A/N: Yes, another update. I'm on a role with this story I do think. Anyway I won't keep you long. Read, Review, and Enjoy.

Chapter 11: Attraction

Hinata was starting to worry. It had been two days since she had last seen Zu. Neji was hoping to get back tonight as well, provided they plowed the road when they were supposed to and she knew he would not be happy to hear that she had no idea where their friend was. Gaara had resurfaced yesterday as if nothing at all was going on but that was normal for him. Naruto had questioned him about Zukiyo's whereabouts and according to him all Gaara would say or knew was that Zu was wandering around the house somewhere.

Naruto knew this to some extent as the house and he were connected in some way. Hinata guessed it had something to do with the mysterious South Wing. The very first time she and Neji had ever set foot in this house they were both warned to never enter the South Wing. Of course she had asked why. All the answer Hinata had ever received, since she had asked multiple times since then, was that it was dangerous. She had only received a slightly more detailed answer once…

June 30, 1983

Hinata woke instantly as the door to the room opened.

"Hina-chan?"

She and Neji had just arrived a few hours earlier and she was surprised to not have been met by the Kyuubi demon himself at the door as he usually did. Instead they were met by a slightly worried looking Temari. All the eldest Sabaku would say was that they had a bit of a fright earlier in the evening when one of the chandeliers in the dining room had fallen for no apparent reason and that Naruto was busy fixing something else in the house. Neji had simply nodded before going to the rooms that had been designated as his to rest and recover from the jet lag. Hinata had found herself looking for their demonic host not soon afterwards and her search had eventually led her to his personal rooms.

When she didn't find him there either Hinata had sat herself down on his couch to wait for him. It was in her opinion the boldest thing she had ever done. Hyuga Hinata, despite having spent a good amount of time around gypsies and Zu herself, had never been that forward when it came to men…men she was incredibly attracted to. It was a part of her upbringing she supposed or possibly because of her Hyuga heritage. Whatever caused it did not matter at that moment as Hinata had pushed it aside in favor of her other family's traits. Zukiyo was her sister in many ways and Zu's family was Hinata's family. It had been almost a decade since she, Neji, or Zu had seen them last and not one of them could hide the fact that they missed the Ryouma family. That was partially why she and Neji were here. This place allowed them to get away from the affairs of the Kamitsuyo clan and rule of their new queen and yet when Naruto walked through that door all her thoughts went to him.

He looked exhausted. That was all it took for her worry to reach an insane level. Hinata had never seen the Kyuubi demon look even remotely tired so when he walked in looking completely exhausted she knew something was wrong.

"Naruto…what happened?" she stated as she stood up and went over to him.

His eyes were an almost burnt out reddish orange as they looked down into hers. She just couldn't get passed how exhausted he seemed.

"Nothing." He stated and received a disbelieving look from Hinata before telling her the truth, "I had to deal with something in the South Wing, Hina. I'll be fine. What are you doing here though? We weren't expecting you for another two weeks. Miss me too much?"

There it was again, that smile, that fox-like grin of his plastered across his face. However, it didn't make her blush as it usually did, well…it did a little bit but not as much. Hinata just couldn't help herself sometimes around him. It didn't help that Naruto seemed to view it as encouragement.

"Yes, I did, but that's not the point." She admitted and continued to fuss over him in his exhausted state, "What happened? What…what is in that wing that you exhaust yourself dealing with? If you don't tell me I swear I'm going to go and find out myself."

Naruto had blinked almost stupidly at that point. Obviously he wasn't expecting her to actually admit to missing him…especially with no stuttering or intense blushing. It was also in that instant his eyes had flashed back to their normal blue and he caught her hand in his as she continued to look him over.

"Never go in that wing, Hina-chan. It's too dangerous." Naruto stated as he looked down at her and leaned into her touch as she held his head in her hands.

"Why? Don't…avoid things or make them less than they are with me. I deal with that every day with the clan. I don't want it from you."

"That wing isn't like the rest of the house. It…I'm not really sure how to explain it…"

"Try."

