The Black Blood Flows

Chapter 1: Betrayal, Thy Name Is

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled behind him. "They're gaining on us!"

Kakashi really wished he knew where everything had gone wrong, it was supposed to be a rather simple mission after all, nothing too challenging for a group of genin nearly two years out of the Academy like Team 7. They had been hired to hunt down some bandits that had stolen a unique but worthless artifact, a family heirloom with more sentimental value than anything else, and bring it back to the client.

The only reason it was classified as a B-rank instead of C-rank was simply because of the distance and area the bandits had fled too, a stretch of barren land between Suna and Iwa that both countries tended to avoid for no reason that either side could explain beyond quoting ancient legends of terrible beasts older than the bijū themselves.

"Legends my ass," Kakashi thought as he chanced a glance over his shoulder to see that Naruto was right, their monstrous pursuers were indeed gaining on them.

It had begun relatively routine with finding the site where the bandits had attacked and stolen the artifact , summoning Pakkun to get their scent and track them down. Three days later and after crossing some absolutely brutal terrain the trail led them to a bleak mountain peak littered with caves connecting to a deep tunnel system.

Pakkun had warned him, repeatedly, that there was something wrong about the area and worse about the caves but he had dismissed the warnings, and eventually Pakkun when he wouldn't drop the issue, and relied on his own considerable tracking skills to lead him and his team into the depths.

It hadn't taken them long to find the bandits, or at least what was left of them. His genin had gotten somewhat squeamish at the sight of the mangled and dismembered corpses though Kakashi hadn't been too bothered by it, he'd seen worse during the war. From what he could tell their attackers numbered no more than four or five and, interestingly enough, had retreated further into the depths afterward.

Not finding the heirloom amongst the bodies, Kakashi decided to continue with the mission, following the trail of whomever had slaughtered the bandits despite his genin's, and more to the point Naruto's, tentative pleas that they fall back and send for reinforcements. He honestly couldn't understand what they were worried about. Whomever had killed the bandits obviously didn't have a lot of skill considering the mess. It was probably nothing more than a group of chūnin nukenin, presumably using the caves as a place to hide from oinin, and it took more than a handful of chūnin to even make Sharingan no Kakashi break a sweat.

He wouldn't deny that even he became somewhat worried when the rough stone walls of the tunnel they were in suddenly gave way to some kind of strange material that none of them had ever seen before. Made up of a combination of some sort of rock like...secretions for lack of a better term and bone, both animal and human, it set them all on edge.

There was something almost alien about the place, a feeling of wrongness hanging heavy in the air that told them unequivocally that they were not welcome here. Even Naruto's normally unflappable confidence and the Uchiha's stoicism quailed under the oppressive atmosphere but by the time Kakashi came to the conclusion that perhaps they should leave it was much too late.

The first attack came shortly after they entered a massive cavern. With a guttural roar a monstrous form leapt down from above and tackled Sakura to the ground, jaws snapping at her throat and massive clawed hands pressing her down. Only Naruto's quick reflexes saved her from any serious injury as he buried his wakizashi to the hilt in it's skull.

Before they'd even had time to get over the shock of the sudden attack the chamber echoed with more roars and the sounds of movement...a lot of movement. The moment they caught sight of several more of the creatures charging them, Kakashi and Sasuke flashed through hand seals and unleashed a tandem Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu that lit up the entire chamber with the intensity of the flames and exploded against their attackers, consuming them in a blazing firestorm.

Any relief they may have felt at the success of the attack paled in the face of what the light revealed, that whatever their attackers were, they were far from human. Eyeless faces glared at them in the fast fading light, slavering jaws filled with razor sharp fangs unleashed screeches of anger and mottled gray skin coiled and surged as dozens more charged the four ninja, black talons poised to tear their flesh.

The monstrous tide was met by a cloud of smoke and a counter-charge of blond topped clones wielding wakizashi and kunai, adding their own battle cries to the din. It still baffled Kakashi how Naruto could use Kage Bunshin so lavishly, jinchūriki or not, but it was times like this that he appreciated the ability as the two sides clashed in an eruption of blood and smoke.

It quickly became apparent that whatever these things were they were stronger and slightly faster than Naruto, for every one of them that fell three or four clones were destroyed in the act and while Naruto could summon replacements without much effort the roars from deeper in the caves and, worse yet, back the way they came painted an ugly picture of their prospects.

