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.

19. Reunion

The very next day, my friends and I returned to school. The seven of us pretended as if nothing had happened and planned to go through the day as smoothly as possible. Naruto and Deidara sat with the usual bunch of idiots that they ate lunch with and played everything out coolly using the benefits of their carefree personalities even though I could tell that the seriousness of this war was weighing on them just as much as it was for the rest of us. Sakura and Ino were also playing it cool, which surprised me since they literally found out yesterday that supernatural beings exist and that there is going to be a war between them and the slayers. When they showed me how casually they could act in school, I knew that telling them about the supernatural world was the right choice. Neji was the one who was the best at concealing how troubled he felt about the war and betraying the laws that he was raised to live by. Even we, everyone who knew what was going on under the surface, sometimes forgot that Neji was under the most pressure of all, seeming as though he's battling with the enemy and fighting against his brethren. I knew right away that Neji would be able to hide his true emotions, but I didn't expect him to be the best at it. I thought that Haku would be cool about it, but he was noticeably tense. During lunch, he hardly spoke or touched his food. Without a doubt he was worried about Sasuke. Since Sasuke and Haku had nowhere to live, Deidara invited them to live with him. He hoped that that would put Haku's mind at ease because the slayers don't know where he lives, and that buys Sasuke some time to heal completely, but apparently that didn't work.

I didn't really know what to say to him since Deidara allowing them to stay at his hidden house (or lair) should have killed all of the gypsy's worries. All I could really do was rub his back and say "Sasuke's okay, Haku. The day's almost over so you'll get to see him soon."

He didn't really respond. He just continued to play with his food.

"You really care about Sasuke, huh?" Sakura said.

"I do," Haku said as he put down his fork. "I would die for him."

"It sounds like love to me," Ino said.

"It just might be, Ino."

It didn't surprise me that Haku was in love with Sasuke; it just made me feel bad for both him and Neji. Haku was just setting himself up to get hurt because Sasuke did not see Haku the same way, and I felt bad for Neji because he was chasing someone who was getting harder and harder to catch. I know that my cousin wanted to tell Haku how he felt about him after the war, but it was getting difficult for me to sit by idly and watch Haku fawn over Sasuke. The gypsy's obliviousness to my cousin's feelings angered me since I knew just how much Neji loved Haku. It tempted me to tell Haku myself or convince my cousin to pour his heart out to the gypsy before the war.

"So, Hinata," Ino said. "Are all of your teachers slayers?"

I nodded my head. "I suspect that they'll be in the war too because they all seem so calm, even calmer than we are, which is scary. Tsunade probably has them keeping a close eye on all of us, so I want you two to be especially careful."

"Don't worry about us. The slayers don't even know that we know about them."

"Yes they do," Haku said.

"Great," Ino mumbled.

"Either way," Sakura said, "they won't be focused on Ino and me. You all are their number one priority."

"Hey, wouldn't it be easier if Haku told all of the slayers that the gypsies aren't extinct? I mean, his ancestors created them so they would technically have to bow down to him, right?" Ino said.

"If I was to reveal myself, then that would be troublesome," Haku said. "Tsunade clearly said that she hated having her destiny decided for her and she blames the gypsies for it. There's no telling if the army she put together feels the same way she does about me, and if they do then that would make me an instant target in the upcoming war. Not only that, I don't want my existence to be known by the entire world. I came to Konohagakure to escape Kirigakure. They think I am dead and I prefer to stay that way."

"Are we missing something?" Sakura asked.

I smiled softly. "The Kirigakure thing isn't relevant to the war."

"Oh."

It didn't take long for our table to fall into an awkward silence. During the silence, I had an impulse to look around the cafeteria and when I did, I noticed something almost immediately. Some of my teachers were walking around the room as if they were patrolling, and I'd catch some students from time to time looking in our direction. At first I thought that the students were looking at our table for Haku, but the glint in their eyes were different. It appeared as if they were observing and hunting at the same time instead of gawking at him like a dessert. The teachers had the same look in their eyes, too. If it weren't for the room full of people, I think that they would have attacked us at any given moment. If I had noticed the slayers around the room I would have had my friends drop our brief conversation about the slayers sooner. It would strike me as surprising if they didn't hear us.

"How is everyone holding up?"

Breaking the silence, Neji took a seat beside the gypsy.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "You're supposed to be in class."

"I know, but as far as my teacher knows," he pulled out the bathroom pass from his pocket, "I'm in the bathroom."

"How very uncharacteristic of you," Haku said.

"I wanted to check on everyone to make sure that you were doing okay."

"Some are better than others," I said as I looked towards Haku.

"Are you worried about Sasuke?" my cousin asked.

The young gypsy didn't have to say anything because his face said it all. And just like Haku's face was easy to read, so was my cousin's. He was jealous, but that did not stop him from trying to comfort the troubled gypsy by wrapping a friendly arm around his slender shoulders. This earned a small smile from the beautiful, younger boy and it also made Neji's face brighten. I found it quite adorable to watch them… but a certain someone did not like it at all.

Kiba Inuzuka came storming over from Naruto's and Deidara's table looking a little more than angry. As Kiba was approaching us I couldn't help but to look behind Kiba to see what Deidara was doing and, surprise, it really did not shock me at all that he was laughing. He was laughing so hard that his face was turning red and he was having difficulty breathing. I knew right away that he sent Kiba over here to mess with Haku, but, now that I think about it, he might have sent him over to somehow cheer Haku up. Deidara may be a psychopathic, insecure, sadistic ass-hole, but he cares about his friends… in a weird way. And he's done things that would have normally damaged our friendship with him only to have it do the opposite of what we expected.

Anyway, Kiba approached Neji and Haku noticeably perturbed but Neji didn't remove his arm from Haku. Instead he looked Kiba up and down with his rarely seen, annoyed expression on his face.

"Can I help you?" Neji asked with forced politeness.

"Get your arm off of him," Kiba said.

In my periphery I saw Ino lean forward and a smile formed on her face. Sakura glared at her for enjoying this.

"No," my cousin said.

