Chapter 1 – This Is Not Me

It was like every single one of her senses had been heightened, to such a great extent that it was bordering on painful.

There were so many sounds being thrown at her. Somewhere in the distance, most likely on the other side of wherever she was, was the sound of pages being turned. It was probably somebody reading a book. Trying to single out the different sounds was annoying and confusing, but after a couple of moments, she could hear somebody… training, maybe? Whatever they were doing, it sounded tiring. They were grunting softly as what she presumed as fists were thrown at mid-air. It was strange, she could actually hear the sound of whooshing with every blow. Directly below her were the sounds of people… arguing? It sounded as though it was about something pretty serious.

"I could not leave her to die."

"You should have," a different voice hissed with so much venom, she almost winced. "Do you have any idea what you have done? This… this child is hardly unrecognisable and for all we know, she could be of some importance. Do not even get me started on the fact that she will be ravenous and possibly out of control."

There was a moment of silence, one where she felt herself holding her breath. Her gut instinct was warning her that they were definitely talking about her and she didn't like it one bit.

"I will not allow that to happen, Father," the first voice replied smoothly, his voice like silk. For some reason, she felt as though she knew this person or had heard his voice before. Had she met him before? "As for her thirst, I will teach her how to control it."

"You are missing the point." There was a sigh, one that was much closer than she had expected. "You have created a bo–"

Suddenly, everything fell silent as her eyes fluttered open and the sight before her took her breath away. It was like… It was like she was truly seeing for the first time. She could see everything so clearly, such as the cracks in the wood all the way across the room, dust motes… everything.

Movement caught her eye, making her gaze snap to a figure that was rising to her feet and she felt her mouth drop open at the sight of the woman. She was beautiful. Her long and dark hair looked silk-soft, making her pale skin stand out all the more. But what shocked her most were the woman's eyes. They were so dark, yet they looked so bright and warm all at the same time. The way she held herself, too, so tall and confident. It kind of made her jealous.

"You're awake," when the woman spoke, her voice was soft, gentle and with a smile, she continued, saying, "We were beginning to think that you would never wake up."

"Where am I?"

Her own voice stunned her, making her eyes widen and she clutched her throat in shock. That could not be her voice. Since when did she sound so… so… There wasn't even a word to describe what she thought of her own voice. All she could say was that it was mesmerising. Melodic, even.

The gentle smile never dimmed for a second as the dark haired woman stepped toward her slowly, almost as though she was trying to show that she meant no harm. All she could do was watch the older woman with wide eyes, her fear obvious as she was helped up into a sitting position with her legs dangling over the bed she had been laying on.

Wait, bed?

Why was she on a bed?

"Try to relax," the woman told her, retracting her arm until it joined her other, both hands clasping together in front of her. "We will tell you everything soon. What is your name?"

For a moment, she hesitated, frowning to herself before answering, "My name is Haruno Sakura." Sakura paused for a moment, her features uncertain. She wasn't sure about her voice. It sounded nothing like her. What was happening? "And yours?"

"Uchiha Mikoto."

"I see you are finally conscious."

The new voice startled her, the deepness of it making the hairs on the back of her neck stand and Sakura quickly slipped off the bed, whirling around to face the man who had spoken to her. What put her on edge even more was when she saw the man, the sight of him making her eyes widen as she took a step back, the fear she was experiencing making her feel as though she was about to throw up.

In an instant, Mikoto was by her side, placing a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder while sending the man an annoyed look. "Please, Fugaku. Can't you be a little gentler? This has to be very unnerving for Sakura-chan."

He simply shook his head before stepping further into the room and as he did, the fear Sakura could feel only seemed to increase. His aura was so intimidating that it made her feel only an inch big, but then, somebody else stepped into the room with a sudden flash of crimson, the sight taking her breath away before horrible memories flashed to her mind, reminding Sakura of where she had seen this man. Tears filled her eyes, though they wouldn't fall.

"You," Sakura whispered, her throat tightening almost painfully as she took a step forward. "You're…"

Before she even knew what she was doing, she was hugging the man. She didn't know him. All she knew about him was that he had saved her. She was alive because of him. He was her saviour.

"Thank you," Sakura told him and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Thank you."

Large hands gently unwrapped her arms from around his waist, making her eyes open and snap to his face. He was emotionless, though the moment he saw her distress, he gave her a small, barely even noticeable smile and for some reason, it made her relax. He wouldn't harm her – that much was obvious. He wouldn't have saved her life, otherwise.

The man holding her at arms-length was beautiful, there was no denying that. Like the first two she had seen, Mikoto and Fugaku, his skin was pale, but his hair was neither as dark as Mikoto's nor as light as Fugaku's. It was kind of in the middle, a dull black that still somehow seemed to shine. Like Mikoto and Fugaku, however, his eyes were impossibly dark and there was no emotion in them. Perhaps they were his parents?

