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.

17. Butterflies

Vampires surrounded us in the narrow alleyway. Two stood in front of us and one behind us. Their eyes glowed red as they snarled at us, exposing their sharp fangs. I don't know much about hungry vampires, but I know that when they snarl like that that means they're about to attack. I would have moved out of the way but my body was frozen. Sure, I could process what was going on, but I was going nowhere. Not unless someone moved me. But I have to get up soon. Neji is clearly outnumbered and Haku won't be able to do much from the fatigue he's feeling from gym. We're going to have to run.

"We are not running," Haku whispered to me. "If we run, they will catch us."

I swallowed hard and assessed our situation again. Neji was facing the two vampires in front of us and Haku and I were nearest to the one behind us. Unfortunately, I'm useless, so Haku is going to have to somehow kill the one behind us to assist my cousin with the two in front of him. It's risky, but it's worth a try… At least that's what I thought anyway.

Suddenly, the vampire from behind dashed in and hit Haku with such blinding speed that it looked like nothing but a blur. Haku's body collided with the wall nearest to him and he fell to the ground, lying very still. It was at that moment that my body decided to move as I lurched towards my friend. However, I was not able to reach him because the vampire that hit Haku grabbed me. He held me hard against his body as he brushed my hair away from my neck. I struggled to get free, but it was futile. The vampire proceeded on as if I wasn't doing anything at all.

My heart pounded hard against my chest as the vampire placed his fangs on my flesh. When he pressed his sharp teeth slightly into me, he abruptly dropped me and backed away screaming as he held onto his face. I stared at him from the ground, confused as he crumpled unto himself. What happened? How did that-

And then I saw it. His face was being… eaten by something green. It bubbled on his face as it ate at him until there was nothing left to consume. It then hit me that it was werewolf poison. But where did it come from? Searching for my answer, I whipped my head around to find Neji. He was holding a blowgun in his hands and concentrating on the snarling enemies in front of him. I took that as my cue to go to Haku. If he was going to fight, then I needed to get out of the way.

As soon as I was out of the way, Neji dropped his blowgun to block an attack from one of the vampires. The vampire's movements were so fast that it made me wonder how Neji was able to time his block just right to protect himself. It didn't take me long to get my answer because my cousin's movements were faster than the monster's.

Neji threw the vampire attacking him off by thrusting his palm into the monster's chest. I heard several loud cracking sounds upon impact and instantly knew that Neji had probably broken some of his ribs. The vampire staggered away, clutching where my cousin had struck him so hard that his knuckles were turning white. He was gasping for air, which made me believe that Neji had ruptured a lung, too. But that did not stop my cousin from attacking our enemy.

Neji had pulled out a stake and moved so inhumanly fast that it made me dizzy just watching him. He gained momentum by rushing forward and thrusting the weapon towards the vampire while he was still recovering, but the other vampire caught Neji's wrist as he snarled dangerously at him. In an instant, Neji retracted his hand and roundhouse kicked the vampire. Again, I heard bones cracking, but this time I was able to see what broke.

With eyes glowing the color of blood, the vampire growled, hissed, and fixed his jaw that was put so far out of place that it looked detached. Regardless of his injury, the vampire lunged at my cousin. He swiped at him with his claw-like nails and snarled continuously. My cousin dodged each attack gracefully though, and put little effort into escaping from him. This wasn't difficult for Neji at all. This was hardly a challenge until the vampire that had his lungs ruptured grabbed Neji from behind, making him drop the stake.

The vampire holding him squeezed him so hard that Neji released a strangled gasp for air. It was almost impossible to break free from the grip, especially with other vamp rapidly approaching. And it amazed me when Neji pried an arm from the hold to thrust a palm at the vamp approaching him. When that vampire staggered, Neji grabbed one of the vampire's wrists holding him and flipped him over. As both monsters were recovering, Neji found his stake on the ground and stabbed the one closest to him right in the heart. Immediately after he did that, he yanked the wooden weapon out of his chest and penetrated through the other's heart. The two vamps crumpled unto themselves just like the first did after releasing a low growl.

Breathing heavily, Neji wiped the sweat from his forehead and came over to me and the gypsy. Simultaneously, we asked each other "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said.

"Me too," my cousin said.

Just then, Haku sat up from the ground, wiping debris from his face. I expected to see an injury or something on him, but his face was flawless as well as the other parts of his body that hit the wall.

Neji asked Haku "Are you okay, too?"

"Yes." He looked Neji over curiously and fixed him with a knowing gaze soon after studying him. "You're injured."

My cousin clutched his right shoulder. "I'll be fine. But we should get out of here before more come. Let's go."

We took Haku to the church after Haku dissolved the bodies with some kind of Romanian spell and, as expected, Sasuke was worried and a little angry. I think he would have chastised us for not contacting him, but all of that diminished when we told him that we were ambushed by vampires. And, just like a parent, Sasuke checked Haku and asked him if he was okay.

"I need to treat Neji before you go," Haku said. "It might not look like much, but it will cause some trouble later."

The gypsy patted the cushion next to him on the loveseat with a welcoming smile. Groaning, Neji met him at the sofa and reluctantly sat down. He removed his shirt, exposing his toned body and the large bruise that was already starting to form from his right shoulder to his chest. He flinched when Haku rested his hands on him and cursed under his breath. The gypsy retracted his hands at Neji's reaction and he actually looked surprised that he was in that much pain.

But what shocked me more than Haku not being able to sense the pain Neji was in was the question that he asked him. "How much does it hurt?"

"I'm fine," Neji responded through gritted teeth.

Haku hesitated to place his hands on him again, but Neji gently took the concerned gypsy's hands and put them on his wound. This also surprised Haku and he stared up my cousin to make sure that this was okay. My cousin assured him with a smile to go on, so Haku did.

