lifted.

And then, suddenly, her back was against the wall as her mouth was being parted by long fingers covered in smooth leather. The irritated skin pulsed, but it wasn't painful as his fingers then moved to caress her cheeks, the sides of her nose, the arch of her brow and the dip of her temples. He snorted as he felt her ears, sounding amused, for some reason, and then when he returned to her mouth, he, in a more gentle fashion, lifted her upper lip to see her teeth inside.

"Flat," he murmured. "Useless."

She couldn't find the will to be confused or even offended. In fact, she couldn't find the will to do anything. Was it odd to say that … it felt nice?

Yes, definitely.

She didn't know this man.

He stood on things with his dirty, fake hooves and embarrassed her by kissing her in the middle of the cafe.

But without the burn of his skin, the feathery touch of his hands made her relax, and the stress that had been biting at the back of her skull faded away with time.

"The spell you used on Temari and Kurenai," she whispered, words barely leaving her, "are you using it on me? Is that why I'm not pushing you away?"

His hands moved away as his black, soulless eyes peered down at her.

"No," he said. "I do not need to use it on you, Hinata."

And when he smirked, his lips peeled back just enough to reveal the sharp fangs in his mouth.

Human, Hinata thought, gulping, the joints in her fingers freezing. He's … not human.

…

Saturday night. Fifteen minutes before the cafe closed. Money was counted. Tables were wiped. Floors were moped.

Table 6, by the window, of course, was occupied.

Sasuke Uchi – no. Sasuke. Just Sasuke. He was there with untouched water by his right hand, and his eyes never left her as she moved around to pull down the blinds. Hinata was still not used to it, and she did not know if she'd ever be used to it. But he was intimidating and she had the backbone of a sponge, so, at least for tonight, it continued on like this.

The minutes dragged on like they usually did when she had nothing to do, and whenever she tried to look around the place, she found that her gaze would eventually drift to him. Constantly, she was reminded of his presence in that suddenly small, suddenly tight cafe, and eventually, her curiosity got the best of her.

"May I ask you a question?"

Dark eye wafted over her face, waiting.

"Two nights ago, you said something strange, I think." She drummed her fingers on the side of her thigh. "'It's you' … or something like that. Were you –"

"Looking for you? Yes."

Hinata blew out a shaky breath. "Do you know me, then?"

A moment passed as he stared, and when he looked away, he said, "I know that face. I see it often."

She had no idea what that was supposed to mean. "What –"

Her words died when he stood and took his place a few inches away from her. His gloved hands traced her jaw, and again, she found no reason to pull away. "This face knows me, as well," he told her. "That is why you stay."

Her heart raced, and she was sure it was because she was scared. Terrified.

Those horns were real. Those hooves were real. The feathers, the fangs, the skin – it was all real, and it was all in front of her.

"What … are you?"

His eyes smoldered. "Diabolus. Angelus Reprobi. Ah, what do your weak kind call it?" He stopped for a moment, frowning, then muttered, "Demon."

She blinked, then smiled. "Should I believe you?"

His eyes narrowed at the amusement in her tone, and he grabbed her arm and took her to the door before tracing his fingers along the edge. She glanced over at the clock, saw she had about seven minutes left, and was about to ask him to let her go when –

"My home." The door was yanked open, and instead of the normal, clean sidewalk that led to a small parking lot with fresh, yellow paint, heat blasted against her face as terrorized, blood-curdling screams wailed from the distance. She thought she saw fire and smoke, but her eyes were too blurry to see anything, really.

Sasuke didn't seem affected at all. He stared at her, hair flying with the heat blasting from the – the –

"Soon," he said, tone a tad bit musing, "it will be your home, as well. Forever."

The moment the door closed, she wobbled back and collapsed, and the last thing she saw was his hovering, knowing eyes that followed her into the dark depths of her unconsciousness.

Chapter 3 - End