Warning: Heavy back-story ahead.
Don't like? Don't read.
Chapter Nine:
The New Friend
Then...
The streets were dirty. The decay, the waste… It wafted through the air, through the windows, through the streets, through the wind. Thankfully, winter was coming, and the scent would be less horrific, for a time.
Times were hard, like usual, and street cleaning wasn't a concern for many.
Naruto had left the orphanage dirty, since he was in such a hurry to leave. He couldn't bathe, so he was always filthy. The slums of the streets had branded him, and he was sure he would never truly be clean of their grime.
There wasn't really anything strange about a twelve year old wandering around like he was lost. He only raised his head to look at a passing store, a noise, a glint of light... Something would catch his senses. Then, the moment he felt another pair of eyes on his, he would bow his head. He was sure that everyone he passed took a step in the other direction; they did not want to risk having their valuables stolen, or worse, that Naruto might actually touch them...
He remembered little of his time before the orphanage. It seemed like all that he could see in his mind's eye was the dark building, the uncomfortable bed, the incessant hunger, and now this repressive loneliness outside those pale gray walls. But he did remember that his Godfather had told him to never leave the orphanage. It stuck to his mind, a command to a soldier from his superior: "I'll come back for you. I promise."
Naruto Uzumaki hated waiting, and he hated promises. They always got broken. It seemed like nothing ever ended up okay.
That he was wandering the streets alone with nowhere to turn was a testament to this.
He had retaliated against his caretakers. Though it was truly not their fault that he was now in their care, Naruto had been too young to see it that way. His parents had died, and Godfather had left him. Wouldn't any normal child act out?
Loneliness could cause insanity in even the strongest of men. Desperate for attention, he sought it out in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways. Stealing food from the kitchen, running around and destroying furniture, purposely urinating in his bed… He had become the definition of "outcast." And each time, when he was whipped, he never learned his lessons. He continued his mischief, his defiance, because he had nothing else to live for.
When he attacked one of the bullies in the orphanage, he knew it was his time to leave. He didn't want to be beaten again, or worse…hanged. Besides, that boy deserved it.
It had all been innocent enough. Naruto sat in a corner, playing with his marbles. It was one of the only things the poor boy could look forward to when the day was at its end. It was that small amount of time between dinner and bedtime, when he could just enjoy himself.
He never made any friends in his years there. He was alone, ostracized, friendless and left wishing for companionship that never came. Some feared his appearance - silly whiskers, large teeth for his age - and yet, a few children claimed he had killed his parents himself. Where that rumor came from, he hadn't a clue.
Whether he had or not, he wasn't sure. I hope I didn't kill them, he thought to himself as he sat down.
His relaxation that night was fleeting. Any true bully would not be able to sit idly by while a younger, perceived weaker boy enjoyed himself.
Naruto never even learned his real name. Everyone called him Bear, because he was big and scary and could attack you and not be sorry about it. He was the ugliest boy Naruto had ever seen, with a scarred face and jagged teeth, both damaged in some sort of horrific accident. Naruto would later wonder if maybe that was why he was so mean: the world had been cruel to him, and he was giving society its due.
Somehow, Naruto had fallen under his radar for so long. Bear's reign of terror was always aimed at another. He usually favored the youngest boys, the ones with no fight in them. Perhaps he had grown bored with his current playthings, and Naruto, another delinquent, presented a special type of challenge he was not accustomed to.
It was winter, though back then, it seemed like it was always winter to him, because it was constantly cold. Naruto had sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. A healthy fire roared in the hearth nearby, and as he rolled his marbles on the floor, he was content. He had a hearty dinner, which was rare; with a full belly, he was eager to play. The marbles had originally belonged to another boy who had died from consumption. Naruto found them soon after and hid them underneath his pillow, lumpiness be damned, so long as they were safe.
They were all he had.
With no humans he felt he could attach himself to, the boy became fiercely protective of his toys.
His peripheral vision strong, he was sure he saw another boy in the corner of the room staring at his marbles. Turning to growl and shoo him off, he was met with the terrifying, ruined face of Bear.
His face held a hideous, toothy smile. He needed no words to convey his plans. Naruto jumped, ready to shove the boy, who was easily a head taller than he.
