"The number you have dialed is no longer in service. If you believe this to be a mistake─" Sasuke hung up with frustration, the phone's casing, creaking under the pressure of his grip. Deidara had said the council was not responding, but for Pein not to answer his calls? And he could not get a hold of Deidara either.
"Young master," Tobi entered the room, bowing. "I have acquired transportation to the mainland as you requested."
"And Uzumaki?"
"Watching the news, but I do not expect it to distract him for much longer."
The last thing he wanted to worry about was Uzumaki wandering off while he was busy handling the situation. "Bring the boy from the Inuzuka family here, and his guardian if you must. Make it clear that they have no choice in the matter should he resist."
"Yes, young master."
"Once you return, ensure that Uzumaki stays distracted. I do not want him watching the news."
"Of course." Tobi left to do as he was told, not questioning why Sasuke would give such an order. Seconds later, Tobi's presence disappeared from the premises entirely.
No matter if that was the real Yukina-hime or not, the fact that Deidara wasn't on the scene to take care of it after a large-scale attack meant that either he couldn't or was ordered not to. With the studio in Beppu destroyed and the timing, either Deidara was caught in the attack, or he had left to return to Russia as he had said he would the night before.
If it was the real Yukina-hime, then the majority of the immortals at the studio would not stand a chance. He had only heard rumors of Yukina-hime's strength and saw her only once as a child, long before he had turned. There was no possible way that she was still alive, not as a human. News of her death had spread throughout the world. Both vampires and hunters had known and respected her. If she retained even a fraction of her power she had back then….
He couldn't worry about Uzumaki leaving without permission again, and though he loathed it, he called the only person he could trust to keep Uzumaki safe and in line. That call also went straight to voicemail.
For Gaara not to pick up, the boy who was obsessed with protecting Uzumaki, something must have happened. It made Sasuke hesitant to leave Uzumaki alone. Sasuke was still young. He may have been powerful for his age, but against Yukina-hime, he may not stand a chance. However, Yukina-hime could not be allowed to continue unchecked either. He did not know why she had decided to attack immortals, but she could not be allowed to continue. Something must have brought her here, and chances were they were Itachi. Who was he to ignore his brother's invitation?
Trap or not, he had spent over a century searching for his brother. He would not allow it to go to waste.
Taking only his cellphone, Sasuke left the office. He only paused once he reached the front door, staring at the corridor that led to the kitchen where Uzumaki was watching. Uzumaki should be safe here even if something were to happen to Sasuke, Tobi would take care of him. Grip tightening around the door handle, Sasuke left the manor, not noticing Uzumaki watching him leave from the landing above.
A smile of pure glee brightened Orochimaru's face as another wave of gunshots reverberated throughout the city. So the police had finally been given permission to open fire. Not that it would help. Chaos and panic were already spreading throughout the small city. With emergency evacuation, most of the civilians had cleared the area, but even at the distance, standing on the very top of Beppu Tower, Orochimaru could see the police would stand no chance against the force of destruction. With the news helicopter hovering and transmitting the events live, fear could be felt at every corner as well as confusion and uncertainty. No doubt humans too ignorant to understand what they were seeing were no more than frightened animals in the presence of true perfection.
The gunshots soon died out, signaling the annihilation of the first wave of opposition. How much longer before a real test showed itself? The Japanese Self Defense Force would take time before arriving to the scene. Surely one side or the other would act before then.
"I think we can call this experiment as a success, don't you think so Kabuto?"
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto's voice crackled over the Bluetooth in Orochimaru's ear. "The others are showing promise as well."
Positively giddy, Orochimaru chuckled to himself. "Good. Very good. I couldn't have predicted it would turn out so well. Wouldn't you say so Gaara-chan?" Looking down at the top of the observation deck, he smiled at his new guest. "My how you've grown. You must be very popular with women now."
"Orochimaru," he growled. "Finally crawled out of your hole I see."
"Of course, Gaara-chan." With a slight tilt of his head, Orochimaru casually dodged and attack, but left a deep graze on his cheek. "A little impatient, aren't we? I'm sure the shinobi leader didn't dispatch you to fight me."
