HEY, EVERYBODY!!!! I'm back! And in record time. It's only been a bit over a week since my last update. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's reading this. I love you all, and you give me the spirit to continue, especially my commenters. And, I was surprised to see how many of my readers are actually from around the world in Europe, the Middle East (my people), the Philippines, and South Africa, so props to you guys! And of course all the Americans and Canadians, it is my pleasure to serve you. Have you guys been waiting in anxiety for this?? Have you?? I hope I didn't torture you too much, heheheheh. Although that really wasn't the worst cliffhanger I could have left you guys with. Anywho, to those who've read through this entire paragraph, here's a medal. Here is chapter 13!

            Sasuke lunged out at the deer, tumbling with it as it let out a cry of surprise. They came to a stop and Sasuke grabbed the deer's neck and pulled it up to his face, sinking his fangs into its neck. The warm blood flowed into his mouth, the irony tang invigorating.

            The past few days had been draining for Sasuke. Being out of the forest all day with no blood sustenance was exhausting, and Sasuke had caught himself several times on the verge of passing out. Normally, he would have just taken some of Naruto's blood, but seeing as he was injured and both their regenerative abilities were blocked, he didn't want to risk worsening his state, especially since being out of the forest was equally as tiring for Naruto. With both of them worrying over Sakura, Naruto hadn't had the time to ask Sasuke about his blood supply to which Sasuke was grateful. If Naruto found out he had not drank blood in over a week, he would surely force him to drink from him, and Sasuke wasn't sure if he would be able to control himself.

            He had been going out every night whenever he could to drink some small animal's blood. It kept him awake, but Sasuke knew it wouldn't last him long. Human blood was what kept him going. Sasuke had had to dig his nails into his arm during the whole funeral to keep himself from draining the nearest Normy in sight.

            Him and Naruto took turns keeping watch on Sakura, although all she did was eat and sleep. Sasuke really felt terrible for her, which was strange because almost never empathized with anyone, but he couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose his mother; the loss would probably kill him. Honestly, he hadn't known what he was doing the night Sakura's mother figure had died. He had simply acted with out thinking and pulled Shizune's eyelids closed over her lifeless eyes and pulled Sakura off of her in an attempt to calm her down. He had definitely not planned on her hugging him (although that was probably to be expected in the situation), let alone that he would respond. He had never comforted anyone—well at least a girl—before. It was strange.

            Sasuke retracted his fangs, and breathed heavily. His eyes burned as his sharingan was activated by the blood, and a rivulet of the warm, red liquid dribbled down the corner of his mouth. He quickly lapped it up. He looked down at the carcass in his hands, and lay it down gently on the ground. He then brought his thumb up to his mouth, and pierced the skin with his fang, allowing a bubble of crimson to form. He knelt down beside the deer, and traced a line down that ended in a swirl in his blood on the deer's forehead, closing its eyes at the same time and muttering, "Thank you for the life you've given me." It was customary for all Uchihas, the only clan of vampires in existence, to do this ritual to give thanks whenever it was necessary to kill to survive. The symbol was that of the Will of Fire, the totem of Konohagakure, the principle everyone lived by.

            "May your spirit rest in peace," Sasuke said, clapping his hands together, and bowing to the deer. He stood up and made to leave when he spotted movement in the distance thanks to his sharingan. It definitely wasn't that of an animal. He launched himself off the ground and into the trees. He had noticed how no one from the village dared to enter the forest, so it couldn't be them. Had the enemy somehow tracked them all the way here? That would make them a danger to Sakura, not to mention all the Normies in the village. The enemy wouldn't spare them just because they weren't involved; they were ruthless killers.

            He drew his sword as he drew nearer, his sharingan taking in everything around him. Just as he broke through a bush right behind the person, he inhaled and took in the familiar scent of sakura blossoms. He immediately halted, his katana frozen in midair. There in front of him, was Sakura. She was shaking, and tears shined in her eyes. Her long hair was braided back, exposing her neck, and he could see the vein pulsing there, so rich and full of delicious blood. If he could only... He pinched himself, the small sting bringing him back to his senses.

            "Sasuke..." Sakura muttered, sinking to her knees as she clutched at her heart. "It's only you... You scared me..."

            She pulled the shawl she had around her tighter, trembling.

            "What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke asked angrily, deactivating his sharingan and driving his sword into the ground. "I could have killed you!"

            "I... I needed to get out. Think about some things," she said, her voice breaking. "I don't even know anything about her!"

            Sasuke squirmed uncomfortably as she started crying. This had not at all been what he was expected. He had dealt with a crying girl two more times than he would have liked. A trail of anger seeped into him as he watched her crying on the ground.

