Too inconsistent with my updating eh? Sorry.

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Thanks to all the awesome reviewers! (Trying to shorten the A/Ns, so names have been cut. You know who you are though!)

Onto chapter….what chapter am I on?….9! Onto chapter nine!

CHAPTER NINE

After the 'tent of win' had been set up, and the boys were finished with their tent, everyone started to look around the area to find firewood. Utau however, refused, as did Rima, and Yaya was too busy bouncing around to pick anything up remotely useful, so it was left up to the rest of them.

Rima looked around. "Hey, where's the bathroom?"

"Find a tree!"

"EW!"

Tadase chuckled and went up to her. After a few minutes, they left into the forest. Everyone who had been collecting firewood came back and sat down. Nadeshiko smiled. "Tadase sure is a great guy."

"Yeah…but if he touches my girlfriend, he's dead…then fired!"

Nadeshiko shook her head at her twin but laughed all the same. "I don't think he'd take Rima away from you Nagihiko. He has a girl he likes."

This made everyone else turn to the purple haired female. Amu was the first to speak. "He likes a girl?"

"Yes. I asked him about it the other day, and he said he did. I don't know who, as he wouldn't tell me. He did ask me not to tell you guys, as you'd probably ask him who it is."

Amu heard Tadase growl lightly and cuss in the distance. She giggled. She could hear him and Rima coming back from wherever they had gone. "So you like someone do you? What about Hikari's number one rule not to fall in love?"

"Well what about you? You're just as guilty as I am!"

Amu was going to reply, but knowing he was right, she kept her mouth shut. Rima and Tadase came into the clearing a minute later.

"Found a bathroom?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Tadase built one."

The girls laughed and the boys shrugged, knowing that they would just go in the bush, not really caring who saw them. Tadase took everyone's luggage out of the van and handed it to them. Then everyone went in their tents and set up their stuff. When the girls came out, they saw a shirtless Tadase chopping some logs they had brought. All the girls couldn't help but stare, while Nagihiko and Kukai were glaring at the shirtless man.

"Hey Tadase!"

The man in question turned to the hyperactive young teenager. "Yeah?"

"YOU'RE REALLY HOT!"

Tadase raised an eyebrow then smiled. "Why thank you Yaya-chan. I'm glad someone thinks so."

Yaya bounced off somewhere, dragging Kukai along with her. He was reluctant to leave Utau behind, so she tagged along. Rima wanted to be with Utau, so she went after her, and Nagihiko went after Rima. Nadeshiko went off after her twin, which just left Amu and a shirtless Tadase. Amu just couldn't bring herself to follow them. She was upset, but she didn't know why. She seated herself on a rock and looked out into the forest. It was only the axe dropped beside her that alerted her of Tadase standing beside her. "You look upset."

"I feel upset. I don't know why though."

"Could it have something to do with Ikuto?"

"…Maybe…Like I said, I don't know."

Tadase sighed. "I should probably tell you that your hair will be back to black Sunday night."

"What!"

"Yeah…Our hair completely rejects dye after about a week and a few days. Trust me, I know. I tried dyes before I switched to this wig."

Amu frowned and looked over at the pile of wood he had chopped, including what little sticks they had brought as well. "I think we have enough wood to last us a month."

Tadase said nothing, just looked at her. It started to creep her out ever so slightly, but at the same time, she kind of liked it. But it's not like when Ikuto stares at me…wait…did I really just think that? What's wrong with me?

After a few more minutes of the silence and stares, he finally spoke. "I think you'd look good with black hair. Show me before you re-dye it, okay?"

Amu nodded, wondering why he's want to in the first place, but shrugged it off. Then a thought occurred to her. "Hey do you have a picture of when you were human?"

Tadase dug in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and flipped to a picture at the very end. He handed the wallet over to Amu. "It's not like there's much difference between then and now."

Amu looked at the picture. It was old, taken by what Amu assumed was an instant camera. He was standing beside a young girl that looked like Utau and two adults. "This is your family?"

"Yeah…my sister, Yuuki, and my mother and father."

Amu looked over to see his pained expression. "You sister would still be alive wouldn't she? It's only been 50 years."

"…My entire family was murdered."

"O-Oh…I'm so sorry."

He waved it off. "It's okay. What's past is past."

Amu felt terrible for bringing up a hurtful subject. "You looked really good back then."

He smiled lightly. "Are you saying that I'm ugly now."

"Yes, you're very very ugly," Amu rolled her eyes and smiled.

