[Human] - Part One (Patreon)

Summary- In a small town where not many resided a mystery unfolds, a strange affliction spreads, and with it… death. Now it's up to the town's resident doctor to stop the dead rising. Not all is as it seems, especially with his White haired child friend who only recently arrived. (ModernAu) (Naruto/Fate)

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Fate, or any other anime I use in this story. They belong to their respective owners.

Human

"Well, don't you seem to be in a chipper mood, eh, Naruto?" a woman at his side asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

He merely looked at the woman inquisitively, not exactly paying all of his attention, but not quite ignoring her as well. The man she was refering to, Naruto Uzumaki, was a man of a tall build, at least in the relative area of Japan, being at a height of six feet two inches tall (187cm). With blonde hair that seemed to spike in all directions and blue eyes that only held contempt within them, a set of three whisker-like marks littered his face. He also appeared to be wearing a long white lab coat over blue jeans and a plain green t-shirt.

"I'm not sure what you're on about, Ino," the blonde doctor sighed, glancing at his coworker, as he once again turned his attention to the clipboard before him.

The nurse, Ino Yamanaka, his coworker, was a woman with fair skin, platinum blonde hair styled in a high ponytail— although she chose to keep a few strands as bangs to cover the right side of her face— and sky blue eyes that held no pupils. She also wore a plain white button-up dress that served as the standard nursing uniform, with the white bonnet upon her head as well. However, she did end up stylizing it with a purple bow along her neck as well, her favorite color. In the opinion of many, even when she was in uniform, she was beautiful and could cause many to injure themselves at even the prospect of meeting her, so she would treat them.

He, however, believed her to be the troublesome woman who loved to gossip about the most plain and boring things he never bothered to care about in the village.

"Oh please, come on Naruto," Ino prodded on, "You're leaving early today, you never do that. You're also wearing your good jeans, the ones you have without the holes in them, shoes too, and judging by the fact your hair isn't the complete mess it usually is, it seems like you at least tried to brush your hair today." She listed off every single point, indicating something about Naruto was abnormal, even to the point that Naruto was slightly impressed with the woman's observations. "Come on, doc, all of the nurses are talking about it, so what's up? Do you have a date or something?" the blonde nurse inquired.

Naruto sighed. The woman was far too nosy for her own good, and he knew she would only get more annoying as the day went on. It was 10 o'clock, and he still had about three hours before he had to go, three more hours he would prefer to live in peace, not having to deal with the gossip within the clinic the whole time. Seriously, it was like the women didn't have anything better to do—not like saving lives was that important, he guessed.

"Fine, Ino, if you must know, I have to pick up a friend from the airport in the city," he told her honestly, it wasn't like it was much of a secret anyway, hopefully, that would get the woman off his back.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't, as Ino's interest was only piqued by this discovery. "The airport, huh? That's awfully far away, isn't it?" She remarked, before a small smirk formed across the woman's face. "Now, this 'friend' you talked about, she wouldn't happen to be a girl, would she?" the nurse inquired.

"As a matter of fact, she would," Naruto said absentmindedly, flipping through the papers in his hands, "What's it matter?"

"Oh nothing," Ino told him, blinking slightly in astonishment, "Its just I can't believe it, you, who's never been interesting even going out once in the town for even a drink with the rest of us, has a girlfriend, its quite unbelievable," she told him.

"Har, Har," Naruto laughed dryly, finally turning to the woman once again. "Did you ever take in the possibility that I don't like your company outside of work hours?" he gave her a flat look.

Ino scoffed, "Oh please, I'm lovely company," she said, playing a hand over her chest. "It's you that's the weird one, now, tell me, who's the unlucky-lucky woman?" she inquired.

Once again, Naruto sighed, "Well, if you must know, she's an old childhood friend that's coming back into town, not my girlfriend or anything like that," he corrected, finally giving her some information on his mysterious friend.

But that only perplexed Ino Yamanaka even more, "Oh really, she's from here?" Like Naruto, she had also grown up within the small community of their village, and, even at the time, she had always been a social butterfly, so she knew everyone and everything that went on within the village, even at a young age. And yet she hadn't gotten word that this mysterious woman Naruto had been talking about was coming back to the village. She hadn't ever gotten word that Naruto had ever had a childhood friend within his youth; she remembered he was always the quiet loner type, so that was strange. "Come on, Naruto, are you sure she's real and that you haven't just made friends with a ghost or something?" she half-joked. And believe her, she would know if Naruto had met some girl from here all those years ago, so something was up.

