"And why do we have to bring a giant present again? Doesn't he have enough stuff already?"

Twelve-year old Naruto griped, carrying a festively wrapped present. It was pricey, just like the mansion appearing before them. It was aging nicely, like the rest of this eerily dead neighborhood, but everything about the north side of Konoha, abandoned or not, screamed of money and wealth and things Naruto never had. Coming from the apartments of the inner city, it was no surprise jealousy was eating at him.

"Sasuke's birthday was a week ago!"

"Because it's tradition, Naruto. Rebirth calls for celebration. Not just the requiem," Jiraiya commented, trailing and taking in the lavished scenery for himself. The fresher air, greener greens. They paid an obscene amount of money for this kind of privilege. "You'll get your own present when your requiem comes around. I'll make sure to buy you something nice, how 'bout that?"

"Ha! Yeah right! Do ya think I'm stupid or something?" With juvenile wrath, Naruto stuck out his tongue. "You couldn't even buy yourself a proper suit and tie!"

"It's not like you can make much on a writer's salary. Cut me some slack, Kid. Geez…"

The comment warranted an eye roll from Naruto, but they continued down the sidewalk. The old man produced a haggard sigh as they passed the iron gates of the Uchiha manor. As he gazed upon the fountain embellishing their lawn, he started to feel a little out of place as well. He pulled on his collar too tight, climbed up the porch, and knocked on the front door only to have it creak and open on its own.

Unlocked.

"That's odd…"

"Hm? What is?" Naruto asked trailing up the steps. His vision was blocked by the present towering over him. "And what kind of party is this? It's so quiet."

"That's what I'd like to know…" There was no way we would be the first ones at Sasuke's revival gathering; his whole family should've been in town since last week.

Jiraiya walked on, but the immediate odor violated his senses, diabolical. The ache of death plagued the foyer and rushed out at him, making his head spin. It never smelled so foul.

"Ughh. Naruto, something's not right," he muffled through his fingers. "Stay here."

Where in the hell is everybody?

Ashes scattered. Debris, ubiquitous. The sporadic skipping of a dead music player. The home began to resemble an undertaker's project with the air thick with haze and passing between the house's interior. Streaks of blood painted the hallway floor the further Jiraiya went; red, human blood, crusting over burnished marble. He kept his hand clamped down on his nose and mouth, urgently starving away the scent of rotting flesh.

"Hello?"

A piercing scream engulfed the house.

An answer.

Jiraiya nearly jumped out of his skin, but bolted towards the voice where a pool of blood welcomed him at the doorway. A suggested requiem site. The atmosphere was heavy, rousing chills along his spine that melted into horror. His vision adjusted to the darkness as he descended the stairs, slowly, into a tunnel of wails and cries. More coats of blood, a slick misstep nearly sent him tumbling. Then he saw him.

One of the world's newest vampires.

Sasuke, lying in fetal position.

Groaning in pain, hunger.

Alone.

And starving.

[20] The Instinct

"AAAAHHHH!

I KNEW IT!" Naruto howled as he burst through the door – the door to the Chief of Medicine's office. All conversation ceased as three heads turned to face the knucklehead blonde. "I CAN RECOGNIZE YOUR VOICE ANYWHERE, YA OLD PERVERT!"

"Oh, great. Who invited the kid here?" sighed Jiraiya, scratching his head. Ever since he took the Kage position, he left behind his apartment in downtown Konoha. And its other tenant, Naruto. "Well, it was nice seeing everyone, but duty calls." He snatched his knapsack and fled to the window's ledge, preparing to jump down multiple stories to escape the wrath of Naruto.

"WHAT THE FUCK? You abandon me for all these years and you just run away from me?!"

"Hey! That is no way to talk to the Hokage. I need a formal written apology or I'll have you arrested."

"ARREST YOURSELF, ASSHOLE."

"Naruto, can you calm down?" ordered Tsunade, stabbing at her throbbing temples. She fought a headache that manifested from a mix of heavy booze and nonstop bickering.

"WHAT! C'mon grandma! You of all people should know what a terrible guardian he is!"

