This is a much shorter chapter than usual because I'm going on a trip for 3 weeks and I won't have time to finish what was going to be part 2. So instead you get a cliffhanger and a brand new reason to hate me. And yes, that was intended to be ominous.

Chapter 14

It was rather depressing that Naruto was spending his Friday night doing homework, but due to the madness of the past few days he'd been neglecting his studies and he really had no interest in giving Iruka a further reason to ground him. Consequently he was spread out on his bedroom floor glaring at his maths textbook and wishing that the problems before him would solve themselves. Naruto flicked to the back of the book, hoping that this was one of the editions where they had forgotten to remove the answers. He sighed despondently when he found that this was not the case.

Earlier that day he'd been animatedly recounting his dinner with Gaara to Haku and Sasuke, telling them in great detail how Gaara had managed to charm Iruka and left Kakashi looking like a prejudicial asshole. They'd both been overjoyed to hear of his victory and had asked if that meant he would be joining them at Club Secret that night. Naruto had replied that he was grounded and they had responded with sympathy. He'd forced a smile for their benefit and told them that he would be fine, that they shouldn't let his predicament ruin their night. Sasuke had replied that he wouldn't and the two of them had briefly descended into an argument. When they had finished Haku had switched the subject to how the next day was a Saturday and they could spend the day at Naruto's apartment playing games and ignoring Kakashi.

Naruto smiled. He had good friends who always knew exactly how to distract him from the bad stuff in his life.

Naruto was just about to reluctantly return to his work when he heard raised voices coming from the living room. Deciding to investigate Naruto scrambled to his feet and quietly opened the door. From his vantage point he could clearly see Iruka and Kakashi. They were squared off and clearly in the middle of an escalating argument. Naruto was contemplating making his presence known when Iruka's words made him freeze.

"This is going too far Kakashi! I know you don't like Gaara but accusing him of murder? You can't do that without proof!"

"I have proof."

"You have speculation! I might not be a lawyer but I know that your supposed evidence is circumstantial at best."

Without thinking about what he was doing Naruto strode out into the living room. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Iruka answered quickly. "Nothing's going on. Go back to your room Naruto."

Kakashi turned to Naruto and held up an A4 sized photo. The photo was of a young man with his throat torn out. "Do you recognise him?"

"No."

Iruka ripped the photo from Kakashi's hand and hissed, "He's fifteen and you're showing him the picture of a murder victim?"

"This man is believed to be a victim of a serial killer supposedly no longer active in this city," Kakashi continued, ignoring Iruka. "I did some digging. Ever heard of the Sandman?"

Naruto frowned. The name did sound familiar but he wasn't sure from where. Then it hit him – the first night he met Gaara he'd said something about the Sandman when he chased away the men who were about to give Naruto a beating. Gaara had said that he was the Sandman and Naruto's assailants had fled. The blond teen hadn't seen anything strange about it then as he'd had more pressing matters to attend to but now...

"You think Gaara is a serial killer? The Sandman?" Naruto sneered.

"There are four murders attributed to the Sandman. All occurred a few years ago over the course of a month. There was little press coverage since the victims were all convicted felons. All young men who died of exsanguination."

"And how did you connect them to Gaara?"

"I found a paper trail that says he arrived in the city around the same time as the murders occurred. There were also similar victims in the city he previously lived in."

Iruka was right Naruto decided – Kakashi's supposed evidence was circumstantial at best. It could all be a coincidence that the murders started around the same time Gaara came to the city. But knowing what Naruto did about a vampire's blood lust and the fact that Gaara didn't like to talk about his past made Naruto's stomach churn. Gaara had told him that he had a dark past, that he used to be very different to how he was now. It was entirely possible that he had committed those murders. Still, Kakashi lacked proof and Naruto wasn't about to jump to conclusions just because the Hunter's theory was worryingly plausible. Even if Gaara was the Sandman he likely had a good reason for killing those people. Kakashi was just trying to mess with him, once again trying to turn him against Gaara. Naruto didn't know why the Hunter thought this plan would work when all his previous ones had failed. Perhaps Kakashi was desperate? Whatever the reason, Naruto wasn't going to let a few photos trick him into believing that Gaara was evil. Neither, apparently, was Iruka.

"That's enough Kakashi," Iruka interjected furiously. "I don't know what you're trying to achieve with this and, honestly, I don't care. I can't believe you dug up some old serial killer case and were going to show it to Naruto behind my back! If I hadn't taken a look at the file...Whatever your problem is with Gaara it's clearly personal and it's affecting your judgement. You need to leave; send in another member of your team if you want but I don't want you here traumatising my son."

