In talking, shyness and timidity distort the very meaning of my words. I don't pretend to know anybody well. People are like shadows to me and I am like a shadow. Gwen John
An explosion of artificial coloured chemicals caused the crowd of underdressed and cold mortals to gasp in amazement. The predator within the group ground his teeth and twisted his head, yearning for the taste of sweet tainted blood. Not a virgin's, something sophisticated, deliciously experienced in the ways of the world, complex, not simple and sweet.
But he wanted young, he wanted sugar not a young prostitute. Why did the world have to be so complicated? His teeth grinded in his mouth, his body impatient for some form of blood trickling down his eternally parched throat.
A footstep sounded behind him.
It wasn't human, even in this crowd he could tell, with so many people. This step, the perfect folding of grass underneath was precise, perfect, correct. Definitely not one of these pathetic omnivores that he walked amongst. Another predator.
Stonger, faster and strangely, younger. Knowing when to quit, he ran.
Behind him Itachi smirked as he took note of the enemy, then stopped to admire the short lived beauty of the blossoming fireworks, the coloured embers. But to the humans in the crowd, all they saw was lone stranger, tired and haggard, watching the fireworks with a critical eye.
"Sakuke, you can't wear those shoes in this mud! It'll ruin them!" Shouted Sakura
"Ano," Chimed in Hinata, "You m-may very well ruin them,"
"Hn," Sasuke replied, agreeing but disagreeing as he played mind games with Sakura.
She took one look at the shoes in their current condition. The tossed her bubblegum hair up and took Hinata by the arm, linking their elbows together. "You'll be sorry," Was all she said before stomping off towards the queue to get in.
Sasuke watched the two with their interlocked arms as they walked, making notice of Hinata's bare arm gleaming in the moonlight. The girl did have rather nice elbows.
He shook his head after the traitorous thought, shaking it out of his system. The girls had gone in, but Naruto hadn't arrived yet, Trust the bum to be late. He took out his iPhone to play something to kill time. Fall out Boy? Lost Prophets? He chose Innerpartysystem and grouched, looking cold and hungry as his headphones stung like ice in his ears. Behind him fireworks exploded showering stars of flying embers downwards.
He would have to go in soon because he wouldn't be able to see the Catharine wheels. He gazed over the horizon and gazed into the distance, his breath forming mist and his feet aching because he didn't have socks on.
A man ran out of the display gates. Sasuke watched him with disinterest. "Sasuke-teme!"
He could have hit him, shouted, screamed or thrown a hissy fit where he ripped out his hair and rolled around on the floor. "About time idiot," was his uncreative reply.
"Where are the girls?"
"Gone in, they were missing out,"
"Right," Naruto led the two in, paying and getting their hands stamped. "Geeze,"
Sasuke actually turned to look at Naruto's discomfort, revealing to any observer he was actually interested in the boy, which he mentally cursed himself for. If he had owned less of a reserve of resistance, maybe he too would have allowed a form of disappointment past his lips, though it was taken that he would be rather less polite than Naruto.
There were so many people, mainly families with young kids and teenagers messing about near the back with mini-fireworks and sparklers, Like a sea of rippling waves they stood still, but moved. To the side stood a stall with an extraordinarily long queue.
"I reckon Sakura will have pushed to the front by now," Said Naruto, who Sasuke dipped his head to in solemn agreement.
They pushed through the layers of crowd. Through the mud, which covered Sasuke's converses as Sakura had feared. He smirked in the light as he was sure nobody would see. He would have to chuck them now after this, but not after one last night.
Over the last month he had noticed the holes and tears. It was time to say goodbye to a long friend in the best way possible, like a Viking sea burial.
"Damn it," Came from Naruto.
Sasuke was pushed out of his trance. "I really can't see them, where do you recon they are?"
Sasuke shrugged and took advantage of the giggling gaggle of girls at the front who quickly analysed him and Naruto to quickly allow them placement whilst throwing stares at the two. Sasuke leaned on the rail and watched the men in florescent jackets running to and fro, lighting fireworks.
Was it wrong to wish that one should accidentally fall and burn, screaming and calling for help as everyone panicked and even the specialised medics stood in awe of the gore of the males burning face, hands, toes, fingers…everything.
Again, twice that night, he shook his murderous brain in the hope that his thoughts would go away and focused his sole thoughts on the endless blabbering of Naruto.
But it kept coming back, the thought that mans face half coated in mud and the rest of it burning. Or the urge to push the pregnant woman off the station when she stands too close to the edge. His thoughts kept creeping back to morbid and disturbing topics, and Sasuke couldn't control it.
