Hinata looked on, motionless as she watched her female classmates walk off, chatting in high-pitched voices which generally irritated the public.
She wished—how she wished— for the thousandth time-- that she could be part of them—to talk, to laugh together. But she couldn't, and didn't dare to.
The vampire incident had taken a toll in her ability to speak recently, leading more people to think that she was mute. Hinata shook her head and decided to replace her troubles with work, work, and work.
Math was the solution. She cringed when she looked at the heap of textbooks that were placed neatly on the dust-free table. Not a moment too soon, the eerie voices of numerous teachers and her parents came to her.
Top student… We expect a lot from you…
You must do well…
Get perfect marks! They must be perfect!
Hinata clutched her head and found her knees starting to give way. She did not resist and fell to the floor, with her knees and leg muscle suffering moderate impact from the ceramic tiles.
There was a sudden whoosh. Then—
BANG.
The girl snapped out of her mental nightmare, watching her textbooks fall to the floor. Out from the corner of her eye, she saw the silhouette of a familiar person…
Or, to be exact, not really a human, but something which took form of a human figure.
Neji smirked, his eyes narrowed, and flicking his long hair back.
"Hey, schoolgirl. You like studying that much?"
Hinata blinked in response as the vampire sat on another desk, waving his long, thin legs back and forth.
One of his right legs caught her desk while moving, causing it to topple over.
"You mute or something? I expected a scream." Neji said, turning towards her with raised eyebrows. Hinata, despite knowing she should be frightened at a time like this, couldn't help noticing his facial expressions.
They were so…living, even though he wasn't a human.
Most of the expressions which Hinata saw throughout her life were faces of people who stressed upon her what others wanted to see from her, people who were serious, and people who smiled slightly because they've achieved something—A somebody, an 'everybody' who only cared about money, work, money, and work.
Her parents were like that. She was expected to become one of them, perhaps a businesswoman in her later life and live a so-called fulfilled life with luxuries.
Hinata got up unsteadily, her bruised knees shaking just a little slightly, and looked at her fallen textbooks and table. Automatically, she picked them up in robotic-like movements.
"You're not going to ask me why I came here?" The vampire asked, interrupting her routine.
Hinata shook her head slowly, her breathing becoming hastier.
The thought of being attacked was still scary, but her instinct told her that the white-eyed boy did not approach her with the intention of feeding.
This time.
"So this is where you study and spend majority of your time." Neji said, looking around as she continued picking up her books noiselessly.
A light, sneering smile formed in his lips, and he leapt down the desk. Hinata sprang back, frightened.
"Relax. I'm not going to eat you up."
The schoolgirl narrowed her eyes, grabbed her bag in one swift motion, and sped off.
"Hey, wait…" Neji's voice trailed off lazily.
The vampire leaned back on the grey desk, pouting and his eyebrows knitted like a disappointed little kid.
"No fun at all…"
-
The patches of orange, pink, blue and purple reflected themselves in Sakura's green eyes as she looked up at the sky.
Her neck was stiff.
"Ow…"
She walked on, feeling heavier, weaker, and more helpless with each step.
I like you.
"What's up with you, Sakura? Why do you have a bandage on your neck?" Ino inquired curiously.
Sakura shook her head. "I hurt myself."
Ino didn't seem convinced by her answer, and opened her mouth to retort.
"Good morning, Naruto!" One of the girls in the class quipped in a high pitch voice, breaking Ino's sentence before she even had the chance to speak.
"Good morning…"
Sakura heard the soft response and looked up.
Naruto was looking at her, and quickly turned to another side when she raised her head.
She didn't move as he strode past her.
"Good morning… Sakura." Naruto said, continuing his soft speech tone as he went to his seat. His greeting was more for courtesy, but Sakura could detect what seemed to be like a hint—a slight change in the reflected background light which stayed in Naruto's blue eyes during the greeting.
Sakura looked down dully. She didn't respond.
A sudden loud caw interrupted Sakura's thoughts, causing her to halt to a stop.
I like you.
Out from the corner of her eye, Sakura saw two black feathers floating through the air as two wings spread themselves out, preparing for flight.
It was a crow.
I like you.
"What am I… supposed to do?"
Ink-black. The crow took off into the sky, cawing a little.
A familiar, pale face reached out from the girl's subconscious and filled her brain.
The image of a certain vampire hunter…
Sakura looked down at the hard, concentrate ground, gasping a little as she felt tears leak out from her eyes.
They fell right down on the grey floor. Gravity at work, as usual.
I'm… crying…
She wiped her tears, forcing herself to walk on. Sakura did not want to give him an answer. Or rather, now she wanted to blame him for her misery. Her emotions, normally pressed down by her willpower, now rose quickly.
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU LIKE ME AT A TIME LIKE THIS, IDIOT!"
A fist crashed onto a steel-hard streetlamp, causing several cracks to appear from the newly formed dent. Sakura heard the loud cracking sound of the bones on her hand and the hollow splitting noise from the sheet of steel which used to be a streetlamp.
She winced.
-
Naruto collapsed on the sofa. I wonder how…Sakura's taking it…
Yet, for some reason, he was not regretting what he did.
He'd thought Neji was going to kick him out because he'd become a human. But Neji just went, a little peevishly—"How long have I known you?! You're staying here, and you're not going anywhere."
Naruto found himself smiling a little. Then he slowly drifted off to sleep.
-
In the mansion, Sasuke was in quarantine.
He knew he couldn't stay in there for ever. Problems had to be solved.
There was a sudden click. Sasuke looked at the now opening door, his irises turning red.
A smiling face appeared. It was an older boy, about a few years apart from Sasuke's age. He was wearing glasses, and had tied up his long, grey hair into a ponytail.
The boy looked intelligent, but yet not, like people would call, a nerd.
"Hello… survivor of the famous vampire slaying clan…" His voice went off softly, as though his unneeded sentence was actually meant for sarcasm.
Sasuke stood up. At the same moment, the intruder closed the door swiftly behind him, his glasses flashing.
"I'd like to have a talk with you."
Author: It's been a long week… And this is...-ahem- starting to be a really long story… I'd intended for this fic to be a long one, but now I'm starting to think that i should make a sequel instead... .
As usual, thanks for reading, supporting, and reviewing my fic!