Warning: This is a YAOI and an AU, boyxboy relations will come into play. If you don't like Yaoi, then you can click the back button if you wish. Pairings are SasuNaru with future pairings coming out to have some fun, future lemon scenes, angtsy, drama, and a death or two... -coughs-. ALSO! This has NOTHING to do with Vampires. Zip. Nada. Zilch. It's just an uberly cool title.

Okay, so something I'd like to tell you all. Firstly, hello! Fallen here, diving back into the world of angst and drama, haha. If you've read my other Naruto fanfic Akatsuki Cosplay Cafe, then I hope you enjoy this story also. It won't be based solely on the humor aspect, but there will be a few laughs in-between. Secondly, this place mixes the old with the new. For example, in the Spoof Movie Little Kuriboh makes a crack about how they're using movie cameras in Ancient Japan - something like that. You'll see what I mean. And thirdly, each chapter will have a quote that I make up for either Naruto and Sasuke. Each quote pinpoints the significant parts in each chapter, and tell you the ages of the characters in that point of time.

Also... it was a fun idea to go with (: .

I really wasn't planning on releasing this story so early... but something in my gut was telling me to post it today, so I'm going to listen to it and see how it goes.

Anyway, enjoy chapter one of Eclipse!

Chapter One: Shadows

"I hate waking up at nights and I can't see the moon. And the stars don't come out either. That's when the scary shadows come out and scare me." – Naruto Uzumaki, age 9.

Shadows, they were everywhere. They creep along the walls, slink across his bed like a snake, blinding his eyes from the truth. Poor little Naruto, only age nine, was experience the rare nights when he'd wake up to complete blindness. His acute senses were dimmed with the fear that monsters hiding in the dark would come out to eat him. The tiny body shook and inched deeper and deeper below the covers.

He could feel eyes staring at him…

Red eyes stared at him through the shadows.

Curling up into a ball didn't help at all. His body still felt the creepy chill of Fear dancing along his spine. He hated these nights. The nights when he couldn't use the moon's light to scare the monsters away. Or the nights when the stars were too scared to come out and play and share their light.

That's when the shadows came… and with the shadows, the red eyes.

"I am not scared…" but his shaking voice deceived his mind's attempt for confidence. "I am not scared…" he forced his eyes shut, hoping that the next time he opened then he'd see the comforting sunlight seeping through his window. Naruto counted from 100 to 1 slowly, enunciating each word for as long possible.

But the shadows kept on growing… and so did those blood red eyes.

"Get away…" Naruto gripped at the ends of his hair, his child-like mind warping the tiniest of fears into his most dangerous realities. Things that were standing still were moving closer and closer to his bed in Naruto's mind. The childish smiles of his stuffed animals lined against the walls were flashing him feral smiles promising a hellish death if he even tried to peek his head any further above the covers.

And those eyes… those blood red eyes that contrasted so brightly in the dark… they never left his quivering form for a second.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Flames erupted from his screams, tearing at the walls with a blazing force as they tried to wipe out the shadows. But those eyes remained shining in the flames. Naruto screamed and screamed, the fire growing in intensity with every yell.

Footsteps and voices were swarming behind the door. Minato Namikaze, king of this land and the father of the terrified boy underneath the covers, could instantly feel the heat radiating from behind the door.

'I thought the seal was strong enough to stop something like this from happening.' Another surge of flames skyrocketed and the door instantly disintegrated into ash. The heat was overwhelming, buckets of sweat were starting to collect on his night robe, body, and dampen his bangs to his face. His throat was raw and begged to be replenished with water, but the screams of his son coming from the other room made his throat turn raw for all other reasons.

"Everybody stand back!" he told his guards, swallowing back the thick of hesitation that was climbing up his throat, bracing himself for what he was about to do next. He took a stance, and without much of a countdown, plunged into the belly of the flames.

The strange thing was… the flames did not burn.

In fact, it was almost a cool sensation washing over him as he gaped at the mile high flames that didn't seem to burn anything at all – although a few things in his room were a lit with flames, like his stuffed animals, but nothing was burning to a crisp.

'Why is that?' But Minato didn't have time to think when another round of wailing ruptured his ears. His eyes scanned the room, searching for his screaming child, and they instantly locked onto the quivering form beneath the bed sheets. He dove for his son, and scooped him up into his arms trying to hush his crying.

"Do not cry, Naruto." He nuzzled his face against Naruto's neck, hoping the sound of his voice would be enough to calm his son down.

