Chapter 13: The Strongest Vampire (And a Lesson in Chakra)

"Are you all ready to go, Sasuke-sama?" Akasha asked. Sasuke stood with his back turned to her in their hideout. He had told her that they would be departing shortly, he just needed to get one more minor thing out of the way. He was here now, so that meant that whatever he had to take care of, it was likely done. Akasha approached him.

The bite aimed shortly thereafter at his neck was blocked by his sword.

He turned around, eyes gleaming even in the light, and smirked at his aggressor. "You didn't think I'd let you claim my head that easily, did you, vampire king?" Akasha, or rather the body-snatcher who had taken control of her, backed up and reset his position. He sported a smirk of his own, seemingly confident in whatever ploy he had made to get at Sasuke.

"I should've known that I couldn't fool you forever. You are the sharp type, after all. So, when did you notice it was me?" Alucard was interested in just when Sasuke had surmised his identity. It didn't truly matter, as he would either be dead, a servant of his, or another vessel body to control after they fight, but he was allowed to have whims every now and then.

"I've been onto you for years, truthfully. I'm sure you haven't forgotten, but these eyes of mine can see nearly everything. I can peer into minds, into hearts, and even across dimensions if I so please. Knowing that, you tried to hide yourself, mimicking her actions and mannerisms perfectly whenever you did surface, but there's one thing you simply can't hide." Alucard just about laughed at that. Another example of a deity sitting there and doing nothing while those they consider beneath them toil and suffer away. He supposed he'd humor him.

"And pray tell, what is that?"

"Your hunger," Sasuke responded. "You seem to have an agenda beyond just killing me." Brief images of the ravenous looks that Akasha's visage had shot at him for the past several years flashed across his mind. Not viciousness, hatred, or scorn, but pure hunger was etched across her face every time he had caught her. Alucard didn't just want to kill him.

The vampire king chuckled. He had been found out pretty early, it seems. He raised his head from his chuckling, eyes blood-red and slitted, and then proceeded to launch himself at Sasuke with what appeared to be a sword made entirely out of blood. He clashed with Sasuke's, taking several swipes at his body. Sasuke noted that his eyes were closed.

"Ahh, I see," the raven-haired Uchiha muttered. "You remember the sensations." It wasn't a question, but a statement Sasuke uttered. Alucard snarled, talking while slashing away at the deity.

"Of course I remember. The night all my careful planning took a detour because of a roaming vagrant with accursed eyes." The anger in his voice could be felt rather than just heard. "I won't make the same mistake I made back then. I've studied you for all these centuries. There's not a single thing you can do that will work on me this time."

Sasuke's theory had proven correct, just then. Of course he was watching from inside his priestess; it's the only logical thing to do since he knew that he couldn't beat him as he was. Vampires could fight perfectly fine in the dark thanks to their enhanced senses. Visual genjutsu was a no-go, then. As he pondered his next move, he noticed that his sword had began getting covered in blood the more he clashed with Alucard's. This rung a few alarm bells in his head, so he disengaged from the deadly dance, dropping his sword immediately. The blood kept crawling up it, clinging and writhing as it climbed until eventually stopping at the hilt.

"As you can see, I'll be going all out from the start this time," Alucard lectured. "I've even got a new toy to play with, how lovely." He walked over to Sasuke's sword, picking it up and testing out how it felt in his hands, even seeming to relish the feel of it. That sword had a sharpness that could cut through adamantium back home, so he didn't need to be told that getting hit by it would be bad news. Alucard launched at him, bringing both swords down in an x-shaped pattern.

A set of purple, spectral arms blocked the incoming blades, flinging Alucard back as they rose to defend Sasuke. The vampiric combatant flipped in the air and landed on his feet. A look of recognition came across his face.

"I believe this is what's called the susanoo, correct? You rarely ever pulled it out, so it was smart to opt for something I might not have remembered. Alas, I have even greater vision than you. I've already seen threw it." Sasuke looked down, noticing a few splatters of blood on the ground… inside his Susanoo. Bloody tendrils formed and shot up at him, looking to impale and suspend him. Sasuke uncovered his rinnegan, switching places with a nearby stool and letting it get impaled in his stead.

There was nary a time to take a breather, however, as a swarm of bats suddenly appeared and surrounded him. They obstructed his vision, so he needed to get rid of them. He cast the black flames, burning the entire coalition of bats to nothingness. He willed the flames to surround him in a style reminiscent of a moat, ensuring that Alucard could not approach him carelessly. He waited, hoping that Alucard would take the bait.