Another tandem Gōkakyū no Jutsu, stronger than the last, exploded into the darkness and consumed both clones and the creatures in a fiery pillar of destruction that illuminated the cavern a second time. The blast revealed that the opposite end of the cavern was positively crawling with the creatures, dozens, maybe hundreds of them, pouring out of tunnels and crawling along ledges on the walls towards them.

Another battalion of Kage Bunshin popped into existence and rushed to reinforce the few that remained from the first group as the monsters renewed their assault. Kakashi was just about to order his team to retreat when he was blindsided and sent flying by a blow to the ribs that he would swear had come from Maito Gai. He recovered in midair and managed to land on his feet as a scream that could only be Sakura cut through the sounds of battle, looking up in time to see Naruto shove Sasuke out of the path of something that made his blood run cold.

It looked almost exactly like the others, mottled gray skin and blank stretches of skin where eyes would be on a normal person, massive fangs and black talons but this one was enormous, maybe three times the size of it's brethren. With a single swipe of it's claws Naruto went flying in a spray of blood as it tore through his reinforced jacket, vest and the thin armor plate beneath them with ease.

It turned it's attention to the recovered Uchiha as he unleashed a volley of kunai and shuriken against it, but the great beast shrugged of the relatively minor attack and tensed for a lunge that it never managed to complete. Kakashi had never created a Raikiri faster before in his life and wasn't sure he ever would again, he very nearly lost control of the jutsu as it connected, burying his arm up to the elbow in it's skull, and some of the electricity traveled back up his arm rendering it numb from the shoulder down.

Somehow Naruto was back on his feet despite his wound, his unbelievable stamina and bijū powered regeneration at work no doubt, and leaning lightly on Sakura as she used what little medical jutsu she'd learned thus far to speed up the process. Kakashi quickly bound his arm to his side to prevent it from flopping uselessly and ordered his genin into a retreat, Sasuke taking the lead followed by him and then Sakura with Naruto bringing up the rear. With a quick affirmative they were off, but not before Naruto unleashed another horde of clones that threw themselves at the approaching creatures.

Their headlong flight through the dark tunnels had been harrowing, Kakashi guiding Sasuke with terse directions as the Uchiha used his Sharingan to track any of the creatures that tried to impede their path. Whatever they were they still had chakra enough for his Sharingan to follow and predict their movements accurately and fortunately the smaller ones could be felled by well placed shuriken and kunai.

They nearly lost Naruto when a group of four of the creatures burst from a hole in the wall and bowled him over, sending his wakizashi flying in the process. For one horrible second Sasuke and Sakura were sure he'd be ripped to shreds before their eyes when he suddenly burst into smoke, having managed to pull off a quick kawarimi with his wakizashi. He hadn't gotten free completely unscathed however, long gashes ran down his back, three similar slashes adorned his left arm and there was a bite wound in his thigh but he didn't let that stop him, summoning a smaller cadre of clones as he urged the others to run on.

Thus was the situation they found themselves in now. They'd passed through the area where the bandits were slaughtered not too long ago and were in the final stretch of tunnel that would lead them out of the caves and back onto the mountain but they weren't going fast enough to keep ahead of the quickly approaching horde.

"If I was by myself or had a team of experienced chūnin, or better yet a jōnin partner, then this wouldn't be an issue," Kakashi lamented. "As it is we'll be lucky to make it another thirty yards before they're on us."

He could just barely make out light in the distance, it had been early in the morning when they'd entered and that had been several hours ago, but there was less than thirty feet of open tunnel between Naruto and the leading creatures and they were slowly but surely closing in. Kakashi grimaced as he considered his options, which were looking bleaker by the moment.

Another quick glance over his shoulder showed that the creatures were closer yet before he turned his gaze to his last student, stubbornly running on despite his injuries. The gashes in Naruto's arm had already healed, as had the ones on his back most likely, but the bite on his leg continued to bleed and Kakashi didn't miss the occasional wince or sharp intake of breath every couple of strides.

