"Gaara," I said, slowly inching towards him. "I can explain."

He backed away. "How can you explain what you just did?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you! I-I just-"

"You just what, Hinata? Did you think that you could toy with my emotions and get away with it? Were you just using me?"

"No, no! That's not it. I wasn't using you."

"How long has this been going on?" The Kazekage gestured to Deidara who didn't look nearly as guilty as I did. I doubt that he even felt guilty at all. "Were you two together while we were?"

"Deidara and I aren't together. We never have been."

"But you guys are obviously attracted to each other," he said. "Deidara's been stealing glances at you all day. I thought that it was one-sided, so I didn't worry about it." He let out a humorless laugh. "I should have paid more attention. I never thought that you, of all people, would betray me. You're just like everyone else."

I flinched. I may have cheated on him and used him to rid myself of the pain I was feeling from Sasuke's and my breakup, but I am nothing like the people who mistreat him in Sunagakure. Unlike them, I felt remorse for what I did and I actually cared about Gaara. They didn't. Not one bit.

"I'm sorry for what I did! I really am! But I am not like everyone else. I care for you, Gaara."

"If you cared for me then you wouldn't have kissed him!"

"I do care for you! Just not in the way that you thought I cared for you…"

Now he flinched. Hurt flashed in his eyes. "What are you saying?"

"I… I never loved you Gaara. Not in the way that you loved me. I thought that I was beginning to like you, but I wasn't. I was trying to distract myself from Sasuke. Had I known that I wasn't beginning to like you more than a friend, I wouldn't have done what I did to you; I wouldn't have said all of those sweet things either. I didn't mean to deceive you, honestly. And if I could take all of it back then I would, but I can't. I'm really sorry."

"So in the hotel when we…?"

I nodded my head slowly. "I regret that the most. I am so, so sorry. If you hate me then I understand. I would hate me, too. It wasn't until after I left that I realized what I had done and what I was really feeling."

The look in his eyes and on his face were a mixture of hurt, anger, and sadness. He roughly ran his fingers through his hair as he paced back and forth. He looked as if he was on the verge of tears but he fought the tears back to give me a hard look.

"How can you say that you care about me when you did all of that?! I trusted you more than anyone, loved you more than anyone! And you threw everything that I was feeling for you right into my face! You are like everyone else, Hinata! You stabbed me in the back when I wasn't looking and then you poured salt on my wounds."

"I wouldn't have done it if I realized sooner!"

"You should have realized sooner," he snapped. "You were playing with a man who is already broken. You picked up my pieces, put them together, and then you broke me again. Do you know how much you damaged me?"

I didn't say anything.

"Of course you don't because you would not have done it if you had realized sooner."

"Gaara…"

"Don't," he warned. "Don't say anymore. You have no excuse for what you did to me, so don't say any more, and don't apologize. Just don't say anything. At all." He paced a little more before he spoke again. "You and Deidara might as well have a relationship. I can't stop you."

I opened my mouth to say something but I stopped myself. I didn't want him snapping at me again.

"I doubt that you care, but I'm leaving tomorrow. I hope that you two will be happy together. Enjoy your life."

He walked away in the direction of the Senju, leaving me feeling absolutely horrible. I wanted to chase after him to try to get him to accept my apology, but that would be futile. He's so angry with me that I know he won't listen to anything else that I have to say. It was so wrong of me to go behind his back, and I wish that I could have stopped myself before things got so far out of hand, but I guess that I got what I deserved. Karma finally came back around and kicked me in the ass and it was extremely hard.

"Hey," Deidara said softly as he rested a hand gently on my shoulder. "You made a mistake. Don't beat yourself up over this."

"That's the thing," I said, turning myself around to face him. "I made a lot of mistakes. Too many. Not just with Gaara, but with all of you. I keep making them. One of them caught up to me and it's only a matter of time before karma catches up to me again."

"What do you mean too many mistakes?"

"Let's face it. My lips haven't been committed to just one person in these past six months. And I slept with two different people in less than a year. I'm becoming like Ino."

"You're not a whore," he said solidly. "And we all make mistakes. Look at me. I'm a walking mistake and I'm still standing, breathing, living. This will all pass. Making mistakes are part of life and you're still finding yourself. So don't beat yourself up, Hinata."

"I can't stop beating myself up. What if I hurt you too?"

He rested his hand on my cheek. "You won't. I think you've learned your lesson. And even if you did hurt me, that wouldn't stop me from loving you."

I gave him a small smile. While his attempt to make me feel better didn't work entirely, it made me feel somewhat better and it temporarily distracted me from how upset I was feeling. The fact that he admitted that he loved me filled me with excitement and happiness.