"Haku belongs to me so get your arm off of him."

The gypsy furrowed his eyebrows. "I belong to no one."

My cousin looked dog boy over with one of the cockiest smiles I have ever seen. "I don't think Haku likes you as much as you think he does. Before you embarrass yourself further you should go back to your little table and join the rest of your idiotic friends."

I heard Ino struggling to stifle a laugh when Kiba's face started turning red. Was Kiba delusional or trying to fix things between the two of them? Either way, it wasn't working. He approached this all wrong.

"Haku," Kiba said. "I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't know that the quarterback was going to try to get you drunk and into bed. If I knew I would have never taken you to that party."

"There is truth to your words; however, do you really mean that apology?" Haku asked.

"Of course! I would never hand you over to someone else. I want to be with you. I like you."

The young gypsy's big, brown eyes widened in surprise as he processed what Kiba had just told him. "You… you like me?"

"Yes! I think you are beautiful, amazing, and incredibly smart. I like you a lot, Haku, so can you give me another chance? Can you give me another chance to show you how much I like you?"

"I… I have never been confessed to before," the young gypsy said with an incredibly red face, "so I am uncertain how to approach this."

My cousin was glaring at Kiba the entire time that he was confessing to Haku. I may know Neji better than anyone but I am not a mind reader so I can only imagine what's going through his head right now. However, I do know that he, without a doubt, doesn't trust Inuzuka, especially after the alcohol thing. But the decision to give him a second chance wasn't up to him. If he could decide for Haku he would without hesitation and tell Kiba to get lost, but there's no way he can do that without getting into an argument with Haku.

Kiba stood there waiting eagerly for Haku's reply while wearing a hopeful smile on his face. If I looked at his eyes closely enough, I could see that he believed that the gypsy would say yes. It never occurred to him that no was also an option, so when Haku finally found his answer and told him "Sorry, Kiba. Even though your feelings are sincere, I cannot trust you. Therefore, I have to decline on your plea to give you a second chance" all confidence he carried shattered and he walked back to his table.

This time I did not have to look in dog boy's direction to see what Deidara was doing. I could hear him laughing from my table outrageously loud and Naruto punched him on the arm to shut him up.

"I can't believe that dog boy thought he had a chance with you," Ino said.

"I just can't believe that you didn't know that he likes you," I said. "You know almost everything but you had no clue about Kiba's feelings."

Haku was obviously embarrassed that he couldn't sense Inuzuka's crush on him, but he still tried to hide it with nonchalance. "I-I do not have time to pay attention to feelings such as love. I am too busy."

"But you're a boy," Ino said. "Don't you, you know, think about screwing around with other guys?"

"Ino!" Sakura said. "You can't ask him that!"

"What? It's normal, right? We should be able to discuss this because we're all friends. I've asked Hinata that question plenty of times already. Right, Hinata?"

I gave her a half-hearted smile. "Unfortunately I remember every humiliating time that you did, Ino. But you shouldn't ask Haku that and I don't think Neji wants to hear about Haku's desires. In fact, I think that only you do."

"Oh come on!" she complained. "He's so innocent and clueless and that type is the one who is the freakiest. He has to have done something indecent or lewd at least once in his life."

"I cannot believe that you are talking about this in a lunch room," Neji said with furrowed eyebrows and a tint of pink bridging his nose and covering his cheeks. "If you're talking about this then that must mean that you really are doing okay. But will you be okay, Haku?"

The gypsy nodded. "I will be fine. You should return to class before your teacher becomes suspicious."

I could tell that he didn't want to leave but it couldn't be helped. "Okay. I'll see you and Hinata in gym then."

Haku and I waved him goodbye as he headed for the exit.

"Have I ever told you that I think your cousin is sexy?" Ino said to me.

"Actually you have," I said as I pushed around the weird shaped meatballs on my tray with my fork. "When he still had amnesia you called him the beautiful beach boy."

"I'd kill to see him in swimming trunks again."

"That's a first," Sakura said, grabbing a few fries from her tray. "Last I checked you only liked seeing boys naked once."

"I do, but Neji is a special case."

"Okay, ew," I said. "You're talking about my cousin, Ino. While every sexual adventure that you share with us is disturbing, this one in particular is extra disturbing. I don't want to envision my cousin lying down with anyone."

"I must agree with Hinata," Haku said.

"I understand Hinata's reason," Ino said, "but you, Haku? Why? Is it because you want to get down and dirty with him?"

His face turned an adorable shade of red. "I would never envision performing such lewd behavior with Neji! Also, N-Neji is… I just never tried to imagine Neji in swimming trunks or anything less. To try to imagine him in such unsightly attire is…"

Ino smirked. "When you say 'unsightly attire' you really mean scrumptious eye candy. Just admit it."

"I will admit nothing…" he said softly, as if he was ashamed to admit what he really felt.

"I'll just go with you think he's hot, too."

"Shut up," Sakura said. "You're too loud today."

"Aw, are you on your period, Sakura?" Ino asked as she wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Would snuggling make you feel better?"

"No, I'm not and I don't want to snuggle, so get off."

As Sakura tried (unsuccessfully) to get Ino away from her, I turned to Haku and asked "Do you like Neji?"

His brown eyes widened at my question and he continued to play with his salad. "Your cousin is attractive; no one can deny that, however he is not my type."

Something told me that Haku wasn't telling the truth so I pressed for more. "How so? What don't you like about him?"

"Hinata…" he whined as he stared at me with eyes telling me to stop. The look in his eyes soon changed and he appeared to be thinking. "I may have a slight crush on him, but Neji and I can never be a couple. It is strictly taboo."

"Why?"

"The answer is simple. He is a slayer and I am gypsy. My ancestors created them; therefore it is like slayers are our children."

"You like him though, right? Will your ancestors punish you for going out with him? Is that what's holding you back?"

"Yes, I like him. And my ancestors are not the people responsible for holding me back. They do not hold ground over my romantic affairs and/or flings. I will not date Neji because I do not feel it is right for a gypsy to have a romance with a slayer."

