.

Moving Memories
14: Eluded

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

"So what should I do?"

"What he said."

"What? That's stupid. After everything that's happened, I can't just leave him alone. He... He kissed me. Yeah, he left me really confused, but after he explained everything I understood—"

"You don't understand."

"I do. I understand. That's why I can forgive him, and that's why I can choose to move on with him. I can choose to try and save what we have, whatever that is. I can't do that on my own though. He can't just make me feel these things and then go away."

"Yes, he can. Respect that. Value your life, Naruto. Don't give it up for Sasuke because he will take it."

Yeah? Well, what the fuck did Kankuro know anyway?

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

"So what should I do?"

"Listen to him."

"What the fuck? Why would I do that?"

"Because he said he wanted to kill you, and he's trying not to do that. It's generally easier if you don't go begging for it."

"But—"

"Sorry, Naru! I gotta go! I'm supposed to be meeting Kisame right now!"

Goddamn Temari. Always fucking running off with that scattered brain of hers. Just as well. She was just speaking nonsense anyway.

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

"So..." Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly. "—what should I do?"

"Simple. Leave him alone."

Naruto sighed heavily. "I shoulda known."

"You're the only one who doesn't really know Sasuke, Naruto. Just listen to those who actually know what they're talking about."

Naruto knew that talking to Gaara would be fruitless anyway. What a predictable answer. Useless.

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

"Please, tell me something other than 'leave him alone'," Naruto said pleadingly.

Kiba sighed. "I wish I could, Naruto, but I can't," he said regretfully. "The way that you've explained him to me is really... disturbing. You really don't know how dangerous it is to be around him right now."

"I don't care!" Naruto exclaimed exasperatedly. "Would you just leave Gaara alone so easily?"

Kiba blushed. "Of course not," he admitted. "This is really severe though. I know you just wanna help him. You can't help if you're dead though."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why is everyone so convinced that he'd actually kill me. I'm not convinced at all. I don't even think he was convinced when he said it," he complained. "Somehow, even when I looked into his eyes and they weren't his at all, even when there was no humanity left in them, all I could see was a wounded animal," he went on softly. "I was afraid, but I think that was just my basic instinct to avoid danger. Most of me still wanted to get closer. It was like some part of Sasuke really deep inside was just asking for me to get closer, like it was begging to be..." Naruto paused, searching for the right word. "—healed?" he finished uncertainly.

Kiba stared off for a moment. "Saved," he corrected softly.

Naruto smiled sadly and nodded. "Yeah. Exactly."

Kiba heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, I get that feeling about it too," he admitted.

"Really?" Naruto asked, perking up.

Kiba nodded. "After Ren's death," he started seriously, "Sasuke would get really bad flashbacks. He was really dangerous at those times, so he would just lock himself away in his room. Just like you, even though we were always warned not to bother him when he was having a fit, I couldn't see that dangerous side of him. I could only see the pain. I could only see that he needed saving. He was being eaten alive from the inside out." Kiba sighed. "How could I help him though? That's what I always thought. In the end, I took the burden of the whole family. I think that it might have helped Sasuke get better eventually too, at least a little bit. Surely, if father had taken his anger out on Sasuke, then Sasuke would never have gotten any better. Sure, he turned into an empty guy and became a nightwalker, but at least the episodes stopped. At least he didn't have to keep reliving those awful memories."

"Hm," Naruto hummed softly. "You think that's what happened?" he asked.

"I'm sure of it," Kiba replied. "You remind him of Ren. It was bound to happen sometime. I could tell from that very first day that you met. You stirred something up inside of him, and it was fate since then."

Naruto sighed sadly. "I don't wanna cause him any pain," he said quietly, down-casting his eyes.

"I know you don't," Kiba said sympathetically. "For you two to get closer, you had to open up these wounds though. Sasuke hadn't wanted to talk about any of it before, but now you're forcing him to face demons that he's been shutting away. It'll be good for him in the end. When he's stable again, you'll be able to show him just how much you care, Naruto." Naruto peered up at Kiba, who was smiling encouragingly. "Trust me. All you need to do is just survive until Sasuke's better again. That way, you can really show him that you love him."

"I-I never said—" Naruto began to exclaim in embarrassment.