"I'm a demon. Demons aren't like vampires…vampires have more control over their power in a way. Demons don't...it…seeps out and into things I guess you could say. That wing absorbed a lot of it and changed. That's all I can really figure out." Naruto tried to explain before worrying more about her, "Why are you here so early though?"

The sight of Naruto walking towards her at that moment brought her back to the present, concern for her friend still showing on her face as the Kyuubi reached her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug

"She's okay, relax. I would know if anything happened to her. They're plowing the road now though so Neji will be back soon. Hopefully Zu will have resurfaced by then."

She didn't though. When Neji walked through that door Hinata still had no idea where their friend was. He however did not give her the time to say that as he immediately went off in the direction of Zukiyo's rooms to check in on her. He returned a few minutes later and Hinata dreaded what was going to happen next.

"Where is Naruto?" he asked and Hinata must have stared at him confusedly, "They only plowed half the road and I figured he might want to know that since there really isn't much of a way to get down the mountain and Zu needs to feed tonight or she'll try to feed off of him again."

"He's in the kitchen making ramen I think. How is Zu? I haven't seen her yet today." Hinata had to ask.

"She's in her room watching Pirates of the Caribbean." Neji stated and ran a hand through his hair, "She seems to be in a bit of a mood today but I'm not really sure if that's the lack of feeding or something else."

"Probably both." Hinata replied, still confused as to where their princess had been the past two days, "You look tired, Nii-san. Why don't I take her out tonight?"

Neji just looked at Hinata for a few seconds. She rarely ever offered to take Zu out to hunt. Still he couldn't deny that he was tired and in desperate need of a few hours of sleep.

"Alright. Keep her out of too much trouble."

"I don't know what your problem with her is. She always behaves herself with me."

"You two are going on as if I am a child. I can behave myself when I see fit to. Let's go. I'm Hungry and I'm sure you are too." Zukiyo stated as she walked up to the pair with a very familiar wicked glint in her eyes that Hinata recognized much better than Neji; it meant she was in the mood to tease and torture.

Hinata could only wonder at what had put Zu in this mood as they set out to hunt. Which they did, Zu disappearing for a while with her prey after having teased him into a near stupor, before running into Gaara sometime later as they sat in the back of a bar surveying the occupants. The Hyuga heiress could see a difference in the exiled princess's smile. It only seemed welcoming when in reality it was really saying: "Hi…if you want me to rip you to pieces then sure you can come closer." The red head also noticed the change but he hid it as he sat and spoke to her.

"What brings you here tonight…Gaara?" Zu asked, the look on her face very much like you'd imagine that of a cat on the prowl's to be.

"Business."

"Oh really? What a coincidence I happen to be in the same place you have… 'business'." Zu stated and Gaara narrowed his eyes in a defensive manner ever so slightly.

"Are you accusing me of lying, Zu?" Gaara asked and watched the female warily as she stood.

"Why would I ever do that?" Zu asked while she walked around to the back of his chair, "We both know you're an honest man…"

"Good gods she's pissed at him…this…is bad." Hinata thought as she watched her friend lean over and whisper something the red head's ear.

"Seek me out like this again…" Zu whispered into his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind then nipped his ear teasingly, "…and I'll rip your fucking ears off...for starters."

With that she detached herself from the red head and left with Hinata. It took a few seconds before Gaara could register what had just happened and breath. No one had ever threatened him before, threatened him like that at least. It was interesting…and just a bit sexy. Not for the first time Gaara found himself questioning his own sanity. All he concluded was that he was a sane as he ever was, that he would have to watch his step around this female more than he had been, and that for some reason he wanted to eliminate her as a threat just a bit less than he did before what had just happened.

The air was cold and sharp as the pale eyed female Hyuga followed the exiled princess down the street. She wasn't sure what to make of what had just happened other than it wasn't a good development for the plan of getting the two together. As a supporter of the plan she hoped and prayed that it was only a short mood swing of some sort. Unfortunately it wasn't.

Christmas passed, as well as Zu's birthday and Gaara's, before any of them heard Zukiyo speak a nonthreatening sentence to the red head. As much of a setback this was predicted to be it wasn't; this just wasn't realized by anyone. It so happened that the more Zu threatened Gaara the more time he would inevitably spend trying to get closer to her. Still it was a triumph when she finally spoke to him without threatening some body part or another.

