Chapter 16 – This day, It Was Always Coming

It had been silent for way too long, but every time Sakura made a move or simply opened her mouth, an even deeper rage would settle over Sasuke's features. The killing intent that was filling the small bedroom was suffocating, weighing down heavily on her chest and Sakura had absolutely no idea how it didn't wake Itachi up.

And then Sasuke was grabbing her arm and yanking her out of the room, dragging her into the one who was sharing with Naruto. Like his room in the original Uchiha home, this room was bare of anything personal. Sure, there were old decorations, but they were so old that they hardly counted (due to being faded and covered in dust). There were a few of Naruto's things covering the floor, but Sasuke seemed to have done a good job of keeping the blond's mess on his own side of the room with an invisible, fine line. The difference was comical.

Instead of saying anything immediately, Sasuke set to yanking open a drawer and pulling out four pouches, tossing two to Sakura before he attached the other two to each of his hips after checking the contents. There was a scowl on his face the entire time he did it, as he shut the drawer and opened another, pulling out two cloaks (his own and the other most likely being Naruto's). Once he saw that Sakura had attached the pouches, he threw the cloak at her, not giving her long to put it on before he was demanding answers.

"Explain how Orochimaru got into your head if you've never met him before."

Sakura swallowed hard. "Itachi and I… We…"

His red and black eyes narrowed.

Now wasn't the time to be going into stories! Saying that, though, Sasuke was going to need to know everything so that he knew what he was going up against, wasn't he?

Just as she opened her mouth, Sasuke was gripping her chin and roughly tilting her head back, forcing her eyes to meet his.

Reality slipped away.

They were in her mind, she realised with a great deal of horror and shock. While grateful that Sasuke was only skimming through the memories, as most were of herself and Itachi, she couldn't help but feel like it was a huge invasion of her privacy. That feeling only grew when they got to a part where she and Itachi were intimate, testing to see how much she could do. However, Sakura couldn't find her voice to tell him to stop. All she could see were the memories.

And when he found the memory he was looking for, when he got all he needed from it, Sasuke released her.

"You looked into his eyes," he snarled, eyes a fraction wider than usual.

Sakura's memories had been so vivid, so startling and raw, that it felt like he himself had been hiding behind Itachi as Orochimaru stood mere feet from them. It was a disgusting experience and while Sasuke cared little for the two lackeys that flanked Orochimaru, he couldn't hold back his growl at the thought of them simply thinking about him.

All of them were vermin.

"W–What?" She was feeling rather woozy, like her mind was spinning. Just what the hell had Sasuke done with his Sharingan? "What did you…?"

"The effects aren't permanent," he muttered, eyes fixed on hers. Already Sasuke could see that Sakura was readjusting to everything, pushing aside her dizziness. "The reason why Orochimaru has managed to get into your head is because at some point, you made direct eye contact with him. That's all he needs to get into your head." Narrowing his eyes, he gave her a serious look. "That's why Itachi kept you behind him like you're a child. He was trying to prevent you making eye contact with Orochimaru."

Now it all made sense.

Her eyes were wide, filled with horror and it took everything in Sakura not to grab onto Sasuke's arms and shake him desperately, already knowing he wouldn't appreciate it in the slightest. "What do we do? Itachi's going to be asleep for ages and we can't go to Orochimaru without back up! What if something happens? And my parents… He might not even have them and–"

"He has them," Sasuke grunted, walking around Sakura and over to the door, gesturing with his head for her to follow him. "And if we wait until Itachi is awake, he could kill them. Is that what you want?" When silence met him, he refused to turn back and see her expression, instead keeping his eyes in front of himself as he walked down the stairs. No matter how light they were on their feet, the old staircase still creaked loudly on most steps. "Back up will take too long. We need to go now."

"Sasuke–"

"Now, Sakura!" Once Sasuke was at the bottom of the stairs, even though she was still on the last step, he spun around and glared viciously at her, causing her to stop abruptly. "Do you want him to kill your parents?"

It was at that moment that Sakura saw a glimpse of the insanity in Sasuke's mind. Just a tiny glimpse and it had her feeling like ice on the inside, had her feeling utterly terrified of what he was capable of when losing his control.

"Aren't you sick of staying in his shadow constantly? Clinging to him like you're nothing but his toy?"

That was unnecessary. Extremely so. Sakura narrowed her eyes, shoving aside her fear.

"You–"

"Shut up!" she snarled, upper lip curling. "Stop thinking about yourself and your revenge! My parents are in danger and you're thinking of your revenge?" At her demands, Sasuke slowly calmed down, eyes narrowing and eyebrows knitting together like he was in deep thought. "I told you what happened because I thought you would help! Orochimaru told me not to tell or bring Itachi with me, but he said nothing about you. Itachi's been training you! Y–You can help them!"

When he spoke again, his voice was low and rough, "Where?"

It took a few minutes to compose herself, to try and calm the panic swelling within her. "Oto."

Nodding once, Sasuke opened the front door and left, knowing that Sakura would follow without question.

She did, grabbing her Gunbai on the way out.

They had to go through Konoha.

In order to reach Oto, they had to go through Konoha because otherwise, the journey would be hours longer. That was time they did not have.

What made it worse was that it was daylight and when passing through their home town, they were surrounded completely by humans, agonisingly reminding Sakura that she had not yet hunted since waking up. That should have been one of the first things she'd done and instead… Instead she had been having sex with Itachi, had been making promises to Tsunade of bringing her lover back.

In order to make it easier to track her parents, Sasuke demanded that Sakura took him to her old home, so that he could pick up their scent. He was not overly skilled in tracking, but he knew enough. Tracking Orochimaru would be useless, for his dark magic protected him and that included masking his scent and chakra, therefore making it hard to find him. They would have to track her parents.

