Trigger warning: blood, scenes of torture, death and sex
Anger was a powerful emotion, and it was what guided her for the past fifty years.
What was she without that anger?
Unforgivably, Sakura allowed herself to accept the comfort Naruto radiated down there in the dungeon in a moment of pure weakness, inhaling deeply with relief regardless of his wet dog scent. The creeping sensation of being watched by the spirits trapped down there with them was impossible to ignore, her self-preservation skills begging of her to flee at the trickling animosity filtering into the air.
She was always a believer in the supernatural even while a weak human, though refused to delve deeper while so uneducated with that side of the world. Sakura had happily remained blissfully unaware until Itachi came into her life and turned everything upside down.
A sleepy hum in her ear had her ducking her head just in time for Naruto to try and nuzzle into her. "You smell nice, Sakura-chan," he mumbled, smiling dopily into her neck. The only reason why Sakura didn't backhand him across the stone cold dungeon was simply because she was experiencing a moment of weakness and didn't want to be alone. That and she could tell from the heaviness of his limbs and even breathing that Naruto was pretty much asleep. The past few days of his anxiety and stress at an all-time high due to being caged were finally catching up on him and it showed in the lethargic movements. "Really, really nice."
"Don't try biting me," she warned under her breath, eyes rolling.
He mumbled back, "You'll bite me back, right?"
"Like you'd complain."
She copied his sleepy chuckle reluctantly and shut her eyes, head falling back against the uneven stone wall.
Itachi and Sasuke remained upstairs and showed no signs of coming down anytime soon, much to her relief (she knew she was probably believing that prematurely given it'd only been a few hours since Itachi joined them, but she was choosing to be optimistic for once). It was bad enough letting her guard gradually slip around the bonehead using her as a pillow. The last thing she needed was for those two to get under her skin too, or to see her as anything other than the cold bitch who wanted their clan dead.
"Sleep," came his barely even coherent murmur, the snoring already taking over. "I've got… your back."
Snorting at the empty promise considering his state, Sakura leaned more heavily against him to offer a better support and was once more astounded by how massively he reminded her of Ino. Of course, she knew Ino would despise being compared to him or hearing that there were resemblances between the two, but they were impossible to ignore in those kinds of moments. More importantly, with her head being the pile of mush that it currently was, she needed those similarities to ground her back down to reality.
Selfishly, she wished it really was Ino. However, Naruto was a semi-decent substitute.
Kind of.
Shutting her eyes and giving a reluctant huff that had him smiling into her skin, Sakura managed to relax her aching, tensed muscles bit by bit.
Better to make some kind of ally, she supposed wearily.
Fifty years was a long time to hate a person, to hate an entire clan.
And now that hate had been stripped away from her.
What did she do with herself from that point on? As shallow as it made her feel admitting such a thing: hating the Uchiha clan felt like it was a part of her personality now. It was what drove her so hard to protect everyone and everything, for as long as they were alive, there would never be safety or peace. Just a permanent calm before the storm.
She needed that hate to continue fuelling her.
The sensation of feeling so utterly lost was worsened by the persistent twitching and burning of her throat, and Sakura trailed her fingers across Gaara's final blood pouch, swallowing hard at the temptation. It hadn't even been a full week since Ino's drop and she was already down to the final bag.
Grimacing, Sakura pressed the pouch to her face and willed herself to stay strong, but Gods, she was a wreck.
They had no means to communicate with her clan or Gaara to alert them of her struggles and the notion was an unnerving one that left her on edge. Of all the times to be without her phone (not that she could even charge the battery out there), it had to be then. Trapped in a slave prison with her enemies and basically without blood. Soon enough, the original blood would be out of her system and that left her at their mercy – another reason she was allowing Naruto to grow closer to her.
He was soft hearted, Sakura had quickly discovered. Easily misguided. Uzumaki Naruto was ideal for manipulating, especially with his sexual tendencies being similar to Ino's, who often allowed her wants to guide her.
Although the love between Sasuke and Naruto was obvious to them all, it was complicated and tense between them. They had differences and couldn't meet in the middle with them, though they'd sure as hell still go to the ends of the earth for one another, going off the dedication in their gazes. That made for the perfect in for her – an attraction who didn't want any ties. A passing infatuation who could squeeze between them using their differences, all the while understanding it would never be permanent. She had to strike when Naruto was most frustrated.
It wasn't going to be hard, Sakura knew that already. Sighing heavily, she returned the blood to the duffel bag and shut it resolutely. Naruto was pacing once more, muscles coiled tightly as he struggled with his confinement. Even though it'd been five days now, his stress only worsened. He wasn't coming to terms with being caged and it made tensions even greater between the two lovers. Clearly, he was struggling with some form of trauma Sasuke was a part of.
Still, Sakura knew to tread carefully. He was soft hearted sure but clearly had unresolved issues that made him volatile. There was no mistaking the power coursing through him or the danger that had her itching to escape. Instincts told Sakura to run, to create distance before Naruto finally lost his shit.
"Sakura."
Holy shit.
Excitement had Sakura forgetting all about Naruto's problems and up the stairs to rush the entrance within seconds, eyes lighting up at the sight of Gaara standing with fake calmness on the other side. She could see deeper than that. He looked just like she felt: stressed and thirsty, damning their shitty situation that put a kink in their celebrations.
"Some anniversary," she complained lightly in greeting, head gesturing behind her to the vampire Gaara was already glaring at. "I should be halfway across the world right now and running for my life."
Snorting, he finally tore his eyes from Itachi's impassive expression to look at her, and she sighed at the acceptance there. Of course, Gaara would never allow another to wind him up emotionally or mentally – even she oftentimes struggled to pick at him. Still, she knew he was itching to make a move of some kind. It wasn't in his nature to sit back and do nothing.
"We have time," he reminded her, smirking. "Think of this experience as a way to build your frustrations. Foreplay, in a sense."
She leaned closer, heart racing at the impish spark in his eyes. "You hate an easy chase," Sakura pointed out. "If I'm too frustrated, I'll give in just to have you."
"Have me?" came his chuckled taunt. "I think you're forgetting your place."