"Oh whatever," Kiba interjected, rolling his eyes and grinning knowingly. "You will."

Naruto blushed heavily, but he didn't argue. He knew it in his core. He would love Sasuke. There was no doubt about that.

"Well, what can I do til then?" Naruto asked.

"Give him the space he asked you for," Kiba replied, "just like everyone else is saying."

"I really don't wanna," Naruto complained, sighing.

"I really didn't wanna give Gaara space either," Kiba said. "You know, Naruto, you have to understand how hard it is for a vampire to be involved with a human though. At any time, you could accidentally be killed. Of course you don't see it that way. I know what you're thinking. Because of the way he looks at you, the way he talks to you, from how he smiles that special smile made just for you, with all the things he does that make you blush, how he makes you feel like no one else ever has," Naruto blushed lightly as he realized that Kiba was spot on. "—you have to wonder how he could ever hurt you. No, not this wonderful man who you've grown to love so much.

"Compared to them, we're so fragile and weak though. They could break bones just by touching us too roughly. Every second of every day, they're suppressing their urges. It's a constant battle against their instinct to kill. That's what they have to deal with. You don't wanna see a monster, not when such a beautiful human being is standing in front of you. The monster is there though. It's just hiding, trying to break their resolve. It's a dangerous game, and we can't understand it because we're only human. Trust me. Sasuke can hurt you. In his current state, he might, and that scares him too, Naruto."

"I know," Naruto said quietly. "I know where he's coming from, but doesn't he know where I'm coming from? Doesn't he understand how hard it is for me to just watch him disappear all the time? It's not fair to make me feel so attached and then just constantly be running away. Can't he just face his demons and face me?"

"I agree!" Kiba said passionately, sitting up at attention again.

"You do?" Naruto asked warily.

"Of course!" Kiba confirmed, nodding his head eagerly. "I agree wholeheartedly! Isn't it time for Sasuke to finally face his demons already? Isn't it time for his suffering to end, for things to change? Yeah, it is! It's been that way for years!" Kiba toned himself down and smiled fondly at Naruto. "I guess we just had to wait for you to come into our lives before he could do that. The thing is that you don't quite understand his demons yet. That's the issue. You don't quite get what it is that's plaguing him or why it's so hard for him to face you. There's a lot buried underneath that you haven't seen."

"So why won't he show me?" Naruto asked.

"He's afraid, Naruto," Kiba replied. "His demons are scary."

"Even if I am just a human, I could help," Naruto argued. "If he could just trust me, then I could make it easier on him."

"That's what we've all thought for years," Kiba said, sitting back in his seat again and crossing his arms over his chest. "If he could just trust us again, we could make it easier. He never would though. He won't. I do think that maybe you could help. In fact, I think you're actually the only person who can. If he could just trust you and open up, then you could definitely make it easier for him. You could stop his suffering, but he's not ready to heal yet. That's all it is."

"So you think I'm the one who can help him?" Naruto asked.

Kiba smiled. "I do," he agreed. "You don't know what's happened between us so many years ago yet though, so you can't understand how to handle Sasuke like this. You're not equipped to help yet."

"So why can't someone just tell me what happened?" Naruto asked. "That way I can help him!"

Kiba looked at Naruto warily. "We've been here before, Naruto," he said in a very nearly scolding manner.

"Right," Naruto said, rolling his eyes and sighing. He plopped back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Ask an Uchiha."

"All you can do is leave him be until he's ready to approach you," Kiba said. "Don't be alone with him though, even if he does approach you. He's still dangerous to you. If he's having flashbacks again, he's really unstable. It's best for you to just be strong and wait." Naruto nodded his understanding. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink," Kiba added.

"He'll come back though, won't he?" Naruto asked softly, looking truly worried. "He'll come back to my side."

Kiba smiled. "Of course he will," he assured confidently. "You're what he needs. He knows that. He just has to gather up his courage. I know it's not easy to watch him suffer, but you can't really do anything else right now." A silence fell between them, in which Naruto stared dejectedly at the table between them and Kiba quietly watched on with empathy. "If you need me, you know I'm here," Kiba said eventually.

Naruto looked up and smiled appreciatively, even though the light never quite reached his eyes. Sasuke was probably the only one who would've been able to tell anyway though. After all, he was the only one who really understood Naruto at all. Wasn't that ironic?

