LE TUEUR TRISTE
By: withered-soup
Three: A Toy
"When I think of Otto, the sunny smile of Tenten is replaced by dark colors and strong scent of booze. I cannot imagine how such place can be a haven to that lady.
"The houses are shabby from the outside; the road is never free of rubbish and menacing eyes staring from every hole imaginable. The people steals from each other, holds each other by their throats and everyone loves the unstable peace of the land.
"However, what I hate the most about Otto is the sex bar where Ino (I discovered her name when we were on the road) and I were transported to. I can never erase my first night in my memory. That first night is repeated several times until my seventh week with only minimal variations. Sometimes, more women were around me. Sometimes, more men were there. Sometimes, I end the day with little memory of what happened. It was more of selective amnesia.
"The bar…I could vividly remember. The interior was filled with men and women who held bills, glasses or sexual partners. Some enjoyed themselves through little chats while fondling with a naked girl or boy of desire. Arguments were inevitable and one could hear that most fights were about money or who-fucked-who. Most female prostitutes danced around poles and slyly pulled bills out of their patrons' pockets for extra kissing or sucking on whatever part of their body available. Sex was nothing there—a public thing, a sport.
"But the vampires were always for the last show, whatever happened. I think it's their strategy to serve us little blood to keep our strength low. Moreover, we were young in terms of vampire age. Our strength was not much.
"One night, something happened as the routine was done.
"I was at the backstage, locked up in a steel cage together with Ino. Another cage was set away from us and there were two more female vampires whose names I had never heard. From there, we could hear the yells of the audience awaiting our appearance.
" 'We're going to die.' I thought out loud. Ino gave me a glare and looked through the gap between the curtains that divided the stage from the back.
" 'Could you at least give yourself a boost of courage? We've been through this several times.' Ino replied sharply.
"In a matter of seconds, the curtains were pulled aside, exposing us to the warm spotlight.
" 'Ladies and gentlemen!' the host extended both his arms to acknowledge the audience. 'I know all of you are dying to see this part of the show.' Cheers came from the patrons. 'And because of that, we've brought you your favorite toys of all time!' A deafening shout of glee came from those dirty mouths. 'Tonight…'
"I didn't get to focus on the next words because before I knew it, I was being pulled out of the cage. And even though I had been treated like that for weeks, I had always yelled, 'let me go!' I twisted and turned in their grasp. When one of the men lost hold of my ankle, I frantically kicked his leg and that made his knee buckle. Roars of entertainment came from the watchers as they pounded their tables with their heavy booze glasses.
"I could hear the host yell for more men to restrain me and, yes, there came two more that jumped on me to keep me on the floor. I heard myself growl against the floorboard as they chained my wrists behind my back. I found myself trying to bite their hands when they held me by the shoulders to pull me up and latch me to one of the dancing poles.
" 'Dear patrons, what a sight!' The host's teeth glistened. 'With this kind of vampire, who wouldn't want to get one's hand on him?'
"My head lolled back as I gasped for air. The dancing lights above me made me dizzy and nauseated. My body must have experienced a sort of rebound effect. That rush of aggressiveness surprised me. Maybe it was what they always say—self-preservation.
"My eyes lowered whenever I tried opening them to see what was happening. I could hear the mixed voices of both the humans there and the vampires being tied to other poles.
"When I lifted my eyes forcefully, I saw Ino spitting on the face of one man who ripped her blouse open. He slapped her hard and stuffed rolled cloth into her mouth. I turned my head and saw a long straight-haired female vampire at my side. Her hair was being pulled by women to keep her from moving her head as they explored her smooth skin. I turned to another female vampire characterized by her short, black hair and cream eyes that reminded me much of Neji. She was silent and submissive as a lamb as they tied her against the pole. I noticed tears at the corner of her eyes as she squeezed her eyes shut and then gulped.
"It was in no time that someone stuffed a whiskey dampened cloth into my mouth and then pulled my clothes off.