"You're in a better mood today it seems." Gaara stated to his companion as he passed her the glass she had politely asked for, "You didn't threaten my hands or anything."

"Aww…did I disappoint you?" Zu asked and blinked cutely at him in that teasing way she had before taking a sip from the red filled glass.

"More like surprised." Gaara stated and took a sip from his own glass while calmly looking at her in much the same way she looked back at him as the others silently watched.

The eldest Sabaku couldn't ignore the fact that she was surprised Gaara hadn't killed this female. As such Temari sat and watched the two and realized that the pair enjoyed teasing and baiting each other. It was the faintest hint of a smile on her brother's face that gave it away for him and the glint in Zukiyo's eyes that gave it away for her. When she thought back through the past week or so she could see it in their interactions too. Although Zukiyo had continued to issue some kind of threat to Gaara's person daily the threats were met with a barely noticeable smile on the pair's faces. Each day it became a bit more of an inside joke type of thing than the previous day. It surprised her in a way that her brother enjoyed this kind of torture and yet it didn't. Gaara had always loved a challenge and Zukiyo was definitely a challenge for him. That he found entertainment in it wasn't so surprising when you looked at it like that. Yet there was the other angle that Temari couldn't ignore.

It was obvious to many in the household if not the city that the red head was growing more and more attached to this female. That they could barely notice it at all was amazing. As such it was almost as if they all had the same collective thought to leave the two alone before getting caught up in any potential fight that made the household disperse.

Zukiyo sipped from her glass again while looking back at the red head across from her. It was time to enter stage two of her plan.

"So what is on tonight's agenda?" she asked him as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass idly.

Gaara knew she was up to something but he didn't know what and cursed himself for it. She was distracting him with those subtle looks and gestures which he knew was her intention. Still he had no doubt in his mind that he had to figure out what she was trying to distract him from before she accomplished that feat.

"Why?"

"Curious as to whether or not we'll run into each other." She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and Gaara raised a brow.

"You've spent the past month or so threatening every body part I possess and all of a sudden you want to spend time with me?"

"Yeah. So?" she asked and tilted her head and blinked in a way that even Gaara had to admit was cute…and distracting.

"Okay…if you must know nothing is really on the agenda for tonight."

"That means I get to hang out with you all night since my usual keepers have their own business of some sort to tend to that will keep them from keeping an eye on me."

"You are not my responsibility." Gaara stated then watched the female get up after she finished her glass and walk towards him while he drained the last of his glass.

The last thing he was expecting Zukiyo to do was sit on his lap when she reached him. It threw him off guard a bit to have her so close to him again. The red head had forgotten how warm Zu was and had forgotten how intoxicating her scent was this close up. It was all he could do to restrain himself from biting her just then. She wasn't helping the situation either.

"Who said I was your responsibility?" Zu asked as she gently wiped a small drop of blood off the corner of his mouth with her thumb then proceeded to lick her thumb clean while waiting for an answer.

"No one." He answered while still fighting to control himself and felt her arms wrap around his neck lightly as she sat on his lap still.

"Exactly…because I'm not. I just figured it might be nice to spend some time with you tonight instead of threatening your appendages. I mean…I am a guest in your territory and I wouldn't have you think I'm ungrateful for your hospitality." Zu stated and blinked at him again almost innocently while her fingers played with his hair lightly.

The male wasn't quite sure of what to make of this. He knew very well that she was up to something but he still couldn't pass up the chance to learn more about her as this was the first chance he'd had in about a month. The way she was acting today also triggered a few of his baser instincts which were major contributors to what he said next.

"Very well."

"Yay!" she exclaimed happily and hugged him.

He froze. This was…new. No one really hugged him other than Naruto when the Kyuubi was in a mood to annoy the life out of him. When that happened he did everything in his power to detach the demon but in this case he wasn't quite sure of what to do. Considering the red head had just manage to somehow get back in the silver eyed female's good graces he didn't think pushing her away would be a good idea. Besides, he didn't really want to push her away. This was in truth probably the entire reason his arms slowly found their way around her waist returning the hug lightly.

