Chapter 12

The day passed by in a blur and I only saw Sasuke during breakfast and dinner. He was still missing when I fell asleep. I even locked the bedroom door before falling asleep, knowing that it wouldn't stop him if he really wanted in.

Once again, when my eyes slid open in the morning, I was not on the sofa I'd fallen asleep on. Sasuke was laying in the exact same position as before, only he wasn't bothering to pretend to be asleep.

Our eyes locked instantly and we stayed that way for a few moments of silence before I finally let out a defeated sigh.

If I'm going to make it out of this sentence alive, I'm going to have to place my trust in someone. I'd tried to take care of everything by myself yesterday and look how that turned out. The memory of Madara's lips moving so confidently against mine made a shiver run down my spine and I quickly shook the thoughts away.

Slowly, so as to take stock of each little pain on my body, I sat up onto the edge of the bed. The area on my shoulder where he'd squeezed so hard is what I noticed the most and I became cautious to not put much pressure on that arm. With a deep breath, I met Sasuke's calculating gaze head on, "I'm sorry for how I spoke to you yesterday, " I continued, finding honesty in my own words, "Your secret 's a dangerous one and it makes sense that you wanted to keep it from me."

His expression didn't change in the slightest, but he replied in his rumbling baritone, "What changed your mind?" My mouth opened to answer honestly, but a searing pain shot through my neck when I tried to tell him about how his uncle attacked me in the laundry room. A raspy gasp slipped from my throat and both of my hands flew up to it in shock at the electricity, my body falling back to the mattress as I struggled to breathe.

Sasuke sat up slowly, his brow quirked in confusion.

The pain ended as quickly as it began and I silently tried to catch my breath as I sat back up, worried the torture would restart at any moment.

"You can't tell me, can you?" I shook my head no, my terrified green eyes searching his opaque ones. He stood in front of me and gently moved my hair off of my shoulders so he could search the skin on my neck, "We can work around it, at least a little." He chastely removed his hands from my skin once he realized there's no evidence there. After rummaging around his bedside table and handing me a pencil and paper, he also gave me one of his books so I'd have something hard to write against.

"Just put a check or an x."

I nodded, accepting the fanciest pencil I'd ever seen and waiting patiently for him to ask a question. He knelt down in front of me, "Was it a man?" I drew a check mark.

He continued without showing any reaction, eyes trained on the paper, "Did he feed from you?" Another check mark. His eyes locked onto mine for a mine for a moment and my face heated up in shame.

He continued, not looking away from my face, "Did he rape you?" The redness in my face suddenly became darker and more from embarrassment than shame as I drew a thick x on the paper. Why does he have to say such words so casually?

"I didn't think so. You don't smell any different." He seemed to be talking to himself, but it still bothered me, "Don't talk about me like I'm not sitting right in front of you!"

His eyes refocused on mine as he ignored my statement, "Was it Sai?"

I draw an x quickly, but am reminded of my conversation with Ino yesterday. I was so distraught after being attacked by Madara that I'd avoided her for the remainder of the day so she didn't get a chance to give me any details about the night she'd spent with his brother. "Speaking of Sai, you know he's sleeping with my sister, right? Isn't that kind of creepy considering how close she looks to Mina and all?"

Sasuke's gaze tore away from my face and the air became tense. He looked annoyed for a moment before giving a defeated sigh, "You both weren't even born yet when Mina died, so I wouldn't put too much stock in the connection. Both he and I have done our mourning and moved on."

I stayed silent for a moment, trying to wrap my head around what he'd just said, but eventually came up with words, "I'm sorry, what?"

He directed his glare to the ground as he repeated his statement, sitting next to me on the edge of the bed, "Mina has been dead for nearly three hundred years."

My eyes shot to his face in disbelief, "B-But your mom said-!"

He cut me off, "My mom says a lot of things to cover for us."

We spoke just a bit more, back on the topic of who attacked me, but it quickly became clear that he couldn't even think of Madara committing any crimes so I gave up and changed the subject. I asked a question I'd been wondering about since I realized nothing any of the Uchiha elders have told me has been true.

