Composition by Adrian von Ziegler.

Chapter Eleven

Torn Worlds

Itachi...why was Itachi here?

He said he would be here for her when she least expected it, at the last minute, but she didn't think it would be literal. He was several feet away from her and her captor. He knew how to pop up now when she was close to being violated herself by someone who posed as a holy man! "I-Ita -" She didn't get to finish his name when the "priest" held her closer to him, her naked breasts partially covered up from the painful cold. If Itachi noticed, he didn't give a sign that he was even distracted by their sight.

"Excuse me, but who are you to come and interrupt?" the priest demanded.

He answered without a blink, but a pause seemed like two heartbeats. "I am a servant of the Senju Organization. I deal with wasteful garbage such as yourself."

S-Senju Organization? What's that? And what the hell is "garbage like him"?

Hanaru found herself locking eyes with him again, looking into the eyes from her dreams and her gallery image, the man who haunted her nightly and who got to the others to see him - and who I KISSED before the New Year clock! - but who had helped her deal with her life. That explained why he felt so familiar, but didn't explain HOW. Those eyes which had been black as this night were now ruby red and swirling with the pinwheel.

It was him. He was her aka no otoko. "You came," she said hoarsely, but her mind and body reconnected only to whirl madly as one as her world was blackening with this heavy revelation that she was going to wake up from and face - and demand more answers since she got herself sucked into something she never imagined.

She had never been more afraid, not even of death. It was as worse as it had been when her brother was taken, their parents before.

"Garbage like me, eh?" the offender sneered. "Just who do you think you are talking to?"

"Perhaps," Itachi replied, "I should have said you were even less than garbage. You're walking scum in that ridiculous costume that is a mockery for you to get around and trick poor humans. Just like you did so to those impressionable youngsters who wasted those lives without a true purpose, but for fun. What's yours? All I see is a freak of nature without shame. I'd have expected that from you as well as others like you."

His bloody eyes narrowed then with the final nail that hung the decree. "But what puts me over the edge is holding a girl who holds far more value than the punks before her. What were you going to do, take a mate now?" he spat.

Hanaru's stomach rolled at what he said and what this monster declared before Itachi's arrival: "I intend to violate you here and now, make you mine in the darkness."

"Oh, yes, a bride of the night. We all do, but even that is wasted on me. I cannot bear the thought of you laying claim to someone more deserving of anyone but you."

It was then that the priest grinned in response and raised a hand to snap his fingers - and behind Itachi was the nightmarish sound of moaning. Not the normal kind over something so delicious, but something utterly agonizing, physically and mentally - but what trace of MENTAL was left?! Those things could not be human, for they were sickly looking, their mouths either opened partially or closed completely, and their eyes were pitch black with a single white dot in the middle. A poor excuse of a pupil.

These things...they were zombies. Creatures of rumor and lore. Yet here they were, and there were at least six, but there was more in the back as they advanced on Itachi who remained unmoving. "This adds to what you are: a master who creates slaves to do his dirty work for him. A coward incompetent and incapable of doing anything on your own."

Itachi knew how to talk this monster down, so Hanaru felt brave enough to sum it all up and spit in her captor's face. "He's right, you bastard. You're not worth even the lowest pits of hell!" With that, she finally pulled out her Taser and jabbed it into his exposed neck, the bolts shooting out and into his system.

The results proved satisfactory, releasing her, and she backed into the nearby wall. She watched him step backwards, clutching at his neck. He recovered and looked at her with his teeth bared - and elongated.

Oh, Kami...he was a vampire!

Just what she needed: zombies and bloodsuckers on a single night! How could this even be real?!

"Hanaru, catch and strike his heart!"

Maybe it was instinct again, but she grasped what he threw at her, seeing it wasn't a wooden stake, but a stake made of iron. Or something like that. The priest was coming fast, thirsty for her blood at the same time bullets firing roared off into her ears - and she raised the stake for the one place that was vulnerable: his heart.

His face was pure horror, and then it vanished when his entire body turned into dust before her eyes. But not before he uttered his last words which was nothing she expected.

"Sakon...Tayuya...my children..."

Hanaru stared down at the dust which littered across the cold, concrete ground, wondering what the hell that meant. Sakon and Tayuya - were they those two Itachi mentioned earlier?

