A/N: Holy crap. I actually did an evil laugh before opening the program.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
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Everything. Everything was surrounding Naruto. The carpet under his feet could be felt. He could smell the dust on his shelves, the groceries in the bags not one foot away, and the clean, rainy smell that Hinata always carried with her. Hot, salty liquid filled his mouth; it came in an 'ebb and flow' fashion, soothing his throat and then disappearing, coating his stomach like rich milk. It was heavenly. Soft, feminine pants were breathed into Naruto's ear, sometimes accompanied by whimpers and something that may have been crying. His hold on Hinata didn't loosen.
He drank, and drank, and drank, feeling life and death and light all around him, smelling her fear and confusion, delighting in her taste. There was very little struggle now. The breaths that he heard from her were becoming less frequent; her whimpers and sighs weren't audible to humans any longer. Hinata was dead.
No. What was he – what was he doing? In disgust and shock, Naruto threw her off of him, staring helplessly at her paler-than-usual form on his carpet. "Hinata!" He knelt and lifted her, carrying her over to his couch and searching for a sign. A pulse; a breath, maybe. "Please, please, please don't be dead. I didn't – I wasn't thinking. C'mon, you – you have – you've gotta - !" He swallowed. Frantically, he felt her neck and wrists for the feel of blood pumping through her body. A hissed apology, and he opened her shirt, not even thinking about the difference in genders, and lowered his ear to her chest.
There. A heartbeat. She was alive. Thank Kami. He bit his tongue, lip, cheeks, anything, trying to prevent saltwater from falling from his eyes because he almost killed his friend, not realizing that the only person who might've seen him was well-past half-dead as well as unconscious.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry." He lifted her again and leaped out the window, hurrying towards the Hyuuga complex.
[-M-]
Hinata drifted in and out of consciousness, sometimes managing to stay awake to swallow the meager amounts of cool soups that were spooned into her mouth. She knew she had a fever, and moving – even drinking water – was difficult for her. She was constantly cold, and the three blankets that healers had permitted helpers to cover her in did nothing to make her shivers subside. And, unpleasantly enough, she could tell that, whenever she was awake, she was covered in dry sweat. Hinata wondered what she was doing when she wasn't awake that was causing her to feel like she'd just run a marathon every time she woke up.
It was decided that she had some sort of disease, but why they thought that, Hinata couldn't comprehend. Her neck felt sore, especially where Naruto…bit her. She couldn't remember the whole thing, only the feeling of blood leaving her, and the invasive, sucking sensation that came with it. Being bitten like that – well, it wasn't like she'd never had fantasies about her crush and, yes, some of them had included love bites, but that…wasn't, in any way, pleasant. She coughed, wincing when it created a poked-wound feeling. With some effort, she moved her hand to run her fingers along the place where he'd done it.
There was nothing there.
She didn't bother to feel for it again, assuming that she just wasn't thinking clearly. Sleep was what she needed right now, and worrying about Naruto's behavior wasn't helping her heal. Hinata leaned her head back, gathering the blankets more tightly around her. Damned air conditioning…
"Hinata…"
The girl whirled around, trying to find the speaker, "Naruto?"
"Come here, Hinata. Hinata-chan…" Strong arms wrapped around her, pressing her to a firm chest, "Let me taste you again, Hinata…"
"What? No – that wasn't - " She struggled, trying to break away from him, "It – it hurt…" She stilled.
"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," Warm lips grazed her jaw, moving upward to press a searing kiss to her cheek, and then moving lower, once again tracing her jaw before traveling downwards and nipping at the place where her pulse fluttered.
Hinata gasped and felt her moisture on her cheeks, "That's – that's not okay, Naruto. Stop – it hurts when you bite."
Naruto kissed the hollow below her throat, now having turned her around in his arms so that she was facing him. "It hurts when I don't. Do you know what happened to me, Hinata? Do you know why I did that?"
"N-no…"
"What if I told you I couldn't help it? Are you mad at me, Hinata?" He licked the tears off her cheeks, "Won't you look at me?"
She did so, moaning when her upturned face allowed him to cover her mouth with his and allowed her arms to encircle his waist.