After drawing a deep, heavy breath, Haku relaxed his hands on Neji's injury. He closed his eyes and, after a moment, began to chant something in Romanian. As he chanted, white light consumed his hands and ran up his arms. It ran up his arms, to his head, down his torso, and then his legs. When his body was surrounded by white light, his hair lifted as if it was riding on wind and his eyes opened. Whenever Haku casts a spell or uses his crystal ball, his eyes turn white and a vicious wind storms through to shield him from anyone on the outside of his circle. This time, the wind was a gentle breeze that smelled of herbs, and his eyes were glowing so bright that it hurt to look at them. His entire body was glowing bright too, but I could bear to stare at him. If the boys at school thought that Haku was the most beautiful person that they've ever seen, then they should see him now. I wasn't able to describe how beautiful he looked because it was so unreal. And the peace on his face made him look so captivating that he could compete with a god.

The light faded and Haku slowly removed his hands from the wound that seemed to disappear when I was staring at Haku, but the gypsy's eyes were still glowing white and his hair was still floating on air. Then he looked over Neji and it was the strangest thing I think that I would ever witness. Usually when the gypsy looks over someone it's because he's learning who you are or learning about your past. Right now he appears to be looking through Neji. He wasn't staring at him at all and I didn't have a clue as to what he was doing.

"Okay, Neji," Haku said. I jumped when I heard countless voices whisper the same words after Haku spoke. "Everything is repaired." The light and the wind stopped and the voices did as well when Haku said "Just take care of that shoulder. Even though I healed it, it does not mean that you can swing it around however you please."

"Thanks, Haku," Neji said, putting his shirt back on. "I would have preferred to heal on my own though. I really hate it when you heal me."

The young gypsy furrowed his perfect eyebrows. "I assumed so. For some strange reason, I cannot figure out why you dislike it so much. Does it cause you even more pain?"

"No," Neji said as he stood up.

"Then what is the problem?" Haku asked, standing up, too. "The sensation is supposed to be calming during the procedure, but your heart always races…" The gypsy's troubled expression turned bright when he figured what it could be. "Perhaps it's a counteraction from the vampire part of you. Maybe the impurity from the vampire tries to push away my magic… I need to look further into this."

Neji ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Yes, Haku, that's what it is. Don't look into it and get some rest. Today must have been exhausting for you."

No one seemed to notice, but Neji just lied. When he runs his fingers through his hair, it means that he's about to lie. But, unlike when we were kids, this lie was so good that it took me a moment to determine whether it truly was false. Sasuke wasn't even suspicious. He should have been able to hear his heartbeat pick up pace when he told the lie, but he continued to stand beside me watching Neji and Haku converse. Well, Neji's adolescent years were all lies, why not be a master liar yourself?

"I suppose I should take a nap," Haku said after finally submitting to Neji's request. "But I have homework to do from-"

"I'll do it," my cousin said. "Just relax."

The young gypsy stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. "Okay." He looked at everyone as he walked towards the staircase. "Good night."

"Good night," we all said back.

As Neji fished through the gypsy's school bag, Sasuke pulled me aside and said "Haku texted me during school and told me about Kiba. Can you keep an eye on him? I don't want anything bad happening."

"To Haku?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Don't worry. Neji and I will take care of him."

My cousin pulled out the gypsy's homework and put it in his own bag. "We should leave now so that I can get this done."

"Okay," I said. "Bye, Sasuke."

Neji had already stepped outside by the time Sasuke said "You should stop by sometime. I know we've broken up but we're still friends and I miss seeing you around."

I gave him a gentle smile and said "Sure. I'll stop by soon, okay?"

I'm not sure if Sasuke sensed it or not, but I felt sad and I missed him, too. We didn't break up all that long ago and my feelings for him are still there. I know for a fact that he doesn't feel the same way though. I would have visited him more often had the fear of rekindling an old flame not lingered through my mind every time I thought about dropping by. Sure, Haku is here to break any potential "moments" that Sasuke and I might share, but I feel as though it'll only take a small spark to reignite what we once had, given that Sasuke is willing to put Kana behind him once and for all, which I doubt would happen any time soon. Who am I kidding? The reason why I didn't go visit is because I still have feelings for Sasuke, and it hurts to be around him.

I caught up to my cousin and we walked back to our apartment together. Outside, I took notice to a car that has never been on this block before. It looked familiar, but I couldn't have possibly seen it around Konohagakure. We don't sell cars like that here. Getting closer to it, I realized where I had seen it and I wanted to smack myself for not recognizing it. Hell, I even sat in it before.

"Hey," Neji said with a large grin on his face, "my Ferrari finally arrived."

I gave him a mischievous smile. "Now I need to get my driver's license."

"Then you need to buy your own car."

He disappeared into the apartment building, leaving me pouting as I followed him. When I reached our door, I noticed a small package sitting in front of it. Before I picked it up, I unlocked the door and made a mental note to get the key copied for Neji. On the package sat a letter issued out to me from… Gaara. Eagerly, I entered our apartment ready to tear into the wrapping paper when I noticed that it said "Fragile" on it. So I carefully unwrapped it to find a leather box. In it was a necklace made of glass. The necklace had been shaped into the form of a dove, and the glass was translucent so when the light hit it, the glass sparkled. But what caught my eye about the sparkling glass was that it shimmered very similarly to sand. I laughed to myself when I figured that Gaara had made it with his powers.

I picked up the letter and opened it up. It only had five words but they made my heart stop when I read "I'm coming to see you." It was very sweet of him to do this for me, so I decided to call him so that I can thank him. I fished my phone out of my bag.

"Gift from your boyfriend?" Neji asked. He was sitting on the floor with both his and Haku's homework spread out on the coffee table. I had no desk or kitchen table so the coffee table was the closest thing to one.

"Yeah," I responded. "I'm going to call him."

"Wait," my cousin called out to me before I could leave the room. "Do you really like the Kazekage? You don't seem to adore him as much as he does you."

"He's a great guy. Of course I like him." Even though it is true that I like Gaara, saying those words felt like lies, and it's because I only see him as a friend. But, even though I only see him as a friend, I can feel that it's slowly becoming more than that. "Why do you ask?"

"You and Sasuke had a pretty strong relationship and you moved on pretty fast after you broke up with him from what I heard. You're not just using the Kazekage as a replacement are you?"

"I would never do that. You've got it all wrong, Neji."

