The real heartbeat

by Porcelain.Memories

HE is the irresistible VAMPIRE Prince who rebels against the sacred rules of the immortals. SHE views SUICIDE as the ultimate liberation. On a faithful night, they meet. And he comes with an alternative choice in lieu of death: in exchange for her blood, he pledges to fulfill her dearest wish: "Teach me...how to feel alive." She asks for the impossible, but love is unpredictable.

2. Paint my lips in the color of your kiss

CHAPTER II: You have painted my lips in the color of your kiss.

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'At the gates of eternity, who is the sinner knocking so intently? It is your fire or is it my own desire for you?

What is this dainty emotion I feel whenever your heart beats upon my palm inside your chest?

Can I see you smile with those alluring eyes of yours, while you talk about immortality?

If our joined hearts reach ineffable and we overcome the barrier of time, letting us

be guided by the limbs of time into an universe where we can succumb into a love with no boundaries,

Would you still be there to guide my every step?

I am hearing your calling, your lips know all but one celestial whisper and that is

my name, just as my eyes can only see your silhouette,

burned inside my mind, dancing under my fingertips,

When our hearts connect, our bodies play one symphony of love, wriggle and molding upon one another,

until our skin, our minds, our souls, our breaths, or hearts` ticks

until we...become...one breath.

Forever.'

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"Kiss me." Sasuke breathed seductively to her in his peculiar low dark velvet voice that made her heart shudder in delight and her breath got stuck down her throat. Shimmering green garnet hues went wide as the sun`s halo, while her ticking heart was pounding down her chest like a pendulum` s swings in the embrace of time.

He couldn't have possibly said what she thought he did, could he? If anything, from the very first time her emerald stunned incredulous orbs set on his handsome alluring onyx ones, she learned that Sasuke was hardly a pervert or someone of a low morals and no principles or respect. A player he might have been since that dark mysterious vampire with rebel locks and vivid bottomless orbs were just as breathtakingly looking as a majestic rainbow arched over a crystalline waterfall, but she knew that he wouldn't take advantage of a woman in her situation.

His fine flawless manners, his general demeanor and the way he rolled cultivated words out of his mouth and kept his temper in check with the easiness of a proud raven on its flight, all screamed education, finesse, eloquence and deep cultivation.

Nonetheless, it knocked the wind out of her pipe, since she didn't ever think that any man would offer to share such an intimate experience with her, not to mention that there was something strange flickering into his unique beautiful jet ink orbs that she couldn't pinpoint, yet it was coming close enough to anticipation. Her heart wasn't betraying her. "W-What? K-Kiss…why?"

While million possible logical explanation were whirling down Sakura`s brain, trying to produce a figment of a possible drive that would urge the handsome Vampire Prince to be willing to claim her lips, said man simply jerked his shoulders and shrugged indifferently, his smooth voice betraying nothing of how he truly felt. "Because this is the easiest way for us to exchange body fluids. The other two would probably be even more uncomfortable for you."

There was no way for Sasuke to miss one certain emotion glowing inside the rosy haired woman`s golden viridian orbs, since he was keeping her gaze locked into an endless mesmerizing loop with his ink jet hypnotizing eyes, and that was disappointment, as well as a contradiction of a heartbreaking anticipation.

Even if she wasn't probably aware of what she was feeling for him and why, her consciousness was screaming at her to get attention and be heard. She wanted him even if she was probably trying to come in terms with her womanly fascination for him. His immediate motive was to alleviate her pain as much as he could.

Sasuke was not one to torture the other livings, be it fellow vampires or humans, as vulnerable creatures and brothers of the same quintessence. He was ruthless when times called for it, he could kill in a heartbeat without shedding a single tear, a drop of sweat or any emotion surging down his spine, but he never took sadistic pleasures from cries of pain.

Moreover, the woman in front of him wasn't valuing her own life, nor did she seem to mind whatever happened to her, meaning she was offering her own vital liquid in exchange of a crazy and probably unreachable emotion, even if she had no idea if she would ever get it or if it would last a second or a lifetime.

She knew all of it, but she didn't care. She trusted him with her own life, literarily and she willingly arched her neck and clung to him, while he pierced her skin, entered her mind, her soul, her very life, feeding from her very person. She even moaned at his hot touch.

And that was why pleasure in exchange for her nectar sweet amazing blood, was a little price to pay and he would gladly do that for her, but Sasuke would have never seen it coming that she would be disappointed to find out that he wished to connect their lips for another reason.

"O-Other two? Which would those be?" Her voice was silent and soft as a morning spring breeze and it was crystal clear that she was trying to divert her attention and focus on the flow of their conversation, even going as far as to be willing to explore another possibility.

"Well, I assume that you aren't so eager to drink from my blood. In fact, I wouldn't quite recommend that unless…" The onyx eyed Uchiha vampire trailed, and Sakura followed the way his broad shoulders stiffened briefly and his words seemed to be frozen on his lips, yet his hard steel smoldering orbs did not give anything away.

His rather collect, calm, confident and graceful demeanor changed for a secretive, introvert and unexpectedly demure one, like he almost had a slip of his tongue, but got a hold of his train of thoughts on the last moment, deciding not to reveal something he shoulder or didn't want to.

For that particular reason, Sakura decided that she shouldn't stubbornly pursue a topic which would create a drift between them, even before a bond had the chance to root and connect them in whatever way it could.

Meanwhile, Sasuke swore he has been shot by an electrical bolt, discharging down his column and making his toes and heels go on fire. A sudden unexplainable reminiscent memory has been triggered into his sensibility, like a phantom of a past he has been trying to lock inside a nest and throw the key in the bottomless sea, wanting nothing more but forget.

Something similar has happened into his past and it changed everything. Something he didn't want to ever remember, but he has been cursed to have that vivid nightmare playing over and over again, keeping him trapped into the past and present altogether.

Sakura`s weary tender nightingale hum brought the midnight haired Uchiha back into his living room, snatching his wandering mind from the endless loop of his past and making him pay attention to her question.

"-unless what?" She innocently inquired, while whirling her pasta around the fork, eating and swallowing slowly, savoring her food and his words. He wouldn't blame her sudden increasing interest in finding out more of his world, since she probably felt out of place and lost into a parallel universe which was yet to be strapped by its entire secret.

"Unless fate proves me I was right and going against my family makes it worth it." Sasuke answered cryptically, refusing to go into more details. He would have liked to share that piece of information with her as well, but for some odd reasons, he stopped before telling her that if a mortal would feed from a vampire`s blood, slowly she would start to lose her human imprint and get more entrapped into his world and if she did that when dying or when in the verge of dying, she would obtain immortality, thus be tuned into a vampire.

And it was exactly the thing she wanted to escape: her life. She wanted to die, so naturally Sakura would refuse a bond based on immortality. If anything, someone who wanted nothing more than to sacrifice her life while dreaming to Paradise, would never be fitted to turn around and step on the path of sin, no matter the hand which would be intertwined with hers and walk along.

"What about the other one?" The young woman with the most candid forest green orbs asked, when seeing that Sasuke was avoiding the topic. What he didn't know was that her heart rate was escalading with each passing moment and his silence was only adding to the low pitched pounding in her ears or her staccato unruly pulse, afraid not to win his disdain instead of his trust and maybe friendship.

"Have you ever been with a man?" Sasuke found himself blurting before he had the chance to ponder his words and chose another approach, but upon seeing that the rosette`s eyes budge out of their sockets, and her cheeks fill with the blazing color of his favorite food, he couldn't help but smirk, having the confirmation of her innocence right before his smirking features . He knew that she was pure as snow, untouched by anyone before and he was ready to bet all his money that she hasn't even had her first lip lock. "Then I suppose you aren't too eager to sleep with me either. So your safest and easiest way is to kiss me."

"N-No…" Sakura felt her knees tremble like jellyfishes out of salty waters and she was sure that her heart would abandon its chest, trembling like a guitar string when she heard the words that came out of Sasuke`s mouth, so she averted her emerald orbs, by cast her head down taking him by surprise once again.

A set of perfectly shaped fine raven eyebrows furrowed when he heard her whispering to him words that he has never been met with before. It was his first time when a woman was refusing to kiss him or having any sort of physical contact with him, the answer obvious.

Women all over would always throw themselves at him, begging for attention, for any of his smirks, for a sensual touch of his precise skillful hands, or a maddening contact with his firm moist smooth lips, and that included both human or vampire females.

Yes, that young woman who was a no one for the rest of the society, proved to have a backbone and solid principles, not being willing to succumb into her race`s innate temptations and fight desire, lust and carnal drivings, with ambition, modesty and virtue.

"I don't mean to be more arrogant than my usual self, but I find your reluctance intriguing. May I ask what your reason is?" Despite his apparently impervious laid-back lace like tone, Sasuke was anything but invulnerable to her soft-spoken coy refusal.

Something aroused inside the hollow of his chest, sending a shot through his mechanical inner clock, which played as his diligent numb heart, at the idea of that woman with the essence of a cherry blossom`s grace and pallor entrapped into her wavy locks wanting nothing else from him but to live the last of her remaining days in tumult and glamour.

Sure, he was also getting a tremendously huge advantage from her, she being the one who gave more than she would get, but still it didn't sit right with a principled man with virtuous and non-impartial judgment as Sasuke to solely use her as a concubine, or someone to share the bed in lieu to allowing him to nourish from her petite body.

It was too disgusting to digest, even for a powerful vampire with burning desires and a virility sparkling inside him like electricity during a thunder storm. His unfathomable deep black eyes were beaming like heated charcoals, while set entirely on Sakura, trying to figure it out why it was letting it to get to him so much.

Even if it might not be that obvious for a shallow untrained eye, Sasuke was not fancying using women as his bedmates or manipulating them into presenting a distorted advantage to them, in return of something he needed, even if his sharp cunning imaginative mind could come up with the most idyllic scenario to present. Maybe he did it on a whim, in the haste of saving the lady from her own inner demon and twisted ideas the fact that he came up with such an odd offer, but suddenly he didn't want her to just be his next…dinner, or lunch, or breakfast.

What the hell? Suddenly, his burning intense and unbearable glance turned incredibly curious and insightful. What was Sakura`s epitome of learning how to be elated fi she was to seek that emotion from a stranger? How was she intending to touch jubilance and be upbeat without getting personal and ultimately intimate with him?

She wasn't a stupid woman at all, in fact, she was one of the most intuitive and perspicacious females he ever had the pleasure of meeting and that was not entirely a bad thing. If anything, Sakura had the eloquence and weapons to elegantly turn the tables on in her favor and remain sober and level-headed.

"Even though I have never been in love…I know that a kiss is meant to be shared with the one you have…f-feelings for. I hardly see how this can be our case." Her soft low-key gentle tone came as fine silk to his attentive ears and her humble chastity was tangible. And her philosophic deep overview of feelings and touches shared between a woman and a man, were doubled by integrity and modesty. Her honesty was sparkling into her viridian beaming orbs, yet Sasuke couldn't tear his onyx orbs off the subtle cute hint of pastel rose blush tinting her cheeks when she told him her definition of a kiss.

Upon sensing that he was somehow taken aback by her hushed confession, Sakura quickly sought for his onyx orbs, stuttering and becoming all too apologetic for being so sincere. If anything, the rosette didn't want to offend him, nor did she want to be disrespectful and ungrateful for his generous and unexpected offer. "B-But please do not misunderstand me. I am very grateful to you for giving me this chance and for this one thing, you have my honest appreciativeness." There was a brief pause during which she let her emerald orbs search for something stirring into his onyx ones, but found out that she couldn't decipher anything inside, so she dipped her chin down, playing with the food from her plate. "Nothing more…" She muttered, while trying to fight back the strange feeling she had into her belly.

There was an odd feeling of swirling sensations mixing inside her, making her both queasy and anxious, when she realized that her detachment towards the stunning mysterious Uchiha`s demeanor hasn't been in perfect harmonization with what her heart was truly desired.

Why was she getting the feeling that what she has asked of him hasn't been all that simple and superficial? Heck, the rosette was aware of the fact that she hasn't asked for a loan or a pair of new shoes. Emotions, be it humans` or vampires`, were details that made the spirit upbeat and lifted it up in the sky, ultimately dominating the entire universe.

Everything around was ruled by feelings, be it negative or exuberant, so how could a perceptive woman like her be that oblivious to the tremendous implications of her unusual request? Sasuke has been dead serious when he has accepted to try and make her alert to how euphoria tasted, so should she just allow him more inside and wrap the strings of her heart around his lean fingers, to lead her to the most supreme human emotion and the ultimate goal?

"If you want to be happy, then you should learn how to open up your heart first." Her emerald orbs flew up to meet his bottomless black sapphire ones, boring into her like, wrapping her into a velvet mantle of sensual spell bounding, not believing how easy was it for him to read her heart, like an open scroll, written in an ancient language, in ink, for only him to understand.

"To what?" Sakura shot back to him, not wanting to give him the impression of being in the presence of a weak woman, who was not able to understand the implications of her words. If she wished to understand more about Sasuke, hence allow him to take a peek inside her heart too and mend the shattered pieces of glass, it was imperative to see the underneath of his words.

"To anything you wish. No one can teach you what to like or hate. This is for you to experience, taste, touch, feel and then decide." Unexpectedly, Sasuke graced her view with a ghost of a smirk that had an interesting effect on her skin, making her experience pleasurable shudders all along her limbs and spine whenever he did that. "You, the mortal ones, have something to help you discover the gentlest of emotions. It is a blessing that has been given to you at birth."

"I don't understand."

Ever so gentle, the beautiful raven haired vampire, brought his palm upon her chest, right above her left breast, in the place where her erratic heart was thumping, yet he avoided touching her in any improper way. She looks at him with a puzzled expression and briefly blushed, upon feeling the contact with his tender touch on her skin. "M-My heart…? I don't understand."

"Just like a swift precise clock, it has only been beating when you were anxious and sorrowful, alerting you that something bad is going to happen. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"It doesn't have to be like this. When you will find something to connect to, this is going to burst out your ribcage. When that emotion will hit you, it is going to make you fly. Like a pair of wings." Sakura said absolutely nothing, silently listening and trying to absorb the things he was saying, like a sponge. If anything, she still had difficulties in getting used to Sasuke`s poetic way of emphasizing universal facts, talking in a way that no other man did, simply because he was no other man. It was becoming more and more obvious to her the deep gap between their worlds, starting with the simplest most superficial things, such as language or manners. "This is your own fairytale to live, so why be the pauper, when you can be the princess of the castle and glow?"

Sakura was both stunned and enchanted by his sense and sensibility. Sasuke wasn't the type to strike as a man to breed such profound feelings; on the contrary, he radiated an overwhelming impressive steel like power and masculinity. Yet, there was grace, tact and nobility in every step he took and manner of speaking. "I don't know how a fairytale should look like." Sakura simply admitted, while trying her best to not let his velvet words envelop around her heart and give in to his charms. "Up until now, my life has been a living nightmare which never ended."

If only Sasuke knew how much she has suffered from her foster family`s abuse, the emerald eyed beauty inwardly added. Not only she has struggled in poverty, but she also had to suffer rejection and pity of her classmates and teachers altogether. They avoided her presence like plague, refused to talk to her if not absolutely necessary, they threw her distasteful insipid glances and their abhorrent demeanor towards her has crushed her spirit.

She then came to realize that the human race was as superficial as a scratch on the skin could be, since it was in their nature to judge appearances and never go deeper than surface, or try to penetrate the walls around the heart and discover the lines written on the sepia pages.

And that was another thing that Sakura understood about vampires. They saw behind the masks and had the insight to easily break the barrier of facades and unravel the hidden hearts. Just like Sasuke did. He didn't care that she was clad in baggy tramp clothes and wanted to jump off a bridge, deciding to walk past and not care.

He even went as far as to state that he found her delicious and beautiful, touching her, caressing her and whispering things that only a Charming Prince would, which was not entirely far from the truth. Sakura still found it mind blowing to discover that not only there was another race living among people, which was far superior in terms of strength, intellect and manners, but she was entangled with their leader`s son.

It was enough to make the hair at the back of anyone`s nape to stand and to fuel any woman`s darkest and wildest fantasy.

"Then what if someone comes and wakes you up?"

"Can you do this?"

"I do."

