Seven

FULL MOON

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

That voice, filled with malicious hate, called his name over and over. Sasuke stumbled blindly through the darkness, groping ahead for anything to grab hold of. He couldn't see a thing, even with his enhanced lycanthropic vision.

"You are worthless…"

Sasuke snarled at the voice, swinging his arms in the darkness like a deranged maniac. His heart thrummed wildly in his expanding chest, his legs shook violently. He collapsed to his knees as a wave of pain shot up his spine. He cried out, curling into a tight, trembling ball as his bones creaked and shifted inhumanly. The pain of anticipation he'd felt lately was nothing compared to this. Silent tears coursed down his stricken face as his spine crunched and extended into tail, writhing sickeningly like a worm.

"You are weak…"

Sasuke tried to make a sound, to call out for Tayuya, anybody, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a low growl. He felt the crackling as his jaw extended, the pain in his gums as his teeth elongated and sharpened to daggers. The scars on his torso flared unceasingly, as if someone had struck a match and was running it down his chest and abdomen. Or better yet, a blowtorch.

"Stupid, foolish little brother…"

Itachi's voice echoed demonically throughout the black abyss of Sasuke's warped nightmare, his words reverberating through the empty void like a curse. Sasuke's legs buckled to an unnatural, inverted shape, and his mouth opened in a silent scream as he reached out with his deformed paw, desperately wishing for Tayuya to grab it.

Itachi laughed bitterly. "You're too weak to stand the change. It only makes you stronger…" His voice faded and dropped like an elevator through registers of sound, ending with a harsh guttural snarl.

Sasuke shuddered into his final shape, raising his muzzle and howling mournfully in defeat.

Sasuke jolted awake with a start, cold sweat winding paths down the flesh of his back. It was a dream, he reminded himself. Nothing more.

He closed his eyes briefly and sighed, running a hand through his messy cowlick of hair, and not until the tips of his claws scraped against his scalp did the events of the past few days come flooding back to him with the strength of a blow. Reality settled in the sinking pit of his stomach, making him utter a noise of dismay. It was not all a dream…

Tonight was the full moon. He would change, that was inevitable. But it would not be in the black abyss of his nightmare, with Itachi's spiteful voice drawling his name over and over again. It certainly wouldn't be pleasant, though.

Sasuke groaned. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and made his way into the bathroom. He reached down to shake off the cumbersome weights of lead tied to his feet, then straightened up—and gaped at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was completely stark white, even his eyebrows, not a single black follicle present. His teeth and nails were sharper than ever, as if they had been filed to perfection the night before. He reached behind him to run his fingers down the thick streak of fur on his back, and discovered something even more shocking, a relic of his nightmare. His spine had elongated into a hairless tail, dangling over the rim of his boxers. It was smooth between his fingers, and writhed at his touch. He recoiled in disgust.

It's really happening, he realized blankly. I am a werewolf, and I'm going to transform into one tonight, under the full moon, just like a horror movie. This did not make him feel any more comforted. But, there was something he remembered from literature—the first transformation was usually the hardest and most painful, but the following ones were easy. That helped a little, to know that there would be some kind of relief.

He was most definitely skipping school today. There was no way in hell he could face a whole population of oblivious students and their pulsating blood. It was too much temptation. And the thought of sitting in the bleak, institutionalized classrooms made him cringe; not to mention the prospect of the reconstituted stale, lukewarm cafeteria food that made him want to be violently ill. The only food he ate nowadays was so raw you could hear it moo. Or oink, whichever he got a hold of in his freezer.

He suddenly felt lightheaded. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, he realized it was most likely from not eating anything in the past twenty-four hours or so.

After devouring a hearty breakfast of everything in his freezer, Sasuke opened the kitchen window and was greeted by a wave of pungent air amid a drastic change in atmospheric pressure that meant a storm was blowing in. He loved storms; he loved the dramatic beauty of the sky as it tumultuously rolled and undulated with thick grey clouds, he loved the fierce dances of lightning as it patchworked the horizon, he loved the earth-shattering booms of thunder that resonated through his chest and made his heart pound.

