A/N: Oh…my…God. It's been so long since I updated. There's a few reasons for that: College, huge back log on paintings I need to finish (still do too), personal stuff, and the fact that this chapter and the next ones took A LONG LONG LONG time to get just right. I literally went through about 8 different possible scenarios for how this would all work out and totally re-wrote this whole segment of chapters about 3 times. Anyway enough rambling from me. I don't own the Naruto characters or characters created by my good friend TheFireRose77 just the ones I created blah blah blah...Read on!

Chapter 16: Truth Pt. 1

"The fire blazed on through the night ripping through some dozens of homes in the capital before firefighters were able to get the flames under control. The fire marshal has not reported any injuries but has stated that these fires were most likely the result of arson," The news anchor stated on the television as a still frame shot of the flames hung in a small box to the left of her head before the screen flashed to a news conference from earlier that day.

"Each house was seemingly set aflame separately, one right after the other. An accelerant was used to start the fire in the front entry hall of each home. We are as of yet unaware of the reason behind these atrocious acts but they were deliberate and we and the local police are doing everything we can to track down the culprits…" the fire marshal's voice cut out as the screen went back to the news anchor.

"Police state neighbors in the area remember seeing a group of darkly clothed individuals in the area not long before the fires began. Another thing found at the scene was a silver cross nailed into the front door of the first home with an inscription on it reading: And light must shine in darkness for no good may come from evil."

They all sat around the television watching the story and others like it play out. Zu watched the screen almost fixatedly. These fires were the work of vampire hunters. The inscription and the cross proved it. Hunters didn't care who they hurt in the process of destroying every immortal creature in the world right down to the infants. Usually they were never this brazen about it. The Immortal Government ruled by the clan's queen always kept it in check; always tried to stop it before it began…but the clan was falling apart and the government was too.

"Something needs to change." Naruto stated, the quiet and solemn tone in which he said it in so very out of the ordinary for him.

He was right, though, and everyone agreed. Something needed to change before the whole world fell apart. However, there was only so much that could be done. The only thing that would fix everything was a change in the leadership of the clan, a new queen, and the only one that could truly claim that title was Zukiyo.

She didn't want that title. She didn't want it, she hated her current title, and yet she was feeling slightly responsible for this whole mess. Yukiko was tearing the world apart with all of this.

The entire world…as what she was doing to the Immortal realm was starting to overflow into the realm the mortals lived in. Yes it was true that they all lived side by side, usually without the mortal population even knowing it, but the only reason they "got along" at all was because the majority of the mortal world didn't know the others existed. Not to say it had always been like that. The mortal realm once knew about the immortal races. However, as the years went on, the human world seemed content to forget about the immortal one. As such it became safer just to keep the two worlds separated. The clan as head of the immortal government was supposed to help keep it separated. Yukiko in her insanity was failing to do that.

Things needed to change and change soon. Still Zukiyo knew that the only real source of change would be if she did what she really did not want to do. There was so much that stood in the way. Other than Yukiko herself there was the clan law. Zu, even if she was the Heir Apparent and the Crown Princess, could not kill Yukiko without being put on trial for the murder of the queen. Of course there was most likely a loophole around that in times of great need. However, there was the one stating that without marriage to a mate… Zu would have to marry her sister's king. The closest resolution she had to that was in the form of an antisocial, homicidal, red-headed male pureblood that seemed to care about her and have some sort of affection and…desire for her while still not knowing that she was in fact a real princess.

In her mind she was more of a gypsy than a princess, but she knew that in reality it didn't change anything. Kamitsuyo Zukiyo was more than just a free-spirited gypsy with slightly psychotic taste for homicide and blood. The name itself was more than that. Zukiyo was named after one of the clan's previous queens, the queen that survived two wars that engulfed the entire vampiric world as well as parts of rest of the world; mortal as well as immortal and earned herself the epithet of The Battle Queen or to her enemies The Bloody Queen. She did whatever she had to in order to keep the world and clan together. Like her predecessors before her, she fought tooth and nail to build the clan more and keep it strong. The princess knew that as far as you could go back tracing the clan's family line every clan head fought, and if need be died, to build and protect the clan in order to keep the peace and if keeping the peace required fighting a war so be it. Not one of them ever sat back from that. Ever. The Kamitsuyo clan came into power because of that drive. They waged the longest war the world had ever seen against two older clans in order to obtain their place as the center point of the immortal world's government. Without a government and without a stable figurehead for that government, the world would fall into chaos and anarchy…and it was chaos and anarchy before the clan.

Zukiyo knew that she was descended from a line of queens and clan heads that went back to the start of the vampiric race and beyond even that. She knew what and who she was and, as much as she hated the title that came with it, she was proud of it. She was proud of the history…on both sides of her family. Her father's family was no different. They were gypsies but Zukiyo knew there was something more to them. Their history was always shrouded in a sort of mysterious haze but always centered on the idea that you protect your family at whatever cost.

Yukiko was Zu's sister but the princess was starting to realize that what her sister was doing was endangering the rest of her family. Not just the Ryouma side of her family but also the one she realized she had here in Naruto's Estate. Neji and Hinata had always been family but in the time Zu had been here she somehow had made the rest of the inhabitants of this palatial house family too…except for Gaara.