The jade eyed girl was surprised to see the beautiful dark man beside her make promises with such a nonchalance, being dead serious and stoic, not leaving any room for interpretation, but she appreciated him for being a man of his words. "Because you have promised to do so?" She smartly injected, but her intelligent corner has been rewarded with a small smirk coming from Sasuke`s part.

"I am a man of my words. Even if you know nothing about me now, you will come to learn it pretty quickly. That is…if you play your part as well." His slim lean digits stretched towards her, stroking her swan neck gingerly and fondly, while she suppressed a shudder.

"I g-gave you my word." She breathed, while her eyelids fluttered, searching for his onyx gleaming orbs, trying to get used to the feeling of someone fondling her skin, but he was not looking into her eyes, rather than following the skim of his fingertips waltzing on her smooth skin, like he was imagining the contour of her every fiber. "You can count on me." She whispered, while her quivering voice betrayed the feelings he stirred inside her.

"I know."

"Tell me about you." The rosette changed the subject, deciding to find out as many things as she could regarding Sasuke and his new world.

He, of course expected her to bombard him with all sorts of questions, so he let go of her face –he saw her emerald orbs sink down her plate when he did it, like she wished for him to caress her more- and took another sip of his wine, waiting patiently for her to surprise him. "What is there you would like to know?"

"I don't know. Anything you can say, I guess. Something I can relate to, after all, we don't know each other at all, do we?"

A small smirk rose on his lips, before connecting to the rim of the glass, savoring his drink. The mighty Prince of the Uchiha family knew that if he was to ask for Sakura`s blood, it automatically implied sharing parts of his secrets with her, hence establishing a level of trust, so he was willing to let her know some things about vampires. After all, he was one of the partisans of creating a world where humans and vampires would coexist in peace, without feeling threatened or reticent in accepting each other. Just like his honey kissed haired idiot of a best friend said, they could only bond when understanding each other`s pain. "No, we don't. Ask something and I shall tell you."

"I don't intend to write a thesis on vampires while I am here with you, but there is something I have always wondered. You are immortal right?"

"If you are talking about the fact that us the vampires do not age, then yes." He swiftly answered while Sakura let the information to sink in. Inwardly, Sasuke wanted to laugh at her innocent question. Let the human legends fly out of her mouth and nurture her fantasies. All the stories bragged about vampires being the creatures of the night and the wielders of eternity, but things were far from being so idyllic.

There were many sacrifices coming along on the path of infinity and obtaining immortality, which she didn't have to know, simply because she wouldn't understand what was the implication of never perishing, while living in an ephemeral world. Moreover ,Sakura was one of those who wished to die and align to those who passed into nothingness, so she would probably reject that aspect of a vampire`s life.

If only she knew how was it to be the immortal witness of a crumbling world, being the one to always move on…all alone…

"How old are you?" Sakura found herself blurting and Sasuke understood why she was so eager to know such an unimportant mere thing about him. She was looking for a leverage. A bridge to connect her world to his own, so she naturally started her eager quest into his new world, from his mortal side.

"I have been born on 23th July 1055 AD. You do the math." He couldn't held back his amused smirk while Sakura`s shimmering curious emerald orbs went wide as saucers, upon realized how old he truly was. Sure, it was pretty much for her to grasp the fact that vampires were actually real, so naturally any information dropped to her would come as a shocker. But she was good in not gasping like she was drowning into salty waters, trying her best to maintain some composure, but she was visibly taken by surprise.

"W-Whoa! You are so old!" The thing that thro Sakura into an infinite loop of wonder and stupefaction was the fact that logic didn't apply when it came to the stunning Uchiha in front of her, because he definitely looked so young, compared to his age and a blush rose on her cheeks when she realized that his keen intelligent entertained onyx hues read right her thoughts, line by line. "I-I m-mean…for your age, n-not for the way y-you look…"She blabbered mindlessly, and fix the cute mistake. "Don't worry, you look good for your age." When she realized that Sasuke was looking at her in a funny way, having one eyebrow curled up and his fork half raised to his mouth, she sank into the chair. "That was a stupid thing to say. Sorry."

In all honesty, it was ages since Sasuke found someone being so entertaining while being natural and hopelessly sincere, while trying not to offend him and he couldn't help but chuckle darkly at her, while Sakura felt something funny stir inside her stomach, making her innards vibrate with an upbeat emotion. It was the first time she has witnessed him being amused and it was so sexy that it should be illegal for a man like him to laugh. "If you inquired about my age, then it is just fair to know about you as well. How old? You must be in your twenties, if I am not mistaken."

"21 to be more precise." Sakura answered, suddenly feeling so small, yet there was something about Sasuke that made her not feel uncomfortable or bad around him, even though he was definitely out of her reach and more intangible than a priceless painting of a reputed painter, in a famous museum. "So much for the age gape." The rose haired woman silently wondered why wasn't she feeling bothered about that, but she guessed that it was probably because of his looks and mentality. He wasn't acting like a time traveller from the past, trying to adapt to the new all too evolving society. In fact, he was acting just like any ordinary teenager, except for the incredibly gorgeous looks, flawless upbringing and eloquence. "You could be a mummy. A very…." Sakura more than wanted to say hot but decided against it since she didn't want to appear lascivious and unmannered.

But she wouldn't deny that she found him irresistible sexy and that was an understatement. There were no proper words or human standards to properly and fairly praise him for his beauty. He was absolutely gorgeous, yet he wasn't acting superior and presumptuous on purpose, to put her in a difficult situation and an inferior position and that was a thing she appreciated. Among the others.

"Hm? What type?" Unbeknownst to him, Sasuke stated to enjoy his conversation with that strange woman who was savoring the catered food, like she has never tasted anything more elating –he was sure she hasn't- and he couldn't help but feel something familiar about her. And it didn't have to do entirely with the fact that she has let him taste her blood, though that helped to form a connection which went beyond physical perception. "I could take it as an insult, you know?" He dropped his voice two octaves, giving his velvet baritone a darker, yet richer hint, but he didn't want to sound menacing. He only managed to sound more erotic and sensual.

Sakura shook her head while her rose hair whirled around her shoulders, like a gentle bride`s veil. She looked like the embodiment of nature bloom in spring. "Just forget it." She didn't want to be coaxed into admitting how fascinating she found him to be, so she changed her approach, before having the chance to make a complete fool of herself. "Tell me about…the world of vampires. Your world, as you stated. You aren't the only vampire here, are you?"

"Of course not. The world of vampires is just as numerous, if not more numerous than your human world. We basically coexist in the same time, space and live our lives without you to know we are here." He started, while Sakura was registering his words and make connections, overlapping Sasuke`s confession to the information she got about vampires, filling in the plot holes with relevant data. She quickly came to the conclusion that she knew absolutely nothing about vampires. "Of course, you are all oblivious, because all of us are sworn to secrecy."

"So…who else knows about you? Because I find it hard to believe that you only told me, since logically that would have put a tremendous burden over my shoulders and you would have to eventually…put me into silence quickly to protect yourself and your…vampire friends."

Sasuke liked her logic and didn't intend to hide it from the rosette. "Beautiful and smart. Someone like you should be their President. Yes, your suspicion is correct. In fact, your world leaders, army, Governments and the most important organizations know of us, either ways it would have degenerated into a global conflict for power. Something akin to an alien invasion, as you would call it. A war with the vampires would have been pointless and foolish."

"Why is that?"

"You do not have the power to fight us. We can crush you without breaking a sweat." She grew frightened when she realized that Sasuke was right. While people were constantly alarmed by the rising of the pollution, the imminent threats of nuclear weapons and wars, they had no idea that there was another more astonishing civilization among them, having the power to turn them into ashes in a blink of an eye, depending on their whims and beliefs.

It was like living with a gun glued on her temple and a finger on the trigger, without even being aware of the imminent smell of death and that made her skin shudder in consternation. She could have been surrounded by vampires, lurking from the shadows, chasing after her silhouette when she wandered through the darkened streets or parks, without being aware of the danger.

Of course, her dread hasn't gone unnoticed by Sasuke and he felt sorry and ashamed of her justified fright. He knew that it was all because of the outrageous behavior of some of his vampire brothers and family members, but he couldn't help it. The only thing he could do was to try his best to live like a mortal and blend with them, thus creating an invisible bond and eradicate the tremendous differences between them. "Something we want to avoid. Your disappearance from this world would benefit to none of us. We are not pro violence. Well…most of us, myself included."

"Yet…you drink human blood."

"This is a very sensitive topic which is not to be treated carelessly. We do not actually need human blood to survive, like you might have seen in shallow movies or exaggerated literature. Those are just to create a certain distorted image of horror and darkness around the world of vampires. People are attracted to blood and violence and take pleasure out of it, up to a certain degree."

"Because we are uninformed."

"Because it sells, and they are ruled by money and only seek profit, exploiting a brand which is popular. I will no put the blame on them, this is how the world goes by." Sasuke made a brief pause, trying to find the rightful words, while Sakura smartly hasn't interrupted him. She knew that he was not ash nor violent, because even if he was hurt and on the verge of collapsing, he had an amazing self-control.

He came to her rescue, when he was weakened and in need for her blood, yet he hasn't touched her before asking for approval, even if he could easily overpower her and take advantage of the fact that she wanted to kill herself. He didn't. Moreover, he went as far as to show deeper empathy and mercy than a human being. While a random person would have walked past her, not bothering to inquire about what her distress was or offer her a hand, a vampire did the unthinkable and prevented her from throwing herself in the claws of Death.

He resumed his explanation and even if he easily made his tone sound impartial, offering her an objective perspective of a vampire`s ideology and mentality, there was a hint of empathy into his words, all set on his disagreement of sacrificing a life in favor of his urges. "Human blood is valuable to us the vampires, because it has something that we do not have."

"What is this thing that we have?" Out of reflex, Sakura patted her neck with her unoccupied hand, skimming the fingers over her neck aimlessly, while Sasuke`s charcoal orbs followed her like trying to decipher the mindless pattern, reading her consciousness'` language. "Our blood…?

"What is the opposite of immortality to you, Sakura? You must have come up with an answer, since you were ready to give it up, haven't you?" He wisely challenged and Sakura found herself at loss of what to say. She always fancied dead as the safest and easiest escape route. While embracing Death, she would finally be free to be herself and have what she has always been denied, as a living and that was exactly what she has asked from Sasuke: happiness.

Truth to be told, the rosette didn't go into such metaphysical inquiry of the details that pushed her into following an imminent end and she suddenly found herself to be very stupid and narrow minded. What if she had no idea of what was on the other side? What if dying would be the reward of the things she managed to accomplish in her previous existence, instead of putting an end to the suffering it brought?

Plus, there was another question that aroused into her mind and that was related to Sasuke`s condition and hers. She couldn't help but voice it out. "The opposite of…we are mortals. Our lives are bound to end sometime and then, when we die…" She let the information sink in then looked at Sasuke with a beam in her orbs, like she slowly came to realize that life and death were far more abstract than she superficially treated them.

"…you realize that you actually do not fade away, but start your new journey as immortals. Only the body dies, but the spirit follows its normal path and that is leaving the decaying carcasses behind and step out of time. But…as much as we fancy to think that our spirits spread free from the bodies we leave behind, means the supreme liberation of our confinements, then we are all fools, because there is another more precious thing that we also leave behind." While the things he said were perfectly rational and profound, Sakura couldn't help but feel a figment of a lingering trace of melancholy into Sasuke`s tone but she couldn't place it anywhere.

"Something precious? What can be more valuable than obtaining immortality and escape this…suffering as an unimportant powerless person?"

"Your life force. It is imprinted in your blood, it is the very essence of the human kind…you be born with it, this is the gift that has been passed down to you from your ancestors. Human`s blood is powerful, thus can increase a vampire`s powers and invigorate every fiber of our beings. We might have obtained immortality, but we lost humanity."

Even if for Sasuke and his brethren, blood was more precious than polished diamonds, Sakura on the other hand didn't seem to be that impressed, for she mumbled under her breath. "It is not entirely a privilege…" She couldn't care less whether she possessed something valuable for vampires or not, because for her, it was the start of all the troubles. If she wouldn't have been born into that world, by a selfish woman who abandoned her at the gates of despair, she wouldn't have suffered.

Her philosophy was just as simple. Yet she couldn't deny the fact that Sasuke`s view over life was interesting. Not having friends to hang with or at least someone close to talk to and confide, the jade eyed woman loved to take lazy long walks and meditate at the simplest of wonders, but never has it stricken to her that becoming amaranthine didn't mean dying as a whole, in both body and spirit, just as eternity wasn't the negation of bereavement.

She came to realize that a vampire couldn't fully get the gift of becoming incessant, with no connection to his former life, in the same manner as a child was always bound to his mother after his birth. And that thought alone was unsettling and frightening. If humans were to disappear, the kings of darkness would perish as well and that would be simply because ephemerality supported eternity.

So to put it simply, vampires needed humans, just like a mortal`s destiny was to free himself from the limbs of time and become one with the evergreen universe at some point in life, but what was truly fascinating was the fact that she, along with her race, weren't bound to turn into vampires. According to Sasuke, Elysium was just as utopic as the fascination for mythology was, because once dead, humans became nothing.

Which was in contradiction with who he was and that stirred her curiosity and made more questions arise. If a human was bound to perish like a rotten leaf in autumn, while the wind would wipe away the last dust of his memory, then how come creatures –like vampires- who were once clearly human, living, breathing and feeding like mortals, existed and how did they manage to cheat the Grim Reaper and obtain immortality?

"What? Why not? Isn't it what humans always sought to discover? How to live forever?"

"What about you? What do you think about living forever, Sakura?"

"I…for me…it would mean that I cannot even have this way out. Living forever means that I am bound to suffer for eternity, which is…the scariest thing. The most horrid nightmare." She whispered almost being on the verge of tears, since talking about her childhood and teenage days triggered very unpleasant and painful memories, which was exactly the thing she wanted to run from. Since she has thwarted her emerald orbs from his onyx ones, fluttering her eyelashes so as to prevent them from moistening, she missed to see Sasuke`s own onyx ones shut for a moment, when grasping the words she was trying to say and the message she was trying to convey. "It is the same as being in Hell, without even dying first."

Unapprehend to her, the rosette understood the fundamental of Sasuke`s own distress as a vampire, as well as the curse they were all forced to bear upon their shoulders from the beginning of time until the end of it. "I-It is the same for…" She trailed, drifting her jade orbs from the flickering crystal glass candelabra to Sasuke`s jet ink gleaming silvery ones.

"What is the use of having wisdom come to us, as we silently witness the world changing as we are defying time with the same easiness and arrogance as we defy gravity and our bodies never experience the noblesse of aging or getting wrinkles, but…"

"…but what?"

She was startled again by the way he let his knuckles skirr along her jawline, tenderly, lovingly, seeming deep in thoughts, while his suave soft voice melted her heart like hot caramel and made it miss a beat. "But…what is there to wait for you…as the time passes you by and takes everything away?"

It was the first time since their encounter when Sakura actually felt the reverberation of a suppressed melancholy into Sasuke`s rich baritone voice and it took her by surprise, not expecting it. There was a palpable lachrymose emotion dancing into his beautiful black pearl eyes which she couldn't place, yet Sakura had the unsettling feeling of empathy, like she was somehow meant to affinity with his odd mental struggle, to some degree.

"…" Even if she wished to say something intelligent and prove him that she was not completely overwhelmed by the universal truth she came to learn from him, no words were slipping past Sakura`s lips. The mere thought of withstanding a continuous existence in extreme agony, suffering, depression and sadness, being all alone, with only the shadow to play as the silent witness of one`s inner turmoil, was impossible to understand. So that was precisely the reason why Sakura found herself breathing to the raven haired man beside her. "Did you ever die Sasuke? How did you become a vampire? Don't you have a way to let it go and just…" Her unvoiced were diverted to what she almost did, if not for him to come and stop her.

If there was something that Sakura got familiar with, was the fact that Sasuke and his world of creatures of the night, which lusted for blood and immortality, were immortal, hence lived forever, but she couldn't help wondering if they too could wish for that burden to end and commit suicide in the same manner? Because that would be utterly unfair.

He ignored her last statement because he didn't want the conversation to drift into another direction, already seeing that the beautiful angelic rosette was struggling to comprehend the implication and the extent of his words. But he was willing to tell her about who exactly he was, because by all means, Sasuke didn't want her to live under the impression that he was a drunkard delinquent vampire, with a fucked up social life and imbecile crazy friends. "I am a member of the Uchiha family, which is by all means one of the few remaining pure blood vampire clans. Their heir and soon to be Leader, to be more precise."

