Five

THREE-QUARTER MOON

Tayuya raised her eyes to meet his. "You're kidding, right?" She laughed after this statement.

"No, I'm not," Sasuke replied, and his tone of voice proclaimed that he was serious. "Just wait a few days, you'll see."

Tayuya was not moved. "Yeah, right. I'd have to see it to believe it," Then, a coy grin slid across her face. "But if you want to play kinky games, I'll be Little Red Riding Hood," She reached for him.

Sasuke pulled back. "I thought something like this would happen," He began, rising to his feet. He strode over to the door, then turned his head and beckoned with a talon. "Come out with me underneath the stars."

Tayuya looked puzzled at first, but then her eyes widened. "Sasuke…your hair…" She gestured to his head.

Sasuke grabbed a lock of his hair, and wasn't surprised to find a streak of white slithering over the faux black dye. He looked back at the human girl, then released an inhuman throaty sound. "Do you believe me now?" His voice held a rasp.

Tayuya, unable to speak, nodded.

Sasuke could sense her uneasiness. "Do you honestly think I would hurt you?" His tone was quiet, reassuring. "Just because I'll change into a wolf under the light of the moon doesn't mean I can't control myself."

"I know," Tayuya whispered, going over to him. She looked up at him. "You look sexy with the whites of your eyes black." She chuckled.

Sasuke grinned and, in one fluid movement, swept her into his arms and carried her back to the couch.

The next day, Sasuke couldn't tell if the incessant buzz coursing through his veins was for Tayuya or for the waxing moon. But it certainly wasn't for Gaara.

"You told her?!" Gaara's voice was taut with outrage and disbelief on the other end of the phone.

"Is that a problem?" Sasuke replied coolly, playing with the chunk of raw hamburger in his hands, then taking a bite. He figured his sudden fetish for bloody meat was just another part of turning, so he didn't ponder why he was raiding supermarket freezers for nice, big slabs of beef at the crack of dawn this morning.

"Dammit, Sasuke! Don't you know that you've endangered yourself by revealing your secret to a human?"

"As far as I know, you're human, and you know my secret," Sasuke licked the last of the juice off of his fingers, then continued. "And besides, Tayuya thinks it's sexy."

Gaara growled with disapproval. "That doesn't matter. If you want to go around telling people you're a werewolf, fine. Just don't come crying to me when someone blows your head off." Then, he hung up.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, then placed the receiver back on the cradle. "Whatever," He muttered.

Seeing as it was Monday, Sasuke decided to go to school.

"Hey, babe," He greeted upon arriving when Tayuya flung herself into his arms.

"So, did you run around as a wolf last night, raiding the pastures of innocent farmers and slaughtering livestock?" Tayuya whispered in his ear, chuckling.

"Not yet," Sasuke whispered back, and he couldn't suppress a smile. Maybe this whole thing isn't as bad as I thought it would be, he mused silently as he and Tayuya walked to science together.

They slid into their seats in the nick of time. The bell screamed obnoxiously, and Mr. Malino strode into the room. "Turn your books to page 56," He began. In no time, the man set off on a droning lecture about the spectrum of light.

Sasuke clicked his talons on the chipped black top of the table, propping his head up with his left hand. Mr. Malino's voice faded to a low hum in the background, and Sasuke's eyes, staring at the page he was supposed to have turned two minutes ago, began to fog. The print on the page blurred into a black-and-white nonsensical soup. He briefly closed his eyes, then snapped them open again. Need to sleep more, he amended silently.

Two desks down, Tayuya didn't even have her textbook open. She was deep in concentration on a half-finished drawing in her sketchpad, her brow furrowed with effort as she dug the graphite of her pencil into the perfect contours of the sketch. Sasuke turned his head to watch his girlfriend draw. She looks kind of cute when she's concentrating, he realized, a smirk skirting across his face.

Tayuya glanced up and, realizing that Sasuke was watching her, mouthed the words kill him. Her tawny eyes flickered to Mr. Malino, who had his back turned to the class, then she met Sasuke's gaze again. They both stifled laughs.

Suddenly, the scruffy youth who sat next to Sasuke sliced his finger on the edge of a piece of notebook paper. "Shit…" He muttered, watching the blood rise to the surface.

WHAM!

A dizzying surge of blood rushed to Sasuke's skull, and he saw the sliver on the boy's flesh magnify a thousand times, every swirl of his fingerprint etched as clear as if Sasuke held it under a microscope. Oh, God…He swiftly turned away, screwing his eyes tight, and bared his teeth. He felt his canines prick his lower lip. His nostrils twitched as the sweet copper stench of the boy's blood wafted over to him.

Sasuke felt his muscles tighten and relax erratically. His breath became shallow. He detected a quiver in his spine, a ripple riding up the flesh of his back. He grimaced. Do not tell me I have to endure a whole fucking hour of this, he pleaded.

