Hidden Desires
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 8
Sasuke took a deep breath as he reentered the mansion. Hinata should be home soon. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to tell her. She'd likely think that he was out of his mind.
She was essentially his prisoner. He tried to treat her well, but that didn't change that fact. If she flew into a rage upon hearing his declaration of love, it would be perfectly understandable.
"You're pet isn't back yet. That's not unusual though. She normally doesn't get home for another hour or so." Madara says as he played chess with Obito.
Sasuke glanced at them with passing interest. The two of them would likely be at it for hours. He wasn't entirely certain if Obito had ever bested Madara at chess, but the man kept trying.
It was a few days after he was first turned. All he could focus on at the moment was his thirst. Everything else was just background noise.
He might have been terrified, but Sasuke's hunger for human blood eclipsed even that. The need to feed superseded his own sense of self-preservation. It was madness.
"Are you certain that you should be letting him feed from a human so soon? How long ago was he turned?" A man called Obito inquired as he moved his pawn on the chess board forward.
"Hmm. Three, maybe four days ago. Give or take a few hours." Madara replied casually as he took his turn.
Sasuke knew that he should have been offended by the fact that they were speaking about him like he wasn't in the room. It didn't matter though. All that mattered was that he had a beautiful woman on the couch and apparently, she had agreed to be fed on.
"Is this your first time feeding directly?" The busty cougar asked.
Sasuke called her a cougar because he assumed she was at least five, maybe ten years his senior. In the grand scheme of things though, that meant nothing. She could live to be a hundred and he could still outlive her by centuries or even thousands of years as a vampire.
"Yes." He murmured as he eyed her neck and his fangs lengthened.
He couldn't control it. They came out when he was thirsty. That was almost all the time now. Madara said that they were retractable, but Sasuke hadn't really figured out how yet.
"Mmm what a special occasion. I'm honored to be your first. Perhaps in more ways than one." She said with sultry smile and a wink.
"I'd take that offer, Sasuke. She has a bracelet. I will hear it, if you go too far." Madara assured him.
He was only eighteen. Sasuke might have been a vampire now, but that didn't change the fact that he was still young. His thirst overrode any potential embarrassment though.
"I'll keep that in mind, but I'm not safe right now." He said as he sank his teeth into her pretty throat.
She tasted good. The woman tasted far better than any blood wine or blood bag that Madara had given him up to this point. Sasuke wasn't sure if that was because of HER or if fresh blood just tasted better.
He didn't particularly care though. The way that the crimson red liquid covered her throat was beautiful and strangely erotic. Her skin was soft and warm. Just like how he imagined Hinata's would have been.
"He's certainly not shy." Obito mused as he pushed another chess piece forward.
"Well of course not. He is from our line, after all. What a small world. I'm pleased to see that Izuna's branch of the family tree has survived this long." He stated.
She tasted like cinnamon. Sasuke loved the way the blood slide down her throat and how she would arch against him. He felt her fingers run through his hair and heard her moan.
It was something of a relief to realize that he COULD feel something other than bloodlust or fear in this new life. Apparently, the good old fashioned kind of lust was perfectly intact as well.
"Checkmate!" Madara called out cheerfully.
"Damn you! You cheated!" Obito groaned.
"You wish. I am merely your superior at this game. It is no insult to your intelligence. I have just lived far longer. Practice makes perfect." The elder vampire said smugly.
Sasuke only vaguely noted their conversation as he continued his meal. If it hadn't been for the bracelet beeping, he probably would have drained her dry. Thankfully, his Sire did manage to pull him off the woman.
She was beautiful. Mei was certainly more than willing and she tasted good. Unfortunately for her, he still had some sliver of humanity left and that sliver wouldn't allow him to take advantage of the feeder in such a fashion.
"Oh I'm sure that you are perfectly safe. If not, Madara could just pull you off of me again." She told him.
Mei wasn't Hinata though. His mind was still human enough to mourn the loss of his friends and the girl that he had liked for years, at least when his bloodlust was temporarily sated.
"You aren't mad at me for almost ripping your throat out?" He asked, feeling her blood slide down his chin.
"Of course not. Besides, you're exaggerating. You drank a bit more than you should have and I likely have some rather dark bruises on my neck, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. Obito, would you care to assist me?" Mei asked with a sly invitation in her voice.
Obito smirked and walked over. He bite his wrist and allowed Mei to drink some of his blood. Sasuke watched in astonishment as her injures healed right before his eyes.
