Black Despondency
by blackSMILES
I am so sorry for not updating this for more than a month. Now that my mid-year examinations are over, I can finally get down to type Chapter ONE out:) Yay for me!
Rushed as usual. Forgive me for any mistakes!
Realization dawned upon Sasuke. That woman was no human. She was a water nymph. She turned herself into water to escape him. Clenching his fists as he swam to the surface and cursed his own bad judgment. He wasted his time on someone who could not provide him with any blood.
Leaping onto the nearest branch, Sasuke sped off into the darkness of the forest, leaving an invisible and scared Sakura hiding in the water.
End of recap
Sakura stayed in the cool water for several minutes, her keen senses alert as she tried to detect any movement from that vampire who could be hiding in the forest. That was her first time encountering a real vampire. All she knew about vampires before that was that they were bloodsucking and ruthless bloodsucking creatures.
She twisted her head to the sky. The sun had set and darkness started to set in, washing the forest off its usual green. Sakura also knew that vampires were active at night. It was no wonder that vampire attacked her at this time, when the sun was no longer visible.
A wisp of red liquid in the water caught Sakura's attention. Blood. It dissolved and mingled with the water after appearing shortly.
She was bleeding.
After making sure her surroundings were free of malicious vampires, Sakura rose up from the water, materializing into her human form as water flowed down her body. There was blood on her forearm, slowly oozing out a scratch wound about two inches long on her forearm.
"The wound must have been inflicted when that vampire held me," Sakura stared at the wound for a long time, watching her life essence dripping onto the ground.
She licked her wound and cringed when she tasted the coppery tang of her red blood. How could someone actually like drinking blood? To Sakura, blood was anything but edible.
Putting her other hand over the wound, Sakura used the healing techniques her mother taught her to heal the wound. Pressing green light emitted from her hand onto the wound, Sakura could feel comfortable warmth on her injured skin, sealing the wound.
Sakura always wondered why her life essence was red. It was not like human blood. Her life essence was like a clear crimson solution, like what one would get from mixing blood and water together. Yuna's life essence was crystal clear and colourless, very much like other water nymphs.
She had always pestered Yuna about why she was so different from other water nymphs. Yuna would steer away from the question and avoided it completely.
"Am I really a water nymph?" Sakura sighed as she bent down to wash off the blood on her skin left after the wound healed.
"Sakura-chan! Dinner's ready!" Yuna's voice chirped suddenly.
Sakura stood up and walked towards her home. "Should I tell Mother about the vampire?" Sakura pondered as she walked into the wooden hut.
Sasuke sprinted through the thick canopy of the forest when he left the river. He was hungry for blood and annoyed because he had to waste time catching some prey that he cannot even devour.
Branch. Step. Branch. Step. Stomach growling.
He needed food fast. Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he heard a soft humming coming from the ground below, coming nearer.
"Lucky," Sasuke smirked and dived down onto the forest ground, landing perfectly in front of a young woman.
The girl was wearing a plain peasant dress that was a little torn at the hems. Her bosoms pushed slightly at the front of her dress and her dress flared at her hips. She smelled nice, like food. Not as pretty as the pseudo-prey he had, but she would do.
The girl was startled when Sasuke appeared in front of her. Her shocked expression turned into a blush when she saw Sasuke's handsome face, smirking at her.
"What's your name, young lady?" Sasuke asked suavely, looking at his prey intently as she stuttered to give him an answer. His gaze landed on the two neat pigtails at the side of her neck, the brown strands of hair grazing her neck softly. Beneath the smooth skin she had was warm tasty blood for a hungry vampire.
Sasuke licked his lips impatiently as he watched the peasant girl said her name in a crystal clear voice that barely registered in his head.
"My name is Hinako," the girl repeatedly shyly.
"Oh, Hinako-chan," Sasuke said absently, relishing the fact that he was able to enthrall the girl with just his appearance. He knew that he was a beautiful creature, like many other vampires. They were born with perfect faces and toned bodies. Under the perfect façade, a black heart thrived in each vampire, feeding on blood from the humans.
Hinako blushed.
It seemed like the peasant girl knew nothing about vampires and their beautiful exterior. She might hear warnings from her elders before, but she might be too entranced by the beautiful man in front of her to even think.
Sasuke did not care.
He stepped forward. Hinako's glance on him was wavering and landing anywhere but on him.
"Look at me," Sasuke spoke gently.
She looked at him with her large hazel eyes.
That was the biggest mistake of her lifetime.
The onyx eyes that attracted her so much turned to a seductive shade of red, with three commas gracing the irises of his eyes. The commas started spinning. Hinako found herself unable to look away.
Hinako fell onto the ground, barely conscious.
Sasuke bent down and picked the girl up, holding her neck to his mouth. Slowly, he licked the smooth skin. Hinako moaned softly as she felt his wet tongue circled the skin on her neck, following the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat. The warmth and wetness on her neck was so enticing…
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
All she heard was her heartbeat and Sasuke's heavy breathing. Everything else was forgotten. Sasuke bared his sharp fangs and pierced them into her creamy neck. Blood spurted out instantly from the wound and Hinako gasped sharply as pain overtook her.