My cousin studied me for a moment to see if I was telling the truth. I don't believe that he thought that I was lying to him per se, but he was checking to see if I was lying to myself. After all, it is said that the greatest liars are the ones who believe in the lie themselves… Not that I'm saying I'm one of those people. While it is true that I still have feelings for Sasuke, I am by no means using Gaara as Sasuke's replacement. It's wrong, but the truth is that I decided to go out with Gaara to kill my confusing feelings for my blonde, sadistic friend.

After he finished his analysis, he said "Okay. I'm sorry for accusing you. You'd never do something like that."

I smiled at him to mask my guilt. "I won't be too long. I'll be back soon."

I went to the roof so that Neji could concentrate on the work. The sun had gone down considerably within the past few minutes, and all I could see was the thin red-orange line of the sun in the darkening sky.

I found a bench near the door that led out here and sat down as I dialed his number. He answered on the second ring and sounded half asleep. I wanted to smack myself because I had forgotten all about the time zones.

"Hinata?" he said in a sleepy voice. "I was hoping that you would call."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were sleeping. Should I call back later?"

"No, no. It's fine. I told you that you can call me any time." I heard shuffling in the background and assumed that he had sat up in bed. "Is everything okay? Did the package arrive at your house yet?"

"Yeah, I just got your gift and I love it. It's really beautiful. Did you make it?"

"Yes. I'm glad that you like it." He paused. "Did you get the letter?"

"Yes, and I can't wait to see you. When are you getting here?"

"I'm hoping in a few days or sooner. I have been working overtime to get time to go to Konohagakure. I really miss you."

"I miss you, too. And I would have called you before but my cousin is living with me now. I wanted to catch up with him before doing anything else."

"I heard about that. I had also heard that he had lost his memory and recovered it not too long after you got back home."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "How did you know that?"

He chuckled. "Ino has a big mouth. She texted me a day after you landed."

"She never told me." I couldn't help but to smile at Ino's concern for my love life. I wish that she would put effort into her own.

"Well, I guess her mouth isn't as big as I thought." I heard papers shuffling in the background now.

"Are you working, Gaara?" I asked.

"I'm about to." Next I heard a door open and close. "I have to go now, but I will call you as soon as I can. I can't wait to see your beautiful face again."

That caught me by surprise and my heart skipped a beat. "M-My face? Beautiful?" I didn't realize how stupid I sounded until I spoke the words.

"Yes," he said with a chuckle. "Your face is very beautiful."

"T-Thanks." I wish that I could have said more but nothing else came to mind.

I could tell that he was smiling by the sound of his voice. "My pleasure, Hinata. I'll see you when I get there."

"O-Okay. Bye."

I hung up the phone and looked out towards the sky again to calm my rapidly beating heart. The sun completely retreated now and the moon was slowly taking its place. I tried to get my mind off of the phone conversation, but my mind kept coming back to it. I just couldn't fathom how a simple compliment could make me so uncertain about how I feel about Gaara. One minute I say that I like him as a friend and the next, my heart is skipping beats as if I really do like him. This is really annoying me. If I can't figure out whether I like Gaara as more than a friend or not, then how can I continue on with this relationship? I'm more confused now than I was before and that makes me uncomfortable.

When I got back inside, Neji was clenching and unclenching his jaw as he bore holes in the mass of papers consuming the table.

"I wonder if Haku could have done a better job at doing this than me," he told me as I sat down with my bag on the opposite side of the coffee table.

My cousin had managed to complete all of the work, but he was frustrated because he wasn't sure if it was correct. I would have been more than happy to help but I'm a junior and Neji is a senior in advanced classes. Offering to help would be disastrous… On his part, not mine.

"If it's wrong, Haku will fix it tomorrow. Don't worry about it," I said, pulling out my homework and trying to find a spot to do it on.

"But he was exhausted from all of the issues at school, the vampires, and using such strong magic. I can't be certain that he'll be able to function very well tomorrow."

"He's strong and he heals pretty fast. I saw how quick his wounds healed from when the vampire hit him. He can probably do the same for his exhaustion by sleeping." I pushed some papers aside and put my materials on the table. "And what he did to heal you was pretty cool, wasn't it? I've never seen anything like it."

"Yeah," he said, focusing on the work again. "Neither have I. Every time I see it, I always forget how beautiful it is."

Now I was confused. "I thought that you didn't like it when Haku healed you?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and then said with heavy irritation in his voice, "I don't." He stayed silent for a second before saying "I'm going to take a shower."

My cousin left me pondering on what the hell was going on between the two of them. First, Haku can't read Neji and can't even tell when he's lying. Then Neji lies about disliking the healing, which I found very odd. If I found it wonderful to watch it happening, then it should have been fantastic to experience it. After that, Neji tried to avoid talking about the healing when I brought it up. And, lastly, my cousin lied to me about disliking the procedure. Whatever is going on is beyond me. I haven't a clue where to begin my guesses on his strange behavior. All I know is that it started after Haku healed him. Maybe it did counteract like Haku theorized.

I couldn't get the answer on my own and I simply couldn't ask my cousin about it. He'll just avoid me asking again or get mad at me for asking again. The only thing I can do now is ponder on it until I come up with a sound theory.

Well, that was the plan anyway.

In homeroom the next day, Kiba rushed over to my desk while Sakura and Ino were trying to convince me to go to a shoe sale with them. What he said to me made me wonder if Sasuke could also see into the future.

"Hinata," Kiba said, completely out of breath. "Can you do me a favor?"

I hesitated to ask. "W-What kind of favor?"

"Can you get Haku to go on a date with me?"

I just stared at him, searching for what to tell him. I had come up with an excuse as to why Haku wouldn't be able to go out with him when Deidara decided that it would be a good idea to mess it all up.

"Of course he would like to go on a date with you, Kiba," Deidara said in his most friendly tone. "You're all he talks about and he even told me that he thinks you're cute. Right, Hinata?"

Kiba's face lit up so bright that it was difficult for me to tell him the truth: Haku probably thinks that he's creepy and he wants absolutely nothing to do with him (which Deidara is most definitely fully aware of).

Before I could answer, Kiba said "Tell me what he says, okay?"

