A/N: The next chapter. Not going to say too much other than warn you to expect some more blood and gore than usual in this one. This one is also VERY long compared to my usual chapters but I figured I owed you all a long chapter.

Chapter 15: Realization Pt. 2

"Sleep well…Princess?" the red headed male asked as he felt Zu murmur and stir, her fingers still clutching at his shirt as her eyes fluttered open.

"Mmmhmm." She smiled sleepily at him and saw the slightest hint of a smile twitch at his lips which made her smile a bit more, "Does that please you in some way?"

"What would you do if I said yes?" Gaara asked as he pulled her closer very noticeably.

He had sat there for the past two hours holding this woman as she slept thinking about what had happened the past month and how he felt during it. It was a sickening roller coaster of high and low emotions. It made him realize many things. First among those things was how important she was to him. Gaara knew very well that he could never harm her regardless of his initial intentions. Zu was…too important to him. The second thing he realized was that, even though he wasn't particularly a fan of emotions, he would much rather feel the high instead of the low emotions. That of course revolved around keeping the pureblooded vampiress currently sitting in his lap cuddled against him happy and, for lack of a better term, his. Gaara suspected that Zu wouldn't mind that but he could never be sure about anything this female might do or think.

"What would I do...is that what you'd like to know?" Zu asked as she cuddled him a bit more, noticeably, and he nodded, "Well…I suppose I'd have to…ask where the grumpy bastard I'm so used to dealing with went."

He rolled his eyes at her only to chuckle right after as she smiled at him. Contentment filled him as she once more relaxed against him with her head on his shoulder. Gaara couldn't really see it but he knew she was smiling. He could feel it. However he knew it wasn't going to last as he heard footsteps coming down the hall.

Zu heard them too and went to stand up and remove herself from Gaara's lap, only his grip hadn't loosened.

"Gaara, I don't think you're in the mood to have Kankuro or Naruto picking on you for having me cuddling you." She stated and very lightly nuzzled his nose before she could stop herself.

"Hn. True." He stated and released her so she could sit in the chair right next to him with her feet in his lap as the door opened.

"Zu…I didn't think to find you in here." Kankuro stated pausing for only a moment before continuing on with what he came to say, "There are hunters in the city. One of our subordinates just called it in."

"Human or otherwise and how many?" Gaara asked; this was the first group of hunters to make it that far into their territory in a while.

"Human. Small band of at least six but no more than seven. New from what anyone can tell. They have no idea what territory they've just entered."

"Regardless of whether or not they know what they're getting into hunters of any sort are dangerous." Zu stated and the two men nodded.

"It will be taken care of." Gaara stated and his brother nodded knowing well enough that Gaara had this under control.

"I'll see you later then. Try not to die." Kankuro stated and left the two to continue about his own business and Gaara glanced over at Zu.

"Yes?" she asked and he moved her feet from his lap and stood in front of her offering her a hand, "You want me to come with you I see…"

The exiled princess smiled wickedly and accepted his hand, allowing him to help her, and stood. Zukiyo knew that their relationship had changed in some way and knew that the past month had caused it. Neither one of the two wanted to go through that again. Still as she watched the red headed male smirk just as wickedly as she had and kiss the back of her hand, she was a bit surprised.

"I know how much you enjoy bloodbaths." Gaara stated and watched Zu smile even more wickedly as her eyes gained that blood lusting light in them he knew so well.

"You are such a gentleman sometimes. It's adorable."

"I am not adorable. Now do you want to come?" he asked and watched her smile and nod, "Good."

"I need to change. Blood doesn't really come out of this shirt very well."

"Then go and be quick about it." Gaara urged and she just blinked at him, "Please."

"Much better." Zu smiled and turned to go change leaving her male companion shaking his head.

Not long after that a pair of humans clad in dark clothes and weighed down with the sharp tools of their trade walked through one of the parks on the South Side of town. Everything was quiet in this section of the park save for the slight breeze through the trees and bushes. Too quiet. There was nothing else but the sound of the breeze and their footsteps echoing through the night air. Not even the sounds of the city or any animals that should be in the area. Just an eerie and echoing silence. Then they heard it: a slight metallic creak. Their heads snapped over to the swing set to their left and what they saw chilled their blood.

