I'm REALLY sorry it took so long! Writer's block, school, drawing... and accidently deleting what I had finished -_-' I wasn't very happy about that. But here it is! The final chapter! Please enjoy!

Chapter 31: Lament

It had been three months since the vampires went into their hibernation and not too much had changed around the village. They had missions, they had free time to kill. Everything went by normally. The teams who had lost a valuable member of their team somehow managed to get by on their missions; Asuma's failing a couple here and there on account of Shikamaru no longer being there. Things were pretty quiet without the herd of fan girls following Sasuke around everywhere and Gai was still wondering when Neji was going to show up again. His team somehow managed to get by without him leaving no mission unfinished.

Sakura went on with her life in a kind of subdued way. She did what she could on missions and still pummeled Naruto if he ever stepped out of line. With Sasuke gone there was little else she could do. She missed him so much. She and Ino would even spend hours on end talking about him and reminiscing about old times. All she could do now was wait for him and the others to wake up. Other than going on missions with her team and hanging out for a while with friends, Sakura always went straight home and spent the rest of her time there. But every day she would go back to the place where they slept. She would stand outside the large doors and stare at them. They were just on the other side of that stone and steel, yet they seemed so far away. She would just stand there and watch the door, waiting.

Two months ago she had started a new ritual of going inside to check on them and see how they were doing. Nothing had changed since that night. Their coffins remained untouched and the vampires remained asleep. She would sit down with her back to the wall and stare. It was the same old, unchanging ritual every day. She would open the door and go inside. She would sit on the cold hard ground by their coffins. She would bring her legs up and rest her chin on her knees while keeping her arms wrapped around her pale legs. There she would sit and wait. There she would stare at them and wait. She waited and waited.

But nothing ever changed.

Then last week she had started a new routine. Now when she went in, she would open their coffins just a little bit for a peek. The same old thing every unchanging day. She would put her hands on Sasuke's casket and push the lid up and open with both hands. She would look down at his face. His ever handsome, but ever unchanging face.

He always looked the same whenever she looked upon his sleeping face. His face would always be pale and still. His face wouldn't even so much as twitch. Not in the slightest bit would he move. She could barely even tell he was breathing, his chest was hardly moving. His breathing had become so slow after they had placed him into the coffin. He looked like he was dead. He wouldn't even twitch when she called his name or gave him a gentle nudge. He was always in a very, very deep but peaceful sleep. His hibernation wasn't over yet.

And then every day, just as she had done countless times before, she would close up his casket and leave after giving him one final look.

Nothing ever changed.

She asked herself the same questions every day. When would he wake up? When will he wake up? How much longer? How long will I have to wait? When will he wake up? Will things ever change? When will he wake up?

And again today, just like every day, she walked all the way to the secret passageway and down the long flight of stairs all the way down to the secret room where they slept. And just like she did every day, she opened the doors and went inside. She walked over to their coffins like she did every day and sat down. She curled her knees and watched them.

She waited.

How much longer will you have me wait, Sasuke? Sakura asked him. How much more? How much more are you going to sleep?

She never expected him to answer. But she wanted reassurance anyway. She wanted it so much. She wanted to know if he was doing ok in there. She wanted to know. When will he wake up? How much longer? When would he wake up? When will he wake up?

Sasuke… She drew her legs closer to her chest. I want you back so bad. I want you back on our team so much. It's been hard without you. It's been boring. I miss you and Naruto challenging each other and trying to show each other up. I miss watching you fight and win. I miss being by your side. I miss hearing your voice. I miss everything about you. But most of all, I miss just seeing you. I miss seeing your eyes and watching you smile. It's so rare and wonderful. I miss it all.

She gripped her knees tightly.

I want you back so much. You have no idea how much I love you, Sasuke. I'm so in love with you! I don't care if you're a vampire! I don't care what happens! I just want you back!

She remembered hearing that Sasuke might forget being human during his long sleep. He might even forget her. That reality was so much to bear. Too much.

Sasuke, I don't care if you don't care if you don't remember being human! I don't care! And if you forget about me, that's fine! I'll start all over again! And this time, I'll make you love me back! I'll start fresh and show you! I'll remind you! I'll show you! And this time, you'll love me! I'll do it right! I want you to love me back! I want you so much, Sasuke!