But Bear beat him to it. A fist flew past him and reached for the marbles. Bear had scooped up nearly every sphere in his grimy hand. He pulled them away as Naruto reached for them in return. "My marbles!"
"These are stupid," Bear declared, examining the spheres. "You like 'em so much? Then you should get 'em while they're hot!"
His fat fist flung them towards the open hearth.
A terrible pinging sound rang out as the balls bounced momentarily before settling out of sight in the flame. A desperate cry rang through the dilapidated orphanage. "MY MARBLES!"
He reached for them, but he was too slow. He could hear Bear laughing as he grabbed his shoulders. Paralyzed by a wave of despair, Naruto could only fall helplessly as Bear pummeled him the ground. "Stupid, stupid!"
A group of boys heard the commotion and had gathered in the parlor. A few of them were yelling, telling Bear to back off and let Naruto be; but they fell on deaf ears.
After he was satisfied with his work, Bear stepped away from the limp body of the younger boy. He spit on Naruto, and then wiped his hands, as if Naruto had dirtied them while he was helplessly beaten.
It had been random. Naruto had simply been in the wrong place at the worst time. Coveting the quiet and peace that being alone had brought him, he had unknowingly put himself into danger. With no adults nor children around, it was the perfect opportunity to attack an innocent, unsuspecting victim.
The children stared helplessly, dumbfounded by their fear. None made any attempt to move, except for Bear. As he began to walk away, his boots heavy with his pride, a growl filled his ears. It was menacing, loud, terrifying. Like someone had let a wolf into the orphanage without knowing it.
In truth, it was something like that.
It had happened faster than any of the children could comprehend. One moment Bear was standing tall on his feet, and the next he was on the floor, bleeding from places he shouldn't have ever bled from as Naruto demolished him.
The quiet children began to scream, but by then, it was too late. There was no saving Bear.
The vicious sounds of flesh being torn would remain in their ears for years to come, and they would never be able to forget the blood that rained down on them only a few feet away.
Naruto stood, his eyes changed, his body morphed. What was he? What was this thing standing here, with the now barely recognizable remains of a human beneath him?
Naruto blew it and he knew it.
He didn't pause to calm the others. He didn't stop to quell their screams. He just took off like the animalistic, changed creature he was.
He forgot all about the marbles.
After he left that Godforsaken place of despair, he later remembered how his Godfather had told him to control himself. He had said, "You are special. You can keep yourself normal, like all the other children, can't you? You need to look like them, Naruto. You are a good boy - my good boy."
I'm sorry, Godfather, Naruto thought as he walked. A lone, frozen tear drifted down his dirty cheek. I wasn't a good boy.
After wandering around for hours, he found a partially secluded garden area outside a large home. Naruto hid there and ate discarded scraps that the wealthy folks threw out, all the while questioning whether Godfather had been right after all. If he had just done as Godfather had said, he would have been fine. Maybe.
He held the stale bread close to him, nibbling on the bits that hadn't been eaten by mice yet. He tried to remember where he had come from, where that unknown place was. He couldn't go back to the orphanage, but he had to go somewhere, right?
He heard a back door squeak open and the footfalls of rather excited men.
"Really, must we speak out here in the blistering cold?"
Naruto squeezed against a wall slid behind a bush, holding his breath for fear of being heard. That fear was fueled by the thought of returning to that horrid place, or worse, being punished for killing that bully.
"Quiet!" He heard the second man whisper. "Listen, you fool. They have laid traps for that creature that is attacking people in the woods."
The other man gasped. "Dare I ask… Is it the one they say looks like a human?"
Naruto froze as the air escaped his lungs.
Someone like me?
"Yes. They laid traps in the northern woods, near the brook. Will you join us on the morrow?"
"Good God, yes. Now, speak of this no more. My wife will grow suspicious. I will not have her hear of this, as prone to her fits as she is."
When he heard the door shut with a definite squeak and then a click, Naruto peaked around his bush. Seeing he had the all clear, he rose from his hiding spot. After spitting out a particularly stale piece of bread, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. As he brushed filth from his hair, he knew what he needed to do:
I will find him first.
Finding the spot the men had mentioned proved difficult without light.
Though the waning moon was high in the sky, it was covered by a dense blanket of clouds. Naruto strained his eyes, attempting to follow the beaten road that led through the northmost area of the forest.
