Naruto awoke feeling nothing but a strange numbness. His eyelids felt heavy as they remained closed over his eyes, feeling like they were being weighed down by cement. Instead of fighting the weighing feeling and attempting to open his eyes, he kept them closed as the numbness began to recede and he began to feel again. He could feel a firmly cushioned surface under his body and a light, soft covering over the top. His head was slightly more elevated than the rest of his body and was resting back on something comfortable. Naruto inhaled deeply, and as he did he smelt an unmistakable fragrance wafting through the air.
  “Lilacs?” he thought dozily, “I don’t have any lilacs in my apartment...”
Naruto finally tried to open his eyes but they refused to open, as though something were gluing them together. After two more attempts he finally managed to peel his eyes apart and squint through the gaps, but found himself overcome with the feeling of fatigue and he closed them again.  He flopped his head to the right lazily and winced as he felt a sudden pain shoot through the side of his neck. The pain forced him to immediately open his eyes as he remembered what had happened.
As much as he wanted to jump up, find Sasuke, and pound the living day lights out of the vampire for making him feel that irritatingly enormous amount of fear, his will power could only do so much. In reality, the amount of energy he had was rival only to that of a sedated patient going into surgery. So all he did was lay there.
The notion that he wasn’t in his own apartment finally dawned on him, but his body was too tired to react, so, instead, he examined the room through tired eyes as he lay there. He saw that he was in a small, dark room, its walls all painted in a deep midnight blue. The walls were bare except for a window, covered by black drapes, on the wall behind his head, a beautifully carved wooden door on the wall furthest from him on his right and a small, oval mirror hanging on the wall directly across the room from the window.
A bookcase stood tall next to the door and a large, navy blue armchair sat next to the bookshelf. The Uzumaki managed to lift his head up to see what he was lying on. He had originally thought that it was a bed, but saw now that it was actually a pullout mattress that came out of a large couch, its colour matching that of the armchair. Naruto put his head back on the pillow, his neck muscles aching from their short physical exertion, and look up at the roof. Immediately he noticed that the roof was bare, but not in the same fashion most roofs were. This roof had no light in the ceiling, not even a ceiling fan or a skylight. Naruto wondered how a room that had little to no light coming in – since the window was covered – how he could see so clearly.
     At this point Naruto rolled his head to look to the right again as he heard the door beginning to open. A small sliver of light came into the room, followed quickly by the door opening until Naruto could see a silhouette standing in the doorway. As his eyes adjusted he could see black hair falling over pale skin, a slender, masculine body and bottomless red eyes.
“Sasuke...” Naruto had meant to say it sternly but his throat felt so dry and tired that it came out a hoarse, almost inaudible, whisper. Somehow though, the visitor heard it and looked at the Uzumaki.
“Do we really look that much alike?” The Sasuke look-a-like chuckled. As the figure approached Naruto, the blue-eyed boy could see that this man, although he looked uncannily like Sasuke, was not him. He looked older than Sasuke, probably in his twenties, and had a deep line under each of his eyes. His hair was parted in the middle at the front, much like Sasuke’s, but at the back it was straighter, longer and pulled into a loose ponytail. Naruto found himself looking at the man longer than what was usually classified as polite. This man was undeniably beautiful.
“I’m glad to see that you’re awake, Naruto,” the man said with a smile, “I can call you Naruto,  right?”
The Uzumaki looked at him for a second before attempting a small nod. The man smiled again gently and adjusted the pillow under Naruto’s head.
“Don’t move too much, you only just woke up.”
“Who are you?” Naruto asked in a whisper, “Where am I? What am I doing here?” He stopped then added, “Why do you look so much like Sasuke?”
The man brought the armchair next to the couch and sat down, still smiling pleasantly.
“My name is Uchiha Itachi, and I probably look like Sasuke because I’m his older brother.”
“I didn’t know Sasuke had a brother,” Naruto whispered, trying to keep his eyes open. Although Naruto didn’t feel tired inside his mind, his body refused to acknowledge that he wanted to stay awake.
