Lux in Tenebris
She had never been a girl who was particularly easy to frighten.
Despite the countless strange happenings that came to pass all throughout her life, that single emotion was not in a habit of grasping her senses as effortlessly as it normally would another's
It was deceptive, its malevolent nature demanded it mercilessly present itself within long intervals of sobriety before it was ready to take possession of her body with the timing impeccable to destroy her.
Her mother's death was perhaps the first time she had become aware of it, the phantom layer freezing her skin that paralyzed her digits and limbs from making a single move, the frenetic beating of her frantic heart that echoed resoundingly through her head as it degraded all other sounds into haunting white noise, the hazy lightheadedness that blurred her surroundings with foggy mist, the painful constriction of her struggling lungs preventing her from drawing breath.
It was akin to dying with no injury marring her body, helplessness and despair unlike anything that could be properly articulated spreading suffocatingly along her veins as easily as her blood did.
Indeed, it had managed to surge deep beneath her skin imprinting the terrifying essence of its existence into the very depths of her psyche.
It was only natural then, that not many further occurrences even began to elicit an inkling of that sentiment from her.
The stern light that constantly dominated her father's eyes as it concealed his perpetual sorrow, the deafening silence separating her from her cousin's glacial hatred, and the flickering glimpses of loneliness that would dim her little sister's gaze from time to time might have as well been her only exceptions.
She acknowledged with unhidden honesty, that only they could command the apparition of a fraction of the terror she had experienced that day.
It was more amusing than it sounded, truly. The world they lived in was a dauntingly enormous place, plagued with as many dangers, tragedies, and horrors as it was graced with joys, wonder and beauty. Sanity duly dictated an appropriate response and yet that fear simply refrained itself from manifesting.
For a woman who was blessed with the supernatural gift to harness the forces of nature and impose her will onto the environment, it was most inconvenient.
Witches, sorcerers, shamans, mages, whatever term society had fancied to label them with, did not change the intrinsic nature of their life.
And it was in fact 'them' she referred to as she was not alone in that unlikely endeavor. The reality that so many human beings unwillingly ignored was that paranormal creatures populated most of their created communities on all sectors across the globe in very great numbers, easily blending in and carrying on with their lives with them being none the wiser.
She had had the fortune of being conceived within an old and powerful family of practitioners that were bestowed with the uncanny ability to summon magic, a gift granted to her people by grace of their close connection to mother nature.
That wonderful favor had permitted them to secure a stable and safe stronghold within society, creating connections and planting their surname on the minds of young and old as their status and wealth continued growing steadily along with time.
It was an undeniable blessing she would be eternally grateful for, and a curse that nearly brought her own demise.
Witches were but one of the many species occupying that vast portion of land they proudly called their home, other abnormal entities wandering seamlessly through their cities and towns in their own masks and disguises with their own purposes and objectives, some even inclined to inflict violence upon those they considered lesser.
Ghouls, demons, specters, phantoms, beasts, lycanthropes, there was a myriad of beings her kind had long learned to be wary of through painful and tragic experience.
The words her grandmother used to share in passing, an old poem from her youth, often rang whisperingly like a mantra through her mind as her world had slowly began to shift with the foreboding arrival of her impending destiny "beware the shadows in the night, beware the darkness in the light. In times of long and dreadful fright, beware my child, beware my child. Do not stare into its eyes, windows holding blissful lies. Turn away into the bright, beware my child, beware my child."
An old saying that had been passed around through word of mouth in times far back, when the undead would walk the earth and feed upon their prey with no restraint.
According to her grandmother, the woeful words had been first muttered long ago on a time unremembered, one somber rainy day following the tragic death of a young girl at the merciless hands of a vampire. That terrible event had filled countless hearts with aching grief and dreadful sorrow, culminating in a grand funeral that was widely held on the town square of what was now known as Sunagakure.
Amidst the echoing droplets splattering harshly against the grass, the figure of a woman dressed in black had stood in heartbreaking desolation before the pure white casket gently holding the child, the porcelain face resting opposite to her, utterly unblemished and beautiful, belonging to her one precious daughter, love of her life.