"Yeah, thanks," Naruto said. He checked the time on his phone and sighed heavily. "I'll be late for class if I don't get moving."

Kiba grinned widely. "Naruto is worried about class? How strange!" he teased.

Naruto had to smile again, this time more sincerely. He loved having the old Kiba back. Now all he needed was his old self back too.

"Call me after classes," Kiba said as Naruto gathered up his things.

"Ehhh, I kinda have plans," Naruto replied as he swung his backpack over his shoulder and started retreating from the table backwards.

"Like what?" Kiba asked, perking up in his seat and eyeing Naruto curiously.

Naruto grinned. "It's a secret," he said, winking mischievously at Kiba.

"Naruuu," Kiba whined, wanting to get into some mischief himself. After all, he knew that it was the best way to cheer Naruto up. Naruto simply chuckled and turned forward to jog away.

"Try to stay awake during class!" Kiba called after his friend. "Text me if you get bored!" Naruto waved a dismissive hand and grinned back at Kiba just before he turned a corner. "And don't skip!" he heard Kiba calling out as an afterthought.

Once around the corner, Naruto slowed back down to a walk. He wasn't actually going to class at all. How perceptive of Kiba. Like he'd told Kiba though, he had plans. As Naruto headed off campus, his thoughts fell, as always, back to Sasuke. It'd already been two days since their argument, and Naruto hadn't seen Sasuke even once. Sasuke had even stopped going to class completely. Of course, he wouldn't take any of Naruto's calls either. Talking with Kiba had actually been a huge help to Naruto. He could understand where Sasuke was coming from much better now. He still had one last person he wanted to consult with though. This person's opinion was probably the most important too.

One good thing about his blood bond with Sasuke was that it cut Naruto off from everyone else, so they couldn't sense his intentions anymore. If they'd been able to sense them so easily, then they would've definitely headed him off before he even got halfway there when he boldly decided to show up at Sasuke's apartment building the day before. Of course, it was pretty scary to think that none of them would know if he was in danger unless he called for them individually, but Sasuke would know. That was all that mattered because Naruto was confident that Sasuke would always be there for him anyway, even if he was on this whole "leave me alone" stint. The downside to their blood bond, though, was that Sasuke could sense Naruto so intensely all the time. More than likely, he had sensed Naruto's intention before the blond had even departed. He could probably sense Naruto approaching from a mile away too, so it was no shock that he refused to answer when Naruto showed up.

That had really been the last straw for Naruto. After that, he realized that Sasuke was serious about needing space. That was why he went to Kiba for his opinion. By that point, he was desperate for some support. He wanted someone to tell him to keep trying and to not give up. Of course, Kiba didn't say any of that. What he did say was still helpful though. Naruto didn't expect this last person that he was going to see to say all the supporting things that he was longing to hear either, but it was still important to talk to this person anyway. It was his last chance to formulate a real plan for getting close to Sasuke again. It just wasn't going to work for him if he had to simply sit back and wait for the bastard to decide that they could be friends again. Sasuke didn't have to suffer in silence. If he'd let Naruto, Naruto could help him. Naruto just needed to know how, and if Sasuke wouldn't tell him how, then he'd find someone else who would.

Naruto glanced around at his surroundings. Where was he now? Did he get so lost in thought that he'd just wandered off course? He saw a vaguely familiar building off to his right that told him roughly what area he was in. It wasn't the path that he was used to taking, but he could still find his way to his destination from here. So he'd just wandered off a little bit. It was no big deal. It'd just give him more time to walk and, in return, more time to think.

This was one of the parts of town that he'd never walked around though. Now that he thought about it, he'd wanted to explore down here when he'd first move in, but Kiba had designated it as one of those places that he should avoid. Naruto chuckled lightly to himself. That was way back when he didn't know about vampires. He was so innocent then. Hm. Wait... Oh, shit. He wasn't supposed to be here, was he? He glanced around at his surroundings again, a bit more nervously this time. It didn't look so dangerous, but that didn't mean anything. He began walking faster, eager to hurry up and get back on an approved path.

