I Want Your Blood: Remake

by SmexxiAnime115

After Hinata Hyuga's family died in a tragic car crash seven years ago, she learned to take care of herself over the years. All was going well for her, she made friends that became close enough for her to call family and even discovered love. Yes, all was going well for her, until a strange voice beckoned her to an abandoned church and changed her life forever.

9. Invitation to the Sand Part 1

After learning that a war was going to take place sometime in the future, Haku forced us to stay overnight. The information of the time of the battle and the reason for it was unknown so he insisted that we sleep here until the sun rose. Zabuza wasn't too happy about us staying over, but he couldn't complain after all that we did for him. We brought Haku back and Sasuke healed his injuries. The process of repairing the water nymph's wounds took longer than usual, but after fighting Temari the hybrid, we knew why. Her nails were induced with poison. The poison was moving through Zabuza's blood stream, thus making it harder for Sasuke to complete the job. Normally, the water nymph would've been up and running within seconds, but I found out that werewolf poison was resistant to vampire magic. It took a lot of Sasuke's strength and will to repair Zabuza. After how much energy he put into Zabuza, he ended up taking it easy for the rest of the night.

I didn't spend much time with Sasuke that night. We were going to share a room anyway, which I wouldn't have minded if it weren't for the fact that I kissed Deidara. Whether it was the heat of the moment or that I wanted to deep down inside, it was still wrong and I felt a tug of guilt at my heart whenever I looked at my boyfriend. I had to tell him, but not tonight. Tonight wasn't the best time to do it. I had another issue that I needed to address.

The slayers were still a mystery and were weighing heavily on my mind. I only knew of their strength to overpower vampires and their hatred for vampires. They also wanted me dead because I knew too much about the supernatural world, which was why I needed more information about them. Who were they? What was their purpose here? Sasuke and Deidara wouldn't tell me what they knew and I had no idea why. So I decided to go ask Haku, the gypsy who knew almost everything. However, when I talked to him about my dilemma, he refused to answer me too and dismissed the brief conversation as, "It wasn't my time to know yet."

Irritated that everyone was keeping secrets from me, I went to bed that night beside Sasuke. Looking at him still tugged at my heart, but I masked it as best I could and lay down that night trying not to think about what I did with Deidara. I instead focused on the mysteries of the slayers and fell asleep on that subject.

After all that had happened two months had passed and we entered summer vacation. I hadn't found the strength to tell Sasuke about the kiss, which I knew karma was going to get me for later. There just was never a time that came up for me to tell him, and I wasn't going to mention it out of the blue. But as more time passed I felt guiltier. I needed to tell him and I decided to do it now.

It was just the two of us in the church back in Konohagakure. He sat in the study reading a book from off one of the shelves when I entered the room. Sasuke looked up at me when he noticed me approaching him and smiled. A lump formed in my throat. "This is it," I thought as I sat down in a chair near my boyfriend.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" he asked, studying my face as he closed the book.

Saying my name hurt, but I pushed it aside. I didn't want him to get suspicious before I even got to say anything. "U-Um, er…" I had to say it. I had to tell him. "I-In the cave, when we went to save Haku… Deidara and I…" His eyebrows furrowed and he turned his body to face me. He knew something he didn't want to hear was coming. What he didn't expect was betrayal. I swallowed hard and braced myself for what I had yet to say, and I braced myself for the rage that he was going to express. "Deidara and I kissed."

Sasuke skipped the shock phase and went straight into anger. He was expecting something like this. And I was expecting him to get very angry, but I still flinched when he shot up from the chair and shouted, "What?!"

I stood up too. Somewhere along the time we spent together I got used to his rage. "I know what I did was wrong but Deidara and I-"

"What? Got caught up in the moment? Figured it'd be okay since I'd never find out? I saw the way Deidara looked at you, Hinata! As soon as he suggested that you go with him to get Haku I knew I should've fought harder. Naruto should've went with him and you should've stayed with me!" He ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation and paced around in circles. He came to a halt and asked me in a low voice, "Do you really love me?" I opened my mouth immediately to answer, but he cut me off. "Think about it, Hinata. I want you to really think about it. Do you really love me?"

Sasuke was a mess of emotions. He didn't know what to feel. Anger, sorrow, confusion, and denial overwhelmed him. He tried to get the better of his emotions with me being there, but it got to the point where he asked me to leave. I understood of course, but it hurt that he couldn't have me around.

Once I left the church I felt a little lighter but still upset. Two months of keeping that to myself was becoming a burden and I wished that I had told Sasuke sooner. I should've told Sasuke sooner. No doubt that he saw me in a different light now for harboring that secret for so long. If I were in his position I wouldn't trust me. I wasn't so sure that I'd want to be with me either, and I was hoping that it wasn't going to come to that.

Replaying everything that happened two months prior to what just went on at the church, I found myself in a daze subconsciously walking back to my apartment. I was snapped out of my daze when my cell phone vibrated in my back pocket. Looking at the caller ID, I groaned when I saw that Ino was calling me. I didn't feel like dealing with her right now, but I answered the call anyway.

"Yes Ino?" I said.

"Come to Sakura's house right now! Come quickly!"

Before I got to reject the invitation, Ino hung up on me. Sighing, I decided to check out what was going on. I needed to get Sasuke off of my mind and this was the best way I could do it. Going home would only make me think of him more.

I arrived at Sakura's house within five minutes and found the door unlocked. As soon as I got through Sakura's mom, Mebuki Haruno, told me to go to Sakura's room. On the way up the stairs Sakura's father, Kizashi Haruno, greeted me with a smile and waved. I returned the gesture with all of the willpower I could muster. Right now I felt a little numb and I found myself presenting a façade. Here's hoping my best friends won't notice.

"Okay guys," I said, opening Sakura's bedroom door. "What's going on?"

Ino yanked me in and swiftly shut the door behind me. She pushed me into a plush beanbag chair in one of the corners of the room and took her place back on Sakura's bed. Sakura sat on the floor by Ino's feet, hugging her legs with a large smile. Looking at Ino, I noticed that she was giving the same smile, a mischievous one that meant that they were up to something that they wanted me to be a part of. Some things never change.

"Guess what I found out," Ino sang cheerfully. Many options raced through my mind. I took too long to answer so Ino more than happily told me, "I found out where the Kazekage is staying!"

My eyes widened in surprise. "He actually came?"

"Well, yeah," Ino scoffed. "Why wouldn't he? This place is great! And what's even greater is that he's going to meet us."

