A/N: UPDATED~! Sorry, school just started. But this Tuesday, there was a case of the H1N1 virus in our school (while I was absent, I got sick with the normal flu) so the place in quarantined until July 6. So I am using this time to update this story instead of doing my homework like a good girl should. =))
Don't forget to review!! :D
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then it wouldn't be called a disclaimer, and Sakura would've kicked those Cloud-nin's asses right now, Sasuke would have been PWND YEARS ago and Naruto would confess his undying love to Hinata before she did. Itachi would still be alive, and Fugaku would be burned at the stake!! BWAHAHA!!
Sasori: Your sugar intake...
Bella: I'VE BEEN ON SUGAR STRIKE AFTER SOMEBODY RAPED MY GERMAN CHOCOLATES XC!!! The coffee stock on the other hand is perfectly fine...
"Itachi, where are we going?" Sakura asked for the nth time as the raven-haired man drove past the city limits. Again, he didn't answer with anything audible/understandable, thus resulting in a silent drive. She settled for fiddling with her necklace in her pocket.
It went on like this for another hour until they came to stop at a very forested area. The dirt road stained the wheels of the shiny Mercedes as they drifted to a stop. They climbed out of the car and she threw a questioning glance at Itachi.
"This is Uchiha territory. We marked it several years ago. Only Uchiha and their associates are allowed to hunt on these premises. The best species of deer and other animals are found here too." He explained, navigating around the tall redwoods and oaks.
"Amazing," She muttered, gazing around the forest.
He stopped at a relatively clear area and extended his arm in offering. "After you," He said, and she jumped into the trees, all the while stripping her jacket.
As she ran, her pink locks flew behind her in a flurry of bubblegum. She could hear the sound of Itachi's feet pounding on the branches she previously stepped on, letting her know that he was right behind her. She could sense movement on her right, thus resulting her very sharp turn towards that direction. If he weren't a vampire with awesomely sharp senses, he probably would've missed her.
As he took the same turn, he saw that she spotted a deer in the distance and was chasing it from above. With perfect timing and precision, she leapt and caught the deer, wrangling by the throat and suffocation it all before its body even touched the ground.
She leaned over the corpse of the poor critter and sunk her fangs through the fur and skin, puncturing a major artery. Blood spilled out from the body and she lapped at it with pleasure. It was addictive—blood was a beautiful thing.
"So are you," A voice spoke, and she realized she said the last statement out loud. A heat source was to her immediate left, licking the excess blood dripping down her jaw line. He started trailing kisses down her neck and somehow backed her up a nearby tree.
She gave a soft moan as he pulled her in closer, his hands pushing up the small of her back. They were now as physically close as possible, until he moved upwards and placed his lips on hers. Their lips molded together perfectly, like pieces in a puzzle. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled back, beckoning for him to continue.
And he did. They continued to do so for a long while. When she moaned as he licked her lips to ask for entrance, she felt his smirk on his lips. He ghosted butterfly kisses down her neck and she felt a sting at the area he kisses. She felt his fangs sink in and she clutched onto the back of his shirt. He just sunk her teeth in deeper, lapping on her blood like a starved puppy.
He was marking her.
--
The blonde woman was polishing a large iron fan that stood in between her knees as a bell rang through the small, weathered shop, which also acted as her and her twin brother's home.
"We're closed now." She muttered, not bothering to face the supposed customer. When she didn't hear footsteps moving away, she turned around annoyed. "Look, we're closed, so get the fu—otouoto?"
The redhead squinted at his sister with intensity, making her stand up and shrink backwards in fear. She was n the opposite wall from him, cowering at his presence.
"Gaara, you haven't—"
"Where is she?" He demanded, looking at his older sister with bloodshot eyes.
She stayed quiet.
"Where is she?" He repeated, slamming his fist in the wall and creating a large crack in the wooden interior.
"I-I don't know! I never got to talk to her…" She managed to stutter, but a machete was thrown in her direction, forcing her to dodge.
Another expanse of weapons was thrown at her until she tired out. Gaara grabbed his sister by her hair and glared menacingly at her. "Where is Haruno Sakura?"
"JAPAN!" Temari cried. "She's back in Tokyo." The half-vampire, half-demon could only cower at the sight of her youngest brother, and she felt bad about doing so. She felt even more pained when that same fear caused her to rat out her best friend to her demonic brother.
