Warning: this story is rated M for bloody horror and language. You've been warned.

Disoriented was the best word to describe how Sasuke felt when he woke up in the alleyway. It was dark, cold, and he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there, but a crick in his neck and a bump on the back of his head indicated it was something unpleasant. A sudden rush of nausea accompanied a spark of pain, and he doubled over. A vision of a man attacking him as he took out the trash before leaving work struck him, and he regained his senses.

So that was what happened. Some crazy psycho jumped him in an alley and he slammed his head against the wall. He tilted his head to the side, feeling a satisfying crunch as his vertebrae readjusted themselves. (1)

But was it this dark when he was attacked? Shit. What time was it anyways?

The raven let out a groan, when he saw. Naruto was going to be so pissed. He was late. Sasuke was never late.

He rubbed the back of his head as he exited the alley. The bump was already shrinking; a sign he'd been unconscious for a while. It was lucky, really, that he still had his wallet. In a city like this, it was strange for someone to just leave such easy pickings. Must've just been that no one saw him.

Another sign he'd been unconscious for a while was the raw feeling at the back of his throat. It was soon accompanied by a rumbling of sorts from his stomach. Shit was he hungry. And thirsty.

He made his way to Naruto's place slowly, buzzing himself into the building without calling up for the blond. If Naruto was going to yell at him, Sasuke would rather have him do it in person. The elevator was already on the first floor, so he really didn't have to wait long. In no time at all, he was in front of the other's door, knocking.

A stomping sound was the only alert he had before the door swung outward revealing an irritated looking Naruto.

"Tch," he said by way of greeting. "Took you long enough."

"Hn." Sasuke responded, not wanting to explain himself while he was still standing where anyone could come out and hear.

Rather than stepping out of the way, the blond crossed his arms, blocking the door with his body. "Why are you late anyways? You're never late."

A buzzing sound saved the raven from having to answer.

"Ah shit! My noodles!" Naruto sprinted back into his apartment, leaving the door clear.

Sasuke took this as his chance to enter. It happened instantaneously. One second he was stepping through the door, all earlier pain gone from his mind, the next he had a pounding headache. He doubled up on himself, not sure what was happening. His entire body felt as though it were being squished between two concrete walls, the pressure was so great. Moisture filled his eyes, and his nose starting running.

Plink.

The sound was so quiet, too quiet to hear. But he still heard it. He wrenched his eyes open, seeing a dark red dot on the door.

Plink.

A second drop joined the first. He brought a hand to his face, then pulled it away, staring at it. His nose was bleeding.

A horrible screeching noise filled his ears before he could process this new information any further, and he squeezed his eyes shut, doubled over once more. Then through it all, a voice, like a ray of sunshine, filled his ears.

"Don't just stand there like a creeper. Get your ass in here, Sasuke." (2)

And just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. He stood there, still clutching his stomach that threatened to empty whatever contents it had all over the blond's white carpet.

"Hey did you hear me? Get the fuck over here! You still haven't answered my question."

But he couldn't just walk in like this; he had to clean up his face and calm down. "Just a second." He was shocked at how normal his voice sounded. "I need to use your bathroom." He practically fled into the room, glad it was nowhere near the kitchen. As he closed the door, though, he could swear he heard the other mutter 'whatever, bastard' as if he'd been standing right next to him.

Sasuke stood clutching the sink, staring at the faucet, while he tried to calm his breathing. Finally, he managed to look up at his reflection. It was a good thing he was an Uchiha, because if he were anyone else he would've screamed at his appearance.

He had blood all over his face. It looked like it had dripped out of his eyes as well as his nose. Turning his head slightly, the raven gasped. There were red streaks leading from his ear down his neck. He'd been more fucked up than he thought.

Calmly, he wet down a towel and wiped his face clean. Satisfied, he checked himself out again. No better. Sure, the blood was gone, but his face was pale – paler than usual – and there were dark circles under his eyes that made him look like a raccoon. That, of course, was accompanied by the gurgling sound that escaped his stomach.