She really was unravelling at the seams. Thirst had her swallowing hard the moment Gaara's scent wafted closer with the aid of a gentle breeze and she shut her eyes, savouring the mouth-watering scent of her lover.
"Right now, I'd have to say you're the mouse," she warned, the predatory tone to the words causing Sasuke to shift in a way that had Gaara instantly catching on. Scoffing at the pitifulness of the situation, she said ruefully, "I can't shake this stupid fucking itch."
"You're feeling his thirst," Gaara quickly deduced. "It's a shame you can't put him down for the duration of your stay." Glancing over her shoulder to the Uchiha who was reclined against the wall with his arms over his knees, he bared his teeth. "Both of them."
Jealousy wasn't an emotion her lover experienced. He already had everything he could ever want and anything that happened to catch his eye was his without any real effort on his part. That was what made their chase so exhilarating for them both, the thrill of having his so-called prey fighting back and making his hunt more difficult creating a euphoric experience for them both.
Much to her relief, even in that moment when realising that she was trapped for a whole month with a former love, he wasn't jealous or feeling insecure. Then again, why would he? Their bond was different from what either of them had ever experienced before and he understood the two loves couldn't be compared.
Technically speaking, they weren't exclusive. They were open with their bond and both believed sex could be separated from feelings. She was well within her right to sleep with every person in that prison and Gaara wouldn't bat an eyelash to any of it, just as she wouldn't had their roles been reversed, because they had something none of them could ever touch.
"Naruto's fair game," she informed him with a mischievous wink. "He's driving me crazy with his pacing."
"I can hear you, y'know!"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You were supposed to, bonehead."
"Oi!"
"Always the masochist," murmured Gaara, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of her. "I suppose you would enjoy the thrill of his being able to subdue you with venom."
"Adds a little spice to the mix."
"Holy shit. Are you for real?" demanded the blond as he appeared at the top of the stairs, looking between them with wide eyes and an eager grin. "You'd let me fuck–"
"Watch your mouth, Naruto-kun."
Smirking maddeningly, Gaara told her, "Do it purely to piss him off."
"Added bonus of causing Sasuke pain," she reminded him, much to his evident amusement. "Emotionally and physically."
His appreciative gaze soaked in the sight of her and Sakura felt the responding heat in her belly at full force. The ache to be with Gaara, to tell him to hell with everything and join them already, was so strong she felt herself instinctively moving closer to the barrier. As always, he stirred such a deep longing within her that Sakura became victim to their connection.
Sighing irritably suddenly, he crouched low and used Ino's previous stick to push a bag of blood pouches she hadn't noticed prior over the invisible barrier. "Make it last," he warned, eyes flashing in a way that told her he wasn't screwing around. "The others are still in Konoha and watching our every move."
Damn it. She should have been out there defending her town from those bastards. The thought of them roaming her streets, putting the people at risk or attempting to move in on her turf was infuriating. There was the brief spark of relief knowing the hunters were on her side and were powerful and capable of holding their own, but it didn't last long because they weren't strong enough to go against so many originals. They were still human, merely possessed supernatural strength (well, some of them did). They'd only be buying her time.
"I advise you limit the movements of your clan, my love," murmured Itachi lightly as he shifted in his seated position. At Gaara's scoff at the old pet name, he languidly rose to his feet and approached the doorway to the prison, making her jaw clench at the proximity that bathed her in his scent. "They will use whatever means necessary to force you into submission."
"Now more than ever due to your being here," accused the redhead. "The deal we made–"
"Shisui is more than capable of upholding our side singlehandedly," he stated, the glint in his eye screaming his annoyance. "Although I understand why someone such as yourself cannot fathom the notion."
"Someone such as myself?"
"C'mon, man," whined Naruto from behind them all. "Not this shit again."
Sighing irritably, Sakura leaned back against the wall to watch the situation unravel before her, uncaring of Sasuke standing or Naruto's frustration as he hopped from one foot to the other. It wasn't like Itachi was actually pissing Gaara off – the twitch that showed he was getting angry was nowhere to be seen. Her former lover would need to try much, much harder than that to get under the redhead's skin. Gaara was a natural born predator. Never the prey.
"Incompetent," Itachi offered dispassionately. "Weak."
But even if he didn't get under Gaara's skin, he got under hers and Sakura came to stand between them with a low warning growl. "Take your own advice and watch your mouth," she stated coolly. "I'm the hothead here."
"I remember exactly how to get a rise out of you," he murmured sinfully, gaze lidded while checking her out. "Vividly."
"Ah, I can't stand this!" stressed Naruto, hands pulling at his already messy hair roughly. "Sasuke, make it stop!"
"I'm not involving myself in their drama," came his muttered reply that was dripping with disdain. "I'm still paying for their last spat."
The memories his lustful stare awakened had her demon eyes activating like the move alone could banish them and she growled lowly, teeth bared. Pleasant memories that were now tinged with the betrayal to that day continued to burn hotly and she hated that he still had that effect over her. Hated that he'd taken away the hate that used to make it easier to ignore them.
Dismissing him with a snap of her teeth that had him smirking, Sakura pretended like he didn't concern her by turning her back on him – a move she was only comfortable in executing simply because of Gaara's blood in her system. Had she been without original blood, then Sakura sure as hell would never turn her back on the enemy.
"Twenty-five days," she groaned to her lover.
"Try to maintain your sanity until then," he murmured, clearly unperturbed by Itachi's attempts to get under his skin just as she knew he would be.
That magnetic pull between them had Sakura inching towards the barrier and bringing forth the playfulness in Gaara's gaze as he easily noticed the move, and she sighed irritably.
"Go before I throw myself into this thing," she warned with a pout.
He did so with a parting, promising smirk that set her insides on fire.
Usually, a pouch a day (of human blood) was enough to sustain Sakura. It didn't fill her, but it was enough to get by comfortably and kept her relatively strong. Gaara's blood possessed that extra kick that she needed to hit the spot and realistically, it should have kept her going for longer.
So why did she despair seeing only seven pouches in the bag? Why did it have her mentally screaming?
Sakura could only think of one reason and she looked to him accusingly, eyebrows aching to mash together at the knowing glint in Sasuke's eyes since he knew exactly what was getting to her. He was getting a kick out of her suffering it seemed but there was absolutely nothing she could do to prevent it.