Sakura had to remain outside as Sasuke went through her parents belongings, inhaling their individual scents and storing them to memory. Every human had unique scents. The oldest scent in the home, one that was slowly disappearing completely, seemed to be Sakura's human scent. He knew this because Sasuke could remember how powerful it had been when Itachi brought her to their home while she was undergoing the transformation, clutching her bloodied form tightly in his arms. He'd even left the house for a few hours until Mikoto had managed to wash away the blood, to clear the smell in the air so it was just about bearable to be in the same building as Sakura.

It wasn't until half a week later that her scent began to change and with it, Itachi also changed. He became more territorial, always lingering around the room and making sure nobody entered without his knowledge. Hell, he'd placed seals around the windows so that the only way to get in and out of the room, would be through the door. It was in case of any surprise hunter attacks more than anything. Also, Sasuke was absolutely not allowed to be in the same room as Sakura alone (until she woke up).

He knew not to take it offensively. Had their roles been reversed, had it been his mate on that bed instead of Itachi's, Sasuke would have been the exact same. Possessive and protective. After all, his control on his thirst was hardly great and more often than not, he would slip up. To avoid any 'accidents', Sasuke had steered clear of that room and Sakura.

Her human scent was… obnoxious. That was the only word Sasuke could think of to describe it and he understood entirely why Itachi had found it impossible to ignore her.

It seemed to be a mixture of her parents' scents but at the very same time, it had something extra to it. Surprisingly, her father's scent had a sweeter smell, while her mother had a more spicy one. Together, it made an obnoxious smell that demanded your attention, but their was a certain twist to her human scent that Sasuke couldn't explain. Whatever it was, it had certainly appealed to his older brother.

Finally getting a lock on her parents' scents, Sasuke left the house in the exact order he found it in, locking the door behind himself and putting the spare key inside the third plant pot to the right (where Sakura had told him it would be).

She was sitting across from the home, hidden in the trees so that the neighbours didn't see her. It was around seven in the morning now and already, two of the neighbours had seen Sasuke entering the Haruno home, though to make it seem less suspicious, he pulled out an old phone he found in the house, holding it against his ear and talking loudly enough for them to hear him. He made it sound like he was speaking with Sakura, assuring her that the house was fine and the plants were watered, since her parents had also gone away.

They were back to travelling not even five minutes later, Sasuke keeping his mind focused on Sakura's parents and nothing more. He would deal with the snake–like man when the time was right.

Until then, he had to protect her parents.

He couldn't let his need for revenge consume him.

"We need to hunt."

Sakura's eyes widened as she caught onto his meaning, onto what he wanted her to do. "I'm not hunting humans."

"You don't really have a choice," Sasuke told her simply as they stopped just outside a small village. "Human blood strengthens us. If you were to drink animal blood, a herbivore's blood, you would have to drink a lot of it and we don't have the time."

She shook her head.

"Sakura–"

"I'm not hunting humans!" she snapped at him, taking a step away from the village. "I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes. You do what you have to, and I'll do what I need to."

It was with a shake of his head that Sasuke disappeared inside of the village, leaving Sakura to breathe deeply in order to calm herself down. And as she stepped further away from the village, turning her back on it, her hands began shaking. Even from her position, even though she was a fair distance from it, she could smell all of their blood.

But no.

She couldn't hunt humans.

So she ran into the forest, taking down the first animal she came across. It was only a deer, but as she moved further away, she came across carnivores. Mountain lions and wolves. Sasuke had stated that drinking a herbivore's blood wouldn't make her that much stronger (most likely something to do with the nutrients in their blood), but if she continued to hunt carnivores, would that make her stronger? Already, Sakura felt all energy she had wasted returning to her, could feel her chakra flaring every time she finished an animal.

Part of her wondered how much stronger drinking a human would make her.

She quickly shut those thoughts down. They weren't helping any and they wouldn't change anything. Itachi had warned her that, should she drink human blood, it would become even more impossible to ignore it and she would definitely know the difference between a human's and an animal's. It would make becoming a medic so much harder and so far, Sakura knew that she was doing great. Not a single drop of human blood had passed her lips and every time she worked on a human (even though it was only twice), she had resisted the urge to hunt, to drink their blood.

It was difficult, but not impossible.

And Sakura would do anything to keep it from becoming worse, becoming harder.

Like she had promised, twenty minutes later, she returned to the outside of the village, waiting for Sasuke, but it wasn't until five minutes later that he came to her, which was surprising. So far, in all the time she'd known him, Sasuke was always on time. He hated being late. So what…?

Her eyes widened at the lipstick on the corner of his lips.

He didn't!

But as he came closer, as the wind picked up, a certain smell blew right into her, feeling like it was smacking her in the face. It was only recently that Sakura had learned what it smelled like.

Sex.

"We're going up against Orochimaru and you…" She narrowed her eyes. "You had a quickie?"

Sasuke stared at her blankly.

Pulling out a tissue from her pouch, she stepped forward and wiped at his lips, ignoring the stunned look he gave her as she did so. "If you're going to do those kinds of things, make sure you clean yourself up afterwards," she mumbled irritably. A moment later, however, and Sakura noticed a difference in the lipstick. The lipstick itself was a rosy red colour, bordering on pink, but the other colour… Narrowing her eyes once more, she leaned a little bit closer and sniffed. Her eyes went wide. "You–"

"Drank her blood? Yes."

Why did he say it so casually? Like it meant absolutely nothing? "But you had sex with her, too!"

Sasuke gave her an annoyed look, both embarrassed and angered that he had to explain something such as this to her. "I made her orgasm. Many endorphins release themselves when a woman – or man – orgasms. They're useful to me."

