I was amazed by how many reviews I got for the last chapter that were anti-Kakashi. You know you must be doing something right if you can turn such a popular character into a villain XD I've also changed the summary as I've finally figured out what the plot is and how to make it sound interesting.

A massive thanks goes out to Tasukigirl who kindly beta-ed this chapter and helped me find a very amusing video of Dean from Supernatural ;)

This chapter takes place on the same night as the last, so we begin with Gaara being in a bad mood due to Kakashi's meddling. Enjoy.

Chapter 11

Gaara entered Club Secret to the sound of harsh chords being thrashed out on an electric guitar. He looked over at the raised platform that had been cleared of all the usual DJ equipment and replaced by a band of excited young amateurs who seemed unaware that beneath the noise many members of the audience were wincing and slowly drifting towards the bar.

Gaara gave the band a cursory glance before turning his brilliant gold eyes to the crowd. There were quite a few humans mingled in with the prowling vampires to say that it was a weeknight. Most were students, the scents of youth and alcohol rolling off them in equal measure. Gaara growled, fighting hard to control the hunger the tantalising scents elicited in him. A buffet of delicacies lay before him but he had to be patient and not dive in like a pig without any inhibitions. It was a dangerous thing to do on a good day but doubly so when there was a Hunter in town.

The snarl that escaped Gaara's lips made the couple a few feet away from him jump. The Hunter was the reason he was in this state, the reason he was grasping desperately for control. The man had pushed him to the point of breaking and he was hanging on by a thread. He needed a way to release all his pent up anger before he exploded and did something he'd later regret.

Spotting his release, Gaara made his way over to the bar. Itachi looked up as he approached, surprise flickering across crimson eyes as he took in Gaara's appearance. The redhead smiled dryly, not entirely frilled that his agitation was so obvious.

Turning back to the blonde who had previously been hanging on to his every word, Itachi gave her his wry smile and said, "Forget this ever happened."

The girl blinked before a look of confusion drifted across her pretty face. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Rising to his feet Itachi shook his head. The girl blushed before smiling and hurriedly turning to the girl beside her.

Satisfied that the girl didn't remember his attempt to lure her to one of the back rooms, Itachi turned to Gaara and said, "Lead the way."

Without a word Gaara headed for the VIP section of the club. Bypassing the bar, he pushed open a set of double doors that led to a flight of stairs. With Itachi by his side he descended into the basement where he encountered another set of double doors. Pushing open the doors, Gaara entered a large room that was half the size of the dance floor above. Strip lighting above illuminated the bare stone walls and dirt floor, emphasising the empty space. Gaara quickly swept the room for signs of any intruders but found none. He then turned to see Itachi pick up the key to the double doors and switch on the 'Occupied' sign. The doors were then closed, signalling the beginning of the match.

Gaara rushed forward, his fist flying towards Itachi in the form of a punch. Itachi ducked and aimed for Gaara's ribs but was blocked. Gaara lifted his knee, but Itachi jumped clear, his leg sweeping out to deliver a roundhouse kick. Gaara blocked again, his hand grasping Itachi's ankle and throwing him across the room. The dark haired vampire travelled helplessly through the air for a second before he activated his power of levitation. His body slowly rotated itself until he was the right way up. Itachi then landed gracefully on his feet and motioned for Gaara to come at him again.

As the fight progressed it slowly became more and more violent. Gaara put all his pent up frustration into his attacks, letting out all his anger on Itachi. The younger vampire took the punishment well, not even complaining when Gaara landed a kick that he knew would have him limping home that night. He knew as well as the redhead that when the bloodlust became so demanding that you thought you'd go mad if you didn't give in to the urge this was the only way to return to sanity.

Eventually Gaara held up a hand, signalling the end of the match. The gold drained away from his vision and his fangs were retracted into his gums. Itachi gratefully collapsed against the nearest wall, his own eyes returning to their normal colour. His leg throbbed painfully but he wasn't willing to let it show. Instead he watched as Gaara took a seat beside him, the only sign that he'd been in a fight his rumpled and slightly torn clothes. Itachi smiled dryly; they were as bad as each other.