He heard some rustling down an alleyway. He didn't stop to be curious or anything though. Instead, he began walking even faster. He couldn't help it if his heart started pounding pretty hard too. Shit. He really wasn't supposed to be here. It probably wasn't ideal to be freaking out with a racing heart while walking through an area that was more than likely infested with vampires, but he just couldn't calm down. He was tempted to break out into a run. He felt so uneasy, like there were stares coming at him from all angles.

Suddenly, he heard a low hiss come from somewhere behind him. Naturally, he broke out into a run immediately. Before he could even get in a few fumbling steps though, someone showed up right in his line of vision. His heart leapt out of his chest and he intended to swerve out of the way, but the person had grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him back. Now he stood nose to nose with a strange man.

"I like it when they run," the man said in a deep voice, leering creepily at Naruto, who was struggling weakly to put some distance between their faces. The man chuckled deeply. "Your heart is bursting at the seams. How tempting."

"D-Don't hurt me," Naruto managed to stammer out. "You'll regret it."

The man barked with laughter. "Are you afraid I'm gonna rob you?" he asked.

Surprisingly, he released Naruto. Naruto scampered back a few steps and glanced around him, only to see that his previous suspicion wasn't all that off. There were, indeed, eyes watching him from all angles. He definitely wasn't getting away, as if he honestly thought that he could outrun even one vamp to begin with.

"Afraid I'll stab you with a knife?" the man asked, commanding Naruto's attention again. He began circling Naruto slowly.

"Or maybe I'll shoot you with my gun," he added, cackling wildly. Naruto swallowed hard.

"Mmmm," the man hummed promptly. "You are tempting, aren't you?" Naruto cursed himself internally, he was always swallowing like that in these situations.

"T-Trust me," he began feebly. "If you hurt me, people will know. You'll pay for it."

The man chuckled heartily, coming to a stop in front of Naruto once he'd circled him entirely. "You don't even realize what kind of a place you've stumbled into," the man said. "Trust me," he insisted. "No one is gonna find you down here, boy. Not even the police bother with us. Do you know why?" he asked. He laughed at his own joke. "Of course not," he said. "You humans know nothing."

"I do," Naruto blurted out, hoping to at least buy himself some more time to think of what the fuck he could possibly do to survive.

The man raised a curious brow. "You do?" he asked. "You know where you are?"

"W-Well, not exactly," Naruto admitted, "but I know what you are, and I have friends just like you."

The man snorted derisively. "Pets," he snarled. "That's what you have. People like me don't associate with humans." His eyes narrowed. "We kill them," he added, licking his lips.

"Well, my friends have power!" Naruto retorted. "If I'm missing, they'll know what to do. They'll smell me on you, and they'll kill you."

"Your friends aren't gonna come for you," the man nearly sang, very amused by the whole scenario. "I'll bet they never even told you about this place."

Naruto looked around again. "What place?" he asked.

"See?" the man said, pleased. "Humans know nothing." He poised himself to attack. "You're good for nothing but a meal."

"Now, we mustn't be rude."

Naruto startled when he heard that voice from behind him, and his heart dropped even further. Slowly, he glanced over his shoulder to see a man slightly covered in shadows simply staring at him. Shit. Now he was really screwed.

"Naruto is actually my friend, so let's treat him kindly."

Now that he could see the man's face more clearly, Naruto was tempted to puke.

"Never thought I'd see you protecting a human, Sai," the man attempting to make Naruto his dinner chimed.

Sai smirked. "I'm a vampire. I protect my meals."

The man glared at Sai, as if to challenge him. "Your meal, huh?" he asked.

In less than a second, Sai was beside the man. Naruto's eyes widened as the man fell over limply.

"Yes, my meal," Sai said casually, dropping the piece of the man's throat that he'd ripped out. He glanced around him. "Does anyone else wish to challenge me on that?" he asked. Naruto watched incredulously as all the other vampires disappeared down dark alleys and into buildings. Sai smiled happily. "Good," he said as he began licking the blood from his hand. Now Naruto was really tempted to puke, especially when Sai's eyes landed on him again.

"What do you want from me?" Naruto managed to ask.

"Hm... I haven't decided yet," Sai said with a wicked smile. "You should really be more careful," he said. "Why would you wander around near a vampire market? This is vampire territory, Naruto. Sasuke would be displeased." Sai quirked an eye brow. "Speaking of the devil."

