A/N: I AM SO SORRY ABOUT REVIEW REPLIES! I know, I am SO far behind and a lot of you are asking me things and such, and omg, I feel bad! -cries- I'm so sorry! I have essays to get out of the way and as soon as they're done I will reply to reviews, I promise!

Disclaimer: Were they mine... Sasuke and Naruto... man... there would be some serious problems with this airing at a time where children can see it... but K. Masashi won't do it :(

Previously:
"Naruto, stop." Sasuke pushed against Naruto's shoulders with both hands, trying to pull his neck away from Naruto's mouth, but the blond's hand against his neck stopped him from pulling away. "Naruto! Stop! Naruto!"
The blond didn't listen; he didn't stop.
Naruto couldn't even hear him anymore.

Present.

"Naruto!" Sasuke pushed against him, trying to push him away.

The vampire-hybrid let out a feral growl before pushing Sasuke onto his back, straddling him. He grabbed the raven's hands and pinned them above his head with one of his own while the other hand remained against the Uchiha's neck, forcing it to stay in place as he sucked greedily at the blood that was now slowing down as it exited the other's body.

Sasuke's breaths came faster as his vision began to fade around the edges. Naruto was drinking too much. Much more than he needed. "Na-Naruto! Stop!" Sasuke begged, too weak to even struggle anymore. "Stop!" He bucked his hips up.

The sensation of Sasuke's hips bucking up into his caused Naruto's mind to snap back into focus, finally realizing what he was doing due to the familiar action from his lover. He jerked his mouth away from Sasuke's neck, releasing his hands as he sat up and stared down wide-eyed at what he'd done. Two small streams of blood dribbled down his chin from both fangs, giving the impression that Naruto was just a kid wearing a vampire Halloween costume.

"Sasuke." he panted, his blue eyes wide and horrified. Had he killed him?!

The raven stared back with hazy eyes, shifting as he attempted to get out from under Naruto and away from the other man before he lost it again. He was scared. He'd thought Naruto would know when to stop. He hadn't.

As he realized the raven was trying to get away, Naruto's eyes went to the wounds in his neck, watching as blood continued to flow down the pale flesh. He was going to bleed to death. Naruto bent forward again to lick the wounds and close them, but the action caused Sasuke to jerk and try and scramble away. The blond held him in place.

"Calm down." Naruto whispered. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. I need to close your wounds. I won't hurt you, baby, I promise."

Even though the words weren't reassuring him, Sasuke knew Naruto too well and trusted him too much. So, against his better judgement, he lay there and allowed Naruto to bend down and lick at the two puncture wounds, closing them instantly.

Naruto himself had to struggle not to continue drinking at the small taste his tongue had gotten from closing the wounds. Sasuke's blood was addictive, and he was going to crave it all the time, now. But he couldn't do anything about it, because he loved Sasuke, and he would never, ever hurt him like this again.

"Come on, we have to go." Naruto stood up, now full of strength, while Sasuke lay weakly on the ground. It was almost ironic that the two of them had traded places.

Naruto bent down and hauled Sasuke to his feet, wrapping one arm around his waist and pulling the raven's over his shoulders. Sasuke let out a groan, but Naruto ignored him and pulled him towards the cell door, the raven shuffling his feet as his vision faded even more.

The vampire-hybrid looked at his lover and felt worry gripping him. He'd definitely taken too much, and Sasuke was now at the stage where if he didn't get more blood soon, he was going to die. He had to get him to Tsunade.

"Come on." Naruto stopped and hauled Sasuke over his shoulder, carrying him the same way firefighters carried victims. "It's okay. I'll make this right."

Naruto ran for all he was worth.

"Tsunade!" Naruto hollered as he slammed into the doctor's office, said doctor jumping about a mile high at the sudden intrusion.

"Sorry, Ms. Sannin, we couldn't stop him!" a guard exclaimed from behind the panicked blond.

