XIII

Return

A/N: I'm really, really sorry for the late update. I've been really sick, and in the hospital with a fever of 106. But here's the chapter that I've promised. Once again, sorry for the late update. -Layla

Recap: The presence was familiar…but Sakura couldn't clearly remember who it was. (A/N: Sakura is feeling the presence of Suki, but not Kamui because of his gift.) She hissed irritability at the realization that she would have to wake up her master when he was in such a deep sleep. Glaring at the direction she felt the presence from, Sakura walked back in to the room with light steps. With regret written over her face, she gently shook his slumbering figure.

Itachi opened one dull black eye to inform Sakura that he was awake and listening.

"I'm sorry Uchiha-sama, but I'm afraid a person or two have entered the premises."

Completely drained of chakra, Itachi knew that he wouldn't be able to fight. "Sakura. I need your chakra."

Without any hesitation, Sakura laid her cool hand on either side of his head and gently started the chakra transfer. This medical jutsu was extremely difficult to accomplish, and at the moment only Sakura, Itachi and Tsunade knew about it due to the fact that Sakura was the one who had created the jutsu.

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"Suki-sama, Sakura-hime is in that building."

"I know. Should we sneak in, or go in through the front door?"

"…"

Suki laughed at Kamui's silent reply to his question. "I'll take that as a, 'we should use the front door because it's polite', ok?"

"…"

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Sakura!! screamed Inner in delight.

Oh, it's you…

It's been what? Three years? Three days? Didn't you miss me at all?

Who would?

B--ch…

Right back at you.

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Suki smiled unnaturally beautifully as he practically skipped to the main door. Kamui was more subdued, following Suki like a shadow. Rata tap tapaty tap tap tap knock tapaty rap tap knock tap tap… Kamui sighed, "Suki-sama, I'm sure three simple knocks are enough…" The blonde-haired vampire ignored him, and went on with his knocking. The knight class vampire a few steps behind him shook his head with a ghost of a smile as Suki's knocks started to sound like the cancan. In fact, much to his amusement, Suki was calmly humming the tune as well.

With a quick jerk, the door was opened, and standing in the doorway was Sakura. There was a slightly irritated scowl on her face, but quickly vanished to looks of surprised pleasure when she noticed who were standing in front of her. "Suki! Kamui!" Before Suki could respond with a joyful, 'Sakura-chan!!' A deep, cold, smooth voice called out, "Sakura."

The pink-haired vampire blinked, before politely stepping back, to make way for Itachi. Suki's smile flickered, before fading as he gazed at Itachi with a blank face. The tension between the two was cold. Where Itachi's reason for intently staring was unknown, Suki was eyeing him with the goal of figuring the cryptic man out.

"So. You're the one who took Sakura-chan."

Itachi's face was smooth and empty of emotions like usual. "…"

"You've done something to her. I'm sure you're not going to deny it. Anyone can tell by looking at her that she's changed impossibly in the last three to four days."

The crimson-eyed male did not deny Suki's accusations for he knew that everything the blonde royal said was the truth.

If possible, Suki's face became more frigid, and the air practically sparked with the friction of the vampires' increasing rage. The royal was clearly proving that he wasn't all fun and games. No matter his appearance and his actions, Suki was an ancient and noble immortal, who could easily kill Itachi on a whim.

"From what Tenshi-san, our gifted 'news reporter' you could call him, has informed me, you, and ultimately all of Akatsuki wish to gain the support of the vampire community. You plan on giving us support against the werewolves if we unite our forces? Am I wrong?" asked Suki coolly.

"Everything you have said is the truth. Your information is quite reliable."

"It should be," was all Suki voiced out.

There was a silent pause as both continued to analyze one another. Sakura, who had been momentarily forgotten, looked between the two nervously. As her gaze grew more troubled, it locked, by chance, with Kamui's own eyes. With his gift, Sakura had almost forgotten about him entirely. He wasn't invisible, but no one seemed to notice him, and when Sakura concentrated, she could make out a faint vile of chakra like energy that masked his whole body. Before she could do anything, Suki and Itachi's conversation took a rather risky turn.

Eyes narrowed, Suki stated, "You made a mistake. You don't seem to realize the extent of the connection between a royal and his/her subjects. It is thicker then blood, thicker then loyalty or family. Some say that this unbreakable bond can even rival love itself."