"Hmph, child's play. If I can't attack from the front or from below, I'll just attack from above!" Alucard started to morph, his features becoming that of the beast known as the griffin. Vampires could shapeshift, assuming the form of any common earth creature or anything that they devoured. Alucard had devoured many beasts and creatures, all to ensure that he could overcome whatever obstacle he may come across in an efficient manner. Flying, swimming, attacking, defending, burrowing, and many other manner of things were within his abilities to do. He leapt into the air, using the wings of the griffin to divebomb inside the circle that Sasuke had carved out for himself.

Sasuke smirked.

"Perfect," he spoke under his breath. He uncovered his rinnegan once more, switching places with Alucard himself. Now Sasuke was the one divebombing onto his target. To make things even more concrete, Sasuke caused the flames to swell and shoot up onto the roof of their hideout, forming a circular barrier around them. Alucard was trapped, unable to move lest he be burned by the flames, yet also unable to stay still as Sasuke descended upon him with a Chidori.

The vampire king was not so easily fooled, however. He looked up at Sasuke with a look of pure confidence, bearing a malicious grin. He turned, walking brazenly into the flames as he assumed the form of Akasha once more. Sasuke noticed this, and quickly put the flames out before Alucard could reach out and touch them. He reached the charred ground, kneeling seemingly from exertion.

"I told you, didn't I?" Alucard began. "I've seen through all your techniques, all your strategies, all your moves. Every possible thing you could do, I've devised a counter to. Not only because of my sheer brilliance and power, but because I have the upper hand physically. You can't risk harming this body of mine, can you?" Sasuke looked up at the vampire, the twisted visage he saw not one that should be marring the features of his priestess. That much was true, he could not do much beyond inflicting superficial wounds to him as he was. Most of his more powerful techniques would kill her even through the vampiric regeneration. The one solution he had to this problem in his rinnegan abilities, he had never used on someone with two souls, so he did not know how it would affect her body and couldn't risk it.

No, he needed a different course of action. Alucard, meanwhile, kneeled, coming face-to-face with Sasuke.

"Let me tell you something, deity. You'd like to think so, but you're not different from me much at all. You saw something in this girl, the same as I did. You use her for your own purposes, the same as I did. What did you call yourself so long ago to her? Oh, that's right, an avenger, yet you seek to judge me for treading the same path. You are a hypocrite, albeit a powerful one, which is why you'll serve me nicely as a slave. Once I've assimilated your power, I'll proceed to the next phase of my plan."

Sasuke chuckled, making the vampire king bristle a bit. What was so funny?

"… You're right. We're not much different. I've done horrible things to friend, foe, and family alike. I've sullied my blade with other's blood, all to satiate my hunger for revenge. I've abandoned my comrades on several occasions, hurt those who care about me, and tried to plunge the very world into darkness at one point. There is a difference, however…"

Alucard felt a force pulling at him. Not Akasha, but him, his very soul within her body. He struggled to look at his adversary, who was not doing anything obvious. He then turned around with some effort, spotting the one responsible for this. Ophis had her hand planted squarely on his back, channeling some sort of ability. He snarled, having completely forgotten about the giant elephant in the room due to his single-minded lust for vengeance. Forgetting to factor in one who's title reads "Dragon God" is a grave misstep indeed. Sasuke rose up, done feigning exhaustion. Ophis was silently proud, having improved her shinobi ability to conceal herself (which really just amounted to jumping into a pocket dimension and hiding there until she needed to come out).

"And that difference… is that I learned from my mistakes. You have to trust and work with your comrades. No true progress can be made otherwise." Alucard snarled, slowly losing the grip he had on Akasha's body. Akasha's psyche briefly emerged, partially freed of the chains she had been placed in. She opened her eyes, squinting to try and get used to seeing anything other than darkness again.

That was Sasuke's cue.

He sped in front of her, catching her attention, and looked her straight in the eyes, placing her under his genjutsu just like all those years ago. She got out a quiet and questioning "Sasuke-sama" before her world collapsed again into a different terrain. It was dark again, but not complete darkness like when she was trapped in a void just moments ago. In fact, there was a bit of light above her. She looked up, seeing the moon of all things, and realized where and when she was.