A silky black hat had seated above golden tresses obscuring her mourning visage as heavy tears slid softly, agonizingly along her skin, her fragile form trembling in affliction facing her nightmares finally coming to life. Her lips started moving once, moving twice, a song of melancholy flowing grievingly at last "Beware the shadows in the night, beware the darkness in the light. In times of long and dreadful fright, beware my child, beware mi child. Do not stare into its eyes, windows holding blissful lies. Turn away into the bright, beware my child, beware my child."
It was a wish thrown to the wind, a song of apology and regret. One that was told among the witches to keep their eyes forever watchful, forever sound.
And yet, she had never been a girl who was particularly easy to frighten, having long learned to unintentionally disregard those solemn whispered words of warning.
It had not, in all honesty, been an attitude developed from rebellion or confinement as one would usually be inclined to believe, but the abrupt commencement of a strange and complicated tale that fiercely challenged those traditional conceptions.
Indeed, her life had unexpectedly been thrusted into a vortex of the unknown, a sordid journey of death and blood, of tears and laughter, of love and hatred.
And he, he had been the catalyst of it all. The boy with the golden locks and sky blue eyes, whose smile had managed to shine brighter than the very stars and whose gentle kindness had irrevocably stolen her heart from the very first moment of their meeting. The vampire-hybrid Naruto Uzumaki. The man tasked with the protection of the human girl Sakura Haruno, her very own best friend.
It had all seemed so surreal then, his rough voice weary as he informed them of an ancient prophecy foretold, the dismal grips of a fate that had unfairly enclosed around the young maiden of the verdant eyes and rose-colored tresses.
He had spoken with conviction, his gentle gaze and expressive features brimming with tender concern and ardent resolve as he shaped a chronicle of what their lives would soon become, and of the impending danger that lurked away in the approaching darkness ready to sink its starving fangs in their pale necks without hesitation, without mercy.
The rosette for her part, had naturally reacted with confusion and distrust of the boy.
Despite his tone and solemn bearing, the unexpected warning of an incoming invasion and impending danger arriving at their door had been in fact rather difficult to believe even for her at the time. The incident that transpired the following week, however, was more than enough corroboration that the vampire's words were nothing but the truth.
A bloody confrontation with a cult of vampire zealots had violently seized them thoroughly unprepared, and the safe, ordinary world they had inhabited thus far, harshly crumbled to a complete collapse.
It had been a night like any night at some pub near university when an outing to relieve stress had abruptly turned into a gory bloodbath with the arrival of the homicidal creatures, tables breaking and corpses falling as no soul was spared from their malevolent carnage. In the unsuspecting chaos they had managed to successfully kidnap sakura leaving her valiant vampiric knight ruthlessly impaled to a wall to be slowly desecrated.
She could quite vividly recall the damp feeling permeating her stomach where a broken billiard pole had been viciously thrusted piercing though her intestines and right kidney, the consuming fatigue and drowning light-headedness pleading for eternal rest, gradually forcing her eyelids to close and her heart to stop its beating.
When she had finally come to, it had been several hours after. The first thing her sight had registered were tenebrous statues standing in a rustic victorian living room, blazing fire burning steadily on the chimney as it filled the space with its dim golden light.
Naruto had somehow managed to save her by feeding her a portion of his own blood, the scene of massacre playing starkly on the news as they observed with grim determination, unwilling to abandon the emerald-eyed girl to the undesirable outsiders.
It had been rather foolish at the time, to fight, just the two of them facing an entire dozen of bloodthirsty monsters with neither a plan nor the luxury of time to properly design one.
In the very depths of her mind, she had thoroughly anticipated for that crippling fear to finally make its appearance and viciously strangle her anxious heart as the worry for her treasured friend grew exponentially, and yet it had not come.
It had been a life-changing ordeal for all of them, most of all the human girl who had been previously unaware of the menacing creatures aiming strictly for her life.
That was how it had all begun, the three of them facing unimaginable dangers trying to protect each other and their town from the sinister forces that sought to bring domination upon them, encountering both trustful allies and threatening foes as their path had slowly continued to unfold.
Their once small faction had soon unintentionally began to grow. With each trial they faced and every enemy they battled, extraordinary members that were willing to trade their lives to protect the innocent from the forces of darkness easily fell into their ranks.
