Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto; this fanfic, however, belongs to yours truly.

Day 3: Old Habits Die Hard

The television at the bar was on the news channel, the reporter covering the recent serial murders on women who were murdered with their body chopped into pieces. 'Ugh, disgusting piece of shit.' Sakura frowned as the shaggy guy at the bar imagined all the wicked ways he would have with the leggy blonde who danced with her friends. 'I've gotta keep my eyes on him in case he spikes her drink.' She planned as she wiped down the alcoholic stains of the bar.

Haruno Sakura never knew why or how, but ever since she could remember, she had the ability to delve into the mind of others. Blocking out unwanted thoughts, she was able to focus her abilities on just a single mind. Their joys, fears, ambition and memories were all exposed to her. And after twenty three years of being alive, she had more than enough practice to gather information from someone's mind in mere minutes. Due to her naturally inquisitive nature, she had developed a nasty habit of reading minds for fun. This ability served her well as it allowed her to pick out people who were genuine from the fakes. Sure, it hurt when she heard all the horrible thoughts that were aimed at her. But at the end of the day, it kept her far away from bad people. Sometime during her teenage years, she took this ability to a level above. Depending on how much time she spent in their head, she could pick out their brainwaves from a crowd for a limited period of time. This helped her whenever she needed to avoid anyone.

It was nearly the end of her shift at the bar now (She had to pay her way through medical school, you know), and the thoughts of everyone around her a distant buzz in her head. Abruptly, there were two spikes amongst the sea of thoughts, and instinctively, Sakura tuned out the rest to concentrate on one of them nearest to her. As she entered the mind, she heard whisperings of 'target in sight', 'eliminate target' and 'leave no witness'. Images of live steel, blood splatter and a company logo entered her head. 'A-Am I inside the head of an assassin?' Sakura thought nervously. Just as she was about to probe deeper, an image of her at the bar suddenly appeared followed with the thought of 'Mind reading?' She immediately exited the mind as fast as she could, right into the second mind…

The voice inside this head was far worse than the first, the bloodlust and hunger screaming at her. A barrage of images entered her head; women from afar, those same women running away screaming in terror, lifeless eyes staring back at her; 'Prey' it whispered hungrily into her head. Her breath stuck in her throat, she backed away as far as possible from the thoughts; however, not fast enough before another thought entered her head. An image of her with her eyes wide, clutching a rag tightly to her chest, with a voice whispering, 'New prey'. Her hands flew to her mouth to stop the scream that threatened to burst past her lips. The television screen flickered and her eyes flew to it, where the reporter was broadcasting images of the victims; the same women that she had seen inside the second mind. Shit, should she stay in the safety of the bar? 'I mean, I wouldn't be attacked in a crowd, right? Could I ask one of my colleagues to send me home?' She thought frantically, her eyes searched the crowd inconspicuously, trying to determine whose minds she had read.

Her adrenaline pumped when she felt the second mind slowly heading towards her. 'Fuck this; I have to get out of here and as far away as possible.' She thought as she waved to her manager, who mercifully nodded for another bartender to cover her last few minutes. She grabbed her bag and jacket from the cabinets below the bar and headed towards the entrance; at this point, she felt both presences approaching her. Power walking to the door, she grabbed the arm of the bouncer who smiled at her in acknowledgement. He bent forward slightly as she whispered into his ears,

"I think there are two people following me. Could you do something about it?" She pleaded as she put on her jacket. He frowned lightly and nodded his head in agreement before he ushered her out of the club. Walking as fast as possible without running she headed for her apartment a few blocks away. She silently cursed that she knew nothing about how they looked like. Their thoughts were from their point of view, and neither of them had looked into a mirror.

