Y'know, when I first started this story, I had no idea how I would write it. (I didn't know when I was gonna write it either, but…)

So I was thinking: It's gotten boring for me to write stories in an organized time order. What if I just randomly skipped periods of time to get the story moving? :

So yeah… Fall!

-:-

"Deidara-sama…"

"Hm?"

"How long have I been here…?"

"Hm… I'd say almost a month now, seeing that it's gotten significantly colder since you first arrived."

"Colder… It's almost winter?"

"Yes. When the weather turns colder than me."

-:-

Indeed, an entire month had passed since Hinata arrived at the Akatsuki Lair. She was accepted by the vampires, even though she was human. The mansion was a lot cleaner and brighter than before, as well. Right now she was having tea to warm herself up; while keeping Deidara company.

She hasn't once returned to her village since she left. She hasn't regretted her life thus far, but she does wish that Deidara would trust her enough to find out where her family ended up. The truth was, he did trust her. It's just that he doesn't trust anyone else to watch over her – to comfort her when she saw…

Hinata finished her cup of tea and set it gently on the table, staring out the window for lack of something better to look at. Deidara studied her carefully, as he has been for the past thirty days. She wasn't all that talkative, he observed, and she listened and obeyed very well. She was slightly clumsy, occasionally tripping on her own feet. He was glad she did that, for then he was there to catch her, to touch her for a brief minute before letting go. He'd forgotten what the warmth of a human being felt like without the coating of blood.

Deidara soon finished his tea as well, setting it down without a sound. He gazed at Hinata because she was the best thing to look at. Hinata didn't pay any mind to him, and didn't exactly mind him staring at her, as he had been for the past four weeks. He wasn't all that talkative, she noticed, and he didn't really listen to anyone else but her. He is very well mannered, and not clumsy at the least. Very cool and collected. He's always there to catch her when she accidentally trips and falls. She's constantly reminded of how cold vampires feel.

There was a small sound from one of them. Deidara's eyes darted around the room for a second before settling on Hinata again. It was her; she yawned. Such a human, this girl was. He smiled a little – he was doing that a little more often nowadays – as she rubbed her eyes and looked back at him. Her cheeks reddened as she realized how much noise she made. Now he chuckled, another rare thing for him. "Tired, are we?" he asked coolly, watching her nod her head. "I've had a weird sleeping pattern lately. I know its a little past midday, but I can't help but feel sleepy. Almost like I'm supposed to be awake at night." She replied softly.

Deidara stood up. "I understand. Perhaps I should leave you to sleep then, hm?" her head snapped up to look at him, her face flushed. "N-No, no! I don't mean it like that – I mean, y-you don't have to leave… that is, if you w-want to stay here…" she fell silent, embarrassed at her sudden outburst. Deidara smiled a little wider. "If you wish for my presence here, then I shall grant it." He told her smoothly, smirking as she turned a darker red. Human emotions were so amusing.

"Th-That is… Um… I-I don't mean to keep you…" she fidgeted and kept her eyes downward. Deidara sat back down, gazing at her again. "A lonely vampire like me has nothing to be kept from." Hinata started to protest, but stopped herself. Then she whispered, "We can be lonely together then, Deidara-sama." His eyes widened in the slightest. How was she lonely? By his observations, the current residences here took a fine liking to her. They talked to her, played games with her, kept her busy and away from him…

But… the vampires here were far from her family. A month just wasn't enough. Not yet. He wondered which one of them she was closest to.

The silence between the two lasted a couple minutes. "Now, what would lead you to saying that?" he wondered, speaking out loud so she could answer. Hinata looked at him. "I… I don't…" she sighed. "I wish, sometimes, that I had someone to talk to." Deidara closed his eyes in thought. Doesn't she consider me a 'someone'? I may not look it, but I can give advice if I wanted to. I have ears, if she needs someone to listen. I'm here… he opened his eyes again, and only a second passed by before he began speaking. "I'm here. All the time. Call me, and I'll be there."

Hinata paused, then smiled. "Thank you, Deidara-sama."

-:-

Sasori walked up to Hinata with a box. "Hinata-chan! I have something for you!" He said happily, placing the box in her hands. "Huh?" Hinata stared at the box for a second before opening it. "It's to celebrate you're first month here at Akatsuki! Glad you didn't die yet!" he laughed a little as Hinata shivered a bit. "Th-Thank you…" In the box was a necklace decorated with deep blue stones. "I'm glad Deidara brought you home. The least I can do, really." Sasori shrugged.

"Aw, Sasori-sama…" Hinata hugged him, only to be pushed away gently. "It may not look it, but I have very little self-control. It'd probably be safer if you didn't come so close to me." He smiled calmly. "Oh… Sorry…" Hinata backed up a step, giving him an apologetic look. "It's okay, though. You don't have to beat yourself up over it." He patted her back. "Why don't you try the necklace on? I want to see." He said, changing the subject. Hinata nodded, taking the necklace from the box. Sasori draped it over her neck, latching it behind her.