It took Naruto a moment to remember that Kakashi was supposedly an FBI agent with a team watching the apartment. He wondered how the Hunter was going to get out of this lie.

"Iruka..." Kakashi started before trailing off, his gaze drifting towards the front of the apartment.

Suddenly Kakashi had his gun out. Both Naruto and Iruka gaped as the man dived into the hallway and took aim at the front door. "What the hell?" Naruto managed to get out before the front door was kicked down.

Kakashi opened fire and managed to take out the first assailant. A second used their felled comrade as a shield to move in closer to Kakashi. The Hunter dodged and fired one shot, catching the second man's shoulder. He clutched it and howled in pain.

"Hide!" Kakashi shouted as a third man rushed him from behind, knocking the gun from his hand. The Hunter pulled out at a knife and managed to slash the third attacker's forearm. It was then that Naruto recognised the third man as Deidara.

Suddenly there were hands on his back propelling him forward. "Naruto move! Head for the bathroom!"

One brief glimpse of Iruka's face had Naruto fleeing for the relative safety of the bathroom. He closed and locked the door once his guardian was inside and they both took shelter in the corner furthest from the entrance. The blond teenager's heart was pounding as he searched for a weapon. Shaving razors, bleach – both could be utilised as weapons but would likely be ineffective against a vampire and practically useless if there was more than one bloodsucker coming for him. Still, Naruto hurriedly gathered what he could before returning to Iruka's side. They both stood with baited breath and waited for some sign that the coast was clear.

There was the sound of glass smashing and then someone tried the handle of the bathroom door. Naruto barely had time to raise his weapons before the door was kicked off its hinges. Two vampires rushed in, catching Naruto's wrists and twisting until he dropped his weapons. Then they dragged him and Iruka kicking and screaming out of the bathroom back to the living room.

Naruto cursed and struggled but couldn't break free of the vampire's hold. The blond jerked his head back in an attempt to break the vampire's nose but the woman avoided the hit and grabbed him by the throat. She squeezed, crushing Naruto's windpipe. The blond scratched furiously at her wrist causing her to hiss in both pain and frustration. "Stop fighting you dumb motherfucker or Ukon will rip your friend's arm off and beat you with it."

Naruto stopped struggling and turned as best he could to see Iruka. The man's arms were pinned tightly behind his back and he was no longer struggling. Naruto guessed that was because one arm looked like it was poised to be dislocated at the shoulder. Iruka's face was etched with pain and, when his eyes met Naruto's, horror. "Do as they say Naruto," Iruka whispered. His eyes darted to the side and Naruto followed his gaze. One of the vampires had Kakashi on his knees with a sword to his throat whilst Deidara and a third vampire hovered within striking distance of the Hunter. Dread settled in the pit of Naruto's stomach. If Kakashi was down who was going to save them?

As soon as Naruto stopped trying to escape the vampire loosened her grip on his throat. The teenager gulped down as much oxygen as possible before regulating his breathing so that he didn't start hyperventilating. Now was not the time to lose his head and panic. He would need to have his wits about him if he was going to figure a way out of this mess.

"It's good to know one of you has some common sense."

All eyes immediately turned towards the speaker as a man with white hair stepped from the hallway into the living room. His golden eyes told Naruto that he was another vampire. That meant they were now outnumbered six to three, unless there were more vampires lurking outside the apartment.

Vampires lurking outside...Elation briefly flared in Naruto's chest at the thought that Itachi and Zabuza were patrolling outside the building and would come to their rescue as soon as they realised he was in danger. Then he remembered that tonight was Friday, that the two vampires were at Club Secret and would have no way of knowing that he was in trouble. The only one who might be coming to save him was Gaara.

Naruto's gaze drifted towards Deidara. The vampire was breathing heavily and his eyes seemed somewhat glazed. Naruto guessed the blond had not fully recovered from his last encounter with Gaara. Still, he and his friends had been able to take down Kakashi. Even if it had been a surprise attack the three of them had still managed to bring the Hunter to his knees and Naruto was pretty sure that Gaara had said that he estimated his strength to be on par with Kakashi's. This meant that even if Gaara managed to arrive on time to save them it still might not be enough. Naruto could hope though; he could hope and pray that Gaara would show up and it would be enough.

The white haired vampire approached Iruka and regarded him curiously. "Your name is Iruka?"

"Yes," Naruto's guardian replied breathlessly.

"What was your relation to Namikaze? Why did he entrust you with the care on his only son?"

"He didn't. Kushina and I were friends a long time ago, back when we were kids. After her death those whose care she'd entrusted Naruto to didn't want to accept the responsibility so I stepped forward. I know what it's like to grow up in foster care – that's where I met Kushina. I adopted Naruto because I didn't want to put my friend's child through that if I could do something to prevent it."