I shot up in astonishment. "You got us an appointment to meet the Kazekage?"

"No. We're going to sneak into his hotel room to meet him." She saw the excitement on my face turn. "Don't worry. Once he sees how wonderful we all are he won't mind us bothering him."

I sunk back into the beanbag chair and sighed. Ino wasn't really going to make us go through with this, was she? If we even got through the heavy security, and I'm sure he had heavy security, then we'd be arrested once we got in his room to meet him. This was going to fail.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Sakura asked. "You don't look like yourself."

"Huh?" It took me a moment to figure out what she was talking about. But I then remembered when Sasuke got angry with me. "Sasuke and I had a fight not too long ago." As I said that, I let my head rest in my hands and I slouched in the plush beanbag chair.

"What happened?"

"I, um, kissed Deidara and didn't tell Sasuke about it."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something but Ino interrupted. "That's my girl!" she said with pride. "Grabbing up beautiful boys like girls grabbing shoes on sale. I'm so proud of you."

"I didn't do it intentionally," I told them. "It just kind of happened and now Sasuke doesn't even want to look at me."

"Oh Hinata…" Sakura said with a voice full of such sympathy that I removed my face from my hands to turn to look at her. She knelt beside me and rubbed my back in such a way that comforted me. "Sasuke loves you and this was only the first strike. It may not be any time soon, but he'll forgive you."

"And it could've been worse," Ino added, letting her legs dangle and swing back and forth on Sakura's floral double bed. "Kissing is harmless. You could've slept with him. Then you'd have to worry about Sasuke not forgiving you. I remember the time when-"

"You're not helping, Ino," Sakura scolded, immediately cutting her off. She then turned to me. "Let's get your mind off of Sasuke for now."

Ino hopped off of the bed and stood in front of us with her hands on her hips. "And what's a better way to do that than to go see the Kazekage? You in?"

I looked at Ino, who was smiling like earlier. I then looked at Sakura, who nodded at me and let me know that she was willing to do anything I wanted to do. What did I want to do? The answer was simple: to get my mind off of Sasuke. And what was a better way to do that than by seeing the Kazekage? Smiling at my friends, I agreed to go with them to the hotel.

Ino had it all planned out and told us every detail as we walked to the five star hotel named after our first Hokage,The Senju. In her bag, Ino carried three maid uniforms that she "borrowed" from the hotel and somehow obtained a skeleton key that only staff carried. We were going to go into one of the bathrooms to change and then head up to the Kazekage's room. Sakura and Ino were going to hide under a laundry cart that I was going to be pushing. I found it humiliating to wear the black and white uniform with a skirt I found too short. But I found it even more humiliating to actually let others see me in it. Sakura and Ino both agreed that I looked the most innocent so the guards wouldn't expect anything. What they seemed to forget was that my nerves sometimes got the best of me. When I was forced to lie, a lot of possibilities ran through my mind that made me even more nervous, like what if the maids already replaced the sheets? What if they didn't believe I was an employee? What if I accidentally blew our cover?

Sakura placed a hand on my shoulder when we entered the bathroom. "Don't worry, Hinata," she said soothingly. "We'll get in and out without any complications."

"And if we don't," Ino began as she took off her red tank top, "we'll make a run for it."

"Thanks Ino," I said sarcastically. "You always seem to find the magical words to sooth me."

"It's what I do," she smiled.

I smiled at Sakura to show her that her words reassured me. She returned the smile and then we all changed our clothes. The operation was now in motion.

We found an empty laundry cart in the supply closet and Sakura and Ino hid underneath it. I made sure that the cloth attached to the cart was draped the correct way and that it completely concealed them.

We took the elevator to the tenth floor because we figured that the Kazekage would be on this floor since it was the top. As we travelled through the hallways, I suspected that he really was on this floor. Security was everywhere. They wore black sunglasses, black suits, and they owned an ear phone, which I found a little humorous since a lot of movies and FBI shows had secret agents wearing the same attire. But I also found them intimidating. They studied their surroundings and everyone with such deft. They looked like the type that could catch any detail out of the ordinary, which worried me. What if they noticed my friends? I've never stayed overnight here, but I doubted the maids hid under carts.

Soon I reached the room where I suspected that the Kazekage was in. Two security guards stood outside the French doors carefully watching everything that passed them by. These two looked more experienced and observant than the others that we passed so it'd take a miracle to get through these guards. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath before approaching them.

"I came to change the sheets," I told them. My voice was trembling but not as much as I thought it would.

Both of the towering men studied me. Normally this would've made me even more nervous than I currently felt, but after Sasuke studying me almost every day, this almost made me feel comfortable. Almost.

After a few seconds of checking me out, they gave me the okay to enter the room. Using the skeleton key to open the door, I entered the suite… And it was huge. A sixteen foot tall ceiling hung over our heads with glass chandeliers sparkling in the natural light. The natural light was owned by windows that were just as tall as the ceiling and they took up an entire wall. To enjoy the breath taking view of the city, three leather sofas were gathered by the windows and they surrounded a wooden coffee table with magazines sitting on its surface. Not too far from the seating area was a bar. A startling variety of liquor, alcohol, and wine filled the bar, but it looked untouched. Next to the bar was a mini kitchen. A few paintings filled the walls. A mini refrigerator and a small, round table with four matching chairs sat in the corner of one of the walls. Opposite of the front door was the hallway that led down to what I suspected was the luxurious bathroom and the massive bedroom.

My friends climbed out from the cart and gasped at the gorgeous room.

"We so have to book a room on prom night," Ino said, still amazed at the room.

Sakura and I just nodded our heads as we took in more of our surroundings. It was beautiful and it felt so comfortable. I wanted to sit down and breathe everything in, but I was too scared to touch anything. Everything looked so expensive.

"What do we do now, Ino?" Sakura asked.

"Um, I hadn't really thought about how we'd talk to the Kazekage." She laughed nervously.

"What?"

"Don't worry," Ino assured. "I got somewhat of an idea." Sakura and I raised our eyebrows in disbelief. "Go change his sheet for real, Hinata while think some more. Help me brainstorm, Sakura."