All I could say was "Oh."

That sucks. If Neji were to pour his heart out to Haku, Haku would most definitely turn him down. But even though Haku refuses to get involved romantically with my cousin, I am not giving up hope. Yes, our gypsy friend is stubborn and narrow-minded, but after Neji shows him what he's got in the war, or even before the war by displaying his acts of chivalry and compassion, Haku's feelings for him are sure to grow so strong that he won't care about the laws he set up for himself. Normally I'm not this optimistic but my cousin cares so much for Haku that Haku will have no choice but to change his mind, if not now, eventually.

I thought about my cousin's love life for most of the day but it wasn't the only thing that I was thinking about today. I also thought about how I would confess everything I've done to Gaara. He's a nice guy, there is no denying that, but even the nicest guy in the world would get angry if someone they were falling in love with did the things that I did to him. He trusted me more than anyone and I used his body to rid myself of my pain and I toyed with his emotions. If he stops talking to me after this then I understand. (I won't understand if he does continue to talk to me after I reveal everything but I'm kind of hoping that he does.) I wanted to tell him everything as soon as possible before I no longer had the courage to but I can't visit him right after school. Neji, Naruto, Deidara, Haku, and I planned to go over to Deidara's house/lair to discuss our strategy and that's not something that I can skip out on even for Gaara.

So once the school day ended, I waved my human friends goodbye and met up with everyone else outside of the school gate. While no one looked relieved that the day was over and the pressure of being watched by slayers was gone, no one looked exhausted from trying so hard not reveal anything that would blow our façade either. We went through the entire day acting like we weren't afraid of them or intimidated by them and my friends seemed to be just fine, as if they weren't pretending at all. They may not be exhausted but I sure am. And instead of going home to take a nap, I have to go to Deidara's lair to-

"Hinata."

My body froze at the sound of my name being called. Why? Why did he have to show up here? And why now of all times? I can't deal with him right now. But if I tell him that I'm busy, I might not get another chance to tell him what I've done.

"Gaara," I said as I approached the Kazekage. "What are you doing here?"

He greeted me with a hug and a kiss. "I came to pick you up. I was hoping that you would like to come back to the Senju with me, that is, if you are available."

I heard Neji grunt from behind me and instantly knew that he was paying attention to our conversation now.

"I… I can't do that," I said, stepping out of his embrace. "Gaara, I need to talk to you. It's important."

His expression turned serious. "Is everything okay?"

I looked into his eyes and hesitated. He was scared. He was scared that I was going to leave him. And that was exactly what I was going to do. With hardly anyone in his life to care for him, he depended on me to comfort him and lean on me when no one else would. If I break up with him (or he breaks up with me) I'm pretty sure he'll cross me off his list of people to talk to and I don't want to be ostracized by him. I want to continue to be in his life as a friend but with the way he's looking at me right now, I doubt he'll want anything to do with me once I break the news.

"No," I admitted. "Everything is not okay."

He rested his hand gently on my shoulder as he asked "What's wrong?"

I swallowed hard and gathered as much confidence as I could to confess but as I opened my mouth to tell him everything, a voice other than my own sounded through the air.

"Moya!"

No way. I felt all color drain from me at the sound of Neji's former name being said. With that name, all unpleasant memories of the sand were brought back to me. I remember being inside of that house with them and being deceived by them so easily. But even though I felt betrayed by their deceit, how I'm feeling will be nothing compared to how Neji will feel once Haku tells him the truth. The Minami family fooled my cousin into thinking that he was one of them and that they were good people for seven years, but they aren't. The Minami family is crafty and witty, especially with their lies, and I am (admittedly) afraid of them a little more than Tsunade because of how conniving they are. It only makes my fear of them even worse since the whole gang decided to show up (excluding Megumi).

When my cousin laid eyes on his "family" he couldn't believe it. He was shocked, yes, but there was something else there. I couldn't tell for sure, but it was like he didn't want to see them. Whether the Minamis knew this or not, Hitomi rushed up to her "son", threw her arms around him and said "I missed you so much!"

Slowly, my cousin hugged her back saying "I missed you, too, mom."

"Great," I heard Deidara say. "A family full of cockroaches."

Kaoru opened his mouth to retort, but Neji asked everyone before Kaoru got the chance to speak "What are you doing here?"

"We came to bring you back home," Hisao said.

"All of you?" Neji stepped out of Hitomi's embrace. "All of you came here to bring me back to Sunagakure? Didn't you receive my letter? I told you that I am not going back."

"I know, but that isn't your decision to make, Moya."

"Moya, sweetie, let's go home. Everyone misses you," Hitomi said in a voice so kind that it was almost hard to believe that she was evil. Almost.

"Leaving with us will be for your own good," Kaoru said. "Nanase told us everything about your little friend over there being friends with vampires."

I found Nanase behind her mother, Tsubaki, wearing the most disgusting smile that I have ever seen and I wondered what she said to her family to get everyone down here. I don't hate anyone, never thought it was possible, but I hate Nanase. She is made of pure evil without a doubt.

"If you stay here any longer, you might get tainted by them," Tsubaki said.

"Tainted?" Naruto said and then he faced Deidara. "You guys can do that?"

"Tch. No," Deidara said. "Slayers think that they are too good for us impure night walkers to be even five feet near us unless they're trying to kill us. Even talking to us apparently puts them at risk of 'tainting' their pure souls."

"So in other words they're stuck up ass-holes?"

"Exactly, fox boy."

"Hey," Akari said. "Watch your mouth, vampire. If you know what situation you're in, you wouldn't say anything at all."

"Oh, I know what situation I'm in," Deidara assured. "And I think even you guys are smart enough not to attack an innocent student on school grounds. Even touching me is enough to get you in some serious trouble, crazy slayer bitch."

Akari's face turned almost as red as her hair. Daichi, her husband, whispered something to her and she diffused a little, but she still looked ready to pounce on my laughing blonde friend.

"That's enough, Deidara," Neji said. "Mom, Dad, I'm not going back and even if I wanted to, I can't. I told the Hokage of my whereabouts for the past seven years and he restored all of my records from when I was once living here. I am a Konohagakure citizen now."

