Anthology

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Gaara walked carefully down the street, his skin stretched tight and thin over his bones from hunger, mentally trying to prepare himself for what he was about to put himself through. 

Hunger was a funny thing, forcing a person to do things they often didn't want to do. It was one of the reasons he was going now, early, before it got worse and his control slipped. A car zoomed by, splashing water up which narrowly missed him and instead struck the scaled human beside him. 

"Just because i have scales doesn't mean I want to be wet all the damn time." Came the mutter reply of the scaled men who now fell as his legs became a thick glossy tail. The man simply sighed. "I'm going to be late." Gaara ignored him and kept moving, too intent upon his own predicament. 

The glassy store front of the high class shops slowly gave way to more subdued building fronts. His belly rumbled under the long trench coat he wore, collar turned up against the rain until he went down into the subway escaping the rain, and sliding his metrocard on the turnstiles under a heavy gaze from a security guard who stood watch. A fine trickle of heat seemed to ripple from the guard dancing its way to taunt the red heads empty belly. 

"Hunting?" The guard asked, stopping him before Gaara could successfully walk away quickly enough to avoid the conversation he knew was coming. 

"Perhaps." He replied, keeping a calm and level tone. "Perhaps not." He took a subtle sniff of the air, scenting only human coming off the man. The brown haired guard shifted from one foot to the other before stepping closer to lean in. 

"I get off work in about twenty minutes." The guard said with a wink. Gaara had to fight to keep his belly quiet as the now duel impulse to take him up on his offer and vomit at the guys face battled it out for supremacy. 'People can always tell.' Gaara thought unhappily as he had to decide if he wanted to adhere to the norm or simply flat out say no. It wasn't the guards fault that Gaara had zero interest in his own species's diet unless it involved one particular person. 

"I am afraid I must decline." Gaara responded. The guards face flushed red and tightening his grip on the baton hanging on his belt. The guard blustered a bit, pissed off at the rejection and rightly so. 

It was not exactly flattering for an Incubus (or a succubus for that matter) to say no to someone offering some nice no strings attached sex. Scratch that, it was downright insulting. Having a creature that needs it as food reject you for it? Most viewed that similar to homeless man smacking you for offering food. Gaara always tried to be kind in his rejections but the result was still this- the creature or man always got pissed, yelled then stormed off. 

Finally Gaara was able to get onto the basically underground railroad, (an on-going joke of his.) to reach his destination. It traveled a while, mostly quiet and peaceful as the train cars gave a soft hum as the ran down the rails and grungy lanterns flew by every now and then from the inside of the tunnel. 

When Gaara finally got off the rain had stopped and eased into the early chill of evening. It was another block before he turned down and went down steps to find a old iron door nestled between building going further down. Two thick people stood on either side. A cursory sniff told Gaara the one on the left, Kiba, was a werewolf. He already knew that, Kiba recognized him well enough by now. The other however was new. His eyes were nearly ultraviolet purple, making him seem blind unless you had the eye to pick up the wavelength (Which Gaara did) and a faint splattering of coloration around his eye trailing further until it disappearing under his clothes. 'He's a Panoptes.' Gaara thought with minor surprise, recognizing the nearly peacock patterning on his skin which disguised the hundred pair of eyes that the man had. 

"Hello again sir, welcome back." Kiba said with a nod. "This is Neji, he's new." 

"Do you have a reservation?" Neji stated, not bothering with niceties. Gaara nodded, pulled the heavily embellished and gilded ticket from his pocket to hand over. Kiba elbowed the panoptes in the side before taking the ticket, examining it closely and handing it back to him. 

"Have a nice evening sir." Kiba said, opening the door for him. The inside was a complete and drastic change from the dismal outer facade. A grand spiral staircase off to the left circle further downwards, the fine stonework screaming dwarvish handiwork. The building had been boarded over and trashed above, looking mostly unused, but a clean staircase on the right going upwards proved this not to be true. 

Several small circular booth lines the walls on either side, and two larger, finer ones could be seen in the back. Some along the sides, had their curtains drawn closed. Some did not. Each had a small silver bell hanging just outside of it. 

