.

Moving Memories
9: Battle Royale

~ (^.^) (^.^) ~

Saturday couldn't arrive fast enough. Naruto was sick of Kiba's miserable attitude. Their friends were literally staging an intervention because they were so concerned about his behavior, or lack thereof actually. Kiba had pretty much been empty and emotionless, like a drone. Naruto had only put their friends' plan off by assuring them that he would take care of it himself. He swore that he'd had a plan to make Kiba feel better. All he needed was the weekend. Then, things would change. Naruto knew for a fact that he was walking a dangerous line though. Either the date with Gaara would take care of Kiba's depressed attitude, or it would do the exact opposite and knock him even further down. He had to take the chance though.

Naruto had planned for them all to go see a play being put on by the theater department on campus. Naruto knew that Kiba was a fan of theater and that Gaara wasn't opposed, only because Kiba had dragged him along to so many shows that he'd just grown accustomed to it. As for Sasuke, Naruto had no clue at all what the bastard liked. The night wasn't about Sasuke though, so his opinion didn't really matter. Hell, it was such a shock that he even showed up in the first place that Naruto had no time to worry about accommodating him anyway. Fortunately, they'd all made it through the show without any real hiccups. Naruto supposed he owed that good fortune to the fact that there wasn't much time for awkwardness with something so demanding of one's attention.

There was even a short while directly after the play when everything seemed to be back as it used to be, the only exception being that Sasuke didn't absolutely hate Naruto. In fact, Sasuke chose to actually smile, and dear god what a beautiful smile it was. In any case, Gaara had commented on how bad he thought the play was. Kiba, much to Naruto's surprise, hastily agreed with Gaara, like he didn't love theater as much as everyone knew he did. He claimed that he had only sat through it because its atrocity was sickeningly intriguing. Of course, anyone with half a brain could tell that Kiba's excuse was bullshit. He really just wanted to be next to Gaara, and everyone knew it. He literally must not have taken his eyes off of the redhead for more than a minute at a time during the entire show.

They continued to make snide remarks about the play anyway as the foursome made their leisurely way down the block for something to eat, as was agreed upon at the start of the evening. Naruto had forced everyone to comply to, at least, that much. Sasuke smiled through the entire walk, despite how opposed he was to the whole idea in the first place. He actually seemed to be enjoying himself. Dinner had gone along well enough too. Small chit-chat kept them just barely afloat. It did, inevitably, die out completely though. Naruto was under the impression that a few casual drinks would make a difference in the outcome of the, so far, useless evening, as if a few beers would magically bring Kiba and Gaara back together. His three companions had only agreed to go for drinks at Akatsake because no one could find it within themselves to say no to Naruto's eager face, not that Kiba had wanted to. He was perfectly fine with more time in Gaara's company, no matter how awkward it might turn out to be. Gaara, however, didn't want to go at all. Naruto was still his friend on some level though, and it was hard to say no when the blond used those blue orbs to his advantage.

Sasuke didn't have much of a reason to stay at all. It wouldn't have been so hard for him to turn Naruto down. Sasuke could simply have left just because he wanted to. Then again, it wouldn't have been so hard for him to turn Naruto down a couple of days ago in his apartment either. Yet, he'd still shown up, hadn't he? He convinced himself that it wasn't Naruto that had caused him to show up. It was the conversation with Naruto that had convinced him to join in on the date. It was that interesting exchange that they'd shared in his apartment a couple days prior. Naruto had been intriguing, and that piqued Sasuke's curiosity.

Sasuke had come on the date only because he'd decided to humor Naruto's taunt that he was simply delusional. If he was delusional, then his desire to avoid the situation meant that he should actually attend. Why Sasuke let such twisted logic influence him, he couldn't tell you. He was there, however, and inexplicably unwilling to walk away from his three friends, if he could even call them that. It had nothing to do with Naruto or his eyes though, even if they were big, blue, pleading pools of beauty. No! Naruto's beautiful eyes held absolutely no power over Sasuke, none at all. Just like they had held no power over him a few nights ago in his apartment. Sasuke came because he wanted to come, not because Naruto had asked him to. Just like he was going to go to Akatsake because he wanted to. It was his decision to explore his alleged "delusional" self. That was all, and so the foursome found themselves walking through the familiar corridor that lead to Itachi's bar.