"A Prince?" Sakura remembered what he said and followed closely how the midnight haired man`s forehead wrinkled and a ghost of a frown appeared. She guessed that it might have been the way he said it, but Sasuke quickly answered her unvoiced question.

"If you like, though I avoid using such old fashioned appellative, yes. I have been born with the blood of a vampire running through my veins, along with all my family –the clan, like they like to name themselves- astonishing powers. But, just like all the vampires out there, I inherited the body of a mortal from my mother." He simply informed her like he was discussing the weekly forecast, with no affinity towards the title alleged.

"So you were an…immortal spirit trapped in the body of a mortal, right?"

"To cut long story short, that`s right."

"This is awful!" Jade eyes went ablaze and for a moment Sasuke couldn't help but wonder at the way she had golden irises like the desert, even though they were filled with horror and compassion. "To have the acknowledge that you have the possibility of living for eternity, but your body is not able to support such life force!"

To her, it was the lucid realization of being on the verge of half dying and half being damned to straggle like a spectrum for eternity, being dematerialized and losing the contact with your frame, hence not being able to touch or feel the things that once were within your reach.

Just as having his spirit rise from its grave, seeing the sorrowful beloved ones grieve, without being able to touch their weeping faces and brush away those tears. It was heartbreaking and that consternation made her skin cover in cold shivers.

Of course that Sasuke knew exactly what horrifying things were washing through her skull, yet he simply nodded in confirmation. A short sudden bolt of sadness akin to torment toddled on his handsome face, but it was gone before Sakura had the chance to read what was crossing his mind at the moment, He was good in hiding his inner from the word, Sakura concluded. "Things are not that simple. For a mortal, when he comes of age, he gets all the rights and obligations of and adult, meaning he has the responsibility of his actions, right?"

"Of course."

"For a vampire on the other hand, it means that from there on out, his powers become almost complete and the unique abilities of his family`s bloodline limits start to take a toll on the body which eventually will start to fail his purpose. A mortal`s much weaker and unprepared frame is unable to sustain such a tremendous amount of energy. Call it our curse: one cannot have both mortality and immortality."

"You have to choose between one and another." Sakura yearned for the confirmation and he blinked once in response. She was quick to understand what he was talking about, for which he was grateful. Last thing that Sasuke wished for was to deal with a dumb narrow minded depressive woman who couldn't understand how the world went by. He didn't have the patience for that. "But…how? Your mortal body will always die, yet your spirit is bound to roam forever. So it only means that you have to find a way to make your body immortal!" Her stunning forest green orbs beamed with intelligence and Sasuke found himself being more and more engulfed and drown into those pools of evergreen of hers, letting his stare linger on them longer and longer, with each passing moment they talked.

He actually found it in him to smirk at her, liking the seductive amalgamation of confusion and timidity playing on her face whenever he did that. "I knew it from the very beginning," Sasuke started, making sure that his voice came a tad lower than normal, just to test her reaction, which was fast as the speed of light. "That you were different from the others." He was honestly stunned by her intelligence. That was definitely not a stupid woman. She was only a negativist and tended to take everything to extremes, but a dummy she was not. And he liked that. "Exactly."

"For me to become the man you see today…I had to die once." Her jade orbs flew open in consternation, definitely not expecting him to say such a thing. "To be more precise, my mortal body had to die once for that to happen." It was one of the painful truths in a vampire`s existence and Sasuke disclosed that to her.

"S-So y-you are…" The pastel pink girl looked at Sasuke in a weird way, suddenly remembering the feeling of his skin under her fingertips, the warmth radiating from those hard rock muscles and how incredibly soft he was and immediately her heart was beating faster than normal. "…b-but you are…just like me…?"

Memories flood through his brain, along with all the suffering and everything that he had to put up with, but she didn't see it on his exterior, because Sasuke was the embodiment of a beautiful statue, unable to portray emotions. He was way past those years but they were still haunting his dreams. That was one of the reasons why he almost never slept, but busied himself with studying or occasionally spending time with his friends. "There is a very complex process of being reborn as a vampire, which you probably won't believe anyways and it is not necessary for you to know. Point is, from the moment you turn 21 as a human, there is a matter of time before your body will start to rot from the inside out and you will eventually need to be turned into a vampire."

"Since I doubt that all of you are of the same age, I suppose it doesn't happen at the same time for all of you, right?"

"No, of course not. It depends on many factors, but the most important one is how strong you are as a vampire and how bad it would affect your body. The younger you are as a vampire, the stronger you are, which is kind of ironic, but not illogical. Sure, there are also exceptions, when the apogee of the powers only manifested later on and on a whole other level, but those are rare cases. It happened in my family as well, starting from the founder of our clan."

"So…what was the age you…died as a human?" Sakura eagerly inquired, glad that there was something substantial for her to hang on and better understand. Up until then, Sasuke was an entire enigma. He belonged to a world that she knew nothing about, nor was it reminiscent to her own and that thought alone made it hard for her to relate to him.

"I was 25." Sasuke answered the rosette, smirked when he saw her face illuminate like she was sighing because they had something to connect and that was something tangible for her. A number she could place in her own world, either ways he was something far too superior and mysterious. "You seem relieved. Is it because you felt as if in the company of an old man?"

"…yeah. Honestly, I feel better now that I know that you are actually four years older, but not because of an unimportant number. This is less than nothing to me. It is just that you are so different from me, that it scares me. So I think I just need something I can relate to…be it something as stupid as your age."

"Do not feel sorry for being human, Sakura." The Uchiha cocked his head on the side, gazing at the woman in front from behind his soft raven locks falling sensually on his temples and cheeks, letting his intense onyx orbs travel from her mesmerizing eyes to her luscious lips. "It might not be such a bad thing."

"What has changed then? What made your body stay this young forever?"

"Truth to be told, this is the key and the secret within the need for human blood. Once your last heartbeat has thumped on a soon to be vampire, his body dies. Then, the life-force running through his veins takes over and does the rest, meaning fueling the breathless body with a vampire`s quintessence and so we obtain immortality." He tapped his elbow on the table, and opens his palm in front of his scrutinizing darkened eyes, eying his left wrist, while slowly opening and clasping his fingers, like wanting to feel his pulse pumping inside his veins. "From that moment on, the body will never decay, nor will it age. But we lost the life within. Just like a frozen red rose…we can entrap the beauty and its delicacy for eternity, but we cannot capture his very life in the ice. Inside, we are…numb. Lifeless."

"But you have feelings. And your heart…" Sakura looked down his chiseled chest, imagining the place of his heart under the clothes he wore, and unconsciously placed a hand on hers, feeling that its pace was faster and unruly. "…I felt-"

"-That was not a heartbeat, Sakura. It is just…like a mechanism. Something to help the flow of our own version of blood run through our body and nourish it. This is why human blood is like Ambrosia for us, the vampires. It gives us what we lost."

She almost wanted to cry when the realization of Sasuke's stoic words got to her, and her emerald orbs shone in enlightenment. They were almost bound to be incapable of feeling anything and the memories of happiness, elation, euphoria and love were only the ones they had from when they were half human. A vampire had no feelings. They only had physical beauty and their charms stood in their mind blowing elegance, precision, dexterity, cultivation, etiquette and dark sinfully appealing swift behavior. On the inside, it was exactly the opposite. They had nothing and it was then when the rose haired woman understood what it was like for them to be losing the human side. She whispered to the onyx eyed vampire, not knowing how to approach the topic without making him feel offended by her. "….humanity. My blood…but you are stronger than I am."

"Think about it. How is nature on spring when everything breaths with life? It is still the same nature with the same trees which stood still during winter, but…they glow. They shine in the sun and they are stronger. Vitality flows through them. Your blood makes me stronger Sakura. It adds to the force I have been given from the day I was born. No one knows exactly how strong can a vampire become when constantly feeding from human blood, so to avoid a riot and a carnage to come, we have come to a compromise with the humans: stop feeding from it. Never attack people and never haunt them down like animals."

Slowly but surely, as his explanation went into the depths of exploring a vampire`s real destiny and way of living, Sasuke`s orbs turned into a deeper shade of smoldering ebony and he grew stern and serious, his velvet voice losing its spectacular hint of playfulness. "Never forget how we started…who we were before becoming what we are now." His words were meant to emphasize the fact that he was once human. "Of course, there are many vampires who transgress the rules and feed from human blood. Some are obsessed with obtaining the supreme power and continue to hunt. Terrorize. Impale their sacred code, kill the morals they have and stain their fangs with innocent blood."

"…t-that is so hor-"

"It disgusts me." He spat in abhorrence, dripping venom, but Sakura relaxed understanding that he wasn't mad at her, but at the vampires` behavior and their choice of conduct. "This is like giving in to the lowest form of the one you tried to escape from as a vampire. Whoever succumbs to such primal carnal urges cannot be considered a vampire, or a human. They are the lowest scum. A disgrace to the vampire race."

Sakura didn't feel frighten to be in Sasuke`s presence anymore, even if she wasn't being reluctant to approach him or trust him, since she didn't care whether she died or lived and every perception about the stunning man with the hair that challenged the night in silkiness and fascinating beauty has changed. Uchiha Sasuke acted like a human as much as he could, flawlessly passing as a mortal, even though he was clearly a vampire. "This sounds too idyllic to be true. What about you then? Aren't you one of the ones w-who seek f-for…power? Because you want to drink from my blood?"

"I am afraid that things are not that simple as we want them to be. Even if I vowed to myself that I will respect a life…I am still a vampire, and this is something that is out of my control. From time to time, I still need that life force running through your human blood, either way I will eventually become too weak to even move. This is one of the darkest sides of being a vampire. A sin we all have to shoulder. Some are able to control this need longer than the others. Some do not. It depends on each vampire."

"What about you? How long can you go without human blood?" What Sakura truly wished to know was how many times he would need to puncture her neck and use her as his own personal custom bottle of fresh hot red wine.

Of course that Sasuke understood what her concern was and that made something flickered inside his chest, clasping around his heart. But what he didn't know was the fact that a good part of Sakura eagerly anticipated the moment he would do that again, finding it to be an experience close enough to Nirvana.

The jade eyed woman swore she would gladly let him do that again right that instant if he wished to do so, just to recreate part of those memories and trigger that feeling again. Her whole body charged with the fire of the universe and for a moment, her senses exploded like two colliding galaxies, sending star dust over her electrified perception.

It was nothing like she has ever experienced, not to mention undeniably incredibly erotic and sensual, yet far from lewd, libidinous and lascivious. No, how he made her feel has transcended pure carnal lust and went higher into transversing pure erotica and passion.

"There is something you need to know for me to answer that. Since there is this agreement between the two of us, you will soon meet my…acquaintances. They are also vampires, with two exceptions. For us to form a strong bond of trust and security, you have to know that one of them also comes from a very prominent wealthy clan of aristocrat vampires, just like me, and his family is strongly opposing to drinking human blood. They developed special blood pills with a similar effect and taste as human blood, by mixing drops of human blood they take from the blood banks of private clinics of hospitals` divisions, with a special substance. They soon become viral among the partisans of the same ideology as theirs, myself included."

"So you take those pills to control the need to drink human blood, right?"

"Yes. Some certain food also helps. I am sure you have an idea of what type of food." He lowered his eyes on his plate, silently inviting her to contemplate and reach her own conclusions, and she did just as so.

"Tomatoes? You like them." She smiled softly, finding it quite funny that half of his food consisted in those simple fruits, yet he was savoring them with utter elegance.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at her and it wasn't because of her remark but because her beauty was out of that world when she actually smiled so charmingly. And there was always a cute blush rising on her face when she did so. If anything, the rosette was truly a bud soon to be bloomed. "They are my favorite. There is also roast beef, carrot juice, strawberries, but this is more delightful and popular among lady vampires, cherries, and our favorite beverage," he raised his cup sipping from it and she followed the tantalizing way his lips were touching the smooth polished glass, sipping once. "red wine." The onyx eyed vampire stretched his hand towards the bottle of said beverage, then held it in front of Sakura, silently inviting her to have a look. She stroked the vintage looking tag and let her fingers brush over the golden carved letters and the neat writing, studying it intently with a newfound fascination. It was beautiful.

"France`s finest jewel and their pride, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits. Made from at least 85 per cent Pinot Noir grapes." Sasuke briefed her, while Sakura felt something stir inside her belly when she realized that she was actually touching something so fine, delectable, which probably tasted like Heaven and not to mention expensive, for the first time in her life, while Sasuke lifted another shining crystal glass, taking the bottle from her, angling it towards the glass flute, elegantly letting the liquid fill half of it, offering it to the surprised rose beautiful angel woman. "Here. Let`s share this experience, shall we?" She gently took it from Sasuke and for a moment, she couldn't suppress the pleasurable tingles down her spine when her fingers tapped his own, staying there more than necessary not wanting to slip it from her inexperienced fingers.

Sasuke on the other hand, had one single intention and that was to feel her velvet skin sliding on his own, stealing one more little intimate moment together with her. His kittenish stare trailed from their joined hands on the glass, to her coy blush and appetizing eyes.

"Thank you." She brought the fine glass to her lips, totally intended to taste a part of that magnetizing vampire`s world, when he stopped her with a mild sheer hold of her wrist, not wanting her to bump her nose on the rim of the glass.

"Slow down." He gently bid and she stopped, blushing lightly, feeling really stupid and bad for her lack of experience. Sasuke might have been a vampire, but she felt like in the presence of an insanely rich businessman or an ambassador and she was a beggar or his servant. "First, by gently shaking the glass, and making the wine swirling, you will measure the consistency and the color. This step is crucial to determine whether it is going to be thicker or sweeter, depending on the type." He instructed, while elegantly demonstrating he with his own glass.

Sakura mirrored his move, but she looked more like a rushed housewife whipping the cream or the eggs for the mayo. Sasuke on the other hand remained calm and serious, not laughing like some juvenile teenager. "The next equally crucial step is smelling the wine. This will tell you the type and the taste of the wine obtained from fermentation of the grapes. For instance, you will be able to tell Pinot Noir from Pinot Merrier."

She wanted to tell him that he would be able, because she didn't even have an idea of what the heck did that mean. She only knew of cheap beers that his father drank and those were hardly something she would have loved to smell. But when she sniffled the aroma of Sasuke`s fine wine, her mind filled with images of seductive red and dark velvet, rivers of chocolate and marble skin molding sensually over the exquisite material. She even felt poetic and had the sudden urge to speak French, if only she knew how to.

"Then, our favorite part of it, sipping it. Be careful not to take large gulps. This is not water you take to swallow unpleasant pills. Swirl it into your mouth, take your time into savoring it properly and feel the texture, the sweetness, the weight and so on. Try to unravel its story." The rosette simply couldn't tear her orbs from the onyx eyed exquisite vampire, when he brought It to his fine lips and did just he said. Of course, she had no idea of what happened into his mouth, but that thought alone made her feel few degrees hotter. The room for imagination was vast when it came to a wild, rebel, sexy men like Sasuke, for any woman, herself included. The only thing that made it obvious for her that he has drunk from his glass, was his Adam Apple bobbling up and down when he let it leak down his throat.

God he was irresistibly sexy when he did it and the fact that he was a vampire only fueled the darkest fantasies that she didn't thought she had. Somehow, he was bringing to light parts of her that she didn't know they existed within her reluctant and shy mind.

And Sakura felt connected to him just like he said, when she also did what he told her, but she was more obvious. It was pure Heaven, true to his word. She let out an almost inaudible moan in delight when all her senses have been invaded by the exquisite bouquet caressing her senses and coating her mouth and tongue with a nectar sweet and rich taste. "This is amazing!"

Sasuke only side smirked to her. Unbeknownst to her, she was so mesmerizing in all her innocent clumsy shyness and he couldn't tear his orbs from her, just like she keenly chased his every meticulous move, with her epodic forest green orbs. "I am no expert but I can bet that this is very expensive." She looked at him with an apologetically look on her suddenly lost face. "Am I right?"

If anything, Sasuke didn't like to brag about his money. That was something material, hardly important and only came to him naturally. Humans were obsessed with it, because they brought them power and a false impression and overshadow of the real value. So was his father in his view. Money flamed their reputation and he could negotiate with the Governments and the other vampire families as equals. Being the leaders automatically meant being better than both humans and vampires, which logically led to having a luxury life with wealth and money. "It does."