When he stopped talking, Sakura shook her head. "Useful or not, I don't agree with it."

"You don't have to."

Just as she was about to turn away from him, dropping the soiled tissue to the ground with a look of disgust, she tensed, eyes going wide.

"What is it now?" Sasuke growled.

"Itachi…" Her wide eyes met his, making Sasuke's also widen a fraction. "He's awake."

His dark eyes opened languidly, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Gone.

Only awake for a few seconds and already, Uchiha Itachi could tell that Sakura was gone. How? Well, aside from the bed being cold and empty on her side, there was only himself in the cabin. He was the only one to be found for miles. That meant Sasuke had also left, which was unusual.

Sakura was gone.

And Sasuke had left with her.

For a few minutes, Itachi had no idea how to feel about that, about the fact he had been left behind. It was a new experience to say the least. Turning his head to the side, he gazed out of the window, not surprised to find that it was late morning, if not early afternoon. When he slept, he slept like he was dead.

And they had taken advantage of that.

Not only had they both left him, but they had also left him defenceless and ridiculously vulnerable. Itachi had trusted them to protect him, as he was obviously unable to do so himself and–

Dark eyes swirled into the Sharingan, though unlike before, unlike his usual design, this was completely new.

He didn't even notice the change.

After all he had done for them, for Sakura, they had left him.

Itachi's eyes narrowed dangerously.

He would find out why when he tracked them down.

It took everything within herself to stay focused, to keep her mind away from certain things. It took even more to deny the bond, to ignore Itachi.

But…

Her body was trying desperately to turn her around, to take her back to her mate, who was in pain. Whether he was admitting it to himself or not, you could not lie to the bond. He was hurting. Itachi believed that she and Sasuke had abandoned him, had betrayed him and it broke her heart that he thought that. Then again, he had every reason to think and feel those things. She and Sasuke had left him behind, but not for the reasons he was probably thinking.

It felt like they were going to war and the Gunbai had never felt more heavy on her back than it did right at that moment in time. Itachi had told her that the previous owner had been a powerful man named Uchiha Madara, one whose name brought fear to the world of the supernatural kind. She could recall Obito's story, of how he had met Uchiha Madara and watched him die. A large part of her hoped it was true and that Madara stayed dead because otherwise, surely he'd come back for his war fan?

It had been used in many vicious wars, Itachi had told her.

And with it, with the knowledge of who they were going to, Sakura felt like she was going to war.

It was a terrifying feeling.

Glancing up ahead, Sakura bit her lip. Since she had informed him of Itachi now being awake, Sasuke had forced them to double their speeds, to push themselves harder than ever. If they crossed paths with anyone, they took them down and drank their blood. Well, Sasuke did. Sakura only hunted animals. They had to be as strong as they possibly could be and they had to be at their very best. Sasuke had told her that, if Itachi joined them now, if they arrived at Oto with him, Orochimaru wouldn't even blink as he slaughtered her parents.

Orochimaru was ruthless. He was cold and ruthless and completely dead on the inside. Apparently he cared very little, if at all, for others and was more likely to skin somebody alive rather than help them out – even if they were family, or comrades, or mere children. That was just who he was and if Sakura disobeyed his direct order, to not bring Itachi with her, then he would go through with his threat and make her parents suffer.

That could not happen.

No matter how badly she wanted him by her side, no matter how badly she was aching because of his pain, Itachi could not join them. Not at the cost of her parents' lives. Sure, Sakura could always bring them back, but she could only remember her father's spirit. After being changed she'd never seen her mother, therefore, never seen her mother's spirit. If anything was to happen to Mebuki, Sakura would be unable to bring her back and that just couldn't happen. That wasn't even going into the fact she may not be able to bring them back! Like Itachi had said: it could have been a miracle.

When Sasuke suddenly dropped to the ground, coming to an abrupt halt, Sakura dropped with him, glancing around them warily. She could sense something. Spirits. But were they friendly or not?

"Sasuke?"

All he had to say was one word to make her tense.

"Hunters."

Turning around and keeping her back against his, so that they could see all around them, Sakura narrowed her eyes and swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain focused and remember everything Tsunade had taught her. "They've been following us?"

"We've hardly been discreet," he muttered in response.

She clenched her fists. "Where? It feels like they're all over!"

Lowering himself slightly into a crouch, Sasuke reached inside his cloak, unsheathing his katana. During the months they had spent at the cabin, he had made a quick trip to an Uchiha hideout with Naruto, grabbing more weapons along with his katana. "I can smell them. They're just about to reach us."

Just as the words left his mouth, a group of four hunters broke into the clearing, weapons drawn and features fixed into determined expressions.

Sakura's breathing stopped at the sight of one of the hunters.

He seemed just as stunned, or as stunned as he could be.

Taking a hesitant step forward, she frowned, quietly calling, "Sai?"

His hold tightened on his tantō. "Sakura."

There was no emotion in his voice or on his face, but the way his hands shook ever so slightly told Sakura that he was torn. She was, too. This boy had been the love of her best friend's life and both had been heartbroken and devastated during their break up, Sai's pain only increasing when the news of Ino's death was broken to him. How could she hurt him?

"The 'military'," Sasuke commented dryly, dragging Sakura back into focus.

It seemed his words also brought Sai back into focus, for his expression suddenly set into a grim mask and he lifted his tantō, aiming it at the pair of them. "You have both been careless."

"Sai, please–" Sakura tried to beg, but another hunter cut her off.

"You know her, Sai–taichou?"

His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Not this Sakura. I knew the previous one, the real one."

The real one? She shook her head. "You know me, Sai. I'm still me!"

