Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update, I've been a little busy helping with VBS at my church and other miscellaneous activities.

I hope you guys aren't too mad at me.

This chapter's a little short, but we're leading up to the big climax next chapter!

Please review, and thanks for reading!

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How we made it back to the hotel, I don't know, but I awoke the next day with a pounding headache and a strange feeling of hunger in the back of my throat. Sasuke had collapsed on top of his sleeping bag much in the same way I had.

He had rolled over my arm in the middle of the night, and now it was asleep, plus I couldn't help but watch his face when he was passed out next to me.

He really was beautiful, even with his skinny nose, and thin lips and dark eyebrows, and long eyelashes, and …wow. I really got it bad.

He can never know.

So I pulled my arm from under him as quietly as possible, and turned my back to him for several more hours of restless sleep.

---

I awoke again around two in the afternoon, absolutely starving. Sasuke was I the shower by the sounds of it, and I decided to lie in bed for several more minutes, staring at the walls.

Sasuke suddenly emerged from the bathroom clad in a towel, hair streaming water onto the beige carpet. He looked a little surprised to see me, and I could only watch a bead of water roll down his torso. He snatched up a pile of clothes off the bed and hurried back to the bathroom.

He had forgotten them.

I dressed out of my clubbing outfit and started frying some ground beef. It had barely started turning brown before my hunger got the best of me and I ate it steaming hot and half raw.

It wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped it would be, and was left barely sated, and half craving more.

I cracked three raw eggs into a bowl and downed them.

I needed more.

Sasuke emerged from the bathroom at that time, and I pounced, lunging for his neck as I held down his arms.

H let out a startled yell before my mouth was on his neck, trying to draw blood. When it entered my mouth—tangy, hot, and sweet—I came to my senses. I was still sitting on Sasuke, and he was lying still, not moving , looking at me with wild eyes.

"Sasuke, I think I'm in trouble." I let him stand.

---

"So am I really a vampire now? Or is the VE1 mutating?" he looked at me from the window, night had just fallen.

"I don't know Sakura. I think we should contact Tsunade."

"I think that's a good Idea. If I really am a vampire, I don't want to be one for longer than necessary." Sasuke's eyes lit up.

"Wait…what if we used you to infiltrate the warehouse tonight. Now that it's possible you're a real vampire, they might accept you easier than me. Plus you could probably act more convincing than me. You're a born actress."

"I don't know if I should take that as a complement. How long do we have until the pickup? Did you alert the ANBU? "
"The pickup is anytime after ten. I ordered three humans. Two men and a woman. You have to keep them occupied. I ordered the ANBU in last night, and gave them the address. If one of us doesn't show, they won't come out."

"So I'm bait?!" No way in hell was I letting him use me as bait.

"Ill stay a block behind you. My brother might be there. " A thought struck me.

"What about Orochimaru? What if he's there? He's not exactly a person I want to face. He's Tsunade's level, and I can't even take down Shizune without coming out half dead. Then again, she's been an apprentice since I was born…"

"Sakura stop rambling." He grabbed my arm, comforting, not painful. "You can do it. You can take of yourself, I should know. You did kick my ass a long time ago." I smiled

"True. I did, and don't you forget it." There was a moment of silence, and with his hand on my arm, I felt reality smack me in the face. The mission was priority….Oh, screw it. "Sasuke? When all of this is over do you think you might want to...be mission partners with me?" (That's like asking someone to go steady in the organization.)

He hesitated a moment, and even as my heart started to drop, he was kissing me, and it was perfect. We separated, but his hand moved down to entwine with mine.

"Can we talk about that road when we come to it?" he asked.

"Sure thing."

---

It was 9:30, night had settled in long ago, and Sasuke and I were disinfecting syringes for use against the vampires.

"So Sasuke, do you want to tell me about what happened with your brother?" He sighed.

"Are you sure you really want to know?"

"Of course."

"Well, because my family was one of the founders of the Organization when the virus started mutating, it was tradition to become an agent. I was six, or seven I think, when I started training in Martial Arts. My brother was thirteen at the time, and already a full agent. I remember that he went on a special undercover mission. He fell in with the wrong crowd. He came back a vampire, but this was about a year before the cure was created, so no one could stop him. He killed my mother..and my father…and everyone."

"He didn't kill you, though."

"Sometimes I wish he had."

"Sasuke…."

"No, it's okay. He got away with it. He joined that awful horde. I hope he rots in Hell for what he did. For what he's done." He was shaking in fury and grief, but not a tear escaped his eyes.