Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Vampire Cat

Chapter 1: Blood

The sliding door was open to allow the warm, summer breeze to waft into the room. Outside the Sakura trees seemed to be dancing in the sunlight, shaking as the wind caressed the branches.

The feudal lady sat across from them. Dressed in a bright yellow kimono; a matching fan covered her heavy, make-up caked face. Her hair was done up in a traditional style of the country. Beside her sat another woman, she was dressed similar to the feudal lady but in a red and white kimono.

The three ninja bowed in respect before sitting down.

"Welcome to our home." The woman in the red and white said with a bow of her head.

"It's a pleasure to serve you, milady." Sakura replied. "I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Kiba Inuzuka." He motioned towards the large white dog beside him. "And that's Akamaru."

"I am lady Cho and this is mistress Eri." Cho introduced.

"Mistress?" Naruto said puzzled. "She looks young enough to be your daughter..."

Sakura nailed him, leaving a large bump on his head causing Kiba to grin his famous grin. Eri suppressed a laugh while Cho attempted to subside her anger and ignored the comment.

The trio became serious.

"You've been summoned here because we have reason to believe someone is bewitching our Lord." Cho explained. "And we want you to find out who is the culprit."

"What do you mean bewitched?" Sakura asked.

"Several weeks ago the Lord began to fall ill. Each day he became worse and now he cannot leave his bed. No remedies have been able to cured him." Cho continued.

"The last few days a guard of one hundred men were appointed to watch him during the night, when he seems to suffer the most." Eri added with a down cast face.

"Eri, if you cannot control your emotions please leave us." Cho stated aggravated.

"Yes, Cho-sama." With that Eri left the room.

"Seems to be a bit of tension between those two." Kiba whispered in Naruto ear.

"I agree." He whispered back.

"Perhaps we three should be apart of this night's watch. We'll see if we can stay awake ourselves." Sakura suggested.

"A lovely idea." Cho remarked. "All guards are to gather in the courtyard at eight for the night watch. Don't be late. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to tend to."

Naruto and Kiba fell on their backs in relief.

"We walked such a long way...Finally we get to rest!" Naruto cheered.

"Not so fast." Sakura shattered his relaxation. "Let's go around and get some statements from other people."

"Then I'll go ask Miss. Eri for her statement." Kiba grinned.

"Why do you get the cute mistress?" Naruto whined.

"Cause I called it. I get Eri!" He grinned that mischievous grin of his; Naruto crossed his arms in defeat.

"Then how about me and Sakura-chan ask questions together?" He smiled and clasped his hands together hopefully.

"Forget it, I'm no one's second choice." He face dropped in disappointment.

"I'm off then." Kiba and Akamaru ran off.

"Me too." Sakura ran off.

Naruto plopped back down with a frown, "I'm going to sleep."

Kiba and Akamaru had followed Eri's scent out to the gardens.

"Smelling is always harder around these flowers, I get distracted by so many scents." He was currently on all fours sniffing.

"Well that's not something you see every day." Eri giggled at his position. He quickly corrected himself and smiled at her. "You're a rather interesting person Kiba-kun."

"I hope that's not a bad thing."

"Far from it, it's refreshing. This place is normally so boring."

"How about we go for a walk and talk, Eri. Go ahead and play Akamaru" She nodded her head and together they strolled down the garden while the dog ran off to find a suitable napping place. "So Eri, what can you tell me about the bewitching?"

"In truth, I don't know much. One day my Lord joined us for breakfast and we noticed his face was drained and his body weak. Of course we called the physicians. They said he was suffering from lack of sleep and was extremely anemic."

"What about the night guards?"

"They've been named the Samoru, but even though they've been guarding the Lord hasn't recovered."

Before long they came to a clearing in the very center of the large garden where a small, wooden shrine stood.

"Kiba-kun...I need some time to pray for my Lord's recovery. If you don't mind."

"Not at all." He turned on his heels headed for the palace.

"Yo, Sakura!" Kiba waved as she was just walking away from one of the Samoru.

"Hey Kiba. Did you find out anything?" Sakura asked.

"Not really, except that Eri is pretty dedicated to the Lord." He replied with a sigh. "What about you?"

"Apparently the Lord hasn't been recovering because around ten at night then entire room falls asleep. No one is able to stay awake to protect the Lord."

"If all we have to do is stay awake this'll be a piece of cake." He grinned.

"We'll see...Hey, where's Naruto?"

"Haven't a clue." Kiba answered with a shrug.

"We'd best go find him before he gets into troub-Ouch!" Sakura grasped her bleeding finger.

"What happened?"

"I just cut my finger on these thorny vines is all." She wrapped the cut with a bandage. "Let's go."

"Naruto...Naruto wake up..."

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto moaned in his sleep with a perverted smile.

"Wake up Naruto." His eyes lazily opened to see Sakura smile down at him. "Come with me, Naruto."

"Where are we going?" He bounced awake.

"There's something I want to show you." She grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the garden.

'Alone with Sakura-chan...YES!' Naruto cheered in his mind. She led him into a clearing in the center of the garden where the shrine stood.

"Why'd you bring me here, Sakura-chan?"

"To do this..." She pushed him onto the ground. All of a sudden time seemed to slow down as his blue eyes gazed up into her green orbs. She lowered her face towards his and he shut his eyes, awaiting the kiss.

Instead his eyes shot open. There was pain in his neck. Sakura jumped back from him as he stood up; he was shaking. His hand touched the pained spot on his neck; blood was pouring down his shoulder and chest. She took so much blood in such a short time.

His head felt light. His wavering vision attempted to focus on her face...The blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and down her chin. She was grinning like she had won something amazing. The sunny day's breeze blowing through her pink hair gave her a sadistic look. And then...he collapsed.

Just as he began to black out, he saw her flee into the shrine and a fluffy, spotted cat emerged.