Hidden Desires

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh and Kisame appreciates all the compliments, lol.

Chapter 7

The next day, Hinata woke up snuggled into Sasuke's arms. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep exactly, but she supposed that it didn't matter. All that she cared about at the moment was that she didn't have any classes that day. She also didn't have to go to the hospital.

She had never been more relieved in her life. Hinata knew that she just couldn't function normally today. Not after what had happened the night before.

"You feeling any better?" Sasuke whispered as he ran his fingers through her long midnight blue locks.

"A little. I can't do it though. I can't leave this room and face the rest of the world today." She mumbled.

Sasuke sighed and wrapped his arms around her protectively. He wished that there was more that he could do for her. Sadly, Hinata just wasn't part of this world and she had ever reason to be terrified.

Last night, she had come face to face with the man that she believed murdered her friend and had almost killed another. It had just been too much for her to take. That and she had seen Deidara staked. He probably shouldn't have done that in front of her.

"It's okay. You don't have to and he's gone now. You don't need to worry about Deidara anymore. It's over." The raven haired man tried his best to reassure her.

"I know that he's gone, but I know that there are others like him out there. I never imagined that vampires and mermen actually existed. I think that I'm okay with mermen. That might be beautiful in a strange way and other than terrorizing sailors and tourists, Suigetsu seems harmless. Vampires seem to be something of a mixed bag though." The Hyuga woman confessed.

Sasuke wanted to deny that, but he knew he couldn't. In reality, there were vampires who were far worse than Deidara. Deidara did horrible things because he thought it was some sort of sick game. He generally didn't torture. There were far worse out there than him.

"You're right. There are others out there like him, but you're safe with me. I would never let anything happen to you." Sasuke promised her as he kissed the top of her head.

Hinata smiled. She always felt safe in his arms. Sadly, she wasn't stupid. Sasuke was strong. Really, really strong. He was still a new vampire though and from what she had gathered so far, older vampires tended to be stronger than younger ones. That wasn't a good sign.

"I know. I know that you'll do your best to protect me." The bluenette said as she snuggled further into his arms.

She didn't even know what they were really. They weren't dating, but their relationship felt too intimate to just be friends. She slept in his bedroom, for goodness sakes.

That and when he bit her, it felt so good. Erotic, really. She knew that wasn't healthy. Hinata definitely should not enjoy the feeling of his lips and fangs against her neck or her wrist, but she did.

"You hungry? I got you something. I figured that you wouldn't want to leave the room, after what happened." Sasuke said.

"You got me another gift? Sasuke, you already gave me the bracelet and the gown. You don't have to buy me things." She mumbled, feeling her face heat up at the implication.

"It seems like the least that I can do. Besides, these weren't that expensive. Well at least not compared to the gown." Sasuke said with a smirk.

That wasn't terribly reassuring. That gown had probably cost thousands of dollars. There were a lot of things that could be less expensive than her dress, but still rather pricey.

"What'd you get?" Hinata asked cautiously.

Sasuke pulled out a beautiful heart-shaped box. He swiftly opened it and Hinata looked inside. Chocolate covered strawberries. He'd gotten her some rather extravagant Valentine's Day Candy.

"How did you find Valentine's Day Candy at this time of the year? It's summer." She inquired in amusement as she reached for one of the berries and places it inside her mouth.

"When you're wealthy enough, such things don't really matter. If you're willing to pay, you can get anything you want." Sasuke explained.

Oh well. That was good. So were the strawberries. Very, very good. She offers some to Sasuke.

"Wait. Do you eat? I know you drink blood, but do you eat? Is it safe for you to do that?" The lavender eyed woman asked, after thinking about the matter for a minute or two.

"I can eat. It's still an enjoyable process. It can dull thirst a bit. That and if you don't eat, humans tend to get nervous or offended." Sasuke informed her as he also ate a strawberry.

"Oh well that's good to know." She said and smiled as the two of them continued eating the strawberries.

Sasuke smiled at the picture. For the moment, Hinata wasn't scared. She was happy to be with him. He figured if he was still human, she would have been happy to be with him all the time.

He wasn't human though. Sasuke Uchiha was a vampire. That meant that Hinata's life was in danger every second that she was around him. His only real hope of protecting her was to get her out of there and somehow prevent Madara from tracking her down or eventually to turn her into a vampire.

"You have something on your cheek. Some of the chocolate dripped." He informed her.

"Oh. Thanks." She replied as she tried to lick it off.

Sasuke shook his head in response. She didn't get it. Hinata kept trying, but she kept missing. Finally, he decided just to lick it off her cheek.

