Naruto 1. Forest

Well, here I am, starting another fic when I really should be working on Moon Eye… Ah, well, this is just another expiriment anyways. Don't expect too much effort on updating this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. My cat does. Yup.

As a side note, this is not based in any way on the book Companions of the Night (my cat owns that too) even though that's a really good book. Go read it now.

-

"Sa, how troublesome." The thirteen-year-old boy turned to his two companions. "Looks like they've spotted us."

The guard was marching purposefully towards the copse the three were hiding in.

Shikamaru winced as Ino grabbed him angrily. "What are we supposed to do now? I am not going to be strung out with a bunch of half-breed freaks!"

Chouji chomped on something crunchy as he retorted, "You have vampire blood in you too!"

Ino scowled. "Just a drop, like you and Shika. Why can't they just leave us alone?"

The guard stood for a moment, surveying the three kids sitting in the trees. Two boys, a sullen-looking one with coarse black hair tied back from his angular face, and a portly one eating something from a large sack. A girl, blue-eyed and blonde, who would have been very pretty if it hadn't been for the sour expression on her face.

Chewing slowly on a blade of grass, the guard was about to speak when the skinny boy raised a hand. "We're coming, we're coming. This is so-"

"Troublesome, we know. Shut up, Shikamaru." Ino tossed her long hair angrily.

"Come on, then." The guard led the three back to the village.

-

Chouji picked at the thin gruel mournfully. All his food had been taken away before they were locked into their tiny cell. A narrow, barred window cast stripes of light across Shikamaru's sleeping face, apparently not bothering the older boy. Ino sat on the wooden plank that served as a bed, poking at the straw scattered over the floor. The mutters of older prisoners on both sides of them echoed through the still air.

Chouji suddenly turned to Shikamaru. "Why're we all being locked up now?"

The lazy boy, apparently still sleeping, replied, "Pure-blooded humans are afraid of us, that's why. Ever since rumors of those two massacres by a wer and a vampire came around. And now, that third one."

Chouji stopped prodding his soup. "I've heard of the Kyuubi and the Uchihas, but…"

Ino smirked at the cracked ceiling. "You didn't hear? Village of the sand. Something crazy went and tore half of them up. They say it was a mad wer that used to be one of their own people."

"Is it something like… the Kyuubi?" Chouji looked almost scared.

"No, stupid. The Kyuubi is just a dumb legend they made for an interesting story. I mean, a giant fox-wer? It was an epidemic that caused that 'massacre'. Probably something like that happened in the Sand, too."

Shikamaru finally opened his eyes. "Epidemics don't usually rip people's guts out."

-

Sakura shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she hurried through the forest, half-stumbling over roots in the path. Once she made it through, her parents would be able to take care of her, and she could forget this entire nightmare…

The curve of the sun fell under the horizon.

Suddenly something knocked her to the ground, and she struggled to get up and run, half sobbing when cold hands grasped her wrist and roughly spun her around. To her surprise, it wasn't her pursuers, but… a boy?

The cold of his hands seeped into hers as she stared at the bone white skin and soulless black eyes.

A vampire…

His eyes seemed to spin in a flash of red and black, and she fell into a dark pit.

-

A little white dog zigzagged through the forest, yapping excitedly. Behind him, his older brother crashed noisily through the brush, sniffing around.

"Good night for a hunt, eh Akamaru?" Kiba half howled, grinning at the sliver of moon. The little dog was about to bark his agreement when a sharp scent struck him like a fang. Or, lack of scent.

"Aka?"

The puppy, tail between his legs, whimpered and crept back behind Kiba, indicating something in the trees.

A figure was crouched on a branch, watching the two wers. Kiba could smell it too now: vampire. He growled low in his throat.

"What're you doing here, leech? This is our forest!" Akamaru whined again, and Kiba knew he was right: they couldn't deal with a full grown vampire by themselves. But this was the wers' forest, and for all the stupid vampire knew, there could be a thousand of then crouching in the brush. He growled louder, and Akamaru added his as well.

"Get lost!"

The dark figure abruptly lit off through the trees, and the two wers gave chase, spurred by a thousand years' ancient enmity. Kiba shifted to his alter form and gave a snarling bark that signaled the beginning of a hunt.

Others of his kind heard and howled in question, and he howled back, inviting them to join. Behind him, Akamaru yapped unceasingly.

Hearing this, the figure sped up, quick enough that Kiba lost track of him for a few moments. He and Aka stopped to scent wildly in circles.