He let her sandy locks go and stomped of the shop, leaving her alone in the desolated area. Kankuro wouldn't be home for another week, so she had no one to help her.
The shop didn't matter at the moment.
She struggled to stand, clutching her bruised abdomen.
'I'm a fucking vampire,' She told herself and forced her body to stand. It wasn't about her though. It was about her brother's target.
'Haruno…Sakura…'
--
"Itachi, where are you taking me with a blood stained-shirt?" Sakura complained as Itachi carried her deeper into the forest. She was on his back as he flew through the trees since he insisted on her not walking. "I can walk you know."
"I took your blood. You must be weaker at this point." He answered bluntly, stepping on another branch and breaking it with sheer force.
"But I'm still strong!" She complained, playfully slapping his shoulder.
He chuckled. "It doesn't matter now, since we're here." He set her down gently in the clearing and put his hand on the large, mossy rock in front of him. She watched with intensity, completely forgetting the blood on her yellow top.
He grasped her wrist and took her through the large hole in the rock Itachi created. "Itachi, where exactly is 'here'?" She asked after 2 minutes or so of walking in the dark.
He didn't answer (as usual) and led her blindly through the cave. After about another estimate of a minute, they stopped at a large metal door. He let go of her hand to twist the knob and it opened to a large room with a lounge and flat screen TV, plus surround system. Many other contraptions surrounded the television, but being born in the 1800's doesn't help with modern society and their new-age devices.
"Itachi-senpai!!" A cloaked man with an orange mask came running from the couch, throwing a Play Station controller behind him and latching onto said Uchiha's leg.
"Tobi, for the last time, get off Itachi, yeah!" A blonde man coming from the same activity as the childish masked one started grabbing this so-called 'Tobi', removing him from Itachi's person. "Oh," he caught sight of the pink-haired vampire behind Itachi. "And who is this Itachi, yeah?" He asked curiously.
"This," the raven-haired man pulled the pinkette forward, pulling her up to him. "Is Haruno Sakura," He then placed a hand in her pink locks, stroking through its full length. "Sakura, this is Deidara."
Deidara extended his hand to shake but before Sakura could shake it, the same hand went to the blonde's chin and rubbed it. "Haruno…Haruno…the black coat?" He suddenly realized. "Itachi, what the hell are you doing bringing a black coat around the base?"
"Ex-black coat. I resigned a few years ago to explore modern life." Sakura explained.
"Un…" Deidara acknowledge.
"HI! I'M TOBI! TOBI IS SO GLAD TO MEET YOU SAKURA-CHAN! DID ITACHI-SENPAI EVER TELL YOU HOW PRETTY SAKURA-CHAN IS? BECAUSE TOBI THINK SAKURA-CHAN IS PRE-OMPHGAWDIGOGH!"
"Sorry 'bout Tobi, yeah. He's new, yeah."
Sakura smiled as Deidara restrained Tobi from saying anymore. "It's fine, Deidara-san. I find it funny."
--
Hinata sat in the Hyuuga compound's west parlor, stitching vines onto a pillowcase she was making for her father. Hiashi wasn't at his best right now, especially after that rogue vampire randomly attacked the compound's main house a month ago. For that, she and her other relatives were called home to underground Konoha, the Fire vampire realm, to care for their clan head.
The white-eyed girl sighed. The number of rogues has been increasing every year, especially after some people suddenly decided to leave the Assassin's Guild, lessening their numbers. She, in fact, also took her leave to continue her research in the Vatican.
Even without this ruckus, her research there was hard enough already. Da Vinci had been giving her and her team of humans a headache. Most vampires living in that era have already perished, especially during the time of the Bubonic Plague where blood was practically poison. Others are merely in hiding, but Earth and their own vampire realm are vast areas, and looking for them would jut take too long.
She locked her stitching and held the cloth up, proud of her work. If her father didn't like it, she'd give it to Hanabi.
"Hinata-hime," She inwardly cringed at the title. Sure, she was the heir of the Hyuuga title, but she would give all of that just to be a normal vampire and travel the world without a branch member follower her.
She wished she would be free.
"Hinata-hime!" The voice called out again. She turned and saw lower branch member at the door.
"Hai, Kazuya?" She answered.
