-reuploaded because I never got the e-mail saying the chapter got uploaded. So just in case you didn't either!
Just a friendly reminder to all who were wondering. This fic is based on Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer. Thank you all for your time. And I am truly sorry if I have offended you, but I did mention this is based on Twilight, many times :D
The end is near D: Honestly, it's only gonna be like three chapters left. Maybe even less. I'm so sad it's almost over x( And the ending will be different from the novel, because I just can't write sequels. So yeah…no sequel. Sorry Dx
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Alrighty-o?
Chapter twelve: Your Pain
Now one might ask: why was she sitting here, in a taxi with the worst possible person you'd want to be in a taxi with? Why would she give up her friends and loved ones, and submit herself to his clutches?
The human mind is an interesting device; one that can easily be toyed and manipulated with. Especially if you're capable of loving.
Flashback
Hinata opened her eyes and found herself in a dark, cramped closet with this glasses-clad stranger. He began to mutter some foreign words under his breath, and when he finished a purple light emitted from his hands. Everything, minus herself and the strange man, seemed to freeze in time. She swatted a coat; her fingers passed right through it.
He chuckled. "Scream, kick, do whatever you want. But you and I are frozen in time."
She quivered with fear as the light from his glowing hands illuminated his face. She didn't need to ask who he was; at least, what he was. Her instincts told her to run, scream, and kick, but she had learned that it'd only motivate him further.
"Hello. I believe you've heard of my master...the Snake?"
Hinata sank to the ground, covering her hands with her face. She had been expecting this; they had warned her many times. So why did it feel so scary? "What do you want?" She couldn't stutter; everything was looking too hopeless for her.
She felt like throwing up as his scaly hands covered her hands, ripping them from her face. "Well isn't it obvious my dear? It's not me that wants something, it's him. And he wants you." He zeroed in on her, like a predator stalking its prey. His face didn't look enchanting like her friends; it looked vile, and grotesque.
He seized a patch of her luminescent hair, deeply inhaling its floral scent. "My...you do smell nice." He frowned. "It's a shame I can't drink you right here...right now." He chuckled, releasing her hair. "Feel lucky, Miss Hinata, that he has interest in you. You're spared; for now, anyway. But let's not dwell too far into the future."
It felt like a snake, coiling its tight body around her frail neck. He leered at her with those cold, beady eyes. "I see doubt in your eyes, Hinata. 'What makes you think I'll go with you?' Is that what you're thinking? Well, you're wrong." His grin was the most sinister, vile thing she'd ever seen. "Because you'll follow me. You'll obey me."
"J-Just take me now then!" Kill me now, kill me already!!! Just spare my friends...please...
"Oh, I couldn't possibly kidnap you. Not with that bastard Uchiha, or the old man in the way. In fact, I've only a few minutes left. So you'll do as I say. Do you know why?" He creeped up behind her, whispering in her ear. "Think about it, Hinata. How long before they get sick of you? Grow tired of hauling around your dead weight? How long until the throw you away like they did with their previous toys?"
She closed her opalescent eyes, but he was closer than ever as his words tangled through the inner workings of her brain.
"You know, he never gives up. You've got eight powerful vampires on your side." She could feel his blood-stained teeth, leering at her. "He'll love the challenge. Look around you, Hinata. At all the pretty faces. He always wins."
When she opened her eyes, she was astounded at how concerned his eyes were, and how tenderly they gazed down at her. So much sympathy and grief was entwined in his dark eyes that Hinata was almost convinced. Almost.
He could care less about the emotional burden placed onto her shoulders: to be forever happy, or to sacrifice everything for the sake of her friends. All he cared about was taking for to her inevitable demise.
Kabuto gently rubbed her shoulders, in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture.
"Protect your friends." His icy breath made the hairs on her neck stand on end. "Save them, and come with me…now here's what you do:"
"As soon as they find you, they'll pack their bags and head to the nearest hotel. You are not to say a word during this time. At nine, I'll have a taxi waiting outside the door. Don't think; just get in. You have two minutes to make it, or else you can bid your dear friends farewell. The choice is yours, Hinata. Spare your friends, or selfishly cling onto their precious protection forever like the burden you are.
The spectators could only look on with sadness in their eyes as two power houses collided against each other with mind-numbing force. A kaleidoscope of blue and orange swirled around their lithe bodies as they exchanged blow after blow.
Neji's time with them had been brief, and he couldn't understand what good fighting would do in such a dire situation. He glanced at all of the solemn faces; even Gaara and Shino's usual passive pretense was painted with undertones of tension and apathy. Kiba had long since stalked off; he didn't want to talk.
And Tenten? Her eyes lacked their lively golden sheen; she looked sad and exhausted.
She laced her fingers through his, hanging onto them like they were a source of life support. "I know. But this is the only way they can cope."
"But why Naruto? What reason could he have for being mad at Sasuke?"
