Chapter Text
The next day when Sakura awoke, she immediately opened her eyes, and was surprised to see that she was lying on something soft.
She was still somewhat dazed and confused, but it didn't take long for her to figure out that she had somehow ended up in the guest room.
As she laid there thinking about what had just happened the previous night, she became aware of a strange feeling deep within her stomach. As she listened, however, she heard a voice coming from the doorway of the room.
She turned her head in that direction and noticed Sasuke standing beside the door, staring at her with narrowed eyes.
—How are you feeling?— he asked coldly.
She swallowed thickly.
—Uhm..fine.
—Do you want something to eat?
Her eyes widened.
— What?
—It's noon already,— he said calmly.— Have you eaten since yesterday?
She averted her eyes and shook her head.
—Nope.
—Then why haven't you eaten yet?
Before she could say anything in response, he pulled her up off the ground, causing her to yelp in surprise.
—What are you doing?
—We're having lunch.—he replied simply.
—But we don't need to eat!
—You need your energy to heal.
Sakura knew that he was right. It would definitely help her recover faster if she ate a proper meal. He helped her sit upright on the chair in front of the table and pulled a chair towards it for her to sit down.
—Thank you.
He ignored her words, walked over to the counter where food was stored, and began to pull different items out. When he returned, he placed two plates of food in front of her, along with two cups of water.
—I guess you'll probably need these.
After he had placed the tray in front of her, he took a seat opposite of her and began to eat his own breakfast.
—Why did you bring me food?— she asked after a while.— Shouldn't I be feeding myself?
He glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze to his plate.
—I didn't really want you to starve to death.
She frowned.
—Why do you care if I starve to death?
—Because I wanted to talk to you and if I can't do it with you eating, I may as well feed you.
Sakura blinked and remained silent. She didn't know what to say to that so she chose to ignore it and continued eating her food instead.
After she was done with her breakfast, she placed both dishes aside and cleared her throat awkwardly.
—So..are we gonna talk now?
He stared at her for a couple of seconds before replying.
—I suppose that we should.
They spent the next few minutes in silence. Both of them didn't seem to want to continue speaking first, so they decided to wait until the other had spoken first.
—Um…so…
Sasuke looked up from his plate and stared directly into her eyes. He waited for a minute before deciding that he wanted to try to start a conversation again.
—How did you end up here?
Sakura hesitated for a moment, but then told him what happened from beginning to end. He listened intently without interrupting her once. When she had finished telling her tale, he was quiet for a few more moments, seemingly lost in thought, until he suddenly spoke up.
—Did anyone follow you?
—Huh?
—Did anyone follow you out here? Did anyone attack you?
—No, no one followed me—she answered and then added— And no, no one attacked me besides the three figures I already told you about.
—Three people? Who?
Sakura bit her lower lip hesitantly.
—Two men and one woman.
—Was one of them tall or short?
—Both.
His eyes narrowed slightly and an angry expression appeared on his face as he muttered something inaudible under his breath. He clenched his fists tightly and his knuckles turned white from the pressure he was applying to them.
After taking several deep breaths, he seemed to calm down again, and turned toward her once more.
—Are they still after you?
—I don't know ,—Sakura answered— Do you know them, by any chance?
—No, I don't —he answered bluntly.— But I have definitely been sensing more presences around the area than usual.
Just at that moment they were talking, some footsteps were heard and Naruto came into the room.
—Oh, there you are!—he exclaimed happily as he spotted her sitting there. — Hey, girlie! How are you today? You fainted just when I came into the room!
Sasuke grunted in response, and then went back to looking at the ceiling.
—Oh yeah! What happened last night? Is Sasuke okay? What did he do to you? If he said something rude tell me, I'll beat him up!
Sakura smiled nervously and chuckled softly. —Well…
—What did he say!?
She quickly looked over towards Sasuke who glared daggers at the blond.
—Nothing bad, I promise. Don't worry.
Naruto looked suspiciously at Sasuke.
—Okay...but what really happened?
—She just fainted because she hadn't eaten all day—Sasuke responded before turning his glare towards Naruto.—Don't ask her questions like that.
Naruto raised his hands in defeat and backed away slightly.
—Right...
Naruto backed away for a bit and as soon as the blond was out of earshot, Sakura sighed in relief. Although she didn't exactly feel safe around him, she trusted him enough to keep quiet, even though there was nothing to hide anymore.
Then he the blonde came back and asked her again.
—So what did happen last night?
She gulped and gave him an uneasy smile.