And Mr. Malino continued to drone. What Sasuke wouldn't give to lunge in front of the class in one leap and rip the man's throat out; to silence him forever, to never hear his wretched monotonous speeches ever again.

And the boy—who had forgotten about his cut by now and was carving initials in the wood of the desk—continued to bleed. Less, perhaps, but the godforsaken crimson life flowed out of the tiny slice on his finger nevertheless. Sasuke could still smell it as if the blood had been spilled all over the floor. I can't take this anymore, he decided.

He raised his hand.

"Yes?" Mr. Malino addressed Sasuke.

"I need to use the bathroom," Sasuke said gruffly.

"Use a hall pass," Mr. Malino was already turning back to the board to continue the notes.

Out in the hallway, Sasuke inhaled deeply. His heart rate gradually slowed, and he found he could think clearer in the fresh air, away from the bleeding boy. His muscles still writhed dully, though; he wasn't completely in control yet. He decided to walk the halls. Walk, and think.

He set off down the seniors' wing, away from the science room. Most of the classrooms had their doors shut, and the ones who were open ignored the ebony-haired Uchiha strolling the halls in the middle of a class period.

As he drifted by the water fountain, Sasuke paused to stoop over and drink from the slightly rusted tap. There was a faint smell of cigarettes coming from the bathrooms on either side of the fountain. Sasuke straightened up, wiped a hand across his mouth, and continued his impromptu trek through the halls.

It wasn't until he reached the library did Sasuke realize that he was being followed.

Swiftly ducking inside the double glass doors, Sasuke was greeted by the rich, slightly musky smell of tattered novels and bright carpet. Where he stood, there was a rough semicircle around the room with two small staircases—one by the exit doors and another across the room—and a ramp in front of him that led down to an area with about ten square tables, each with four wooden chairs and surrounded by shelves all around.

The footsteps behind him seemed to grow closer. What the hell? Sasuke hastily swerved and almost fell into the dark room on his left.

Inside, there were about five computers—again, in a rough semicircle—and two printers on either side of the room, in opposite corners. The maroon blinds were closed, and hardly any light filtered through. The air-conditioning felt good; Sasuke always seemed to be way too hot these days. I think I'll stay in here for a while, he decided.

But as soon as he'd settled in and turned on a computer, the door swung open and none other than Gaara stood in the doorway.

Sasuke gave the redhead an incredulous look. "What are you doing here, Gaara?" He tried to appear nonchalant as he opened up an Internet screen.

"I could say the same," Gaara shut the door behind him. His icy eyes glinted in the white light rolling in waves off of Sasuke's computer monitor, making the shadows under his oculars even more prominent than usual.

Sasuke growled and pivoted around in his seat, the wheels gliding roughly on the carpet, and leapt to his feet. He had Gaara down in a second, pinning him to the floor, his talons digging into the fabric of his shirt.

Gaara had a twisted, sick smile on his face. "I bet you'd like to sink your teeth into my throat right now," He purred. "I know the feeling…"

Sasuke had no idea what Gaara was rambling on about. His hearing focused only on the incessant tempo of Gaara's pulse, the blood throbbing through the dark veins underneath his pallid skin. Sasuke could see them—oh, how he would love to spill his friend's life all over this floor and lap it up, drop by drop, relishing it…

Gaara scowled. This was starting to get annoying. "Get off me." He shoved Sasuke aside, catching him momentarily off guard. He rose to his feet in a single, fluid movement, watching as the raven-haired Uchiha eased into a four-legged crouch, teeth bared. The feral gleam in his eyes was as prominent as ever.

"You can't stay here," Gaara declared, glancing around quickly.

"Why the hell not?" Sasuke snarled. His voice began to take on two tones—one normal, the other something more demonic.

"Come on," Gaara, ignoring Sasuke's inquiry, hoisted him up and shoved him out the door.

They hastily maneuvered down the maze of hallways, searching for an exit. Gaara skulked around the doorways, always ready to duck into one if a teacher happened to approach.

Sasuke's vision began to blur. The rows of lockers bulged and writhed, spiraling into nonexistent vortexes in the middle of the hallway. Some primal instinct forced him to sniff the air feverently; to lower on knuckles and toes and spinder down the hall as the wolf within longed to break free.

Ignoring Gaara's protests, Sasuke reached the door leading out to the courtyard and barreled outside. He straightened up, leaning against the rough brick wall of the school's exterior as his human sensibilities came flooding back to him. He grimaced and ripped his shirt off, feeling tiny lightning go off at the feeling of his talons raking his flesh. He licked the crimson fluid off of his fingertips, desperation flaming within him. His own blood probably did not taste, he figured, as well as the blood of that boy back in the science room, or Gaara's…

"Dammit, Sasuke, it's a dead end!" Gaara's enraged voice cut the air like a knife, sending Sasuke's heart into frenzied palpitations.

