Okay, hi, guys, but I need to permit myself to rant for a bit. It's an extreme case. I am in Biology, and it's just so freaking boring because the teacher is so freaking boring. He looks like a cockroach, and he's honestly a perv, and I just hate him, and I can't. Thank Sasusaku for distracting me. Wooh. Okay. Be warned that there is a swear word in this chapter. Now that that's over with, here is chapter 16!

EDIT: sorry if any of you keep getting notifications, it's just that I keep noticing tiny punctuation or spelling mistakes that annoy me so I'm correcting them. For further chapter please do not hesitate to inform me if you spot a mistake. It would really be a great help. Thank you.

            Sakura didn't know what had come over her, but hearing Nashiro call Sasuke a filthy creature ignited a fuse in her that had been begging to be lit. She hadn't even known what she was doing when she launched herself at him, but all she knew was that she needed to make him pay. Sasuke was far from some filthy creature! He was beautiful and kind, although he didn't like to show it, and she could feel an air of loneliness coming from him akin to her own.

            She hadn't really expected her punch to do much, but as she had launched herself, her skin had started to tingle, and it felt like something had finally been opened within her. She couldn't believe the power that had surged from her fist. It both amazed her and terrified her at the same time. She had come to terms with the fact that she was probably from the forest, but she hadn't thought of the implications of that. If she had this power, why hadn't it manifested itself before? Why not when she needed it all those times she had been bullied by the other kids? What was she?

            She had only snapped out of it when her eyes had met Sasuke's onyx ones, and because of their proximity she was able to make out the slight difference between pupil and iris. His skin had been so soft against her chin, and although it had been cold, it was not unpleasant. All she had wanted in that moment was to throw herself against him and break down, but she couldn't do that. She had to be strong once more so they could run, run to the place Sakura had—she knew now—instinctively been wanting to go.

            Home. The word was so enticing that it spurred her to action. She ran around the house, grabbing a bag and stuffing it with food, bandages, her sketchbook, antibiotics, a stitching kit, blankets, a change of clothes, and blankets. As she ran into Shizune's room to grab the blankets, she stopped short, looking at the one picture frame on the dresser. She hadn't been in Shizune's room since her death, and was surprised to see that someone had washed the blood stained sheets, and that they were now crisp and white, as if she had never been there, as if she had never died there.

            The picture was of her and Shizune. Sakura remembered it clearly. It had been the exact day that Shizune had adopted her, and she had insisted on taking a picture of the both of them. Sakura was tiny back then, and had left her bangs over her unusually large forehead, unlike now where she tied them back with a red ribbon. Shizune was holding her in her arms in front of the orphanage as they both grinned at the camera, the first time Sakura had smiled in a long time. That had been the happiest day of her life, the day where she had first felt wanted.

            She grabbed the frame; she wasn't just going to leave it here. As she did though, she felt a lump in the back. She frowned, turning the frame over. She slowly and carefully opened it, taking out a small metal key.

            "What the—"

            She looked around, looking for anything that may have a keyhole. She rifled through the drawers and looked under the bed, all the while painfully of the battle sounds outside. She turned to the armoire in the room, and threw the doors open, rummaging around. She was starting to lose hope when she reached the last drawer at the bottom. She found it. Inside the drawer was a beautifully carved wooden box, gold leaf decorating it, and in the front was a keyhole. She stuffed the key in the hole, and turned. It clicked, signaling it was unlocked. She stopped, staring at the box. What would she discover if she opened it?

             "Sakura-chan, are you ready yet?" Naruto's voice came. "We kind of need to go!"

            "Coming!" she yelled back, locking the box once again, and throwing it, the key, and the picture into the leather bag.

            She ran out into the hall and into the living room where Naruto and Sasuke were back to back, casually beating all the men launching themselves at them. Sasuke's eyes flicked to her, and he smirked, causing Sakura's cheeks to flush despite the situation. He looked invigorated as he fought, his sword flashing. Sakura also noticed that Naruto and Sasuke were both doing their best not to injure them too badly while keeping them at bay, and they seemed to only be expending minimal effort.

            Just how strong are they?

            Sasuke kicked one of Nashiro's lackeys aside, and leapt over to her. He grabbed her bridal style again, and spun to face Naruto.

            "Naruto, we're going!" he yelled.

            "Yosh! Let's go home!" he yelled back, punching one guy, and leaping through the broken doorframe.

            Sasuke followed, darting out, and jumping up onto the roof of the nearest house. As they did, Sakura saw a human imprint in the wall of the house, and gulped, knowing it was Nashiro's. She gripped her bag tightly to her chest as they soared from rooftop to rooftop. Sasuke's cloak flew up as they went, exposing his abdomen. Sakura gasped as she saw hisdrenched shirt.