“Well, that’s not surprising,” Itachi chuckled again – a very deep, infectious chuckle, “he doesn’t talk about me much. I’m right up there with talking about us being vampires.”
Naruto managed to get his eyes to stay open after that statement. “So...you’re also...?”
Itachi nodded, “Yep, a vampire. Guilty as charged. But keep it under your belt, some people in this village don’t like our kind,” he said jokingly.
Naruto definitely felt the big brother vibe off this Uchiha and, unlike with Sasuke, who only brought confusion, Naruto felt completely comfortable talking with this man.
“So, where...”
“Are you?” Itachi finished, “You’re in our house, of course! Where else? Welcome to our home.” He said cheerily.
“Okay...your house...but what am I doing here?” Naruto heard his voice popping in and out of his sentence. It reminded him of when he first went into puberty. He didn’t like it.
Itachi regarded Naruto calmly, “You remember what happened in the park, right?”
‘In the park.’ Naruto remember everything. When he slid down the tree and saw the Uchiha approach him, when Sasuke crouched in front of him and brought his face closer and closer to Naruto’s neck, when Naruto’s heart began racing faster as the boy had whispered in his ear. But mostly he remembered the bite. The swift, piercing teeth pressing into the muscles and veins in his neck and also the bite that he himself did to his own bottom lip to stop himself from crying out from the pain as the vampire began to suck and suck the blood from his body. He remembered his body going limp and tired and his mind going blank as he heard his blood leaving his body. And finally he remembered the darkness and the nothingness just before he fell into a sudden sleep.
Naruto managed to summon the needed strength to nod slowly at Itachi.
“Well, after that, Sasuke carried you back here and you’ve been here since then.”
“Why did he carry me here? Why not just leave me in the park?” Naruto wondered out loud.
“He wouldn’t just leave you in the park! It was freezing there! It’s almost winter!” Itachi seemed to be smiling at Naruto question in a disbelieving manner.
Naruto looked straight at Itachi and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, “Who are you kidding?”
The Uchiha let out a slow laugh. “Look, I know Sasuke doesn’t seem like that nice a guy, but really, he would never do anything like that.”
Naruto rolled his eyes in denial. “Where is Sasuke anyway?” His voice was almost back.
Itachi looked at his watch. “It’s about 2:30 in the afternoon so he’d still be at school.”
“Oh,” Naruto whispered, “Okay.” He felt somehow disappointed. Itachi had said that Sasuke brought him to his house so he wouldn’t be left in the park, and yet Sasuke had still gone to school the next day like it was nothing? It shouldn’t bother him; it sounded like something that Sasuke would do. But Naruto still felt like Sasuke should maybe take responsibility for making him immobile. Either that or Naruto just wanted to see him, not that he would admit it.
“About Sasuke,” Itachi said, as though he were reading Naruto’s thoughts, “He did wait for you to wake up, don’t get him wrong. But after the fourth day, he thought that—“
“Four days?” Naruto yelled as he sat up in bed suddenly. He instantly felt a dizzy spell roll over him and he had to collapse back onto the bed and close his eyes.
“Don’t move so suddenly,” Itachi said calmly, “Your body isn’t ready for it yet.”
“Have I really been here for four days?” Naruto asked quietly and even though his eyes remained closed, he could tell that Itachi was nodding.
“Yes, it has. And what a four days it has been!” Itachi exclaimed delightedly. “I’ve never seen Sasuke so obedient to one person! What a site it was! Him watching you, constantly making sure you were alright. It’s times like those I wish Sasuke would be in a photo!” Itachi chuckled lightly, leaning back in his chair. Itachi looked down at Naruto and saw that the tanned boy was finally making eye contact with him.
“It’s true,” Itachi said simply, understanding the questioning look in Naruto’s eyes. “He didn’t leave your side until I told him he had to go to school. Forgive me for that, but the school might have found it a little shady if you were both away for such a long time. And don’t worry; Sasuke took care of your absences too. He even forged you a doctor’s note. Can you imagine that?”