"If you don't mind me asking…where do you get your money from? Because even I can tell that you are rich. What is your profession?"

"What do I strike like?" The vampire Prince cocked his head teasingly, while some delicate raven locks fell tantalizingly on his high marble regal cheeks and the corner of his equally smoldering hues. "Just do not say anything related to selling garlic or grave diggers."

"Hm…the obvious and most logical thing that first comes to my mind would be either a successful businessman or a politician. But I realize that you are more enigmatic than I would be tempted to believe, so I would also try a lawyer, a doctor or an economist."

Upon hearing her response, Sasuke found himself be once again marveled at how good she was at reading the people. "With a deep insight like that, there is no wonder that you have caught my eye." The reaction of the emerald eyed beauty was immediate, for she blushed at his comment, simply because no one called her smart or acknowledged her wisdom before. "You only got half of the answer right. I am, in fact, attending college and also work in my father`s company, as his Vice-President and the legal advisor. I am studying law and economics."

"From the way you speak about life and people in general…" She nibbled her lower lip, just to prevent a goofy smile to take over and looked at him. "…I am not surprised to find out that you like justice. Law suits you. And I am sure you have the brilliance of an economist."

"Are you trying to flatter me?"

"I am just being honest with you." The heir of the Uchiha clan nodded once smirking down at her. He also observed that when he did it, she started to blush, smile and avert her orbs more often. His effect on her was being visible. "But…you go to a normal college? Or is there one entirely for vampires?" That was one funny thought, because it would totally match the manga vampire stories she sometimes read.

"It is a regular one. No one there knows we are not human, with the exception of the Principal. Hatake Kakashi is…" At that, Sasuke grew silent for a moment, like he was pondering the most proper way to describe the mysterious man, then started to talked again. "…someone who seeks for peace and encourages us to blend in and live among people."

"Sounds good, I suppose. To have someone on your side, that is." Sakura reasoned, taking another sip of wine and a bit of food. Her stomach was sending her its gratefulness. She was starting to recover her strength, though she was tired. She saw on the sun shaped wall clock that it was past midnight. Sasuke on the other hand looked like he has just risen from the bed and showered, being all refreshed and invigorated.

"…it is." He was acting reluctant over something that she couldn't understand and she found it suspicions. "I am going to take you with me." Upon hearing Sasuke`s statement, a pair of fine rose eyebrows have been brought together, while getting confused.

Sasuke explained everything to her in two words that stole her breath away and made her heart beat faster. "To college." She stiffened her shoulders and looked into his orbs testing if he told the truth, scouting it into his beautiful onyx eyes, seeking for any trace of mockeries.

"…a-are you serious? C-Can I…" She cast her eyes down to her chest while a huge smile crept on her lips. "…go to college? This is…"

"Have you finished high school?" She knew that Sasuke elegantly and subtly asked her whether she was literate, not wanted to offend her. "Though this hardly actually counts." He added like going to college was a breeze. It might have been for someone like him, she deduced, but that did nothing to make something else bloom into her chest.

"I have finished high school, yes. " Not having any reason to not come clean in front of Sasuke, the jade eyed girl told him the truth, but he could clearly see the reluctance and the sadness washing off her candid forest green orbs, reading the anguish and the misery inside her soul. "With much difficulty, yet…I graduated top of my class." Her statement was nowhere near her willingness to didn't brag about her school records, but a mellow cute attempt to try and cut the huge obvious gap between them. "I have always wanted to make it to college…" Her dreamy hopeful and somehow chimerical tone took Sasuke by surprise. "…I used to have this dream."

If anything, he wouldn't have anticipated the fact that she from all the people would fancy continuing with her studies, if there were many other things she could do to try and live life at its fullest. But he quickly came into terms with the fact that not only Sakura was not an inconsiderable woman with trifling aspirations or preference for trivial things, so it was only natural for her to be submerged into philosophy and erudition.

Could she become anymore of a chimeric fascination? If someone was to catch a glimpse of Sasuke`s conversation with that stranger girl, with the most vivid hair color ever, he would be gaping at how out of his character he was acting.

By any means, that particular Uchiha was the perfect epitome of his family`s reputed steel like behavior and impenetrable stoicism, so he hardly engaged someone in a conversation or talked more than necessary and never words of encouragement or endearment. But that night, he seemed to have been willing to break down more of his own set barriers than he thought.

And frankly, Sasuke didn't mind it at all. Sure, Sakura was one big enigma, along with her desire to end up her life in a miserable way and her zeal to ruminate about things that weren't of her understanding, just like she was carefully pondering every question she had about his world.

He liked someone that was capable of such a deep philosophy over life, death and eternity, even if their worlds clashed just like their convictions. Plus…there was something else about that girl, which was knocking at the doors of his conscience, triggering unwanted memories of a certain part of his life, that he was desperately trying to overcome –he did up to a point- but unlike then, she was being more absorbed into being faithful, rightful and virtuous.

Her beauty was also out of that world, even barely clad in dirty cheap clothes, she was basically glowing like the moon and her delicacy, mixed with the clumsiness and the way she acted like a child in a candy shop, was adding to the allurement.

"Then why did you want to give it up and not right for him?" The Uchiha smartly inquired, while the rosette knew that he meant choosing suicide over fighting for her dream and turn the hands of destiny from utopic to reality.

"…it is hard alone." Sakura whispered and she has totally missed the way Sasuke`s ebony eyes widen slightly because she was trying to focus on the chandelier in front of her, seeing right through the flickering dainty graceful flames of the candles. He knew exactly how was it to felt alone, but she didn't know. It was because he, just like her, had no one to walk beside him or spend eternity with him. His hand froze on his fork and knife and his shoulders stiffened.

She was speaking his mind she was connecting to him more than they connected through blood. Could she feel his mind as well like he read her? There was no mystery that when a vampire drank from someone else`s blood, they were bound to form an intangible link that went beyond physical perception, but he didn't fully know the extent of it, since it clearly depended on the two parties.

"What do you want to study? What is your dream Sakura?"

She took whole two good minutes to voice out her beliefs over life and dreams in general, but her answer hasn't stunned him in the slightest. "To die." She told him simply without faltering or having any remorse or second thoughts. He also observed that when speaking about suicide, Sakura tended to become dematerialized and speak mechanically, like she has been chanting it over and over again prior of actually doing it, probably trying to convince herself that it was for the best and it was out on her own free choice, even if on the inside she didn't actually want to do it.

He narrowed his orbs and slipped his hand under her jaw cupping her check and elevated her chin to him, not liking the way she was so eager to leave that world. Leave him. "Dying is not a desire for the future, it is the crushing of a dream. Those who die, cannot accomplish anything."

Sakura was talking about having dreams, yet she wanted to die, which was in absolute contradiction and that made him suspicions and intrigued. Her beliefs and her actions didn't match.

"A medic. I want to become a doctor." He was stunned. A doctor! Someone who wanted to take her own life wanted to save other ones. She was selfless and her self-sacrifice was something he came to appreciate. Humans tended to be self-centered, arrogant, conceited and too engulfed into their own persona to think about the others, yet she was totally out of their league and ontology.

And he simply couldn't fight back those thoughts from flooding his mind and Sasuke found himself taken back in time, thinking about her, in comparison to Sakura. Someone who was once a lover, soon becoming his fiancé…A very special she who was supposed to become a vampire, but she chose death instead, not wanting to spend an eternity with him, and he called her selfish even if he loved her. He lost trust in women ever since, yet he was not absurd. Sakura would choose their happiness in lieu for her own in a heartbeat and that was where the difference stood.

That was why he was starting to feel more and more attracted to that rosette, and it definitely went beyond blood. Though he would be a fool not to admit that the rosette`s was sweeter than…hers.

"Then I will talk to Kakashi and let you attend the med school starting from Monday."

Oblivious to what exactly went wrong into Sasuke`s life, Sakura found herself almost on the verge of crying, but unlike many other times when tears were mending her inner pain to the physical suffering inflicted by the others, those were carrying on a vibrant delicate emotion which rooted from the depths of her heart. "…t-thank you…" It took all she had not to weep at him like a widow in front of her husband`s grave, biting back a sob. Heck, she wanted to throw herself at him, hug him tight and kiss-

She stopped there, feeling that her mind was slipping into other unexplored universes, ready to give in into his charms, and do as he instructed. Oh God, she wanted to kiss him and see how was it like to be kissed –by him- but she was reluctant to get even more intimate with him, afraid that it would degenerate.

She still wished to die after experiencing happiness, so getting more involved would automatically lead to dramas. If anything, she didn't want to hurt Sasuke or toy with his feelings, even if she wouldn't dare to think that he would ever like her or, in a more utopian scenario, fall in love with her. That would be selfish, cruel and she wasn't like that.

By all means, he was a benefactor with an odd request, but still someone who hasn't hurt her in any way and was treating her like she fantasized in her wildest dreams. Like a Princess.

Like someone who matters.

"I said I will show you how to live. But for me to do so, you need to also help yourself. Find something important to you, something dear, something you love, for it to make you want to live in order to accomplish it. A dream for the future…that is living."

She nodded at him. And couldn't help but smile. For someone who had eternity in the palm of his hand, Sasuke had a seductive wisdom and insight about life and living and she couldn't help but fall for such a subtle wisdom and intelligence. He was the most fascinating man she has ever encountered.

And the most handsome, her inner added with a wicked grin, which Sakura simply ignored.

"Can a vampire die?" She didn't actually wanted to ask him this, but it burst out of her mouth before she had the chance to stop and she saw his hand froze before the fork connected to his lips, blinking twice, while his onyx orbs betrayed nothing, and nor did his stoic façade. He didn't answer for a good whole minute and Sakura suddenly felt like slapping herself in the next century for her misled, thinking sadly that he was angry yet he surprised her, shrugged indifferently.

"Technically no, we do not die like you do. But they can be annihilated, yes. Do not think of garlic, crucifixes and so, those are dumb stories. We even have our own vampire jokes and tell them during Balls and parties and laugh at the idiocy around them."

She didn't ask how seeing that he didn't tell her probably taking a safety measure. It was only correct. He also hasn't told her of the reign of the vampire hunters. Also, Sasuke knew that it was way past midnight and she started to yawn and stretch more frequently, so he decided to call it a day. Both of them ate all the food anyways. She was the first one to dig in and stuff her face with more than half of it, which he was glad for.

Heaven forbids he wanted to starve the skinny woman to death. That was definitely not in his intention when he brought her to his home.

Then she asked something that made him froze when taking the plate to sink, wanting to let her go into her room and get a good sleep. "Do you have a family? Do you have someone beside your father?" The reaction was surprising and immediate. He grew colder, the pleasant warm and friendly atmosphere around turned thick and tense, instead of joining her on the table like he did, talking and being opened to her, unraveling secrets that she hasn't even dreamed of, he went to the huge glass wall, glued his forehead on the cool surface and bent a hand over his head leaning forward.

His voice was still velvet rich and calm yet she saw is body language. "If you refer to my mother and father, then yes. They live on the other side of the town, in Sharingan." Sakura wasn't stupid. Sharingan was a high class neighborhood were only the richest lived. It was no wonder. "My older brother Itachi lives separately with his fiancé."

"W-why aren't you live with them?"

He took longer to respond and Sakura realized that it was definitely a topic that he wasn't comfortable with. She also observed that he didn't have any photos of his relatives in his apartment, beside the modern fancy expensive abstract paintings or landscapes. He might have had some in his room, but she wouldn't know. "Our ideologies clash. I don't want to argue with them. I have bought this place to start living upon my principles."

"You…chose to separate from your parents for independency?" She didn't have parents and didn't understand why would anyone choose to alienate out of his own free accord. Sure, she also know from the others that a teenager's dreams often collided with the portents' ideologies, but it was simply because of the generations gap, so she guessed that compromise was the key there.

Apparently, something far deeper and more serious went into the notorious Uchiha family of vampires.

"I do not want to be controlled." Sasuke also added, but he talked so softly that she would have missed it if she wasn't all ears and eyes on his broad back, bent over the huge window glass. She wished she could see the reflection of his handsome face reflecting in the mirror, but she couldn't because he had his forehead pressed on his forearm.

They went silent for a while and Sakura didn't know whether she should ask or not and he didn't inquire for her own family for he didn't want to trigger those horrid images. He cut her train of thoughts, before she got the chance to inquire further. "It`s late." His velvet voice turned flat and detached once again Sakura knew that it was a sign to drop the subject.

She got upright from her chair, taking her plate and advancing to the sink, feeling light headed and slightly dizzy. "Can I…ahm…take a shower?"

"Of course." She discharged the bowl down the sink and turned the faucet on out of reflex, wanting to wash it when Sasuke pressed it back startling her, simply because he materialized behind her without breaking a sound, being as swift and silent as a shadow and she hasn't heard him approaching. "We have bathrooms for this, you know?" He dropped his voice two octaves, making his delicious tone even more shuddering and enchanting, while it got a bit whimsical and flirtatious?

Sakura held in her breath, while her hand froze on her plate, letting it slide slowly from her fingers, into the sink, totally feeling like blushing crimson red because of his closeness to her. There was an astonishing warmth blazing through Sasuke`s lean fibers and he was close enough for her to get hotter and frisky. She knew how he looked like even without those clothes around his muscular frame and there was a pleasurable wriggle of her every pore whenever he touched her with those masterfully delectable hands or came into her bubble. But he was anything but invasive, rude, libidinous or perverted.

Finesse, aristocratic grace and an astonishing sense of aesthetics were his defining traits. They were enough to make any woman melt like caramel at his feet and crawl in bliss under his touch.

"I thought-"

"-You are my guest, not a maid." He looked at her for a moment on locking gazes as if wanting to say something else –more- but decided against. Then started to water again and clean them all by myself, leaving Sakura stand aside, awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Sasuke was so atypical for a man of his status and social circle. "There are clean towels and a bathrobe on the hook. I assume you are not in for night shopping, so I am afraid you will have to use my toiletries today."

"I am perfectly fine with it, don't worry. I am sorry to be such a bother." Seeing that he hasn't had anything more to add, the rosette decided to leave the man be and go for the holly indoor plumbing. "I will be going."

She promptly turned on her cheeks and spurted out of there, heading towards the bathroom, leaving a silent Sasuke behind, who was idling over the sink, with the foamy sponge rubbing the plates. What the heck?

"You are not a bother…" He whispered behind her retracting back of the phantom ethereal rosette. His thoughts flew far away, while his onyx orbs trailed on her fluttering pink haired locks. She made him remember his family and his former fiancé. There was something utterly familiar about her and Sasuke couldn't cease away the fact that Sakura was both someone he should and shouldn't be with. Like sin and chocolate altogether.

The moment her bare small feet slide on the luscious aquamarine sparkling floor of Sasuke`s bathroom, she swore she was in Paradise. The bathtub was in fact, one huge Jacuzzi, the colors navy, golden, marble white and grey were ruling there and everything was so sparkling clean, neat, luxurious and pleasant to see. Nothing compared to the pathetic excuse of a bathroom she had back home, which was too small for even getting dressed there, let alone taking a decent bath.

So taking advantage of Sasuke`s generous offer, the rosette turned on the water and poured what she guessed was soap, following in fascination how the bathtub filled with bubbles and lukewarm water. All around her there was a pleasant warm inviting steam and she couldn't help but shudder in delight. It smelled like ocean and spring flowers.

She eagerly gripped the hem of her top, tugging it up to her head, while doing the same with her skirt and chemise, remaining bare in front of the mirror hanging above the sink. She used the back of her hand to wipe away the steam fogging the mirror, getting a look of her naked reflection.

Her rose locks were falling over her small lean shoulders and full rounded firm breasts and ribs. She sighed heavily, while her hand unconsciously skimmed over the two small red dots adorning her porcelain skin, along her pulse.

"What am I going to do with you, girl?" She hummed absentmindedly, turning around, heading to the filled bathtub, testing the water with her toe. It felt amazing. She slowly lowered her naked form down, while the level of the lukewarm water raised around her sinking body.

She let her head loll backwards, sighing dreamy, while her skin crawled in pleasure, getting pampered by the heaven around. She cocked her head over her shoulder, looking through the same huge window glass that tantalized her enchanted view with a magnificent nocturne panorama of the crowded never sleeping city.

