A/N: Yeah, the next chapter already. I woke up and I'd post the next chapter for you. I do NOT own Naruto or the Naruto characters but the idea and other characters are mine.

Chapter 2: Hunger

Zukiyo stared out the window of the car as they drove along the busy road to their new home, staring ahead at the mountain sides before them. The city alongside them had been practically built into the side of the range and sprawled out below it for miles. It wasn't the largest city she had ever seen, no where near it, but it was large enough for her to call it a metropolis of some kind or another. She wasn't sure where she was actually. Zukiyo had been all over the world and back again but she still had no idea where she was; and she actually liked it that way. If she had no idea then Yukiko would be even more clueless and in the dark about it. Once again Zukiyo growled at the thought of all the wrong Yukiko had done her.

Zukiyo realized that, in a way, her sister had always been mad, always been a little…wrong in a way. How else could she have done all that she did? The princess sighed and adjusted the scarf around her neck out of habit then returned to staring out the window. A few minutes later she heard Neji curse as the radio reported something.

"Shit. There's an accident up ahead. The road to the estate is after it." He looked at the clock in the car and cursed again, "We don't have the time to wait in traffic."

"We can take the old road." Hinata stated without stuttering, she had long since calmed down.

He nodded and a few minutes later turned off the road onto an old dirt track.

"Thank God this thing can switch into manual!" Neji growled as he switched it over and shifted the gears while they bounced around.

"He couldn't have rented a car with better shocks?" Zukiyo asked crankily, she was starting to get very hungry.

Neji growled as he gripped the steering wheel and eventually the bumps smoothed over a good bit. Hinata sighed and laughed briefly which caused the others to laugh as well. They didn't know what for, they just did. It was a frequent thing with the three childhood friends. It would always confuse the king and queen when the three of them would randomly burst out laughing over something. It was always just the three of them that would do it. Zukiyo's twin never really joined in on it or just didn't get it.

Zukiyo sighed as she returned to staring out the window, watching the tunnel of trees they drove through turn into the sheer walls of the mountain. She soon began to notice the stars slowly fading out signaling the approach of dawn and Neji nodded as he did too.

"We'll be fine. We're almost there, Zuzu." He stated smiling at her and she relaxed nodding.

Not too long after they entered a long dark tunnel and Zukiyo stared ahead waiting for it to end. When it did it let out into what looked to be a small valley hidden deep in the mountains. Up ahead she saw the road they were on lead up to a large house that seemed to be made out of the same stone of the surrounding rock walls.

"Our dear friend loved these mountains so he built his home from them!" Hinata shouted as they passed under waterfall that ran off the side of the mountain before they drove up to an old gate.

Neji leaned out of the window of the car and punched a set of numbers into a keypad off to the side. They drove through as the gate opened and shut behind them. Neji parked the car off to the side as Zukiyo noticed a figure talking to another before turning and walking towards them.

As she got out of the car and stretched she noticed that the figure was what looked to be a young man. He was wearing a partially buttoned orange dress shirt halfway tucked into a pair of black jeans looking as if he just didn't have the patience to finish dressing himself. She studied him as he neared. He was taller than she was, most men were, and had a spiky mess of blonde hair that fell into his eyes. As he got even closer she noticed wide black whisker marks on his cheeks, a fox-like grin, and deep blue eyes. Her own light grey ones scanned him up and down as she appraised him and decided that while he was handsome enough he wasn't really her type, besides, Hinata had a thing for him. He stopped about seven or so feet in front of them and grinned, baring a mildly elongated set of canines. As he did so Zukiyo noticed a marking of some kind on his stomach and recognized it and the smell of his blood.

"Kyuubi Demon." She stated flatly and his eyes locked on hers before he looked her up and down grinning in a way that threw her off a bit.

She was used to this kind of inspection because of what she was. Being a female pureblood vampire princess usually caused people to stare at her. They would grin but not like that…like he knew what she was with a simple glance and had plans for her.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi Demon and your most humble host." He stated bowing respectfully and she smirked at him no wonder he knew what she was, "Hina-chan, Neji I set her up with rooms on the north east side of the east wing."

Neji scowled at that as Hinata raised her eyebrow at the demon. This apparently meant something important. As for what, Zukiyo hadn't the slightest idea.

"You didn't." Neji stated growling until Naruto's eyes glowed red-orange and Neji backed down, something Zukiyo didn't see often.

"I did." The blonde demon stated, canines even more pronounced as his eyes remained a deep reddish orange, "It's the only wing in the house that contained an empty set of rooms fitted with tinted windows so stop complaining. I suggest you get your things inside before the sun rises. I'd hate to see Hina-chan's beloved cousin turn into a potato chip. I just might eat you then."

