A/N: Next chapter up and ready. Not going to keep you any longer so the Usual: I don't own Naruto or the Naruto characters…the other ones though and this plot is ALL mine.

NOTE: The first part of the chapter may be a bit hard/confusing to read and maybe a little bit fucked up…it's SUPPOSED to be like that.

Chapter 6: Corrosion

A room…where…what room…yes, yes, study. The walls…they're…they're dripping red!…no, wait…just plain red. No dripping to red stained puddles on the shifting floor tip tap tip tap tip tap…no drops making the floor ripple…no, just red walls and just the plain wooden floor…normal floor normal walls. Walls…closing in around…wait no…no they're not. Still…unmoving…solid…solid…Silver?

A window…a silver window. Wh-Who is that…on the other side? Pale…pallid skin...grey eyes…dull, desperate, dangerous, depressing, deranged?...delightful. Who is she…hair seems so…thin and not thin; so sticky yet smooth…pretty…poisoned…perfect. Grey…lots of grey…shirt grey, eyes grey, pants grey…lips…pale…bloodless. Good.

A door…why is it opening? Who…who is opening the door? Monster…with teeth to bite and claws to tear! No…no…man. Just a man.

"Who is he? Food…food…come to feed us? Must feed…blood…food…must eat…"

A man bowed, fear evident in his eyes.

"Thunk THUNK…Thunk THUNK…Thunk THUNK…"

"There…there is news…" he stated

"Feed…NO! No blood. Blood…no…No…NO!"

The man fidgeted nervously with his hat, eyes darting around in a steady nervous rhythm.

"La la La La La la la la la. Through the twisted maze she runs. On and on and on she runs and runs. Blood red tears dripping from her eyes… Hehehehehe…such a steady noise his eyes make…hehehe…pretty. Hehehe…but…but that blasted heart thumping ruins it. Hmph…"

"It seems that…well…i-it seems…"

"He should just get on with it…always taking too long…too much time…not enough time...time is irrelevant…time is everything. Blood is irrelevant…will is everything…animals...people…places…things...oh good he's talking…wait…WAIT…NO, NO, IMPOSSIBLE!"

"WHAT?" the queen shouted at the messenger, rage and fury flashing in a thunderhead across her steel grey eyes as the voices that rang throughout her mind ceased their usual chatter.

"T-They n-never arrived, Yukiko-heika." The messenger stated as he bowed, trembling slightly in fear at what would happen to him now that he had delivered the news that the queen's sister had disappeared along with the two Hyugas, "T-Their car was f-f-found in an e-empty lot. Z-Zukiyo-h-hime's restraints were found on t-th-the gr-ground next t-t-t-to it with the k…key in them."

Yukiko trembled with rage as her eyes darted around the room, pupils unnaturally small in the dim light as a few strands of her straight, and rather stringy, hair fell into her face.

Her constant companions started to panic, scream, yell, cry…echoing each other as they spoke in a frantic, droning, simultaneous dance of cascading syllables and sounds…oh why did they speak so loud…why…? Friends…yes…they're friends…they understand…not like Her.

"No…no…no…where is she? She could be anywhere! Over there…or there…or there…no. Ooohhh…WHY did this have to happen now? Everything was so PERFECT! Perfect in imperfection…beautiful little cracks and their chaotic patterns…hehehehe…not like Her. Not like the little monster. HOW COULD SHE HAVE GOTTEN AWAY?"

She wanted to wring his neck for this…his fault…all his fault…wring it tight...

"Yes….fun…"

To dig her nails into it…dig deeper and deeper so it runs…the pretty redness runs over fingers warm and inviting…

"Yes…yes…NO! No…that is the way of HER. The little monster. No. Can't do that. No. Die before being like her…never like her. Never. NEVER!"

She looked at the man as he trembled before her, the sight silencing her companions again before they all agreed.

"Him…Hyuga…Hiashi…him…him! He KNOWS! Little man knows NOTHING! Useless! USELESS! WHY?"

"Get out…and send me Hiashi." She commanded with an ice cold voice, eyes still darting around as if she expected Zukiyo to pop out of the walls at any time until they landed on the messenger again and glared, "NOW!"

The messenger got up and went as quickly as he could without actually breaking into a run.

"Bastard…fears wrong things…stupid, idiotic, moronic, repulsive…blood lusting bastard…like all the others…except dearest…yes…except him. Must get rid of Her so can make him happy...yes...yes...little bitch…she must want him. That's it…that's it she wants to take everything! Just like Uncle said she did…yes…just like that…little thieving whore. Makes life difficult for Us."

Why did Zukiyo always have to make everything so much harder? She was always there in the shadows, lurking, waiting, and smiling…always smiling that damnable smile. That smile that…that…shouted: "Here I am! I will never leave you in peace! I am the monster that lurks inside you, Sissy. You will never…ever escape me." She was too…always…always there reminding Yukiko of what they were...blood lusting, murderous animals.