"You… You just told me that you love me," I said. The small smile on my face was replaced by a large one.

"Of course, Princess. I thought you knew that I loved you by now." Once his snarky smile disappeared, he gave me a gentle one me and then wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Let's head back. I'm starving and you still have to prepare that dinner you offered to make us."

I gasped when I remembered the milk. I almost forgot all about it.

I looked back at the gallon of milk that Nanase had cut in half with her dagger. Obviously it was destroyed. I watched as she cut it in half. I just didn't expect the plastic gallon carrying the milk to be almost completely eaten away by the poison and the once white liquid to now be a thick, vibrant green color. I couldn't help but to think that that's what could have been circulating through my bloodstream. Werewolf poison is some lethal stuff.

"Yep, you're right," Deidara said. "That's what was inside of you. Thanks to me, you're still alive. You're welcome."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "While I appreciate you saving my life, I really hate it when you read my mind."

"Alright, alright. I'll try to cut back on that."

"Can you promise me that?" I was a little skeptical and my voice showed that.

"Yes, yes I promise. Now, let's go get some more milk, Princess."

We got milk from the store and returned to my apartment. Neji began questioning me as soon as we got through the door about where I was and if I was okay. I wasn't sure if I should tell him that Nanase attacked me, and I was about to tell him that I got held up at the store so he could just drop it, but Deidara told him the truth. Neji wasn't happy. In fact, he was so upset that he was about to leave to find her. Haku stopped him from leaving though and he took him up to the roof to talk to him. By the look on Haku's face alone, I could only assume that he was going to tell him the truth about the Minami family and why they wanted Neji so bad just to prevent him from going. If that's the case then I can only hope that Neji won't be so angry that he'll act irrationally once he learns everything.

While I was curious about what Haku had to tell Neji, I didn't want to think about it because that would just make me even more curious so I let my mind wander. Unfortunately when I let my mind wander as I prepared dinner, I thought about Gaara. He doesn't want anything to do with me, but I want to set things right. I don't want him to leave Konohagakure thinking that I'm an awful person and that I really don't care about him, so I plan on stopping by the Senju before he leaves tomorrow. I don't know if he'll hear me out, if he'll be there, or if the guards will even let me in his suite, let alone on the tenth floor, but it's worth a try. The worse he could do is ignore me, right?

When I finished making dinner for everyone, Haku and Neji were still talking so I had to eat with Naruto and Deidara without them. I'm sure that my friends would have waited for them to finish talking but it was getting late and with the Minami family in town ready to kill us, they were a little more than eager to get home, so right after eating they left.

I made plates for my cousin and Haku and stored them in the refrigerator right after I cleaned up the mess I made in the kitchen. About an hour later I considered going to bed because I was nodding off as I waited for them to get back, but the drowsiness that I was feeling was scared out of me when Haku stormed into the apartment, grabbed his belongings, and stormed back out. Moments after, Neji came in, closing the door behind him. He sat down on the couch beside me and rubbed his face as he sighed heavily in frustration.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I told Haku that I was in love with him," he said without looking at me. "It didn't go well."

Getting a better look at my cousin, I realized how upset he was. Whatever was said while they were talking, however Haku reacted to his confession, hurt Neji. It hurt him to the point of him having to fight back tears. I've never seen my cousin this way. I've seen him cry, yes, but I would have never in a million years thought that he would cry over something like heartbreak. Haku turned him down and he didn't do it gently.

I moved closer to my cousin on the couch, resting a hand on his back as I did. "Oh, Neji, I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what I'm going to do now. I doubt that he'll want to talk to me after that."

"What happened?" I asked again.

"He told me the truth about the Minami family and about me. I got upset so he comforted me. Things between us got a little intimate and I… kissed him."

"You… You kissed him?"

He nodded slowly. "I told him how I felt after I kissed him. He got mad, yelled at me, and stormed off." He let out another heavy sigh. "I messed up."

"You just misread the mood. Haku will get over it, right?"

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Well, even if Haku doesn't work out, there are plenty of other girls out there who will love you just as much as you would love them."

"I don't want anyone else, Hinata. I just want Haku," he said as he looked at me.

Seeing the expression that Neji was making and the look in his eyes made my heart ache. I had to do something.

"Do you… Do you want me to talk to him?" I asked.

"No, that will just make things worse."

"I've got to do something. I don't like seeing you like this."

"Just let it go. I don't want you to make things worse."

Without another word, Neji got up from the couch and went in the bathroom to prepare for bed.

I watched him walk down the hall. When he was out of sight, I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. I know that he doesn't want me to talk to Haku, he just told me so, but I want to anyway. Haku likes Neji and now he knows that Neji loves him. Even though he sees having a relationship with my cousin as taboo, I think he should get past that to be happy. What's so wrong with being happy?