"It's all right, I know him." Tsunade stood and rushed around her desk as Naruto shifted Sasuke so he held him in his arms, now. He'd lost consciousness a few minutes after Naruto had thrown him over his shoulder. "What happened?"

"I-I—" Naruto couldn't say it. "He needs blood. He needs blood bad!"

"Bring him, hurry!" Tsunade ran from the room, Naruto right behind her with Sasuke in his arms, the two of them running down the white corridor.

The doctor slammed into an empty room and motioned the bed, Naruto placing Sasuke on it. Tsunade ran to the small fridge in the corner and threw it open.

"What's his blood-type?"

"AB-negative." Naruto replied automatically, ashamed that he knew that because he'd fed from him.

"Shit, the rarest one." Tsunade muttered as she grabbed two bags and closed the fridge door again, rushing back to Sasuke's side. "Help me." she ordered, throwing one of the bags to Naruto.

The blond caught it and the two of them hastily got the blood ready for a transfusion, Naruto hooking it up to an IV while Tsunade got a heart-rate monitor and blood-pressure machine working.

"Tsunade, do you need he—"

"No!" the doctor snapped to the nurse at the door. "Don't let anybody in here!"

The door was slammed with fright as the nurse ran away. Tsunade hadn't meant to be so mean, but this was an emergency, and it was one she couldn't share with her staff. Not everyone knew about vampires, and it was almost better that way. There would be riots, panic; Tsunade didn't want that. She just wanted to save Sasuke's life.

A few seconds later, and the blood was flowing into Sasuke's arm, Tsunade holding the second bag in her hands in preparation of changing the first one when it was empty. She glanced at Naruto, who was holding Sasuke's hand in both of his, staring at him with wide, cerulean eyes. He didn't seem to realize he had trails of blood running down his chin.

"What happened?" she asked again. Now that Sasuke's life was no longer in danger, she could stay here all night until she got the truth out of Naruto.

The blond's shoulders stiffened at the question and he lowered his eyes. "I fed from him."

"Why?" Tsunade snapped. He better have a damn good answer, she thought angrily.

"Sakura didn't tell you, did she?" Naruto whispered. Tsunade frowned.

"Tell me what?"

"That I've been missing for three weeks."

The doctor's head snapped back at this, her eyes wide. "You were—what?!"

"I was caught by the Akatsuki." Naruto whispered. "They wanted me to turn, so they put me in a cell in the middle of nowhere and left me there. They gave me no food, and no water, but you know I can survive for months without such things. That's not the problem. The problem is that food and water is what keeps me grounded as a human. Apart from the monthly seizures and bloodlust, I never had to worry about turning into a vampire." Naruto's hands shook slightly. "Since they left me there, the bloodlust steadily got worse and worse. Without the food to ground me, the vampire traits were taking over, trying to force me to feed. When Sasuke found me, I was just about ready to turn. He-he offered his neck to me." Naruto lowered his head, pressing Sasuke's hand against his forehead. "He told me to drink from him—so I did. And then—I don't know why, but I couldn't stop. I just kept drinking, and drinking, and..." Naruto trailed off, breathing hard. "I almost killed him."

Tsunade said nothing. Even if she'd known what to say, she wouldn't have said anything. There was no way for her to make him feel better, not when it came to this type of situation. Naruto despised being what he was, and now, he'd almost killed the one person he loved the most because of it.

Silently, the doctor switched the blood-bag, looking back at Naruto as the blond remained with his head bowed, Sasuke's hand against his forehead. Tsunade walked to the fridge and opened it, pulling out a bag of O-negative blood. She walked back to Naruto's side and prodded him in the shoulder. He looked up at her and she handed him the bag of blood.

"Drink this. I'll go get you some food from the cafeteria downstairs. I'll lock the door."

Naruto took the blood from her hand, nodding. "Thank you." he whispered.

The doctor nodded back before leaving the room, locking the door, like she'd said she would. Naruto himself just stared at the blood in his hand. It was true, the Need was still there, because he still wasn't grounded as a human. He didn't want to attack Sasuke again. With a sigh, he bit a corner of the blood-bag off and began drinking the blood as it flowed from the small hole. Once it was empty, he licked his lips and placed the empty bag on the table beside Sasuke's bed.