Gods, what she wouldn't give to sink her teeth into his face and tear off that arrogant smirk.
"So, about what you guys were saying–" Naruto started eagerly with wriggling eyebrows.
"I'm not really sleeping with you," she groaned, rolling her eyes though secretly grateful for the momentary distraction. "I'm sure that would be classed as bestiality of some kind."
His response was loud and full of despair, but it was forgotten about effortlessly when she spotted Itachi's narrowing gaze fixated on her trembling hands.
Damn it. He knew too.
The next month was going to be her end, Sakura was certain.
It felt like she was a newborn vampire all over again. Everything smelled enticing but it wasn't blood bags that she craved. No, the newly awakened predator within her longed for a victim, for hot, pumping blood to quench the insatiable thirst.
Now that the veil of hatred was lifted from her eyes, Sakura could easily recall how tirelessly she'd worked at controlling herself back when she was first turned, as well as how perceptive Itachi was while she acclimated. Like a sober buddy in some addict support group, he kept her on track and encouraged her, offering alternatives and distractions when necessary – shockingly, it wasn't often needed.
She'd always been damn near flawless with her self-control. There were slip ups – everyone had slip ups – however, they were nothing monumental and more importantly, nobody died. The worst it got was attacking a human who stumbled upon her while she hunted (fortunately for his sake, Sakura was able to heal him and compel the man to forget, just as Itachi taught her to).
Right now, she…
Holy fuck, she was so thirsty. Thirstier than she'd ever been in her lifetime.
To make matters worse, there was absolutely nothing to take her mind off the insatiable thirst. No phone, no pleasant company, no clan to boss around or witches to scheme with. All Sakura could do was sit there in the dungeon and watch Naruto's pacing gradually worsen – the real horror of their shitty situation was that she contemplated going upstairs with the banes of her existence to escape his stress that was slowly rubbing off on her.
Ah, but that would make her even more irritable.
What was she supposed to do?
It was ridiculous! Although it was never necessary before, Sakura knew she could go a maximum of a week without blood before withdrawal kicked in, and it wasn't until around eight or nine days that she started to feel lethargic. Blood was never an obsession to her.
Now it was all she could think about.
"Stop pacing," she snapped at the irate blond.
"What else am I supposed to do?" came the swift demanded reply. He didn't break stride, didn't even look her way. She was surprised the ground wasn't worn down already. "I'm going crazy in here."
At least she wasn't the only one.
"I just want to run."
On four legs, Sakura realised. "Don't go turning in here," she warned blandly at the shaking of his body. The thought of facing his werewolf form again (at least while so distracted and frustrated) was discomforting. She didn't have the energy to fight him off or deal with that damned venom. Knowing her luck, it'd drive her even closer to insanity.
"I thought you wanted spice?" he shot back, faltering in his pacing long enough to smirk in Sakura's direction. "Or did you lie just to entertain someone like Gaara?"
Green eyes rolled. "It'd take a lot more than that to entertain Gaara."
"Really? How'd you do it?"
There was no controlling the twisting of her features as she looked to him suspiciously, brows mashing together. Naturally, many were curious about someone like Gaara. The raging psychopath who was rarely ever seen, who slaughtered anyone who looked at him the wrong the way – hell, anyone he caught a whiff of. They didn't need to see him or know that he was there for them to be added to his hit list. But going into the juicy details of their heated relationship wasn't her idea of a good time. Not when she was currently craving her addicting lover.
What she wouldn't give to sink her teeth into him.
Sakura inwardly groaned and was thankful when Naruto's attention was diverted to the two brothers upstairs. Hesitantly while he was looking away, she reached up to her teeth, grimacing when her fangs protruded persistently and damn it, her demon eyes were activating too, Sakura realised belatedly, fingertips brushing the shifting veins surrounding them.
Shit, things were going to get rough.
"Shit," Naruto unknowingly mirrored her repetitive thoughts by muttering. The concern in his expression deepened and she quickly forced back the evidence of her thirst, meeting his eye steadily. "Sounds like Sasuke's getting thirsty."
"Oh?"
"A month isn't much to him anymore," he muttered, shrugging. "But going dry hurts."
It hurt? "You mean withdrawal, right?" Feigning agitation, Sakura rolled her eyes and stretched out her legs to better admire her thigh highs. "We've all been there."
Unlucky for her, the words prompted Naruto into sitting down with her like they were old friends again (although she supposed she should have felt grateful for the pacing to finally stop).
"It's different from the usual withdrawal," came his firm reply, eyes narrowing fractionally. Whether it was annoyance towards her dismissiveness or out of concern for Sasuke, Sakura couldn't tell. It seemed it was a rare moment of seriousness for the hybrid and she'd hit some kind of nerve. "Mostly we just get weak. Worst case scenario, we drool a lot and want to drain the nearest living person."
Part of Sakura didn't want to have the conversation that opened up the possibility of her sympathising. However, she knew it was best to learn ahead of time how badly shit was going to hit the fan for her. Thanks to the spell being deepened to tie her more securely to Sasuke's immortality, they'd hit a snag, it seemed. The physical agony that came with being a ripper was filtering through.
"Rippers have like… a second personality, I guess." Sighing heavily, he had her resisting the urge to shift by assessing her closely, making Sakura wonder if her demon eyes were activating without her knowledge. But she wasn't going to check. She couldn't expose that weakness. "One ruled entirely by instinct. And fighting that personality is a losing battle that causes the most intense agony."
"How optimistic."
"I've spent a thousand years by Sasuke's side, give or take," Naruto murmured, frowning. "I've seen how this plays out hundreds of times. Sasuke's resilient and can hold out longer than any other ripper I've come across, but everyone has a breaking point." Once more, blue eyes focused intensely on hers and Sakura raised a challenging eyebrow, refusing to rise to the bait. "They all give in to their predatory urges sooner or later, particularly those who aren't used to it. It's a never ending cycle for rippers."
Great.