The loyal werewolf Kiba Inuzuka, the seductive witch Ino Yamanaka, the lethal hunter Kakashi Hatake, the genius vampire Shikamaru Nara, and the silent warlock Shino Aburame. They and many others, brave men and women who seamlessly managed to grow into something more…a sort of makeshift family…fragile…precious.
She supposed it had lied on them, the real reason her grandmother's bittersweet words gently shrouded in melancholy were never able to fully reach her. The wonderful people she had encountered in that epic tale of hers had been the same kinds of creatures witches like her had long been warned never to befriend, never to approach.
The panoramic view of the colorful world around her had steadily crystalized into a dazzling image of immunity that even she forgot was synthetic, comfortably wrapping her with a blanket of invincibility that made her believe things would always go their way.
She had been naive.
The silky mantles of darkness had effectively hidden forces far beyond their blithe comprehension; terrible, ominous entities who wielded the power to casually grind their blissful reality into tiny fragments of perpetual horror and expose just how entirely and utterly vulnerable and insignificant they truly were.
It began with a name, an echoing whisper in the voices of the dead, a chant of terror that had long been sparingly divulged through the countless creatures of the night.
An obscure legend, a faceless phantom, a tale of nightmare too ludicrous to believe that had soon faded into the misty backgrounds of their minds, a severe mistake that almost costed them their lives.
Because that fear she was so impervious to, the chilling petrification of her very being, it had a name. One that had first revealed itself in rivers of flowing scarlet.
She would eternally remember that transcendental winter night, the flickering lights of the ceiling lamps dangling brokenly in the center of the spacious room, the shattered glass scattered violently across the maple wooden floor, the sturdy furniture harshly displayed in disregarding disarray, the pungent smell of iron in the glacial air, damp stains of crimson lining grotesquely the concrete walls.
Her eyes watered, oxygen struggling to enter her trembling body as her lungs traitorously ceased to function and her stomach twisted painfully from the revolting nausea.
There were bodies loitering motionlessly dispersed across the wide bloodstained room in a macabre simulation of a graveyard that nearly paralyzed her senses.
Short silky locks of golden hair stained red as a disfigured mesh of limbs and flesh rested fractured against the tarnished, fragmented wall.
A muscular brunette boy hovered viciously impaled to the brick formations of an auburn chimney with a black steel bar protruding insultingly from his chest.
An amputated arm gripped the the throat of another in a mocking gesture as his viscera spilled disgustingly from a brutal gash in his midsection.
The pale body of the fair witch rested sordidly petrified on a shallow crimson puddle spreading fluidly through the floor with no apparent injury gracing her creamy skin, yet her eyes remained wide open, teal irises somberly absent of life.
Her lavender gaze stared in unbridled horror, comprehension stumblingly escaping her processing mind and her heart beating frenziedly in painful contractions as she futilely tried to keep from hyperventilating.
Absurd. Ludicrous. The scene before her eyes could simply not be occurring under any circumstances, it was not possible. The desperate urge to cry and release her torment almost consumed her in its entirety as her fragile attention moved from body to body in a limbo of cognition; unwilling, thoroughly refusing to reconcile the images imposed onto her sight.
Only the damp periodic sound of liquid striking softly against solid ground managed to penetrate her separating bubble of distress. A haunting drip, drip, drip cut through the agonizing silence within the room with an ease that was almost ridiculing in intent, her terrified lilac eyes lifting hesitantly to capture pristine alabaster skin sharply illuminated by the abundant light of the moon.
Amidst the center of the gory chaos, indifferent to her rapidly deteriorating mental condition and the revolting carnage painting the floors in sickening red, a pair of orbs glowing vermillion clashed contrastingly against the thick, heavy curtains of shadows casted almost mocking in its silence by the ominous night sky, latent power and excruciating pressure emanating like waves of poisonous radiation seeping burningly through her skin as if attempting to erode her body at a cellular level.
They stared in unperturbed disinterest as the dark viscous fluid descended slowly down the tips of long, slender fingers along glinting sticky red-coated skin, gradually accumulating atop bony knuckles before breaking into drops and continuing their fall.
