Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. (I'm not going to go into detailes about what I'd do to it if I did...I'll just say, it involves body paint...kukuku. Don't ask.)


The tension in the room had become unbearable and Naruto was relieved to escape it. From room 32, Naruto was maneuvering his way through the still empty corridors in search for his new destination.

As he walked, unrushed, shoes stomping across the seemingly spotless floor, his thoughts wandered back to the conversation he had had less than a few minutes ago…

...

"'That they hurt?'" Shikamaru repeated. He was staring blankly at Naruto, unamused, opting on the idea that the blonde wasn't taking the question seriously. When Naruto raised his eyebrows at the stare, apparently oblivious to how, well, stupid his response was, the pony-tailed boy rolled his eyes.

He sighed. "I'll rephrase the question…what do you think made these marks?" He paused and then added, "What creature do they remind you of?"

Shikamaru spat out the word 'creature' with a hint of disgust. Naruto wanted to take a step back as he felt the venom from that one word, as though it were stinging him in the heart, but he refrained from doing so. Instead, he pushed his gaze and concentration towards the candy haired girls neck, examining the wounds for, what he hoped to be, the last time.

The holes were deep, deeper than any spider or snake could penetrate, around 2 to 3 cm down into her veins. The edges around the wounds were smoother than any other part of her skin that was visible to Naruto and paler, almost as white as snow. They were perfectly in line with one another, completely symmetrical and narrowed the further down into her flesh they went.

They were too flawless to be any kind of wild animal or be self-inflicted. But, the more Naruto thought about it, the more confused he became because, when he put all these pieces together, only one answer really rolled off his tongue.

"Vampire…" he whispered.

This was mostly to himself, to see what it sounded like if he actually said it out loud, but he said it loud enough for the trio to hear him. When Naruto saw their sad, confirming expressions he stared at them in disbelief and began babbling profusely.

"Wait, what? What do you mean? You think a vampire did this?" he said frantically, putting emphasis on the word 'vampire' as though it were the most absurd word he had ever heard. And at that moment, there was a high probability that it was.

"Vampires don't exist! They're make-believe! You guys think that you have a vampire walking the streets and sucking peoples blood in the dead of night?" Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Are you guys alright in the hea--" Naruto stopped. He gulped as he watched his three classmates all glare up at him, as though they were daring him to continue. Their eyes held no amusement of any kind, their faces held stone cold expressions. They were definitely not kidding.

"You're serious…" Naruto mumbled. This was a statement, not a question.

Ino sighed and glanced down at Sakura, who was still sleeping soundly on her lap.

"Believe what you'd like, but…" she started, "You better be careful about your assumptions of reality and myths while you're here, because, in this village, taking these things lightly might cause you some…" She looked up, her gaze hard. "Trouble."

.

"Please, explain all this to me." Naruto said finally, unable to remain in silent seriousness for very long. "If this is really real then I want to know about it."

He looked at them desperately. Naruto didn't know if any of this was true or if it was just a sick joke they were playing on him but the hurt expressions he had received when he started accusing them of being crazy for thinking that vampires existed, they were not the type of looks you were taught how to give in drama class. They were genuine, and that alone had sparked Naruto's curiosity. Well…that and the two deep holes in Sakura's neck.

Choji was the first to speak up. "You really want to know? You realize that we aren't joking around here. If you're not going to believe us then you should leave now."

Naruto sat down; legs crossed, and folded his arms over his chest.

"I know I'm new here but," he started, speaking gently, "even though I'm not fully convinced that some mythical creature made those marks, I still know that it wasn't something normal. So if there is really something going on in this town involving the living undead, then I want to be clued in on it."

Shikamaru glanced at his two companions then back up to Naruto, a face of obvious bothersome plastered on his face. "What do you want to know?" he asked simply.

Naruto thought for a moment before answering. "Before," he said finally, "you said something about it 'being about a week'. What did you mean?"

Shikamaru rubbed the side of his neck as though he didn't want to answer the question, even though he had been the one to invite Naruto to ask it. Hesitantly, he began anyway.

"Around this time every week, someone is attacked, found with only enough blood left inside them to keep them alive…and a bite mark on their neck." He swallowed and continued. "It seems that these creatures can only go without feasting for a certain amount of time before they need to satisfy their hunger again, aka: a week or so. We've all been able to figure out when it is it, or they, attack. But, even knowing that, we still don't know who they'll attack so it's always a shock to everyone when we find the newest victim, especially in a small town like this where everyone knows…well, everyone."

"'It or they?'" Naruto repeated, bewildered, obviously noticing they way Shikamaru had emphasized that part of his explanation. "What do you mean "it or they"? Don't you know how many there are?"

"Well obviously not." It was Ino speaking this time, rather loudly and impatiently. "There is no way of knowing. No one's even seen one of them. Every time there's a victim they don't remember anything and when they're attacked there is no one else around for miles that might have possibly seen them. The only evidence that we have that they even do exist is…" She paused and looked down at Sakura. "Well…this."

Naruto sat in silence for a moment, choosing not to speak. There was a question nagging him at the back of his mind but he wasn't sure if he should ask it. Seeing the previous reactions, he was afraid that anything he might say from this point on would touch on something that didn't want to be touched.

Choji was the first to notice his new quiet disposition, surprisingly.

"If you want to ask a question you should probably do it now. Not many other people are as willing as we are to give out all this information. It's not exactly something this town likes to show-off."

Naruto bit his lip for a second but obeyed, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"How long has this been going on?"

Silence followed.

Naruto looked from one face to another and wondered whether they had spoken too quietly or too quickly for them to hear.

Just as he was about to repeat himself Shikamaru let out a short sharp breath.

"For over 100 years. 100. Years." He emphasized. "That's how long this town has been under the "Sharingan curse'."


A/N: Sorry for the dots...It's wouldn't let me put in stars or anything...but hopefully you get that the three dots by themselves are "we're going back to the convo" dots and the one dot by its self was suppose to be a blank line...

Yeah...

Anyway: Did I take ages to update again?? You bet I did!! Angry mob: YOU SUCK SALVIAR! etc, etc...I know, I know...

GOMENAISAI! bows I'll make it up to you!! I have some sasunaru goodness in mind for the next chapter!! squee! :)

I would have put it in this chapter but I got a few people asking what the heck I was talking about in the chapter before (in a friendly manner, of course) so I thought I'd try to explain :) (If there is still something you don't understand, please don't hesitate to tell me. I'll try to clear it up for you!! ok?)

For all of those who have R&R previously, I cannot tell you how much love I am feeling for y'all! Thank you! I promise, I'll make this story awesum so I won't let you down!! bows again

Next chapter quicker?? I'll try my best!! (reviews help tho!! haha! I'm kidding I'm kidding. I just like to hear opinions. Good or bad :) So R&R is appreciated!!)