Naruto rolled his blue eyes, "Of course she's real, it's just that you've never met her before because of this 'condition' she has," he explained.

"Oh really? What condition?" Ino asked skeptically, wanting to see what excuse Naruto would come up with.

Naruto looked away, "Solar Urticaria," he answered plainly.

As Ino widened her eyes slightly, "The sun allergy?" she said in slight disbelief.

Naruto nodded. Solar Urticaria was a rare condition that would cause the carrier to form unbearable hives across their skin at even slight exposure to Ultraviolet radiation or the like. "Yeah, that's why she never went out when we were kids— well, that and the fact she lives in 'that' house."

His statement only caused the blonde-haired woman's eyes to widen even more, and if she was surprised earlier, she was astounded now. She knew what house Naruto was referring to; everyone in the village did, but the fact that Naruto knew the person who lived there was also a shock.

"Really? Wow," she said in slight awe, before regaining her composure, once again placing a teasing smirk across her face. "She must be really aiming low if she's going out with you."

Naruto merely grunted at the woman's provocations, not rising towards her bait. He merely sighed, looked at her plainly, and said, "Hey, Ino, don't you have any work you could be doing? Preferably not here."

The nurse merely smiled, giving Naruto a mock salute as she did so, "Aye, aye, Doctor…"

XXX

A Few Hours Later.

(At the Airport)

He sat leaning against the walls of the concrete-covered area, the sound of bustling movement and rushing people filling the air. He ignored it, only choosing to keep his eye on his book, the reading material within his hands, as he shut out the entire world in its place. After his unexpected meeting with Ino in the halls of the building where he worked, things went on as normal. He saw a few patients, gave a few diagnoses, and promised to give even more. The nurses seemed livelier than usual, but he supposed word got out— mainly because of Ino— and he knew before long rumors would spread around the clinic.

He didn't get it, so what if he didn't bother going out with people when invited? And so what if he deigned to keep himself occupied with himself and his studies, it didn't matter to them, so why did they care? Honestly, it was times like these when he just wished people would mind their business. He'd heard one of the older nurses remark that he had a secret mistress waiting for him in the big city— yeah right, you had to have an actual lover to have a secret mistress. Well, to him, he had neither, not that any of them had believed it.

But, if he were to put things into perspective, he would say his relationship with Carmilla was different, different from anyone and everyone else he had a relationship with, that much he was certain. And even though they hadn't seen each other in such a long time, even if they hadn't talked to each other as well, he knew that the woman felt the same.

"Well, isn't this a surprise, now, who would you happen to be waiting for, handsome?" a voice reached his ears, "You wouldn't happen to be waiting for little old me, would you?" And Naruto couldn't help himself from, as he turned, witness the woman who had snuck up on him.

In his path was the figure of that of a beautiful woman with stark white-slivery exotic hair, red eyes, with the fairest skin he had ever seen. The clothing she had on wasn't particularly revealing; it was quite the opposite, as it consisted of a deep blood-red coat over a white turtle-neck sweater and black stockings that covered the entirety of her legs. She also had on a set of leather shorts, knee-high boots, and black gloves covering her fingers. As well as having a large-rimmed crimson hat that matched her jacket, and dark sunglasses over her heart-shaped face, blocking out her appearance to the world.

All in all, she dressed like a model, a fashionista, and even the damn-near noble that she was. But to him, he didn't care about all that, even as all the people around them did a double-take at just her appearance alone. He cared for her because she was his best friend and the one he cared about the most in his life.

"Now, why don't you put your book down and talk to the beautiful fair maiden in front of you?"

That's why he smiled at the woman before him, "Well, I don't know, it seems my cute and annoying childhood friend is gone," he told her, answering her question. "But perhaps this 'beautiful maiden', who's come along, could take her place," he remarked, as the woman's smile widened slightly.

"My, my, aren't you a flatterer?" She stated, placing a hand over her chest. "Don't worry, that young girl is still here, she just… grew up a little," his friend told him, causing him to smile even more. Before she looked over his appearance as well, he hadn't bothered changing from his work, she supposed. "You've changed as well," the woman remarked.

"That I have."

"Yes, now if only you could have developed a fashion sense," she said dryly.

"Hey, my appearance isn't that bad." Ino had said the same thing, but it was only now that he actually bothered to take notice of that fact.

