Chapter 30

The moment Orochimaru's serpentine eyes landed on mine, my blood ran cold and I felt myself losing consciousness. I turned to push Naruto toward the door, but lost the battle too quickly and felt myself falling toward the ground before I could manage a warning.

When I came to, I was laying on my side on a concrete floor. A groan slid past my lips as I reached up and rubbed the side of my throbbing head and looked around. The air was cold.

I was in a small room with stone walls on three sides and a metallic barred door on the fourth: a cell. My limbs felt heavy as I got to my feet to confirm that the door was locked tight. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked out past the bars. I'm a prisoner now.

A dark hallway led away on either side and an empty cell that looked just like mine lay across it. I took a few deep breaths to try and ease the steadily rising panic in my blood. Everything will be fine. Sasuke will come rescue me and we'll escape this awful town.

My hands shook with emotion and my chest burned as though my heart was trying to burst right out of it. We should've known better than to follow Kabuto into a building like this without an escape plan. We were fools and now we're going to have to pay the price for it.

I heard footsteps echoing throughout the long hallways suddenly and perked up, only to panic once more as two of those masked guards from before dragged a beaten and bloody looking Naruto in the direction of my cell, only to toss him into the one across from mine and lock it up tight.

Anger turned my vision red and I couldn't stop myself from trying to grab one of the guards through the bars, "What the hell did you do to him? Let me out!"

My best friend was unconscious, but I could tell he was still breathing. That fact did little to satiate my rage, though.

To my shock, the guards did unlock my cell and open the door. I lunged at the nearest one, intent to do anything I could to enact revenge on Naruto's behalf, only to be expertly knocked to the ground. Something clamped tightly around my neck. My hands shot up to try and pry it off, but it was so tight against my skin that I couldn't wrap my fingers around it.

They pulled me to my feet by the tool and I staggered as I fought to turn around and attack them again, "Let me go!"

One of my fists made contact with one of them and suddenly a jolt of electricity shot through me from the tool they'd gotten around my neck. A choked sound of pain left my lips and I crumpled to the floor in a shaking mess.

The two guards didn't give me even a moment to catch my breath before forcing me back to my feet and pushing me down the winding hall in the direction they'd come. My mind danced and reeled in confusion as I tried to recover from the electrocution and by the time I did, we'd arrived in a room very similar to the one we'd been introduced to Orochimaru in. The village leader himself stood waiting and watched with a small grin as they strapped my ankles and wrists down to the wooden table with leather belts.

He patiently waited until they were out of the room to speak, "I understand your name is "Sakura", correct? I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

I glared at him, tempted to spit in his direction but deciding against it, "Where are my friends?"

The man's eyes danced slowly over my body, making me want to be sick. He replied as though I hadn't asked him a question at all, "Kabuto told me you have an interesting scent, so I simply had to bring you here for closer inspection."

My mouth clamped shut and my brow furrowed as he took a few steps closer and leaned forward to sniff in my direction, just a few feet away. His grin widened and a look of intrigue rose to his face, "He wasn't lying. You smell wonderful ."

I grit my teeth and chose to hold my tongue.

"Tell me, do you know your boyfriend's little secret?"

My eyes narrowed and I kept my mouth in a firm line. As if I'll just answer his questions. His yellow eyes darkened slightly and the corner of his lips turned up into an eerie smile, "You will tell me what I want to know, little girl."

My body tensed up as a familiar jolt of pain zapped through it, pulling a small scream out of my mouth as I fought against what had to be him glowing me to talk.

What the hell! His eyes didn't even change color!

I clenched my eyes shut as pain ripped through my whole body over and over again. My grit teeth unlocked and I unwillingly shouted the truthful answer at him, "He's a vampire!" I could feel sweat forming on my forehead from fighting and tears started welling back up in my eyes as I tried not to break down into sobs.

Orochimaru's grin widened as he leaned over me and started to untuck my shirt from my skirt, "You put up quite a fight, I'm impressed. I've decided: We're going to see how much of a tolerance you can build against my orders."

I squirmed as he unbuttoned my shirt, his cold fingers brushing against the bare skin on my stomach and sending a jolt of wild panic up my spine, "D-Don't touch me!"

He ignored my squirming and started feeling around the skin on my stomach and ribs, like a doctor doing a check up. Tears poured down either side of my face as I tried to ignore the incredibly uncomfortable feeling of his hands on my skin. Fingers danced down to my hips before he reached under me and unhooked my bra before pulling it down my arms as much as possible with my wrists still being strapped to the table. A humiliated heat rose in my cheeks and I looked away from his studious gaze in shame as he continued his "check up".

The terrifying man remained silent for a few moments of this odd inspection before suddenly speaking once more, his voice more serious than before, "Tell me, Sakura, have any of the Uchihas drank your blood?"

Another pained scream slid past my lips as pain wracked my body. I fought against his orders with all my might, letting the screams come out as it felt like it helped my mind deal with the level of pain it was comprehending somehow. It was so awful that I barely registered the fact that he'd placed a few fingers against my jugular. After a minute or so of fighting, my body gave out against the fight and the truth left my lips between gasps of breath, "Y-Yes they have!"

My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. Orochimaru stared down at me like I was a lab rat he was studying, "Outstanding. And which of them have done so?"

The process repeated until I was forced to relent, "Madara, Obito, and Sasuke."

Those are the only three that I know for sure have tasted my blood. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the others somehow had as well in the first week or two of my stay in the castle. My limbs felt so heavy and I struggled to stay awake after being physically drained so quickly via his torture.