She started to cry out loud and buried her face into her raised knees. She couldn't make the tears stop flowing. She had so much emotion and she just couldn't hold it back anymore. She let it all out and cried.

She cried and cried. And cried…

Once finished, Sakura went back to her routine. After she dried her tears, she got up and walked over to Sasuke's coffin. She placed her hands on the cover and pushed it open. She had to see his face. Even just for a moment. She had to see it like she did every day.

And just like every day, he was laying there. Very still and…

His cheeks were rosy.

Sakura did a double take and leaned in for a better look. He had gained a little bit of color in his face, but only a little. He was still quite pale. His breathing was deep and slow, but now she could see his chest moving slowly up and down.

"Sasuke?" Her voice cracked a little.

He didn't move.

With a trembling hand, she reached down into his casket and placed a hand to his face. He felt warm. Her finger lightly touched his brow and his eye twitched.

She gasped.

She abandoned his coffin to look into the others'. She opened Neji's then Shikamaru's. They all had the same peaceful expression but their faces had gained some color. Now they looked like they were merely asleep. They even flinched when she touched them.

They're waking up!

Her heart felt so light and happy. She was so excited. She quickly closed their coffins and raced back to the village. She had to tell the others.

They opened the caskets one by one and looked inside. They were still there, flat on their backs sleeping soundly. But not for long. It had been three months since their eyes last opened. They couldn't wait to see their eyes open once again. They all sat around the coffins and waited for something to happen.

Naruto and Sakura sat in front of Sasuke's and waited for him to sit up and greet them. He never did, though. He remained motionless except for his chest gently rising and falling with every breath. Why wasn't Sasuke waking up? Wasn't it time? After several minutes of contemplation, Naruto had an idea. He pulled out a kunai and stabbed himself in the hand. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to draw a little bit of blood. He clenched his fist causing the blood to flow more freely. He put the knife away and crept towards the coffin.

Sakura looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"Shh. Just watch." He moved closer to the casket and leaned over the slumbering body inside. Holding his breath, Naruto lowered his hand down to Sasuke's face and waited for something to happen. The warm blood from his hand dripped onto Sasuke's face causing him to twitch slightly. "Sasuke?"

Naruto's hand was hovering right over his nose, blood dripping down onto his face. Sasuke's nose twitched. He sniffed. His brow twitched. He sniffed again. He inhaled deeply, smelling the blood inches away. He moaned and very slowly, his tongue crept out of his mouth and tasted the air. The tip of his tongue ran across the drop of blood on his cheek before worming back into his mouth. A second went by, then another. His face twitched and then…

Sasuke's eyes opened.

Sakura smiled. "Sasuke!"

He didn't move or speak. His hollow eyes were fixed on the ceiling above, staring into space. It was almost as if he were blind.

Naruto lowered his head into the coffin. "Sas-?"

With no warning, Sasuke suddenly sprang up in his coffin. He grabbed Naruto's arm, pulled him down and sank his fangs deep into his neck. The familiar pain spread through Naruto's body as Sasuke started to drink. He drank deeply and at an incredible speed, unable to quench his inconceivable thirst. He hadn't had anything to drink for the longest time so it was no wonder he was so thirsty. He tightened his grip on Naruto and held him in place as if expecting him to wiggle away any moment.

Naruto was starting to feel weak. Sasuke was drinking a little too much. He tried to push against Sasuke's shoulders to tell him to stop. "Uh… Sasuke… Sasuke, please stop. I'm running out of blood for you to take."

Sasuke hugged his body close and drank, ignoring his pleas.

"Sasuke..!"

After another couple of slurps, Sasuke stopped sucking. He kept his eyes shut as he lapped up the excess blood with his tongue. He licked Naruto's neck, making sure not to miss a single drop. Naruto could feel his warm breath on his bare flesh, cooling the saliva Sasuke left behind with his tongue. It made him shiver.

At long last, Sasuke stopped and pulled away. He caught his breath and opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw when his vision cleared was Naruto staring back at him. There was an awkward silence as the two stared at each other. Remembering what he had been told prior to this, Naruto started to wonder if Sasuke recognized him. Did Sasuke even know that he was once human like him? What did he know? Were his memories lost in his sleep? How much did he remember?

