I'm really enjoying being so far ahead with this story… It doesn't happen often. So, at long last you get to find out about where the hell Sakura's been! Aren't you happy? You should be, since this is supposed to be a SasuSaku story. ShikaTem just likes to take over from time to time. Without (much) further ado, enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

Bloodline

--Chapter Five: I Know Things Now--

Sakura opened her eyes and blinked in confusion at her surroundings. She was laying on a bed covered in scarlet velvet (who used velvet as a bed-covering in these times?) with matching sheer fabric hanging as a canopy and curtains around it.

It was so… old-fashioned.

Memories came flooding back, the chief image being Sasuke in his oddly out-of-date clothes. She sat up, ignoring the slight headache that instantly developed. Since the sheer- but not completely transparent- bed-curtains were closed, her body's new angle didn't alter her view of the room very much. She fumbled for the split in the curtains for a moment before she managed to part them and see the rest of the room. The impression it gave was that of "ruby", since the décor was not very different from that of the bed: dark cherry wood with upholstery in a deep red shade bordering on dark pink.

Sakura jumped at a knock on the door, and stared when it opened without her giving a response. A girl with long, platinum-blonde hair pulled back into a high ponytail peered in. "I forgot how pink this room was," she murmured, a slight frown creasing the space between her eyebrows. Then she noticed Sakura staring at her. "Oh, so you're awake. This was the first time Kakashi wasn't standing by the door since you got here, and I was wondering what they were doing with you. Sasuke keeps leaving before anyone else wakes up and coming back after we're all asleep, so I couldn't ask him. Kakashi wouldn't answer any of my questions either."

Sakura continued to stare at her blankly.

The girl sat down on a chair more or less across from Sakura. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, by the way. Are you hungry? 'Cause if you are, you'll have to wait 'til Sasuke gets back and send him out again. It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow."

Sakura blinked, trying to comprehend Ino's casual statements. "I'm Sakura Haruno," she said finally. "Why does the sun matter?"

"Well, Sasuke's the only one who can go out in the daylight, except for Shikamaru, but he's too lazy and nearly always has to do something with the Hyuugas anyway."

"The Hyuugas?"

Ino visibly stiffened. "Do you know them?"

Sakura shook her head. "Hinata Hyuuga and I are classmates, and Neji is a grade above us. That's all I know."

Ino brightened again. "Maybe you can get Hinata to cheer up a little! She's been so quiet ever since she got here." She jumped up, grabbed Sakura's hand, and started to tug the pink-haired girl toward the door.

"Wait!" Sakura protested. She pulled out of Ino's grasp. "What is going on here? What is this place? Why am I here? Why is Hinata Hyuuga here when her cousin says she's sick? None of it makes any sense!"

"I'm afraid there aren't any easy answers to your questions," a male voice said from the doorway.

Both girls turned in that direction, startled by the appearance of a gray-haired, scarecrow-like man dressed in black. Sakura stared at him, while Ino seemed to relax. "Hi, Kakashi. Is Sasuke back, since you're here?"

"No, Ino. I believe I told you to stay out of this room."

Ino lifted her chin defiantly. "Yeah, but I saw Sakura when she came in. It's not fair to keep her locked up in here when she doesn't even know what's going on. And she knows Hinata!"

Kakashi looked mildly surprised. "Does she now? I'm afraid Hinata has already gone to bed for the night. Shouldn't you be getting to sleep soon too? The sun will be up in less than an hour."

Ino sighed. "I guess… I'll see you later, okay Sakura? We'll go talk to Hinata then." The blonde left.

Kakashi dumped the pile of clothing he was carrying onto the chair Ino had vacated moments before. "Sasuke asked me to find some more clothes for you, but I neglected it until tonight."

"Who are you?" Sakura blurted.

Kakashi smiled, or seemed to. The mask covering the lower half of his face made it hard to tell. "You insist on asking difficult questions, don't you? Suffice it to say that my name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no intention of hurting you, and I will answer any other questions you have as best I can. Will that do?"

"Sure," Sakura replied, even though she was no less confused than before. "Um… how long have I been here?"

"About a week. You've been asleep or unconscious for most of that time."

"A week?!" Sakura repeated at a much higher pitch. "My mom must be worried sick… and I've missed school all that time; I'm gonna fall behind and that's gonna screw up my GPA! Please, I have to go home now."

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"What do you mean 'that's not possible'?!" Sakura shouted, panicking. "You can't just keep me here!"

Kakashi casually stuck a finger in his ear. "I'll have to ask you to keep your voice down. There's a week's worth of people sleeping in the other rooms, assuming Ino did as I told her and hasn't woken anyone up to gossip about you. I'd like to get some sleep myself."