I scoffed. Thankfully there were actually some clean sheets on the cart, so I went down the wide hallway and into the only set of French doors. The bedroom was stunning too. The super king sized bed rested against a wall of windows. The welcoming light bathed the room in its captivating warmth. It coated the bed's top sheet in such a way that drew my attention to it first. The silk top sheet gleamed in the light and reflected its dark red hue onto the wall nearest to it. On the left side of the bed was a large walk-in closet. Across the bed was a brick fireplace that had two expensive looking chairs sitting in front of it. And across the French doors that I just walked through was what I expected was the en suite. The French doors leading to it were closed though.

After breathing the room's features in I began to make the large bed. As I was stripping the expensive sheets I couldn't help but wonder why a bed this big was needed for one person. Sakura, Ino, and I could all fit on this bed with more room to spare.

Once the sheets and pillow cases were removed I began to put the clean sheets on. I was only able to put on the bottom sheet that wrapped around the mattress, and I just picked up the next blanket when I heard the French doors open. Someone was here and they just came from the en suite. Slowly I peered over my shoulder to see a boy about my age.

"You're here to change the sheets?" he asked.

An immense amount of heat crept up on my face that burned like fire as soon as I saw him. This fair skinned stranger had auburn, short, spiky hair that was long enough to hang just a little over a tattoo he had above his left eyebrow. I studied a little Japanese and recognized the tattoo as "love" in Kanji. It had been done in red ink and the color almost matched his hair. Looking at more of his facial features I noticed his eyes. They were beautiful. They were an emerald green color that gave off a chilling air, yet they also felt warm. I couldn't quite explain it. He was a stunning boy, but his face wasn't what made me blush like this.

It was his body.

He had a gorgeous body that I found myself unable to tear my eyes from, and he made no effort in trying to hide it from me. Maybe he enjoyed the female attention, maybe he liked the way I checked out his athletic body that owned hard abs and beautiful muscles on his arms. I don't know, but the satisfied smile he granted me gave me an idea that he wanted me to look. It was hard to stop looking. And he just stepped out of the shower too. His auburn hair was wet, his skin was flushed, his body was glistening from the light because it was drenched in water, and the worst part of it all was that he was only wearing a towel. I felt tormented drinking in all of his features. He was beautiful.

"Y-Yes…" I squeaked after realizing that I was checking him out.

He smiled kindly with beautiful white, straight teeth. He walked over to me and, oh God, he smelled like Axe. It must be the body gel and shampoo. I needed to move away from him. With a gorgeous boy smelling this heavenly, it was dangerous for a girl like me to be around him. This was basically an invitation that was so hard to reject.

"Let me help you," he said, standing beside me. He placed a hand on mine to grab the sheet I had in my hand. It was a simple touch, but it sent a blazing heat through my body. "I don't like it when people do things for me. It makes me feel dependent."

With a trembling hand, I released the sheet and let him take it. I scurried over to the other side of the bed to make the bed from there. I could still smell him but not as much. It was the best I could do for now. I couldn't risk blowing our cover.

"What's pretty girl like you working here for?" he asked, fixing the super king without looking at me.

"P-Pretty?" I repeated. Did a guy as good looking as him just ask me that?

"Yes," he said confidently. He took his attention away from the bed to stare at me. "Or do you really work here?"

I swallowed hard.

The boy sighed and gave me a knowing gaze. "You're not a maid, are you?"

"N-No, I'm not."

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked, finishing his side of the bed.

I thought about not telling him my true purpose here, but seeing as he already knew I wasn't an employee, there was no point in lying. Not only that, lying to him would make me feel like I committed a crime for some reason. He gave off an air that made me want to obey his every command.

"My two friends and I wanted to meet the Kazekage, which I'm suspecting is you." I frowned. "I'm Hinata Hyuga and my friends are in the living room area coming up with a plan to meet you. I am really sorry for disturbing you. I'll accept any punishment you have."

I expected him to get angry but he smiled instead. "I'm flattered," he said. "I don't get much female attention in Sunagakure. I don't even receive much here." He paused and cupped his chin in thought. "I'll be more than happy to meet your friends if that's fine with you."

"N-No. Not at all. They'll be very excited to meet you."

"Good." He turned towards the en suite. "I'll go change my clothes." He then looked me up and down. "You should change too."

Feeling the burning creep up on me again I stormed out of the room, closing the doors behind me. I told Sakura and Ino what happened and we changed back into our street clothes immediately. They were excited and they could barely contain their excitement. Ino was the most anxious to meet the Kazekage. She knew what he looked like from magazines and the news, but she kept saying that he must be even hotter in person. I agreed with her to both of their astonishment. Since I thought he was hot, Sakura could only imagine what he looked like.

Moments after we sat down on the couches by the windows the Kazekage came to meet my friends. Their mouths dropped and their eyes glittered with worship. I wished I could've seen their faces if they were the ones to see him half naked. What he was wearing looked good on him too, but not as good as when he was half naked. He wore a formal, green button down shirt with black designer jeans. His smile was pleasant as he shook my friends' hands and introduced himself as Gaara.

We chatted with Gaara and got to get to know him a little better. He was sixteen, like Ino and I were, and had become the Kazekage about three months ago. Life was lonely for him in Sunagakure because he was always buried in paperwork and stuck in meetings. The only people he associated with were his older sister and older brother, and even when he did get to sit and talk to them, it wasn't for long. He was always needed.

Coming to Konohagakure was supposed to be a vacation for him but all he's done so far was get acquainted with our Hokage, which was business. Gaara hasn't been showed around Konohagakure at all in the three days that he's been here and he hasn't spoken to anyone besides the Hokage and his bodyguards. By the way he was talking about how beautiful our city was we could all tell that he wanted to go out to take in the foreign sights himself. But the guards wouldn't allow that. The hotel room was more than he could ask for, but outside was really where he wanted to be.

We felt bad that Gaara couldn't go out and really enjoy his vacation, but we didn't have the power to help him out. Sneaking out of the window was not an option since we were on the tenth floor, and putting Gaara in a disguise would definitely not work. Those guards were hired for a reason.

"Well," Sakura said, "why don't you ask them one more time? If some of your guards come along, then you'd be fine right?"

"That's what I'd like to hope." Gaara sighed, stretching his arms along the back of the leather couch. "They aren't very easy to convince."

"But you're their boss," Ino argued. "And you're on vacation. How is this a vacation if you're confined to your hotel room?"

"Probably because they only called this a vacation so they could get me out here," he responded. "I wasn't willing to become acquainted with the leaders of the other countries since I just became the leader of mine not too long ago. But if another week of staying here like a prisoner keeps up then I'm going back to Sunagakure."

