As Neji waited for Tenten to fall asleep, he felt as if her hand was burning. As if where her skin touched his a fire was lit, as if she had a fever and her skin was unhealthily warm. He glanced at the firm little hand resting in his slightly bigger one and let out a sigh. It didn't go unnoticed by Tenten, who sat up on her elbow and looked at him. "What?"

He looked at her. "Hm?"

"You just sighed."

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did, now shut up and tell me what's wrong."

Neji didn't bother to point out the obvious contradictions in what she had just said. He rested his head against the wall and closed my eyes. "It's nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"…You're still upset," she said quietly. His eyes snapped open. "That's it, isn't it? If it is, I'm really sorry."

He sighed lowly. "You shouldn't go around apologizing all the time," he said. "It makes you look like you've got little self-confidence. As if you're saying sorry for yourself. And I know you're not a weak person, Tenten. So please, stop it."

"Sometimes I wish I was weaker than I am," she muttered, turning away. After a little while her breath became shallow and steady, and Neji knew she was asleep.


Tenten's stomach turned and she sat up. She had distinctly thought she had heard…Looking around, she noticed that Neji wasn't with her anymore. There was a sort of expectant, pressuring atmosphere in the room, and as she turned her head she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello," it said. "It's me." A hand touched her cheek. She wanted to scream, but another hand covered her mouth. "Now, if you're a good girl," the redeye continued, "and come along quietly, I won't smash this house. What about it?"

Tenten gritted her teeth. She wanted to bite him. Trying her best to wriggle out of his grasp, spitting and kicking, she soon found it to be futile. "Now, now," he said. "Are you coming, or not? Here, I'll write a little note about where you went, and then we'll just disappear into the night. Nobody needs to know, right?"

She felt her body growing limp as she gave up. He was just too strong. A hazy curtain was slowly drawn before her sense of reason. "Yes," she said. "Do that. I want them to know what happened to me." Carefully, as if he was handling a fragile little bird, he pulled her to her feet and led her across the room to the drawer.

"I'll put it here," he said, before pulling a piece of paper out from one of his pockets. He had a strange glint in his eyes, and a smirk tugging at his lips. She was confused. Was this really the same vampire that had killed her family and tried to drink her blood? Was this the same man Neji had fought, the one she had feared so much? He had been neither violent nor overly threatening. While he was writing something on the paper, Tenten took the time to actually look at him for longer than a split second.

It occurred to her that if it wasn't for the weird sort of evil in his red eyes and his malnourished features, his face could have been handsome. But the eyes and hollow cheeks drew attention, making one forget the rest of his face. He was wearing very subtle clothes; just a black shirt and identically black pants. Both were baggy and seemed to be at least one size too big. His hair was spiky as usual, sticking out in the back and hanging down at the front, framing his slender face. She wondered how old he was; but then again, vampires stop aging after a while, so he might just be a hundred years.

"There," he said, putting the pen down. "Now, little bird- let's go."

Tenten tried to back away from him, but his fingers locked around her wrist. "G-go where?"

"You don't have to know."

She shook her head, trying to free herself from his grasp. "W-wait, if I go with you… Do you promise that you won't hurt Neji or any of the others here?"

He looked at her, and the same sort of smirk as before played around the corners of his mouth. "You have my word," he said.

Tenten snorted. "I don't know if I can trust that."

He bowed down, lifting her hand up. She flinched as his lips traced the skin. "Don't…," she started feebly.

"My word," he said, his breath heavy against her wrist. Then he let go of her, and she stood as if paralyzed on the floor. What had he done to her? She felt so…subdued.

"Fine," she said, as her brain felt woolier and woolier. "As long as you don't hurt anybody, I'll come with you."


The night air was too cold at first, and she tried sinking deeper into her jacket. Though it didn't help, it at least gave her a feeling of actually trying. She closed her eyes, ignoring the stone hard face with the cold red eyes that was hovering someplace above her head. His hands were strong, strong enough to carry her as he jumped across the rooftops. She already knew she didn't need to object – she wouldn't have been able to make it across the city that way, anyway. Surprisingly warm, she noted as she somehow managed to curl up even more. She could hear his excited heartbeat from there.

Once again the feeling of subdued obedience had come over her, and she hadn't done anything to hinder him when he simply picked her up and hopped out the window. She wondered briefly how the others would react when she was gone. Hinata would probably cry, she was that kind of person - but Neji..? Would he care at all?

Her eyes started closing. She was comfortable, though fear seeped through her veins like venom. She was tired. She wanted to sleep. Her mind was hazy, as if she was drugged, and her vision blurred as she looked up. She realized she hadn't gotten much sleep lately. "Yes," the sleek voice said, right above my ear. "Get some rest. When you wake up, things will be different…"

Tenten was still afraid of him, of what he might do, but tiredness won. She closed her eyes, and her conscious self thankfully drifted off into sleep.


Chank. Chank.

The sound of metal hitting stone and metal reached her ears and she slowly opened her eyes. Her common sense had returned, and she struggled against the heavy metal chains holding her hands to the wall.

He was watching, and she knew it. A gust of cold air swooped through an open window and she shuddered. Her mind was still unclear, and she couldn't see straight. Yet she kept her head up and glared at him with all her might. "Who are you, anyway!?" she yelled.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said. "Pleased to meet you."

"I hate you!"

Sasuke flashed a small smirk in my direction before closing the window. She looked up as the night cold engulfing us evaporated. Gritting my teeth she let out a growl. "That was supposed to be my safehouse," she hissed. "So why were you there? You, of all? You, the vampire?"

She cringed as he raised his arm and hit her. It stung. "My safehouse," she said breathlessly, her head slumping forwards over her chest. Blood was slowly dripping from her lips. She could feel his glinting eyes on her as he kneeled down, tipping her chin upwards.

"Safehouse?" He said in a mockingly soft voice. "You should have learned by now… Nothing in this world is safe."

Something moist touched her chin and she cringed. "I knew it," he said as he licked up some of the blood his punch had drawn forth. "Your blood is sweet."

Tenten tried turning her head away but it proved to be impossible. "Really… Sweet."

She closed my tired eyes, shielding them from the sight of his red eyes. As the vampire withdrew his tongue she exhaled deeply, trying to get herself to relax. "What do you want from me, anyway?"

"Well," he started. He looked mildly amused. "At first I wanted to kill you, but now, I have a different objective. You, little bird, will be the bait to lure Hyuga Neji out of his hiding place."

"You said you wouldn't hurt him. You gave me your word."

"No," Sasuke said, slowly brushing a finger across her wrist, right above the shackles. "I gave you my word that I wouldn't hurt anybody in the inn."

Her stomach turned. He had tricked her. And so obviously! She cursed internally at herself. If he could lure Neji out of the inn… she shuddered slightly, pulling at the chains once more. "I hate you!" she yelled. The words didn't help her much, but it felt somewhat good to yell them at his face.

He snickered slightly, before turning around and exiting the room.


In retrospect she could think of so many things she should've done different that night. That fatal night, when everything got out of hand. She could've realized the vampire's unusual ability to persuade, convince and trick people into following his will. She would've noticed how the veil pulled before my senses reeked of him, smelled of fear.

She could've warned Neji.