He was still scowling at his terrible appearance, when a knock startled him back to reality. "Sasuke? You alright in there?"

Shooting one last glare at his reflection, he threw the door open, scaring the man standing there. "I'm fine."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Shit, man. What happened to you? You look terrible."

"Thanks." Sasuke walked past him, smelling the food cooking. It didn't smell particularly appetizing – ramen never did to him – but he was starving. And thirsty. He really needed some water or something.

"I am talking to you, you know. You could respond for once." Naruto was following him, presumably pouting.

"Have any water?"

A snort. "That's all you have to say? No 'hi, how are you Naruto'? No 'sorry I'm late'?"

"Judging by the smell, you wouldn't have had dinner ready by the time I arrived if I were on time." He opened one of the cabinets, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water from the tap. He took a generous drink, as the blond glared daggers at him.

"Cooking ramen is an art, asshole. And you're never late." Sasuke filled his glass again, still not satiated. "I was worried."

A second dinging spared Sasuke from having to respond again. Naruto raced over to a pot steaming on the stove, before turning triumphantly to the raven. "Dinner is served."

He downed his third glass of water as the blond scooped generous helpings into two bowls. Sasuke grabbed the less full of the two – ramen really wasn't his thing – and followed the other into the dining room.

They'd barely sat down before Naruto was digging into his food like he hadn't eaten in years. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Sasuke took a bite of his ramen. Ugh. He really hated the flavor.

The first bite went down easy. The second, less so. But the third is when it happened. He suddenly had to get as far from that table as he could. He shoved his chair back and practically sprinted into the bathroom, making it just in time to empty his stomach into the toilet. Naruto was beside him in an instant. (3)

"Shit…Sasuke are you sure you're ok?"

The raven shot the blond a glare that clearly said 'what do you think?' He returned to his heaving, but nothing more came out. After a few moments, he stood and grabbed his toothbrush – yes he kept one at Naruto's; the blond had one at his place too – his stomach grumbled again. Bastard. It whined about being hungry, but didn't let him keep any food down. Fat load of good it was.

And for that matter, why was the scratchy feeling at the back of his throat still there? He was already on his fourth glass of water. Why was he still thirsty? He squeezed some toothpaste onto the brush and shoved it angrily into his mouth, trying to clear away the taste of ramen.

"Sasuke." As usual, Naruto's voice brought him back to the present. The blond's normally tan face was pale, his blue eyes filled with worry. "What happened?"

It took less than a second for Sasuke to decide to confide in him. "I was jumped on my way home."

"What the – ?!"

"Let me finish." The blond's mouth slammed shut. "I was taking out the trash. I don't know why he attacked me, but I still have my wallet."

"Shit," Naruto said for the umpteenth time that night. "We need to call the police. We need to…"

But his sentence was stopped short when Sasuke grabbed his arm. Naruto was clearly agitated; his pulse was running faster than usual. The raven's eyes narrowed in on the point between the blond's neck and shoulder. He could hear the blood rushing through the other's veins, feel the constant beating of his heart. He could –

"Sasuke?" Concern was still buried firmly in the other's eyes.

The raven tore his own away from the point in Naruto's neck, choosing instead to glance at his face. "I'm fine." His voice sounded foreign in his own ears. He wasn't fine. He was so thirsty, and he knew one thing that sounded absolutely delicious.

Naruto broke free of the grasp, walking away. "Well I'm still gonna call the police, ok? Maybe you can give them a description of the guy." He grabbed his phone off the coffee table in the living room. "We should call the hospital too. You might have a concuss – "

"No." Sasuke was over there in a flash, slamming the phone back down on the table with a clang.