It was a place for the more carnal desires to be expressed. Tastefully and with immense discretion and attention to the needs of whatever species came in to enjoy the services it provided. Ancient flawlessly polished oak floors stretched out, a stage in the center surrounded by somes patron already seated and observing the twirling nymph who seemed to glide in the air. 

A gentle cloud of tension and heat swirled about the room causing Gaara to come to a standstill, simply tasting the exquisite rush of hormones on the air. He swallowed and turned away from the other patrons who were emitting such lovely snacks and instead walked to the back, slipping into one of the finer private booths, pulling the curtain shut to wait in privacy. 

The curtain muffled the onslaught of feeling it all at once, while still being able to taste it. He let out a breath, leaning his head back, letting his body soak up the muted sexual energy that hung mostly faded in the air for a few moments before soft chime rang from a second silver be the rested on small bolted table in the center. 

"You may enter." Gaara murmured, recognizing the permissions ring. The curtain was pulled aside to reveal another nymph. She brushed her soft pastel pink hair from her her eyes and smiled. 

"Mr. Subaku." She said softly, every movement she made soothing and reassuring. "Your other two guests have just arrived. I am here to show you to your arranged room, may I?" The redhead stood and nodded silently, following after her. The semi-sheer green dress trailed on the floor, casting a green hue on her skin and Gaara was reminded of trees. A faint scent of cherries coming from her and he mentally confirmed her as a Cherry Tree Nymph. 

Up the two flights of stairs they went, her bare feet soundless and his giving a muted thud with each step. She held aside a curtain of beads for him when they reached the foot of the stairs. "Your reserved area is four doors down, on the right. The label 3B4 is visible on the door. As always, there will be two bells on the inside of the room and a pamphlet with rules and regulations of use next to the door." She bowed. "Please enjoy." Gaara glanced at her, then continued down the hall until he reached the door. 

Two people were already inside, a dragoness and lady sphinx. The dragoness wore a simple black toga and lounged upon the bed, while the lady sphinx stood shirtless her back facing the door, and a thin lion like tail running down the leg of her partner. 

"I am quiet, I am expected, yet i make others wait, who am i?" The sphinx questioned when he entered and picked up the book to take a courasty glance at the rules he already knew by heart. The room resembled the inside of castle, 'or perhaps a dungeon.' He thought, with a glance at the water off to the side. Gaara didn't reply to the sphinx and the dragoness rolled her eyes. 

"Well?"

"You may proceed with whatever you wish." he stated, sitting in the chair next to the hollowed out fireplace, glancing at the wine bottle the sat on the side table. After a few moments of hesitation the two girls quickly devolved into a mess of entangled limbs on the bed in front of him. The roll of desire quickly started filling the air and Gaara breathed it in as his belly growled its approval about the food. Pulling a glass out from the side table, he poured himself a glass of wine. The steady even taste of Pinot Grigio greeted him as he took a sip and leaned in to run the back of his hand down the Sphinx's back. 

The action, caused a roiling twist as he could feel her life spin inside of her body and she moaned as he pulled some of it from her for himself. There was the feeling of a blazing desert heat skittering its way up his arms until it settled in his belly coiling for digestion. He could taste their desire in the very air, their racing heartbeats the equivalent to a human smelling their favorite meal being cooked to perfection. Arousal thrummed and coursed through the bodies. The redhead soaked up every racing heartbeat, heard and absorbed every moan and scream the two released as they climaxed over and over together. He could feel the flood of hormones inside their head twirling as he slowly ate the energy they released, careful not to take to much or became to lost in the feeling of wanting to be, least he kill them in a fit of ecstasy. 

When it was all over he was seated in his chair was once more, the dragoness and Sphinx flopped out on the bed from exhaustion. Despite their hardy creature natures they had been feeding him the sexual energy for the last six hours and were worn and tired. The dragoness blinked at him.

