Naruto fic- Hunger 04
I needed a break from NaNoWriMo so I took a little time to work on this... Enjoy~
Title: Hunger 04
Fandom- Naruto
Pairing: suggested narugaara, implied narusasu
Rating: PG-13 for violence, adult themes
Warnings: Obvious plot device is obvious
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made from this, no harm intended.
Summary: Gaara had lived long enough to know about the sometimes unexplainable things in the world; creatures like himself that shouldn’t have existed, but did.
Hunger 04
Bond
-
The atmosphere had shifted. Gaara tensed as he witnessed the volley of words between him. The one buffer shielding him from his would-be hunter was wavering, slipping into the trap set before him. The right bait had been dangled and with two eyes wide open, Gaara watched as the fox allowed himself to be drawn into the hunter’s net.
“What do you propose?” the fox asked and Gaara wondered if he knew what sort of web he was walking into. This wasn’t going to be a rescue.
“It’s a trade,” Gaara voiced, his gaze meeting the startled look in the fox’s eyes. “You for the Uchiha. That’s what he’s proposing.” The hunter neither confirmed nor denied it with his response. “And what sort of safeguards will get him out of that?” the vampire challenged.
There was a pause and the hunter was silent, his one eye unblinking as he stared at Gaara. He was evaluating something, but it was not yet clear what. The look faded and the hunter’s expression relaxed, slipping into a friendly look that put Gaara on edge.
“I thought that answer would be obvious,” Kakashi replied. All eyes in the room turned to him and Gaara realized where this was leading.
His stomach sank a little. “You want me to make him my pet, to do the trade myself. And does he know what that entails?” He shot a look at the fox, the tall, proud creature and knew it would not be easy. They did not know his reputation. They would never convince his siblings, or the council.
The fox looked uncertain, his resolve visibly wavering as his attention jumped from Gaara to the hunter and back again. The wolf, Kiba, put an arm around him possessively, shielding his packmate. He looked hard at the hunter, an understanding prompting the fury in his gaze.
“No self-respecting were would lower himself to become a vampire’s pet,” he spat. He shot Gaara a look of loathing, mouth pulled up in a sneer. “And his kind would never deign to keep us around unless it was to humiliate us.” He looked around the room, challenging anyone else to contradict him.
The girl with the pink hair lowered her face, her once eager look melting into guilt. She knew what she was asking and still she asked it. The other girls seem unaffected despite the wolf now holding tight onto his fury behind them.
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” their leader replied. “But Naruto seemed so hell bent on saving Sasuke I figured he might be willing to try.”
Kiba shook his head vehemently. “It’s too risky, I don’t buy this safeguard bullshit. What’s to prevent that blood sucker from killing Naruto as soon as he’s out of sight? Or betraying us once he’s out of your reach?”
Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I was getting to that,” he said wearily.
“I rather agree with the wolf,” Gaara said. This brought surprised looks from everyone. “No one will believe I’ve accepted him as my pet just to show him off. They will have certain. . . expectations.” Gaara’s eyes flicked up at the fox’s before darting away. He tried to push out the memories of Shukaku, those golden eyes still haunting him. He would not let it happen again.
“I have a reputation,” he explained.
“Which is why I presume your father named you his successor,” the hunter replied. Gaara was silent. He crossed his arms over his chest and pulled himself up to his full height. He should have known the hunter had done his research.
“You should know, Naruto, that Gaara is the most violent of his siblings and the most powerful. His creativity in the arts of torture and killing was so great that his own father tried to get rid of him,” the hunter explained.
The words struck him like a physical blow. Gaara closed his eyes, reminded of that dark time in his life, when he was just a boy; long before the bouts of violence, the killing sprees, and his own kind coming after him in the night. He remembered the nightmares and he clenched his jaw, fingers digging into his skull. He told them to stop, forced with all his might to push them away.
This is how it had started. This is how Shukaku had entered his life.
He forced himself to calm down, to box up those nightmares and locked them away where it couldn’t hurt him. When he opened his eyes again, they others were watching him, eyes round with fear. Kakashi’s fingers were wrapped tight around a vial of blood so putrid he wanted to vomit.
Anger swept over him, and his fangs elongated in reaction.
“What?” he roared at them. “Are you going to shove poison inside me again? Stick me on a leash as you will them?” he pointed at the weres. “You can’t keep me dosed on dead man’s blood forever. And then what will you do?”
The hunter kept his hand close to his pouch, the other out in the open, fingers splayed to show he held nothing. He moved his hand slowly like one approaching a wild animal. He held his hand palm up to entreat Gaara to wait.
“That’s why we’ll bond you before you go.”
Gaara stopped short. With that one phrase the fight left him and he lowered his arms to his sides. He looked to the fox, the man who would help him only so long as he was useful and shook his head.
“No,” he said resolutely.
“You’ve been gone from home for a long time,” Kakashi said, nonplussed. “A lot of things happened in that time. Convince your siblings that Naruto is your pet and the rest will fall in line. No one needs to know about the bond unless they have to. It will be the ace up our sleeve.”
Gaara shook his head and took a step back, away from the hunter. “You cannot ask this of me, it is too much.”
Gaara’s eyes searched the room seeking a way out. His fingers felt the wall behind him. He retreated another step, counting the people in the room and his odds of making it out alive, or dead. He should have fought his way out of that bar and never come back here. What the hunter proposed was infinitely worse.
“What’s a bond?” Naruto asked, his voice distrustful. He looked at the female hunter who couldn’t meet his gaze. The girl stared at her hands, one hand clasped over another. She shook her head.
“It’s a physical bond between vampires and non-vampires. One that lets them know each other’s thoughts. It means they can’t lie to you, they can’t hurt you because you’ll know their intent.”
“No,” Gaara protested, “it means forcing us to share everything.” Gaara’s hand reached out to brace himself against the wall. He remembered that initial rush, that sense of someone else with him, knocking around inside his head; the power and the freedom to share anything and everything. To never feel alone.