"All Hyuugas are accounted for except one." He reported. It wasn't strange for the Hyuugas to give her all the details of every single thing happening anymore. Before, she was left out and protected from the hectic life of the Hyuuga Main Branch. Now, she was the center of attention and was told everything.
"Which one?" She asked.
"Hyuuga Neji-sama." Kazuya replied, and Hinata bolted right past the branch member and to her room. After that, she opened a compartment in the floorboards and pulled out a bunch of folders and files and sifted through them.
She searched frantically through her old Guild files for her cousin. The last time anyone had ever seen him was about ten years ago. That was the last any Hyuuga has heard of him anyways. The last time she had personally seen him was a visit with her long time friend since childbirth, and he was courting her. After that, rumors of her departure were going around, but no one could ever trust the gossip of bored old noble women.
News of her and a Sand sibling together after her 'break-up' with her cousin made it's way to the ears of the gossiping Hyuuga women as well. As if Neji would even let the object of his affections get away from him. She would inwardly laugh on how dumb it was, but being a historian, she learned that nothing is impossible.
Sakura wasn't that dense, running away from the Hyuuga Neji. She was a smart girl, always quick on her feet.
Hinata paused at the pink-haired ex-assassin's page. Then again, 'quick on your feet' doesn't always mean you are thinking rationally.
"Hinata-hime?" Kazuya called again, breaking her reverie.
"Kazuya, inform father of my departure." She ordered, stuffing the files and some other necessities in a backpack. "I have some business to attend to in the Human realm with Neji-onii-san. I do not need the aid of anyone else, but if father insists on the protection, tell him not to send any for another month or so. This is something I must deal with alone."
And with that, Kazuya was left alone in the room.
--
Itachi and Sakura were sitting on one end of the couch, her legs on his lap and his arm around her waist. They watched as Deidara and Tobi faced off in Guitar Hero, using their vampire abilities to keep in time with the circles quickly moving across the monitor. The other Akatsuki members, namely Sasori, Kisame, Zetsu, Hidan, Kakazu, Pein (or Leader-sama, to the Akatsuki members, but Sakura was allowed to call him by his name) and his mate Konan had joined them in the entertainment center.
Suddenly, Sakura stiffened in Itachi's hold. He threw a questioning glance at her as her hold tightened. Pictures were flashing rapidly before her eyes—a vision. She hated whenever she got one. On the rare occasion that she did, her whole body would freeze over, and her head would pound repeatedly. The pictures would be so fast that she wouldn't be able to catch them if she wasn't what she was.
But what sucked more that the physical pain was what the vision brought. A strange trait of hers as a clairvoyant was that all her visions must mean something bad. That was why she never got them often. The last one she got was when a human colleague of hers was stricken with cancer and died a year after. Aside from that, her visions hadn't been showing.
So why now?
Her body went frigid when she saw a pair of mismatched eyes looking at her. The pearl and the jade orbs pierced right through her, and her head started throbbing more. Unconsciously, she clutched her head and she curled up into a ball on Itachi's lap, unconscious.
The Akatsuki watched her have her mental breakdown in the Uchiha's arms.
"What the fuck is wrong with her?" Hidan asked. "Itachi, you have the weirdest taste in women."
"It's a vision." Itachi explained. "My mother used to do this as well when I was younger." He scooped her up in his arms and started walking out the door.
Again, the Akatsuki were observers. "Is something wrong with Sakura-chan?" Tobi asked, his voice trailing off into silence.
--
Itachi retraced their steps through the forest, remembering to use a smoke screen to remove their scent in his haste. He quickly got them to the car and strapped the seatbelt around her lithe body, not forgetting the jacket to cover the bloodstain on her shirt beforehand and the pendant around her neck.
He raced down the dirt road and onto the highway. Itachi paid no mind to the other cars looking at the dirtied Mercedes speeding down the black top. The usual hour ride from the outskirts to the main district became 30 minutes, and Itachi easily located her residence in a decent part of town, not too far from the high school.
The landlady looked at the tall, handsome man carrying her young tenant bridal style and shook her head, muttering something like 'kids these days'. He found her apartment and took the keys hanging from her backpack to open the door, only to find six other people standing in her apartment—two black coats, a Hyuuga, a Subaku, and Sakura's parents.
"Guess she found out."