A/N: Here it is. The final instalment of Moonlight. This is actually the longest chapter I wrote for this story because there's so much to squeeze in.

I'll stop talking so you can read.

This chapter is dedicated to: chumble, rosesecret02, Chii Saino Kuratsu, DarkAnonymous324, Glitterthorn, AnimeCrazed121, Love Is Only a Word, AnimeLoverHaruka, Dee Lie La, SammiKee, kingdomhearts4evar, Ashurei Aque Blu.

I know I didn't reply to any of your reviews but I just didn't have the time. Please accept my sincerest apologies and enjoy the chapter ^^

Moonlight

Chapter 10: The Strength of Our Bonds

When we returned to the house, Neji seemed more comfortable with his new life. I decided it was time to introduce him to the coven.

"Coven, meet Neji. Neji, meet coven." I stated, cracking a bit of a joke of my own. I don't know. I just thought saying 'Meet coven' sounded funny.

The blonde female leapt up first, practically gliding forward to shake Neji's hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you! I'm Temari!" She said cheerily. "No hard feelings about the bite jokes, okay? I didn't really mean them."

"Um…yeah…" Neji said awkwardly. He didn't really know what to think of her.

Temari returned to her seat, and the tall, dark haired male approached him.

"It's nice to see that you're well, Neji." He stated with a smooth voice. "I'm Itachi."

So this is Itachi. Was the only thought that went through his head. The pureblood looked nothing like Madara. Maybe they were a little similar, but nothing alike.

A second dark haired male stepped forward.

"My name is Sasuke." He stated. "It's nice to meet you. Don't kill us."

Neji recoiled slightly. "You…know?"

"Duh." Sasuke smirked. "When Tenten dragged you in here, she told Itachi you were the slayer that tormented her once upon a time, and he passed the message onto the rest of us."

"Oh."

"So yeah. Don't kill us." Sasuke said again, stepping away.

The blond male came forward.

"Hi Neji!" He said with a big grin. "I'm Naruto! And ditto on what Sasuke said!"

Sasuke snorted. "I knew you would do that."

The coven laughed.

They were a friendly bunch. Neji didn't quite understand it.

"Last but not least, initiation!" Tenten stated, giving the group a big grin.

"Initiation?" Neji asked nervously. "What are you going to make me do, or do to me?"

"Nothing." Itachi stated. "We don't have an initiation."

"You party pooper, Itachi!" Tenten cried. "I was going to make him crack a boulder with his bare hands!"

Itachi scoffed. "There's no initiation."

Neji sighed with relief.

"The only thing you have to do is swear to never feed on a human." Itachi stated.

Neji nodded. "Yeah. I won't."

Itachi nodded. "Then you're in. Welcome to the coven."

Naruto cheered. "YES! I'm not the youngest one anymore!"

The group laughed.

"Naruto, you're fifty going on two." Sasuke stated.

"Aw thank…HEY!"

The coven laughed again. Neji joined in that time. Now he understood just what the coven was about. It was a group of vampires joined together through values and beliefs. Everyone was an individual in the group, and everyone mattered. They were family. They fought like family. They laughed like family.

Neji found himself happy to be a part of that family, regardless of the fact that he was about as human as everyone else in the room.

"Itachi, I have a question."

Itachi looked towards me. "What is it?"

"Neji asked me a question the other day and I was wondering if you could answer it."

"I'll do my best."

"Could a vampire feed off another vampire?"

"Yes, it is possible."

I looked at him in surprise. "Seriously?"

"But two vampires can't sustain each other forever." Itachi stated. "At some point, one of them would have to go out and hunt to replace the nutrients, but yes, it is possible."

I stood there, thinking of all the possibilities that could be done.

"Tenten, I wouldn't recommend it."

"What's wrong?" I frowned.

Itachi leaned against the counter. "Generally, vampires feeding off each other is reserved as something very intimate."

"W-What do you mean?"

"I'm saying it's something vampires do when they're mates."