Gaara wasn't in the mood to answer. Instead, Orochimaru felt something else come his way, forcing him to fall backward, off the tip of the tower to avoid it. Rather than looking like he had lost his balance, Orochimaru kept his back straight, feet together like a gymnast doing a dismount, flipping once in the air and landing on his left foot on the roof of the observation deck.
"Is that how you treat someone who has taken care of you for so many years? I took you in when no one else would. I taught you and made you into what you are."
"Death would not be enough to compensate for what you did to me," Gaara said. Orochimaru brought a hand to his cheek wiping the blood away, feeling small grains of sad left behind in the blood.
"So that's what you're doing. Your skills have definitely improved. Better control as well. Does that mean you weren't a failure after all?" Orochimaru was intrigued. Ignoring the purpose as to why Gaara had searched him out. New possible experiments flooded his mind. "If only I had the other one too, I could compare. Perhaps you might know, Gaara-chan. You seem so much more talkative now."
Gaara didn't dignify that with a response, staring at Orochimaru with murderous intent in his eyes. That was the Adham that Orochimaru knew. "Very well," Orochimaru sighed, pulling out a kodachi hidden inside his lab coat. "I'll play with you first." With a twisted smile, he added, "Try not to disappoint me this time."
Sasuke arrived at the Twilight studios in Beppu. It was easy to bypass the police blockade surrounding the area. The police were in as much confusion as the civilians were, and given the small city, they were struggling to secure the large area, asking for Oita to send additional support while waiting for the Self Defense Force. It was obvious that was all the police were doing, not planning to engage after the slaughter of the first wave of officers. And it was a slaughter.
The building was severely damaged, standing on its last legs, hollowed out, and threatening to collapse. Surrounding the building were the dead bodies of the officers who had responded, all with puncture wounds varying in size, but all lethal with one killing hit. Further out were the civilian casualties of all ages and gender. The trail of destruction that Yukina-hime had left in her wake after the initial attack. The building was on the edge of the city towards the forest, so the civilian casualties were limited, but to anyone else, their stomach would be turned at the carnage.
The casualties inside the Twilight building were more precise. Beheaded bodies covered the floor that he could see inside. Unlike human corpses, vampire corpses were slowly shriveling up. Among the casualties, he could see a detached head with Lianna's braids drenched in blood covering the face. He did not need to go any further to confirm who it was. Lianna was barely past newborn status, she would have been an easy target.
A scream pierced the air, and Sasuke reacted, running towards the sound. Running along the road parallel to Beppu Bay, he arrived to see a news van run off the road into a ditch and an anchorman impaled on a long icicle through the chest. The anchorman coughed up blood, spraying a few droplets of red onto his attacker's face before dying. A quick death.
Just beyond them, a cameraman had fallen, too shocked to run with his camera in his lap. The smell of urine reached Sasuke's nose standing downwind. Even out of his hands, the camera had a perfect view of the approaching danger as the anchorman's body was tossed aside, and the woman who had caused it approached.
Her footsteps were fluid and silent, like water, as she traversed across the pavement. Years of assassination training no doubt ingrained into her body. Her eyes were emotionless as if she was incapable of emotion, like something in her being was missing. A dead body missing a soul. Considering she was supposed to be deceased over 100 years ago, no doubt she was missing a soul or maybe the soul had deteriorated.
The cameraman caught sight of Sasuke and his gaze lingered, begging for help. Yukina-hime raised her delicate, pale hand forming the Buddhist hand gesture for threat, a single index finger raised. She was about to attack.
Using his speed, Sasuke sprinted towards the cameraman, scooping him up in his arms and jumping. A large icicle protruded from the pavement where it would have impaled him. Sasuke landed on the icicle and jumped again into the air, landing on the overpass bridge made for pedestrians over the road between the Umitamago Aquarium and Takasakiyama. Sasuke had wondered why she hadn't gone further into Beppu but could it be she was heading to Oita, a bigger city?
"Th-thank y-y-you." The cameraman stammered.