The firing stopped then and there, along with the owner murmuring something she couldn't hear, before the next set got louder. "It's okay." She looked up to see Itachi standing beside her, reaching to put a hand on her shoulder to console her, and for the first time she saw his entire face: the face of the man in my dreams. It's really you...

He seemed to know what she was thinking, but she said nothing of this. Instead, she looked past him and saw the wreckage and carnage that was littering dead bodies.

Itachi had taken all of the zombies down with something he produced from his heavy coat, the sound which could have aroused someone in the neighborhood, and it was going to do just that if they didn't get the hell out of here. Somehow.

~o~

That scum bag - no, something much more clever was deserving for this leech. He didn't understand why those two punks got what they wanted from the likes of this pathetic Satanist, and he certainly didn't care. He gave them what they deserved, his last words to them replaying in his memory over and over.

"Children without faith. If you had more control, you'd travel as fog or some animal of your choosing. You take all those lives not because you're thirsty, but for FUN. Is it what it takes for filth like you to get off? Vulgar way of putting it, but it's the truth. Eternity is wasted on the likes of you."

And this one? Exactly what he said: someone holy on the outside but pretended to be in order to feebly disguise the demon within. What did he do? He enslaved a handful of innocents as well as police officers to do his bidding. Now the dead could have their peace.

That maggot putting his hands on Hanaru pushed him over the line. How DARE he touch something that was so precious which couldn't be tainted?! The woman who painted his face, unknowing who he was and had spent time with the man himself - and kissed herself which never should have happened, which she didn't know what she was doing, even if both of us did enjoy it, even though it is natural - was in danger that she needed him. So he came here right after informing Tsunade-sama and co. where their target was...and so here he was to silence the disgrace of a vampire once and for all.

She was witness to all of it. He wasn't going to let her die tonight, not ever, so he figured her Senju blood could act on its own when he threw her the blessed stake that her grandmother made for her, for when the time came. He was impressed, having seen only from the corner of his eye, when she simply raised it as the priest came her way only to become dust - and utter the names of the two bloodsuckers he offed before him: Sakon and Tayuya.

How ironic was this: he was a "holy man" while these brats were without faith and thought they were better than their maker? They both wasted eternity for nothing, one for more than hunger and the other for dispelled pleasure.

"The target was silenced, as were the demons at his disposal," he quietly said into his earpiece, and there was a sound of satisfaction. "Though there is an issue at hand. Hanaru has bore witness unintentionally."

His mistress' wrath was something he would expect, but right now, it was cold as the northern mountains. "Make sure no harm came to her when you weren't looking. At least she wasn't bitten, and I would have had your heart for sure."

The dead littered the alleyway and the roach's dusted remains were slowly freezing with the temperatures. He picked up Hanaru as if she were his, then leaped into the air so they landed atop the building which was between the laundry place as well as the post office next to it. Both were closed for the night, of course. He stood up, putting his blessed weapon back into his coat confides, surveying the scenery and seeing some people gathering now around to see the scene, and they were screaming, but then they were ushered away as soon as police cars came to view, pulling them away. Recognizing a handful, Itachi smiled to himself - they are connected to Senju with upmost secrecy and loyalty - before it was gone as soon as she broke the silence.

Or rather, screamed the silence which was carried off into the wind, given they were so high off the ground the police and civilians wouldn't know about her.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED TO ME TONIGHT?!"

"The worst that can happen to a human like yourself," he answered.

Hanaru huffed. "Human...which you can't be," she stated, the rustling of clothing catching his ears.

He smirked. "...you picked up, I see. It took you long enough, but you must have suspected for some time, have you?" He finally turned to look back at her, seeing as she'd buttoned herself back up, a part of him disappointed since he'd seen her breasts in their glory. As long as he could look and not touch.

"No human has your eyes and impossible speed, that's all I know," she answered, folding her arms across her chest. "That also means I now know who you are...you're the man from my dreams. From my painting. It was you all along."

Itachi nodded, the wind picking up and sending his hair blowing lightly. "Why couldn't you tell me before?" Hanaru asked, walking up to him and paused a few feet away.

"Exactly as I have been trying to tell you all this time. You ended up drawn in despite my attempts to protect you."

She scoffed. "Well, I've had enough protecting. That creep was a vampire, and I thought they existed only in folklore. But what are you?" She narrowed her eyes, roaming over his face, but most of all his eyes which were red as the priest's, but bearing a distinctive mark.

You already know, but you want to hear me say it. "You know already, Hanaru Uzumaki. But I'm not like that repulsion down there as dust," he said stonily. "And don't ever compare me."