I shot Deidara a glare, which he shrugged at with a devilish smirk, when Kiba went to his seat. I wanted to yell at him badly but Iruka sensei came in to take attendance. The next time that I bring up this situation again will be with Haku and I have to make sure that Deidara is with me when I do. I have the feeling that Haku will need a punching bag and our blonde friend will be the perfect target.

I figured that lunch was the best time to tell him what happened since Kiba sat right in front of him during Literature. And sadly, during all of my classes what Deidara did was all I thought about. The blonde vampire smiled at me occasionally from reading my mind, but I refused to let him know that I was going to take him directly to the gypsy once the lunch bell rang. The last thing I need is for him to run away. So when the bell rang, I grabbed Deidara firmly by the wrist and rushed to the cafeteria with a confused Naruto following in suit.

"I like that look in your eyes, Hinata," Deidara said in a flirtatious tone that made me blush as I pulled him along. "I can only imagine what's going through that head of yours."

His words made my heart pound but I hid it as best that I could with nonchalance. "I'm not you, Deidara."

"You're right. You're not me, but that look in your eyes makes me wonder where you could possibly be taking me."

I found Haku easily, since everyone was gawking at him, and brought the vampire straight to him. The gypsy had somewhat of an idea what was going on, but there was some confusion in his eyes.

I said all in one breath when I tossed Deidara to him "Deidara got you a date with Kiba and he told Kiba that you think he's cute."

"What?" Haku said. He sounded so angry that I thought his body was going to combust into flames. "What did you do?" the gypsy asked once more. As he said each word, he stepped closer to the vampire.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Naruto said, turning to get in line for food.

"I did you a favor, little boy," Deidara said to the gypsy. "You should be thanking me."

Haku took us both into the empty hallway before speaking again. "I am going to kill you, Deidara."

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad, so again I say: You should be thanking me."

Frustration consumed Haku. "Apparently words alone do not seem to reach you, so again I say," our gypsy lifted Deidara up using the power of his mind and pinned him against a wall, "I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You." He dropped the blonde vampire, letting him fall on his butt. Before going back into the cafeteria, he told Deidara "Don't ever do that again."

"Well that was delightful," Deidara said, dusting himself off.

"You deserved it," I told him.

"Oh, come on. You have to admit that he needs to get out more often. All he's been doing since he got here was try to figure out why slayers are killing things other than vampires. He needs a break… even though he doesn't want one."

I could hardly believe that Deidara was concerned about Haku's health. But even though he wanted to help, this wasn't the right way to do it. Intentionally angering someone before "helping them out" isn't really helping at all. He'll have to do something big to make up to Haku after this.

"A date with Kiba of all people though?" I said.

Deidara just shrugged his shoulders. "I saw the opportunity and I grabbed it."

"You could have waited for another opportunity. I'm not comfortable with Kiba going out with Haku."

"He can handle himself, and Kiba's not a bad guy, Princess. Haku just has to give him a chance."

That didn't soothe me. It just made me think back to when Sasuke asked me to keep an eye on him. This date thing only makes my job harder.

We went back into the cafeteria together and were stopped by Haku. He mumbled "I will go on the date, but I will not enjoy it."

"Good," Deidara said.

"But on one condition." The gypsy turned to me. "Bring Gaara and go on a double date with me."

In periphery, I noticed that Deidara rolled his eyes at the sound of Gaara's name, but I didn't say anything. I was too busy with the heat sneaking up on my face at the Kazekage's name and I subconsciously touched the glass necklace resting just below my collarbone. "O-Okay…" I learned by now that it was totally normal for Haku to know almost everything that happens in our lives so I didn't find it strange at all that he knew Gaara was coming to Konohagakure. I was only worried about Neji's words getting to me while on the date and I'd accidentally blurt something inappropriate (but totally true) out loud.

None of us spoke much during school today since Deidara was irritated because he found out that I was going on a date, and Haku was still mad at, well, the world. All of us felt the rage emanating off of him and we chose to stay shut in fear of seeing what he would do to us. Even after school when Neji and I walked him to the church, he hardly said anything, which concerned my cousin. He asked me what was wrong with him when we got home.

"Deidara got Kiba a date with Haku," I explained. "When Gaara gets here, we're going too so that it'll be a double date."

"Seriously? Does he like this boy?" I thought I heard a hint of jealousy in his voice but I wasn't sure. There was no reason for him to be jealous, right?

"No. That's why he's mad."

"Oh." There was relief in his voice now.

I wanted to ask why he was so relieved when my phone vibrated. I received a text message from Haku saying "Get ready." I became even more confused than I was earlier until I heard a knock at my front door. Putting my phone away, I went to the door and answered it only to be met by the Kazekage. Now that I think about it, when we spoke on the phone yesterday those sounds in the background must have been him on the plane.

I gave him a tight hug and drowned myself in his scent. Axe.

"You lied to me," I said. For some strange reason, I was unable to hide my elation in seeing him. I actually wanted to see him.

"No I didn't. I said that I would be here in a few days or sooner." He put emphasis on the word sooner.

He kissed me and I ignored the butterflies forming in my stomach.

"So you're Hinata's boyfriend," Neji said, meeting us at the door.

The Kazekage released me so they could shake hands.

"Yes. And you are her cousin?"

Neji nodded and stepped aside so that Gaara could come in. I closed the door behind him and asked "Do you feel like going out, Gaara?"

"Do you mean as in a date?"

"Yeah. A friend of mine wants to go on a double date."

He smiled. "I'll do whatever you want to do."

Grinning, I said "Okay. Let me go get ready." I quickly grabbed my clothes from the dresser and headed into the bathroom so my cousin and boyfriend could get acquainted with one another.

It didn't take me long to throw on jeans and a blouse, and I didn't have time to shower before going out so luckily I took one this morning. Before we left, Neji told us to have fun but I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't very happy about it. Could it be because of Haku? If it is, why is he so upset about it? I'll be there to watch him the entire night if he's worried.