Suddenly, Akamaru yelped, smelling something strange. Kiba shifted back and frowned, attention diverted.

There was a path running through the wers' forest, but no humans could be stupid enough to use it during the night…

Akamaru nosed the lifeless girl, glancing back up at Kiba in confusion. Kiba checked the human's weak pulse and growled again.

"Bastard, looks like he's already fed tonight…"

Yelps from his people brought him back to the present, and he watched in horror as they all suddenly abandoned the chase. Grabbing at a one-eyed wolf, he yelled, "What happened?"

The wolf snarled at him, and Kiba's eyes widened in shock. "He went into the hollow?"

An affirmative was growled and the wolf sped off. Kiba did the same, pausing only to drape the girl over his back. Akamaru growled and he nodded in agreement.

One less vampire in the world.

-

Sasuke stood at the edge of the hollow apprehensively. The wers had stopped chasing him at this point, or rather, turned tail and run. He could see nothing special about this small dip in the land, but it obviously housed something ominous, that wers were afraid of. Or, most likely, a superstition.

Leaping from tree to tree, he traveled a little further into the hollow before sensing a barrier. A strong one, at that, but one primarily against wers and sloppily made. He couldn't help a derisive snort. This was what they were so afraid of? He easily pushed through it, feeling it tingle on his skin for a moment. The next branch he put his weight on suddenly cracked, and he landed on the ground.

The trees inside the barrier were all dead.

Something small darted past his legs, making him jump. He glanced wildly around him, but… nothing but an expanse of the inexplicably dead trees. Warily, he made his way further into the center of the hollow. If he just made it too the other side, the end of the wers' forest was not far off. And the young vampire was eager to get out of the forsaken place.

Once again, something brushed by him, but he caught sight of it this time: a tiny fox, whiskers quivering as it sniffed him. He irritably shooed it away, berating himself for being startled.

As he walked, he spotted another fox, and another. The deeper he walked, the more of the little creatures there seemed to be. Even so, it was eerily silent except for their soft footfalls.

Finally, he reached the center of the hollow, where a large clearing in the trees was absolutely teeming with the things. Sasuke decide to skirt it. He could already barely walk without accidentally stepping on a fluffy tail, and the small animals were giving him what looked like evil stares.

This was affirmed when one bit him sharply on the leg. This seemed to encourage them to swarm on him, and he broke the silence when he shouted angrily at them, stumbling into the clearing and tripping. He landed with an audible bump. The foxes scattered abruptly, disappearing into the trees. He glared at them.

It felt like he'd tripped over a log or something, and he had a feeling there'd be a bruise on his backside. Now thoroughly angry, he tried to march out of the clearing but was thwarted by the foxes that reappeared as soon as he stepped out of it. Eventually, he tripped over the log again, and jumped when it yelped.

Looking at it, Sasuke realized that it was a boy, frowning in his sleep, but apparently not too bothered by being tripped over. He rolled over on the ground, and Sasuke saw his face, blonde, tanned, with three lines on each cheek. They almost looked like the tribal markings of a wer, but the strange boy's chakara seemed human.

Frowning, he activated his Sharinagan and examined the boy's energy more closely. Although he appeared to be sleeping soundly, his yellow chakara frothed furiously, roiling and thrashing around him. Sometimes Sasuke even thought he could see hints of orange or dark red in the mass. It actually looked enticing, but Sasuke had fed recently. Even though the girl hadn't had all that much to offer.

The boy suddenly muttered something loudly and rolled back over, twitching. Sasuke saw he was dressed in ragged, ripped clothing that looked like it was on the verge of bursting its seams. He must've been here a long time.

Suddenly, without warning, the boy's startlingly blue eyes snapped open and he jerked upright with a loud yawn. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he glanced to his left and saw Sasuke. He stopped mid-rub.

Sasuke tensed, half-anticipating an attack but the boy only scowled tiredly and muttered, "Who're you?"

Sasuke was too much at a loss to answer.

The boy blinked the last traces of sleep from his eyes and tried again. "Hey! Who are you?" When he still didn't answer, the boy stood op and poked him curiously. "Can't you talk?" A fox padded up behind him, cocking its head. "Are you stupid?" More foxes peeked out. Sasuke was getting irritated again.

"Are you-" the short boy got in his face-"dead?"

Sasuke had a feeling he was dealing with an inferior intelligence here.