There was nothing to think about anymore, except the acute pain and the warm pleasurable breath on her neck. She did not know what to feel- pleasure or pain.
Hinako grimaced as she heard Sasuke slurped her blood like a hungry wolf. Her half-lidded eyelids began to close slowly, obscuring her into a world of darkness. Before she was unconscious, she forced out a strangled whisper to the mysterious man who no longer had his attention on her neck.
"Who are you?" She asked.
She realized that she did not even know his name.
Sasuke stopped sucking blood from the peasant girl when the bleating of trumpets echoed through the forest. The sounds came from the forest and it implied that the palace doors were closing soon and he should return soon.
He stood up and cursed when he saw that the white shirt he was wearing splattered with blood. Blood dribbled from his chin onto his shirt. Annoyed, Sasuke used a bloodied hand to wipe the remaining blood away.
He could smell the sweet blood from Hinako from his hand. He could taste that she was a pure and innocent girl. It was a pity he could not enjoy her anymore.
Still wiping his face with his hand, Sasuke stopped abruptly when he smelled blood from another being. It was not only Hinako's blood he smelled. There was a faint scent of blood belonging to someone else. The blood smelled sweet too, but somehow different from a mere human being.
"Whose blood could it be?" Sasuke tried to remember what he had done today.
Sasuke's memories flooded his mind and stopped at the little scuffle he had with the water nymph.
He remembered scratching the water nymph when she was trying to get away from him. He hurriedly smelled his nails for traces of blood different from Hinako.
Bingo. The blood must have been from the water nymph.
Sasuke frowned. "But why would red blood flow in a water nymph?"
He was about to turn back to the river where he saw the water nymph when the bleating of trumpets resounded in the forest again.
"Damn!" Sasuke cursed as he took off in the direction to the palace, not even turning to glance at Hinako once.
Sakura decided to tell her mother about the vampire. It was after dinner when she finally decided to do so.
"Mother," Sakura began, standing behind her mother who was washing dishes by the river.
"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Yuna asked cheerfully as she placed a clean dish onto the ground.
"I saw a vampire today," Sakura stated simply.
Yuna suddenly stopped. Sakura could feel her mother tensing up slightly. She asked in the same cheerful voice, "But he didn't attack you right?"
"He did, and he scratched me on my arm. But that's all," Sakura said, feeling bewildered at how calm her voice was.
Yuna stood up from washing the dishes hurriedly and grabbed Sakura's arm to see the wound.
"I healed it, Mother," Sakura said as she stared at her mother's worried expression.
"Sakura. Please, don't come out of the house without me with you. Stay by me from now on," Yuna pleaded, a flustered look etched on her face.
Sakura realized that her mother looked older when she was less cheerful. She knew that even when she asked Yuna why, Yuna would not answer her.
Resignedly, Sakura kept her mouth close and walked back to the hut with Yuna.
A series of shouts and screams alerted both of them suddenly.
"Yuna-sama! Yuna-sama!" An elderly man called as he ran towards Yuna and Sakura. Both of them stopped and turned. Behind the elderly man was a young man carrying a woman around his age, bleeding profusely.
"Hinako-chan… Hinako-chan is attacked by a vampire!" The elderly man blabbered as he panted.
Sakura's emerald eyes widened significantly. Could it be the work of the same vampire who attacked her?
Sakura watched the young man carry Hinako into the hut and followed. He laid Hinako down onto the wooden bed they had.
She could see clearly, the two punctured wounds on her neck. Thick crimson blood was oozing out from the wound.
"Please! Save my granddaughter! She's my only family!" The elderly man kneeled and begged Yuna.
"I will. Do not worry." Yuna said seriously as she began to heal the punctured wounds on Hinako's neck.
Sakura stood frozen by the bedside, as she saw Hinako's life ebbing away slowly. She was scared, and guilty.
This girl would not have been bitten at all if Sakura was a human. Sakura would be food for the ruthless monster, instead of Hinako.
Sakura could imagine how it would be like for her. A monster baring its fangs, sinking it into her neck and sucking her blood out as her heartbeat grew weaker and weaker…
"Sakura! I need a clean towel!" Yuna said.
"Sakura!" Yuna repeated hurriedly when the clean towel did not arrive in her hands within seconds.
"Yes!" Sakura grabbed a towel and handed it to her mother. She wiped the beads of perspiration forming on her mother's forehead with another towel. Her hands were shaking.
Within minutes, Yuna finally stopped the healing and said to the elderly man, "Hinako will be safe. It was lucky that the vampire did not take too much of her blood."
Everyone let out a breath that they were keeping unconsciously.
The elderly man and the young man rushed to look at Hinako who was still lying on her bloodstained clothes.
Yuna said Sakura in a voice both of them could not hear. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I knew you were afraid of vampires. But I…"
Sakura cut off Yuna and said, "It's okay, Mother. I don't want to fear them anymore. I want to hate them."
I hope this chapter is exciting for you guys. Hinako is just an extra. She won't be coming back anymore, I guess. X.X
Teehee. Review please, sweeties:)