On second thought, maybe I should listen to Neji and stay out of it. I broke Gaara's heart for the sake of my own selfish happiness. Deidara and I technically aren't together, but this is the closest we've been to a couple. Haku shouldn't take dating advice from me if he wants to have a chance at finding love at all.

I sighed heavily (similar to how Neji sighed) and I decided to retire for the night. It was hard for me because I was still sleepy, but I got up early the next morning to meet Gaara at the Senju before he took off for Sunagakure. With Neji still asleep, I had to take care of my personal hygiene and get ready quietly so that he wouldn't wake up. As soon as I was ready, I headed out of the door.

Because of how early it was, it was dark outside. The sun was just coming up, basking the city in a light orangish glow. It was beautiful, yes, but it didn't rid me of the nauseating feeling gradually building up at the pit of my stomach as I got closer and closer to Gaara. I didn't know what to expect walking in the five star hotel. I didn't know if the guards would let me in, if Gaara would kick me out, if he would yell at me again, or if he was already gone. Not all of the options were equally bad, but all of them made me so nervous that I became queasy.

When I got there, and I entered the building, it took me forever to gather the courage to ride the elevator to the top floor. I stood in front of the elevator for a long time, which was making the bell hop and the woman at the front desk nervous. I guess I looked just as anxious as I felt as I stood there and they probably feared that I was either going to rob them or pull out a gun to kill everyone here. A little annoyed by the way the employees were staring at me; I decided to take my chances with Gaara's rage and entered the uninviting elevator.

My heart was beating out of my chest the entire ride up. When I finally reached my stop I didn't think that my heart could beat any harder but I was wrong, yet again. It was beating so hard that my chest began to hurt. And as I walked down the halls of the tenth floor to Gaara's room, everything seemed to be going in slow motion, including me, and the only sound that could hear was my heartbeat and my heavy breathing.

There weren't many guards in sight, but there was enough for me to know that the Kazekage was still here. After what seemed like forever, I reached Gaara's suite. I knocked on his door and the sound of it echoed against my ears, overpowering the sound of both my heart and breathing. Once the knocking sound subsided, I could hear my heart and my heavy breathing again.

I stood there for a while waiting for him to answer the door. I had feared that he would have left before I got the chance to get there and it seems that my fear had come true. So I turned around to go back home. I had gotten half way down the hallway when I heard him say my name.

I whipped my head around to face him. When I laid eyes on him, everything went back to normal speed and I could no longer hear the sound of my breath and heart. I also wasn't feeling as nervous or anxious as I was before. It was ironic, given that I was about to face one of the many fears that I had been thinking about since last night.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as I went back to meet him. There was anger and pain in his eyes as well as his voice. There were red rings around his eyes and his eyes looked bloodshot. I could tell that he had been crying and probably hadn't slept much. I also knew that he didn't want me here.

"I want to talk to you," I said timorously.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you." His tone was harsh, cold, and flat. It made me flinch.

He was serious about not wanting to talk to me. He was about to close the door on me, and he would have succeeded had not my body reacted and I swiftly put my foot in the door to stop it from closing. He was surprised at my sudden movement and, honestly, I was too but I didn't show it. Instead, I wore my determined face as I asked "Please?"

The Kazekage considered trying to shut the door on me anyway, I could tell, but then he huffed and eyes became weary. Moments later, he gestured me inside.

I gave him a grateful expression and then went inside. I didn't bother sitting down because I didn't plan on staying long.

"Gaara, I am so sorry for what I did and I-"

"Saying sorry won't make up for what you did, Hinata. It'll take much more than just a simple word." His words sounded tired as if he had tried to relay reasons for me kissing Deidara over and over again and came up with none. "Nothing you say will make me less angry or less upset with you. If you came here to ask me to forgive you, you're wasting your time."

"You don't even want to hear what I have to say?"

"No. There is nothing that you will say that will make me forgive you, so you should just stop apologizing and go home."

I balled up my fists as I bit my bottom lip in frustration. "Fine. Don't forgive me. I understand why you refuse to. I used you for my own selfish reasons and I broke your heart because I was selfish. I'm a selfish person and you deserve better, much better."

For once, he was silent so I went on.

"I'm awful, mean, heartless, and insensitive. I even disgust myself sometimes at how horrible I am and at how horribly I treat people. What I did to you was the worst."

"I'm not in the mood for sarcasm, Hinata."

"But that's how you see me right now, right? I'm a terrible person in your eyes, Gaara, and, actually, I feel like a terrible person. I made a mistake, a big one."

