Hey there! Tis the evil authoress once more bringing you yet another fanfic. Now, I know I should wait to finish the two I've started before beginning another, but I need a long-term fanfic. The other two have only a couple of chapters left each, and well… yeah. So here I am. And this one's AU.

No ownership of anything but the fanfic.

X.x.X.x.X

Vampiric Melody Chapter One: Vampires

Neji Hyuuga huffed as he threw the book he was reading (Bram Stoker's Dracula) on the ground. The guy was full of crap.

Well, not completely, but mostly.

There were plenty of things wrong with his theory about vampires. Mostly they were half truths, making the vampires sound like a bad people. ((AN: just a note: that is proper grammar. I promise.)) For one thing, most vampires did not die from exposure to the sun; they did, however, get very sick from direct exposure. It was sort of like an allergy: a hormone they secreted (the one that made them crave the taste of human blood) intensified to dangerous levels with exposure and, rather than making them blood crazed, it sent them spiraling into a coma-like state until they could be regulated. Only when a vampire is not removed from the sunlight after reaching the coma like state can they die. So, naturally, they avoid the sun.

Also, they are not allergic to garlic. It does help prevent the bite of a vampire, but only if it has been eaten within the past few hours; it wouldn't kill them, but it's almost like kissing someone who has garlic breath. Yuck.

And the whole thing about killing a person when they are bitten? A lie. When a Vampire drinks from a human, they only take as much as the person can handle; when it's starting to be too much, the vampire instinctually stops. Vampires have multiple humans to feed from and it is done in a cycle: feed one day, then a week for the human in question to rest.

And only in very rare cases can a vampire turn a human into a vampire; nine times out of then they are born in the same way as humans. Only those of the purest of blood have the ability to turn a human, and only if their fangs remain within the human's flesh during the feeding.

How did he know all this? He was a vampire. Had been all his life. One that, as of a week ago, was destined to rule the vampire world simply because his stupid cousin Hinata didn't feel like it. Those weren't her exact words, per say, but it still meant that he had to take over from his stupid freaking uncle within the next decade because his other daughter is too young.

And now he has to host a stupid freaking masquerade so everybody can get new familiars for this cycle. Joy for him. He was also supposed to find a bride (not mandatory, but it was a tradition) and that so was not going to happen. Rumors floated around at one point that the reason he wasn't looking for a bride yet was that he was betrothed to Hinata.

Ok, gross. While marriage and such is different in the vampire world (so much so that even though Neji's and Hinata's fathers were twins, their blood was like that of seventh cousins, not first, so him marrying Hinata would be fine, in all technicality) he was a firm believer in not marrying family. No, the real reason he didn't want to marry is because every suitor he's had up to this point only wants him either for looks, money, power, or any combination of the three.

He did have friends, if you could call them that. Shikamaru Nara and Shino Aburame were both quiet like him, and so they sort of gravitated towards each other. But they were only really "friends" for convenience sake. It kept others away while they slept (Shikamaru) ignored the world (Neji) or… whatever it was Shino did (plot to destroy the world? Neji had no clue about that guy. He was a freakin enigma.)

But at least they sympathized with him. None of the three liked to be in the spotlight if they could avoid it. So Neji's having-to-rule-all-of-vampire-society thing was something to pity.

The door to the Hyuuga mansion's library opened and Hikari –Neji's human familiar of the day –walked in. "Time to feed, sire," she said in her bell-like voice.

"Fine," he said, pushing everything from his mind. After this he would go to bed; the masquerade was tomorrow.

X.x.X.x.X

So you like? I hope so. I think it's really good so far.

Tenten comes in next chapter. She is, of course, human.

And as always, if there is a request for something you'd like to see in this fan fiction (except hyuucest. I refuse to pair cousins) just tell me in your review.

RnR!