"No, I don't," he murmured emptily. "I don't know why you let them turn you into a demon, into a vampire, but–"

"I was attacked!" Sakura yelled at him. "I was attacked and he saved me by–"

"By damning you to this existence. You should have died, instead."

Sasuke growled warningly, his back touching Sakura's when he took a step backwards and closer to her, silently telling her to stay focused, to not give into her emotions. "I don't usually offer this, but I'm giving you the chance to leave. Don't think of this as an act of kindness. The only reason why I'm allowing this is because you were once precious to Sakura, and to her friend, I–"

Emotion erupted inside of Sai, his pale face twisting with anger. "Don't say her name!"

"Sai, she wouldn't–"

"Don't!" His voice echoed around the forest, tantō raising threateningly towards Sakura. "Keep her name off your filthy tongue!"

No matter how badly she tried to stop them, tears filled Sakura's eyes and her breathing grew shaky. Sai was… He was a broken man. That was what her heart was telling her. She could sense his spirit, could sense that it was broken. Ino's death had hit everyone who knew her hard, but Sai especially. She could see that now.

"Please," she whispered, staring him down with tear filled eyes. "My parents are in danger, Sai. I need to save them."

Something flashed in his eyes for a moment, just a split second and it looked so very much like confusion. "You're… crying?"

"She never stops," Sasuke grunted with annoyance.

"You…" Sai shook his head, lowering his tantō. "You feel emotion? Even in that frozen form?"

"Of course I do!" Sakura liked to think she sounded angry, but the way she sobbed said different. "That's why I'm begging you, Sai. Please allow me to save my parents!"

Another hunter shook her head, shockingly purple hair moving with her. "You're a member of the Uchiha clan. If Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto are in danger, then–"

"No," Sai cut the woman off, frowning. "Sakura is a Haruno." Slowly, hesitantly, he stepped forward, closer to her and when Sakura showed no signs of attacking, when she continued to silently shake and cry, he closed the distance between them, utterly stunning his team. "Her parents, her human parents, will still be alive." When Sasuke growled warningly, whirling around to glare at Sai, Sakura made sure to stay in between them, stopping any fights from breaking out. "Who has your parents, Sakura? Is it another vampire?"

She was getting through to him. It didn't matter how hard Sai fought to remain professional, to shove his emotions away. He was still a human being. He had still grown up with Sakura due to his relationship with Ino. "His name's Orochimaru. He's a powerful witch."

"Orochimaru?" This hunter had dark brown hair and his face was completely blank, his dark eyes boring into hers unblinkingly. "I've heard of him many times before and have even had the displeasure of encountering him. Why would he be after you?"

Her bottom lip trembled. "I wish I knew! He's…" Sakura tapped her head. "He's in here and h–he told me has them and–"

"How do you know it's not a lie?"

"We don't have time for this, Sakura," Sasuke warned her, eyes narrowing. "Itachi is going to catch up with us and he's going to be pissed."

"Itachi?" The brunet commented. "Uchiha Itachi?"

The rest of Sai's team exchanged wary glances, obviously not liking the thought of going up against Uchiha Itachi, especially if Sasuke was right and Itachi was angry. Sakura honestly couldn't blame them. She wasn't looking forward to explaining any of this mess to him, either, because she had a good idea as to what he'd say. No, Itachi would never harm her whether it be physically, emotionally or mentally, but he would be disappointed and angry. And rightly so.

"He's… He's my mate," Sakura told Sai quietly, wiping her tears away. "He doesn't know about any of this. Orochimaru told me he'd know if I brought Itachi along, and that he'd make my parents suffer if I do." Cautiously, Sakura reached out, grabbing onto Sai's arms. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Itachi, Sai. He didn't damn me, he saved me. This is the… This is the happiest I've been since her death. Happiness just… It wasn't possible for me. When she left, I had no one. Nothing. I was alone!"

Sai looked away, dark eyebrows mashing together. "All Ino ever wanted was for you to be happy, especially considering all that happened to you in school." Despite his words, Sai pulled away from her, watching as Sakura's hands dropped to her sides like she had no energy at all, like they were useless. "However, this is where your path ends. You kill people, Sakura. I cannot allow that to continue."

Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of her, Sharingan blazing as he glared down at Sai.

"You'll have to kill me first."

"You–"

"If you damned hunters opened your minds for just a second, you'd see the difference between Sakura and myself!"

"A difference?" The dark haired man questioned. "There is no–"

"Tenzo–senpai, please allow Uchiha Sasuke to speak," Sai cut him off and when he was facing Sasuke and Sakura once more, he fractionally raised his eyebrow, silently demanding Sasuke to prove Sakura's innocence.

Ino would want him to protect Sakura at all costs, no matter what she was.

After a moment of thought, Sasuke lowered his arms, also lowering his katana as he did so. "Sakura refuses to hunt humans and has done since the day she woke up. And slowly, she has been turning my brother's appetite, also. Itachi has always had a pacifistic nature and being with Sakura has brought forth that nature even more so." There was a pause, one where the other hunters once more exchanged glances, seeming confused. "Like Sakura said before: she was attacked. Itachi saved her life. You didn't see the state she was in when Itachi saved her and you also don't know what happened. And it wasn't any supernatural creature who left her bleeding out after that attack, it was humans. Your kind."

Sai glanced down at Sakura, who was stood silently behind Sasuke and keeping her eyes on the ground. He remembered her well from school. Always the smartest in the class, always keeping her head down and studying hard. Ino had always admired that about Sakura and had always done everything she could to keep Sakura on that path, on the path to success. They were like sisters, after all. Every time somebody said something bad about or to her, Ino was there in an instant and making them apologise.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Thinking about Yamanaka Ino still hurt.

"We had a promise."