Disgusted, Sasuke dropped him, keeping his eyes on his opponent who now had her eyes set on him. "I didn't do it for you." If the camera hadn't been rolling, he would have left him to die. If Uzumaki was still watching, the first thing he would have asked was why didn't he save him. His dislike for the human only grew when the cameraman scrambled to continue filming. Perhaps he should kill him when the camera was turned away.
He didn't get a chance though. Yukina-hime was already preparing another attack, and the bay was only meters away, all the water she could need to fuel her attack. Chances of him surviving seemed slim. He was still young, and she was a master.
Jumping down from the bridge, he landed on the pavement. He could lure her onto the mountain, away from the water, assuming she was using chakra manipulation, not creation, but it could backfire. Her movements may be limited as were his own, and her abilities were better suited for long-range while his abilities were barely developed. Even with the katana strapped to his back, he may as well been holding a dagger. He had to find a way to get into striking range, and speed may not be enough.
The sound of something moving underground cause Sasuke to move, jumping to his left just as another ice stalagmite shot up from the ground. Another shot up with even greater speed in front of him which he too dodged, but he lost sight of his opponent. It was only for a second he looked away, the ice barely missing its target, but in that short period of time, she was in position behind him.
Her petite frame belied her magnificent presence, informing Sasuke she was there long before he could see her. Worse, he could not do anything to dodge her next attack. With a sword made of ice in hand, she had it aimed at the center of his chest.
Sasuke grabbed the hilt of his sword, using the sword in the sheath to parry the attack to the best of his abilities. The ice pierced his side but missed any organs. The attack would have crippled a human but was only a minor inconvenience for him. It didn't mean it didn't hurt.
While impaled on her sword, she broke it, following with a kick aimed at the back of his head.
Sasuke did a better job blocking, maneuvering his body just enough to block with his left arm. Such a small body and her attack was comparable to blocking a sledgehammer and perhaps more concentrated. The hole in his side was nearly healed, but the kick left a hairline fracture in his arm.
She aimed again with the intention to behead him with an ice dagger that had been hidden in her left hand. Her attacks were fast as her size would have suggested, but she was as strong as any other vampire. However, she seemed adamant about fighting him in close quarters than from farther away where she had the advantage. The attack pattern seemed more personal compared to when she prepared to kill the human cameraman.
Perhaps he should thank his brother. If he hadn't attacked Uzumaki, he wouldn't have begun training Naruto, dusting off his own skills in the process. He wouldn't have survived this long otherwise. But surviving wasn't winning, and he was barely doing the former. She had him on the ropes. He was entirely reactionary to her attacks.
The shine from the camera lens drew his attention. This fight might be better on the mountain after all. Jumping over the railing, separating the road from the sidewalk, Sasuke ran into the trees, hoping she would come after him. As he had hoped, she chased after him. She matched his steps, keeping up with his speed, running parallel to him up the mountain.
Having time to draw his katana, he did so as she recreated her ice sword. Years of fighting, there was one thing Sasuke had learned. It wasn't about how much power one had but how one used it. While he was human, Sasuke had been able to wield his chakra freely. He retained a small portion of that ability though greatly hampered. Pushing his chakra into his blade, a thin layer covered his blade. With a flick of his wrist. His blade sliced through the trunk of a tree as easily as water.
The falling tree between them broke each other's line of sight, giving Sasuke time to plan a counterattack. Predictably, she cut through the trunk again, clearing the path to where he had been, but he had lowered his stance so that when she cut through, he was positioned just under her torso and inside her stance.
Katana ready, he lunged forward, slicing into her chest. Ice formed around the blade and wound, keeping him from pulling it out, so instead he threw his blade, therefore his opponent into the small building made to collect tickets to see the monkeys on the mountain.
The building collapsed as her body went through the glass and walls. She wouldn't get out of that attack unscathed.
That's what Sasuke thought. She pushed aside the debris, standing without a single scratch on her minus the sword through her stomach. She pulled it out by the blade before it froze and promptly shattered in her hand. He no longer had a weapon, limiting his range of attack even further.