Out of nowhere, a man appeared, placing himself defensively in front of Naruto. Even from the back, Naruto would recognize that man anywhere. Naruto couldn't help it if his heart began to soar. Sai glanced at Naruto and then back at Sasuke.

"Took you a while," he said pleasantly. Sasuke growled. "We were only talking," he insisted innocently.

"I know exactly what you're doing," Sasuke snarled. "Stay away from him, and stay away from me."

Sai faked a hurt expression. "But surely you don't mean that," he said. At normal speed, he walked up to Sasuke. Sasuke didn't move away, but he didn't get any less defensive either. Sai stroked Sasuke's cheek lovingly. "You'd miss me, I think," he said, trailing his thumb across Sasuke's lips.

Naruto's eyes grew steadily wider. Was... Was it possible that... that Sai was the man that Sasuke had gone to see that night? He wasn't reacting to Sai at all. He was, apparently, fine with the man just strolling up and touching his face like that... and the way that Sai was looking at Sasuke! Ugh! It was sickening! Naruto didn't want to believe it, but it sure seemed like an awfully possible possibility.

Suddenly, Sai froze up, looking as if he was listening to something that Naruto couldn't hear. "I guess we'll have to continue this later," he said to Naruto, sighing in disappointment. Sasuke growled, but Sai simply winked at him before quickly disappearing.

Naruto, thinking that now was his chance to actually talk to Sasuke, took an earnest step forward. He stopped when Sasuke turned intolerant eyes to glare at him though.

"Protect yourself, dobe," Sasuke said irritably. "Don't wander around so aimlessly."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke disappeared. Moments later, Gaara was at Naruto's side, gripping his shoulder tightly and scrutinizing the surrounding area.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Naruto sharply.

Naruto was busy staring blankly at the spot where Sasuke had disappeared though. That fucking bastard was always disappearing.

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

Naruto glanced irritably over his shoulder and scowled at the blonde walking just a beat behind him. Seriously, accidentally wander into the vampire market once and you can't get a fucking second to yourself anymore. He should have felt reassured that his friends were taking it in shifts to protect him, but he didn't. He just felt annoyed. It'd only happened a day ago and already he literally hadn't been alone for a single second. It wasn't like they were imposing, but they were still always there. It was just fucking obnoxious. He'd never had a chance to get to his destination the day before, and he couldn't very well do it while being followed left and right. The conversation he intended to have was private. He scowled at the air in front of him. Now what was he gonna do? Temari was scatter-brained, but she wasn't stupid enough to be ditched.

"We can go, you know," Temari suddenly said.

Naruto looked around at her confusedly. "What?" he asked.

"Akatsake," she supplied. "If you wanna go visit Ita, we can. That's not banned or anything. You just can't go alone."

"Oh," Naruto said simply.

"All you had to do was ask," Temari said, smiling at Naruto. He smiled back tentatively. Temari furrowed her brows as she read his aura. "You're displeased," she pointed out. "Gaara told me that you were on your way to Akatsake yesterday and that you might wanna try to go again today, but you haven't mentioned it. Is it that you don't wanna be accompanied? Is that why you're not pleased?"

Naruto averted his eyes and shrugged. "I'll tune you out," Temari assured, earning the attention of Naruto's eyes once again. She smiled kindly at him. "It's not like us vampires hear everything all the time," she explained. "We're just really good eavesdroppers. If you want privacy, I'll give you privacy." Slowly, Naruto smiled more genuinely at her. "Alright then! Let's go!" Temari exclaimed excitedly. "I could use a drink anyway!"

Naruto grinned at her enthusiasm and began leading her off to his car to drive across town at top speed. Before getting in the car, Temari added over the top of the roof, "Just don't tell Kiba I'm letting you skip class."

Once they were finally parked and approaching the entrance to the building, Temari stopped Naruto in his tracks. "Are you sure you wanna go in?" she asked, suddenly very serious.

Naruto nodded. "Of course."