Sasuke blinked and opened his mouth. He spoke slowly. "… Naruto..?"

Naruto smiled. He had never been so happy to hear Sasuke call his name before. "Sasuke… Good morning."

Sasuke sat back and looked around. Everything was so strange. This place he was in… He couldn't remember it, and yet it was so familiar to him. It was underground, that much he knew. But it was a place he was unfamiliar with. He looked and saw two other coffins lined up at his side. They were open and inside he could see the sleeping forms of Neji and Shikamaru. He remembered.

"I was hibernating…"

"That's right," Sakura told him.

He looked up at her voice. He looked at her face, at her clothes, her eyes. She looked the same. She hadn't changed much at all. "Sakura?"

She nodded, smiling with tears in her eyes. He knew her. He didn't forget.

He looked around at the others in the room and then back at them. He studied their faces and then looked down at his hands. They were as pale as ever. He hadn't aged a day, but them… They looked the same as when he had seen them last with minimal changes. "How long was I out?"

"Three months."

He looked back up at them. "Only three months? But I thought… I thought it would last for years… Only three..?" He felt kind of relieved. So nothing had really changed at all. They were still together. Nothing was really missed.

While Sasuke and his team had their reunion, Tenten had taken a page from Naruto's book and had slashed open her palm, too, drawing blood. She hovered her fist above Neji's mouth and gave her hand a squeeze. A fresh gush of blood poured from her hand and into his waiting mouth, feeding him life.

He swallowed. More blood dripped into his mouth and he drank it all down. He gave a pleased moan and reached blindly up for its source. With his eyes shut tight, Neji groped her hand and pulled it down to his level and drank from the cut in her palm. He slurped and licked, leaving no drop untouched.

Tenten flinched as his fangs scrapped across her palm, but she didn't mind. She was just so happy to have him back. Every movement of this was like a gift. She treasured every moment of it all.

Once finished, Neji opened his eyes to see the giver of the sweet, sweet blood. Everything was so blurry, but he could still make out Tenten's outline. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and answered her with an under used voice. It had been so long since he had last spoken to her or anyone for that matter.

"Ten… ten? Is that you?"

"Yes," she answered back with a smile.

He reached up and touched her face just to make sure it wasn't a dream. "You… look the same… How long..?"

"Three months."

"I see…" Thank God. He feared it would be much longer than that. He was afraid that she would be an old woman with grandchildren the next time they met. He feared that she would have found another… "It's so good to see you again."

"Same here."

Shikamaru clawed his way up Ino's arm and drank from her shoulder. She winced and whimpered, but not because of the pain. "Ew..! This is so gross!"

When Shikamaru had his fill, he looked up at her. He studied her face with a quizzical expression. "Who are you, human?"

Everyone's jaw dropped and gawked at the two. Ino's jaw moved up and down, trying to form words. Choji gave him a worried expression. "Shikamaru, it's us. Don't you remember?"

Shikamaru moved closer to Ino. She cringed, fearing that he would attack her. He reached for her and…

Flicked the end of her nose. "Got you!"

Her pale face turned red and smacked him upside the head. "You are such a jerk! I can't believe you did that! Do you have any idea how much you scared me? You jerk!"

Choji and Shikamaru laughed, bumping knuckles. It felt so good to have the team back together again. "Sorry, Ino. But I just couldn't resist!"

Choji laughed with him. "You have to admit that it was pretty funny."

"Jerks!"

Neji struggled to stand, but his legs wouldn't work. They felt numb. Tenten turned to him. "You ok?"

He wiggled his toes, but he still had very little feeling in his legs. "I guess my body's not completely awake yet." He gripped the side of his coffin and tried to pull himself up. The attempt resulted in him crashing back down in the wooden casket.

Lee's hand reached out as he tried to help him up. With Lee's strength and Tenten steadying him, Neji somehow managed to get back on his feet. It was like learning to walk all over again. He took one wobbly step after another. This was something he had to get used to again.

Sasuke tried to do the same. His legs felt like jelly. He used Naruto as his crutch and started to climb out of his coffin. It took a full minute just to walk five steps, let alone get out of his coffin. Feeling a little better than before, Sasuke tried standing on his own. He took in a breath and took one step forward. Success! He was doing alright.

When he looked up to see how the others were fairing, he found Neji already in the air. "Flying already?" he asked, a little jealous.