Perhaps he would run in the rain today. Yes, that sounded spot-on. Sasuke ran his tongue over his teeth and made a throaty sound of excitement. He felt his new tail brush against the skin of his thigh when he moved, and a tremor rolled down the flesh of his back on contact. That he still wasn't used to.

He stretched lazily, reaching down to touch his toes. He found himself to be more flexible than before, the ache of his muscles unwinding feeling pleasurable. Sure, there were little perks here and there from playing host to the lycanthrope virus in his blood—the heightened senses especially came in handy—but the gut-wrenching fear of the final transformation still raged violently within him. He would love to have Tayuya by his side as a safe harbor, a light in the darkness of the hellish agony, or even Gaara, because he was a source of helpful information, but he knew that probably wouldn't be feasible.

The first flash of lightning sneaking into Sasuke's peripheral vision interrupted him. It's about time, he grinned wickedly and walked out of the house.

Rain pelted his bare flesh, tracing liquid lines in the grooves of his muscles and running down his arms like baby snakes. The hair all over his body stood on end from the electrical charge in the air, sending a hum through his blood. His T-shirt clung to his wide chest, as did his hair to his scalp. He tipped his head back, letting the rain drench his face, and a barrage of needle-sharp scents assaulted his nose—the icy smell of the rain, the pungent aroma of the damp earth, the buzzing sulfuric odor of lightning.

He felt an undeniable urge stir within and scrape at his insides. He drew in a breath, then let loose a wild howl that crescendoed to the stormy heavens. It absolutely exploded from his chest, rattling his whole frame. It was joyous, impassioned, primal. Ecstasy boiled in his blood, making him laugh hysterically and take off running down the sidewalk, running as if he could turn into a gust of wind and be carried off by the storm.

His breath was harsh and excited as he rounded the corner swiftly, leaping much higher than necessary over a fire hydrant impeding him. If there had been passerby, they surely would've gawked and pointed at the bizarre boy who looked as if he'd escaped from the circus, running and leaping like a gazelle…or a wolf.

Up ahead Sasuke could see the gas station, six cars loitering about at the pumps, more in the small parking lot. People clad in dark overcoats and umbrellas hastily ran inside the store to pay for fuel or to grab a gallon of milk. Teenagers screamed up in old rusted cars blaring tormented shrieking music at a thousand decibels, strutting into the store with ridiculous confidence in their fake I.D.'s.

Sasuke slowed to a casual stride, shoving his hands in his pockets and sauntering inside the store as if he hadn't a care in the world. The bell tinkled when he shoved past the door, almost knocking over a middle-aged man with a large paper bag cradled in his arm.

"Watch it, punk," The disgruntled man threatened.

Sasuke ignored the man's mutters of 'punk ass kids' and instead made his way to the back of the store, where they kept beverages in the freezers. Soda, milk, energy supplements, and beer were displayed on the shelves behind the large glass doors. Most of the ginseng stamina drinks were outrageously overpriced, he noticed with a haughty scoff. He swept over to the shelves where they kept an abundance of chips, idly toying with the bright packaging as he walked. Once he accidentally knocked three bags onto the floor and left them, earning him some hostile looks from the employee mopping the floor over by the cappuccino makers.

Sasuke eventually grew bored of causing a ruckus in the innocent convenience store, so he left. Where to go next? He thought. He could go to Tayuya's, but then again, she was probably in school. Or was she? Tayuya was semi-infamous for her truancy record. With a smirk, he picked up speed toward her neighborhood.

When he reached Tayuya's house, there was no car in the driveway. Her parents were probably at work, or wherever they went during the day. Or perhaps the rusty Oldsmobile was parked in the garage. Sasuke hid in the shrubbery bordering the house, waiting with bated breath for any sign of life coming out the front door. When he decided it was clear, he scaled the drainpipe to the porch roof, peering in the window to Tayuya's bedroom. From here he could see her sleeping form huddled under the mass of dark blankets on the bed, a fiery tousled mane of hair poking out from within.