"Vampire blood has healing properties. It's rather ironic, really." Madara informed him.
Sasuke nodded dumbly. He knew that there was a lot he had to learn about being a vampire, but he was going to do it. It was foolish, but some part of him still hoped that he would be able to find his friends and family again. That he would be able to control his thirst enough to at least tell them that he was okay.
"Itachi was right. I really am his foolish little brother." He whispered under his breath.
"Good to know. Thanks. Good luck, Obito. You're going to need it." Sasuke said with a smirk as he darted upstairs.
"HEY!" Obito protested at that declaration.
Madara smirked. Sasuke was just telling the truth. Obito had only beaten him two or three times out of at least a thousand games. He was getting better though and a worthy opponent.
Meanwhile Hinata had just finished her shift at the hospital. Her mind was reeling from the events of the day. Naruto and Kiba knew that Sasuke was alive. She was going to have to talk to him about it.
"What am I even going to say?" She whispered to herself as placed some money in the vending machine.
Her water fell into the slot and she picked it up. Hinata uncapped the bottle and couldn't help but think that she needed something stronger than water. Tragically, she was in a hospital and that wasn't an option at the moment.
"Are you alright, Hianta?" Lucy asked.
"Oh yeah. I'm fine. The vending machine is all yours." Hinata told her with a smile as she headed off.
Her shift was over. It was time for her to head "home." It was strange to think of Madara's Mansion as her home, but it was. There was no getting around it anymore. She spent more time there than at her own house.
The bluenette could have made the journey in ten minutes. Hinata took twenty instead. She needed to come up with a plan for how she was going to tell Sasuke about Naruto and Kiba.
"Well here goes nothing." She said with a sigh as she walked into the mansion.
"Welcome back, Hinata." Obito greeted the young woman.
"Hello, Obito. Is Sasuke home?" She asked the vampire.
She wasn't exactly sure what Obito's role in the family was. She knew that he was older than Sasuke and Itachi, but younger than Madara. How much younger, she wasn't certain.
"Of course, he's upstairs. I believe he's in your room." He explained as Madara came out of the kitchen with their bloodwines.
Hinata nodded gratefully and headed upstairs. She quickly darted into their room and sighed in relief when she saw Sasuke sitting on the bed. He looked nervous about something though.
"Do you already know?" She asked worriedly.
"I've known for awhile now. I just didn't know how to tell you." The raven haired vampire said as he walked over to her.
Hinata gulped. Sasuke knew! He knew that Naruto and Kiba knew! This was going to end in disaster! What if Madara found out?! He would kill them without a second thought! She couldn't let that happen?!
"What are you going to do about it?" The med student dared herself to ask.
"Initially, I wasn't going to say anything. I was just going to keep it a secret. I thought that it would be better that way." Sasuke told her as he caressed her cheek.
That didn't sound good. Sasuke wasn't going to just let this slide. She didn't understand though. Why didn't the vampire seem angry or worried that their friends knew that he was alive?
"And now?" The young woman inquired cautiously, not at all certain that she was going to like the answer.
"I know that it's quite selfish of me, but I have to act on it. I'll go crazy otherwise." The vampire told her.
Her blood chilled. Sasuke was going to act on it. Did that mean that he was actually going to kill Kiba and Naruto?!
"I won't let you kill them! They don't know that you are a vampire yet! They just know that you're back. They came to see me at the hospital and want to see you. I told them that you had been kidnapped by Deidara and just escaped! We can make this work. There's no need to kill Naruto and Kiba! Please, Sasuke! Don't! They're our friends!" She begged him.
Sasuke blinked. What was she talking about? Why would he kill their friends? What did that have to do with anything and then he fully processed what she said and a feeling of dread suddenly overwhelmed him.
"Naruto and Kiba know that I'm alive?!" He demanded.
"Yes. I thought you knew. You said you had known for awhile now." Hinata replied in confusion.
If he wasn't talking about Naruto and Kiba, what was he talking about? Hinata frowned. Damn it. That was not exactly how she had envisioned breaking the bad news to him.
"I wasn't talking about them, but I guess the other thing can wait. We have to figure out what we are going to do about them. I know them. They aren't going to give up until they see me." Sasuke said with a sigh.
He deeply missed his other friends, but he wasn't stupid. Sasuke couldn't risk them finding out what he was. He was going to have to tread very carefully, if he wanted them to survive.
"I told them that you escaped from Deidara, but you were still adjusting to freedom. That was why you hadn't contacted your family yet. I needed an excuse for why you wouldn't have done so immediately." She mumbled.
