Chapter 35

My fractures healed as a few more weeks passed and before I knew it, my body was good as new. I spent most of my time afterward giving either Ino or Tenten and hand with whatever they were working on.

Madara completely left me alone, to my surprise. After it became clear that Sasuke and I weren't going to talk to him, or anyone, about what Orochimaru had done to us, he backed off and didn't even approach me during the sparse moments when I was completely alone.

Normally he'd at least shoot me teasing smirks during dinner when no one else was looking, but he wasn't even doing that anymore. Gone was his mischievous personality and instead he seemed distracted as though his mind was constantly preoccupied.

Ino told me that the older vampire almost acted more worried about our disappearance than Mikoto. I wondered what caused the change in him, but I wasn't about to seek him out to ask. Knowing my luck, asking would snap him out of whatever daze he's been in.

The Subaku's visited, as well, and finally mended their relationship with the Uchiha royal family. Gaara himself apologized to both me and Sasuke. Before they left, Kankuro pulled me aside to sneakily inform me that Matsuri had finally confessed her feelings for the Sunagakure King. The redheaded vampire seemed genuinely interested in courting the pretty brunette with whom I'd become friends.

Despite being happy for her, I hoped he wouldn't make any of the mistakes he'd made with me. After asking me to run away with him in a half-joking manner and receiving a serious rejection, Kankuro left the castle with his brother.

Temari was officially staying in the Uchiha castle while her and Itachi's wedding was being planned. The foreign beauty may try to mask her emotions, but there were moments when I could tell that she at least kind of cared about her fiance. The eldest prince seemed content in her presence, so I silently rooted for the couple without sticking my nose in their business.

Once it became clear that I was no longer at risk of dying from my injuries, Obito bid us farewell. Even if Madara was behaving for the moment, I couldn't blame him for feeling uneasy under the same roof. The halfling promised to write to me in his free time and I promised to visit his home in Amegakure when I got the chance.

According to Sasuke, his cousin was trying to become an advisor to the royal family there so he could act as a liaison between our cities. Amegakure was one of the only cities within a week's traveling distance from Konoha that didn't have any trading or legal contracts with the Uchihas, a fact Fugaku wanted to change. Apparently Ame has notoriously high end water crops like celery, leeks, and rice.

Kakashi also left once he considered Ino's transition complete with barely a goodbye to even the king who'd turned him. I was informed by the twin princes that he was a true nomad who didn't feel comfortable staying in one place for long. He seemed really nice, regardless, and I hoped to see him again at some point.

Ino, just as she'd explained to me in the family room, started developing impressive talents. She started being able to read other people's minds if she was able to touch them. The way she explained it, it started out as just a hint of a whisper, but the more time she spent as a vampire, the stronger her ability became.

She was also slightly stronger and faster than the others. Before leaving, Kakashi oversaw a small spar between her and my new brother-in-law and she somehow came out victorious. I'd had to bite the side of my cheek to stop myself from laughing out loud at the bewildered look on Sai's face when he realized his petite wife had bested him.

No one said anything, except for Ino, but I could tell the rest of the Uchihas were wondering if I, too, would choose to be turned. Sasuke and I had never even tried to have that conversation and now that the time had come to start thinking about the future, he was too obsessed with finding Orochimaru and Kabuto to address the situation.

After I confessed to him and he refused to hear my arguments on the subject of our relationship, I realized he wasn't able to focus on much else. Physically, we were almost always together, but he was barely ever mentally present.

I don't even know if I want to be a vampire.

Yes, I love my sister and Sasuke and I want to spend eternity with them, but I struggled to convince myself that it was okay to live forever. The thought of watching everyone we grew up with grow old and die while we stayed the same caused my chest to tighten and made it hard to breathe. I'll have to watch Naruto and Hinata die.

Say I did decide to have Sasuke turn me: there will undoubtedly be more friends like Naruto and Hinata through the years and I'll have to repeat the traumatic experience over and over for eternity. I don't know if I'm capable of handling that type of grief.

When I see how happy Ino and Sai have become, though, I reconsider. Not only that, but the strong emotions that surge through my body whenever I look at Sasuke was something I've grown comfortable with. Now that I've experienced love, I don't want to ever let it go.