Akatsake was relatively dead, much to Naruto's relief. Had any ballsy vamps picked up on the tension between the foursome, they may have been compelled to have a go at Naruto or Kiba. With Gaara looking so uninterested in being there, let alone what happened to his human companions, it could have been dangerous to sit in the middle of a crowded vamp bar. Sasuke was no help either, for he'd, apparently, gotten very drunk very quick. He'd announced that he needed to use the restroom half an hour earlier and been gone ever since, so the trio sat quietly at their table with Kiba glancing periodically to Gaara, Gaara glaring pointedly at his beer bottle, and Naruto shooting relentless stares between the two. All the while, Naruto obsessed over Sasuke's prolonged absence.

It wasn't very late, but people were slowly leaving the bar. Naruto mused that, perhaps, everyone was picking up on the tense air at his table and that, rather than an open invitation for a free meal, they were just a buzz kill. Everyone seemed content to leave them the hell alone. Naruto heaved the heaviest, most relieved sigh that he had ever heaved in his entire life when he saw Sasuke returning to the table. Kiba couldn't even tear his attention from Gaara long enough to notice, but Gaara didn't look particularly glad to see Sasuke return. Naruto, on the other hand, was positively ecstatic. At least Sasuke's drunken state would give them something else to focus on. The tension in the air between them was so stiflingly palpable that it was almost painful.

Sasuke stumbled quite precariously toward the trio, hissing violently at a young woman when she tried to catch him and help him regain his balance. Despite his clear drunkenness, he was still extremely agile. Every misjudged step was quickly recovered. Every stagger that threatened to topple him was flawlessly avoided by him catching on to something and righting himself gracefully. Nonetheless, Naruto tensed up in anxiety with every sway. Naruto wasn't sure why he was so concerned about Sasuke falling and possibly hurting himself. For one, Sasuke was the epitome of poise, even when drunk, apparently. Secondly, Sasuke was kind of a total dick, and Naruto was positive that his strange crush should have been thoroughly crushed by now.

When Naruto went to Sasuke's apartment to seek his help on this date, he hadn't felt even an inkling of romantic feeling for the asshole... or any good feeling at all, really. That was definitely thanks to Sasuke's impossibly worsening attitude. Ever since those first couple days of class, Sasuke had been even more of a fuck than Naruto had ever thought possible. However, a familiar magnetic pull popped up again that very same evening during their talk about delusions, despite Naruto's better judgement.

It was tiny, just like before, only ever making its presence known when Sasuke was close. It hadn't been enough to compel Naruto to reclaim a seat beside Sasuke in any of their shared classes. It was enough, however, to make him sit somewhat closer and stare longer. It was enough to make him feel rather uncomfortable, because he didn't want to feel drawn to the prick. There Naruto was anyway though, feeling, yet again, drawn to Sasuke. He wouldn't exactly call it a liking, because he didn't really like Sasuke at all. It was just some sort of force forbidding him to stray too far. It was like some kind of gravity convincing Naruto that it felt right to orbit the son of a bitch. Honestly, as much as it disturbed him, Naruto had to remind himself more than once already that it wasn't his date. It was Kiba and Gaara's. He really had to do something about his googly eyes. They kept seeking some kind of sensitivity in Sasuke that Naruto wasn't even sure actually existed.

When Sasuke finally reached the table, it was with the biggest grin plastered across his face and not without Itachi's disapproving glares at the back of his head. Naruto wondered about why Itachi seemed to disapprove so much of Sasuke drinking. Itachi did own a bar. Would he really be that hypocritical? Naruto also wondered about how Sasuke could get so drunk so easily. Sasuke hadn't drunk that much. It would've been enough to give Naruto a really decent buzz, but Naruto didn't think that alcohol could affect vampires in the same way as humans, or at least not as easily. Yet, Sasuke was acting so goddamn euphoric, like he just couldn't be happier. Maybe that was it. Maybe Sasuke really was just happy and that magnified his buzz to such an effect. Maybe it was—

Sasuke sighed heavily, smiling dumbly at everyone at the table in turns and instantly commanding the entirety of Naruto's attention span again. That beautiful smile, it was like a giant spotlight to Naruto. It was impossible not to look when it was flashed. The only people who were still in the bar by that point were a few odd vamps along with Temari and Deidara. Deidara was sitting up at the bar, keeping Itachi company as the latter cleaned. Temari sat solo on stage, singing girly songs that everyone tried to ignore. She appeared to be pretty drunk herself.

Gaara finally gave in to his curiosity and asked Sasuke, "What are you grinning about?" Although, he already had a good idea of why Sasuke looked so damn happy.

"I love this song!" Sasuke exclaimed, only slightly slurring his words.

Kiba suppressed a laugh and Naruto stared on in amazed amusement. Sasuke had, somehow, gotten even drunker since his leave. He had to be commended on his speech though. The fact that he was still speaking so coherently was amazing to Naruto.