"Gosh, you're pretty." He chuckled lightly, earning a blush from the girl. Sasori smiled. "Hinata, you're such an angel. I don't know how you ended up in a place like this." He murmured. Hinata gave him a confused look. "Uh… what…?" she stepped closer to him. "It's nothing." He replied, shaking his head. "I think Deidara's getting mad at me – I'd better leave you alone." He glanced behind her, at the small yellow bat in the corner of the ceiling. Hinata followed his gaze, but saw nothing. "Um… Alright. I'll see you later, Sasori-sama." Sasori flashed her a smile. "Yup. Later."

Sasori disappeared in an instant, becoming a blur down the hallway. In his place stood Deidara, who eyed the necklace carefully. Hinata stared at him worriedly. "Is anything wrong, Deidara-sama?" she asked softly. "…Do you want to… visit your village, Hinata?" he asked. Hinata's eyes widened a bit. "V-Visit… Konoha? Y-Yes! I do, I do!" she said excitedly. Deidara stared at her with soft, unfocused eyes. Hinata shrunk down a bit, looking down and blushing. "I-I mean… I do, but… if it's too much trouble…"

It wasn't too much trouble. If it was her, it was never too much trouble. She just wasn't ready… to see what had become of her village. The conditions there became so bad, the Akatsuki decided to feed from a different village.

"Hinata… I will take you to your village." Hinata felt happiness well up inside her. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Deidara-sama!" She exclaimed happily. Deidara couldn't help but smile a little at her. "Please prepare yourself in the next fifteen minutes. I'll be waiting at the front door." And in a blur, he was gone. Hinata hurried to her room and changed.

-:-

"What… What happened…?"

The streets were deserted. The houses were broken into and robbed of everything valuable.

"Your village has deteriorated since your family's absence."

Those who could leave did. Unfortunately, that wasn't saying much. Only a few people were outside. They were looking for some kind of nourishment. They gave Hinata and Deidara strange looks. The two seemed so out of place with their fine clothes and clean faces in this town. It wasn't right.

Deidara studied her reactions carefully, basing his own actions on her feelings. He saw her break down a little. He wrapped one cold arm around her shoulders and walked her deeper into the worn down city. It was silent as they stumbled upon the old Hyuga Estate. Hinata never felt this reluctant to be back home.

She carefully opened the gate and walked in. The halls were covered in dust. Surprisingly, nothing was taken. Pictures, furniture, meaningless trinkets from who-knows-when – nothing was moved from its place. Hinata headed for the family pictures on the wall in the living room. She wiped the layer of dust from the glass covering, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Deidara waited patiently by the door.

Hinata moved to sit on the musty old couch, covering her face in her hands. Soft sobs could be heard. Deidara did nothing. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't just let her feel like this without doing something about it. Without noticing, he began walking around until he found a certain room that could help him out.

As Hinata finished her crying, an unsettling silence fell in the room. She searched for Deidara, but he wasn't at the door or in the next room. She decided to wait for him in the living room – this left her time to think. But, only a few minutes later, Deidara returned from wherever he went, and handed her a small doll. Hinata gave him a confused look.

"I can't stand seeing you so sad, Hinata. Please… feel better soon." I want to see you're smile again. Hinata stared at the doll. It was the one her mother gave her for Christmas when she was five. It brought back many memories of her childhood…

--

A little five-year-old girl fell flat on her face. She began crying, calling for her older brother to help her. He didn't hear her, and he kept on running, his form growing smaller and smaller the farther he got. The girl had hurt her knee real bad, and couldn't get up. The doll she was carrying fell out of her hands when she fell and was now just out of reach. She cried a little more, deprived of the comfort from her favorite doll.

"Don't cry, little girl."

The girl looked up to see a boy about the same age as her brother. He had long blonde hair and blue eyes. He was holding her doll out to her, while the other one offered help to stand.

"Are you the sister of the boy up the street? He's looking for you, you know." The little girl held her doll tightly while leaning on the strange boy for support. "C-Could you… Could you take me to him please?" she asked softly, still crying a little. The boy smiled a little. "Of course I can. What's your name?" he asked. "Hinata Hyuga." Hinata answered, wiping the last of her tears on her doll. "What's yours?"

The boy paused. "My name… it's D-"

--

"Hinata?"

Hinata snapped out of her thoughts. She realized that they were already walking back to the Lair. It was almost sundown, she noticed. Something else was off as well. She couldn't place her finger on it… but she could have sworn that they were walking. Why weren't her legs moving?

She almost fell to the ground when she realized that Deidara was carrying her.

"You fell asleep after I gave you the doll. I didn't know if you wanted to keep anything from your house, so I just brought the picture and your doll." Hinata looked at her lap. The doll was on top of the picture of her family. "Do you wish to go back and retrieve something else?" Deidara offered. Hinata shuddered at the thought of seeing the dire conditions of the town again. "I-I'm fine… Thank you, Deidara-sama."

The two were silent the rest of the way. When they arrived, Deidara forgot to put her back down. She felt so natural in his arms like that.

"Um… D-Deidara-sama?"

"Hm?"

"I-I can w-walk now…"

"Oh. Of course."