It was that fateful night in Wallachia where she was freed for the 1st time.

She turned slowly, eyes not taking as long to adjust to the darkness as they would have the light. She looked for Sasuke, and then for Ophis, but neither of them were anywhere to be found. Who she did see was her former king, standing right in front of her. His visage, that of a chimera with gruesome-looking tentacles, a labyrinth of limbs, and several other body parts all belonging to several different creatures, almost made her wretch. Was this what he had turned himself into on his quest for vengeance?

"Can you hear me?" a voice rang out in her head. She gasped, the voice belonging to her master.

"Yes, I can, Sasuke-sama," she answered. "If I may ask, why have you brought me back to this night?" She was puzzled. He could've simply left them in a black void or brought them to some other venue, but there had to be some significance to this gesture, especially since he himself was not here. What did he want her to do?

"… I am positive you already know why. Do you remember what I told you after our last sparring session?" She couldn't quite dredge the memory up on the spot, but after a few seconds, it came back to her. "Yes, I do," was her simple response.

'Now, you could probably beat that beast who controlled you by yourself,' she recited. So, that was his endgame. He wanted her to fight, and win, by herself this time. He was placing his faith in her like she did for him. She supposed she should've guessed that this was what he wanted. He wasn't training her for no reason, after all. Her eyes turned back to her king, who hadn't made a movement yet, or even a sound beyond the grotesque slithering of his body.

A tentacle lashed out, which she dodged with practiced ease. It redirected itself, wrapping back around to try and strike her in the back while she was in mid-air. She transformed, taking on the appearance of a bat to maneuver and fly around the tentacle, before dropping back down to the ground and severing it from the main body with a chop. Alucard (or at least the monster he had become) roared in anger, sending out several more tentacles to attack her. She dodged each one with grace, severing them as they fell harmlessly to the ground.

She looked up at Alucard, tears threatening to form in her eyes. She both hated and adored him; the duality of her thoughts caused her havoc. Just where had her king gone? The winds of madness had seemingly carried him away, never to be heard from again. Time and time again, she wished she could reach out to him, and now that he was here before her in this abominable state, it seemed that there was no turning back. It was sad, pitiable… angering.

Akasha was angry.

Life had taken so much away from her. Her home, her king, her people. Her blood started to boil, and her eyes gained a sharp look to them. Alucard, the mindless beast that he had turned into, simply roared, releasing a torrent of every beast that he had consumed from his body and scattering them across the terrain. They encircled Akasha, who did not move from her spot. She could make out griffins, sphinxes, unicorns, and all sorts of creatures, both magical and otherwise.

It all made her so very angry.

"This ends now," she said, her voice carrying a sort of power behind it. Her blood-red eyes pierced the darkness, taking stock of every beast and abomination that surrounded her. Suddenly, all of them were lifted into the air, floating helplessly against their will. She squeezed her fist, and all of the creatures started bloodletting from their bodies. They howled, gnashed their teeth, and roared, but her grip on them was too great to overcome. She drained them of every last drop, and then set the corpses on the ground while keeping the blood suspended.

Next, she lifted the body of Alucard, slowly spreading her hands apart. The blob began to tear in two, all of the body parts still left being wrenched off until, eventually, out came the form of a man. He was tall, with long, black hair and a well-trimmed physique, but other than that, he was completely naked. Akasha rushed forward, plunging her hand into the man's chest and paying his nudity no mind. The blood that was previously suspended in the air came crashing down around them, forming a cage of sorts. Now it was just him and her. The man looked up at her, and she knew the face.

"Long time no see, my king."

"It has been a long time indeed since I've met you in this form, huh? To think, we'd end up on different sides of the matter." Akasha narrowed her eyes. His words were sweet and his tone mellow, but the stench of vengeance still clung to his person heavily. Sure enough, the madman resurfaced, and he plunged his own hand into Akasha's chest. She did not flinch, for she expected this… and it was necessary.

"Now, I'll be taking your body again, if you don't mind. Your potential has been awakened, which will make it all the easier for me to achieve my goals," Alucard said in a sickly-sweet voice. She had hoped it wouldn't come to this, that he would see the errors of his ways, but it has been centuries and he still insists on this gambit for revenge. The ground started to shake as they fought for dominance over her body. This was a battle for supremacy, whomever should lose being erased entirely. One soul pushed against the other, looking for ways to gain the upper-hand, until… Akasha smirked.