"Maze me wanna dance," Sasuke added. His lids slid dangerously low and his body swayed precariously on his stool to the beat.

Naruto found it impossible to not be entranced by the man before him. The way Sasuke's half-lidded eyes pierced their target, they way his body swayed like a perfectly organized orchestra, the way his tongue rolled with every lyric he sang, the way he just simply existed just then while looking so goddamn sexy, it all had to be a fucking sin. How could anyone ever focus on anything other than this beautiful creature?

When Naruto felt a little too much blood rushing to his nether regions, he turned away quickly and tried to suppress a blush. He tried, in vain, to focus on something else and it ended up taking a few agonizingly long moments for him to come up with a distracting topic. When he did, though, he jumped at the chance to pursue it. He took this time as an opportunity to edge a private word in with Kiba, as Sasuke was distracted with singing along to Temari's song—in a very sexy manner, of course—and Gaara was busy staring daggers at the former.

"Kiba?" Naruto whispered quietly, leaning in toward his friend. Kiba responded by leaning back toward Naruto. "Iwannaearbouren," Naruto said quickly, deciding that it was best to get it out in a rush.

"I didn't catch any of that," Kiba replied with an amused chuckle.

Naruto cleared his throat quietly. "I wanna hear about Ren," he repeated a bit slower and more cautiously.

"What?!" Kiba snapped, glancing over nervously to see if Sasuke had heard. "I thought I told you—"

"I know," Naruto whined, "but I'm so curious."

"You should ask Sasuke about it, not me," Kiba said firmly, turning very serious eyes back to his friend. "It's his story to tell, Naruto, and no one else's."

"Just give me a couple things to get started on," Naruto pleaded. "If I have somewhere to start, maybe it'll pressure him into elaborating." Naruto instantly grimaced at his choice of words. Pressure? He didn't want to pressure Sasuke. He would never want to pressure Sasuke. If he was to share something so personal with Sasuke, he wanted it to be voluntary. Well, that, of course, only reinforced Kiba's demand for Naruto to simply ask Sasuke. Naruto felt the need to defend himself and justify his actions, in hopes that it would make himself feel less guilty.

"I'm curious though!" Naruto began to explain, more for his own benefit than for Kiba's. "If you told me just a few things, then I could use that to gently nudge Sasuke to talk. Yeah, that's all." Naruto nodded certainly. "Gentle, very gentle, nudging. No pressure at all. You just have to give me some sorta leverage." Naruto grimaced again. The word "leverage" sounded so horrible. He didn't want to sound forceful. Again, it was supposed to be voluntary. Naruto couldn't just ask Sasuke to talk to him though. Sasuke sort of hated him! Why couldn't Kiba understand that?

"I don't think I can talk to him," Naruto admitted quietly. He spared a glance at Sasuke, who was at the peak of a rather precarious sway. Gravity threatened to knock him off his stool.

"Whoa there, buddy!" Naruto exclaimed, snapping forward and catching Sasuke by the arm to right him again. Sasuke flashed a satisfied smile that everyone but Gaara completely missed. "Don't want you to topple over there, do we?" Naruto added lightly with a grin. He couldn't help how warm it made him feel to know that, perhaps, Sasuke needed his help, even if it was in such an insignificant way as this.

Gaara was not fooled by the act though. Sasuke's total number of beers would never get him to any level of drunk. Not only did Sasuke have a high tolerance for alcohol, but vampires weren't so easily affected by it. It often took a long time to kick in because it always took its time to dull their thirst before it ever even started going to their heads like that. Sasuke, of course, could have been drunk. If he was though, it was definitely not to that degree.

If he was drunk on anything, it wasn't alcohol. Gaara was sure that he would have smelled blood on Sasuke if he'd gone off and fed though. Of course, it didn't have to be blood that was affecting Sasuke. Hell, for all Gaara knew, Sasuke wasn't affected by anything at all. He could have been entirely sober and just pretending. While Sasuke was sneaky, he wasn't sneaky enough. Gaara might have been confused by Sasuke's act but, judging by his glares, Itachi wasn't fooled at all. That alone was enough to fuel Gaara's suspicions. None of that seemed to bother Sasuke though, because he wasn't afraid to spare a few arrogant smirks for Gaara.