He laughed humorlessly, averting his attention elsewhere.

"I'm serious. I-"

He clenched his jaw as he snapped his head in my direction. "Look, I'm still not going to forgive you."

I found myself clenching and unclenching my jaw just like Neji does when he's mad. I guess we're more alike than I thought. "You don't have to. You can do that on your own if you want. You're mad at me, so you're judgment of me is clouded. I should have noticed sooner, but now I know that coming here to talk to you was too soon." I paused, taking a breath as I did. "I'll call you after the war."

I made my way to brush past him so that I could leave but Gaara grabbed my arm just as I got out of the door. When I looked up at him, the expression in his eyes turned from anger and pain to sympathy and sorrow.

After what seemed like forever, he let go of my arm and backed up a little. Nervously, he asked "Are you… Are you going to be in the war?"

I faced him completely. "Maybe. I would like to if my cousin and friends allow it. I can't do much because I'm human, but I still want to lend all of the help that I can. The war is my fight too."

"I see." He was quiet for a while. He appeared to be brooding over something; the worrisome expression on his face said it all. "You are right by the way. I am… unable to forgive at the moment because of how angry and hurt I am. However, if you participate in the war, I want you to be careful. I am numb to many things at the moment, and I am very angry with you, but I don't want you get hurt or worse. So be careful, Hinata."

I gave him a soft smile. "I will."

"I expect a phone call from you after the war. If I don't receive one, I will come find you."

"Don't worry. I will." It was hard for me not to laugh or cry in joy. Gaara was absolutely cold to me, which was one of the reasons why it made me fear that he would never forgive me the most. Now, I think he will forgive me sooner than I thought.

Backing away down the hall, I said to the Kazekage "Goodbye, Gaara."

With a small, weak smile, he waved goodbye to me.

I left the Senju feeling, for some unknown reason, a little shaky. Honestly, I didn't even want to think about what we talked about in there, or more like, what we argued about in there. I went there nervous and anxious and left feeling… well, I don't know what I'm feeling, but it's not a bad feeling. I'm hoping that Gaara is also feeling a little better and his temporary perspective of me has changed.

Neji was still sleeping when I got back home. He woke up not long after I got through the front door though. I was wearing clothes and my hair was already done so he knew that I went somewhere. He wasn't too happy with me. Nanase attacking me put him on edge a little, so to protect me from his crazy former family, he wants to be with me at all times when I leave the house if no one else is there to protect me, and that includes waking him up before five o'clock to go meet the Kazekage at the Senju.

He only dropped it because Haku was still weighing on his mind. And speaking of which, today is the day that we're all supposed to meet up at Deidara's house/lair to discuss our strategy for the war since we couldn't do it yesterday. Haku may have a big influence over my cousin because of how much he loves him, but his personal feelings shouldn't get in the way of how he strategizes, which is a good quality he has. I know if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't be able to keep my composure. He'll look normal on the outside but God knows how he'll be feeling on the inside.

Once Neji finished getting ready for the day, we ventured out to meet Deidara at the rendezvous point. Apparently his home is well hidden because he didn't want slayers to find him at the time he was being hunted by them, so he has to personally take us there himself since giving us directions would be too confusing.

Deidara was already at the rendezvous so as soon as we got there he led us to his home, which wasn't too far from the rendezvous point. We turned a few corners and ended up in a dark, shady alleyway. Puzzled, I considered questioning him where he was really taking us when Deidara moved a tall, thick board of wood away from a brick wall that would have been impossible to move if you weren't a vampire, werewolf, slayer, or a machine. Once the board was gone, it revealed a pitch black hole in the wall that was very similar to an endless void.

Deidara stepped inside the hole and extended his hand out to me. "Come on, Princess."

Neji stepped in front of me. He asked "Where are we going, Deidara?"

Deidara put his hands on his hips. "Pssh, I thought we were past all of this 'distrust the vampire' crap. For shame, Neji, if you say you're going to let go of your roots, then you've got to commit."

"Where are we going, Deidara?" Neji repeated, patience gone.

"To my house," he answered simply. He pointed into the darkness. "This is the rest of the way."

I looked beyond my blonde vampire friend into the darkness to try to catch sight of anything. Nothing. All I could see was darkness.

"You live in there?" I asked completely astonished. "Vampires are called creatures of the night. I thought that you of all people would rebel against that title, but you're actually living in perpetual night."

He shrugged. "I can't rebel against everything even if I wanted to." He extended his hand out to me again. "Haku, the fox, and Sasuke are waiting. Don't want to keep them, do we?"