"What if I convince them for you?" Ino asked. There was a flirty tone in her voice that Sakura and I both exchanged uncomfortable glances at. We knew what she was going to do, but Gaara was clueless and agreed to her offer immediately. Proudly, she left the room to meet the unsuspecting guards. If only he knew that she was going to persuade them with her advances.

"So," Gaara leaned forward on the couch opposite of Sakura and me. "What grade are you all in?"

"We're all going onto our junior year. Right now all of the kids are on summer vacation," I answered.

"Interesting," he said. "I used to go to Suna High, but when I became Kazekage, the council voted on me being home schooled. If I were still attending high school then I'd be a junior too." He gave us a sad smile. "I kind of miss being there. I used to hate it, but after realizing how lonely it is to be Kazekage I wish that I could go back."

Sakura smiled kindly. She was compassionate and motherly and she felt bad for Gaara. Even though he was a stranger she wanted to wrap her arms around him and comfort him. But she fought off the urge and instead said, "Too bad we can't go back with you to Sunagakure so we can give you the attention you need. I feel really bad about your loneliness and the huge responsibilities that you have to carry out at such a young age, and I think we all agree that we want to help you. We may be strangers, but we'll do all that we can to close the void, Gaara."

I nodded my head and smiled too. "Right. We want you to feel comfortable around us, too. We could even become friends if you want." I might not be as good at easing people like Sakura, but I still earned a smile from the Kazekage.

"Thank you," he said to us. "I appreciate everything that the three of you are doing for me. No one's been this nice to me in a while."

Moments later Ino came back into the room with the two guards from outside of the suite's entrance following close behind her. She had a large smile on her pretty face and pride twinkled in her blue eyes when she announced, "Let's go explore Konohagakure!"

A part of me had a feeling that Ino could accomplish seducing the bodyguards, but another part of me thought that she wouldn't be able to pull it off. They were so serious and seemed as though they cared about their job too much to listen to a little girl. But they were completely on board to go explore. Ino was very charismatic and charming so maybe that made them switch sides… Or so I thought. They were flustered and their bodies stiffened whenever Ino was near them. Sakura and I both believed that she persuaded them with the promise of sex or she showed them her advances. Either way, Sakura and I weren't going to ask. Whatever she did wasn't going to be worth sharing.

Sakura and I were bothered by this. Ino's body looked like a woman's so the guards probably thought that she was an adult. Ino, however, was actually willing to deceive them by fulfilling whatever she promised. My stomach twisted when I looked back at Ino getting comfortable between the guards as we were walking out of the five star hotel. I've never seen her hook up with boys before so this was my first. And I was hoping that it'd be my last.

On a brighter note, Gaara was fascinated with most of the things that Konohagakure had to offer. He claimed that our plants, buildings, and people were all very different from Sunagakure. Sunagakure was a desert so there wasn't much plant life other than the cacti and exotic flowers that survived in the desert's harsh, dry heat. He also said the buildings were made out of sand and the people wore clothing that covered and protected their skin from the sun's harsh UV rays. What made me laugh was that sunblock was the most popular item in Sunagakure. They sold over fifty brands and scents in the malls and pharmacies.

When Gaara mentioned earlier that he didn't receive much female attention I didn't believe him. Watching the girls pass by the beautiful Kazekage amazed me. Girls of all ages watched him in fascinated wonder and they carried the same worshiping gaze that my friends gave Gaara when they first met him. They looked at him like he was some kind of God and this time even I had to agree. He walked gracefully down the humid streets of Konohagakure between Sakura and me with his head held high and his emerald eyes analyzed every object he saw with wonder and curiosity. I doubted that the people knew that he was the Kazekage because they weren't star struck or running up to him for an autograph. There was just something about him that everyone was drawn to. And it wasn't just his beauty. There was something… something otherworldly about him that I couldn't put my finger on.

The Kazekage snapped me out of my thoughts when he placed a hand on my shoulder and pointed to a building with his other hand. "What's that?"

"That's the mall," I answered.

Konohagakure has two malls. Both are very large and popular and they have some kind of rivalry going on. To advertise, people were hired to stand outside of all entrances of the buildings dressed in weird costumes to try to lure in customers. The one that Gaara was pointing to was the mall that Deidara and I went to when we bonded for the first time.

Gaara's mouth dropped in awe. "The malls in my homeland are not this big."

"Do you want to check it out?" Sakura asked.

He eagerly nodded.

The guards continued talking to Ino but moved closer to the Kazekage when we entered the mall. We Konoha girls sighed when the air conditioning hit us, but Gaara and his guards seemed unaffected. They weren't even sweating. This heat must be nothing compared to Sunagakure, and thinking back to when we first entered Gaara's suite at The Senju, I realized that the air conditioning wasn't on in any of the rooms. I wondered if they thought that Konohagakure was even the slightest bit hot.

The Kazekage was so amazed with all the things we had here that I couldn't help but smile at how adorable he looked. His eyes were big with wonder the whole way here and they still were. He stared at and inspected everything like it was his first time looking at finer things in the world. But what I found even cuter was that he was looking at key chains. The little plastic key chains that broke easily and were painted with cheap paint.

He wanted to buy one but he only had Sunagakure currency on him. He looked so disappointed and Sakura couldn't help herself. She ended up buying him five. Gaara promised that he'd pay her back but she refused. She told him that friends do things for each other without expecting something in return and that a simple "thank you" was plenty for her. Gaara obviously wasn't used to that and found it a little strange, but he thanked her anyway. Something told me that he was going to pay her back later anyway though.

The next thing that caught Gaara's attention was a jewelry stand. At this time of year the jewelry stand gathered rare accessories from the five great nations Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure to put on display and for sale. They were very expensive and hardly sold. The only reason why they continued to come back was because the items got a lot of attention from the customers.

We approached the stand and looked at the jewels in awe. The light from the large display case imbedded in the stand made all of the accessories shine so bright that I had to squint in order to browse. Each year the collection got larger and the jewelry became even more stunning than the last. The sections from where the items belonged were labeled, but in my opinion the accessories didn't need labels. Most of the gems imbedded in the golden or silver chains, cases, or whatever else they came with had their country's trademark color to represent where it came from. Red for Konohagakure, green for Sunagakure, blue for Kirigakure, yellow for Iwagakure, and purple for Kumogakure.

I ghosted my fingertips over the stand, stared at the items with desire as they mocked my shallow wallet, and said, "I wish I could buy something for Sasuke."