Naruto and Kiba may have been none the wiser, but Gaara could see a scheme gleaming in Sasuke's eyes. His glare intensified as he tried to tap into Sasuke's emotions. He was met with an iron wall though. Sasuke was, after all, the king of guarded emotions. It wasn't that he never allowed himself to feel anything. He truly didn't mind allowing other vampires to have access to his feelings. It was just the vulnerable ones that he minded, and those were the ones that no one ever found because those were the ones that Sasuke kept a tight grip on. He made no effort to stifle any anger, displeasure, or smugness. That was all fine to share. If anything, purposely projecting those types of emotions intensely enough so that other vampires would pick up on them bluntly often benefited him in the end.

However, he had absolutely no problem shutting down completely, and often times he would. Wiping himself completely blank and becoming devoid of any emotion whatsoever was easy for Sasuke. It was as if his humanity had a switch, and it was off 70 percent of the time. The remaining 30 percent was spent feeling emotions that no one close to him, like Gaara or Itachi, particularly cared to pick up on. They were often searching for something to prove that Sasuke was still somewhat who he had used to be before he adopted such a hardened shell of himself. At this particular moment though, Gaara met an impenetrable defense. All he got was an aura of arrogance, and that was infuriating.

"The thing is," Naruto went on, resuming his quiet conversation with Kiba but still keeping a wary, and slightly admiring, eye on Sasuke, "I don't think he'll ever really talk to me about anything. I wish he would. I really, really do," A tiny grimace surfaced. "—but I don't think how I feel really matters to him... at all." Naruto looked back to Kiba with saddened eyes. "It was trouble enough getting him out tonight, and I spent that whole conversation pretty much talking to myself. He hates me," Naruto said quietly, down-casting his eyes and feeling an even more prominent grimace claim his composure. "—no matter how hard I try to change that."

Kiba couldn't help but smirk at Naruto. There was something much deeper and much more honest than curiosity burning inside his blond friend. If Kiba dared to say so himself, Naruto liked Sasuke. Naruto didn't want facts about Sasuke. Naruto wanted a bond. Kiba knew, however, that such a bond would be a fruitless journey should Naruto be so hasty.

"I don't think it's a good idea to do this behind his back," Kiba said softly, hoping that the part of Naruto that ached for a true connection to Sasuke would push this ludicrous idea away. "I think it's better to let him get to it in his own time."

"He's drunk," Naruto said, waving a dismissive hand. "He hasn't got a clue what's going on. He might be more than willing to spill his guts."

Kiba raised an uncertain brow. Naruto must have been out of his mind. A drunk vampire was no less a vampire, especially when angered. Yeah, Sasuke might have been more than willing to spill his guts... or he might have been more than willing to spill their guts.

"But, Naruto," Kiba began, "I really think, if you just have some patience, he'll talk to you. He'll trust you, if you give it time."

"But I haven't got patience, Kiba," Naruto whined hurriedly, grabbing Sasuke's arm to keep him from falling backward off the stool again. He was still singing loudly—so loudly, in fact, that Temari kept a continuous thumbs up raised to him, glad that someone was appreciating her singing. "I've been thrown into this world where everything is so different. I'm just looking for some stability. I need to know some truth, something solid. I need to understand, Kiba," Naruto said urgently.

Kiba sighed, feeling bad for Naruto. "Well," he began slowly, "if anyone can get it out of him, it's me."

"Exactly!" Naruto agreed hopefully.

Kiba warily entertained the idea as he surveyed Naruto. Maybe Sasuke was drunk enough to comply. Then again, maybe he wasn't. If he wasn't, then he would be angry. He would never admit it—and maybe he wouldn't even let himself feel it—but he would be hurt too.

"If he doesn't play along nicely, he really will hate you," Kiba warned. "I don't think you understand just how touchy this subject is. I can't guarantee that he won't rip both our heads off."

"He's smashed," Naruto pointed out, though that much was obvious. "And alcohol takes the edge off, doesn't it?"

"It does," Kiba agreed. "Hopefully that'll keep him from wanting to rip our throats out."

"And, if not, Gaara will be able to protect our throats," Naruto added.

"Don't count on it," Gaara denied in a low voice. Both Naruto and Kiba startled at his interjection, feeling unnerved that he had overheard them but not truly surprised.

"It'll be fine," Naruto assured Kiba, though blindly. He had no idea how fine it would or would not be, but if saying such things would convince Kiba to play along, then Naruto didn't care. He'd say them.

"If you insist," Kiba said slowly, hoping very dearly that his blond friend would abandon the traitorous attempt. He was unfortunate though.

"I insist!" Naruto reassured, and his eyes lit up.

Kiba huffed quietly before sitting up straight again. He did not want to do it, not at all. He had a very bad feeling, but he figured that he would, at least, test the water out. "Sasuke?" he said warily to earn the man's attention.