He swallowed heavily and forced himself to breathe slowly, to not think about that anymore.
When he looked back up, the fox was eying him, his pale brows knitted in concern. He looked vulnerable, if such were the word, like a little boy and not a grown man.
“Everything?” he asked.
“You’ll be forced to feel my pain, my fears,” he looked down at the floor, remembering the bloodlust Shukaku had thrived on. “My desires,” he finished. “A bond is meant to be the ultimate show of trust. Of love,” he paused, clenching his jaw.
“Can it be broken?” Naruto’s voice was uncertain.
Gaara winced and shut his eyes. “In death,” he replied. “And even then it feels like your soul is ripped out as if you are the one dying. And when it is over you are alone in a way most creatures will never know was possible.” His hand clenched the fabric at his chest, feeling his heart beating underneath; aware of the blood still coursing through his body despite the absence of another.
Gaara looked into the fox’s eyes, glad to see the fear and the horror etched in his brow. “Is the last Uchiha worth it?”
Gaara looked at the hunter and dared him to explain himself, to justify why such extreme measures were needed. For once, the other man averted his gaze. And when Gaara swept the room, the female hunters looked unsure for once, looking at each other as they came to realize their plans were not so humanitarian as they believed.
During his speech, the wolf had tightened his hold on his packmate. Naruto soothed him by running a thumb over the back of his hand, enticing him to let go.
“I need to talk to Gaara,” he said over his shoulder, not quite looking at the hunters behind him. “Privately,” he added. The wolf stepped away, but he shot a warning look in Gaara’s direction, his feet pacing a short invisible line.
Naruto nodded toward the bedroom and Gaara realized the fox hadn’t ruled out the possibility. His chest fluttered at the thought.
Naruto paused beside him as though waiting. Gaara caught the silent meaning in the gesture and with one more look across the room, Gaara followed him into the bedroom.
A breeze came in through the shattered window, blowing in the earthy smells of the forest. Naruto closed the door behind them, locking it as though that might afford them some protection. Gaara moved to the window to gaze out into the dark woods. There were others out there, he was sure of it, but none within his sight.
“You’ve done it before, haven’t you,” Naruto said gently.
Gaara wrapped his arms around himself, attention fixed on the branches shaking in the breeze. Not trusting his voice, he gave a few quick nods.
Naruto was silent. The bed creaked behind him and Gaara could imagine him sitting, head in his hands the way he seemed to react when things were bad. Naruto didn’t seem like the worst of the shifters, but he was a stranger, somewhere between reluctant ally and natural enemy. Gaara wouldn’t wish a bond on either.
“Is it really so bad as all that?” he asked, a sort of hope in his voice; an indication he was struggling to accept it.
“It is with me,” Gaara replied.
“But you would also feel my thoughts, wouldn’t you? It wouldn’t be one way.”
“A bond is as stable as the minds it connects. A weak mind could be lost in their partner’s madness, a mild person made violent through another’s rage. The combination of both on a mind untested...” Gaara shook his head. “It would destroy us both,” he said.
Naruto released a heavy sigh. The bed creaked again and when Gaara turned to look at him, the man was standing. He stepped closer, his body humming with nervous energy. It was like a buzz in the silence, an ever present noise that Gaara wished would go away.
Gaara turned back to the window, ignoring the man moving to stand beside him.
“This is the closest I’ve gotten to finding Sasuke in a long time. Closer than I ever thought I could. I’m not sure I can give that up now, no matter the price,” he said.
Gaara shook his head. “I swore I would never bond with another creature for as long as I lived. The last Uchiha may be worth the sacrifice to you, but what is he to me? Why must I destroy myself when it would be less painful to die here now? Or would you be content to let me live? To have me forever in your thoughts, to know your deepest wants?”
Naruto looked away. As Gaara suspected, he couldn’t answer. He didn’t think that far. None of them ever did.
“And if I said I would?” he replied. Gaara startled. The fox was gazing off in the distance, his eyes hardened into resolve. He was thinking of something else, another promise perhaps. His straight nose tipped up toward the sky, the faint whisker like scars visible against his tan cheeks. “We agreed that we would help each other, that we would get each other out of this. I honor my promises,” Naruto continued. “And if we do this, if we form a bond, I promise I’ll do anything to protect it.”
The speech was so neatly put together, Gaara wondered how many times he had repeated it. He thought of the dark haired boy the fox tracked down relentlessly and the bond he had cherished these ten years with an absent friend. Gaara shook his head and thought what a fool this man was.
“Please don’t ask this of me,” Gaara said.
Naruto’s fingers dug into his shoulder. His hand was warm, his grip solid. Gaara looked down at that hand and the grip relaxed.
“I’m trying to offer you a truce here. I’m saying, you can trust me. If they’re going to put us through hell then we’re doing it together. I’ll do whatever you ask, I’ll listen to whatever you say. But please, give me this chance. I’m not afraid of you,” he said. The expression in his eyes was not unkind. Gaara picked up the hand still on the shoulder, dropping it like a leaf that had landed there.
“You should be,” Gaara replied. Naruto’s full lips narrowed into a grim line, a line etched deeply into his brow.
“I worked through my demons. I’m not afraid of meeting yours.”
Gaara tipped his head back and laughed. He wondered how quickly that tune would change were he to share his past, to relive the times he spilled so much blood he came home bathed in it; or how he would squeeze the human skull to see if it popped like a melon. He reached forward with one nail, drawing a line down the fox’s tan, taut neck. He paused just above the pulse leaping against the fox’s skin, and pressed ever so slightly.
“And are you brave enough to bare your neck and trust I won’t rip out your throat?” His eyes fixed on the other man’s expression, waiting through the pause for the soon to be voiced objection. “Would you sink your teeth into my flesh and drink mine?” Blue eyes flinched ever so slightly. “If the blood is mingled, even better. An equal exchange,” Gaara finished.