Gaara was and always had been different. Now she understood why. It was so hard to believe that only about half an hour ago he had been kissing her in a way she had never felt before. She had never in her life felt as she did when she was with him. It was as if somehow he held a part of her inside himself, as she did not feel whole unless she was with him.

The princess sighed mentally as she watched the news, reality flooding back to her once more as Gaara spoke.

"What needs to change is the government...we need a new queen." He stated and everyone nodded while refusing to glance at the gypsy vampiress that sat by his side.

They continued to watch the news for a while longer until one by one they started to filter out of the room until Zu and Gaara were the only ones left sitting there. Gaara watched the dark haired vampiress stare at the television screen. Once more he found himself coming to the conclusion that, while he had no real idea of what it was he felt for her, he cared for her deeply. More than he had ever cared for anyone, that he wanted her as his mate...his partner for the rest of eternity, and that he desired her. It was a strange thing to be thinking about when the world's chaos was displayed on the TV, but he found it difficult to think about anything else at this moment.

She turned her head and looked at him after feeling his gaze on her. The princess knew that she needed to tell him and opened her mouth to do so.

"Gaara, I-" Zu began but was interrupted by him pulling her onto his lap.

"Yes, princess?" he asked as his arms wrapped around her while he nuzzled her cheek.

This caught her so off guard Zukiyo forgot what she was going to say. This was…new from him. Yes, there was what happened when they had kissed, but that was only a little while ago. Before today he had never been so…open with admitting he liked her close. It was nice and she enjoyed it knowing that Gaara meant it when he did things like this. Zu couldn't help but purr as he nuzzled her cheek and she smiled despite everything that was going on. Still it was when he dared to nuzzle a bit lower that she snapped back to attention.

"Gaara…not my neck." She warned with a slight growl and he backed off, something else that surprised her.

"Whatever you want, princess", he stated and looked at her, "You wanted to tell me something?"

The exiled heir apparent looked down into his jade eyes and fought the urge to simply…melt into his arms. She knew that telling him would change things. Yet she needed to tell him and pray he understood why she hadn't before.

"Yes. I did. It's important and…you need to know, so…" she started and looked around then got up and pulled him along through the house to some place she knew they would not be randomly interrupted.

She knew that Gaara was probably confused by what she was doing but she needed to make sure they weren't interrupted anymore. She trusted him and she wanted to be with him. That was why she couldn't put this off any longer. So drawing him into the garden, far away from everyone else, Zu put her life in his hands. The princess knew his temper, knew his blood lust, knew he had been intent on killing her at first, and knew how dangerous he was and could still be, but she knew now, or at least thought she did, that he would never physically harm her.

"Gaara…I…" she began, working up the actual courage to say what she had to, "I trust you. I trust you with…everything. Even when I push you away, I still trust you, it's just I have insecurities. The point is that…you need to know…"

"Know what?" the red head asked warily.

"Thank the Gods that is done." Chi stated after she had finally finished setting up her new home.

Chi had arrived in the city a few days ago but figured that it would be better to get her new home set up and ready to impress before she contacted the owners of this territory. She didn't really expect much trouble from them. Then again, Chi had a very high opinion of herself and, as Misora once put it, enough pure ego to get her through anything. Chi's response was that the ego ran in the family, as Misora well knew, and that she deserved to have the ego because she was just that awesome.

Over 2000 years old at this point in time, the palace-born vampiress had seen a lot and suffered a lot. Including one failed engagement, the loss of two of her best friends, the loss of her parents, all of her eight siblings save her one younger brother, and the loss of her grandfather. The vampiress did not let it get her down though. She knew that they would have wanted her happy and she did what made her happy. Others might not agree with it but she didn't give a flying fuck if they did or not. If she wanted to party she'd party. If other elders didn't think she was lady-like enough then fuck them. She didn't care what they thought. She cared about her family. They were all that mattered. The rest of the world could go screw themselves for all she cared.

If the tea-colored vampiress was lucky she might even be able to find one of those family members here in this city. It was on the other side of the world from the Kamitsuyo Manor and capital. That and Chi had a feeling that she would find Zu. Find her little sister-in-spirit. Their family was strange and not really related by blood but Chi adored Zukiyo as a little sister and missed her terribly.

Zu simply looked up at the imposing red headed vampire across from her and took a deep breath before speaking, "Neji…Neji was not entirely truthful with you…that night."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what night she was referring to….

"Does she have a title?"

"No…she has no titles."

"In what way did he lie?" He growled out, watching her look up at him with her silver grey eyes searching his jade ones for something, what he did not know, but he did know he could see a caring in her eyes…for him and forced himself to calm a bit and ask again a bit more nicely, "In what way did he lie, Zu?"

"I…I…" She started to say again but felt a nervousness start to creep up her being again, at what would happen once she said the words.

She detested feeling so unsure about everything and frightened. It wasn't normal for her and she did not like it but she had to tell him. The princess only feared how he would react. She knew he wouldn't physically harm her, or at least she believed ardently that he wouldn't, but she feared the emotional pain of him possibly rejecting her based off of the fact she had a title.