"Naruto!" Hinata scolded and the demon's eyes went back to blue as he pointed at Neji.

"He started it!"

"You know better." She continued and walked up to him and poked his chest.

Zukiyo watched as the blonde smirked softly at her friend as Neji grumbled about something improper until Hinata glared at him. This only made Naruto chuckle as his smirk twisted a little making Hinata blush and walk away, picking up a bag as she followed her cousin inside. When the Kyuubi Demon turned back to his newest guest he grinned at her again. He could tell it threw her off as it did most people. He loved that no one could ever tell what he'd do next. It made things more interesting.

She waited as she watched him until he nodded his head towards the house and she followed him. Naruto led her up to the house and she followed taking as much of it in as she could. The sheer size of it stunned her into a silent awe as she looked at it. It was only about four or five stories tall but it continued on deep into the valley until she couldn't see it anymore. The stonework was spectacular as was the architecture; Victorian with an Asian twist to it that she found worked. When they stepped inside the two large doors to the house she was welcomed by a brightly lit foyer and felt the enormity of the house all at once. It was almost oppressive but at the same time it felt comfortable.

"Yeah, it's amazing what a few rugs, tables, and lights can do to a place." Her host stated suddenly as he led her up the stairs, a slight bounce in his step, "This place is huge but you've seen that already so I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it's easy to get lost in here."

"I can see that. You could have a hundred guests in here and I'm sure you could go weeks without seeing any of them."

"Yes and no. Only a few rooms are meant to be bedrooms. I'm not really sure what all the other rooms are. After awhile I just told the contractors to be creative. You are right that this house could swallow a hundred people though." He said laughing then continued, "However, there are only three other guests besides you, Neji, and Hinata here right now. Well I wouldn't call them guests, they pretty much live here now and have been for the past…century or so. Anyway, some of the rooms do move."

"Neji thought they did." Zukiyo stated and Naruto laughed again, he had pleasant laugh and she found that grin of his to be contagious as she realized she was grinning too.

"I wasn't sure if they did or not for awhile but after a couple of decades here I went through that door over there one day," He stated pleasantly as he pointed to a black wooden door off to the right, "and it was a lounge then the next day I went back in and it was a small library. I was freaking out so bad when that happened I think I passed out 'cause all I really remember is waking up in my study with Neji looking at me telling me I was a brainless idiot. I have no idea what makes the rooms move they just do."

"You're house is alive. It happens in places like this occasionally with houses that become attached to their masters." She stated to him and he grinned at her again as he held open a door for her and she stepped in.

It was a sitting room he led her into. It was spacious yet still retained a cozy atmosphere that she found rather intoxicating. Light orange walls surrounded them as they walked across the bare wood floor to the chairs. She sat down in the one across from him and looked at him patiently as he leaned back in his chair grinning until he spoke.

"It is safe in here. I blocked the room so we can talk about anything you want…anything at all." Naruto stated his eyes glinting at the implication slightly and she smirked at him.

"You have a beautiful house and I am a most gracious guest, Naruto, but you are an S-Class Pervert." She stated sweetly and he laughed merrily and nodded, deep blue eyes shining with his laughter.

"I always knew that Zukiyo-hime." He said and she looked at him flatly which slightly confused him.

"If you please just call me Zukiyo…or Zu if you want. I'd rather not have word of my…blood getting out." She said and he laughed again.

"I don't know if you've ever been told this but your blood has a rather strong scent to it. I'm a demon and I can smell it. I can just imagine what my friend is going to do once he gets hold of that scent." The blonde stated cryptically, laughing a bit more at her confusion, "As for your title, Hime…everyone will find out eventually. Secrets aren't kept long here."

"Secrets aren't kept long anywhere, Naruto-kun." She stated as she stretched back into the seat, "I just want some time to…explore and get to know more about everyone before I have them bowing down and calling me Hime or what have you. You won't have to of course. You are my host and I can already tell we're going to be great friends."

"Good, and I can understand your reasons although I highly doubt they'll be bowing down to you." He said and she looked at him as he leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees as a serious look entered his eyes, "I know why you were sent here, yes, but I need to know, Zu…why not just kill your sister? Why hide?"

"You don't know much about my clan do you?" she asked and he shook his head.

"No, only that it's one of the oldest of the vampire clans…so old that the members of it have more demon-like traits than the newer breeds who have more human-like ones. Neji is so tight-lipped about it he could put Fort Knox to shame. Hinata is too. What I have learned has come from two of my other friends and they only know what I've already told you and that you are a very dangerous clan. As for my third friend…I haven't asked. Now tell me why."

