What atonement is there for blood spilt upon the earth?
Aeschylus
Ino was an artist in the great tradition of pretence. She spent hours on her eyes to make her pupils larger through illusion and bronzer and blusher to tone her cheek-bones. She used a highlighter to slim down her nose, and a moisturiser base to protect her skin.
Foundation covered her imperfections, and base powder concealed. Lipstick covered her lips, the glossy finish reflecting light and her eyebrows were plucked and shaded. Her eyelids were tinted purple and silver, her eyelashes thick with brown mascara.
She lazily gazed at her reflection, and silently criticised her work.
She really was a perfectionist.
Her new boyfriend, Sai was expected to come, and she could already hear the dance music and shouts from her wannabe friends and her real, old friends from younger education.
She would have run her hands through her hair were it not for the fact it was straightened to perfection.
Everything was planned, everyone was coming, the buffet was set out and she had chosen the dance music. The pool was clean, her parents out, the bedrooms locked, and she was beautiful in a purple dress and black leggings.
Time to let her hair down and party!
The music sucked, it was November and it wasn't even Ino's birthday, and the weather was too cold to go in the pool. Irrevocably Sasuke grouched and glared around him, looking for Hinata and possibly Sakura. He'd lost Naruto to some of the wannabes that Ino hung round, and six of them were practically draped over his arms. Obviously the lynx was doing the job.
Kibahung round with Naruto, enjoying the company of females and a similarly minded male. Shino glowered, not really knowing how to place himself within a social circle.
Choji was here too, but unfortunately he hadn't realised the punch was spiked with vodka. He was throwing up in the pool, so it was a good thing that it was too cold for anyone to swim. He could she Shikamaru softly kissing some pretty girl with blond hair, and two red heads beside them, one comically laughing at the two whilst the shorter antisocially rolled a cigarette by the poolside.
And almost as if sensing his own glare, the stare was returned by a pair of ringed eyes, and drawn into the jaded centres of those daunting eyes.
Something about him was hugely attractive. His dark wild and red hair.
Blood blood blood.
His darkened eyes, the kanji of love on his forehead, not a tattoo but a scar on his perfect face. His chin a pointed curve and his lips thin but soft, even from where he was standing, he could tell those lips were totally kissable. In fact, those lonesome lips yearned for some attention.
Sasuke found himself walking over, introducing himself like a normal person would, his black personality being drowned and drenched in those silent jade eyes. No, it was nothing like drowning, drowning would be a sweet embrace compared to the acidic scalding of his eyes.
He could sense some disgust emanating from the young man, a narrowing of the eyes and a curl to his lips. And ever so unlike himself, Sasuke found himself forming apologies he didn't know his mouth could form without sarcasm.
And yet the young man looked on him with something akin to disgust.
And the worst thing was that it shook Sasuke that he was being rejected, that his vanity was overwhelming sense, and that he was over-whelmed by the great complexity of another.
An all too familiar cold arm snaked round his, and slowly tugged him back into reality.
"S-Sasuke, are you f-feeling well? You look awfully pale…"
He would have reprimanded her for the comment, save for the fact that he was internally celebrating his attractiveness to the opposite sex, even frigid vampires, and he still was in a love-drunk stupor over the red head's rather lovely face.
She pulled him away backward. Still smiling at the young man and gripping Sasuke's arm. Something changed in the man, the look of disgust…of self-hatred, not directed at Sasuke, but rather, at something else beyond comprehension.
That's when he realised, there was no music, and ever since he had noticed the red head, the world had literally paused in motion, and he, Hinata and the young man were the last ones moving.
But the young man wasn't entrancingly beautiful anymore. Like a huge mould growing on the surface, even under the skin of the young man. Sand began to pour out of his nose, slowly in drips, and boiling and growing until it covered his head and body.
"Ano- I-it's a pleasant experience to meet you Mr…?"
"Shukuku," emitted an unearthly voice, unnaturally gritty and course to pour out of fine lips.
"H-hello Mr Shukuku, what are you doing possessing Gaara-kun?" Hinata smiled her lace lip whilst Sasuke resisted the urge to vomit.
The boy/beast grinned, contorting Gaara's face into a painful grimace.
"W-what are you doing? W-why are you planting false I-images in poor Gaara-kun's head?"