Gaara and I picked up the gypsy first, telling Sasuke that we'd bring him back right after the date, and then met Kiba at Yakiniku Q, the best barbeque place in the city. I've been here a few times in the past and got easily addicted to the food. I was coming here every day for two months straight and spent unnecessary amounts of money, which should have been used to pay for my rent, but I didn't care at the time. This is my first time back here in three years and I'm still embarrassed that the owner knows my name. On the bright side, he gave us a discount.

We found our seats on our own. Gaara sat next to me and Kiba and Haku, reluctantly, sat beside each other. We ordered our drinks and the staff remembered what drink I preferred, which further embarrassed me. I asked for a Pepsi and Gaara ordered the same thing. Kiba asked for a Mountain Dew (yuck), and my friend gypsy just wanted water.

"I was surprised that your date was the Kazekage, Hinata," Kiba told me once the waitress left. "How did you even meet?"

"Um, well, Sakura, Ino, and I snuck into Gaara's hotel room when he visited our country for the first time."

He stared at me like I was crazy. "That's just creepy."

"I disagree," Gaara said with the sweetest smile on his face as he looked at me. He laced his fingers through mine on top of the table for the world to see. "No one has ever gotten past my security, so I knew right away that Hinata was special."

I returned the smile and squeezed his hand in turn. He was such a sweet guy and his smiles were genuine, and I think for the first time, I was actually starting to feel the same way about him. I mean, what's not to like? He's a great guy.

Kiba was looking at both of us like we were crazy now. "Yeah, you two are meant for each other."

"I think so, too," Gaara said, still looking at me. The way that he stared at me made me blush and I shied away by looking elsewhere.

"Such an honest man," Haku said. "It is very hard to find one these days."

"I'm an honest man," Kiba said.

"How would I know that without truly knowing you yet?" the gypsy asked, giving him a knowing gaze. "For all I know, you could be a liar."

"I promise you that I am not."

Instead of responding, the gypsy put his attention elsewhere by staring out of the window. He so did not want to be here.

Gaara leaned in to my ear to whisper "Is he a gypsy?"

I simply nodded.

"I've always wanted to meet one."

The waitress returned to our table with our drinks and took our food order. I couldn't help that I noticed Haku was the only one that ordered from the vegetarian section. I should have realized sooner that he didn't eat meat because all he eats at school are salads.

"You should have said that you were a vegetarian, Haku," I said. "We could have went somewhere else."

"It's fine. I do not mind." He smiled kindly to assure me.

"Hey, Haku," Kiba said, making the gypsy look at him. "Do you want to go to a party after this? The entire football team is going to be there and the quarterback-"

"No thanks. I don't like parties."

"It'll be fun," he pushed.

Haku looked at me for help. He was desperate to get out of this one.

"Kiba," I said. "I promised Haku's father that I'd bring him back home after this. Going to a party doesn't sound like a good idea."

Dog boy sucked in air and turned to Gaara. "Don't you want to experience how Konoha parties? Both of you can come, too."

Gaara shifted uncomfortably next to me. "I'll do whatever Hinata wants to do. Something tells me that this party doesn't sound like a good idea anyway."

Haku stared at Gaara. "You want to go?" Without giving the Kazekage a chance to respond, Haku told Kiba "Fine. We'll go, but not for long."

"Yes! Thank you! It'll be fun, I promise."

I wasn't sure but I could have sworn that Haku whispered "liar" under his breath as he turned back to the window.

Is this why Haku wanted to avoid Kiba? It has only been about ten minutes into the date and he's already confident enough to push until he gets what he wants. If this behavior continues then this is going to be a problem. Instead of worrying about me saying something that I shouldn't, I found myself worrying about this party and Haku's safety.

The waitress brought our meals to us, we ate, and Kiba and Gaara paid the bill. Kiba led the way to the party, that just so happened to be near the Yakiniku Q, holding Haku's hand. Gaara held tightly onto mine and his expression hardened as we got closer to the house. We were several feet away from it and I could hear the music blasting and see the teenagers dancing inside the messy space. This is definitely not the kind of party that I would go to.

We stepped inside of the house by entering the already open door and I smelled something so strong and overwhelming that I almost fell back. Alcohol. Kiba brought us to a party that served alcohol. Unbelievable. But what was even more unbelievable was that the quarterback seemed to be expecting us, or rather, Haku. When he walked up to him with a dirty smile on his face and a drink in his hand, I noticed that Kiba had disappeared.

"Glad you could make it, cutie," said the quarterback. "Want a drink?"

"I don't drink," Haku said.

"Come on. Don't be such a-"

"I don't drink," Haku repeated. I could have sworn that I heard several voices speaking in time with him just like yesterday, but I wasn't sure. The voices sounded faint, softer than whispers.

"Let's go," Gaara said, holding tighter onto my hand.

"Haku," I said. "Come on."

The gypsy turned to leave with us but the quarterback grabbed him by the arm and yanked him towards himself. Already outside, I moved to go back inside the building but Gaara held me back. I turned to question him but he wasn't looking at me. He was watching Haku. I was so focused on the situation that I hadn't even felt the sand brushing against my hand. Gaara was ready to save him if he had to.

The quarterback fixed Haku with confidence in his eyes and then rested his large hand on Haku's slender shoulder. He continued to persist in getting Haku to drink alcohol. "I think you're thirsty."

My gypsy didn't respond with the multiple voices this time. Instead, he sighed heavily like he was submitting to defeat. "You're right. I could use a drink."

This earned a smile from the quarterback and he handed Haku the cup. He didn't take it though. He continued to stare at the stupid teenager in front of him with dangerous eyes. I was going to break free from Gaara but I froze. I could have sworn that I saw a white light pulsate around Haku, but I wasn't sure. The answer that I was seeking soon followed when the same light came off of Haku in waves, and his eyes glowed a bright white. In seconds, the white light coming off in waves around Haku turned blue and then the room turning blue soon followed in suit. Haku's eyes went back to normal as he stepped away from the quarterback to meet us at the door. Gaara's and my mouth dropped at what Haku did. He stopped time. When the hell did he learn how to do that?

"We should go before they break out of it," Haku said, slipping past us to go outside.

Gaara and I exchanged glances before leaving with Haku to go back to the church. On the way there, I asked "Did you know that was going to happen?"