This however surprised the female. Zu wasn't expecting him to hug back at all; instead she was expecting him to be his usual grumpy self and complain about it. Yet as unexpected as it was, Zukiyo found herself enjoying it a little more than she liked at that moment. She wasn't about to let it get to her however. She was still in PJs and needed to get dressed if she was going out somewhere with this man.

"I need to go get dressed though so you may want to let me go." She whispered in his ear earning a nod as he slowly released her then changed his mind, "Gaara…"

The next thing she knew Zu was holding on tight as he stood up with her. Apparently Gaara decided to carry her for some reason. She knew very well that she couldn't really do anything except hope he wouldn't drop her somewhere far back in the house again. That was very unlikely in her opinion considering he wasn't carrying her like a sack of flour this time.

"What are you doing with me this time?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Gaara stated, teasing her, then continued to carry her down the hall and made a turn in the direction of their rooms.

The sole reason he was doing this was purely because the red head decided that two could play at this game. If Zu wanted to try and play his instincts and desires against him he could easily do the same to her. It wasn't something he normally did but it didn't hurt to try something new every once in a while. He was starting to learn that Zu was much more of a mental torturer and player than a physical one, which is what he was. That didn't mean he couldn't play mind games however.

"Gaara…you are an evil bastard." Zu stated as she held onto him and he chuckled making her smile a bit involuntarily, "I don't think I'd have you any other way though…it would be very boring if you were."

"Good. We're here." He stated and opened the door to her room and dropped her on her bed, "Get dressed, Princess. I actually do have one thing I have to take care of tonight that your help might be useful for so make sure you look good."

"Are you saying I don't look good every day?" she asked a bit mock defensively as she lay back on her bed then blinked at him and he smirked.

"Better than usual then, Princess. Just don't take all night." He stated then left her to get dressed while he did the same.

"Better than usual…hmm…how will I ever manage that?" Zukiyo amusedly thought out loud as she got up, walked into her closet, settled on something and smiled, "Easily done."

Red had always been her favorite color, just as it was her mother's, and it had always been the best color on her. It was for this reason that she chose a blood red corset top with black lace detailing on the boning and laces paired with black pants. The whole outfit would hug her curves quite well she knew and leave just enough skin exposed to provoke thought. Short heeled boots would do for tonight she supposed as she decided what to wear around her neck. Something a little more revealing than the light scarf she wore now Zu decided. To suit this need she pulled out a choker made of tiny black jet beads in a lace design with three tear drop cut blood red garnets dangling down from three jet beaded strings, the middle longer than the two side ones so that the garnet nestled itself between her two collar bones. It very much resembled a chandelier in her mind and was one of her favorites when she felt like teasing as it covered her neck while letting some skin peak through at the same time. She paired it with red drop earrings and a few black bangle bracelets on one wrist and a cuff on the other. It was a habit that Zu protected her wrists almost as closely as she protected her neck on certain occasions.

"Are you decent?" Zu heard his voice asking from the other side of her door as she just finished her preparations.

"That of course depends on your definition of decent." She stated with a small smile splayed across her lips while she walked across the room then opened the door for him.

For only a second Zu saw nothing but pure lust in his eyes as he looked down at her then it was gone, not completely though. He masked it underneath his usual stare of indifference. As short as it was, it was all Zukiyo needed to know she had succeeded.

"You will need a coat." He stated and she rolled her eyes.

"I am well aware of that…and you should be aware that I am aware as you very well know my distaste for cold," Zu stated with a slightly scornful smirk on her face as she turned to walk back into her room while gesturing that he may enter, "Where is this business taking us tonight might I ask?"

"I have a small band of weak purebloods encroaching on my territory. I've let them be for far too long and they seem to think nothing will happen to them if they try to take more of my territory," Gaara explained and helped her into a coat, "I thought that maybe you would like to help me correct their thinking."

"I do believe I would enjoy that very much." Zu stated and smiled up at him pleasantly and took his arm when he offered it, "You seem to be in a gentlemanly mood this evening."