Steeling his resolve Kakashi raised his hitai-ate, revealing his Sharingan, and fell back past Sakura until he was level with Naruto who looked at him curiously, his blue eyes widening when he noticed the uncovered Sharingan. Up close Naruto looked even worse, his breathing heavy and sweat pouring down his face and when he looked out of the corner of his Sharingan eye Kakashi could see the Kyūbi's chakra coursing through him, concentrated around the wound on his leg.

Naruto narrowed his eyes when Kakashi drew a kunai with his good hand and cut the sling on his mostly recovered arm, flexing it experimentally, then looked over his shoulder at the monsters as they drew closer yet. He looked back up to his sensei with a sad look in his eyes and nodded gravely in understanding.

Kakashi returned the nod, took a deep breath-

-and threw the kunai so that it cut through Naruto's Achilles tendon on his leading foot and buried itself in his other ankle, sending him crashing to the ground with a cry of surprise and pain.

Sasuke and Sakura paused at the sound and turned to look, eyes widening at the sight of their comrade laying on the ground with a kunai sticking out of his ankle but Kakashi didn't give them time to react, grabbing them by the backs of their shirts and dragging them along.

"Keep running!" He shouted.

"But, Sensei!" Sakura screeched. "Naruto-"

"It's too late to do anything for him!" Kakashi countered harshly as he continued to drag them along, ignoring Naruto's pleas for help.

Sasuke wrenched himself free of Kakashi's grasp but kept running. "He's right, Sakura," he said in a strained voice.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered brokenly.

"We can't...can't save him...Sakura" Sasuke replied, a catch in his voice.

"Naruto..."

Naruto couldn't believe it. Kakashi, his sensei, the prime student of his father the Yondaime and the man whose motto was "those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash," had just struck him down, crippled him, and then simply left him for dead.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He cried out to the man's retreating back. "Sasuke! Sakura-chan! Don't leave me!"

It was useless though, Kakashi had swept them up and carried them away before they even had a chance to hear him. Sensing the imminent attack Naruto rolled and created a Rasengan in one hand, thrusting it out to catch one of the creatures directly in the mouth, obliterating it in an explosion of blood, bone and brain matter. He continued to roll as the corpse hit the ground where he'd been and slid past, drawing a kunai as he went.

A thud right next to his head heralded the near miss of another of the monsters. Naruto reversed his roll, bringing the kunai up and around in an arc to bury it in the base of the creature's skull, killing it instantly. He brought his now free hand back and formed what was now his trademark seal filling about a ten foot section of the corridor from floor to ceiling with clones, providing a moderately solid barrier to slow the things down and keep them away from his vulnerable body despite being crippled just the same as he was.

In the moment of respite he gained Naruto crawled as well as he was able out from under the press of clones but he couldn't keep his thoughts from Kakashi's betrayal.

"Why?" he wondered. "Why did you do it Kakashi?"

Naruto doubted he'd live to find out, already the memories from the rapidly dispelling clones told him that the corridor beyond the blond-topped obstruction was filled to the brim with the creatures. He managed to drag himself to the wall and haul himself up it using chakra to adhere to it. Naruto could feel the tendon in his right leg healing, the flesh mending quickly thanks to a particularly powerful surge of demonic chakra and he cautiously put his weight on it. All he felt was a minor twinge so he leaned down, one hand still braced on the wall, and with a hard yank pulled the kunai out of his ankle with a muted cry of pain.

He let the kunai fall to the floor with a clang as he struggled to steady his breathing. By now more than half his clones were gone, Naruto could see flashes of gray flesh through the gaps in between the bodies of his clones as the creatures carved through them.

Naruto balanced as well as he could on his one good leg and drew two kunai, holding them in a reverse grip, and brought them up in front of him so that he could form the seal for the Kage Bunshin. Before he could summon the chakra necessary for the technique the wall of clones crumbled and several of the monsters broke through, a couple leaping to attack him while the rest rushed after his team at an astonishing pace.

Naruto ducked under one lunge, thrusting a kunai up and sinking it deep into the thing's sternum as it flew past it's moment dragging the blade through it's flesh until it caught on a rib, tearing the weapon from Naruto's hand.

He dodged sluggishly to the side of another lunge, clasping the other kunai with both hands over his head and brought it down powerfully onto the second creature as it's talons grazed his side, burying it between it's shoulders and forcing it to the ground screeching in pain, it's lower half going limp as it thrashed about.