"!?" Alucard was alarmed, as he could feel his life-force start to slip away. How was that possible? Any strength that she had should have also been his strength, as they were practically the same being for many years. He was and should still be stronger than her… unless that meddling deity had done something! That has to be it! She was special, but he was even more so.

At the thoughts, he felt his life-force slipping away even more. He was now translucent and beginning to fade from existence entirely. Akasha grabbed his arm, ripping it out of her chest.

"You've lost… Alucard." Morbidly, he found himself wondering when she had ever referred to him as the name he had given himself rather than "my king". He could not remember such a case. He lost the feeling in his body, now being nothing more than a floating wisp with a face.

"Our blood has mixed. We have the same powers. Winning this fight was no more than a test of will," she began. "I'd hoped I could bring you back-no, bring my king back, but it's been too long. It's time I stopped forsaking myself for a person that doesn't exist anymore." She closed her eyes, finally feeling that she was able to let go of the grief and the pain she had been feeling in her heart for so long.

"And it's time I started living for those who do," she finished. Alucard saw the strength and conviction in her eyes. He had never known her to be this unwavering in the face of adversity before. The little girl who cried and cried when their race was reduced to just them was… gone, replaced by this woman with unshakeable fortitude and composure. Was it… him that was holding her back, all this time?

"… Hmm, perhaps I have indeed erred," he responded. Akasha opened her eyes, shock evident within them. "All of these years, all I could see was your crying face. Not the woman you've become, but the child you were. My rage blinded me in every way that mattered. My people were slaughtered like cattle, so I felt I had to do the same to the perpetrators. I see now that all I've done is perpetuated the cycle. Those humans are not even alive anymore." His voice was like a faint buzzing to her now, but she could still understand it.

"My… my king," she whispered, afraid that he would vanish if she so much as even spoke in a louder tone.

"I won't ask to be saved or for forgiveness." The wisp started to flicker out of existence. "Simply become the best that you can be," he said before he phased out of existence. Akasha reached out for him but was unable to touch him in time. She hung her head and sighed. She would not cry again, she resolved. The backdrop started to fall in on itself, and in the blink of an eye, she found herself back in the real world. Turning towards the two gods in the room, she shot them a somber smile.

"His energy no longer resides in you," Sasuke said matter-of-factly after scanning her body with his eyes. "It seems you've won." She nodded her head in response, but he could feel that that wasn't all she wanted to do. He was right, as he was soon tackled by a pink blur. Akasha wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. This level of affection was something new, he thought. She was always grateful, but she never deigned to touch him because he she thought she was breaking some stupid rule or being a blasphemer.

"Thank you, Sasuke…" she trailed off, not even adding the honorific to his name this time. "Thank you for giving me the chance at closure." A warm feeling came forth in his chest. Truthfully, he could've disposed of Alucard himself rather easily, but not only would he be risking her body, he'd have risked never giving her the chance to face her past. That would have been the cruelest thing of all, he surmised, calling upon feelings he used to have that were long since buried.

Curiously, he found himself wanting to hug her back. There was this feeling of pride that he could not quite tamp down for some reason. He knew she was strong, and to see that strength finally play out was satisfying. She wasn't surly, though, and didn't disrespect him at every turn like a lot of other "strong" women did, instead striving to better herself and find the good in others. Her demeanor was… appealing.

Dare he say it, attractive.

He started to hug her back as he sat on those thoughts, but when he did, the sensation of his missing arm caught his attention. He had only ever needed one arm to do the things he did, he used to think. Fighting, writing, etc. In truth, he had simply grown used to it and did not think much further on it after he made his initial decision. Now, though… he seemed to regret not having both of his arms.

His priestess deserved such a simple thing as a full-bodied hug and more. It irked him. He instead settled for putting his hand on top of her head, the drifting thought of having two arms playing repeatedly in his mind. Perhaps it was time to forgive himself, he thought. Thousands of years should surely be more than enough time. He snapped out of his thoughts long enough to remember that they were initially supposed to go see Naruto today before doing anything else.

"Let's go," he managed to get out.

-Yasaka's Palace-

"And that's how it's supposed to be used. Chakra is a connecting force, first and foremost, and it can be used to do all sorts of neat things." Naruto grinned as he had just finished his lecture on what chakra was meant to be used for. They had come back from the shrine to the palace, as it was much more accommodating. The receivers of this lesson were Kuroka (who was sleeping but had put up an illusion to make it look like she was awake), Yasaka (who found Naruto's philosophy interesting but was just as interested in looking at his face), and Shirone (who was enamored with his teachings).