But Neji wasn't doing very well. He wasn't as graceful as he used to be. He looked like a leaf in the wind. Before landing on the ground, or rather slamming into it, he succeed in crashing a total of four times into the walls and twice against the ceiling. Once on the ground, he decided to stay that way. He'd try that again later.

After an hour, the group walked out of the room and went upstairs. The sun had set a good 20 minutes ago so it would be perfectly safe for the vampires to go out and enjoy themselves. Now having the feeling back in their legs, the boys took off in a run. They ran freely in the grass and around trees, enjoying themselves fully. It had been so long since they had last done this. After their little game of tag, Sasuke decided to kick things up a notch. He broke into a dead run and jumped into the air. He flew high above the trees where no one could catch him. Neji and Shikamaru did the same, kicking off from the ground and joining Sasuke in the air. Naruto and Lee chased after them from below, unable to fly themselves.

Shikamaru looked back and saw Choji hanging near the girls. He was never any good at running. Shikamaru could tell that he wanted to join in, so he flew down to his side. Shikamaru extended his hands out to his friend. "Want to go for a ride?"

Choji's eyes widened. He didn't expect this.

Ino stepped up and tried to stop them. "Shikamaru, you just woke up from hibernation and couldn't walk a straight line without help!" she scolded him. "Now this? If you try to fly with Choji, you'll throw your back out! He's too fa-"

"I can handle it, Ino," Shikamaru stopped her just in time. He grabbed Choji's hands and hovered over his head. "You ready?"

Choji gulped. "I- I've never flown before, Shikamaru. Are you sure it's safe?"

"Don't you trust me?"

Swallowing hard, he nodded. He held on tight as he felt his feet leave the ground. He looked down and saw everything shrinking beneath him. He was among the branches one second, then seeing the tops to the trees the next. Then, once Shikamaru was up high enough, started to move forward. He could feel Choji's nails digging into his flash, clinging for dear life. They were going for a ride.

"S- sorry, S- Sh- Shikamaru…" Choji trembled. "I know I must be heavy."

He shrugged. "Actually, I didn't really notice." He hadn't. Choji felt like he weighed almost nothing. He was so light. "Say, have you lost weight by any chance?"

Choji shot him a look, taking his eyes off the ground for the first time since the ride began. "Don't tease me, Shikamaru."

"I wasn't. You just feel really light to me."

Choji looked back down, still not used to such a height. "Maybe you've gotten stronger."

"Yeah, maybe… I think Crystal said something about our powers improving during our long sleep. So maybe you're right."

The night air felt so good on Sasuke's face. He had almost forgotten what it was like. He felt so free. He flew higher and higher, dipping down low and doing flips in the air. It was so good to be alive. Such freedom…

Neji zoomed past him and the two started a race. Sasuke caught up only to be outmaneuvered when Neji did a sudden u-turn in mid-flight. Sasuke chased after him. He wasn't going to get away that easily.

Down on the ground, Naruto and the others watched the display take place above their heads. "It looks like they're testing their powers out."

Lee nodded. "They wish to see how they have improved during their long sleep. It is amazing to watch! To think that you can become so strong from just sleeping."

"I think there's more to it than that," Tenten told him. "But they are much faster than I remember."

"And strong, too."

Sasuke and Neji zoomed past them, a strong gust of wind following close behind, blowing their hair back. Naruto chased after them on foot, wanting to catch a bit of action himself. He reached up and tried to grab one of Sasuke's legs but the Uchiha moved aside with ease. Feeling like showing off, he reached down and picked Naruto up in one hand. He really was strong! Sasuke could never do that before! He held the fox in the palm of his hand like a tiny doll and juggled him in the air. Naruto screamed out and begged him to stop. It wouldn't have been as scary if Sasuke hadn't been doing this in the clouds and one handed to boot.

Neji soared through the sky like a dolphin in the sea. The night air felt wonderful on his pale face. He loved the feeling. The smells… The sounds… He loved the night.

He looked off to the side and saw Sasuke ripping a tree out by its roots and swinging it around like a bat. Naruto was running scared for once in his life. Sasuke was showing off like crazy and there was no telling how far he would take it. He could kill someone at the rate he was going. Neji plowed into him and pulled the tree out of his hands and held it in his. Was this really a whole tree? It felt like no more than a branch to him. He really had gotten stronger. He liked it.

