Composition by Adrian von Ziegler.

Chapter Eighteen

Your Dying Heart

Sasuke Uchiha being the one to fly them? She didn't even think to see him again this way, but then again, she was strangely glad. No conversation, which annoyed her a little, but her grandmother's life - and maybe the entire world which rested on this underground army - depended on it.

Hanaru started to think that perhaps her life should start changing, and her old one which had been of comfort despite her parents' deaths wasn't going to be the way she wanted it to be again. Not with her "gift" now taking another turn like today.

"There's the bastard who told us to give up on our brothers," Temari said hotly when she locked eyes with the Uchiha who only regarded her coolly.

"You can say more after we get you to Tsunade." He clearly had disregard of authority, or just the Senju Organization period.

What happened as soon as they all got there was something that shook her core, and it came in the form of Shizune when Grandpa Jiraiya asked to see her mistress, and that was when Hanaru noticed the distant eyes, cold expression - totally unlike the woman. She sensed something...malevolent about her, and it scared Hanaru.

"Damn it, Shizune, what the hell is wrong with you?" Jiraiya demanded when he, too, noticed.

Temari snapped back. "Oh, I get it: you're gonna kill us!"

"That's exactly what it looks like," Sasuke agreed, narrowing his eyes which were now red, just like his brother's. "I see the waves; she's being controlled by someone who doesn't belong here." His lips pulled back in a snarl. "All of you get back so I can handle this."

Hanaru couldn't believe what she was seeing. He was seriously going to...kill her?! When something was mind-controlling her? "Shizune, why won't you let us pass? Tsunade is in trouble! I SAW IT!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, but the other woman didn't budge.

"The lady is with her sister as we speak..." Then appeared endless, shimmering wires from both hands, gathering around her on the floor. "...so no visitors are allowed. I was under strict orders - on pain of death if anyone dared to pass me."

She...she really means it. But it's not her choice -!

"Get out of our way, Shizune!" Sasuke growled savagely, joined by Jiraiya who produced a pair of kunai from within his jacket, and they propelled like bullets when the wires came towards him and the vampire. Hanaru and Temari held onto each other while watching with sheer amazement.

"Okay," her friend said quietly, "that makes me wish I could do something like that. You think so?"

Hanaru wished she could say yes, because she was so far getting the hang of her training, yet to even have a weapon that she could shoot from long-range, and that was different than using a stake. "Yeah, if you really wanna learn to do that, it means it will be hard as hell. Trust me, I know..."

She was so lost in watching her grandfather and the Uchiha fight Shizune that she didn't see his brother and pink-haired mate above them, making mad way to where her grandmother was. And when the fighting was all over, Shizune was dealt with a blow to the middle of her abdomen enough to knock her into awareness, from Sasuke's hand - or was the mental chain broken? - but not enough to pierce through and reach her organs. She gagged and gasped for breath, falling into Jiraiya's arms, and looked around when she got herself together, landing her eyes on both the girls.

"What was...I doing...?"

Jiraiya helped her stand up, stoic and scowling at the same time, but it wasn't for her. "You were under an illusionary technique," Sasuke answered. "Someone did this to you so that they could get past security..." Then his eyes shifted north to the stairs.

"Itachi and Sakura are already upstairs facing the unwanted guest. We all have to go and see what it is."

~o~

Sakura broke through the wall, and behind her was Itachi who was bleeding rage from every portion of his body. He couldn't have come at a perfect time just as she got impure blood into her system. It wasn't going to be long before she would become a mindless minion...

"Asami," he snarled, fangs bared in a savagery usually unlike himself. "You've come back - but was it because of HIM or on your own?"

He didn't look in the direction of the door opening at the same time, when his brother arrived along with Jiraiya and the girls. Shizune was unaffected now that the spell was broken. None of them said a word, just watched the scene. Not only would Hanaru see another macabre display, but her friend would finally have a taste herself.