"That was quite clever of you. I never knew that you were such a skilled actress." He observed with a sly smile.
Hinata looked at her feet. She still felt guilty. She didn't like lying to her friends. Hinata liked the thought of them dying even less though. There was no other alternative.
"Thank you. I just couldn't think of anything else off the top of my head. Do you want to meet with them? If you don't, you know how they are. They'll likely track us down. We can't allow them to meet Madara." The Hyuga woman whispered in horror.
She knew that if Naruto and Kiba met Madara, that would be the end of them. There would be no going back. The elderly vampire would never tolerate such a risk for the sake of sentimentality.
"I will meet them and do my best to put on a good show. You're right. We can't let them meet Madara. I think that we both know how that would end." Sasuke reminded her and Hinata nodded in agreement.
"Should I call Kiba then?" She inquired anxiously.
Sasuke nodded in consent. He sighed as he watched Hinata take out her phone. He was trying to think of a way that this wouldn't end in disaster. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind.
He would think of something though. The raven haired man would do so because he had to. Sasuke wasn't going to let his friends die. That simply wasn't going to happen. Not to Kiba and Naruto.
"Hey, Kiba. Are you there?" Hinata asked into the phone.
"Yeah. I'm here! Did you talk Sasuke?!" He demanded.
"Yes, I did. He's willing to meet. When and where would be good for you guys?" The bluenette replied.
Sasuke winced at Kiba's tone. Normally, he would have been angry that the man was borderline yelling at Hinata. He didn't have the heart though.
Kiba was only acting this way because he was hurt, confused, and hopeful. It had to be a rather dizzying combination of feelings. Sasuke could relate.
"How about the Ramen Shop? Tomorrow at eight?" He answered her.
Hinata glanced at Sasuke. That's when the vampire nodded in consent. Hinata smiled nervously and turned her attention back to the phone.
"The Ramen Shop sounds fine. We'll be there at eight." The Hyuga woman assured him.
"Great! We can't wait to see you guys. I'll go tell Naruto the good news." Kiba said as he hung up.
Sasuke just shook his head. Well there was no going back now. They had agreed to meet them. If he didn't show up tomorrow, Sasuke was confident that their friends would hunt them down and that could only end in disaster.
"We can do this." Hinata whispered.
"I hope so." Sasuke said as he looked out at the window, wondering what would happen the next day.
Elsewhere Rin sinks her teeth into another victim. She was in Salem, Massachusetts. The vampiress had just been awoken by another vampire.
During the Salem Witch Trials, she had been accused of being a witch. Unbeknownst to the humans, they were wrong. She wasn't a witch. Rin was a vampiress.
"How are you feeling?" A masculine voice asked her.
"Thirsty." She murmured, after draining what was likely the eighth or ninth human that she had done the same to.
Her thirst for blood just wouldn't be sated. She had been trapped in a coffin for hundreds of years. She had no blood in her system and thus had been rendered immobile.
"That's to be expected. There are over 40,000 humans in this village. It's grown a great deal since we were sired." He said.
Rin quickly grabbed another of the humans that her savior had brought her to feed off of. She tore into the unfortunate man's throat and ignored his screams of agony as she savored the taste of his sweet blood.
In the back of her mind, she noted the population of Salem had boomed since the day she was "killed." That was an incredible number of people. She could feed as much as she wanted and as long as she didn't leave the bodies in the street, she likely wouldn't get caught.
"I know what you are thinking, but humans have gotten much better at keeping track of each other these days. I chose these people specifically because no one will care all that much, if they go missing. That will not be the case with every human in this village though." The other vampire informed her.
She continued drinking as that sunk in. Very well. All that meant is that she would have to be careful. Very careful.
In the meantime, she would feast on the humans the other supernatural being had so generously brought her. It felt incredible to be able to move and taste blood again. Rin was afraid that she would never be able to stop.
"I can see that it's going to take you awhile to sate your thirst. That's only natural. It is the year 2017." He continued on.
2017? She had been "asleep" for over 300 years?! Well that certainly explained why she was so thristy.
"It would seem that I have to learn about the modern era. Over three centuries have inched by as I lay dormant in that damn coffin." She mused, after wiping her face and letting the now lifeless human fall to the floor.
"Yes, you do. There is so much that I have to show you. Come, my old friend. Let us reintroduce you to the world." He said as he offered her his hand with a sly smile.
The next day, Hinata and Sasuke go to the Ramen Shop. The vampire was relieved that they had chosen a public occasion. That meant even his two boisterous friends would have to calm themselves. Well at least t a degree.