Carmilla merely quirked her red-lined lips, "Why yes, I'm sure," she said, patronizing him like he was a child.

Before she started walking off, "Now come, we'll have to buy you some new clothing before we head to the village. I will be driving," the woman told him. She wasn't requesting, right now it was just simply a fact.

Naruto only looked at her back. "Shoping? Outside? Aren't you afraid— with your condition?" he asked.

Carmilla stopped, turning her head slightly, locking eyes with him, "Oh, that? Well, the clothing I'm wearing should protect me from that, so we should be fine."

Naruto shrugged, he supposed it would be alright, and besides, if he argued now it would be too troublesome to argue with her later. He didn't need new clothes, especially not from her, he knew it would take a bit of convincing on his part to make her see that.

Picking your battles wisely, he supposed. Besides, if something were to happen to her, he was a doctor after all, he would treat her within the second.

XXX

Hours later.

Even after all these years, he never could say no to her when things came down to it. As such, they had spent the next few hours on what could only be described as one of the worst experiences of his life—shopping with a woman. Of course, it showed that she cared, in her way, when she ridiculed his sense of clothing, she would put in her two cents on what he should be wearing, what would make him look better, and what would feel more comfortable for him. Some people might call that selfish, that she was being overly egotistical in only taking her opinion into account, be he didn't see it that way.

Carmilla was always a spoiled girl in her youth, at least when it came to the things that didn't matter. Her family was well off, having more money than he could even fathom, and more so than he wanted to count. She was used to getting her way. Yet, at the same time, she never did.

When she was younger, she'd desired the things every young girl desired: to look pretty, to be tall, to not look dumb when they were startled, even though they did. But she also desired things that not many else did, she wanted friends, and she wanted to go outside, and bask in the rays of the sun, not that she'd ever admit it. Even back then, he'd known how she felt; she didn't even need to tell him.

In a way, that's why they were friends; they both desired things they couldn't have.

"Wow, the village hadn't changed a bit," the woman at his side remarked, her hands at the wheel, as she took the time to observe the quaint little settlement where he'd been born and raised.

"Of course it hasn't, would it be any other place other than Konoha if it had?"

Konohagakure, the village they were from, was a small town of roughly 1300 people. It rested at the crook of three mountains, all covering it off from the outside world. Not many people knew about the place, much less had seen it with their very eyes. Each of the buildings was small, the average house not even having a second story, and most were made of wood they'd garnered from the forests along the mountains. It was small, unassuming, and many would call it a relic from the dark ages if not for the fact that it had plumbing and electricity. But to him, and everyone else who resided within the settlement, it was home.

Even Carmilla could attest to it, of all the places she'd been, of all the places she'd seen, none were like this. There was no other place that she could smell the smell of timber across her nose, feel the wilderness across her skin. It was the only place she'd seen the residents so connected, so lively, they all knew each other, knew what was going on with each other's lives. Sure, some might call it a breach in privacy, some might rant and rave at the fact that everyone would be in each other's business, even Naruto did at times. But it had been all they had ever known. But she knew differently, knew what it was like to have a city but no community, a town but no society. Nobody was connected, nobody talked, everyone just went about their own business in peace, never bothering to look at the person who crossed their paths for a second. She hated every second of it.

That's why she couldn't help but be astonished each time she came back, because things never changed, things never moved forward in time. It was as if this entire village was put in a bottle, preserved for all to see, and she couldn't help but love gazing at it from the outside.

"Reminds me of our childhood as well," she couldn't help but remark, as the car glided across the road.

"It does, doesn't it. It's been a while since we last met," he said with a sigh.

That caused the silver-haired woman to form a small smile upon her red lips. "It feels like just yesterday that the mangy street rat broke into my mansion, trying to steal the crumbs within the cupboard. Oh, how pitiful he must have been."'

Naruto reciprocated her action, staring out the window as he too observed the scenery.

"Yeah, I remember that night, I scared you half to death when you found me," he smirked.

"Hey, I wasn't scared!" she corrected, but the red flush across her pale cheeks said otherwise.

"Oh, I'm sure." Carmilla frowned at his response; his words didn't seem truthful at all.

She remembered the night vividly, of course she did. And to anyone else, they would say they met was unorthodox, strange, and deplorable, but to her and Naruto it didn't matter, it was their story.