Naruto had managed to push the bottom half of his face under the cover that lay on top of him. And under the cover, he couldn’t help but smile in spite of himself.
“Get some more sleep,” Itachi said. He was already at the door and the chair was back in its place. Naruto didn’t think it was possible for someone to move that fast. The he mentally slapped himself for forgetting about the whole “vampire” thing.
Itachi closed the door gently and Naruto couldn’t help but close his eyes, slowly drifting off into sleep.

Naruto woke up some time later, feeling unbelievable hot. He could feel his forehead drenched with sweat, sticking his hair to his face and neck. His body felt suffocated under the blanket as it stuck to his body uncomfortably. His body felt like it was burning and the heat was becoming unbearable. Without thinking, Naruto lifted his legs up, kicking the blanket off him. After lying still for a moment, feeling relief as the cold air hit his body, he realised that he had moved. He opened his eyes, sat up and, although he felt unusually stiff, he was no longer immobile. He looked down at his hands just as a familiar chuckle wafted through the air.
Naruto snapped his head to the right and, although the room was darker than before, he could make out the silhouette of an individual leaning against the closed door. He saw the crimson eyes, he saw the pale skin and, overall, he saw the naturally spiked up hair. This time he knew it was Sasuke.
“Throwing off your covers and presenting yourself to me, dobe? If I knew I would get that reaction out of you I wouldn’t have gone to school today.” Sasuke said, his voice not wavering for a moment. He began walking towards the tanned boy and Naruto merely glared at the Uchiha before turning his head and looking straight ahead of him. He brought his knees up and hugged them against his chest.
Sasuke sat on the end of Naruto’s bed and kept his eyes on the Uzumaki.
“How are you feeling?” Sasuke asked finally. His eyes remained on the blue-eyed boy. However Naruto refused to make eye contact with him and didn’t answer.
“Dobe,” Sasuke said sternly, “Tell me how you’re feeling.” Sasuke demanded.
“Stiff,” Naruto grumbled, “And it’s all your fault.”
“It’s all my fault you’re stiff, huh?” Sasuke chuckled, amused by the statement “I’m sure I could fix that problem,” He said slowly, leaning towards the oblivious boy.
Naruto lifted an eyebrow and risked a glance over at the pale boy. “What are you talking abou---EW! You pervert! I didn’t it mean like that!” Naruto backed up as far as he could go, until he was sitting on top of the arm of the couch.
Unfortunately, he was only sitting there for a moment, before Sasuke made a mock gesture like he was going to grab the tanned boy and Naruto, startled by the sudden movement, fell off the arm of the navy blue couch onto the hard, wood floor.
Naruto lay on the floor for a few minutes, moaning about the pain in his back before shouting, “Sasuke! Stop hurting me, you sadist! This is, like, the second time you’ve made me fall on the floor!” Naruto sat up and leant his aching back against the wall that was about half a meter behind him. He leant the back of his head against the cool surface and opened his eyes to see Sasuke leaning over the arm of the couch, smirking at the blonde.
“Only the second time? You must have bashed your head. If I recall correctly, it’s been more like five times. Or did our little rendezvous in the library mean nothing to you?” Sasuke mocked.
“I think that the question is more ‘did they mean anything to you?’” Naruto retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Are you suddenly insecure, dobe? Do we need to go to marriage counselling?”
“We’re not married, teme.” Naruto said, trying not to give the dark-haired boy any thing that he could use against him.
“You’re right,” Sasuke said, faking a sad emotion, “ I don’t think the undead are allowed to get married here. Maybe in Vegas…”
“Now you’re just babbling on about nothing, Uchiha.”
“Wow, last names. I’m scared now.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Uz…zu…ma…ki.”