Naruto blinked. He hadn't heard this story before. He'd known that Iruka had been his mother's friend and that they'd spent time in care together after they'd both lost their parents, but he hadn't realised that Iruka wasn't the one his parents had entrusted with his care. There had been someone else they had trusted more, who had refused to take him in. Who could it have been?

"How noble of you." The white haired vampire sneered and turned his attention towards Naruto. "I've been waiting a long time for this," he leered, one long finger tracing the curve of Naruto's jaw.

Before Naruto could open his mouth to tell the vampire where he could go Iruka interjected. "Why are you doing this?" he asked with a note of pleading in his voice. "Naruto's just a child. Kakashi said that you want revenge for something Minato did. Isn't it enough that you killed him and his wife; why can't you leave Naruto in peace?"

"Because he took something precious from me," the white haired vampire growled. "He took something irreplaceable and his death did not sate my need for vengeance. I swore I would not rest until everything he ever held dear was destroyed. Thus, I cannot leave the boy. The son must pay for the sins of the father."

Suddenly Kakashi grabbed the arm of the man holding him down and threw him over his shoulder at the same time as wrenching the sword from his hand. The Hunter immediately moved into a crouch and swiped the sword at the legs of the nearest vampire. The vampire went down and Kakashi jumped to his feet. He pressed his back to the wall and pointed his sword at Deidara. The vampire eyed the blade warily and kept his distance.

"Still fighting?" the white haired vampire asked sardonically. "Are you sure that's a good idea? We have hostages after all."

Kakashi glanced in their direction, his glowing red eye carefully assessing the situation. "You won't kill Naruto; not until you've had your fun with him."

"I'll kill him here and now if I have to." A growl from Deidara informed Naruto that this was not an option favoured by the rest of the room. The white haired vampire (who seemed to be the leader) sent Deidara a glare that quelled the vampire before turning the smile of a reasonable man on Kakashi. "What about his guardian? I have no quarrel with him. I might even let him go if you surrender."

"No you won't."

"How do you know that?"

"Vampires don't like to leave witnesses."

"Maybe I'd be willing to make an exception."

"I doubt that."

The leader studied Kakashi for a moment. Then he shrugged. "You're right. Kill him."

The vampire holding Iruka grabbed hold of his head and twisted, snapping his neck.

"No!" Naruto screamed as Iruka's body dropped to the floor.

The teenager attempted to fight his way over to his guardian but the woman holding him merely laughed and tightened her grip. Naruto screamed obscenities at her until the vampire who had been restraining Iruka backhanded him across the face. Stars filled Naruto's vision and when he finally regained his senses it was to see that Kakashi had been disarmed and pinned to the wall. Suddenly Deidara was in front of the Hunter and thrusting a knife into his gut. Kakashi screamed as the knife was slowly twisted. The weapon was then used to rip open the Hunter's abdomen, causing blood to gush out of the wound. Kakashi was released and the man fell first to his knees before collapsing onto his front. A kick that dislocated his shoulder sent him onto his back.

The leader crouched down before Kakashi's prone form and said conversationally, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you die. Most people are afraid of dying because they think it signals the end. But you know better. You know that there is an alternative and for you death is the lesser of two evils. That's why we're not going to kill you. We're going to do what we did to Namikaze's students. We're going to let you live with the knowledge that you were powerless to prevent someone you care about from being tortured to death. Unfortunately we don't have time to torture the boy in front of you like we did last time, but you can rest assured that when you recover he'll have died a most gruesome death."

The leader used his fangs to slit his wrist and smeared the blood that trickled from the wound over Kakashi's lips. Then he stood up and kicked Kakashi in the head to make sure he wouldn't rise anytime soon. Finally, he turned his attention to Naruto. The blond teen met the vampire's eyes and held his gaze. He was still in shock and could feel tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. He didn't care. Apart from utter denial that the whole situation was happening there was only one thought currently in Naruto's mind.

"You're going to pay for this you bloodsucking asshole."

The leader smirked. He addressed his reply to the vampire holding Naruto. "Tayuya would you be kind enough to take over his mind and walk him to the van?"

Panic flared in Naruto's mind as he was spun round to face his captor. The woman's eyes glowed gold and Naruto felt like he had been backhanded again. There was none of the subtlety Gaara used when he entered Naruto's mind. It was like a battering ram smashing down his defences and arresting control of his senses. Then Naruto lost control of his mind and was nothing more than a puppet with invisible strings.

If this seems to be moving quite fast after previous chapters it's because I don't want to drag things out. We're reaching the climax now and shit is going down.

Now to sit and wait for the hate mail.

Please Review!