A/N: Hey. I really like this next chapter. Hope you like it too!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything in it.

Chap.4

Rain fell dismally as Naruto stared out his window. The weather matched his mood perfectly; shitty and not a ray of hope in sight. A week had past since Sasuke's death. Though the brunet's body hadn't actually been found, it could only be assumed. Orochimaru was a very vindictive vampire and if he thought he could hurt the SSA in anyway, he would; this would be done quite effectively by killing Sasuke. Also, the chance of a vampire attempting a turning of his victim was slim to none.

Vampires only turned their prey if they're really desperate for someone to be with or they have some ulterior motive; either way, a turning was possibly life threatening for the vampire who does the turning and the turnee themselves. The victim would have to drink some of the vampire's blood, which severely weakens the vampire, and the victim himself stands only a 40 chance of living. Once turned, the original vampire will have to worry about their creation trying to kill them. Newly made vampires have no inhibitions and are curious about their powers; they wouldn't hesitate for a second in feeding on the first thing they saw.

The whole of SSA was in just as melancholy moods. Sakura, who had known Naruto and Sasuke since childhood and had trained with them under Kakashi's leadership, broke down crying and started shaking violently when she heard the news. She was so weak after her bout that she had to miss a couple days of work. Kakashi was even noticeably upset. One of his only three students had died and Kakashi felt partially responsible for Sasuke's death. Everyone else at SSA expressed their deepest regrets to Naruto. If they weren't gushing about how sorry they were, they were looking at Naruto as if he were a time bomb and had to be watched in case he tried something drastic like killing himself. But, no one could really understand how Naruto felt. The blonde and brunet were practically brothers, they had gone through a lot of similar stuff and they were also rivals. Maybe Kakashi and Sakura understood a little but everyone else couldn't ever begin to fathom how terrible he felt.

It was Kakashi who had come upon Naruto in the alley. The silver haired elite had noticed that the two boys hadn't checked in for over an hour and so he decided to go search for them. When he saw an unconscious Naruto on the ground, lots of blood, and no Sasuke to be seen, he called for a recon team.

Flashback

------

"…..e doing?"

"….know after the meds wear off."

'Who's talking? Where am I?' A groggy Naruto wondered. He hadn't opened his eyes yet but had the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

"Ah…god, where am I?" The blonde finally opened his crystal blue eyes and saw a nurse and Kakashi.

"You're awake." The nurse spoke.

"Can you tell us what happened last night? I…ah…need to know." The silver haired man looked sadly down at his pupil.

'What happened? God, what did I do last night? There's something that he's not telling me. Something to do with a mission and…'

"WHERE'S SASUKE! IS HE ALRIGHT? DID YOU GET OROCHIMARU?"

Naruto noticed Kakashi avert his eyes quickly before sighing and looking back at him glumly.

"Um…Naruto, Sasuke wasn't with you when we found you. We…ah…believe..."

'This can't be. This isn't true...'

"…he's dead."

"YOU'RE LYING! He's fine! He has to be! He wouldn't do this to me; he wouldn't do this to himself!" Tears streamed down Naruto's face as he screamed trying to convince himself. "He –sob- he can't…do this to me."

"I…I'm sorry Naruto. We searched everywhere. There's no way that Orochimaru would keep him alive."

--------

End flashback

Naruto had been in his room for the past week curled up in the fetal position, clutching the blankets for dear life. He didn't care to eat or even get out in the sun. The world could rot in hell for all he cared.

-knock-knock-

"Go Away!" Naruto didn't feel like talking to anyone for the rest of his life. No one knew how he felt.

"…naruto?" A subdued voice came from outside his bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

Without getting an answer, Sakura tentatively opened the door and slowly slide into the completely dark room. The pink haired girl's eyes were a faded green, not like the vibrant sea foam ones she used to have. Seeing the blonde boy wrapped up tightly in bed made her heart ache. Just looking at Naruto reminded her of Sasuke.

"What?" Naruto's toned hurt Sakura. Never before had Naruto ever raised his voice to the girl. Sakura always knew that Naruto had liked her; she had even used that at times in order to get closer to Sasuke. Since graduating from high school, though, Naruto had gotten over his childhood crush, whereas Sakura had kept her crush on Sasuke. But now, the thing before her was just a shell, a form of a boy totally drunk on his own misery. Naruto would never act like this and it made Sakura want to cry.

"I…wanted to know if you needed anything. Food? A bath?"

"Leave me alone." Naruto rolled over and faced the opposite wall.