I took his hand without hesitation and hopped into the darkness. Neji followed in suit, blocking the hole with the board as he joined us. Neji's eyes worked as well as a vampire's in the darkness so all he had to do was follow Deidara. I, however, had to hold onto Deidara (which wasn't a bad thing) because I couldn't see. We walked for about three minutes and then stopped. Seconds later I heard something heavier than the board of wood sliding against the ground and grinding against a wall.

Light from a chandelier poured into the darkness and I saw Naruto standing in a stone doorway moving a huge, stone wall so that we could get inside of Deidara's home. I was the first inside after I greeted Naruto and once I was inside my vampire friend's home, I noticed that it wasn't anything like what I expected.

The floor was a cool gray colored stone and it travelled all throughout the house. The walls weren't stone like the floor. Instead it was drywall and it was painted black. In the center of the room that you enter first, the living area, a big, medieval chandelier hung from the ceiling. It loomed over a black coffee table. Black furniture surrounded the coffee table and underneath the table and couches was a red large woven rug that looked very, very expensive. Deidara probably stole it or something. I can't see him buying something that pricey.

In the same room, but in a different section, was the kitchen-dining room area. The dining room table was black with matching chairs and at the center of the table was a bouquet of red roses sitting in a black vase. The kitchen had a set of updated appliances that probably have never been used. The granite countertops were a whitish color and the counters and cabinets were, guess what, black.

I expected Deidara's house to be more dungeon-like, but it's not. It's a gothic styled home fit for a vampire like Deidara. It's perfect.

"Oh, and I didn't steal that rug by the way," Deidara said as he walked past me. "I found it."

I frowned at him for reading my mind, but I let it go because we had more pressing matters to deal with.

"Haku and Sasuke should be joining us soon," Naruto said after he closed the stone wall. Once it was closed, you'd never be able tell it was a door. It looked like a wall. "Haku's taking a shower and Sasuke is-"

"Right here."

Sasuke came from one of the hallways to join us in the living area. He was holding his abdomen and as he got closer, I saw that his skin was ghostly pale and he was covered in a light sweat. He looked sickly. Haku had said that his wound was healing slower than normal but I didn't think that he would look like death.

I went to his side, holding his hand to support him in the process. I asked him "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sounded slightly out of breath.

"Are you sure? You don't look okay."

"Despite my appearance, I feel fine."

As I led Sasuke to one of the loveseats to sit him down, Deidara said "He's perfectly fine. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be sitting here planning with us."

"I suppose that makes sense," I said to Deidara. I turned to Sasuke. "Don't push yourself, okay?"

He smiled softly. "I'll be fine."

I sat elsewhere and Deidara sat beside me. Naruto had taken a seat next to Sasuke and that left Neji to sit down on the remaining loveseat. My cousin kept how troubled he was feeling about not only having to see Haku, but also about how he had to sit next to him now. I wonder how Haku's going to react to this. I can imagine that he'll be flustered having to sit next to the guy who confessed to him and stole his first kiss.

As we waited for Haku to join us, my eyes swept over Deidara's house. I asked my blonde vampire friend "So, where are the dungeons?"

He said coolly "Oh, they're in the basement."

I raised my eyebrows in astonishment. I figured that he had dungeons, but I didn't expect him to admit to it so easily.

He chuckled. "I don't really have dungeons. What kind of guy do you take me for?"

I narrowed my eyes. "The kind of guy who would have dungeons in his basement."

He pretended to be hurt. "Ouch, your words sting, Princess. They pierce right through my fragile heart."

"You have a heart?" Naruto asked skeptically. "And it's fragile?"

"Yes, fox boy, I do. I have a very big, fragile heart. So be careful of what you say to me or else it'll break into tiny little pieces."

Naruto made a sound of disbelief.

I pointed out the obvious. "Naruto doesn't believe you."

He shrugged. "Oh well. But you believe me, right?"

"I know that you have a heart, but it only has room for certain people."

He thought about it for a second. "I can't disagree with you there."

Smiling, Sasuke said to me and Deidara "You two seem closer than you usually are. Did I miss something?"

Deidara and I exchanged glances. Deidara then wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer as he did so, which made my heart beat faster, and he said to everyone "Our lovely Princess finally realized how amazing I am and gave into my alluring charm."

"I gave in?" I said. "Are you sure it wasn't the other way around?"

"I'm sure."

I made a sound of disbelief similar to Naruto's.

"Seriously?" Naruto asked, completely surprised. "What happened to Gaara?"

I ignored my impulse to fidget. "Um…"

"Sorry for the delay," Haku said as he came down from one of the halls. I had never been so happy to see him. I was saved from answering Naruto's question by his arrival. Haku's hair was damp and I could smell his Fruity Passion Garnier Fructis shampoo from across the room. I guess I got him into Garnier Fructis. It's not a problem. I think it suits him well.