Tsunade returned a few minutes after that with four sandwiches and three juice boxes, handing them all to Naruto. He ate them so fast, Tsunade hardly had time to blink before they were gone.

"Better?"

"I hope so." Naruto whispered before finishing off his last juice box. "The Need is gone, at least."

"Good." Tsunade handed him a towel and a bottle of water. "You still have blood on your face."

Naruto grit his teeth, disgusted with himself, and took what she offered him. He wet the towel before rubbing the bottom of his chin, trying to get rid of the blood. Sasuke's blood.

"How is he?" he whispered, avoiding looking at Sasuke and focusing on a cracked tile on the floor.

"He'll be fine. Give him a couple of hours to regain his strength, and he'll be good as new."

"Thanks." Naruto whispered. "If there's anything I can do—"

"Don't worry about it." Tsunade interrupted. "I'm going to go out and get you some more food. I'll call Kakashi and Sakura to let them know you're here with Sasuke."

As she headed for the door, Naruto turned to her, calling out desperately. "Wait!" She turned back to him. "Don't-don't tell them—what I did." he whispered.

"They won't judge you." she insisted.

"I know." Naruto took a deep, shuddery breath. "I know, but I—I don't want them to know."

Tsunade stared at him for a long while, but the desperation in his eyes made it impossible for her to refuse. "All right. I won't tell them."

"Thank you."

Tsunade nodded before leaving the room.

Sasuke felt strange when he woke up. The only way he could describe it was that it reminded him of how he'd felt three years ago when Itachi had left him for dead on the street. Well, I don't know if I can really say he left me for dead when his intent was to turn me, Sasuke thought as his mind regained consciousness.

He was aware of machines beeping and could feel someone clutching his right hand tightly between their own. The way they were holding it—so gently and yet so tightly—could only suggest that it was someone he knew. More specifically, he was fairly sure it was Naruto.

He shifted slightly in bed as he cleared his throat, peeling open his eyes. Then, he glanced around the room at the white walls and dark atmosphere before focusing on Naruto, who was looking down at him worriedly. He hadn't spoken a word yet. Sasuke assumed he didn't know what to say.

"Oh good, I'm alive." It wasn't exactly the first thing Sasuke had meant to say, but he couldn't take it back, now.

Naruto winced, his grip on Sasuke's hand loosening as he looked away, shame evident in his eyes. Sasuke felt bad for what he'd said, but it was true. He had thought he was going to die there in that prison cell, killed by his own lover. At first he'd thought that maybe he'd been too late, and Naruto had turned. He knew the rules. As long as Naruto drank blood while he was still himself, it would prevent him from turning. If he drank blood as a vampire, he would remain one forever. Nobody knew quite why it worked this way, but it did.

Sasuke was still afraid of Naruto. He couldn't even pretend to deny the fact.

"You scared me." he finally said to the blond, who was still looking away.

"I know." the hybrid whispered. "I scared myself."

"You didn't stop." It bit into Naruto's heart, the bitterness and accusation clear.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"I thought you would know when to stop. I thought you would listen to me." Sasuke knew there was no need to rub it in, but he was mad, and frightened, and he didn't know whether or not he would ever truly be able to trust Naruto again.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't make it right!" Sasuke hollered, wrenching his hand from Naruto's grip. The blond didn't attempt to stop him.

Naruto was staring at the floor, now, his hair shielding his eyes. Sasuke could see him shaking, and his lower lip was trembling.

"What do you want me to say?" he whispered, his voice thick. Sasuke frowned, never having heard him speak with that tone before. "I know sorry doesn't make it right! Sorry is something you say when you step on someone's foot, or elbowed them by accident. There should be—I don't know, another word, another way of expression for apologizing to something like this. But there isn't, Sasuke. There just—isn't." The raven was stunned to see a tear sliding down Naruto's face, his eyes still hidden by his bangs. "So, saying 'I'm sorry' is just about the only thing short of killing myself that I can do right now."