"Yes," he said. "But before you become angry, I did it to get Kiba to leave me alone once and for all. I knew that this was his intention all along."

"To deliver you to the quarterback of the football team?"

"No. That was not part of the plan. All he wanted to do was get me intoxicated." I was going to ask where Kiba disappeared to when Haku answered before I could ask. "He went to get me a drink." My friend stopped in front of the church to bow to Gaara and me to apologize. "I am sorry for bringing you there, but I knew that Hinata would not let me go anywhere without her. This will never happen again."

Even though I should be, I could not get mad at Haku. He does everything with the purest of intentions and never means to harm anyone. So when he decided that this was the only way to get rid of Kiba, it must have been difficult. I know that he hates using people he cares about for self-gain. I figured that this was what he was pondering about when he was staring out of the window at the Yakiniku Q.

Instead of chastising Haku for tugging us along, I hugged him and said "Don't ever do that again."

He hugged me back. "I won't."

We released each other and Haku went up the stairs to the church. I smiled and said "Tell your father I said hi."

He smiled back, showing me his teeth. "Okay."

When he disappeared into the building, Gaara laced his fingers through mine, making my heart skip several beats. He kissed me on the mouth and asked "The night went a little too fast for me and I feel as though I have not seen enough of you. Do you want to come to my hotel room?"

I thought about it for a moment even though I shouldn't have thought about it at all. The familiar, uncomfortable sensation of guilt attacked me for even considering going to the Senju with him, and, just like that, what Neji said to me yesterday came back to me. What Neji said isn't true. It can't be. What I'm beginning to feel for Gaara is real and I know it. So I ignored the awful feeling in my stomach and smiled against his soft lips. "Sure."

After kissing me once again, Gaara led me to the Senju and the whole way there the guilt never left. I was hoping to get a hold of myself on the way there but I never did. The guilt was too strong.

Security greeted us at the French doors and I could tell that they were skeptical about letting me enter with the Kazekage, especially at this hour. But, regardless, Gaara took me inside the same suite that he had the first time we met and brought me to the bedroom. When we got inside the room, I realized that Gaara's palms were sweaty.

"You don't have to be nervous," I told him. "It's only me."

"I know," he said, lacing his fingers through my hair. "But I am always nervous around you. I think you are so amazing and beautiful that I fear if I make even the slightest mistake you will leave me." Gaara caressed my face and then trailed down to the necklace that he made me. "Sometimes I wake up in the morning and cannot believe that there is someone out there in the world who accepts me for who I am, what I am. And it is amazing that someone so beautiful does not judge me and is not afraid of me." My boyfriend removed his hand from my necklace to take my hand. He brought my hand up to his lips and brushed them against the back of it. "I know that we have not known each other long, but you are all I think about. Every day, in my dreams, when I wake up, when I work you are always there. I can never stop thinking about you. And when I see you and hear your voice, my heart beats so fast that I get dizzy and butterflies swarm in my stomach… I think that I am falling in love with you. Hard."

I ran my fingers through Gaara's auburn hair and kissed him hard on the mouth, making him gasp from the sudden attack. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, pulling my body hard against his. Gaara returned my kiss with just as much passion as I had given him. When we pulled apart, I whispered on his lips "I think I am, too."

My words were not true. I felt the dishonesty with every word that escaped from my mouth. I wasn't falling in love with Gaara, I wasn't even remotely close. But even though I knew that, I continued to lie to him knowing just how strongly he felt about me. Why was I doing this? I'm not sure. All I know is that my heart suddenly began to ache for some strange reason and I wanted to stop the pain somehow. And, odd as it may sound, kissing and touching Gaara made me forget all about the pain that I was feeling even if it was just for a short while. However, I didn't want to forget the pain, I wanted to expel it for good. And the only way to do that was to touch Gaara.

So that was what I was going to do.

"Come on," I said, taking his hands in mine and leading him over to the massive bed by the windows. I sat beside him and claimed his lips again. But, this time, I kissed him with more fervor than before, which took him by surprise. He caught on quickly and his hands found my waist once he learned how to keep up. I took that as a chance to push him down on the mattress and straddle him. This made Gaara even more nervous, reminding me that he was a virgin.

I broke the kiss momentarily to unbutton his shirt. As soon as I finished, Gaara fisted my hair and brought my lips back up to his. I dominated with burning lust and soon returned to his bare chest by kissing my way down his body. He sighed in pleasure below me as I got farther down. I stopped before I got to his pants and smiled on his skin. I didn't want to jump right into sex. I wanted to have a little more fun first, so I removed my shirt and my jeans and thanked god that I decided to wear matching underwear today. He gawked at my body with wide eyes and swallowed hard.

Even though I initiated it, I couldn't help but to blush. To hide my embarrassment, I kissed my boyfriend's neck and ghosted a hand over his chest. This earned a soft moan from him as he gently slid his hands down my back. I shivered at the way he touched me and grinded my body on his to feel more of him. I sighed softly on his neck and prompted to remove his shirt, which he more than happily did for me and even took off his designer jeans as a bonus.

Once his clothing was completely removed, I thought about what I was doing. Taking Gaara's virginity to rid myself of the sudden pain that arrived in my chest when we got here wasn't right no matter how I looked at it. It was so hard not to continue because every time I thought about stopping, the pain returned to me. Nevertheless, after a few more kisses, I decided to stop. Gaara didn't make it easy for me to get away though and I eventually stopped trying to get away all together.

Every time my lips left his, his mouth was on mine once again, and to make it all worse, he switched positions. Losing my fingers (and myself) in Gaara once more, I pulled Gaara down to give him another kiss. But as we kissed, the Kazekage slid his hands around me to unhook my bra. I arched my back so that he could get it off and he blushed even more when he got a good, hard look at my chest. He was blushing too, but not for the same reason I was. I had already felt his hungry body pressed on mine when I removed my clothing. Now he was starving with need.