The fox leaned back, away from Gaara’s touch. He swallowed heavily, adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. He looked down at his hands and frowned.
Blue eyes fixed on him, an uncertain expression painting his face as he held out his wrist. Gaara held his breath as a single claw elongated. The fox looked at him apologetically as he dragged the nail along the tender flesh, dark blood beading in a thin line.
Gaara closed his eyes. His body breathed in the rich tang of blood, savoring the taste on his tongue. A familiar hunger flared up inside him, his fangs slipping out at the promise of a meal. Gaara grimaced and pressed his lips tight. He tried to shake himself out of it, to fight off the hunger. He stepped back, trying to physically distance himself from the blood being offered. He turned his head, hating the way his body craved it, or the way he desired nothing more than to throw himself upon the other man and press his tongue along the wound.
Gaara shook his head, closing his eyes to shut it out, to not see the dark liquid sliding to the floor.
He swallowed heavily, fingers pressed against his face to hide himself. He felt the presence of two hands before they even reached him. The scent of blood drew so near he trembled with the effort it took not to drink. The fox’s touch was warm, hot almost as he pried Gaara’s hands away. The energy buzzed around him like so much determination and Gaara yielded to the firm grip, breathing heavy as a mouth smeared with blood drew nearer to him.
The fox hesitated a moment, his mouth so close Gaara could almost taste him. He fought against every instinct screaming at him to drink, whispering in his ear to have a small taste.
The fox rubbed his bottom lip against Gaara’s own, smearing the dark liquid across his chin. Gaara tried to recoil, to turn his face and then those painted lips fit against his own. Gaara shuddered and leaned into the touch, his tongue slipping along a soft bottom lip.
Remembering himself, he turned his face in horror, wrenching their mouths apart. But the other man pulled their bodies flush, one arm tight across his waist while the other forced his jaw.
A warm tongue snaked between his lips, filling his mouth with the coppery tang of blood. The fox had cleverly nicked his own tongue with his teeth and Gaara swallowed instinctively. He felt heady with the warmth that filled him and the power coursing through his body.
His hands came up and fingers dug into soft strands of hair as he pulled their mouths closer. His body grew hot as he had never experienced, as though he were burning up from inside. He felt like all that energy buzzing around him had been shoved into the contact between them, transferred through the blood.
He winced when something sharp nicked his tongue, the edge of a fang, he realized too late. The other man twisted his tongue around Gaara’s, his throat working to swallow down the blood.
In a moment of clarity Gaara realized what the other had done. He pushed against the solid chest in front of him, panicking when the grip around his waist remained firm.
Feelings, not his own, came pouring into him; grief, fear, determination. But behind it was a strength- a warmth like sunshine on a summer afternoon- that made Gaara want to recoil. It made him want to drop down to his knees and cry. He realized that what he was feeling was love, not toward himself, but the Uchiha that had started this all.
The fox finally relented and allowed Gaara to pull away. He ran his hand across his mouth, trying to rid himself of that taste, trying to forget the intensity of feeling that even now still licked at his consciousness.
When the fox looked at him there were tears in his eyes. His face filled with such pity that Gaara wanted to lash out, to physically strike him. He hated that anyone might see him so vulnerable again.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled. The other man reached for him and Gaara stood still when the ripple of emotion passing through him wasn’t pity. It was empathy.
A memory scratched at him; an empty swing beneath a tree. The fox grimaced and the image rippled as though a stone had been tossed into a pond. The image was lost, but not the lingering memory of loneliness, an ache in the pit of his stomach he had mistaken for his own.
He didn’t resist when the other man gathered him into his arms, murmured a litany of apologies that meant nothing in his ear. A hand stroked his hair, but Gaara was too speechless to respond.
This was not the reaction he had expected. Shukaku had been pure destruction. He had fed off the chaos in Gaara’s head. He had been the first to embrace the violence, to point at his loneliness as justification for what they had done.
Dumbstruck, Gaara felt Naruto’s presence like he felt his embrace; a warmth so thick, so palpable, he could touch. A presence that soothed him, that made him almost believe it would be alright.
Gaara shook his head and shoved him away.
“This doesn’t make things okay,” he said. Naruto looked stung, but there was an edge of guilt in the air. Gaara shoved a wedge between them, an emotional wall fortified by his anger, by his resentment of what had just been thrust upon him.
The tender sentiments flowing toward him ceased, trickled away until there was nothing left but silence and wisps of memory floating like phantoms.
Gaara licked the edge of his mouth, cleaning off the residue of dried blood. He was in it now whether he willed it or not, with someone perhaps more reckless, more unpredictable than himself.
Love was a hazardous emotion. Gaara touched the tattoo at his forehead, reminding himself why it was there. He would not let the bond pull him under. He would drown if he did.
Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck, the locked door and the murmur of voices on the other side reminding him they were not alone. The wolves no doubt smelled the blood. The alpha-in-training, Kiba was a small maelstrom of anxiety pacing outside the door.
“I guess we should get this over with,” Naruto said. Gaara refused to meet his gaze, anchoring himself against the wall when the door was unlocked.
The fox’s gaze lingered and Gaara shoved at him through the bond, telling him to go away. The other man looked askance, his hand rubbing along the drying wound before turning and leaving through the open door.
Gaara shut his eyes, his finger scrambling along the window pane.
“It’s done,” he heard the fox announce.
Gaara dug the soft tip of his finger into a broken shard, the sudden pain sharpening his senses. He broke through the fog of emotions dulling his senses and shoved again at the bond, fortifying the divide between them.
It was the only escape left to him now.
-
Naruto stood at the edge of his bed and surveyed his small room. His eyes lit on the picture frame atop his dresser, his ten year old self scowling at Sasuke instead of the camera. He moved the few steps to reach it, fingers brushing along the glass.
A day ago Sasuke was just a human boy; his best friend and a good kid that bad things happened to. But now. . . Naruto paused, afraid to finish that thought. Naruto had dreamed of bringing Sasuke home, of returning to their lives together.