"I don't even know your name." Sakura smiled shyly, her eyes averting to ground.

"Uchiha Itachi."

His soft voice was one she recognised immediately. He had been arguing when she first woke up, along with the other man in the room, Fugaku. Itachi, however, had been the one saying that he would help her. At least that solved one problem and she now knew why the voice had seemed so familiar. He had spoken to her that night, though she had hardly been capable of holding a real conversation.

Sakura smiled politely at Itachi before stepping away, feeling a little uncomfortable as she glanced at the three around her. There was something not normal about them, but the only one who made her nervous was Fugaku. His intense stare was making her restless with the urge to shift her weight from foot to foot, though she wouldn't allow it.

"Where am I? What happened?"

The man she had just been hugging, Itachi, looked over to Mikoto, who frowned for a moment.

"You were attacked, Sakura-chan," she told her gently, like she was going to give Sakura bad news. "When my son, Itachi, found you, you were barely even alive and if he had been a minute later, you would have died." Sakura's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Mikoto looked to the ground as she continued softly, "You were in bad shape and whoever had attacked you was animalistic. I have never seen something so…" She shook her head, finally looking back up at Sakura. "Whoever it was had broken your spine as well as both of your arms and many ribs. You also had a serious head wound that should have killed you immediately as well as many, many cuts and stab wounds that had been slowly bleeding you dry." Mikoto looked pained for a moment, like she didn't want to say the words. "You were also sexually assaulted, Sakura-chan."

Sakura closed her eyes, feeling like somebody was sitting on her chest and refusing to get up. Of course she had already known that she had been viciously raped. Several times, in fact, by several men. It wasn't something that was easy to forget. What she didn't know was how serious her wounds had been. After the men had damaged her spine, she had barely even felt a thing.

Wait…

"I was paralysed," she said slowly, her eyes opening as she looked at the older woman. "I shouldn't be able to move the lower half of my body, let alone be standing and walking around. They… They had broken my spine to stop me from running away."

This time, Mikoto looked at the person beside Sakura. "Itachi, perhaps you should be the one to explain to Sakura-chan."

He nodded once and with that nod, Mikoto and Fugaku left the room, though Sakura could tell that they were close by due to her enhanced hearing. The person who had once been training was closer than before, too. It made her a little uneasy, if Sakura was completely honest, but she couldn't blame them for being unsure of her. If somebody who should have been dead or paralysed just magically healed right in front of her, she would be kind of freaked out and worried, too.

And then, Itachi turned to face her, but no words would come from his lips. It didn't even seem like he was trying to make the effort of speaking. Sakura watched him silently and there was no denying that she could feel dread filling her entire body as she waited for him to speak.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by her that the moment his parents, his father, left the room, Itachi became less cold. Sure, he wasn't exactly the cheeriest looking person Sakura had ever met before, but his eyes had definitely softened and he looked much more approachable now. However, instead of being comforted by this, her guards went straight up. It was obvious that he was trying to make her comfortable, like he was trying to soften a blow that was about to hit her.

"Itachi-san," Sakura said quietly, inwardly wincing once again at the sound of her voice, "what happened last night?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Last night?" When she slowly, unsurely nodded, he sighed. "Sakura-san, nothing happened last night." Just when she was about to argue, he cut her off. "What happened to you was over a week ago."

Mikoto's earlier words drifted to her mind: "We were beginning to think that you would never wake up". After only a week, they had thought she wasn't going to wake up? In all honestly, she shouldn't have. She should be dead right now. Or, at least, in a state of unconsciousness, possibly even a coma. Her injuries had been fatal. Hell, the head injury alone should have killed her. Mikoto had even said so herself.

Raising her hands, Sakura looked down at them, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. She was much paler than usual, although, considering how much blood she probably lost, that wasn't all too surprising. However, that wasn't what had her frowning. It was the fact that there wasn't a single scar on her hands.

"What…"

As her voice trailed off, a hand entered her line of vision. A large, pale hand which slowly took a hold of hers and gently pulled her forward. Sakura's frown deepened, allowing Itachi to guide her out of a different door than the one his parents had used. As he walked in front of her, she couldn't help but watch him in admiration. Like Mikoto, every single one of Itachi's movements was graceful, yet there was a power beneath that gracefulness, one that revealed itself with each stride.

When they entered another room, a bedroom, Sakura couldn't help but gasp, looking around in awe. This place was beautiful and she regretted not paying attention to the other rooms she had just been in. It was furnished traditionally, yet there were a few pieces here and there that gave the room a more modern look, making it seem warmer. Sakura didn't have time to appreciate it fully, however, as she was guided (pulled!) around yet another corner. This time, however, she paused and managed to stop Itachi's movements, too.

"Where am I, Itachi-san?" This place was like a freaking mansion. What sort of bedroom had its own living area?