The words rang out in the near silence like an omen, it was clear that the blonde royal was frigidly angry with Itachi. "But nether the less, I will consent to your propositions. Do not be mistaken human; we are doing it only for Sakura-chan. I can see the bond that connects her to you. You owe her your life for every vampire in existence."

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After studying Sakura again and again, much to her annoyance, he concluded that there was no difference in Sakura at all, other then her apparent loyalty towards Itachi that is. Finally, Suki decided that it was Stockholm syndrome that was causing Sakura to act so weird towards the Uchiha. Biting his lips lightly in annoyance, the royal asked, "Sakura-chan… Are you really going to return to the Uchiha after this?"

The pink-haired vampire faltered in her steps, but quickly regained her pace as she replied, "I'm not sure. He just ordered me to stay as long as I needed. There weren't any restrictions or limits at all."

After the deal was struck with Itachi, he sent Sakura to leave with Suki and Kamui for Konoha. "Take care of your work. Do what you please," was all he said as he turned away to his paperwork once again.

Sakura felt another pang of pain strike her heart at the memory of the silent back of the Uchiha. He had seemed completely uncaring of Sakura leaving that she couldn't help but feel abandoned. Lonely, even.

Taking a shaky breath, Sakura told herself firmly, I am Haruno Sakura, Hime of Command, and one of the six royal vampires in existence. I will not be weakened by a single man's uncaring actions. That was what she had told herself, but...

"Suki? What is our business in Konoha anyways?"

Kamui took the liberty to explain. "It seems that a small group of newborn vampires have broken the contract with Konoha that was made with the 1st Hokage since the beginning of your village."

"They disregarded a vampire law?! …Hm…this should be interesting."

As the gates of Konoha became visible, the three slowed down their pace to a 'light' sprint. At the gate, Sakura could faintly see the figures of Tsunade, Shizune, and Team Seven. They immediately started to sprint in her direction as they noticed the group.

"SAKURA-CHAN!!" Sakura was slammed with the hug of a tearful Naruto. She could see the crystal tears fall from his eyes to slide down and drip off his nose. Warm, strong arms encircled her figure, but there was something different about the atmosphere of Konoha. Instead of the usual cheerfully, busy village, there was a dark aura of death and fear.

"Thank Kami that you're safe and here Sakura! We can talk later though; there is a urgent issue that demands your attention!"

As the group quickly entered the gates, Sakura could see that all the civilians were inside their homes and that all the shinobi were patrolling the streets warily. "I'm sorry Tsunade-san… It seems that the issue has gotten dire."

"I don't care for apologizes. I will completely forgive you if you get rid of them."

"Of course…" the blonde-haired vampire murmured.

As they entered into the heart of the village, a sudden chill swept down Tsunade, Shizune and Team 7's backs. Suddenly, four vampires lightly leaped down from the roofs. Their eyes were blood red like the blood that dripped from their shirts. The human shinobi stiffened, and drew their weapons while the vampires calmly stood without fear.

Sakura icily stared them down, while murmuring in an alluring voice full of power and confidence, "Such messy eaters. Hn. Disgrace."

The four growled angrily at the comment while taking a threatening step toward them. Suki noticed that they were untrained vampires, vampires that were 'abandoned' after the change by the one who turned them. These vampires usually were loners, traveling the land in the shadows.

His eyes emotionless, Suki stated, "You must have noticed the mark of sanctuary on the gates of this city. All vampires—newly turned or not, know what that mark means. Yet, you have disregarded those marks, and have terrorized this city."

The handsome, flame haired male bared his fangs while hissing, "We care not for your rules! We have no leader, no master! We are free to do whatever we want!" The other three, consisting of two more males and a female growled their agreement.

A look of intense rage flashed across Kamui's face. "Do not speak to Suki-sama and Sakura-hime in that way!" The red haired calmly licked the blood off his fingers as he completely ignored Kamui.

"Stop these acts at once, and accept your punishment. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to eliminate you four." The usual cheerful Suki gave out this chilly statement. Even Kamui was slightly unnerved by the frigid atmosphere around him. Even though Suki was normally cheerful, happy and childish, he was truly a vampire of great power and wisdom. He had been through more things then most, and when situations called for it, he could become merciless, sometimes even cruel.