The terse silence remained for another infinitesimal instant before the demonic scarlet gaze ascended and turned in her direction with a motion so slow it was almost agonizing, her breath leaving her lungs anew with a gasp full of dread as her eyes met with those of the devil.
A startled gasp coming from her side managed to break her spellbound trance filling her with stark awareness of just how dangerous the present situation was and reminding her of the unprotected presence of her currently unharmed best friend.
The evil crimson gaze followed the shallow airy sound and she could have sworn that for a breath's moment her heart had completely ceased to function.
Before the vampire could so much as move a single digit, she hastily lifted her arms proceeding to chant as many of her most lethal spells as she could think of, her mind conjuring up a list of dozens upon dozens of hexes, curses, and incantations she had learned throughout her many years as an accomplished sorceress.
His nerves were heated to combustion as the walls lining the blood vessels running through his brain crumbled to ashen dust, allowing a massive internal bleeding to occur inside his cranium that increased the internal pressure to a point that should have left him effectively braindead.
The trachea inside his neck was violently crushed to fragmentation disabling his ability to properly breath as the alveoli sacs on his lungs seared aflame.
The density of his blood became so high it almost solidified, provoking his heart to immediately burst from the massive force applied to its contractions.
His liver and kidneys were severed and liquified as his internal organs were flattened and sent through his major arteries blocking the limited blood flow that had been previously allowed.
With complete desperation and urgency filling her muscles she unleashed her full devastating power against the demon that had dared to injure her friends.
She killed him. Once, twice, three times. She killed him so many times that by the time her ears had registered the horrified gasps of her dear friend as she observed the unconstrained violence of her magic she she had already lost count.
His body was obliterated and demolished in every single way she could imagine, lifting all the restrictions she had once imposed on her gift.
As his figure was ignited in bright consuming flames that illuminated the entire room, she swiftly turned to the petrified girl at her side before harshly ordering her to leave.
Tears had now freely started sliding down her soft cheeks as exhaustion began to seep through her softening limbs, leaving her short of breath.
Abruptly, a curse chillingly died on the tips of her lips as her jaw was involuntarily stopped mid-chant by an unseen, untouchable force, her mind filling with growing panic as she witnessed the vampire's tissues and flesh healing and regenerating almost instantaneously.
Try as she might, commanding a single movement from her body became an impossible feat as her control over it was completely relinquished to the being before her. Not even her eyes managed to escape his authority as she was forced to immutably observe his calm otherworldly stride now that he had fully recuperated, his naked body seemingly not able to draw an inkling of shame from him.
"Enough. Your childish attempts at retaliation have stopped being entertaining. I have no more time to spare on your little antics." His voice was caressingly soft as it held a distinctively rich depth that seemed rather seductive in its harmony when he spoke, a thick British accent lacing his leisure address of her.
With no further word her way, his gaze nonchalantly slid to the figure of the woman by her side.
"Now, you must be who I am looking for, if appearances are to be believed. Come, it's time we have ourselves a little chat" he lifted his hand free of imperfections as he motioned for her to follow.
In spite of the terrified expression morphing her features, the rosette advanced as if compelled, helpless to deny the will of her supernatural assailant before placing her soft palm above his.
His gaze turned to her one last time before her eyelids started feeling heavy, darkness slowly consuming her vision as the world gradually lost focus, the softly glowing red lights whispering.
trying to convey a message….
telling her…
telling her to sleep.
That was how the man who would soon become their worst enemy, the man dubbed by the supernatural world as the Tyrant king of all vampires, the immortal Sasuke Uchiha first arrived into their lives.
A monster so powerful and ruthless his name alone made the high council of vampires and the great order of witches, among other supernatural organizations, shudder and cower in terror.
At the time, she had completely disregarded all words of his infamous reputation, neither warnings nor lectures managing to extinguish the sheer contempt and disgust she held for the creature that had so viciously wounded her cherished family.
In that very moment, she had allowed herself to freely hate him. An emotion that, like fear, was not one she was prone to indulge in. From the very depths of her heart, she abhorred the way he had so easily managed to wake helplessness from within her, as if the strength she had cultivated through painful struggle and tribulation was but a complete mockery.