"SASUKE! YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU BASTARD! IT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS!" Naruto yelled at him as he tackle hugged his friend to the ground.
Sasuke twitched. Well so much for them calming himself, the youngest Uchiha thought to himself. Honestly, Naruto was about as subtle as a two by four to the head.
"Yes, I'm alive. Could you say that a little louder? I don't think people in China quite heard you." He muttered in annoyance.
Hinata laughed and watched the two of them. Maybe this would work. This might work somehow. She just wasn't entirely certain how yet.
"Oh right! Sorry! It's just really good to see you! How could you not get in touch with us sooner?!" He demanded.
"I've been gone for five years, Naruto. I didn't know how to. That and I'm still getting used to…everything." Sasuke muttered.
Hinata had devised a clever cover story. Sasuke knew that it was in his best interests to stick to it. Failure to do otherwise, wouldn't end well. A fact that he was very much well aware of.
"Well we're glad you got out of wherever you are. Man, it's so good to see you." Kiba said as he raced over and gripped Sasuke in a giant bear hug.
Sasuke suddenly found himself rather grateful for the fact that he didn't need to breathe. If he did, then the force of his long lost friend's powerful embrace would have been an issue. Nonetheless, he found himself smiling.
It felt good to see them again. Sadly, he knew that he was putting their lives in danger. They shouldn't be anywhere near him and he was going to have to find a way to keep them safe.
"Thanks. I'm glad too. Naruto, you came all the way to London to see me?" Sasuke asked in surprise.
"Of course, I did! You were my best friend and you saved my life! You saved me from that freak! We all thought that you had died! This is amazing! I can't wait to tell the others about this! They're all going to be so happy!" The blonde said in a joyous rush.
Sasuke frowned. Uh oh. That wasn't good. He was going to have to play rough. Sasuke was going to have to Compel them. It was really the only way.
"Neither of you will tell them. You won't tell my family or our friends yet. I have a few things that I need to sort out first. I don't want them to see me like this. You understand why." He said as his eyes turned from a mysterious shade of onyx black to ruby red.
Hinata watched in terror as Sasuke used his vampire mind control on them. That wasn't normal. The bluenette understood perfectly why he was doing it, but it was still unsettling.
Vampires were capable of playing with people's minds. Who knew how many humans were the victims of Compulsion? It wasn't right. It didn't sit well with her, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it.
"Yeah. Of course! You need time to get your head on straight. Anyone would!" Naruto said brightly.
The Compulsion was certainly working, Hinata noted. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disturbed at that knowledge. There were times when it was easy to forget that Sasuke wasn't human anymore, but this definitely wasn't one of those times.
"I get it! Seriously, you should take it easy for a bit. That and it's going to be really rough breaking the news to your parents and getting all the legal stuff taken care of. You were declared dead!" Kiba exclaimed.
Sasuke nodded. Well that was good. Compulsion would solve the issue for now. He just wasn't sure if that was all that was going to be necessary or if he would have to take more drastic measures later on.
"Great! So let's eat. We have so much to catch up on." Sasuke said with a smile.
"Alright! I'm totally buying!" The boisterous blonde informed them and no one dared to object.
Naruto could be the most stubborn person on the planet. It really was best just to agree with him from the beginning, unless it was something serious. Once he got an idea into his head, there was no getting it out of it.
"Fine by me." Sasuke said and Naruto nodded approvingly.
Sasuke smiled. It was nice to be back amongst at least three of his friends. Sadly, he knew that he had to be careful. One wrong move could end their lives.
"So where have you been staying?" Kiba asked as he chowed down a few minutes later.
"I've been staying with my great uncle. His name is Madara. He's very wealthy and a little eccentric. He doesn't take kindly to outsiders. I probably wouldn't mess with him, if your last name isn't Uchiha." Sasuke warned his friend.
That was probably the best way to handle it. If he made Madara sound like a crabby old man, his friends might avoid him. It was worth a shot at least.
Sasuke could hardly tell them the truth. He couldn't tell them that Madara was really a vampire. He couldn't tell them that if they met him, there was a good chance that the Uchiha Patriarch would kill them to protect their secret.
"Oh man. That's rough. Well I'm glad that you are at least with family now." Naruto said and Sasuke nodded in agreement.
If he had only known what was about to happen, he wouldn't have been so worried about his friends. Naruto and Kiba were about to be the least of his problems. It was merely the calm before the storm.