He shivered and rubbed his arms instinctively, wishing for a warm, wool coat. Because of the early winter cold, he was less likely to meet anyone along the road. It was nearly a blessing, aside from his extreme discomfort.
No one would need to travel in this weather, except for those strange men who were hunting something; the same "thing" Naruto was searching for now.
He wasn't sure exactly what it was he was chasing, but the attack on Bear weighed like heavy bricks on his mind. He couldn't shake his guilt; he was less sorry he had killed Bear and more sorry at how disappointed Godfather would be if he found out. He tried to convince himself that worrying about the feelings of an invisible being was useless. After all those years alone at the orphanage, he could only guess Godfather was dead. It was time to move on and find his own answers.
Maybe the monster in the woods had them.
After wandering a good thirty minutes or so, the clouds dispersed, and the moon showed itself. The stars in the sky twinkled and helped to light his way, but their aid was miniscule compared to his need for light. He enjoyed this relief only momentarily before the clouds returned. It was painfully dark now, and he strained his eyes to see against the black.
A soft rustle shook his senses. He stopped, his feet frozen, his head twisting to see the cause of the noises. He was met with a hair-raising, throaty hiss. Not able to register the sound in time to brace himself, Naruto was thrown backwards, and he landed painfully on a bed of small rocks; but that was the least of his problems.
An unknown being stood over him; it crashed its body weight onto him, rendering him immobile. He could hear its breath against his ear, warm and terrifying. Without warning, smooth, razor-like teeth met the vulnerable skin of his neck. Naruto screamed. He grabbed at the being, his hands grabbing fist-fulls of a tattered dress shirt. Helpless to defend himself in his current state, he felt his change coming to him at an unstoppable, uncontrollable speed.
As his teeth grew and his eyesight sharpened, he leaned forward as fast as lightning and bit into the unknown being, his canines tearing at it's flesh. It let out a terrible, blood-curdling cry, and rolled off of him.
If not for the taste, he would have kept going with his attack.
Naruto was so disgusted, he began to shift back to his normal self. He hacked and spat, ridding himself of the nasty taste, his stomach threatening to send its contents back into his throat. What in God's name did he just bite into? It wreaked of something unnatural. It wasn't normal. It wasn't human.
"Ughn," the stranger grunted and coughed. Naruto heard the leaves shifting, and then the clank of a smooth metal chain.
A cloud left the moon once more, bathing the area in light. Naruto struggled to stand, his hands on his knees holding him for support. He looked up, and the bile caught in his throat.
It was a human. At least, it looked like it. A young, teenage boy, not much older than himself. It breathed heavily, it's hand on its arm where Naruto had taken a good chunk out of him.
"Weh-," blood ran from his mouth as he grit his teeth. In the heat of there violent exchange, Naruto didn't even notice he had swung at the other boy, but he had definitely done damage. The stranger swallowed and grabbed his limp limb that hung at a painful, odd angle.
"Weh-... werebeast." The being landed on his knees, only to scream in pain and raise his body once more.
Naruto spat the rest of the blood from of his mouth and gagged. Once he had regained himself, the sight before him confused him even more.
The teenager was chained. No, worse than chained - his foot was caught in a hunter's trap.
"What happened?" Naruto began to walk forward, then paused, his hands stretched low in front of him, palms open. "I don't want to fight. I'm here to help."
"Tch." The teenager scoffed, his long black hair partially covering his eyes. "I don't need your help."
"Yes, ye' do. Let me help. There are men coming on the morrow, early I reckon, for you. I heard them talking. You seem to be in a merry right mess…"
"No werebeast will touch me, less he want to lose his limbs."
"Well, that didn't work for ye' before now, did it?"
Naruto could barely make out the pale stranger's scowl. "I don't think you could help me even if I wanted you to."
"Why?" Naruto was not convinced. He was obviously different, and he knew what Naruto was. He would have to do a lot more if he wanted Naruto to leave. "I've been taken by a trap…"
"I know, let me help ye'!"
"You can't!" The teenager yelled and blood spurted from his ankle wound. He hissed and cursed in pain. "It's… silver. I need blood…. Mortal blood."
Naruto was confused. Why wouldn't he let him help him? "I can help. I don't care what it is, I can still open it!" He left no room for arguments as he landed beside the older boy, who visibly jumped and attempted to punch Naruto, though his newly injured arm limited him. "Don't touch it!"