There was something new about Yukina-hime this time. Where once there was nothing, there was a spark of something. Not quite emotion, but not quite empty anymore either. She tilted her head as if seeing Sasuke in a new light. "You are different from the others," she said. Her voice soft and fluid. She spoke with clarity and regality, showing her high birth status, but like her, it was missing something. "You are much more problematic. You must be at least 300."
"130. I was turned in 1888." Putting his surprise aside, Sasuke was more than happy to indulge in the conversation as he bought himself time to find another weapon. One thing was certain, whatever she was, she was no vampire or human. Having been injured, his senses were heightened, and his hunger was scratching at the back of his mind. He could hear the steady heartbeat of the woman in front of him. Even so, he did not desire her blood.
She raised an eyebrow simulating surprise though emotion was still absent from her. "Such experience for a vampire who has yet to reach adulthood. However, you have not yet matured enough to have access and make use of your abilities. Your chakra has yet to fully awaken. Perhaps in another century or two, but too far in the future to be of use now. What ability would it be I wonder?"
"I am already aware of what my ability will manifest in my blood. I had access to it when I was human as did my parents."
"Is that so? So you were part of the noble families were you. Judging by your age, from one of the last. What family if I may inquire?"
Sasuke watched her with great caution. From what he had seen from the destruction of the city, she had been killing first and asking no questions later, yet here she was, talking to him as if she had not tried to kill him minutes before.
He was stalling for time, trying to come up with a plan and perhaps another to come to his aid, though the latter was highly unlikely. "Uchiha. I am Uchiha, Sasuke."
"Uchiha," she repeated. Speckles of emotion crossed her face, then faded. Maybe it did have a soul. "Like Uchiha Shinta?"
Sasuke had no idea who Shinta was. From his memory, he did not recall any family members by that name, and there was little chance she could have meant his family. His family had always been a part of the world of immortals. He played along, however, intent on finding out more of who may have brought her here or what her goals were. "Yes, like Uchiha, Shinta."
Yukina-hime chuckled, still lacking but somehow managed to give her character warmth. "Fitting that a descendant of his would put me out of my misery. I am not one to fight with children."
"Ironic coming from a woman who looks barely 14."
The corner of her lips turned up in the beginnings of a smile. "Child, I do not belong in this realm. Until now, my mind has been clouded with nothing but the instinct to destroy and obey. I was a peaceful woman, and it causes me pain to cause the deaths of so many, vampire or not."
To be referred to as a child was grating on Sasuke's nerves. While he could not correct humans, those who knew what he was should know better than to judge based on his appearance. He may have played the part for many years, but he was turned at 19 and lived 130 years after that. He was in no way a child. "Then why stop now?"
"Do not be fooled by my current state. I have not stopped but merely reawakened temporarily, holding back the instinct which will consume me again any moment; though, if you attack me now, I will most likely regress to the way I was. I had hoped that you were older. A vampire without an ability will be of no use to stop me."
"You should not underestimate me. I may be more powerful than you think."
"Perhaps in another 50 years or so. The Uchiha's wind would be a fitting end."
Sasuke froze. "Were you close to the Uchiha family?"
"I was close to Shinta-san. He was a dear friend of mine, though his ideal was too far ahead of his time. We strove for peace when the world was constantly striving for war." Her eyes closed. "My control is slipping again."
A vampire and a hunter friends? That wasn't possible, but how else would she know about his family's ability. Perhaps if they had been enemies, but she did not speak like they had been. She spoke as if she was talking about a close friend or lover. He wanted to ask more, truly interested in their conversation now, but she spoke before he could.
"It is a painful thing," she said wistfully. "To have your soul forced back into a body that should no longer be in this realm. Your soul becomes trapped and strained, damaging it, tearing at it as it tries to escape until it becomes nothing but a battery to power a puppet. I wish to be killed before I become like my brethren."
Brethren? "There are more of you?"
"Four more that I am aware of. Three of which are no longer, broken beyond repair, and I am losing my own battle." She closed her eyes again, and when she reopened them, Sasuke could see her internal struggle, holding a collection of emotions. Loneliness. Fear. Anger. Joy. Why would she feel joy in a situation like this?