We sat in silence, both staring at the carpet and just pondering before another question rose within me, "So did Itachi really kill Mina, then? Or was that another..."

His glare hardened further and he spoke as though he didn't want to tell me what he was, "He did kill her, but only because he'd been glowed to do so." So they refer to that ordering thing they do as "glowing".

"Wait a minute! Vampires can be glowed or whatever, too?" His eyes met mine and I realized that this was sensitive information, "Only a very powerful vampire can glow another of his own kind."

It was silent for a few moments before I tried to lighten the mood, "So, can you glow another vampire?" The corner of his lips tilted up ever so slightly at my curiosity, "I've only ever successfully done it once and it was on Obito, a half-ling, the night he..."

I nodded, not wanting him to finish the sentence. So they refer to non-full-blooded vampires as half-lings, then. I opened my mouth to ask yet another question when he cut me off, "You ask a lot of questions."

Embarrassment showed on my face and I shrugged my shoulders, "Can you really blame me? You can ask me questions, too, if you want."

While I was just joking, he took the offer instantly and immediately popped off an inquiry, "When is your birthday?"

My mouth spit the answer out before I could properly process the question, "March twenty-eighth." He smirked again for just a moment and annoyance prickled at my nerves, "What's so funny?!"

His eyes appeared warmer than usual for just a moment, "I knew you were an Aries."

An unladylike scoff escapes my lips, "Don't tell me you believe in all of that zodiac stuff? You know it's just...well, I suppose if you're real the zodiac may as well be, right?" He rolled his eyes at me.

A small laugh slipped out and I covered my mouth with one of my hands to mask the sound before continuing to question the Uchiha, "How old are you?"

His eyes hardened back up and he spoke in a more serious voice, "I'll be three hundred and thirty-two in July." My face paled and the conversation felt close to being over. He gently reached over to turn my head towards him, "I can't apologize for being what I am."

My face heated up under his searching gaze and I shook my head slowly at him, "I'd never blame you for something that's out of your control."

He held my gaze for a few moments before leaning in slightly. Panic exploded throughout my body and I tore my head from his soft grasp. He let out another sigh, hand falling heavily back down onto his lap, "You still don't trust me."

Tears pricked in the corners of my eyes and I tried to blink them back. Even if you take away the fact that I'm completely new to all things romance and how it'd never work between us, there's still another thing stopping me from indulging in my desires.

"If you want something to play with you can call Kayuya or Karin, but I refuse to indulge anyone who would demand me to share." His lips turned down into a guilty-looking frown. A wave of guilt came over me, but I didn't let it pressure me into taking back my words. I'm open to starting something with Sasuke, but only if I'm the only one he's giving that kind of attention to. I deserve that much. With that, I rose to my feet, got dressed for the day, and headed out of the room to help Mikoto prepare breakfast.

Today's the day that the Subaku royals would be visiting for dinner so I wasn't supposed to do my normal chores, which left my schedule quite open for the morning time. Sasuke didn't stop me as I left and I was angry at myself for being upset at him for it. He wasn't the type to chase someone and it was dumb of me to expect him to. I meant what I said though. If I'm going to be fighting off vampires and serving the royal families, I might as well accept one of the prince's advances, but on my terms only. I'll probably end up dead within the next two months, especially if Madara's advances didn't stop, so why not experience some new things before my end? Of course I'll never be as brazen as Ino, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to loosen up a bit.

Terror locked my limbs up as I peered around each corner before finally arriving in the kitchen to see Mikoto laying out some fine dishware at the table.

She looked up as I approached, "Good morning, Dear. I trust you're feeling better? You seemed a bit out of it yesterday." I nodded with a polite smile, still uncomfortable around the Uchiha mother. She stopped what she was doing and gave me a soft smile, "I suppose you're looking for some answers?"

I grabbed some plates from the cart nearby and helped her set the table, avoiding her knowing gaze, "I'm in no place to be demanding anything, am I?"