"That was one of the most intense sexual experiences in all of my four thousand years. Perhaps, we may arrange another meeting in another four thousand as an anniversary." Gaara said nothing, knowing those odds were slim. Quietly the two left and he rang the first silver bell, paused and then twice, asking for a clean up. 

Hunger still gnawed at him as he went and stood in the hallway while they cleaned it up for his next meal. Three people this time. A WereCat, a witch and a vampire. The red head was unsure of the Witch's stamina or survival ability but he seemed to be able to remain alive with a WereCat and a Vampire so Gaara figured as long as he was gentle that the witch would be fine. 

He hadn't even taken off his trench coat, yet. As the cleaning staff bowed and left he heard them whisper among each other (one of them must have been new) and explaining his... unique, interests. 

As an Incubus, he literally ate sexual energy, lust and well, life. To get a full meal quickly, Gaara would have to sleep with someone. This, for a number of reasons was not an option. Which meant instead of spending three hours fucking someone every four months, he just sat close to people soaking up everything using as limited contact as he could manage in order to feed. The redhead could do it by touching someone with only one hand but it made the process nearly twelve hours. 

It was the only way he could think of that would work. He couldn't sleep with anyone but his mate. The thought made him sick to stomach. The cleaning staff finally left and he sat down in his chair, finally slipping out of his trench coat.  He took another sip of wine, and glanced at the water. On a rare impulse Gaara stood and stripped, gliding into the warm water. 'Humanity has come far.' Gaara thought enjoying the the feeling of water, wishing that his mate were here with him. A sharp tap on the door. 

"You may enter." Gaara said, still indulging in the water as the vampire, witch and WereCat entered. A taste of the air revealed that the vampire had already set about making the Witch relax into the situation, a hint of blood clung to his formal blue witches robes. 

The WereCat, an unshy creature flashed him a pointy tooth smile as she seemed to slink out of her clothes as quickly as the vampire shut the door. They too were but a blur of limbs as things escalated. Gaara had time to slip into his pants and pull a small book out of his trench coat's pocket before reaching for one of their hands. 

So he sat next to the loudly occurring depravity, one hand turned the pages of his book, and the other clinging to one of their hands. He switched from one to another every now and again to make thing easier on them, the intensity of sexual pleasure that a person receives when they were being fed upon by a succubus or incubus is unlike anything else and it was the only reason his kind even still existed in the modern day. 

When they left, he reached for the golden bell and rang it once. Moments passed before the Cherry Nymph from before slid open the door. 

"Mr. Subaku, i trust everything has been accommodating." He nodded. 

"I am ready to check out." He murmured and she smiled. 

"Of course. If you will follow me please?" She lead him down the hall, the opposite direction from where he entered to second staircase. It was empty save for a single dark haired Tengu. 

"Sasuke, 3B4 is prepared." She said turning to leave him.

"Sakura, 0D2 is past due." He responded, uncrossing his arms. She nodded and pressed her back against the wood until she disappeared entirely into it. "If you would." Sasuke stated indicating the the iron register resting on the counter. Swirling colour runes shone from the sides, and a soft humm rose and fell silent as Sasuke glanced at the clipboard he had. "A mister Gaara Subaku, with suite 3B4. You are registered for a total of thirteen hours, however have only used ten hours and fifty seven minutes. Since the excess registered hours are less than four you will pay no over book charge and the addition price of those hours will also be dropped. One clean up service was requested." He paused. "I have five visitors listed, a dragoness, a sphinx, WereCat, Witch and Vampire. It this correct?"

"Correct."

"I also have listed that you are paying for their time inside the room as well?" Gaara nodded and Sasuke picked up a pen ticking of a few boxes and then typing into the cash register. Gaara already knew how much it would all cost. '$79.50 an hour for nearly eleven hours amounts to $874.50. For five people, plus himself amounts to, $5,247 then the $15 clean up service request. It all comes to $5,262. Expensive, but considering everything the cost is to be expected.' Expected and worthy of the discretion, peace, and privacy that it granted him. 

"Your total is $5,264." Sasuke said. Gaara blinked. 

