Empty Eyes: Book 1

Chapter 37

"Absolutely not. Are you insane?"

I tugged on Ino's arm pitifully, giving her a pout, "Please! It's the only way to convince him to let me come along!"

My sister ripped her arm out of my grasp, causing Tenten to gasp from her spot to my right, and pointed at me with a big frown, "He doesn't want you to come along for a good reason. Besides, that's not the only option we have."

I felt tears welling up as it seemed this wasn't going my way, and I was beginning to accept defeat when her words finally registered, and a small smile hinted on my lips, "Wait...we?"

Ino rolled her eyes before crossing her arms, "It just so happens that Sasuke already asked me to watch you while he's away, so as long as we're together, I'll technically not be lying to him, right?"

My whole being perked up in excitement, "So we'll just follow him secretly and jump in to help if need be, right?"

Ino nodded, "Let me reiterate: we jump in if and only if he needs help." Tenten and I jumped up and down excitedly, but my twin continued, "We're only going if you let someone turn you beforehand."

My elated emotions dropped instantly, and my smile faded into an expression of disbelief and shock, "Wait, what? No, I can't-"

Ino shook her head, her blue eyes bright and severe as she cut me off, "I told you before. I can't stand the thought of you dying. The only way you're getting my help is if I can be sure some vampire won't drain you dry. I don't care if you have to ask Madara of all people. If you're human, I'm not taking you."

I opened my mouth to argue again, but she put both hands up in defense, "There's nothing you can say that'll change my mind, Saku. I know you're upset, but I'm only considering your safety."

With that, my twin turned on her heel and headed for the door, pausing momentarily to look back at us with a sad smile, "I'll be in the garden if you change your mind."

Tenten and I were stunned to silence for a moment before she eventually sighed, "Well, there goes my one chance for adventure."

I felt a pang in my chest in response to her words. The maid hadn't had to endure the cruelty and torture in Oto like I had, so she saw traveling to Amegakure as an exciting road trip. I, too, desperately want to go, but for a completely different reason. My blood goes icy in fear when I even think about facing either of the vampires that'd captured us, but the thought of Sasuke dying alone by their hand was even more terrifying.

I headed toward the door, bidding her farewell for the evening before retreating to the prince in question's room. The water ran in the bathroom, so I figured he was getting ready to bathe.

Ino's constant nagging about turning finally seemed to sink in, and I hurried across the room to pull the most worn book from his bookshelf, the one describing vampires, succubi, and other creatures. Hearing my sister blatantly refuse to even hear an argument from me had me thinking of things in less of a what-if mindset.

I flipped carefully through page after page until I found the one that had what I was looking for: the process of turning a human being into a vampire. With my heart beating rapidly, I read the instructions repeatedly until I was positive I had them memorized.

Apparently, the order of the first two steps didn't matter, but a vampire has to bite the human, and the human has to ingest some vampire blood. Finally, and the last step was the one that made making a decision difficult, the human has to be drained of their blood almost wholly. It doesn't have to be drunk but must leave the body. After that, the process starts almost instantaneously and can take a few minutes to an hour for the human to turn completely. Apparently, they'll be incredibly dangerous during the transition period and rarely have control of their bloodthirst or emotions. However, they can still die more quickly than vampires if seriously injured.