—Uh…nothing. Just a little bit of dizziness I guess. Sorry.
Naruto shrugged and grinned.
—It's okay. Oh, also, I forgot to introduce myself yesterday! My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm this asshole's only friend!
—Sakura Haruno, nice to meet you—the pink haired girl smiled—.
—My pleasure, Sakura-chan! If you want to have some fun without this lame ass you can always call me.
Sakura chucked at the bright energy of the blonde guy.
—Shut up, you dobe. We were talking about something and you interrupted us. Go away.
—Sheesh, you're still no fun, you teme — Naruto then turned to Sakura— Well, if you're hungry, come downstairs whenever you're ready and let me know! I'll hunt something for you, Sakura-chan!
She nodded her head and watched him walk away. Once he was gone she looked towards Sasuke, only to find him watching her intensely.
After clearing her throat she turned her attention back to her tray, but before she could reach for her fork another hand stopped her.
—Leave that. I'm going to get you some water.
Once he grabbed a glass and filled it with water, he handed it to her. Sakura accepted the water gratefully and gulped down quite a lot.
After she finished drinking all the water, Sasuke set the glass aside.
—Eat.
She looked over and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Sasuke merely lifted his left eyebrow and pointed to the food.
—Aren't you going to eat?
—Yes.
After taking another glance at him, she reached for her chopsticks and picked up a piece of bacon to nibble on. However, almost immediately she stopped, as a thought occurred to her.
—What about you?
When Sasuke turned his head back towards her, she saw that he was wearing a somewhat surprised look on his face.
—Me?
—Yeah, you said yourself that you didn't want me to starve to death, right?
A faint hint of blush colored his cheeks and he slowly averted his eyes away from hers.
—Oh. Right. Well...I usually eat breakfast alone but...— He trailed off and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.—...since I'm not alone anymore, I might as well join you for a while.
She stared at him curiously for a few seconds before smiling at him and nodding her head. She proceeded to put another piece of bacon into her mouth and then she resumed eating.
The sound of the door opening and closing made both of their attentions turn towards it. It had only been the wind.
They went back to finish eating their breakfast.
The silence between them was comfortable, but Sakura felt uncomfortable.
She couldn't take it anymore. If she was going to stay with him for a long time she needed some answers.
—So, when will I leave this place?
She had finally decided to give him a chance to answer her question. She noticed how he tensed up at her question.
—I don't know, —he mumbled softly.
She furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side confusedly. She opened her mouth and was about to speak, but he cut her off before she could.
—Follow me, we will talk about it in my room— Sasuke said abruptly, stood up, and walked towards the door.
She nodded in agreement and got up as well before following him out of the room and into the hall where the door that led to his bedroom was located.
They walked silently in front of each other, Sasuke leading the way and Sakura following behind him. As they reached his room, he pushed open the door and entered, leaving Sakura outside.
She closed the door behind her and looked around the room. It was very neat and tidy, which was surprising considering that the majority of the house was dirty and abandoned.
There was a large bed in the middle of the room, covered with a white sheet and a single pillow sitting atop of it. A desk was placed near the foot of the bed along with a wardrobe that was situated against the wall opposite the bed.
Next to the wardrobe was a closet which contained many different clothing pieces, which consisted of various outfits, from casual clothes to formal wear.
On the other wall there was a window and a small balcony above it. On one side there was a wooden table.
Sakura walked over to the table and leaned against it, crossing her arms in front of her chest while staring out of the window.
She felt a sudden need to look outside, but she refrained herself. Instead, she took a glance at the clock on the table and saw that it was nearing noon.
She glanced back at Sasuke, only to see him standing next to the door looking at her with a curious expression on his face.
—Is everything alright?— he asked.
Sakura blinked and nodded her head.
—Yeah, sorry, just spacing out for a bit.
He continued to stare at her, not moving an inch. The corners of his lips curled up into a slight smirk, causing Sakura's brows to furrow in confusion.
—You seem distracted. Are you worried about your friends and family back in Konoha?
Her eyes widened slightly and a blush started to appear on her cheeks. 'How did he know?' she thought.
—No, no. I am okay. Everything's fine.
He raised an eyebrow.
—You sure? You seem so tense right now. And why would you be tense?
'Damn him. He knows everything!' Sakura cursed inwardly as she clenched her fists.
—Umm…I think I'm just a bit tired.
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
—Then why don't you lie down?
'This idiot! He can't possibly have seen through that excuse!' she thought angrily.
—Actually, I'II go to the bathroom.