Temari simply gazed at him for a moment. "Don't leave my side," she said sternly, grabbing Naruto by the arm firmly, "and I mean that."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding, though he was wondering what her issue could possibly be. Akatsake wasn't that dangerous. It was Ita's bar. No one would dare do anything stupid there. Not to mention, Deidara would definitely be inside too, so Naruto would have three of them to keep an eye on him at once. He'd be perfectly fine. So what was Temari so concerned about? He scanned the area on the way through the halls to Akatsake for any evidence of something out of place, something that would make Temari worry and grip his arm like it was her lifeline. Really, he could barely walk without stumbling because she was holding him so close to her side.

The moment that Naruto opened the door into Akatsake, he was awarded with a familiar sight, a missed sight. Sasuke's head snapped to attention in an instant. He glared at the two in the doorway, asking himself why Naruto couldn't understand the concept of space. Naruto couldn't hear from that distance, but he could see that Sasuke was growling. That did nothing to sway his resolve though. Without a second thought, Naruto tried rushing forward. He forgot, however, that Temari had an iron grip on him, and so he didn't actually move an inch. He glanced up at Temari, but her unwavering gaze was fixed intensely on Sasuke, whose hard gaze was fixed on Naruto. Slowly, Temari began leading an overeager Naruto closer to his goal, never letting her eyes linger from Sasuke in even the slightest bit.

Once Naruto was within hearing distance, Sasuke asked snappishly, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto, genuinely hurt by Sasuke's attitude, furrowed his brows. All the excitement fizzled away. This was not the Sasuke that he'd been missing at all. "I didn't know you were gonna be here," he grumbled defensively.

"In my brother's bar?" Sasuke retorted bitterly.

"As if you have such a good relationship that I shoulda just known you'd come to his bar. Don't act like it's common knowledge," Naruto retorted. At the end of his short fuse, he added hotly in one, never-ending breath, "If you two have a secret relationship that you cherish enough to come out of your fucking hole for long enough to hold a real conversation, which you apparently can't fucking stand to do for me, then how would I fucking know?! Because you keep everything a goddamn secret from me!"

Sasuke looked stunned for a split second before narrowing his eyes. "Whatever, dobe," he snapped back harshly.

Naruto huffed out an angry breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "Don't call me that," he ground out.

"Whatever, dobe," Sasuke repeated slowly, concisely, crisply—a quip purposely meant to jar Naruto. There was even a slight sneer to the words, as if Naruto had suddenly become Sasuke's worst enemy.

Naruto met Sasuke's glare with a dark glare of his own. The next few moments were quiet, tense ones in which everyone else in the vicinity simply stared on uncomfortably. However, they were also thoroughly intrigued by the fact that a human was challenging Sasuke and that Sasuke was allowing it to happen so easily. In a manner that managed to be both submissive, which was completely unbecoming of his nature, and insubordinate at once, Sasuke finally tsked and tossed his head back to break the staring contest. Naruto zoned his vision in on Sasuke's lips as the man silently threatened everyone within glaring distance. All of the spectators standing nearby looked away quickly and milled about again, not wanting to get caught in Sasuke's sights when he was in such a nasty mood. One quick sweep around the room with his dark eyes had everyone scurrying away to leave them in some semblance of privacy.

Naruto ignored the unintelligible insult that Sasuke muttered once his gaze finally fell back on him again. Instead, he noted the state of Sasuke's lips. They were cracked and dry. That wouldn't have been so odd if it wasn't Sasuke that Naruto was looking at. Sasuke was the perfect depiction of beauty, and he was always well-dressed and groomed. For him to have dry skin or lips or anything unkempt at all was unheard of. Perhaps not many other people paid enough attention to even notice that about the man, but Naruto hadn't really been able to help it. He knew what was normal of Sasuke, and the state of those lips was not normal.

He felt like he knew every contour of Sasuke's lips especially, as he'd gone over their kiss about a billion times since it happened. He just couldn't forget those lips, not even if he tried. When he'd kissed them, they were just as soft as he'd always thought they would be. So why were they so dry and cracked now? It was a tiny little thing, but it was enough to be unnerving to Naruto. For even one little thing to be off about Sasuke seemed severe, and so he found himself forgetting his anger and falling into a pit of worry. The feeling intensified quickly, so quickly that he didn't even have time to voice that worry before Sasuke was responding to it.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said quietly.