Tsunade grimaced at the burning agony in her body; the infection was slowly spreading and would get worse if she didn't do something. While Itachi had the demonic whore distracted, she found herself reaching into one of the drawers to find the one thing that would help, even if it risked her life in the process. But she knew she would rather die than become a bloodsucker or even a ghoul...

But she also had the best of the best to save her skin.

"Itachi," the amber-eyed raven purred, licking her lips at the sight of her former mate. "It's been an eternity, and you're as ravishing as I recall."

Her comment seemed to set Hanaru off, which partly confirmed the old woman's suspicions and worries. "You damned slut," she growled, "how dare you talk to him like that!" She was held back by Jiraiya who placed his hand on her shoulder. Though it didn't seem Hanaru would physically go out when she was just a human and still in the middle of training. Her fire amused Asami as her eyes flashed.

"Oh, what do we have here? Seven against one. A shame I was interrupted from the fun..."

There was the sound of Itachi's caliber clicking; the barrel was aimed for her at the most vital spot. She stopped talking altogether only to burst out laughing. "Oh, you're going to finally kill me when you never had the guts before? Finally going to be rid of me after what we used to have...oh, wait. You never cared to notice that until I decided you were too high-strung for such things. At least Taro was more man than you ever were -" She never got to finish her sentence before the shot rang off the walls.

She was dust before she touched the ground.

Tsunade smirked at that as well as finally grasping what she needed: one of her hidden kunai. She acknowledged the reactions of everyone in the room as she brought the sharp blade to where she'd been bitten.

Itachi had no expression shown, but the understanding was there.

Sakura was mortified as her husband was indifferent.

Jiraiya, their granddaughter and her friend as well as Shizune all looked like they wanted to stop her from doing the unthinkable. "I must, to get this unclean blood out of my veins," she said, and punctured her throat right there.

The world around her mixed with red and white before ultimately turning red...and finally black.

~o~

Asami - lovely as he remembered, but that beauty hid the ugly monster that she was. She was older than he was, but many centuries younger than Madara who sired her and made her his ward. She was no different than the ones who thought being a vampire meant you could have everything you wanted.

To keep a long story short, when she changed, she gained the technique of hypnosis without even needing the Sharingan. She could manipulate people into doing what she wanted, deceive without trying too hard, and that was precisely what she did with Shizune - but why did she not go right into dealing with the other vampires in the building if she knew they were here?

He had to remember she didn't possess the gift of sensory. She was worthy but nowhere near Sakura's level, although his sister-in-law couldn't sense life-forms either. He simply made the comparison because of his own reasons.

She thought she could mock him in front of Hanaru and the others, did she? Well, safe to say, he gave Asami what she deserved.

Taro Kokoro was her new mate, was he? Well, it wasn't like he was affected as much as he was a little surprised. He stopped caring for her a long time ago, even when he met Izumi.

Anyone who threatens my mistress does not live to see another day.

Said mistress' body lay in the growing puddle of blood until help arrived and wasted no time setting up an emergency ER, drawing plastic curtains around to keep unauthorized personnel out - with the exception of Sakura who was now in charge of the team to relentlessly work to save Tsunade's life.

All the surgeons, counting his sister-in-law, were in green and with masks over their mouths. But to see their patient the way she was - it was a rarity that caused Itachi more discomfort than anything he admitted. Although he was certain she could make it through, after everything. She was one of the strongest human women he'd known in over five hundred years of life.

He stood on the left of Jiraiya, and Hanaru was underneath his arm. Both were hard-pressed in the face. Sasuke was elsewhere, aiding in cleaning the mess left in the head's office. And Shizune was off doing whatever she had to, trying not to worry too much.

That left Temari who was bravely being with her best friend and watching the ordeal. Though it would be a good long time before Tsunade would be back to herself, and she would need plenty of rest after this.

The mist in Hanaru's eyes was present, telling him she cared so much despite being strangers. She was no doubt feeling the tug to her heart's cords. And her grandfather was taking it more than her, because he still loved this woman even if she saw him as nothing more than a dear friend - who happened to be the father of her dead son. This family had love despite the impossible odds, willing to sacrifice to keep each other safe.