"Actually, it was years after that I understood why they took vampires as their toys. In that bar, we were fondled, whipped, bitten playfully, forced into many, many disturbing tortures and actions. First, they felt that they controlled the beasts—the demons—because they feared us. They feared what they didn't know or understand. Second, we healed. It actually depends on our physical situation but, nevertheless, we healed and we could take more whippings the next night. Third, we were envied because of our growing beauty that was never mitigated by every trouncing we endured. We were eternally youthful and we grew stronger by time.
"That night, I tool countless whippings from a man and some women took turns in kissing me—my arms, my neck, my thighs. In time I was delirious, my eyes rolled as the scent of blood from my own cuts and those of the other vampires mixed in the air. I bit against the cloth and shut my eyes hard. I felt my teeth sink further into the cloth—the whiskey droplets touching my tongue.
" 'Get that boy away from the vampire!' My lids went up as I searched the source of the commotion.
" 'Don't touch her!' a blonde boy with whisker like lines on his cheeks snarled at the old men who surrounded the cream-eyes girl. He pushed and pulled until one of the men fell backwards, off the stage.
" 'It's him again!' the host yelled and pointed furiously at the blonde. 'I thought you already took care of him?' He demanded of the other men behind him.
"The guards quickly moved to take hold of the boy who tried to touch the vampire's bare collar. He was held by the arms and carried off.
" 'Kill the boy.' The host waved his hand dismissively and then turned to the pissed audience with an apologetic smile.
"I heard the boy cussing and yelling before the doors of the bar shut after him. I inwardly felt sorry for the blonde but I was puzzled later, thinking why a mortal wanted to protect a vampire."
Sasuke involuntarily smiled when a memory flashed before his eyes. "Protecting…a vampire. What more a vampire protecting a mortal…"
"What?" Gaara raised both his brows.
"Never mind." Sasuke said with a one-sided smile.
"Finally, the twilight marked another end of one whole day of hell. I was leaning against the pole, motionless and half-awake, when my wrists and ankles were suddenly freed. A collar was latched to my neck and then I was pulled to the backstage. There I saw Ino and the other two girls being pulled to a different room. I gasped Ino's name but I didn't hear my own voice. I surrendered to the person dragging me instead.
" 'You stay here.' The man unlatched me and then closed the door with a bang. I fell to my knees and closed my eyes.
" 'He's treated like royalty.' I heard a man complain outside.
" 'I heard he's bought.' Someone replied with a snort. 'And it's not just money. It's a large sum of money. Orochimaru-san is exaggeratedly happy.'
"I barely understood the conversation for I was distracted by the smell of the room. I looked around and found the place to be small with a little bed at the far corner. A candle lamp was on an end table at the other corner of the room across the bed. It somehow illuminated the filthy floorboards and the heavily barred windows.
"But the smell wasn't the smoke or the dirt…or the stale air. The scent was unmistakably blood—human blood. My body sprang up, my hunger undeniable. I walked towards the bed and saw the blood stained sheets. There is someone there, I thought before pulling the sheet off.
"It was the blonde boy. I could not forget those whisker-like traces. His lips were slightly parted with dried blood on them. His wrists were bound by rope and so were his ankles. His face had a large bruise while his limbs bore scratches and more bruises.
"My thirst and hunger for blood was one. I grasped my abdomen as I reached for the boy's neck with my free hand.
"Stop it Sasuke, a voice in me pleaded. You know how he wanted to protect the other vampire!
"But he's obviously left here for my satisfaction. I thought angrily as I drew closer. My hands yanked the collar of his shirt away from his neck. I kneeled over him, my knees at either side of his body. I was so concentrated on my thirst that I almost could hear the pumping of the boy's heart. I was going insane.
" 'Do it.'
"I was surprised to see those bloodied lips move.
" 'Do it…drink…'
" 'W-what?'