"He's not going to hurt her," Naruto said for the umpteenth time since Neji had noticed that Zu and Gaara were nowhere to be found, "He might be mad…but it's going to mostly be at you for lying to him in the first place".

"I was not about to tell him that the new pureblood vampiress in his territory was the princess. I was trying to protect her from him." Neji stated very pointedly and Hinata only sighed.

"Nii-san…you cannot protect Zu from him if she doesn't want to be protected from him. If Zu doesn't want to do something, she's not going to do it or let it happen. You've known her just as long as I have and should know that." She stated quietly and Kankuro nodded after taking a sip from his glass of blood before speaking.

"I haven't quite known her for a year yet and I already know that about her. Gaara is essentially the same way…and he does not like to be lied to. So when she tells him, if I were you, which thankfully I am not, I would avoid Gaara's general area for a while, because his wrath is most likely gonna be directed at you the one that lied to him in the first place."

"I still don't have to like this. There's no knowing what he's going to do!"

"He's not going to hurt her!" Naruto stated…..again.

"You….?" Gaara started to try to get her to stop saying I over and over again before sighing and pulling her close to kiss her forehead, "Just talk".

He just couldn't help himself around her. He sensed he was not going to be pleased with whatever this information was but at the same time he most certainly did not like seeing her so nervous and unsure. It just wasn't her. It wasn't normal and to some strange degree, it bothered him to see her so out of sorts. Zu had always seemed so confident in whatever she did. That was one of the things he found most attractive about her.

Zukiyo relaxed as he looked down at her and took a deep breath before speaking, "I avoided you this past month because I was afraid. I was afraid of…everything really. I don't normally have feelings for someone like I do for you. The last time I did it ended badly…very, very badly. I know perfectly well that you won't do what he did. You didn't know what he did when you…we…well you since you started…"

Gaara knew what she was referring to, he had made it clear to her he wanted her to some extent and he was the one that started it. Still, how could he help himself? He might be an antisocial, homicidal psychopath but he was still a man and Zu was very much still a female, a very delectable smelling, attractive looking, desirable, and extremely intelligent pureblood vampiric female. She was, to him just...

"Perfect…just perfect," Zu's long exiled grandfather Hiryu stated to his wife once they heard the news from Aziza, "She's sent Taizo out looking for Zu."

"He's not going to do anything to her," His wife, Sumire stated while still on the phone with her adopted sister.

"Oh just put me on speaker, this is ridiculous," the woman on the other end of the phone stated and Sumire complied, "That old grump is not going to do anything to hurt his great-granddaughter you twit".

"Yes…call the person that managed to lock you in your own storage closet and kidnapped your sister from the middle of your palace with all the guards in it a twit…"

"Please…don't start you two", Sumire sighed, she was weary of her husband and sister fighting every time they spoke to each other.

"We have bigger problems," Misora stated as she sat there listening as well to this, "Taizo is the least of them. Knowing him he probably only agreed because he wanted Yukiko to stop pestering him about if he knows where she is."

"Exactly. He's sick of it. She calls him every day, asks the same thing every day, and he always tells her he doesn't know but she still asks. Look at it as another pair of eyes out trying to find her to help her."

Hiryu ran his fingers through his silver hair exasperatedly, "He's a former king. His loyalty is to the clan. Yukiko rules the clan. Helping Zukiyo would be helping rebellion…and rebellion and Taizo are two things that do not mix. He's got loyalty practically engraved on his bones."

"She is named after his daughter," Sumire countered, "The whole world knows how much he adored and loved his daughter…and many have said that Zu resembles her. I doubt he's going to do any harm to her."

"Let's just hope for our sakes she's found some people willing to protect her against him if he decides loyalty is worth more than sentimentality."

"I'm just hoping she's safe and happy…and maybe found a mate," Sumire stated seriously which caused Hiryu to scowl at remembering the last man Zu had ever been serious about and what happened because of it.

"Right…like that will happen."

Zu melted into the kiss that Gaara pressed into her lips as tenderly as he could manage and she returned it unable to stop herself from doing so. She knew that he most likely did it just to stop her from stuttering and rambling again but she enjoyed it regardless.

"Since we first kissed…before that even, I just didn't want to see it at the time…that you were growing to care about me. You never had to say it…you still don't. I can just see it when I look at you. I pushed you away because I was just afraid of what would happen once you found out. I didn't want to be attached to you only to lose you. I didn't think you'd still want me…"

The red-headed vampire brushed her hair out of her eyes after and looked at her seriously, "Just tell me, princess."

This only caused her to pull away and frown while turning around and wrapping her arms around herself. He was about to pull her back when she spoke.

"I have a title, Gaara."

Those words stopped him in his tracks and he frowned, a rather irritated anger starting to boil up inside him and fight with the rest of what he felt for her, "What. Is. It?"

Zu flinched a bit with every word and held herself a bit tighter then took a deep breath before speaking. It was best to just get this all out of the way now.

"I'm…"

A/N: Yes cliffhanger, but only because I have the next one mostly written out just fine. Just needs editing.