"Mmm…she was rather tasty…your friend." A red and black clad woman stated as she sat on the swing and chuckled darkly.

Curled dark hair, fair skin, and a hauntingly charming smile she would have been a welcome sight to see if it weren't for the blood dripping down her chin from her red stained lips and the sight of her hands staining the chains that held the swing up with the thick red gore covering them.

"What did you do…you…foul hell spawn?" the one demanded to know until his companion nudged him to look next to the female vampire he was addressing, "Oh God…what did you do to her?"

"Hmhmhmhm…what's it look like?" the woman asked wickedly as she licked the blood from her lips and fingers a bit with razor sharp fangs displayed amongst her smile.

"Oh God…" the other hunter groaned as he looked at the corpse of his former teammate, "You…you…"

"Ripped her eye out, let her scream for a bit, took the other one as well, tore her throat out and then ripped out her heart." The woman stated smiling as she remembered it and shivered delightfully, "It was very fun…and her screams were music to my ears. I haven't had that much fun slaughtering in a while. Aww…you don't look good. Feel sick?"

The two men tore their eyes away from the corpse of the woman and glared disgustedly at the vampiress before them. This was the reason they had to destroy the vampiric race. Man, woman, and even the children…because they would grow and become just as bloody as their parents. The easiest way to end the immortal races was to take out their offspring…and the females that bore them. This female was never going to get the chance to bring hellish, blood sucking, little monsters into this world if they had their way. It would be easily done. There were two of them and one of her. Regardless of her strength they could bring her down easily…or at least that's what they told themselves.

"Now boys…don't go doing something stupid." She stated as she watched them run at her then sighed dramatically and pulled out the sword that their former comrade had hidden in her coat and got up, "You people really need to learn not to run at me…"

With that and before he even knew what happened the hunter watched the vampiress dodge their strike. Before they could react she impaled his teammate on the steel and wrenched it up through his ribcage opening him up before shoving the now dead body onto him. The horrid and rank stench of blood and death filled his nostrils as he fell to the ground with the dead weight on top of him.

"You are too easy." The female stated and took his weapon from him.

"Please…please God no. I have kids." He lied, hoping that her softer female nature would trigger so he could get up and ram his dagger in her heart from behind but…he saw it wasn't going to work.

"Liar..." was the last sound he heard before his head was detached from his body, "Now where has Gaara gone off to…"

"Right here, Princess…" she heard from behind her and turned around to see him walking up, blood dripping from his hands, hair, and chin, "You've had more luck than I have. I only found one."

"And ripped them to pieces I see." Zukiyo observed as he reached her and she leaned against him smiling excitedly up at him.

"Of course." The red head confirmed as he wrapped his arms around her out of habit, as well as a bit of bloodlust induced instinct, and looked behind her, "Nice."

"Child's play." She purred as her arms wrapped around his neck and she licked the blood trickling down his chin off before kissing his jaw earning herself the faintest of pleased growls, "Enjoy that?"

"Obviously." Gaara admitted and wiped the blood off of her chin gently, "We have other hunters to deal with, Zu."

The gypsy smiled and nodded as they detached and cleaned up Zu's mess before going off to find the remaining hunters. Her arm wound into his when he offered it to her before they went. It wasn't long before they spotted the remaining three deeper into the park and so the hunters became the hunted.

As Zu watched her red headed male companion she sat and thought about things. She realized full well what he meant to her and what she wanted from him and couldn't help but see that he wanted it too. Yet she realized that in order to get it and keep it she couldn't avoid the truth any longer. Gaara needed to know what she was: a real princess and not just any princess the Heir Apparent to the throne of the entire immortal world. Still…the act of telling him was much harder to do than just deciding on it. Still before she could let their relationship move on like she wanted she needed to let him know. She only prayed he would accept her afterwards.

The last hunter decided to make a run at her as Gaara ripped the head clean off of the one forcing Zukiyo out of her thoughts and dodge as he struck at her. Then the worst happened: he recognized her.