Naruto sniffled past his tears. That voice sounded so familiar, yet his eyes refused to open. For if they opened… wouldn't they be met with those scary red eyes again?

"Naruto, can you hear me?"

"Daddy?" he whimpered. The will to see his father's face was more powerful than the fear of having to stare into those scary red eyes. Blue eyes slowly fluttered open. At first they were hazed with confusion until that slowly faded away when he saw the first sight of the flames.

"Daddy, what's going on? Why is my room on fire?"

"Hush, Naruto." Minato ran his fingers through Naruto's tangled, spiky, blonde locks, hoping that it would calm Naruto's emotions down. The more tense or hyped up he became, the bigger the flames would be (no matter the inexistent damage they cause). "Don't worry about the flames, alright?" He kissed his son's forehead gently, whispering words that made Naruto fall into the clutches of unconscious sleep. "They'll be gone the minute you fall asleep…"

Just as he had spoken those words, the flames simmered down until it was like they weren't even there to begin with. He let out a sigh of relief, completely exhausted with tonight's mishap.

'This wasn't supposed to happen.' A grimace covered his face as he tucked his snoozing son underneath the covers, fingers idly stroking through those soft golden locks. 'The seal hasn't broken… has it?' Minato lifted up his son's shirt, inspecting the seal he had placed on his child so long ago, shaking his head once he found that the seal was firmly in place. 'Then why did those flames erupt? Is the Kyuubi somehow leaking out? Or maybe something's drawing its power out into the real world…'

His eyes scanned the room one final time, making sure to take into account every single detail of the area. Nothing seemed out of place. Everything looked to be in order. 'So why did this happen?' Shaking his head, Minato walked out of the room, shut the door behind him, and started to head back to his room.

The guards looked at their king with confused expressions on their faces. Why did their noble leader look like the world was slowly coming to an end? The way his eyebrows furrowed in thought and how serious his eyes looked on fixing a situation – that was invisible to them – before it went out of hand, ticked them off as something was wrong.

"My Lord," his faithful guard, Iruka, caught up to him in stride. The same worried look was marring his face as well as his king's. "Is something wrong? May I assist you in anyway?"

Minato whirled around on his heel, his face molded to mask any and all expression that he had allowed to seep in earlier due to his confusion. "Nothing is the matter, Iruka. Naruto was just having a nightmare as all. You all may return to your quarters for the night."

"But my Lord, the flames-!"

"-Were nothing more but a figment of your imaginations," he cut of curtly, not in the mood to deal with his concerned guard. "Now if you would excuse me, I have a soft bed to return to." With that being said, he entered his room and slammed the door behind him – completely ignoring the shocked face from his royal guard.

Minato didn't have to the time to pat down their fears of what really happened in Naruto's room. The Kyuubi was no secret to most, and he didn't want to have their already lingering suspicions manifest into something more from tonight. He would just have to use a spell and erase their memories of this night tomorrow morning – even if doing it tonight would have been the safer bet.

'Tomorrow morning; that is when I shall take action.' With the reassurance that tomorrow would bring a new day, Minato found sleep easy to fall into.

However… there was still something tugging at him that tonight wasn't going to be the last time he saw those flames.

+Eclipse: A Few Months Later+

"Naruto, pay attention please; this is very important!" Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose, holding back the insane urge to smack the snoozing blonde upside the head. Screw the higher powers if this brat was the son to the king, he was going to seriously clobber him if he didn't drop the defiant act.

Naruto yawned, his head lolling to the side with drool pooling on the sides of his mouth. He was freaking bored out of his nine-year old skull! When in the world would he have to use half the stuff Iruka taught him in the first place? Honestly, it wasn't going to matter once he took the throne from his dad. Of course, Naruto was completely ignorant of the fact that a wise king is more popular than a stupid one.

But eh… He still has a long while to mature.

Yawning once again, lazily wiping off the drool that was sliding down his jaw, the blonde allowed his head to drop into his palm with one blue eyeball peeking out behind an eyelid to gaze at his annoyed teacher. "Ne, Iruka-chan—,"

"—That's Iruka-sensei when we're in class, Naruto."

"Whatever you say, Iruka-kun," Oh yes, Naruto was most definitely going for Iruka to pop a blood vessel with his bratty attitude. He's been close before, mind you, nearly sending the poor soul to the hospital. Waving off the impending threat of death he was getting in the form of a glare from Iruka, Naruto cocked on eyebrow in question. "Tell me when this stuff about laws and crap are going to help me out in the future."