Closing his eyes, Gaara tried to regulate his breathing. The constant pulse of anger and hunger that had existed behind his temple for most of the night had been replaced by a dull ache in the rest of his body. Itachi's mental powers might have been more developed than his physical ones but he was by no means weak or unskilled in combat; the bruises that would undoubtedly be present tomorrow would attest to that.

Once he had regained his breath Itachi broke the companionable silence the two combatants had settled into. "I take it your confrontation with the Hunter didn't go well?"

Gaara's head snapped towards the other vampire. "How do you know about the Hunter?"

Itachi gave the redhead his wry smile. "My brother and I do talk in between our bouts of bickering and physical gratification." The smile disappeared and Itachi became deadly serious. "Why didn't you warn me there was a Hunter in town?"

"I was preoccupied," Gaara replied, not meeting the Uchiha's eye.

Itachi sighed and turned his gaze to the ceiling. "Of course."

There was silence again in the cavernous room. Gaara gazed down at his hands, noticing for the first time the red, angry crescents his fingernails had earlier pressed into his palms; whilst Itachi continued to stare at the ceiling, his face a blank mask.

Eventually, tearing his eyes from the ceiling, Itachi spoke into the silence. "Neither Zabuza nor I have been able to locate Deidara."

Gaara's head immediately snapped towards him. "Have you searched everywhere?"

"We've searched all the usual places visiting vampires like to squat. Zabuza's currently checking to see if he's left a trail of money we can pick up but it's unlikely he'll find one." Itachi watched Gaara's expression carefully before continuing. "We can continue to search but the likelihood that we'll find a clue to his whereabouts after four days of coming up empty handed are slim."

"So what you're saying is that we should just sit back and allow him to attack Naruto?" Gaara hissed angrily.

"No, what I'm saying is that we're running out of options," Itachi replied calmly. "He's hidden himself well and if what my brother tells me is true then he will be recovered by the end of the week. If we go with the assumption that he will attack Naruto as soon as he is recovered then we have a limited amount of time in which we can locate and eradicate him. It would be more productive to devise a strategy of keeping Naruto safe instead of continuing this wild goose chase."

"That was what I was doing; until the Hunter came along and stuck his nose in where it didn't belong," Gaara grumbled bitterly.

Itachi smirked. "It's not like you to give up so easily." A murderous look flashed across Gaara's face, but Itachi cut him off before he could tear the Uchiha a new one. "As far as I'm aware the Hunter forbade you from seeing Naruto. He never said you couldn't patrol the perimeter of the apartment building."

A glimmer of understanding appeared in Gaara's eyes. "I'll be able to sense Deidara and stop him before he lays a finger on Naruto."

Itachi nodded. "In addition Zabuza and I will be able to assist you without fear of being detected by the Hunter."

A frown slipped onto Gaara's face as he listened to Itachi's proposal. It was one thing for the others to gather intelligence but another for them to physically take part in his battles. There was a fine line between helping and meddling and what Itachi was suggesting was a far cry from merely helping. He didn't want anyone to interfere with his affairs – years of experience had taught him that he worked best alone and now was not the time to break the life long habit.

With a grave shake of his head Gaara said, "The two of you don't need to get involved. This is my fight – I can handle Deidara by myself."

"Maybe," Itachi said, smiling wryly. "However, I don't think you can handle Deidara and the Hunter. And possibly another, anonymous, player."

"What are you implying?" Gaara snarled, feeling defensive.

Itachi gave a small, barely perceptible, shrug. "If the Hunter decided to let you wear yourself out fighting Deidara before stepping in then you would be in a very vulnerable position. It would be ideal to have somebody you trust there to make sure the Hunter couldn't stab you in the back."

