In the old story, I never really expanded on Naruto's work at the prison, so I decided that that should get some focus in this story. And also decided to introduce Anko a bit earlier than I planned, but felt like I don't give her enough story time in my chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Alright, get in there," shouted one of the two Shinobi escorts, throwing the dirty, bound man to the ground inside a darkened room. The door was slammed shut, and through the view-slot grating, the man who had been rather carelessly tossed to the ground heard a light mutter of 'He's all yours.'
The man, a prisoner, looked around. The room was dark. Very dark. There were no windows, and so the room was lit dimly with a few candles. The walls were solid stone, and with him unable to perform jutsu, it was very unlikely that he would be escaping. He had to wonder what the room was used for. It wasn't solitary. He had done solitary, and it was much worse than this. The room he was in had no furniture. Only the cold stone walls and floor.
"Prisoner number 0185221, Toshi Yuu," Toshi's eyes widened as he began frantically searching for the location of the voice, before noticing a shadow in the corner of the room, unlit by the flames of the candle, as though the light itself refused to touch the one concealed within. Not even noticing his apparent surprise, the voice continued. "Your case has been reviewed by the Hokage and his council...They've ordered your execution." As the voice said this, the figure removed himself from the darkness, revealing a young man with pale skin, bright electric-blue eyes, blonde hair, and strange, whisker-like markings upon his cheeks. Wearing what appeared to be standard shinobi sandals, shinobi pants, and a long, black robe, complete with hood, that seemed to be made of silk satin, which he found extremely off for a Shinobi, and no shirt, he seemed to possess an imposing aura...or would have had it been the fact he was no older than twelve.
Toshi chuckled. "Yeah? And what? You my executioner or something?"
"As a matter of fact..." Toshi raised an eyebrow at that. While Konoha had been known to produce...gifted Shinobi, he'd never heard of one so young working an executioner's job.
"Ha, what? Am I supposed to believe assigned have a pre-teen to kill me?" he asked, and the blonde, looking over a folder, presumably containing his file, shook his head.
"No, you're supposed to be terrified," he said, and Toshi began to now nearly double over with laughter.
"Me?" he wheezed out. "Terrified of you? Kid, why don't you go back home to Mommy and leave things like killing to the big boys." The mention of a mother must have struck a nerve with the blonde and his eyes glinted dangerously while narrowing. In less time than it took to blink, the blonde disappeared and reappeared, his foot planted firmly into Toshi's gut, causing the man to gasp in pain as a combination of slobber and blood spewed from his mouth. Before he could react, not that he could have done much anyway, being bound and all, the blonde had his hand around the man's neck and slammed him back into the ground.
"What a shame..." he said, and Toshi finally noticed the boys teeth as he snarled at him. Within the normal looking pearly-whites were a pair of sharp fangs on the top and bottom rows, looking sharp enough to sink cleanly into metal, let alone flesh. "If you aren't afraid, it looks like I'll have to put the fear into you."
Even through the steel door and thick stone walls, the cries of excruciating pain reverberated through the prison from the 'Death Chamber' as the guards had nicknamed it. This time they went on for quite a while. The guards flinched. Normally the kills were quick. Toshi must have said something to seriously piss off the Head Executioner. And for someone like Naruto, it wasn't easy to piss him off, so that was saying something. The man must have hit the boy's berserk button something fierce.
It was almost an hour and a half later before the screaming finally stopped and the steel door creaked open, allowing Naruto enough room to walk up, his robe covering his whole body, the hood shadowing his face. The guards entered the room to clean up the body, and had they not been used to such sights they would have gotten sick. The body was in pieces, which were randomly thrown across the floor. The walls were splattered with blood, but the dismembered limbs didn't leak a single drop, indicating the blood was drained before the body was ripped to shreds.
Stepping out of the prison to make his way back to the village, A glint of sunlight shone through to Naruto's face and he cringed as the skin was left with a horrible burn mark. As he adjusted his hood, and shadow once more cloaked his visage, the burns seemed to fade back to flawless, unblemished skin. Luckily, the forest would provide him with enough shadow to prevent much direct sunlight, but there were only so many trees between him and the village gates, the sky wide open and the sun beating down on him.
He crossed through the forest without incident, and the gate guards let him through without hindrance. They knew who he was and where he was going. It wasn't Naruto's first kill. He began working as a prison executioner at the tender age of seven, and had been promoted to Head executioner by the age of nine. Such a thing was unheard of, both as young as he was and the fact he had yet to enter in the shinobi forces.
