Hello everyone!

Hope you guys like my writing! I worked really hard on this!

This is my first crossover fic, so please be supportive!

I'd really appreciate it if everyone would note that this story is kinda-sorta-REALLY AU!

This is your first and final warning: the plot will be a mix of canon and AU. So if you recognize an event, enjoy it, and if its mine, just hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

THANKS A BUNCH!

Disclaimer: If I owned either of these stories, I would be so amazed at my genius that I'd be too busy oo-ing and awe-ing to write fanfiction.

Taunted by the Shadows

A Naruto/True Blood crossover fic

by: CaptivateYou

Prologue: My Past, My Heart, My Future

"Sakura-chan, do you have a visual?" a blonde shinobi whispered, lightly pushing a finger to the radio on his neck, dark cerulean eyes trained on the mining site before him, his black-clad form safely hidden by the thick branches and wide leaves of the tree he was currently perched in. His sandals made no sound as he shifted, his sense of balance so finely tuned that it was an unconscious ability to carefully adjust his weight so as to remain completely silent. A wind blew fiercely through the tree, and the jounin's expression did not change even in the face of discomfort. The corners of his eyes and mouth were creased – the twenty-one-year-old had obviously spent a major portion of his life grinning and laughing – yet his eyes were darker, and lent an air of sad maturity to his stature, more so than his boyishly handsome face did.

They were the eyes of one who has seen suffering, and felt it more acutely than one can put into words. They were the tired eyes of someone who was struggling to cope with the pain and the tearing agony of remembering better times…brighter times.

Naruto Uzumaki was the loudest shinobi in all of Konohagakure, perhaps even in the entirety of the continent. His lanky form was always bursting with pride and confidence, and whenever his comrades saw his determined face in battle they couldn't help but feel at ease. If Naruto can be strong, so can I, they would think, and their will to fight would return.

It had taken Naruto a year to recover from the war enough to begin smiling and laughing again, and another three to finally come to peace with what had occurred during the long months of battle. Slowly, his brightness had been rekindled, but it was dimmer, less overwhelming and all-consuming. It was a more weathered brightness, and it was almost more powerful than what had been there before, because this brightness was wiser, more able to handle the unpredictable sorrows life brought as well as the blissful moments of happiness.

His never-ceasing light had even won over the supposedly doomed Sasuke Uchiha, in the very end. The Uchiha was face to face with Naruto in the final hours of the battle, and the sword was inches from ending his life. They had already lost so many in the battle – nearly a year had it lasted.

Chouji had been the first to go, and more had quickly followed. Neji, Tenten – the two had died together, holding hands in the face of the whirling inferno of fire and kunai that was coming too fast and too powerfully for them to avoid – Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, Tsunade – the old woman had used the last of her strength to save Sakura from an array of large jagged boulders – Shizune, Lee, Temari, Iruka, and finally Ino. All at different points in the war, but each one equally painful to those who were still standing.

It was after the fourth death of Rookie Nine that the remaining members began morbidly considering whether death was preferable over the hellish war that plagued the living.

All of them had always, deep in their heart of hearts, believed that all of the Rookie Nine would somehow remain intact in the face of the war. It was a childish fantasy, but it had kept them going. When Chouji fell in the first week of battle, that fantasy began to splinter at the edges. At the end…it was held together by several tired, fraying strands of weary hope.

Only four of the nine survived the war.

Instead of yelling, instead of crying his pain and trying to beat sense into his former best friend, Naruto instead said two words that were so pained and full of loss that Sasuke froze in mid-action, the blade a mere hairs-breadth from the blonde's neck.

"End it."

Sasuke didn't speak, didn't ask what Naruto could possibly mean other than the obvious plea for death. The two stared at each other, and Madara happened to pass behind the Uchiha at that very moment, injured from Kakashi's constant attacks and bleeding from several deep gashes. His teleportation was weak, and Sasuke suddenly did something very unexpected.

He turned, and stabbed Madara through the heart. It was done without hesitation, and Madara's eyes widened in shock and pure, chilling rage. The man was already dying, and as he fell to his knees, he used the last of his strength to send one of the fallen branches through Sasuke's abdomen, piercing several vital organs. Sasuke didn't try to dodge, didn't make a noise, and on his face was the strangest look of peace.

In that moment, Naruto felt the last thread of hope snap in his hands. His eyes filled with tears as he struggled to crawl over to where Sasuke was lying motionless on his side. The blonde spat out a small glob of blood, and let out a growl as he forced himself to his knees, gently turning Sasuke's torso over and cradling the Uchiha's head in his arms. The dark haired young man was barely breathing, and yet Naruto managed to catch the words that were hoarsely whispered.