"But you belong to us," Hisao said. "You are part of the Minami family, Moya."

"Not anymore. My name is Neji Hyuga and Hinata is my family. That is what it says on paper."

"This is ridiculous!" Emiko cried. "Just come home already."

"You cannot force him to go," Haku said as he stepped forward. "Now that Neji has finally regained his memory, he will not be returning to Sunagakure. You can pry all you want but it will not change his mind."

It was impossible to tell whether the Minami family was more surprised to see Neji hanging out with vampires or because Haku was. Haku's ancestors were the ones who created the slayers to eliminate the impure vampires, yet here the purest creature of them all was, going against what was once forced onto the slayers and allying himself with one. If I can agree on one thing with the Minami family it is that we've seen enough surprises today what with the unexpected visitors and seeing your "son" with vampires.

"What are you doing with them?" Emiko practically hissed.

"These people are my friends," Haku responded coolly. "And I assure you that they will not harm you."

"Haku doesn't speak for me, so I just might hurt you," Deidara said.

"They will not harm you," Haku repeated as he gave the blonde vampire a glare.

"I can't believe we left you alone with our children," Tsubaki said. "You are just as bad as them."

"Do you know who you are talking to?" Haku asked, taking another step forward. "If you do, then you must be smart enough to notice your error and continue to remain silent or else I will make you silent."

Hitomi returned to her husband's side saying "Look at you, Haku. The vampire has tainted you, you being the purest of all. You've become violent."

"You are not a victim, Hitomi. Stop acting like one."

The woman frowned at his words.

"Now, then," Haku said. "Since Neji has decided to stay in Konohagakure, you no longer have a purpose to be here, therefore you can return to Sunagakure to resume your roles as slayers. Without your protection from the vampires, Sunagakure is bound to plunder into darkness, so I advise you to return as soon as possible."

"Are you telling us what our roles are now?" Emiko said as she emerged to the front of her family. "You who wasn't even strong enough to fight off the fatal attacks of the Kirigakure townspeople without getting cursed by your family, you who fled as the last gypsy and hid from us, you who now sided with vampires instead of us, your creations? I don't think that you have the right to tell us what to do anymore, Haku, not when you failed as a gypsy."

Emiko turned to walk away, thinking that it was over, but Haku opened up his mouth again. "In your eyes, Emiko."

She faced him. "What?"

"I failed in your eyes. You are just upset that I chose someone else over you. It is obvious to see that there is just one vampire here and he is not a threat." Deidara twitched in annoyance at Haku's words. "Your way of rebelling against me will not last long. And if it goes on for more than my liking, then I will simply find you and exterminate you."

"You really have lost your mind," the old woman spat. "You'll just kill me off? For what? To set an example to all who are rebelling?"

"It is what we once did before until it was abolished fifty years ago. Surely you know this, Emiko. There is no harm in bringing back what was once lost if it is to show you who your superior is."

"You insignificant, little-"

"Finish that sentence," Haku warned. "If you do, I will make sure that you will regret every hateful word you spat at me."

She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from continuing. She instead said something else in an attempt to end the bout. "If we rebel, you won't do a thing because we have every right to go against you. You chose them over us and left us behind. That means we are our own people now. And you can't do a thing about it."

"Are you sure that you want to rebel?"

"Damn sure."

"Then, I can make an example of you right now if you want."

My cousin's eyes widened. "Wait, Haku!"

It was the beginning of September which meant that humid, summer air was still overtaking Konohagakure and it would not cool down until the end of October. However, as soon as Haku told Emiko that he was going to make an example of her, the warm air became chilly in an instant. I could see the fear on Emiko's face as the punishment began but she didn't try to run or try to kill Haku. She just stood there with fear plastered on her face. In the two times that I met Emiko, I could tell that she wasn't the type to sacrifice herself willingly all for the sake of rebellion (or for her family for that matter), and she obviously didn't want to die, so why wasn't she trying to get away?

"Oh my god!" Akari cried. "He's killing her! Somebody stop him!"

A thick sheet of ice formed at Emiko's feet and was slowly making its way up to her head. Haku's expression was emotionless as he manipulated the ice to do his bidding. He didn't care that she was scared, he didn't care that she was in pain, and he didn't care that his family was watching as he slowly killed her. All he seemed to care about was showing the slayers that it was not okay to go against him. This was not like Haku at all. Something was wrong.

Kaoru, Daichi, Hisao, and Nanase pulled out knives and prepared to attack Haku, but Deidara and Naruto stepped in front of our gypsy to shield him from them. Daichi and Hisao hesitated to move forward to save Emiko but Kaoru and Nanase kept moving. Naruto was able to restrain Nanase, and Deidara was able to do the same for Kaoru, but he didn't get away unscathed. Kaoru's knife penetrated through Deidara's arm.

Deidara pushed the slayer on the ground to quickly remove the knife from his arm. Upon removal, I saw steam rising and something green bubbling around where the blade had been and Deidara immediately gripped the spot where the injury had been with a grimace on his face.

"Son of a bitch," he swore. "The bastards have werewolf poison. I thought that we were the ones that were supposed to play dirty."

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking a step towards him.

"I'm fine, Princess. I'll live."

"Haku, stop," I heard my cousin say.

"They need to be taught a lesson, Neji. I cannot let this go."

"Please." Neji firmly put his hand on the young gypsy's shoulder and forced him to look him in the eye. "She's my grandmother, Haku. Please let her go."

Haku's emotionless expression wavered at the sound of the desperation in my cousin's voice. He then looked back at Emiko, realizing what he was doing and, in horror, Haku released her. Neji sighed in relief and then wrapped his arms around his friend once his "grandmother" was safe.

"I'm sorry," Haku said more to my cousin than to anyone else. "I am on edge. I can feel everything shifting out of order and it is very overwhelming."

"It's okay." Still holding Haku close to him, Neji turned to the Minami family saying "If you still want to talk, let's go somewhere else. We'll draw too much attention out in the open."