Naruto brought his fingers to his lips, remembering what he had done; shuddering when he remembered that hunger. The vampire had clung to him, lapped up his blood like honey and when Naruto reciprocated he understood why; he felt a thirst like no other; a compulsion to devour no matter how repulsive it seemed. He had seen the world from the other’s point of view and it had shaken him in a way he didn’t expect.
Naruto’s fingers recoiled from the picture frame. He reached for his drawer instead, pulled out a few more pieces of clothing and tossed them onto the bed. His gaze swept the room one more time, finally landing on the small pile of items assembled on his bed; his life reduced to what could fit in a single bag.
He looked at the photo again and debated taking it out of the frame. His tongue swept the roof of his mouth, and he frowned when he thought of what he had done; the aftertaste of blood still lingering in his mouth and even now it excited him. He was unwilling to admit just how much the bond had threatened to overwhelm him or how precariously he held it at bay. It was Sasuke’s smile, the memory of his laughter that provided an anchor. It reminded Naruto of who he was.
Naruto sighed and walked back to the dresser. He flipped the picture frame and pulled out the back, slipping the photo free. He tucked it into the inner pocket of his black coat, zipping up the front to keep it safe.
It would destroy us both, Gaara had warned.
And in some small ways it already had. With the bond came the dark emotions and the memories of a bloody past. It was everything Kakashi had warned him of and yet the vampire was not what he seemed. And as much as Naruto wanted to hate him, to revile him for what he had done to Hinata, the anger had seeped right out of him. He could hold onto it no more than a fistful of water.
“I’m a fool,” Naruto berated himself, stuffing his clothes into his bag. He zipped up the top and threw it over his shoulder, trying not to think about what he had found underneath.
It didn’t change things between them, he reminded himself. He had forced his suit and now the vampire would never forgive him. He would help only because Naruto had given him no other choice. He was no better than the hunters in that respect. He was using Gaara as a means to an end. What use was there in getting attached?
Naruto left the bedroom door open. His hand paused on the light switch, and he gave it one last look over his shoulder. Flipping the switch, the room was blanketed in darkness and Naruto wondered if he would ever see it again. Shaking his head, he forced himself to move forward and to think only about what lay ahead.
“You’re sure you don’t want backup?” Kiba asked as he leaned against the door frame. His bulky frame filled the small space, blocking Naruto’s one exit from the house.
“Mom doesn’t have to know, or I could send Sai.”
Naruto placed a hand on the sleeve of Kiba’s leather jacket. He shook his head, smiling to know his pack would still be here for him.
“Someone needs to look after Hinata,” Naruto reminded him.
Kiba huffed and shook his head. He lowered his face, disappointment plain on his features.
“But if things turn sour, there’s no way in hell I’m sitting back. If you need anything, anything at all, you let us know.” Kiba didn’t make requests. He was commanding it and Naruto nodded to show that he knew.
“Of course,” Naruto grinned, punching Kiba’s shoulder playfully. The young wolf moved aside and allowed Naruto to pass through the door revealing Neji who stood on the edge of the porch just a few feet away. His expression was wiped of clean of any emotion, but Naruto sensed that he was hesitating, struggling to find something to say. Naruto put a hand on Neji’s shoulder and met his pale gray eyes.
“And you watch out for Kiba,” Naruto grinned. “Someone needs to look after Hinata,” he said conspiratorially. “Kiba may say it’s a date, but sometimes he likes to...”
“Naruto!” Kiba growled. Naruto dashed out of reach, laughing.
When he looked back, Neji had caught Kiba by the scruff of his collar, the taciturn young man actually smiling.
“Stay out of trouble you guys,” he yelled at them, waving a hand as he loped down the driveway. He turned past the mailbox and out onto the road when Sai stepped out of the trees. His big dark eyes flicked upward, catching the light of the moon. His lips pressed together as if he might say something, but he paused, the corners of his mouth tugging down.
Naruto pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight even as the other wolf tensed up.
“I know, I suck at good-byes too. So we’ll save it for next time, okay?” Sai hesitated before his arms came up and pat Naruto’s back tentatively. “This is a see you later,” Naruto said with more cheer than he felt. He released Sai and pat his shoulder affectionately. “That’s okay, right?”
Sai nodded as if he agreed, his eyes expressing other sentiments. “See you later,” he replied quietly.
Naruto tried to ignore the pang of anxiety these small words produced. He forced a smile and told himself it would be alright. He would get back home and bring Sasuke with him. He held onto his smile until he reached the van parked on the side of the road.
The door slid open and the blonde hunter grinned at him. She offered him a hand, but Naruto ignored it, climbing in and sliding into a seat beside her.
His eyes glanced furtively at Gaara, who sat quietly in the row behind him. The vampire’s attention was fixed elsewhere, his gaze unblinking as it stared out the window.
“Took you long enough,” the girl teased. She slammed the door shut and slid back into her seat, pulling the strap of her seat belt over her chest. “We’re good to go,” she yelled to the driver.
Kakashi turned the key in the ignition and the engine hummed to life. Naruto tugged on his seat belt his attention drawn to the reflection in driver’s mirror. Sakura’s pink hair flew out in tufts, her mouth tugging down in a way not too unlike Sai’s just minutes before. Her green eyes met his in the glass, lingering for a moment before turning away.
The car lurched forward, and Naruto redirected his attention to look out the tinted windows. The forest surrounding them blurred before him, fading into pitch black as the light left them. The reflection from female hunter’s ipod was visible in the reflection, casting his own face in a ghastly blue hue. His eyes shifted to the reflection of a pale face, a bright red tattoo painted above startling green eyes.
The vampire noticed his look and Naruto glanced away, haunted again by what he had seen through their bond.
He released a breath and said a silent prayer for everything he was leaving behind. Leaning his head against the glass, he looked up at the moon and felt exhaustion seep into every part of him. He wondered if he was strong enough to face the road ahead.