Any other person would break the linking spell at that point. Hell, Sakura considered it briefly when that impending sense of doom had her feeling helpless. But she wasn't about to give up the one goddamn thing that gave her a hold over them. No matter what happened, Konoha was the priority.
She simply hoped she didn't end up slaughtering the entire town.
"Leave it."
Naruto approached the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the wall so that he was just out of view, eyebrows knitting together. Why he bothered, Sakura was unsure. Their hearing was impeccable – they didn't need to get closer to hear whatever was going down between Itachi and Sasuke. It was what made her wary about saying too much even while down in the prison. There was no privacy.
"You are–"
"I said leave it, Nii-san," Sasuke muttered darkly. "You cannot place the blame on me for this."
"You're right. But may I suggest you tone down your enjoyment of another's suffering."
Were they… discussing her?
The way Naruto looked to her from his peripheral had her believing so, though she was surprised to spot concern and traces of frustration staring back at her.
He wouldn't confront her. No, that frustration wasn't meant for her – couldn't be, considering how it gradually deepened his frown when returning his attention to the two brothers. But which one was he against? Sakura wanted to say it was Itachi solely due to his relationship with Sasuke, but… Instincts told her it was Sasuke. Sasuke was pissing him off.
"Don't tell me what to do," came the younger brother's cold response. "I am sick of this cursed family controlling my every move–"
"You cannot blame us for having concerns–"
"Damn it," complained Naruto under his breath. A hand came to rub his face tiredly, leaving his tanned skin red and irritated by the time it dropped heavily to his side.
How far did his feelings for Sasuke go, Sakura wondered? Were they deep enough for him to intervene if it turned ugly upstairs? Personal experience (now that her head was no longer clouded by falsely imprinted hate) reminded her that it could – had. Both down to frustration towards one another and over her. Clearly, Naruto would have witnessed plenty of mental and physical fights between the brothers, but had he ever tried to stop them? Did he know to stay out of it?
The shifting in his footing told Sakura he wouldn't stay out of it. No matter what, Naruto was loyal to Sasuke or at least cared deeply enough for him to step in.
"I have had enough of your concerns," he spat hatefully.
It was at the sound of someone being shoved that Naruto disappeared up the stairs in a blur of movement, and she followed soundlessly (mainly because she was bored out of her mind and needed to take said mind off how thirsty she was getting). The trio were in a deadlock by the time she arrived, with Naruto's hand fisting Itachi's collar and his eyes glowing murderously.
Entertained, Sakura leaned her side to the wall.
Family drama was always the spiciest.
"Quit talking down to him," Naruto snarled unevenly, upper lip curling, almost trembling. "I'm so fucking sick of you all talking down to him."
Sighing, Itachi glanced down at his hand but made no move to remove it. "Naruto-kun–"
She wondered who was stronger out of the two. The original, or the hybrid? Surely the latter? All Naruto really had to do was bite Itachi to obtain the upper hand, though she knew her former lover was a difficult man to pin down.
"Don't Naruto-kun me." The agitation that'd been building for the past week had reached boiling point, Sakura realised. He was finally losing his shit. At least it wasn't her breaking first. "You're just as bad as the rest of them yet you act like you care the most!"
She frowned at that and shifted in her stance.
Although Naruto had certainly known him longer, the Itachi she knew had been nothing like the bloodthirsty demons the rest of them were and part of her felt irritated at the comparison given all he'd done to better the lives of others. He cared dearly for humans and regularly used his blood to heal them – even when filled with nothing but hate for him, Sakura was able to see that. It was impossible to spend every single day for over five years with a person and not see their true colours… right?
"You fucking cursed him–"
"Naruto–"
Damning herself to the seven pits of hell, Sakura heaved a sigh and slipped between the pair just as Naruto swung. Eyes cold, expression unmoving and hand closed around his fist painfully, she met the eyes of his werewolf side without a shred of fear or hesitancy.
"O-Oi, that blood–"
"Gaara's," she confirmed coolly. "I might not be immune to your venom, but I can still put up a fight."
"Why are you getting involved?" demanded Sasuke, voice a dispassionate drawl. The whole time, he hadn't moved to break up the fight, rather choosing to let it all play out before him. "Itachi's royally fucked you over too."
True and she knew she should hate him for that, but having her emotions toyed around with meant she didn't know how the fuck she was really feeling. Angry? Yes. Sad? Yes? Scared? Yes. Happy? Weirdly, yes. None of it made any sense to Sakura and she longed for the vampire in her to take control, to bring forth just one huge emotion that overshadowed everything else like it was supposed to.
Alas, it didn't. So she was forced to flail blindly until something landed.
"Don't go lumping us together," Sakura warned, rolling her eyes. She shoved Naruto's fist away forcefully, though proved she didn't fear his guard dog by keeping her gaze locked on Sasuke's cold stare. "I can't stand any of you but if I'm going to come out of this in one piece, I know to stick with the rational one."
"The one who lied about who butchered your parents."
The spark of anger was breath-taking but brief, fortunately for him. "Watch your mouth."
It irked her when Naruto didn't step away, not even to stand in line with Sasuke. He remained directly in front of her and it had Sakura considering the sharpness of his blue eyes once they reverted to their ordinary state, pondering the possibilities of his being sired to Sasuke. However, that was impossible. Werewolves didn't become vampires like humans did – she wasn't even sure if their blood healed them. No, Naruto was the first and most likely only one of his kind.
He loved him.
And people were dangerously reckless when it came to love.
If she had her way, Sakura would have turned her back on all three of them. But Naruto was a hybrid who was just on the outside of the Uchiha Clan, seemingly knowing all their secrets if the titbits he shared were anything to go by. Sasuke despised Madara just as greatly as she did (if not more than) and while he was weaker than the rest, he had that connection with the hybrid. They were a package deal. And as for Itachi…
Itachi was the cause of her misery. He played a part in her greatest heartache (as well as others), and she would absolutely never forgive him for it. However, only a fool would overlook how he felt about his family (which, admittedly, she'd done so in the heat of the moment, but who could really blame her?) and how that could be manipulated to fit her agenda. It wouldn't even be that hard if he wasn't lying about his feelings for her.
Protecting Konoha was her main priority.