She avoided the alleyways even though they were shortcuts because that was what smart people do and she considered herself somewhat smart to stick to the main roads where there were lights. She noticed their presences tailing her (How did they get past the bouncer so fast?!) and picked up her pace. However, she did notice something strange, it seemed like one of them was shadowing the other as if it was hunting. She hoped that they both took each other out before any of them reached her. Too busy facing forwards, Sakura never noticed the shadows following her, almost brushing against her own shadow. Suddenly, both presences disappeared entirely. 'Are they even human in the first place?' The thought crossed her mind as she halted, spreading her senses… nothing. And that felt uncomfortable, shit, it was like having a cockroach in your room and it suddenly disappearing. You'd be filled with fear and anxiety. She jumped the sound of rustling near her, 'OH MY GOD, I need to get out of here, NOW.'

She was near to her apartment now and the streets were quieter. She started jogging towards her apartment and prayed fervently that wherever those things were, they weren't following her. Something flickered in the reflection of the car beside her and she turned her gaze behind her. The streetlamps that were lighting the sides of the roads were shutting off one by one like a fucking horror movie. She booked it, running as fast as she could (Thank god she was wearing shoes and not heels). She kept her head facing forward as she ran because she knew that it would only slow her down if she turned to look. Besides, judging from how much faster and nearer the sound of lights being shut off, whatever that was chasing her was gaining on her, fast. She ran from one circle of light to another, her hand already grasping the keys in her jacket. 'Just a few more metres, don't you dare trip.' Sakura encouraged herself as her apartment came into view.

As she stepped out from the light of the streetlamp, the shadows swallowed her and the sensation of falling filled her. She would have screamed if she wasn't being suffocated. Her hands flailed about in the pitch blackness of the shadows, trying to grab on to something, anything. She couldn't see anything in the darkness, but she was sure that if she could, she would see the black spots entering her vision. Having given up on finding something to hold on to, her hands clawed at her throat, focused on getting rid of whatever that was causing her to suffocate. Tears welled up in her eyes, her lungs burned for oxygen. Even though her mind was racing, she could feel her body losing strength. 'No…'

An as suddenly as she was trapped, the feeling of suffocation disappeared. The shadows around her disappeared, leaving her kneeling on the pavement. Her lungs burned as she inhaled desperately for air and her tears spilled over from the pain. Still gasping for air, she looked up just in time to see a guy slash another guy (Or was it a monster? It looked like a monster) in half from head to abdomen. She couldn't stand; her arms and leg were trembling like crazy; from the fear; the panic; the lack of oxygen? She didn't know… But what she knew was that the guy with the sword had started walking towards her…and oh my god, she's dead. She shouldn't have peeked into their minds; really, a bad habit. What happened to respecting people's privacy?

Surprisingly, instead of sticking his sword through her, he sheathed it instead and squatted in front of her. He reached his hand out towards her and she flinched back but couldn't back away far enough. Holding her chin between his thumb and index finger, he tilted her head this way and that, silently judging her. Being so close to her, Sakura was able to make out his aristocratic features. 'Shit, for a murderer, he's really good looking, even by supermodels' standards.' Her eyes roamed his face as she unabashedly checked him out. Seemingly satisfied, he let go of her chin,

"Was it you?" He abruptly broke the silence. Sakura could only stare at him in confusion. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,

"Was it you that entered my mind at the bar just now?" He elaborated as if talking to a child. Sakura looked everywhere but his attractive face,

"Uhh… I have no idea what are you talking about?" She avoided his question, her eyes locking onto the slowly evaporating body behind him. The attractive murderer noticed,

"Don't worry; I won't kill you…" He offered as he shielded the corpse from her,

"…If you'd stop lying." He added as an afterthought, locking gaze with her. Sakura somehow managed to get her hands and feet moving as she scrambled backwards,

"S-So what if I were? What's it gotta do with any of this?" She gestured all around. He stared at her for a while, secretly enjoying how she was squirming under his gaze,

"No… that piece of shit over there probably didn't know that you were a telepath. But it did pick up on your bizarre brainwaves. It is a psionic vampire after all." He explained. Sakura could only stare at him dumbfounded. She opened her mouth to reply, close it, only to open it again,

