Disclaimer : We do not own the Naruto. We only own the plot of this story. (Too bad, huh?)

Chapter 3

The Game Begins

Ignoring the icy wind that swept by him in the cold morning air, Naruto kept on running. All other thoughts vanished from his mind save for the shadow of doubt that plagued his heart. Not having a care in the world on where he was going, he continued running till he felt the soft grass beneath his feet.

Dropping down on his knees, he wiped the tears away form his. As he sat down on the damp grass, he replayed the past events in his mind.

It was true, Sasuke was a vampire after all. It was in his nature to hunt. Naruto knew this well but somehow he felt betrayed. Was Sasuke going to just seduce him and kill him after all?

'Sasuke, would you hurt the person you love?' Naruto whispered to himself. 'Wait a minute, since when was Sasuke my lover? He doesn't even like me, he's simply seducing me to…' Naruto's thoughts trailed off. It simply hurt too much to face the harsh truth.

Gathering his coat closer to his now shivering body, Naruto started walking home. 'I wish I had a steaming cup of ramen with me! Damn it's cold! Must get home.'


The dazzling afternoon sun crept through the half covered bedroom windows, shining on a specific blond wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.

' I can't believe I fell asleep,' Naruto thought with a sigh. 'I seem to be sleeping a lot lately. At this rate, everyone would probably think I was the sleeping dead or something,' Naruto thought to himself again as he dragged his feet towards the bathroom.

Still blurry eyed with sleep, he accidentally hit the side of the cabinet and tripped over the reading lamp. "Ouch…" whined Naruto as he landed face down on the cold wooden floor.

"Hey, what's this?" said Naruto to himself as he picked up a dusty red book lying underneath the cabinet.

"I've never seen this before…" Naruto thought as he took a better look at the object in his hand." Hmm… it seems so old. I wonder how long it's been here. It must belong to grandma," he said to himself again.

Looking at the front cover, Naruto realized that there was some sort of a lock that prevented him from opening the book. 'I wonder where's the key?' Naruto thought to himself as he looked under the cabinet again, hoping to find the key.

"It doesn't seem to be under here…" Naruto said out loud. "Oh well…" said Naruto as he placed the book the top shelf of his book rack. "I'll find it later," he said to himself again as he walked into the bathroom.

Turning on the tap, he splashed the icy cold water on his face. 'Eeep! Cold!' thought Naruto as he ran to wipe his face on the face towel. Just as he turned off the tap, the telephone started to ring.

Rushing downstairs, he answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Naruto, it's me Kakashi. "

"Kakashi, it's been a long time hasn't it?"

"Yeah. How have you been?"

"Fine. Although the weather here is pretty cold."

"Do you want me to come over and help keep you warm?"

"Pervert! I'm not letting you come over!"

"I was just kidding. Actually, I called to ask you for a favor."

"If it has anything to do with bikinis and that perverted book of yours, I won't help you."

"Relax. It has nothing to do with me. It's about the nephew of an old friend of mine. He'll be attending the same college as you. He needs a place to stay and your house is close to the college so, would it be alright if he stays with you? I remember you saying that there were too many guest rooms in the house."

"Well, I suppose it would be alright. When will he be arriving?"

"By the end of the week."

"Okay."

"By the way, how is my little dolphin doing?"

"Huh? Dolphin?"

"Oh, you, know…"

"Oh, you mean Iruka? He's doing fine. He keeps complaining about how you had decided to get a job so far away. Though, I don't know why he still wants to keep you. If I were him, I'd have kicked you out a long time ago."

"I'm hurt... Was I that mean to him?"

"Well, you were the one who had decided to fly all the way to the other corner of the Earth for two years. He's still angry, you know."

"Yeah. He won't even answer the phone when I call."

"Serves you right. But you'll be coming home soon right?"

"Yup. Just another three months and I can hold my lovely little dolphin again. If he doesn't kill me first that is…"

"Well, if he does… I'll be cheering him on."

"Hey! That's mean!"

"Blame it all on yourself…"

"Why must everyone blame me… Oh, well I have to go. Catch you later."

"Bye."

Putting down the phone, Naruto made his way to the kitchen. Taking out a bowl of instant ramen, he poured in some hot water and started to eat.

'Hmm… I'm forgetting something...' thought Naruto to himself. After emptying the contents of the ramen cup, he decided to head upstairs. ' Wait a minute... I forgot to ask Kakashi for the boy's name… Oh, well... I suppose I'll have to ask the boy himself,' thought Naruto as he entered one of the guest rooms.

" Looks like this place need some dusting," said Naruto to himself as he picked up the feather duster.

When Naruto was a boy, he remembered growing up in an orphanage until he was twelve. His parents had passed away when he was an infant and the only living relative he had was his grandmother who lived in a secluded town in another country. Because he was too young to travel there, his grandmother decided to put him in an orphanage in his birth place until he was old enough to travel there on his own.

At the age of twelve, his grandmother had sent a guardian to look after him until he was sixteen. His guardian was a college professor by the name of Iruka. When he was sixteen, Iruka had brought him to his grandmother.

Sadly on the day he arrived, his grandmother passed away. He inherited the house from her and a sum of money that supported him until he was old enough to work. The house he inherited was the oldest in town. The villagers had told him that long before the town was built, the house was already there and it had been handed down from generation to generation. No one knew who had built it and some say it was haunted.

But to Naruto, the only reason he suspected it seemed haunted was because it was either very old and creepy or his grandmother was one very scary old lady.


Night had come swiftly, almost too soon for Naruto. He knew he had too meet Sasuke.

He had spent a few moments in deep thought, deciding on his next move.

The game he was now playing could lead him to a fatal end. 'This game has now started. I might die in the process but I just can't forget about Sasuke and run away,' thought Naruto to himself.

Yes, he admitted it. He was beginning to fall for his hunter. 'If this game is going to continue, then you have something to watch out for, Uchiha Sasuke…We'll see who wins this game,' whispered Naruto with a determined look.


To win the heart of darkness,

Would you risk everything?

To seduce temptation,

Would you give everything?

The path I walk could lead to my end,

A fatal end like many others before me,

Though dark is the path I have chosen,

Somewhere inside, your heart still beats.

Although forgotten as the centuries pass,

My will to win shall surpass time,

Though this gamble could end my life,

My fate, now lies solely on you,

Hunter, prison of my soul,

My darkest thoughts and desire,

My heart, I have given you,

Your heart, I plan to win.

Under the crescent moon, Naruto treaded slowly along the paths. This time, even the cold night air could not diminish the strength of his will.

Slowly approaching the tree where he had first met Sasuke, he sensed a presence behind him. "Hello little fox, are you lost?" whispered Sasuke seductively into Naruto's ear. Turning around, Naruto found himself face to face with his hunter.

'Let the games begin,' Naruto thought to himself as he put on a straight face.

A/N: That's the end of chapter three. I hope I didn't bore you to death.

arimi-yume : I apologize to all of our readers for taking such a long time to update. I know, you all must be thinking, "Please someone just strangle her and torture her until she updates..." Lol…

kawaii kitsune-kun: Don't blame me. I've been bugging her to update since July.. or somewhere near there.