Empty Eyes: The Sequel

Chapter 13

At dinner that same night, Fugaku spoke before anyone could begin eating, "I have some unfortunate news to share." Everyone gave the king their undivided attention, me included.

"Amegakure has sent a warrant for the attempted murder of one of their advisors, named Hidan."

My heart fell into the pit of my stomach and I temporarily forgot my manners, "What do you mean "attempted" murder? We watched him die, didn't we Sasuke?" I glanced at the prince and he nodded with an unhappy glare before turning his attention back onto his father.

"You must've been mistaken. The letter states that Hidan himself reported the crime. They request that both of you and Sasori return to Amegakure for sentencing."

Ino frowned unhappily, but her husband spoke up before she could object, "Should we not send a warrant ourselves, requesting the entire royal family to pay for betraying us? It was their queen who sent the girls to Sonokuni, was it not?"

I nodded, "That's true! What are they thinking?"

Mikoto and the king shared a look and I got the sense there was even more bad news. The queen lay a hand softly atop mine, the one closest to her, and spoke in a tone that told me she isn't happy about any of this news either, "It's not so much a warrant as an official end to our alliance, dear. They intend to hold our cousin hostage until their demands are met."

My blood ran cold, "Obito?" She nodded with a frown, squeezing my hand under hers.

Angry heat rose from the pit of my stomach to my chest and I felt an increasingly familiar tingling meet my face, meaning my eyes were likely turning red, "That's not fair! He has nothing to do with any of this!"

Ino tried to reason with me, "They know you care about him, Saku. They're obviously trying to get to you."

My disbelief only increased as I came to agree with her logic. My hand, the one Mikoto wasn't holding, clenched into a fist in my lap as I tried to comprehend the unfamiliar heightened amount of rage coursing through me. In the kitchen nearby, the sound of glass shattering suddenly came and then Sasuke reached over to place a hand on top of my fist in my lap, snapping me out of it.

Tears rose in my eyes as I realized what happened. I lost control of my emotions and unintentionally used Kaguya's powers to destroy at least some of the priceless dishes in the kitchen, "I-I'm sorry! I swear I didn't mean to!" Sasuke squeezed my hand and I turned my head to meet his eye. He gave me a subtle reassuring look, wordlessly trying to calm me down.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You're still figuring things out." Mikoto moved her hand from atop mine to pull my head toward her slightly so she could kiss the side of it, "Don't worry. None of us intend to abandon Obito."

Fugaku spoke once more, tone final, "Tomorrow morning we'll gather and come up with a plan of action." My eyes widened when his dark brown ones met mine and I understood that for the very first time, I was included when he said "we".

After sending a militia member off in the direction of Suna to warn Sasori of Hidan's survival, dinner began. I found it hard to stomach much after such horrible news and after dinner I went into the kitchen to deal with the mess I made of the dishes. Sasuke followed me and we silently began collecting glass shards and pieces of crystal from the counters and floor.

My brow furrowed as I nicked my finger and watched as the injury healed itself in a matter of seconds. I wasn't lying when I told Sasuke that it felt right to be a vampire, but I still need time to adjust to the new urges and sensations.

"Stop." I turned to see Sasuke was standing next to where I'm kneeling down, looking down at me with a frown.

"I need to figure out how to control it before someone gets hurt."