But she sure as hell wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to take down Uchiha Madara. Even better if his own clan was involved. She–
Sakura swallowed at the mouth-watering scent that surrounded her suddenly and fought against the painful feeling of her fangs protruding as the predator within was awakened. It was just one step away from activating her demon eyes for them all to see her weakness and that could not happen. They couldn't see such a weakness.
Shit…
"We all need to calm down."
It was Itachi, she realised belatedly. More specifically his blood.
The urge to lean back and divulge in that powerful, magical blood was so powerful she ached.
Definitely Sasuke's thirst, Sakura decided when meeting his eye and noticed the dilating of his pupils. The ripper in him was scratching to be freed, the potent urges drifting through their link and crushing her with its weight. Even if he was used to going cold turkey, there was no escaping those cravings – cravings she was unused to due to never going without.
"Let's go, Sakura-chan," Naruto sighed.
No, she…
She needed…
An arm fell over Sakura's shoulders and guided her away with force when her tensed muscles refused to cooperate.
The silence was unnerving.
She was used to noise and commotion. Having a clan as large as her own meant they were never without conversation. Parties lasting until the next day when they all eventually passed out. Fights, laughter, spells, orgies.
No, it wasn't total silence but the noises she could hear were determined to drive her bat shit insane. Breathing – petty, sure, but that didn't make it any less infuriating. Naruto's on and off again pacing. Hearts beating. Blood pumping–
Blood pumping.
Blood.
Sakura swiftly ducked her head at the automatic activating of her demon eyes, biting down on her lip to try and ground herself. But…
Gods, she could smell Itachi all the way down in the basement. Not even Naruto's pungent scent could cover it.
Groaning in palpable agitation, the blond suddenly threw himself to the ground beside the doorway, head coming to the wall with a harsh thud. Only part of Sakura was grateful for his stillness – he'd been wafting Itachi's scent all over the dungeon, but she'd simultaneously caught that wet dog smell too, making it a little easier to handle.
"I'm so bored," he whined.
Don't try speaking to me, she wanted to growl. Her fangs were cutting through her gums once more and taking longer than before to retract.
Sasuke's thirst was insane. It was in the pit of her stomach, in the pounding of her head and fuck, her throat burned viciously. But the worst part about it all was no matter how much blood she guzzled, it was never enough. Nothing was enough. Sakura strongly suspected it never would be because it wasn't her thirst. It was Sasuke's. He needed to feed.
But offering him Gaara's magical blood was pointless – she knew that for a fact because it wasn't hitting right for her either. It was too… cold. Nothing like drinking it directly from him and feeling every inch–
"Oi."
She couldn't look at him. It was too obvious. Instead, Sakura feigned laziness. "Hm?"
"What's Konoha like now?" asked Naruto curiously from his cross-legged position across the dungeon. "I mean, I know everything's changed in the thousand years I've been around, but I haven't been home in over a century – closer to two, actually."
Naruto was from Konoha too? Damn, what was it with their town and supernatural beings? Vampires and werewolves seemed to originate from there, making Sakura wonder if anything else did too, since it was evident witches came before them all.
"Busy," she responded blandly, and Sakura damned herself for trying overly hard to keep her voice steady. "United, to a degree."
"What do you mean?"
The sound of him shifting had her praying Naruto didn't try coming any closer. Not while she was so thirsty and unable to control herself. "You've heard of hunters, right?" The snorted affirmation had her smirking faintly, for it was the typical response when someone spoke of the persistent bastards. "I made a pact with them. My clan protects the town alongside them and in return, we live in peace."
"But how do you guys feed?" he questioned, voice tinged with what she presumed to be disbelief. It was more difficult getting a read on him with her head buried in her arms. "They would never allow you to feed on the humans."
"We have our ways." Like hell she was sharing the ins and outs of her deal with Sarutobi, or how they managed to cohabit so well. The two upstairs were far too quiet – originating from Konoha themselves and having lived there before shit hit the fan fifty years ago, there was every chance they could worm their way back in somehow. "That's all you need to know."
A thoughtful hum had Sakura peeking through the gaps in her arms and she narrowed her eyes fractionally upon noticing his suspicious glance towards the stairs, shoulders tensing momentarily until he suddenly kicked at the ground. She wondered why, since she hadn't heard a word or even the slightest of movements from the brothers.
Only when she was feeling in better control of herself did Sakura straighten up, though she was stunned to notice Naruto's relieved smile at the meeting of their eyes. Rather than mention it and bring the others' attention to whatever was going through the mutt's mind, she relaxed back into the wall and assessed him calmly.
"What made you change?" she wondered aloud, then pushed a little harder by asking, "Werewolves are all about community, right? Though only specific bloodlines are allowed in specific packs?"
The questions were noticeably tough on the blond but instead of brushing them off or refusing to answer, he gave a weighty sigh, shoulders slumping. "You heard about my mother – the first alpha." Although not a question, it wasn't until she nodded that he continued with a heavy, "I triggered my werewolf gene at a young age. The youngest ever, actually. But with it came bursts of impulsiveness and irritability and I couldn't control myself, no matter how hard my mother trained me."
"Because you were so young?"
He still wasn't sure himself, Sakura realised at the uncertain frown that marred his features. That had to be hard not knowing, especially after a thousand years. All that time and he still wasn't any closer to knowing the truth – if there was anything to know, that was.
Was that why he and Sasuke possessed such a deep bond? Both being the rejects of their families?
"Triggering the curse changes a person and I hated every part of it. I hated the full moon and the agony I had to go through during it, and I hated my genes. I hated that the biggest mistake of my life served the toughest punishment and…" Naruto trailed off with an agitated exhale and ran trembling hands through his hair. "I couldn't resist the offer on the table."
Werewolves triggered their curse by killing someone, she recalled. How or why, she wasn't sure. Probably another pissed witch throwing around curses after being wronged in some type of way, though if the rumours of Uzumaki Kushina were true, then she certainly hadn't thought of her werewolf side as a curse. Apparently she'd even tried to find ways of extending her time in said form. Many had, for they found the experience freeing.
"The offer of becoming a hybrid?" she asked quietly, attention soon drawn to the top of the stairs when she heard shifting.