The thing grinned even more. "It's fun. It's fun to see his face when I show him what it would be like to kill his sister, brother, his mother all the time, I like it when I take over and implant messages in his head, that I've stolen," He grinned to boast at his huge achievement.
"He thinks he's a monster," Sasuke burst out.
Hinata smiled in mock appreciation, only to suddenly throw herself into Sasuke, and push him backwards, their arms entangled and bodies pressed together as they fell into the pool.
The surface broke like shards of glass, and the world fell back into tangled reality. Basshunter was playing, everyone was laughing, and Hinata and Sasukehad fallen into the particular patch of swimming pool with Choji's puke polluting the surface. Not to mention that the pool was bloody freezing.
Hrm, and it looked like Choji had eaten sweet-com, because those lumps were in Sasuke's hair. Then again, Hinata had happened to surface in a puddle of beige, so perhaps he was the luckier considering the slop shining on her lilac dress as she tried to pull herself out of the pool, but her dress weiged her down, and she ended doing a fantastic flop sideways to get herself out.
All those wannabes laughed at her with malice in her eyes, and Hinata cowered in their devilish sights, her inner strength forgotten in the face of the all mighty wannabes.
Sasuke pulled himself out and stood and glowered by her, sending a stare of death towards the idiotic girls, and pulled Hinata away, holding her hand.
Sakura didn't miss that action.
He pushed through the crowd to the house, noticing that Gaara was still where he originally was, however, he'd lit the cigarette, and refused to look Sasuke's way.
"Don't touch anything, it's my parent's house!" Screamed Ino before getting back to socialising with her new boyfriend around her waist.
It was pretty easy to find the bathroom considering Ino lived in a pretty large house, and quickly Sasuke turned the sink taps on and shoved his head under, attempting to get the terrible smelling vomit out of his perfect hair.
"It's a sleep demon,"
"Hn,"
"O-ok I t-thought you might be interested, I'm s-"
"I am interested. Continue,"
"O-oh I-I"
"Stop stuttering too, you're supposed to be stronger,"
"Why?"
"You're a vampire," said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"T-that's a l-little s-stereotypical, ne?"
"Shut up and continue," Then he remembered that he was supposed to be nice to the girl, wasn't he supposed to be seducing her?
"W-Well," She continued unperturbed, "The…thing inside o-of…It was Gaara right?"
"Yeah,"
"It's a sleep demon, It lies in w-wait until the victim, Gaara, Falls asleep. Then the body becomes his o-own, It's really horrid what people end up doing. A-ahd, it's s-strong too, I-its actually a-accumulated dreams o-of another vampire, and has been f-forcing th-them on Gaara. As you s-said-"
"He thinks he's a monster,"
"Uh-huh,"
An awkward silence fell between the two. It fell to Sasuke to correct it.
"How do we help the guy?" internally he hated that he was asking, and didn't already have the knowledge, because that was a form of weakness.
"Help?" She tasted the question, weighing up the validity. "We c-could kill him?"
"What?!" Sasuke stared at her, "But that's wrong, you can't just kill like that!"
"What purpose do people fill? Does human life have a w-worth?" She looked into him with cold white eyes.
Sasuke looked shocked at the girl, now more vampire and inhuman than he could have thought. Then he was reminded of his mother, her blood on his face, how he could hear her crying out to Itachi to not touch him, and his brother too, His brothers inhuman red eyes.
If he wanted to become vampire, he had to free himself from these human thoughts of morals, and become superior to such small thoughts.
The small, timid girl stood in front of him, beckoning him into a new form of living nightmare.
"You're not a monster." Naruto was calm, and relieved to hear his own voice speak so clearly and concisely.
"Pardon?" came the voice of a surprised red-head.
"You're the same, you're the same as me, I really, really cannot believe I'm meeting someone like this," Naruto smiled widely. "I've got the fox inside me, and he said-"
"You're the same?" Gaara gasped, his eyes becoming wider. "You have the same problems?"
"Well, I can control it, like, and I can also do stuff when I wanna, and it's like totally cool, you know, yeah?"
"Control," Gaara revered the word. "I cannot control the beast inside of me," he admitted. "I'm afraid of what it will do if I loose control,"
"It happens, you've gotta learn to accept the consequences of… the power I guess," Naruto bowed his head, "I guess, I've done things, stupid things, I wish I had never done, When I get angry… that's the trigger,"
"Sleep, that's mine,"
"Bummer, no wonder you look like a druggie,"
"Oh, thanks," Gaara spat,
"No offence meant dude,"
They were an odd pair, walking home in the dark. One blond, tall and muscular. The other short, red-headed, and sickly thin. "So how do you know Ino?"