Title: Hunger 04
Fandom- Naruto
Pairing: suggested narugaara, implied narusasu
Rating: PG-13 for violence, adult themes
Warnings: Obvious plot device is obvious
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No profit is made from this, no harm intended.
Summary: Gaara had lived long enough to know about the sometimes unexplainable things in the world; creatures like himself that shouldn’t have existed, but did.
Hunger 04
Bond
-
The atmosphere had shifted. Gaara tensed as he witnessed the volley of words between him. The one buffer shielding him from his would-be hunter was wavering, slipping into the trap set before him. The right bait had been dangled and with two eyes wide open, Gaara watched as the fox allowed himself to be drawn into the hunter’s net.
“What do you propose?” the fox asked and Gaara wondered if he knew what sort of web he was walking into. This wasn’t going to be a rescue.
“It’s a trade,” Gaara voiced, his gaze meeting the startled look in the fox’s eyes. “You for the Uchiha. That’s what he’s proposing.” The hunter neither confirmed nor denied it with his response. “And what sort of safeguards will get him out of that?” the vampire challenged.
There was a pause and the hunter was silent, his one eye unblinking as he stared at Gaara. He was evaluating something, but it was not yet clear what. The look faded and the hunter’s expression relaxed, slipping into a friendly look that put Gaara on edge.
“I thought that answer would be obvious,” Kakashi replied. All eyes in the room turned to him and Gaara realized where this was leading.
His stomach sank a little. “You want me to make him my pet, to do the trade myself. And does he know what that entails?” He shot a look at the fox, the tall, proud creature and knew it would not be easy. They did not know his reputation. They would never convince his siblings, or the council.
The fox looked uncertain, his resolve visibly wavering as his attention jumped from Gaara to the hunter and back again. The wolf, Kiba, put an arm around him possessively, shielding his packmate. He looked hard at the hunter, an understanding prompting the fury in his gaze.
“No self-respecting were would lower himself to become a vampire’s pet,” he spat. He shot Gaara a look of loathing, mouth pulled up in a sneer. “And his kind would never deign to keep us around unless it was to humiliate us.” He looked around the room, challenging anyone else to contradict him.
The girl with the pink hair lowered her face, her once eager look melting into guilt. She knew what she was asking and still she asked it. The other girls seem unaffected despite the wolf now holding tight onto his fury behind them.
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” their leader replied. “But Naruto seemed so hell bent on saving Sasuke I figured he might be willing to try.”
Kiba shook his head vehemently. “It’s too risky, I don’t buy this safeguard bullshit. What’s to prevent that blood sucker from killing Naruto as soon as he’s out of sight? Or betraying us once he’s out of your reach?”
Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I was getting to that,” he said wearily.
“I rather agree with the wolf,” Gaara said. This brought surprised looks from everyone. “No one will believe I’ve accepted him as my pet just to show him off. They will have certain. . . expectations.” Gaara’s eyes flicked up at the fox’s before darting away. He tried to push out the memories of Shukaku, those golden eyes still haunting him. He would not let it happen again.
“I have a reputation,” he explained.
“Which is why I presume your father named you his successor,” the hunter replied. Gaara was silent. He crossed his arms over his chest and pulled himself up to his full height. He should have known the hunter had done his research.
“You should know, Naruto, that Gaara is the most violent of his siblings and the most powerful. His creativity in the arts of torture and killing was so great that his own father tried to get rid of him,” the hunter explained.
The words struck him like a physical blow. Gaara closed his eyes, reminded of that dark time in his life, when he was just a boy; long before the bouts of violence, the killing sprees, and his own kind coming after him in the night. He remembered the nightmares and he clenched his jaw, fingers digging into his skull. He told them to stop, forced with all his might to push them away.
This is how it had started. This is how Shukaku had entered his life.
He forced himself to calm down, to box up those nightmares and locked them away where it couldn’t hurt him. When he opened his eyes again, they others were watching him, eyes round with fear. Kakashi’s fingers were wrapped tight around a vial of blood so putrid he wanted to vomit.
Anger swept over him, and his fangs elongated in reaction.
“What?” he roared at them. “Are you going to shove poison inside me again? Stick me on a leash as you will them?” he pointed at the weres. “You can’t keep me dosed on dead man’s blood forever. And then what will you do?”
The hunter kept his hand close to his pouch, the other out in the open, fingers splayed to show he held nothing. He moved his hand slowly like one approaching a wild animal. He held his hand palm up to entreat Gaara to wait.
“That’s why we’ll bond you before you go.”
Gaara stopped short. With that one phrase the fight left him and he lowered his arms to his sides. He looked to the fox, the man who would help him only so long as he was useful and shook his head.
“No,” he said resolutely.
“You’ve been gone from home for a long time,” Kakashi said, nonplussed. “A lot of things happened in that time. Convince your siblings that Naruto is your pet and the rest will fall in line. No one needs to know about the bond unless they have to. It will be the ace up our sleeve.”
Gaara shook his head and took a step back, away from the hunter. “You cannot ask this of me, it is too much.”
Gaara’s eyes searched the room seeking a way out. His fingers felt the wall behind him. He retreated another step, counting the people in the room and his odds of making it out alive, or dead. He should have fought his way out of that bar and never come back here. What the hunter proposed was infinitely worse.
“What’s a bond?” Naruto asked, his voice distrustful. He looked at the female hunter who couldn’t meet his gaze. The girl stared at her hands, one hand clasped over another. She shook her head.
“It’s a physical bond between vampires and non-vampires. One that lets them know each other’s thoughts. It means they can’t lie to you, they can’t hurt you because you’ll know their intent.”
“No,” Gaara protested, “it means forcing us to share everything.” Gaara’s hand reached out to brace himself against the wall. He remembered that initial rush, that sense of someone else with him, knocking around inside his head; the power and the freedom to share anything and everything. To never feel alone.