After a tense few seconds of waiting to find out who it was or what they were planning, Naruto looked back to Sakura and nodded solemnly. "Orochimaru promised that I would no longer be bound to the moon and I could control when I turned – if I even wanted to turn at all. Being so young, I still wasn't in control and my transforming took hours each time. I was essentially stuck in the process, unable to cope with the breaking and resetting of all my bones. Nobody understood why."
Sounded like a mental block to her, she thought with a mental roll of her eyes. How anyone didn't think of that one was ridiculous. Clearly, Naruto feared changing forms and that fear plagued him throughout the process, his willing it not to happen drawing it out because he was unintentionally fighting it. Any idiot could tell him that. Was he stupid, she wondered?
Rather than pointing out the obvious, she remained silent and listened as he continued with a grimace. "I didn't care about the powerup or the new abilities – I just wanted to be in control again. By that point I'd spent four years in hell, embarrassing the hell out of my parents when the rest of the pack started picking up on the weakness. I was the runt of the litter. I took the deal on the basis I'd never had to change forms again."
But Orochimaru never specifically said that did he? Sakura could tell from the self-loathing in Naruto's gaze that he'd been tricked in some way, as the shame that clouded his gaze was just as potent. The horror stories that followed that snake's name were unparalleled and were enough to make Sakura extremely wary of anyone in her coven channelling him. Even while dead, Orochimaru was powerful and manipulative and was capable of possessing the witches if they were mentally weak.
"I thought they'd be proud of me for finally being in control," he whispered suddenly, his snort sounding oddly like Naruto tried laughing at himself for his foolishness but the pain being too great to allow it. Instead, he swiped at his face and focused his gaze on the ground he continuously kicked at. "But werewolves and vampires were – are sworn enemies. It's in our blood to hunt them down. To hate them."
"They turned on you," she deduced.
The blond shook his head sadly, stunning her when his eyes became glassy. Clearly time hadn't healed whatever wound he'd been dealt – it was as raw as the day he received it. "My mother banished me before word got out and…" Unbelievably, Sakura felt her heart take a vicious blow when Naruto choked back a sob. "The pack turned on her for it. They turned on their alpha."
They killed her for trying to save her son.
An imbalance of nature was what Itachi and the witches had called him. Powerful enough to take on an original, influential enough to lead a pack larger than any other she'd ever witnessed before, able to secrete his venom and poison vampires even in human form. If he could create more of his kind then it really was a cause for concern. Naruto could easily overpower either side with a pack of hybrids.
Shit, she really should make him an ally. Better to stand with the mutt than against him in her case.
"I sought them out – Orochimaru and Sasuke, I mean," he continued unprompted, unaware of Sakura's analytic mind conjuring scenarios of all kinds. "I had nowhere else to go."
The sudden appearance of said Uchiha had her straightening in her position, but Naruto seemed comforted rather than suffocated in his presence. All tension visibly left the blond when Sasuke settled soundlessly by his side, offering that same comfort as the other night that Naruto noticeably wanted more of. He shifted in his seated position, body instinctively angling itself towards Sasuke and accepting the brushing of their arms, gazes conveying thoughts she could never hope to understand, though they did help to make her understand one important point.
If she wanted Naruto as an ally, then that bastard ripper came as a package deal.
"That was his plan all along, of course," the blond continued disdainfully and ducked his head once more. "Orochimaru was trying to create an ultimate being – something possessing unmatched power."
"He was halfway there with a hybrid," Sasuke shocked her by adding in a cold mutter. "But still, it was not enough. No matter what he created or how far he submerged himself into the darkness, the prospect of losing his powers lingered and so each test subject became a failure."
Naruto wasn't…
Frowning, Sakura asked, "There was more than one test subject?
"He had hundreds. Due to my ability to survive werewolf venom, it was my responsibility to track and capture them."
Did he regret his part at all now that he was involved with Naruto? What had him creating a connection with him at all, if he was merely a test subject? There were so many questions Sakura was itching to ask, but the sound of Itachi descending the stairs threatened her focus and she stilled, gaze deplorably going straight to his throat once he joined them.
"Sasuke was separated from the clan back then after a disagreement–"
"Disagreement?" the younger Uchiha spat from his position on the floor, uncaring that it left him at a disadvantage. "You bastards cursed me."
"It was either that or lock you away permanently," Itachi countered simply. "I was not willing to lose my brother."
"That's why you're weaker than the others," Sakura couldn't help but point out thoughtfully even when he shot her a dark warning glare. "They had a witch weaken you?"
Unsurprisingly, Itachi was the one who answered the question seeing as it was a touchy subject for his younger brother. Sighing, he murmured, "That was why he joined Orochimaru. Sasuke believed they could undo the spell placed on him."
"Why didn't he?" she asked suspiciously, frowning. The whole situation was enough to distract her from Itachi's blood as he sat on the second to last step, even when a breeze coming from upstairs attempted to drive her insane with his scent. "Orochimaru was powerful as hell. I haven't heard about any other witch who was stronger than him."
Admittedly, that was more than likely down to how sheltered she'd been while shacked up with Itachi. They'd mostly kept to themselves and the only other Uchiha she really interacted with was Shisui when he swung by every so often to check in. For the longest time the two men were the only other supernatural beings she came across, then afterwards… Well, it'd been a mess and Sakura's mind was forcibly focused on hating the Uchiha clan, so not a lot mattered outside of that.
"There's four original families," Naruto interrupted just as Sasuke snarled at her. Shooting the dark haired man a glare, he rolled his eyes and sat back more comfortably. "The Senju, Uchiha, Hyuuga and Sabaku. In that order too, I think." A brief glance at Itachi had him nodding proudly at himself. "Senju Hashirama was a powerful witch before becoming a vampire. As you probably already know, witches lose their powers if they change."
Not that she'd met many (if any) who'd willingly made the change.
"However, Hashirama was different. He was a syphon."
Intrigued and now fully invested in the conversation, Sakura straightened up and willed herself to remain in control. Their conversation was important, especially since nobody ever talked about the original families' abilities. All they knew was that they were more powerful than the rest of them and truly immortal beings. The rest of them were basically knock offs.
"Rare breed," she commented.