"My sister's dating a friend of hers…you?" Gaara subconsciously began to collect information on the man beside him.
"Went to primary school with the girl, haven't talked to her since like…. Primary school. Somehow I have her email, hotmail, mobile, home phone, and fax number thanks to Sakura,"
"Friend?" Gaara politely enquired,
"The best. I like her too, but she's in love with this other dude, and I can't compete with Sasuke,"
"He's got black hair, yes…handsome?"
"That's the bastard,"
"What's he doing with the vampire girl?"
"VAMPIRE!" Naruto shouted.
"The pretty girl, sort of shy, white eyes and long dark hair,"
"HINATA-CHAN!"
"Hn, isn't towards the sun a stupid name for a vampire?"
"I s-sounded awfully horrid then, I'm a-awfully sorry,"
Sasuke spun round to meet Hinatapawing at the ground with her left foot, "I'm sorry if I disturbed you then, I f-forget,"
"It doesn't matter" he muttered, and turned away, pacing down the sidewalk,
"Which one is your house?" It had rather been chivalrous action to actually waste his time to see her off. Tomorrow he planned to visit that psychopathic psychiatrist Dr. Orochimaru.
"No! It really does!"
He turned back to her, almost doing quizzical brows. He was surprised to find her gripping the lamppost, her other hand covering her face as she hiccupped tears and shook as the orange light hummed above her. "I-I hate it when, I say such things! I've seen s-so many things! I'veseen too m-much! I can't ever get close to anyone because I can sense things too acutely, and my father despises me!" She hiccupped.
The problem was that Sasuke didn't know how to acutely place himself. He could stand here and listen, but surely the girl needed a form of contact? A hug would be way too intimate, and she would feel overwhelmed by the contact.
He bent forward and gently tapped her shoulder. She snivelled and sniffed the air, breaking into a fake smile. "You smell healthy this evening,"
"…Cheers," replied Sasuke slightly perturbed.
Then for the second time that evening there was another hesitant and heavy silence.
"I p-promise to never say anything l-like that ever again," Another tear fell down her face.
"It's a deal…and look it's not like you can help it, you've seen so much and everything" he paused, thinking, "And I guess, when you've been around, and watched people get old… and stuff, It happens, you loose humanity,"
"I've tried so hard to keep it intact,"
"You didn't stutter,"
She smiled, and he was relieved, then she paused, biting her lip. "Are your weaknesses blood and…weakness itself?"
Sasuke responded by looking at her with an obvious glare.
"Ano, I'm sorry,"
"Hn," He turned away to drop his hand from her shoulder, only to feel it meet another lump of flesh. Unknowingly he squeezed the squishy lump to try and figure what on earth it was, without looking back.
"KYAAA!"
"Huh?" He turned around to see whatever she was so worried about and realised that he was squeezing her left breast.
He snorted and his ears became a puce red as she hyperventilated and became as red as a cherry. Then he remembered to drop his hand. His eyebrow began to twitch unconventionally, and Hinata's eyes began to water.
"W-why did y-you have t-to do that!" She wailed for the world to hear.
"I-I DIN'T MEAN TO!" He shouted, his eyes scrunched so he didn't see her torn up face, "IT'S NOT LIKE I WANTED TO!"
He then realised that was an insult, "I WANTED TO, BUT I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW! IT WASN'T PLANNED!" He yelped.
"Ano, This I-is ra-rather awkward,"
Sasuke screwed open his eyes and took a peek at a painted pink Hinata.
"C-could you a-apologise so I-I feel better?"
"I never apologise,"
"But y-you just t-t-t,"
"Is touched the word you are looking for?" He really did try to be suave and charismatic.
She mumbled and twiddled her fingers together, still faintly pink. "No," she responded dully. "Meanie," she pouted
"Big words,"
And then they were at a stalemate. Another large silence fell over them, until Hinata turned left, and he turned right, and they both went home.
* NOTE FROM CLUE*
Gaara isn't the vampire who has been killing everyone, I've decided against it, after all, it didn't really fit :P And yes, Sasuhina is made by the awkward interactions, and, quite literally in this chapter, I've dropped them in the deep end. (PUN :D) Hrm, Could I ask for some feedback please?