She turned around and headed for the door, leaving him standing by the door, and slammed the door shut behind her.
In the meantime, Sasuke was still standing in the same spot, staring at the door in shock.
'Did she really think I'd believe that excuse?! Why else would she have blushed? Did she really think I wouldn't notice?' He shook his head and sighed. 'Whatever. I'll just wait until she comes back.'
Sasuke glanced back over to the window and noticed that it was starting to rain heavily outside.
'Great,' he thought as he began walking back to his bed and sat down once again. 'Rain is such a bitch.'
Sakura slowly made her way into the bathroom and stared at her reflection. Her cheeks were red and her eyes had been puffy ever since she woke up earlier.
—This sucks…— She said aloud.
She sighed in frustration, not knowing what to do. All she wanted to do was go home and spend time with her family. Unfortunately, she couldn't because she knew that that would make things worse.
She washed her face before placing her hands on the sink counter to steady herself.
—Are you alright?
The soft voice startled her and she jumped in surprise. When she turned to her side she found Sasuke leaning against the door frame casually, with his arms crossed in front of him.
She frowned in annoyance.
—What the hell are you doing here? Don't sneak up on people like that!
Sasuke chuckled lightly and smirked.
—You shouldn't yell when you see people coming, Sakura.
She rolled her eyes.
Sasuke stepped further into the bathroom and leaned against the mirror while folding his arms across his chest.
Sakura glared at him, still feeling irritated.
He simply chuckled at her reaction.
She huffed annoyed and turned away from him, deciding to ignore his presence.
—Hey.
Sakura flinched at the sound of his voice. She hated it. His voice always sounded cold and indifferent, which pissed her off more than anything else. But even if it pissed her off she couldn't help but enjoy it.
—Sakura, we really need to talk about what you asked before. About when I will let you go back to Konoha— he mentions and stops to see if she has anything else to add.
But Sakura remains silent. Her mind drifted off to the conversation she had with him the previous night. They weren't exactly discussing about her being his prisoner, per say, but they also weren't talking about her freedom either.
Seeing she was silent, he continued.
—I know you want to leave so badly, but I can't let you go when I know someone is clearly around the mansion. And we don't know if me or you are the target.—he stops then continues— I know I promised today I will let you leave, but I think it will be better if we wait for some days. Once it's safe I will let you go.
Her anger flared up once again.
—Safe?!— She shouted angrily.—I don't need safe! I NEED OUT!
Sasuke flinched slightly at her loud voice.She glared at him, glaring deeply at him.
—Don't pretend that you care about me or whatever. It doesn't suit you.
There was an awkward pause after her words left her mouth.
She suddenly remembered something else that she came up with last night while she was lying in bed thinking about his promise.
—Wait a minute,—she stated while narrowing her eyes in suspicion— You told me you would never let anyone hurt me. What did you mean by that?
She watched as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. His eyes wandered everywhere but hers, which made her even more suspicious.
—I didn't mean that literally— he eventually said softly— I meant that I won't let anyone hurt you in any way.
She scoffed in disbelief.
—That's impossible.
—It isn't, trust me.
Sakura's eyes grew wide and she took a step closer to him, trying to get him to stop avoiding her gaze.
—Listen to me. If you won't tell me the truth what makes you think I'm gonna trust you? Why should I? What are you planning anyway? To keep me here forever, aren't you? Is that what you're trying to achieve? Is this all part of your plan?—she asked while pointing a finger accusingly at him.
His facial features darkened.
—That's ridiculous. I would never do anything of the kind.
Her anger seemed to have subsided as she eyed him critically, trying to figure out what he was really thinking.
She knew that she was going to lose in this situation and she knew that he knew it too. But she was still determined to find out the reason behind all of this.
He was hiding something, she was certain about it.
—What do you expect me to believe?—she spat.
—Look, I'm not saying that I would keep you here forever-
She laughed humorlessly.
—Then why are you keeping me here? Remind me again for how long have I been here exactly —she interrupted.
—Since yesterday afternoon.
—And for how long do you think I will tolerate your bullshit if you're not telling the complete truth? I can see it in your eyes, you avoided my gaze. It must mean that you know something that I don't.
A silence fell upon them. They both remained silent until Sasuke finally spoke up.
—Fine, if you insist on making things harder for yourself then fine. I'll answer your questions.
She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.
—As I said yesterday afternoon and before, I'II let you leave once it's safe. The three figures you saw came here probably searching for something of my family. They saw you there and now maybe think you have something to do or know where is what they're looking after.