"Eh, hold your tongue!"
He slowly let the change hit him. His hands grew large, forming long claws, and they were pumped full of strength.
He grunted as he grabbed the large trap holding the teenager's foot. It took all his willpower to concentrate long enough to pry the trap open, but he managed. It was barely wide enough for the other boy to slip his leg out of.
He hopped on his good leg and wobbled against a tree, his breath heavy.
Naruto pulled away, letting the trap slam shut with a deafening clank.
As he composed himself, the teenager slid down to the ground, in obvious pain. Once himself again, Naruto ran to him. He leaned towards the older boy, his hands on his knees and his attention on the boy's injured ankle. "Is it well enough to walk on?"
The teenager scowled once more. Naruto couldn't help but wonder why he was so unpleasant. Did he not just save him? "I am thankful for your aid. Leave me now, werebeast."
"I know you odd, but I am not one to leave an ally!"
The dark haired boy flashed a cynical smirk. "I'm not your ally. You don't even know who I am."
"I know you odd, like me. Different. We need to stick together, in case you get taken in a trap again, or something. Ye' got good in ye', somewhere!" Naruto crossed his arms and set his mouth in a fine line. He wasn't going to budge.
The older boy's face relaxed slightly, but he continued to look angry, his eyebrows low. "Stay away from me, boy."
He leaned against the tree with his healthy arm and pushed, somehow managing to make himself stand. Naruto was panicking, making unintelligible noises before he could form words. "Ye' hurt, stranger! Ye' need to see a doctor!"
"I'll heal. I'm odd, like you. I'll wash off the wound and heal."
"Ah come on! Least tell me ye' name!"
The injured boy's gait shifted, and he stopped holding his arm. He froze, unsure of the situation, as the teenager flexed his healthy fist and turned to face him. He brought himself painfully close, and his peculiar smell filled Naruto's nostrils. Glued in place by his confusion, Naruto looked on helplessly as the stranger painfully grabbed his neck.
"Sasuke."
Everything became dark.
When Naruto came to, he was greeted by leaves, branches, and a very slow, rising winter sun that just barely threatened to touch the sky.
The odd teenager had rendered him unconscious and left him under a tree. Other than a pounding head and neck ache, he felt fine, his bite wound healed; but his pride had been flamed and burned. A quick scan with his eyes in search of him worsened his anger. How dare that teenager leave him in the woods, especially after he helped him?
However, he nearly flew out of his boots when a new stranger appeared beside him.
"You need to leave, child. The hunters are coming."
Naruto jumped up, shocked as though he'd been stung. He stumbled backwards back onto his rear, and the new stranger released a small chuckle.
This new man was imposing and fierce. Obviously a gentleman, he was tall and lean, with a head full of hair the color of polished silver. He wore a black suit coat, dark pants, and a bowler cap. His face was covered in a tight cloth, revealing only one eye. His left hand rested on a cane lazily while the other sat in a pocket. Despite his appearance, he worried Naruto, who couldn't imagine how anyone could stay that clean while wandering around the woods. "Were you seeking the boy that was here?"
The werebeast hesitated. Old people were better left alone. Should he answer him or run? After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Yessir, I was."
"Aren't you a little young to be hunting vampires?"
"Vampeers?" Naruto attempted to repeat, opening his mouth widely, as though it would help him form the word. "What is that? That older boy? He tasted bad. I threw up." Naruto rolled his eyes. "And I wass'ent hunting him. I wanted to be friends… But that's not why I bit him. That was an accident."
The silver-haired man shook his head. "A vampire… is something not that far removed from yourself. Did you release him?"
"Yessir, I did. And he left me! I wanted to stay together. I'm alone, I am. I ran away from my orphanage after-" he stopped abruptly after he realized he said too much. His honesty constantly got the better of him; he refused to let it happen again. He looked down at his feet and dragged them through a pile of fallen leaves that had been touched with a hint of frost.
The lone, visible eye of the man rose towards his hairline. "You are not with your kind?"
"I'm alone. I had Godfather, but he left me."
The man paused, removing his hidden hand from his pocket to grab his chin in thought. "Where were you going? Why did you come here? What made you come to the forest?"
Naruto looked to the ground again. "I heard men talking about a monster in the woods. I thought… maybe, maybe the monster was like…"
After a drawn out pause, the man sighed. "Like you."