"Believe it or not young Uchiha, I do not hate immortals. I realize that your kind has come to fear shinobi, but it is not what Shinta and I had intended when we organized the shinobi. It was supposed to create balance, not conflict. I can only say that I am happy that it is an Uchiha that will help me meet my end. It is fitting. Her body was gradually becoming defensive as she spoke. "Forgive my brethren for they know not of what they are doing."
"Why would a hunter like you want to befriend immortals? How did you come in contact with the Uchiha family?"
"I am sorry, child, but my time is up."
"Who brought you back?" Ryunosuke tried to keep her consciousness with him, but he was failing. He was watching the small threads of emotion slip away where only a puppet remained. She took a defensive stance, and the air around her was dropping in temperature. Whatever had remained was gone.
Sasuke refused to blink and was rewarded by seeing her move this time and effectively blocking the spear of ice aimed at his head with his left arm. The ice penetrated his forearm, but he had planned for it. He used the ice protruding from his arm to block the incoming attacks, taking Yukina-hime off guard as she expected him to dodge. In the time it took her to recalculate, he had forced his way into attack range and delivered a powerful kick to her face.
It didn't have the desired effect, however. She grabbed his leg, unaffected by the attack, and threw Sasuke back down the mountain, through two tees, and back onto the road below. His body ripped up the asphalt as he tumbled across, forcing his hands to dig into the road to come to a stop. He stood as pain wracked his body. She shouldn't have been so strong. She was known for ice, not strength enhancement techniques. Worse yet, he was back in the open near the water.
A piece of wood had pierced his leg, but he decided he wouldn't remove it. He was already getting hungry and losing more blood to heal would just cloud his thoughts, but his body made its desire known, causing his fangs to ache and his senses to grow sharper, wanting to focus on the blood around him.
He used his heightened senses to watch Yukina-hime who emerged from the trees as well. She didn't appear to be fighting close quarters anymore. She was taking the logical approach and attacking at a distance. As such, she used the massive body of water behind him to her advantage. Water from the bay that had soaked the road from a large wave had frozen his feet, encasing them in ice.
If he had time, he may have been able to break free, but Yukina-hime was already prepared with another long sharp icicle in position and this time, he could not block it. It pierced his chest, grazing his heart.
Sasuke coughed up blood, but he wasn't dead yet. His heart wasn't destroyed, but it could be. He removed the ice before she could command it to move and finish the job, but that was all he could do. He lacked strength. The wound to his heart was healing at a snail's pace and moving now would kill him. Yukina-hime had four more spears, floating in the air in front of her, at the ready to kill him. Was this where he would meet his end? Staked through the heart?
Yukina-hime must have sensed his helplessness. She drew near, crossing the distance in a matter of seconds, getting behind him and yanking his hair back, exposing his neck. So he was to be decapitated then.
She hadn't even used a fraction of her real strength. She had gone easy on him. The insult of being taken lightly burned his blood. After everything he had done, after everything he had survived, he could not die here. His brother was still out there, and Uzumaki was still under his care. He refused to die here. Not now.
The air around him reacted to his emotions, becoming denser, sharper. Sasuke grabbed the surge of power that flooded his veins, taking it and commanding it to respond. A gust of wind propelled one of the ice spears forward, but instead of being aimed at him, it was aimed at Yukina-hime. She released him, but the unexpected attack had caused her to be delayed in responding. The spear went through her chest instead of his.
Taking the opportunity, he freed himself, two blades of wind, shattering the ice.
"The kamikaze," Yukina-hime muttered, though there was no emotion to her voice, more like stating a fact.
Sasuke distanced himself from her, feeling lighter on his feet than before. It had been a long time since he had access to his chakra like this. He had forgotten the feel of it. Perhaps the gods were on his side.
With the wind swirling around him forming a thin barrier, Sasuke asked. "Ready for round two?"
It was even.