Mikoto let out a short laugh, but it was neither humorous or threatening, "I can't apologize for any of my actions, you know that. My family comes first and I wasn't sure if you'd become a part of it. I'm still not sure, in fact…"

I felt confused as she trailed off, but let it go as she continued, "I really do like you, Sakura. I want you to be safe, but I want my family's secret to be safer."

I met her eyes in acknowledgement. None of this was news to me. She smiled once more, a scene of beauty, "The fact that you're still standing here means that you haven't decided to attempt telling anyone and for that I'm grateful."

My mouth turned up into a small smile before I could stop it and I immediately wiped it off of my face. I couldn't take her words at face value anymore given the amount of tall tales she'd told me already. I have to keep my guard up for my sake.

Around two in the afternoon, Ino found me reading in the living area and dragged me up to her room to do my hair and make up for dinner this evening. She spoke excitedly as she curled my hair, smiling at me once in a while in the mirror, "I'm glad you're finally letting me do this! You never used to let me back home." A sad smile found itself on my lips, but she didn't seem to notice, "It sucks you got sick yesterday! I was looking forward to giving you all the details while they were still fresh, but better late than never, right?"

My face erupted with heat as she got straight to the point. Ino's never been one to beat around the bush, that's for sure. "He was so…perfect, Sakura. His body looks like it was sculpted by God just for me."

I closed my eyes and tried my best not to picture it.

"He was big, too. At least I think he was...I don't really have anyone to compare him to, but it hurt really bad at first! He was so gentle when it was painful, though. He treated me like a princess."

My eyes shot open and I looked at her reflection with confusion, "Wait, so you never did it with Kiba?"

She scoffed, "Please! I'm not that easy, Sakura! I was saving myself for the one." Her voice got all dreaming when she said those last few words. It was never harder to keep my mouth shut.

Instead of just telling her about what I'd found, I tried to see if maybe she was suspicious at all, "So, nothing weird has happened with Sai, then?"

She sprayed some hairspray lightly over my freshly curled hair before starting to gently run a comb through it to produce loose and feminine curls, "Well, I've noticed that it takes a lot to tire him out!"

My face erupted once more with heat. She continued, sitting down the comb and spinning my chair around so she could start on my makeup, "You know, I've experimented with touching myself a few times, but nothing has ever come close to how he made me feel and I don't think anything ever will."

I couldn't stop myself from stopping her from continuing, "Christ, Ino! Aren't you embarrassed to talk about it so openly?!"

She threw a dismissive hand in the air, "Nah, it's just you. Besides, I want you to know what to expect when the time comes for you, little sister." She winked playfully. Ino sometimes teased me about being born a few minutes earlier.

I saw her point to an extent. If there was anybody in the whole world that I'd go to for boy stuff, it'd be her.

We remained silent for a few minutes as she finished up my face. She then shooed me away from her vanity as she sat down to touch up her own hair and make up, instructing me to search her wardrobe for something to wear. I wandered over to the familiar black piece of furniture and pulled open both doors, aghast at the sheer amount of clothing within.

Dresses of all styles and colors hung there for me to choose from. I had no idea where to even start. A blood red dress eventually caught my eye and I pulled it out of the wardrobe to view, simply because I liked the color. It had a sweetheart neckline accented with a single line of black lace. It fit tight yet comfortably against my skin until it hit my hips, where it fell more loosely all the way to the floor. It was sleeveless, but held an air of class about it.

I slid it on over my head, careful not to get any makeup on it.

Ino strode out of her bathroom and gasped, "How did you find it? That's the one I was going to recommend! You're getting better at this, Saku!" She fished a black ribbon out of a box on the vanity and tied it into a bow around my neck, "There! Now you're all ready to go!"

Even though I was one hundred percent sure there were no marks on my neck, my body still went into a panic when her eyes strayed around my neck, "...What?"

She shook her head, "Oh, nothing! Give me just a minute and I'll be ready as well." There was a knock at the door and Ino motioned for me to answer it while she retreated to her bathroom to slip on her own dress for the evening.