Their eyes met. "Yessir. Like me."
The stranger rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "You are staying with me, then. We are going to find Sasuke together, I suppose."
"Eh. He can stay out here. Let 'em find him! He deserves it, he does. He hit me."
The older man ignored him and grabbed Naruto's hand. Despite Naruto's thrashing and loud complaints, his grip never wavered. Ignoring his protests, they disappeared from the spot.
Now...
Naruto was looking forward to seeing Sakura again. Seeing Sasuke would be good, too.
Working the night shift made it difficult to visit Rin's apartment, and even though Rin insisted Sasuke was fine, and that he was just busy and exhausted... Naruto wasn't so sure. They had never gone this long without seeing each other, or at least interacting with one another. Naruto would shower at Rin's, but Sasuke was always asleep. What if he wasn't actually there? What if Sasuke had like, melted or something? What if Rin killed him? He needed evidence.
When, after two weeks, he was finally granted a day off, he decided to stop by and check on his best friend late in the evening. He carried a large, pink, stuffed cat for Sakura. He had made a decent amount in tips the past few days, and wanted to splurge a little on the baby.
It was the nearing the end of April, and the weather was becoming more agreeable every day. He couldn't wait until he could take Sakura out and teach her to play baseball, and other things kids did outside. Never mind that she couldn't talk, walk, support herself, or anything else at the moment, for that matter.
Surely she can hold a mitt when she is a year old, right?… Yes, next spring it is!
It was early evening, and he wondered for a moment if he was waking Sasuke up.
Well… He needs to get up either way!
Naruto bolted up the stairs to the second floor flat and rapped loudly against the door. "Wake up, lazy!" With his initial banging unanswered, he continued to beat against the door.
The door was opened while his hand was still slamming against it.
He could not stop his fist from making contact with Rin's face.
Horrified, Naruto watched helplessly as Rin grabbed her nose and screamed. He tried to comfort her, spitting out as many different apologies as he could, but she waved him off.
After cradling her face for a few moments, she pulled her hands away. She forced a small smile, but the tears dotting her lashes and cheeks did not go unnoticed. "I think I'm okay." Blood trickled down her nose steadily. She swirled around dizzily, angling her head upward as she mumbled that she was going to find some tissues.
Naruto continued his rapid, nearly unintelligible apologies, while Sasuke whispered to himself from inside the apartment, "You're so stupid, Naruto."
His insult was heard and not well received. "EH! It was an accident!" The blonde stormed into the small home, still carrying the oversized plush cat under one of his arms. "I didn't mean to! And I apologized. I can't go back in time and not punch her-"
Naruto nearly dropped the toy, he was so… impressed.
Sasuke was sitting on the couch, crocheting some sort tiny white hat, while his foot rocked a bright-eyed Sakura in her cradle; she eagerly examined the ceiling before her eyes rested on the new being in the room.
The indifferent, stoic vampire looked so incredibly… domestic.
He couldn't resist the urge to burst into laughter. Sasuke scowled and gave Naruto a death glare. "Fuck off, moron."
"Sass-tay!" A muffled voice rang from the kitchen, where Rin was nursing her wound. "Don't teak like dat in fwont of Sakerwa!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, though he kept his attention on his project at hand. "You're going to choke on your own blood, Rin. Stop talking." He returned his glare towards Naruto. "If you have no real business here, then leave."
"I'm sorry," Naruto wiped a hysterical tear from his cheek. "You are just… you look ridiculous."
"I don't know why. I used to make us clothes all the time."
"I'm getting old and forget things. Then after a time, they become funny again!" Naruto laughed once more before composing himself. As he relaxed, he slumped against the couch, his arms crossing each other. He nearly began to whine about how hard work had been when a strong, overwhelming metallic smell hit his nostrils. They flared in response, and he waved a hand in front of his face. Realization crossed his features, though Sasuke seemed to not notice. "Doesn't Rin's blood bother you? The smell. Isn't it pungent?"
Sasuke shrugged in response.
Naruto didn't respond, though he eyed Sasuke wearily.
His lack of a real answer made him feel uncomfortable. He hadn't really given much thought to Sakura's safety. It never crossed his mind that Sasuke would ever hurt her; but the realization that she was a food source and that she was being taken care of by a predator made him uneasy.