Hinata blushed at the gesture. Sasuke didn't mind though. Her innocence was probably part of his attraction.

"There. I got it." He said simply and Hinata nodded her head in agreement.

"Mmm I'm very lucky to have you to take such good care of me. You're such a kind Master." She said in a teasing voice.

Meanwhile Kiba had been watching Hinata's comings and goings for awhile. He finally got it on camera. Some guy would occasionally walk Hinata to his car and they would drive off. They always drove off too fast for him to follow.

"He sure looks like Sasuke, but I have to be sure." The canine lover observed as he placed the tape in his tv.

He watched and his eyes widened. It was definitely Sasuke. Sasuke still looked exactly the same as the day that he had "died." It was as if he hadn't aged a day.

That was strange, but he wasn't going to question it at the moment. He and Naruto needed to act quickly. Why wouldn't Hinata tell him that she had found Sasuke?

"She mentioned seeing a guy that looked like him, but I didn't think that she was actually serious. I can't believe this." He whispered as fired off an email to Naruto.

It didn't matter though. They were going to find out what was going on with their friend. Had he escaped? Had he lived and just decided he didn't care about them anymore?

"How could he leave his family behind though? It would be one thing to cut and run or to move away because his family was, but them? It doesn't make any sense. Sasuke always loved his family." Kiba muttered as his fingers typed out the necessary words on the keyboard.

He was struck by the gravity of the situation. No matter what he typed, Kiba doubted that it would really be enough. How could one possibly properly convey their emotions about seeing their friend "come back from the dead?"

"I hope he gets his butt over here fast. Something really weird is going on." The young man whispered.

Kiba wasn't sure that he liked it. What could possibly cause Sasuke to fake his own death for five years? Why would he cut off all ties to everyone that cared about him?

It didn't make any sense. Sasuke had a bright future ahead of him. He had a loving family and lots of friends. The man could have gotten into any college or university he wanted. So why had he run away?

"It just doesn't make any sense. Was he held prisoner and did he just escape or something?" Kiba asked himself as he frowned.

Elsewhere Madara was having a discussion with Konan. She was less than pleased with him. He couldn't entirely blame her.

"I thought that it was in everyone's interest, if they buried the hatchet. I didn't realize that she was going to be so reckless." He muttered defensively.

"In her mind, Deidara was a bloodthirsty murderer. What did you think was going to happen? Honestly, Madara. You should have known better. You almost got Itachi killed because you wanted them to kiss and make up!" She growled at him.

Madara sighed. Konan was deeply in love with Itachi. It had been a long time since he had ever felt a romantic bond deep enough to actually kill for. In some ways, he envied her.

"That wasn't my intention and I'm sure that you know that." He retorted.

"It may not have been your intention, but you should think before you behave in such a foolish fashion!" Konan snapped at him.

"I will be more careful in the future. Itachi is fine. So is Sasuke. Sasuke's pet is also perfectly safe and unharmed. I regret the loss of Deidara, but it wasn't as though he was irreplaceable." The elder vampire said.

Konan raised an eyebrow. She knew the truth about Madara Uchiha. He viewed most people as expendable. He would never lie, but he was no hero. If an ally died, he usually wouldn't even bother to mourn them.

"I don't know what disturbs me more. The fact that you actually invited him or that you aren't upset that he died. He worked for you for years, Madara. You should be grieving at least slightly. You act as though one of your cars broke down or something. It's positively maddening!" The female vampire screeched at him.

Madara raised an eyebrow. He saw nothing unusual in his behavior. He had lived for hundreds of years. Death was just part of the natural order of things. There was really very little use in grieving.

"You are upset with me because I am not saddened enough by the loss of a vampire, whom you helped to kill?" He asked incredulously.

"I'm more upset because you don't seem to be attached to anyone. Well save for perhaps Itachi and Sasuke. It's not healthy." The other vampire warned him.

"Oh I disagree completely. If one mourned the loss of everyone that died in an existence that spanned hundreds of years, one would eventually go insane. I have no wish to lose myself to madness. A degree of detachment is necessary for optimal survival. I confess myself rather shocked to hear that you haven't learned that lesson yet. It doesn't matter though. In due time, you'll see that I'm correct on this matter." He replied.

Konan just shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. It was impossible to separate your emotions that easily.

"I think that you are far more tenderhearted than you would like for most to believe. If you were not, Sasuke and Itachi wouldn't be alive. Have it your way though. Continue your charade. I just want you to know that if you ever endanger Itachi in such a fashion again, you will regret it. I care little for how much older than me you are." She hissed at him.