"You." He stated as his eyes widened and the panic took over in Zu, "Y-aaaagghh.."

Zu didn't even know how she had done it but the next thing she knew she had ripped the man's tongue and throat out so severely she had essentially decapitated him. Panting as the adrenaline abated she forced herself to calm as Gaara walked over to her, a worry in his eyes she had never really seen before.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he helped her up and looked her over.

"I'm fine, Gaara." Zu stated, hiding the small cut on her arm as it healed, and looked up at the blood covered male in front of her, "He just…caught me a bit off guard…"

"He knew you." Gaara stated and brushed her hair back behind her ear as she looked up at him and nodded while leaning into his touch a bit, "He's dead now…and can't tell anyone where you are, princess."

Zu flinched a bit at that. Princess. She had to tell him.

"Gaara…I…" she started, desperately trying to find the right words as he looked down at her.

"Hm?" he asked and wiped some of the blood on her cheek off with his thumb.

"I'm-" she started but his phone rang and cut her off making her jump a little bit which caused him to chuckle a bit before he answered.

"What is it, Neji? Why couldn't they call me themselves? Fine." Gaara stated and hung up and looked down at his dark haired companion, "There's a new elder vampiress moving into the city. She's invited us over to her new house tomorrow night in observance of the old customs. Now what were you going to say?"

"I'm…in complete disbelief at how messy you are." She stated, having lost her nerve during the interruption, and wiped some blood off of his cheek and licked her finger clean and he chuckled.

The princess smiled at him and watched as he smiled down at her, a sight she had only seen a once or twice, and couldn't help but smile more herself. She knew all too well Gaara's non-insane smile was a very rare sight. The last time she had seen it had been when she had managed to make him burst out laughing at something she did to Neji. Neji of course didn't find it as funny but he was much too serious in her opinion. Speaking of Neji, Zu had a few things to say to him once she and Gaara got back. Before that, however, they would have to clean up their mess.

"Please try not to drip blood all over my floor." Naruto stated as he watched the pair walk through the door while he lounged on the couch."

"Hn." Was all he got out of Gaara, who then surprised him by scooping up Zukiyo and walking off.

"What are you up to?" Naruto heard the exiled princess ask.

"This should hopefully lessen the amount of blood that drips onto Naruto's floor. Complaining?"

"Definitely not." She replied and they walked out of hearing.

Naruto blinked. Despite being a Kyuubi Demon, which came with the ability to sense emotions, particularly the negative ones, he still found himself to be surprised. He knew very well that Gaara had fallen for the newest inhabitant of his estate, but was never really expecting to see Gaara so willing to…show it. Something had happened.

"He doesn't want to her to leave again." Temari stated from a doorway and Naruto looked at her, "I know my little brother. He…he refuses to see it but he's a lot like our father…and how he was with our mother. He realizes he feels something for Zu and likes it so doesn't want to her to, in his mind, leave again."

The Kyuubi nodded at her words. They made sense. Gaara wasn't the easiest person to get along with but once you did he was incredibly loyal. Still there was one thing left to deal with before any of them could make conclusions on what Gaara would do with Zu. Her title still had to be made known to him…especially with how things were going in the immortal government.

"Does he know yet?" the eldest Sabaku asked.

"No. He doesn't. Neji told him that she has no titles…and we all know how much Gaara likes being lied to."

"She needs to tell him. Soon. Gaara…could be…she's the Heir Apparent. Any man she chooses as a mate would be king if she assumed the throne. He may or may not like that fact but he should know about it before they go any farther."

"We all realize that, Tem. So does she. Trust me. Zukiyo is far from stupid." Naruto replied, hoping for the best outcome possible from all of this knowing very well that everyone else was hoping the same.

"Gaara…what…" Zukiyo asked as he walked past the door to her rooms towards his.

"We need to bathe."

"And? I have a bathroom in my room to use." She countered and he looked at her flatly and opened the door to his room a bit then nudged it all the way open with his foot.

"Your room has light carpets…mine hides bloodstains much more effectively." He stated simply and she looked at his room.