Sasuke flew higher and stared down at Neji. He reached out for the tree. "Give that back."

"Why? So you can kill somebody with it?"

"I won't kill anyone."

"At the rate you're going, you will. Clam yourself down, hotshot, and I'll give it back to you."

"Hotshot?"

"You heard me."

Sasuke opened his mouth and hissed, baring his fangs at Neji.

Neji hissed back. This was another good way to test out their new powers. A good old fashioned fight. After all, Neji was really interested in fighting Sasuke. Two prodigies fighting it out. Now that sounded like fun.

In a flash, the fight started. Neji slugged Sasuke in the chest with the tree like a bat and flew after him, dropping the tree to the earth with a loud crash. Sasuke pulled out of the blow and soared high over Neji's head. Then he dove down and delivered the first punch. Neji took it in the jaw and was cast aside like an old rag doll.

Even with such great force, the two barely felt a thing. These were the kind of blows that could shatter bones or take lives, but to them they were no more than getting hit with a couple of heavy pillows. They barely felt anything at all.

Tenten looked up at the sky and saw the whole thing take place. "Oh, those idiots," she sighed. "They just woke up and already they're picking a fight. Why can't they just take it slow for once? They're going to burn themselves out in no time."

There was a thunderous crash followed by an enormous dust cloud as Sasuke drilled Neji into the earth with all his might. The force created a huge crater in the earth, Neji right in the middle with Sasuke standing on his gut. Sasuke threw up his hands in victory. "I win! Who's awesome?"

"Not you!"

He looked down to see Neji's fangs doubling in size. His eyes flashed a deep, menacing red and he let out a vicious hiss.

"The fight's not over you, fool!"

Before he could blink, Neji was upon him. With Sasuke still on his gut, Neji shot straight up into the air in an upward tackle. The two broke apart in the air and Sasuke managed to get a good long look at him. Neji had sprouted a pair of black bat wings. His nails had become claws and his fangs were long and sharp like a pair of dangers. He looked like a monster.

"Wait, did you just try to transform into a bat?" Sasuke asked. "You look like you could only manage about half."

Neji snarled. "I'm not sure what this is, but I feel even more powerful than ever. Come on! Let's finish this!"

With a smug smirk, Sasuke agreed.

The two collided.

Sasuke's claws extended and slashed Neji across the face. His deep gash healed in seconds and Neji slashed him back in turn. The two bit and scratched each other and tumbled around in the air. Sasuke grew his own pair of black wings and threw Neji to the ground, showing off his new strength. Neji shot straight up and into Sasuke again, slamming into him with all his might. Blood shot out of his mouth as he was tossed through the night air. Neji was indeed very strong. No one had ever tossed him like that before. From the feel of it, the force of the impact had broken four of his ribs and shattered two others.

"What the hell are they doing?" Ino looked up at the sky. "Are they trying to kill each other?"

Sasuke zoomed back, nearly knocking Shikamaru and Choji out of the sky. He stuck his arm straight out and pierced Neji's collar bone, blood spraying everywhere. Sasuke ripped his hand back out, a piece of bone still stuck between his fingers. Neji remained in the air, hand over his wound. When he took his hand away, the wound was long gone. They could heal so much faster now. Even from heavy injuries.

Neji zipped passed him with incredible speed and slammed into him from behind. Sasuke was sent down into the earth once again. Neji circled above like a vulture.

"Will you two knock it off before someone really gets hurt?" Tenten called from below.

Neji looked down. "But we're just-"

Sasuke was in the air again, dragging a tree behind him. Gripping the trunk tightly in both hands, he threw it at Neji. The vampire saw it coming and moved aside in time. But now it was heading for the girls. Tenten was right in its path. Neji power dived down and put himself between her and the tree. He raised his arm up as a shield and the tree shattered on impact. Tenten hid herself behind him as debris rained down around them.

He turned to her. "You ok?"

She nodded. Then slapped his shoulder. "You idiot! I told you to cool it before someone got hurt!"

"I'm sorry!"

Sasuke flew over and hovered above them. "Well?"

"I think we should stop. Too many people. Besides, I think we proved our point."