Sasuke hiccuped loudly. "Wazzzup?" he answered happily.

"Definitely wasted," Kiba pointed out solemnly, dreading his attempt to betray Sasuke's trust, assuming he had ever truly had it to begin with.

"All the better," Naruto added quietly, obviously hoping that only Kiba would hear. He, of course, underestimated the senses of vampires, but neither one at the table made any indication that they had heard.

Sasuke continued to sway drunkenly, though now in silence, as he awaited Kiba's response. After a moment, he chuckled lightly, as if just then interpreting Kiba's words. "M'not as drunk as you think I am," he said, still swaying dramatically and waggling a finger in front of Kiba's face.

"Really?" Kiba questioned, snorting softly. Naruto gave Kiba a significant glare, and Kiba sighed heavily. When he looked back to Sasuke, he stared deeply into his eyes, wanting to be able to see and identify every emotion that would bubble up within them. After a small pause, Kiba went on. "Let's talk about Ren," he suggested.

"Hmm. She was funny, wasn' she?" Sasuke answered. "She definitely learned that from you, Kiba, but she was witty too. That was from me. S'what I think."

Sasuke kept up the slight drawl in his voice, even if whatever drunken edge he may or may not have had dissipated the second that Kiba uttered the name. He didn't seem at all perturbed by the topic though. His answer had been rather cheerful. However, Kiba saw something else entirely. He saw a flash of something that passed so quickly that it was unidentifiable. He was sure, though, that Sasuke had listened in on his entire conversation with Naruto. Sasuke had tempered himself. He had prepared for the moment when Kiba would pounce. He had doctored his response. Had he not, he never would have reacted so calmly to the name. He had faked it, and he had faked it too well for Kiba to keep up.

Gaara, on the other hand, had recognized the emotion immediately. He had been studying Sasuke like a damn book though, trying to get into his head and pick out his little scheme, whatever it was. That tiny flash of emotion was all that Gaara had needed to force him into an about-face. It caused him to physically turn his face away in something akin to shame. He didn't feel right looking on any longer. In fact, he tried very hard to ignore Sasuke's aura completely. He didn't want to feel any other emotions that might slip into it.

"Who was she?" Naruto asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

The emotion flared up again in Sasuke's eyes, and the mere moment longer which it lingered was all that Kiba needed for him to suddenly understand it completely. Had he been closer to his stepbrother or had that emotion not seemed so foreign in Sasuke's eyes, Kiba would have, certainly, gotten it the first time, despite how fleeting it had been. It seemed all too obvious now though. It was a familiar feeling for Kiba. It was sadness. Sasuke had sported many emotions in the past few years: anger, dread, and even guilt. He hadn't managed sadness though. It was far too intimate of a feeling for anyone to catch it meandering beyond Sasuke's tight defenses. None of the vampires surrounding him could ever pick that particular emotion up, not even when looking specifically for it or when Sasuke was unsuspecting and seemingly unguarded. Sasuke, of course, was never unguarded. It seemed that he simply had stopped feeling it, along with all other vulnerable emotions like love, joy, or loneliness.

Now, however, it was back, and Kiba had seen it. Despite the strain on their relationship, Kiba still loved Sasuke like a brother. He didn't want to see such a sadness in those eyes, as momentary as its stay was. Seeing it flash there only proved that Sasuke could feel it, and that meant that he was feeling it. He was feeling it all the time. He was just feeling it in silence. He felt it so discretely that no one could catch him red-handed. It wasn't gone. It was just masterfully hidden. That was painful knowledge to Kiba. Sasuke kept that emotion held so tightly against his chest that it must have been choking him. It must have been strangling him for years.

Kiba already felt bad for urging Naruto to pester Sasuke about Ren, but now he felt a million times worse. Ren was still a tender subject for Sasuke. Perhaps, it wasn't that Sasuke was unwilling to speak of her. Maybe it was that he couldn't. A need to protect Sasuke from Naruto's curiosity overwhelmed Kiba. He wouldn't watch Sasuke suffer, even if it appeared that Sasuke was doing no such thing. Kiba knew now. Kiba had seen. Sasuke was in pain, and Naruto was doing nothing to alleviate that.