She had been in his sitting room plenty of times but never his bedroom. It was situated in much the same way as her room except for the color scheme. A rich red colored the walls much as it did in his sitting room, however, where the sitting room's floors were a rich warm cherry wood finish, the floor was carpeted in a much darker color than her rooms were. She couldn't quite place the color but Gaara was indeed correct that it would hide bloodstains much more effectively than hers.

"I see your point…but I have nothing to change into and you can't go into my room for the same reason you say I can't." she countered and he set her down then went to his closet only to return with a red bath robe, "I didn't think of you as the bath robe type."

"I'm not. Naruto bought me for my birthday a few years ago complaining I was too hard to buy for. Then he discovered gift cards with little pandas and raccoons on them which I think you saw. I forgot about this until now." The red head stated and handed her the robe.

At this point she knew she had no real choice but to do as he bid so she accepted the robe and made her way towards his bathroom and went in. As she washed the blood off the exiled princess's mind wandered to her title. Despicable and unwanted thing that it was she still had it and needed to tell Gaara about it. It was something that one needed to tell their significant other.

Stepping out of the shower she dried off a bit and donned the robe he had leant her. Zu wasn't quite sure of how to tell him. She knew there was no perfect scenario, no ideal situation, and no delicate way to do it. However she told him he'd be upset to some degree that he'd been left in the dark. Zukiyo knew that very well and only hoped she wouldn't lose him.

These thoughts occupied her mind so much that it was only when was about to walk out of the room that she realized she had nothing covering her neck. What surprised her about it was that she found she didn't really care. Zukiyo knew that Gaara would never harm her. She knew that and realized that she trusted him completely. It made her smile a bit. Still as she opened the door and walked back out to where her red headed vampire lord was she couldn't help but wonder what he would do.

"Shower's all yours." She stated and looked at him only to see him nod as he looked at her and smiled a bit, "What?"

"Nothing." He stated and started walking towards the bathroom then stopped and looked at her again, "Princess."

"Gaara…" she started then promptly decided that maybe right now wasn't the best time to tell him, "Go shower. We'll talk after that. Besides I need to put some clothes on…regardless of how much you might like me not to."

He only chuckled and smirked at her before going into the bathroom.

"Zu, you know the consequences." Neji warned his childhood friend as she sat brushing her hair, "Are you sure?"

Neji had knocked on her door just as she finished putting clean clothes on. Since she needed to talk to him about his earlier interruption she had no problem letting him in. Predictably he wasn't too pleased with her decision to tell Gaara of her title.

"Neji-nii-san, I. Am. Positive. I am going to tell him. It cannot come from anyone but me." The princess stated and saw the look on the Hyuga's face, "Gaara must not find out from anyone but me."

"Why are you doing this? No. Why have you suddenly decided this now?"

"I care about him." Zu admitted out loud, "More than I could ever have anticipated. Nii-san…it's been a long time since I cared for anyone in this manner and truth be told something feels different this time. Better."

"What in any Hell makes you believe he feels the same towards you? He doesn't generally care about anything."

"I can see it. I can see that he does care deeply for me. I know he's not lying because he is incapable of lying to me. I can read him like a book. He doesn't know what it is, Gods I don't really know what this truly is, but it's there and it's real. Gaara is not Max. He's…he's so much more." She stated, idly running the brush through the end of her hair, and looked at Neji, "Please understand, Neji. I…I'm tired of being alone."

"Zuzu…you're not alone. You still have Hinata and me." Neji stated, trying his best to get her to not do this, he knew Gaara's temper was not easily predicted.

"You know very well what I really mean by being alone. My twin sister hates me and wants me dead. I have this big, gaping empty space in my soul where I know my family should be but isn't. She cut me off from the world for thirty three years. In the full scope of our immortality it's not that long but for someone like me it is…and two weeks in a tiny little cell not big enough to pace in is an eternity. She did that to me, Neji, my own sister."

"I know, Zu."

"You know…but…I've been forced to look back through the years and look at all the things she's done to me. All the times when I could have died and almost have due to what she's done. She's been trying to kill me for years…when all I have ever done is love her. I'm convinced I must have done something heinously wrong somewhere in my life." Zu stated as she continued to brush her hair, "Something other than be a bloodthirsty killer."