"My home," he replied patiently, glancing at her over his shoulder before pulling her forward once again with more force than earlier.

Sakura glanced down at their joined hands. His hold kept loosening and tightening every couple of moments, like he wasn't too sure on how to hold somebody's hand. Or maybe it was because of what happened to her? No. That was ridiculous. Why would he be worried about how she would take holding his hand? Well, more like him taking her hand hostage and dragging her places.

It was strange. Despite everything that had happened to her… Sakura didn't feel how she probably should have. She had seen, spoken to and treated many victims of rape and while they had all reacted differently, deep down, they all held that same defeated, utterly hopeless and broken aura. It was nothing like how she was feeling. Right now, when Sakura really thought about it, she felt…

She felt murderous.

A part of her wanted to go out there, track the men down who had attacked her and rip their throats out. She wanted to make them suffer for what they had done to her, for how they had treated her. She wanted to bathe in their blood. Sakura had always been known for being rather violent, but never had she ever had such… such animalistic and vicious thoughts.

"Calm yourself," Itachi spoke calmly, his hold loosening ever so slightly as he slowed down to walk by her side.

Sakura's eyes snapped up to his as they regarded each other silently. It only vaguely registered in her mind that she didn't need to look where she was going to stop herself from bumping into anything. And no, it wasn't because of Itachi guiding her. Like earlier on, when she first woke up, Sakura was startled by just how much she could see. For example, despite Itachi being almost an entire foot taller than her, as well as several inches away from her, she could count every single eyelash framing his impossibly dark eyes.

"How can you tell me to calm down?" Sakura questioned, averting her eyes to look around as they now entered a bathroom. A rather large bathroom. No, scratch that. It was ridiculously large and luxuriously decorated. It was the kind of bathroom one would expect to find in a palace or a celebrity's mansion. "I wake up in a strange place even though I should be dead and…"

When she trailed off, Itachi looked down at her. "And?"

"…And I don't feel like myself," she whispered, continuing to stare at the dark marbled floor. It was so clean that she could almost see her reflection, though it was too blurry to make anything out. It seemed even with her new eyesight, there were still some things that couldn't be seen.

Silently, Itachi brought Sakura closer to him and moved them to a certain part of the bathroom, but when she looked up at him questioningly, just about to ask him what he was doing, Itachi turned her around so that her back was against his chest, the sight in front of her taking her breath away.

There, standing before her, was her. Only, it didn't look like her. Not exactly. Sure her hair was still the same pale, pastel shade of pink, but it seemed shinier than before and smoother (and a hell of a lot shorter). It looked as though it would feel like silk beneath her fingers. The finest, most expensive silk. What startled her the most were her eyes. They had always been bright, but now, they seemed so much more stunning. It was like the unusual paleness of her skin, the thick, long black eyelashes framing her almond shaped eyes, were making them look more startling than ever. Had they always been so bright? So hauntingly beautiful?

Self-consciously, Sakura wrapped her arms around her waist, only to pause when she was suddenly reminded that Itachi was still holding her. When she looked up, via their reflections, her eyes locked with his, watching him as he watched her. His eyes were so intense, even more so than before and the appreciative look in them wasn't unnoticed by her. It made Sakura once again look herself over.

"These aren't my clothes."

She felt like slapping her hand to her face. Out of all the things to say, why did she have to say that? It made her sound so stupid. Of course the clothes weren't her own. When Itachi had found her, her clothes had been torn to shreds when they had been literally ripped from her body.

At the moment, she was wearing a black dress that reached her knees and honestly, the dress was stunning and seemed to exaggerate her curves. What surprised her the most though was the fact that when she looked down, Sakura found that she was wearing heels. How the hell hadn't she noticed them? She couldn't even walk in heels. The last time she had worn a pair, she had sprained her ankle.

What was happening to her?

"The dress and shoes belong to my mother," Itachi answered smoothly, hands continuing to rest on her hips while he admired the rest of her body.

"What's happening to me?" Sakura suddenly whispered, her eyes locking with Itachi's once again. "This isn't me."

For what felt like an eternity, it was silent. He watched her closely, focused entirely on her eyes, but what he was looking for, she had no idea. Was it to gauge how she was feeling? Was the sigh that suddenly came from him, along with the shutting of his eyes, disappointment? How had she disappointed him? Was it her reaction to everything going on around them?

"Sakura-san," he said as his eyes slowly slid open, revealing not dark eyes, but startlingly red and black ones. "What do you know about vampires?"

Edited: 29/08/2016.

A/N - I've noticed quite a few (loads) mistakes and like I promised at some point: I've decided to come back and fix them. There shouldn't be any major changes in the story, because I know I personally hate it when that happens after getting really into a story. Saying that, I have made one thing different and that was the suddenness of a certain thing. If you've read the story before, you'll know what I mean. If not, you'll find out eventually (I don't want to post any spoilers).