No one spoke. Kiba knew that Sasuke wouldn't answer such a question so easily, and he himself was too wrapped up in Sasuke to have the wits to respond right away. Furthermore, Gaara wouldn't feel proper answering a question that wasn't his to answer. Ren wasn't really in his jurisdiction, especially not with both Kiba and Sasuke present. Not only that, but Gaara couldn't even find his voice. It had been years since he'd seen something so human touch Sasuke's eyes. He knew that Sasuke wouldn't respond well to pity or sympathy, but Gaara could offer nothing else to his lifelong best friend. Despite the dysfunctional nature of their relationship, Gaara loved Sasuke like a brother, just like Kiba did. He had the decency to pretend that the situation wasn't at hand. Ren was not the topic. Sasuke was not responding this way. Hell, Gaara would just pretend that he wasn't even there at all.

With everyone else so wrapped up in themselves, Naruto was the only one left capable of speaking, so speak he did. "Was she an old girlfriend or something?" he asked, pressing the topic further.

Gaara snorted lightly. As if Ren could be something so insignificant. However, no one answered again. Gaara seemed very interested in his beer bottle, Kiba couldn't tear his eyes from Sasuke, and Sasuke's mouth was pointedly glued shut. His eyes were as empty as they always were, but a deeper sense of vacancy seemed to fill them.

"Anyone gonna talk to me? I'm still here, ya know?" Naruto teased.

The statement was far from malicious and meant only to garner attention light-heartedly, but it rubbed Kiba entirely the wrong way. "You are the most selfish son of a bitch I have ever known," Kiba growled. He aimed an angry glare at Naruto, who held his breath in return. Naruto was speechless. Did Kiba just call him selfish? What the hell had Naruto done? The question in his eyes must have been evident, because Kiba went on. "Do you even stop to think about what everyone else is feeling? Or is it just all about you?"

The shock of such an ugly tone overtaking Kiba's typically pleasant voice wore off and Naruto jumped to his own defense. "I just wanna understand," he argued. "Where's the issue with that? I was thrown into a world that still makes very little sense to me. I didn't ask for this."

"And nobody asked you to stick your nose in," Kiba retorted.

"I didn't stick my nose in! My nose was shoved in!" Naruto argued, his voice raising loud enough to catch attention.

"Then get the fuck out!" Kiba argued even louder, pointing to the door but referring to his life in general. It needed no explaining, for Naruto caught the severity of the words from the severity of the glare he was receiving. He could do nothing more complex than gape at his friend.

Itachi recognized the aura emanating from Kiba immediately, so he bustled the stragglers from his bar. It wasn't often that his typically laid back and carefree stepbrother got so riled up. At least this brother still accepted him, so he would be there to support Kiba no matter what. Temari only agreed to get off stage and shut the fuck up when she caught wind of the tension in both Kiba and Naruto's auras. It took her less than a second to snap to suddenly very sober attention and flash from the stage to their table, instantly placing a reassuring hand on Kiba's shoulder. Deidara and Itachi moved over to listen in on the exchange themselves once the bar was completely empty.

"No one is begging you to stay where you so clearly don't wanna be!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Really?!" Naruto shot back, sounding thoroughly offended. Kiba huffed, his eyes filling with a daring glare. "Get out?" Naruto repeated after another stunned pause.

"Yeah!" Kiba snapped hurtfully, knowing somewhere deep down that he didn't truly mean it. The temporary anger in his chest convinced him otherwise though.

"You shoulda just let Sai sink his teeth in me then," Naruto replied, "since I mean so fucking little to you!"

Kiba snorted derisively. "Maybe I should have!" he retorted, standing up from his chair at the table and shrugging off Temari's comforting hand.

Naruto followed quickly in suit. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he shouted. "I've been tolerant as fuck, Kiba, and now all the sudden, I'm the spawn of the devil?! I don't understand!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You and your desperate need to understand!" Kiba spat scornfully, repeating the words as if they were disgusting.

"What the fuck is wrong with that?!" Naruto shouted back.

"What you need to do is understand your fucking self!" Kiba retorted. "Take one sec—"

"What I need to do is understand this, to understand Sasuke!" Naruto interrupted in an extra loud, extra passionate tone. He didn't care to address how normally embarrassed he would have felt at such an admission. "What?! Is it so wrong of me to wanna understand him?! Why can't I wanna be close to him?!" No one seemed particularly surprised by Naruto's words. They were all vampires, so they'd picked up that emotion countless times in Naruto. It was never all that hard to put two and two together.

"Maybe you can't!" Kiba shouted.

"Maybe I can!" Naruto argued. "If someone would just talk to—"

"Has it never dawned on you that, perhaps, those scars are just too great to reopen?!" Kiba cut in harshly. "Have you never cared to think that, perhaps, that name carries memories that nobody wants to revisit?! For all of us!" Kiba added, gesturing to everyone in his immediate surroundings.