"It's finally over, Dobe."

"Yeah, Teme…" Naruto managed to grin. "You can revive your clan now. I'll be Hokage, and you'll be the clan leader, and no matter what happens…"

Sasuke's closed for the last time, his breath slowly ceasing to sound, but Naruto didn't stop talking, his glassy blue eyes staring into the face of his fallen teammate.

"…we'll always stick by each other, because…because you're my best friend. You're my brother, and you always…" Naruto's voice cracked horribly as his tears escaped his control, making clear tracks through the grime on his contorted face. "…you always…"

Naruto let out a keening sob, hunching over the body of the last Uchiha.

"You a-always pushed m-me to be the best I could be, Sasuke. And even n-now…in the end of things…you still m-managed to show me up. How could you…how could you–"

It was then that Naruto lost all control, and simply sat there with Sasuke's head in his hands, crying and calling out to his lost friend while the battle dwindled down to nothing. The survivors crowded around the Jinnchuriki, and it was Kakashi who finally moved forward and put a hand around Naruto's shoulders, gently urging him up and away from the body of Sasuke Uchiha.

"No, not yet, Naruto. What about you, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's voice, crackling mutely over the radio, effectively brought Naruto's thoughts from the past and into the jarring present of their A-class mission. It was a high-priority case, if not a predictable one. Even though the war had ended nearly four years ago, the nations were struggling to regain stability, and as a result of the months of prolonged political chaos, gangs had grown in number and in strength, and now it was the shinobi duty to eliminate the imminent threat to innocent civilians. It was a difficult task, but it could be done as long as the right shinobi were selected for the task.

The non-shinobi gang that the team was targeting – Kakashi was the team leader, this time – called themselves the "Tears of Blood". The name in-of-itself made Naruto chuckle; it really wasn't intimidating in the least, and was horrifyingly generic at best. It was one of the smaller gangs, having only ten members including their leader. They resided on the edge of the border, between the Fire Country and Rain Country. "Tears of Blood" were rumored to have some kind of voodoo magician in their midst, and so the only man left alive with a weapon able to disrupt any genjutsu or magic of that source was called.

And with him were assigned his two remaining students, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno.

Kakashi's low voice sounded through the radio, and the warning behind the tone made Naruto's form tense in readiness almost instantly.

"I see the leader. Come from around the village, keep to the trees. Position yourselves around the main central meeting area. They seem to be preparing for some ritual, I can't tell for what, exactly. Just be cautious, and alert me when you're there."

Naruto didn't bother to confirm the order, instead taking off from his place in the tree on the south side of the village, using his senses to locate Kakashi's location and silently moving toward it. The air was black as tar, with faint attempts at stars shining from behind the hazy clouds. The chill seeped through Naruto's black jacket, and his spiky blonde hair – it was untidily long, reaching just below his ears – blew behind him as he jumped lithely from branch to branch, keeping his breathing quiet and even.

A few minutes later, Naruto caught sight of the central area, which was basically a large circle of dirt that had the stone buildings scattered around it. The blonde slowed, and took a deep breath before tapping into the Jinnchuriki chakra, using it to flicker into a tree that stood just outside the dirt circle. He molded himself to the branch, his mind ignoring how the branches sharp thorns dug into his calloused skin. He put a finger to his neck, and let out a slow, barely perceptible breath. But he knew that to Kakashi, whose senses were extraordinarily acute, his sound would be recognized as a sign that he was in position. After a few moments of silence, Naruto's ear buzzed with the sound of a quiet hoot of an owl. The blonde grinned into the leaves; Sakura was always eager to flaunt her ability to imitate the call of owls.

Kakashi clicked his tongue once into the radio, and the two others knew from years of working with Kakashi under these circumstances that this was the warning to wait to attack until the opportunity arose. For now, the team would observe and decide what the best plan of action was. Naruto settled down on his branch and struggled to see what was going on below him.

The dirt area was strangely empty save for the ten members of the gang, and yet Naruto felt as if something was missing. Where were the burly, ugly men that held overly large swords and boasted about how many houses they had burned that week? It was sad to say, but that was what most of the gangs Naruto had encountered were like.