Naruto threw an eraser at Kuroka, promptly waking her up and pissing her off.

"Where the hell did you even get an eraser from!? This isn't a classroom!" she shouted.

"Welllllllllll, if you had been paying attention, you would've known. White kitty, explain to her where I got this eraser from." Shirone turned to her sister, doe-eyed and innocent, and started explaining the mechanisms behind Naruto's acquisition of an eraser.

"He used his imagination to think of something, did this and that with his chakra, and then the eraser popped up."

"Correct!" Naruto shouted out. He was so overjoyed, a tear almost fell from his eye. Shirone was turning out to be his star pupil. The dragon kid was only ever interested in learning shinobi techniques, Yasaka really had no reason to be here, and Kuroka slept through the entire class. She'd be graduating in no time (certainly before her slacker sister).

"Grr," Kuroka merely growled, subdued by her sister's cuteness. As powerful as this man was, she didn't expect him to literally lecture her about the very basics. He was entirely different from when she had tried to face him earlier. Whereas he radiated confidence and power on the battlefield, he was a goofy, uncoordinated mess when trying to teach things. It was grating, but not entirely unpleasant, she supposed. Better than experiments and slavery. She heard a knock at the door of the room they were in, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Come in!" Yasaka shouted, as this was her palace. The knob turned and in stepped Sasuke with his entourage. A bucket full of water that had been placed at the top of the door fell, causing Lilith (who was in the corner of the room off to herself) to snicker as her plan was set in motion. Sasuke used his rinnegan to switch places with Naruto, who ended up getting soaked by the water.

"Oh dear," Akasha said, noticing the switch that just took place. Kuroka started laughing along with Lilith, Shirone just meekly put her head down as to not draw any attention. Ophis smiled, and Sasuke smirked. Yasaka blushed, thinking some very intrusive thoughts and trying to push them back down into her psyche. Naruto… vanished.

He reappeared with a pie in hand, shoving it into Sasuke's face. Sasuke briefly considered setting him on fire, but thought better of it as not everyone in the room could take the heat. He took a deep breath, tasting some of the pie in the process before wiping it off his face.

"Long time no see, dobe."

"Long time, Sasuke." Each of the shinobi silently looked at the new additions to their groups. Naruto felt a very powerful aura radiating from the pink-haired woman stood by the door, and Sasuke saw a peculiar type of energy resonating inside the two young girls.

"So, are you gonna introduce me?" Sasuke asked, obviously talking about the new disciples Naruto had gathered.

"You first," Naruto responded.

"Fine. This woman you see before you is my priestess. Her name is Akasha." At her introduction, Akasha waved at everyone. Yasaka and Kuroka noticed the sheer power leaking off her, making them both curious. "Your turn."

"A priestess? I think I had one of those, but she was… not right in the head," Naruto trailed off. In hindsight, some shady crow lady asking to be your priestess was a red flag. She did crazy things in his name and he got a TON of complaints back in the day. He had to strip her of the title. He felt a bit jealous that Sasuke had what looked to be a powerful, well-composed priestess.

"Anyway, here are my newest disciples. White kitty and Black kitty," he said, causing Kuroka to facepalm. "They're both super talented, and are gonna kick some major-" Naruto paused as he looked at the sole minor in the room, "tushy when they grow up." Ophis and Lilith struggled mightily to keep their laughs in.

"I see," Sasuke responded simply. He turned to Yasaka. "Would it be too much trouble for us to stay here? We're all a bit tired from the trek," he lied. No one needed to know about Akasha unless she told them firsthand. That was not his story to tell.

"It is fine," Yasaka said. "Stay as long as you like and take whatever room you like. Any friend of his is a friend of mine." Sasuke nodded, prompting the rest of his group to come with him if they wanted. Ophis stayed behind, leaving just him and Akasha go to wander the halls. Yasaka, remembering what it was that Naruto had come to visit her for in the 1st place, shot up from her seat and brought him to the side.

"I believe I've thought of a way to share your chakra, Naruto-san."

"Really?" Naruto asked almost excitedly. "Tell me."

I've come back from the grave with good fortune, comrades. This story is not abandoned, only my braincells are.