"Of course I've thought that," Naruto replied, "but I just thought that someone would tell me if that was the case! Hell, up until now, you've been telling me to go to Sasuke about it! You just told me to continue going to him! Now, all the sudden, it's a fucking crime!"

"Have you never thought it was best to simply let it lay to fucking rest?!" Kiba questioned hotly.

"Not when you keep urging me to keep asking!" Naruto retorted. "I haven't even tried before tonight! You're acting like I pester him every fucking day! I've never even asked before! I wanted you to help make it easier!"

"You never thought to, at fucking least, wait until someone was ready to speak about it," Kiba went on, "instead of pressuring them and then cornering them when they're drunk?!" He paused, seemingly to simply catch his breath.

"As if you had no part in that! You agreed to help me nudge it out of him!" Naruto hollered.

Kiba wrinkled his nose up in anger. "Well, he doesn't wanna talk about it, so leave it alone!" Kiba retorted, knowing that he was guilty of that accusation. He had just agreed to help Naruto squeeze it out of Sasuke. He couldn't argue with that. "Just don't pressure him!"

"I wasn't pressuring him! I just wanted to hear something about R—" Naruto began to argue back, but Kiba interrupted.

"Don't ever speak her name again!" Kiba shouted, and everyone jumped at the sudden intensity. "You don't even have the right to know it! You don't have the right to know of her!" Kiba stared furiously at Naruto, who stared furiously back.

Naruto hadn't even imagined that such an angry side of Kiba could exist. In all honesty, he had never really considered how touchy the subject could be, and he had definitely never thought that it would be so touchy to Kiba. Kiba hadn't exactly given him any clues though. If it was so serious, why didn't Kiba just tell Naruto? Why did he keep egging Naruto on? Why was it suddenly not okay to ask about Ren? It wasn't like he'd been bothering Sasuke all day every day. He hadn't asked even once before. Naruto just didn't understand what had happened. What had changed?

"Kiba," Itachi said softly, reaching out and touching the brunet's arm.

It seemed that the solitary word was all that Kiba needed. He relaxed a bit and glanced over to Sasuke, who was standing tensely off to the side. He seemed completely unaffected by the exchange, as if Naruto hadn't just vaguely admitted to having some sort of feelings for him and Kiba hadn't just jeopardized his friendship with Naruto to protect him. Itachi followed Kiba's gaze and tensed incredibly himself, shocked by what met his senses. Could he have actually just picked up on some of Sasuke's true emotion? The exchange must have struck something inside him, because there was a loophole in his iron defense for once.

Sasuke's face was void of all emotion, but Itachi could feel a sliver of misery seeping into his brother's aura. Sasuke was feeling something, and it was something very painful to even Itachi. Had anyone else been less focused on Naruto or Kiba, they would have pounced on the opportunity to actually pick up such a thing from Sasuke. As quickly as Itachi had felt it though, it passed. Itachi was left stunned. He'd just felt a trickle of honest emotion from his brother for the first time in like... ever. When he'd come back from his "leave", Sasuke had already become the man he was now. His emotions were already locked away, and Itachi hadn't been a vampire before he left. He wasn't sure what to do next. It seemed that Sasuke had caught on as well, because he wasted no time in gracing Itachi with a chilling glare.

"I'm leaving," Sasuke said simply.

Naruto caught Sasuke's elbow quickly. "I'll walk you!" he blurted out impulsively. He wanted to stay with Sasuke, to speak with him, to understand him, despite how inexplicably angry that very desire had just made Kiba.

"Leave it!" Kiba snapped at Naruto, who leveled a glare on him in response.

"Make me," Naruto dared, tightening his grip on Sasuke defensively. If Kiba was suddenly going to get possessive of Sasuke, Naruto would put up a damn fight... literally, if he had to.

Sasuke snatched his elbow from Naruto's grip so quickly that you would swear Naruto's fingers were made of coals. A tiny hiss left his throat and his eyes had switched to the deepest, darkest hue of red that Naruto had ever seen them be. Although, in all honesty, he hadn't really seen very much of Sasuke in the span of their acquaintance. Contrary to fable, though, vampire eyes deepened not when vampires were thirsty, for they were always thirsty, but when vampires were feeling strong emotions instead. Emotions were directly connected to their urges. Thus, the deep hue of Sasuke's eyes showed Naruto just how dangerously agitated Sasuke was, and Naruto knew that Sasuke's choice to relieve that agitation would consist of Naruto's blood in Sasuke's mouth.