"You two just have to show off, don't you?" Tenten scolded them. "Yeah, we get it. You're powerful. Now knock it off. Save it for when there's real danger, ok?"

Neji wasn't listening to her. He was too bus sniffing her neck. "I'm thirsty."

She moved away."

"Please? Just a taste?"

"But I already gave you some a little while ago."

"Yeah, but all that work out made me thirsty again. Please?"

She frowned. "Hey, Lee?"

"Huh?"

"Get over here. He needs your neck."

"What?"

No time for arguing. Neji had already wrapped his arms around him and was drinking his blood. Sasuke looked around for his favorite fox. His blood was very satisfying. He loved Naruto's unique flavor. But he couldn't find him anywhere, so he had to settle for Sakura instead. He brushed her hair aside and bit her neck.

Shikamaru finally returned and set Choji back down on the ground by the other ninja. "What'd I miss?"

Suddenly, without warning, Sasuke shot up into the air again and started flying this way and that. He was looking for something.

"Now what are you doing?"

Without looking back, Sasuke answered. "If our hibernation is over, then that means that Crystal should be returning, too. I can't wait to see her!"

Sakura watched Sasuke with sad eyes. So he really was in love with another woman. Was there really no hope for her at all?

Crystal ran as fast as she could, hoping to beat the rising sun. From the moment she awakened from her long slumber, her life had been filled with nothing but trouble and hardship. No sooner had she left her hiding place, a group of vampire-hunting humans began chasing her. She couldn't handle them and hide from the sun at the same time. They had been waiting for her. They knew she couldn't fight them in the daytime. All she could do was run. The sun was coming up. She had to hide. She could feel her own body begin to weaken as the sun rose higher and higher. She feared she would not make it.

"There!" A man pointed straight at her and the others followed. Crystal ran faster, with what little strength she had left. The men started to throw rocks and stones at her to trip her up. With such a weak body, Crystal couldn't fly away. She was forced to run downhill, dodging their stones and taunts.

Luck was not on her side. She tripped the last remaining steps and fell to the ground. This gave the humans enough time to catch up to her and started to beat her. With her claws, she slashed at their legs and scrambled up. She had to get away!

She stepped out from under the safety of the trees just as the sun rose above the horizon.

The light found her exposed flesh and started burning her.

Crystal screamed and fell to the ground, curling up to hide herself. The humans ran to her side and started pulling at her cloak, stripping her of the only protection she had.

It was too late for help. Crystal screamed as her spine bent backward like a bow and fissures started to stretch across her pale flesh. Her soft skin became as rough and hard as stone as her body began to crystallize. Her skin cracked, the transformation continuing without mercy. Crystal's hand reached out toward the sun as if attempting to block it out. Even if she could, there was no longer any point. It was too late for her now.

"No..!" Her lips started to turn to stone and became just as fragile as glass. "Why..?"

Crystal's lament fell from her lips in a cloud of dust. Her eyes darkened, wide and fearful, staring straight at death. Her extended arm cracked and broke off at her elbow and fell to the ground in a pile of sand. The rest of her body followed suit, crumpling into dust. Her hard grey body cracked off piece by piece inside her clothes, her limbs reduced to piles of dust and stone. Her neck snapped and her head fell back and was pulverized on the hard ground. The wind blew her remains away, leaving no trace behind.

The last of the vampires was gone from this world. Her fear-filled journey of pain and suffering was at an end. Her life was over. Her spells were broken.

Far away, back at the Leaf Village, the small group walked back toward town as the sun was beginning to rise. They took the path covered by trees to make sure that no sunlight would find them. Worn out from their little battle, the two vampires barely said a word. Not to mention the fact that the rising sun was making them feel sleepy. Shikamaru rubbed his eyes with a yawn. "It feels like I only just got up, now I'm tired again. I feel so sleepy…"

Ino gave him a slap in the back of the head. "Talking about it won't help. The more you dwell on it, the more tired you're going to get."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Sasuke was still happily planning his future dates with his beloved Crystal on their way through the tree. He missed her so much. He remembered how good it felt to sleep next to her during the daytime and how much he loved playing her a song in the middle of the night. He loved dancing with her and how much he loved to see her smile and call out his name. He was hopelessly in love with her. This only upset Sakura further. Knowing how he felt about Crystal, knowing that she felt the same about him, made her wonder if there was any hope for her at all. If Sasuke really loved Crystal the way she did him, she knew it was never meant to be. She loved Sasuke, but there was another in his heart. There was just no room for her.