"Do NOT call me grandma. And this isn't the time to talk about damn family matters! We were in the middle of a significant discussion before you barged in here like an animal! NOW, THE BOTH OF YOU, SIT YOUR ASSES DOWN BEFORE I HAVE TO DO IT FOR YOU."

"Yes, ma'm," they squeaked in unison.

"Neji, continue before I do something I might regret."

"…Sure," Neji complied awkwardly, clearing his throat. "As I was saying, while I was tending to Sasuke's wounds, it was clear that the holy water did hinder the healing process. While the weapon was one of the few choices that could possibly be deadly for our kind, the injury would've been at least halfway healed by now. But with the water involved, he's far from a full recovery."

Tsunade nodded with understanding and jotted down notes in illegible writing, something that could be interpreted as a code for her eyes only. Even though Sasuke's situation wasn't ideal, there was still and advantage to it. It is the best and maybe the only time to learn about the unknown enemy and their tactics before anyone else could get hurt. "And how about a mental assessment?"

"After having a thought-provoking conversation… well, more like an argument, with him, I can say that he did follow my thoughts coherently up until a certain point."

"That being?"

"There was a point where he grew very bothered; a trigger, perhaps."

"You're the reason he was in a pissy mood? I thought he was just being a dick as usual," Naruto chimed in.

"Well, it wasn't the Uchiha's usual brooding, Naruto. It was very quick, dark. Deadly, even. I knew the second I spoke, he was already unraveling. His anger was almost like… a reflex."

"An instinct," she corrected. Tsunade continued to hum disjointed facts, reading as she wrote. Then, the doctor laid the pen down and studied the etched information scrawled wildly across the page. "Thank you, Neji. Considering what we know, it can be said that the water in high doses debilitates mental and physical capabilities. That confirms rumors I've heard and several unnoted accounts. However, in theory, it also increases reaction time and the intensity of a response when it comes to certain triggers, mainly instinctual triggers. The body goes on auto-pilot, acts on reflexes, needs, wants. This also confirms a previous hypothesis I had about the nature of holy water: it interferes with the humanity and amplifies the demon."

"It screws with the two parts of vampiric nature, setting them off balance…Hmm, now we're getting somewhere," Jiraiya added, sitting in arms reach of the windowsill. "Neji, whatever the two of you were talking about must've really set him off."

"Che! No surprise there!" Naruto huffed, all too familiar with Sasuke's mood swings. "So what were you guys talking about anyway?"

"…Sakura."

Jiraiya coughed out a laugh. "Sheesh, this girl again? She's quite the celebrity–"

"–Wait," Tsunade interrupted urgently, her voice shaded with dread. "What exactly did you say about her?"

"It was a mere insinuation," Neji cracked a smirk. "It was harmless at best because the idea was so impossible to start with. All I said was he was attracted to Sakura, not for her blood, but because he wanted a mate, but everyone knows mating instincts don't work with humans."

"Nevertheless, he still reacted instinctively to the idea. He reacted with wrath, without thinking, to defend his pride. Maybe because you were right…" The woman snapped her eyes shut and began to vigorously rub her temples. The harms of such a perilous idea. "…No. You are right. That would make perfect sense."

"How? That's not how it works–"

"–Because somehow, a very small part of Sakura is part vampire and I don't know why or how." Tsunade swallowed back something vile, hard. "All I know is that you just left her alone with the most dangerous and unstable vampire in Konohagakure."

A weakness.

It was a sensation so intense, so raw. He wasn't aware of it and yet, for months, it controlled his every move as it leisurely cultivated, feeding on his denial and ignorance.

As a vampire, it was a feeling that was devouring him from the inside. It would slip through the cracks of his naturally cold, bitter demeanor; he would show kindness in the strangest ways, acting without reason and putting forth an effort that would slaughter his treasured pride. But this feeling, multiplied by some holy poison, ignited in the cavity of his chest. He knew he couldn't discount it anymore. It was rising, rising, and finally, overflowing, bursting.