Gaara didn't reply. He didn't want to admit that there was logic in Itachi's reasoning. If such a situation did occur he would be in trouble. As confident as he was in his skills as a fighter he knew better than to underestimate Deidara. He'd sparred with the blond on several occasions and, even though he'd won every one of their matches, Deidara had always come within inches of defeating him. It had been what initially drew Gaara to him, that uncertainty of victory. Gaara enjoyed a challenge and his battles with Deidara had certainly been challenging.

Absent-mindedly, Gaara bit his lip as the memories of that failed relationship came flooding back. Deidara had always been as proud as he was and it had always seemed strange to Gaara that the blond never minded that he lost all of their matches. In fact, Deidara had always seemed more happy than disappointed that he'd lost. That had confused Gaara, made him suspicious, but eventually he had come to accept it. It had made him feel secure in the relationship, made him feel like he had all the power. For awhile he'd been happy. Then he'd realised it was a lie and his happiness had disintegrated into nothing but fine sand on the desert floor.

"I know you prefer to work alone," Itachi said quietly, breaking into Gaara's nostalgia, "but there's more at stake here than your personal pride. I'm sure the Hunter won't allow any physical harm to come to Naruto, but emotional harm is another thing entirely. He won't hesitate to kill you or any vampire that crosses his path. I doubt Naruto will take news of your death well. If you want to spare him that pain you'll let me help you."

Icy fingers gripped Gaara's heart for a moment before he was able to suppress the feeling. Itachi was right (again) the choices he made in this matter would directly affect Naruto. He couldn't make rash decisions that would end up hurting the blond – either directly or indirectly. He needed to be focused, objective, level headed; he couldn't let pride or past grudges guide his hand.

"And what abut you?" Gaara asked with a sidelong glance at Itachi. "I doubt your brother would take your death well either. Why are you putting yourself in the line of fire?"

Gaara was slightly taken aback when Itachi smiled at him. It wasn't his usual ironic smile either – it was one that seemed wholeheartedly sincere. "That's what friends do Gaara. They watch each other's back when one of them is in trouble."

Gaara was speechless. It was the first time Itachi had ever called him his friend. He'd known that the other vampire was loyal to him, that he enjoyed his company, but he had never considered the possibility that Itachi thought of him as a friend. Friends were more of a human concept than a vampire one. Vampires had allies, people they could rely on not to stab them in the back, but friends were more than that. Friends trusted each other, confided in each other, did stupid and reckless things because that was what all their other friends were doing. Vampires weren't like that; they weren't overly social creatures. They sometimes worked together because it was convenient, but they never got truly close to people. Their inner, darker nature always prevented it; the primal Hunger whispering in their ear that their supposed ally wouldn't hesitate to take their kill or their Partner. The suspicion that the voice planted was usually enough to deter most vampires from making acquaintances, let alone friends. And yet Itachi still considered him a friend…

Itachi placed his hand on Gaara's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "If it bothers you that much pretend that I said I'd do anything for my brother and that he in turn would do anything for Naruto." With that Itachi gracefully rose to his feet, his face returning to its usual state of bored indifference. "Let's return to the club. We should have time for some blood and a beer before the sun rises."

Gaara scrutinised Itachi for a moment, the gears in his head whirling. "You said that there may be another player in this game. What did you mean by that?"

"Somebody moved Deidara when he was unconscious. There is a potential third enemy that has yet to step out of the shadows."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?"

Itachi shook his head. "It could be Deidara's accomplice or it could be another Hunter who accidentally stumbled onto the body. Either way the matter becomes more complicated. That's why you need Zabuza and I to watch your back."

Gaara dropped his gaze. Things were becoming more intricate and he had a lot to think about.

Sensing his companion's mood Itachi said, "Take your time. If you want to talk I'll be upstairs."

Itachi turned and headed towards the exit. He paused as his hand touched the handle, a barely audible whisper catching his attention.

"Thank you."

Itachi smiled, pushed open the door, and left Gaara alone with his thoughts.

"It's about time you woke up."