"Who's Sasuke?" Gaara asked.

"My boyfriend. We got into a fight earlier and I want to buy him something to make up for the mistake that I made." Normally I wouldn't tell strangers about my personal problems, but it just came out. It was like the words were pulled out.

"How unfortunate," he told me, frowning as he followed my eyes to the golden ring that had red beryl infused with it. It was over ten-thousand dollars and the money in my wallet was nowhere near that amount. I'd be working for years before I had the amount needed.

In my periphery I saw Gaara digging through his pocket. I gasped when he pulled a large amount of Sunagakure cash out. I rested a hand on the hand he was using to hold the money. "What are you doing?"

"You want it, right?" He pointed to the sign sitting on top of the display. It said "International Currency Acceptable" in capital letters. "Let me buy it for you."

"I-I can't let you-"

"You're my friend, Hinata. My first one I admit. Let me do this for you so you can repair your relationship with Sasuke." He turned to Sakura. "Do you want something too, Sakura?"

Even though her green eyes were consumed with both astonishment and desire she shook her head at Gaara's casual offer. He asked that question like he was buying us something cheap, like ice cream. I was always envious of rich people because they buy and do whatever they wanted. And after meeting one and becoming friends with one the envy only increased when it should've dissipated. He spoke of expensive things so casually that it angered me a little. I know his future wife will certainly be happy.

The five of us moved along after the Kazekage bought me the ring that was worth more than my life. Somewhere along our journey through the mall we brought up Sasuke because he caught Gaara's interest. He asked what kind person he was, did he go to our school, and was he a good person. I didn't find it odd at all that he wanted to know more about me and my boyfriend. What shocked me was that he asked Sakura if she had a boyfriend.

Her eyes widened in surprise and her face got red really fast. She responded with a lot of effort. "I-I'm actually… interested in someone right now."

Our new friend wasn't disappointed. Instead it seemed as though his curiosity got the better of him and was quenched when Sakura gave him what he was asking for. But then the curiosity returned when he asked, "What about Ino?"

Our blonde friend was still with the guards and somehow got their undivided attention. They were laughing together with their arms linked. Whenever Ino looked at them she gave them lust filled stares while they stared at her with adoration. They loved her charm and didn't suspect that she was only using them. Unfortunately for them, once they were done doing what she promised them they were never going to hear from her again.

"Ino has a lot of boyfriends," Sakura answered with disgust in her voice.

"Hmm…" was all he said to that. He appeared to be disgusted too and I was surprised. Most guys didn't mind Ino's behavior because she was 'easy' as they said. The only boys that I met that thought she was disgusting were Naruto and Sasuke and they both wondered why I hung out with her. Remembering how Gaara enjoyed me staring at his half naked body, I expected him to be okay with Ino, but he wasn't. He appeared to be even more appalled than Sakura.

For the rest of our afternoon Gaara, Sakura, and I had fun talking about how we met in elementary school and that Sakura used to be a bully. Despite how she bullied other kids, she took a liking to me and defended me from other kids. Gaara found it shocking and hard to believe that our pink-haired friend used to be a tomboy and now she's the girliest out of our trio. I guess in his eyes she couldn't hurt a fly, but if he stayed around long enough he'd realize that she can still throw a punch when good and ready.

We asked about Gaara's childhood and school life but he didn't say much. He mentioned things like his older sister graduated three years ago and that she works as a secretary at the mansion he stays at in Sunagakure. And he said that his older brother just graduated from school and plans to work for him as a bodyguard since the ones he has now don't do their job correctly.

When Gaara spoke about his life I noticed sadness in his eyes. None of the things he discussed were sad events and he definitely wasn't giving off a homesick glint, so I wondered if there was something deeper about his past that he wasn't talking about. He didn't know us enough to talk about it no matter how much he liked us, and this wasn't the place to discuss something that was upsetting him so I didn't bother to ask. If Sakura noticed then she'd ask him what was wrong. I was glad that she didn't realize he was upset as our day dragged further on.

Our day ended when the sun began to set. We parted ways with the Kazekage when we walked him back to the hotel, and he surprised us all with a hug as a farewell and gave us six tickets to Sunagakure. He told us to bring whoever we wanted and to visit him at the mansion when we had the chance. He'd make room for us in his schedule just to see us. Apparently this meant more to him than we realized. I don't know about my friends, but I felt like I just committed a good deed.

The three of us walked back to Sakura's house in the heat that didn't die down even with the sun off of us. My pink-haired friend asked me to stay overnight, but I had to go back to Sasuke. I bet he was still angry, but he should be able to bear being around me now. And now that I had the gift that Gaara bought and an apology ready to be said, I had to go.

Minutes after I departed from my best friends I arrived at the church. Standing in front of the door with gift in hand, I took a deep breath and collected myself. Wrapping my hand around the doorknob, I twisted it and cautiously walked inside. I felt the lump that had been earlier in my throat appearing again when I saw Sasuke waiting for me. His face was expressionless and I couldn't guess if he was feeling anything at all. But I felt my heart hit my chest hard and my vision become blurry with warm tears that ran down my cheeks as soon as I saw him. I wasn't thinking. I couldn't stop myself. After what I did and how long I took to confess I felt horrible, so horrible that I could die right there. I felt like I deserved it. But despite that, I found myself running to Sasuke and throwing my arms around him. I cried hysterically with my face buried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and stroked my hair gently. I kept repeating muffled "I'm sorry's" over and over again into his shoulder that was now drenched in my tears. And I could hardly believe it when he said "It's okay" for every sorry I gave him.

It took a lot of effort to pull myself from him and it seemed like he didn't want me to release him. I opened my mouth to apologize again but he spoke before I could.

"Deidara told me everything that happened," he said in complete understanding. "In a situation like that… I guess it was acceptable, but I am still very upset."

"I-I-I am r-really s-sorry…" The words were really hard to get out. Gasps were forced out in between each word and I predicted that I wouldn't be able to say more than one word until I calmed down.

"I know," he told me, caressing my face with his warm hand. He kissed me on my forehead and stroked my hair again. When he broke away he looked into my eyes with love. His love for me was amazing. Even after betrayal Sasuke forgave me. Honestly, if he did the same thing I did I think I'd forgive him too. It'd hurt but it could be forgiven as long as the other was sorry. My regret was probably what made him forgive me, and I realized that that the expressionless face he gave me was made out of some kind of defense mechanism or some sort of precautionary measure. He didn't want to show me weakness or get his hopes up if I hadn't regretted what I did. He was afraid to show weakness, especially to me, but I detected it even if he tried hard to hide it.