It was in that instance his entire world collapsed.

He caved and he loved it. He hated how much he did.

The instant his lips seized hers so completely.

It was perfect.

It was real. It was her. It made no sense.

Logic would remind him that this was wrong. That this wasn't allowed. That she was human. That she needed to be touched softly, caressed nicely, carefully. Handled gently and fondled kindly. It would tell him to slow down. To stop. To think.

However–

The holy water generated some form of lunacy. It was a painkiller, a primer, a logic-downer. The madness manifesting inside of him was the trigger, the push in the wrong direction. And he was already on the edge. He had no desire to think and he had no desire to stop. It was misdirected instinct taking over. The impulse. It was running the show. It knew what he wanted. It was a voice, so loud.

Take her, take her.

She's yours.

Do it.

The way he craved her, unimaginable. The way she tempted him, unreal.

The things he wanted to do to her. They were filthy, horrible, and immoral on so many levels.

He was a criminal, a sinner.

A pleasure-seeker.

A vampire.

And just when he thought nothing could ever taste more deliciously sweet than her succulent, divine blood–

Her lips.

They became his weakness.

Something a vampire should never have.

.

Black twilight entered the bedroom, but the darkness only bolstered her senses. Sakura forcibly embraced the coolness of Sasuke with her entire being and it was utterly sensational, mind-numbing, fantastic. She felt lightheaded with a marvelous high. Tingles dashed through her, down her spine, to her toes. The room was getting hotter, heavier – like hell, but more heavenly.

His body was cold, hers was in flames. Fire and ice.

Despite it all, they were fitting together flawlessly.

In him, every predatory sense was lighting up with euphoric jumps. It was better than their secret moments, better than feeding. Was this even possible?

Why hadn't I done this sooner?

He grabbed at her and pinned her against the bed frame, feeling rough and risqué, clouded by want. The air rushed from her lungs and never had a chance to reenter. Instead, his tongue invaded her mouth and he fought her for hungry dominance. It was an easy battle, she folded instantly.

He was in control.

Sasuke ripped away the limp pillow in her lap and deepened the already hardened kiss as he pressed with all his might. There was hesitation, confusion. She felt faint when broken away from his myriad kisses. The room began to sway. He absorbed the view of her face. The glossed shine of her eyes. The shimmer of her cheeks. The heat of her lips.

Her blood. Her body.

All of it turned him on.

"Sakura," Sasuke rasped impatiently, his mouth now whispering on the edge of her ear. His hands gathered her hair and yanked back, revealing more of her slender neck. She yelped as Sasuke eagerly planted his mouth at the hollow under her ear and moved down to her neck, passing his forever mark, tracing her rapid pulse. His once-iced skin that was inching warmer and excited, a natural vampire response to intimacy, to arousal. A sign of readiness as plasma and venom rushed with zeal. Heating up, craving more. Turning on. His warming touch was surprising soft – testing, teasing, tempting. As the pleasure drugged her senseless, she whimpered. And his devilish smirk glided across her skin.

All the spots that made her moan, the places that made her flush with panic. Her weaknesses. He was aware of them and he was delighted to take advantage of it. He leaned in, nibbled, gently, then–

"Ah-h…!"

He snuck his teeth, deep, then released in rapid succession, branding untouched territory with a tainted mix of iced kisses and fiery bites. Marking his mate. A courting ritual.

Sasuke moved down to her collarbone, thoughtlessly ripping the fabric of her sweater. Onto her shoulder. Gnawing her arm. Ravaging her skin. Tasting her flesh. Blood was seeping, flowing, then running down until rivulets stained her clothes, her skin. He savored her with tongue and lips and he groaned with darkened rapture.

Sakura bit down to keep from wailing and tried to grasp the hint of pleasure that may overcome the hurt. But it was no use – every bite was scorching and every lip lock was insane. Too rough for her fragile body. The way he moved with her was inharmonious and unnatural, erratic, disturbing. She pushed her palms into his chest in some feeble attempt to keep him, some familiar monster, away.

"S-Sasuke–!" she winced, fraught and frantic.