The gypsy casually entered the room but when he saw the seating arrangement, his body stiffed, not much, but it was it enough for me to catch it. Neji did the same and I caught him scooting towards the arm of the loveseat. Despite how uncomfortable they must be around each other, Haku sat beside him anyway. It was hard for me to watch how awkward they were together. I almost offered to change seats with one of them but I didn't in fear of calling out the tension between them.

Still visibly awkward, Neji leaned forward in his seat and said "Now that everyone is here, we can get down to business. Tsunade has to have noticed by now that none of us are in school; therefore she must be suspicious of us planning something. She just doesn't know what we are planning. And if she is suspicious, she will either send some of her men to try to find out what we are up to or she'll plan something as well, such as a strategy for war. Her men won't be able to find us so odds are they're going to plan something. For all we know they could be strategizing right now."

"Being experts at violence and war, we will be at a disadvantage against Tsunade and her band of slayers seeming as we are familiar with violence but ignorant to war," Haku said. "We cannot afford to rush onto the battlefield without any knowledge of what our foes are capable of."

"That's why I have a plan," Neji responded.

"What do you propose?" the gypsy asked.

"A surprise attack."

"A surprise attack?" I repeated. "That sounds like suicide. We don't know how many men Tsunade has and we don't know how skilled they are. Not only that, Tsunade herself is very formidable. She'll see a surprise coming from a mile away."

"That's why I want to create a diversion."

"How are you going to do that?" Deidara asked. "We're pretty short on men so the old broad will notice a few people missing from the group immediately."

"I made a few friends in Sunagakure and Kumogakure. Family members of theirs and family members of their friends were killed by slayers so they'll be more than willing to help us in the war to avenge everyone they lost. As for the diversion, I plan on having us split into two groups. One will distract Tsunade and the other will sneak up on her and her team. I will be the one to lead the diversion and Haku will be the one to lead the sneak attack. I haven't entirely figured out who will be on what team yet but I picked a few of us who are best suited for diversions and sneak attacks. Deidara and I will distract Tsunade as well as several others from Sunagakure and if Sasuke is fully recovered by the time of the war then he will assist us. Haku, Naruto, Hinata, and a few of my friends from Kumogakure will ambush Tsunade while we distract her."

"So I'm going to be in the war?" I asked. I tried to hide how happy I was for being able to help, but it didn't go so well.

"Yes," Neji responded.

"I don't agree with this," Deidara said.

"Why?" I asked.

"I can't sugar coat this so I'm just going to say it. You're human. There's not much you could do in a war against stone cold slayers. It's suicide," he said to me. He turned to Neji. "And how could you even consider putting Hinata in war with that crazy broad and your even crazier family lurking around. I bet Nanase would be more than happy to get her hands on Hinata again. If none of us are around, she'll finish the job this time."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "We'll be too busy trying to survive out there to even protect her, so she'll be on her own."

"Why do you think Hinata will be suited for sneaking up on our foes?" Sasuke asked. "She's never done anything remotely close to sneaking up on anyone."

"When things go awry, Hinata has the ability to calm those around her," Haku said. "This is why she will be necessary for that division. In a group such as the one I am commanding, composure and full focus is required. Naruto and I lack the ability to soothe those around us because of our shared trait in impatience. Hinata can easily coax our allies into focusing on our task."

"She can't defend herself though," Sasuke said. "And once she's on the battlefield, there's no turning back."

Haku said "Yesterday Neji gave me his approval on performing a ritual on Hinata to aid her and us in the war. All I need is her consent."

"What will the ritual do?" I asked. "Will it give me a temporary strength boost or something?"

He shook his head. "Unfortunately I do not have any spells that will do that. I do, however, have a few spells at hand to turn you into another creature. I will only do it if you are willing though."

I really want to help in the war and being something other than human was the best way to do that. I had thought about asking Haku to turn me into another creature at one point but the thought of it went as quickly as it came. I've been human my entire life so being something other than human scared me gravely. I'm susceptible to change but not to permanent change. If I turn, I'll never be human again. It's a lot to think about.

"What is wrong, Deidara?" Haku asked. "Your mood changed."

I looked at Deidara and saw the same darkness in his eyes when he told me about his parents experimenting on him. I laced my fingers through his and squeezed. After coming back to reality, the darkness disappeared as he looked down at me. He squeezed my hand back to let me know that he was okay.

Nonchalantly, he responded. "I just don't think that this ritual thing sounds safe. It's not normal to turn someone into something else by spell."

"Would you be more comfortable if you were the one to turn her?" Haku asked as he gave him a knowing gaze. "Your options are limited though. You can only turn her into a vampire, werewolf, or a fairy."