"You like me, Hinata. You're not mad at me."
"No… I'm not…"
"You're confused, not scared…"
"No…"
"Do you mind when I do this?" Naruto leaned down again, trailing kisses down her face and all over her throat, breathing deeply when he was closer to her jugular.
"N-No…" She shook her head, trying to get rid of the fuzziness. Was this a dream? She stilled when Naruto kissed her chin, anticipating the deep kiss that followed. This couldn't be real.
"Don't be afraid of me, Hinata. I like you, too." Again, their mouths met, and she felt herself being dominated, and somehow felt safe. She was safe with him.
"Kami…"
Hinata's eyes opened, and she stared at the ceiling for several minutes, trying to figure out what just happened. A dream. She doubted it meant anything, although she now felt a lot more comfortable with Naruto in general. Why did he do that? It couldn't possibly be normal for him. And why her? Why not Sakura? If it was an action of lust, like her subconscious seemed to think, wouldn't he be happier with the girl he liked? This…was too much. She wasn't even – she was just trying to get closer to him! He asked her to help him go grocery shopping; it wasn't even a real date! What on earth was going on?
[-M-]
"Umm…Naruto?" Sakura knocked on his apartment door, noting that there was a slight noise of movement on the other side, "Hey, no-one's really seen you since you came back from your mission. It's been two days; you're not usually this quiet. Is everything alright? Are you ill?"
"Go away."
Kami – he sounded miserable. "What's going on? Why haven't you left your apartment for two days?"
"It's noth– it's none of your business."
The pink-haired girl scowled, "What the hell's that supposed to mean? When the Great Orange Energy Ball coops himself up in his house for two days, it's a reason to worry." There was no response. Not even an indignant 'Hey!' at her exclamation. Something was definitely wrong with him. "Naruto, let me in. Right now. Or I'll break down your apartment door."
A pause, and then the sound of a lock turning. Frowning, Sakura let herself in, expecting to find an empty apartment with one open window. Surprisingly, Naruto was right in front of her when she came in, not even bothering to hide. For a recluse, he looked great – there was a type of glow coming from him, making him seem like the healthiest person alive. His expression, however, was a different story. There was an odd, withdrawn look on his face; not apathetic, but more…introspective. He seemed to be thinking about something else entirely, and whatever it was, it wasn't something happy.
"Come in," he droned. His voice was far from the excited, energetic one she knew. 'And, for someone who's crush is visiting him, he sure isn't very enthusiastic,' she thought, annoyed.
As she walked in, her expression changed as well - to one of fear. 'What happened here?' One wall was cracked, as if she, herself, had given it an unfriendly, chakra-enhanced punch. Naruto's couch was missing a cushion; further inspection told her that what was once a cushion was now a torn lump of foamy stuffing lying in the corner. Along with that, there were other, less noticeable messes in the room – a broken photo frame, a chair that was missing half a leg, and so on.
"Did you do all this? Why?" she whirled around, half-expecting her teammate to attack her.
The blond shrugged dejectedly, "May as well live in a hole if I'm gonna act like a monster." Not explaining further, he asked her to sit down, saying that he'd bring some food over quickly. 'Quickly' ended up being half a second, because he was in front of her again with a plate of chocolates faster than she could blink. 'The Hell…?'
Sakura nervously took one, thanking him with a smile. "Yuck – why aren't these sweet?"
"Hinata made them – she didn't have a lot of sugar, or something like that," her friend explained, taking one for himself and appearing to savor it.
"So you don't like sweet things?" she asked. That was interesting. She loved them, although she rarely let herself indulge. Dieting was kind of pointless if, when you did eat, you ate junk food. Thus, salads and low-calorie soups were mostly what she ate, usually with a small caramel, as a treat.
"Nah…"
Too quiet. "So, I heard Hinata got sick. She's been out of it for…wow, almost two days. Weird, huh?" Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, trying to keep the conversation going. She was unused to this – usually, it was Naruto who did the talking. "No-one can figure out why, although people have been talking about blood loss being the case. Weird thing is, she doesn't have any wounds… What?" Why was he staring at her like that?
"Will she be okay? Is it permanent?" He almost said urgently.