They were reluctant to go anywhere with us, especially after what Haku just did, but they followed us to my apartment. I guess whatever they have left to say rules over their fear of what my friends might do to them. After all, Deidara just might pay Kaoru back for shoving a blade slathered in werewolf poison through his arm. And I honestly wouldn't blame him.

At first it was just arguing between Neji and his "parents" about them wanting him to come home. Eventually the entire family got into it, forcing me to step in, which I really didn't want to do. A human arguing with slayers isn't the smartest thing to do, especially when outnumbered.

"That girl is brainwashing you!" Hisao exclaimed, referring to me. "You're not thinking straight!"

"No one is brainwashing me. I am staying here out of my own free will." My cousin was doing his best to remain calm but his patience was wearing thinner by the second.

"I don't think that you are," Hitomi said. "You left home and ran away with some girl! The Moya that I know would never have done that!"

"Hinata is not just 'some girl', she's my cousin. And my name isn't Moya anymore. I'm Neji."

"This is exactly what we're talking about," Akari said. "You started a new life somewhere else without telling us, gave yourself a ridiculous new name, and you also think that that girl is your cousin. For all we know, you could be lying to us so that you can keep fucking her."

I threw up in my mouth a little after she said that last sentence. That's disgusting (both what she said and the throw up).

"You people are gross," I heard Deidara say from the kitchen.

"Stop it," I heard Haku hiss. "You will only make things worse."

"Relax. This argument can use a bit of instigation."

I heard Gaara, Naruto, and Haku huff at his response.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. There was no point in trying to convince this twisted family that Neji and I are related since they already know the truth. They are just trying to convince Neji to go back to Sunagakure with cluelessness. Lucky for me, my cousin wasn't buying it.

But even though I already know that they know everything, I decided to keep up with the act of trying to convince them that Neji and I are related to avoid spilling the truth of what happened seven years ago. So after my friends finally stopped talking, I said to the Minamis "I assure you that is not what we are doing. Neji and I really are cousins. I have the blood test if you want proof."

"We don't want proof," Hitomi said to me with so much disgust in her voice. "We just want our son back."

"This isn't going anywhere," I said to my cousin who looked just as frustrated as me. I was so frustrated that I was willing to say the truth to back them all off, but I couldn't do that. Haku said that he was going to be the one to tell Neji everything. If I decided to say it, who knows what'll happen?

"We're done discussing this," Neji said.

"Why," Nanase said, "because what Aunt Akari said is true? Is Hinata your little whore, Moya? If you're ashamed I can understand why. You can do so much better than that thing."

Neji raised his eyebrows in disbelief while I, on the other hand, shot Nanase one of my deadliest glares.

"By so much better, do you mean yourself?" I said with a voice so cold that I could barely recognize it as my own. "If I'm a whore then you're ten times that."

"Fuck off, bitch."

"I should be saying that to you."

"Ooh," I heard Deidara say again. Soon after that, I heard a smacking sound and Deidara said "Ouch."

"Okay, stop," Neji said before things could escalate. "If arguing is all that we're going to do then you need to leave."

"We didn't plan on arguing," Hisao said. "We actually came here because there is another matter that we would like to discuss."

"What would that be?"

"We heard from Tsunade about what you said to her. How could you speak to a higher up like that? Do you know how that reflects on us?"

"That woman is crazy," my cousin exclaimed. "Everything that she is doing is driven by hate. How can I follow someone like that? How could you follow someone like that?"

"She may be driven by hate, but her points are valid," Emiko said. "The gypsies controlled our lives and created our destiny. She isn't the only one who wants to live her own life. We all do."

"Not only that," Daichi said, "it is pretty disgusting that hybrids are being born through humans and other things."

"How can you say that knowing that we, ourselves, are hybrids?" Neji said.

"We were made, and with a purpose. Those things are just abominations born from curious people who want to have a good time."

"You don't know that. And whether hybrids being born or not is none of our business. Vampires are."

"Which brings us down to our last discussion," Hisao said. "Are you siding with us or those monsters?"

"What does this have to do with anything?" I asked.

"I'm talking about the war." He carried just as much disgust in his voice as Hitomi did when speaking to me. "Are you joining us or are you siding with those monsters?"

All eyes from the Minami family rested on Neji. "That depends. Which team are you playing for?"

"Tsunade of course."

"Then I will stick with the 'monsters' because unlike what I haven't seen out of Tsunade so far, the monsters have a sense of justice and morals to stand by. They are protecting themselves against you, while you seem to be doing exactly what that crazy principal is doing. You're being driven by hate and I don't want to play for a team like that."

"This is all Hinata's fault," Nanase said. "If it wasn't for her then this war wouldn't be happening in the first place. I say we should just kill her off to avoid everything."

"Do you really believe that, Nanase?" I asked, my tone flat and harsh. "Or are you just saying that to get me out of the picture because you want Neji all to yourself?"

Her mouth dropped. I felt all eyes on me but mine never left Nanase. I knew since the very beginning that she liked Neji, which is kind of gross seeming as they were perceived as cousins, but I guess you can't help what you feel. She wasn't expecting me to say that, especially in front of everyone, and that showed on her face. She was shocked, embarrassed, and a little more than pissed off. But through all of that, I could see that I had hit bull's eye.

"Is that true?" Neji asked Nanase.

She scanned the room, face getting redder by the second, as she backed away more towards the door. She said to me "I will get you back for this," and then fled from my apartment.

I was glad to see her go, but at the same time her departure made me uneasy. She was crazy and she hated me, therefore there was truth to her words. Nanase will get me back for "stealing" Neji away from her. I just didn't know when. There is always the war, give or take I actually participate in it somehow, and there is always before and/or after the war, seeming as the Minami family will be staying in Konohagakure for a while yet because of the war. I guess that I'll have to keep my guard up at all times. I can't say how I'll fair in a fight against a slayer though.

Hisao asked Neji in a low voice "Are you sure that you're going to fight alongside those monsters?"