That truly felt like a dream. So many things happened in such a short time. Not long ago, she was convinced that it would be the last full moon she would ever see and then she found herself following the most mesmerizing man that she ever encountered in his flat, while he confessed that he was a mystical creature that she found in the most syrupy fiction novels.

A vampire Prince nonetheless. It was so crazy, yet so much like herself. Nothing in her life has ever been normal to begin with. Still fighting the urge to pinch herself and make sure that she hasn't died and went to a place akin to Eden Garden, Sakura took her time to rinse, soap and scrub her skin, shampooing her hair, using Sasuke`s cosmetics. And the thought of smelling like him was enough to set her body on fire!

Heck, she could basically smell him everywhere. His print was lingering all around her, up to the finest details. Everything bore his mark, his philosophy of beauty and his mysterious charms. The moment she felt her skin wrinkle of so much spending into the bathtub, a very soaked rose haired woman reluctantly got off, aiming to the most fluffy looking aquamarine towel, drying her long hair and body.

And she couldn't help but moan contently when she wrapped Sasuke`s bathrobe around her much petite frame, letting her senses get embraced by his manly scent lingering on the soft material. One thing made her curious while taking it from the hook and that was the red and white small fan encrusted on the collar. She vaguely wondered whether it was a random pattern or it actually meant something to him.

She decided she should go and ask the vampire Prince about it. But that could wait, because Sakura had one thing in mind and that was to let her overtired body hit the pillow and sleep for two months. Or at last, till Monday.

Quietly like a mouse, not wanting to disturb him, Sakura tiptoed back through the hall, attempting to enter her new bedroom, when a fading blue-ish pale light coming from the living room made her stop. Curious, she poked her head inside the spacious see through lounge to find Sasuke lying on the sofa, with some files in front of him and a lamp with a warm blue light. She took a moment to admire him and he knocked her breath away. He clearly changed clothes while she got cozy inside his bathroom, and that hot Uchiha made her emerald orbs pop out of their sockets. A red and black silk traditional man kimono was molding over his toned ripped lean body.

A pair of navy blue angular glasses were slanting low on his nose giving him a studied disheveled appearance, his rebel messy spikes were tantalizing brushing over his neck and temples, clashing with the hallow of his alabaster skin and an English porcelain flowered cup of tea was pressed on his thin lips. His nonchalance alone was a picture to kill.

Of course Sasuke has acknowledged his special coral haired guest`s concealed presence, letting his onyx amused orbs travel from the ruffling papers he was studying, to the startled rosette, stared at her, the hand with the cup frozen midways and his head askew. She was hiding behind a purple painted side wall, having a hand pressed on it, revealing only her damp dark rose hair, sticking to her pearl white skin of her collarbone and jaw and a hint of a subtle blush adorning her cheeks. "Had fun?" He stated casually and hid a smirk by sipping from his tea, while closely following Sakura getting redder than the sun. She retracted blushing madly because she hummed and he heard her play with bubbles like a kid. Hell, she even sang some silly popular songs she has heard on Mebuki`s old radio from the kitchen!

Unbeknownst to her, not only Sasuke was deeply entertained by the spectacle, finding it strange that he was not in the bit bothered by her shenanigans, and it didn't have anything to do with the fact that he was understanding and knew that it was probably the first time in her life when stepping into the upper class` marvelous world. Of course she felt like Alice in Wonderland –a very hot looking Alice- but that didn't stop him from sharpening his keen sharp hearing and pay attention to each melodic line that left her joyful mouth.

"I am sorry for being so vocal. I couldn't help myself." Despite the act that Sakura wanted to spin on her toes and dash to her room, where she could promptly bury her nose into the soft cushion and hide her shame, she couldn't peel away her hues from Sasuke`s dark chocolate ones. They were mooning into her emerald ones and a wave of dark sinful desires rippled along her spine, making her skin shudder.

There was an abnormal thick hot sexual chemistry oozing from Sasuke`s picturesque image, which made her insides relentless and fill with naughty butterflies fluttering into the pits of her belly. Her nails crawled at the wall she was resting her palm on and Sakura had no idea of why was she feeling like that towards a stranger.

Sasuke was someone she has just met. Someone who was not even human, let alone someone she could fully trust. But he was breathtakingly irresistible, with his alabaster fine skin, fabulous patrician features and anneal ripped fibers. She dipped her emerald orbs down, eying the ivory fluffy carpet tingling her toes, not wanting to stare like an imbecile and make him feel uncomfortable.

Sasuke on the other hand, knew exactly what she was thinking about, but what she didn't know was that he too was thinking of the same things that she wanted to ward off. Drizzly fuchsia curls were cascading sensually down her petite shoulders and her collarbones, making her viridian gemstones sparkle like crystalline mountain rivers in spring. His bathrobe was nestling her slender naiad graceful curves in a tantalizing mouthwatering way, which left enough room for his wild imagination to desire her enough to mess up with his mind.

"Good night." Were the last words lingering behind her, before the rosette scurried to the room he arranged for her.

"Hn." The onyx eyed vampire resumed his reading, all but being absorbed into some random company related files that his father was nagging him with since Friday.

That was the reason why Sasuke hasn't been surprised at all, when Sakura returned to him, whispering softly. "Sasuke? Thank you for everything." With that, she has truly left him briefly gasping behind her back.

He couldn't help but recoil from the memories she has triggered. Words that always hurt whenever he has heard them, words that cut deeper than knives and words he has heard those before but never so candid.

Before painful memories turned back to him like a boomerang, his phone buzzed on the coffee table. His hand span towards the beeping device, furrowing his fine eyebrows upon starting at the ID of the caller, on the flashing screen.

He pressed 'allow' and tapped his ear on the stereo, waiting for his interlocutor to justify his odd late night call.

"What?" His usually velvet voice came as a deep annoyed growl and his pique was palpable to the way he pressed each syllable. Sure, it was no mystery for anyone that sleep to a vampire was something superfluous, so consequently Sasuke hardly slept, preferring to study or enjoy his precious moments of silence instead, when Naruto wasn't ruining it for him whenever he dragged his ass to some random parties, which all lead them into various sorts of troubles, but it didn't mean that he loved to be disturbed after midnight.

"Why so moody? Have I woken you up?" On the other hand, a similar voice to his own greeted from the other side of the line, oozing with a serenity and casualness that only pissed Sasuke off.

The raven haired Uchiha decided to cut any conversation short. "State your business and make it short, I am busy." His apparently flat tune didn't lose any of his bitterness and venom. Sure, he could be the epitome of elegance and a real gentleman, but it was a breeze for a stern man like Sasuke to be blunt, rude and straightforward as well. Especially when he wasn't in the mood to converse.

"Busy? May I ask with what?"

"Why do you care?"

"Answer me first then I will tell you my reason." Sasuke couldn't help but scowl. He neatly placed the material he was scanning back into its respective files, focusing on the flat TV which was playing on a sports channel, pinching the bridge of his nose.

His head was killing him due to the alcohol he had from the party before –that was the last time he would ever follow that blonde grinning dobe when he slurred the words fun and socialization to him- and his brother was in the mood to have philosophical conversations.

Was that idiot high or had too much blood?

Sasuke was getting really pissed off. "Have you called me to play mind games?" Because if he did, the youngest of the two Uchiha brothers would clearly send him back to his origins, even if he didn't actually minded Itachi`s presence from time to time, or their encounters.

"Is that girl around?"

That unexpected thrown to him appellative caught Sasuke unprepared and he would have dropped his phone on his lap if not for his Uchiha stoicism and self-control, so he merely flinched, but his abyss pupils went slightly wide. He grew stiff and serious in a heartbeat. "What are you talking about?" How in the world was it possible for his brother to know about Sakura, since they have only met three hours ago and in the most unexpected mind blowing situation? Was he stalking him?

"You know exactly what I am talking about and I am afraid that this time, you have caused quite a storm among our dearest family."

"I don't understand. What does she have to do with this?"

"Is she with you?"

Sasuke took a moment to respond, while his darkened onyx orbs scouted his surroundings, confirming that the rosette in cause was indeed nuzzled inside her room than nodded on the phone, even if Itachi couldn't see him. It was out of pure reflex ,since he wasn't a vocal person to begin with. "She is sleeping."

He didn't like the stoic tone in his brother`s baritone bored voice. He didn't like the fact that Sakura was a topic that Itachi decided to approach, he didn't like the fact that his family got involved, because whenever his clan was, so was his father. And that man was ruthless and unforgiving. He never really acknowledged Sasuke and the rebel black sheep of the family has already attracted Fugaku`s revolt towards his defiance and unwillingness to continue a long tradition of a strict vampire code, entangling with the new wave of the future generations of vampire young heirs, who wished to blend in and be the normal people they would never be.

So what if he decided to have Sakura over to his place and use her as he pleased –even if their bond went deeper than that, though no one had to know simply because they were not hurting anyone. What was Uchiha`s problem with the rose haired suicidal woman in her twenties, who was a no one and lived in poverty, not able to hurt a single fly?

"Do you know who she is? Where she lives? Anything about her?"

"She is an orphan, living in ghettos with her foster abusive family. I don't know why the fuck would you give a dam-"

"-Are you sure she hasn't lied? Do you trust her?"

Sasuke didn't like where that conversation was heading. Sure, his brother`s questions were intuitive, smart, to the point and precise, though extremely unjustified. What was his problem with the women he decided to have to his place? It never bothered no one before, except for Mikoto who didn't want to see him suffer and hurt again.

Even if it was hardly something he would like to brag about, Sasuke had countless women in his bed. The fact that his killer mouthwatering looks left women –vampires or humans- lusting, wanting and needing him and his body was no secret to anyone. In fact, giving the fact that he has been blessed with the looks of a divine Roman deity, being more than gorgeous, an intellect that could stomp over the majority people of his age, manners, grace, insight, a natural alluring charm and to top it all, an unlimited credit card and a ridiculous amount of money in his bank account, being a reputed lady killer was as predictable as the sun shining during a clear day in August. That didn't take anyone by surprise.

So what was the deal with Sakura then? He went silent for a good minute. "What the heck are you trying to say, Itachi?" He almost flattered at his brother finding his choice to beat around the bush extremely uncharacteristic and…annoying.

Plus, there was something else rising in his throat, making his peculiar cool demeanor waver.

"She is not what she says." Thunderous flower-star motifs were reeling around Sasuke`s dilated maroon pupils, Sharingan blazing like the fiercest sun upon hearing words which made him almost fly off the handle.

His fingers were clasping around the phone, trembling in fury, as his rage, disbelief and refusal to believe the destiny`s supreme mockery was spilling from his skull. It was a wonder that he hasn't broken his phone into pieces. He was up on his feet in a nanosecond, whipping his head backwards, bleeding boiling whirlpools narrowing dangerously in the direction of his guests` room.

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The low rubbing paper noise, followed by the sliding of a new printed sheet of paper made a pair of pearl pupil less orbs flutter open, blinking several times. Still dizzy from being awaken from his slumber, the stoic very tired groggy pushed his bare upper torso up, prompting on his elbows, eying his fax machine. "What is the matter honey?" A sweet tender feminine bell like voice hummed beside him, followed by the sound of ruffled silk bed sheets. "Something wrong at the company?"

"It is not business related." Hyuga Hiashi briefed his curious wife, while rising from his four posted bed, strolling towards the beeping device. He took a fugitive peek at the clock on his nightstand, rising one fine eyebrow at the unusual late hour. "It is from Fugaku." The proud flashing Uchiha crest on the ink blue stamp pattern and the neat complicated angled signature made the leader of the Hyūga clan wonder why would his terrific friend send him such an urgent notification at such an odd hour?

Normally, Fugaku would send anything related to business through email or mail, but using the fax meant that whatever the Uchiha patriarch wanted, it was extremely urgent. And that was never a good sign.

"Fugaku? How unusual for him to be contacting you at such a late hour. Did something bad happened?" Of course, the beautiful lilac haired Kana Hyūga was also nurturing the same questions about Fugaku`s uncharacteristic contact, getting weary at the intense look on his husband`s face, while scanning the content of the paper.

"He wants us to meet. The Uchihas have called for a summit of the Council of Vampires."

Kana`s light azure orbs flew wide open upon hearing what Hiashi was reading straight from Fugaku`s urgent fax. From the beginning of his mandate, until then, the Uchiha leader in exercise has only called for the Council to meet for only two times and one of them included an execution of two notorious spies and traitors. One of them has been his own brother. "If one of us does this it only means that something big happened. What do you think it can be about?"

"I don't know, but I am sure that someone of his caliber wouldn't have gone as far as to call for an emergent COV if it wasn't something huge." Even if he hid it with the skill of a reputed actor, Hiashi couldn't help but feel unsteady. What in the world could have happened for Fugaku to summon all the heirs from all the noble vampire families and no one briefed him beforehand?

If anything would have went downhill, Hiashi, just like his other comrades and friends would have informed him as soon as they came in contact to any potential threat. But he heard nothing from anyone, which only meant that it was either top secret or was intimately related to his family.

"When?" Kana inquired, while wrapping the coral bed sheet around her naked slender frame, waltzing towards her husband, coming behind the oak office desk, leaning her cheek on his shoulder, looking at the paper in his hand. She felt him tense and erratic, and his shoulder stiffened upon feeling her hot mint over his skin, but relaxed immediately.

She knew he was being engulfed into deciphering the Uchiha`s motive for calling for a meeting. She understood.

"In four days." Hiashi told her absentmindedly. Half of the aforementioned names listed on the luscious piece of paper were not even in Konoha. They were scattered all over the world ,each with his own business, mostly taking care of their respective companies, running from a meeting to another. Needless to say, they would have to cut their trips short, which was definitely not very convenient.

But then again, upsetting and going against Fugaku`s orders was also not an option.

"….I am calling Miko-chan." Kana turned on her heel, leaving her husband hovering above his desk, deciding to find out about whatever was going on in Fugaku`s twisted complicated mind, straight from its source. If he was to really respect, cherish, adore and even fear someone in the universe, it was his delicate angelic wife, who was one of Kana`s dearest friends.

Behind every successful man there was a woman. It was the same for vampires. Female vampires were not only spouses to bear their husbands` offspring and take care of their households. Oh, definitely not. They were strong, independent, straightforward and level headed women, with astonishingly refined manners, incredible intuition who wouldn't forsake their strong beliefs and morals, and involved in charity work or even working in their betrotheds'` companies. By any means, they weren't shallow narrow minded female vampires. They were incredibly intelligent and knew exactly when to be ladies, gentle mothers, tender sensual wives and show off their fangs.

Hiashi on the other hand, wasted no more time in dialing the number of Nara Shikaku.

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The moment her damp rose hair hit the soft pillow, Sakura has been magically transcended into the realm of deep slumber, falling asleep almost immediately. She didn't even have time to meditate, freak out, panic, pinch herself to see if it was real or not, before her emerald orbs drag their curtains and her eyelids glued together.

She only prayed for no dream to come to her, for they were all related to the pungent reek of cheap poisonous alcohol burning her nostrils, or the piercing shriek of her foster mother directed to something she hasn't even done. It was habitual for them to vent on the poor innocent rosette for their own frustrations.

And that was exactly the reason why Sakura had all but a calm, peaceful slumber. Her consciousness' has taken her down the road of horrifying vivid nightmares, all related to how would her foster family react if they were to see her again, after she has left from home.

Trapped amidst the tumult of her encounter with Sasuke and being overwhelmed by his offer, Sakura hasn't had time to think about the possible consequences of an eventual meeting with Mebuki and her husband again. And that thought alone was giving her nightmares, like the one she was having.

In the back of her mind, where all the demons lurked and wandered, she was living the experience of seeing Mebuki and Kizashi`s fuming faces, their harsh cruel words, the curses and names they had for her and of course, their merciless slaps, punches and kicks.

"N-No…no!" The emerald eyed woman tossed and turned, gripping and tugging at the pillow and bed sheets, which she has almost kicked out of the bed, like she was trying to tear them to shreds. "Stop! Please!" She had her eyes squeezed tight, while her quivering lips were helplessly begging for whatever was tormenting her mind to stop.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of narrowed voracious piercing bloody crimson orbs were fixing her trashing form, lurking from behind his slim long intertwined fingers, brought in front of his half concealed face.