He paused, a nearly impossible action, but happily allowed the scenic rush to overtake him.

Her lips were swollen, dry, and parted, panting unevenly. Her neck, covered in a battlefield of vampiric bites, began to give into a hideous purple. The wounds, the bites he gave her: bruised and corrupting perfect porcelain. He watched her throat constrict as she swallowed and her eyes spark with an alarmed light. His proximity was enough to get her lively beat going even faster; it was reverberating against the sharpness of his ears and tempting his taste buds all over again.

So human.

"Too much?" he purred with an ounce of velvet mockery. It was the madness talking. "You're trembling, Sakura."

"S-Sasuke, no…!"

"I thought you weren't afraid of me."

"This isn't you!" she protested, sounding more scared than she had wanted. "You're out of control!"

"And you're going to try to stop me?" Hot fingers glided up her arm in a deathly slow fashion as she swallowed hard, waiting on his next word – but it was his actions that were screaming. A touch on her inner thigh sent her into a panic. Inching closer to the ache between her legs. He paused. She winced.

"Now you're afraid?" he growled, animalistic, smelling delicious fear as it fused into the fragrant air. He couldn't help but reveal his upturned half-smile as he shook his head, messy midnight bangs spilling over his face.

His dangerously beautiful face.

"We're just getting started."

Sneakers skidded across the polished hospital floors as they turned the corner, heading to one of the rooms on the 3rd floor. The hallways were bustling with life teetering on nothing, too much noise for people who were on the brink of life and death.

Hinata, edging on a dream, stirred in restlessness. She mumbled disjointed sounds, shifted in the gummy recliner in a vacant patient's room. Then, her consciousness found sunshine, strokes of yellow, blonde. Immersion into bright, incandescent lights and the symphony of hospital machinery.

"N-Naruto…?"

Naruto snaked an arm around her back and sat her straight. His voice was shaky and fragile, like glass. "Hey, time to wake up!" It was laced with false enthusiasm.

Weary and disoriented, Hinata intoned, "What's happening…?"

"Hinata, it's time to go, we're in a hurry."

"Neji?" She palmed her eye sockets for clarity and colors gave way into cousin, like Naruto, sported the same anxious mien. It swelled with anguish, frighteningly so. "B-But what's happening to Lee? He's still in surgery. What if–"

Neji shifted his weight on the balls of his feet, eager to keep moving. "He's in good care and that's all we can do for him. His health is the least of our worries for now. Let's go. Sakura needs our help."

They vacated the room and travelled to the main floor, out into the frigid, winter night. Dawn began to swallow up the darkness, but white frost was all they could see for miles. As the car's lone roar filled the parking lot, they set off, but the mounting snow made driving harder than ever. Back in the Viper's front seat, Neji gripped the wheel, teeth grinding. Impatience was boiling under his skin.

Naruto edged forward, leaning in from the backseat, and tore him a new one. "God damn it, Sakura's life is in danger again and we couldn't be moving any fucking slower! This is all your fault, you know! Feh, some genius you are!"

"My fault?" barked Neji, humoring him sourly. "Is that what you said?"

"Yeah! You heard me! Whose bright idea was it to give them privacy?! We should've never left them alone in the first place!"

The fear in his voice, it was alarming and Hinata froze in her seat. Neji said Sakura was part vampire, confirmed by Dr. Tsunade herself. A very small part, no less, but that would explain her ability to feel fear with ease, the rapid healing, her regular appearance with Sasuke, hunting her without threat to her life. But could she handle herself against someone more demon than she was?

Alone?

"It was so he could, perhaps, apologize to her in private? He would never admit to anything with us breathing down his neck, Naruto!"

"Since when has he apologized for anything in his entire fucking life?! Why the hell would he start now?"

"Because she's changing him! Don't you see? If he apologized, for anything thus far, it would mean fewer repercussions from the Kages. It would mean he's aware of his wrongdoing and maybe he can be pardoned for the sins he's committing!" Neji exhaled brutally. The weight of it all was staggering. "We should consider ourselves lucky, that the Fire Kage is on our side and chose not to say anything to the others… but we won't always be so lucky.