Her face softened as did her words. "So, you're not going to hurt me after all. Not after everything."

She didn't seem at all surprised, but there could be another reason: her senses she was still unaware of. But that would be up to her grandmother to decide if it should come to the surface. And speaking of which - "Itachi, get down here so I can talk to you."

He bit his tongue from cursing for her to hear. "Forgive me," he said to the girl before him, "but my mistress calls me, and I have to get you back down to the ground."

And next time I'll see you again so we can talk - if Tsunade permits.

~o~

Words couldn't attest to how she was ready to cut someone's head off. Her granddaughter had gotten sucked in no matter her efforts - no matter Itachi's, as much as she had a right to be angry with him - or even Jiraiya's. The Senju were all cursed as they were honored.

Hanaru had only been out with friends enjoying a movie, when all at once she ended up snatched by the parasite who was once a priest and almost had his way with her - the words Itachi reported, word for word, made her blood boil with loathing and disgust that her own flesh and blood, her son's daughter, had almost become the next meal of the filth - before her servant showed up and stopped it, only to be affronted by zombies, or zonbi in their tongue. All obviously drained of blood so that they were shells of their former selves, their souls under the vampire's control.

"Get her home and then get back to me," Tsunade snapped into her earpiece, getting an affirmative.

"Something you were afraid would happen?" Shizune dared to ask when the line was disconnected, for now. Sighing, Tsunade shook her head.

"Not at all. But it seems my granddaughter and I would have to meet for the first time after tonight." Time to get a hold of him. So, she picked up her mobile and dialed his number, and after four rings, he answered with her name. "Jiraiya, you won't believe what Itachi told me happened tonight..."

~o~

"HANARU!"

Shikamaru rushed her way as soon as she came up to him, throwing her arms around in joy and relief that he was fine - but he was more worried about her than himself. "Hey, don't think about me! What the hell happened to you?!" he demanded, then shifted his eye to Itachi who was not far behind.

"She was snatched by a predator masquerading as a priest," Itachi answered. "But he didn't do anything before I came to her aide."

She let go of Shikamaru for him to answer. "You're that guy...the one who helped her and Temari, aren't you?" he said, wrinkling his nose suspiciously, looking him up and down. "Just like I imagined."

Itachi nodded, closing his eyes before reopening. "I'll leave you be and see you in the near future, Hanaru." With that, he turned on his heel, and Shikamaru his attention to her.

"I had just called the police as soon as I saw you gone, but I kind of freaked - no, not kind of. I DID! Hanaru, I didn't even see you or who it was." He really was rambling uncontrollably, which he had every right to, even freaked out which was unlike him, but try having your blouse opened so your breasts nearly froze into a pair of ice domes! She winced and used her arm to rub the limb across them, feeling the peaks softening and the circulation returning to normal.

This Shikamaru noticed and furrowed his brows but said nothing, because his cheeks turned pink. But then he turned to his left and started. "What the hell? He vanished like a shadow, like you said!"

He was right; Itachi was gone like that, but this time she knew why but couldn't tell her friend yet. Or ever.

Itachi...the Man in Red from my dreams...he's a vampire.

But that wasn't going to change a thing, even though reality and fantasy had been broken and collided. Two worlds coming into one, and there was no telling how chaotic it would get now before anything would get back to normal - if ever.

So her friend and Temari's boyfriend said he called the cops, but they had no idea where to start, but they did say they would scout the neighborhood for anyone who looked like her description; they had to be the ones she saw below with Itachi. But she was fine, thanks to Itachi, and Shikamaru drove her home, making her promise to call him tomorrow. She planned to, and after that, she intended to get a hold of her grandfather to see if he knew the man who hid in the shadows and came to her when she needed it, without even asking.

Thank the gods the next day was Saturday, and she planned to stay home today after last night. She was scared now to go out so late after all that hell breaking loose, but if she saw him, she would ask him if there was a way she could be armed to defend herself. And speak of the devil right after letting Shikamaru know she was fine as promised...

"Expecting me?"

He was there in the doorway when she answered it. This time the sun was shining, with a chance of being covered at some points of the day. At least things were going to brighten up a little and then make the remaining snow glitter like mined crystals. "Glad you're here," she said, and she meant it. Hanaru closed the door and locked it behind him. "How are you?"