He couldn't help it if his expression softened and all the venom from before dissipated entirely. Those innocent, blue eyes that always looked at Sasuke with such concern and sincerity had such an effect on him. After all, it wasn't really Naruto that Sasuke was angry with anyway. Naruto lifted his eyes to meet Sasuke's again. He leaned forward just a bit—an involuntary shift in weight, a basic need to be closer to Sasuke, even if it was only a centimeter or two. He swept his gaze over Sasuke's face, studying the man's features closely. He had light bags under his eyes. His cheeks seemed just a tad bit sunken in. They were changes that made it seem like Sasuke had maybe just lost a couple of pounds. He didn't look much paler, as he was already as pale as one could get. There was a strange tint to his skin though. Sasuke had always seemed to glow in Naruto's opinion. His skin had always seemed ethereal. It didn't look as such just then though. It looked...

"Sick," Naruto said simply. Yeah, that was it. Sick. "You look sick," Naruto clarified, his brows furrowed in both concentration and worry.

It'd only been a day since he'd last seen Sasuke, and he could tell that there was a definite difference. If he really thought about it though, Sasuke had been on that track for a while now. He was getting less and less angelic every day. He hadn't looked bad, but he did stop looking so otherworldly and start looking like your average good-looking person. He was losing that quality that set a vampire's beauty apart from any other simple human being. His perfection had simply been dulling. Sasuke's fall from grace had taken the next step though. Sure, they were just cracked lips, but it was the first mar on Sasuke's skin that Naruto had ever seen.

Naruto's worry tripled, if not quadrupled. Perhaps it was just stress finally getting to Sasuke. No matter what it was, Naruto had the urge to be closer. Thoughtlessly, he reached a hand out toward Sasuke's face, wanting to simply establish contact. Yeah, contact. He just wanted to touch Sasuke. He wanted to feel his skin, to feel their connection.

Perhaps they were all just dazed or confused, because no one stopped him right away. His fingers managed to find purchase on the skin of Sasuke's cheek. As soon as contact was made, however, everyone sprung into sudden action. Itachi vaulted over the bar and pulled Sasuke's back flush against his front in a bear hug, pinning him to the spot. Temari pulled Naruto back a couple of feet and shoved him halfway behind her. Deidara appeared out of nowhere and took up a defensive stance in the middle of it all. Naruto was shocked, to say the least, into silence. Sasuke's expression was blank. He was, however, panting. Itachi whispered something hurriedly in his ear, and Sasuke's eyes grew apologetic. He looked at Naruto that way for a moment before he schooled his expression again.

"I'm fine, dobe," he assured.

Naruto looked down at his hand. His fingers were trembling. For some reason, there was suddenly a huge pit in his chest. It felt endless. It felt heavy. It hurt. Why was his hand trembling so much? He didn't glance up, but he knew that Sasuke was watching. He just felt it, like it was fact. Sasuke would be staring at Naruto's hand too, wondering why it was trembling as well. Wait. No... No... That wasn't it. Sasuke's hand. Yeah, Sasuke's hand. It was trembling too. That was it. Sasuke's hand was trembling as well. Slowly, Naruto lifted his gaze from his own hand to Sasuke's, which was, indeed, trembling just as furiously. Naruto wanted to reach out again and still that trembling. He wanted to touch that man, that hand, that skin. That skin. Sasuke's skin. Again, Naruto stared at his own hand with something akin to bewilderment. Sasuke's skin. It was so...

"Cold," Naruto whispered, still staring at his own trembling hand. Temari and Deidara looked over their shoulders at Naruto curiously. Even Itachi ripped his attention from Sasuke to ogle at Naruto. "Why are you so... cold?" Naruto asked, never looking away from his own hand.

Sasuke's brows knit as a stern expression claimed his features. "Don't worry about me," he replied.

Naruto shook his head slowly. Gradually, his breathing became more labored. Intense emotions that he didn't understand were coursing through him. They were undefinable. They were no single thing, but they were overwhelming and they hurt. They truly hurt him. He clasped his hand over his chest and grimaced hard. They hurt so badly. What was he feeling? Why was he feeling this? He felt like a spectator to that pain though, like he was standing pool side. It was easy to get drenched in the splashing water, but he hadn't yet jumped into the pool. This was just a fraction of the intense, throbbing pain. His knees began to wobble and Temari quickly turned around to stabilize him.