Without hesitation, my cousin said "Yes. I made up my mind before you got here and the fact that you are here will not change that, Hisao."

Hisao's eyes widened at Neji not calling him dad. I had to force myself not to smile at his reaction. Now wasn't the time for that. I couldn't see it, but I had the feeling that it was hard for Neji to break off all ties with his former family. They raised him for seven years while he had no idea who he was and no clue where he came from, so of course he had to rely on them to love him and keep him safe, which they (more or less) did a good job at doing. Even though I despised this family, I had to understand that my cousin could be hurting from letting go of them.

Hisao's surprised expression slowly turned into a hard, cold one. With a voice to match his face, Hisao said to my cousin "Then we'll see you at war, 'Neji.'"

The Minami family followed Hisao out of the door wearing the same cold expression that he was as each of them left. Again, I was happy and relieved to see them all go, but they seem even more dangerous than Nanase. And this time their target isn't me. They want my cousin. To "save" him from Deidara corrupting him, they might just try to kill him. It's obvious that they believe that if they can't have him nobody can, but if they decided not to kill him, then what? Will they take him away from me again? Neji is less than willing to return to Sunagakure, but there are still ways to get him to go back. I may be paranoid, and I will admit that I have been ever since Neji first got here, but I have every right to be. I'm afraid that he'll leave me.

A strong hand held onto mine, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was Neji's.

"I'm not going anywhere, not unless I have to. I promise," he said.

I squeezed his hand and gave him a wry smile. He was telling the truth, but a part of me didn't want to believe it. My fear of him leaving was too strong and not even he himself promising me that he won't leave couldn't convince me that he wasn't going away.

My cousin let go of my hand to sit down on the couch. He ran his fingers through his hair, releasing a sound of frustration soon afterward. Haku sat beside him with a look of concern on his face.

"You did the right thing. You did nothing wrong," Haku said. "Do not punish yourself for this."

"Then why don't I feel like I did the right thing?"

"They were your parents, your family for seven years. Any child would feel guilty after standing up to their parents like that. You did nothing wrong," Haku repeated. "I am proud of you for doing such a thing. And you did it very maturely."

Neji's face seemed to light up. "You're proud?"

The gypsy nodded. "Yes. Very."

A smile played across his face.

"Well, that didn't take long to cheer you up," Deidara said, coming out of the kitchen with Gaara.

"It doesn't take much to cheer me up," my cousin said while still looking at Haku with obvious adoration in his eyes. What he should have said is it doesn't take much effort to cheer him up so long as Haku was the one to do it.

"Clearly," he said.

"Why is that you are more annoying than usual today?" Haku asked Deidara.

"Who knows?" He strolled over to Haku and casually slung an arm over his shoulders. "Maybe it's not annoyance that you feel. It could be love."

"Love? That's not what it is."

Deidara acted as if his feelings had been hurt. "I don't care what you say. I know that you love me."

The gypsy waved him off as a response.

Gaara took his place next to me. He said "I don't mean to overstep my boundaries, but what exactly is going on? That was more than a normal family quarrel."

We told him everything about the war, the purpose of it, and everyone that will be involved in it. He wasn't all that surprised. Being the Kazekage of Sunagakure had its perks I guess. Word got around about supernatural activity inside and outside of Sunagakure involving the slayers and he had to cover up some of the mishaps that leaked out to his human citizens. As more of the killings of creatures other than vampires increased, the more Gaara had to make reasons for the mishaps. While he didn't expect war to be the outcome of the slayings, he certainly wasn't surprised that it was.

"I do not know the outcome of this war," Haku said, "but I do know that the Minami family is making a mistake for opposing us. The repercussions will be grave."

"Well, whatever repercussions are coming to them, they'll deserve it," Deidara said.

"Deidara," I scolded.

"No, Deidara's right," Neji said. "They'll deserve it. I just hope that they'll come to their senses before it's too late."

"Too late for what? The war?"

"Yes." His face then turned grim. "But more so before I have to kill them."

Deidara shrugged. "If you can't do it then I will."

I scolded him again and Haku said "Yes. You are definitely more annoying than usual today."

"Funny. That's what I told him earlier," Naruto said, stepping out of the kitchen with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand. I almost forgot that he was here.

"You just couldn't help yourself, huh?" Deidara said to Naruto.

"I hope you don't mind, Hinata. I didn't eat anything today."

"You didn't eat lunch?"

He shook his head, making his blonde hair bounce around like crazy.

"I don't mind. Do you guys want to stay for dinner?"

Everyone agreed to eat here for the night so I went into the kitchen to prepare the meal. Gaara decided to help me, and I honestly didn't mind, I just wasn't comfortable with him helping me. I still felt guilty and I still had yet to tell him about how I selfishly took his virtue. And doing that right here right now was not the best of all times to do that. I guess that I can pull him aside to discuss it, but I'd feel better if he and I were alone and we most definitely were not alone. Even if I took Gaara outside or up on the roof, I know for a fact that Deidara would listen in and he's the last person in this room that I want eavesdropping.

"Hinata," Gaara said from behind me.

I turned to face him.

"You're out of milk." He held up the almost empty gallon of milk.

"Oops. I forgot to get some."

Just as I was about to leave the kitchen, Gaara grabbed me by the arm. I turned to face him once again only to be met by emerald eyes full of concern. He asked me "What's wrong, Hinata?"

Guilt tore at me. It was eating me alive all day and it's been killing me ever since I saw Gaara. Right now my guilt is completely taking me over. Staring into Gaara's eyes doesn't help; in fact it makes things much worse, especially with the way he's looking at me. He loves me. It was obvious. And he thinks that I can do no wrong. After what I did, I am by no means an angel. The guilt that I was feeling was so strong that I was close to blurting out the truth. In order not to do that, I pulled away from the Kazekage and left my apartment to go to the store. At the moment, I didn't care how stupid I looked for leaving so abruptly, I just wanted to get out of there, but I know that I'll be embarrassed when I get back to everyone. Great way to play it cool, Hinata.