"Zu…Yukiko is insane. It's not your fault."

"It's not just Yukiko that makes me think that. Look at my life. I reached my teen years to mass a flock of admirers who only wanted my title. My father died and… that blue-eyed charming bastard had to be the first male to come along and find me in my state and then he just uses me because of what I am. No one has ever been interested in who I am…just what." Zu stated quietly at the end, "I know I have you and Hina but I need more, Neji. I need more than the brotherly and sisterly love I get from the two of you. I need someone that…that understands better than the two of you do what it is like to be feared, shunned, and hated. You understand that it hurts me but you don't know what it feels like to the extent that I do. Gaara…does."

"As long as you are sure that this is what you want." The Hyuga sighed in defeat, knowing all too well she was right, "All I want is for you to be safe…and happy. Just make sure you know what you're getting into."

"I have no idea what I'm getting into…that's what makes it fun." Zu stated and smiled at Neji, making him groan mentally before leaving her so she could return to Gaara.

The princess looked at herself in the mirror after Neji left and looked at her neck then pulled the covering off of it. The scar was still there, a jagged bite mark, faint and yet still there. She feared it happening again and yet she knew she didn't have to fear it happening from Gaara. They were vampires so of course at one point he would bite her, it had to happen at one point if she truly wanted him as her mate, but she knew that Gaara would never harm her. As such she made the decision to leave her neck uncovered and went back to him.

The jade eyed vampire watched as his princess entered the room and once again noticed she wasn't covering her neck as usual. Why she hid her neck he still didn't know but he knew well enough that she always had it covered…until tonight. He sat back in his chair as she drew near and then sat in his lap as usual and he saw it: A faint scar on the right side of her neck…a…bite mark. He frowned as he looked up at her causing her to frown and cover the scar with her hand. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, trying to silently do his best to comfort her.

"Gaara…" Zu stated and ran her fingers through his hair affectionately, trying so hard to find the courage to tell him the truth, "I'm…I'm alright. It was a long time ago…and I trust you not to do the same."

"Good." He said, leaning a bit into her touch and purred as he pulled her closer.

Gaara was tired with resisting his instincts and desires and it drove him into the realization that he wanted her and had wanted her for a while now. At first he didn't really know what he wanted her for but he knew very well now. Kankuro and Naruto had seen fit to throw her at him as a potential mate and he found himself agreeing with them. He didn't really understand what he felt for her, but he understood well that he liked it and wanted it to continue. More than anything he wanted her to be his. No one had ever looked at him like she did…trusting, tender, warm, and…something he couldn't place. It was foreign to him yet he still liked it. It made his nights so much better than ever before and he did not want to lose that again. She promised though that she'd never ignore him like that again and yet he found her pulling away from him and going over to sit on the couch.

Usually she did this with a teasing, come get me, look in her eyes. This time however something was different. She was nervous.

The exiled heir apparent watched as he stood and walked over to where she sat and sat down beside her. She had to tell him, but how? She had to tell him, she knew that, but being so close to him made it so much harder to do. That look in his eyes made it so much harder to do when all Zu wanted was him. Instinct and desire was urging her to do what she knew she shouldn't…even though she very much wanted to. Zukiyo knew that he could sense it. They were vampires. It was a built in sort of instinct that kicked in when in the presence of the one most compatible with you as a mate. Instinct essentially ruled their lives. Yet she knew she had to resist it.

"Gaara…" she started as he pulled her closer, recognizing that look in his eyes in that moment as a mixture of things…one of them being a sort of instinct driven autopilot.

He was still in there she knew and she knew he understood what he was doing. He would have never given into his own instincts had he not known. He was too stubborn for that.

"Yes?" he asked and rested his forehead against hers.

"I…I need…" she started softly, finding it so difficult to resist instinct when his scent filled her every breath, and nuzzled his nose gently.

"Neji, if you continue pacing you'll wear a rut in my floor." Naruto stated as he flipped through the channels of the TV, "What is wrong with you now?"