"I don't want to be caught on your bad side again." He admitted and she smiled at him.

"Bad side? My dear Gaara…that was only my irritated side. My bad side is much more bloody." Zu said and earned a short chuckle from her male companion as they set out from their home.

A few hours later Gaara sat at a table across from the leader of his small problem. Truthfully he didn't need help in dealing with them. It was only from a desire to spend some more time with Zu that lead him to bring her along. Currently she was at work picking off their adversaries one by one somewhere else in the room baiting them with subtle gestures that hinted to them they only need to try harder to gain her favor. Gaara didn't really mind as it kept them distracted from their leader's dealings with him. It amazed and amused him how easily she could attract others to her with that smile of hers. A more charming smile he had never beheld on a female. Still he did not let it distract him from the task at hand.

"Why should we adhere to your boundaries?" the man across from him asked, seemingly amused with the thought that he had to listen to one lone pureblood and his female companion, "There are more of us than you."

"Indeed. What would you propose we do then?" Gaara asked in response, not that he cared, he was going to kill this person regardless of what came out of his mouth; he was only giving Zu more time to thin out the ranks before making a move.

"I would propose you concede…say…a quarter of your territory to us and we leave it at that…" the man stated and Gaara watched his eyes wander to something behind the red head which Gaara knew to be Zu, "What a lovely vision this is. Done playing with the boys now are we?"

"They bored me." Gaara heard her state as he felt her arms slide over his shoulders from behind and lightly wrap around him as she leaned over, "I do believe I exhausted them with my neediness."

"And what pray tell are your needs?" the man asked and Gaara felt the smile curl up on Zu's face more than he could see it as her head was right next to his at that point, "Maybe I can help you with that."

"I highly doubt that." Gaara stated as one of his hands idly reached up and played at Zu's bracelet, his fingers lightly brushing against her skin as he did.

"Why do you say that?" he asked and scowled as he watched Zu lightly nuzzle the red head's ear before kissing his cheek, "Yours too?"

"Not exactly…no one can own Zu."

"Many have died trying." Zu stated with her voice giving off the air of one only adding some amusement to a conversation.

"Yes they have. Go amuse yourself somehow, Princess. I'll be done soon." Gaara stated, adding a small hint of affection to her nickname so she wouldn't glare at him as she usually did, as he felt the presence of a few others walk in.

"Promise?" Zu asked, acting very much the enamored young lover for all to see, and her red headed companion nodded before she turned away and left.

"A quarter of my territory?" Gaara asked a few minutes later, letting this idiotic man watch Zu for a moment as she talked to his subordinates and randomly sent them off for something, "The answer is no."

"What is stopping us from just killing you and taking what I want?" the man asked while watching Zukiyo and the next thing he knew he had Gaara's hand around his throat.

"The fact I'll kill you first." Gaara stated with his fangs bared in a snarl as something about the way this man said that angered him more than he originally predicted then heard Zukiyo hiss irritably before hearing a pained grunt from behind him.

The body dropped just as Gaara turned to see what had happened. Zukiyo held in her blood stained hand the heart of the man she had just been talking to. Gaara glanced at his captive to see horror and fear displayed across his face before he heard Zu speak.

"I told you to keep your filthy little hands to yourself." She stated and crushed the heart in her hands as someone else walked into the room and went to attack her, "Bad idea."

Next thing anyone knew Zu had her attacker held still as she sank her fangs deep into his neck and drained every last drop of blood from the struggling body. Gaara quickly eliminated his own captive, ripping his throat out, and then set to the task of helping Zukiyo take out the rest of this small band. It was easy enough as she had managed to separate them all into different areas of the building with various promises. He couldn't say that he really approved of this method but it worked well enough.

They met back in the main room just as the last small group of the band walked in on the massacre. Zu was busy with sucking her fingers clean of the blood that covered them so she sat herself down on the table and crossed her legs as Gaara walked forward.

"Save me the one in the back. He's been eyeing me the wrong way and I'd very much like to deal with it personally…as soon as I'm done cleaning my mess." She stated and Gaara smirked and chuckled as he nodded.