Either decision would make me selfish, just in different ways. If I turn, my friends would have to watch me stay the same as they age and eventually die. If I don't turn, I'll be abandoning my sister and leaving Sasuke to return to the awful women who don't actually love him for him.

It also made me uncomfortable to think like that. If I refuse to turn, I don't know the extent of how he'll be affected. Sure, he'd probably be sad for a while after I died, granted we even stay together for the length of my human life, but he'd eventually move on. Someone better would come along and take my place.

"That's not true, you idiot! How can you think like that?"

I was torn from my mental debate when Ino's shrill voice broke the silence at the dinner table. Everyone looked at her in shock, including me. Her eyes were glowing bright red and her face was contorted into an expression of rage and disbelief. My eyebrows furrowed and I surveyed my body. Not a single part of our bodies were touching, so I couldn't figure out how she heard me.

As though she was still listening in on my thoughts, her eyes sank back down to their baby blue and widened to match everyone else's, "Oh my God!"

Sai reached over and interlaced their fingers, pulling her hand up so he could kiss it, "You're still getting stronger, my love."

I felt Sasuke glance over at me and tried to ignore his gaze with my eyes trained on my plate.

After dinner, Ino and I went to check on the progress of her shop. Its construction was nearly complete and the Uzumaki's were already living there, a home area built into the shop so they wouldn't have to travel. It was about a ten minute walk from the castle to the edge of the grounds, where the building stood.

As we walked, she waited until we were about halfway there to speak, most likely being careful that the Uchihas, Sasuke in particular, wouldn't hear, "Sorry about before."

I shook my head, nudging her in the ribs as we walked, "No worries." I felt her looking over at me, but kept my eyes focused on the path we were traveling.

"You don't actually believe he'll just get over it if you die, right?"

I closed my eyes and let out a stressful sigh, running a hand through my shorter locks, "Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. He's been so distant lately that I don't know what he's thinking."

My sister reached over and pulled my arm into hers before rubbing my hand reassuringly, "Can I tell you a secret?"

Nodding cautiously, I glanced at her. She had an eager smirk on her plump lips and lowered her voice slightly, just in case someone was still within earshot that we weren't aware of, "I've been getting glimpses into his thoughts for over a week now. That poor man's so smitten that it terrifies him."

My face heated slightly and I tore my arm from her, stopping in my tracks to face her with my hands in fists at my sides, "Ino! You can't just invade people's privacy like that!"

She stopped too and mirrored my posture, "I didn't do it on purpose! The stronger someone's emotions are, the louder their thoughts are! It was like someone was yelling at me, how could I not listen?"

My anger simmered down slightly and I frowned, turning to start walking again, my glare on the ground as I grumbled out, "That doesn't make it okay, Ino."

I walked ahead of her and guiltily felt a bit of the anxiety fade in my stomach. My insecurity got the better of me way too often because Sasuke's such a stoic person, so it was kind of nice to have a bit of reassurance.

"I knew it! You're such a hypocrite!"

My face fell as I realized Ino was listening to my relieved thoughts and I sped up my pace as she jogged to try and catch up with me, "You're the worst, Ino!"

Her laughter echoed through the woods and a small smile tugged at my lips.

After visiting with Naruto and his family, we headed back up to the castle and went our separate ways. The sun was setting in the sky, so I intended to retire to the bedroom for the night. I was heading toward the staircase when I felt a large hand grasp onto my wrist and pull me toward the laundry room. My eyes squeezed shut as my back hit the wall and I heard the door shut behind us.

Madara's familiar scent met my nose and my brow furrowed in dismay. I must've been unconsciously hoping that he'd really changed his ways, but I guess I'd been wrong.

Anger and fear made it feel as though ice was running through my veins. I could sense that he wasn't standing too far away.

"Relax. I'm not going to attack you."

Against my better judgment, I dared a peek before opening my eyes the rest of the way once I'd confirmed his eyes weren't red. Feeling as though I'd regret it, I cautiously searched his face, "What do you want, then?"

He looked me up and down for a moment, making me uncomfortable, before shocking me by forcing my fingers to interlock with the hand he was still holding, "You're barely even trembling."