But this gang was made up of people that were entirely different. Instead of just being men, there were also a few women, all garbed in the same blinding white robes. They didn't look as though they had seen a day of physical labor in their lives. It looked like some sort of weird cult, Naruto mused, and watched as the white-clad people slowly clasped hands, forming a perfect circle. In the center of the circle was a thin place of pure silver. How Naruto knew it was silver was beyond the blonde's knowledge, and a deep frown marred his usually smooth brow as he noticed one of the women moving forward. Her hair was tied back from her pinched face with several long pieces of black ribbon, contrasting harshly with the white-blonde of her impossibly long hair and the sickly pallor of her skin.

She held out a single finger, and with the knife held in the other hand, sliced open the appendage almost to the bone. Naruto had done the same to himself several times, but he at least had been swearing up a storm and yelping in pain. At least he had reacted, because that was the normal thing to do. This woman's face did not shift in the slightest as she watched blood gush forth and splatter messily onto the silver plate below her hand.

Immediately, the congregation began to chant. The air around the town crackled and snapped, and Naruto felt his skin smarting slightly. There was a deep yearning pull inside his chest, and he rebelled violently against it. What Naruto did catch of the chanting he had no chance of understanding, and as the chanting got louder he decided to disregard the risk of being caught, and hissed into his radio.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Sakura seemed too confused to reprimand Naruto for his lapse in control, for her voice sounded immediately after his. "I have no idea—"

"Kakashi, what–"

But suddenly, the chanting became intelligible, and Naruto's heart leapt as the words pierced his thoughts and made reacting impossible. The center of the circle began glowing with a bright, unnaturally blinding light. Looking into it was impossible, unthinkable…but oh so tempting.

"We have been waiting for you," the voice cooed in unison, and suddenly something deep and unidentifiable tugged at Naruto's body, and he was being yanked toward the light. He saw a flash of pink and silver, and he reached for them. Sakura's hand – glowing with chakra – managed to grab hold of his. There was a whirling moan of something struggling to be free, and at the sound something deep and primal roared in Naruto's consciousness. It was so foreign and yet so familiar, and it seemed through Naruto's eyes, bleeding them so that they were a bright crimson color.

The energy inside of Naruto reached for the plate of blood, and someone yelled in rage at the sight, but there was no reason to worry, because the light overwhelmed everything.

Flashes of color, and then there was the peaceful whiteness once more.

Naruto could not feel Sakura or Kakashi. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all.

And then it was over.

Naruto felt himself again, and after a moment he realized he was lying on his stomach, his face pressing into crisp, freshly mown grass. The blonde grunted as his body rebelled against rolling over, and with a grimace he forced himself to do so. The grass gave way to something solid and uncomfortable, and a gasp left the blonde's lips at the painful movement. But Naruto was used to ignoring pain in order to achieve his goals. The jounin slowly sat up, and his cerulean eyes slowly focused on his surroundings.

It was night, the moon shining brightly above them. And there were no trees. That was what first caught Naruto's attention. The strange sensation of being surrounded by trees, and then having no trees at all…it left Naruto feeling rather exposed. Second on the observation was the strange surface that he was seated on. It smelled like chemicals, was black, strangely hot, and had luminescent yellow dashes painted along the center of it. He looked one way, and the black path went farther than his keen eyes could see. He looked the other way, and a breath escaped him as he saw his two teammates lying there, his eyes easily defining them even in the dim lighting.

Kakashi was coming to, and when he regained full consciousness he shot straight up like an arrow, his eyes wide and shocked as he immediately put a hand to his kunai case. The silver-haired man was breathing hard, and when he saw that Naruto was also awake he relaxed ever so slightly.

Naruto, gritting his teeth to ward off the pain, moved so he was beside the still comatose Sakura, checking her vitals automatically. His own rapid pulse slowed slightly when he found her pulse to be even and strong, and her breathing regular and healthy. Her eyes were moving under her lids, but as Kakashi and Naruto both watched her, she did not wake. Naruto saw Kakashi examining the road beneath his fingers with wary curiosity, and spoke in a hushed whisper.

"What happened?"

Kakashi was strangely lost, his nose sniffing and his eyes scanning the area around them in an attempt to answer the question. After a moment, he lowered his eyes to Sakura once more, and spoke softly into the stifling heat that was the night.

"I…I don't know."

"Where are we, anyway?" Naruto asked in an attempt to hide his disappointment that his former sensei – one of the most knowledgeable men he knew – couldn't immediately tell him what had happened. Kakashi looked around at their surroundings with more care, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at something behind Naruto. The older jounin frowned, and spoke in a cool tone that barely managed to conceal his anxiety.

"There's a sign…it says: Welcome to Bon Temps."