Sasuke eyes narrowed a fraction, searching Sai's features to see if this was somehow a trap. There was nothing to find. "What?"

"Ino and I."

Sakura's head snapped up, eyes widening.

"When I passed my military tests, I was going to return. That was my promise: that I would always return." His dark eyes opened, seeming distant and empty all at the same time. "And in return, Ino promised me that she would wait for me."

"She did," Sakura whispered, stepping around Sasuke to get closer to Sai. He stopped the movement by holding his arm out, keeping it between her and Sai. She didn't argue and instead continued talking. "Ino waited a long time for you, Sai, but… Things happened to her. Like me, Ino was attacked."

Empty eyes sharpened and dark eyebrows mashed together. "Ino died in a fire."

"And it was her attackers who started the fire," she stated. "Unlike me, however, Ino got away from her attackers before they could hurt her. That's how they found out about me, because she came to me. Only months later, when she finally felt safe enough to go home, they locked all the doors and windows and started the fire."

Sai swallowed hard, hands shaking. "They didn't…" It broke Sakura when his eyes became glassy, when he looked anywhere but at her. "They didn't… sexually assault her?"

Slowly, Sakura shook her head, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "Ino managed to get away. She was always the tough one."

"…But you didn't."

It wasn't a question, but Sakura shook her head anyway, only managing a quiet whisper of, "No."

"Uchiha Itachi…" Tenzo spoke up, stepping beside Sai and patting the younger man's shoulder. He'd been told all about Yamanaka Ino and the impact she'd had on Sai's life. "He saved your life, you said?"

It was Sasuke who nodded. "He did."

The man sighed and rubbed his eyes. "It makes you wonder who the monsters really are."

Sakura ignored Tenzo, eyes fixed on Sai's. "Please, allow me to save my parents."

Sai looked up at the man standing beside him, feeling so incredibly sick at the latest revelations. "Tenzo–senpai, I'm afraid this mission is a failure. I cannot allow any of you to kill Haruno Sakura." His eyes met Sakura's once more, determined. "Ino would despise me for it."

Even from beyond the grave, her best friend was still protecting her, Sakura realised. Perhaps not entirely, but since Sai was now a hunter, he would have had who knows what drilled into his head. From what she had gathered, all hunters believed the supernatural kind to be evil. However, it was Ino's memory that was keeping Sai from killing Sakura, that was reminding him of the girl Sakura used to be, and how hard Ino had fought to protect her from the bullies.

Only now, the bullies had become hunters.

"Perhaps so," Tenzo agreed with a nod. "However, there is no law against creating a temporary truce with vampires. At least not to my knowledge."

Scowling, Sasuke pushed Sakura further behind himself. "I can't speak for my clan."

"I know." The dark haired man nodded. "But you can speak for yourselves, can't you?"

Picking up on his meaning, Sai's eyes widened a fraction and met with Sakura's. "You are the lesser of two evils, in other words. While we were ordered to dispose of the two vampires recklessly travelling through Konoha, our leader would wish for Orochimaru's death more than yours."

"You would help us?" Sasuke demanded. "You're only human. Orochimaru could–"

"We know how powerful Orochimaru is," Tenzo cut him off. "But we are no weaklings, Uchiha Sasuke. We can hold off his lackeys at the very least. That leaves you with Orochimaru to deal with."

Sakura couldn't help but smile hopefully. "We need all the help we can get, Sasuke."

Reluctantly, he nodded in agreement, holding out his hand to Sai, since he was the leader of the hunter's group. "Until Orochimaru is dead."

Sai's eyes drifted from Sakura's and up to Sasuke's, nodding once and accepting the hand, shaking it firmly. "Until Orochimaru is dead."

"We need to go," Sakura stated seriously the moment the truce was made, clutching onto Sasuke's arm. "Itachi's on the move."

They set out in mere seconds.

She was scared, he realised.

When Itachi's eyes narrowed, all but glaring out of the window, it was safe to say that Uzumaki Naruto was put on edge. It took a lot to get on Itachi's bad side and usually, only those who attempted to take his precious people's lives managed to get on that bad side. However, considering the fact that both Sasuke and Sakura were missing, along with Sasuke's weapons and Sakura's Gunbai…

After taking a few minutes to carefully think everything through, to try and think in the way Sakura or Sasuke did, Itachi did something that he should have done immediately: used the bond.

Through the bond, he'd been able to feel everything Sakura was feeling. He could feel her panic, her fear, her sadness and her disbelief. As usual, her emotions were all over the place and she was unable to hold them back, but that was a good thing, in his eyes. That meant she couldn't hold them back and Itachi got them full force. She could not control her emotions, meaning she could not keep them from drifting to him via the bond!

After figuring that out and after taking a look at her emotions, Itachi had left their bedroom and gone straight to Sasuke and Naruto's, going through the drawers when he entered the room. Empty. All of Sasuke's weapons, the two travelling cloaks and his katana were gone and when Itachi made his way downstairs, instead of there being a huge war fan leaning near the front door, the area was vacant.

They were headed out to battle.

But why?

Sasuke had never disobeyed Itachi before. Never. And while he'd never ordered Sakura around, she had also never disobeyed him. Something serious was going on. Something deadly serious that they felt they couldn't include him on.

That was around the time Naruto had returned from wherever he had been, but instead of returning to spar with Sasuke like he had been planning, Naruto had instead returned to Itachi, who remained statue still in a seat in the living room, glaring out of the window with his Sharingan activated. Whenever he attempted to talk, Itachi's expression would shift ever so slightly, forcing him to stay silent. There was no telling what he would do at that moment in time and Naruto would rather continue living.

Hearing two sets of footsteps, Itachi stood from his seat and left the cabin, meeting the two halfway across the clearing. His stride was strong, certain. It demanded their attention and it made them stay silent, for they knew Itachi was in no mood to muck around.

