I hoped you liked the last chapter, and here we go with another one. I've picked out the second girl, you'll find out in a second. If anyone can help me edit the synopsis a little that would be great. Also, didn't allow you to put three genres fro each story, why can I only do two now? Does supernatural/drama sum it up well? Or does supernatural/angst?

Oh, I won't say that reviews help me write faster, though I have been updating more since more reviews came in..lol., what I will say is that reviews definitely encourage me to think more about the story and will make the plot better. So please review and try to keep it meaningful, flamers are welcomed, but its really pointless to point out my grammar, since I can't seem to change it no matter what I do, but on the style of writing and dialogue, its all ok. Pros and cons, suggestions, comments, etc; it's all good.

On a side note, does anyone think I'm going too fast or too slow? I admit the first few chapters may feel a lil fast to some people, but I really wanted to start writing out my ideas soon. Trust me I have a lot, I'm planning to extend this story to the Jounin exam! So I need to pace it well, both the developments and the relationships. Anyways, just tell me how you think of the speed of the story. Also, does anyone think I'm giving out too much hint? I'm starting to feel that way.

1. So who have you decided to be the second girl?

Runner up is Hyuuga Hinata. As much as I had some ideas and materials for her, it felt uncomfortable for me to made her so OOC. I could have been done but I felt I would have to really go out of my way and risk endangering the main plot of the story.

Now the reason why I didn't pick some of the other girls, I'll try to be brief with each. Ino has the style and gracefulness to fit in, but I also felt I had to go out of my way a little. Her character is very underdeveloped in the original, so I would had to work on constructing one for her, and I really wanted to focus things on Naruto. As for TenTen, I would go for the same thing. Temari has a tom boy attitude, which Anko already sort of has, so I wanted someone a little different for the second girl. Kurenai and Tsunade are way too old, the former I can only pass her off as in her 30s and Tsunade, I'd be lucky if I can do 50s. See the main thing I'm looking for is diversion, how the awakening of Naruto's blood made the story diverges from the original story and character personas.

And so, without further ado, the winner is...Haruno Sakura. At first, I didn't think I can use her much, but then as I played around some ideas, I thought she would fit in very well. Her recent level of maturing, her kind side, her short temper, Inner Sakura, and her potentials made her the best choice.

I'm sorry for those who was rallying toward the other girls, but just because I chose Sakura doesn't mean the other girls don't get an appearance or any impact on the plot. In fact, I have thought of a few situations when secondary pairings, or at least hints of them, could come out. Maybe KakaKurenai, InoSasu, NejiTenTen, or HinaKiba. But again, only if it doesn't get in the way of the main plot.

Thanks to all the people who have been giving me suggestions and info. A special thanks to CB for his email to me on the info on the girls and the relationships, I'll take up on your offer for help in the later chapters when stuff really gets complicated for me to sort them out easily.

Btw, for sam, you really shouldn't write your email on the reviews, spammers has bots roaming all over the internet looking for email addresses, so instead you should do something like (remove 'NOSPAM')"

2. What about a third girl?

Well, the idea is still up in the air. I'm going to go on with the story with the first two, and if I see a chance for a third one to enter, I'll put it in but I won't go out of my way to make that opportunity happen.

3. Is Naruto really a vampire? Why hasn't he bitten anyone and can still walk in the sun?

Hmmm, I really don't want to say much, but I'll just recommend you all to just give it some time. All things will be revealed...eventually.

4. That last chapter was so much longer than the previous ones, are you going to continue like this?

I'm really just going to write the length depending on when I spot a good place to end a chapter, so it really will vary quite bit. But I promise I will try to keep it long and worthwhile.

5. Hey, that last update was quick. Now why can't you do that more often?

Well, you know I found out recently that writing fanfics could be a full time job. I mean with the idea thinking, sorting, integrating, rethinking, writing, revision, etc, it really takes more time than I thought. I just got the free time to do it last time and this time, especially since the idea came together really well. However, as the stuff gets more and more complex, like in a few more chapters, I will have to slow down to organize my ideas. I have so much in mind, I just need to find a way to integrate them in without cluttering up the plot.