"Even rarer when he became the first heretic."
No way.
A syphon didn't possess the inner power required to practice magic freely. As the name suggested, they needed a power source – a battery, so to speak. Without another to channel or syphon their magic, they were essentially harmless. Being an original vampire on top of being a syphon meant Senju Hashirama had an endless supply of magic and immortality now. No burning himself out like ordinary witches either.
She hoped the Senju clan remained in hiding.
Scoffing suddenly, she muttered, "Essentially everything Orochimaru wanted to be." Eyebrows quirking upwards as she settled herself back into the wall, she looked straight to Sasuke. "Must have driven him crazy having his dream being cursing you."
"I would say more ambitious to take it one step further than Hashirama."
Naruto's lip curling upwards told her he didn't agree with the wording, and it was barely a second later when he lost the battle to remain silent, spitting, "More vicious, you mean."
The flash of troubled empathy in Itachi's expression made her uneasy, but pairing it with the blond's outbursts and escalating stress and everything he'd just told her, had Sakura's mind filling in the blanks. Probably dramatizing the whole situation but who cared? Clearly something messed up happened to the hybrid.
"The hybrids Orochimaru created died shortly after," he continued in a low, trembling voice and she instinctively held her breath at the activating of Naruto's eyes. Unlike a vampire's, his glowed with the menacing amber of his werewolf side, though that was where his vampire side showed proudly. The veins around his eyes that resembled vascular marbling darkened his expression, and the whites of his eyes faded to black. "I was trapped in a cage for almost an entire decade and was forced to watch them come and go. Either dying within hours of being turned or from the experiments Orochimaru conducted. All the while I couldn't do anything to save them. I couldn't protect them as an alpha should."
That was because Naruto wasn't an alpha. Not yet, anyway. Obviously it was in his blood to lead a pack, however he'd lost his blood pack – they'd denounced their own alpha, meaning another would have been instated. And out there in their world, a werewolf without a pack was as good as dead. There was no such thing as a lone wolf.
"What made it worse was that I couldn't move offensively because that bastard could sense it," he snarled and Sakura's attention was drawn to Itachi when he shifted in his position, inwardly scoffing at his assessing the distance between her and Naruto. Like she needed him to protect her. "For all my new power, I couldn't go against his magic. I was on a leash. Caged."
"You said you killed him," she recalled from the other night, looking to Sasuke and the coldness of his stare. There was no mistaking the hatred she found there but for once, it wasn't directed at her. Sakura could tell because it deepened the more they spoke of Orochimaru. "What changed your mind about having your curse lifted? That's what took you an entire decade to step in, right?" At his silent seething and blatant unwillingness to answer, she resorted to her lover's tactics for getting a response by sneering mockingly, "Don't tell me the all-powerful phenomenon that is love had you giving it all up after waiting for so long."
And it worked, much to her amusement. The words had Sasuke bristling. "Just because you were ditched after a meagre five years–"
"Do not go there, Sasuke."
Dark eyes shut, though she was more entertained by the twitching of the younger brother's eyebrows as he fought to remain in control. "Why not? At least I own up to my fuck ups."
"Being a part of your lover's decade long torture is hardly comparable to our situation–"
Oh? He wanted to go there? "You compelled me to hate your clan with everything I had for over fifty years," Sakura responded coolly, and that damned itch returned at full force at the meeting of their eyes. "You trapped me in my grief and even though you were gone, I couldn't fully move on from all that happened." She swallowed hard and unknowingly stood as Sasuke did, fingers twitching until they clenched into tight fists. "Your damned clan was everywhere I turned, tainting every memory I possessed and having me constantly on edge. I was always – am always – prepared for the worst. I couldn't ever think straight and just the sound of your name had me flying into rages."
Sighing, Itachi rose to his feet though wisely made no move to approach either of them.
Sakura returned her furious glare to Sasuke's and wasn't surprised in the least at that point to see his demon eyes staring back at her. They had her own activating and she revelled in the rush of Gaara's blood in her system, spurring her on and whispering that she could take him. It wouldn't even be a warmup, the predator in her whispered.
"So, no," she muttered, forcing her voice to remain steady despite the suffocating anger. "Not five years. Try fifty years of being trapped in your own fucking mind and living a lie."
Standing and coming to stand between them like he had the other day, Naruto raised a challenging eyebrow and stated, "Not all of it was a lie. You have Gaara, for starters." At the clenching of her jaw, he smirked knowingly. "You have your clan–" The scoff from both her and Sasuke had him frowning but refusing to be discouraged, and he then said with ten times the confidence, "You have that blonde – Ino, right?"
She looked to the demon behind him and asked, "How did she die again?"
"Like anyone cared–"
She was on her knees with her arms locked behind her back the second Sakura was overruled by her killer instincts and moved to attack, though she found herself scoffing at Itachi as he turned on Naruto in return. Appearing behind the blond, he rammed a hand through his back and gave a firm squeeze of his heart that had him shaking but firmly holding onto her.
Dispassionately, he looked to his younger brother and warned, "Call off your guard dog."
But Sasuke was unmoving and met his eye with an arrogant tipping of his chin. "You can't kill him."
"You'd really put him through more pain?" she shot disbelievingly, unable to control the rage his callousness evoked. "Whether he stays down or not isn't the point."
"Naruto knows exactly what he's getting himself into," he responded simply and shrugged. "I didn't tell him to defend me, just like you didn't ask Itachi to protect you. They do it of their own accord."
What she wouldn't give to tear into that piece of shit–
"I see why it took you a whole decade to end his suffering," Sakura snarled and flexed her arms and shoulders to test Naruto's strength. Even with the hand around his heart, he was shockingly strong and refused to budge, warning her quietly to quit it. Never one to step down, she once more channelled her lover's harsh tactics and hit where she knew it'd hurt most: Naruto. "I bet you only stepped in because you realised Orochimaru couldn't break your curse. You didn't intentionally save Naruto – you lashed out like you always do."
The harshness of her words had Naruto tensing and granted Itachi the opening he needed to launch him across the prison, though Sakura merely scoffed at his coming to stand by her side. She refused the hand that was offered to her and stood with her own strength, glare darkening at the dirt marring her thigh highs.