            "Don't you think you're being pathetic?" he said roughly.

            She looked up at him sharply, green eyes wide with shock.

            "W-What?

            "Don't you think you're being pathetic? How long are you going to mope around and cry?"

            Sasuke didn't even know what he was doing, but the words wouldn't stop.

            "It's terrible that your mother died, but you crying because you feel guilty isn't going to do anything. The fact is that you're still alive. It's okay to be sad and all, but it's what you do about it that counts. You didn't know anything about her? Well there's nothing you can do to solve that. Your mom obviously cared a lot about you. Do you think that you're honoring her memory by wasting your days away crying?"

            Sakura was staring at him in a mixture of shock and awe.

            "Get your shit together, and live your life. If you don't know anything about her, find out. She told you something that night, didn't she? Set yourself a goal and pursue it. That's the only way you'll make it through," Sasuke said, realizing at the same time that he was pulling from his own experience.

            Naruto had been the one to make him realize that same thing when he had been drowning in his own despair, thinking he was going to be alone all his life. He had set his goal to grow stronger, to be able to protect the people that were around him and loved him in the moment, even if he didn't have a mate. It had been the only thing keeping him going, keeping the darkness at bay. Maybe he hadn't been repressing his emotions as much as he'd thought.

            He waited with baited breath for Sakura's reaction. He knew his little speech had been a little harsh, and he didn't know how she would react. She stood up, and wiped her eyes vigorously before looking at him with a fire in her green orbs that he hadn't seen before.

            She stood, illuminated by the rising sun.

           "You're absolutely right. I am being pathetic, just depending on you two as I cry my eyes out. I guess I just needed someone to tell it straight to my face. Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she smiled softly.

            His heart skipped a beat, and he felt his hand crawl up to grasp his chest.

            "Sasuke-kun?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.

            "Yup," she said, starting to walk in front of him. "We're friends right?"

            She turned to face him.

            "I didn't consent to that," he grumbled walking ahead of her.

            "You don't have to, Sasuke-kun," she said merrily.

            His heart did a weird flip in his chest again, and he glared at her, heat rising to his cheeks.

            "Are you always this annoying, Sakura?" he asked, trying to distract himself from the weird feeling spreading throughout his chest.

            She stopped, and Sasuke turned to look at her, thinking he'd hurt her feelings. Not that I care if I did, he hastily thought to himself.

            Sure you don't, his inner said sarcastically.

            You again, Sasuke thought angrily. Won't you leave me alone?

            As if, but I think you should pay attention to our mate instead of me, he sang.

            Sasuke looked back at Sakura whose cheeks were flushed.

            "What's wrong with you?" Sasuke asked, an edge of worry creeping in.

            "That's the first time you've said my name," she said breathlessly.

            Sasuke blinked as he realized that she was right. It had just rolled off his tongue without him realizing. He also flushed, but in embarrassment.

            "So what? It's nothing special!" he said, walking quickly ahead.

            Sakura didn't respond, but he could feel her walking behind him. He glanced back at her, and saw her grinning. He turned back around, and pulled his cloak up over his face, trying to stop the burning in his cheeks.

            I hate my body right now.

            Because it's betraying your feelings? His inner responded.

            Shut up.

Haha, I seriously love writing Sasuke's inner. I know it's totally OOC, but you know, I think everyone has a different inner voice than their outside personality, like Sakura's strong inner from when she was 13 that slowly became her outside personality as well. So how did you like that fluff? And to be honest, I wasn't completely sure of Sasuke's spiel to her. Was it really insensitive to you guys? I thought it suits his personality, plus we needed something to bring these two unconventional lovebirds closer together, am I right?

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ BELOW!

So, I have a couple questions for you guys.

Does everyone here understand what's happening in the story and the world they're in thus far? If you don't, please leave your questions in the comments, and I'll answer them without spoiling what's to come by maybe doing a recap of everything we've learned, and do my best to make it clearer in further chapters. 

What do you guys think of my OCs Akio and Soraya? Do you love them as much as I do?? 

Would anyone here be interested in reading a book where I basically rant and analyze Naruto characters and events? Because honestly I'd love to do that to address a couple things like the hate against Sakura in the fandom and my thoughts on the creation of the Boruto series. 

What are your predictions for what's going to happen later. What do you guys think Sakura is?

Would you want a Naruhina chapter when Sakura meets Hinata?

Any suggestions that I could incorporate in the story in the future? I'm always open to suggestions.

And I think that's enough questions or else I'll bore you. Again, vote, comment, share, and I'll see you all next time. Ja ne!