Naruto remembered it as well, even more than she did. Growing up, he'd always been alone, from the moment he was born, his mother died in childbirth, and his father died not long after. He didn't have any other relatives either; it got to the point that nobody even knew what to do with him, nobody would adopt him, and he wouldn't allow it. So the village did the only thing they could: they put him in a small old house that hadn't been occupied, and helped him along whenever they could.

He'd always hated when they'd helped him, hated when they gave him their offerings, because that meant he needed them, that meant he'd have to acknowledge that he was alone. He hated being selfish, even more than he'd hated being a burden, so he didn't accept them. Over the years, it got so bad to the point that he didn't have any money or food left, and it wasn't like he knew enough to go and hunt in the nearby forests as well.

That's when he got word of it, within the edge of the village, on top of one of the mountains, was a large, English-style mansion— although the better word for it was a castle. Everyone within the village knew about it, and for a while, when it had begun construction not a few years ago, it had been the talk of the town. But the commotion about the place never stopped, even after it was finished. Everyone wondered who would live there, and everyone questioned why exactly it had been built. Word was that a few trucks came toward the house at night, ushering in the newest occupants without a word. Yet nobody had ever caught a whiff of them, nobody had met the owners, even to this day.

That's when he— as a child— got the bright idea of breaking and entering. At the time, he'd been desperate and reasoned that the owners of the building wouldn't even notice a few things going missing. They were obviously rich, and he reasoned that they would have at least some money or food within the house; that's what he thought. He wasn't hurting anyone, and in his mind, he would no longer be a burden as well.

He came in the dead of night, climbing over the wall of the perimeter, and using the skills he'd gained from his own house— it was old, and the locks would always malfunction and lock him out. He'd breached their locks, and well, the rest was history.

With a startle, Carmilla found him; he guessed he wasn't as stealthy as he thought. She didn't sleep at the same time others did, at least not back then, always choosing to be up at night due to her condition; that's why she found him. And when she did, well, he didn't remember much after that; she had knocked him unconscious with some sort of metal or wooden protrusion after all.

When Naruto awoke, he had come face to face with the pale girl who lived within the castle, finding out that she was alone within her mansion as well, her parents having shipped her off to their newest vacation home with but a word. They'd realized they were both the same, both alone, and both unable to do the things normal people could do. In a way, it was a relationship born out of necessity, rather than that of most friendship, as if both had not had the other, there was no telling how dark their minds would have gotten without each other. They were all each other had ever had, and that was okay with them.

Naruto confided in her about his dreams, how one day he wanted to help people, to no longer be a burden on those around him. Sure, she was tough to be around; her spoiled nature would be enough to turn people away, but not him. To him, Carmilla was the only one to listen, the only one to believe in him. Every single person saw him as the boy who needed help, the young child who needed pity, but not her; to her, she was just as alone as him.

They'd struck a chord with each other.

But even still he had to ask, "hey Carmmy?" he called to her, using the nickname he used for her only when he really wanted to talk about something important.

This caught her attention, "You won't be staying in 'that' house, will you?" She knew what he meant.

A frown marred the woman's beautiful features. "I will." Her answer was simple, direct, but even he still frowned a little at the prospect. He knew how she hated staying there.

"I see…" he trailed off, as he was left gazing out the car window. They were approaching the village and were sure to draw attention. "Would you—"

"Well, the village seems livelier than usual," Carmilla cut him off. The sun was setting, the moon was sure to come out soon, and yet the settlement still lived on, breathing, even in the darkness. The very act was strange, as the population mostly consisted of the elderly, those who were like the sun, rising early and going to sleep before sunset, that was their motto. Nightime life had always been dull, she would know, but this time was different; people still talked, still laughed. It was a rare sight to see.

Naruto realized what she was referring to, "Huh? Oh, it's because of the festival," he answered simply, that was the reason alot of the residents were up so late.

"Festival?"

He slightly nodded, "Yeah, there's the kyuubi festival in the next month, don't you remember? It should be around this time of year, we used to go out and see the fireworks whenever they launched them."

The woman thought about it for a moment. "Ah~, now I remember, they were always so beautiful along the mountain top," Carmilla said, reminiscing. "It's 'that' day isn't it?" she questioned.

"October tenth," he reminded.

At that, Carmilla gained a small smile, "Your birthday," she said simply. At her statement he was a little shocked.

"You remembered…" Naruto said, astonished.

"Of course I did," she said as if she were talking about something simple, like how red and yellow made orange, or how one plus one equals two. "You'll have to remember to take me, it is the only festival during nighttime hours, after all."