I blinked in surprise. This was news to me.

"I've never had a mate, but I knew someone who did." Itachi stated. "He was addicted to his partners' blood. Not to mention the bond that was created between the two of them was stronger than even the bond between creator and creation."

I knew what that meant. A creator was a vampire who turned a human. The creation was the human who was turned. Itachi and I had a bond, and now I guess Neji and I did too.

"In fact, I'd even go as far as to say it was a stronger bond than master and servant, and originally that was the most powerful bond out there. It was so powerful, that when his mate was killed by a slayer, he died along with her at exactly the same time."

"Doesn't that happen with master and servant though?"

"Not like that." Itachi stated. "If the servant dies, the master won't, but if the master dies, the servant will wander around lost for several days and then die. Besides, there are recorded circumstances where the servant didn't die."

"So the bond was strong then."

Itachi nodded. "Like nothing I had ever seen before."

I nodded slowly. So feeding off other vampires wasn't an option.

"Thanks Itachi."

Itachi nodded. "It was a very good question though." He said. "I never would've thought any vampire would think of it."

I shrugged. "That's why I didn't have an answer for it."

Itachi nodded again Then his face hardened. "You haven't, right?"

I laughed. "No."

He seemed to sigh with relief.

"If I had, what would you have done?"

"Slapped myself in the forehead because I didn't take it upon myself to warn you about it."

I burst out laughing. "No need for that then. I know now."

Itachi flashed me his warm smile before looking out the window.

I turned to leave the room, but a new question came to my mind.

"Itachi, can you answer me something?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you…You didn't want to see me die. You stopped me from killing myself and turned me even though you didn't want to. So why? Why did you do it?"

Itachi sighed. "That's something I can't answer."

I watched him. His eyes seemed distant as he gazed out the window.

"That same question has confused me since the day I turned you. I still haven't found an answer."

"Take your best shot then. Unless you don't have one of those either." I added with a laugh.

Itachi looked at his feet for a moment. He looked up, turning back to me. "If I were to guess, I would say that…I was lonely."

I blinked.

"You were the first person I found myself comfortable being near. The few years I spent watching you, keeping you safe until you were old enough to move out of that house were some of the best I had." He glanced at the window again. "And when I saw you trying to end your life, all I could think about was never seeing you again."

"So you gave into my request to turn me?"

Itachi sighed but nodded.

"Are you ashamed of doing it?"

Itachi turned towards me again. "I don't know what I feel, Tenten. But I know how I felt the day you found out about me."

I bit my lip, remembering what had happened the day my father slashed me.

"I promised myself I would never feed from a human again, and I did. I just couldn't stop myself when I smelled your blood that first time."

"Itachi, I don't hate you for it. You didn't kill me, so it's all right."

Itachi looked at his feet again, his head bowed in shame.

"It all worked out, didn't it?"

He looked up at me again, his dark eyes meeting mine.

"Yes, I suppose it did." He said softly.

Neji's first month of being a vampire passed smoothly. Tenten took him out hunting at least once a week. At first, he was hesitant to hurt anything, but then he remembered what Tenten had said about feeling sorry for the cow when he ate a steak and just gave in. The deer's blood tasted like vegetables. That was the only thing he could think. That was okay, because he liked vegetables. Generally, anyways.

On his second week, he ran into his uncle Hiashi. The two of them froze in their tracks.

"Uncle." Neji gasped.

"Neji…" Hiashi whispered. "You've…"

"Yeah. I'm a vampire."

Hiashi took a step back.

"I haven't hurt anyone." Neji stated. "And I won't hurt you."

"What would your father say, Neji…" Hiashi whispered.

Neji bowed his head. "I don't want to know what he would think." He looked up at him. "But I know what I think. I'm not going to be a monster. I'm not hurting humans."

"I don't care what you're doing, Neji. You're still a vampire, and I'm a slayer. Because of that, I'll do anything I can to kill you."