"What is the additional two dollar charge?" Sasuke frowned and glanced back down at the register. 

"I have listed as a reserved room and not a walk-in which is a two dollar fee." The red head nodded, 

"That would be the norm, however if you look carefully you will find I am listed as a Azure member and thus am not charged the reservation fee." 

"My apologies Sir." Sasuke said with a bow, letting black wings fold unfold and spread out low against the counter. "I will remedy the mistake." 

Things progressed quickly after that and Gaara left, coming out to a what on the outside appeared to be a bar two blocks away from where he entered. He walked to the nearest subway entrance, a now memorized route, heading home. The clock on wall showing the arrival and departure times blazed a happy 7:49 a.m. and the redhead was ready to sleep for an entire Era. Though the knowledge that he would likely be repeating the entire process in another four months made his heart ache with loss as he recalled why. 

His home was a stately and traditional manor, renovated and updated every now and then to stay to code. it was not the way it once was. 

Trudging up the steps to his home he recalled his mates thoughts on staying up to code and situation it had left him in. 

That it had left them both in.

 He shut and locked the door, feeling the great emptiness that he lived in. With eight hours until he had to leave for work he let his heart lead his feet, going for the basement. 'I want to see Naruto.' He thought, the ache in his heart heavy and near unbearable. He missed his mates passion and easy way of handling change. He missed the way light would catch his brilliant blue eyes. 

He spent much of the wealth they had accumulated together over the few thousand years on the basement, building it to be the most secure part of the house and tailoring it to Naruto and his species needs, taking every detail and precaution into consideration. He pushed open the heavy door, only possible because it was programmed to his DNA.

Volcanic rock lined the room, as searing heat marked the temperature above the average humans capability of withstanding at all. Gaara himself could handle a few hours in the intense fiery heat. Nestled deep in new and freshly dried magma (dredged up from the earth with careful hydraulic systems and copious amounts of digging and repairing of material and just in general immense effort) a shiny red egg sat in the center of the floor. It was glowing from the heat. As it had for the last one hundred and eleven years.

As a pheonix Naruto was capable of dying and be reborn in the ashes, but a phoenix was rare and an all but extinct creature. Throughout all of Gaara's nine thousand and three hundred years he had only encountered two. Naruto was one of them. Hunted for their powerful healing tears, combined with the finicky thing that was their re-birth cycle most thought them to be extinct. 

The hope that Naruto might one day come back to him, might hatch and be reborn was what drove him to keep himself alive. With Naruto's will of fire gone, Gaara hard a hard time keeping his own heart lit. He knew that hatching was just the first step, there would be those few years where Narutos body would have to grow. But he looked forward to it, knowing that even if he were physically a child he would mentally be who he was before and wouldn't that just he a riot? 

So he sat, sweating in the heat with his heart racing because 'what if he hatches now?' Or another harsh thought, 'what if doesn't?' The Gaara wrestled with these intense warring emotions for three hours before he had to finally leave unable to withstand to the heat anymore. (unless he was ready to commit suicide.) 

Gaara slowly shut the door on the egg, on his mate, on Naruto. He mentally and physically drained. "I must wonder how long i will be waiting." He said to the empty house. "How long can i endure waiting? Will another one hundred and eleven years pass?" He glanced back to the door, a single tear falling to floor, knowing the answer to at least one question. "Forever. I will wait forever." He murmured. 'Cruel hope.' Gaara though walking up the steps to fall asleep in their bed. 

Because if there was a chance, no matter how slim that Naruto might wake up Gaara couldn't do anything but wait. The notion that Naruto would awake to find Gaara dead was intolerable. 

After all, if Naruto died, truly and honestly then Gaara could simply follow after. But a phoenix that undergoes re-birth had a far harder time killing itself. The redhead couldn't bear the idea of Naruto suffering as he was. 

So Gaara waited. Waited another one hundred and eleven years. Every four months, (the longest he could stretch it) he rented a room at the KONOHA inn and fed upon the sexual energy of others. 

Doing everything in his power to stay faithful to his lover and stay alive.

_____The End_____