Deidara's eyes snapped open at the sound of the familiar voice. His head strained to find the source of the cool, clinical tone, but he was unable to move his neck. Pausing, taking a moment to gain his bearings, Deidara tried to raise his arms. Straps stretching across his chest and covering his wrists prevented the action.

Panic gripped Deidara and he began to thrash wildly, regardless of the restraints that imprisoned his limbs. Above him his captor chuckled and eased himself into the blond vampire's line of sight. Noticing the silver hair and glasses perched on a thin nose Deidara ceased his struggles. Bearing his fangs he growled, "Kabuto you rat! Release me right now!"

Kabuto smirked, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose; an age old habit of his that always got on Deidara's nerves. "I don't think that would be a good idea. If I release you you'll move and aggravate your wounds. As a doctor it is my duty to make sure all my patients are completely healed before I discharge them from my care."

"Don't give me that crap! We both know that you don't give a damn about your 'patients'."

Kabuto's grin widened, revealing his fangs. "In that case you should also know that you're in no position to be making demands. Torturing you won't be nearly as satisfying as making a human writhe in pain, but all pain is good pain in my book."

"If you think I'm going to help you get your kicks you're in for a rude awakening," Deidara said, smirk in place as he accessed the hidden reservoir of dark strength inside him. His eyes blazed crimson as the raw power spread through to his limbs, strengthening them and making them weapons of mass destruction…

The dark power retreated, returning Deidara's body to normal capacity. The blond blinked blue eyes, unsure of what had happened. Kabuto laughed, the eerie sound travelling straight through Deidara. "Do you not remember that fall you took? In a human the damage to your neck and back would have been fatal. Luckily for you your powers of healing and my medical training saved your life. However, you used a lot of energy to bring yourself back from the brink of nonexistence. It's going to be quite a while before you regain enough strength to break out of your restraints."

Deidara cursed silently at the miscalculation. It was a rookie's error to not know your own limits. If he hadn't been so caught up in planning how he was going to make Kabuto suffer for this humiliation he would have noticed how weak he felt. He would also have noticed the Hunger.

Smirk firmly in place, Kabuto pushed back his slipping glasses. "To have any hope of recovering your strength you're going to need blood. Unfortunately you're in no condition to go hunting, and seeing as my blood is useless in this instance we are left with only one option."

Kabuto disappeared from Deidara's sight but returned a moment later with a small bag full of a deep red liquid. Deidara began to salivate; the raw, primal urges encouraging him to reach out and bite.

Satisfied with the reaction, Kabuto continued, "Human blood, fresh from the local hospital, and all yours if you cooperate and answer a few simple questions."

Deidara tore his eyes away from the sachet of blood. It couldn't possibly be this easy. Kabuto had him weak and defenceless and was offering him a way out of it at an outrageously lenient price. There had to be a catch – Kabuto wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of making sure he didn't die unless he wanted to do more than ask a 'few simple questions'. But the blood…

The angry gurgle of Deidara's stomach returned his gaze to the sachet. He needed blood desperately; he needed the liquid life more than the air he breathed. His fangs were already elongating, his eyes turning a lustful red. His body was preparing to receive the offering, preparing to surrender pride and common sense in order to taste the sweet nectar that would finally satisfy the dark hunger inside.

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Deidara cried, struggling against the restraints in an attempt to tear the plastic bag from the doctor's hand.

Kabuto smirk victoriously and created a small slit in the bag. He pressed the slit against Deidara's lips, allowing the blood to slowly seep into his mouth. Deidara swallowed furiously, ensuring that not a drop was wasted. When the bag was finished he growled, causing Kabuto to chuckle darkly. "There's plenty more where that came from. Once you've answered my questions you can have as much blood as you want." Deidara bared his fangs but otherwise remained quiet. Taking this as acceptance of his terms, Kabuto asked, "Why did you have me look up Kushina Uzumaki's medical records?"

Deidara said nothing, his glare hungry and murderous.

Kabuto sighed. He reached down and picked up another sachet of blood. Deidara immediately began to struggle, an enraged hiss escaping his lips.

