I took a step forward at seeing the blade stick from Sasuke's body. The woman who stabbed him seemed surprised to have landed a hit like that, but she only hesitated for a brief time. Her fist lashed out towards Sasuke's heart, no doubt prepared to rip it right from his chest.

Sasuke turned a furious look on her, grasping her fist as if it were nothing. He gripped the blade's hilt and pulled it from him, unfazed. He threw the dagger to the ground, the sharp edge biting deep into the dirt beside him. His now empty fist whipped out, connecting with her cheek, snapping her head to the side so suddenly that her eyes were only able to spot me before they shut.

I started running towards them then, but Sasuke appeared before me in the next instant.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes wide in anger.

I looked behind him at the fallen hunter. "Did you…"

It must have taken everything he had to not roll his eyes, I knew he wanted to do so. "No, she's just passed out. You should not be here."

He reached his hand out to grab hold of my arm, but I batted it away.

"What the hell is your problem?" I asked, my voice steadily getting louder until I was eventually shouting. "I came all this way for you, stupid. I came here because I was worried, because I thought you were going to die."

He kept looking at me, though I was unable to stare back.

In my attempt to not look at him, I saw Suigetsu over his shoulder. He was watching us lightly, but mostly he was turning his head to the other fights going on nearby. Gaara and the redhead were attacking each other fervently still, though I could see the woman start to pant.

"Who are these people?" I asked.

Sasuke kept his eyes on me; he did not turn around. "Those with me are Suigetsu, Karen, and Jugo."

"What are you all doing here anyway?" I had been expecting to be somewhere near Sasuke's house rather than this random spot in the woods.

He was silent for a few seconds, considering what he should or should not reveal to me. "Sakura, it's happening tonight."

What was happening? He let me mull it over undisturbed, and then it came to me. I looked directly at him then. "You're going to be able to walk in the sunlight after tonight."

He nodded, a guarded expression coating his face.

I didn't know what to say. It was finally happening. I knew what this meant to Sasuke, and I knew what it would mean for the hunter world.

And I couldn't find it in me to want to stop him from completing the ritual.

Tsunade was going to kill me.

A sudden cry had Sasuke whipping his head around.

Karen lay collapsed upon the ground at Gaara's feet. She was not moving aside from the shallow breaths her chest gave away.

Sasuke did not face me as he said, "Do not interfere. Stay here on your own, or so help me I will make you." He took off then, running at Gaara so quickly that it was hard for even my trained eyes to follow.

Gaara and Sasuke clashed in a flurry of attacks, weapons and fists flying in the fray. Suigetsu went to join that Jugo in his fight against Gaara's painted companion.

I stood still for about ten seconds before I threw off Sasuke's warning.

Sasuke just gave Gaara a kick to the chest, sending him reeling back, his feet skidding along the ground, leaving a trail behind.

I was close enough then for Sasuke to fully register my presence. Before I could get in between the two of them to stop their fighting, Sasuke yanked on my arm, whipping me back so quickly that I almost fell.

"I told you to stay," he barked, pulling up to his full height, casting a shadow over me.

My back straightened. I was not, was not, going to back down.

"Damnit, Sasuke, let me help. You're the one who taught me, you know what I can do. Just let me do it!"

He gave me a speculative look, but didn't have time to comment further as Gaara came racing in. Sasuke shoved off to meet him, unsheathing his sword in the process, the twin blade to my own.

I pushed the thought of my sword to the side, I would think about asking for it back from him later. For now, I had to put a stop to this.

I ran to them again, and this time Sasuke grabbed me around my middle and hoisted me along with him as he bounded far away, giving us a wide range from Gaara.

He set me down and dashed back.

Well, he couldn't get rid of me that easily.

I ran back.

The two of them were a ways away, but it wasn't until now that I found it odd for Gaara to be doing so much hand to hand combat. How come he didn't cast any spells in his fight against Sasuke?

Unless…

I looked to Karin, who had begun moving only a little bit, slowly gaining her senses back.

Maybe she had something to do with it.

Whatever the reason, this had to stop quickly. I didn't want to think about how the fight would go with Gaara's powers back at full tilt.

My muscles ached from all the sprinting, but I pushed them on. I was closing the gap, I could get there in a few more seconds.

Gaara was closest to me, and his eyes turned in my direction. He held up his hand to Sasuke while giving me a confused look. "Why do you keep trying to stop us?"

I halted a few steps away from him, panting. My eyes searching his before they fell on Sasuke's approaching figure.

Gaara stepped around me, holding up a dagger to my throat as he held my left wrist in his firm grip. I could feel his ragged breaths hit the back of my neck as the cool metal cut into the skin under my jaw.

Sasuke was looking right at me, right into my eyes. His own were wide with shock, his body jilted to a halt unnaturally.

"Ah," Gaara breathed. "I thought so. I knew you were lying about not having something that could lead me to Sasuke Uchiha, and now I certainly know why."

Even though it made the blade cut more into my skin, the biting metal making a drip of blood slide down my neck, I still spoke. "You went into my house, went into my room. You had no right-"

"Turns out I did have a right though, didn't I? You are a hunter of Konoha, and this is how you repay your village? By siding with them?" By his disgusted tone it was clear who he meant.

Sasuke remained frozen, as if any movement from him would make Gaara slice through me completely.

Behind me, Gaara let out a shaky laugh. "I can't believe this. What, did you actually think that a vampire could truly care for someone?" He then brought his lips closer to my ear. "Sasuke Uchiha only cares if you live or die because he can so easily manipulate you into doing whatever he wants. You're just another weapon for him to wield. Even now, he's only worried that I'll kill his only standing connection to his old village. A hunter on the inside who can feed him secrets."

"That's not…"

That couldn't be true. I know Sasuke, we spent all that time together. I saw him be gentle, be understanding and worried.

But could just a couple months really be all I needed to trust someone that much? To trust a vampire?

I looked at him.

He stood up straight, a cocky smirk gracing his lips. "Took you long enough to catch on, Gaara. What gave me away?"

So, it was true. Sasuke had put on an act just so I would do what he wanted.

He was over a hundred years old. I was a fool to think that our short time together mattered to him like it had mattered to me.

It was like I could feel the insides of me break, could feel the stutter of my heart as it realized the truth.

Sasuke did not care one ounce for me.

Not at all.

XXX

Alas, poor poor Sakura :(

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