"Your idle threat has been duly noted. I shall be sure to give it the attention it deserves. I feel as though a butterfly threatened me." He chuckled and Konan gave him a dirty look, before she left.

"Some people are just so sensitive." He muttered.

A week later, Hinata headed back to the hospital. Things seemed to be calming down and she had grown accustomed to being Sasuke's pet. It really wasn't so bad, once she was sure that Madara wouldn't allow anyone to rip her throat out.

Sasuke seemed to feel guilty about the whole situation. He had bought her a lot of gifts and every night she slept in his arms. Hinata could almost imagine that they were a regular couple at times like those.

"I'm not sure though." She whispered under her breath as she stepped into an empty elevator.

Did he see her as a friend or more? The way he held her suggested he wanted more than friendship, but he never explicitly said so. Maybe he was scared to though.

Sasuke was a vampire. She was a human. He had good reason to be skittish about becoming involved with her. It might very well cost her, her life in the end.

"I guess we'll see." Hianta sighed to herself as the elevator stopped and she got out.

That's when she was ambushed. Kiba was there. That wasn't altogether unexpected. Hinata knew that her friend had grown more and more worried about her recently. Unfortunately, he had a very good reason to be worried. (Not that he knew why, but he wasn't wrong to be worried.)

What shocked her was Naruto's appearance. What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in the United States.

"Kiba! Naruto!" She called out in confusion and happiness.

"Hey, Hinata. Kiba got in touch with me. I think that we need to talk. Like right now, if you won't get in trouble for it." The blonde said.

That didn't sound good. She wasn't sure what would bring her friend all the way to England, but Hinata had a bad feeling that this wasn't going to be pretty. Was it possible that they could have found out about Sasuke somehow?

"I have a few minutes." She mumbled and led them to an empty room.

"Good! I saw him, Hinata! I saw Sasuke and I got him on tape. I know that you have been dating him. What the Hell is going on? How did a dead man come back from the dead and when were you planning on telling us?" Kiba demanded.

"Kiba! Go easy on her! Yelling at Hinata isn't going to solve anything!" Naruto growled at his friend.

Hinata gulped. They knew about Sasuke. Well at least they didn't know that he was a vampire. She was sure they would have already brought that up, if they did. His secret was still safe.

"He's been through a lot. He's still adjusting. Sasuke just escaped from that freak a few weeks ago. He's getting used to normal life again." She mumbled.

Naruto and Kiba raised their eyebrows. It was clear that they weren't sure exactly what to make of that rather fantastical story. Of course, that night had been like something straight out of a horror movie. Anything was possible.

"How did he escape?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. He doesn't like to talk about it much. I've been helping him. I really do care about him and he seems to care about me. I don't really know if we are actually dating yet or not, but it seems like more than friendship." The Hyuga woman babbled nervously.

She couldn't believe that they had already found out about Sasuke. This wasn't good. The lavender eyed woman had to keep them from finding out the truth somehow.

"Hinata, your dating him isn't really as important as how he is. It's great, if you guys like each other and all, but how is he? Is he okay?!" Naruto demanded.

"He's getting better. It's still hard for him sometimes. Sasuke wanted to get his head on straight before telling everyone that he was alive." She lied easily.

It disturbed her. Hinata was disturbed by how easily the lie left her lips and how quickly her friends bought it. The bluenette couldn't help but feel guilty. She had never lied to her friends before, but it was for their own good.

"That sounds pretty intense. Did he tell you anything about what happened to him?" Kiba asked.

"He hasn't told me very many details. I think that Sasuke wants to spare me from the horrors that he's witnessed. From what I gather though, he was tortured. He was Deidara's prisoner for many years. Deidara was the name of the man who attacked us." She explained.

She did take some comfort in the fact that it wasn't a complete lie. Deidara did torture Sasukek a bit before he died and in a way, he was a prisoner. Sasuke certainly couldn't really leave Madara and the other vampires yet.

"Oh man. That's intense. I wish we had known. I can't believe that we didn't know. We shouldn't have left. We should have checked to see if he was really dead. All of us together could have taken that freak." Naruto said mournfully.

"No! Don't! He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over it. There was no way that we could have known!" Hinata protested.

Naruto sighed. Maybe she was right. He still couldn't believe it though. Sasuke was alive. After five years of thinking he was dead, his best friend was alive and apparently dealing with some serious psychological trauma.

"We need to see him. Do you think that he'd be willing to talk to us?" Kiba inquired.

Hinata bit her lower lip. She honestly wasn't sure. If Sasuke saw them, they'd tell his family. That would certainly be the temptation.