For a whole half an hour, Sasuke has been sitting on a chair that he has dragged beside the bed, motionless and expressionless, starting at the frightened lamb sprawled on the mattress, while his mind has been the realm of an amalgamation of contradictions.

According to his father`s rules…he was supposed to kill her right away.

"…save…me…" Those words of plea were the ones she has been stating for countless times to no one in particular and whenever he heard of them, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart, like they were all sent to him and the intensity grew with every passing murmur.

It was unbearable as it was making him reel in craziness.

He abruptly stood up, while his muscular impressive shadow hovered above her slender silhouette. He cocked his head, making his long midnight graceful bangs fall on his blazing spinning blood irises. As if moving in slow motion, in absolute silence, his calloused hand went to her throat, pressing down her jugular.

She was so tender and fragile under his touch, akin to a timid snowflake fluttering above his palm, he felt her pulse pumping life through her veins and his fingertips trailed across the two red pinches marking the imprint of his sharp two fangs.

His breath hitched down his throat, while his muscles stiffened on the contact with the adrenaline discharge rushing through his every pore. It would be so easy to kill her in a blink of an eye. She won't even feel the pain, nor would she be aware of the fact that she was no longer alive. As if her inner alertness has been stirred, Sakura stopped trashing so violently, when his precise finger slide along the base of her neck and her erratic breathing has turned into a soft staccato rhythm.

Waiting. Needing. Trembling in anticipation. Feeling dread coming.

She has to die…

Her heart shaped strawberry lips were still whimpering and slightly crying but miraculously, she was not awake. Sasuke let his flaming orbs roam along the creature stretched on his bed, noticing each and every glint or move she made. She was resembling a virgin maiden in a Greek temple tainted by the lust within his eyes and his power over her naïve mind, leading her towards the road of sin, making her turn her head from the ineffable.

An angel falling from Eden with crushed wings, in the limbs of darkness. He watched the tantalizing reflection of the moon's hallow on her pearl translucent skin, adding subtle shadows to her ineffable untouched exposed beauty, making her look like a Greek 'caryatid' of a virgin maiden.

A suave delicacy was framing her slender slim curves, cupping the swell of her plump delicate breasts and gracefully skimming down her fine waistline. The pearl white color of her glowing swan like skin was clashing with the contrast of his royal navy and golden sheets, emphasizing the purity of her exquisite silhouette. She was cuddled into the cushion like a Persian kitten pawing the pillows and tugging at the soft material, mewling.

Het siren sensual soft hums were seductive piano and violin canon, the melody of her bell like tender voice was enrapturing him, coaxing his senses into a diffuse windmill of sensations. She was carrying his lust on gentle crane wings and the amplitude of the sensations which her fragility and purity was stirring inside him, was madness and carnal craving.

He tenderly cupped her damp rose check and brushed his thumb over her crystalline tears, flowing down her face like tiny rivers, following their mark down the corner of her lower quivering lip. Those plum heart shaped luscious fine lips felt like lace on velvet under his touch. They were moist, warm and gentle, like fine cashmere. She was goddamn beautiful.

The jade eyed woman parted her mouth, inhaling sharply once, still sobbing in her sleep. Sasuke knew she was probably tormented by nightmares of her family. She has been stating the name of those loathsome mortals more than he was willing to withstand during the time he has been watching her.

Sasuke was in the verge of thundering in front of them and end up their lives in the most tormenting way he knew for what they did to her, but decided against it. They already had enough on their heads as it was. Another problem would only add to the web. His Sharingan was relentlessly carving her every gesture down his skull. She pressed her lips together, clasping his finger with her soft petals, kissing the tip of his finger, briefly nibbling on it.

Like she has been offering honey and Ambrosia, she seemed to adore the taste of his flesh.

Of course. Since his body was not actually alive, his vampire carcass was only surged by sweet and balmy fluids, making them appetizing from the inside out. That was one of the reasons why often vampires tended to be into BDSM practices, even going as far as to feed from their partners` flesh. The amazing healing ability made up for the scars and injuries. And the sexual lust and hormones made their activities more than worth it.

The Vampire Prince let his finger stroll down her pointed chin, sliding down her throat and heading south, through the ample tantalizing valley of her half unclad firm round mounds, sensually and slowly, like he wanted to draw her in pastel colors and he almost smirked when he felt the rosette`s her heart rate escaladed upon the contact of his ministrations.

Tiny sparkling rolls of dew drops were rolling from her temples and damp nymph locks, down her neck and shoulders. Her long tresses in the exquisite color of spring and coral dawn were scattered on his dark pillow. He could smell his shampoo on her hair and it was maddening, erotic, sexual and seductive.

He could even imagine himself impaling her with his scent, while he rocked her world, imprinting her with their combined essences and coaxing her into giving in to lust.

Slowly, but surely, Sakura replaced her sobs with moans and content mewls. Her furrowed eyebrows and once wrinkled sweaty forehead relaxed, while her serene features lightened like the translucent beaming moon above the sky. Her curly long eyelashes were fluttering like butterflies` wings and she took deeper inhales. Carnivorous star shaped irises were satiating from the rises and falls of her full firm sensual chest, as he touched her.

She was responding to his every move, in all the right ways. Sasuke couldn't prevent his own temperature to rise a few degrees and accumulate in the pits of his lower regions, where it should have stayed cooled down and tempered.

Carefully so as not to wake her up, the onyx eyed Uchiha vampire let his thighs press on the edge of the bad, without making any ripple like he was light as a feather not pressing the mattress, coming to sit right beside his jade eyed guest. He slide his fingertips over her uncovered rounded small knee and let it smooth along her thigh, going under the bathrobe she wore –his- stopping before it went further, guessing that she probably wore no underwear behind since her clothes were in the washing machine, and he didn't want to betray her trust and disrespect her in any way.

He wouldn't succumb into lust, in lieu of betraying his morals and beliefs. He has promised her.

Also, Sasuke wasn't sure he would be able to stop in time, with all the carnal need swelling inside his belly and mind, while she was screaming in her sleep for people to stop taking advantage of her. He would have been just as a monster as her father and mother. His mesmerizing hot touch alone was enough to make her temperature escalate few degrees. She mewled at him in what looked like a seductive concoction of lust, desire, contentment and bliss. "Hmm…"

Entrapped by the rhythm his touch was creating over her trembling skin, Sasuke dipped his head down, brought his wandering eager hand around her swan long neck, skimming along her jaw, leading her face towards her left side and she hasn't opposed him in any way. He leaned forward nuzzling his nose along her jawline, blowing a hot stream on her ear.

Sakura`s response has been prompter than a Swiss clock. She dug her nails down the pillow she was holding, mewling and letting her palm scout blindly searching for the owner of that desirable touch. She was a mysterious walking fascination of both cuteness and sensuality.

She was seeking for him.

Sasuke couldn't help himself. Leaning forward like a swift snake, he pressed the tip of his tongue on the junction of his neck and shoulder, and rolled his tongue outside, pressing it on her pulse, gliding along the slim throbbing vein, leaving a trace of slick hot saliva glistening on her porcelain skin, suckling and fondling her. "Aaahhhh…" She breathed hotly, while her ribcage was sending sexy vibrations through the stillness of the room. Sasuke was turning her nightmare into an erotic dream.

He blew a cool air over the throbbing hot skin of the neck he licked and he saw her bare skin ripple and cover with cold pleasurable shivers. The sneaky selfish Uchiha knew what he was doing to her all too well. But that dint stop him from cocking his head, dipping down his chin and lightly as the first rays of light in spring caressing the bell flowers under the snow, he let the tip of his tongue press on her full lower lip, tracing the soft flower like petal contour, slowly, barely touching her, living a fine line of saliva along on its journey, pulling back the moment she pursed her both lips.

If he stayed, she would have kissed him without knowing and he remembered that she had a reasonin for not wanting to do it. But he did that to help her. She nibbled her lower lip and unconsciously tasted him on her mouth, bringing a part of him into her, along with his alleviating powers.

She breathed and moaned contently, tracing her own rosy tongue shyly over her lips, like seeking for more, craving for more. For the taste of a vampire. His taste. She had no idea that she felt just as good as he. For the first time in forever, Sasuke found the taste of sweet cherries absolutely delicious. Her inner diaphanous floral and fruity feminine fragrance was a pure caress for his senses. She has shared a ghost of a kiss with him and she would probably never know of it, unless he told her. Softly, almost sweetly, Sasuke caressed her temples with his knuckles once more before disappearing into the night, creeping out a small smirk, before vanishing from her side, in a heartbeat.

He was in his room the next moment, racking his fingers through his disheveled messy midnight hair, while his head was spinning. His muscles were aching and stiff, throbbing and needing something she was reluctant to give.

His expert fingers unfastened the robe he wore, stepping into his shower, turning the cold water on, letting it spill over his broad shoulders and ebony locks. Onyx orbs squeezed tight, while his body was high of Sakura and everything she represented. He was hard as a rock and more than ready to turn back and truly show her how was it to be with a vampire. Especially if his name was Uchiha Sasuke. Said midnight haired vampire Prince pressed his palms and forehead on the cool foggy glass, thinking about how he has almost lost his cool, because of her radiance.

Sakura was like a sinful drug, with her sheer grace and diaphanous glow.

Her smell, her phantom, her vivid emerald eyes, she was everywhere he looked, tasted, smelled, seen or touched.

He couldn't kill her. Sasuke didn't want to kill her and no one would convince him to do so. Killing was the easiest way, dying was the quickest escape. Protecting and fighting for what his adulated one was the hardest thing to do. Taking responsibility and gaining the courage to assume an eternity of guilt was the real challenge.

Accepting someone else was the supreme test for an empty heart.

Fugaku could take the Express to Hell, one way. His youngest determined son stepped outside the running freezing water, dripping and soaked, on all his naked glory, letting the fade pale moonlight bathe his lean deliciously ripped long defined fibers, while he strode towards his phone. He put it on his ear, removing the bed sheets with the other hand, slipping into his bed, only covering his lower torso. The person he called has answered after the first beep. "Brother," He spoke lowly and deadly serious, leaving no room for interpretation. "That…means nothing. I won't stop."

He could see his brother smirk into the phone, even though he knew that Sasuke couldn't see him. But just like their blood bond, their minds and thoughts were connected. And he also knew that the low rumble and growl he has been trying to suppress, was thanks to his fiancé Konan who was kissing his chest, still bathed in the after effect of their intense night romance. "Very well. Be careful, father is taking action."

Sasuke smirk deviously at his brother`s honest reply. "I can't wait." His velvet voice let Itachi know that his little brother wouldn't go down without a fight. He did it once when he decided to separate from his family`s nest, spread his wings wide and fly towards his own future, so nothing stopped him for doing it all over again, if he decided that the prize was worth it. "Later."

He flipped his phone shut, slipping a hand under his nape, looking at the reflection of the moon`s dance on his wall. He and Itachi were just the same and that was the reason why the older Uchiha supported his brother in everything he did.

Itachi risked a lot by also contacting his foolish little brother right after he briefed their father over the situation arisen. Fugaku would definitely summon the COV. Sasuke knew it. But what he also knew was the fact that half of the members were strongly supporting and shared his point of view, so his father would be left alone to fight the windmills.

But no one would lay a finger on Sakura. Definitely not while she was under his surveillance.

---

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.

.

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Emerald orbs flew eagerly and jolly in each possible direction, while her nimble small delicate digits were tapping all the buttons she found her way. After one of the most amazing sleeps she had, Sakura has woken up by the first rays of morning, being in high spirits. And she definitely hasn't protested when Sasuke made her follow him outside, after a delicious breakfast, to accompany him. He hasn't told her where were they heading to and she didn't care either.

She was currently sitting on the passenger seat being all starry eyed, letting her beaming jade orbs look through the tinted window, taking in the beat of the rushed city. She has never been in someone's car before and definitely not in that kind of car. But even if she has been living among the rejects and creeps, Sakura wasn't oblivious or dumb. She knew how to read Porsche and what it meant. A lady magnet. It also cost more than she could read. But it was definitely comfortable and luxurious on the inside. "Still not telling me where we are going?"

"No."

"You have told me about vampires, yet you won't tell me where are you taking me. Why so secretive?"

"Why so eager to know?"

"You are an interesting man. Of course it would intrigue me."

They went like that from the moment they left Sasuke's place. Sakura was trying to trick him into telling her where he was taking her, while the always so intuitive Uchiha wouldn't slip any hint to her. Not that she minded. He was indeed not very talkative, yet they were having an interesting way to communicate, like playing Inspector Gadget. It was funny.

Plus, she couldn't help but inwardly salivate at the way he was dressed that day. By all the Heavens, she swore that not even Armani male models looked that damn fine in suits. And he was only wearing a simple shirt, yet he was droolicious.

"We are almost there, but first," the Uchiha`s casual low rich voice made her snap out of her reverie –he caught her staring at his handsome profile AGAIN- while said man turned the steering wheel and pulled the fine car into the parking lot. "…we take a small detour." Before she had the chance to be an idiot and fumble with the lock, Sasuke was out of his driver`s seat, going round his shiny car, and opened up the door for her to come out, even going as far as to be the ultimate gentleman by having his hand stretched towards her.

She took it with a small thank you and he smirked at how she looked at him and then around the crowded busy place, letting her jade orbs trail towards the shiny sign of the shop where Sasuke parked his car, akin to a like a kid visiting ponies for the first time. "What is….this?" She furrowed her eyebrows reading the name of the shop, not actually understanding why would the exquisite graceful man display himself beside her in public. "Why are we here?"

"Shopping," he shrugged casually locking his car and taking her with him strolling towards the two rotating glass golden doors, "what else?" He couldn't believe that such world came out of his mouth. If Naruto was to see him right then, that dobe would fill his blackmail collection for the next fifteen centuries. He threw keen glances around to make sure that he wasn't stalking him. Naruto was just as bad.

"O-Okay? But is all right for someone like me to be here?" She whispered to him when they entered the fancy place and ask the all the heads of women and man whipped towards them and stayed glued to the totally mismatched pair. Sasuke was casually boring his onyx hard steel orbs into their incredulous rude stares, silently daring them to blurt some improper remark if they knew what was good for them, while Sakura wanted to crawl into a shell and remain there forever. She had her eyes cast down, hair covering her face, hiding behind Sasuke.

"Hn. Why not?" He hushed back to her, half cocking his head towards her, looking like he owned the place. "Isn't this for people?"

She smiled at him, brushing her hair around her ear when she got what he meant. It was truly ironical for him to be saying such a thing. Not that the rosette actually gave a damn about what people said and whispered behind her back. She was way past it being immune to their harshness. People talked and gossiped, especially since she was living and looking like a beggar. But she didn't want Sasuke to be seen in her presence. He didn't deserve such a disgrace. Not having any spare clothes, the emerald eyed girl had to clad in her own clothes, which were magically dry and clean in the morning. "Mr. Uchiha?" A rather tall slender woman chirped behind the couple, approaching them with the most sugary fake smile on her face.

Sakura looked at her flawless makeup, fancy nails, neat ponytail and the charming flirtatious beam. The rosette decided that she might be honest when setting her eyes on the droolicious Sasuke, but she was probably forcing herself to be polite to a…beggar like her. "How can I possibly be of your help?"

Was that a flirt? Sakura wondered and she actually experienced something she has never felt before. Anguish clenched inside her chest when she saw the honey eyes that the woman was giving to the handsome client, as if she was demanding something that the rosette wasn't willing to give, which was ridiculous because she was nowhere entitled to claim anything on Sasuke.

Sure, they had quite an unique agreement, but those lewd hungry stares the women gave him all around, those scrutinizing glossy smiles and smirks, the mere idea of how far their gap was between them, were all making Sakura cringe and shy away.

Which was stupid as hell. She was not his lover, his spouse, his fiancé and definitely not his bride.

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to sigh, snap, brood, frown and be totally impolite with that seller. By all the Heavens above, he was dead sick and tired of all those droolicious widened pupils and hearts sent his way whenever he walked.

Of course, he had no problem in being the spotlight in clubs or parties, because that automatically won him the ticket into the hottest women`s bed, without breaking a sweat, doing absolutely nothing but being himself.