As Naruto reached for another kunai, his last unfortunately, he was tackled by a third creature and forced to the ground, the kunai lost in the impact, clattering to the floor far out of his reach. He found himself pinned under it's weight, claws raking his chest and sides as it's jaws snapped inches from his face.

Naruto managed to bring his hands up and intercept it's jaws as they sought his vulnerable neck. He strained against it's superior strength, barely managing to keep it at bay but with his hands occupied he left himself open to it's claws as they dug into his flesh in a bloody frenzy. A sudden surge of demonic chakra heralded a like surge of strength and Naruto capitalized on it, adjusting his grip accordingly and pulling with all of his enhanced might, separating it's bottom jaw from the rest of it's skull with a roar of effort.

Naruto managed to kick the flailing creature off him before his strength failed him completely and curled up slightly as the pain from his wounds washed over him. He glanced around to find himself completely surrounded, an almost solid mass of snarling gray flesh crawling on the walls and even the ceiling above him.

He closed his eyes tightly and braced himself for the pain when they tore him apart when a roar, deeper than anything he'd heard so far and strong enough for him to feel the vibrations in his bones, echoed in through the tunnel. Naruto's eyes snapped open in time to see the mass part to let it pass.

It was another of the enormous versions of these monsters, like the one he'd seen swat Kakashi aside like he was an annoying genin and had torn through his specially reinforced coat, that had been capable of stopping kunai on occasion, vest and even armor plate like it was paper, and it was stalking towards him in a slow and deliberate manner that sent chills down his spine as the others moved to make way for the massive beast.

Naruto looked around frantically for a weapon, anything he could possibly use, and his eyes settled on the kunai that Kakashi had used to cut him down, still stained with his blood. Regardless of that fact Naruto reached out desperately for the blade as the monster lunged, it's massive clawed hand wrapping around his chest and stomach with ease and lifted him high up into the air. He tried to stab it in the wrist with the kunai but it shook him like a rag doll, disorienting him and causing him to lose his grip on his last remaining weapon before holding Naruto up to it's face.

It's putrid breath washed over him and centered his focus on a toothy maw that could swallow his head and shoulders whole with room to spare. Desperation kicked in again and he tried to form another Rasengan but it brought it's other arm up and grabbed his arm and squeezed before the chakra could even manifest.

Naruto could feel the bones in his arm fracturing under the strain and couldn't hold back the scream of pure agony when they broke with many audible cracks. It released his arm and allowed it to fall limply to his side, whimpers of pain escaping his lips as the bone fragments shifted.

"Kaa-chan," he thought weakly. "I'm so sorry... for leaving you...all alone again."

With another roar it reared it's arm back and then thrust him forward. As his back exploded in pain his world went completely black.

Sakura lay collapsed on the ground, gasping for air and sobbing uncontrollably as Sasuke did his best to comfort her while trying to catch his own breath. They hadn't stopped running till they were at least two miles away from the mountain even when they realized the creatures wouldn't, couldn't, follow them out into the sunlight as the one that had managed to catch up to them just before the end had burst into flames after it tackled Kakashi out into the open.

For his part Kakashi was only mildly winded from the run, his pace slow enough that his genin could keep up with him, and he now had full use of his right arm again. He'd suffered some minor burns when the creature had suddenly combusted but his flak jacket had absorbed the brunt of the damage as it had struck him directly in the chest.

He had his back turned to the remaining two members of his team, keeping an eye out for pursuit no matter how unlikely it seemed considering the rather violent reaction to the light these things apparently had. When he was satisfied that there wasn't anything following them he sighed wearily as he let Sakura's wails wash over him.

"You need to get a grip, Sakura," he said as he turned. "Naruto-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Sakura had leapt and struck him in the jaw before he could blink with a chakra powered haymaker that sent him flying through the air and skidding across the ground till he struck a boulder and came to a stop.

"Don't you dare!" she screeched, her eyes blazing with murderous intent even as fresh tears spilled down her face. "Don't you dare even fucking say his name, you bastard!"

She froze before she could continue her tirade as a wave of killing intent washed over her. It wasn't anywhere near as strong as the kind Orochimaru had used against them during the Chūnin Exams but it was more than enough to make her breath catch in her throat and her heart flutter.

