A/N: yes, a short chapter. it's still sort of like a prologue. the real story'll be out soon, kk?

Disclaimer: No ownership rights here, except for the fact that THIS IS MY STORY.

It wasn't exactly what you'd call a conference. More like a convention for blood-thirsty monsters to meet at.

The 'Dark World' convention was held at the Seattle Multi-purpose arena from 4 to 12 midnight. Exclusive to the invited which are all natural Dark Worlders, such as vampires, demons, werewolves and other creatures of the dark. There, merchants and black market dealers gather, selling their wares which range from charms to curses to weapons.

Striding into the room, the Haruno was shot many admiring glances. Why wouldn't she? She had long, rosette pink hair that flew gracefully in the wind, and framed her paper white heart shaped face. Green eyes shone the shade of emerald, hinting innocence and maliciousness at the same time.

She wore an all black ensemble, starting with the black boots, the black long skirt cut up to mid thigh, and the black tank top. It was topped off with a black polo shirt, unbuttoned and tied under the bosom. Her hair was tied loosely at the nape, letting it fall to her waist.

But then, who wouldn't recognize a Haruno?

She walked towards an old friend, her face plastered with a wide grin as she called out her name. "Temari!!" She cried, seeing the pigtailed blonde at a weapons booth, bored as ever with a guy clad in a black hood and face paint.

The said demon-vampire hybrid looked up, seeing the pinkette run, pink locks swishing behind her. Standing up from her chair, she waved back to her friend. "Sakura!"

Subaku no Temari was a half-demon, half-vampire. The Underworld Sand native was a good 200 years older than Sakura, but she looked not a day older than 20. Her lilac yukata and her off-white armor hugged her hips, creating a petite silhouette, but her black fan that was slung over her shoulder gave her a look that screamed 'you wanna mess with me? Well, I hope you finished your last will'.

As Sakura made her way to the stand, she came face-to-face with her friends and a handful of katanas.

"GAARA DON'T POINT THE MERCHANDISE AT MY FRIENDS!!" Temari screamed, using a name Sakura didn't know of.

After the near-death experience (or at least for a human), Sakura brushed the invisible dust off her skirt, and plastered the same smile on her face. "Temari! Haven't seen you in a while!" The vampire hugged the other over a table of large pointy swords and spears.

"You two Pinky. How long has it been?" She asked, returning the hug.

Sakura shrugged, not knowing the absolute date of their last departure. "Iunno. I guess somewhere between World War I and World War II."

"Yeah," Temari said, brushing off the subject. She then turned to slap the black hooded guy sitting behind her. "Kankuro! No one is listening to you."

Kankuro rubbed he head fervently, feeling for the bump caused by the large smack. "Owiee sis, you didn't have to do that!"

Temari turned a deaf ear to her brother's complaints. She put a sincere looking smile and face her other companion. "Saki, this is my older brother Kankuro." She turned back to her said brother and put on a stern face. "Baka, say hi."

"Wassup?" He said, lifting a hand lazily to greet the pinkette.

"And," The blonde continued. "The one that nearly killed you," She pointed to a redhead, jade eyes rimmed with black and a kanji symbol on his forehead. He approached, rubbing his hands together to remove the dust. "He's my baby brother."

The redhead approached, murderous eyes pointed at his older sister. "Temari, don't you dare call me that."

"YEESH!" she said, holding her hands up defensively. "Sorry Gaara. Happy?"

He nodded, then turned to the guest at their booth. "Subaku no Gaara, pleased to meet you."

--

She sat on the rooftop, legs swinging over the side. Her hair swayed in the wind, forming a silhouette of pink in the bright light of the city.

The black clad woman didn't blink as she was joined by another presence.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked calmly, not twitching when he darkly stalked to her and traced ghostly kisses on her neck as ghostly as he approached.

"Explains a lot." He said with the same bored tone and expression. He continued absorbing the scent and feeling of his Cherry's neck. He liked the sound of that. His Cherry.

Her lips curled into a smile. "Guess we know where 'sleepless in Seattle' came from." She shrugged him off, trying to face him. Forehead to forehead, they faced each other, barely a centimeter apart. He closed the gap, going full on her lips.

His hands trailed down to her waist and pulled her closer to his chest. She clutched the loose cloth on his shirt as he merged their bodies together. Between kisses, she would silently whisper.

"Gaara…"

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