The more we bury this up, the more trouble we can get ourselves into."

Naruto went silent, but gushed with directionless fury. There was too much happening and answers were trickling in like rain during a drought. The hunters, the Kages, the holy water? Sakura's deadly lineage and Sasuke's ability to pick up on it, of all people to choose from. It just had to be her. The only one who could help. And this whole mating business.

"So, how is mating dangerous, exactly?" Naruto blurted out a beat too fast. "B-Because, you know, it's not like I've ever done it."

It was something that happened in the moment. Everyone knew that. Instinctual. Something like falling in love, but more nefarious. But the question still loitered and Naruto watched Neji stiffen at the inquiry.

He sighed, routed. "…I don't know."

"What? You don't even know?"

"…I've never done it either."

"What the– Then what's the point of rushing over there if there's no problem anyway?! They could be completely fine and we're just… walking in on something." He shivered at the thought.

"There is a problem, Naruto. I know that it's dangerous. For a human, especially. The rest is merely semantics."

Naruto leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest, skeptical. "And you know that because…?"

Neji tensed, harder than before, and warningly eyed the girl sitting next to him in the rearview mirror. The one who has been quiet since they started down the road. Naruto choked on his words and a blush blossomed at his whiskered cheeks, surprise taking hold of him.

"Wha–? Hinata? You've mated before?!"

"No! You idiot!" Neji wanted to punch him in the throat. The insensitivity. "My aunt–"

"–My mother died from it." Hinata spoke up, her voice was barely audible. "It…poisoned her. It wasn't right away, but…it killed her in the end! She would've been better off…," Her voice trailed off, leaving her head hanging. Shoulders shaking.

Better off without me, is what she would've said. Her mother, her human mother, died because of her father. Naruto's pale blues widened at the thought and guilt slithered through his veins faster than he could say sorry.

He had no idea.

"Dr. Tsunade said that Sasuke wouldn't die as long as Sakura's with him, because if he's just feeding on her, she would most certainly not die and he can live on that. But the other way around?" Hinata gripped the fabric of her pants, trying to keep herself from spinning.

From crying in front of them.

For her own mother. For her friend.

"Mating changes everything."

A plume of smoke was clearing and twisting into the dry, frosty wind.

Another ceiling beam tumbled to the ground, colliding into the pews below; more lines of wire and wreath tangled as it fell. Then mounds of concrete rubble were strewn along the wooded grounds. As the dust was settling, a man, dressed with a dark high-collared cloak, walked through the smoke and nonchalantly tossed a ball of stiffened blood onto the floor. It rolled, lopsided and lame, to the altar and under the Christmas tree that stood so proud and pristine. He nicked his thumb, drawing forth a dot of black. Then, he snapped his fingers.

Detonation.

The tree lit up instantly.

More stained glass burst into a thousand splinters, glitz and bright in the inferno. He effortlessly blocked the ricocheting pieces of wood, shards of glass that flew all around him. The grey mist cleared once again, revealing the old chapel, deteriorated and reduced to ruins. The building was partially blown away, leaving only the priest chambers untouched. Another man, dressed in similar garb, walked around him and stepped over the wreckage, disappearing.

"Oi," the bomber called out, sitting on the remains of a bench. "Our mission would be easier if it wasn't this place, yeah."

"You know vampires are never invited into the house of God. We had to get in somehow," spoke a quieter voice, his redheaded partner. "If this mission is such a bother, you shouldn't have come."

"We're under orders, damn it. As if I had much of a choice. And how would you get in without me, eh, Sasori?" Receiving no answer, he sighed roughly and extended out his legs to relax. "What other way to get in without destroying half the place with a bang, mm?"

"No house, no need for an invite. Clearly, Deidara, I would have ruined the church myself," Sasori answered, walking through an archway that was missing its door. "As if I care what becomes of this place…" Room after room, he searched for their target. Deidara remained in the open atrium, on guard.