He paused then talked again.
—You are a mortal and it would be easy to get information out of you just by threatening you with death, that's why it's better that I keep an eye on you. In the meanwhile, I will let you stay here for another few weeks until it's safe for you to return to Konoha.
— A few weeks?! But that's too long! What about my friends and family?! They will be worried!
Sasuke ignored her outburst and walked forward, closing the gap between them, until he stood only inches away from her.
She could feel his hot breath fanning against her face as he looked directly into her eyes.
Her heart stopped beating. The sudden contact caused sparks to erupt inside her body and she felt heat rushing upwards throughout her body.
She quickly stepped back from him and backed away in fear, shaking and clenching her hands together tightly to prevent them from trembling.
—Do not act foolishly, Sakura. I'm only trying to protect you from those people— he said sternly, watching as she began to panic.
—How many times do I have to tell you?! —she yelled— My life is none of their goddamn business!
Sasuke closed his eyes briefly and sighed. He reached over and grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer towards him.
—Why are you acting like this?! You're acting like this right now! —he exclaimed frustratedly— I'm doing nothing to harm you and yet you treat me like I'm some sort of monster!
She tried her best to free herself from his grip, but he held onto her firmly.
—Let me go, dammit! You're hurting me!— she screamed desperately.
Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration and let go of one of her wrists and shoved her backwards hard enough to knock her over.
She landed roughly on her stomach on top of the carpeted floor. Tears sprung to her eyes as she laid motionless with her face buried into the ground. Her breath became ragged as pain flooded through her body, causing her to cry out loudly.
Sasuke turned his head away, not wanting to watch her suffer any longer. She cried loudly, each sob breaking his heart slightly.
He sighed heavily before picking up the wet towels to wipe down her face.
He bent down and placed the towels over her forehead to cool her down. After a few minutes, she managed to calm down enough for her breathing to return to normal.
He sat down next to her on the floor and gently wiped the tears off her cheeks.
After a few moments she lifted her head up, her face still wet with salty tears and her eyes red from crying.
They both stared silently at each other for a moment, neither knowing what to say or do.
Finally Sasuke got tired of her stubbornness and decided to break the tension.
—Just try to relax—he murmured gently.
His soft tone calmed her immediately. She slowly nodded in response.
—Just rest for awhile and try not to think of anything—Sasuke added as he rubbed her hand comfortingly.
Her eyes widened at his action.
'Did he just hold my hand? And what does he mean by 'don't think of anything' ? Why am I being treated like a child right now?' Sakura internally cursed, cursing herself for getting confused by him.
She shouldn't have cried in front of him. But she couldn't help it, she was so worried for her parents and her friends, she wanted to go back home.
She felt emotionally drained and exhausted, and even if she hadn't been awake for too long, Sakura felt the need to go and lay down.
With the amount of stress she's feeling, she needed the extra sleep to ease the anxiety and depression that had been plaguing her since she'd woken up.
Without any word, Sakura turned away from him, got up and walked past him out of the room. He followed after her silently as he decided he would escort her back to her room.
Sakura gets a bit annoyed at this, he constantly following and leading her around as if she didn't know the way back to the room. She wasn't stupid and definitely wasn't a kid that had to be cared for like this. It was so embarrassing.
—I don't need you to walk me everywhere, you know? It's so annoying, I know the way back!— she snapped irritably before turning to the stairs leading to the second floor.
Sasuke stayed put, his eyes fixated on her back as she descended the stairs.
—Sakura?— he called out quietly.
She didn't respond and ignored him, then she said again.
—Didn't you hear me? I said that I know the way back.
Nothing.
She continued walking upstairs without even sparing a glance at him.
Sasuke let out a sigh of frustration as soon as she turned away from him.
Then he pointed out the obvious.
— Doesn't look that way to me— he smirked as he pointed to the left of the turn, where the room actually was, unlike the right turn that she had just taken.
Sakura blushed in annoyance and scoffed at his smirk.
— Shut up, I knew it was that way! I was just trying to get you out of my sight! —she yelled all ashamed.
Sasuke shook his head at her and chuckled lightly, causing her to scowl at him in frustration.
—Alright, alright, we'll talk later.
—We will not.
He narrowed his eyes playfully as he watched her stomping away towards her bedroom angrily.
—Oh yeah, we will.
—Ugh! Just shut up already!
He smiled, it was so funny to watch her reactions, and bickering with her was amusing. It wasn't often that he got to tease someone as much as he did her.