"Disgusting…uncivilized. Kijo…little she-devil BITCH. Never stops…always there smiling. Council right...she's a little mistake…a blemish on the world. A repugnant little temptress…always there…"

Zukiyo was always there tempting Yukiko into slipping back into that state of…of…sweet…pure…animalistic rapture, but NO! …Not anymore. This, this, this…blood covered Siren would be found and made to suffer for everything she had ever done to Yukiko. Everything…everything…in a room…room with walls…red walls…

"Pretty red walls…red like blood…darkly dripping down deeply to despairing depths of death. Dripping, flowing, oozing, POURING from a bleeding heart…HER heart…yes…yes…YES…HER HEART! Dripping…tip tap tip tap tip tap, flowing, sweet…tasty silence. Heeheeheehee…yes…yes."

Hyuga Hiashi received his summons as expected. He had been expecting this for almost two weeks, ever since he came across his daughter and nephew conspiring together after the trial. They told him of their plans after he had pressed them into it and they were shocked when he approved of them.

The Hyuga lord was one of the few members of the council that acknowledged Zukiyo as a princess. He also was one of the even fewer members that saw her as more than just a princess and instead the rightful heir. Hiashi had spent his whole life in the service of this clan and had watched the two princesses grow up. He watched Zukiyo live, play, cower in the shadow of her older sister through the years just as he watched Yukiko's mind slowly rot more and more. Then there were the attempts to help the king and queen fix the rift that separated the two girls. Hiashi had witnessed the royal couple beg their eldest daughter to play with her sister and love her only to get the same cold, uncaring, dimly lit look in her eyes they always did. Time and time again he had also seen Zukiyo walk down the hallway towards where ever her sister was with the intent on playing. Time and time again he'd told her that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to disturb her sister…and time and time again he'd gotten some version of the same old response…

"Today dif'ent. Sissy play today. Is Sissy." From when she was two or so.

"Today is different. She'll play…she's my Sissy." From when she was about five or so.

"Today is going to be different. You'll see. She'll play. She's…she's my Sissy." From the time she was eight until she stopped trying to play with her sister.

Still Hiashi watched the years fly by and could probably mark them with the different attempts from Zukiyo, and eventually his daughter and nephew, to get Yukiko to spend time with her and the others. He had watched every one of them fail too. His own daughter gave up so easily…but Zukiyo just kept on trying. She was very much like her namesake, her maternal grandmother, in her stubbornness…her refusal to give up.

This was partially the reason why Hyuga Hiashi would do something unprecedented for him to do tonight. His held fast belief that it was Zukiyo who should have been queen, not Yukiko, would lead him as well as a few of the other council members to do what they were going to do. What they had to do.

They had to do something. Yukiko was never meant to be queen. Her refusal to feed had triggered the clan's age old dementia to set in permanently. Some days and moments were better than others but the fact that the queen wasn't all together there was something that couldn't be ignored any longer. That was evident when she married the current king, a man by the name of Ichimotsu Yoko. A tall man with jet black naturally spiky hair and piercing black eyes, he was by far the strongest and most powerful pureblood that Hiashi had ever seen, but there was something that no one really liked about the man. On top of that there was his…history…with the Ryouma family that spoke much ill of him. This man had done things that even Zukiyo would never do even in the wildest of any dream or nightmare. The gods themselves probably didn't know what led Yukiko to marry this man and make him king, but she did.

As the vampire lord of the Hyuga clan walked down the hallway towards the queen's study he could only hope that his daughter and nephew had found someplace safe to hide Zukiyo. They didn't tell him where they were going to hide her only that it was someplace far away, and he hoped it was far away enough. Someplace that would keep her hidden long enough for him and the few other council members in on this to come up with some plan of action. A plan of action unprecedented for the Hyuga clan and one that he would have to do something unprecedented for him to do in order to protect it. Hyuga Hiashi steeled himself for what awaited him and knocked at the door to the dimly lit, red-lined room where the queen waited…and then he went in.

Some hours later found him limping towards a designated meeting spot deep in the woods to the back of the ancestral manor of the Kamitsuyo clan. About half way through he suddenly became aware of a presence and stopped to survey the area. His clan, as many pureblood clans did, had one special trait passed down from parent to child…the Hyuga clan's was night vision of a sort even more heightened than that of a normal vampire's. With this he caught sight of the one following him and relaxed.

"It seems today we are both late." A silver haired man stated to Hiashi and pulled the Hyuga lord's arm over his shoulders to assist him in walking.

"Indeed it does seem that way, Hatake-san." Hiashi stated dryly, although he was grateful for the assistance and his companion and he continued on towards the meeting place, "You were not followed I do hope."

"For awhile I was." Kakashi answered truthfully from behind the mask he always wore, the reason he did was unknown, as his mismatched eyes scanned the area quickly, "I managed to evade him after a while. What happened with your leg?"

"When we get to the rendezvous point I'll explain." Hiashi stated and his companion nodded.