-:-

That night, Hinata found a way to the roof. Well, not exactly the roof, but the attic with many windows. She opened one canopy window and sat there, illuminated in the moonlight. She stared off into the distance, the lights of a nearby town sparkling the horizon. The cool breeze made her shiver, but she was used to the cold by now. Everyone was out feeding. She was alone in this mansion with no intention of running away. This was home now.

The entire place was silent. At least, it was until she heard a light creaking noise from behind her. She paid no mind to it. She didn't have much to lose if it was a threat. Her family was gone. Her town was left in ruins. Nothing was stopping her from anything. If she died she wouldn't have anything to regret.

Two cold hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who." A familiar voice said coolly into her ear.

"Shouldn't you be with the others, Sasori-sama?" Hinata answered with an equal amount of cool as Sasori did. "I didn't want you to be lonely in the house." He sat beside her, an arm around her waist. He tended to do that a lot. He told her it showed that they were very close friends. She didn't know either.

"So what's up with you, Hinata?" he asked casually, gazing at the stars. "You look sad. Deidara do something to you?" he leaned his head on her shoulder, sniffing her neck briefly before pulling away. "N-No… Deidara-sama didn't do anything…" Sasori's silence made her continue.

"We… visited my village today." Sasori looked down. Hinata's voice cracked a little as she spoke. "Everything was… different." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away. My house was the same, though. Only one thing was missing…" she bit her lip, holding back tears. She began to tremble. Sasori held her a little tighter. "M-My… My family… wasn't… there…" Hinata started crying then. She didn't know why it was bothering her so much now. Something in her hurt whenever the word 'family' was brought up. Something in her heart ached.

Hinata needed something. A reassurance of sorts. Something to give her a reason for living. Something… to warm her heart…

Sasori held her hand. The sudden chill in her arm pulled her from her depressing thoughts. "Hinata." He said sofly, letting their fingers interlace. "We're your family. This is your home now." Hinata cried into his shoulder. "Thank you… Sasori-sama…" she hugged him tightly, but he hugged tighter. It felt warm, in a strange way. It felt… nice.

--

"Hey you."

Hinata, who was sweeping the floor on the second story of the house, turned to face a man who called himself Hidan. His hair was silver and slicked back, and his eyes were a purple kind of color.

"Yes?" she replied calmly.

"We don't really talk much. Won't you join me for a cup of tea in the lounge room?"

Hinata was puzzled by this sudden request – especially from a man as rude and outgoing as Hidan – but nodded anyway. Hidan smiled. "Thank you."

In truth, Sasori had told him what he and Hinata were talking about in the attic. He figured that it must have felt pretty bad to have your family be killed. Lonely, too. She didn't have anyone to relate to in this horrid world anymore, and that, frankly, just sucks. He felt that she needed to know that, even though they were the cause of it, they could offer some of the comfort a family could give.

The two sat in silence, staring at the other or down at their cup of tea. Hidan was no expert at conversations, and neither was her. Though, one of them had to start something.

"Sasori told me that you were very sad the other day." Hidan stared at her, his eyes carrying a small hint of worry. "Yes. I really was." Hinata admitted, frowning a bit at the thoughts she had in mind that day. "He probably told you this already, but we can be family too." Hidan saw her tremble a bit. "I-I know. Thank you." She said, her voice cracking a bit. It hurt to think about it at all. Her heart began to ache again.

Hidan just watched her crumble in front of him. "It's okay to cry." He said softly. She did, quickly putting the cup on the table and wiping the tears away. She sobbed uncontrollably, and Hidan couldn't help but move to sit beside her and comfort her. "It hurts to think about it, huh?" he could relate, he guessed. He himself wasn't always a vampire. Back then, way, way, way back then, somewhere in that dark past of his, he was human. He could relate.

"It does." Hinata nodded when she calmed down a bit. "I've been hurt like that before." Hidan continued. She listened carefully as he talked about his family; his human years; and how he became a vampire. When he finished the two shared a small silence.

"That was the most I've spoken in a long time." He said. Hinata nodded once more, smiling a little. "The last time I did talk to someone, it was that old coot who lives a couple doors down. Kakuzu." Hidan leaned a little closer to her to whisper something to her. "He's almost fifty, y'know." Hinata nodded awkwardly, wondering why he had to whisper this fact to her. "That dude has better hearing than anyone here – and his being a vampire doesn't help much." Hinata giggled a little.

"But that just means he's good at listening. We all are. You can talk to us anytime about pretty much anything." He paused for a minute. "I mean, anything you want to tell us. Don't wanna hear about 'girl functions' and all that. Unless you want me to check on those 'girl functions', then I'd be there to listen…" He noticed that Hinata was blushing. "I-I mean, you can talk to us whenever, alright? That's what I'm talking about." Hinata nodded, giggling a little. "Thank you, Hidan-sama." Hidan smiled.

--

"Hey, Hidan."

"Huh?"

"Who're you calling an old coot?"

"…"

-:-

Hehe…

I dunno XD;

I really, really, don't.

YA OLD COOT D: