Blindfolded

Chapter 1: Party, party, party!

"So, Shakti, you are coming to my birthday party tomorrow night, right? You know it wouldn't be a party without you!" a blonde girl said. The black headed kunoichi, to whom the question had been directed to, took another bite of the peach in her hand.

Then she snapped her head towards her with a huge smile, "Ino, it's your birthday. Why would I not come?"

Then it was set. For her, then, it was just another party she would be going to. But that's the moment that her life was set to change. So, to introduce this black-haired woman, meet Kyuuketsuki Shakti. The Kyuuketsuki clan has a special type of kekkei-genkai; they are vampires. That peach she was eating? It's the one human food she eats. The girl/vampire freakin' love peaches. She's pretty tall for a girl, 5'8", with most of the height in her legs. Her hair is black and eyes a varying red, depending on the last time she drank blood. Also, her skin is very pale, but not pasty pale, it's actually really pretty, like cream. Her looks come from her clan. She doesn't live with them anymore, though. They live on a far off island. When Shakti came with her elder brothers to compete in the Chuunin exams, she fell in love with the village and its people. When they went back home, she chose to stay and live on her own, with her parents' blessing. All the villagers know her disposition as a vampire, but she controls it well and has learned to drink animal blood instead of human blood. She feels better about not having to murder people. Another thing, Shakti and her brothers had been chosen to come to Konoha because they all had special abilities. The oldest brother, Mamoru, had the ability to read minds, Shakti's other brother, Takeshi, could see into the future, and Shakti had the ability to move objects with her mind. They all had a mind connection with each other that was very natural. It made communication easier between the three. Okay, enough about her… back to the story.

The next day, Shakti had to get up early. She had to get Ino a present. "What would a new 17- year-old girl want for her birthday?" she thought as she showered and dressed. The vampire decided to settle on clothes. Who could go wrong with a fabulous dress? I dressed in red shorts, a white wife beater, and a gray cardigan. Her hair was still a little damp, but since it was so dark, she was able to just run a brush through it and leave. As she walked through the door, the sunlight glistened on her skin. She dug a peach out of her bag, and started eating as she walked down the road. Shakti decided to stop at a boutique where she'd seen a purple silk dress; that she thought would look great on her best friend, Ino. Tenten was working there at this time. "Hey, Tenten," Shakti greeted her.

"Hello, Shakti, how can I help you?" she asked.

"Well, I was going to get this dress for Ino. Do you think she'd like it?" Shakti asked, holding up the purple number. Tenten's face lit up.

"Wow, I never thought about that one! Yes, I think it would look great on her!" Tenten replied enthusiastically. She smiled, nodded, and thanked her, after paying for the dress.

Shakti paused at the door and turned to Tenten, "Hey, are you going to her party tonight?" she asked.

The look Tenten gave her was one that insisted Duh! "Yeah! Everyone is going to be there!"

She laughed, "Alright, I'll see you there!" She waved and backed out the door. An urge for a peach hit her. She pulled another one out of her bag. Yes, it's true. She is addicted to them.

That night, Shakti dressed for the party. She was the most interesting person to watch when she was alone. She could never be bored by herself. She couldn't decide on her red satin, strapless dress or whether to go slightly more casual in sequined black shorts, zebra-striped shirt, and the same gray cardigan from earlier. She chose the latter outfit, slipping on her shiny, red peep-toe pumps and sliding a small red bow into the side of her hair. After a little hairspray, some curling iron, some eyeshadow, eyeliner, and red lipstick, she was good to go. I smiled at herself in the mirror, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall…" she whispered, laughing at herself. Then, she scampered out of the bathroom to her bedroom. Oh, living on her own was so much fun. Quickly, she wrapped Ino's gift and walked out the door. She didn't live too far away so Shakti could walk the distance in high-heels. She walked up to the door and knocked. Ino opened the door. "Hey!" Shakti began singing, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

Ino giggled, "Okay, okay, thank you, that's enough, Shakti. Come inside." She motioned for her to come in. Once we got inside, Ino looked her up and down, "Wow, you look great. How am I supposed to top that?" she asked.