"Good to know. Now I know to avoid you at all costs."

Hiashi stared at him.

"Goodbye, uncle." Neji turned and leapt into the trees.

Later that same week, Tenten had given him the answer to the question he had asked. He understood that it wasn't possible for vampires to feed off each other. He understood the whole mating concept.

Even so, that same night he thought about the day she turned him. Though he had fallen into a state of unconsciousness, he could still feel everything that was going on. He assumed it was part of the marks' way of transforming him. He felt her fangs bite down on his throat. Just remembering it sent chills down his spine. Chills of what, he didn't know.

At the end of the third week, Neji had a conversation with Naruto.

"You were bitten too, huh?" Naruto asked.

Neji looked at him.

"Luckily for you, you had Tenten to counter the bite." He sighed. "The bite ran its course with me."

Neji frowned. "But doesn't that mean you're a servant to a vampire?"

"No." Naruto sighed. He looked almost sad as he said his next words. "She was killed after she bit me." He sighed. "Would you frown on me if I said that I liked that vampire? 'Cause you're a slayer and all so…"

"You actually liked the vampire that bit you?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was a kid then. An orphan. She gave me candy and treated me nicely. After I'd known her for a few months, she asked me if I wanted to stay with her forever, and I told her 'yes' and she bit me.

"Then the slayers came, and they killed her. I managed to escape back to the orphanage I grew up in. A family adopted me a few months later, and two years after that, I turned into a vampire right before their eyes." Naruto sighed. "I'm ashamed to say I killed them both. But I felt so lost and lonely, I just couldn't help it. Then Itachi and his coven came and took me in. I didn't feel so lonely anymore, but…" Naruto looked up at the sky. "Gosh, I miss that vampire." He continued staring up at the sky. "It's like a piece of me was ripped out and nothing can fill it in. I have this constant feeling that I don't belong anywhere."

"So you really liked your master." Neji murmured.

"Yes. I do." There was a small smile on his face. "Sometimes I dream about her at night and she's always smiling and saying how proud of me she is, and how she wishes she was still here to watch me grow."

"You sound like you're talking about your mother."

Naruto shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe that's what she is to me. A mother I never got to live with."

It seemed as if everyone in the coven had a story to tell. Neji couldn't help but wonder about Itachi, Sasuke and Temari and what their stories were.

Neji smirked. On second thought, skip Itachi. He didn't want to hear the story of his life if he was really over a thousand years old.

I was spending a lot of time with Neji. Sometimes I would seek him out, other times he would seek me out. Either way, whenever I was with him I felt differently. It wasn't unpleasant either. I had to admit I really liked being around him.

Like right now.

We were by the lake again. I was sitting against the same rock where I had almost been ambushed the first day our paths crossed. Neji's head lay in my lap. His eyes were closed, his expression peaceful. I ran my fingers through his hair, unable to tell whether he was sleeping or not.

The full moon glinted high in the sky, bathing us in moonlight. It was truly beautiful to see.

His eyelids fluttered open, his pretty iridescent eyes meeting mine.

"Have a nice snooze?" I asked with a wry grin.

Neji smirked. "I wasn't sleeping."

"Thought so." I grinned.

Neji sat up, turning so he could lean against the rock beside me. "So. Right here, huh?" He murmured.

"Hm?" I looked at him.

"This is what you were seeing when I tried to kill you."

"Oh." I mentally slapped myself for not realizing what he was saying.

Neji stood up. "I think I remember seeing you over here." He stated, starting to pace out the general area. "I thought you looked pretty vulnerable, so I leapt over the rock…" His voice trailed off. A second later, an arm wrapped around my neck. I yelped as Neji flipped me. We rolled and wrestled until he managed to pin me with him on top.

"Well that wasn't supposed to happen!" He cried.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know we were recreating the fight." I smirked at him.

Neji shrugged. "I guess I win this time. Score one for the slayer."