"Huh?" Naruto said. "I thought you were only half vampire half witch, Deidara."

"No. I'm a lot more things than that, fox boy. Surprise," he said dryly. He turned back to Haku. "How the hell do you turn someone into a fairy?"

"It is unconfirmed, but in ancient mythology it was said that if someone pricks their finger with a needle and then smears the blood from the wound on a fairy's wings, they will transform into a fairy overnight. It sounds foolish but if you are curious enough you can give it a try. The worse that can happen is no result whatsoever."

"We could try it, but there's one small problem, gypsy. I don't have wings."

"Yes you do."

"I think I would have noticed wings at some point in the past 950 years. I don't have wings."

"You do, Deidara. They aren't visible to you because of how little fairy blood you have, but they are there. I can see them."

"Wonderful. Fairy wings on men is the most intimidating thing in the world. No wonder you didn't find me menacing when we first met. You saw my manly wings."

Haku stifled a smile. "If you want to see your wings yourself, I heard somewhere that if you pray to the God of Air, your wings will appear. Half bred fairies are usually born without wings and they have to pray to acquire them. I assume that you must do the same since you are technically part fairy."

"I'll pass. It's one thing if you can see my wings. It'll be another if I can see them, or if others can see my wings."

"I see what you mean," Haku said. "If everyone could see your wings, you will be even more funny-looking."

Deidara twitched in annoyance. "What? Even more funny-looking?"

"We're getting off topic," Neji said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "What do you want to do, Hinata? Let Haku turn you or let Deidara turn you?

I looked from the gypsy to my blonde vampire. I trusted them both with my life but I was still afraid of turning. I didn't know who to choose. I didn't even know if I really even wanted to change.

"I, um, I need more time to think about it," I said.

"Okay," Haku said, "but remember, your time is limited. For all we know, the war could potentially be tomorrow, so decide fast."

I nodded and then just like that, we started talking about our strategy again. Everyone pitched in ideas regarding where we should be positioned, how we should go about roles in our groups, and who had what role in the groups and the importance of that role. At times, the discussion got heated because of disagreements. It took Haku's logistics to dissolve the tension. We discussed the war for hours and we finally took a break some time after noon.

The group dispersed to eat, drink, and stretch their legs. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and returned to the living area to sit beside Sasuke because I realized that he hadn't moved anywhere. He was still pale, but not as pale as he was earlier. He also still looked sickly, but at least he did look like death anymore. He had enough color in his skin to be considered alive. As for his injury, he was still holding onto his abdomen like he was in pain.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

He peered at me from the corner of his eye to see who sat next to him. He gave his attention back to the ceiling as he rested his head against the back of the loveseat and then said "Not as much as it did when I first came to. The pain is bearable."

"Is it healing?"

"Yes. It's healing slowly though."

"Why is it healing so slowly?"

"There's still holy water in my bloodstream. I don't know when it'll be gone entirely, but the fact that I'm still alive is progress in itself."

I smiled weakly. "You're right. I know that you're a strong person. I know that you're going to make it through this. But I really hate seeing you like this. You look so…"

He peered at me again. "Weak? Helpless? Like death? I know." He went back to staring at the ceiling. "Vampires get sick too. Just treat my condition like I'm overcoming an illness. I'll feel a little better once I take a nap."

"Do you need anything? Food, water, blood?"

He smiled at me. "I'm fine. What I need right now is rest." He closed his eyes.

I patted his leg before leaving his side to find Deidara. Before I got the chance to search for him, Haku stopped me and pulled me aside. He was concerned about something but I couldn't tell what he was so concerned about, nor could I guess. Honestly, yesterday and today was pretty hectic for Haku what with the Minami family dropping by, having to tell Neji about his "family", receiving his first kiss, being confessed to, and then less than twenty-four hours later we got into a heated debate about the war. So I haven't the slightest clue what could be concerning him. Perhaps all of the above?

"Hinata, I know that Neji told you what happened between us yesterday. Has he said anything to you… about me after I left?"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, I didn't think that you would want to know what he said."

"I do. For some reason I cannot shake him from my mind."

"It could be because you're realizing that you like more than just his face."

Flustered, he asked "You believe that I am giving into my crush on him?"

"Maybe," I responded. "I'm not the person you should be talking to about this. I think you should talk to Neji."

"W-Why?"

"Because I give bad love advice." I shoved my hands in pockets. "Do you want to be with him?"

"I-I… I'm not sure."

"Well, when you decide, tell Neji."

"But what if he loses interest by the time I decide? What if by the time I figure it out, he will not want me anymore?"