Shakti smiled, "Don't worry. I have it covered!" She extended her arms that had been holding a silver box with a red bow. "It's your birthday present! Open it!" Ino gave her a confused look. She eventually took it and her face lit up. Ino was merciless to the pristine silver wrapping; she tore it to shreds. She paused when she saw the eggplant-colored silk. A gasp escaped her mouth.

"Shakti, it's beautiful!" Then she looked up at her friend, before throwing herself at her in a hug.

"This is your day, so I have to make you look extremely HOT! Come on, what are you waiting for? I'm pretty sure Sai is swinging your way. He just needs a little push," Shakti said excitedly. She loved making other people feel pretty. Ino was equally excited.

"I was gonna call you and see if you would do my hair, but this works too!" she said.

They went up to her room to get Ino ready. Shakti curled her hair and pulled her bangs into an elegant poof (hahaha). Her curves looked awesome in the dress, as she was told by her best friend. Shakti tossed her a tube of light pink lipstick out of her bag before digging through Ino's closet and pulling out her black pumps. "Perfect," the vampire thought to herself. She strode to the bathroom and handed Ino the shoes. She immediately slid them on, and walked out of the bathroom. Shakti smiled like a proud mother. "You look great!" she squealed.

Ino smiled, "Thank you."

"Ready to go to your party?" Shakti asked.

"Sure thing," she replied.

They hooked arms and walked out of her room together.

The party was very populated. Everyone was there, just like Tenten had said. After the first hour of the party, Shakti was pushing through people to find Ino. She tugged at the blonde waves when she found her. Ino turned and smiled when she recognized her best friend. "Enjoying your party?" Shakti asked.

"Yes! Can you believe all the people that showed up?" Ino answered with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, looks like you're quite the party-thrower!" Shakti told her. Then, she noticed Sai was standing in front of Ino, as if they'd been talking. She nodded toward him and turned to walk away. As she did, she ran into Neji. "Oh, hey Neji," she smiled.

He nodded, "Hi, Shakti… You look beautiful tonight."

"Thanks," she replied, "You look pretty handsome yourself."

"Thank you. Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

"Umm…"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. You don't drink… punch."

"Um, actually, yes, I would like to try some. Is it fruit punch?"

"Yes, I heard it was very good."

She laughed, "Yeah, sounds good."

Neji walked away towards the kitchen to get some punch, obviously. Shakti watched him walk away. She'd never been interested in guys here. She hadn't stayed here for them. She liked being on her own. She had never been lonely with herself. She just liked being around anybody but her family. She saw Neji approaching, with two cups of punch in his hands. Shakti smiled, thanked him, and took one from him. She held the cup to her nose and sniffed it. It smelled ok, nothing like peaches though. Suddenly, she realized Neji was staring at her with an amused look on his face. She smiled sheepishly, then brought her cup to her lips, and sipped. It actually tasted pretty decent. She looked back to Neji. "Do you like it?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's kinda good. Not anywhere near as good as peaches, or…" she trailed off. She wasn't sure how comfortable the humans were of her mentioning her thirst for them. Ohhh… this was awkward. She quickly took another sip of her drink. "Ehh… What the heck?" she thought. She gulped back the rest of it. Okay, now, she thought it tasted really good. She looked back at Neji. He had kind of a confused expression. "Umm… Is there any more?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'll show you," he hesitantly replied.

"Thank you," Shakti said.

He lead the girl to the counter, and she poured herself another cup. This continued for a while. Shakti found it easier to make conversation with Neji. He, however, looked a little worried. Truthfully, she was getting worried a little herself, but she didn't show it. After her sixth cup, Neji grabbed the ladle. "Shakti, I think that's enough," he said. She looked at him. He was probably right. All the sugar was going to her head. She tried to focus on his face, but everything seemed fuzzy. She put her hand to her head.