            "Sasuke-kun, your would opened up again!"

            Sasuke looked down, looking surprised.

           "Crap," he muttered, his face paling. "Don't worry about it."

            "What do you mean don't worry about it?" she protested, angrily ripping the hair that had blown across her face away.

            He ground his teeth together.

            "We're not exactly in the greatest situation to sit down and worry about it," he gritted out.

             "Ah, well—" she started, realizing how dumb she sounded. "I'm treating it as soon as we land then!"

            "Do as you wish," he said, the corner of his lip twitching up.

            Had she almost gotten a smile from him? She blushed at the thought. For some reason, she really couldn't imagine him smiling, but she bet it was beautiful.

            As they neared the forest, she could feel a noticeable tug in her gut this time, pulling her towards it. Was it because she had somehow activated some power she hadn't even known about? But what did the forest have to do with that?

            They landed on a tree branch, and jumped farther in, the same feeling of energy that she had felt when she came in late at night washing over her. They kept going for a while, Sakura constantly looking at Sasuke. He was getting paler, and the veins of his face were standing out. Every now and then his eyes would droop and his arms under her would slacken and she would have to lightly slap his face to keep him going. Naruto wasn't really paying attention as he was far ahead of them. At one point, she was about to call out to him, but Sasuke covered her mouth with his hand.

             "Don't wanna worry him," he said, his voice much quieter than before.

             "But, Sasuke-kun—" she started.

            "No," he looked at her sharply. "You'll patch me up, I'll rest, and I'll be fine."

            He seemed so intent that Sakura stayed quiet. Perhaps she shouldn't have.

            Naruto seemed to finally be slowing down a distance ahead of them just as Sasuke's arms around her were slackening again. His eyelids drooped, and Sakura was scared they would actually fall this time. She slapped both his cheeks hard. His eyes fluttered open, and met her own. He immediately tightened his grip, and righted them in the air. She kept her hands on his face, thinking that it would keep him awake. It seemed to work as his onyx eyes bored into her green ones. Her cheeks burned, but she didn't avert her eyes. In that moment, it seemed that they were the only two people in the world. Sakura's heart was beating frantically. Sasuke's eyelids drooped, and for a moment she feared he was passing out, but instead he seemed to be leaning in. Sakura's own eyelids fluttered closed, her body responding since her brain seemed to be malfunctioning.

            "Hey, guys! I think this is a good spot to stop for now!" Naruto's voice came, shattering the veil that had separated them from the rest of the world. Sasuke immediately pulled back, looking shocked at his own actions. Part of Sakura was disappointed and part of her was relieved that she hadn't kissed him without even being sure of his feelings or her own for that matter.

            They landed in a large clearing where a creek ran through the middle, and Sasuke immediately put her down. He looked unsteady on his feet. Naruto seemed to notice this, and opened his mouth to say something, but Sakura beat him to it.

            "Hey, Naruto, could you go get some firewood, please?"

            His gaze shifted to her.

            "Right now?" he asked, confused. "But it's only midday."

            "Well, it's good to be prepared, isn't it?" she said, putting her hands on her hips and channeling her best scary aura. "Now, do it."

           He gulped, paling.

            "Hai!" he saluted, and sprinted off, kicking dust up in his wake.

            Sasuke immediately slumped against a tree, his legs giving out from underneath him. His breathing was shallow, and he was seriously not looking good. She immediately ripped her bag open, sitting at his feet as she rummaged to find bandages. She pulled out everything she needed, and reached to pull up his shirt, but his hand caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.

            "S-Sasuke-kun?" she asked, surprised.

            "I need some..." he murmured. "Just a little..."

            "What? What do you need, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, leaning forward. "I'll give it to you, just tell me what it is."

            "You will?" he said; he seemed to be a little delirious. "Wonder—"

            He stopped suddenly, seeming to catch himself.

            "Nevermind," he said hurriedly, dropping her wrist and turning his head away from her. "I wasn't myself."

            "No, Sasuke-kun, if you need anything I'll try to give it to you, just tell—"

            "NO!" he barked sharply.

            She flinched back.

            "Just... no.." he said in a softer voice.

            "Fine," she said curtly, roughly pulling his shirt upwards, and undoing the now bloody bandages.

            She could feel Sasuke's eyes on her, but did not look up. The stitches had stretched a bit, but it wasn't bad enough that she would have to redo it. She cleaned it quickly, and wrapped it up. By the time she was done, Naruto had returned with a large stack of firewood. The night was spent practically in silence. Naruto seemed to have picked up on the tension between her and Sasuke now. He tried to break it a couple times by asking questions that would make them talk to each other, but they both blatantly ignored him, and he gave up.