He chuckled, and that was when she saw him shrug off his coat for the first time around her. His ravenesque hair was in a low ponytail behind his head, the length reaching the middle of his back. His shirt was dark, V-necked, and underneath was mesh; the sleeves reached his elbows. His pants were matching, and his smooth leather boots reached his knees. Surprisingly, he hadn't tracked any snow to bring in to ruin her and Temari's carpet and floorboards.

He was...so handsome. And that voice still didn't help matters, either. "Just fine, but there is hardly much in my life that can be counted as pleasant anymore."

"I bet," she stated bluntly, deciding to not ask him if he wanted anything now that she knew. "But still, in your line of work, you must have some sense of enjoyment. They say all work and no play can make one insane."

"Hn, you're absolutely right." He gracefully sat down, knees joined side by side rather than cross-legged. "But it can be tiresome." Just like the way you look now. Not supposed to be out during the day which is when you need your beauty rest? When she asked him, he rumbled in his throat with amusement. "You're right about that. I ought to be asleep by now, but my mistress granted me my permission to visit you at this time, after a rather heated, long lecture, of course." He leaned back, tilting his chin upwards but not looking at the ceiling.

Hanaru had to ask him which was itching. "How can you walk about in daytime without your flesh and such being burned?"

"That, my dear, is a secret that only Senju and myself know. If any others of my kind - the kind that is everything I despise, like the roach from last night - become aware, then it means they can roam about as I am doing. So it's best it not fall into the wrong hands, if you catch my drift."

You're right. Can't have evil bloodsuckers in broad daylight where there's more where that came from. And night is when they prowl...

"I do. Then you can tell me something else. You knew my family, so how is that?" He opened his mouth to speak, but before that could happen, there was another guest at the door - and it was the one she was meaning to telephone herself.

"Grandpa, what are you doing here?!"

Jiraiya's eyes lit up when they saw her, but then they looked past her shoulder to see where Itachi was. "Same here as him, kiddo. Guess he told you enough but not everything."

~o~

He knew that Jiraiya would speak to his granddaughter today, but she had no idea he would be coming anyway because her grandmother had already phoned him ahead of time at the planned event. Tsunade told him that they would have to go to the girl separately so that it would be easier.

Knowing her by now, she must have had time to think this fact over: he knew her family, so of course she was sure she could trust him, and that pleased him greatly. Although Itachi was prepared to answer why she dreamed of him and it turned out he happened to be real. That was sure to be a blow to her world if learning what her family was wouldn't do the trick.

Jiraiya was here now, and all three sat down. She was in the sofa beside Itachi while her grandfather was on the loveseat, looking unsure and disgruntled because he loathed repeating history. His own son had once been in this position, along with his daughter-in-law, and both of them ended up six feet under with their children left "blissfully" unaware.

Hanaru had placed hot tea between herself and Jiraiya, but of course the vampire couldn't have anything of the sort. "So, Grandpa, what is going on? I almost got ravaged by an undead, then more come only for this one -" She jerked her head in Itachi's direction, making him hold back a snort of laughter. "- to blow them all off with a single shot, without trying too hard. But long before this, I saw him in my sleep only for him to land up among my gallery. And before that, Naruto is gone, and so is Gaara. So is all of this connected or what?"

The old man sighed. "Hanaru, yes, we're all in this together. We kept you and your brother safe from all this pain, this world that humanity should be preserved from, but it's been proven that our family can't escape destiny. I used to be a member of the Senju Organization - a very old vampire-hunting elite - before I was nearly killed, and Tsunade was the one to insist I leave for my own safety since she couldn't stand to see someone else she cared about fall."

Hanaru blinked at the mention of that Tsunade woman he'd brought with him that night. How did she fit into all of this? "Who is she exactly?" she asked her grandfather, but Itachi was there first.

"The head of the organization - my mistress I answer to only."

She didn't know how to make of this. Her grandfather used to be a vampire hunter, her Man in Red was a creature of the night and answered to that beautiful blonde who was also Jiraiya's "old friend" - now she knew there was more. "And Grandpa?" she demanded. He lowered his eyes.

"You got me there," he said quietly. "Tsunade is more than just my old friend on my part; she is your grandmother."

Reading over Hanaru realizing what and who Itachi is, I noticed how it was very Twilight-esque, yet not the same.

I do have good news after the issue that fouled my attitude - I found the movie on another website. :D All is forgiven.

Like I say, review please (but more than just "good job" and such).