"With your little puppets? Heh – With all due respect, that's not art. That's child's play. Explosions are the way to go. "

"…Are you trying to piss me off?" Sasori was deep into the chambers but, with vampire ears, heard him easily. "Keep talking and I'll make you a part of my collection, you little shit."

"Heh, we'll see! Just get what we need and let's get the hell outta here. I hate this place. Fuckin' holy shit makes my skin crawl."

Aggravated by his fruitless endeavor, Sasori yanked at a jammed doorknob, breaking the lock. He broke in and knew he was in the right room. He came face to face with a collection of figurines that grew since the last time he saw it. His brown eyes mulled over each and every one, identifying memories that traced back to his muddled childhood. Quickly, he noticed the one that resembled him and tore it to pieces without batting an eye. Cotton stuffing and fabric littered the floor as he left.

"Oi, oi! Did ya find it yet?" came Deidara's blasting voice.

Sasori reemerged empty handed. "It's not here; she must've taken it. The old priestess is long gone. She abandoned her army in the back room…"

"What're we even looking for? Some stupid doll, right?" the blonde asked, standing and cracking his neck. "Feh, that hag's too old to be playing with dolls."

"It's not just any doll, Deidara. The dolls she makes are specialized and dangerous. If she knows your face, she knows your fate. And if she gets her hands on your blood, consider yourself sent to hell."

"Hmm, so I'm convinced. Whose doll are we after? Yours? Mine?"

"Madara's. And if she decides to use it, he will manage to sever our heads before she can do anything to him. No question."

"How the fucking hell did I get dragged into this, mm?" Deidara moaned, crafting another creation. "So, where to next?"

"We'll find her and kill her, along with anyone who gets in our way," Sasori said with ironic indifference. "…Including them." Standing in the debris, twenty unfamiliar vampires appeared in suits that signified their ties to the Kages. Deidara sneered and Sasori grew wildly impatient. "These foes are so insignificant, it is almost insulting."

"In the name of the Kages, we are authorized to contain any suspicious characters with links to the Akatsuki. Come with us or be prepared to be met with force."

"Force?" Deidara cackled darkly. "I'll show you force!"

A mass of dark red hopped out of his palm and swam into the air.

"Katsu!"

"St-Stop!"

"Or…what, Sakura?" Sasuke teased devilishly, with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He inspected her under those dark lashes, ruinous. Something clouded his pupils, a haze of need and the screaming temptation.

Where was logic?

Sakura's eyes darted around the room, swimming through the night, the incoming sun. There had to be something, anything to help her. But the moment the structure of him slammed into her weak frame, she gasped out. Her plans scrambled.

"God! Help me…!" was her only plea left.

She planted her hand against his torso, again, pushing away with all her might. But nothing, not even a flinch in the opposite and safest direction. He laughed, purring against her ear. The rumbling of his husky voice.

"God can't help you."

He delved in for another bite, slower. Dragged on for an eternity. Like torture. She felt the injection, a poison, seep through her skin, leisurely – what was it, she didn't know – but the flood of desperation was overtaking her, the sirens of panic wailed in her brain.

Twisted determination followed.

"No!"

I can't die!

Light from the sun faltered through the windows.

The last effort.

Not yet!

.

The Viper pulled up to the mansion, and the three of them rocketed out of the car. The snow, the only obstacle, would have to fight another day. They could not lose.

"C'mon! We don't have much time!" Naruto cried, reaching the porch, ripping the door wide open.

But they all froze in their tracks, dead weight was their skins.

A piercing scream engulfed the house.

.

"I-I'm not afraid of you!"

God, I can help him! I know I can!

Adrenaline and something desperate, radiant from deep within her swam in her bloodstream. It was distant, but familiar. Static, electrifying.

It surged through her fingertips; she knew its warmth, like the summer sun. The heat travelled through her palms, the bandaged wound, up his body, his flesh. And it ignited in the cavity of his chest.

Sasuke recoiled from the sudden flame, away, and gone was the clouded lust. He shot her a look of pure poison and just when he thought the holy water was receding, another burst came full force.

Harder than before.