"Is this enough of an exchange for a truthful answer to my question?" Kabuto asked, a hint of mockery in his tone.

Deidara growled and shook his head. It was hard to think clearly when every fibre of his being was demanding that he rip out Kabuto's throat and take the packets of blood from him.

Sighing again, Kabuto removed the blood from Deidara's line of sight. "I see you're too incapacitated for this method of interrogation," he said sadly, ignoring Deidara's infuriated snarls. "How about we attempt a different approach? I'll tell you my theory on the matter and you'll tell me whether I'm correct. That doesn't sound too hard does it?"

Deidara screwed his eyes shut as he concentrated on suppressing the bloodlust. He needed to keep his wits about him if he was going to play Kabuto's game and get out of this mess. Kabuto was crafty and knew how to get what he wanted. If Deidara wasn't careful he'd give the silver haired vampire the information he needed and then he'd be disposed of. There was no way Deidara was going to allow that to happen.

Deidara relaxed somewhat as the red fog partly withdrew from his mind. He released his breath in a long sigh and said, "So what's your theory?"

Deidara could hear the smirk in Kabuto's voice as he leaned forward. "My theory is that the Hunter Namikaze had a wife."

Deidara kept his eyes closed as a wave of dread washed through him. He tried not to let it show as Kabuto continued to talk.

"More accurately, I think Kushina Uzumaki was Namikaze's wife. When you asked me to get you those medical records I looked at the photo attached to the file. She was the woman in the car, the one we killed along with Namikaze, wasn't she? We didn't make the connection at the time because she hadn't changed her last name. But after you called me I did some digging and found the marriage certificate."

Kabuto paused and Deidara felt another wave of panic and possessive rage sweep through him.

"Do you know what else I found during my search? I found a birth certificate for one Naruto Uzumaki, son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. And that was when I realised that you'd discovered Namikaze had an heir and were going to finish him without me."

"Like you wouldn't have done the same!" Deidara growled, opening his eyes to pin Kabuto with his glare. "I know you hated the fact that you had to share Namikaze's murder just as much as I did! If you'd been smart enough to figure it out first you wouldn't have told anyone of your discovery – you'd have gone alone to get your revenge for your precious Orochimaru!"

Instantly Kabuto had Deidara by the throat, a snarl escaping his lips as his irises changed from black to murderous gold. "Don't you dare speak his name in such a disrespectful tone of voice."

Deidara smirked even as Kabuto cut off his oxygen supply. "My point exactly."

With a low growl Kabuto released him. He glared at Deidara as the blond giggled hysterically in between bouts of harsh coughing. "You're right – I would have gone after him on my own. Once I'd made the connection I rushed to the boy's address with the hope that I'd be able to beat you to the kill. I guess it's a good job I didn't get there before you, otherwise it'd be me strapped to that table wouldn't it?"

Deidara stopped giggling, a hoarse growl building in his throat.

Kabuto's usual smirk returned to his lips as he regained the upper hand. "Another bonus of not being the early bird is that I had the chance to witness your battle against the Hunter and your ex.-"

"Gaara isn't my ex," Deidara interrupted.

Kabuto raised a cynical eyebrow. "Really? Does that mean your lover regularly tries to break your neck by sending you on a four storey drop onto concrete?"

Averting his eyes Deidara mumbled, "That was a misunderstanding. Gaara loves me." Then, without warning, his eyes blazed brilliant red, as if the fires of Hell burned behind them. "It's the blond rat's fault! He stole Gaara from me! He put a spell on him; he must have made my precious believe he was me! That's the only reason Gaara would try to protect him!" With a primal roar Deidara tried to wrench himself free of his restraints. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to tear him limb from limb; I'm going to rip out his throat and drink his blood. I'll rip out his heart so that he knows how he's made me feel, and then I'll eat it before his eyes, and then I'll gouge them out too."