Sasuke smiled and his eyes half-closed as he slid his talons underneath the window frame. It slid up easily with his inhuman strength, the lock snapping from the forced pressure. Tayuya shifted slightly, moaning softly in her slumber. Sasuke was motionless for a minute; then, he silently slunk into the room with the grace of a cat, settling himself in the bed so gently that he did not disturb her…until the right moment, anyway.

He leaned over and let his lips hover above her ear for what seemed like an eternity, the urge to lick the appendage nearly insuppressible. But, he finally spoke: "Hello, Sleeping Beauty."

Tayuya jumped awake with a start, groping the bedsheets in an effort to seize reality from what she thought was a figment of her imagination whispering in her ear and tickling the light fur of her skin with its warm breath…

"Tayuya, it's me." Sasuke reassured her, reaching out and running his fingers slowly through her wild hair in a lulling motion.

"…Sasuke, you scared the piss outta me," Tayuya mumbled into her pillow. She stretched, reaching back and playfully shoving his shoulder.

Sasuke grabbed her hand, ever so lightly pressing his claws into her flesh—not enough to draw blood, but enough to make her squeal indignantly. "Tayuya, I had to see you," He began, resting his head on her shoulder, his hair falling into her face.

"…You're scared, aren't you?" She replied.

He nodded, tousling her hair in the process. "Scared shitless."

Tayuya was quiet for a moment; then she spoke: "I don't know what to say. It's not like I have any experience, or…words of wisdom…" She trailed off.

"It's all right," Sasuke mumbled. But what Tayuya said was true, and this made Sasuke feel painfully distant from her. He pulled away and settled on his back, staring at the ceiling.

It was quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Only the sounds of their even breathing filled the void of silence in the bedroom…until Tayuya opened her mouth again. She turned to face Sasuke, and he automatically knew this was one of those pre-meditated things.

"Sasuke, show me your scars," She waited expectantly, her eyes filled with eagerness and…sadness? Sasuke couldn't tell for sure.

He smiled sadly, reaching up and, with one fluid motion, ripped his shirt off in a tearing of thread with his claws, thus exposing his infamous myriad of gory attack scars.

Tayuya stared at his torso for a moment; then, she slowly reached out and traced a finger down one of the foot-long disfigurations on his chest. There were four of them, all parallel—the result of a beast swiping its paw across the flesh.

Sasuke closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of Tayuya's touch, her fingers like icicles on his blazing scars. It felt wonderful, and he could imagine the pleasure he would feel when her hand moved lower. He smirked sadistically at the thought. Who would've thought that getting mauled would end up with consequences as awesome as these? He mused silently.

Tayuya splayed her fingers as far as they could go, trying to match the width of the talon indents in Sasuke's skin, with no avail. "That thing must have been huge," She concluded, glancing at Sasuke's face for a reaction. He merely nodded, and her fingers ever so gradually moved lower down his torso. It was like she was purposefully delaying the moment, building the excruciating anticipation so the actual act would intensify in significance, and Sasuke knew this. Clever girl, he thought wickedly.

She finally reached the marred knot on his abdomen, examining it with her eyes first, torturing him even more. Sasuke felt his heart pick up speed; his breath catch in his throat. He silently dared Tayuya to touch him, he silently begged her. He wanted the sensation of skin on skin; the sensation of butterflies in his stomach. Go on, his head-voice told her.

Not a full second had passed. Tayuya hesitantly brushed her fingertips along the grooves of Sasuke's scarred flesh, memorizing the texture. "They feel like tooth holes," She mumbled.

"Mmm-hmm…" Sasuke replied, his toes curling. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at Tayuya's touch. Do something drastic, he suggested silently. Surprise me.

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This chapter is not finished. I haven't worked on this story since…probably '06 or '07.

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