Sakura didn't hear that last statement. "Seven people? Why? Why do you all live here- wherever here is?" She remembered Ino's reaction to her mention of Neji. "Does it have something to do with the Hyuugas?"

Kakashi sighed. "As a matter of fact it does. The Hyuuga family is known to hunt vampires. Thus, we must hide from them. This compound is well-hidden."

"Wait, so you're all vampires?" Sakura took a step back.

"Well, most of us are vampires. Kiba is a werewolf, but we try not to hold it against him."

"Then that means Sasuke…" She sank down onto the bed again. "Sasuke…"

Kakashi shook his head. "I'll have to scold that boy. Honestly, bringing home a girl without telling her that he's a vampire."

Sakura glared at him. "This isn't funny! I'm being held here against my will by a bunch of vampires, my mom probably thinks I'm dead or something, my grades are going to go down the toilet, and if I leave I'll be chased by a family of vampire hunters."

"That's a rather neat summary," Sasuke said from the doorway.

Sakura got to her feet quickly. "Sasuke!"

The younger vampire ignored her. "I'm going to bed, Kakashi."

"Tsk tsk, Sasuke. After all you've put this girl through, the least you could do is say hello to her."

Sasuke gave his guardian a dirty look before turning towards Sakura. "Hello." Then he glared at Kakashi again. "Happy now?"

"I believe you've stated on multiple occasions that I am never really satisfied with your actions, but that will do for now."

"Hn," was Sasuke's response. He left the room.

Kakashi sighed deeply. "Before I leave, Sakura, is there anything else you require? Anything within my power to give, that is."

The pink-haired girl shook her head.

"All right then. I don't know if any of those dresses are going to fit, since they all belonged to different Uchiha women. That scarlet one belonged to Sasuke's mother; it was her favorite. You can just give anything that doesn't fit to Ino; I'm sure she'll find something to do with them. There's a bathroom through there," he said, pointing at a door across the room that Sakura hadn't noticed before. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sakura whispered as Kakashi closed her door.

--

"Really, Sasuke, there was no need to be so rude to her."

Sasuke was starting to wonder what the point of having a lock on his door was if Kakashi was going to not only ignore it but pick the lock every time he felt the need to say something. "Leave me alone, Kakashi."

Kakashi smirked. "Ah, I see the problem." The orange book appeared in the older vampire's hand. "You like her."

"I do not."

"No matter how often you tell yourself that, it doesn't make it true." He vanished.

Sasuke grimaced. He really, really hated when Kakashi did that.

--

The next time Sakura woke up, Ino's face was about two inches from hers. She shrieked, and the blonde sat back and pursed her lips.

"No need to be so loud about it."

Sakura shot a glare at her. "There was no need to be so close either."

Ino- who was wearing a fairly short, dark purple skirt with a matching, midriff-baring top, as opposed to the long, modest dress of the previous night- shrugged. "I guess not. You sleep like you've not had any in weeks. Come on, get dressed. We have to catch Hinata before Kurenai takes her out with Shino and Kiba."

"What do you mean, 'takes her out'? Do you mean to hunt?"

Ino made a face. "We don't like to call it that; that's what the Hyuugas call what they do. We prefer the phrase 'going out to eat'."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That would be more reassuring if I didn't know what you were really talking about." She climbed out of the bed.

Ino waited impatiently as Sakura stared helplessly at the pile of clothes Kakashi had brought for her. When the pink-haired girl reached for something yellow, the blond made a noise of disapproval. "I'd tell you to just pick something, but with your coloring that wouldn't be a good idea. It is a good thing Kakashi brought that stuff, though, since my things would be too small and everything Hinata has is blue or white." Ino climbed off the bed and shuffled through the pile. "These should have been hung up last night; now I have to find one that suits you and isn't too wrinkled." She seized a scarlet gown with an empire waist and ankle-length skirt. "Here." She handed the dress to Sakura.

"But Kakashi said this one belonged to Sasuke's mother… Don't you think we should ask him if it's okay that I wear it first?"

Ino waved a hand dismissively. "You can ask him later. Besides, once you're wearing it, there's not much he can do, right?"

"I guess…"

"Good. Now change before I do it for you!"

"Ugh, fine, fine." Sakura took the dress and went into the bathroom. When she came out, Ino stared. Sakura sighed. "What?"

Ino grinned. "Nothing." She grabbed her new friend by the wrist. "Come on."

--End Chapter Five--

I wrote a chapter with no mention of the Sand Sibs whatsoever! Impressive, considering I've completely fallen in love with the trio ever since they made their first appearance in this story. But don't expect their non-appearance to last. And in the next chapter, Sakura and Ino actually get to talk to Hinata! Thanks for reading, and please review!