She was different when it came to talking to him. Even though she always had a sour mood whenever they were together, he enjoyed every single time she argued with him. Everytime she snapped and yelled at him, he found himself smiling.
Now as Sakura was turning the handle of the door, she missed and slipped her hand on the edge of the handle, that was a bit more sharp and pointy, and it resulted on her getting cut.
She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth and glared at her hand, which had turned red and beginning bleeding.
—Shit, Sakura!—he yelled suddenly, grabbing her wrist with his hand to make sure that she wasn't hurt anywhere else.
— I'm fine! —Sakura says as she checks in the wound, it wasn't that deep of a cut.
As Sakura looks up she notices the change of his look going from worried to exalted, he covered his nose with his hand as he tried to keep a safe distance while checking up on her. He was sweating.
—What's wrong?— Sakura asks, as he notices the change in him.
—Your hand —Sasuke answers, with a deep and raspy voice, clearly affected.
—It's just a scratch— Sakura replies in disbelief.
His hands clenched into fists and sweat began pouring down his face.
—No, your blood... It's... It smells really good— Sasuke replied breathlessly.
—Huh!? — Sakura exclaimed in surprise as his comment caught her off guard. It was almost embarrassing how obvious his arousal was.
'Obviously' , she thought, 'in the end he is still a vampire.'
Then a wild thought popped in her mind, and she couldn't help but grin mischievously, as she decided to tease him for it.
—You mean this scent? —she pushed her bloody hand closer to him as she had a smug grin on her face.
As he was trying to control himself, he growled and frowned at her silly act.
—Shut up and stop teasing me, stupid human girl! Your smell is making me crazy —he growled furiously, as he ran his fingers through his hair.
He was clearly annoyed and angry at her and refused to admit it out loud, but Sakura noticed the slight hint of pink in his pale cheeks.
Sakura chuckles and starts laughing at his reaction and the blackhaired, annoyed, decides to corner her and pushes her against the wall.
Then with a deep and raspy voice, being really close to her, he decides to mess with her.
— If I were you I would be careful who you are messing with— he hisses in her ear seductively, sending shivers running down her spine.
He took a step back and smirked evilly at her reaction.
Sakura's heart was racing as fast as lightening as she was shocked beyond belief at how he had her all cornered now.
She could feel herself starting to perspire as her whole face started to flush bright red.
Suddenly a gust of wind swept across the corridor outside of the room causing Sakura's pink locks of hair to fly upwards into the air as they were buffeted around the area wildly, flinging strands of her hair all over the place.
As she tried to calm down her heart, she became annoyed at how he always seemed to get the reactions he wanted out of her, so he decided to taunt him.
—So bite me, you jerk— she snapped.
Sasuke gets a bit surprised at her lashing out, but he smirks, his arousing sky-rocketing. He guessed this was the way their teasing and bickering was going to end.
—As you wish, little flower— he replies with an amused smile. He grabbed a fistful of her locks and pulled them upwards forcefully, revealing her neck.
Shit. Maybe she should have thought twice as to taunt a vampire.
But damn him, he was so attractive and hot, Sakura was far too gone to go back on her words.
He smirked mischievously, his dark eyes boring into her green ones.
Sasuke lowered his head as he pressed his fangs into her throat causing her to let out a small yelp as she felt the sharp tips prick against her neck.
His sharp canines appeared out of thin air and pierced her soft skin as he dug them deeply into her flesh.
The small cut made her tense up as he dragged them deeper into her delicate skin, drawing a small stream of blood.
He released her hair as her blood stained his lips.
As he was feeding from her blood, suddenly something felt like hitting Sakura hard on her heart. It wasn't so much as physical, since Sasuke was holding her.
His eyes suddenly changed from black to bright red, his skin got warmer, way too warm and sweaty for a vampire.
And her on the other half, her sight was blurred and somehow at some point it felt like her brain disconnected from her reality and she got a vision for some moments.
The sight of a silver necklace with a cross and a ruby incrusted in it flashed through her eyes.
She gasped softly as she felt the necklace burn itself onto her mind, leaving an impression of burning hot pain in its wake.
Then as quickly as it came the visions stopped.
As her senses returned back to normal she looked up to see that her entire body was shaking violently and she collapsed onto the ground, legs trembling.
—Sakura? Are you alright?— she heard the worried and guilty voice of the vampire calling out for her, his red eyes inspecting her as he was regretting having bit her and feed from her.
But Sakura couldn't hear him anymore, as the vision haunted her and made her fall unconscious.