This overpowering feeling of love was making Sasuke crazy. Everyone knew how he got over the ravishing vampire girl and that was exactly what was creeping them out. Sasuke didn't act like himself. He acted like a love-crazed maniac. So out of character for him. Was this really what he was like when he was in love or was it just because of the vampire's spell? There was really no way of knowing.

The group was passing through the trees when something strange started to happen.

Suddenly, every vampire froze in place and did not move. They looked like terrified statues, eyes wide and staring straight ahead. Lee poked Neji in the arm. He gave no response. The same thing was true for Shikamaru when Ino waved a hand in front of his face. He gave no reaction. Sakura gave Sasuke a shake.

"Sasuke. Sasuke, snap out of it! Wake up! What's wrong with you?"

He gave a soft whimper and then…

"GAAAAAAAAAAUUGHHH!"

All three vampires threw back their heads and screamed. They screamed and screeched and wailed. It was a horrible sound, like something you'd hear in a nightmare or a horror film. They were in total agony.

"Sasuke! SASUKE!"

Naruto came up to help her. "Sasuke, what's wrong? Are you ok? Sasuke, talk to us! Sasuke!"

His screams died down and so did his strength. Sasuke lost all sense of balance and toppled over. His teammates caught him and sat him down in the grass. Neji and Shikamaru had stopped screaming as well, their eyes rolling to the back of their heads as they fell over into the arms of their teammates.

"Cryst… al…" Sasuke breathed before falling silent once again.

The next time Sasuke's eyes opened, he was laying in a hospital bed. On either side were the two other vampires, out cold. He blinked and looked up at the ceiling. Everything was so calm. His body ached, though. Even his teeth were hurting slightly. Staring up at the white tiled ceiling he asked to no one in particular, "What am I doing here?"

"We needed to get you inside."

"Huh?" he looked at the chair on the other side of the room where Kakashi was sitting.

"You collapsed in the woods," he explained. "We brought you here. I wanted to wait until you all woke up before I told you what was going on."

Neji and Shikamaru stirred next to him as they in turn woke up wondering where they were. Once they figured out their location, Kakashi called in the rest of the teams who were waiting outside the door. Everyone from that night came in and stood around their beds. Sunlight glared off of Naruto's headband and Sasuke put up his hand to shield it from his eyes. That's when he noticed that the windows were open and sunlight was streaming in. But it wasn't hurting him.

Sasuke held out his arm in the light, feeling nothing but a dull warmth. "Why aren't I burning?"

The other vampires noticed the same thing.

Kakashi nodded. "Remember when we discovered that the only way to cure the vampire curse was to kill the vampire who bit you?"

Sasuke was very confused. "But… I bit Shikamaru… and… but I'm not… I…"

He nodded. "Ah, but Crystal bit you. I was off on a mission when I got word that a vampire had been killed up north. I decided to check it out. I found a pile of stone and dust and a green dress. The same one you bought for her." He took a breath. "Sasuke… Crystal is dead. She burned to death in the sun."

He stared at him in shock.

"She was the one who bit you first, causing all of this to happen. She was the head vampire. Killing her severs the chain linking all of you together. In other words, the moment she died, the vampire curse was broken. You're all human again."

To test this, Neji tried out his Byakugan. It actually worked. He couldn't do that before as a vampire. The curse really was gone and they had all their powers back.

After a short stay, Neji and Shikamaru left with their teams to get reacquainted with the day world. Sasuke remained in bed. He hadn't moved since Kakashi had told him the news of Crystal's death. Naruto remained behind and sat on the edge of Sasuke's bed.

"You ok?"

He shrugged.

"Look, I know how you must feel. It's hard losing people. Heh, like I need to tell you that. But come on, she wasn't that great. She did turn you into a vampire after all. You'll get over it."

"That's not the problem."

Naruto looked at him. "What do you mean? What is it then?"

Sasuke looked at him for a second before looking away again. "I… Don't feel anything."

"Huh?"

