Two
HALF MOON
"What—the fuck?!" Sasuke rasped, pivoting on his heels. His obsidian eyes darted frantically around his backyard, searching for anyone—or anything—that could've been the source of that ominous noise. Common sense told him to bolt for the door and sprint inside and crawl under his blankets and suck his thumb like the frightened little whelp he was. Before he had a chance to oblige, the wail sounded again, that bone-chilling howl that made Sasuke's heart skip a beat.
"Awhoooooooooooo!"
A black mass swept through the narrow border of woods on the far edge of Sasuke's yard, two eerie glowing eyes glaring at him. Two empty white eyes, like floating orbs in the darkness. For a moment, Sasuke thought it was Neji playing a trick on him.
"Hyuuga! This isn't funny!" He scowled and stormed inside the house, ransacking the kitchen and muttering angrily to himself.
"Damn, I was almost scared by that prick," He yanked out a fair-sized knife from the cutlery rack on his counter and went back outside, quietly this time, hiding his impromptu weapon in his jacket. "Reveal yourself, Hyuuga. I have no time for games."
He expected to see those ghastly eyes staring at him, but there was nothing out by the woods. Just leaf piles and spindly old trees. Sasuke furrowed his brow and brought out the knife, running his fingers down the smooth wooden handle, his oculars straining to make out any form of—what he thought, anyway—Neji.
A sudden growl behind Sasuke jerked him out of his thoughts. He stiffened, then grasped the knife even tighter. Swallowing, he summoned his voice and managed to choke out, "Who's there?"
Slowly turning to face his unseen adversary, he inhaled sharply and stumbled backwards. There, on the roof, were those milky white orbs again. This time, however—and this convinced Sasuke that it was not Neji who was prowling around his house—the eyes were accompanied by a set of flashing fangs, bared in a heart-stopping snarl.
"…oh shit…" Sasuke muttered, leaning against the rusted grill on the deck.
The creature lunged, sending them both sprawling over the railing and into the backyard. Sasuke screamed as the thing shoved its teeth into his shoulder, growls vibrating in its massive throat.
Sasuke used his free arm to ineffectively beat on the creature, letting out a yell as it raked its talons down his torso and removed its fangs from his shoulder, burying them again in his stomach.
I'm going to die…Sasuke realized, gasping as blood oozed onto the earth and stained his ripped clothing.
A flash of silver in the moonlight made his eyes dart to his right. There lay the knife that had flown out of his hands. Summoning all the strength he had left, Sasuke reached out and grabbed the weapon.
"I'm…not dying…yet!"
With a cry of painful rage, he shoved the blade through the beast's neck.
The thing roared with fury, then collapsed heavily, its bloodstained fangs glinting crimson in the light of the Earth's sister looming over them. Sasuke shoved the creature off of him and weakly crawled up the deck stairs.
"Aaah!" He gripped the throbbing bite on his left shoulder and awkwardly pushed open the door, slamming it shut behind him and stumbling down the hallway. He almost fell into the bathroom, but caught himself on the sink cabinet. "Fuck…" He grimaced and doubled over, his heart threatening to explode out of his torn up chest and scamper across the linoleum tile on the floor where he lay. What the fuck was that thing?! He screamed to himself, shakily rising up to his knees and sitting against the cabinet.
A pain shot through his abdomen and he instinctively clutched it, only to feel warm fluid trickling between his fingers. He looked down and saw little shreds of flesh and lines of blood and all he felt was pain. Darkness crept into his vision, blurring and contorting it in ways that enticed him to gradually lose consciousness.
He was running, running through the darkness, running through the night, darting between trees. His blood boiled with excitement, his breath grew harsh with anticipation, his heart thrummed wildly in his ears. Deer rabbit foliage moss dirt they all smelled wonderful and urged him on toward the clearing, where the patiently waiting full moon
Full moon
Full moon
Full moon
The full moon was waiting for him, her silvery light caressing his bare body and unleashing the change
AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Sasuke's eyes snapped open. "Whoa," He muttered dazedly.