He mentally slapped himself. He'd never hurt her.
And that was that.
He set the cat beside Sakura's cradle. The child glanced at the pink cat for only a moment before she looked away, returning her gaze to the mesmerizing ceiling tiles.
"Well. I see how it is…" Naruto reached to pick the cat back up, but Sasuke kicked him. "HEY!"
"Leave it. She's too young to appreciate it now." Sasuke's eyes never left his work.
Before he could respond with a weird combination of indignation and surprise, Rin reappeared. She pulled a bloody tissue from her nose and tossed it in a nearby waste basket; her eyes couldn't hide their sleek dampness. Her voice was much less muffled as she thanked Naruto for the gift he had brought for Sakura. "I'm sure she will love it when she is a little older." She offered her friend a small smile as she reached down to pick up the baby. "Do you want to feed her?"
Before Naruto could answer, Sasuke dropped his needlework and stood quickly. "I need to go out."
Rin eyed Sasuke cautiously, but didn't say anything as he slipped on his shoes. "HEY!" Naruto yelled at him. "I came by to see you, you sorry asshole-"
"Naruto!" Rin pointed a finger at him. "Language!"
The blonde ignored her and continued. "I came by to update you and talk about a few things-"
"It will have to wait."
Naruto frowned as he watched Sasuke lock the door behind him as he left. "What a jerk."
Sasuke ignored him, turning down the stairs slowly, his hands in his pockets. When he was in the safe darkness of the shadows, his calm demeanor disappeared, and he was visibly disturbed. Checking once more that he wasn't being followed, he took off at a run down the alley behind Rin's apartment.
He stopped suddenly, nearly crashing into the bricks. His head pounded as he leaned against a wall; his right arm held up his weight as the uncomfortable ridges in the bricks temporarily branded his hands. His left hand covered his mouth, his fangs barred and brushing against his skin. He instinctively bit himself, willing the fangs to retract as he focused on the pain they caused. When they didn't budge, he removed them from his flesh, but continued to cover his mouth hard with his palm. He kept his eyes shut tight in frustration. "Stop," he mumbled into his hand. "Get the fuck over it."
He had to learn some semblance of control in this sort of situation.
It had been so long since he had drank fresh blood. How pathetically tempting it was!
Rin stood there like the airhead she was, taking her sweet time to remove herself from the room. It was like she was rubbing it in his face. It had smelled so good...
He sliced his flesh again, willing his needs to disappear.
A terrifying thought crossed his mind. What if Sakura were to injure herself? Would he have another disgusting episode such as this one? Would he be able to resist drinking from her?
Yes.
With that, his fangs retracted, and he let go of the wall as his body slid to the ground. He buried his hands in his face. This was one of the most frustrating parts of his life; he was denying who he was. It was a constant battle to fight against his nature. A born vampire's bloodlust was much stronger than that of a turned vampire, aside from those freshly brought over to immortality; slow to gain power but with an extreme will to hunt, it was how his kind had lived for centuries.
And he was all that remained.
Being surrounded by mortals was doing nothing to help his situation. Removed from social interactions with others for an amount of time he didn't bother to ponder, it hadn't been an issue until recently. The immunity he had built up was quickly torn down and shattered into a million pieces when presented with situations such as this one.
He had given up hunting years before. Things had gotten too sticky, too advanced... He couldn't kill any longer without getting caught. He had fought viciously with his mentor the last time he had drank from an innocent. Kakashi said that if he was caught by the wrong people, they would all be killed, and the battle that Sasuke had been fighting since day one would have been for naught.
Truly, when logic reared it's ugly head, he knew Kakashi was right. He had to adapt if he wanted to survive.
If things had been different, he may have pondered the idea of ditching Naruto and Kakashi to become the killing machine he was born to be. After all, he had been on his best behavior for so long in order to find Itachi, but that was proving to be fruitless and a waste of his time.
But now he had her. His precious Sakura. He was going to have to control it. He would learn to control it all over again.
There had to be an easier way to ease his cravings. Cold blood, while allowing him to sustain himself, was a terribly unsatisfying alternative. He needed warm, fresh blood – didn't they all want that? How could they live a life in their current world with the blood they desired, but not attract the attention of others?