6. Why do some of the characters begin to seem OOC? Especially Naruto.

If you have been reading since the beginning, you probably didn't notice I added OOC warning on synopsis. I think I can do anything I want with Anko since she is relatively unknown and Sakura since I've seen just about every side of her in other fanfics. Now as for Naruto, you can tell by now he is transforming into a vampire (I hope I didn't spoil anything for you with that. ), so his persona is starting to change. I'm not saying how, why, and to what extent, but just leave your mind open to changes. If the speeches seem forced, I apologize since I'm still not used to dialogue, and maybe I'll try to make it smoother in a revision. Its not that awkward is it? As for words, some character utter OOC, think of it as a few reasons, one they are diverting from their original story persona, second the original japanese could have been translated to pretty complex english words if those scanlators/fansubbers took the time to, and remember Naruto was talking latin a two chapters ago, so anything goes.

7. Can you explain the scar again?

Ok, let's try a different approach. Just imagine that Naruto had gotten a deep slash on the back by a katana, and it left a permanent scar there. Now take away the katana, and you basically have a slash forming on Naruto's back for no reason (well, you don't know, but I do. ). Now it basically is a vertical scar running along the middle of his back (his spinal column) from the base of his neck to the middle of his back. The scar does not every fully heal, like you know the blood crusting over and caking (you know what that is right?) Instead when it stops bleeding it, will only fade away in color becoming a dull, palish color. Its not gross or anything except, it looks like Naruto was tortured or something. Hmmm, sort of like Ibuki (I think that's his name), the examiner from the first part of the chuunin exam. I hope this helped and not made it more confusing. Maybe I'll draw a quick picture with photoshop of how it looks later, probably after I revise some stuff in the earlier chapters.

8. What about the moralist point of view on the story? I mean Naruto is a kid, so is Sakura, and Anko is an adult by all means.

Let me start out by saying I do understand where you're coming from. I do think as they are NOW, pairing the three up like this would be wrong. But I promise, when the actual relationship really starts, I will make it so its that bad anymore. I can't promise all of you are going to be all right with it, but I'll try to appease without ruining my story. Right now, what Naruto and Anko share will be sympathy then friendship, and maybe even brother-sister affection. This is directed at thatwasabigfart and others who has previously expressed concerns in this area. I don't mind flamers and all, but when you do flame, please try to keep it constructive, neh? And please keep it down on the insults, if you really find it so bad that you need to write that then this isn't the story for you, there are well over four thousand Naruto stories on this site alone for you to choose from.

9. Will you be revising your earlier chapters?

Yes, probably this weekend, one chapter at a time. Not grammatically, just in terms of look, like revising the initial synopsis and the paragraphing on the prologue.

10. How well do you know Latin?

Ok, for those who are really good with latin, you'd probably noticed that, I don't put the verb in the end. I only learnt Latin in highschool, and I'm using an English-Latin

Disclaimer: This is depressing. I'm devoting time thinking of new things to write for the disclaimer. To the lawyer reading through looking for this, I have three advice for you: go drink something stronger than light ale, abandon your hopes for world domination, stop having fantasies about Martha Stewart, then pack up your things and move out of your parents' basement. Lol. Oh, and for your sake alone; I don't own Naruto.

That cheered me up. Formatting for this chapter:

"Blah" – Talking
'Blah' – Thinking
"Blah" – Mystery Person A Talking
'Blah' – Mystery Person A Thinking
"Blah" – Mystery Person B Talking
'Blah' – Mystery Person B Thinking

Note: There are two types of thinking, and its all situational. If we are in Naruto's mind, thinking would be private thoughts, but, in the real world, thinking would be talking mentally.



Reflections

Erantne aut nostri properi sceli eicient in nostra exilia?

"PERVERT!"

The shout rattled the normally quite streets of Konoha. The people on the street curious at what happened took a look, but when they spotted a white haired man step out of a bar with a red hand print on his left cheek, they simply shook their head and resumed their journeys.

"Jeez, how am I suppose to get the materials for volume 8 when the girls here are so rough?" The man complained to no one is particular, but on a second thought, he smirked. "Well, I do like them spicy like this."