Naruto stood up then, heading for the door. He reached it just as it opened, pushing past Sakura and Kakashi.

"Naruto?" Sakura turned to him as he brushed past and headed down the corridor. She was about to follow, but Kakashi grabbed her arm. Naruto was crying, so he would want to be alone right now.

Sasuke was still staring at the spot Naruto had been sitting, stunned. He'd always known Naruto was ashamed of what he was, but he'd never realized how much the blond hated it before. It made him wish he could cut out his own tongue for everything he'd said.

Naruto hadn't deserved those words, it wasn't his fault. He'd practically turned by the time Sasuke had come to save him, and it was Sasuke's own fault for not having brought backup or blood. He'd offered his own neck, and then gotten angry when Naruto hadn't been able to stop. He'd been starved for three weeks, so he should've expected him to not be able to control himself.

Sasuke felt like absolute shit.

Monster.

"Shut up." Naruto snapped as he walked briskly down the corridor.

Demon.

"Shut up." The blond turned a corner, knocking into a nurse. He didn't apologize, his mind too focused on the words floating through his head.

You don't deserve him. You're unworthy. Hybrid.

"Shut up!" Naruto turned and slammed his fist through a wall, causing a nearby nurse to scream and everyone to freeze. He panted as he pulled his fist out of the wall, his knuckles bleeding. He glanced up and down the corridor, seeing all the shocked faces.

Mumbling an apology, he cradled his hand to his chest and pushed past a couple, heading for the elevator. He needed to get some air, so he went to the top floor and exited it before heading for the door marked 'roof'. It was locked, but a jerk of the handle snapped it and he pushed the door open, climbing the stairs two at a time. When he got onto the roof, he was surprised to see the sun beginning to rise. He hadn't known how long he'd been inside with Sasuke.

He shoved both hands in his pockets as he headed for the side of the building, looking down over the edge. A sharp wind blew at him, the hairs on his arms standing on end due to the cold. He ignored it, since it wasn't registering much in his mind, anyway. He was too focused on what he'd done to Sasuke.

"I almost killed him." he whispered as he stared down at the ambulances pulling in and out from the front of the building. "I couldn't stop."

Like I said. Monster.

Naruto growled at the voice in his head. He only hated it so much because he knew it was true. He was a monster. His existence was a freak accident and he hated God for putting him through this. He was angry that God let all these bad things happen to people. Iruka, Neji—Sasuke. He hated everything and just wanted it to end.

Maybe I can end it, Naruto thought, slowly stepping up onto the ledge, his hands still in his pockets. The wind whipped his hair out of his eyes as he continued to stare down at the ambulances. Maybe I can end everyone's suffering. It would be easy to jump.

He let out a startled gasp and almost fell forward when a pair of pale arms wrapped themselves around him from behind, clenching the material of his shirt as he pressed himself up against Naruto's back.

"You don't jump, Naruto. You fly." he whispered.

"I thought you were mad at me." the blond whispered back, the two of them standing on the wide ledge, dangerously close to falling off to their deaths.

"I was never mad. I was just—scared."

"I scared you."

"You did. But I also know who you are. I know you didn't mean to do it. And I know you'll never do it again."

"But what if I do?" he asked, almost scared he might do it again.

"You won't." Sasuke closed his eyes as he brought his hands down and up under Naruto's shirt. The blond's stomach jumped slightly at the cold touch, but he ignored it, because it was Sasuke. His hands went around to the blond's back, tracing the lines of the angel there from memory, knowing exactly where each part of her wings folded.

"Oh my God!" Both jumped and almost fell off the building. "Get down from there right now!"

"Sorry, Sakura." Both sighed as they carefully got off the ledge.

"It's time to head home." Sasuke whispered to Naruto before placing a light kiss to the base of his neck, turning to head back inside. Naruto turned as well, watching Sasuke walk away.