" 'You're thirsty, are you not?' the boy's eyes opened revealing weak, blue eyes. 'If you bite me, I might become a vampire and maybe…' his voice trailed off as his eyes closed.
" 'I don't understand you.' I said off-guardedly.
" 'Hinata.' He muttered and smiled.
"I bit my lip, sweat trickled along my jaw line. And after seconds of withholding I parted my lips and sank my teeth on his neck.
"That time, it was different. I could hear his slow breathing as clearly as how his heart beat played in my ears. My hands curled around his shoulders when I felt him stir.
"He's going to die.
"My head snapped backward in shock. I didn't want to kill him and I was inwardly grateful for that voice that echoed in my mind. I released his shoulders and moved away from the bluish body. My sanity and control was back and so was the guilt of seeing that boy, cold and immobile, on the bed."
Sasuke had his back to Gaara when he stopped with his narration. The child was silent as well.
"I thought he would become a vampire." He said tonelessly. "So I waited with my elbows on my knees as I sat at the side of the bed. When hours passed, I decided he was dead but I was afraid to check on him." Sasuke turned to Gaara. "I was afraid of confirming my belief. I was afraid of what I had done—that I would continuously kill. I thought I could manage to restrain myself but no.
"It was noon when the door opened. Two men with revolvers came in and went to the bed to check on the boy. One of them nodded and then used the bloody blanket to cover the body. They carried it off and I only managed to follow them with my eyes.
"It was no sooner that a man stepped into the room followed by Orochimaru who looked at me from head to toe. The man had a long, silky, black hair tied into a pony tail. Beneath his obsidian coat was a white polo with ruffles starting from the neck down to his chest. His cream eyes seemed cooler and emotionless at first look.
" 'Sasuke,' his lips parted and my name seemed to dance with the beauty of his voice.
"Before I could utter a word, I fell, knee first, on the floor and my back arched as I bent down and kissed his shoe. I trembled and covered my face with my hands. I could feel warm tears brimming from my eyes. 'Hyuuga-san…' I whispered as a shamed tear rolled from my eyes. I knew I was saved."
Sasuke nodded to himself as he thought of the face of the Hyuuga. "A great man…
" 'Sasuke, stand up.' Neji moved back when I lifted myself from the floor. I couldn't think of anything else but the joy of finally seeing Neji—someone I could truly trust.
" 'This generous man bought you for quite a price.' Orochimaru's thin lips stretched into a smile.
" 'Hyuuga-san, I—'
" 'Save the gratified speech.' Neji pulled on his cloak and turned his back to me. 'Come. The train will be leaving in two hours.'
"Walking behind Neji made me look like a common slave. I was embarrassed by the tattered clothes I wore and I couldn't imagine myself riding with him.
"When we left the bar, I turned and took one last look at that grim place. My lips moved to form a relieved smile but it faded right away. I walked faster, closer to Neji.
" 'Hyuuga-san, there are three women working there. It disturbs me to leave them. Is there any way I could—'
" 'Sasuke,' he stopped on his tracks and was silent for seconds. 'If you take those three women out of there, Orochimaru will get more to resupply his need for workers. Another set will suffer in their place. You can't save everyone.'
" 'Can nothing be done to stop this?'
" 'Maybe none at the moment.' He sounded grave and then walked again.
"I stared at his back in thought and soon after, Neji gestured me with his hand to follow. My hands clenched but I understood. I just prayed for them though I wonder…"
Sasuke touched his chin with his fingers. "Does God bless the damned?"
"God doesn't choose who to love, right?" Gaara stretched his arms. "Maybe he blesses all."
"Maybe…" Sasuke smirked. "It will be a long time before I discover the answer. My death will come later.
"What I will tell you next is my life for the next hundred years." Sasuke closed his eyes and though of the lovely cherry blossoms that welcomed him every spring.
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A/E/N:
Sorry for the late update. Next chapter, I assure you of Sakura's appearance. Yay!