Naruto jumped as if he weren't aware the raven were so close to him. "What? I'm just trying to –"

But he was cut off again, this time by Sasuke's lips on his. They worked at Naruto's hungrily until the blond opened his with a gasp and let him in. They battled tongues for a bit in a kiss that was rougher than they had been lately until Sasuke bit down on Naruto's bottom lip, drawing blood. He barely had time to lick them clean before the blond jerked away panting.

"Bastard, that hurt! God, just sit down and let me call the cops, will you?" Naruto tried to push Sasuke down on the couch, but was unable to when the raven was suddenly attacking him again.

He wasn't sure what made him do it. Maybe it was because the blond had a taste that was so intoxicating. Maybe it was because the kiss from before had been so rough compared to their normal vanilla ones they shared nowadays. Or maybe it was because the rumbling in his stomach and scratchy throat were both screaming at him that this was what he needed.

Either way, Sasuke found his teeth buried into the curve of Naruto's neck, as the blond cried out in pain. He didn't hear it. No. He couldn't hear it. Not over the feeling of finally, finally, being satiated.

So instead he just drank and drank and drank.

Naruto trembled beneath him. "Sasuke…" It was the weakness in the blond's voice that brought Sasuke back to reality. He broke away, as Naruto fell onto the couch, and stared at him.

He was pale, and his neck looked like it had been ripped into by…by wild animals or…

Sasuke gasped.

"What happened to you today? You're not acting normal." Naruto attempted a laugh, but instead it came out as a cough. "Oh god I think I need to lie down." The raven did nothing to stop him, choosing instead to stare in silence. He felt something wet dripping down his chin, but didn't bother to wipe it; he was too absorbed in the sudden epiphany he'd had.

The thirst had lessened too.

"Bastard, you'd better have a good explanation for this, or we're going to seriously need to reconsider our relationship." The blond let out another cough, and Sasuke felt as though his heart had been ripped out.

"IthinkIwasbitten." It all came out in a rush.

"Speak up Sasuke, I think the blood all rushed out of my brain." Naruto really was pale. Sasuke was thinking about calling the hospital anyways; they could probably help the blond. And maybe he should call the cops too, so they could arrest him for almost killing his boyfriend.

Instead, he took a deep breath and tried again. "I think I was bitten."

"By what? A vampire bat?" The blond laughed weakly at his own joke. Sasuke didn't think it was any laughing matter, but didn't say anything as he set the still full fourth glass of water next to Naruto. The blond grabbed it and took a large gulp.

"More like a human one."

Naruto choked. "A human bit you?" He spluttered.

The raven ran a hand nervously through his hair. "I know it sounds crazy but…I got this massive headache and nosebleed when I walked in. It didn't go away until you invited me in."

"Oh yeah, sounds plausible." The blond laughed. "You should wipe my blood off your face too; it looks disgusting."

"I'm serious, Naruto. I was so hungry, but I couldn't hold anything down." But he wiped mouth on the back of his sleeve anyway.

"Really?" The skeptical look was still there, but it was joined with a fearful one. "And the only thing that worked was…"

"Blood," Sasuke finished. Naruto's face was completely filled with fear now.

"Shit," the blond muttered under his breath.

"I think you should get away from me."

"And go where? We are in my apartment…Oh shit. I invited you in, didn't I? Get out! Get out now!"

A part of the raven hoped the order to leave would be enough to bring the headache and bleeding back. It didn't. "It's too late. I think once you've invited me in…you can't uninvite me."

The blond's face was devoid of any color it had, pure terror etched in it as he stared at Sasuke. The hunger, the thirst, he'd felt before was back with a vengeance, and he realized he was staring down at Naruto with the same look the blond gave a large bowl of ramen. He had to get out of here. Now. Before he lost himself.

He walked backwards, trying in vain to tear his eyes away from the blond. Naruto, in turn, struggled up and out of the couch, only to collapse onto the floor. The blond's head slammed into the coffee table as he fell, and he let out a groan of pain.

The raven smelled the blood before he saw it. He couldn't control the thirst anymore. Oh god, he couldn't stop himself.