That wasn't to say he couldn't have. Since becoming a vampire, Naruto's physical capabilities increased exponentially, and he was even yet growing stronger. He could have been as great or greater than Itachi was. Nobody understood why he decided to wait to enter the ninja ranks, not even Sarutobi. Although the old Hokage respected the decision, feeling it was probably right for Naruto to wait a bit before beginning to take on missions. The job at the prison was considered more of a 'free meal' where Naruto was concerned. Entering the Hokage's office, Naruto watched Sarutobi close the blinds on the windows, blocking out the sunlight.
"How did it go?" he asked, sitting down at his desk and motioning for the twelve-year old to do the same. He folded his hands in front of his face as the blonde did so.
"It left a bad taste in my mouth, both figuratively and literally," he replied, and Sarutobi sighed.
"What happened, my boy?" he asked, and Naruto merely gazed at him with those bright eyes of his and rested his head in one hand, adopting a bored expression.
"He mentioned my mother," he said, and Sarutobi flinched. The subject of Naruto's parents was rarely brought up. After learning the truth about who they were somehow, the blonde wouldn't reveal how, the whole subject became rather touchy with him. He didn't hate his parents, but he wished beyond anything else that they were alive. That they were alive and well and waiting in that big empty manor house every night when he walked through the door.
"While I can see where you're going with this, the man couldn't have possibly known your mother and father or of their...absence," said Sarutobi. "You need to control your temper Naruto. You were always such a bright, hopeful child. And even up until about a month ago you've been very good at keeping your anger in check. What's wrong." Sarutobi took notice of Naruto's free hand gripping the arm rest of the chair so hard his knuckles had gone from just pale to pure white.
"It's almost time for me to join the Shinobi ranks...Join in on a team of brats that have no idea the harsh realities of life...and death." Sarutobi closed his eyes and nodded, finally understanding Naruto's recent aggression.
"You don't have to join a team Naruto. Outside of your weakness to daylight, you're easily capable of being assigned as a Chuunin or even Special Jonin..." he said, but Naruto held up a hand.
"No," he said adamantly. "I have to be put on a genin team, and it has to be with Sasuke Uchiha." Sautobi's eyes widened and he made to say something, but Naruto beat him to the punch. "You have to trust me on this old man. This is something I have to do." Sarutobi's eyes became dead serious. Naruto never called him old man anymore. Hadn't done so in three years. For him to do so now, he obviously found this to be very important. Sarutobi couldn't bring himself to argue. He sighed and took out his pipe.
"Alright," he said, lighting it. "I'll trust you. But at the first sign of trouble, I'm separating you. Just because Itachi was your friend doesn't necessarily mean Sasuke will like-wise wish to befriend you. Since Itachi left, Sasuke has become angry, to the point of him shutting out all others. You'll have a very hard time, especially if he finds out you have some history with his older brother."
"I'm aware of the risks," said Naruto, putting his hood on and standing, preparing to leave. "Just please make certain I am on that team...as a favor to me?" The Hokage sighed, then nodded. Satisfied, Naruto left, closing the door behind him. As he smoked, Sarutobi pulled out his crystal orb, using a special jutsu to view the Academy classroom, the younger Uchiha listening to one of Iruka's lectures in boredom, his eyes narrowed and his hands folded in front of his face. He sighed as he watched the dark-haired boy, before pulling out the proper forms.
Arriving home, Naruto sighed. His footsteps echoed through the dark and empty house. It was something Naruto hated. The vast emptiness that was once his parent' home. It was as though the old house was a record of the life they had lived, and had been stopped when they died. Stopped before his story could intertwine with theirs. He often wondered what his parents would say, what they would think of his life if they were still around. Would they be ashamed of him? Would they even love him now that he was a creature of darkness?
Plopping down into a chair, Naruto looked over on the table to see a picture of his father, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and his mother, Kushina. The two looked so happy. Would they still be happy if they knew their son was nothing more than a parasite, living off the life of others? He put the picture back down, before letting his mind wander a bit. It was something he never could learn not to do. Naruto always had a wandering mind, even after Inoichi had come in and shown him how to focus his mind and order his thoughts. It was a bad habit, but it was the hardest to break. It really only reared it's ugly head in these moments when he was alone with his thoughts, but ever since Itachi had left and the other Anbu had ceased guard duty, the moments were becoming more and more frequent.