"As wonderfully gruesome as that sounds, we have to capture the boy before the torture can begin," Kabuto said calmly, interrupting Deidara's maniacal laughter.

The blond vampire scowled at him. "I know that; I'm not stupid."

"No, you're definitely not stupid, but you can be rather arrogant. You underestimated the Hunter and you underestimated Gaara when you fought him in the graveyard."

Deidara was about to say something about the pot calling the kettle black when a thought struck him. "How did you know that I fought Gaara in a graveyard?" Then, as realisation dawned, a fresh wave of fury crashed over him. "You bastard! You read my mind whilst I was unconscious!"

"Guilty as charged," Kabuto said, not sounding the least bit sorry. "It was a golden opportunity that only a fool wouldn't take. You really should improve your defences by the way; even if you were unconscious it was far too easy for me to get inside your head."

"Fuck you," Deidara hissed, banging his clenched fists against the table in frustration when his struggling didn't even slacken the fetters.

"I don't see why you're so upset," Kabuto said as he casually ran a finger over one of the restraints. "Your little tangle with Gaara and the Hunter must have shown you that you're severely outmatched. Now that I know the full extent of the situation I can help you get your revenge."

"What if I don't want your help? What if I want to kill the brat by myself?" Deidara asked with a glower.

"By all means, go ahead and attempt to enact your revenge," Kabuto encouraged before a sardonic sneer twisted his lips. "Whilst your precious redhead is busy reacquainting your face with the pavement there will be nobody guarding the boy and I'll be able to enact my revenge."

Deidara growled, bearing his fangs. "Don't you dare to go behind my back or I will rip your spleen from your body and-"

"You know I could just kill you right now," Kabuto said absently as he picked up a scalpel from a nearby tray of instruments. He inspected it with a critical, contemplative eye before placing the blade against Deidara's throat. "It's not like you could stop me if I tried."

Pain flared in Deidara's neck as the blade was slowly dragged across his skin, leaving a shallow but vicious cut in its wake. The vampire bit his lip to silence his hiss of discomfort, his body stilling as the blade moved closer to his artery.

The scalpel was removed and Deidara watched as Kabuto licked the blood from it. Golden eyes regarded him sardonically, the smile quietly mocking. "I could kill you," Kabuto clarified, "but I'm not going to. You see, out of the original group I can say for definite that you were the strongest. You might not have been much of a team player, but you were strong and that was why I included you in my hunt for Namikaze.

"Your strength has saved you again, Deidara. I've already called the others and they will be here within a few days. By that time you should be healed enough to join us. That is, if you're willing to swallow your pride and follow the plan I have devised. If not then I'm afraid I'm going to have to eliminate you; you're too much of a wild card to be left alive."

"I thought you just said you couldn't carry out your plan without me," Deidara said quietly, trying to avoid aggravating the cut across his throat.

Kabuto stared down at him coldly. "No, what I said was having you on my side would increase the plan's chances of success. You know Gaara, you know his fighting style, you could keep him occupied whilst the rest of us found Namikaze's son. If you aren't willing to cooperate then somebody else will have to fight Gaara instead. The plan is flexible in that respect."

Deidara closed his eyes as he organised his thoughts. Kabuto had tied his hands – the only options he had were the ones the silver haired vampire had presented him with. Deidara had no intention of dying without exacting vengeance so, even though it grated that he had to accept Kabuto's help, he would join forces with the vampire in order to take out their collective enemy.

Besides, Deidara thought with a sneer, the longer he lived the more options became available to him. He might yet be the one to deliver the blow that would end the blond brat's life.

"Fine, I'll handle Gaara for you, but you better not double cross me."

"I could say the same to you," Kabuto replied coolly as a smirk slipped onto his lips. He then released the strap restraining one of Deidara's wrists and placed his hand in the blond vampire's. "Shake on it."

And as the partnership was forged both vampires contemplated just how satisfying their betrayal would be.

I know Naruto wasn't in this chapter, but he will be back next time with his new theme music. *Starts singing along to Eye of the Tiger*

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