"Very well." She sighed, her hunger starting to eat at her a bit, "I cannot kill Yukiko for a number of reasons. The first being she is the clan's queen, therefore mine. It is a taboo…unthinkable for a clan member to even think about raising a finger against the queen. The second is that even if I did manage to kill her I'd still be put to death for doing so. Third is that leadership of the clan passes through the female line only and that while she does have a mate and king if she dies, and I am miraculously not killed for killing her, the so-called throne would pass onto me. Then I'd be forced to marry her mate, since I don't have one of my own, and I hate him. The last and most important reason is that I cannot."

"Why not?" he asked and she looked at him.

"She's stronger than I am and so is her mate. I…can't touch…them." Zukiyo stated as she felt her stomach knot and she groaned, gripping the arm of the chair tight as she heard a loud drumming in her ears.

"THUNK thunk… THUNK thunk… THUNK thunk…" it went but to her it called out a different tune whispering then steadily getting louder, "Blood…feed…blood…hunger…feed now."

Again and again she heard the whispers grew louder and louder, more frantic and pleading, edging her over the brink of sanity until a voice cut through the noise.

"Zukiyo? Are you ok?" it asked and she looked up at her host and the voices all agreed.

"HIM."

Naruto watched as her eyes began to slowly darken until black and saw her fangs fully emerge. She looked at him like he was her next meal, and to her…he was. He knew it too. He couldn't believe he didn't see it before. He cursed himself mentally for being stupid enough not to recognize that light in her eyes as hunger.

"Naruto-kun…why are you staring at me like that?" she asked as he backed up towards the door and she walked slowly towards him until he gripped the handle and turned it, opening out into the hallway, "Do I scare you, Naru-kun?"

"Nope." He stated and backed down the hallway towards his friend's room, the only person that could probably stop her without killing her, "I just want you to meet someone."

"You smell so…good, Naru-kun." She sighed, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she walked towards him and licked her lips, "So delicious, so delectable, and so mine."

"I don't think Hinata would agree with you." He stated, trying to distract her, "She tends to think of me as hers."

"Not when I'm done with you." Zukiyo sang out in a slightly insane manner as she looked him over and swallowed, "Mmm…I can't wait to sink my teeth into you. You are just too damn delicious."

"Well, thank you. I do try. Not too hard though, I don't need throngs of women throwing themselves at me. I have my eyes set on one in particular so there's no need." He stated and she giggled dementedly.

"When I'm done with you, you won't need those eyes anymore. I think I'll keep them." She giggled as she walked closer to him as he led her down a hallway.

"You would think I'd be more disturbed by that but then again I do know a lot of interesting people." The demon stated, thinking of a plan since he knew that, although he could quite easily, killing her would only make Hinata mad at him, and he really didn't need that again.

"I don't think you've ever known someone quite like me, Naru-kun." She stated as she pushed him against the door of the room he was trying to reach and smiled.

That's when she did scare him. He started pounding against the door as he recognized that smile. That cold, sadistic, hungry smile. The last time he had seen that kind of smile he was nearly killed.

"Have you?" she said as she leaned up towards his neck slowly and breathed him in and moaned softly.

"Y-You'd be surprised at who I've met. For the love of God, open the damn door!" Naruto yelled and he saw his friend running down the hallway followed by Neji and Hinata as he felt the tips of Zukiyo's fangs against his neck, "HELP ME YOU FUCKING RACCOON FACED, MORONIC, BLOOD SUCKING BASTARD!"

Zukiyo felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pull her away from her dinner and she snarled as it escaped. She fought against her captor and discovered that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get away. That meant it definitely wasn't Neji. He would have let go by then. He knew very well she didn't take very kindly to being restrained or touched. Knowing that it wasn't Neji made her angry. She was angry at the audacity of this person that dared interrupt her meal and restrain her in such a way and she was angry that whoever it was…was strong. Whoever was pulling her back was physically stronger than she was and that made her even angrier.

"Come on Kijo-chan…it won't do if you kill our friend." She heard a voice say as it whoever was behind her held her back and she turned her head to see a man and a woman standing in the door way looking at her.

The woman was blonde and blue eyed, neither colors as bright as Naruto's, but still blue eyed with blonde hair put up into four spiky pigtails. The man was taller than Naruto, spiky brown hair and a smirking face. He was the one who spoke and stepped to the side as Naruto reappeared and handed her a glass of that sweet red nectar she so desperately needed.

An arm let go of her waist as the other pulled her closer and reached out for the glass. Whoever was behind her was strong and very much a male, she could smell it. She was so hungry. She struggled harder as the hand took the glass from Naruto and brought it back towards her and a voice commanded her.