Seeing the broken bodies and the blood of her loved ones heinously spilled on the floors of their very own home had funneled uncontrollable panic into her heart, flaring the memories of her mother's death like an open wound that was adamantly unwilling to heal.
And so, despite her gentle and nurturing nature, she despised him.
In an ironic twist of misfortune or fate, the encounters with the prince of darkness did not cease there, with the one following their first meeting coming much too early for her liking. It was inevitable, after all, the coming mission to retrieve the captive maiden.
Fortunately, to her great surprise and relief, none of her friends had perished in the previous altercation, deep wounds and extensive damage being healed through the regenerative effects of vampiric blood.
With the whole team fully recuperated and with a new plan of engagement devised, they hastily journeyed to the far ends of the remote city of kusagakure, determined to succeed with the rescue operation.
She had used a location spell to determine the vampire's whereabouts as they organized and prepared for the upcoming battle, his hideout discovered near the east coast away from the city on an old and grand Japanese mansion seating atop a grassy hill.
With the arrival of dawn and the bright sunlight grazing their skin, they had surrounded the structure and taken over tactical positions according to shikamaru's strategy, their communication and synergy significantly more attuned than it had usually been.
She had been so sure of their victory back then. Blissfully ignorant of their dancing to his demonic tune.
Her muscles turned rigid as her palms faced the man they'd been pursuing, his lone figure calmly seated on a wide leather chair and her eyes wide in panic as the neural commands over her body were stolen in the exact same manner as the previous time.
Ahead of her, the sturdy forms of Kiba and Naruto holding a pair of manmade machine guns involuntarily stilled as the phantasmagorical spell took possession of their muscles simultaneously.
Her heart beat frantically as disbelief rapidly coursed through her delicate features, the man's sheer control of his mental manipulation unlike anything they had previously encountered.
Shikamaru had planned several contingencies in case any of them were intercepted before they could carry out their plan, yet they could have never prepared for the entire assault team to be captured as hostages.
Once again, their lives were at his mercy. And that, the knowledge that she was powerless to save any of her friends, was worse than any wound or injury received through her long years fighting beside them.
The vampire remained immutably seated on his luxurious abode before them, his pale slender hand holding an old, red tome open and his serene eyes scanning leisurely through the pages as if their violent ambush was as common as the passing of days.
It was unnerving and entirely surreal, even for individuals as highly experienced with the darker corners of the supernatural world such as themselves.
His deep dispassionate voice reclaimed their attention as he addressed them in perfect Japanese "Took you longer than I expected", The red tome closing with a snap as a pair of bottomless obsidian orbs traveled to the hybrid leader.
"where is she!?" The blond snarled as his eyes slitted red, his body trembling in an effort to fight the unbending compulsion.
"Is that the way you address all your captors? Well, not that it matters to me anyway. Since you are insistent on skipping pleasantries, we'll get right down to business." He said all this hardly moving from his initial position.
"However, I have no desire to clean any blood of yours off my walls, your pet here will have to go back and await with the others" his eyes gleamed vermillion anew and she felt her breath still momentarily.
"Do tell your allies to keep away from the premises. Should they try anything, I will not hesitate to kill the hostages, before hunting every single one of you down and ripping your heads off your bodies. Good bye now."
His words seeped her puppet body with dread as her heart lurched in worry for the teams surrounding the property, the vampire's threat too dangerous to ignore.
She tried ordering her limbs to move yet it proved an impossible task. Her eyes focused on the scarlet gaze as it landed on her other companion, the werewolf's form following his silent command as he was physically unable to refuse.
The loud shout of the blond vampire made her eyes turn in surprise.
"I said where is she, you Bastard!?" He said as if he were a caged animal, incapable of breaking free of his binds.
The man simply observed the outburst not in the least intimidated, the red glow in his eyes dimming to a pitch black before leaning forward and calmly serving himself from a bottle of scotch into a crystal glass that stood on a ceramic table near his knees.
She narrowed her eyes in disdain as she realized the man was enjoying the emotional and mental torture he was subjecting the other into, as if the intense worry for a loved one amounted to nothing more than a twisted game to him.