The Uchiha's eyes darted around frantically, searching for an exit. He was beginning to feel paranoid. Sasuke didn't like feeling paranoid.

"Aha," Sasuke grinned. He rushed up to the end of the courtyard, gaining speed. A surge of adrenaline coursed through his veins, a brief spasm twisted his muscles, and he threw himself up over the ten-foot wall without a second glance.

He hit the ground running, running like a bullet fired from the barrel slicing through the air. As he ran, he hunched over, and at last doubled onto all fours. He sped up rapidly with the doubled amount of limbs propelling him, and in no time he reached the woods across the street.

Down by the ravine, Sasuke ceased running. His eyes, wide and luminous, detected faint movement in the creek below. His nostrils twitched, and he picked up the strong odor of ripe beer, weed, and fresh urine amid the pungent aroma of sweat and excitement. He felt a growl at the back of his throat that he could barely contain as he easily slunk into the tree and clung to the branch that precariously hovered over the ravine.

There was a group of five scruffy youths having a beer blast at the bottom of the ravine. They were all male; they looked about seventeen or eighteen, and Sasuke had seen them before at school—that is, when they had gone to school. They were dropouts, last year or so. Sasuke could pick a couple out of the bunch—Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, and Kankuro, Gaara's older brother whom he never spoke of.

The rest were unidentifiable.

Sasuke experienced a sudden tenfold increase in vision, and he found he could literally zoom in with his oculars like a camera, enabling him to see every speck of debris on the boys' clothing, every follicle of hair on their head, every flicker of their eyeballs. He bared his sharp teeth in a wicked grin. Better go see what the party's all about, he decided.

Tensing into a crouch, he sent a rush of power through his body and leaped down to the ravine below, landing silently and swiftly. He licked his lips and sauntered up to one of the guys, one he wasn't able to identify.

"Hey, it's…Uchiha!" Naruto slurred, swinging his long neck about. "Wazzup, man?!"

Sasuke resisted the urge to scoff. He and Naruto barely knew each other. In fact, he barely or didn't know all of these guys.

"What're you doin' here?" One of the strangers demanded, his speech altered from liquor and pot.

"I'm lookin' to score some," Sasuke growled, smirking. He casually held his claws up to his face, pretending to examine them, but really just showing them off to his possible adversaries. He instantly felt like playing wicked games, messing with their heads or something. That would be incredibly easy, seeing as they were all probably stoned off their rockers.

"Get lost, pal."

"Yeah. This is our dope. Go find your fix somewhere else, bitch!"

Not that Sasuke wanted any in the first place, but hearing these pieces of shit talk to him like that made his blood boil. He lengthened his nails even more and, without a moment's hesitation, swiped the tall stranger's face.

That sobered the others up pretty quick.

"—what the fuck?!"

"Get that piece of shit!"

Sasuke immediately found himself being swarmed by five hopelessly intoxicated young men not much older than him. He felt thick arms encircle him, and a hard punch to his gut; another to his right cheek. He was vaguely surprised of the fact that he felt no pain, only adrenaline. He used that adrenaline to wrench himself free of whoever was holding him down and to swarm up the walls of the ravine as quick as breath.

The phone ringing later that evening awakened Sasuke. He startled, then blinked and snatched the cordless from his bedside table. "What?" He didn't bother to conceal his irritation; this unlucky soul had just interrupted his nap.

"What happened earlier? You just, disappeared!" It was Tayuya.

Sasuke's anger dissolved at the sound of his girlfriend's voice, etched with concern and curiosity. The anger was replaced with warm contentment that slowly spread through his veins. Strangely enough, he was now acutely aware of the blood pulsing beneath his bruises. His hand traveled down his torso as he opened his mouth to speak. "Wanna come over?" His voice was husky. He clutched the phone and his eyes closed halfway as he waited for her response.

"…I'll be there." And with the click of the phone on the other line, Tayuya hung up.

Sasuke stretched and grinned honey-slow, setting the phone back on his nightstand. His eyes closed all the way now as he ran his clawed fingers through his hair. He sighed lightly, rising up and getting out of bed in one supple motion. He loped down the hall, clad in only boxers, and dug around in his freezer for dinner before Tayuya came over.

While toying with a handful of raw bacon strips, Sasuke noticed that he was sprouting talons on his toes now. Smirking, he shoved a strip into his mouth and, setting the rest down on the counter, picked up his left foot and began to examine this new deformity. How morbidly intriguing it was to watch his body slowly mutate into a wolf. There was still the fear, though; the fear of enduring the inevitable final transformation. But there was curiosity as well. What exactly would it feel like? Would it hurt (yes, it probably would)? Would it come fast or bit-by-bit as the moon rose? Would he remember anything in his wolf-shape?

Sasuke was interrupted from his melodramatic thoughts by the doorbell ringing. Tayuya, he thought, ecstasy squeezing his heart.