Sasuke flinched as the burn returned in tumbling waves, shaking him down. Sakura watched on, shocked. Her hands trembled. The intermittent pounding of thunder, mixed with the subtle rush of her blood.

Was that fear?

Or something else?

What did I do?

"What did you do?" Sasuke jeered, primed for bloody murder. His entire being bristled with pure, rocking fury and he cried out in a pitch that shook her bones to the core. Sakura covered her ears as the raging scream boomed through the skeleton of the house, quaking the foundations, the walls of the room, the bed, into her system.

Despite the rising sun, the air was purged in nightfall and Sakura fell with it. The walls of his bedroom liquefied into the backdrop of black and gravity morphed into something heavy and dank. Something different –

The stench of burning flesh and fresh blood.

It seems your conscious mind likes to protect you…by suppressing painful memories, experiences…

I want to help you remember.

Darkness with every step. It stretched endlessly. It engulfed her.

The wailing cry faded into an echo, a dream and it seemed so far away now. The weight of the world felt so changed and out of her grasp.

With nowhere else to go, apprehensive, Sakura treaded slowly, sensing the viscid blood lap against her naked heels in the pitch dark. She walked in hopes of finding even the smallest glimmer of light, but it evaded her. The thud of her footsteps rippled into the air and drifted away into the hollow void and from a distance, she could hear the ivory keys of a piano, playing a wretched tune, faint, that seemed to come and go like the wind. Then, she plopped down against the next step of what seemed like stairs, unknowing. The dimness was lifting with the help of flickering lights, candles maybe, at the bottom of her journey, but she was met with dirty fog and an even harsher smell the further she descended. Breathing became a luxury she could not afford.

Another scream sent her body shivering. Loud, desperate.

This time, it was closer.

Real.

You're making a mistake.

A mistake.

She stepped onto the black marble floor, nearly slipping on the pools of red, holding the handrail for safety. The uneven light from elegantly carved candles danced against the burgundy, curtained walls. Shining off brass candelabras. No windows.

There was a boy too familiar on the floor, deteriorating in a dashing suit, gasping for air. With a tiny flame slowly scorching the skin, the bones of his back.

"Help… me…," he croaked, clawing at her. Empty eyes boring into her soul. "Help…me…"

The single, flickering fire in the center of the room.

He moaned. Over and over and over, the pleas kept bleeding through his dying lips like a prayer, as the living candle slowly burnt out.

Reaching for her.

Needing her.

I'm going to kill you, Sakura…

"How?!" she screamed, helpless in this fight. The countdown to his fall from grace. "How can I help you?! Tell me!"

In the final seconds of light, she saw it. A shadow, with bottomless, red eyes the color of blood and only blood. It loomed over him, like a vaporous curse. It was the darkness. It was everywhere. And it was pulling him away. Every second, minute, hour of pain, pounded into a point in a time.

You should've stayed dead.

But you didn't.

His voice ceased to exist and he stared at her with dead, bleeding eyes.

Broken and alone.

Blaming her.

She felt it brand her memory, infecting every cell in her body. She felt the rushing bursts of agony, pelting her on all sides. The constricting touch of loneliness, the embrace of death. Everything he ever felt in that eternity of night.

His requiem.

There's a reason for that.

And suddenly, she started crying.

In a place that plagued the edge of her dreams.

The place where Sasuke ultimately died.

And if you want to live to hear it, I suggest you wake up.

She was in the Black Room, feeling everything, all at once.

You're not safe.

It was a quiet afternoon at the Uchiha manor.

Heavy drapes kept most of the sun at bay, but there were still patterns of elusive lights stamping the walls. Exhausted by the unwanted, Mikoto yawned and walked into the kitchen. She dug through the shelves of the nearly empty fridge as she heard the awaiting footsteps.

"Welcome home, Sasuke," she called, closing the refrigerator door. "How was schoo–"

"Mother, can vampires fall in love?"