Iruka bit his tongue in the hopes that it would drown out any foul words he wanted to throw at the blonde boy like ninja stars. He was nine, freaking nine, yet he was able to get such a rise out of him, it was so embarrassing! Counting backwards from ten, Iruka slowly opened his eyes and casted a heavy gaze over the nonchalant blonde. He would not loose his cool over Naruto. He most certainly would not pop a blood vessel over the brat.

"As surprising as this may seem to you, you are the next in line for the throne." He smirked at the glare that meant death Naruto was trying to send him, but simply waved the matter off with his hand like it truly didn't concern him. "What will you do when an imposing diplomat wishes to challenge you on a crime committed in your country involving a citizen from a neighboring country, and another from our country? Knowing your laws is like wielding your sword. You can hack your opponent down in size with one swing if you know what you are doing."

Naruto stayed silent for a few seconds, pretending that he was allowing the words to sink in so he could grasp their meanings. After a few moments of silence, Naruto scoffed and flashed Iruka a look that showed complete disbelief and defiance all in one. "Well, if I'm going to have a sword with me anyways, why don't I just use that to cut off their heads where they stand? That will get my point across."

That comment earned him a lovely slap to the head, courtesy of Iruka-sensei himself. Pleased with the reasonable sized bump on the blonde's forehead, Iruka started to pace around the room. He was formulating a plan. One that would get Naruto out of his hair, and teach him something too! He'd be killing two birds being killed by one stone – absolutely ingenious by his standards.

"Alright Naruto, obviously my methods of teaching have not been making a dent into that thick skull of yours." Naruto scowled at that statement. His head wasn't thick at all! Iruka-sensei just taught boring subjects, as all. "So I have come up with a project for you to complete by nightfall—,"

"—No way, I don't want to do some freaking project!"

"You don't have much of a choice seeing that I am your teacher, reasonably older than you, and I have direct ties to your father if I ever needed to call him about your… behavior."

The blonde pouted, knowing fully well that Iruka could call his father at any moment to completely rat him out. And he really didn't want to deal with his father's wrath anytime soon. Sighing, Naruto finally conceded with the fact that he'd have to actually learn something today and waved Iruka on to continue with whatever the heck the project was about.

"Glad to see you are finally seeing it my way, Naruto." Iruka grinned in a way that could be defined as absolute cheesiness. "Here's your assignment: You will go into the city and look for certain situations that could somehow contradict with the laws of this kingdom. I'm not saying you have to pick out every little thing from the thousands of laws – but out of the five that I write on this board, I want you to identify three and tell me about it in paragraph form. As I have stated before, you have until nightfall to bring me back your findings."

"But that's freaking impossible!" Naruto whined. "How the heck am I supposed to find situations that break those laws perfectly?"

Iruka merely shrugged and tossed the five laws written down on a sheet of paper towards Naruto. He was completely indifferent to the blonde's comically turmoil, "That's up to you to figure out, I suppose." He looked out the window gazing at the sun that was shining so brightly in the sky above their fair city and smirked. "I say you have about seven hours before nightfall, so you better hurry up or else you'll fail. And you wouldn't want your father to hear about that… now would you?"

Naruto was out of the room in a flash before Iruka could even turn around to wave him off.

+Eclipse+

"This is so freaking stupid…"

The city was alive with people walking, crossing the street, chatting with friends – enjoying the beautiful, sunny day they were gifted with. Not that a sunny day was such a rare thing for the kingdom that got its power from the sun. It was normally sunny everyday of the week, ranging from hot to cool temperatures depending on the seasons. But it wasn't an unusual thing to see a fresh coat of snow here or there during the winter months – although that happening wasn't very common.

Naruto pulled the hood of his cloak up higher as he surfed through the crowd on his hover board. Normally he would have went without the cloak and freely travel with the whole city knowing his presence. But Iruka had warned him heavily before he left that if he even showed one whisker cheek to a civilian he would have his hide plastered to his wall above the dinner table.

So all in all – Naruto rather liked his rear end – he decided he might as well play along with Iruka's game for now.

He turned the corner, his body moving fluidly around the bend, easing himself into a nice speed as he listened to the rhythmic hum from the hover board. Blue eyes scanned the crowds he could easily blend in to, searching for anything that stood out to him. He wanted this assignment to end quickly so he could go home and spar with his father. His dad had promised him that he would teach him another technique today after his lessons were finished, but obviously that wasn't going to happen if he was out all day finishing this blasted assignment!