“That’s it! I’m leaving!” Naruto got up with a speed he didn’t know he had and began striding towards the door. He’d reached the doorknob when he heard a hand hit the door on either side of his head. Naruto glanced over his shoulder and said, quickly, “Let me leave, Sasuke. I’m not going to sit in this room and argue with you about pointless things. Either you tell me what I want to know, or I’m going home.”
“I wouldn’t advise going home just yet, Naruto.” Sasuke whispered in Naruto’s ear. Naruto shivered involuntarily and snapped his head forward again, biting his lip. He blamed his bodies reactions on the fact that he’d had no human contact for four days.
“Why,” He asked, tightening his grip on the doorknob in embarrassment as his voice cracked. He coughed and continued,” Why can’t I leave? What’s so great about your house anyway, you snob.”
Sasuke grab the tanned boy by his shoulders and turned him around to face him. Holding blue-eyed boy against the wall firmly, Sasuke stared at him through deep, crimson eyes. His eyes held not hatred, no sadness, no sarcasm. They held only acknowledgement and Naruto, seeing this, felt self-conscious and looked away as the black-haired boy continued to look at him.
After a few moments, Sasuke finally let of a sharp exhale, as if snapping out a trance. He let go of Naruto’s shoulders, “My house is actually the best thing in the world dobe, and don’t you forget it.”
Naruto rolled his eyes. “Sasuke, you have mood swings worse than a pregnant woman. Do you know that?”
“I do. Did you know that you Pythagoras’ Theorem is used on triangles?”
“This isn’t a pop quiz, teme.”
“Pop quiz? I was playing 20 questions.”
“Well you suck at it. Now sit down and answer my questions.”
“Fine,” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Oh. But one more thing…” And, without having time to react, Sasuke’s perfectly pale lips came down on Naruto’s surprised, tanned ones gently. Goosebumps ran all over Naruto’s body at the sudden rush of adrenaline he got from Sasuke touch. The tanned boy couldn’t help but close his eyes and lean into the kiss, holding onto the front of Sasuke blouse to stop his hands from shaking with excitement. Sasuke placed his soft, ivory hands on either side of Naruto’s face, pulling him closer. Naruto wanted more. But suddenly, his common sense pulled him back to reality and finally his anger at the boy took over once again. He broke the kiss abruptly and took a  small step back.
“No,” He said firmly, “No, no, no. No distracting me! I want answers, and I want them now!”
Sasuke folded his arms over his chest and shrugged, “Fine,” and within the time it took Naruto to blink once, Sasuke had taken a step forward, brought his lips in front of Naruto’s, and had lightly bitten the stunned boy’s bottom lip before sitting back on Naruto’s custom made bed. “Whatever you say.”
Naruto wiped his lips on the back of his hand vigorously and sat down in the armchair, which was opposite Sasuke.
“Oh,” Sasuke started, “By the way,” Naruto glared at him. Sasuke was playing on his last nerve with his excessive interrupting. “What’s that look for? All I was going to say was that I love you as a brunette.” Sasuke finished with a smirk and half-lidded eyes.
It took a few moments for Naruto to register what he had just heard. “What?” He finally said. “…What, what…what! Brunette? What are you talking about? I’m blonde, crazy colour-blind boy! Look!” Naruto grabbed a lock of his rough, spiked hair and pulled it down in front of his eyes. He examined it closely and let out a sudden shriek, not unlike that of a girls, when he saw the darkness of his hair.
Sasuke was telling the truth, his hair was no longer the bright, golden blonde that shone in the sun. It was now a light, chocolate brown that made Naruto feel uneasy just from looking at it.
Naruto remembered the mirror that hung on the wall in this room. He bolted over to it and gazed into its clean, reflective surface. He stood there, motionless for almost two minutes before turning to Sasuke slowly with a look of horror and confusion on his face.
“Sasuke?” he breathed out slowly, “What happened to my reflection?”
Sasuke leant back against the couch, his eyes closed and his mouth set in an uncaring straight line.
“I guess it’s time,” The red eyed boy said, seemingly emotionless, “that I told you about the side effects of becoming a vampire.”