A high pitched animalistic wail tore itself from his throat, as he crouched on the ground, head curled into his chest. It was enough to revive Naruto, and the raven was able to hear the other struggle his way out of the room and down the hall before locking himself in his bedroom. It wasn't far enough. The bedroom was still within the apartment, and Sasuke had already been invited in. (4)

Using more strength than he thought he had – adrenaline was a wonderful thing – Naruto managed to pull his dresser in front of the door, before he snuck into his bathroom, locking the door. He had no plan, no ideas, no way to escape.

Except…

A scratching noise alerted him. It sounded like…fingernails…running across his wall. "Naruto…" A sing song voice echoed down the hallways. "I know you're in your bathroom, cowered against the wall." The blond's breath hitched, and he moved to work at opening the window silently. This was no easy feat, as he had to fight down his nausea at every turn.

The scratching was growing louder, a soft humming noise accompanying it. Coming closer…closer. He tugged at the window latch. This was no use.

A dry chuckle sounded just outside his bedroom door. "Trying to escape out the window, Naruto? It's no use." The tone dropped to something between a purr and a growl. "I can smell you."

The blond gave up on being silent. He heaved himself up and yanked the window open desperately. Using his upper body strength, he pulled himself half out the window and looked about for a ledge.

The scratching behind him turned into scraping, as the thing – it wasn't Sasuke, there was no way – pushed his door and the dresser. Shit shit shit shit shit.

There! He pulled himself all the way out of the window, reaching out and grabbing onto the ledge of the apartment next door. He had barely any strength anymore; it was hard enough to keep himself from passing out. Somehow, though, he managed it, and sat there panting a bit, wondering what to do next.

That was when he noticed the silence. No scratching. No scraping. No singsong voice. That meant one of two things: 1. Sasuke was already inside his room, or 2. he'd found another way to get to Naruto. The blond wasted no more time and, without trying to be quiet at all, pounded on his neighbor's window.

"Let me in! Please! Let me in!" Pound pound pound pound.

A light turned on. "What?!" His blonde neighbor, Ino appeared. "Jesus, Naruto! What the fuck are you doing?!"

He was panicking now. Sasuke would be here any second. "It doesn't matter! Just let me in! Please!" He was practically sobbing, he was begging so hard.

He must've looked really desperate, because the next instant, Ino opened the window, allowing the man to tumble into her bathroom. Naruto stood up hastily, slamming the window shut.

"Holy shit, Uzumaki, what happened to you? You look like hell."

"Save it," he muttered, still sitting on the ground.

She leaned down and heaved him up, supporting him as she walked him into the living room. Naruto was dumped unceremoniously on the couch, and the girl walked into her kitchen. "I'm gonna get you some tea, Naruto, and then you are gonna tell me what's going on." Her voice was accompanied by sounds of mugs being set – roughly – on the counter.

He breathed a sigh of relief. For the moment, he was safe. After all, hadn't the raven said he needed to be invited in?

On cue, a harsh knock came from the front door. Naruto bolted upright.

"I got it." Ino ran toward the door. The blond barely made it off the couch in time to grab her sleeve as she passed.

"Don't answer that."

He realized he must've looked crazy, but he didn't care. Ino stared at him wide-eyed a moment before responding. "This is my apartment."

"Ino…Be a dear and let me in." That damn sing song voice rang out.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror.

"See?" The blonde ripped her sleeve out of Naruto's death-like grip. "It's just Sasuke." She made to walk toward the door but was stopped again.

"Don't let him in, Ino."

Her eyes narrowed. "Look, whatever fight you two had is not my business, so leave this shit outta my apartment. Understand?"

It was his last resort, but he had to. He tugged his collar down, revealing the bloody mess that was just between his neck and his shoulder. "He did this to me, Ino. Do not let him in."

She gasped at the sight.

The knock on the door was harsher this time. "Ino? Let me in."