Both her lover and granddaughter were also watching how she fared in another kind of battle: a battle for her own life. Tsunade tore her own throat open to clean her system, knew she could bet her life whether to die or not.

"See what your grandmother is doing?" he asked her. "She gambled her life, but she refused to give in. Surrendering truly kills. Never giving up is the strength of the Senju - and your family."

Jiraiya looked at him pointedly but said nothing. Hanaru said nothing, too, but he knew she got the message.

Meanwhile, in terms of Tsunade's progress: her blood pressure was steady. It wasn't long before the scalpel would be put to its work, and Sakura was just picking it up...

"Is this what I'm meant to do one day?" Hanaru whispered, her eyes seeing everything much more widely than before.

"It appears so," her grandfather answered, tightening his hold around her back. "But remember we persevere. If your granny -" He managed to force a smile at failed attempt to humor. "- can get through this, so can you."

And when that day came, he would have to take orders from her and guard her with his life. Just like that day he made the promise to her grandmother when young Tsunade found him in his cell as she was threatened with death...

~o~

She hadn't slept well that night. Yesterday was the funeral of her dear baby brother who really thought he could take on that monster at his age.

She told him he shouldn't be so reckless, but he said he never backed down. He wanted to do this for their grandfather and the people around the world. He was only twelve years old, but he already thought himself man enough against everyone's wishes.

Nawaki's loss - and the sight of his mangled body - impacted all of them greatly...especially her.

Jiraiya and Dan were both with her, on either side, at the service of white flowers - too much white, if you asked her.

Now today was just like any other day. She was trained in the art, but she had to keep having the oral lessons and reading besides using her body. Hell, she could best the boys that made Sarutobi-sensei proud!

Sixteen-year-old Tsunade was in a hurry after noticing that she was going to be late. She rushed to just dress into her white tunic, red skirt and blue jacket before tying her hair high behind her head, rather than waste time washing up. Grandpa was going to understand, but great-uncle was something else.

You'd think Tobirama would be the elder brother rather than Hashirama simply because of how much more stern and stiff he was compared to her grandfather. So, it was no surprise when he noted her tardiness by five minutes when she finally arrived in the family head's main study where the lessons took place.

"I'm so sorry," she said, sitting down in her chair across the desk where her grandfather was sitting. Hashirama Senju was a smoking gun back in his younger days, according to some of the women in his army, and she couldn't disagree. There were hardly any signs of age for him at the present, except the few wrinkles around his mouth and eyes, and at the base of his neck. HIs long, dark brown hair was thinning and held behind his neck.

"Tobirama, hush," he admonished his brother lightly. "She lost her brother, so cut her some slack just for today. Well, ready for today's lesson, Tsuna?" Still using that nickname from childhood, which she still had in herself to appreciate. She nodded, giving him his cue. "So, what creature is dreaded above all others?"

Well, demons and ghosts were common in this country, but the physical to kill was - "The vampire."

"And just why is the vampire so fearsome?" her grandfather pressed on.

"They're unbeatable at night, rest by daylight, and create other creatures like themselves," the teenager answered. "They find rest in dark places, and that's one of the places where they are most vulnerable for us to strike. They feed on human blood and sometimes create zombies by draining ALL the life fluids."

Hashirama closed his eyes at her answer. "An absolutely terrifying creature," he agreed. "Yet it's not totally unbeatable. Why is that?"

That answer was easy enough. "Unless you drive them through with a wooden stake." Tobirama shook his head at that.

"Don't be fooled by the old legends of the middle eastern world, Tsunade. Their defeat doesn't lie in simple tricks like that." She turned around in her seat to see him looking out the window which shone bright, curtains drawn back. "They have power that tear man and woman like simple rags. They are all-knowing and cunning beyond comprehension. Each has their own unique powers that aren't recorded in the history books, often lost in ancient sacred texts besides those who seek to destroy them..."