Uchiha and Yukina-hime were critically injured. Uchiha had landed severe blows to the woman, fueled by the high of his new power, reflecting her attacks, moving faster and stronger than before. His wounds were not healing at all, a warning that he needed blood. His left arm was useless and was his right leg. Discomfort was carved into his face as he struggled to ignore his desire to feed, but there were times where he was distracted by the humans moving nearby, specifically the cameraman still recording from the bridge, opening him to attack more frequently, but it was not as if Yukina-hime was not also battered.
Her right arm was completely missing, and her left shoulder had a deep gash that exposed the bone. Her jaw was dislocated and there were large greenish bruises under the torn fabric of her clothing.
Uchiha had managed to get a kunai from his attacker, which he was wielding as a last resort as did she. Both were low on chakra.
The cameraman was still recording it live for everyone to see, though he was no longer looking through the lens. He was watching it through his own eyes, unable to believe what he had witnessed.
Orochimaru could not blame him. If he had to compare the scene in front of him, he would compare it to a standoff between two samurai, blades drawn. The next attack would be the last.
The result of this experiment was quite promising, though Yukina-hime had exhausted much of her chakra without reason earlier when attacking the Twilight studio. She had surpassed his expectations though. Without chakra, her body was beginning to deteriorate, but it had lasted much longer than he had predicted. The only question left was whether she was able to kill the little Uchiha before she expired.
Like samurai, they both charged at each other, each wielding their blades. No techniques. No defense. Just the attack. A loud metal clang echoed as they passed one another then they stopped at their follow-through.
The first one to fall was Uchiha. His body hit the pavement hard, eyes closed, and arm twisted and mangled. Yukina-hime did not move. Victory looked certain.
The cameraman used his camera to zoom in on Yukina-hime to get a better look. There was a thin red line on her neck. After a few seconds, he realized what had happened. He looked away just in time before the head fell off its body and vomited the contents of his stomach. The body followed suit, its form shriveling up and crumbling like dirt. The form of a body after decaying for over a millennium.
Orochimaru casually looked over his shoulder at Gaara's body, no longer breathing and lying in a pool of his own blood. A scowl appeared on Orochimaru's lips at the reminder. That boy had caused him quite a problem, but his research had saved his life. The blood from his head wound flowed into his eyes constantly, and his legs were virtually useless. This body didn't last long.
"Kabuto, prepare a new body for me. Gaara-chan ruined this one."
"I already have one prepared for you, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said. "Do you wish for me to come retrieve you since Yukina-san failed?"
"Yes. Then retrieve the results from the others afterward. I'm curious about how the rest of them were dealt with."
"Very well. And Gaara-san?"
Orochimaru watched the boy. "It's a shame, but his dead body is of no use to me. He's a failure after all. It's too late to start from scratch. Let it feed the crows at least."
"Very well. I will send someone to retrieve you promptly." Kabuto broke the connection.
It was time for himself to leave, he could see the helicopters coming towards his location. Burning a talisman, a man appeared, dressed in black, picking up Orochimaru in his arms. "Get me out of here," Orochimaru commanded.
The man gave a brief nod, taking a step back, merging with the shadow of the building, and disappearing from sight.
"Uchiha! Uchiha!" Naruto yelled over the deathly silence of the battlefield. When he had saw Uchiha leave after clearly knowing who the terrorist on TV was, Naruto had followed. He didn't take the same transportation. When he saw Uchiha dropping off a cliff onto a passing speed boat, he knew it would be impossible to continue following, so he changed directions and went to commander one of the boats from the harbor. Uchiha's boat was heading for the mainland. It didn't take a genius to figure out where he was going.
While Naruto drove, he pulled up the news on his phone, so he could stay alert as to where the terrorist was and what she was doing. Sure enough, soon after he had docked his boat, Uchiha appeared on the news, fighting the terrorist until they disappeared in the trees of Takasakiyama. Stealing a bike, he made his way to the area, slipping past the barricade as they yelled at him to return.
He could smell blood all around him but worry for Uchiha's well-being overrode the need to eat. Eventually abandoning the bike due to the destroyed pavement, he went in on foot, continuing to call for him. Finally picking up a scent he didn't recognize and had a physical aversion to, Naruto followed his nose, taking a chance that it was what he thought it was, vampire blood.