"Those two are alone in a room." The Hyuga stated only to receive a questioning look from the Kyuubi.

"How is this different from every time before when they were alone?"

"Vampires are all instinct and blood you moron." Neji snapped and Naruto glared at him, eyes a dangerous red orange color until Hinata walked in.

"Gaara and Zu are so compatible that their instincts, once they're no longer able to resist them, will drive them together…physically. Instinct in that case is…" she explained and her cousin finished.

"Impossible to resist."

She was going to go insane at this rate. Trying so hard to find the right words to say to him, to tell him, yet finding her mind unable to form any coherent thoughts as he pulled her closer still and gently, more gently than she ever thought him capable of, placed his hand on the side of her neck and jaw stroking her cheek with his thumb. She froze stiff for a second out of instinct, his hand against the bare skin of her neck a foreign sensation, and saw his eyes change ever so slightly as they switched out of that autopilot.

Still he did not pull away as she expected. Instead his grip on her neck and jaw changed in a way as he nuzzled her nose while looking at her and she saw the meaning in it. His grip was not as gentle but in some way Zu liked it as it only emphasized what she saw in his eyes: Safety. It relaxed her and found herself unstiffening as she looked into his green eyes where she saw one more thing: Trust. He trusted her. She had to tell him…it was just so hard to at this point.

"I…I'm…" Zu started, her arms wrapping around his neck slowly as she tried so hard to resist but couldn't.

She knew she should pull away from him. Pull away and tell him and then see if he still wanted to do this. The princess knew he wanted to at that particular moment. He wasn't being forced to by instinct. Even if he had given into his instincts earlier they were still what were making him do it. Now though, now Gaara knew exactly what he was doing and wanted to do it. Zukiyo wasn't going to deny that she wanted it too, but she had to tell him first. She knew she had to, yet forming coherent thoughts at that moment was impossible. Zu's mind kept going back to how close he was, how his scent filled her every breath, how his breath felt against her lips, and how close his lips were to hers in that moment.

The princess tried, one last time, to stop and tell him but couldn't as she leaned ever so slightly closer. The second she felt his lips on hers as he kissed her she gave in. She couldn't resist at that point anymore and returned the kiss softly. Her mind switched in that instant to how…soft this felt. Zu couldn't remember if she had ever been kissed this way. Soft, slow, tender, and…something else she couldn't place. It was there in the next kiss he pressed to her lips as well, and the next. It amazed her. Gaara was not someone she expected to be capable of this. She herself normally liked it harder and rougher but something was different. She liked, no loved, this and knew somewhere inside her that had he been anyone else she wouldn't have. Then she remembered: Gaara didn't know what she was. That didn't stop her returning his kisses though, not for an instant, they felt too good. She knew she had to though, even as she felt that surge of excitement and bliss as he deepened the next kiss ever so slightly, sliding his tongue against her bottom lip, even as she parted her lips for it so it could enter and pulled herself closer, she knew she had to stop. She had to tell him…

"Mmm…but gods this feels so nice…" she thought and felt him deepen the kiss even more, his tongue coaxing hers into movement, making her melt into it even as she resisted, "You need to pull away, Zu. You need to do it now…a little longer won't hurt…yes it will…no it won't…it's just a kiss. Like hell it's just a kiss, this is more than that and you know it. This is the man you want to spend the rest of eternity with. You need to tell him."

The silver eyed princess knew she had to tell him and she tried but couldn't pull away. Something felt too different in his kisses…and as wrong as she knew this was it felt too right to stop. Zukiyo loved every single moment of every last kiss and melted into every last one as she purred softly in a sort of dazed bliss. Still that voice in the back of her mind fought with her and she lost track of time as she fought back with it…until Gaara reached her neck at least. Hot and yet soft she felt his lips against the skin of her neck and pushed him back.

"No." she said snapping out of the daze, forcing herself to not growl at him, and he looked at her for a moment and pulled her lips to his again.

"Whatever you want, Princess." He promised as he nuzzled her nose, and for the first time in decades she heard affection in her title from a male's voice.