The chair Hashirama sat in squeaked as he stood up and walked around. She looked up and saw him kneeling in front of her now, taking her hand into his. "Tsuna," he said softly, smiling kindly, "the task of the Senju - our family - is to protect the country and its people...and much of the world. We have allies across the world, but also competitors, yet we gladly accept the sacred honor."

Tsunade understood even though she'd always been drilled...but she would truly grasp the concept when, days later, her grandfather would be on his deathbed.

Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya and Dan were there, and so was great-uncle Tobirama. But she had the right to be on one side while the brother took the other.

"My hour is coming, Tsuna," Hashirama rasped when his strong but fragile-looking hand held hers, finally on the brink of losing its old strength. "I am naming...you as the new head of the order."

She heard herself gasp. She knew she would have to take the mantle someday, but now it felt too soon. She was about to speak before her grandfather continued. "Tobirama, brother, you'll have the seat until she's old enough, and promise you will guide her and protect her."

Tobirama bowed his head. "Until I croak my last, elder brother," he swore strongly. The elder Senju brother's breath rattled as he sighed again.

"Tsuna, there is so much that I want to tell you, but there isn't much time now. But the honorable blood of the Senju flows through you..."

At this time, he coughed up blood onto his pillow, crimson staining pure white. Already there were faint yellow stains from pouring perspiration. That was not only from cancer taking him away, but the stress and grief of his grandson dying far too soon.

Hashirama Senju died right there, but not before telling her and the men in the room to all be glorious.

The funeral came and went, and all was in a blur because she lost her brother and her grandfather in too short a period of time. As a result, she wanted to be alone, and that was why she was in the air ducts - the most private it could get...

...and it might be a good thing she was here, for she never would have heard what was going on below.

"Absolutely the most preposterous thing to happen. No matter the approval of the council, I should be the one in the head of the organization's seat. After all the years of putting myself at risk, I always find myself pushed back, and for what reason? Because I take too long making the decision as to who would go out, even if it means dying. And I was told that I rely too harshly on having others sacrifice for me. The succession is in three more days. Thirty years of waiting for Hashirama's demise, and now that his brother has just been taken care of..."

Tsunade felt her blood freeze.

Great-uncle Tobirama was dead. He'd been...he'd been killed by this man. Danzo Shimura - a comrade of Sarutobi-sensei, a so-called friend, and someone with darkness in his heart, according to Grandpa Hashirama.

"I will not have this organization stolen from me by that bitch. Now, do tell me why you haven't found her! Hiruzen will return from Iwa tomorrow, and he has left his students here vulnerable, which was a grave error on his part."

One man spoke in response. "We checked the building top to bottom, sir. But we do have her friends in custody, and even they have no idea where she is."

Dan and Jiraiya...they were captive, and that could mean they would be used as bait to draw her out - and have her killed. Oh, no...

Danzo snapped at them all. "No more excuses. This has to be done tonight. Where haven't you searched?"

"The sublevels. But they have been sealed off for at least twenty years. It was once the black arts theatre, autopsies and experiments conducted - and even interrogations and dungeons which are no longer in use," another male stated, but this seemed to satisfy his boss who could think of no better place to trap a mouse.

There was the sound of a gun clicking, meaning Shimura must have an arms of his own, eager to shoot her at his own pleasure. "If the girl is down there, kill her on sight and we can forge excuses when the deed is done. Be sure to bring her friends down there..."

Livid to her bones, Tsunade mentally swore at the bastard who dared to want to take away what belonged to her family, to her grandfather - to HER. "You have no human soul," she hissed, hoping the sound wouldn't be carried down to him.

Then, she remembered something Hashirama once said to her. Coming in heat of the moment.

"If you are confronted with a true crisis where all hope is lost, make your way to the forgotten underground prison. There, in one of the cells, lies your protection."

Down in the dungeons, where those monstrous excuses called men had to be waiting for her with her boys...but there was no other choice left except to follow her grandfather's last wish.