"Whys everything so fuzzy?" Shakti asked him. Was that a slur in her speech?

"Oh no," she heard Neji say. He grabbed her arm and led her through the crowd. Then he stopped, and she heard Ino's voice. "Ino, you didn't happen to spike that punch did you?" he asked. A huge gasp escaped Shakti's lips, it was bigger than she'd meant it to be.

"Well, yeah, something had to make this party fun!" Ino replied.

"Does this look fun?" he asked, and she felt herself pulled closer toward Ino. She focused to see Ino's blonde hair.

"You didn't tell me the punch was spiked," she said, her words slipping together.

"Oh no, I didn't think you'd drink any of it! I am so sorry," Ino said.

"Don't worry about it," Neji said, "I'll take her home."

"Thank you, Neji, I am so sorry," she said again.

He guided her out the door, and the two started walking toward Shakti's house. "That… is the last time I drink punchhh…" she told Neji.

She looked over at him, noticing a smile. "Normally, it's not so bad. You'd probably like it on other occasions."

"Ehhh…" she said, "I think I'll stick to peaches and blood." I mentally oopsed at that last part. He didn't seem to take it in a bad way though.

"For you, that's probably best. Maybe next time, I'll offer you some tiger blood," he joked.

She laughed, "Never had tiger's blood. I wonder if it's any good… Yes, you should offer me some next time."

"Okay, well, we're here," he said. Shakti noticed they were standing at her front door. She opened the door with her mind. It flung open a little harder than she'd meant it. A decision was made not to do anymore telekinesis while she was drunk. "You don't lock it?" he asked.

"No, I can take care of myself, plus, it would be harder to open it without using my hands," she told him. She immediately walked to her room, and paused, leaning against the door way.

"Are you going to be okay, tonight?" he asked.

"I don't need you to sleep in my bed with me, if that's what you're asking," she answered.

"That's not what I was asking. Are you okay with staying by yourself tonight?" he replied, a slightly annoyed tone in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said as she plopped down on her bed.

"You're going to sleep with those shoes on?" he asked. Now she was starting to get annoyed. She sighed heavily and sat up to reach down to her feet. He approached the bed from the doorway, "I got it," he said. She felt him pulling her shoes off.

"Thank you… And yes, I will be sleeping in these clothes," she told him.

He chuckled, and then disappeared out the doorway.

"Bye?" she said.

"I'm coming right back, Shakti," he assured. About a minute later, he truly did come back. "Here, drink this," he said.

Shakti rolled onto her back, "What is it? Spiked punch, tiger's blood?" she asked.

"Try water," he replied.

She leaned up. "Okay, I'll try water," she smiled. She took it from him and brought it to her lips, tilting it slightly. "Thank you, Neji," she said leaning over to put it on her nightstand.

"Are you sure that you'll be fine?" he asked.

"Yes, Neji, I will be fine, but thank you, for everything," she told him, "You're kind of the bomb."

He chuckled again, "Thank you." She watched him lean forward. He placed a hand behind her head, and then she felt his warm lips on her forehead. "Take care," he whispered. Then he was gone. Shakti leaned back in her bed. A haze slowly overtook her. She realized she'd been holding it back. Ohh she was going to regret this in the morning. Her eyes closed heavily, they didn't plan on reopening. She heard a stirring in her bedroom, it seemed far away though. Her drunk mind figured she'd was imaginined it. Then, she felt movement on her bed, as if someone was getting on it. "Neji?" she asked drearily.

"Shhhh…" was the only response she got. Then, she felt an arm wrap around her waist. She couldn't force herself to care. It was probably Neji who was uncomfortable with her staying by herself, but she was thankful. It was nice to feel someone being protective over her for once.

A/N: Okay, so Neji's back, huh? Mmmmaybe! Chapter 2 is coming very soon, so stay tuned.