Stupid mutt.
"Enough," Itachi warned just as Sasuke stepped toward her.
Let him come, the predator within her demanded hungrily and she didn't hide the fangs that cut through her gums threateningly, matching Sasuke's as he held her gaze.
"Nobody's buying your bullshit," he told her with a condescending laugh. "You're trying to act like Gaara, juicing up on his blood because you're nothing without it, but we can all see through the bullshit."
Her upper lip trembled as it curled upwards and finally, one huge emotion swamped everything else. The rage was exquisite and seared through her veins, fuelling Sakura's darker side that begged of her to lash out already, to cut Sasuke down. He was her prey – prey that could fight back, adding that much needed thrill to the game.
"Are you done with your tantrum?" she murmured softly, contemptuously. It had him inching towards her once more, the fury in his expression only exciting her. "You can't handle that poor mutt hearing the truth in case he turns on you. The only person who's ever willingly stayed by your side and not because they're a relation to you."
"You–"
"Stop it," demanded Naruto as he tried to shake off the disorientating damage Itachi inflicted. "I'm tired of this shit!"
"Don't be coming for my relationship unless you want to hear a few more home truths," she warned.
"Relationship?" Itachi interjected and holy shit, it riled her up even greater than Sasuke's responses. "I would hardly class such toxicity as a relationship."
But stunning her, the sound of his brother's voice (or perhaps her instinctual reaction to it) was what calmed the younger Uchiha suddenly. He managed to blink back his demon eyes like merely turning off a switch, then scoffed in what she assumed to be dark humour. It didn't help her, though. She was still trapped in her rage.
"This whole situation is fucked up," he declared before turning on his heel to help Naruto to his feet, the pair seemingly conversing silently with one another until he was ready to talk with them again. "Orochimaru was always loyal to me – the curse had nothing to do with my killing him. I killed him for subjugating Naruto to uncalled for torture." The dipping of Naruto's head had Sasuke's shoulders slumping and finally averting his gaze, like he couldn't bring himself to look at him any longer. "He agreed to becoming a hybrid. He did not agree to being confined and used for his venom and… other bodily fluids, in order to create more of his kind."
Just when she thought Orochimaru couldn't get any worse.
Inhaling deeply to try and quell the rage, Sakura focused on the empathy flickering within, willing it to grow great enough for her to overlook her anger. Hearing such words perfectly explained his stress now, and she felt an ache in her heart envisioning the torture.
He'd had children, she thought and was unable to stop herself from meeting Itachi's eye briefly. Naruto had children who were killed in front of him.
Rather than showing such pity, she asked, "So you can't create more hybrids?"
"They die within hours of turning," muttered Naruto emotionally, voice gruff. "I refuse to put anyone through that."
How unusual, she thought curiously while assessing the blond. He was visibly troubled though Sakura suspected it to be because of their conversation more than anything else.
"Would you?" she pushed and quirked an eyebrow as their gazes met once more. "If you could guarantee they wouldn't die, would you create more? Start a new pack? Have a family again?"
But that pesky bond became all the more obvious to her when Naruto squared his shoulders and held her gaze steadily, saying without missing a beat, "Sasuke is my family."
She scoffed. "And the rest of his clan? I doubt Madara rolled out the red carpet for a mutt."
"Madara knows when to pick his battles," came Itachi's level response, though she couldn't help but allow her interest to be piqued when she noticed the tensing of his muscles.
"Evidently not."
Despite knowing her noteworthy arsenal and general disregard for her clan, that old bastard continued to push forward. Anyone else would have turned tail at the notion of going up against an original clan, a coven of Orochimaru's descendants and a vampire who wasn't only juiced up on original blood but also linked to his own nephew. But not Madara.
"Do you truly believe you have a chance in winning?" Itachi questioned and she bristled at the flash of disbelief in his expression. "Madara is an original who has been around since way before Konoha was founded."
Interesting but essentially useless information. Sakura already knew that the Uchiha clan was one of the founding families. "I like my chances," was all she said in return, showing her distrust and unwillingness to share anything more.
Besides, she was way more interested in the silent conversation Sasuke and Naruto seemed to be sharing once more, attention drawn to the faint traces of a plea in the blond's eyes.
If only there was a way to make Naruto a solid ally without having to accept the package deal.
Even with Sasuke's allegiance to his own clan being shaky at best, she knew he cherished his brother and mother, so would never do anything that could put them in harm's way. They were probably the only reason why he even stuck around after all they'd put him through. For all their disagreements, they cared deeply for one another. That was too risky, in Sakura's eyes. It made Naruto too risky. If he believed her war against the Uchiha clan could harm Sasuke or his precious people, he'd betray her at the very least.
"I don't, my love," murmured Itachi softly, also watching the pair opposite them. Shifting to stand side by side with her and unknowingly overloading her with his powerful scent, he sighed wearily. "Nothing keeps Madara down for long and each time he gets back up, he grows more creative. More vindictive."
Naruto's shoulders dropped when Sasuke turned his back on them and disappeared up the stairs. He refused to look at either of them as he resumed his pacing like the past half an hour hadn't even happened, like they hadn't all been at each other's throats or shared such a loaded conversation.
"Do something about it then," she goaded and glanced up at him from the corner of her eye, eyebrow lifting with the challenge. "Stop the bullshit and prove you're not a coward who allowed his uncle to manipulate him into covering my parents' murders. Show me the man I couldn't get enough of wasn't a lie."
His jaw clenched and the silence lashed at her.
But like hell would she let him see that.
Scoffing, Sakura returned to earlier seat and willed away the vicious ripper urges that were fraying her control. "That's what I thought."
A/N - Okay, I lied. Next chapter is the last of this arc haha. This chapter took on a mind of its own. Poor Naruto wasn't supposed to have such a dark past originally, but it definitely works for bringing him closer to Sakura, if you recall her wishes for children and a future.
How long do you all think Sakura can fight off Sasuke's ripper urges? What do you think Madara's plotting? Oooh, what do you all think of the two other original clans and it being Hashirama who cursed Sasuke? Omg I'm having too much fun with this dramatic story hahah!