He looked around the house, from his position in the chair. He only lived there now as a way to honor his parents. Nothing more. He had no use for all that space. It was far too much for his tastes. He either needed less space, or more people to fill it. A knock at his door caught his attention, his acute hearing easily picking up the sound coming from the front of the house. Walking through the halls, the old paintings seeming to watch him, judging him, he made his way to the door and pulled his hood up before opening it. He was only slightly surprised at the young woman standing before him.
"Anko," he said, his voice an even monotone that the purple-haired woman had only ever heard from the insect-using Aburame clan. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your lovely presence?" Anko smiled a bit at that.
"Naruto, you shameless flirt," she chuckled. "The Hokage wanted me to come check up on you. Said you haven't been yourself lately." Naruto's eyes flashed for a moment and a sly smile crossed his face.
"Well, technically I haven't been myself since I was five, but it's nothing an eternity of company from a beautiful lady such as yourself wouldn't fix," he announced, and that time Anko just outright laughed.
"Maybe when you're a bit older, I'll take you up on that offer," she said. "But for now, try to find a girl your own age." She stuck her tongue out at the young vampire and ruffled his hair. Naruto snarled, but Anko could easily tell it was only mock annoyance.
"Yeah yeah, fine," he replied, sniffing the air. "You didn't happen to bring me a little gift, did you?" Anko nodded and pulled out a small, sealed container of the precious red liquid that Naruto's entire existence revolved around.
"Fresh from the slaughterhouse," she said, handing the container to Naruto. She didn't even bat an eye when rather than open the container, he sank his fangs through the plastic and let the sweet juices flow into his mouth.
"Thank you," he said between drinks. It wasn't near as satisfying on human blood, but live-stock still was more than enough to satiate the vampire. Finishing the snack, Naruto merely tossed the container aside.
"Care to come in?" asked Naruto, who although was properly covered up, hated to be in the sun for long. "We haven't just sat down and talked in forever." Anko shook her head with a sigh.
"I would, but I have a mission to prepare for..." she said, before a bit of mirth entered her eyes. "Besides, if I recall, last time I accepted your invitation inside, I almost left with a couple holes in my neck." To his credit, Naruto did have the decency to look somewhat sheepish. Somewhat being the key word. Naruto had gotten very good over the years at concealing his emotions, which is why it was so hard to openly make him angry.
"In my defense, I had been fasting at that point, and you looked so...appetizing." Anko shook her head at that comment.
"I'll stop by some other time Naruto," she said. "And cheer up a little. Learn to have some fun in your life. Get out once in a while."
"I get out plenty," said Naruto, waving off her words.
"Not out of the house," said Anko, looking concerned. "Out of that head of yours. One of these you're going to get lost in there, and won't be coming out." As she turned her back and walked away, Naruto frowned and shut the door, leaning his back against it.
"Maybe...maybe I'm already lost..." he muttered, under his breath. Looking over to the staircase, he looked into the eyes of his mother's portrait. Perhaps it was his own self doubt, but something about her eyes looked different than usual...they looked like the light within that was captured so well had faded. Naruto sighed and dropped to the floor, closing his eyes, as he let the darkness of the house enter his being.
"Such a sad little one." Naruto's eyes snapped open and he quite literally leapt to the ceiling, clinging there like a frightened cat as he searched the room for the booming voice. Seeing nothing, and not sensing anyone's presence, Naruto chalked it up to his being paranoid, and decided to get a bit of sleep before nightfall came.
Chapter End
A few people complained that Naruto is not as powerful as he was in my old story, and that was done for a good reason. That total godliness was causing too many inconsistencies within the story, so I decided to change up how vampirism works in this world.
Much like the vampires of Underworld, my vampires have only the weaknesses of sunlight and leathal damage, able to heal all but the most severe wounds (of course with Kyuubi, that isn't a problem with Naruto.) Secondly, I decided to also go the way of 'The longer one is an immortal, the stronger they become' This idea will become pivotal later in the story, so bear with me.
As for the monster form exhibited by the rogue vamp last chapter, it's a trait all vampires share, and the 'true form' is actually immune to sunlight. The reason the normal body isn't is because it acts only as a shell now that he's a vampire, which means human form is susceptible to die from sunlight, but the 'true form' is not. Does that make any sense?
Peace to all my fans
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