My glare faltered and I averted my gaze to the floor. Looking back at all I'd gone through in the past months, Madara forcefully feeding on me didn't seem all that scary anymore.

"What happened?"

He sounded genuinely concerned, which only furthered my discomfort under his unwavering gaze. I could tell he was trying to figure out once more what Orochimaru had done that caused the change in my demeanor, but couldn't bring myself to talk about it.

His fingers tightened against mine and I looked back up to meet his eye, only to freeze when I realized he'd activated his eyes' vampirism. Despite the absolute terror I was feeling, I tried to keep a cool facade. No one has tried to glow me since our rescue, but the memory of the terrible pain I'd gone through was something that'll likely always be fresh and clear.

"Don't do it."

His brow quirked and a hint of a smirk formed on his lips, "I let it slide last time because it was your sister's wedding, but I don't like being commanded."

He didn't say the words, but ordered me to answer his previous question. A gasp slipped from my lips, but my glare rehardened. The pain that was shooting up from my spine into my throat was almost nothing compared to what Orochimaru had done.

Madara's eyes widened and his grip on my hand loosened slightly, but I squeezed his hand more tightly in an effort to challenge him, "You're gonna have to try harder from now on."

My teeth grit once I got my taunt out because the pain was growing at a steady pace.

He wordlessly studied my face in disbelief for a few moments before suddenly closing the distance between us and pressing my body against the wall with his own. His lips were in a frown as he stared down into my eyes. My free hand clenched into a fist at my side as I controlled my panic like I hadn't been able to before.

The pain continued to grow and I wasn't able to pretend it wasn't affecting me any longer. My limbs began to tremble with effort and I could feel a sheen of perspiration start to form, but I refused to let myself look away. If I don't hold my ground now, he may go back to tormenting me like he had before and I refuse to go back to being that helpless girl.

The longer I held out, the firmer he seemed to press against me. Finally, I wasn't able to keep my teeth clenched and a pained gasp burst from my lips, but his brows immediately furrowed and suddenly the torture stopped. My chest heaved slightly as I attempted to catch my breath and he stared at me with his eyes wide with realization.

Slowly, he pulled his hand from mine and I let him, but I still cringed when he gently lifted my chin so he could better study my face. It was obvious he'd figured out what type of torture I'd been put through and I was stunned stiff by the regretful look on his face. He appeared to honestly feel bad for what he'd just done, but didn't even try to apologize.

Instead, he spoke with a defeated tone, "Orochimaru and Kabuto recently arrived in Amegakure. They're spreading word about a pink-haired Tanaka woman residing in Konoha."

My anger and disgust dissipated and I met his eyes more steadily, "How do you know and why are you telling me?"

He gingerly stepped back before releasing his hold on me and I cautiously smoothed out my ruffled clothing.

The royal seemed unhappy with his words as he responded, "I've grown fond of you, despite my best efforts."

My eyes widened in surprise, but he swiftly turned and walked out of the small room without another look in my direction. An uneasy heat warmed my face, but I ultimately let out a relieved sigh. Being in his intimidating presence was exhausting.

Just what kind of game was he trying to play with me this time?

Either way, Sasuke would want to know about what'd just happened and simply being glowed not to speak couldn't stop me anymore. My feet froze on the bottom step of the staircase and my eyes widened.

Maybe it'd be better not to tell him. If I tell him, he'll undoubtedly head straight to Amegakure to hunt down Orochimaru. What if he gets killed in the process? Just the thought of him being hurt made my chest ache. Shaking my head, I shook the negative thoughts away. I'll talk to Naruto and Hinata about it and we'll decide what to do together.

After climbing the steps, I paused at the door to compose myself before entering. Sasuke was searching the bookcase and my heart fluttered in my chest as my eyes danced over his broad shoulders. He turned to glance at me and his lips tugged ever so slightly upwards in response to my arrival, something I would've missed if I hadn't gotten so familiar with his incredibly reserved facial expressions.

My hand clenched into a fist behind my back and I forced myself to smile as I excused myself wordlessly into the bathroom. Once the door closed behind me, I frowned. All I had to do was keep Madara's potentially false lead a secret until I decided what to do.