Not too long after they arrived at the entrance to a cave, now sealed off with a door, and they knocked on it twice. Hiashi knew that their scents were being scrutinized before being allowed access. When it opened they were met by a very pregnant dark haired woman with startling reddish brown eyes. She ushered them in and shut the door behind them.

"Hiashi what happened with your leg?" she asked worriedly.

"In a minute Kurenai, let's get him seated." Kakashi stated and got the Hyuga lord seated at the table hidden deeper in the cave.

Hiashi looked at the faces around him. There were a few others besides Kakashi and Kurenai there that had always acknowledged Zukiyo, the others there only did so now out of necessity. He knew that and it displeased him a little but there was nothing he could do about it. Of those gathered he knew he could completely trust only a few there. Among them were of course Kakashi and Kurenai. The other he completely trusted was a man by the name of Nori. He was average in appearance really. Mousy brown hair, soft black unassuming eyes, and a seemingly soft spoken manner Nori was the last one you'd expect to be reliable or even capable of what they were here to do: Discuss rebellion.

"Hyuga-sama. You look as if you've seen some rough treatment." Nori stated in his usual soft manner, "I do hope you are ok."

"What news of Hime?" a female elder asked from the back, Aya by name if he remembered correctly, sharp chin thrust out arrogantly, as if she didn't have the time to be bothered with such trivial matters as the Hyuga's health.

"Zukiyo-hime is safe, as far as I am aware at least. Last night my daughter and nephew escaped with her instead of escorting her to the prison as Yukiko bid them to do. This had been their plan since the trial as you all know. However, as expected, Yukiko was not pleased with this development. She questioned me rather intensely…hence my leg."

"You didn't tell her anything I do hope." A male elder by the name of Kenji asked in a tone as severe as his features: close cut light blonde hair, sharp hazel eyes, and a square robust goatee covered chin on a similarly square head that was seated on top of a thickly corded trunk of a neck.

"Don't be an imbecilic fool, Kenji. Of course I didn't. If I did, would I be sitting here right now?" Hiashi snapped before continuing, "I am unaware of where they have taken Zukiyo-hime, however I am sure this is for the best. That way none of us can accidently betray her location to Yukiko or her husband. Where ever she is I am certain that she is safe…for now. We all know that it will not be long before she is found by the hunters that Yukiko has set after her."

"I am certain that she can take care of them as they come." Kakashi stated as he sat back in his chair at ease, "Zukiyo is no push over despite her being weaker than Yukiko. On top of that she has something with her that Yukiko does not: two best friends that are willing and ready to die for her if need be…if not more by now."

"Be that as it may, Hatake-sama, she will need more than just that if we wish for her to live long enough to replace Yukiko." Nori interjected as politely as he could manage.

"Obviously the child needs guidance." Aya stated haughtily.

"Guidance she will not receive from you." Kurenai stated matter-of-factly, "She does not trust you…or anyone here save a few…and the few she does trust cannot go to her for fear of risking exposing her, Neji, and Hinata."

"What of Kenzo-heika's family?" a different elder inquired, "She trusted them. They pretty much raised her."

"The Ryouma family has been off the grid for decades. Ever since Yukiko married Yoko and banned them from the territory they have been near impossible to find. They're a band of nomadic gypsies for crying out loud. Finding them is next to impossible." Yet another elder stated irritably; this was not the first time finding the family had come up.

"Next to impossible but not totally impossible." Kakashi stated as he stared down the one that had spoken, his mismatched eyes causing a visible unease in the person, "It will take time but I am sure I can track them down."

"Misora should be filled with ecstasy at the thought of overthrowing Yukiko." Aya stated sharply, the two having had a rivalry that spanned near a millennium, although it was mostly one sided on Aya's side.

"Now is not the time for your petty rivalry." Hiashi ordered and Aya nodded in submission, "Kakashi, do what you can to find them as fast as possible and put them on the search for Zukiyo-hime."

"How do you know they'll want anything to do with this?" someone asked.

"They are family to Zukiyo-hime. Of course they'll want to." Another answered.

"They're Yukiko's family as well."

"No. They're not." Kakashi answered, "They are related by blood but they aren't family. Yukiko has never treated them as family and in return they don't acknowledge her as family either. Neji and Hinata are more like family to them than Yukiko is."

The co-conspirators nodded in agreement and the discussion moved onto more mundane and technical matters. While contributing his input when needed Hiashi couldn't help but continue to hope that where ever they had taken Zukiyo that it was someplace safe; someplace with no serious threats to her welfare; someplace with people that were willing to help them conceal her; someplace…someplace Zukiyo could live safely with no one for her to provoke because as much as Hiashi respected her he couldn't deny one thing: Zukiyo loved nothing more than to play head games.

Maybe that's what hell is. You go mad, and all your demons come and get you just as fast as you can think them up. ~ Anne Rice

For too long we have swept the problems of mental illness under the carpet... and hoped that they would go away.Richard J. Codey

A/N: Shorter update than last but it's a needed stopping point. I promise the next chapter will be back with our favorite red headed one and princess. 'Til then feel free to review or message with any questions or comments.