"I… I got you a g-gift…" With a trembling hand from the crying, I handed Sasuke the small 24-carat golden box.

He took it and looked at me questioningly. Opening the box, his mouth slightly dropped from surprise and then his face twisted into something more sentimental. He didn't cry from tears of joy, but I'd like it if he did. He really liked it and judging by the look on his face, I guessed the next thing he was going to say was something like "How did you get this?" but I answered him before he got to ask the question.

"I-I met the Kazekage and he b-bought it for me at the mall after he saw me looking at it." I felt myself calming down and thanked God that the stuttering was dying.

"Thank you," he said softly. He kissed me and then backed away when he saw that I had more to say. I bet he wanted to know how I met the Kazekage but he put that wonder aside for another time.

"The Kazekage also gave Sakura, Ino, and I a total of six plane tickets to Sunagakure." I smiled, making sure to show my teeth. "Want to come?"

He smiled, kissed me again, and said, "Of course." He then asked, "Who are you going to give the other two tickets to?"

I hadn't thought about that. I had no clue who to give them to. "Why don't you choose? Think of it as another gift."

"Alright," he said with a large grin. He leaned his face closer to mine after slipping on the ring. "Now that our relationship is saved once again, why don't we go upstairs to your room? It's been a long time since we did it last."

My face got hot as his face drew closer and closer to mine. "Okay." I was careful to not respond immediately. The last time we had sex was months ago and it was our first time together. I had been wanting to engage in more but I didn't want to come off as a sex addicted pig.

I apparently hadn't been the only one lusting for the other, thankfully. Sasuke was kissing me with a feverish velocity that made my lips burn, and his hands ghosted over my bare skin on my bed. His hands left me wanting more of his touch and always, always complained when he left my body alone, even if it was temporary. My ears enjoyed the sound of his moans above me. They sounded like music to me and he enjoyed my musical notes too. My voice calling out into the air in pleasure still sounded foreign to me, and at times I didn't recognize my own voice. Sasuke, however, loved it. His body grinded against mine so hard that it burned, but even that felt pleasurable. After how long we'd been apart we carelessly called out each other's name into the empty church that night not caring who heard us.

The next morning I awoke in his warm embrace. His rough skin was pressed against me and his breath tickled the back of my neck. I let my soft fingers trace over the rough, pale skin of his arm that was holding me against him as I breathed in his TRESemmé shampoo. The scent of his hair was so alluring that I had to turn my body around to run my fingers through his soft, silky, dark locks. His hair was so dark that it glistened blue in the sunlight. Sasuke was a beautiful person no doubt, but I enjoyed seeing him in the sun. Going to Sunagakure excited me because I'd get to see him out in the sunlight almost every day.

My lover began to stir from my touch. I took my hand away from his hair but he woke up anyway. He smiled at me, stared at me with his dark orbs, and said with a voice like honey "Last night was fun wasn't it?"

I gave him a good morning kiss. "Yeah." After not doing it for so long, my body was a little sore but I was too happy to complain. "Do you think we'll have the time to do this at Sunagakure with my friends there?"

"We'll make time."

Sasuke's face was filled with lust after mentioning having sex in the sandy city. It excited me, honestly, but there was a chance that we wouldn't have time. I had no knowledge on how the hotels operated over there so I wasn't sure that males and females could stay in the same room together. I looked like a high schooler and Sasuke did, too. Of course, we were young, so people automatically assumed that we would be booking a room together to have sex… Then again, Sasuke and I would be having sex in the hotel room, which is something that they would try to prevent.

But, despite all of that, I smiled anyway and said "Okay."

My cell phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. I picked up my phone, without checking to see who was calling me, and answered it. It was boy's voice that I didn't recognize at first, but after listening to some of the words that the boy was saying I realized that it was Gaara.

I noticed that I hadn't been speaking when my newest friend asked "Are you even awake, Hinata?"

"O-Oh, I'm sorry," I said, running my fingers through my bangs that desperately needed a trim, and I sat up from the bed. "H-How did you get my number?"

"Sakura and Ino are here with me at The Senju. I decided to leave a week early so we're all going to Sunagakure together. You want to come by to join us?"

"Um, s-sure, but," I looked down at myself, "I'm not dressed and I need to take a shower." I then glanced back at Sasuke who was lying down and caressing my bare leg. It sent waves of electricity throughout my body. "I also plan on bringing my boyfriend and two more of my friends. Is it alright that you have to wait?"

I heard him shuffling through papers through the phone. After a few seconds he said, "Sure. The next flight won't take off until four o' clock this evening." The Kazekage paused. "Even though it's only nine o' clock do you want to come over? When we get to Sunagakure I doubt that I'll get to see you as much as I'd like. We can spend some time together."

"Sure," I said automatically. That must be what Sakura and Ino are doing over there. "I'll come over right away."

I hung up the phone and got out of bed. That's when Sasuke sat up and asked, "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm going to see Gaara." I spoke as I gathered the things I needed to take a shower. "While I'm out why don't you invite the two people you want to bring with us to Gaara's home? The flight leaves at four so you have a lot of time to decide."

My boyfriend exhaled a heavy "Alright."

I took a shower, brushed my teeth, picked out a black tank top with navy blue skinny jeans and pulled my long hair up into a ponytail after I finished taking care of my hygiene. I packed a suitcase with a week's worth of clothes, and headed off to The Senju in the blistering heat. The heat was worse than yesterday which made the ten minute walk to the five star hotel seem longer. Entering through the doors of the hotel was like I just reached heaven. The air conditioning was on full blast and the elevator was cool too. I was sweating not too badly, but remembering that the Kazekage didn't use his AC in his room made me think twice about entering the luxurious suite. I bet outside was cooler than that room. With windows that big the room must be hot enough to cook a person alive.

With the fear of being cooked alive I approached the French doors. I noticed that the guards from yesterday weren't there. Two different ones had replaced them. They were about to tell me to leave when Gaara opened one of the doors and motioned me to come inside. I hesitated but after standing there for a few seconds, I felt the cool air from the air conditioning caress my feet. No way was I going to refuse the cool air beckoning me.

I entered the room with Gaara as my rolling suitcase followed behind me. I expected to see both of my friends sitting on the couches by the windows, but I only saw Sakura. Ino was nowhere to be found.