July 19th, 1928

"Papa!" she screamed as she watched the morning light slowly brighten the dark night sky and saw him running towards her as fast as he could, "Papa!"

She was chained to the rock side like a prisoner for execution as the morning light came, slowly overwhelming her. For any other vampire this would be nothing, there would still be time to get inside, but to her and anyone else with the Ryouma bloodline trait this was the beginning of death. It was painful too…a slow painful death awaited her…all because of her uncle and his hate.

Somehow he had managed to get inside her room without her waking and had her chained by the time she did.

"Time to teach my sister a lesson on what the second born is really worth. Do you hear me, Zuzu?" he had growled and wrenched her head back by grabbing her hair, "You are worthless…nothing…just like your mother. I was first…I was the first born. Not. Her."

"Uncle Oniji…please…you need to feed." She had pleaded, recognizing the crazed look in his eyes as that of Hunger.

"I have fed." He growled and kicked her in the stomach before he dragged her through the field behind the manor, through the trees, and to the execution grounds where she was chained…like someone guilty of high treason.

Then he left her there to die…bound and gagged.

She tried everything she could to escape her bindings until her wrists ran slick with her blood. Zukiyo managed to slip the gag as she heard her family calling out to her and screamed.

"ZUKIYO!" she heard her father yell, panic stricken and filled with dread.

"PAPA!"

He ran to her, ignoring the pain the burning dawn presented him and reached her. Immediately he picked the locks and picked her up. Dawn. Dawn was coming and there was nowhere to run to. He looked around for anything at all to provide shelter and saw it. A cave. It wasn't big enough for the both of them but it was big enough for her. It was big enough for his princess…his little angel. It would save her…and he ran. He ran to it and pushed her in as the sun rose. Growling from the pain he pushed his daughter's hands away.

"Papa, no! Papa! There's room!" she said, knowing that there wasn't, but pleading desperately to her father, "Papa, please! Papa, there's room!"

"No there isn't. Stay here, Zuzu. I love you. You remember that, princess. I. Love. You…and I will always love you and be with you. Remember that and don't you ever forget who or what you are. I love you, your sister, and your mother. Stay here…my little angel…my princess." He stated breathing heavily from the pain and kissed her forehead one last time before he left.

"PAPA! PAPA!"she screamed through her sobs and reached until it was too painful for her as she heard his dying breaths nearby.

He didn't want her to watch him die for her but she still heard it…and she screamed...all through the daylight hours she screamed and wailed until they found her the next night. Weakened, severely scalded, and wild they found her sobbing as she screamed for her father still. Her weak and raw voice begging and pleading with him to come back even though she knew he could not.. It was Neji that took her away from the body and Hinata who helped...and it was Yukiko who stared back coldly as Zukiyo relived her father's last words again and again…and again.

"Zu?" Gaara's voice asked her bringing her from her memories and she smiled weakly at him, forcing back tears only to have him wipe them away, "What is it?"

"I…" she sighed and pulled back from him a bit but he stopped her.

"What is it?" he asked again, and she saw in his eyes that he was worried he might have done something wrong.

"It's not you…nothing bad at least." She stated and he relaxed and smiled a bit, "I just…need to…tell you something."

"What is it?" he asked and nuzzled her nose, "Tell me."

"I'm-" she started but there was a knock on the door, it was Kankuro again.

"Turn on the news." He stated through the door, his voice sounding panicked, and Zu knew very well this was bad.

Footsteps echoed through the still air in the dimly lit park as a man, tall, dark haired, and blue eyed walked down the concrete pathway into the area. A fight had just occurred here, the air was filled with the scent of blood, but whoever cleaned up after it was very good at hiding their actions. No physical trace was left of the event. Still he didn't need to see it to know she had been there. She had been hurt, bleeding, and her scent stood out above all the rest to him. Once again he had found her.

"So this is where she's hiding…" he stated and smiled, a slight malicious twist to it, as his blue eyes filled with a wicked intent, "My princess…"

A/N: Yes...I know...I am EVIL...and you love it. Next chapter will be soon I promise...*walks away laughing diabolically*