Finally choosing to put my boyfriend out of his misery (and myself out of my emotional misery), I brushed my lips against his one more time before sliding my hands into his boxers. My eyes met his to confirm if it was okay to take off his last piece of clothing only to be met by the same gaze. I gave Gaara a long, deep kiss as a response and everything came off. I don't know whether the guards heard us during the night or not, but neither of us seemed to care. We called out each other's names carelessly, along with other pleasurable sounds, into the night thinking only of the mind blowing pleasure as we drowned in our partner's body.

The sun's bright light hit me right in the face, waking me up from the night long escapade I had with Gaara. I lifted an arm to shield my face from the harsh light only to find no limbs of mine available. Gaara had them all. I woke up to the same position we fell asleep in last night, the Kazekage's arms wrapped around me and my back pressed snuggly against his rock hard abdomen. One of my hands had somehow got trapped under the plush pillows during the night, and the fingers that belonged to my other hand were laced through Gaara's. I sighed and relaxed against my boyfriend's body.

The pain was gone. I was deprived from guilt, that strange painful feeling in my chest, and any other negative emotions, and I was instead filled with satisfaction. Sex was the remedy for it and I was glad that it was gone. And now that I am officially free, I can focus on Gaara's and my relationship (if I can bring myself to forget about Deidara) without having second thoughts on what I am really doing with the Kazekage.

"You're awake," Gaara said. "Good morning."

"Good morning," I said with a smile. I got out of his hold to face him. We kissed and I asked "How are you feeling?"

He smiled brightly. "Great." He paused and looked embarrassed. "That was my first time you know."

I masked that I knew he was a virgin with an incredible lie. "Oh, really? I had no idea."

Unfortunately, he saw right through me. "You don't have to lie, Hinata. You've known for a while now, right?"

"Y-Yeah… But you were great on your first try and this time I'm not lying."

"Thanks."

As soon as our lips met, my cell phone vibrated on the bedside. I opened it to find several text messages from Sakura. But the most recent one said "Where the hell are you?" Confused, I looked at the clock and gasped at the time. It was slightly pass ten o' clock. Everyone was in Literature right now.

"I have to go," I told Gaara. "I need to get to school."

I'm sure that Neji was worried last night when I never came home; then again, Haku might have told him where I went… Regardless, he's still going to be mad at me for not contacting him. I'm dead when I see him in gym today.

"Take a shower and brush your teeth here," Gaara said. "I'll go back to your apartment to get your uniform and underwear. And I'll escort you there myself. You won't need an excuse if I'm the one to drop you off."

I looked up at him. "Okay. Thank you."

"No problem." Our lips smashed together and then he said "Go get in the shower. I'll be back soon."

So I got off the super king sized mattress to get in the expensive shower. My boyfriend returned with my clothing not too long after I finished up in the bathroom and we left to Konoha High. The secretaries in the office didn't say a word when they saw that the Kazekage brought me to school and let me go to class without incident. Not even Iruka sensei said anything when I walked in and took my seat beside Sakura and in front of Ino.

The first thing Ino asked me was "Did you have sex with Gaara?"

"Ino!" Sakura said.

"What? You were the one who was all worried about her. I'm doing you a favor, Sakura."

I smiled largely. "Yes, Ino. We did it."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"But, Hinata," Sakura said with a frown. "Don't you think having sex with Gaara was a little too soon. I mean, even though you seem okay, you broke up with Sasuke not too long ago. Not only that, you and Gaara haven't even been dating for a month yet."

I furrowed my eyebrows and seconds later the guilt that I thought I was rid of returned, only this time it was stronger. Sakura was right. What was I thinking? While I was numb to the pain of breaking up with Sasuke, the pain in my chest must have been because I was finally beginning to feel it. The aching came on suddenly right before I decided to sleep with the Kazekage, so I should have known what it was. Was that my heart telling me no, or was it the feeling of heart break? I wasn't sure so I could only ask myself: what if Neji was right? What if I only hooked up with the Kazekage to replace Sasuke? What if I slept with Gaara to avoid feeling the pain at all? If that's the case, then I just used Gaara for my own selfish reasons. I got caught up in the moment, tricked him with my false words, and took his virginity. I should have noticed sooner that what I was feeling wasn't real. I am such a horrible person… Do I even like Gaara the way that I thought I liked him? Obviously not if I could just use him like that for self-gain. I know that I still have feelings for Sasuke, but I'm not in love with him anymore, so the pain that I felt couldn't possibly have been from heart break, right? I am so confused.

"The only way to get over an old love is to have sex with a new love, right, Hinata?" Ino said. "Don't worry about it."

"How can she not be worried?" Sakura hissed. "She slept with the Kazekage and it meant nothing."

"I do it all of the time. The guilt will pass," Ino said, brushing Sakura off.

"Girls," Iruka called from the front of the room. "No talking."

Ino grumbled something under her breath and returned to her opened textbook. I decided to pull mine out, too, and found the page that everyone was on. I couldn't concentrate though. My thoughts were elsewhere and I just couldn't focus on reading right now. I felt disgusting and a little in denial. I never thought that I could take advantage of someone and, on top of that, I took advantage of someone who trusted me more than anyone, someone who was falling in love with me and even admitted it to me right before I did what I did. I am such a horrible person and I've got to apologize to Gaara as soon as I get the chance.

But right now wasn't the time to think about that. Right now I had to read whether I felt like it or not. So I buried my face into my textbook to try to read but I felt like someone was watching me. I lifted my head to scan the room and it did not take me long to find who was staring at me.

It was Kiba and he looked very pale. His eyes were bloodshot (probably from drinking and god knows what), and he looked miserable.

I wasn't all that concerned about him at the moment so my attention shifted to the seat behind him to find no Haku there. Instead I found a very pissed off Naruto trying to focus on the book and doing his best not to look at his best friend. I automatically knew that the gypsy had told Naruto and Deidara what had happened last night judging by Naruto's expression alone. So, searching for Haku, I found him beside Deidara at the front of the room. I saw Deidara lean over to him with an impish smile on his face and ask him something. Annoyed, Haku responded with a smart-assed comment that irritated the blonde vampire.

My eyes went back to Kiba who was now reading his textbook. Should I feel bad for him? No, and I don't. Do I want to beat the crap out of him? Yes, and I just might. If I beat him up I get two things out of it. One, it'll teach him a lesson about trying to trick people into drinking alcohol to (what I assume) have your way with them. And two, I might be able to release how crappy I'm feeling about myself for using someone that I cared about to take away my pain.