Her indignation managed to momentarily outweigh her fear, but as she struggled to open her mouth and address the creature seamlessly seating ahead, his voice resounded around the room monotonously "Come girl, you have visitors"
Both her's and Naruto's eyes widened as the rosette's figure entered the room through a different door located behind the vampire beside a minibar to their left.
Her steps were slow, mechanical, her figure apparently unharmed wearing a clean set of clothes that resembled her usual attire, yet the way she moved was too controlled, thoroughly unnatural. The human girl was also under his spell.
"Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, relief flooding his voice as his eyes returned to their usual oceanic shade. Hinata felt her eyes water slightly as they rested gently on her best friend, words unable to describe how glad she was that the jade-eyed girl was safe and sound.
"You'll have your tearful reunions some other time." Their captor interrupted as he finally stood, his pale hand nursing the alcoholic drink before taking a long sip "This girl is now my property, and she is to serve my purposes"
The words managed to froze her to her core before righteous anger consumed her senses. it was her companion, however, the one who spoke
"What the hell did you just say!?" He exclaimed in primal rage as frustration rapidly accumulated at his complete lack of mobility, his mind was thrashing wildly yet his body not moving an inch.
"As you heard, the girl is now my property. A pawn I aim to use for my own benefit. You would do well accept it quickly, lest you wish for her to see your rotting corpse decaying on my land." His words were ice as he stepped up to the captive hybrid, his scarlet gaze absolute in its dominion. "The only reason I am allowing you all to keep your lives is because she pleaded to me before accepting her own role. You should be grateful"
Her breathing stopped as her eyes and ears worriedly absorbed the conversation, the image of the one she loved most being viciously slaughtered flashing instantly across her mind, summoning the now familiar terror she had come to associate with the murderous monster in front of them.
Her mind screamed to her frozen tissues to move in an attempt to temper down the blond, yet her body remained unresponsive, a watery mumble being released from her lips instead "Please"
The hybrid's trembling halted before a heavy defeated sigh abandoned his lungs as his eyes narrowed conflicted, the demon's gaze landing on her form briefly before he stepped back and turned to walk and past the petrified sakura.
"Fortunately for you, she is of no use to me at the current time. Therefore, I intend to leave her under your care while I attend to more pressing matters." He drawled in fluent English, his earlier accent coming naturally as he stood facing a wide balcony.
As if per work of an incantation, their bodies abruptly recovered their ability to move, their legs stumbling slightly to regain their balance.
Free of her captivity, sakura rushed to the arms of her guardian embracing him tightly as she trembled in distress, the fatigue of all events since her capture finally taking their toll on her. Naruto for his part, circled her in his strong arms in an effort to comfort her.
Regaining her senses, almost as if out of sheer instinct, Hinata hastily lifted her arms anew facing the unprotected back of the vampire before opening her mouth ready to release a paralysis curse his way, the strategies and tactics they'd planned with Shikamaru and Kakashi still fresh on her mind.
A gelid whisper reaching her right ear from her back managed to freeze her instantly, her entire body filling with dread at the unmistakable voice of their antagonist "Quite the reflexes you've got there, love. Though I would advise you not to underestimate me. See, I'm rather not fond of childish tantrums"
She hadn't seen him move at all. The space his form had previously been occupying facing the open balcony was now empty, her vision insufficient to detect even the slightest hint of motion.
The silent threat had been relayed 'i can kill you whenever I please. Do not mistake your position'
She bit her lip until it drew blood as she tried to calm herself, her mind reminding her that the priority was to rescue Sakura. If they accomplished that single objective, the failure to assassinate the man behind her would be bearable.
The other pair had turned in alarm when the vampire's words resonated from the witch's position, Naruto preparing to charge forward in an attempt to separate him from her. Sakura noticing this, grabbed him tightly by the arm knowing fully well any reckless action would result in all their deaths.
"I have no further desire to keep wasting my breath speaking to you people. I'm returning the girl on the condition that you, hybrid, bring this little amulet to me" the man said as he took a small picture out of his breast pocket before throwing it to Naruto who caught it in mid-air.