I sat my luggage down by the bar to sit beside my pink-haired friend. "Where's Ino?"

Sakura rolled her green eyes. "She's with the guards from yesterday. They booked a room not too long after Gaara called you. You don't need me to tell you the rest."

"Ew," I said. "Why would she do it here?"

"Well, why not?" the Kazekage said as he sat down on the couch beside the one Sakura and I were sitting on. "It's the perfect place to and I doubt that Ino would have any time to at Sunagakure. The hotels don't even allow different genders to share a room unless you're married or related."

"Well that blows Sasuke's and my plan," I thought.

"We're sorry for our friend," Sakura said.

"It's fine," Gaara said. He wasn't fooling anybody though. Disgust was in his voice and on his face as he thought of Ino and his bodyguards. "Everyone needs to have fun once in a while. My employees don't get out too often."

"Ino does," Sakura and I mumbled in unison.

The Kazekage frowned. Talk about sex made him uncomfortable I realized. I assumed as soon as I met him that he was experienced. He wasn't shy at all to let me see his body. But now I'm thinking that he's a virgin. He squirmed a little on the sofa and averted his attention elsewhere. That was a shock, but I didn't show or share what I just discovered. I chose to change the subject for his sake. And mine.

"What's your homeland like?" I asked, leaning forward on the expensive furniture. "Is it bigger than Konohagakure?"

He gave me a smile and I saw a bit of relief play on his sexy face. "Not really. It's slightly larger than here. But it's still pretty similar to your city and it's easy to get lost. A lot of the buildings look the same so it's not like you can find your way around the city based on the buildings alone."

"What about the stores?" Sakura asked, enthusiasm being the highlight of her question.

Gaara chuckled. "I think you'll like our stores. We only have one mall but I think you'll enjoy it anyway. My older sister goes there almost every day and she buys me a lot of fascinating things that I don't need." He cupped his chin in thought. "You and Ino can go with her one day." He turned to me. "You're not into that kind of thing right? Shopping?"

"No," I admitted. "I only ever go because my friends ask."

I shot Sakura an apologetic glance when her mouth dropped.

"All the years of going to the mall was torture for you, huh?" Sakura said. "No wonder you never said much until we left."

"We also have a lot of beaches in case you're interested in them," Gaara said. "I might be able to join you, too. There's a beach not too far from my home."

"That's great. We can't wait for-"

Sakura's speech came to an abrupt stop when Ino walked into the suite with triumph on her face. She strutted over to the couch Gaara was sitting on but didn't bother sitting down.

"What are you guys talking about?" she asked cheerfully.

The three of us looked at each other until Gaara's and Sakura's eyes rested on me. I sighed similar to the way Sasuke did this morning and said, "Beaches. We were talking about beaches in Sunagakure."

"Oh, really?" she said, plopping down beside Gaara. She sat too close to him and I saw him squirm away. Now she was going for the Kazekage? And right after she just had a sex with two men? This was not the Ino I knew. The Ino I met was innocent and kind. She used to think lowly of the girls who did what she's doing now. It took all of my strength to not rip her from Gaara's side and remind her of her morals.

"Yeah, we want to go to the beach," Sakura responded after I took too long to answer.

"Ooh! I got the perfect swimsuit."

She moved so close to Gaara that her bare leg was pressed against his jeans. He couldn't inch away because there was the arm of the couch blocking his way and a girl. So he just stood up and said quickly, "I need to make a phone call." He then walked down the hall that led to the bedroom.

As soon as he was in the bedroom I said, "What the hell is wrong with you!?" I was surprised by the vehemence in my voice and my friends were too because they jumped at hearing the anger in my voice.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked. She was pulling off the innocent voice. But I knew better. I've known her for too many years to believe her innocence.

"Stop coming onto Gaara. He doesn't want you."

"How would you know?" she snapped. She became offended instantly. "You've never been with a man, Hinata. How would you know if Gaara doesn't want me or not?"

"Because he's seen how you are!" I countered. "He's uncomfortable and so am I whenever I see you go off with someone you don't even know!" I didn't bother putting Sakura into this even though she was just as uncomfortable as Gaara and me when Ino went off with a stranger.

"Why do you care!?" Ino shouted.

"Because I'm your friend!"

Ino shut her mouth and looked away. She seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment of awkward silence Ino looked at Sakura and me. "Whatever," she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Ino always hated being wrong. "Let's just drop this. I don't want to get into a fight before the trip. I'll back off Gaara."

"Thank you," I said.

Sakura stood up from the sofa and sat beside Ino. "Why don't you go check on Gaara?" Sakura suggested to me. "I want to talk to Ino."

I furrowed my eyebrows. What did she want to talk to Ino about that I couldn't be a part of? I was her friend too. First Sasuke, Deidara, and Haku were keeping the secret about the slayers from me. Now Sakura and Ino were keeping a secret from me too? This was beginning to bug me. Maybe being with Gaara wasn't a bad idea after all. So I left to go find Gaara.

The Kazekage was pulling luggage out of the walk-in closet near the suite's entrance to the room. He turned around to find me watching him toss the suitcases out with ease. He smiled at me to greet me.

"That was quick," he said, standing up from crouching and walking up to me. When he stood beside me he asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Hopefully," I sighed. "They're keeping secrets from me."

"Why? I thought you were close."

"That's what I thought. Apparently I shouldn't be involved in whatever they're discussing."

"Well, they must have a reason for it. I don't know much about Ino but Sakura's a good person. If she could tell you she would."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled again. The smile was so warm and kind that I found myself smiling back. I believed what he said was true and it relieved me. "You're right," I said, surprised that I agreed so easily. Where had this sudden calmness come from? Usually when I get upset, I stay upset for at least close to an hour. Only a few minutes passed and I was feeling as chipper as I did when I first walked into the suite.

Gaara removed his hand from my shoulder and I could've sworn that I saw sand fall from his palm. I could've been imagining it. There was no sand on Gaara and I doubted that he was carrying any. I let it go because I didn't find it as too usual.

Gaara and I talked for a little in the room. We talked about the beaches and the vast ocean that led out to Kirigakure and Kumogakure. He seemed happy about my enthusiasm for his country and kept enlightening me on the myths that lingered through the city on a regular basis. Apparently the Sunagakure people were big on mythology and folklore. What surprised me though was that the people only spoke of protecting themselves from the supernatural and they even made children songs about it. In Konohagakure the people spoke about how cool it would be for the supernatural to exist. Did the people in Sunagakure believe in myths and folklore? More importantly, do they know that creatures like that exist?