"Where the hell am I going to find something that goes against – what the heck is that?" a shadow slinked in-between the crowd of colors. It was black, completely standing out from the rest, yet no one even batted an eyelash as it moved further and further out of the city. Naruto was nearly flung from his hover board from his sudden stop. How was he able to notice the obvious creature moving as one with the crowd, yet no one else was even giving it the time of day?

'I'm pretty sure there has to be some law about this…' he dug through his pockets and pulled out the crumpled sheet of paper with the laws he was supposed to look for scarred on the paper. His eyes scanned the sheet, searching and searching until… ah ha!

"Found it!" he silently cheered. Blue eyes went back to the sea of colors moving around him. He could still spot that speck of black sliming its way through to the forest area. "Law #456: No unauthorized personnel are allowed into the city without the king's consent, and a passport signifying he has been granted with allowance." Using his heightened senses, Naruto trained onto the dark shadow, his hover board moving at a slow speed as he stalked the shadow.

What he was looking for was a golden sun that was pinned onto the outer layer of clothing a visitor would wear. The pin was considered a passport, once they had outstayed their visit, the pin would blink and teleport them directly to the border control center. Sure, it sounded like a harsh way of telling the person to 'get out' but it was the safest way to ensure that no spies or other dangerous people would stay too long in the city to find any of its secrets.

'I've told my dad a million times that the pin idea was stupid…' blonde hair flew into his eyes and with an annoyed huff, he blew the stray pieces of hair away so he could get a clean view of his target. They were growing closer to the outer edge of the forest, and with every creeping step the shadowed figure took, Naruto's speed increased. Thankfully his hover board had been set on 'silent' before he even left the castle, making the pursuit all the more easier.

He slowed his pace down to an idle hover, staying a few good feet away as to not tip off his presence. Whenever the shadow made a turn in any direction, the blonde mirrored it perfectly. It was a hunt. A hunt to ease his curiosity, whoever – or whatever – was cloaked by the shadows was going to be unmasked by none other than Naruto Uzumaki himself!

That is, of course, if things went as smooth as it was going so far…

Naruto was getting all the more annoyed with this chase. How long would this shadowed creature continue to slink through the forest? His curiosity was the sole reason why he didn't just give up and go home. If someone was illegally entering his country, he was going to find out and give that creep a piece of his damn mind!

Smirking when he realized the creature had finally stopping its journey, Naruto zoomed behind a tree a good foot away, peering around the foliage so he could still see what the shadowed creature was doing.

The shadow was bent next to a stream, probably stopping to get a drink of water, Naruto concluded. From such a short distance, Naruto could see every movement the creature made. It was actually very graceful, much to the blonde's surprise. Even the way he gulped down the water like a ravenous animal held some sort of style to it. Naruto could see its throat bob up and down as the water trickled down its throat – some of it dribbling down its chin.

Naruto gulped audibly. He was feeling so… weird. His heart was pounding in his ears, and his thoughts were running haywire with feelings he'd never experienced before. The cloak that covered the shadow's face was pulled down, exposing its pale yet refined features. Naruto's breath got trapped in his throat at the sight. He was only getting a side profile view, but it was enough of a look to show the beauty of the creature.

Long, silky, eyelashes brushed against its cheek. The warm summer's day sun was dancing along its skin, causing its pale face to shine in the light. Pieces of onyx air rustled slightly in the breeze, resting to cup the creature's cheek and dangle a little above its defined jaw line.

However, what entranced the blonde the most were those lips. They were tinted with a light coat of red. It made them stand out prominently against the pale skin. And then there was that jaw line… defined and strong, showing an air of arrogance despite its relaxed state.

Naruto wanted to touch this creature. To walk up there and say hello, and hope that it would respond back. He was just nine, yet he felt strange sensations pulse in his veins, sending his heartbeat into a spastic whirr, his throat into a dry spout, and his mind completely blank. What were these feelings that were pestering him so? What was this force that was driving him to take a tentative step towards that gorgeous creature before him…?

Another step upon the grass, then another, and after that, one more step. Step, by step, by step. Inch, by inch Naruto closed the gap between them. His head was spinning, and he kept licking his dried out lips. He took deep, calming breaths but he couldn't stop the erratic beating of his heart from thumping loudly in his ears.

He was so close…

Just a few more steps…

Naruto stepped on a twig, snapping it in half, and froze. The sound was small, but it was enough to travel through the airwaves and hit the creature's ears. The creature stopped what it was doing, focusing on where the sound had come from. It had already notice another presence from a long time ago, yet did not act on its instincts to kill. It waited until the presence made a move before striking.