The blond gazed at the picture before turning to the enigmatic vampire, a deep frown marring his features as confusion inundated his senses "A stone? What do you want this thing for anyway? And why do I have to follow your ridiculous conditions! I have the place surrounded and this room is warded to keep you locked. I'm going to take my friends and get out of here, and you are gonna let me, if you know what's good for you!"
"No, Naruto!" Sakura spoke surprising her two companions as she directed a frustrated frown at the impassive vampire still standing behind the witch "it's too risky, not even you are able to take this monster head on. It's okay, I won't ask you to follow his orders so just take Hinata and go. I'll be fine, I promise" she said as she offered the blond a small tired smile.
Hinata was about to object and make her disagreement public when she felt the vampire's form brush against her side as he returned to his initial position seating calmly near the middle of the room, his glass empty on his hand.
"Like hell I'm going to let you stay here. We came to rescue you, we're not leaving without you, you hear?" The blond said, his gaze turning angrily to the man who seemed mildly amused witnessing their torment before glancing once more at the image on his hand. He grit his teeth in frustration before speaking aloud "Where do I find this?"
The corner of the vampire's lips lifted in satisfaction momentarily before leisurely serving himself another glass of scotch "You are part of the association, are you not, hybrid? Your superiors stored this particular object on the Madrid headquarters, took me quite some time to locate it. You are to steal it and bring it to me. The witch will remain here as a collateral in the meantime" he uncaringly said as he once more stunned his uninvited guests.
Hinata's eyes widened in surprise at the man's words, not at all expecting for the events to transpire that way. She bit her lip while gripping her fists tightly in frustration, knowing full well they were powerless against the vampire's demands.
The other man in the room did not seem to think so, however. He crossed the room towards her while holding the hand of the human girl before stopping with his back facing them in a protective gesture "I'm not gonna leave her here with you! I'll bring your damn stone, so leave them out of it" he said angrily as he glared daggers at their impassive foe.
Hinata observed as the vampire's gaze centered uncaringly on the speaker before turning to her in facetious expectancy, reminding her of just how precarious their current situation really was.
She gripped the blond's arm comfortingly before stepping forward as she gifted him a reassuring smile "Naruto, it's okay. He won't do anything to me. Don't forget what we came here for"
"Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed as she embraced the other girl, her lithe form trembling with frustration at her own powerlessness and her eyes watering slightly.
"It's going to be okay, Sakura" she said returning the hug as a genuine smile took over her features "I'm glad I was able to do something to protect you. Go home, get some rest. I'll be waiting so, please don't worry"
Naruto grit his teeth helpless, his gaze traveling to the source of their troubles in resentment. There was nothing he could do, and he hated himself for it. His weakness.
"If you so much as touch one hair on her head, I promise I'll come back and kill you myself. No matter how long it takes me, I'll find a way!" He growled taking the hand of the rosette before facing the beautiful witch, his blue eyes burning with remorse and guilt as he silently asked for her forgiveness "Take care, alright? I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise"
She gulped forcefully before steeling her expression, all the while ignoring the desire to embrace him one more time before his departure.
"If you are done with your pitiful attempts at comforting your friend, it is time to take your leave. Off you go now" the man said before standing and directing his attention to Hinata "little witch, come. I'll show you to your temporary quarters"
Offering the vampire one last growl in warning, Naruto swiftly draped the rosette over his muscular arms as his form vanished in a wild blur that left gusts of wind flowing in its wake.
Inside the silent luxurious room, only she and that man remained. The light of dawn traversed gently across the horizon past the window facing the ocean as it illuminated the pristine floors and walls in a warm, vibrant orange.
His form, every bit the intimidating figure she had come to know in such a short amount of time stood expectantly, his sharp gaze staring as his rumpled leather jacket and black denim trousers belied his nefarious true nature in a deceiving mask of simplicity
Her ivory eyes faced the specter anew, strength coursing through her delicate arms as the knowledge of her friend's safety tore through the fear and anxiety she had been experiencing just moments prior with unexpected ease. Now, not even death held that power over her.
"Welcome, witch of the Hyuuga. My name is Sasuke Uchiha, the original vampire, and you are hereby deemed my prisoner"