He was too engulfed in his own self to see Itachi whispering in Sasuke's ear yet again. His wits were not about him, but he managed to know that Sasuke was leaving the very second that Sasuke decided it. In response, he snapped his head up and reached for Sasuke before the man could get away. His eyes were wide and pleading. He didn't understand what was happening to him, and he was pretty frightened by it all. He didn't want to see Sasuke to go.

"Don't," he said pleadingly. "Not now. Don't leave me."

Sasuke looked purely tortured by the words, the tone of voice. Naruto's hand never made it back to Sasuke's skin though. It lost the strength to reach out any further about halfway. Sasuke held Naruto's gaze intensely for a moment or two. Naruto closed his eyes momentarily to grimace again. Once he reopened them, Sasuke was gone.

For a few long moments, Naruto simply stood there in Sasuke's wake. Slowly, his head began to clear. When he regained control of those troubling emotions, he came to a logical conclusion that Sasuke must have been some sort of trigger for him. He must have just made Naruto revisit fears that he'd already been battling for years—the fear of abandonment. Naruto must have just been overwhelmed. That was it. Sasuke was there within reach, but... Wait. That was right. Sasuke was within reach, but they stopped him from getting close. Suddenly very frustrated, Naruto ripped his arm from Temari's grip. Frustration escalated into seething within a fraction of a second.

"I can't get one fucking touch in?!" he boomed angrily at the three vampires before him, all of which were shocked into silence. They stayed silent for a short while, letting Naruto regain control of his emotions again.

"Naruto—" Deidara eventually tried.

"I know!" Naruto interrupted hotly. "He might kill me! I get it!" He turned away and showed his back to the three of them, rubbing his face in frustration. "Just one fucking touch is all I wanted," he added quietly, sounding less angry and more defeated now. Deidara gently touched his shoulder in sympathy. He sighed, letting his frustration be replaced with despondency.

Just outside, still standing in the alleyway and trying to catch his labored breath, Sasuke sorted through Naruto's emotions as they coursed through him intensely. He didn't want to hurt his dobe. For now, things had to stay this way. Naruto was right. It'd only been a few days and Sasuke was already going from simply feeling sick to looking sick. That was own fault though. He knew very well what he was doing to himself. But it was better this way, in the end.

Having Naruto's fingers on his skin had already tried his will enough. Listening to Naruto scream so angrily and feeling him feel such pain in his heart had almost been too much for Sasuke though. That degree of emotional output was too intense for a vampire in Sasuke's position. Not just the prospect of blood riled him up. It was a variety of things. Anything high in intensity gave him bloodlust. His teeth and eyes would react to any highly-charged situation, and Naruto had just tested Sasuke's strength severely. It was only a problem because Sasuke had no strength left to be tested. He was weak.

It was a blessing that Itachi was there. He was able to somehow get enough sense into Sasuke's brain to push Sasuke to leave the bar of his own volition, as opposed to being removed by force. However, he'd only been able to get as far as the alleyway. Because of their blood bond, he could feel Naruto's aura from over a mile away. Putting a few doors between them did nothing in the way of dulling the intensity of the situation for Sasuke. Not even going all the way home would do that. No matter where he was, he would always feel Naruto's emotions. Their connection was far too intense for distance to overshadow. Even if he couldn't escape Naruto's emotional output though, his bloodlust was still quite manageable when Naruto wasn't physically around. It was Naruto's eyes that did Sasuke in.

He could manage the emotional output on his own. It was like dealing with any other human being. He could just shut himself off. Therefore, the temptation was easy to suppress. He could not manage the way that Naruto looked at him though. The kind of looks that always seeped into those eyes were his undoing. They made it impossible for him to block off his humanity. In a way, the temptation that Naruto forced on to Sasuke reminded Sasuke that he was human after all. He was unable to numb himself to emotions when Naruto was around, when he was staring into those unhindered eyes. Somehow, in a twisted way, what made Sasuke human at all was Naruto inadvertently turning him into a beast.

With those eyes out of sight, it only took Sasuke a few moments before he could compose himself enough to move away from Naruto as opposed to toward him. When he moved away though, it was with remorse. He would have liked to see Naruto smile for him.

To be continued...