"Drink." it said and she realized that it came from the male holding her as it rumbled through his chest and she obeyed as the glass reached her lips, "Slow down."

She forced herself to slow down as her nails dug into the man's arm, breaking the skin no doubt as she felt something sticky start to run under her fingers. She moaned softly while coughing as she felt the sweet liquid run down her throat. It was cold, something she normally hated, but it was delicious…oh so delicious. She relaxed after draining the glass dry, the whispers in her ears finally stopping, and let out a soft contented sound. She released her grip on the man's arm and saw that she indeed did break skin. It healed as she looked down at it and the male behind her still did not let go. Her eyes met Naruto's and she looked down ashamed.

"Sorry. I get kinda cranky when I'm hungry." She stated and he grinned.

"Cranky? How about psychotic? It was my own damn fault for not sending you to feed, but I had no idea you'd try to fucking eat me." He laughed until he noticed she was ashamed of herself, "What's wrong? It's in your nature to want blood."

"Yes, but…" she sighed, "I disgust myself when I get like that…like..."

"Her sister." Hinata stated as she took the empty glass from the person behind her and handed him another one which he held in front of her.

"Drink." He said and Zukiyo scowled.

"You could ask nicely." She stated and felt the male growl in annoyance.

"Fine. Please drink."

"I can feed myself!" she growled as the hand raised the glass and she grabbed at it and drank it down, this one about room temperature, as the brown hair man chuckled.

"Well isn't she a feisty one?"

"Who are you?" she asked and Naruto laughed.

"This is Temari and Kankuro." Naruto stated pointing to the woman and man beside him respectively then gestured to the one behind her, "He is-"

"Sabaku no Gaara." The man stated and she craned her neck upwards to look at him.

Blood red hair topped his head reaching just past his ears, a part in it on his forehead revealed what looked to be a tattoo of the kanji for love. She found that rather interesting but what really caught her attention were his eyes. They were a jade color she had never seen before and completely rimmed in black. He looked very much like a raccoon…or a panda but she didn't think he'd appreciate that comment. He had the face of a young man somewhere in his early twenties but she could tell just by the scent of him that he was much, much older than that and a pureblood too. He was looking down at her with a cool interest hidden in those eyes. She licked the corner of her lips, cleaning the last drop of blood off of them and watched as his eyes flicked to them momentarily.

"Let me go. Now." She said in a slightly commanding tone and he glared at her as he let her go.

She backed up and looked him over as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was of a slightly slimmer build than Naruto and he seemed to like black and red in the same way that Naruto liked black and orange. The sleeves of his red shirt were rolled up to his elbows; a black leather vest was pulled on over it unbuttoned. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black pants, a black silver studded belt through the loops connected to a chain that lead to his pocket. She looked over at his siblings next. The woman seemed to be wearing pajamas, a big T shirt and loose baggy pants. Kankuro, as she now knew him to be, was wearing a purple T shirt and boxers. They were apparently getting ready for bed. He smirked as she looked him over, a fang coming into view until she glared at him before looking to Neji. He was giving off his usual stare but she could tell he was displeased with something. There was a slight crinkle in his brow that she knew meant something irked him.

"Have you found my rooms?" she asked him, ignoring the one called Gaara, and Neji nodded, "Good, now take me to bed. I'm going to sleep before I pass out on top of him."

She gestured towards Gaara as Neji held out a hand for her. She accepted it and wound her arm in his as he escorted her down the hall to her rooms. Before they turned the corner she stopped and looked back at the party she had just met and inclined her head respectfully.

"It is a pleasure to have met you all. Good night."

They watched her leave and Naruto soon noticed that Gaara was glaring at him growling. He was in trouble. That glare and growl always meant Naruto was in trouble with his vampire friend for something. The blonde sighed before looking at Gaara and asking the inevitable.

"What?"

"Don't give me that! You know perfectly well what! You put her in the rooms next to mine?" he asked then stopped as it clicked in his brain: her scent.

She was a vampire obviously. He knew that, Naruto told him, but what he didn't know was that she was a pureblood. Her scent marked her as one, a strong and available one. He pointed at Naruto as he glared more and growled.

"You…did this on purpose. Now I know why you agreed to let another pureblood vampire stay with us even though I warned you not to after Hinata and Neji. You agreed because she was a female pureblooded vampire."

No matter how good you are, sometimes you still need help. ~ Not sure who said it.

A/N: There we are, Chapter 2...Chapter 3…Gaara's reaction *gasp*. I already have the next chapter done but I'm tweaking it before putting it up. Not much to say other than that so tell me what you think!