He swallowed heavily and forced himself to breathe slowly, to not think about that anymore.
When he looked back up, the fox was eying him, his pale brows knitted in concern. He looked vulnerable, if such were the word, like a little boy and not a grown man.
“Everything?” he asked.
“You’ll be forced to feel my pain, my fears,” he looked down at the floor, remembering the bloodlust Shukaku had thrived on. “My desires,” he finished. “A bond is meant to be the ultimate show of trust. Of love,” he paused, clenching his jaw.
“Can it be broken?” Naruto’s voice was uncertain.
Gaara winced and shut his eyes. “In death,” he replied. “And even then it feels like your soul is ripped out as if you are the one dying. And when it is over you are alone in a way most creatures will never know was possible.” His hand clenched the fabric at his chest, feeling his heart beating underneath; aware of the blood still coursing through his body despite the absence of another.
Gaara looked into the fox’s eyes, glad to see the fear and the horror etched in his brow. “Is the last Uchiha worth it?”
Gaara looked at the hunter and dared him to explain himself, to justify why such extreme measures were needed. For once, the other man averted his gaze. And when Gaara swept the room, the female hunters looked unsure for once, looking at each other as they came to realize their plans were not so humanitarian as they believed.
During his speech, the wolf had tightened his hold on his packmate. Naruto soothed him by running a thumb over the back of his hand, enticing him to let go.
“I need to talk to Gaara,” he said over his shoulder, not quite looking at the hunters behind him. “Privately,” he added. The wolf stepped away, but he shot a warning look in Gaara’s direction, his feet pacing a short invisible line.
Naruto nodded toward the bedroom and Gaara realized the fox hadn’t ruled out the possibility. His chest fluttered at the thought.
Naruto paused beside him as though waiting. Gaara caught the silent meaning in the gesture and with one more look across the room, Gaara followed him into the bedroom.
A breeze came in through the shattered window, blowing in the earthy smells of the forest. Naruto closed the door behind them, locking it as though that might afford them some protection. Gaara moved to the window to gaze out into the dark woods. There were others out there, he was sure of it, but none within his sight.
“You’ve done it before, haven’t you,” Naruto said gently.
Gaara wrapped his arms around himself, attention fixed on the branches shaking in the breeze. Not trusting his voice, he gave a few quick nods.
Naruto was silent. The bed creaked behind him and Gaara could imagine him sitting, head in his hands the way he seemed to react when things were bad. Naruto didn’t seem like the worst of the shifters, but he was a stranger, somewhere between reluctant ally and natural enemy. Gaara wouldn’t wish a bond on either.
“Is it really so bad as all that?” he asked, a sort of hope in his voice; an indication he was struggling to accept it.
“It is with me,” Gaara replied.
“But you would also feel my thoughts, wouldn’t you? It wouldn’t be one way.”
“A bond is as stable as the minds it connects. A weak mind could be lost in their partner’s madness, a mild person made violent through another’s rage. The combination of both on a mind untested...” Gaara shook his head. “It would destroy us both,” he said.
Naruto released a heavy sigh. The bed creaked again and when Gaara turned to look at him, the man was standing. He stepped closer, his body humming with nervous energy. It was like a buzz in the silence, an ever present noise that Gaara wished would go away.
Gaara turned back to the window, ignoring the man moving to stand beside him.
“This is the closest I’ve gotten to finding Sasuke in a long time. Closer than I ever thought I could. I’m not sure I can give that up now, no matter the price,” he said.
Gaara shook his head. “I swore I would never bond with another creature for as long as I lived. The last Uchiha may be worth the sacrifice to you, but what is he to me? Why must I destroy myself when it would be less painful to die here now? Or would you be content to let me live? To have me forever in your thoughts, to know your deepest wants?”
Naruto looked away. As Gaara suspected, he couldn’t answer. He didn’t think that far. None of them ever did.
“And if I said I would?” he replied. Gaara startled. The fox was gazing off in the distance, his eyes hardened into resolve. He was thinking of something else, another promise perhaps. His straight nose tipped up toward the sky, the faint whisker like scars visible against his tan cheeks. “We agreed that we would help each other, that we would get each other out of this. I honor my promises,” Naruto continued. “And if we do this, if we form a bond, I promise I’ll do anything to protect it.”
The speech was so neatly put together, Gaara wondered how many times he had repeated it. He thought of the dark haired boy the fox tracked down relentlessly and the bond he had cherished these ten years with an absent friend. Gaara shook his head and thought what a fool this man was.
“Please don’t ask this of me,” Gaara said.
Naruto’s fingers dug into his shoulder. His hand was warm, his grip solid. Gaara looked down at that hand and the grip relaxed.
“I’m trying to offer you a truce here. I’m saying, you can trust me. If they’re going to put us through hell then we’re doing it together. I’ll do whatever you ask, I’ll listen to whatever you say. But please, give me this chance. I’m not afraid of you,” he said. The expression in his eyes was not unkind. Gaara picked up the hand still on the shoulder, dropping it like a leaf that had landed there.
“You should be,” Gaara replied. Naruto’s full lips narrowed into a grim line, a line etched deeply into his brow.
“I worked through my demons. I’m not afraid of meeting yours.”
Gaara tipped his head back and laughed. He wondered how quickly that tune would change were he to share his past, to relive the times he spilled so much blood he came home bathed in it; or how he would squeeze the human skull to see if it popped like a melon. He reached forward with one nail, drawing a line down the fox’s tan, taut neck. He paused just above the pulse leaping against the fox’s skin, and pressed ever so slightly.
“And are you brave enough to bare your neck and trust I won’t rip out your throat?” His eyes fixed on the other man’s expression, waiting through the pause for the soon to be voiced objection. “Would you sink your teeth into my flesh and drink mine?” Blue eyes flinched ever so slightly. “If the blood is mingled, even better. An equal exchange,” Gaara finished.
The fox leaned back, away from Gaara’s touch. He swallowed heavily, adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. He looked down at his hands and frowned.