Even the sublevels were lit by electricity, whereas in ancient days, it was paper lanterns and torches. She pried the gate below opened, seeing she was exactly where she should be, and certain the men hadn't gotten very far since she rushed as fast as she could. When she had the damned thing loose, she kicked it down below, causing the echo to sound off the walls. There was a chance it was heard, so she had to hurry...

Dusting herself off and standing from her semi-crouch upon landing, Tsunade found herself before the door that was painted messy and red - was it blood? - and with the family crest along with holy symbols. This was the door Grandpa was talking about...

Swallowing, she reached for the knob and was about to turn it when there was the sound of guns clicking behind her, causing her to freeze and swear to herself.

There stood Danzo and three men - two of which held Jiraiya and Dan who were tied behind their hands. "You certainly gave us quite the chase, Tsunade," the bandaged man told her. The man who had the proof that he was always out firing shots and getting blows himself, thought he deserved the head seat as a result instead of the ones with hearts nobler than his own.

"Tsunade, why didn't you run?!" Jiraiya shouted only to get smacked to the back of his head, falling quiet and groaning but unable to nurse his mild injury. Dan scowled at him and then turned his attention back to her, as if wanting to ask her the same thing - but he did see why she didn't.

Danzo produced his caliber and aimed it right at her - to the space between her eyes. "I don't suppose you should hear the explanation for this, for you can see why. I had intended to use your friends as bait to draw you out, but then again, you're far too smart to fall for this. So here it ends here, for the sake of my town, my country and the sacred Senju Organization..."

In other words: I must die. But not before I get through one last time. I won't go down like a coward.

"Danzo...what kind of man are you?" she demanded. "Why don't you understand that my grandfather entrusted the future to my great-uncle, and then to me? He feared you'd be reduced to THIS. The fact you killed Uncle Tobirama -" Her boys looked her on, proud of her stand but also fearing she would end up going too far.

It seemed she did, for Danzo growled through his teeth, calling her "damned bitch", and then pulled the trigger - but the shot missed her right by six inches. A means to shut her up, and how he wasn't afraid to shoot a little girl.

A little girl who wasn't so little anymore.

Tsunade found her strength to reach behind, make sure he didn't see - and that was when she was overcome by the strange feeling that someone was behind that door, rather than something. And then a voice was heard through her senses that the men didn't seem to hear.

"I know you don't want to die tonight."

The door opened up when she forced it, and she found herself falling into the darkness, hitting stone-cold concrete but sporting no injuries. Mocking laughter was heard above her.

This time she did get shot, and it grazed her right shoulder, causing blood to splatter beyond her. She fought not to scream, but when she looked up to see where her life's fluids had gone, she gasped when she saw the slouched over figure of a human against the wall, unbound but apparently asleep. It was a man.

"Looks like you shall have an escort to take you to see your grandfather and the rest of your family...including your foolish little brother."

Tsunade snapped at the mention of Nawaki, damning the bastard for speaking of him like that, but before she could retort, there was a horrendous sound: a vicious slurping. Jerking her head behind her, she saw the man form MOVED; it leaned forward, and a tongue slipped out to lap upon the spilled red liquids across the filthy floor. The sight made her stomach churned, her mind on a buzz as Danzo and his men were dismayed at the thing, whereas Dan and Jiraiya said nothing, hinting that they must have known something about this.

"Why was this never on record?" Danzo demanded.

The figure raised its head, and the light flashed on the face: pale, aristocratic ice beset by long, loose hair black as night, and eyes which were coal-dark...but then they changed into a fiery red swimming with a trio of black commas.

The teeth were pulled back into a snarl at the sight of the offenders, not her or even the boys captive. The teeth...two of them were sharp as knives, giving away exactly what this thing was: a vampire.

Tsunade couldn't believe it; this was what her grandfather left to protect her?!

Danzo began shouting to kill him, but then the carnage happened all in a flash. She could only watch in horror, wondering what Hashirama tried to accomplish, and why would Tobirama allow this monster to be kept in their home and in this room?!