Tenten shook her head. "No one's mad at anybody. If anything, they're mad at themselves." She could tell that Neji was confused. "Think about it. In a situation like this, we can only blame ourselves like I'm sure you're doing at this very moment. I am too. Right now, this is as hopeless as it gets. We don't know where she is, why she's gone, she could even be a spy for them."
His porcelain eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't tell me you believe that."
She turned to face him, looking at him square in the eye. "No. No I don't. But the point? We don't know anything. So what can we do? Fight. The wounds never last, the exterior ones anyway."
Naruto hissed as Sasuke's claws scathed into his back, leaving behind angry, jagged streaks of black. All he could think about as he bit into Sasuke's shoulder was the last time he'd seen her; how it was all his fault. He felt hurt, and obviously betrayed; tricked, even. But most of all he felt hate: towards himself.
The others always joked around about how clueless he was, or how laughably low his grades were even after a century of studying. But, as he replayed that fateful moment in his head, he truly felt stupid for the first time in his life.
Sasuke had to ram Naruto's head against a thick tree to get him to let go. There was no pain in his shoulder, but only inside of his chest.
That morning, it was like a current of electricity flowing through them. They all felt it, and exchanged looks.
What happened after, Sasuke wasn' t too sure of, but he vaguely remembered plowing the others out of his way as he ran out of the room and dashed towards the elevator. He wrenched open the staircase and leaped down the staircases like a panther.
It was like he was on another one of his nighttime excursions. Sasuke allowed his animalistic instincts to overcome him as he did anything to get there in haste. It only took four seconds for him to fly down fourteen flights of stairs. But it didn't take long to realize that he was four seconds too late.
The transformation from human to vampire is a painful, tedious process. The venom slowly spreads from the wound and courses through the heart, creating an eternal bond between the two souls of the predator and prey. Once the heart stops beating, the transformation is complete. Sasuke could remember the pain, but what he remembered most was the cold wave that washed over his body, and stayed there for good.
Still, as he opened the hotel door and was greeted by a rainbow of cars, the cold within him could not be rivaled. He frantically whipped his head around, looking for any sign of the car that could be carrying her away from him. No sign of her anywhere.
Uchiha Sasuke was no fool; he knew that it was impossible to know where she was now. The message reverberated through his head loud and clear; she was gone.
Why she left, where she was going, why the world had to be so screwed up and cruel, he did not question. Tearlessly, he sank to the ground, curling up into a ball; just like when he was a child.
He snarled in anger, kicking Naruto squarely in the jaw and sending both of them hurtling towards the ground. Sasuke viciously sank his claws into Naruto's already battered abdomen. This is why he hated to feel things!
Slash.
He only ended up getting hurt!
Slice.
Why even bother risking it if this was how it always turned out!? It was easier feeling nothing at all!
Slit.
It hurt too much….
And all through this, Naruto simply laid there as Sasuke pinned him to the ground and continued to hack him into his mutilated body. Silenty, obediently, he accepted the beating. In a way, they were in the process of burying the hatchet for good. Sasuke continued to maul Naruto, admitting that he did point some of the blame at Naruto. And as Naruto simply took the beatings, he acknowledged that he accepted that responsibility. It was the way they functioned; words were too complicated.
Absently, Naruto watched as every cut Sasuke made in his skin restored themselves within seconds. His ocean blue eyes drifted to the painfully contorted face of his best friend and sighed.
If only he could heal the wounds of other people. Wounds that bleed on the inside.
Hinata used her thoughts to preoccupy herself from the fear that caused the trembling in her knees. She probably should be afraid. Or worried, at least.
But as the scenery rushed passed her in a blur of vibrant Technicolor, she was washed in a rush of relief and contentment. Ever since she had met Sasuke and the others, Hinata had been filled with an overwhelming sense of guilt and inferiority. They had to sacrifice a lot just to be in her presence. She pretended not to, but Hinata could feel their eyes linger on her neck for just a little too long.
They fed her, clothed her in the most stylish attire (Tenten had created her into a real live my-size Barbie), and taken her into their home. They had entrusted her with their most dangerous secret, while they had every reason to dispose of her.
She always knew her fairy tale would have an ending; that she'd wake up from this dream that she had been fortunate enough to have dreamt. It would've been nice to stay in this dream and pretend to be oblivious, but it was high time that Hinata face her problems head on, all by herself.
"You're free from me, Sasuke! Finally free…" Her eyes slowly floated to her hands. "What are you, 100 years old?"
The fear shined in her eyes as Kabuto pulled into an alley and looked at her. "Well…live 100 more…for me."
As Kabuto carried her on his back towards the hidden tavern, she could feel her soul fly away from her, leaving her an empty, detached shell. At the same time, she turned her head towards a walnut tree where one white dove stood among eight ravens. As all hope and feeling left her, she watched as the white dove readied its wings and flew away….
I know this chapter didn't seem too eventful, but it's building up her the next few chapters. Thank you all for reading :D