"For her. I… I feel nothing. I know I should be sad and I should miss her. I mean, you saw how I was when I was away from her for a few hours. I should be going crazy. But I'm not. I don't understand. Why aren't I sad? What's wrong with me?"

Naruto kicked his legs, thinking. "Well…" he said after a while. "Maybe it's because you loved her as a vampire. And now that you're not a vampire anymore…"

That must have been it.

Sasuke no longer felt anything for her. He didn't even remember what had attracted him to her in the first place. He felt as if something was missing, but strangely enough, it didn't bother him. He remembered her clearly, but he felt nothing. He couldn't even say that he missed her.

"Hey, it's no big deal." Naruto hopped off the bed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Now we can go on missions together again and not have to worry about sun or blood. Right, Sasuke?"

"Whatever, loser."

Naruto frowned. That's the old Sasuke alright. Apparently losing his vampire self also meant losing his appreciation for the ninja who helped him out all this time. Naruto turned and started to leave.

"Naruto… thanks."

He turned. Sasuke was facing his bed sheet, hanging his head down low as if ashamed to admit it. Naruto didn't need to hear it. He already knew what Sasuke was thankful for. "That's cool. Hey, I'll tell Sakura you're doing ok. I'll send her in if you're-"

"Nah. I'm coming. Just give me a minute."

"Ok. Sure." Naruto opened the door and walked out, nearly bumping into Sakura who had been listening outside the door the whole time. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh!" She jumped up nervously. "Oh, I was just… I was just, uh… I was looking for… I wanted to… make sure Sasuke was ok."

"Oh, yeah. He's fine. He's coming."

"Great. That's really great." Naruto didn't even notice how she felt inside. But it was written all over her face. She was happy that Sasuke was ok and that he was human again. But what she was really happy about was the fact that Sasuke no longer had feelings for Crystal. And even if he did, she was long gone. I'm back in the game, cha!

They took it slow the first day, but it was surprisingly easy to get back into a normal human routine. Sasuke and his team was given two days off to rest up and get back into the swing of things. Sasuke didn't really need it. There was nothing for him to be upset about or to get over. Crystal was gone and that was that. Sasuke didn't need time to let that sink in if that was the idea. And if it was about getting used to being human again, he didn't need to. He was born a human, wasn't he? Nature never leaves you. Sasuke already knew what it was like to be human. And in truth, despite all his vampire powers, he did miss being human. Now he could be a ninja again and use jutsus, something he couldn't do as a vampire. Although, he did miss all the power he had gotten from being a vampire. It seemed such a shame to have to give all that up. It was back to training for him. No more sleeping for months at a time to get powerful.

That night, Sasuke crept out of his house, carrying a case under his arm. He jumped from roof to roof and tree to tree. He remembered what it was like to fly and missed it. But jumping was close enough. Oh, how he loved the wind on his face and the smell of the night air. He had lost so much when he became human again. His eyes had returned to normal and his skins had gained its color again and his fangs were gone. He had no vampire talent and had lost everything he had as a vampire. There was so much he had given up. But as much as he gave up, that was how much he got back. He was glad that he was human again.

Neji and Shikamaru felt the same way. Their teams were thankful for it, too. Just happy to have Neji back, Tenten didn't even bother to ask him what he was trying to tell her before he fell into his deep sleep three months ago. Not that he would bother to tell her now. He had no intention of letting her know that. Now yet, anyway. Everything was normal again and they wanted it to stay that way.

Sasuke leapt up onto a rooftop and stared out at the moon. He sat down and pulled out a violin. As he put it to his shoulder, he reminisced about the first time he had played for her and all the times since then. How she would watch him play her a song with a smile and bright, cheerful eyes. How they would dance together. How they would use their powers to torment the people in the village for their amusement. He remembered being out on a night just like this looking at the moon. He remembered everything she had taught him. She taught him how to be a vampire. He loved sleeping next to her during the day and flying with her at night. He remembered her voice and how she would sing. He remembered her soft touch and her strength. And he could still hear her giggle in his mind as he remembered her pale, smiling face.

But still he felt nothing. Those were only memories.

He put the bow to the strings and the violin screeched out of tune.

Maybe he did love her. Once.

THE END! ^-^

THANK YOU!

Thanks for reading! Again, I'm sorry it took so long, but better late than never. I hope you enjoyed it! And please review for this last chapter! See ya!