            They decided to stay there for the night, and soon enough, night had fallen. Naruto, in some vain attempt to get them to reconcile, had chosen his spot in such a manner that Sasuke and Sakura were sleeping next to each other. Sasuke immediately turned his back to her, however, and she huffed in annoyance. Fine, he could ignore her as much as he wanted. What did she care? Except that... she did care. She had felt a special connection to him right from the start, and with the moment they had shared back there, it hurt that he pushed her away. She had just wanted to help.

            With those thoughts churning in her head, she drifted off to sleep, tossing and turning, as she was half conscious. In the middle of the night, Sakura felt that something was wrong, missing. She tried to ignore the sensation, and go to sleep because she really needed to, but it just kept nagging at her. She finally decided to just get up, seeing as she wasn't going to get any sleep anyways. She opened her eyes, and sat up, grimacing at the satisfactory but terrible-sounding popping of her back as she stretched. It was still pitch black out, the ground illuminated only by the twinkling stars above.

            She looked to her right to see Naruto's sleeping form. Well, if he was there, what was bothering her...? She quickly turned to her left to see a discarded blanket where Sasuke should have been. Worry immediately crushed any lingering anger she held towards him, and images of how weak he was earlier flooded her mind. She quickly stood up, and walked in a random direction. She knew that Sasuke and her were connected, and now was as good a time as ever to test how strong that connection was.

            Here and there she could see footprints and broken branches where Sasuke would have stumbled, her worry for him increasing with every sign. After a while, Sakura was starting to lose confidence in the supposed link between them, but a voice suddenly spoke urgently in her head, He's right here! Up ahead!

            Sakura didn't stop to question what the voice was or how it knew, but she started to run, and stopped at the foot of a large oak tree, its trunk as thick as a small house as it stretched up into the darkness of the night.

            She knew he was here. Her whole body was telling her so, and yet she couldn't see him.

            "Sasuke-kun!" she called out desperately, turning in place.

            Nothing. Not a sound.

            "SASUKE—"

            A black shadow soared down from the treetops, and she was pushed roughly against the large tree. The cold skin of the hands on her shoulders and the comfort it brought her signaled to her that it was Sasuke. Sakura looked up at his face, an expression of relief ready on her face, only to gasp in horror.

            He looked sickly, his face so white it looked almost translucent because of how visible his veins were against his skin. His cheeks were sallow, and his hands seemed to be shaking against her. His eyes were shadowed by his bangs so she couldn't see them, and his breathing was rugged and uneven. He removed his hands from her shoulders to place them on the wood behind her, offering her no way out.

            "Sakura," he breathed huskily.

            She gulped, trying to suppress the pleasant shiver that was making its way down her spine, and loving the way her name rolled off his tongue.

            "You shouldn't have come..." he said quietly.

            "How could I not have?" she protested, putting her hands against his chest. "I could feel something was wrong and I couldn't let it go and the next thing I know you're not next to me anymore."

            "You felt something was wrong?" he inquired, seeming to perk up at that. "What do you mean?"

            "It's like... when you left... I could feel it, like something was missing," she frowned, struggling to describe the sensation she had had.

            He chuckled dryly.

             "Maybe you really are..."

            She was about to ask him what he was talking about when he suddenly slumped against her, his breathing coming out in uneven gasps.

            "Sasuke-kun!" she said worriedly, grabbing his face in her hands and lifting it up to her gaze. "What's wro—"

             She gasped at the sight, flinching back slightly.

            "Your eyes..." she breathed.

            They were the same red as that night, except now she could see them clearer. His eyes were a bright crimson, as red as blood, and around his black pupil swirled three black symbols.

            "Its my sharingan," he said quietly.

              She wanted so badly to ask what that meant, but refrained from doing so.

            "Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"

            "What's wrong?" he asked in a strange voice.

              He laughed humorlessly.

            "What's wrong? What's wrong is that I'm fucking hungry!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the wood behind her, causing her to flinch in surprise.

            She furrowed her brows in confusion.

            "Hungry? What do you mean? You've been eating just fine."

            "Sure, that food is enough to sustain me for a little, but it's not what I need..." he said, coming so close that his breath fanned against her face.

            "What do you need? I can give it to you! I just want you to get better!" she said earnestly.

            His eyes flashed as if it hurt him for her to say that, and he turned away from her gaze. He grabbed a stray lock of her long pink hair and twiddled it between his fingers.

            "If you knew what I needed, you wouldn't give it to me," he said, twirling the lock absent-mindedly.