My jaw dropped. "No!" I attempted to push him off me and have another go, but he pressed me into the ground. I glared at him, while his eyes danced with amusement. Our staring contest lasted at least a minute. In that time, I started to lose sense of what I was doing. I started to relax as he released his grip on me just slightly. I started to feel a peculiar warmth spreading through me. It made me feel almost weary. I couldn't even register how close he was until his lips pressed against mine.

I gasped, pressing my lips into his in return. His hands slid off my shoulders and cupped the back of my head, drawing me closer to him. I reached up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He sighed against my lips, flicking his tongue across my bottom lip.

Our kiss broke for a moment, our half lidded eyes meeting as we caught our breath.

"Neji…" I breathed. "Is this okay?"

Neji's lips ghosted softly across mine. "I don't know." He murmured. "Does it feel okay?" He kissed me again.

"Mmm, yeah…" I sighed.

Neji's lips met mine again. And indeed it did feel okay. It felt more than okay. It felt like nothing I had ever felt before. It felt like…I could never explain it.

I gasped as our lips moved feverishly, battling for dominance. His tongue flicked across my lip again. I gasped, allowing his tongue to slip between my lips. He turned his head a moment later, pulling me closer to the movement of his lips. I moaned, pulling him closer to me.

I heard him gasp as I knotted my fist in his hair. He broke the kiss.

"Tenten, you're killing me…" He breathed.

"Really?" I whispered, feeling my vampire stir within me. "Score a point for the vampire then."

Neji smirked, his iridescent eyes bleeding red. "So we're even."

I smirked right back at him, sliding out from beneath him as I held his face between my hands.

"Do you think I'm going to let you leave so easily?" Neji asked, holding her in place.

"No, in fact I would expect you to keep me here by force."

A devilish grin crossed his face.

I squealed as he leapt at me, pinning me to the ground again.

"Don't tempt me." He growled, kissing me forcefully.

My breath caught in my throat. I could feel his weight on top of me. I moaned into his lips, every movement taking my breath away. I heard him breathing heavily along with me as I dug my nails into his back.

I pulled my lips off his, desperate for air. I moaned as he kissed my throat, his tongue sliding softly across my skin.

"Neji…" I gasped. This was dangerous territory. If he bit me…

I yelped as he sucked on my throat. My hand clenched his hair tightly, nearly ripping it from his scalp. Neji moved onto the next area, drawing a more frantic cry from my lips. I pulled him closer, not wanting him to stop. I didn't worry about him biting me. In fact, I wanted him to bite me. I wanted to feel his fangs sinking deep into my throat. It didn't help that I wanted to bite him myself to suppress my cries.

I felt his fangs prick my throat. I held my breath in anticipation, but Neji seemed to stop.

"T-Tenten…" he breathed. "I…This is bad…" his voice trembled.

I breathed, my head turning so I could press kisses against his throat. "Who says?" I whispered.

Neji gasped. "Tenten…"

"I want you, Neji." I breathed. "Do it. Bite me."

"Aren't you scared?"

I held him tight, closing my eyes. "Yes, just a little." I whispered. "But it feels right."

Neji kissed my throat again. My breath hitched. "Neji…" I whispered.

He gasped against my skin, his tongue sliding across it, his arms shaking. My head fell back with a groan as he sucked my neck again.

"Neji, please…"

"Close your eyes."

I did. A second later, I screamed as his fangs stabbed into my throat. It felt like fire, like ice, like nothing I had ever felt before. On instinct, I bit down on his neck.

He cried out, releasing my throat. "Tenten…" He gasped.

His blood tasted sweeter than it did when he was human. I gasped, letting my head fall back to the ground.

Neji pulled me into his chest. I think we were both in shock. His lips found mine again. He kissed me tenderly. I kissed him just as softly.

When we broke apart again, a soft chuckle escaped my lips.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

My chuckle broke into a laugh. "Nothing. I was just thinking about what Itachi had said he would do if we had bitten each other before we knew what would happen."

"What did he say?"