I recalled my cousin's reaction to Haku's rejection. "He won't. I promise. Just don't take too long to tell him. He may love you but no one waits forever."

"Indeed," he said. "No one waits forever."

While I was talking to Haku, I found myself playing with something in my pocket. I wasn't sure what it was. The only objects that I put in my pockets were my keys and my cell phone. Whatever I was playing with was round and small. I pulled it out once we finished talking to discover that it was a marble. How did this get into my pocket? I never put this in my pocket and it wasn't there when I left my apartment. I don't even own marbles.

Then I remembered that the beautiful, but creepy, ghost woman outside of one of the stores in Sunagakure gave it to me. I initially planned to have Haku examine it when I got back to Konohagakure, but I forgot all about it. Too many things happened for me to remember something as useless as a marble.

"Haku," I said just before he walked away. I presented the marble to him and asked "Does this look familiar to you, or, um, useful in any way?"

He took it from me and stared at it curiously. "This does look familiar; however, I do not where I could have seen this before. There is a strong power emanating off of this object, a power not very easy to come across. Where did you get this?"

"Someone gave it to me while I was in Sunagakure. I forgot all about it and remembered it just now."

"Fascinating," he said. He continued to stare at it curiously. "I will examine this right away along with Sasuke's locket."

He walked down one of the hallways, marble in hand. I would have offered to help but I'm pretty sure he was going to use magic or ask his ancestors about it so there wasn't much that I could do. So with him gone, and no more distractions, I left to find Deidara again.

He wasn't easy to find. His house was bigger than I thought. I would have never guessed that there were two other floors beneath the main floor, but I found Deidara at the bottommost floor drinking from a blood bag while skimming through a big, old, dusty spell book.

Instead of a dungeon, the lowest floor was a library. Tall bookshelves filled with books ranging from the beginning of time to today in every genre possible covered the floor. In various places throughout the library, because there were so many bookshelves, were seating areas. The seating areas were placed at the front, the center, the very back, and on the balcony of the library. Deidara was in the very back with the oldest books that he owned. I couldn't tell if the spell book that he was skimming through was part of the collection or not. I could only guess that it was. The pages were so old that they looked like they would crumble apart at the touch, and it was written by hand, not by print.

"I'm surprised you found me," Deidara said, glancing back at me with a smirk when I got closer to him. "You must have sensed my glowing charm and followed that."

I smiled as I sat down next to him. "That's not what it was."

"Deny it if that'll make you feel better. I know I'm alluring."

I laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Eh, I'm just going through this old spell book hoping to find something useful for the war."

"It's pretty old," I said as I examined it. "Is it yours?"

"Yeah. It belonged to my twisted parents though they never used it. This is actually the only thing that I took with me when I left home."

"Sometimes I forget that you were originally a witch. Do you ever miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"Being just a witch?"

"I do. Being a vampire is awesome, but I miss the perks of being a full witch."

"Like what? I thought you could do everything you did as a witch now."

"I can still cast spells, cats still love me, and I can speak fluent Latin. I guess what I miss the most is that I was alive. Well, I guess that I still am because I never actually died to turn into a vampire, but I don't age. I'm a little tired of being immortal."

"This might be a little selfish for me to say, but, I'm glad that you're immortal. If you weren't I would have never met you, and now that I have met you, I get to keep you forever."

"You're right," he said. "That was selfish for you to say."

I smiled and playfully hit his arm.

My blonde vampire friend suddenly turned serious. "What do you plan on doing for the war? Do you really want to be in it?"

I nodded. "I want to help."

"I won't be there to protect you, Princess."

"I know. That's why I'm going to have to defend myself."

"How? You did a good job at surviving against Nanase, but the battlefield will be filled with slayers stronger and more skilled than her. You can't defend yourself. Not against them."

"I know." I glanced at the floor and then back up at him. "That's why I'm going to turn."

He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at me as if he didn't understand what I just said. "You're… You're going to turn?"

"Yes."

"Into what?"

"I… I don't know. I was hoping that Haku would have a good suggestion."

A brief, humorless laugh escaped him. "If you turn, you can't go back, Hinata. You shouldn't do this just for the war. You should turn because you want to. Once you decide, you can never be human again."

I nodded my head. "I know."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Deidara was hoping that I would say that I wanted to stay human, that much was obvious. He thought that I was making a mistake, which I just might be, but I'll never admit that. I was tired of feeling useless. I wanted to help my friends badly and I've wanted to for so long that I'm actually willing to turn into something other than human. I already knew that I can't go back once it's done, but I think that it's worth it. I would feel horrible if I couldn't participate and one of my friends came back hurt or even worse. I want to be able to do something.

"I want to turn," I told him. "And I want you to do it."