With a sly glance, she allowed herself to turn to something more comfortable for her, "Why? Do you like her?" He continued to stare at her intensely, waiting for an answer. "I heard you guys went on a date a while ago…"
"She was helping me with shopping," muttered the boy.
"Shikamaru saw you," A realization hit her, "Hey, did something happen? Is that why you won't come out of your apartment now?" She stood up, fisting her hands and putting them at her hips, mock anger on her face, "What did you do, Naruto?"
In response, the boy covered his mouth, a pained expression on his face. Not expecting this, Sakura sat down, putting a hand on his shoulder, "H-Hey? What's wrong? Don't tell me something actually…"
"What I did – was horrible…" Naruto ground out, removing his hand and placing both of them on his head, giving the appearance of a broken man, "I can't even imagine…" He turned to her, eyes panicked, "She almost died, Sakura. I couldn't feel her pulse, she – she wasn't…"
"Naruto," Sakura's voice became serious, "Tell me what happened."
There was a long, long pause. For several drawn-out moments, he didn't look at her, watching the floor with dead eyes.
And then he did.
It all came out, starting with the encounter on his way back from the trip. The fangs, the eye color changing – he even bit his thumb again to show her how he healed. Sakura took this all in silently, occasionally asking questions that he had no answer to, and offering explanations of her own. As he told her, he seemed to relax, going back to describe parts with less anger at himself, and more detail. When he came to the part where Hinata came in, he quieted, tentatively recounting that day when she came into his apartment, and then suddenly cutting off when he had to say what he'd done.
"Naruto…did you bite her?" Sakura asked patiently. The entire story was alarming, to say the least. As it seemed, her friend now had a literal thirst for blood, and its focus had been their shy, caring friend.
He gave a quick nod, now covering his mouth again. Sakura sighed, turning his head to look him in the eye. Idly, she considered that this might be thought as a romantic gesture, but she pushed that aside, berating herself for thinking about shallow things at a time like this.
"You have to tell her."
He looked like she'd just told him she wanted to murder all of Konoha.
"She needs to know why you did it – she is absolutely the person who most needs to know. Naruto, can you imagine what it's like to be her right now? Her crush almost ended her life via the Ultimate Hickey!" A beat of silence, and then Sakura was covering her mouth, once again telling herself off, this time for spilling Hinata's not-too-well-guarded secret.
"…Her what?" Naruto's stare was now more surprised; absolutely blown away by what she'd just said, "I'm her – she's had a crush on me? For how long?" A small vein appeared on Sakura's forehead, informing him that now was probably the time to drop his pink-haired friend's revelation and focus on the topic at hand. "I…I can't. I can't go up to her after what I did, it isn't even… I mean, she might not even listen to me, regardless of – of that!"
Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair, annoyed when she accidentally pushed her headband off of her head completely. Taking a moment to re-adjust it, she then fixed the other ninja with a piercing stare, "Fine, then. I'll tell her. She deserves to know, and your lack of a backbone isn't gonna stop her from doing so."
Naruto looked relieved, and more than a bit scared, "You'll tell her the whole thing? I mean, you'll explain why I…"
"Yeah, I will. But you have to get yourself together in the meantime."
The two of them looked around, Naruto's words summing up their feelings concerning his apartment:
"Oh, damn."
[-M-]
It was getting easier to walk now. Uncomfortable in the heavy robe she was wearing, Hinata took it off, hoping no-one would see her in her T-shirt and shorts, re-enforcing their less-than-desirable opinion of her. Hyuuga heiress, in her skin-exposing pajamas, and outside, too! The Elders would have heart attacks if they found out she was being so improper. Ignoring the cold feel of the breeze, she instead stared at the moon. It was about three-quarters of the way full, and very bright, due to the lack of clouds. Again, her thoughts drifted to Naruto, and his actions…
"You must forgive him."
Hinata whirled around, pale eyes wide. She was sure that no-one was out here. She'd checked before discarding her robe! Not seeing anybody, she uneasily reached for a kunai that she'd kept in her robe, simultaneously pulling the garment on and firmly wrapping it around herself. "Who-who's there?"
"He couldn't control himself, you see. Instincts, and all that. They made him do it." There was a disappointed feel about the words, something like when her sister addressed her. And the way he said it…
"What do you know about what he did? I haven't told anyone." The steady tone of her voice surprised her, but she didn't let it show. Her eyes were hard, shining dangerously in the moonlight.
"I can tell why it was you – you smell so natural, unlike the other girls in this village." A wistful sigh came from behind her, and she pivoted to try and see her conversation partner. When that was unsuccessful, she activated the Byakugan, but even that proved useless.
"Answer my question." Hinata was getting nervous. Why couldn't she see this man?
"Let me help you," Out of the shadows, an eerie figure approached her. The man had long, dark hair, and very pale skin, along with expressive green eyes that shone more in the dark than eyes that color should. When he smiled, Hinata had to resist the urge to gasp – long, inhuman fangs poked out of his mouth. "Don't bother - I can hear your thoughts; your fear is evident."
"What are you?" she whispered.
His smile widened into a grin, "A vampire. And I believe you've already had an encounter with my kind," he gestured to her neck.
"N-Naruto…?"
"Please, let us talk." With a flourish, he directed her to her own porch, where she sat down warily. He joined her, and began what ended up being a long explanation about his kind.
Their conversation lasted half the night. Very often, Hinata would comment about something, or ask a question, and he would be forced to delve deeper into the subject, recounting history that he's learned while he was still young. When he'd finally given her enough information that she could be satisfied with her knowledge of Naruto now, he began to press his point about her,
"He owes you a favor, now that he's almost ended your life. I need you to ask him to meet with me." His tone was serious; Hinata understood this was a needed conversation.
"My father won't let me out of the house, I'm already on house arrest because I nearly got myself killed!" She argued.
"Friends visit you, don't they? Tell the next person who sees you that you need to speak with him – he'll come. Or, at least, he should. I haven't exactly been watching him; I assume he'll be honorable enough to see the woman who's life he almost ended."
A blush appeared on her face at being referred to as a woman – it was a small thing, but it was more of a compliment than she usually received. "I'll – I'll ask."
"Good. There's an alley behind his apartment building. Tell him I'll meet him there."
"Uh-huh." Still mulling over what had occurred in the last few days, Hinata turned to enter her house again.
"And, can I make a suggestion?" She turned to the unnamed vampire, who was watching her, amused, "Don't sit too close to him when he visits. One taste of your blood will only make him more sensitive to it the next time around. He hasn't had anyone else's, as far as I know, and yours does have, as I've said, a rather delicious aroma."
Face burning, Hinata walked back inside without further comment. A loud laugh told her that the vampire had picked up on her thoughts on his last sentence. It was definitely time to go to bed.
[-M-]
"Hinata-sama, Sakura-san is here to see you."
"All right, thank you." Hinata sat up a bit straighter, nervously adjusting her blankets. This was good, as his teammate, Sakura wouldn't have to go too far out of her way to talk to Naruto. Breathe…
"Hi, Hinata-chan. I really need to talk to you – it's about Naruto. He was the one who…did this to you." Sakura let out in one breath, "But, see, it's not really his fault, On his way back from his last mission, this guy, he - "
" – Bit him." Hinata finished for her.
"You…you know?" Sakura's brow furrowed, trying to add this to her array of knowledge, "How do you know? Did he already tell you?"
"No – the man who bit him, he did."
"…What?"
"Sit down, Sakura-san, please. Let's tell each other what we know."
The pink-haired girl did so; quite shocked that Hinata seemed to know more about Naruto's condition than she did. They talked for a while, occasionally straying away from the subject and then returning to it, laughing at their absent-mindedness. The easy feel of this talk was different than the ones they had experienced with the males, and they were glad that this could be comfortable, rather than intense and solemn. At some point, Sakura, fully aware of the reaction this would induce, used her words for it – Ultimate Hickey – and then spent a short while trying to understand the other girl through all her stuttering. This was nice, to be able to talk like girls, and the two enjoyed spending time together. When Sakura left that afternoon, she made a mental note to hang out with Hinata more often.
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A/N: Review, please.