"He said he would slap himself in the forehead."

Neji sniggered and started to laugh. "I can see him doing that. Like…right now."

I giggled for a few seconds before breaking into a full on laugh. "I see it!" I cried.

We lay there, laughing towards the starry sky as we wondered what the coven leader would do now.

"Neji?"

"Yes?"

"Just don't die, okay?"

Neji burst out laughing. "Of course, I expect the same from you."

We continued to laugh, enjoying the first moments of our new bond.

Sasuke smiled at the sight of the pink mop of hair in the distance.

Sakura turned towards him, a grin splitting across her features as she ran towards him.

"Sasuke!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sasuke pulled her close, kissing her throat softly as he'd always done.

She pulled away so she could see his face. "What are we going to do today?"

"I want you to meet my family." He murmured.

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Your…family?"

"Yeah." He leaned closer to her. "My coven." He breathed in her ear.

Sakura shivered.

"Don't worry." He whispered. "None of them eat human."

Sakura giggled. "Except you."

Sasuke snorted. "I try not to Sakura, but you're just so tempting…" He kissed her throat again.

Sakura moaned. "Sasuke stop it. Not here."

"Hm." He released her. "If you insist."

"So I can really meet your family?" Sakura asked.

"Of course." Sasuke stated, holding out his hand. "Come on."

Sakura took his hand and walked beside him. "So anyone I should be worried about?"

"I don't think so. Maybe the youngest one. He only turned a few months ago."

"Really?"

Sasuke nodded. "I had nothing to do with it though, so don't hate me because you're still not one."

Sakura laughed. "I'm still waiting you know."

"No." Sasuke said with a grin.

"You're so mean." She bumped him with her hip.

Sasuke let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He gave her a rough noogie, making her scream in protest.

"Say uncle, Sakura!" He growled.

Sakura squealed with laughter. "Uncle! Uncle!" She cried.

Sasuke released her. Sakura pressed herself into his side and kissed his cheek.

"You're so funny, Sasuke."

"Yeah, yeah. You say that." He gave her a quick kiss. "We're almost there."

"Oooh, which house?" Sakura asked, looking around for it.

"You can't miss it. It's a huge, ugly thing." Sasuke stated, stating purely the truth.

Sakura scanned the houses on the street, completely skipping the rundown, fenced off rat house at the end of the road.

"Give me another hint!" Sakura whined.

"Not a single one of the houses you looked at was the right one."

"Well unless you live in a cardboard box and your family is a bunch of dust bunnies, I see no other house."

"I'm dead serious, Sakura." Sasuke chuckled. "It's the big ugly one at the end of the road."

"What?" Sakura cried. "You live there?"

"I know. It's terrible. It took us weeks to clean up." Sasuke pushed the gate open, cringing at the squeaky hinges. "I forgot it did that." He muttered.

"What, squeaked?"

"Keep it down a bit, Sakura." Sasuke said softly. "I would rather walk in the front door with you than have them come out and see you."

"Oh. Okay." Sakura breathed.

Sasuke pushed the gate closed again, grateful it didn't squeak on the way back. He took her hand and led her towards the house.

"You didn't tell them you were bringing me, did you?" Sakura whispered.

"I told my brother, and knowing him, he should've forewarned everyone else." Sasuke shoved the front door open and kicked off his shoes. Sakura did the same. Sasuke looked at her, seeing her trembling slightly. "It'll be okay. I promise. They won't hurt you."

Sakura nodded slowly.

He kissed her forehead before leading her deeper into the house, an arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

The pair suddenly heard a series of 'Ohhh's, that most of the time when heard are followed by a drawn out 'buuuurrrrrrnn'.

"Damn. You guys are evil." Naruto's voice stated.

Sasuke looked around the corner to see everyone playing a game of Uno. He cleared his throat, keeping Sakura hidden for now.

The coven turned towards him.

"Hey Sasuke. Where've you been?" Naruto asked.