He was going to be mad like his brother.
He was mad like his brother.
It was only a matter of time before he killed everyone.
He shook his head again, feeling light-headed with that thought. Not many things frightened Sasuke, horror movies and the real vampire girl with fangs didn't.
Blood and Itachi did.
His head reeled and he looked up to see at least twenty fireworks explode at once, burning light onto his retina.
Blue and Green and Purple and Gold. Not red. Not red.
Not red like mother's blood seeping into the floorboards.
"Ahhh, weeeeeee, It's blue! Why don't they have orange, I mean they have gol-" Sasuke collapsed on Naruto's shoulder. The girls beside them giggled even more, and Naruto turned red at the implication.
"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura bust through the crowd, Hinata following, almost like a lost puppy following a stranger.
Then she saw Sasuke, "…Sasuke-kun!"
She took him from Naruto and cradled his head in his arms, taking him down to the floor, "Somebody, call an ambulance!"
"Ano, Sakura-chan, this is a public display… there's a ambulance b-by the barbeque," Hinata said simply, trying not to sound so happy because she had been useful.
Taking note of Hinata's words Naruto picked up Sasuke's torso and left the girls for his legs. Then dragged him out of the crowd into the direction of the cooking smell. It felt like thousands of beetling eyes were observing them, and Hinata found herself going red, whilst the other two didn't even notice.
The medics came and helped when they got him over there. They actually woke Sasuke up, who angrily looked at his friends and practically spat "I didn't need help," before he keeled over again.
"Anyone wanna hot dog, I mean, they are right by us?"
The two girls glared at him, though Hinata couldn't really bring herself to do that as he smiled, and inevitably, she blushed.
"Are you crazy? Sasuke's dying and you want a hot dog?!" was all Sakura could say.
Naruto shrugged. "Whatever, Sasuke's cool, he just got up then,"
"To fall back down!"
Hinata watched the two bicker as she sat down and observed the fireworks dance as they exploded. Beside her Sasuke groaned and half opened his eyes. "What are you looking at?" Was the best he could muster.
She smiled, lip lace curling, "Fireworks," He remained silent, and the medics turned to fuss over a teen who had burnt himself from a sparkler. She decided to elaborate. "Fireworks are like a physical metaphor for human life… they rise from nothing, then everything suddenly explodes…becomes amazing, and everyone is so caught up in the jubil-ant sound of the explosion they don't see that they have ultimately caused their own destruction,"
"Progress doesn't mean that the world will end," Sasuke replied, almost worried by her view.
"No, the presence of humanity does. Progress makes it ever so closer, Humans will bring about their own destruction,"
"I HATE YOU NARUTO! WHY CAN'T YOU BE NORMAL!"
"NORMAL LIKE YOU!?"
"I doubt it," answered Sasuke, "Evolution is natural…" He paused for lack of a better argument.
"I've been alive for over four-hundred years," Sasuke's head snapped to hers, "And that is my conclusion… I-I am more experienced in these matters,"
"You're four-hundred?"
"You wouldn't know it, ne?"
"YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR RAMEN AND BOARDING!"
"I CARE PLENTY ABOUT STUFF, SAKURA!"
"I lived in Japan as a child. It was nice, if I remember well, I-I was born in…1588,"
"You lied,"
"Huh?"
"You're four hundred and twenty one,"
"Really? Oh, I didn't-t realise, h-how silly," She giggled nervously, a blue firework scoring blue tracks across her soft face. He tried to move himself up, to do something that couldn't be conceived as illness. Allowing his hand to flex he moved it upwards. Sakura noticed the movement and grabbed his hand eagerly. "Sasuke, you're ok," She began to cuddle it, caressing it. "I was so worried," She whispered in her softest voice.
He snapped his hand back. "I'm going home,"
"B-but Sasuke-kun, the fire-"
"I don't care," He got up and began to limp away, obviously in pain, but also obviously hiding it. Sakura knew better than to go after him, knowing he would take it as insult.
"Ano- I'm s-sorry Sakura-chan, S-Sasuke-san's bus is the same as mine… I was t-told by father no-not to go by myself, Ano- I'm so sorry," She jogged away from Sakura's disappointed face, and ran to Sasuke's side. Who again, wholly ignored her.
They exited together, leaving the fireworks and their friends behind, and Hinata couldn't resist turning to try and see the two. There were too many people, it was too dark, but to extend her senses outward, that family knack of hers, and she could see the two as they gazed together at the fireworks, Naruto happily chewing on a hamburger. Hinata couldn't help but smile, happy they were not arguing for the moment, but also worried, for a shadow of doubt caressed Sakura's elfin face.