'It's been a long time I've been back and I get this as a welcome,' the man with the tattooed eye sighed. 'Hmm, I think I'm just in time for the Chunnin exam, might as well head over for a look, the bathhouses are still filled with old hags right now, the beauties aint coming 'till the evening.'

Thus the weird figure began walking toward the Forest of Death. Everyone got out of his way, not from fear of his power but his behavior. It's not everyday they see a exotically dressed old man blushing and giggling down the street.

It was definitely a different voice. The soothing tone filled with sadness and remorse was gone. This voice was one filled with venom, hatred, contempt, and pure rage. It was the voice of an untamable beast.

Naruto could feel himself shaking, not from fear, but from the pressure of the raw hatred emanating from the far corner of the tunnel. He looked to his right to find the opening he saw last time and found the way blocked by a weird looking seal; it was different from last time. He heard the growling in the distance and began to make his way toward the source of the sound.

"You are pitiful, brat." The voice boomed throughout the tunnel, echoing in the distance.

"Who are you?" Naruto yelled back, undaunted by the voice.

"I am you." Naruto could even hear the smirk in the voice.

"What do you mean?" Naruto uttered with suspicion.

"We are one and the same. Born in the realm of light, abandoned into the pits of despair, and crawling out only to fulfill our deepest desire." The cyanical voice laughed as he finished answering.

"And what is that?" Naruto asked, uncertain whether he really wanted to know or not.

"Why else would any of us forsaken creations of God exist? To kill, of course!"

By now, Naruto had come quite close to the source of the voice. He could feel fiery breaths of air pushing against him at every syllable. He wanted to come closer, but he noticed in front of him the ground was missing. He inched closer to the ledge and couldn't make out the bottom of the pit from the dim lights.

So he looked back at the source of the voice. "I am not damned, and I do not want to kill anyone!" Naruto yelled in response.

"Really now? Who do you think you are lying to, brat? I know you better than you know yourself. I've heard your pleads for deaths and destruction in the deepest and darkest recesses of your mind. We are one and the same." As the voice spoke, Naruto could even imagine the smile that grazed the face of the voice as it finished talking.

"Who the hell are you?!?" Naruto was losing the last of his composure.

"Who the hell? That's funny, brat, because I am hell. I am the hell that you've lived through all your life, if you can call it a life. Are you really satisfied living like this?" The voice challenged.

"As long as there are a few people in my bleak existence who recognize me for me, I'll be ok." Naruto tried to sound confident, but as he felt the glare of this creature upon him, his belief began to waver.

"Listen to yourself, brat. Humans are truly sickened and greedy creatures. They were endowed a place in Eden, but they chose to become Gods themselves by eating the fruits of knowledge. In the midst of a race of people with insatiable a greed and lust for power, we have an oddity in you, content with the illusion of just a few people recognizing you." The voice mocked angrily.

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ME! THIS IS MY LIFE AND MY EXISTENCE! I WILL CHOOSE MY OWN FATE!" Naruto cold feel his blood rushing through his body. When the voice laughed at his rebuttal like it was a joke, Naruto was getting ready to jump over the missing platform to whatever fate has in store for him on the other side. He didn't even notice that he was clenching his fist so hard that it was drawing out blood.

"You are depressing me, brat. You are truly pathetic. So I leave you with this single punishment, I will allow you to live as you have been and we'll see just how well your plan is going to work out. I want to see the look on your face when the people, whom you hang onto so dearly, betray you." The voice began to fade away and the tunnel began to darken.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!?" Naruto screamed back, finding nothing else to say.

"You'll find out, brat. I'll be watching you 'till then." The voice was barely above a whisper. When the lights had finally dimmed out, Naruto found the ground below him collapsing and threw himself behind, onto what he hoped was solid ground.

Anko had given up trying to wake Naruto up. She was relieved when she found out he was just sleeping peacefully on the floor. She used her arms to carry the boy to the nearby bed and laid him on his stomach to examine his wound.