Kakashi rose to his feet slowly and deliberately, rubbing his aching jaw. "Well at least Tsunade-sama's lessons seem to be paying off," he thought with a bit of grim humor dancing through his mind.

"I don't know what you were thinking genin," he said menacingly as he took a few steps back towards her. "But striking a superior outside of a spar is a serious offense, punishable-"

He stopped mid-sentence when Sasuke blurred into existence between him and Sakura, two kunai held in reverse grips and crossed before him, his jaw set grimly and his Sharingan spinning so wildly that the three tomoe nearly blurred into one solid line.

"If you so much as touch her, Hatake," the young Uchiha snarled. "Then the only way you're walking out of here alive is by killing me as well."

Kakashi held up his hands placatingly, taking the threat very seriously. While Sasuke alone wasn't quite skilled enough to actually defeat him in combat without a lucky shot or two, he was skilled enough that Kakashi might actually have to resort to killing him to stop him.

"That's sensei to you, Uchiha," he said gruffly. "And threatening a superior in the field is nearly as serious as striking one. I know neither of you are happy with what I did but if I hadn't, none of us would have made it out of there alive-"

"Bullshit!" Sakura screamed at him, having finally recovered from his killing intent.

"And how do you figure that, Haruno?" Kakashi drawled sarcastically. "They would have been on us in less than thirty seconds unless something was done to distract and slow them down. I made the choice that saved all our lives."

The two genin stared at him incredulously. "Saved all our lives?" Sasuke hissed out. "I don't see Naruto here, Sensei, so you didn't do a good enough job saving us all."

"Naruto's always said he'd be willing to give his life if it meant either of you would live," Kakashi retorted.

"Yes but somehow I suspect he always imagined going down fighting on his own two feet rather than being cut down and thrown away like a piece of meat to placate a pack of wild dogs," Sasuke growled as he turned to hug Sakura when she began to sob again.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Naruto bought us the time we needed to get away and the matter is closed," Kakashi said dismissively. "The mission is a bust so we'll be returning to Konoha, double time. We need cover as much distance as we can until it gets dark since they don't seem to like the light."

"This is far from over, Sensei," Sasuke muttered as he rubbed Sakura's back in an effort to calm her. "But by all means lead on, we'll be right behind you." The unspoken "where we can see you" hanging heavy in the air between them.

Kakashi's eye narrowed in irritation for a moment before he nodded curtly. As he rushed away Sasuke gently pried Sakura off him and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Don't worry, Sakura," he murmured softly. "He won't get away with this, I'll make certain of it...believe it."

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly at the familiar phrase and she took a deep breath to regain her composure. There would be time to cry for the death of her friend and teammate later, when they were safely away from this nightmarish place and thus she didn't resist when Sasuke pulled her along after the man that had once declared he'd give his own life to protect his teammates and asked them to trust him. That trust was gone now, his word broken in one devastating move.

Sakura vowed that Sasuke wouldn't be alone in ensuring that the traitor got what was coming to him, one way or another. There would be hell to pay when they returned to Konoha.

A/N: By Damon! I can't believe that I actually managed to finish this so quickly, 4,320 words (not counting the sizable Author's Notes that follows) in about two days. Ugh...where is this kind of drive when I need it for my other stories? Anyways there it is, the first chapter The Black Blood Flows, a challenge I found on dracohalo117's forums and which you can find the full details for a little farther down the page here. If you are interested in seeing our discussions on it check out his profile for the link to the forum, the thread should be the one at the top but I warn you, there might be things that could be considered spoilers sprinkled here and there amongst the posts. Also, feel free to contribute as well, I'm always open to suggestions (no guarantee that I'll use them however) and wouldn't mind seeing someone else working on this as well.