But he was not there to party or hook anyone up, so he would have at least expected some privacy and more professionalism. And they called it an exclusive shop. The only exclusive thing was the parking lot and the over polished floor. But then another more elegant and entertaining thought shot through his mind and that was the reason why Sasuke decided to beat her at her own game, so he nonchalantly and naturally slipped his hand around Sakura`s waist, in a perfect loving pampering manner, bringing her flush into his chest, saying to the woman whose face has sank like Titanic. "Not me. She, is the one you are going to help."

Sakura thought she couldn't turn more shades of crimson red and her cheeks were burning worse than her earlobes. She was pressed on Sasuke`s mouthwatering ripped body, he was holding her like a lover, his hand was wrapped around her body, his head was cocked towards her, she felt his soft hair brush her temple, she felt his spicy strong masculine fragrance intoxicate her, he was being such a sinful sweet cruel amazing pretender, his smirk was ravishing, his demeanor was magnetizing, he was doing it like he…meant it.

The other clients were ogling her with jaundiced eyes; their flaming orbs were shooting lasers to her skull in jealousy for being in the company of the hot eye candy rich man. She knew why. The rosette was being in a place she didn't belong, in the presence of a man that was forever out of her reach.

And that was making her inwardly grin victoriously. They didn't know that he was a vampire.

Though shopping with Sasuke in a place that was worth more than ten lives of hers, wasn't part of their agreement. She thought he only wanted her to drink her blood, like he was enjoying that sweet expensive wine of his and that thought alone didn't make her sad or feel used and dirty. And that was strange. Either she didn't value herself at all –she already loathed her existence- or she went completely insane.

…it had NOTHING to do with the fact that he made her body explode in ecstasy when he touched her….

"Of course." The woman tried to remain composed, cheerful and polite –even if she would have rather grip on Sakura`s pink strange hair and throw her ass outside- and thus keep her job. She let her amber orbs trail from Sasuke`s smirking handsome figure –where they lingered a bit too much- and set them to the woman beside him. "Shall we, Miss?" She addressed to Sakura and the amount of venom and disdain leaking through her clenching teeth was giving the jade eyed woman chills. The rosette only moved when she felt a slight squeeze from Sasuke.

"Go." He whispered to her softly and she let the woman lead her to a huge dressing room, while she instructed Sakura to remain in place and wait for her. She did just as so staring at her skinny poor self in the huge mirrors, pouting.

The woman came back after five minutes with a pile of clothes the size of Mount Everest in her hands, asking her if she needed help with dressing. She told her 'no' with a horrified expression on her face. Last thing she needed was to embarrass Sasuke further, with her anorexic body, which needed fat and food more than it needed wax.

Also…there were the scars. Angry red marks of all shapes and dimensions were running along her back and arms, some deeper and some superficial, but it was not something that she would like to show. Even if she hardly had money, Sakura was still a woman and image was important to her as well. She too wanted to be considered pretty and attractive to men, yet the only one to ever look at her, even going as far as to touch her and call her beautiful, was Sasuke.

And he was not even a human.

'Story of my life…' she bitterly thought, while helping herself into the clothes she has been brought. She was amazed of what she has seen. The woman knew her size without even asking. They not only fit her like a glove. She was another person and the more expensive fine clothes she tried on, the larger her beam has become. In the end, she decided to wear a cocktail dress that literarily stole her breath away with its beauty. "Are you ready, Miss?" The woman chirruped from behind the curtain of the dressing room.

A small smile graced her features. She threw one last look in the mirror before stepping outside. And it was in that moment when the employee woman ungracefully gasped when Sakura stepped outside.

Sasuke was trying his best to look busy, just to cease away the getting annoying stares, the whispers and ogles, feeling a vein pop up on his temple. He won't be possibly be wandering through the shelves on the upper floor where the men clothes were and God forbids, shop. His mother Mikoto was more than welcomed to buy him clothes if she pleased since shopping was her number one hobby. So he was idly tapping his phone, scrolling down his college`s website, looking for any updates on the schedule, when something caught his attention. "Ahm…" At the sound of a soft shy bell like voice singing like a piano tune, his head snapped up and, for just a single precious moment trapped in the ice, he completely froze and stopped existing.

Onyx orbs went tad wider, his lips parted ever so little and he would have dropped his jaw to the floor if he wasn't in the most inappropriate place to do so or a man who didn't like to display emotions and flabbergast publicly. What he thought was no one else`s damn business.

But damn.

That one particular she was definitely Sakura, the girl he coaxed to come with him last night, yet…it was a whole new person. A woman.

And she was the most gorgeous woman he has ever seen. Ever.

In the place of the baggy dirty rags, a charming red silk and chiffon fancy cocktail dress was molding over the contour of her every slim suave siren curves, reaching just above her ankles, where ample folds were brushing past the porcelain skin of her slim thighs, like a flower spreading wide its graceful sensual petals.

There were two slim lace straps keeping the heart shaped corset in place, decorating her lean bare shoulders. Her long luscious silk tresses were falling tantalizingly over her left shoulder in wavy rebel nonchalant and innocent angelic dainty curls, like a bride`s fine veil. The color of bright rose wine was emphasizing the avant garde shade of her exotic marine green and golden orbs.

She was delicate as a pure blanca swan, her innocence was glowing on that creamy smooth skin, the traces of womanhood were elegantly blessing her slender figure with ample precise and seductive curves, worth of a sylph. Mystical, she was absolutely stunning looking without wearing any trace of makeup, yet she was flawless. Her full rounded breasts and firm slim hips were so tantalizing, yet so dignified and feminine. She was perfect in his eyes. Those mesmerizing viridian gemstones beaming at him with all the radiance for her soul were appealing to Sasuke to come and get something from her and give her something back.

Damn.

And of course, she just had to wear those ten inch lacquerer high heels which only highlighted the delicacy of her slim legs and gazelle ankles, making her already long legs look like a model`s. They would look so well seizing his waist while he-

-admired her breathtaking beauty, while she waltzed to him stopping when she was in front of him, brushing a fallen lock of her face, eying him from behind coy eyelashes. He said absolutely nothing because an Uchiha hardly was showing emotions in public. But inwardly his mind had a shut down his brain has been electrocuted and all he could think of was how he would gladly indulge into his ravenous hormones, strip her of all those expensive –he couldn't care less- clothes, French kiss her breathless until they would stumble back into the dressing rooms and fuck her ruthless against the huge mirror.

He blinked twice slowly letting his darkened gaze skim along he body, measuring her from head to toe, contemplating the way she stood like a delicate swan and a rose in bloom in all her elegant glory not believing his eyes that he was not imagining things.

He was indeed not chasing phantoms, she was truly there in front of him and he indulge into the sudden impulse to lift his hand and brush his knuckles along her jaw, twirling a longer curl lock around his index lazily yet she thought she would melt. "Not bad."

She could see it in his eyes that he would have liked to say something more poetic but refrained from doing so and she understood why from the way he acted calm, collected, impenetrable and cool. It was his face for the world. He gave nothing away and she liked that mystery lingering over him. A quick look around when he left her side, going to probably pay for the clothes, assured Sakura that she was not the only one finding him fascinating.

Heck she didn't see women swoon and salivate over a man before, yet she couldn't blame them. They had money just like him, they were probably from the crème of the society like him and…no straight woman couldn't not look at his rippling back, wrapped in that slim fit shirt and not imagine what would be like to run a palm between his lean muscular ripped shoulder blades, down his straight S shaped spine, all the way to his firm ass.

She wanted to slap herself back to reality. That insanely sexy, all too observant arrogant Uchiha vampire in disguise swirl his head over his shoulder, leaning casually over the counter, catching her ogling at his deliciously sculpted physique, gasping like a frog catching flies, having a ghost of an arrogant hot smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

That jerk. Sakura realized that he was making her go flush on purpose. Women around were ready to slit her throat. And then it hit her like a shocker. She threw some weary glances around, wondering how many of them were female vampires?

Now that she knew that humans weren't the only ones waltzing around, she also came to the frightening conclusion that she wasn't able to tell them apart. "The most obvious thing that gives them away immediately, is exactly the thing they are most praised for, namely the flawless inhumane beauty."

She almost jumped out in surprise when she felt Sasuke`s mint fan on her nape, whispering to her and she spun around at top speed making her hair and clothes whirl along, creating an interesting rippling innocent effect, like they were actors. She understood immediately what he told her.

"How did you know that I was thinking about…" She trailed while he cocked his head, inviting her to follow him outside.

"I would have been surprised if you didn't, now that you know the truth." He explained and she agreed with his logic. He was silently praising her for being observant and catching up things pretty quickly. Even if she was living at the bottom of the food chain, she was quick to catch things up and wasn't an oblivious fool, she was getting used really quickly.

'Just like her brethren.' He inwardly added.

"There was no beautiful woman in there." She added while he held the door for her to step in. He strolled to the back of the luxury vehicle, placing the bags inside his trunk, then coming to slip on the driver's seat. He gave her a full hot smirk when she pouted and crossed her arms upon her chest.

His orbs flew on the subtle tantalizing appetizing hint of cleavage popping up from the fitting corset of the red dress. "You are wrong."

Her emerald orbs flew to his face, astonishment written all over her face. "There was? Really? Who?"

He went silent, started his car, maneuvered it easily through the parking lot and when he speeded up on the second line, he added. "I am taking her to lunch right now."

She put a palm down her cheek and smiled on her lap. He called her beautiful, didn't he? Their ride was silent as she let her emerald orbs fly all over the glossy advertising panels, tall buildings lazy people having a relaxed Sunday, kids, families and of course…lovers.

He parked in front of a restaurant which had the architecture of a 17th century mansion, then he skillfully maneuvered his vehicle through the parking lot and she saw that there was a spectacle of shiny eye-catching cars around. Sakura quickly came to the brilliant conclusion that it was hella exclusive and not just anyone could waltz in like in a pastry shop. "This is…wow!" Sakura breathed to Sasuke while he silently offered her his arm and she wrapped her much petite one around his toned bulky one, inwardly praying not to trip on the heels. It was probably her innate womanly instincts the reason why she could step on those things. They were beautiful indeed, she wouldn't deny it.

And any woman on earth –be it beggar or millionaire- would adore a pair of classy fashionable heels.

Especially if they walked beside a gorgeous brunette vampire, right to the front door, stepping along him on the terracotta carpet rippling upon the marble stairs. Arms linked and chins held high, both waltzed inside, while a butler held the door open, bowing once and smiling at them.

The interior was even more astonishing. Forest green charmed orbs bathed in the shimmering warm honey vanilla golden leaves on the wall, the crystal mirrors with porcelain baby blue and pastel pink motifs decorated mirrors, silvery chandeliers flickering delicately on each pure white tablecloths, polished floor, elegantly decorated tables, fancy people enjoying the coziness and the privacy, a live jazz band playing soft sensual tunes to going well with the appetizing meals.

"This is my favorite restaurant." Sasuke whispered to her, while a waiter led them to the second floor, on the VIP section, as written in golden and terracotta letters on a side wall.

"I can see why." That place was just like him: high class, luxurious, without being exaggerated, populated with opulent people of his social circle, elegant yet mysterious, friendly and sophisticated. And the raven haired Uchiha was the perfect gentleman. He pulled out her chair at the table, making her feel protected and cared for. When they have been handed the black leather hard covered menu, the rosette thought it was the human Anatomy Atlas.

"The food here is acceptable." She heard him blurt, while her orbs sank on the menu and remained glued to the various flashing meals with fancy names in different languages. Acceptable? Was there any other more luxurious looking restaurant to pass his definition of 'good'? In Dubai maybe. Or Paris, she supposed. "For both humans and us."

She almost had a heart attack when he casually stated what he has just, like they were conversing about the reproduction of the Burgundy snail. Her emerald orbs left the menu she couldn't begin to comprehend let alone read and flew to Sasuke, who hasn't even bothered to open it, probably knowing what to order in advance, since he was a regular. "You mean…here, around us, there are also…?"

He nodded once. She discreetly looked around, since it was easily being on the upper level and indeed there were stunning people around who stood up in beauty, manners and jewelry. She felt her skin shudder in both fright and…something else. Sasuke said he would introduce her to his world and he did just that, yet it was more overwhelming than she would have anticipated. "Don't be afraid."

She spun her head back to watch him. He was having a serene look on his face and a ghost of a smirk. "Nothing has changed." He meant that she should act like she didn't know because vampires were acting like normal trying to blend in.

For Sakura on the other hand, everything changed. "It did, because I am with you."

He fully smirked at her because he knew she started to understand the fully extent of her apparently simple request in exchange for her blood. "Exactly." Meaning that even if there was a slightly possibility for the unexpected to happen, no one was that insane to mess with the Uchiha Vampire Prince, Fugaku`s youngest son. That would only mean imminent doom. "Should I order for you as well?"

She gave up and smiled apologetically for her lack of acknowledge. The menu was written entirely in French, Italian and German. "Yes, please."

He nodded once than looked at the waiter who stood at the end of the stairs. He was there beside them in an instant, not even taking down their order, but had arms crossed behind his back, while Sasuke ordered in fluent French, something she only heard in old romantic movies.

"Why did you do this?" She asked the onyx eyed man, when the waiter left from her field of view.

He raised an eyebrow at her not quite expecting her to not fancy being invited to a restaurant. "This is my vision of a perfect weekend. I told you I do not have the insight of what you would like. But you can always let me know if there is something particular you would like to do. Plus, I figured that you wouldn't possibly be comfortable in your own clothes and I was not in the mood to order food."

She knew he was playing it cool. He could have ordered instead of going out and have it catered to his home, like he did the night before, but he did it especially for her, even going as far as to bring her, a total stranger and a commoner, to a place where people and vampires probably knew him. "You don't have to go so far for me."

"This is nothing compared to how much you give to me." Sasuke was fast to shut whatever remorse thought might have been reeling through her mind, thinking that it was quite a bother for him. She was letting him drink from her blood, for God`s sake! "But I cannot measure that in money." His unvoiced was that he measured it in feelings. As if on cue a waiter –a different one, who Sasuke explained was the sommelier- has brought a foamy golden Champagne.

"What do we toast for?" She wondered, leaving the subject drop. She was not upset, nor indifferent, she was just overwhelmed. Yesterday she was the hungry girl living in poverty who was on the verge of committing suicide. Next day, she is together with an irresistible billionaire, having lunch in a place that she only saw on TV, drinking fine Champagne.

Then she remembered how he taught her to drink her wine and logic played in her brain like a smooth violin. "You knew we will be coming here, didn't you?" She didn't have to voice it. He knew.

"Can you guess what I am going to do next, Sakura?" He challenged back, finding himself willing to succumb to the charms of those sparkling golden forest green orbs.

She bit her lower lip briefly, feeling butterflies roam when he stared at her like that. "I am trying to stay level headed and not let this," She let her eyes spin once, pointing to the impetuous place. "swallow me entirely."

She sipped form the champagne, doing her best to be as elegant as the place was, and she would have liked to moan dreamy at how sweet honey like it tasted.

The same waiter who took their order waltzed back to them, holding a course of appetizing looking food and rose haired woman felt her mouth water. Even though she had absolutely zero idea of what was decorating her plate, it looked like a work of art. Sasuke immediately briefed her about what he has chosen for her –her heart squealed in delight at that thought- telling her that it was Caviar. She couldn't help but smile fully and heartedly at him. "This is like a fairytale. A modern version of a Cinderella." Bringing the fork upon her full luscious lips, she let the tasty food delight the tip of her tongue.

Just as she would have expected it, it was divine. For a night like that, it was worth living another day, she silently decided.

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Vivid heart shaped irises, which were having the infinite azure`s color trapped into the depths of their abysses, were all set on the mesmerizing creature seated just in front of them, while the owner of the most mesmerizing lilac eyes was blushing and enjoying the feast he ordered for her in advance.

Uzumaki Naruto was utterly and royally in love with the beautiful nymph, who went by the name Hinata. Even her elegant name was making his heart roll in ecstasy while he kept on chanting it inside his mind from morning to night, when she was not in his presence.

Her only flaw, if he could even name one, was that she was a Hyūga. A pure aristocratic blooded female vampire heiress of a noble famous clan and she has committed the ultimate sin of falling madly in love with a half vampire and half human. But what fault did the young honey haired foxy boy have, for her mother`s choice of marrying and loving a simple mortal, with the heart of gold and the courage of a lion?

"T-Thank you f-for inviting m-me to lunch, N-Naruto-kun." Said cerulean eyed man got tingles all along his body and down his fingertips and toes when Hinata softly placed her unoccupied hand, adorned with a velvet white pearl encrusted glove upon his own shaky one, smiling in that angelic way that made his heart burst out of his ribcage.