Blue eyes gazed imploringly into teal, and she relented. "I'm calling the police," she whispered to Naruto. "Stay here."

"That's not very neighborly of you, now is it?"

They both started and stared at the door. It was still firmly shut.

"What the fuck is going on, Uzumaki?" Ino whispered when fading footsteps indicated the raven's retreat down the hallway.

The blond walked back into the living area and collapsed on the couch before answering. "He said something about being attacked by someone on his way home from work."

"Someone like an evil twin?"

Naruto sunk down on the couch again, dizzy. "Look I know it doesn't sound believable, but I think it was more along the lines of a vampire."

Ino scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Those are legends. Myths inspired to keep teenage girls hopes alive." Naruto closed his eyes, teetering on the edge of consciousness. "What's wrong with you anyways?"

"Blood loss." His voice was barely above a whisper.

She was silent a minute. "So he did hurt you. Shit, Naruto. We need to call the cops."

"No cops. Bad idea."

"Hmph." Footsteps marked her path to the kitchen. There was a rustling sound, and then she was back. Naruto felt his hand nudged, a cup. He opened his eyes. "Drink this. It's juice. Should get some liquid and sugar back in your system."

He leaned up, practically inhaling it, while she helped him hold the cup. Some of the drink dripped down his chin, but he didn't bother to clean it up. When the glass was gone, he lay back down. One cup was not nearly enough to replenish what all had been lost.

"I'll get you some more, ok?" Ino's voice sounded a little startled. "Just stay here, k?"

It was a sign of how out of it the blond was that he didn't respond with 'as if I could move'. Instead he nodded his head slightly, allowing his eyes to once again drift shut. Ino disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Sakura?...Yeah, something bad's happened…Look can you just come over and talk to him? He's spouting off nonsense about vampires…I think Sasuke did something to him…I know…Yeah…See ya then." She must've been on the phone or something. His mind barely registered the thought that other people shouldn't come over here. But why was that again? He couldn't remember…

He was jolted back into consciousness by a shaking of his arm. "Naruto! You there?!" Ino had a panicked look on her face.

He blinked at her, not sure when he'd fallen asleep – or indeed what had happened prior to that – and her expression melted into one of relief. She thrust another cup into his hand, her own remaining wrapped around it. "Drink."

He drank a little too fast, because the next thing he knew he was choking, making a complete mess of his face with the coughing. He sat up so Ino could slam her palm into his back. Once, twice, three times. "Ok stop."

He let his head sink into his hands, still dizzy and shaky. She'd taken the cup from him the moment he'd started coughing. Now she stuck something under his nose. "Eat." Cookies. They smelled delicious. He jerked his head up. Too fast.

The dizzy feeling returned, accompanied with nausea. His face turned a pale shade of green as he pushed Ino out of the way and stumbled into the bathroom, leaning over the toilet. But try as he might, nothing came out. Ino stood just outside the door, peeking in to make sure he was ok.

"Sakura will be here soon," she promised before leaving him in private. "She'll know what to do." Yes, Naruto supposed. The nurse would know how to help him stop feeling nauseous.

He sat there clutching the toilet while he waited for the dizzy feeling to fade. It didn't seem to want to. Instead, he let his head sink onto the cool porcelain. Maybe he'd wake up and find the day hadn't even begun. Yeah. Things this fucked up never happened in real life. People didn't just spontaneously start sucking each other's blood.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he sat there, but he did know he was starting to feel better.

That's when a shattering noise jerked him from his reverie. His head flew up to see Sasuke standing framed in the window, which was now missing its glass. Naruto's eyes dropped to the floor. There it was. Scattered all around.

"Found you." The demon that was Sasuke grinned and jumped inside.

Naruto cried out and shoved himself off the porcelain, pushing his body backward, legs completely useless.