Now before you go down and click the review button, or just up and leave you awful philistines, there are a few important things I would like to point out about this story before you get ahead of yourselves. First of all, as it says in the summary this is an AU (Alternate Universe) with some minor but far reaching changes made. First of all, Kushina is alive as you may have guessed from Naruto's last thoughts and as per dracohalo117's request she never was the jinchūriki for the Kyūbi, thus explaining her survival. With a parental figure in his life and a competent protector in the form of said figure many things that were kept from Naruto for 'his own good' never were such as his heritage (it's what I would call an 'open secret', much of the shinobi of Konoha know he's the Yondaime's son but it isn't something that's common knowledge outside of said force) and the fact that he is the jinchūriki for the Kyūbi is known to all in the village (rather than pass a law that prevented people from speaking about it, Sarutobi simply allowed Kushina to deal with transgressors in whatever way she deemed appropriate.) Also, with someone to teach him proper values over the course of his life Naruto is less an annoying and somewhat useless prankster with grand dreams and more focused on the important things, leaving him as a slightly more skilled shinobi (as evidenced by his use of a wakizashi and ability to fight despite two crippling injuries) and more popular individual amongst his peers (thus Sasuke and Sakura's reaction at the end)

Unfortunately many canon events still happened, like the Oto-Suna Invasion and the death of the Sandaime at Orochimaru's hands and Tsunade's return to Konoha to become Godaime however Sasuke no longer has to worry about the Cursed Seal of Heaven thanks to the combined efforts of Jiraiya and Kushina in negating it (they didn't remove it completely for fear that Orochimaru would simply try to reapply it at a later date, rather they placed it in such a state of dormancy that it couldn't affect him or his chakra again) As stated near the very top, they are now almost two years out of the academy which would place them somewhere near the ages of fourteen or fifteen (from what I understand the Chunin Exams took place something like six months after their graduation and they were nearly thirteen before the time-skip kicked in) and obviously there was no 'training trip' with Jiraiya for Naruto, Kushina not being too fond of the idea of her son traveling the Elemental Countries with only the self proclaimed 'Super Pervert' for protection when there were NINE S-Ranked shinobi out to get him. That three year thing was pure bullshit as far as I was concerned, just an excuse to pass the time till they were older, cause Itachi and Kisame didn't infiltrate Konoha and almost walk away with Naruto right out from under Jiraiya's nose if they were just suddenly going to wait...it would have made more sense to grab the midget when he was still weak and hold him for those three years. It took Jiraiya longer than that to find their damn base of operations and then he up and died for his trouble...ugh. Anyways...Kakashi's actions I'm not to certain about just yet. I want to try and find some plausible reason for him doing this but I'm afraid I'm going to have to resort to some character bashing to squeak this by. Some of you are probably wondering why the vampires here are not a more widespread threat in the Elemental Nations like they were in the movie and it's a good question. To find out the answer you'll either have to wait until the next chapter where I'll likely explain it all or again travel to the forum and read the discussion there (again I warn about possible spoilers) I think that's everything covered though if you have questions feel free to ask and I'll be more than happy to answer to the best of my ability.

What follows is the challenge as it is laid out in dracohalo117's forum:

During a mission to a wasteland country to recover some unknown artifact, Team 7 found an ancient underground structure that looked to have been made out of some sort of organic residue and the bodies of all manner of animals. Just as they were about to leave, they were attacked by savage fanged monsters. As they fled the underground structure, they saw they were going to be overrun by the monsters...Kakashi made the decision to distract them...by throwing a kunai straight through Naruto's ankle. As Naruto fell to the ground in pain, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke left him behind...the last thing they heard as Naruto was dragged away were his screams of agony.

Naruto for days on end was tied to a pedestal-like outcropping, the monsters taking their turns savagely clawing at his flesh, biting him viciously...until suddenly, the monsters fled, and a shadowy figure came from above, their form vaguely humanoid, but all of their limbs much longer and thinner, and displaying wing-like qualities about their arms. His eyes glazing over in awe at this...angel of mercy. The entity hovered above him, its form blocking his view of everything else as it raised a single arm above his head, and with a single small slice, black droplets fall into his mouth.

In mere moments, his body was overtaken by a sense of power he had never once felt before in his life, his body felt stronger, his senses sharper, everything became so much clearer for him. He slowly opened his eyes as they shifted from cerulean blue...to a magnificent luminescent yellow, his top canines lengthened and grew sharp...

Naruto Uzumaki had been reborn...as the first...Human Vampire...

Descriptors: Okay, now to those of you who have seen the movie Priest, you will understand what I am talking about with this, but to those who don't, I am placing this brief description here on the vampires from the movie. If you don't like spoilers do not read the next part.