Somehow I was able to make it throughout the day without hurting Kiba or breaking down from guilt, but I wasn't able to escape Neji's interrogation in gym. He wanted to know where I was (even though Haku had already told him), why I didn't contact him, how I missed my alarm on my phone, and what I was doing that distracted me. I told him the truth for every question that he asked me but I evaded the last one. No way did I want my cousin to know that I was having sex.

I expected Neji to interrogate me further when we got home, but he asked me something else instead. "Haku didn't say much about the date to me. What happened?"

I sat down on the couch. "Well, to sum it all up, Kiba is a jerk. Haku didn't want anything to do with him before the date and he still doesn't." I sat forward on the couch, recalling how my cousin acted when Gaara and I left to go pick up Haku. This thought hadn't crossed my mind until now and I chose to ask Neji now. "Neji, what do you think of Haku?"

His eyes widened. "Why do you ask that?"

I bit my bottom lip and wondered if I should press further. "Because you sounded a little jealous when I first told you about Kiba. If… If there's anything you want to tell me, anything at all, you can. You can trust me."

He stood next to the couch with his arms crossed, thinking of whether to tell me or not. "If I tell you, do not tell anyone, Hinata."

"I won't. I promise."

He exhaled heavily and brushed his hair out of his face. "I find Haku attractive."

I blinked a few times. "A lot of guys do. The entire student male body gawks at him when he enters a room."

"It's different for me," he said. "When he walks into a room, I don't look at him like he's a piece of meat. I take the time to appreciate his beauty. He is the most beautiful person that I have ever seen and the fact that he is so caring and compassionate makes it unbearable for me to be around him sometimes. And I don't just want his body like the perverts at school do. I want to take the time to get to know him better so that one day he'll want to be mine and I can have him, all of him."

I smiled softly. "Are you in love with him?"

"I don't know."

"Are you going to tell him that you like him?"

"I don't know."

"Is this why you hate it when he heals you? Because he's so pretty?"

"I thought that he was already captivating enough without looking like that. When he healed me for the first time, my breath caught and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like staring at an angel." He laughed humorlessly to himself. "I'm not normally like this, Hinata. I don't like boys."

"Haku is a special case. And even if you did like boys, there's nothing to be ashamed of. You're still the same Neji that I grew up with." He turned away from me, chewing his bottom lip. "Neji, I'll love you no matter what. Just tell him how you feel."

"He likes Sasuke, though."

"Sasuke isn't an obstacle. I don't think Sasuke will be experimenting with Haku any time soon. And when Haku realizes this, it'll only be a matter of time before he finds someone else. You can't wait too long to tell him how you feel."

"How can I tell him how I feel when I don't even know myself?" he asked, sitting down beside me.

I looked him in the eyes. "You know how you feel about him, Neji."

He held my gaze for several seconds before groaning and letting his head fall to the back of the couch. I gave him a wry smile and squeezed his hand. Surely he wasn't so ashamed to like a boy that he'd push it aside, right? Subconsciously he had been desiring Haku without even suspecting that it could be love. And if he hadn't been aware of his true feelings until now, is it even possible for him to tell the gypsy everything?

Neji squeezing my hand back snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked back at him. Leaning forward on the couch with me, he said softly, "I am in love with Haku." He turned to me. "I want you to be there when I tell him. I can't do it on my own."

"You know that I will."

"But I don't want to tell him now, not yet. I want to wait until all of this slayer mess is resolved."

I nodded at him with a smile. He gave me a wry one in return but then he gave his attention to the door and stood up slowly from the couch. I stood up, too and was about to ask what was wrong when a frantic knock came at our door. I rushed to it with Neji following closely behind me. When I answered it, we were met by an exhausted Naruto and a pale Deidara.

"You need to come with us. Now," Deidara said almost robotically.

Neji and I exchanged glances and followed our friends without question. Haku was standing right outside the apartment building looking deathly pale and glassy eyed. When Neji rested a hand on his shoulder, Haku jumped and stared up at him on the verge of tears.

"Something is wrong," Haku whispered.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked.

"I… I don't know. They," I looked up towards the sky again like an idiot when he said "they", "told me not to go to the church, so I went to Naruto's house. While I was there, my skin felt very hot… It felt like I was burning alive, and then a horrible feeling in my gut hit me not very long after the pain ceased. When I tried to contact Sasuke, I could not locate him. Something is wrong, very wrong." The gypsy buried his face in one of his hands to hide his tears.

My cousin wrapped his arms around his friend and pulled him close. "Don't worry. I'm sure that Sasuke is fine." Neji turned to everyone else. "Let's go to the church to see what's happening."

The five of us headed to the church with Haku still wrapped in Neji's arms. As we got closer and closer to the building, the air felt heavier around us. When we were right around the corner of our destination, the air became so thick that it was almost hard to breathe in. It did not feel normal. My gut told me that it was a barrier put up to keep out unwanted visitors and that's why Haku could not find Sasuke and why he could not go near the building. But why did someone want to keep people out? What was going on?

"What the fuck?" Deidara said, stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk.

Haku covered his mouth to suppress a sob at what he saw and buried his face into Neji's side.

"Who could have done this?" Naruto asked, moving slowly towards the building.

"Slayers," Neji answered scornfully through gritted teeth.

My body entered autopilot and I moved slowly to the church, the building where it all began. This was where I had met Sasuke, where I learned about vampires and werewolves and other creatures, where I got closer to Naruto, and my safe haven from Deidara when he was a sadistic monster. It was also because of this place that I met all of the wonderful people that I knew today…

And now it was destroyed.

Letting my knees drop to the ground beneath me, I allowed my hands to be swallowed by the ashes of what used to be the church. I let my hands and legs turn black in its remnants as I searched for even the slightest thing that could be saved, wood, a piece of furniture, anything. But what I found instead created a huge lump in my throat and shattered me in two.

Buried in the ashes and soot was the silver locket that Itachi had given Sasuke.