"Sasuke and Sakura are gone."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "W–What?"

Jiraiya seemed just as startled, though was thankful when a head of blond hair left the cabin. Naruto hadn't left with them. "Do you know anything about this, Naruto?"

"Nothing!" he yelled, blue eyes just as wide as Tsunade's as he came to a stop beside Itachi. "They were both here when I left and gone when I came back!"

"Tsunade–sama," Itachi's voice was cold, empty. "Please summon the rest of my clan and inform them of what has happened."

In response, Jiraiya frowned. "You think it's that serious?"

"Think about it," he murmured, eyes narrowing a fraction. "All weapons are gone, including Sakura's Gunbai. Before falling asleep, she was fine and rather happy. However, during her sleep, she grew distressed, though I thought she was merely having a bad dream, a nightmare. What if it wasn't a bad dream? What if somebody had managed to get inside her head? The same someone who managed to get inside of Sasuke's?"

The blonde shook her head, giving Itachi a serious look. "That's quite a stretch, Uchiha. What makes you think it's Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru?" Naruto demanded, staring at them all with wide eyes. "What–"

"Sasuke has only disobeyed me once before and that was back when Orochimaru first managed to get inside of his head. That was when he was tearing into our entire clan like it was nothing." There was a pause, one where realisation dawned on Tsunade and Jiraiya. "From then on, Sasuke has always obeyed me, even if I haven't given him a direct order. The only times he is difficult is when he's lost inside of that world Orochimaru threw his mind into."

Naruto swallowed hard, glancing around them. "And if Sakura–chan needed help, if Orochimaru got inside her head somehow and she told Sasuke about it, he would be more than willing to help."

"Exactly."

"Except, there's one flaw in your logic, Itachi," Jiraiya stated, folding his arms over his chest. "Sakura has never met Orochimaru, therefore–"

"She has." He sighed, suddenly appearing weary. "We encountered Orochimaru whilst at the hideout. I tried to keep her out of it, to keep her out of his sight, but she must have made eye contact with him."

Biting on her thumb nail for a moment, Tsunade thought through everything. Her own anger deep within herself was demanding that she catch up with the two and help them destroy Orochimaru once and for all. He deserved a slow and torturous death for all the pain he had caused. For Nawaki, for Dan, for Sasuke and his many other victims! They all deserved to be avenged, even if they weren't all dead.

However…

She had to think of this as a leader. As one of the original vampires, it was her duty to keep all the others in line. No killing sprees and absolutely nothing that would attract attention to their kind. This battle with Orochimaru… It would attract the attention of hunters, there wasn't a doubt about it. Whenever she and Jiraiya clashed with the witch, entire landscapes were changed, mountains were reduced to rubble and only destruction would be left in their wake. And that was Tsunade's strength alone!

"Jiraiya, contact Hatake Kakashi and his clan," Tsunade ordered, dropping her hand to her side and shutting her eyes, concentrating hard. "I will contact the rest of the Uchiha clan. Itachi, do you have anything on you that Shisui can connect to?"

"We–"

"Wait!" Naruto silenced them all, warily sniffing the air before narrowing his eyes. "We have company."

And when three others entered the clearing, seeming rather confused by all that they'd heard, the four felt their hopes rising ever so slightly, since they all cared for Sakura and were definitely likely to help out.

"Gaara!" the blond grinned. "It's good to see you guys!"

"We came by to see how Sakura's training was coming along," Temari murmured, teal eyes narrowing dangerously.

It seemed he was not the only one who was possessive of his mate. The thought bothered him, but at the same time, it was understandable. Like Tsunade had stated just the other night: Sakura was like a siren. Her innocence called to people, luring them in. She reached into others' hearts so easily that it was ridiculous. It was almost like Naruto's 'gift', now that he thought about it. While not an actual gift, Naruto also managed to make friends with the most unlikely of people. Just taking a look at Sasuke or Gaara told you that.

Folding his arms over his chest, Gaara stared blankly at them all, refusing to show his anger. "We heard the last of your conversation. My clan will help."

He didn't ask for Temari's and Kankuro's opinions and they didn't give them to him. Instead they all stared the others down, each looking serious and deadly and so very angry that it sent a shiver up Naruto's spine. He could smell Gaara's blood lust, which was the only way he could tell the redhead was angry, and it was strong. Incredibly strong. But of course, that didn't surprise the blond. Whenever Gaara made a friend, whenever he made any sort of relationship, he held that person so very close to himself. They had his protection whether they wanted it or not.

There was no doubt in Naruto's mind that, should they catch up to Sakura and Sasuke and something had happened to Sakura, Gaara would tear the enemy to shreds within the blink of an eye. And that was if Itachi didn't get a hold of them first.

"First things first," Tsunade spoke, opening her eyes and gazing up at Itachi. "Calm yourself. Having that Mangekyō of yours burning holes in my head is off–putting."

Itachi blinked.

"Excuse me?"

Slowly, the Sabaku clan closed the distance between them just as the three surrounding Itachi all glanced up at him, frowning when they all noticed the difference. Naruto had noticed it earlier and had tried bringing up the change to the Uchiha, but he wouldn't have any of it and had frightened Naruto so badly it put him off talking altogether (which was rare to happen).

"You really are connected to her," the blonde said quietly, her amber eyes fixated on Itachi's new Sharingan design. "Just the thought of her leaving you has awakened the Mangekyō. That's–"

"Impossible," Itachi cut her off with a firm shake of his head. "Sakura has not died."

"But she left you, and it caused you great pain," Jiraiya stated, amazed. "That pain manifested your eyes, much like the pain Shisui has previously experienced manifested his."