"…Shut up." The little animals were startled into hiding again. The smaller boy scowled again.

"So you do, talk, huh? What're you doing here? Are you a wer?"

Sasuke twitched furiously. "I'm a vampire, dobe!"

"AHH! Teme, don't call me that!"

"Don't call me teme, dobe."

"Bastard!"

"…idiot."

"TEME!"

Sasuke had a feeling they could do this through the night. He sighed. "Look, dobe-"

"Bastard!"

"-will you shut up if I tell you my name?"

The other scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"…Naruto." Sasuke blinked. What kind of parent-

"Sasuke-teme, why'd you come here?" Naruto cocked his head to one side, manner similar to the foxes that were clustering around him again.

"Just passing through."

"You're leaving already?!"

Sasuke ignored the other and tried unsuccessfully to get past the clearing again. He earned a few more smarting nips, and seriously considered a fur coat.

"Anou… I don't think the foxes like you."

Once again, Sasuke saw that not much thinking ever went on in the blonde head.

Naruto yawned, suddenly turning sleepy. "I can get you past them in the morning…"

Sasuke was about to protest that he could get past a bunch of rabid animals by himself, thank you very much, but he spotted the evil glares he was getting. So he settled for a "Hn." Going in the morning made it less likely for him to meet with any wers anyway, though he detested sunlight.

Glancing up, he realized that none of the branches would be strong enough for him to roost on. He also detested sleeping lying down.

"Anou sa, anou sa…" Sasuke glanced over to see Naruto fidgeting nervously. "I was wondering…"

"What."

"Well, well, if I get you past the foxes, would you take me with you?"

Sasuke thought about this for around three seconds.

"No."

"But, but-"

"No."

The blonde looked hurt for a moment, then a sly look crossed his features.

"Ohhhh well… guess that means you're stuck with us…"

Sasuke paused in horror. Stuck. With. Them. Evil fox eyes glittered in the trees.

"…Hn."

He could probably shake Naruto off once they were out of the forest.

-

…and that's the first chapter. w00t. Stalker foxes make everybody happy, right?


	2. Setting the Stage

Naruto ain't mine. w00t.

-

-

Kiba shouldered his heavy load and sighed as he darted through the forest, Akamaru at his heels as always. No one else seemed to care what hey did with the girl, so he was forced to put her where she was most likely to be found by other humans. Which meant he had to leave the, forest, albeit briefly, for the first time in his life. Already he was starting to regret not just ignoring her. With almost all her energy drained by that leech, she was a deadweight.

Hesitantly, he stepped out of the thick trees, scenting nervously. Maybe he could put her down right here? No, she'd probably die before some wanderer spotted her. Growling under his breath, he headed for the nearest village, which was luckily only about a half-mile away.

Once on the outskirts of the village he started to look for a safe spot to set her down, when he heard a soft gasp. Whirling to his right, he saw a young female vampire staring at him in shock. Shit. He dropped the girl roughly and tried to make a break for it, but cold hands yanked him back by his collar. Akamaru yelped as something hit him in the back of his head.

-

Sunlight pierced Sasuke's eyelids, making him slit them open angrily. Have to find a more shaded spot next time…

Sasuke suddenly realized he was strangely, comfortably warm. Something, no, some things that were furry were on top of him. And there was something extremely warm at his back, too. He had a sudden, sinking feeling, then he abruptly sat upright, shedding startled foxes and making Naruto wake up. They blinked at each other.

"Eyaaaagh! I was touching you!"

While Naruto made loud gagging noises, Sasuke remembered why he was here. And what he had to do. He groaned.

"Dobe," he snapped, "let's go."

"Don't call me that!"

After Naruto led him safely through the foxes, they reached the barrier that encircled the hollow. With a shock, Sasuke realized that, while it was strong on the outside, it was more than twice as strong on the inside. Someone was trying to keep something in…?

"You got through it, right? Right? I never figured out how." Naruto grinned cheerfully at him, in a way that hurt Sasuke's eyes. He turned back to the barrier, activating his Sharinagan.

The invisible wall sparkled faintly blue with his enhanced sight, and he began scanning it for weaknesses.

"Sasuke? What're you doing?"

Sasuke turned his Sharinagan eyes on Naruto, and the blonde gasped, staring at the swirls of red in his formerly black eyes. Sasuke saw his furiously roiling chakara and winced. He was hungry… and it looked so good… Maybe he could spare a little…

Naruto blinked. For some reason, Sasuke's weird eyes were making him kind of sleepy… and why was he staring at him with such a hungry expression!