Maybe the most fascinating thing about that particular female vampire, with her enchanting shimmering dark violet petal like tresses cascading down her bare shoulders, was her eternal shyness around him. Naruto would have loved to lock her into a golden chest and wear it around his neck, as a necklace, just to keep her as close to his heart as possible. It only stirred when she touched or smiled him, anyways. "It was not like I could have stayed so far from you anyway, Hinata." He grinned in that solar energetically way that made the Hyuga`s heart flutter like a white dove, while waiving his fork in the air, totally not bothered by displaying flawless manners. "One more second without you and I would totally rot like a leaf, believe it!" It was exactly that disheveled insouciance the thing that Hinata adored most at Naruto.

He didn't give a flying fuck about what the others thought about him, their gossip and rumors regarding his atypical uncaring goofy attitude slipped past him like a morning breeze, totally not affecting him and he was never afraid to be himself and let the voice of ration and his strong morals and beliefs be heard whenever.

Even if he was the total opposite of his raven haired Yin stoic, composed, thick-skinned counterpart, it didn't mean that Hinata didn't find him the most delightful man in the world. And he told her the most sincere, straightforward, sweet things in the world.

"Y-You say t-this everytime y-you see me."

"It is because I feel I am dying without you everytime I am not seeing you." Ah, wasn't the apparently dumb knucklehead wise when he wanted? Shikamaru and Neji went as far as to think that Naruto was acting like an idiot just in the vicinity of Sasuke, to piss him off, which he most of the times succeeded in doing.

"I-I couldn't wait u-until tomorrow, either." She gave him one of her winning smiles, giving in into the sky eyes that caressed her soul, feeling grateful that Naruto has invited her over. For starters, she was so not in the mood to shop with the girls, especially not if Ino was one of them, flailing and howling like a banshee that her favorite pair of shoes has been sold.

Then it was her father Hiashi who was not the most content father in the world, with her choice of a boyfriend…or a boyfriend in general. If he could, he would have kept a hawk surveillance on his two daughters 27/7, but Kana took the reins and put her exaggerated old fashioned husband into place.

She totally approved of the relationship, finding her older daughter and Kushina`s son being a match in heaven. Plus, the woman had no such prejudices as the breeding between humans or vampires, like her husband`s. In fact, Hiashi didn't have either, but his position as the clan`s leader, as well as Hinata`s title as the rightful heiress were pressing him into making outrageous compromises.

But it surely didn't stop Hinata to wrap one of her favorite most elegant and deluxe dazzling little black dress around her curvaceous petite ethereal silhouette, take Naruto`s calloused comforting warm hand into her much smaller delicate one and join him to one of their favorite dining places in the town.

Plus, the chances of encountering undesirable obnoxious figures there were slim. Not to mention that it was FAR away from the dreadful malls, boring lounges with uber expensive prices and ridiculous beverages, crowded markets, yelling people and training grounds.

And overprotective fathers and cousins!

"T-The next weeks a-are going to b-be very hectic." Hinata stated, while both casually enjoyed their meal. Naruto was slurping from his Ramen bowl, frowning and glaring at the pair behind Hinata, who kept on throwing weary glances in his direction. Old decrepit motherfuckers.

The blonde Uzumaki knew what she was talking about. It was just that extremely boring annoying period of the year, when the majority of his friends, minus Shikamaru and he, would get high on caffeine and waltz like zombies through the library`s long eerie halls, dreaming, eating and chanting all sorts of odd lessons from the subjects they were studying, pulling extreme overnight learning sessions like total nerds, virtually being dead to the social world.

Bunch of losers. Even Sasuke was spending more time than necessary filling up his sparkling skull with criminal and civil laws that made him cringe, totally taking advantage of the freakiness around and escape from hanging out with them.

But that didn't count in Naruto`s view, because the Uchiha was socially retarded. Just like Neji. And that one was even worse. He thought that Destiny came to him one night, clad in porn Santa red lingerie, placing the book of world`s history on his lap, urging him to learn every single line by heart.

"I have e-eight upcoming written exams, an o-oral and a group project." The beautiful siren with lavender orbs hummed to her lover, already feeling her skin drain of the rosy cute blush. College was no joke. Even if they were vampires and loaded as hell, they had no privileges when it came to studying.

"Yeah, well I truly hope we would still be able to at least meet up like thi-" Naruto abruptly stopped his rant, while his cerulean eyes caught the flickering of something familiar at the corner of his eyes, on the upper floor. And he started to grin mischievously like a wicked goblin with naughty thoughts, rubbing his palms together, in the same manner of a madman plotting the world domination.

He couldn't have imagined it, could he? Hinata curled a fine eyebrow up, staring at him confused, then whipped her head towards her shoulder, following his sight of view. And her lavender touched pupil less orbs went wide in puzzlement.

What the hell?! "I say…" Naruto started, totally voicing out her unspoken words. "…that things are going to become rather interesting."

There, in the same restaurant, on his favorite dinning spot –that he reserved only when he met with his family members, especially his mother and his brother- dressed formally and elegantly, being totally out of his character, smirking more than usual and wider than normal…was no other than Sasuke Uchiha, his notorious mismatched best friend.

And he was in the exquisite presence of a gorgeous woman that he hasn't seen before.

Things were getting heated. "I say we act like we haven't seen anything. I want to see where this is going." The Uzumaki whispered to his nodding pale eyed loved one. He observed that Hinata was also smiling widely, probably fancying the same things as him: whoever that exotic beauty with the most vivacious and uncommon hair color in the world was, she might have been someone special.

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If someone was to ask Sakura what was more mesmerizing, she would not be able to give a proper answer. Everything was just too surreal to be put into words: the food was making her insides reel in bliss, her view was graced with flickering warm red and golden lights and candelabras, the live band was caressing her eardrums, she was clad in the most beautiful dress, that she didn't have the pleasure to wear on her graduation prom and in the company of the most breathtaking man, who kept on charming her in more ways than one.

Slowly, but surely Sakura found it more and more easier to open up in front of Sasuke, while he was disclosing bits of his tumultuous life, some being funnier than the others. She especially enjoyed his stories about the most important people in his life and his friends. Sure, he refrained from abusing the word too much, but she understood that he cared about them deeply.

Also, he let her know more about vampires and occasionally smirked at her innocent silly questions about vampires, such as their need to sleep or bathe or walk freely in the sun. He advised her to stop watching popular vampire movies and even recommended her some not so famous ones, but more accurate for they were based on real facts and had vampire directors.

She found out –among many episodes of deep blushes and the need to crawl under the table- that even vampires could give birth and reproduce, which was fascinating by default, since they were not actually living souls, so it was something very poetic and hypothetical to create life from the absence of it.

It went without saying that Sasuke absolutely couldn't stop himself from not fructifying the chance to make her flush with embarrassment when not so subtly told her that he could grant her a full steamy experience of making love with a vampire if her desires were such and even went as far as to smirk at the way she dropped her eyes down her plate and squirmed under his intense amused lingering stare.

How could he say those things to her in such a…sinfully should be illegal sexy, hot and sensual way? But more importantly…why was she starting to get that tingling queasy feeling inside the pits of her stomach, and why were her lips getting dry and hot when she was looking on his own thin lips curled in that droolicious smirk of his, like she couldn't help but want to have a taste?

Her train of thoughts has been interrupted by the same onyx eyed vampire that she was fantasizing about –what an unladylike shameful thing to do- who slipped a hand into his dark suit coat, revealing a rectangular dark chocolate gift box, with a golden ribbon on the lid, pushing it with the tip of his fingers into her direction, while keeping her trapped in an alluring eye lock.

She eyed him in a funny way, not understanding what she should do or how to react, throwing befuddled glances from the mysterious fancy wrapped box to Sasuke, who was expecting her to do something, and not just ogle him like an idiot.

Surely, he wasn't thinking that she was stupid. Not even close. In fact, his total atypical gesture even surprised him.

"It is for you." He simply told her, and the rosette took the box in her slightly sweating hands, biting her lower lip and slowly, as if she didn't believe her eyes that something as utopic as receiving gifts from someone could have happened to someone like her, she pushed the box open with her thumbs and gasped.

"T-This is-" She couldn't even find the words to be shocked, dumbfounded, puzzled, amazed, astonished and perplexed. "…oh my God!" There, under her starry widened in shock emerald orbs, was the most mesmerizing necklace she has ever seen in her life.

She had absolutely zero idea of how much money has Sasuke spent on that masterful piece of jewelry –she didn't even want to start to imagine it either- but it knocked the wind out of her lungs. The finesse and precision of the shimmering red brilliant, in the peculiar sensual and elegant shape of a tear drop, from the pendant was breathtaking.

She raised it up and held the necklace in front of her amazed enchanted viridian orbs, while taking notice of each gleam of its translucent reflections in the warm honey lights of the chandeliers. Each face of that crystal or whatever precious gemstone it was, was neatly polished, it surface smooth and entrapped each ray of light, scintillating with an astonishing elegance and beauty.

There was an intricate beautiful fine floral filigree pattern on the necklace, which she guessed was made of pure gold, judging from the intensity of the rich honey color and its gleam. It felt feather light in her hands, yet the execution, the shape, the modern, fancy, exquisite, yet charming, feminine and fresh touch, were splendid and supreme.

Trapped in her haze, totally focusing on the electric reflection of the precious pure red wine inset of the pendant, mirroring the sparkle of her green jade orbs, Sakura failed to notice that Sasuke rose from his seat, cut the distance between them, coming to stand right behind her.

A pair of two hands came to encircle her shoulders, coming to rest upon her own, startling her, yet she didn't dare to turn around to face the gorgeous dark haired man, for she could feel it on the radiating warmth that he was dangerously close to her, so she just followed spell bounded how his fingers slipped under her own, carefully taking the necklace from her hands.

She saw him unclasp the spring-ring vermeil clasp, with the swiftness, easiness and elegance of a jeweler and when he let the necklace fall gracefully around her neck, she felt her heart skipping a beat. His fingers brushed her rose locks of her nape, while he sealed the precious piece of jewelry around her neck forever.

But what truly made her mind blow in a maze of fireworks, were the two words that he breathed to her in his eternal low baritone delicious voice: "Happy birthday."

She remained stupefied while he went as silent as a tender whisper in the limbs of the night. How did he-

"-It was the last thing you said before you jumped off the bridge." He answered her question, reading her mind like a mantra. "Happy birthday to me. This is what you said."

Of course! She remembered then. She attempted to commit suicide on her birthday, from all the times. And Sasuke actually remembered it, even in he wasn't in his best state! Something flickered inside her, something stronger than the torch of an ancient Greek temple sent her heart into flames, an emotion like no other has been brought to light by those single words and his gift, while a pool of crystalline tears bloomed at the corner of her orbs.

She was not supposed to feel her emerald orbs moisture, while salty tears fell along her curled long eyelashes like pearls on lace, she was not supposed to shot from her seat, while pushing her chair back, making it scratch on the luscious floor, she was not supposed to swirl around to face Sasuke, while her dress fluttered like a dragonfly`s soft translucent wings and she was definitely not supposed to reach for his slightly taken aback persona, wrap her hands around her broad chiseled chest and glue her cheek on his heart, whispering to him.

"T-Thank…you, Sasuke." It was the first time in her life when Sakura felt like crying tears of happiness and joy. And when a pair of warm fondling herculean arms folded around her waist, she couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat while something she hasn't felt before for anyone made her lightheaded and sent her senses straight to Nirvana.

"Saku-" Sasuke didn't even had the chance to let his body dictate the peace of his actions, since he was nowhere prepared or having an idea of how to respond to such a fragile tender declaration of gratitude –and something else, but he was afraid to even think of it, since first time he learn of that was the moment his heart petrified- before his stare caught the sight of something he dreaded to turn around and confirm, reflecting in the oval shaped crystals of the golden lamp in front of him.

He half whipped his head towards his shoulder, not wanting to break the contact with Sakura, who was cuddling into his chest like a baby lamb seeking for his mother, just to meet with a sight that almost had him jump down and bark at someone who seemed to have been witnessing everything that transpired between Sakura and him.

And that thought alone made him see red. Out of all the living creatures in the Universe, it had to be that particular ridiculous utterly imbecile cretin, who was having the gasp of the century sprawled on all his unserious looking foxy dumb face.

Onyx narrowed dangerously orbs locked with flabbergasted widened cerulean ones, staying there for two good seconds, that felt like two millennia.

It was exactly in the moment when he realized that his best friend has caught him staring at the way the beautiful rose haired woman threw herself into his arms, embracing the very same man who seemed to be having given her quite an expensive gift, with the ardor and the passion of a lover, has Naruto promptly chocked on his Ramen.

Uh-Oh.

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AN: My deepest gratitude for everyone who took their time to read this story and even share some feedback with me.

suri thank you, I hope this one chapter was on your liking.

Guest I am sorry for this late delay.

Hyper Reader I am glad you like my version of a vampire story. Your encouraging words are very welcomed. Thank you. I can promise that I will not abandon this story. Don`t worry, Sakura is not going to stay forever on the safe zone;)

randilynnbaby18 I am glad you liked this chapter. Of course, I am going to continue writing it.

Tiger Priestess I know what you mean. It took me just as much to read and correct the mistakes. Thank you for taking your time and give my story a chance:) Well yeah, I suppose that you can put it like that, though I didn`t intend to write this as a typical relationship that goes celestial. I want them to be bounded by feelings more than...fate. I want some mystery to linger on Itachi`s character, but I don`t really want the two brothers to be at war. I had enough of that in the manga. I will go into more details about Sakura`s parents later on -not so late though. Although I am sure you can assume who she is already?

hifi I am glad to see you following this story as well. Your feedback on the other of my stories hasn`t gone unnoticed and for that I am grateful, thank you! Glad you like this story as well. No, of course I will not neglect the other stories. I am working on updates, if this helps;) But I just had to write this story. I love vampires and related stories, especially Sasuke Sakura ones.

ElevatedJewel Just as your stories, your reviews always get me on the verge of tears. You know exactly what I want to say and your words simply comprise my idea, but your invaluable feedback makes me to keep on going on writing. Yeah, I truly remember our conversation and I must confess that initially, I had another idea of a bigger vampire project stuck on my mind, but that one was based on the local folklore. I still think about that, but I am not sure I want to fill the space here with another folklore and mythology oriented, since there are already so many. I agree with you, Sasuke is just as hot and mysterious as it can be. He is perfect in such dark roles. Thank you for always finding the best ways to let me know how blessed I am to having met such incredible readers, authors and people like you. You are an undying source of inspiration and a role model.

SasusakuLove5ever May I say that I too fangirl over him as a vampire? Writing his character is always a challenge and a pleasure. Thank you for the feedback and I am glad you like this story. Hope you enjoyed this update as well.

itsbritneybitch I hope that this chapter gave you some insight into the world of vampires as I imagine it. I will surely give my best into building up a backstory for Sakura that isn`t going to be shallow and boring. I hope I will get it right. Of course, in my mind, Sasuke is not the one to be tamed or be manipulated. He wasn`t in the manga and so I want to preserve that part of his character in my stories as well, but I will try and bring up some deep emotions that he hasn`t portrayed, especially his feelings for Sakura. I want this to be centered on this pair alone, with the side development of the other characters. Thank you so much. I know you follow other of my stories as well and for that I am extremely jolly and grateful. I truly like details in my story, hence the long descriptions. I will not give it up, believe it hehe

degrassi fan da21 Thank you, I am trying my best to bring to the light every dominant and hidden feelings, thoughts and emotions in every of my character. I hope I will succeed in making them complex and realistic. Thank you for pinpointing this and bringing it into my attention. I am well aware of the fact that I have many flaws, but I am trying to improve my writing skills, so please be patient with me, English is not my first language. Thank you again for the review and for reading this story.

lovesasusakuforever For always having a prompt reply and such beautiful words to say, I am forever grateful to you. Your support is enough to keep me on doing my best to explore new Sasuke and Sakura universes and come up with more inspiring ideas. It is a blessing to have such readers who love this pair as much as I do. Thank you so much, I am glad you like this story as well.

Many thanks to all of you who are willing to give this story a chance, read, follow, favorite and even grace me with a dear feedback. You guys are legendary!

Till next time...