Watching Gaara kill was fun Zukiyo found. He had killed while out with her before but Zukiyo had never actually witnessed it, usually going off on her own to kill while he did. A small smile crept across her lips as she realized that Gaara's blood lust matched her own if not surpassed it. She had never come across such a thing before and it pleased and excited her in some way she couldn't explain. When she was finished cleaning herself Zukiyo slid down off of the table and walked up to the one she had marked as her kill, slumped down against the wall, and gripped his collar then hoisted him up. She felt absolutely no pity for the insolent wretch that had been undressing her with his eyes as she proceeded to gouge them out.

The red head watched as she did so, fascinated with her actions as he had never seen her kill before tonight, and found that she enjoyed the kill just about as much as he did. It was out of habit that he blocked out the pitiful screaming of her victim as she went about searching for something in a drawer. He could guess at what since on the ride over he had told her of a certain problem these vampires were causing.

"You turned unwilling humans you little bastard." She stated to her victim as she found what she was looking for.

These vampires had taken it upon themselves to forcibly turn humans. It was a highly frowned upon act even when the human was willing but it was against vampiric law to turn the unwilling. Gaara didn't particularly care for humans but doing so created untold problems. The most prevalent of those problems was that many unwilling human turned vampires became vampire hunters. Human vampire hunters were bad enough to deal with as they were all highly trained and impossible to reason with. Vampiric vampire hunters were even more deadly as they had the strengths of their quarry and an infinite amount of sheer hate for them as well. This was the reason that forcibly turning humans was never tolerated by any vampire that knew better and there was only one punishment.

"Hold him down for me, he's squirming too much." Zu stated and Gaara held down the other male by the throat as he forced the mouth open, "Thank you."

"No! No! Not that! NO!" the male pleaded when he realized what was going to happen as Zukiyo wrenched his mouth open more and gripped his left fang in the pair of pliers then began to twist while she pulled.

The scream was almost deafening to their sensitive hearing as she ripped his fangs out. When she was done Zu let her male companion finish him off as he see fit while she went and sat back down on the edge of the table. She felt oddly content and at ease while she listened to him finish off the other male while she lay back relaxing on the table with her eyes closed. It most likely had to do with the fact that the entire building smelled strongly of blood and fear which for her marked a good kill on her part.

When he was finished feeding off of their victim Gaara couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Zukiyo laying down on the table, surrounded by bodies and pools of blood, with a content little smile on her face. Licking the blood off his lips he went over and sat down on the chair next to her. Her eyes opened to look at him before she sat up and he saw a mixture of things in them. The most clear was that she was definitely having fun tonight. As such he wasn't surprised when she sat down on his lap and told him as much. However he was surprised, among other things, at what she did next.

"You are such a messy eater." He stated and wiped the blood off her chin earning a soft chuckle from her as she smiled, "What?"

"I've been sitting here thinking about how we have a lot in common when you think about it and you have just managed to display something that is very different about us." She stated and he raised a brow at her then froze for the second time that night as she leaned forward and licked off the thin trickle of blood that was making its way down his chin, "You wipe off your messes…I lick. Good blood should never go to waste."

She kissed the far corner of his mouth as she looked up at him after saying that. Pleased with his reaction she kissed his nose and got up from him smirking and started to walk out the door. She paused for a moment causing him to snap out of his daze and look at her.

"Are you coming or are you going to sit in this room all night in a daze?" she asked and smiled at him while licking the very last drop of blood off her lips then continued to walk out.

Gaara could not deny that that had been the single most arousing thing anyone had ever done to him. As such he couldn't stop the slightly aroused growl that escaped from his throat while he smirked and got up to follow her out of the building. Gaara knew very well that her actions were most likely all caused by blood lust. Blood lust was known to be a key component in most vampiric sexual encounters. That didn't mean he was complaining though. He still wanted to know what it was about her that made Naruto do what he did but the red headed pureblood decided just then that maybe…just maybe…he wouldn't kill her in the end after all.

A/N: There you go, another update all done. Next one should be up when get internet which will hopefully be soon.