Tadase faked a pout and Amu laughed. Everyone came back with Yaya thrown over Kukai's shoulder. "Aw come on! I just wanted to go pet the squirrel! It looked lonely."

"I'm sure it'll find a friend in the woods. But it's getting dark and I know our parents would kill me if anything happened to you."

Yaya pouted. "You're no fun Kukai!"

"How about we all go on a hike tomorrow? It's getting dark right now, so we should start a fire and then make dinner. Tadase, could you make a fire please?"

Tadase nodded and began to get to work. Amu smiled as she watched him work. He was truly was a good person.

But he messed up your relationship with Ikuto.

Shut up conscience! No one asked you!

Within a few minutes, the fire was crackling and everyone was roasting hot dogs. They were laughing and joking about random things, until they heard a crash and a loud squeak coming from inside the camper. Amu and Tadase looked at each other then at the camper. Tadase was the one who got up to investigate. He went inside and closed the camper. Amu heard him sigh "Amu, I need you."

"I-I'm gonna go check out what that was…see if he needs help."

She got up and left, hearing a "Oooo! I think she likes him!" from Yaya.

Rima snorted. "Yeah, and big foot is right behind you."

Yaya screamed as Amu went into the camper. Closing the door behind her, She saw a pot in Tadase's hand. Miki came flying over to her, landing on her shoulder and hiding in her hair. " What happened?"

"Dunno. I think they knocked over this pot. It might have hit her."

Amu sighed and petted Miki's head. "Where's Kiseki?

Tadase put the pot away and sighed. "He flew out when I opened the door. He's hiding in a tree."

"We need to hunt soon…," the craving, the craving for the thick red liquid that her body desired, was backed and burning the back of her throat. Tadase nodded, his hands gripping the table, almost enough to break it. Amu looked up to his face. "Didn't you go out yesterday?"

Tadase closed his eyes and shook his eyes. "Mrs. Fujisaki needed me to do a lot of things…I never had the chance. She was in the car with me, along with her personal maid, and by the time everything was done, it was morning.

Amu grasped his hand. He looked at her questioningly, but his shoulders became more relaxed and his gaze softened. She let go of his hand and smiled. "Better?"

"Yes. Thank you. Hikari has been teaching you to use a calming technique, hasn't she?"

"Yeah…B-But we should get back…they probably already think we're doing weird things in here." She opened the door and her friends all turned their attention to her. Amu came out of the camper, and Miki flew off. "Stay close."

She walked back to her friends and sat down. Everyone's attention seemed to follow her.

"What'd you two do?"

"I think what Yaya means is, What happened?"

"No Naddy, I mean-" she was silenced by Nadeshiko's hand.

Tadase took his seat. "A pot fell over. Then we got into a quiet argument about how to store pots properly."

"Yep, and I won. Pots should be near the ground, not above the stove."

"Yeah, whatever."

Amu turned to Nadeshiko and started an entirely different conversation. Then it was time for smores. Yaya went a little overboard with the smores, and ended up having an upset stomach. Finally, everyone was tired and headed off to bed. Tadase left to the waterfall to get a bucket of water to dump over the fire while everyone got changed and ready for bed. There was a little bit of hushed conversations between the girls before they fell asleep. Amu was still awake, making sure that he friends were asleep before changing back into her regular clothes and sneaking out of the tent. Tadase was waiting for her on the steps to the camper with Miki and Kiseki. Miki flew to her instantly and took her spot on Amu's shoulder.

"Shall we go?"

Amu nodded and they sped off together. Since Amu was faster, Tadase was behind her the entire time. When they finally found some deer, the bats took them down instantly. Tadase got a bigger one, while Amu only needed a smaller one. When they were done, Amu wiped the blood off from her mouth. "The deer here taste different."

Tadase said nothing. Amu looked up at him. He was staring wide-eyed into the trees. Amu turned around to see all her friends staring back at them, shock plastered on all their faces.

Oh shit!

Amu smiled weakly at them. "H-Hey guys. W-What's going on?"

No one said anything for a good minutes. Utau and Yaya were the ones to break the silence with an ear splitting shriek. It sounded as if someone was murdering the two. Kukai and Nagihiko kept an iron grip on their girlfriends, Nagihiko also holding his sister, and Kukai grasping Yaya. Amu and Tadase winced. Rima took a step back, Nagihiko moving with her. Nadeshiko just stood there, eyes wide. The screams stopped due to lack of breath.

"Come on guys…,"Amu took a step forward. "it's still me."

Everyone took a step back. Yaya let out a terrified squeak and clung onto Kukai's arm. Miki landed on Amu's shoulder, nuzzling her head. Amu patted her head gently.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?"