I went to the nearest convenience store and purchased a gallon of milk. The sun had set by now so hardly anyone was outside. It was just me and the moon and I guess that I can count the milk in my hands. It was quiet, which was perfect for me because even though I could never actually be alone outdoors, the silence gave me the impression of solitude. It was quiet enough for me to think and to (I will only admit this to myself) drown myself in my self-pity and regret.

I couldn't stop thinking about it. My guilt wouldn't let me. I wanted to stop thinking about it so that I could stop feeling this way, but the guilt refused to leave. I bet that even after I talk to Gaara, the guilt will still remain for at least a month or so and that will annoy me more than anything.

My apartment building was about one block away from where I was now, but I felt like I was being watched so I stopped. Stupid decision, I know, but I knew who was watching me. I guess that I should have kept walking regardless of my intelligence on who was stalking me but I've wanted to get this person alone to talk to her since she and her family first got here. Maybe there was no sense in saying anything to her at all seeming as I think that she's made out of pure evil and there's no way I can change or understand someone like that, but I wanted to give it a shot anyway, just to see where it'd take us.

"I know that you're following me, Nanase," I said.

She emerged from the dark alleyway several feet away from me still looking pissed off. I can only assume that she's still upset about my comment that made her storm out of my apartment. What else can she be mad about?

"You stole Moya away from me," she said.

I guess that she can also be upset about that.

I turned to face her. "I didn't steal Neji away from you. He came on his own free will."

"Yes you did! You took him away from me! Moya is mine! You'll never be good enough for him! Just give him back to me!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't steal him from you? Stop blaming me for something I didn't do. He came here of his own freewill. I didn't brainwash him, I didn't kidnap him, and I didn't bribe him in any kind of way. He came with me because he wanted to. He even said this himself."

"I don't believe you. Moya is-"

"His name isn't Moya. His name is Neji. And if you don't believe me, then fine. There's no point in me talking to you anymore."

Just as I began to walk away, Nanase called out to me saying "I love him. I'm in love with Moya. You messed everything up for me."

"I didn't mess anything up for you. You did that yourself. Your personality is horrible. Maybe if you were a nice person then Neji'd give some thought into how you really felt about him, but after he saw how you really are there's no way he'd return your feelings."

"Shut up! Shut up, vampire lover! Stop talking! I'll never forgive you for stealing Moya away from me!"

Nanase pulled out a dagger. It was the same dagger from earlier slathered in werewolf poison. I have no idea what will happen if the poison entered my bloodstream but I do know that the dagger will do more than enough damage to me. What can I do in this situation? My first option is running away but that's futile since slayers run just as fast as vampires and I'd get caught in no time at all. The second option is fighting back. As soon as that came to mind, I declared it as suicide so that's also off my list. The last option is to try to convince Nanase to put down the dagger, but her eyes look so wild that she just might attack before I even get the chance to open my mouth. Still, option three seemed worth a shot, and the safest route, so I decided to go with it.

"Nanase," I said calmly. "Put down the knife. We don't have to fight over this."

"Just shut up!" she screamed. "I hate hearing your voice! Everything you say is full of shit! I'm going to make sure that you don't talk again."

Before I could even bat an eye, Nanase lunged towards me knife first. She moved so fast that I didn't have time to move or to think. Instead, my body reacted by throwing the gallon of milk at Nanase only to have it sliced in half by the dagger. It slowed her down a little though, which allowed me to make a run for it. Stupid me, the girl caught up to me in no time at all just like I knew she would, and she kicked me so hard that it knocked the wind out of me. I stumbled but didn't fall.

"I'm going to kill you," she told me.

Convincing her to put the knife down didn't work and running away also didn't work. I still think that fighting back is suicide, but what other choice do I have? I can't just stand here and let her kill me. That option is worse than the others. I have never been in a fight before, since Sakura fought all of my battles, but I'll have to try. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to stall her for so long that someone will come looking for me.

I caught my breath just in time before Nanase trusted the knife towards me. I dodged it just in time, but I didn't move as gracefully as I had hoped to. I stumbled a lot when trying to escape her attacks. And she cut me with the blade a few times. I did my best to survive and I was actually lasting longer than I thought I would, however, not too long after Nanase cut me, I began to feel weird. Almost as if my insides were burning up. It didn't hurt, it was just uncomfortable. I ignored it the best that I could, but as the battle went on, the sensation became troublesome.

"Stop moving," Nanase shouted at me.

Frustration was easily detected in her voice. She lunged at me once again, only this time she moved much faster. I might have been able to avoid her, but she moved so fast that I couldn't keep up. The next thing that I knew, Nanase had my wrists in her hands and I was pinned against a wall. I couldn't escape. She was so strong. I couldn't even move my arms. I didn't know what to do next. My fear was blocking any ideas that came to mind. And I thought that this was it until I finally got myself to take a breath.

By no means did I want to die. After taking that breath, I realized that and I got an idea. Nanase may be a trained slayer, but she still makes mistakes, like right now. My arms were restrained properly, yes, but my legs were free and her stomach was left wide open. So I kneed at her stomach a few times, making her release me to hold her abdomen. I was going to leave it at that and try to make another run for it, but slayers recover fast. I've never punched anyone before, but it looks simple enough, right? So that's what I did.

My fist collided with her jaw, making her stagger back a few inches. Honestly, I think that punch hurt me more than it hurt her. The impact left my knuckle red and throbbing, whereas Nanase was unscathed. She didn't even look stunned. If anything, she was pissed off that I just hit her in the face.

I didn't bother to try to hit her again. The look in her eyes told me that she was going to make my death all the more painful. I should have just ran instead of trying to stun her. My apartment is only one block away. There was a chance that I could have reached my apartment building before she caught me or I could've even tried to get close enough to it to call out for help. Now, since I gave her the chance, she was more than likely going to kill me.