Then she walked into Sasuke's back.
Something was wrong, he was tense, from his shoulder blades to his tendons. Hinata peeked over his shoulder.
A lone man stood in the field. His eyes like a cats, pointed and black, sparked with the flame of intelligence. Wisps of loose hair fell around his face, the rest tied back into a smooth ponytail. His face was aged beyond his years, two lines running down his face, his lips thin. Hinata gasped and gulped for air when the sensation of strength hit her like a wave.
"Itachi," Escaped from Sasuke's mouth, like a wish longed for years.
"Little Brother," was the reply.
Sasuke began charging, almost screaming in his desire to punch, kick, throttle, burn, and Hinata felt that heat like she was burning.
"SASU-" She screamed forgetting half his name as she sped forward and skidded in front of him, her own dead lump of skin flexing and stretching to get in front.
Her arm protected him, she faced the man, the vampire still unmoving.
"Get off, Get off, he's mine, the bastard's mine, get out of this," Sasuke spat, screaming like a cat as he tore at her arm, too cold and frozen to move.
"He's the same," She whispered, too soft for his hardened ears.
He pushed her off, glaring at his brother having lost momentum from his run. Itachi surveyed the scene with critical eye. "What do you mean?" was Sasuke's hissed response,
"He's a vampire… We need to get out of h-here,"
Sasuke took another glance. Itachi blinked for a moment slowly curving his thin lips, "If you want to kill me, you'll have to become the same, you'll have to become a vampire…But you know that already, you need to become stronger,"
Sasuke nearly ran again but Hinata tightened her grip. Clenching her tiny but strong fingers into his arm, Sasuke couldn't wrangle his arm out of her grip. His brother smiled, mocking his weakness.
"I have better things to do,"
Itachi burst into a flock of crows. Sasuke gave up and fell to his knees in snarling defeat. Hinata stood awestruck, her pearly eyes surveying the powerful residue. "We-We'd better get home, ne?"
"Piss off" He snapped, his body taunt as he stood up,
"B-bu-"
"You're pathetic! How dare you!"
"I wanted to help!" She quietly shouted, that oxymoron was definitely hers.
He stormed off, his face contorted. Hinata almost smiled. His ugliness was almost beautiful, and considering his brother was a vampire, and those words… It was only a matter of time before Sasuke came back to her, if he needed to become vampire. It was only a matter of time. And she wanted a friend, and If she was right, Sakura wouldn't want her anymore.
"I'm still worried that your family won't like me,"
"Considering you're a vampire Ten-Ten there's nothing they can really do,"
"Yes…" Ten-Ten sulked, tasting the English words in her mouth. English was so ugly to her native French, a beautiful lilt was added to her every word.
"If you want to do anything more-"
She almost jumped at the opportunity.
"You could learn Japanese, after all, we are originally from Japan, I feel I ought to go back for the skiing one day, It's awfully atmospheric,"
Considering they were in the car outside the Hyuga house, Neji was implicating that she learnt Japanese after going into the daunting house. Damn her arrogant and socially retarded fiancé.
"Neji! Neji-Niisan," Came a soft voice through the car window.
Ten-Ten looked at her. As her old school friend Lee would say, Golly Gosh! She was a very pretty girl, In a soft feminine way, button nose and pink lips. She even shared the same eyes of Neji, though they were softer, girly. Ten-Ten decided that she needed a little more backbone.
The girl smiled a little more, almost like she could tell what Ten-Ten was thinking, and it offended her. It was almost creepy.
"H-Hello Ten-Ten, Welcome to our family, I'm Hinata-chan," The girl stuttered, breaking any thoughts of strength Ten-Ten had thought she had.
But she brown haired girl found herself smiling, a little more so when she got fully out of the car and realised that she was taller and skinnier than Hinata. The house was huge, and Ten-Ten was cowed by it, but Hinata's quick step found Ten-Ten following her. It was only when Ten-Ten stepped over the threshold of the house and came face to face with the family Hyuga that she realised that she hadn't told the girl anything.
*NOTE FROM CLUE*
Thanks for reading, I'm a bit late (My memory stick went through the wash) I'm going to take a little break for November, (I have exams to worry about) But December I'll be back for, so I hope you don't all hate me! I'm going to leave you on this fun note, with a bit of cliff-hanger, and I think I like Hinata being just a little evil. It's fun to watch XD.
Thank you ^^