Blue eyes fixed on him, an uncertain expression painting his face as he held out his wrist. Gaara held his breath as a single claw elongated. The fox looked at him apologetically as he dragged the nail along the tender flesh, dark blood beading in a thin line.
Gaara closed his eyes. His body breathed in the rich tang of blood, savoring the taste on his tongue. A familiar hunger flared up inside him, his fangs slipping out at the promise of a meal. Gaara grimaced and pressed his lips tight. He tried to shake himself out of it, to fight off the hunger. He stepped back, trying to physically distance himself from the blood being offered. He turned his head, hating the way his body craved it, or the way he desired nothing more than to throw himself upon the other man and press his tongue along the wound.
Gaara shook his head, closing his eyes to shut it out, to not see the dark liquid sliding to the floor.
He swallowed heavily, fingers pressed against his face to hide himself. He felt the presence of two hands before they even reached him. The scent of blood drew so near he trembled with the effort it took not to drink. The fox’s touch was warm, hot almost as he pried Gaara’s hands away. The energy buzzed around him like so much determination and Gaara yielded to the firm grip, breathing heavy as a mouth smeared with blood drew nearer to him.
The fox hesitated a moment, his mouth so close Gaara could almost taste him. He fought against every instinct screaming at him to drink, whispering in his ear to have a small taste.
The fox rubbed his bottom lip against Gaara’s own, smearing the dark liquid across his chin. Gaara tried to recoil, to turn his face and then those painted lips fit against his own. Gaara shuddered and leaned into the touch, his tongue slipping along a soft bottom lip.
Remembering himself, he turned his face in horror, wrenching their mouths apart. But the other man pulled their bodies flush, one arm tight across his waist while the other forced his jaw.
A warm tongue snaked between his lips, filling his mouth with the coppery tang of blood. The fox had cleverly nicked his own tongue with his teeth and Gaara swallowed instinctively. He felt heady with the warmth that filled him and the power coursing through his body.
His hands came up and fingers dug into soft strands of hair as he pulled their mouths closer. His body grew hot as he had never experienced, as though he were burning up from inside. He felt like all that energy buzzing around him had been shoved into the contact between them, transferred through the blood.
He winced when something sharp nicked his tongue, the edge of a fang, he realized too late. The other man twisted his tongue around Gaara’s, his throat working to swallow down the blood.
In a moment of clarity Gaara realized what the other had done. He pushed against the solid chest in front of him, panicking when the grip around his waist remained firm.
Feelings, not his own, came pouring into him; grief, fear, determination. But behind it was a strength- a warmth like sunshine on a summer afternoon- that made Gaara want to recoil. It made him want to drop down to his knees and cry. He realized that what he was feeling was love, not toward himself, but the Uchiha that had started this all.
The fox finally relented and allowed Gaara to pull away. He ran his hand across his mouth, trying to rid himself of that taste, trying to forget the intensity of feeling that even now still licked at his consciousness.
When the fox looked at him there were tears in his eyes. His face filled with such pity that Gaara wanted to lash out, to physically strike him. He hated that anyone might see him so vulnerable again.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled. The other man reached for him and Gaara stood still when the ripple of emotion passing through him wasn’t pity. It was empathy.
A memory scratched at him; an empty swing beneath a tree. The fox grimaced and the image rippled as though a stone had been tossed into a pond. The image was lost, but not the lingering memory of loneliness, an ache in the pit of his stomach he had mistaken for his own.
He didn’t resist when the other man gathered him into his arms, murmured a litany of apologies that meant nothing in his ear. A hand stroked his hair, but Gaara was too speechless to respond.
This was not the reaction he had expected. Shukaku had been pure destruction. He had fed off the chaos in Gaara’s head. He had been the first to embrace the violence, to point at his loneliness as justification for what they had done.
Dumbstruck, Gaara felt Naruto’s presence like he felt his embrace; a warmth so thick, so palpable, he could touch. A presence that soothed him, that made him almost believe it would be alright.
Gaara shook his head and shoved him away.
“This doesn’t make things okay,” he said. Naruto looked stung, but there was an edge of guilt in the air. Gaara shoved a wedge between them, an emotional wall fortified by his anger, by his resentment of what had just been thrust upon him.
The tender sentiments flowing toward him ceased, trickled away until there was nothing left but silence and wisps of memory floating like phantoms.
Gaara licked the edge of his mouth, cleaning off the residue of dried blood. He was in it now whether he willed it or not, with someone perhaps more reckless, more unpredictable than himself.
Love was a hazardous emotion. Gaara touched the tattoo at his forehead, reminding himself why it was there. He would not let the bond pull him under. He would drown if he did.
Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck, the locked door and the murmur of voices on the other side reminding him they were not alone. The wolves no doubt smelled the blood. The alpha-in-training, Kiba was a small maelstrom of anxiety pacing outside the door.
“I guess we should get this over with,” Naruto said. Gaara refused to meet his gaze, anchoring himself against the wall when the door was unlocked.
The fox’s gaze lingered and Gaara shoved at him through the bond, telling him to go away. The other man looked askance, his hand rubbing along the drying wound before turning and leaving through the open door.
Gaara shut his eyes, his finger scrambling along the window pane.
“It’s done,” he heard the fox announce.
Gaara dug the soft tip of his finger into a broken shard, the sudden pain sharpening his senses. He broke through the fog of emotions dulling his senses and shoved again at the bond, fortifying the divide between them.
It was the only escape left to him now.
-
Naruto stood at the edge of his bed and surveyed his small room. His eyes lit on the picture frame atop his dresser, his ten year old self scowling at Sasuke instead of the camera. He moved the few steps to reach it, fingers brushing along the glass.
A day ago Sasuke was just a human boy; his best friend and a good kid that bad things happened to. But now. . . Naruto paused, afraid to finish that thought. Naruto had dreamed of bringing Sasuke home, of returning to their lives together.