Pale morning sunlight filtered through the glass of the bathroom window, warming his face. He pushed himself up on his feet, slightly surprised to find his muscles to be quite strong, not shaky like they should be after all the blood he'd lost. Staring into the mirror, he pulled down his shirt to examine the bite on his shoulder. His brow furrowed. It didn't make any sense.
Where there should've been swollen, perhaps still bloody flesh amid gaping tooth holes, there was merely white scar tissue where the bite was. Sasuke scoffed and fingered the wound, studying its reflection with close scrutiny. Well, at least it was healed.
The roughly foot-long gouges down his chest were just lingering, and so was the ripped up mess on his stomach. "I've gotta be dreaming," Sasuke muttered, trudging into his room and sitting on his bed. His eyes strayed to the clock on his bedside.
11:53
"Holy shit!" Sasuke's jaw dropped in disbelief. Not that he was late for anything, seeing as it was Saturday, but he never, ever slept this long. His parents had thought it immoral for anyone to sleep past six A.M. And here he was, passed out until practically noon.
And it felt great.
He stretched lazily, savoring the popping of his ligaments and crackling of his spine like always, and peeled off his mutilated shirt. Walking into the kitchen, his tread was halted by the abrupt screaming of the phone.
"Sasuke! Dude, what the fuck?!"
"Tayuya," He confirmed, slight irritation and surprise in his voice. Why was she calling him right now?
"What happened to you last night? I mean, Neji called like fifty times after we left to ask if you wanted to crash at his place for the night, and you never picked up. Then I called twice earlier, and got the damn answering machine. You never sleep past five, so I assumed you'd pick up."
"I was tired, so I slept in. Is that a problem?" He snapped, hanging up before she could reply, something he'd never done in the past.
Digging through his freezer and unearthing a half-empty take out box from two nights ago, he grabbed a fork from the sink and indulged in the limp noodles and cold chicken. "Damn, I'm still hungry…" He realized after he'd downed the contents of the box.
Sasuke yanked on a clean shirt and swung himself into his van, peeling out of the driveway with a squeal of tires and an acrid stench of rubber amid the clanking protests of the rusty vehicle. He drove around town, eventually pulling into a small diner.
He entered the restaurant nonchalantly, greeted by the quiet conversations of a few early morning regulars amid the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and scrambled eggs. Sienna tile on the floor, dingy yellow wallpaper, and four booths on either wall made up the décor. Two ceiling fans slowly rotated the warm air wafting out from the kitchen, spreading the smells of food throughout the miniscule building and making Sasuke's stomach growl impatiently.
"Good morning, my name's Amy and I'll be your server today," The waitress who glided up to him had her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and an apron tied around her hips. Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment; he had no time for idle chitchat, he came here for food.
Amy ushered him to an unoccupied booth, where he gladly slid in and snatched the menu from her. Greedily devouring the print as if it were a meal itself, Sasuke picked the first meat thing he could find.
"Okay, your order will be ready shortly," Amy confirmed in a chipper voice, collecting the menu and flouncing away, her tawny ponytail swaying.
The front door opened with a tinkling of the bell, and Gaara walked in.
"…Good morning, my name's Julie, and I'll be your server…" A girl similar to Amy seemed startled as Gaara strode into the diner.
"Hn." He ignored Julie and instead scanned the area as if he was looking for someone. His jade eyes widened slightly as he saw Sasuke, who was equally surprised to see the redhead.
"Sasuke," Gaara began, sliding casually into the booth.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked in a bored tone. He tapped his fingers on the table and stared at the kitchen, waiting impatiently for his food.
Gaara said nothing; instead, he simply pulled down the Uchiha's shirt, exposing the already healed bite on his shoulder. "That's what."
Sasuke slapped Gaara's hand away and pulled his shirt back up, glaring. "What the hell was that for?!" He rasped, furious.
"You know damn well what happened to you last night, Uchiha." Gaara proclaimed in his usual low, gruff voice.
"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Sasuke said, a little too loudly for the tiny diner.
"Is there a problem?"
Sasuke jumped, then swiftly turned to face a beefy man hovering over the table. He donned civilian clothing, but Sasuke knew those hard, steely eyes and thick moustache anywhere. He'd had plenty of experiences with this man in the past.