Sasuke collapsed in on himself, clutching his head. "Invite me in, Naruto." Blood was starting to pool down at his feet. The blond could only stare in horror. Sasuke looked up, blood dripping from his eyes, nose, mouth, ears…everywhere. "I said invite me in!" He lunged forward toward the blond, before collapsing in on himself, body beginning to convulse. (5)

"What the fuck is going on in – Jesus!" Ino had appeared.

Sasuke looked up at her, smiling through the red still dripping down his face. "Let me in, Ino." That sing song voice was back.

"I will never invite you in! Get out!" She screeched at him. Sasuke snarled, grabbing for Naruto one more time, only to have his body fully taken over by the convulsions. As if against his will, the raven started to wail in a horrible ear piercing pitch. Ino snatched the broom leaning against the wall and thrust it at the screaming creature. "Out!"

A buzzing sound came from the living room followed by Sakura's voice. "Ino? I'm downstairs. Care to buzz me up?"

Silence filled the room as Sasuke looked up to meet Ino's gaze. His eyes were a deep red, matching the blood that was still dripping steadily down his face. His face contorted into an evil grin. With a final shriek, he disappeared out the window. Ino stood there in horror, before she raced into the living room. Naruto dragged himself upright, trying to get away from the window.

"Sakura! Get up here now! Run!" The blonde was screaming into the buzzer, letting the main entrance unlock. Naruto barely crawled into the room as she turned around. "She'll be ok, right? Say she'll be ok." He just wasn't sure.

Not sure why Ino sounded so distressed on the buzzer, Sakura chose to interpret it as 'Naruto is in trouble, we need a nurse. Now!' So she ran. She wasn't entirely certain what was going on, but from the sound of it, Naruto had been beaten pretty badly by his apparently abusive boyfriend. Sakura didn't want to believe it – they always seemed so happy and content – but evidence was evidence, and one could never argue with the facts.

The elevator was taking too long, so she threw the door open to the stairwell and ran up, taking the steps two at a time. It wasn't until she was on the third floor – one to go – that she encountered another person. And as luck would have it, it was the one person who should never run into a blackbelt with anger problems.

"Sasuke," she growled, shifting her weight in preparation for an attack. He was on the landing above hers, but that wouldn't stop her from kicking his ass. "What did you do?"

He was standing in the shadows, but she knew his outline well enough. "Oh, nothing he couldn't handle."

Her eyes widened. She didn't want it to be true, but apparently it was. "So you did hurt him."

"Hurt is such a violent phrase. I prefer the term…used."

"Bastard." He was going to pay.

"Oh but he was so delicious." She could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"You're disgusting."

"But you're not so different from me, are you Sakura? Sugar and spice. You've always been more spice than sugar." His tone was starting to freak her out.

"What are you even talking about?" She asked warily.

He took one step down from his landing to hers. Then another. As his face came into the light, she backed away subconsciously. His face. It was covered in blood. What…What was going on?

"I wonder what you'd taste like, Sakura. You wouldn't be quite as…" he smacked his lips. "As Naruto. But I do wonder. Are you more sugar or spice?" His eyes glinted in the dim light of the stairwell. Red. They were red just like the dried blood on his face. He smiled, a dark evil expression, revealing sharp pointed teeth.

Sakura turned and ran back down the stairs.

She didn't hear him pursuing her, but she still didn't slow her pace until she was nearly at her car. Ino and Naruto were probably fine. She just needed to get in the car and drive away. The keys were shaking in her hand as she tried in vain to find the right one. A dark chuckle behind her caused her to jump, and she dropped them all on the ground.

She flipped around, back to the car, reaching inside her back pocket. "D-don't get any closer," she stuttered. Her hand thrust forward, Taser at the ready. "I'll use it. I swear."

Sasuke just chuckled, walking closer and closer. She pushed the button just as he reached her, thrusting it toward his chest. He grabbed her wrist, twisting it to the side, causing the Taser to clutter harmlessly to the ground. "Now, now. Those are dangerous." He leaned closer to her, breathing the words into her ear.

His breath smelled like a corpse.