That was… unbelievable.

Once more, Sakura had proved to have so much power over Uchiha Itachi, yet she had absolutely no idea just how much.

"You don't look that different."

Sai glanced down at her for a second before looking away and staring ahead of them, putting more thought than necessary into the movement of hopping from branch to branch. "You do."

Her mouth opened to say something, to make a retort of some kind, but she soon shut it again and nodded, looking away from him. "I guess you're right."

There was no guessing, really, Sakura supposed. She'd hardly been anything special back in high school and more often than not, guys didn't even spare her a second glance. Occasionally, there would be a guy who attempted to get into her pants, though that was only because they thought of her as an easy target, because they were merely horny and couldn't find anyone better. Now, however, Sakura knew she was beautiful. It was the final stage of the transformation, after all. 'Perfection'. It was to lure in their prey more than anything, because who couldn't resist such beauty when it was offered to them?

Had she met Itachi in a different scenario, where she was nothing but his prey, perhaps she would have been unable to resist his charm? There was no denying he was beautiful and as a human, Sakura had always been a hopeless romantic. Dying in the arms of such beauty… It would have been a nice way to go, she supposed.

Taking a bigger leap, Sakura landed beside Sasuke, frowning up at him. "How much longer?"

His Sharingan was still activated because even though they'd made a truce, Sasuke did not trust the hunters in the least and if anything happened to Sakura on his watch, he knew he'd never be able to face Itachi again. "We should be there in an hour, maybe less."

She nodded once, swallowing ever so slightly.

"Stay up front with me," he told her without looking at her. "The smell isn't as strong since the wind is blowing towards us."

Again, Sakura nodded.

"What's the plan?" Sai asked from behind them, inwardly frowning since he heard their small conversation. "Or do you not have one?"

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you have all heard of Orochimaru?" At their silence, he smirked and faced forward once more. "When facing Orochimaru, you can't plan ahead, because he already knows. That's the problem with going up against a witch like him. He knows everything you're thinking and can get inside your head just by looking you in the eye. You have to make last second decisions and like with my clan, you can't look him in the eye."

Sakura couldn't help but frown up at him. "Because of your Sharingan, right? That's why it's best for your enemies not to look you in the eye."

"Especially when you're facing Shisui or Itachi. It's said that they're the strongest of our clan since Uchiha Madara."

There were gasps behind them, but Sakura kept her eyes on Sasuke's features, reaching behind herself and tapping her Gunbai. "The guy who owned this before me, right?" Sasuke nodded. "Then why didn't he pass this onto another member of your clan?"

"Madara died before we even existed," he told her plainly, simply. "We're going back millennia, Sakura. Back to before Tsunade was even born."

"And it's still intact?" She gasped, grasping a tighter hold of her war fan. "How is that even possible?"

"Madara managed to survive centuries, though we have no idea how." Sasuke stated, his scowl so very obvious in his voice. "Nobody knew of his survival and we all presumed he died in a battle against Senju Hashirama – Tsunade's grandfather. He must have found some way of prolonging his life, but according to Obito, Madara continued to age and could barely move around without support of some kind. He probably preserved the weapon, since it was one of his favourites."

Leaping a little closer, Sai frowned. "But Uchiha Madara is dead now, isn't he?"

Again, Sasuke nodded. "Another of our kind watched him die."

"That's what I still don't get," Sakura grumbled, staring ahead of them as she dropped down a branch and hopped back up. "How could Madara change Obito when he himself wasn't a vampire?"

The Uchiha gazed down at her, frowning. "Aren't you listening? I said before that Madara was stronger than Shisui and Itachi, though there's no true way of knowing just how much stronger he was. He was just a human, Sakura. Back then, humans were just as powerful as we are but over time, they forgot how to summon their chakra and those that can, aren't nearly as powerful as they would have been a millennia ago." Shrugging, he faced forward once more, narrowing his eyes. "He probably defeated a vampire and with that defeat, acquired the vampire's venom. That's all you need to make the change. Just our venom. Once it's in the bloodstream, it's over."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense, I guess. With our bite, when we're feeding, it paralyses our prey, right?"

He shook his head. "No, our venom paralyses our prey. It stops them from getting away."

Sometimes it still astounded her that Sasuke was older than her, mainly because of his appearance. He looked like he was just barely sixteen years old, but really, he had been around for centuries (though she still didn't know how long exactly, because Itachi still refused to tell her). Sakura looked older than him by a couple of years, so it often threw her off just how old Sasuke really was, therefore he always surprised her by how mature he was, and how much he knew. Like Itachi, he could be incredibly wise at times, though he lacked the look in his dark eyes that made him appear like one of the veterans she had examined back when she was still human. Also, unlike Itachi, Sasuke lacked self–control most of the time.

All of a sudden, Sakura frowned softly, glancing behind herself and coming to an abrupt stop, hand dropping onto the branch to steady herself. Around her, the others also stopped.

"Something… isn't right."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke questioned, staying by her side as he glared around them. "I can't sense anything."

"Exactly," she murmured and stood up straight. "Other than ourselves, I can't see any other spirits. Not even animals."

"You're predators," Tenzo commented. "Animals can sense it."

Sakura shook her head. "Animals don't run from us. At least, not from me or Itachi."

"Yes, but we're hardly being quiet or discreet," Sai drawled.

"You–"

Sakura's eyes widened as a colour suddenly burst in front of her. "Get down!"

She lunged forward, straight over Sai's crouched form and knocked the attacker to the ground, growling viciously as she did so. She didn't feel the impact of the ground, but it was clear the person beneath her did, for her eyes widened and the breath was knocked out of her. There was a sickening crunching sound that echoed in the forest.