"You can't kill us!" hissed the female.

"We're royals. There is nothing we can't do—including executing you." (A/N: That rhymes!)

Snarling in wrath, the four suddenly leaped at the two royals. Sakura sighed, and coolly ran her arm through one of the males, and grabbed his heart. With one light squeeze, the heart exploded letting blood gush out of it. You see, the only way to kill a vampire, that isn't a royal, is by suicide, werewolf wounds, or through the attack of a royal. Vampires have no blood but for the blood in their heart. Only a royal and a werewolf can get through the boundary to the organ. Once the heart is wounded, blood escapes from it, leading to death instantly.

In what seemed like in less then a few seconds, all four were dead. Their bodies quickly decaying into rich black soil within seconds, leaving only the cloths that they had worn.

"That was easy…"

Sakura observed the crimson liquid dripping from her hand blankly, and slowly brought it to her lips. Tsunade, Shizune and Team 7 stared in fearful fascination as Suki and Sakura erotically licked the blood from their hands. For some reason, all the humans were blushing furiously as the beautiful royals consumed the remaining blood. To them, every lick was incredibly lustful. Much to males' dismay, they felt their pants tightening at the display of thirsty desire for blood.

Suddenly, Kamui rushed in front of Sakura, and caught the kunai that had been heading in her direction. The two royals looked up with faint curiosity, and Tsunade observed that there wasn't any fear or shock in their eyes at all. She herself had immediately gone into a defensive pose, like the rest of the shinobi.

The whole group, but Kamui, had completely not noticed the arrival of a mob of civilians and shinobi. Their eyes gleamed with fear, horror, and loathing. Kamui's usual calm, unexpressive face was twisted into a snarl of rage. The glare in his eyes clearly said, 'stay back or else'. Tsunade's face hardened. The mob hesitated at her furious expression.

"What in the world is going on?" she hissed softly. Though her voice was soft, it was dangerous. It was like the quiet before a storm. But before she could explode, the crowd parted to reveal the figures of the two elders/advisors of Konoha.

"Tsunade."

Said Hokage's eyes widened, before narrowing wrathfully. "What. In. The. World. Is. Going. On?" she asked in a clipped tone.

"We're just here to chase out the monsters." the female elder smoothly replied.

Naruto snarled, and would have attacked her, if Kakashi hadn't quickly stopped him. The silver-haired shinobi shot the blonde a warning glance, before turning to the elders. "This is Sakura, Suki, and Kamui. They're not here to harm the village. In fact, they came today to help rid of the village of the vampires."

The female elder's face was prim and proper. Her face lacked any expression as she said, "It was wrong of the Hokage to have kept the matter of the vampires a secret from the whole village. Tsunade, you have put the village in great danger by allowing in three extra blood-sucking monsters."

"SAKURA-CHAN IS NOT A MONSTER!! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S A MONSTER! YOU OLD HAG!! GO TO HELL!!" Naturally, the one who screamed this out was Naruto.

"For once, I agree with you dobe," Sasuke grunted out. Sai and Kakashi nodded in silent agreement. Backed by the support of four of the most powerful shinobi in the world, Tsunade stepped up with confidence to say, "Naruto is right. Sakura is my apprentice. She is a valuable kunoichi of Konoha; you have no right to call her a monster. Anyways, these vampires have been keeping Konoha safe from the forces of others of their kind for many years. Without their protection, bloodthirsty vampires like the ones that terrorized us for the last few days would have easily overrun Konoha. Can you possible claim that you can drive them out, these species who are so much more superior and powerful then our own?'

All the faces of the shinobi in the mob hardened, and Tsunade realized that she had made a grave mistake. She had just damaged the egos of all the shinobi that weren't on her side. "We can. And we will. We do not need the help of these monsters to protect ourselves!" growled one shinobi. A murmur of agreement swept through the crowd. Finally, the objects of their argument, stepped up speak. Sakura, Suki, and Kamui stood in a clearing, surrounded by all the faces of the angry members of Konoha. The pink-haired kunoichi observed the clear murderous intent directed at them with a bored expression. Suki sighed, and raised his shoulders in a casual shrug. "Well, I guess that's too bad for you then. We'll leave like you want, and we'll take the mark of sanctuary with us as well. From this day on, Konoha is a free hunting ground to all vampires."