Uchiha was lying face down, bleeding out onto the pavement.
Naruto ran to his side, rolling Uchiha onto his back. Uchiha wasn't breathing. Naruto's blood ran cold, and his own breathing stopped. He couldn't be dead. Not him too. He was too stubborn to die. Panic set in. His heartbeat was beating erratically, and his hands began to shake. "Uchiha?" he said weakly. "Come on bastard, wake up. This isn't funny."
Blood coated Naruto's hands, and his breaths barely filled his lungs as he tried not to hyperventilate. Why wasn't he healing? He thought vampires were supposed to heal almost everything. "I swear bastard, I'll kill you if you die on me. I need you alive." His fingers dug into Uchiha's clothes, gripping the body hard. "So wake up, Uchiha!"
"You're too loud, moron."
It took a few seconds for Naruto to realize who had spoken. The voice was low rough, but it definitely belonged to Uchiha. The still figure in his arms had spoken. Uchiha's chest was still unmoving and his eyes were still closed, so Naruto wasn't sure if he had heard correctly, wondering if it was just his imagination running wild again. Then dark eyes opened, meeting Naruto's azure-colored ones.
"Y-you aren't breathing, so…how…."
"I don't need to breathe. Just a habit." Uchiha's eyes fell shut once more and, with what seemed like great difficulty, took air into his lungs. "Better?"
"Dammit, bastard! If you were alive, why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"…Saving energy."
Naruto was ready to scold him about worrying others, but he could hear pain ln Uchiha's words and see the strain in his expression to keep it neutral. Uchiha was trying not to worry him.
Naruto's expression softened, trying not to show the worry on his own face, instead asking, "Are you okay?"
Uchiha gave a weak snort. "Don't be nice now. You'll make me think I'm dying." When the comment didn't even get a chuckle from Naruto, Uchiha took another breath for his next words. "I need blood. A lot of it." He stopped breathing again, keeping his body still.
It occurred to Naruto that Uchiha wasn't breathing not only because of the pain it caused but because of how much blood was in the air. Naruto may have forgotten, but Uchiha's mind would not.
Naruto was uncertain of what to do. If he complied with Uchiha's request, those people would die or be turned. But what about Uchiha? Would he die if he didn't get blood? He never said that vampires would die if they didn't eat. Only that it was instinctual, and that the instinct would eventually take over if not sated.
But if he did not eat, Uchiha would be vulnerable. He was on the news and that would alert people that he wasn't human. It might attract more people who would want to kill him. Or worse, Uchiha might go off to find people to feed on himself.
"Would a blood drive work? Is it fresh enough?"
Uchiha was silent for several seconds. It was becoming clear that the conversation was taking a toll on Uchiha. "Theoretically, but do you think there would be right now?"
No. "A huge accident with injured people, why wouldn't there be one?" He tried to reassure Uchiha but fell flat. Even if there was a blood drive somewhere nearby which was unlikely given the chaos and evacuation, he wouldn't know where. He'd be traversing the city with a hungry vampire with injured people all around searching for it.
"I'll get you to a hospital." At least then Naruto could use already dying patients. With the chaos, they might go unnoticed.
Uchiha didn't speak, only nodded and closed his eyes. Naruto's worry increased that Uchiha seemed to be getting weaker. Carefully, he lifted Uchiha onto his back, minding his wounds as much as possible. Naruto had no idea how he was going to carry Uchiha back to town, but he was going to try.
"Don't move and put your hands in the air." Naruto had been so preoccupied, he hadn't noticed the cars and army approaching. A line of American soldiers had their rifles trained on them. Now that Naruto thought about it, he had heard the sound of helicopters in the area, but he had mistakenly assumed it was the sound of news copters and ignored it. Now that he could see, they were definitely American military.
The best he could, Naruto raised his hands into the air, trying not to let Uchiha fall from his back at the same time.
"Bloody Americans," Uchiha whispered against his back in English of all languages. Despite the situation, Naruto found himself trying not to laugh, cracking a small smile.