Feeling calm, cool, and collected once more, he stood to brush off his pants; he decided he would grab a drink at the bar to calm the craving that nearly overcame him at that moment. It would sate his thirst for now, even if the itch to take a life was always at the back of his throat, threatening to take over his sense of reason.
The moment the vampire had departed the small apartment, Naruto expressed his disdain at Sasuke running off so rudely. "He could at least, you know, ask how I'm doing, how the bar is holding up, whatever." Naruto rolled his eyes. "He doesn't talk much; I think he's talked more in the past month than he has in the century I've known him. I guess he's running low on words again..."
Rin shrugged as she set the bottle she had been carrying beside her on the floor. She cautiously lifted the little girl, supporting her head and cradling her. "Sasuke does that sometimes. Living with him hasn't been difficult, but he's impossible to read. He never says anything... I guess he kind of just ignores me. So I stopped asking questions a long time ago."
Naruto shook his head, refocusing his attention on the babe in Rin's arms. "I'm sorry he's so difficult."
Rin waved her free hand apologetically. "No, no! He's okay. I don't really know him, though, so... I don't know."
Seeing that Sakura was being agreeable, Rin wordlessly offered Sakura to Naruto. The blonde began to reach for her, then hesitated. Rin smiled as she stood up to carefully place the child in his arms. "Don't be afraid."
As she handed the baby to him, his eyes glistened with wonder at the wiggling creature he held. She was growing so quickly, it was incredible how different she looked each time he saw her. Had her eyes gotten even brighter since he last looked upon her?
She offered up strange noises that sounded suspiciously like the beginnings of a crying fit. "She's hungry." Rin grabbed the bottle and instructed Naruto on how to properly feed the infant. After the baby was settled and eating from her bottle, Rin sat on a small stool across from them. Naruto did as he was told, but looked up at Rin curiously. "How do you know so much? Do you have children?"
Rin shook her head. "No. I did a lot of reading and TV watching to learn everything I know." She offered up a nervous laugh. "I've never even had a boyfriend... I've been... too busy with other endeavors."
"Oh," Naruto answered.
They both watched the child as she ate; a silence fell upon them for some time before he spoke again. "How did you get involved in working at the bar?"
Rin blanched and swallowed. She absolutely did not want to discuss this. "I became good friends with someone who introduced me to Steve."
"You gave up all your free time to take care of Sakura. Don't you have your own family?"
Rin shook her head. "Yes, but they are all always busy," she deadpanned.
Not wanting to give Naruto a chance to ask her anything else personal, she quickly changed the subject. "How did you all end up together? You, Sasuke... Kakashi?"
She swallowed a breath as Naruto's features shifted. He suddenly looked incredibly sad and solemn. He closed his eyes for a time, deep in thought, before he spoke. "Heh. Death brought us together. It's fitting, I suppose... Both Sasuke and I lost out families to genocide, though under very different circumstances. He never talks about what happened to him; but I came from a revered family. My parents were good people. My dad always wanted to solve things peacefully, and I think that was his downfall. I guess we got too powerful... People kill the things they fear."
His face rose to meet Rin's, who stared open-mouthed. He smiled in return as his eyes closed. "It's okay, Rin. I've moved on." He looked up at the ceiling then, though whether he was actually seeing it or not, Rin wasn't sure. "I know they're still with me." His eyes met her once more, bright sapphires sparkling in the low light. "I don't worry about it too much."
Rin bit back the water that threatened to overrun her eyes. Beneath his dense exterior was a sort of deepness she didn't expect. She had never thought he was outright dumb, but generally anything that came from Naruto's mouth lacked the sort of eloquence that Sasuke or Kakashi offered. She was floored; she mentally promised herself not to underestimate him again.
Naruto shifted his arms underneath the baby, who was still gulping her dinner eagerly. "Kakashi's past is somewhat of a mystery too. I only know about the start of his second life." Rin mentally noted that Kakashi didn't consider his lives to be whole – he saw them separate from one another. What a sad existence...
"He was a soldier in some battle. I think he was like a general or something..." Naruto paused to look at Sakura, who was staring up at him unblinkingly. He stuck his tongue out at her before he continued. "Anyways, he was on the battlefield when he was struck down and trampled by a horse. Somehow, he managed to stay alive. He had crawled to the edge of the fight, where he lay dying as night fell. A vampire found him and offered to turn him for eternal loyalty. Bravery, chivalry... I don't know. Something like that."