Maybe he could see them though. He could lie and say that he was going to get in contact with his parents. On second thought, that wouldn't work. They would want to talk to Mikoto and Fugaku about the miraculous return of one of their sons.

"I'd have to talk to him about it. He's still going through a lot. It's hard for him to be around people. It took him awhile to open up to me." She said.

Really, it sounded so logical. That was probably why they took her words at face value. That and she had always been honest with them. Well she had always been honest with them until now, anyway.

"Alright. Well we don't want to get you in trouble at work. You have Kiba's number. Give him a call. I'm gonna head to my hotel. I'm beat from jetlag. Make sure to be very insistent about it. We really need to see him." Naruto stated.

"I'll let him know and get in touch with you guys soon. Please don't push him too hard, too far." She begged.

"You got it. We aren't idiots. He's been through a lot. We aren't going to make things any harder on him than they have to be. Besides, it might do him some good to see his old friends. Make him feel less alone. You know, what I mean?" The canine lover asked.

"Yeah. I understand completely." Hinata assured him as she nodded her head in what she hoped was a sincere looking fashion.

Her friends nodded their heads approvingly and headed off. Once they were out of hear shot, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. That had been a close one.

Unfortunately, she knew that she was going to have to talk to Sasuke about this now. There was just no way around it. How her "Master" was going to have a reunion with his friends and keep his secret a secret, she didn't know. They had to try though.

At that same moment, Itachi had found Sasuke. The two of them were out walking the streets of London. Right now, the elder Uchiha knew that Hinata would be at the hospital. Sasuke had time to kill.

"You love her." He said simply.

"I do. I don't know if it started off as a simple crush and developed into more over time or if I always loved her, but I do. She deserves better though. I'm not even human. I'm a monster." The raven haired man replied with a sigh.

Itachi shook his head. Most of the time. Sasuke seemed to revel in the vampire lifestyle. It looked like this situation was going to be an exception to the rule though.

"You aren't a monster. Your diet is just different than most people. It's no more different than being a vegan or preferring to eat a lot of bacon." Itachi reasoned.

Sasuke gaped at Itachi. He couldn't be serious. His elder brother had not just compared drinking blood to whether a person preferred steaks or salads. That was sheer madness and they both knew it.

"You're joking." Sasuke hissed at him.

"Perhaps a little. Still being a vampire doesn't make you a bad person. Your feelings for her clearly survived the transition. You're still more than human enough. That and she has been living with you for awhile now. She knows what you are and she accepts it." The smoky eyed man continued.

The slightly older vampire sighed. To a certain extent, that was true. Sasuke knew better though. Hinata had accepted it because she had no other choice.

It was accept her status as a pet or be killed. There really wasn't enough option. It was easy to be "tolerant" when your life was at stake, if you weren't. (Pun fully intended, he thinks to himself slyly.)

"Maybe." Sasuke conceded.

"Where does she sleep?" Itachi inquired gently.

"We me. We don't do anything though. She sleeps in my arms, but that's about it. I know that I shouldn't ask for more. I don't deserve it. You know what I'm capable of. The level of depravity and sadism that Madara brought out in me. Hinata wouldn't want to be anywhere near me, if she knew the truth. I'm not a monster because I drink blood. I'm a monster because I enjoy it and I enjoy terrifying my victims." Sasuke spoke frankly.

"She sleeps in your eyes and yet, you have not harmed her in any way. You are not half the evil creature that you are so desperately trying to make yourself out to be. Now, why don't you be honest with yourself?" The elder Uchiha demanded.

Sasuke suddenly found his feet fascinating. He didn't know how he did it, but Itachi could always make him feel like a kid. It was probably just the curse of being the younger brother.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You are using your vampirism as an excuse. As long as you believe she will be repulsed by the fact that you are no longer human, you have a valid excuse for not telling her how you really feel." Itachi informed him.

That was probably true. He had wanted the Hyuga woman for so long, that he would rather have the fantasy than risk hearing a no. On the other hand, there was a chance that she might say yes.

It was a small chance. A really small chance. Still it was better than nothing. Wasn't it?

"You're right. I am. I'll admit that much." Sasuke confessed.

"Good now go tell Hinata that you want to be with her. Stop this moping. It is most unbecoming. You're a vampire. Not a school boy." Itachi said as he poked Sasuke's forehead.

"Owe! You always do that!" Sasuke whined.

"Yes. I do it because it's effective. Now stop being so foolish, little brother. Go and tell your pet how you feel." Itachi ordered him.

"Very well. If she says no though, I'm blaming you." The raven haired vampire replied as he quickly flitted off to find Hinata.