I hesitantly opened the door and immediately felt tense when Sai's blank smile met my eyes, "Good afternoon, Sakura! You look beautiful today." He invited himself in and stepped around me to sit on the edge of the bed. He smiled kindly up at me as I stood frozen at the door, "Is something wrong?"

I glanced quickly to the closed bathroom door and back to him.

He seemed to understand and spoke freely, sending a panic through my body, "Don't worry. She already knows. I didn't glow her."

The bathroom door opened as if on queue and Ino stepped out in a skin tight two-piece. The bottom half was a black, skin tight skirt that even had a sort of corset on the waist. Tucked into it was an off-white loosely fitted, long-sleeved blouse. Her hair was straight and flowing down her back loosely.

Sai rose to his feet and planted a deep kiss on her right in front of me.

I looked away awkwardly, but my attention was pulled back when Ino finally spoke, "I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't know if you knew yet or not and didn't want to throw them under the bus." She gave me a sheepish grin before leaning her head against Sai's arm, him being too much taller than her for her to rest it on his shoulder, "I think it's kind of hot."

He smiled down at her and she smiled back up at him.

I looked between him and her a few times in disbelief before deciding to turn on my heel and leave the room before saying something that may hurt her feelings.

I heard her stop Sai from following me as I walked away, "Just let her go. She handles things on her own like this. Let her have some space." While I was grateful for her understanding, that didn't change the fact that she was unbothered by her new beau's eating habits. She found it….hot? What the hell!

As I descended the stairs to try and visit the garden for some fresh air, I nearly ran into someone and sidestepped, bowing respectfully with my eyes trained on the floor before wordlessly rushing away before they could react. Even if I was an anxious mess, I knew that I didn't want to be alone with an Uchiha other than Sasuke and I needed to vacate the premises.

Once I stepped out into Mikoto's lovely garden, I collapsed onto a bench in front of some rose bushes and looked up to the sky. The garden's located in a small outdoor room in the middle of the castle. Beautiful flowers of all shapes and colors decorated the fairly large area, but the roses are always my go to for a visit. How cliche, right?

I reached forward and gently ran a finger across the buds' petals, only to physically jump when an unfamiliar voice met my ears, "A sakura blossom admiring a rose, how intriguing."

My finger nicked a thorn when I jumped and I looked up to see a strange man with dark brown hair and eyes smiling easily down at me, not a foot away from where I was sitting. My gaze shifted to the small drop of blood on my finger and back at him before I jumped to my feet and took a few steps away, "I-I have to go. Pardon me, sir."

I bowed politely before turning to leave, only for his hand to grip my wrist tightly enough to stop my movements but not hurt, "Don't worry, Gorgeous. I won't lose control around you." His eyes widened slightly and he looked at the drop of blood on my finger, "You do smell…very good, though."

My eyes shot to his in surprise and he held my wrist up closer to his face for a moment before releasing it as though he'd realized what he was doing, "Where I come from, our kind are revered as gods and women offer themselves up as sacrifices. However, I understand things aren't the same in Konoha. We respect our women, regardless of where we are."

His eyes danced over my body and he smiled cheerfully as I tried to find any words at all to say, "If you were from my home, I'd have accepted you into my collection at birth, granted that hair color of yours is natural." Annoyance slipped through my blood and I could tell he noticed the change in my demeanor because he let out a boyish chuckle, "I'm only teasing you!"

He continued to grin, finally offering an introduction, "My name is Kankuro, prince of Sunagakure. To whom do I owe the pleasure?" Another person appeared behind him and my attention was drawn to them as they appeared much more frightening.

With skin as white as porcelain and hair the same blood-red color as my dress, the person's eyes were the most intimidating feature they had. Despite being a beautiful sea-foam green, something beastly lurked within them and the closer they got to me, the more cold my blood ran.

Kankuro finally noticed the new arrival and stepped aside, "Oh! Don't be frightened by my brother. He's always like this."

My legs were shaking in fear as his brother acknowledged my presence with no expression at all, "Gaara." He spoke his name only and his voice was low and gravelly like he wasn't used to talking much.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "Sorry about his lack of people skills. This is Gaara, my brother and King of Sunagakure."

