Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Colour of Your Blood ❯ Chapter Seven: Amarante ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

TheColourof Your Blood

A Sakura-Gaara Story

Chapter Seven: Amarante

Kankuro and Amarante lay beside each other on a small bed, panting with the sheets tangled around their feet. Amarante slipped her arms around the vampire's waist and snuggled her head into his bare chest.

“Kankuro?” the girl whispered, looking up at the vampire to see if he was still awake. He shifted on the mattress so that he was facing the human, his head propped up by his arm. Amarante continued: “How long do you think we'll be stuck here?”

Kankuro pushed a few strands of long, black hair out of the girl's eyes and stroked her cheek gently with his thumb. “I don't know,” he answered truthfully, “As soon as it's safe.”

“I hate it here,” Amarante whispered and snuggled close to the vampire's chest, wrapping her arms around him. Kankuro didn't say anything in response, but instead ran a hand through Amarante's dark hair and began to drift off.

Sakura and TenTen sat on one of the stiff beds in the huge hall. The other humans, save for Kiba, were sitting around the table in the middle of the room, picking over the remains of their last meal. Gaara and Sasuke were manning either door.

“I hate this place,” TenTen was whispering to her friend, “Everyone is too afraid to talk.”

“I'm worried about Kiba,” Sakura blurted out, “We haven't heard anything about him yet.”

“I'm sure he's fine,” TenTen tried to sound reassuring, “No news is good news, right?” Sakura nodded her head listlessly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. The near-silence was killing her; the way that everyone would whisper, scrape their chairs against the floors, and the way the stone walls would echo the sounds back.

“Hey guys,” Ino chirped as she flung herself down on the bed between the two girls. Ino seemed to be the only person not affected by the dark atmosphere of the place. She practically bounced off the walls and occasionally tried to start an animated conversation. “I wish they would let us out of here already, or at least let us shower! It's really starting to smell ripe in here.”

TenTen was getting very ticked off. “Don't be so stupid,” she hissed, “You know we aren't allowed out of the sight of the vampires—”

“I'd be completely fine,” Ino cut TenTen off, “I have Sasuke-sama. He's so strong, and handsome, he'd protect me.” Sasuke was scanning the room, and Ino gave him a girlish wave. The vampire scowled and looked away.

TenTen looked like she was ready to tear Ino's head off. At that moment, however, the vampires began to move. Although it seemed to be an underwhelming spectacle, the humans watched it diligently each time; any shift in the monotony was welcomed. Kankuro and Kakashi were the replacements. The latter had an almost calm look on his face as he crossed the hall to take Gaara's position at the far door. His painted eyes swept over the humans' heads, realization hitting him like a lightning bolt.

“Where's Amarante?” he asked, a note of pure dread in his voice.

“She was supposed to be with you,” Naruto answered, giving Kankuro a confused look. Everyone looked around the room, tallying up faced in their heads. Sasuke and Gaara had moved from their posts to the centre of the room.

Kankuro turned to his brother. “We have to go look for her,” he said in an automatic voice, his eyes wide. Gaara closed his eyes for a few long seconds before slowly shaking his head “no.” Kankuro looked enraged. “What do you mean, `no?'” he demanded, “We have to go look for her! She could still be alive.”

The red haired vampire ignored his brother, but began issuing orders. “Kakashi, go get the others, tell them everyone is now staying in this room. Sasuke, Kankuro, stay at the doors. All of you humans are to stay at this table, don't get up or try to leave—”

Kankuro pushed his brother's shoulder so that he was facing him once again. “What are you talking about? Aren't you listening to me? We have to go look for Amarante, now.”

“She is probably already dead,” Gaara said in a cold voice, “At this point, it is too much of a risk to go outside. There isn't anything we can do for her. The most important thing right now is to protect the remaining humans.”

Kankuro's face turned red with fury. He opened his mouth, but no retort came. He shut his mouth, shook his head, and began to walk towards the far door. Gaara called after him, but the dark haired vampire kept walking, his head bowed.

By that time, Sakura, TenTen, and Ino had made their way over to the table. Everyone was silent as they heard the far away creak of a door and the whistle of wind flying outside. The door snapped shut a second later.

“Kakashi,” Gaara said, his voice strained. The silver haired vampire nodded his head and was gone in a puff of smoke to retrieve the others. Sakura placed her hand on Gaara's forearm and said his name softly to get his attention. “Sakura,” he said, staring her straight in the eye, “Just sit down.” He pulled his arm away from the girl and stalked over to talk to Sasuke.

Sakura sunk down in a chair and TenTen gave her a sympathetic look. Sakura felt something light fall onto her shoulder. She turned her head and saw a torn piece of fluffy pink fabric had been dropped onto her.