I asked Gaara if they believed in them. To my relief they didn't. It was just something that was passed down from their ancestors for generations and it never died. People laughed at the folklore and made jokes about the warnings.

My friends finished sharing secrets about a half an hour later. I never mentioned how offended I was that I wasn't involved in whatever they were discussing, and I didn't tell them what Gaara and I were talking about. We all sat by the windows sharing our high school memories with Gaara, who was intrigued. I noticed that Ino stayed near Sakura and I was left beside Gaara. I wouldn't have minded if it weren't for what happened earlier.

The anger was building up in me again as I recalled every detail of what went on between the three of us. That was when Gaara touched my shoulder and I realized. The anger disappeared and the sand was there again. It fell from his palm and onto the leather cushion of the sofa we sat on. My eyes widened as I stared at the sand and then up at Gaara. He wasn't worried at all that I figured it out. He looked… relieved. Like a weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders. How long had he been keeping this to himself? How long had he been keeping the secret that he wasn't human?

"Hinata," Sakura called. "It's almost four. Let's all go down to the airport."

"R-Right…"

I looked from Sakura to Gaara. He never took his eyes off of me. I suspected that he wanted to talk about it, but now wasn't the time. We had to leave now, but maybe later in Sunagakure we could discuss it when he wasn't busy.

On our way to the airport in Gaara's limo I called Sasuke to let him know that we were going to the airport now. Being in a limousine for the first time would normally excite me but not right now. Why was I so shocked that Gaara wasn't human? I knew a lot of mythical creatures and I knew one for years that I hadn't known was one until two months ago. That should've been the shock of my life. Yet, why was the Kazekage of Sunagakure the most surprising to me? Was it because he was the most human out of all of them?

"We're here," the driver called back to us, snapping me out of my thoughts.

The airport wasn't crowded today. Not many people travelled on Tuesdays so I found Sasuke easily. He was standing by a pillar searching the room. I rushed up to him and before I reached him he turned to face me. I wrapped my arms around him and he did in return. When we parted I saw who he brought along for the trip.

Naruto Uzumaki and Deidara.

I waved at them despite the nervousness that I felt when I saw Deidara. The blonde vampire returned the greeting with a wave and used the nickname that I hated so much.

That was when Gaara, Sakura, and Ino walked up to us. Sakura and Ino had no clue what was going on but I felt uncomfortable immediately when my supernatural friends locked eyes with the Kazekage. Deidara, Sasuke and even Naruto the newbie glared at Gaara. Gaara merely studied them all and gestured us towards the entrance to the plane. He wasn't intimidated? And why were my vampires and kitsune glaring at him like that? More problems are piling on top of the old problems that still need to be resolved.

Sasuke, Deidara, and Naruto stuck near me on the plane. Deidara sat in the row next to mine while I was forced to sit in between Sasuke and Naruto without even getting an explanation as to what happened. I asked many times believe me, but none of them were spitting out an answer. Exasperated, I crossed my arms and sunk into my seat. Sometime after takeoff I looked back at Gaara who was sitting in the very back of the plane between his guards and I mouthed "sorry" to him.

He gave me a nod and dismissed it.

All of us landed in Sunagakure a day later. From above the city I could see that everything was made of sand. Well, not everything. Some of the buildings were made out of stone, but the sand caught my attention. I couldn't help but to admire the architectural work on the buildings. Some were spherical, some rectangular, and others were the normal square-shaped that you saw everywhere. I "oohed" in awed at its beauty. All of the sand glistened in the harsh sunlight and some of the sand was swept up by the wind. It left beautiful traces of sparkling sand drifting in the wind. This would annoy most people that sand was blowing through the air and smacking them in the face and stinging their eyes. But I liked it. And Gaara was both amused and thrilled that I enjoyed even the littlest thing that this city had to offer.

The Kazekage escorted us to the inn. To my disappointment it was square-shaped. I was hoping that it'd be spherical. Gaara laughed when he saw how disappointed I was. He promised that he'd make arrangements for me to tour a spherical building. I perked up immediately as soon as he mentioned it.

He left once we were settled in our rooms. It was a nice room but it didn't catch my interest like the rest of the city. The inn was called the Shodai Kazekage. Like Konohagakure, the Shodai Kazekage inn was named after their first leader. The first Kazekage's name was lost some time in history so it was just named the Shodai Kazekage. It wasn't a really impressive title but I wasn't going to complain. I wasn't even going to stay here for long. I wanted to explore.

I let Sakura and Ino know that I was going out without them and asked them to let Sasuke know that I was leaving. I needed to cool off. Seeing everyone there who kept secrets infuriated me. Gaara's sand may be able to calm me down but it didn't last very long. I needed to leave before I exploded.

The heat hit me hard as soon as I stepped outside. Sweat coated my forehead and drenched my clothes as I ventured through the desert. People stared at me as I walked through the city with curiosity. My skin compared to theirs was considered porcelain. The people here were all tanned from the sun and I was nowhere near tanned. My skin was still fair and untouched by the sun's UV rays.

After strolling through Sunagakure until I calmed down, I decided to enter a store. I needed water. Thanks to Gaara, I was able to trade my currency for Sunagakure's at the airport before we stepped out into the desert. I bought two bottles of water because even though my anger defused, I wanted to stay away for a little while. I wanted to think more about what went on between Sakura and Ino and between Sasuke, Deidara, Naruto, and Gaara. And I couldn't do that when my friends were all breathing down my sweaty neck.

Once I paid for the water I turned to exit the store. I put my hand on the knob to leave but something in my periphery caught my attention. Slowly, I turned around to see who it was. Whoever it was made me hesitate to face the person who took me away from leaving the store. But after swallowing hard and forcing myself to look behind me, I saw who it was.

A boy. A boy that looked like he was a year or so older than me. He was tall. Maybe close to six feet tall. His skin was also very, very similar to mine. In this scorching heat he looked porcelain compared to the natives. His hair was dark and very long. Longer than Deidara's hair. This boy's hair travelled down his back and rested right above his waist. The color of it was so dark that it came off as black but as I stared at it a little more closely I realized that it was actually dark brown. All of this caught my attention. He was an attractive boy. But what made me stop in my tracks was his eyes. They were so full of awareness. Intelligence. Boldness. They were also the same color as mine.