"Officer Sherman," He acknowledged coolly.
Officer Sherman sighed exasperatedly. "Sasuke, how many times have I told you to control that temper of yours? I should take you downtown for disturbing the peace." He fingered the handcuffs in his back pocket pointedly. Officer Sherman always carried his badge and handcuffs, even when off duty.
Sasuke licked his lips nervously. His eyes darted around the diner, checking for a way to run. He caught sight of the door up front.
"I gotta go," He muttered, awkwardly sliding out of the booth.
Gaara immediately followed him. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and whipped him around so they were face-to-face. "We need to talk."
Sasuke felt a growl rise in his chest. "Let go." He jerked his arm free, his glare still not averting from Gaara's. He flexed his fingers, balling his hands into fists. Gaara did the same.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop it, both of you," Officer Sherman stepped in between the two boys. He withdrew the handcuffs. "One more wrong move and you're both comin' with me."
"You fuck!" Sasuke spat, pivoting and sprinting out of the diner.
The midday sun blasted down with a fierce intensity, scorching the top of Sasuke's head. He checked over his shoulder, and sure enough, both Gaara and Officer Sherman were hot on his heels. Shit, He thought, picking up speed.
Gaara narrowed his eyes and, hunching over, thrust himself forward. He easily outran the burly officer, and was within the desired distance of his target in no time.
He reached out and yanked on Sasuke's shirt collar.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he found his throat being squeezed roughly by fabric. He stopped abruptly, and the momentum sent both he and Gaara tumbling onto the cracked, mossy sidewalk.
"What the—" Sasuke's words were choked off by Gaara wrenching his hand around said Uchiha's throat.
"Not one more word," He hissed, his eyes narrowing. He straightened up, pulling Sasuke up with him. "Follow me, Sherman's coming."
Sasuke snarled, ripping Gaara's hand from his throat. He opened his mouth, preparing to spit out his next argument, but sure enough, the officer—although huffing and puffing—was gaining on them. He still held the cuffs, the sunlight reflecting off of them and sending a blinding burst of silvery rainbows in all directions.
"Come on," Gaara grabbed Sasuke's wrist and dragged him into a nearby alley.
Sasuke ran in the dark, narrow space and pressed himself against the damp brick wall. Heart pounding, he realized that his teeth were pricking his bottom lip.
Wait, his teeth weren't that sharp.
"We're safe, for now—" Gaara stopped and stared at Sasuke, a strange expression on his face.
"What?" Sasuke demanded, sweat trickling down his sides.
"I knew it," Gaara replied, a mad grin spreading across his face. He reached out and, grabbing one of Sasuke's hands, brought it up to eye level. "See?"
Sasuke's mouth opened a fraction wider. "'The fuck?" He rasped.
Tipping each of his long fingers was a perfect, pointed claw.
"You're already turning." Gaara said quietly, his expression fading back to its usual stone mask. He examined Sasuke's hand with close scrutiny, then raised his calculating sea green eyes to meet Sasuke's gaze. "Run your tongue over your teeth."
Sasuke furrowed his brow, but did as he was told—and was shocked to find a neat row of daggers where his normally blunt teeth should've been. So that's what was pricking my lip, He realized.
"What do you mean, 'turning'?" He inquired, the bile of fear rising in his gullet. He pulled his hand away.
Gaara chuckled. "You don't watch enough horror movies, Sasuke. If a human survives the bite of a werewolf, then that human will become a werewolf as well." A small, sadistic smile twitched on his lips. "You lucky bastard."
Sasuke grimaced. The scars all over his body were beginning to throb. He felt an intense heat surge through his veins. "What?" He heard himself say. His voice sounded strangely calm. Dazedly, he brought his hand up to his forehead.
"You heard me," Gaara replied. His voice was distant, fading.
Sasuke's vision grew dim. He turned and took a few slow steps away from Gaara, trailing his other hand along the brick as if its roughness could summon reality as well as balance. What's happening? He thought frantically, sliding down to the filthy ground below.