"You," Sakura growled. "I remember you."

The sensory type who had been by Orochimaru's side. It was no wonder she'd been able to mask her chakra as well as her spirit from Sakura right until the last moment.

Dropping to the ground around them, Sasuke held his hand out to the hunters who attempted to stop Sakura. "She's a witch. One of Orochimaru's lackeys."

"Trap," the redhead croaked, still trying to get her breath back. She clutched onto Sakura's arms weakly though was unable to break the grip she had on her. "Trap for…"

"Me?" Sakura demanded, eyes wide.

The redhead shook her head, her red eyes going up to the Uchiha. "S–Sasuke. Trap for… Sasuke."

Her breathing stopped as Sakura's head snapped up to look at Sasuke, her eyes wider than ever. All of it… It had been a trap for Sasuke. Getting inside of Sakura's head, capturing her parents and torturing them in that dream he'd trapped her in, demanding that she come alone, though only mentioning Itachi's name… Orochimaru had planned it all. He knew she would say something to Sasuke, who would be more than willing to take on Orochimaru without a second thought.

It had all been a trap.

"You're lying," Sakura whispered to the redhead, turning back to facing her. "You have to be lying!"

Again, she shook her head. "What reason… do I have for lying? Orochimaru–sama… He knows of your attachment to Uchiha Itachi. That means he knows… He knows you're under Uchiha Sasuke's protection. He would do… He would do anything to protect… His older brother…"

And Orochimaru was taking advantage of that.

It was all a trap.

"Sasuke, we should–"

"He still has your parents," Sasuke muttered, looking in the direction they had been travelling in. "If we turn back now, Orochimaru will kill your parents along with anyone else you hold bonds with." At his words, the three in Sai's team all looked to Sai. "This day… It was always coming, Sakura. You haven't been with us long, but you know it just as much as the rest of my clan do."

It was the truth, but still, it was terrifying.

When the redhead beneath her coughed, blood splattering on the sides of her face, Sakura quickly made several seals, hands glowing green.

"Sakura–"

"She's protecting us," she snapped at Sasuke as she lifted herself ever so slightly, hands going to the redhead's chest. "For some reason, she's attached to you and is willing to risk her life to protect you."

The woman shook her head again, catching Sakura's wrists. "Kill me."

Her hands froze, shaking. "W–What?"

"He… He knows!" she stated harshly, upper lip curling. "If I survive now… He'll only kill me later." Her red eyes met Sakura's, hardening as they did so. "I betrayed him. Orochimaru–sama… He doesn't take lightly to traitors. Kill me!"

It felt like the whole world was watching her as Sakura merely stared down at the woman with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open in a look of pure horror. How could she ask this of her? How could she demand to be killed? Life was… It wasn't something to throw away like that! It wasn't meaningless! It was sacred. They–

"Get up, Sakura."

"No!" she yelled at Sasuke, staying on top of the redhead and shielding her. "I don't…" Tears filled her eyes. "I don't even know your name… How can you ask me to kill you?"

The redhead chuckled wryly. "A compassionate vampire. That's… a first." At the sight of Sakura's tears, however, something cracked in the woman and she gave a small smile that lasted only a few seconds. "My name's… Karin. I… I knew when I first met you… There was something different about you. Your… Your chakra… It's so light and warm. It's so different from those I've been surrounded by…" Taking a deep breath, Karin gave Sakura a serious look. "Orochimaru–sama… He has your parents. From what I know… They haven't been harmed so far. They've been locked away… away from others. But… Kabuto… You need to hurry. He… He has a tendency to… experiment."

Her last word was hissed hatefully, like she took his hobbies personally but her eyes were incredibly guarded, silently screaming that she would not be going into details about her life.

"Karin… We're going to defeat him. You don't… You don't have to die!"

"Stop crying," Karin demanded, trying so very hard to stop the trembling of her bottom lip. "You're… You're my enemy so stop crying in front of me."

She couldn't. She couldn't stop the tears.

Eventually, somebody grabbed hold of Sakura, lifting her from the broken body of Karin. Sai tried to ignore how human Sakura looked, how human she felt, but it was impossible. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend that they were in high school, still and that nothing had changed and nobody had died and–

Sakura sobbed in his arms, trying weakly to get to Karin when Sasuke stepped towards her.

"She should already be dead, Sakura. It's her magic that is keeping her alive," Sai told her quietly, pulling her away from the two. "The fall has broken her neck as well as punctured her lung."

It was true. The punctured lung had been what Sakura attempted to heal, but the broken neck had been… It had been the next on her list!

"Sasuke, please!" Sakura begged desperately. "I can bring–"

"No," he cut her off, pinning her with a serious look. There was a reason as to why Itachi hadn't wanted to speak of Sakura's 'gift' and to bring it up in front of hunters was simply asking for trouble. "Orochimaru won't stop until she's dead. If we leave her alive and fail in defeating him, then he would eventually track Karin down and kill her in the worst way possible. This is giving her a way out. It's the kindest thing to do."

It sounded like he was about to put an injured animal to sleep.

Her stomach churned viciously and Sakura turned, burying her face into Sai's shoulder, unable to watch the sight.

But she could still hear.

She could still hear the sound of thousands of birds all screaming at once. She could still hear Karin's piercing scream.

She could still sense her spirit drifting away.

A/N - I forgot to put a message at the end of my other two chapters, so I'll put it here and on my profile. If I suddenly stop updating for a while, it's because my laptop has broken. I'm not really sure what's happened but I know it's something to do with the battery. I'll try and get it fixed as soon as possible, but you'll all have to be patient. It's on charge now, but the battery isn't charging and is actually going down. It won't switch on if it's not plugged in, either.

Edited on: 02/09/2016