'It's a stranger scar. It doesn't seem to have been made by any weapon or jutsus I've ever heard of. The cut is deep, rough yet clean. I do not sense any evidence of damaged tissue. Its as if none of the cells are broken, simply divided along this line. Maybe that's why I don't see evidence of blood clots forming on the surface of the wound, but that doesn't explain how he got it.'

According to Kakashi's classified report that she had read shortly after the meeting with the Hokage, she thought such a wound should have at least started to patch itself up with the Kyubi's powers.

She was deep in her thought when Naruto started to thrash lightly in his bed. At first, she thought it was kind of cute how the boy was still so innocent despite all he has been through. She was starting to worry a little, so she thought to check his pupils to see if they were dilated.

She used one hand to open his eyelids and looked in, only find a red abyss staring back at her. She would have jumped back had she not seen it before. 'How long has it been since I've seen that eye? That haunting yet intoxicating eye. How long has it been since I've thought of him?' But she knew in her heart, his image came up every night in her dreams and nightmares, though sometimes with him there, it was hard to tell which it was.

It was then that the thought suddenly struck her: the uncanny resemblence between the boy lying in front of him and the man who has stayed in her mind for what seemed like an eternity. It was the attitude, the personality, the face, the hair color, and, most of all, the eye. 'But it couldn't be, could it? He didn't have any child with that woman, and even if he did, why would he turn the child into the Kyubi vessel? Was he the kind of man who would forsake his own child for the sake of his village?'

She continued to ponder about her newly made discovery as she sat next to the boy, not noticing how her fingers were voluntarily tracing the scar on his back. She was finally snapped out of revere by the sight of blood oozing out of Naruto's tightly clenched fists. Trying as hard as she could, she had no way of stopping him. Then suddenly without warning, the boy woke up and launched himself at her.

As she struggled to get the boy away, she noticed he wasn't awake yet. She was about to slap his face, when she noticed the tears on his eyes. They were tears of blood.

Suddenly, the door sprang open and in came Sakura, here to retrieve the two to the arena.

Naruto has found himself in darkness once more. Everything the voice had said to him struck a chord within him, and he couldn't help but sob at the memories of his life. As he began to sink deeper and deeper into the dark abyss, he felt warmth around him. It was something he never felt before.

Naruto lazy sat up and rubbed his eyes, noting on the back of his mind how sore they were. Then he noticed his surroundings. Lying below him in a very well misunderstood position was Anko. Before he could even apologize, he felt a movement toward his face from the side.

They were walking quietly towards the arena. Sakura was in front, obviously angry. Naruto was behind her, clutching his right cheek in pain.

'Is there a jutsu for slapping? I think Sakura just used it on me, my face feels really swollen. What was her problem anyways?' Naruto mumbled in his mind.

Meanwhile, Sakura was busy doing her own cursing. 'I can't that Naruto was actually a pervert. Just as I was beginning to be nice to him, he shows his true color. That slap serves him right.'

With their faces and body movement showing their expressions earnestly, Anko was having a hard time trying to keep her laughs from coming out.

Naruto couldn't take anymore, and finally decided to be a man and be the first to try to resolve the situation. "Look Sakura-chan, I really didn't do that on purpose. I was having a nightmare, then later I found myself in a compromising position like that and you come in with your slap on the face. It really wasn't my fault."

But before Sakura had a chance to respond, Anko decided to have a little fun and came up behind Naruto, whispered in his ear loud enough for Sakura to hear. "Oh reaalllyy? Are you sure it doesn't just mean you are subconsciously in love with me and that was your way of showing it? You're a little young for my usual taste, but there's a first time for everything you know." She finished with a wink.

Sakura, seeing Naruto's blush, was about to either walk up to him and deliver a slap to his other cheek or stomp away when Anko finally gave up trying to hold it in.

"You two are hilarious. Lighten up would you? What are you guys, dating or something?" She chuckled under her breath.

As Naruto blushed at this and looked at an equally embarrassed Sakura, Sakura noticed this and recovered by her usual rebuttal.

"No way! Why in the world would I date him? Sasuke-kun is the only one for me!" She shouted, stomping away in rage. If she had turned around, she would have seen the hurt flashing before Naruto's face.