Naruto brought his fingers to his lips, remembering what he had done; shuddering when he remembered that hunger. The vampire had clung to him, lapped up his blood like honey and when Naruto reciprocated he understood why; he felt a thirst like no other; a compulsion to devour no matter how repulsive it seemed. He had seen the world from the other’s point of view and it had shaken him in a way he didn’t expect.
Naruto’s fingers recoiled from the picture frame. He reached for his drawer instead, pulled out a few more pieces of clothing and tossed them onto the bed. His gaze swept the room one more time, finally landing on the small pile of items assembled on his bed; his life reduced to what could fit in a single bag.
He looked at the photo again and debated taking it out of the frame. His tongue swept the roof of his mouth, and he frowned when he thought of what he had done; the aftertaste of blood still lingering in his mouth and even now it excited him. He was unwilling to admit just how much the bond had threatened to overwhelm him or how precariously he held it at bay. It was Sasuke’s smile, the memory of his laughter that provided an anchor. It reminded Naruto of who he was.
Naruto sighed and walked back to the dresser. He flipped the picture frame and pulled out the back, slipping the photo free. He tucked it into the inner pocket of his black coat, zipping up the front to keep it safe.
It would destroy us both, Gaara had warned.
And in some small ways it already had. With the bond came the dark emotions and the memories of a bloody past. It was everything Kakashi had warned him of and yet the vampire was not what he seemed. And as much as Naruto wanted to hate him, to revile him for what he had done to Hinata, the anger had seeped right out of him. He could hold onto it no more than a fistful of water.
“I’m a fool,” Naruto berated himself, stuffing his clothes into his bag. He zipped up the top and threw it over his shoulder, trying not to think about what he had found underneath.
It didn’t change things between them, he reminded himself. He had forced his suit and now the vampire would never forgive him. He would help only because Naruto had given him no other choice. He was no better than the hunters in that respect. He was using Gaara as a means to an end. What use was there in getting attached?
Naruto left the bedroom door open. His hand paused on the light switch, and he gave it one last look over his shoulder. Flipping the switch, the room was blanketed in darkness and Naruto wondered if he would ever see it again. Shaking his head, he forced himself to move forward and to think only about what lay ahead.
“You’re sure you don’t want backup?” Kiba asked as he leaned against the door frame. His bulky frame filled the small space, blocking Naruto’s one exit from the house.
“Mom doesn’t have to know, or I could send Sai.”
Naruto placed a hand on the sleeve of Kiba’s leather jacket. He shook his head, smiling to know his pack would still be here for him.
“Someone needs to look after Hinata,” Naruto reminded him.
Kiba huffed and shook his head. He lowered his face, disappointment plain on his features.
“But if things turn sour, there’s no way in hell I’m sitting back. If you need anything, anything at all, you let us know.” Kiba didn’t make requests. He was commanding it and Naruto nodded to show that he knew.
“Of course,” Naruto grinned, punching Kiba’s shoulder playfully. The young wolf moved aside and allowed Naruto to pass through the door revealing Neji who stood on the edge of the porch just a few feet away. His expression was wiped of clean of any emotion, but Naruto sensed that he was hesitating, struggling to find something to say. Naruto put a hand on Neji’s shoulder and met his pale gray eyes.
“And you watch out for Kiba,” Naruto grinned. “Someone needs to look after Hinata,” he said conspiratorially. “Kiba may say it’s a date, but sometimes he likes to...”
“Naruto!” Kiba growled. Naruto dashed out of reach, laughing.
When he looked back, Neji had caught Kiba by the scruff of his collar, the taciturn young man actually smiling.
“Stay out of trouble you guys,” he yelled at them, waving a hand as he loped down the driveway. He turned past the mailbox and out onto the road when Sai stepped out of the trees. His big dark eyes flicked upward, catching the light of the moon. His lips pressed together as if he might say something, but he paused, the corners of his mouth tugging down.
Naruto pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight even as the other wolf tensed up.
“I know, I suck at good-byes too. So we’ll save it for next time, okay?” Sai hesitated before his arms came up and pat Naruto’s back tentatively. “This is a see you later,” Naruto said with more cheer than he felt. He released Sai and pat his shoulder affectionately. “That’s okay, right?”
Sai nodded as if he agreed, his eyes expressing other sentiments. “See you later,” he replied quietly.
Naruto tried to ignore the pang of anxiety these small words produced. He forced a smile and told himself it would be alright. He would get back home and bring Sasuke with him. He held onto his smile until he reached the van parked on the side of the road.
The door slid open and the blonde hunter grinned at him. She offered him a hand, but Naruto ignored it, climbing in and sliding into a seat beside her.
His eyes glanced furtively at Gaara, who sat quietly in the row behind him. The vampire’s attention was fixed elsewhere, his gaze unblinking as it stared out the window.
“Took you long enough,” the girl teased. She slammed the door shut and slid back into her seat, pulling the strap of her seat belt over her chest. “We’re good to go,” she yelled to the driver.
Kakashi turned the key in the ignition and the engine hummed to life. Naruto tugged on his seat belt his attention drawn to the reflection in driver’s mirror. Sakura’s pink hair flew out in tufts, her mouth tugging down in a way not too unlike Sai’s just minutes before. Her green eyes met his in the glass, lingering for a moment before turning away.
The car lurched forward, and Naruto redirected his attention to look out the tinted windows. The forest surrounding them blurred before him, fading into pitch black as the light left them. The reflection from female hunter’s ipod was visible in the reflection, casting his own face in a ghastly blue hue. His eyes shifted to the reflection of a pale face, a bright red tattoo painted above startling green eyes.
The vampire noticed his look and Naruto glanced away, haunted again by what he had seen through their bond.
He released a breath and said a silent prayer for everything he was leaving behind. Leaning his head against the glass, he looked up at the moon and felt exhaustion seep into every part of him. He wondered if he was strong enough to face the road ahead.