"Wait! Wait Suki-sama! What are you saying?! You can't do this to us!" There was a complete look of panic on Tsunade's face.

"Of course, you, and all those who are on our side will have a private mark of sanctuary yourself. Those who agree with Tsunade, come." This time, it was Sakura who said this. There was some shuffling in the crowd as the Konoha twelve, friends and comrades and civilian who believed and loved Sakura stepped up. Looking at the rather large group, Sakura's eyes softened.

"From this day on, all of you will have the complete protection of Haruno Sakura! I Haruno Sakura mark all of you as property of mine. All those that dare harm them will be faced with my wrath!" With her speech finished, Sakura raised her arms up to the sky. The sun seemed to be cupped in her hands, then the rays that shone from the sun burst out, and hit all those that had pledged their loyalty to her. With a many thump, everyone fell to the ground in a deep sleep.

"It's done," the pink-haired royal murmured faintly.

"Yes. Let's go Sakura-chan. We have a war to fight."

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An hour after the whole village fell into a deep sleep, they woke up in a panic, the group that had been blessed by Sakura found a silvery mark on their neck, that looked like large, parallel, silver slashes from a claw, the mark of sanctuary.

An hour later, the same happened in Suna, and in a few other countries. Sakura, Suki and Kamui had traveled to all the villages and gathered all those that had promised their allegiance to them. Without their blessings, they would have been in danger of being turned into werewolves themselves, but at the same time, it would have been impossible to mark everyone as their own because it can only be done with their complete consent.

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Three years later…

"Sakura," the man with crimson eyes called.

"Hm?"

"We're going to Konoha. There is a major werewolf infection there," the same man replied.

"Konoha?! Yay, I've always wanted to go there!" the pink-haired royal cheered.

The man, Itachi, let his crimson eyes fade away to onyx as he gazed intently at Sakura. "You were born there, and lived most of your life there."

Sakura looked up with surprise. "Really…? I forgot… Itachi-sama? When will you give me my memory back?"

"…"

Patiently, she waited for a reply because she knew that sometimes it took him awhile to reply.

"Soon."

Satisfied with his answer, she nodded her head in consent, and skipped over to the closet to pull out her Akatsuki cloak. Suddenly, she froze. "Itachi-sama…" She called out in a hushed whisper. "There are two werewolves outside…"

I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

Inner, shut up!

I don't want to die. I don't… Hey, that brunette is cute!

I'm going to ignore you now.

Outer? …Outer? ...Outer?!

What?!

Is that Deidara being chased by the werewolves?

Ah shit.

(Deidara) "HELP ME!!"

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BETA'S Note



YESSSS!! Chapter from Layla-chan! –parties- What an unexpected twist! I'm getting oh so excited!! I'm sorry if this came out any later than I wanted—I didn't check my email for a day (so it took longer than normal, since I can get chapters back in the same day).

My, my, Sakura's memory has been taken by Itachi? What a weasel! –laughs at own bad name pun-

I just finished Twilight (Stephanie Meyer) and I'm going through withdrawal… TTxTT My mom and I are pillaging Barnes and Noble for the next two. Not only that, but I was able to a whole lot done, like finish Cocoon's picture and get some work done for my stuff.

I restarted my Pokemon Leaf Green game (which wasn't very developed anyways) because I desired Misdreaveus. I'm walking through the tunnel before Lavender Town—and it's damned annoying, since I can't see where I go. UGH.

I'm also hoping that my Oral Spanish Presentation went well… "Hola! Que desea usted? Una camiseta? Si! Necesita en de color verde, y usa la talla veinte? Bien! No, paga en la caja, no aqui! Gracias!" Eck. And I always get paired with the worst of partners.

My god, I was having a fit when I was talking to my mom about, "OMFG, I'm gonna be 14 next year… 14… 14…" Ugh, now I feel senile, since I can't remember yesterday for my life. Tomorrow I'll have to tattoo my name into my arm or something, 'cause I'll forget that… and become a PSYCHO KILLER. :(

Poor Layla-chan's been sick! She sounds like she's getting better though! I better run off now and finish my chores... Heh.