Empty Eyes: The Sequel

Chapter 54

"There was so much blood. It's hers, but it smelled different somehow," Madara whispered as the three of us, plus Sarada, entered an inn room.

We tracked the scent of Sakura's blood to this little village a few hours' drive away from the crypts, where it disappeared without a trace. Either she's alive and stopped the bleeding, or she's been dead all along, and someone decimated her resting place.

I said nothing while laying on one of the beds with the baby resting on my chest, one of my hands holding her there so she wouldn't roll off.

Hidan did, though, because he never shuts his mouth, "Let's bargain, shall we? If she's alive like I know she is, then you have to let me go free. If she's not, you can do whatever you want to me."

"We can already do whatever we want, you imbecile," Madara growled. "And if she's somehow alive, you didn't do anything to resurrect her, so why would we ever reward you?"

"Because you two are too caught up in your feelings to sense her like I am. Otherwise, you'd have fuckin' left Konoha days ago."

"You-" "You can sense her right this moment?" I cut off my uncle's following response with my own.

The silver-haired vampire scoffed, "This shit hasn't let up since it started! I told you, Dumbass, she's probably doing it intentionally."

Madara and I shared a look before I rolled onto my side, cradling the now-sleeping child in the crook of my arm as I glared, "What exactly are you feeling? Explain it."

Hidan's cocky expression fell into an awkward one, "...She's terrified and hungry. It feels like she's not fully in control of herself."

It's just grief playing tricks on the man. It has to be because Sakura's dead and never coming back. I can't think otherwise, or it'll be like learning of her death all over again when we find the truth.

Fuck.

Every detail he gives us makes me more hopeful that Sakura is out there somewhere, waiting for us to find her. The thought of her waking up in that stone coffin with no way out makes my chest tighten with worry, but if she does anything out of character, she'll break down upon calming. If what he's saying is true, the woman's lost her grasp on reality like she's done a handful of times since being turned.

Madara said what I was thinking aloud, "She could be slaughtering villages as we speak."

"Or someone stole her body to drain it," I said quietly, trying not to let any emotion show.

"If they were after her blood, they wouldn't have left so much at the scene of the crime, Idiot," Hidan scoffed.

He's right.

Since we foresaw this search taking longer than initially expected, we decided to play it safe by finding some blood amidst this town in case we have no access later. Madara stayed in the room with the baby while Hidan and I left first.

Immediately, the menace scoped out the sluttiest woman he could find, which was no surprise. I followed at a distance in case he was lying and attempting to escape.

As irritated as I am to be in Hidan's presence, the only strong emotions weighing my mind and shoulders are directed at Sakura. I'm seconds away from taking my kid and retreating to Konoha because I know I can't go through this again. Chasing a dream that'll never become a reality like this is picking at wounds that never healed in the first place.

The scent of blood met my nose, and I stopped walking to lean against a brick wall, Hidan having enticed his prey down the alleyway a bit. My throat burnt with thirst, but all I could think about when it came to blood was how much of it surrounded Sakura's body when we found her.