Anko, however, did notice it. And summing the pieces together, she figured out the situation between the members of team seven. 'Foolish girl. That boy will never see you as you want him to. If you spend all your time and effort trying to reach that Castle in the Sky, you will miss the things around you. Trust me, I know from experience.' She said, shaking her head and ending it with a sigh.

Naruto couldn't blame Anko for this, since it wasn't her fault. He could have no one to blame but himself. So he put on his classic I'm-Naruto-I'm-Always-Fine grin and started walking to the arena again. But Anko was not fooled, for it reminded her of her own fake smile that aimed to not only fool those around her but also herself as well.

As the three made it to the arena, they could see the first match finishing up. Sakura and Naruto went up to the bleachers, while Anko joined the Sandaime in the front of the arena. She took a moment before whispering what had just transpired, though leaving the end part out, to the Hokage, who merely nodded.

The matches went on one by one. Naruto was having a hard time concentrating as he couldn't help but think back to his dream.

'I don't care what that voice said. I know myself best. My dream is to become the Hokage.' Naruto tried to confirm for himself. 'And if I don't have that dream, what else would I have left?'

As he went deeper and deeper into doubt, he began to lose track of time. Until finally, shouts of surprised awoke him from his thoughts.

It took him a moment to see what was happening. Ino was lying collapsed on the floor while Sakura was just standing there. Naruto was about to shout in joy when he heard Sakura's words.

"See Sakura? I won fair and square, better luck next time. Ref, please call-"

"SAKURA-CHAN! What the hell are you doing? Are you going to give up now? Didn't you want to become stronger?" Naruto shouted as he finally realized what had happened.

"Are you an idiot? There's no way she can do anything even if she heard you. I'm in control of her body now and this match is mine!"

"THINK AGAIN, INO PIG!" Inner Sakura had awoken after Naruto's shout.

The battle resumed its full course. Though it ended with a draw, Naruto was proud of Sakura for doing her best in the match. He was able to help her out, even if it's just a small push in the right direction.

As medic-nins left the two girls to sleep and rest on the bleachers, thus allowed the next match to begin, Sakura was having a dream about her childhood.

Flashback

A 6-year-old Naruto was playing by himself when he saw a familiar pink haired girl walking by. She was clumsy and often made mistakes, thus was often the object of teasing. It really was an exact opposite of Naruto, whom everyone just ignored.

She was walking around in her newly bought shoes, jumping in the rain, like any little kids enjoyed to do, when she slipped. She fell face first into a pool of mud.

The other kids hurried to her and as she got up, they couldn't help but laugh at her appearance. The mud had left a ring on her two eyes and left a long line on her forehead. With half of her body covered in mud, she looked amazingly like a pink raccoon with single eyebrow.

Being the creative children they were, many of them already thought of nicknames for her. As Sakura cringed and began to get teary when she heard the first, "Unibrow Racco-"

A yell was heard as the kids momentarily stopped and looked back at the playground as they saw Naruto sliding face down the slide. As he got near the edge, he tried to stop himself, but with little chubby hands, he couldn't and fell face first into the mud.

He slowly got up, covered in mud, and uttered a soft. "Oops, I slipped," laughing sheepishly.

The roar of laughter was louder than ever as the other kids, forgetting about the raccoon, and focused their attention at the idiot boy. Even Sakura stopped crying and joined in the laughter.

All the while, Naruto just scratched the back of his and joined in the laughter as the other kids laughed and called him an idiot. He, meanwhile, took one side glance at Sakura, which she noticed had a sense of joy and satisfaction.

End of Flashback

Sakura felt herself slowly waking up. She felt dead tired but she was concentrating on that dream.

'That was such a long time ago, I wonder why I remembered just now. I can't believe Naruto actually covered for me, if he didn't that nickname would have stuck with me forever, and I'm sure that Ino-pig would have used it by now. I don't know if he remembers, but I really better thank him for it later on.'

She was snapped out of her thoughts and jolted wide awake when she heard the next match was up. She opened her eyes, scanned her surroundings and found the board. It read: "Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba."

Translation:

'Erantne aut nostri properi sceli eicient in nostra exilia?' – 'Or was it our own sins that threw us in our plight?'