The twelve-year old human quickly perched onto his bar stool and tossed his weighty backpack onto the stool next to him. He eyed the woman, gauging her body language in anticipation. She countered his stare and found his vast curiosity adorable. Directed towards the counter, she proficiently angled a knife against a tomato before breaking into its skin. With her back turned, she smiled to herself.

"That's a funny question," Mikoto said lightly. She revealed a hearty sandwich and placed it in front of her son, the only one left in the family with any need for human food. It was time for lunch and anything with tomatoes was on his menu. "Why do you ask? Are you in love with someone?"

"Che, no. I'll never be in love. I'm not stupid," he retorted with obvious disgust. "Either you're an idiot to fall in love or being in love turns you into one. That's what I learned in school today."

She laughed as she poured him a glass of water. He talked a big game, but she knew it was all naivety. It was cute coming from him.

"You know, love isn't something you understand just by going to school. You have to experience it for yourself."

"I don't want to experience or understand it. All I know is that it makes people do the dumbest things," he sighed, taking a bite. "In a story we were reading, this boy falls in love with a girl and after seeing her face for five seconds. Less than a week later, they kill themselves because they can't stand to live without each other. Why can't they just find someone else? There're billions of other people in the world. Those idiots. It's crap and it makes no sense." He rolled his eyes.

"It's a human emotion – It's not supposed to make sense."

"This is why being human is so stupid," he whined, imagining his upcoming thirteenth birthday which was the day of his requiem and his new life thereafter. "At least when you're a vampire, you follow useful instincts that keep you alive. Emotions just do the exact opposite."

"Emotions are beautiful, Sasuke. Being a vampire isn't just about the hunt. Emotions give your existence color and meaning," she mused with uplifting air. "And they don't just disappear the second you turn. They linger and resurface when needed, so don't think you're off the hook just yet."

"Great." The preteen scowled as he took another bite. He quietly seethed in annoyance before his mother spoke again.

"There is a fine line between instinct and emotions, you know. Sometimes, they might even be the same thing…" She smiled to herself, but Sasuke watched on, skeptical as always.

"But to rightfully answer your original question, I can tell you for certain…," she trailed, scrubbing at a cutting board under running water. Her voice was softer, almost solemn:

"Vampires can't fall in love."

The Instinct

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WOW, IT'S BEEN ALMOST 3 YEARS SINCE I FIRST UPLOADED THIS STORY. IT'S BEEN OVER 2 YEARS SINCE I'VE UPDATED.

And for that, I'm really sorry. Needless to say, PLEASE REVIEW. It means so much to me, seriously. If it weren't for the past reviewers, I don't even know how or why I would've come back to this story. I was rereading old reviews, and sometimes, I would even look back at this story itself, and it made me think: "You know, maybe I do have something good going on here, and people actually do like it... why not?"

And if it weren't for those reviews, I would not have been convinced.

So this is for you, old reviewers. It's been such a long time, I don't even know if those specific people are still reading/writing/lurking? on fanfiction. It's been such a long time, the layout of fanfiction changed since the last time I uploaded anything. It's been such a long time, I went to college, yes college hence why I've been so busy. It's been such a long time, Sakura's mom has a fucking name now. HER MOM. When I first made this story, I just gave the lady some random ass name and I had to go through all the chapters to change it because it bugged me. THE WOMAN DIDN'T EVEN HAVE AN OFFICIAL NAME 3 YEARS AGO. THAT'S HOW LONG IT'S BEEN.

So, yeah, it's easy to click follow/favorite or even just to read (which is totally fine too, no doubt), but the power of words, the power of reviews is so damn strong that I literally came back from the dead, and yes quite literally back-from-the-dead to finish this story.

FOR ALL OF YOU READERS. So, this isn't the greatest thing to have ever been posted on fanfiction, and it definitely isn't the best story in the world, but you know what? If you like it, then I'm so fucking happy to give this to you. I'm so happy to give you your own escape for a couple of hours and I hope you really enjoy what I had to offer. It's going to be here for a long time and I'm not done writing it just yet.

So please, enjoy it while it's still here.

Please review.

PS. I didn't proofread this (edited: all the way)... so sorry again!