"Out." Sasuke stated. "I want you to meet somebody."

"Uh oh." Temari began to snigger.

Sasuke looked towards Sakura and nodded. Sakura stepped forward and Sasuke wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders.

"This is Sakura." Sasuke stated.

Sakura's eyes fell on Neji and her jaw dropped.

"What the hell? HYUUGA?" She cried.

Neji jumped from the table and scrambled away. "Haruno? Sasuke are you freaking serious?"

"You…know each other?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"We went to the same school." Neji stated. "We were friends."

"Neji I didn't know you were-"

"I wasn't."

Sakura's mouth formed an O of realization.

"Neji, sit down." Tenten told him.

Neji sighed and returned to his seat at the table.

"Come join us, Sakura." Itachi invited.

Sasuke grabbed two chairs and pulled them up. Naruto tossed them seven cards each.

As we played the game of Uno, there were many thoughts that flashed through my mind.

The first thoughts were about Neji. I thought about the bond we now shared, and how Itachi still had yet to figure it out. Or maybe he had already figured it out, and had yet to let us know that he knew. I would never know until one of us spoke up. Not to mention I was totally stunned that he knew Sakura. It made me realize just how small the world was.

My second thoughts were on Itachi of course. I wondered how he was feeling about Sakura, and the fact that Sasuke fed from her on occasion. I thought about why he transformed me into a vampire, and how he felt about me. I knew we had a bond of our own with the crap I went through, and the support he gave me, but he was always so stoic when it came to showing emotion. I never knew what he was thinking. I had a feeling that he cared about me, though he'd never actually said it.

Then there was Sasuke. I realized that ever since he found Sakura, he'd been happier. I never thought the stiff, sharp-tongued pureblood could have such a soft look in his eyes. I didn't know whether Sasuke would ever turn her, or if Sakura even wanted to be turned. I supposed that was one thing that only time could tell, and that was their decision to make.

Finally, I thought about the coven. I knew we were pushing our luck by staying here in Konoha. I knew Neji's entire family were vampire slayers, and they were probably after us as we plopped cards on the table and screamed in fury at the turn of events. Then again, Neji had also said that the duty of a slayer was to protect society from vampires. They weren't hurting anybody, so there was almost no sign there were vampires in town. The coven was safe here in Konoha.

I frowned as I remembered the reason we were running in the first place. We were hiding from our own kind. I don't know whether everyone still remembered that, but our few months of pure peace may have numbed us to the bigger picture.

I shook the feelings off. I wouldn't worry about such trivial things. Right now, we were safe. I didn't know whether that would change or not, but for now, I would be happy with what I had. I had Neji, Itachi, Sasuke had Sakura, and of course, we all had each other.

Every last one of us were happy.

.

.

.

FIN

A/N: Gah, I hate ending a story. It's always so hard to come up with the last sentence! It's like nothing will ever do it justice!

Now…I'm fully aware of all of the untied ends I left in this story. That was deliberate. Because there's going to be two more instalments for this story. Yes, I have dubbed it the Moonlight Trilogy.

As I write this, four chapters for the sequel have been written. I decided on the title of Shadow of the Moon so look out for it. I already know what's going to occur in the sequel. I have it planned out. The third instalment has merely been drafted. Basically I know what I want to do with this story, so please, don't mess with my plans by throwing suggestions at me. If you want to know more about something (such as a characters past), let me know, but no guarantees that it'll be carried out.

I don't know when I'm going to start posting Shadow of the Moon. I don't want to deadline myself because frankly, school is coming and this year is a really important year for me. I will write in snatches, and it'll come out when it comes out. If you REALLY care about when the sequel will come out, you'll probably subscribe to me, but I'm going to estimate that I'll start posting Shadow of the Moon, hopefully before Christmas. The same rules will apply, one update per week on Wednesdays unless otherwise specified.

Well. That's all folks! ^^

Thanks so much for reading Moonlight! My first Supernatural fic EVER! I love you all!