Rin picked at the hem of her purple skirt, imagining the kind man she hardley knew now as a fierce warrior dying for some broken cause. Did he become severely disfigured from that incident? Is that why he covered his face all the time?
"That's how Kakashi met Sasuke. He was basically brought into the clan as a new fighter for their cause."
"Oh?" Rin said, returning her gaze to Naruto. "That's interesting."
"Yeah," he continued, "Kakashi was turned by a Uchiha; some infamous guy. He was a legend for his time. I think his name was... Obito, or something like that."
Her heart stopped and the breath left her lungs. Obito...
Rin fell sideways and landed hard on the ground, her shoulder taking the brunt of the fall.
Rin was in darkness.
It was like being on the cusp of a bad dream and being awake, when the body was fighting to gain control of itself and the mind was lost in it's own world; she couldn't seem to pull herself out of it.
Words soon filled her ears, and yet she could not will her eyes to open.
"Sasuke, has she been sleeping enough?"
"I don't know. I'm not her caretaker."
"Don't be so damn heartless."
Is that Kakashi?
"I said I don't know. She locks herself in here regularly during the night. I don't involve myself in her affairs. It's not my business-"
"Considering she is raising Sakura half the time, I think that you should make her well-being your business... If you are so thoughtless in these types of situations, how are you going to raise Sakura and teach her an ounce of empathy?"
"Don't you dare question my ability to care for Sakura."
"Whether you can care for her and whether you can raise her right are two different things, Sasuke."
"He's right."
Naruto...
What are they doing here? Why are they here with us?
"You need to make an effort to be nicer to Rin. She loves Sakura, and you ignore her and disappear without saying anything. You came in and took over her home like you had the right to... You need to be nicer to her."
It was during this brief pause in their arguing that Rin hurtled upright and gasped for breath, grabbing fistfuls of her blanket, trying to regain control of her thoughts.
She had been dreaming while listening to them argue. She had been dreaming about him.
"Rin!" Naruto jumped on the mattress beside her, causing them both to bounce awkwardly upward as the bed squeaked beneath them. "Are you okay?!"
Sasuke moved forward, his face showing a slight amount of concern. Rin inwardly laughed, thinking to herself that she must look like death for him to show any type of emotion.
"Yes, Rin. What happened?" Kakashi leaned forward and raised a hand to her forehead. "Are you unwell?"
Rin blushed furiously and knew that her skin would feel warm to his freezing hands. She hoped the rosiness of her face would be accepted as a result from her sickness. "I haven't felt well." She forced a small smile, wishing he would remove his hand from her. She didn't dislike it, per se, but it was... What was it? What did she feel?
"I think I may have caught a cold; when Naruto hi – when my nose started bleeding, it must have just made it worse. I should just stay here and rest."
She hoped they would take the cue and leave her, but instead she caused herself more grief.
"Naruto." Kakashi's hand dropped from Rin as his lone eye stared unblinkingly at his adopted son. "What did you do?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "It was an accident! I accidentally hit her when I was knocking on the door to get in. She opened it and I was still knocking!"
"Basically," Sasuke interjected, "he was being annoying."
The blonde stared daggers at Sasuke. "Don't try to take Kakashi's irritation with you and turn it around to me instead!"
"Um, excuse me."
They each turned to Rin.
"I need rest... Please."
Kakashi and Naruto apologized to Rin; they were close behind Sasuke, who had immediately left the room to be with Sakura again.
Author's Note:
Back in May, I removed all song lyrics from this fic, and I will no longer post songs for the time being. I did not realize it was against the site's policy to do this.
I can't even begin to apologize for taking a year to update. I have 1 more completed chapter and another that is nearly complete to upload soon. I never forgot about this story. I think about it all the time. However, I am working full time (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days a week) on top of graduate university classes in the evenings, and this has consumed my life in a very negative way. These chapters are not up to my standards, but I am posting them because I'm worried I never will if I continue to try to perfect them.
Additionally... Any similarities with this story to others posted on fanfiction dot net are purely coincidental. It was pointed out by a friend of mine that there are older stories out there that are similar to this one. I would never purposely copy another author's work. This story was conceived on my own. Thank you for understanding.
I am so happy that this story continues to have regular readers. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