            "Yes, I would!" She said confidently. "Just tell me what it is!"

            "Hmm, no you wouldn't. All the same, I wonder what yours would taste like..." he said, his fingers passing from her hair to her cheek, trailing them down gradually.

            She repressed a shiver at the sparks that followed his fingers, the gears in her brain working to understand what he was saying.

            "I bet you'd be terrified just knowing what I am..." he continued, his fingers now trailing down her neck, as he looked pained once again. "And I don't think I could handle that..."

            "I won't be afraid of you," she said softly, grabbing the cold hand that was trailing down her skin in her own warm one. "I promise."

            He looked up at her, his red eyes searching her own. He seemed completely vulnerable in that moment, completely different than his usual guarded self.

            "Just tell me," she pushed, rubbing her thumb against the back of his hand comfortingly.

            He opened his mouth, and licked his lips, seeming to want to drag out the moments before he answered.

            "I'm... a vampire," he said slowly.

            Sakura stood still, trying to process this new information through her shock. It all made sense now, the reason he looked terrible even though she had made sure he was eating, and why he kept fainting on the way here.

            "So that night out in the forest, you were..."

            "I was hunting," he responded. "But animal blood isn't what I really need."

            "So what you really need is..." she trailed off, but Sasuke seemed to know without her completing the sentence.

            "Human blood."

            Ironically, Sakura's blood seemed to run cold at the thought. From all the stories she had heard of vampires, she should be standing in front of a cold-blooded killer, but to her, it was just Sasuke, the man she had the strangest connection with, the person who made her feel inexplicably safe when she was close to him, the person who's absence bothered her to no end, the one person who made her feel things she had never felt before.

             All the stories were wrong.

            Apparently misinterpreting her reaction, Sasuke drew away quickly, muttering, "I knew it."

             He didn't get far, however, because Sakura grabbed his arm.

            "I'm not afraid of you," she stated.

            He looked dubious, and to further prove her point, she grabbed his face gently in her hands, and brought him closer, caressing his cheeks gently with her thumbs.

            "No matter what you are, to me you're just Sasuke-kun," she said.

            She tilted her head, and brushed her hair back, exposing her neck.

            "Go ahead. Have some."

            Saying he looked shocked was an understatement.

            "Go on," she said, pulling his face towards her.

            "B-But it's been so long I don't know if I'll be able to stop!" he protested weakly.

            "I trust you," she said, and as soon as she said it, she knew it was true. Even though she hadn't known him long, she trusted him with her life.

            Sasuke opened his mouth, and Sakura saw his abnormally large canines elongate into fangs. His body pressed against hers, and he muttered, "Thank you."

            His fangs plunged into her neck, the pain blinding her for a second before it went away, and all she felt was pure pleasure. She snaked her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer still, and he responded in kind, his arm winding around her waist and pulling her to him. Their bodies fit perfectly against each other, as if they were two halves of the same whole, as if they were made for each other.

            Sakura could feel her the warmth leaving her body, and was aware that she should probably stop him, but she didn't want to. She wanted him to keep going. Just as she felt her consciousness slipping away, Sasuke's fangs left her neck, and he breathed heavily, a rivulet of blood slipping down his chin. Her blood.

            They looked at each other, their bodies still glued together. Sakura's knees felt weak, but Sasuke's arm around her waist prevented her from falling. He leaned down, and Sakura closed her eyes, not caring whether she was ready or not in her dream-like state. Their lips had only just brushed each other when Sasuke froze, pulling back. Her eyes fluttered open to see him looking very disconcerted.

            "What is it?" she asked worriedly.

            "It's not possible..." he muttered, bewildered.

            "What?" she asked, a little more alert now.

            He reached his hand down, and pulled up his shirt, ripping the bandages off. Their eyes widened in unison as they stared at the phenomenon before them. His wound was slowly sealing, the edges glowing with a soft green light until it was as if there had never been a wound there at all.

            They slowly looked at each other, his eyes returning to their normal black.

            "What the hell are you?" he asked, voicing the question that was running through her mind.

            "I have no idea."

3610 words

Well... WHAT DID YOU THINK?!!!! I WAS SO HYPED WRITING THIS CHAPTER!!! I NEED ALL YOUR THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW!!!! I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!!! Okay, calm down, Meena. But seriously, I think this has been and will forever be my favorite chapter. It was so fun and angsty to write, and I just...NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE IT!!! So, prediction? What do you guys think Sakura is? Have I confused you even more?? Are you pissed I author-blocked your Sasusaku kiss twice?

Since class os over in five minutes, and I want to skidaddle as soon as possible, I'll end it here. Please vote, comment, and share, and I'll see you next time! Ja ne!