"Let's see how you taste." With a snarl he dug into her neck. Sakura screamed.

They both heard the scream from upstairs. "Don't worry, Ino." Naruto comforted, back on the couch eating the cookies and juice. "I'm sure she's fine." He didn't really believe what he was saying, but he hoped he was right anyways.

"Yeah. She'll be up here asking what all the commotion was any minute now." Ino was sitting on her arm chair across from Naruto, curled up on herself as if she couldn't believe what they'd just seen.

As if on cue, a knock sounded on her door. Harsh and urgent. Three times, as was Sakura's signature. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. She was ok. She was actually ok.

"I got it!" Ino jumped up, walking toward the door. "Just a minute!"

Naruto stood to follow her, feeling a little better now that he had some food and liquid to help replenish him. He stopped a little behind her as she reached the entrance, watching her remove all the locks and fling the door open. They both stood there confused for a moment. No one was outside.

All of a sudden, something like a pink soccer ball flew past their heads, slamming into the wall behind Naruto. A dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Naruto's blood ran cold. Sasuke. His face was still mostly covered in the dried blood, but it looked like there was some fresh liquid dripping down his chin.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. Care to let me in now?" He spoke calmly.

Naruto yelled back, trying to silence the alarms going nuts in his head. "You already drank me almost dry! What more do you want?!"

The raven leaned against the door frame, just outside the threshold. "Well you see, I woke up a bit lacking in the blood department. And you didn't quite fill me up. Neither did the girl. Turns out females have a lower blood volume than males. Fascinating, isn't it?"

"The…girl?" Ino's voice sounded smaller than it had when she screamed at the other to get out.

Naruto turned in horror toward where he'd heard the soccer ball hit the wall. It had fallen behind the table in front of the wall. He bent toward it, lifting the tablecloth. Sasuke, in the background, answered Ino's question.

"Yes, well you won't invite me in, so you've left me no choice." It was pink, hairy, and not quite ball shaped. There was also a sick looking stain on the wall dripping down toward it. With shaking fingers, Naruto pushed some of the hair back. His heart leapt into his chest when a disfigured, blank green eye stared back at him.

"And then her neck just couldn't hold up her head. Rather pathetic if you ask me." Naruto lifted the thing off the ground, turning back toward Ino. She sunk to the ground as soon as she saw what it was.

"No…" A sob choked its way out of her system.

Naruto walked with single-minded purpose toward the door, slamming it shut on Sasuke's still grinning face.

He managed to get Ino onto the couch, wrapping her in blankets and rubbing her shoulders in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. Sakura's head was wrapped in towels, sitting by the door until they figured out how to deal with it. Calling the police was clearly out of the question.

They spent the next few hours listening to Sasuke con his way systematically into their neighbors' apartments, screams tracing his path. Naruto wondered absently if this would work the way the stories said; ending when the sun rose.

The clock ticked down, the screams growing more and more distant. He was positive he and Ino would be the only two alive by morning. Only an hour until sunrise.

With less than fifteen minutes to go until the sky was due to turn pink, there was one final tentative knock on the door. Neither of them stirred.

"Naruto?" A voice called, sounding like the old Sasuke. "Naruto are you there?"

He didn't move from his spot next to Ino.

"Fuck. Naruto I'm so sorry…I don't know what came over me. I think I was possessed."

He wasn't falling for it.

"I killed…Oh god I killed Sakura. And so many others…"

Not convinced. Still though, he was on his feet, walking to the door.

"Naruto. I know I don't deserve it but…I have one favor to ask. Just…one favor. Please. Hear me out."

He was going to ask Naruto to let him in. The blond rested his forehead on the door, preparing himself from the inevitable.

"Open the door. Please. You don't have to let me in. Just…open the door."

He couldn't stop himself from answering. "Why? So you can burst in anyways and kill us? I don't think so!" He shouted through the wood.