"You need to talk about this. It's not healthy to just stay holed up in here. Sasuke wouldn't want this"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME, HUH! All you ever did was hang around and gush over Sasuke. Was he even a person to you? You know NOTHING about Sasuke!"

Sakura had had enough. She jumped onto the bed and buried her head into Naruto's blanketed shoulder. Tears rolled down her face and soaked into the fabric. Her words were laced with compassion as she tried to bring back the old Naruto.

"Naruto, I care about you! I care about Sasuke! –sob- Weren't we all friends? Aren't I hurt too by this situation? You're not alone in this. You're not the only one hurting inside." Warm tears began to subside as the pink haired girl's sadness turned to annoyance and anger. She picked her head off of Naruto's wet shoulder.

"If you want to stew in self pity and regret, then so be it! But don't you dare say that I don't understand! Don't you dare think that others don't feel the same way. If Sasuke saw you like this, he'd never stop nagging you. Only the weak dwell on the past. Once you get off this misery wallowing of yours, then call me. You don't look to good." This last statement was a last bit of caring before Sakura left the apartment.

After a few minuets of motionlessness, Naruto, defeated, rolled out of bed, dragging the bed sheets with him, and lurked into the living room. This was as far as he'd go. A little sun couldn't be all that bad.

-----

Over the next week, Naruto gradually came out of his vegtabolic state. Though certainly not close to normal, the blonde was returning to his everyday life. He still wasn't ready to go back to work, but his co-workers could wait.

A few days after the incident with Sakura, Naruto called and apologized. She gladly forgave him, seeing it as a sign of Naruto moving on with his life.

"Hey, Naruto. What do you want for dinner?" The pink haired Sakura was over at Naruto's house, after a marathon grocery shopping spree. She didn't trust Naruto to eat healthily, being that the only thing he ate was ramen and that couldn't be good; a hunter had to stay fit after all.

"Ramen."

"Like hell I'd make that for you! It's not good for you and besides, I didn't buy any."

"YOU DIDN'T?"

"Calm down. I'll make you something much better. How 'bout chicken and rice? I'm a really good cook."

"Fine," sighed the defeated blonde. 'Stupid normal food.'

After dinner, Sakura cleaned up the dishes as Naruto lounged on the couch.

"Hey…um, when do you think that…ah…you'll come back to work? We all really miss you, especially Tsunade."

"I…I don't know. All I know is that once I'm back, I'll hunt down that ass-hole Orochimaru and pop one right in his pretty little face. That'll show him." Naruto began squeezing one of the couch cushions like it was the vampire's head. Sakura, alarmed by Naruto's sudden darkness, decidedly changed the subject.

"Well, I put the rest of the food in the frig and wrapped it up. There'll be enough for several days, so don't go eating junk all the time, ok?" She walked over to the blonde and placed a small, quick kiss on his forehead.

"I see you later. Please feel better soon. I want my old Naruto back."

With that, the girl left the apartment with a wave.

Naruto sat alone once again in his quiet commode. The sun has gone down already and the blonde began to feel tired.

'Maybe I'll go back next week. I guess I could handle a few missions to get me warmed up.'

The blonde got up from the plush couch and headed to his room.

'Now that he's gone, I'll have to find a new partner. Though no one will be as good as him.' "Stupid Sasuke."

"Humf. I'm gone for a couple weeks and you start hating me already." A cool, calm, deep, and VERY familiar voice sent shock waves racing up Naruto's spine. The blonde stayed rooted to the floor, not turning around just yet.

"Who are you and what do you want? If this is some kind of a joke then it isn't funny in the least."

"My, aren't you cynical? I'd hope that my best friend would recognize my voice after so many years together. But, I guess you really are a dobe."

"I swear to god, when I turn around, you better be Kiba or someone else playing a very cruel trick or I might just die."

"Well? Go ahead, but I don't recommend dieing, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

Naruto turned around, his eyes closed. What could it hurt, just looking? His heart?

"Aren't you going to open your eyes? You can't die unless you look."

"J..just a minuet."

Naruto could feel the presence getting closer. A presence that was both familiar and different. It was colder now, not cruel but not as warm as it used to be. He felt arms envelope him, embracing him earnestly.

"I'm sorry…if…if I hurt you."

Tears were now streaming down the blonde's face, his eyes still closed.

"D..don't say it. I know you didn't mean too." The tears were pouring out now and Naruto could help but cry out; he wrapped his arms around the familiar presence and squeezes tightly.

"I…I thought you were gone forever! I felt like dieing from the grief! I…I can't believe you're back,…Sasuke."

A/N: Please Review!