"A bat."

Utau shuddered and curled closer to Kukai. Nadeshiko hadn't moved from where she stood, still staring in the same place. Amu took two steps forward, causing Yaya and Utau to run away. Kukai ran after them. Nagihiko looked like he wanted to get Rima out of there, but he couldn't leave his sister behind. Rima took off, but Nagihiko was rooted to the spot. He was torn between his girlfriend and his sister. Finally Nadeshiko spoke. "So it was you…"

Amu was confused. "What?"

"Not you. HIM!" Nadeshiko pointed an accusing finger towards Tadase.

Amu looked over at Tadase, who was facing the ground. "It was an accident…I didn't mean to-"

"YOU KILLED OUR GRANDFATHER!"

Nagihiko stared at his sister in shock and confusion. Amu whirled around to face Tadase completely; shock and rage clear in her eyes. "YOU DID WHAT!"

Tadase winced and looked at her. Amu could see the pain reflected in his eyes. "It was an accident, I swear I would have never done it on purpose."

"I know…You're Hikari's pupil."

She believed him. She didn't think it was in Tadase to kill a human being. But she wanted the full story first. Amu looked to Nadeshiko who looked furious. "HOW CAN YOU AGREE WITH HIM!"

Nagihiko was looking confused still, and hurt at the same time. Their grandfather's death was a touchy subject, and to find out that Tadase had been behind it caused him to feel rage.

Amu looked to her friend. "Nadeshiko, calm down…please…let him explain."

Nadeshiko opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Tadase took that as a sign to talk.

"I was hunting deer at the time. I was nearer to the house than I usually am, because I didn't have a lot of time. I was chasing after a fantastic smelling deer. When I went to pounce…your grandfather stepped out from behind a bush. My mind was so clouded by the lust for blood-you know as well as I do how that feels Amu-that…I didn't realize I had turned on your grandfather…I didn't realize until it was too late. I was so upset, but I couldn't get caught. So I had to pretend like I knew nothing. But I assure you, every day I wish I could take it back, or trade my life for his."

If vampires could cry, Amu was sure he'd be in tears. His eyes held so much anguish in them, it was impossible to keep eye contact. Amu walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're comforting this monster?"

"He's not a monster! It was an accident! And if he's a monster, than so am I!"

Nadeshiko looked surprised then she glared at them both. "Fine then. You're just as much of a monster as he is."

Once that was said, she turned, grabbing Nagihiko's shaking arm and ran back to the camp. Amu watched her friends leave and felt the prick of a tear in the corner of her eye. She knew Tadase couldn't cry, but for some strange reason, she could still cry at times. She stared at the spot in which Nadeshiko had just been standing, before collapsing to her knees. Tadase grabbed her arm and yanked her to hear feet.

"Come on, we've got to go back."

"GO BACK? ARE YOU SERIOUS? THEY HATE US! MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY HATE ME! THEY THINK I'M A MONSTER!"

Tadase winced at the loudness of her voice, then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. "Maybe it'll be better when we get back."

Amu tried to squirm out of his grasp but it didn't work. So she just let him carry her to the camp ground. When they got their, they noticed that all of Amu's things had been thrown out of the tent. "You call this better?"

"I said maybe."

Tadase put her on the ground. Amu glared at him. "Well that's just great! Now I'm probably going to have to move away and change schools. I'll have to leave everyone who's close to me behind!"

"You'll be graduating soon. Trust me, for our kind, time goes by quickly.

"You don't get it! Nadeshiko and them are my best friends! My ONLY friends. They're all I have! If I don't have them, I'll be miserable my whole life!"

"Well…just think of it this way. You're going to outlive them anyway, so what does it matter?"

Amu brought her hand back and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. Tadase placed a hand to his cheek and stared at her in surprise.

"Don't you EVER say that again."

She turned and ran off into the night. She didn't know where she was going, only that she needed to go somewhere. Her odd tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes. She ran and ran for what seemed like forever. Finally she stopped and looked around. She had managed to end up in that strange black patch of forest. Miki caught up with her and sat on her shoulder. Amu glanced around, but didn't see anything too special. Just then a thick dark mist surrounded her feet. Amu froze and looked ahead.

A tall dark figure was gliding towards her.

Leaving it there. Reviews are welcome. And to those anonymous reviews, leave your email so I can reply! I always reply to my reviewers. Now, I'm off to blog about this chapter…

If you see any spelling mistakes, LET ME KNOW!

Until next time, which is hopefully soon.