After releasing a snarl, much like a vampire, Nanase ran after me as I tried to run away. I didn't even get a foot away from her. She tackled me, wrestled me down to the ground, and raised the dagger in the air, preparing to stab me. I caught her wrist right before the blade penetrated my eye, but I knew that I couldn't fight back for long. My strength was waning. Fast. And that burning sensation was becoming much more troublesome. It went from uncomfortable, to annoying, to painful. I felt like my insides were on fire. Literally. And I had no clue where this came from. It just suddenly occurred when…

The werewolf poison! Werewolf poison is in my bloodstream. Is this what happens to a human when poisoned by werewolf poison? It was painful. I can only imagine what it feels like to be poisoned as a vampire.

"I can see the poison is taking effect," Nanase said from above me with a twisted smile on her face. "Soon you won't be able to move at all."

All I could do was grimace. I was trying too hard to hold Nanase back from stabbing me and I was in too much pain to respond. The burning had spread throughout my entire body now and my strength was deteriorating by the second. I was in a tight spot. I didn't think that it could get any worse until my body went numb and paralysis took over me. I couldn't move. And since I could no longer move, I could no longer hold Nanase's wrists; therefore she was able to stab me.

At least I thought she was trying to stab me.

It turns out that she was trying to gorge my eyes out with the knife. I moved the best that I could to escape the blade, but I couldn't move too well. The blade missed my eye; however, she cut my face more than a few times. My body was getting heavier and it was getting harder for me to fight for my life. I didn't want to give up, but I also didn't want to fight anymore. I had no more strength left and the cavalry that I was relying on to come save me was nowhere to be found.

Nanase put the knife up to my eye after I lost the power to dodge her blade. That twisted smile never left her face as she positioned the blade and prepared to do the unthinkable. I braced myself mentally for what unimaginable pain was to come, but right when she began to cut into my eye, a huge ball of sand knocked Nanase off of me. Moments later, I saw Gaara run by in my periphery.

"Hinata," Deidara called from behind me.

My blonde vampire friend held me in his arms as he examined me. He knew right away what the problem was and he bit into his wrist to make it bleed. He then presented it to me. I've never had vampire blood before but I suspected that it tasted just like human blood. I didn't want to drink it, and Deidara knew that.

"If you don't drink my blood, you'll die, Hinata." Worry was the highlight of his voice. "That werewolf poison will do so much more to you than what it's doing to you now. You have to trust me and drink from me."

He held his wrist out to me again. I looked from his wrist, to Deidara, and back down to his wrist. I might as well drink from him. I don't want to die and even if I did, Deidara wouldn't let me. He'd force me to drink his blood. So I put my lips on his bleeding wrist and drank from him.

A burst of energy shot through me as soon as my tongue touched the scarlet liquid. It tasted nothing like I expected. It kind of tasted like all of the things that I loved to eat all in one. At first, I was worried about getting addicted to his blood, but a few moments after drinking from him, the taste became less and less appetizing. It began to taste like, well, blood, which made me stop drinking from him altogether.

I removed my lips from his wrist and then wiped the remaining blood off of my mouth. My insides stopped burning and the cuts on my face disappeared completely. It was as if they were never there to begin with.

Suddenly, Deidara pulled me into an embrace. My body smashed against his as he tightened his hold on me. I couldn't help but to hug him back. After all, he was worried about me and this actually felt kind of nice. His body was warm and inviting, he smelled really good, and I… liked it when Deidara held me…

The moment between us was short-lived though. Whatever Deidara was feeling when he found me turned into anger.

"Why didn't you run away?!" he shouted at me, pulling me back just enough so that he could get a good look at my face. His bluish-gray eyes were mixed with both anger and relief. The anger overshadowed the relief just a little bit, which made me angry, too.

"Why are you angry at me?!" I shouted back. "Don't you think that I would have tried to run away?! I would never have fought a slayer unless I had to!"

"Even that was stupid! Never try to fight a slayer!"

"What did you want me to do, huh? Just stand there and let her kill me? Let her gorge my eyes out with that dagger of hers?"

"No, of course not, but fighting a slayer is suicide."

"Don't you think that I know that?! I had no other choice!"

"You could have called for help, Hinata! I would have heard you!"

"I had to fight! I was scared!" I shouted, tears welling up in my eyes. "I thought… I thought that I was going to die… What did you want me to do?! I didn't have time to wait for you, Deidara!"

His eyes widened at my words. They widened even more so at my last sentence. After he shook the shock off that my words gave him, the look in his angry eyes softened as the tears welling up in my eyes finally spilled over. He released a sigh and rested his forehead against mine. The next words that he spoke were soft and gentle and filled with… love.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. Don't misunderstand. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry because I should have been here for you. I should have been here to save you before that girl even laid a hand on you… When I saw you on the floor, I got scared and I froze up. I didn't know what to do. I thought that you were dead, but then I heard your heart beat and realized that I had to jump in to save you before it was too late. If… If you died, Hinata…"

I gently cupped my hand on his cheek. He immediately rested his larger hand on mine. Our eyes met. My breath caught. The emotion in his eyes was so intense that it took my breath away. Deidara was in love with me. I knew that because he told me so. I just never knew how much. But even if he never told me, I'd be able to see it if I looked hard enough. Right now he was wearing it on his sleeve and it made my heart beat like crazy.

"Deidara," I said, sounding breathless. "You told me not to fall in love with you, but I can't help it."

"Hinata." He was about to remove his hand and forehead from mine, but I grabbed a hold of him before he got the chance to move away from me.

"I can't help it," I repeated. "I love you. I love you, Deidara."

"Damn it, Hinata," he cursed. "Why are you so…" He looked like he was trying to hold himself back, and, for a minute, I thought that he was going to get up and walk away, but what he did next took me by surprise.

He kissed me. I mean, he really kissed me. He smashed his lips against mine and wasn't afraid to hold back. I got lost in him almost immediately and joined him in the kiss. This felt right to me. It was passionate and intimate and a little lustful, but I didn't feel guilty at all for doing this. Our feelings for one another were mutual and I really, truly loved him. And he loved me. I thought that nothing could ruin this moment.

That is until I saw someone approach us my periphery, making me stop kissing Deidara altogether. I shot up from the ground feeling even guiltier than I ever have before.

"What the hell is going on?" Gaara said.