Naruto was scared that he might look at Sasuke the wrong way and set the latter to ripping his throat out, so he chose to stare at Sasuke's much less intimidating lips instead. Even when sheathing a very dangerous tool evolved simply to draw blood from people just like Naruto himself, those lips were simply enrapturing. There was just no denying that. Naruto wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in the room, and even the surrounding outside area, picked up on his urge to kiss those lips. That even included Kiba, who had no vampire sensing abilities at all. Hell, Naruto almost lost himself entirely in a fit of desire and chanced a quick taste. That was, of course, until Sasuke's harsh voice brought him back to reality.

"I don't need a babysitter," Sasuke snarled. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm at the top of the food chain. I do not need a human showing me home." Sasuke's eyes filled with something dark and disturbing that was close to, but not quite, hatred as he spoke. Naruto didn't see that emotion or how intriguing it was though, for he was still too terrified to meet those dangerous eyes and, perhaps, too engulfed to leave those sinful lips.

"Then let me," Gaara chimed in as Sasuke began turning to walk away again.

Gaara's voice was filled with demand. It was neither a question nor a suggestion. It was a command, an inevitable fate. Hard as his tone was, his eyes were clear of any sign that the monster within him had grown any less dormant. It seemed that a long stint of self-imposed isolation did him well. He'd finally started drinking supplemental blood, but only because Temari had threatened to get their father involved. His thirst was sated enough for him to interact with people again, not that he chose to do so. Kankuro had enough faith in him, though, to allow Naruto to drag him out on this rendezvous, which was going far from how Naruto had planned. He had expected some sort of conflict to unfold, but he had definitely not expected this.

When Sasuke simply scoffed at Gaara's demand, it sent Kiba over the edge. His anger was redirected from Naruto to Sasuke. "When did you turn into such a fuck?" he asked hotly. Sasuke simply scoffed at Kiba too. "Don't do that!" Kiba demanded. Sasuke looked as if he was about to scoff again, but Kiba charged on. "Yeah, you've been cold for the past eight years," Sasuke tensed up immensely at the words, but Kiba went on regardless. "—but this is worse than it's ever been, Sasuke. Ever since—" Kiba began to form a name with his mouth, but Sasuke put an immediate stop to that.

"Don't you dare, Kiba!" Sasuke warned viciously.

"Ever since her," Kiba went on with a dramatic gesture, changing the name quickly due to Sasuke's threat but going on as if Sasuke hadn't even spoken. "—you've been someone else completely. I honestly thought that we were getting you back though." Kiba's voice was displeased, but his eyes were sad and desperate. Sasuke looked as irked as ever. In fact, he almost looked violated. "I always understood when things had to change between us. I understood that we had to heal and that we would have to do that separately. I honestly thought that I was seeing the boy we grew up with come through again though. I thought that Naruto was filling some void for you."

Sasuke sneered at the notion but felt a slight skip of the beat in his chest. He would admit to being a stubborn asshole, but he couldn't lie to himself and insist that Naruto hadn't brought some form of joy into his life. Even if it seemed that all he brought was darkness, Naruto had made some strange change in Sasuke. Perhaps it wasn't the actual actions that Naruto had taken, for all of those had been truly infuriating to Sasuke, but maybe it was just the quality of his eyes and the innocence in his smile that made Sasuke feel... lighter. He would, of course, keep that thought to himself though.

"And the painting—" Kiba went on passionately.

"Oh, shut up about the painting!" Sasuke interrupted quickly, abandoning all positive thought of Naruto in favor of being annoyed again.

These types of things were family affairs. They should be discussed in private, even if everyone remaining in the bar, except for Naruto, was pretty much to be considered so anyway. Then again, even before Naruto came and shook things up, Sasuke would never have talked about these things in either private or public. The blond seemed to be changing a lot of things in a lot of people.

"Just shut up!" Sasuke snapped. He turned to leave again but stopped, only because of how unprepared he was to hear Kiba's voice take on such an ugly tone.

"No!" Kiba hollered. "I will not shut up!" Sasuke shot Kiba a filthy glare over his shoulder. "Everything you paint is her! It's everywhere!" Kiba added, causing Sasuke to look even further insulted, if that was at all possible. "At first, I thought you were still hurting and maybe you actually were. Then, everything changed when Naruto came around and you were finally moving on and getting over her!"

Naruto scrunched his brows up in confusion. Was Kiba saying that Naruto had been good for Sasuke? What the fuck? Sasuke seemed to have gotten worse since the very first day that they had met. Naruto wanted to be good for Sasuke. He wanted to help him heal, even if he didn't know that he was doing it... but from what? What had happened in this family? Who the fuck was Ren?

To be continued...