"No…" Sasuke's voice took on a pleading edge. "It's sunrise soon…"

And he understood. His fist was wrapped around the handle, ready to turn, but was stopped by Ino.

"Ino…what?"

"He'll just do something again. Like with Sakura…" Her gaze dropped to the grey bundle on the floor.

"Maybe. But, Ino, we could trick him into coming inside and then tie him to something when the sun comes up."

A dry laugh, more like a cough, came from outside. "Even if you are whispering, I can still hear every word as clearly as if you were speaking in my ear." He paused. "And it won't be like Sakura. It won't."

"Ino the sun is going to rise any second now. Come on." They stared at each other for a moment before she finally relented, backing away from him.

"Ok," she said. "Ok."

With shaking fingers, he opened the door.

Sasuke was standing with his back against the wall. His face, his clothing, all of it was covered in blood, both old and new. It was disgusting. It was terrifying. It was…sad. Somehow, despite everything, the raven looked small. He raised his eyes toward Naruto's, red meeting blue.

Naruto gasped and stepped back as Sasuke took shaking steps forward. His hand itched to slam the door in the other's face, to end this. But something stopped him.

As soon as the raven crossed the threshold, he collapsed into a convulsing bloody heap. It was impossible to tell which blood was his, and which was his victims anymore. Naruto and Ino both stepped back further from his grasp.

Fingers of light bled through the half drawn shades, approaching Sasuke. When the raven noticed them getting closer, he turned toward Naruto. "I'm sorry…" He whispered.

The blond didn't have time to respond, because the light had already reached the raven. Sasuke's entire body seized up at the contact, freezing him completely in place. His finger began to burn. (6)

At some point, Ino must've moved, because the next instant, the room was completely flooded with light. The raven disappeared without a sound, bright white light surrounding him.

When Naruto's vision returned to normal, he looked back where Sasuke had been. The raven was gone; the only sign he'd been there was a thin layer of dust in the shape of a fan.

Footnotes: (also known as Spot the Vampire Legend)

(1) Taken from Vampire Diaries: have to die with vampire blood in system to become one. Biting doesn't work.

(2) From Let the Right One In: Vampires can enter dwellings physically, but it'll kill them.

(3) From several legends: vampires can't eat real human food

(4) Two parter: the scream was taken from 30 Days of Night. No further explination necessary. The inability to control the hunger comes from a lot of stories: "newborns" don't have control yet, and as such it makes them stronger (they feed more) but makes them more vulnerable to attacks by older vamps

(5) I made this one up: based on the idea that the vampires *can* get in, I decided that every time they enter someone's home without permission, the symptoms get worse and worse, until one time they die instantly upon entering.

(6) Another one I came up with: Vampires are paralized by sunlight. If even a fingernail is caught, they are unable to move until shadows return.

Author's Notes:

I have been working on this one for like two weeks. The reason a 6000 some odd word fic took so long was because I started having difficulty sleeping. See my bed is right next to a window, and I kept seeing shapes outside, and I thought it was a vampire who was going to get in (because when you have super strength and super speed, you only need a minute to get in and drag me out). So yeah, I had to stop. Then I watched some Asian horror related to ghosts and what-not and determined that vampires are peanuts in comparison.

Not that they aren't scary. Don't get me started on how fucked up it is that mainstream society has decided that vampires are "sexy". What is sexy about a person who's transformed into an animalistic eating machine who can't even be bothered to wipe their mouths? Vampires aren't sexy. They have dirt under their nails and haven't brushed their hair in ages. Their breath smells like a rotting corpse (not roses or whatever the fuck Bella says) and they probably don't wear shoes (because they don't *need* to!). They're ruthless and don't listen to reason or emotion. Don't get me wrong, I love me some underworld. But vampires are not something to pine after. They are the thing of nightmares from ages past, and they are *scary*.

And now that I've ranted (sorry about that guys, but I felt it needed to be said), what did you think? I'm rather enjoying the horror genre, even if I'm the only one. Reviews are love!