Limbs were severed, blood spilled and drank down - but that had to be because he hadn't fasted in quite a long time.

Jiraiya and Dan were freed from their restraints and came to her side, helping her stand. "Tsunade!" Then footsteps approached, and by the vampire with the long hair and glowing red eyes. He licked his pale lips of the last of the red source of life, approaching them, and Tsunade raised the gun she picked up from one of the butchered men. This one's rest had been disturbed, and he might attack the three of them if he was that pissed off.

"Stay back, monster," she said, "or I'll shoot."

A smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth. For a moment, she was distracted by the appearance of this inhuman being. He was quite...beautiful, but she wasn't deterred from rationale. "There is no need to fire that thing at me," he told her. "I've been resting for twenty-odd years, and your blood is the first I have tasted...far sweeter than those vulgar men." His face twisted then and there. "Those men who dared to dishonor the Senju legacy."

She was caught off-guard at the fiercely protective manner in which he spoke of her family. Now it came together: her grandfather had this demon as a servant when he saw fit, but why did he never tell her and Nawaki about this? "He's on our side," Dan whispered to her. "But we swore not to tell you until you inherited the seat, Tsunade. He's not going to hurt you."

"Tsunade." Her name was a brief loll on the tongue of the vampire, and his expression was back to calm and calculating. "Tsunade Senju...you're my new mistress now," he said, and it was hard to read if he was pleased or not.

"Yeah." Jiraiya cracked a nervous grin, despite the corpses of the dead around them. That meant an explanation would have to be made, although she wouldn't be surprised if the council knew what kind of man Danzo was that he deserved an ending like this. "This is our girl."

The red-eyed fiend hummed once. "Then permit me to introduce myself as your...humble servant." He then dropped to one knee and bowed his head. She finally noticed his plain black robe was torn and dusted in some places; for protecting her and her men, he was going to need something better than that, and maybe some new accommodations to this cell called a "room". He then raised his head back up to look her directly in the eyes.

"Lady Tsunade, I am Itachi...Itachi Uchiha."

~o~

That immortal slut got what came to her, especially for what she said to Itachi. Was she the one who broke his heart?

The last of the stitches were sewn into place. The surgery was a success, much to their relief.

When Tsunade's blood pressure dropped down to seventy-five, the decision was made for a transfusion after dealing with the flow; that meant she and Jiraiya were the only ones available for the donation of some blood. Hanaru considered doing the job, given she'd donated a couple times in her life, but her grandfather beat her to it, saying that if anyone should, it was him.

Because he still loves her so much, he would do it to save her. She smiled at him, trying not to cry. He returned it before going into a room in the area for the transfusion.

She had no idea how it happened, but she saw her grandmother's memories: the death of her younger brother, her grandfather and the murder of her great-uncle - and how she met Itachi. When he protected her from that horrible man and his goons.

After that, she saw Dan Kato - her grandmother's true love and Shizune's uncle - die before Tsunade's eyes, exactly as Jiraiya described: his blood drained and he became a zombie, but her grandfather finished the job to spare Tsunade's sanity permanently lost like this. And after that was a flash to the birth of her father, Minato, but despite the smile on his mother's face, there was immense sadness as she gave the child wrapped in blue to his father.

This was when she was making Jiraiya leave the organization, and take their son with, because she didn't want them involved after losing too many she loved.

Well, if Hanaru learned anything, blood was thicker than water, and everything was inevitable. Her resolve was made. Here she was, and Jiraiya was with her - and in the other room giving blood to help his former lover recuperate.

She really wanted to thank Sakura Uchiha in there if she had the chance. She'd saved Tsunade's life.

Another was beside her, and not just her best friend: the vampire who guarded her grandparents and Dan against that attempted usurper and his dogs. For that, and grateful he helped just by being here, Hanaru turned to Itachi and thanked him simply by putting her arms around him despite his stiffening form.

His arms came to wrap around her just as her grandmother was coming to.

Whoo, this chapter is so big that it's hard to believe two days it took. XD Feedback!