"Why do you want to know?" My voice was weak and raspy.

His tongue slid past his lips like it had earlier, making me wince in disgust, "Ah, I bet Madara's been having fun with you." A nostalgic expression crossed his face and I briefly wondered what the history was between this vampire and the Uchiha family.

Orochimaru gripped my jaw with a firm hand and leaned to stare me straight in the eye, "Be honest with me. How do they describe your blood? Do unexplainable things ever happen between you and those close to you?"

My eyes widened in shock and I responded truthfully, the answer not even needing to be tortured out of me. Despite the danger I'm obviously in, if this man could provide some answers then I shouldn't waste the opportunity.

"Madara says that I…taste better than anyone else." It felt odd saying something like that out loud. I also did my best to explain how both he and Sasuke sometimes struggle to control their eyes' vampirism around me. Speaking of the troublemaking royal, what would he do if he was here? Would he save me from this awful man or would he join him in tormenting me? Madara never reverted back to his usual self after the time in his bedroom when he lost his temper and kicked me out.

The man studied my face as I spoke, eyes alight with intrigue. When I was done, he released his grip on my face, but stayed close, "Does the name Tanaka sound familiar?"

My brow furrowed and my eyes glazed over as I tried to remember where I'd heard that name before, but couldn't place it. The doctor continued, "Well, your scent and the information you've just provided leads me to form a theory. I believe that you possess the blood of the Tanaka family."

He leaned in closer still, just inches away from my face, and sniffed my skin, "There's just one more test you need to pass to confirm my suspicion."

My limbs shook and I desperately tried to rip past the leather bindings because the "test" he was referring to was obviously to drink my blood. "Don't fret, my dear, I'm only going to have a small taste. You won't die." His teeth then sank into my neck and a choked sound came from my throat as I squeezed my eyes shut.

A shocked breath swept over the skin on my neck as Orochimaru gasped, teeth still embedded. One of his hands firmly gripped the other side of my neck for a moment as he obviously struggled to pull himself away. Luckily, he was able to and immediately took several steps away after closing the wound he'd created.

His hand was shaking as he placed the back of it against his lips, but he looked absolutely delighted, "Amazing! It's been years since I've been able to get my hands on a Tanaka, but you're still the best tasting one I've ever had."

Tears fell steadily down my cheeks as I glared at him. The way he spoke disgusted me. He obviously saw me just as a food source and not as a person.

The scientist turned away from me to look at a small table behind him that I couldn't see with his body in the way. He continued, "I believe it was your father that I captured last and he took his own life before I could make any real progress."

My blood ran cold in a devastating shock, "W-What?" Mom told me and Ino that Dad had died of illness when we were just toddlers. If that's not true, then where did she get that idea? If Orochimaru is telling the truth, does my mother know about it? Has she been aware of the fact that vampires exist this whole time?

He didn't even turn to look at me and feigned innocence of my ignorance on the topic, "Oh, were you not aware of the circumstances of your father's death? I apologize for breaking the news to you this way, then."

I restarted trying to pull my ankles and wrists from their ties, wanting nothing more than to be alone so I could try and organize my jumbled thoughts, "I don't know what you're talking about. My name is Haruno, not Tanaka!"

"Oh, yes. I believe it was your great grandmother who changed the family name in an attempt to disguise her lineage. There were even other names before Tanaka, I believe. The name doesn't matter because the blood stays the same." His voice got odd and gravelly toward the end of the sentence and he finally turned back to face me with a scalpel in one hand.

I felt my body start to shake again in fear as he neared me, "S-Stay away!!"

He, once again, ignored my pleas, "Kabuto also mentioned that you have a sister who was just wed to one of the other Uchiha princes. Tell me, where are they celebrating their honeymoon?"

There it was, that electric pain returned in full force. Cries and screams ran through me for minutes until I felt like my head would explode and then suddenly I was no longer conscious.

When I woke, I was back on the floor in the cell. I shot up and looked down at my body to check for cuts since I'd fainted before seeing what he'd intended to do with the scalpel, only to find no injuries at all. My original clothing, however, was gone and was replaced with plain black shorts and a sleeveless shirt.

"You're alive, thank God!"

I looked over to see Naruto gripping the bars of his cell across the hall with bruises and dried blood still decorating his skin. I struggled to my feet and rushed over to the cell door, "Naruto! Are you okay? What did they do to you?"

I wiped at a few stray tears as I took in all the damage done to my best friend. He shook his head, "Don't worry about me. Are you alright? Where are the other two?"

I looked at the cells on either side of Naruto's and saw that they were empty. They must keep the regular humans separate from the vampires. I studied Naruto's face as I wracked my brain. So, does that mean that Hinata's a vampire, too? She doesn't seem like all of the others I've met.

"I don't know," He sat down on the floor in a defeated fashion and I watched him rest his forehead against the metal, "What is going on here?"

I sat down on my knees so we would be level, "That Orochimaru guy said something about being a scientist, so I think he plans to experiment on us."

His eyes widened and I tried to hide the fear on my face as my grip tightened on the bars. I wonder why he kept Naruto alive since he isn't part of some special bloodline, not that I believe I am either or that I'm not glad Naruto isn't dead.

I tried to cheer up my battered blonde friend, "We've been gone for a few days now, so someone will definitely start looking for at least those two."

Naruto looked back up at me for a moment before looking back at the ground with a sad look, "You've been unconscious for over a week, Sakura."