"I DO NOT HAVE BIZARRE BRAINWAVES!" She argued, not having a clue as to how to reply to the rest of the sentences. He exhaled loudly as if trying to calm himself down,

"Psionic vampires are vampires that feed off human energy, your chi if you will; whatever energy that is keeping you alive. You'd probably know it as a psychic vampire." He pointed out. She stared at him blankly, 'No, I don't know what a psychic vampire is and I'm pretty sure that it is my heart and other heat and chemical energies that's keeping me alive, thank you very much.' She thought sarcastically. He paid her no heed and continued on with his explanation,

"Anyways, your powers might be of use to the agency I'm working for. We could use a telepath like you. Weeding out bastards like these-" He gestured to the almost gone corpse behind him,

"-won't be so fucking hard anymore." He finished. Sakura blinked as she tried to make sense of his words.

"Wait, wait. Agency you're working for? You want me to follow you?" She questioned. He nodded. Sakura gritted her teeth,

"ARE YOU INSANE?! WHO IN THE RIGHT MIND WOULD FOLLOW A MURDERER TO GOD KNOWS WHERE?!" She all but yell out; her entire body shook with rage. He flinched at the volume of her voice,

"Look lady, it's either you come with me and the agency will offer you protection as well as teach you how to defend yourself against these bastards or I leave you here to fend for yourself when the next one attacks you; your choice. A friendly word of advice though, these bastards communicate fast. Once you've got the attention of one, you've got the attention of all of them." He explained.

"Why should I trust you? What if this was a trap and you just want to kill me? What about university? I've only got a year left! What about my life" Sakura argued. He rolled his eyes,

"Look, if I want you dead, you wouldn't be breathing right now. As I said, the agency needs someone with your talent. I'm sure the director could figure out something for your studies, quit being a worrywart. What about your life? Hn, trust me, it will never return to normal again." He supplied. Sakura looked at him warily, not believing him. He sighs,

"Fine. You know what? Get inside my head. See if I'm lying to you." He offered, tapping his head with an index finger. Sakura nodded and entered his mind once again. This time, she carefully picked out the memories she needed and went through them meticulously, searching for lies that he could have told. Satisfied, she exited with a gasp. He eyed her,

"Do you believe me now?" He asked as he crossed his arms. Sakura nodded her head hesitantly,

"What's up with the agency though? I mean, I looked through your head, but information regarding the agency was vague. Could you tell me, Uchiha Sasuke?" She asked. He raised an elegant brow at the mention of his name. Sakura tapped the side of her head. Sasuke sighed,

"I'll tell you about it when you've been fully implemented into the agency. Now lady-"

"It's Sakura, Haruno Sakura." She interrupted him.

"Huh?"

"My name's Sakura. It isn't fair if only one of us knew each other's name." Sakura supplied. Sasuke nodded,

"Fair enough…Sakura. Now," Sasuke began as he stood up, holding a hand out to her which she took gratefully; her legs hadn't fully regained their strength yet. Also, it was too good an opportunity to pass. Sasuke summoned a portal which left Sakura mouth wide open in shock. She turned to him to ask, but Sasuke held his hand up towards her,

"Later. Now, follow me." He started towards the portal, only to be held back by Sakura. Sasuke's shoulders slumped,

"What now? It's totally safe, you know." He bit out, annoyed at the constant delay. Sakura shook her head before she pointed towards her apartment,

"I need to get my stuff if I'm going anywhere." She quipped, not bothering to hide the mirth in her eyes. Sasuke muttered under his breath as he closed the portal, so much for making a cool exit in front of a beautiful lady… Sakura smirked at his antics. 'Whatever that's going to happen to me is going to affect my life. Better or worse, I don't know. But I know that it's going to be BIG.' She thought excitedly as they made their way towards her apartment, the road now cleared of the vampire's corpse.

~Up next, Day 4~