The blonde couldn't move, couldn't breath or even think straight! It was like he was caught in some invisible snare that kept his feet glued in place. The wind whistled through his ears, pushing his hair in front of his eyes – but he didn't dare move his hand to brush them out of the way.

They stood there, glued to their spots; one in fear of what the other would do, and one in wait, wondering when the other would make its move. Both didn't dare to move. Both didn't dare to take a fool's chance and breathe.

Their pounding heartbeats were the only sound that could be heard in the forest.

And then… the creature opened his eyes.

They were the color of scarlet. Tinted in the deepest shade of blood and spotted with marks that showed off his royal lineage.

It was those red eyes…

The same red eyes from a few months ago that kept the frightened Naruto awake most of the night. Those same red eyes that watched him through the flames, staring into his soul, marking his very being with its heavy imprint on that night. Naruto shivered. He didn't know if the shaking came from child-like fear, or indescribable pleasure from being stared at so intently.

Red eyes skimmed over the blonde's body, instantly recognizing the boy. The raven smirked. It was the same boy his eyes had caught onto so many moons ago. The same boy he wanted to kill with his own hands. The boy would look beautifully stained in red, blood dripping from the side of his mouth, blue eyes staring into his red ones lifelessly as the light dimmed into blackness.

He could still kill him now. The boy was frozen to the spot, probably enrapt by the foreign beauty that he possessed. Just one quick little step and he'd be right behind the boy, arms around his neck in a death grip. One simple flick of the wrist and he'd instantly snap the boy's neck, watching with sickening satisfaction as the body crumpled to the ground.

Yet his heart wasn't thumping from the thrill of a kill…

Red locked with blue, merging into emotions neither one of them could describe. Naruto wanted to touch the being for completely different reasons. The raven wanted to touch the blonde to see him scream for mercy.

Finally, it was the blonde who broke the silence.

"Tell me your name…"

The raven was shocked, but the mask on his face covered it well. He smirked, his ten-year old mind quickly adapted to that of an adult. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Naruto gasped. He hadn't expected the creature to speak, nor for its voice to sound so… human. It flowed like running water, smooth and full of grace. It danced along to the melody it produced. And it sent another round of shivers coursing through Naruto's spine. He was more caught off guard by the surprise rather than the fact that he was just given lip to by a stranger.

"I-I ordered you to tell me your name, creature! So start talking!"

The raven cocked his head to the side, his red eyes flashed with amusement at the small boy in front of him. "And if I refuse to listen to your order?"

Naruto straightened his back up a little bit higher. Why should he let these foolish emotions control how he acted? He was the prince of this land, damn it, and he wasn't about to let this stranger walk in and act all high and mighty!

"Then get ready to deal with me, creature." His voice was low and deadly. It was something entirely foreign to the normal upbeat and bubbly blonde until this day. His father had always told him to never use his authority over someone else unless the situation called otherwise. Right now, this situation was definitely an 'otherwise'.

And then, the raven did something that threw the blonde off his tracks. It laughed.

It wasn't a joyful laugh, full of humor and amusement. It was a cold, mocking, laugh that sent Naruto's knees to a jelly-like state. Why was it laughing? Did it take Naruto as a joke? Was he nothing more than a little boy trying to play all big and tough in his kingdom? This infuriated Naruto to the fullest! He wasn't about to just stand there and be mocked on his country's soil.

His pride wouldn't allow it.

"Are you making fun of me?" his cheeks flared with embarrassment. "You don't think I'm serious? You're a stranger in this country, and as the prince I'll kill you if I have to."

"Somehow, I highly doubt you will fill that threat."

"Oh really?" Naruto took his fighting stance – the one his father had entrained on him ever since he was little – and stared at the raven square in the eye. Red clashed with blue again, but this time they were challenging one another. Red was taunting blue, telling him to go ahead and make its move – it'll only be thwarted in the end. Blue flared with new found energy, retorting that it would win, that by the end of this challenge, he would prevail.

"We'll have to see about that then, wouldn't we?"

Dun, dun, DUN! So, what did you think? Good, bad? I've been itching to get into this story for a couple of weeks now. (: I hope the dialogue was okay as well. I tried to refrain from using big words - or anything at all that a nine-year old wouldn't be able to say, so I hope that worked out...

Baaah. I have so many other projects in my head waiting to be restarted again... oh well, there's a time and place for everything I suppose.

Till next time, eh?