Strength. That was all that matter anymore. Who had the strongest ninja of them all? At first, the five great shinobi nations did things naturally, using training and hard work to hone their ninja to perfection. But that was the problem, perfection. Humans were naturally flawed; it was nature, so to make the unnatural they did the unnatural.

The greatest minds were constantly thinking of new things to make their ninja stronger. It started out innocently enough. First it was soldier pills, then shots, until finally all out body altering surgeries, anything to make them stronger, faster, and invincible. To become the ultimate ninja was top priority. But things started going wrong. The experiments started going bad, or insane if you wanted to be dramatic about it.

The once proud shinobi were nothing but shadows of their former selves. Eventually everything seemed to run on drugs, and surgeries: our shinobi, our economy, and our very way of life. But people were happy. Now you didn't have to work to become strong, just a few surgeries and boom, you were superman. War could be endless because we would never run out of soldiers.

But, like in all these stories there was a problem. Typical right? They should have seen this coming, don't you think? I mean, don't these idiots watch television? Did they even stop to think what all these experiments would do to us? Maybe…or maybe they didn't care.

Whatever the reason, there was still a problem. It started out slow. A few complaints from our prized soldiers, claiming they couldn't eat even though they were hungry. Sometimes they would have wild mood swings, health issues but nothing too dramatic. Our soldiers were craving something, something it took too long to figure out. Blood. Blood of humans, animals it didn't matter. However they would regain control after feeding, so the scientists were satisfied with the outcome. They were indeed stronger, faster, and everything that a true ninja was supposed to be.

But with great power means a bigger ego. The 'super ninja', as they were called, came to think of themselves as better then the Hokage, even Kami-sama himself. With this new found power they could just kill as they pleased without a care in the world. As long as they got their daily dose of blood it didn't matter. As more perfect soldiers were created the world was thrown into chaos. The soldiers started rebelling against the very people who created them because in their minds they were better.

Soon the vampires…-cough- perfect soldiers had destroyed everything in the path. Humans were left to fight against each other for shelter and food. Doing anything to not get caught.

There was always a reason to fear the dark. The stories you were told when you were younger just seemed like a joke, but now they were all too real. Things that we had created ourselves had now set out to use us, destroy us, whatever they please because we had no way to stop them.

We used to wonder how the world would end. It turns out it doesn't, it just moves along without us…



"Why?" she asked herself as she sat in the dark room. Being more angry at herself then anyone else.

'Maybe if I had been stronger or ran faster to get away' all these thoughts were running through Sakura's head. She sat in the corner hugging her legs while thinking of ways to get out. Even though 5 inch thick cement walls were not a problem, it was what was behind them that scared her.

Drip..

Drip...

Over and over then noise kept going on. After awhile it didn't bother her as much. Maybe being the only thing that was keeping her sane.

The door creaked open reveling a heavy armored man walking in, the chains in his hand screeching against the ground as he walked closer towards her. His fangs flashed even in the dim lighting showing her that he was no ordinary human. He took the chains placing them around her wrist and ankles. Instantly a sudden heaviness took over her, as if her very blood was made of lead.

Chakra bangles, she realized and stared at them with an awe filled horror. She had heard rumors of the vampire's latest creations but thought it was just that, gossip. They were said to block all the chakra path ways, leaving even the strongest shinobi as week as a new born lamb.

He led her through the dark hallways making her feel like they were in more of a maze than anything else. Her mind was focused on the smallest things in the hallways trying to remember the way. With all the twists and turns it was impossible. The walk was even longer with the chains on, forcing her to hobble after her impatient captor. The feeling in the air as if she was walking straight to her death. In a sense you could say she was.

Sakura was so busy contemplating her fate, she never noticed when the guard suddenly stopped and bumped into him.

A low hiss of annoyance filled the room and she shivered, hunching her shoulders defensively and waited for the blow. But it never came; instead the vampire merely smirked and dropped her chains so suddenly she nearly toppled over from the weight.

Sakura was about to snap at him but stopped for two reasons. One yelling at an already annoyed vampire wasn't the brightest idea and two he was gone.

Emerald eyes blinked in surprise. Wait, he was gone? She was alone? Sakura whipped around, but realized she couldn't. Looking down she noticed at some point her captor had chained her to the ground, firmly locking her in place so all she could do was look foreword.

Sweat playing down her brow she began to panic. What was going on? Wasn't he going to eat her? Was he playing with her? Wildly Sakura thought of yelling he shouldn't play with her food but thought better of it. Maybe this was her chance to escape!



Remembering her ninja training, Sakura tried to let her body go lax so it would be easier to escape from her bindings. But before she could even begin a low rumbling echoed against the stone walls.

Sakura stiffened in surprise, it sounded like the threatening roar before a bad storm. She stopped struggling, and listened, wondering if she was closer to the outside then she thought.

She bit back a shocked yelp when a blinding light suddenly assaulted her senses. After days of the dark of her dungeon, Sakura had to blink back tears before peering into the blinding white.

What she saw made her scream. Well, not really it was more of that wheezy little cry you got when you were too afraid to even draw breath.

It was vampires, hundreds of them. Their pale skin rippled like a sea of white as hundreds of black eyes shone with a similar blood lust, all trained on one thing, her.

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Well, there you have it. The first chapter of Rising Midnight. Hope you liked it. Please review!!

Hope to update soon. Luff your Sukai-san.