The vampires are set up into three castes...at least that I have seen. Drones, Hive Guardians, and the Queen. All the TRUE vampires are eyeless and look more animal-like rather than humanoid. The vampires in a sort of Hive structure, with their hives being made out of a material they themselves secrete, and out of the bodies of animals both human and non-human alike, the hives are immense in size. The vampires have the ability to create familiars, humans who have been tainted by a vampiric virus which basically enslaves them to the vampires, as far as I can tell, all vampires are capable of this. They create familiars by biting their victim. The easiest way to tell a familiar is by their eyes, their iris has become light blue cyan in color, and their sclera (the white part of the eye) has become black. Their skin has also become far paler. However, the queen possesses an ability no other vampire has...to create new vampire breeds. By simply having an entity drink her blood, she can turn any entity into a new species of vampire. Apparently, the new vampire breeds are not affected by the vampires weakness to sunlight.

Must happen in the story...

1. Naruto must become the defacto leader of the vampires when the queen is not commanding them.

2. Naruto must now become cruel, sadistic, and dark...watch Priest and look at the Human Vampires personality to get what I mean.

3. NO TWILIGHT CRAP...no powers from Twilight, Naruto's vampiric powers are as follows...immense physical strength far exceeding any human, greater senses and reflexes than any human, ability to turn humans and other things into his familiars who obey his every command, and the ability of some level of hypnosis through staring into peoples eyes...

4. Pairings...no Yaoi for Naruto, NONE, you can make Sasu/Kakashi pairings, Lee/Gaara pairings, or even Asuma/Hiruzen pairings, but no Naruto being paired or even having remote romantic feelings for any male whatsoever...oh, also, no showing any lemons between two guys AT ALL! Naruto is allowed to be paired with multiple females, though through my own personal recommendation don't pair him with any more than five or six girls...oh, also, every girl he is paired with must become a familiar, no more human vampires...well, unless he has kids, those are OBVIOUSLY going to become human vampires.

5. No Ninjutsu or Genjutsu used by Naruto, nothing but his own inherited vampiric abilities

6. Explain the following...1. What has happened to Minato and Kushina (yes I know, in Canon both of them are dead, but to those of you who know me and my forum challenges well enough, you will understand I HATE CANON!)...2. Explain why Kyūbi did not help Naruto while he was being savagely attacked by the vampires...and preferably something that is not corny such as 'The vampires are Kyūbi's creations and he refuses to help destroy them' or some shit like that...

other than the above...feel free to make suggestions

Also of note, we hashed out the details of the strengths of the types of vampires in accordance with the laws of the Naruto world, including where Priests would stand amongst the hierarchy. (I expanded the original post a bit for the purposes of my story)

1. Humans – Weakest of them all, one single vampire can likely wipe out an entire settlement in a night or two.

2. Drones – Common vampires, one single drone vampire is the equivalent of a mid to high level chūnin shinobi in terms of physical prowess.

3. Hive Guardian – In terms of physical prowess, a Hive Guardian is likely as strong as a low to mid jōnin, but has the speed of a seasoned genin or low chūnin.

4. Priests – The Priests are the ultimate warrior in many regards, physically and weapon-wise they are likely an equivalent to a mid jōnin.

5. Human-vampires – Ultimately, this is a hard one because in the movie Priest, the only human vampire was originally a priest, but his level of power basically spits upon the Priests. The human vampire was capable of taking down three veteran priests all on his own with little effort, and he went one on one against a priest who was likely the best of the best in the priesthood, and not only defeated him, but left no competition for the priest...the main character priest could fight hundreds of vampires on his own and only be slightly winded...and the human vampire utterly spat upon him in terms of power differences...it was basically comparing a fresh genin against a seasoned chūnin in many ways

Alright...I think that's the last of it. Whew...hope I didn't bore you all into a stupor with all that but I didn't want to have people reviewing or messaging me asking me about some of this stuff when it would take only a little extra work to cover that angle.

Now if you'll all excuse me, I've actually got to go and watch the bloody movie before I start working on a second chapter, not to mention my other story needs some lovin' too, so I hope you liked it and if you did, take a look at my other work and be sure to keep an eye on me, I plan on a couple other crossover challenges that caught my attention a while back. So until then, I'll catch you all on the flip side!