I bowed politely to the royals before taking a few steps back. Even if this man tells me I shouldn't be worried, that doesn't mean I should believe him. They were obviously vampires as well and that meant that I was potentially in danger.

My back hit something hard and I glanced back to see Sasuke looking past me to the other two, "Gaara, Kankuro." A wave of relief came over me and I moved to stand by his side. The three exchanged bows of greeting before Sasuke led us all back inside.

As we walked, Gaara and I stayed silent while Kankuro drilled Sasuke with questions, "How long has it been now, Sasuke? Forty years? Fifty?"

Sasuke answered in his usual unenthusiastic way, "Not long enough." Kankuro laughed loudly before catching me staring.

I quickly averted my gaze to the floor, but it was too late. "Where'd you find this beauty, eh Sasuke? Is she available?" Sasuke glanced down at me briefly before refocusing his gaze on the hallway ahead of us, "She is spoken for."

Kankuro pouted childishly in my direction, "Damn, really? That's too bad, Baby. I would've treated you better than any of these stinking Uchihas! We would've had a lot of fun!" My face heated up as I kept my gaze down and ignored his flirting.

When we arrived in the dining room, everyone else was already seated and waiting for us. Temari was seated next to her fiance, Itachi, and Gaara sat next to her while Kankuro sat on the other side of Sasuke.

Mikoto spoke before anyone could dig into the extravagant looking meal she and her husband had prepared, "Thank you, Subakus, for joining us today. We're blessed to receive your princess into our family."

Gaara nodded with that same straight face before cutting the queen off, "I've come because my sister thought I'd be interested in a new mistress in the form of one of your human guests." His intimidating gaze landed on me and I tried to shrink into my seat, "While she's correct that I'm interested, I've been informed by your son that she's spoken for. Is this correct, Your Grace?"

Mikoto glanced over at both me and Sasuke, "If she's spoken for, I'm unaware of it. Unless Sasuke himself has laid claim to her, that is."

Sasuke's glare hardened and he met the foreign king's gaze head-on.

Gaara spoke once again, "Have you laid claim to this girl or not, Sasuke? It doesn't smell as though you have, unless your scent is so weak that my senses can't pick it up."

Sasuke's hand tightened around his dinner knife and his jaw clenched before he closed his eyes, "I have not claimed her."

My face was bright red in humiliation. It was obvious what they meant by laying claim. What does it matter if we've had sex or not? If Sasuke told him no, he should have to listen, right?

Gaara's gaze returned to me as he addressed the queen once more, "What price would you ask for her then, Your Majesty? Or would you prefer a trade? I have hundreds of human females I'm willing to offer."

Panic rose within me and the only thing stopping me from bursting out an objection is the fact that they'd probably kill me for offending the visiting king.

Mikoto glanced over at her son once more, "I believe even though my son has yet to lay claim to Sakura, he does hold the intention to."

Temari scoffed and spoke for the first time, "What's stopping him then?" Sasuke's glare left the red-headed king and turned onto the blond princess. Her smirk widened, "Don't tell me you're waiting until she gives you permission. What kind of vampire are you? Just glow her and get it over with."

Ino glared over at her, but she either didn't notice or didn't care.

Fugaku raised his hands, silencing the table in an instant, "The girl belongs to my son. If there is an issue I suggest that you keep it to yourself. Let us all enjoy this meal as allies, shall we?" The Subaku's silenced themselves and dinner finally began.

A few moments into the meal and I feel something nudge against my leg and look up to see Madara shoot me a wink. He usually only teases me like that when he's planning on approaching me sometime soon. Anger and disgust rose in my throat and I took a sip of water to wash it down.

Kankuro speaks again, this time in a more casual manner, "So the cherry blossom's name is Sakura, then? How ironic. Her parents must have a sense of humor!"

Everyone turned to shoot a glare at the big-mouthed vampire.

I suppose even the most intimidating of families can have annoying members.