Sasuke quickly cut off his Sharinagan before he jumped the other boy. Naruto blinked some more, coming fully out of the trance Sasuke's eyes had induced. Then jumped away from him.

"You… you wanted to suck my blood, didn't you!" Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

"Vampires don't suck blood, idiot. Not anymore."

"Eh?"

"There are simpler ways to consume chakara, dobe."

"Like what?" Naruto asked, temporarily forgetting to get angry.

Sasuke shrugged. "Through contact. It just takes a little more effort."

"Huhhh…" Naruto thought this one over while Sasuke watched one of the foxes, which were still following them around. It sniffed around the barrier for a moment before easily jumping through.

Wait… Sasuke switched on his Sharinagan to confirm it. There was a hole the size of a bush in it, near the ground. He smirked, readying his chakara, then ducked into it, forcing it wider with his energy.

"Dobe, there's a hole, come on!"

Naruto, jarred out of his thoughts, eeped and ran through, followed by a stream of foxes. Sasuke glared at them.

"Ok, ok! I'm finally out! YOOOOOSH!"

Sasuke winced at the blonde's victory cry. Naruto was practically jumping up and down in place, and his grin was so large it was forcing his eyes shut.

"Where we going, teme?"

Sasuke scowled and turned in the direction of the nearest village he could sense.

For awhile they walked side-by-side in silence, though the blonde boy was practically bursting with spastic energy. Foxes milled around them, staying just in the edges of Sasuke's vision, and darting away whenever he tried to glare at them.

It was going to be a long, long journey out of the forest.

-

Timet was a vast continent, with terrain of all types scattered across it.

To the east, there was the huge forest that the wer tribes claimed as theirs, dark and gnarled and treacherous. A single road ran through it, and by mutual agreement the wers left the humans traveling it alone, and the humans never left the path. Any vampire, however, who set foot into the almost-jungle risked having his throat ripped out within a few seconds, courtesy of the long animosity between the two species. Vampires might associate and often breed with humans, and wers might occasionally do the same, but they would never touch each other.A wide, deep river flowed through the great plains surrounding the forest. Gigantic mountains jutted in the snowy north, and a large desert shimmered with heat in the west and south. Small, misty islands dotted the coast.

There were four great villages in Timet- and another rumored to be hidden on an island somewhere.

In the great desert was the village of the Sand, known for it's fierce, independent people, and where wers, vampires, and humans alike walked the streets.

Three villages lay around the forest, and it was once thought that they had all been connected as one, great, village of the Leaf long ago, but they were all so different in principals that this was dismissed as farce.

On the north edge of the forest was the village of the Sound, called so because of it's inhabitants love of music. A market was held every new moon, and they were friendly with their wer neighbors.

To the west of the forest lay a village controlled by vampires, and part-vampires, with a chakara toll exacted from the humans in exchange for their continued prosperity and protection. The great, ancient Hyuuga clan of vampires ruled here.

To the south was the village of Konoha, populated only by humans. A few years ago, their territory had been decimated twice- first by a supposed 'mad, giant wer' that many had called an epidemic, and again by a mysterious slaughter of the vampires that once ruled there, the Uchiha clan. Wastland where their great mansion had once stood lay to the west.

In Konoha, where inhabitants were mainly human, it was believed that mankind was the only 'safe' race, and contact with wers or vampires was shunted. Anyone with a trace of vampire blood was to be hunted down and dealt with.

-

Once again, Sasuke was forced to sleep through the night when the blonde insisted they stop after sunset. And little fox eyes glittered so menacingly at him that he decided to postpone his plans to ditch the idiot until the next night.

Once again, he somehow found himself buried in a pile of foxes and snoring boy upon waking up the next morning. After the spitting and cursing was over with, they continued on, walking on opposite sides of the road.

-

I kinda don't like this chapter… Oh well. Reveiws!

-SailorComet: Yeah, you caught me, I was in a hurry at the end. Well, someday I'll go back and fix it… Thanks much for your critique!

-fReAk PeAk: Know what? I have know clue if there are even pairings at all here! But if it does turn out yoai, I hope you won't desert for something like that- after all, this story's genre is not romance. Thanks for your review!

-Tsugath: No clue if there are even going to be pairings, but you can be hopeful if you want. Yeah, Sasuke just makes a really good vampire, doesn't he?


End file.

Naruto, Drama, Fantasy