Naruto gained a small smile as well, at the memories of going out with the young girl during the festivals all the years prior. "Of course"

"Great, it's a date," She said simply.

As Naruto's eyes widened slightly, "Hey, what do you—"

Carmilla turned into the village. "Now, where do you live?"

Naruto sighed, realizing the change in subject. Before a though occurred to him. "Wait? Shouldn't we be going to your house first?" he questioned, they were taking his car after all.

Carmilla shook her head. "Nonsense, I'll just walk home at night, like I always did."

Naruto frowned at her statement, "But that's—"

"Do you still live in your old home?" she questioned.

At this, the blonde sighed. He knew he wouldn't be talking his childhood friend out of walking in the woods late at night; she was stubborn when it came to things like that. He wanted to offer to at least walk her home, but he knew she would refuse; she always used to, after all. As such, he relented, "Yes."

"Good."

XXX

By the time Naruto got back to his home town it was already dark.

The drive to his home was a quiet one, but it wasn't filled with awkwardness or dismay. To them, they didn't need words. Even as all of the village folk took notice of them, even as the beginnings of several rumors he knew would occur, he didn't care. They were content with just being in each other's company.

He did nothing but stare out at the looming night sky, seeing the moon, the large orb hovering and hanging above them without a trace. In a way, it was hard to believe it was so impactful to their lives, as without it, the whole world would be different. The tides, the climate, and the earth's stability were all moderated by it, even when it was so far away.

The same could be said for the stars, each bundle of both light and nuclear reactions that were so far away it would take over a hundred lifetimes to just reach them. And yet they were but specks in the sky to them, like milk sprayed into the air, or like droplets of rain across the windshield as you drove your car. The thought was utterly unfathomable to him, how things could be that way, how the world could be so different from how it was initially perceived. Such was the way of man, he supposed, coming up with and finding new discoveries that utterly changed the ways we perceived things. The quality was remarkable, if a bit selfish in nature, humans were never content with just sticking to the status quo. Not like the animals in the woods, the fish in the sea, just satisfied with obtaining their daily meal. No, humans were different; they wanted to know things they weren't prepared to know, and they persevered when they did.

He loved that quality about them—about everyone—after all.

As his car neared his residence, he couldn't help but be reminded of the past; this was the place he had always been. He remembers the times people would knock upon his door, offering things to him he just couldn't accept, but each time they did, he couldn't help but be slightly more compelled to take them. He refused each time, even still they kept offering. Even still, it did take a village to raise a child, and he'd most certainly been raised by these streets.

He remember watching as the people went by, going about their business, as his neighbors handled their pets, or when there were those who just wanted to look around and watch the scenery around them.

It was surreal, to say the least.

They left the car without a word; it seemed late, but at the same time, it wasn't; the wintertime did that to a person's perception. Even still, he'd offered to have his friend step inside, but for but a moment, and she'd agreed, for nostalgia's sake at least.

"Well, aren't you coming?" he inquired, seeing how his friend was frozen in place at his doorstep.

"Of course," she replied, snapping out of her stupor. That's when she finally got the chance to look around.

"Your place is… quaint, to say the least," she stated, and it was. The small one-story home he resided in was a small but cozy one. With yet a few rooms, that being a kitchen with a dinner table, a small area to rest and lounge, and a room he had primarily for sleeping, with a bathroom connected to it, of course. But even with the few rooms, he had everything was spacious, it wasn't overly crowded with any nonessentials that he didn't need, and only served the superfluous need to take up space. Yet, he did favor a few things to fill the space, as several small bookshelves were filled to the brim along a few of the walls. Each filled with medical textbooks and doctorines, for his work, no doubt, Naruto was always diligent and hard working with these things. He never was good or talented after all, but he spent more time than anyone working on the things he put his mind to; it was one of his most redeeming qualities. After all, that aspect of him, that part of him that always pushed forward, was what made him distinctly… human?

Naruto merely grunted at her words. "Yeah, well, it's not like just anyone can live in a castle after all."

His friend's eyebrows shot up to her forehead. "Oh no, I didn't mean it was terrible or anything like that. I think this place is quite like you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" he questioned, stepping into his kitchen, she followed, and pouring a glass of some strange beverage, she didn't know what it was, but it made a strange sound as it opened. As he poured it out of a bottle into a glass, as he pushed it to her along his stone countertop.

She took it, a small quirk forming across her lips. "Oh, nothing," the woman teased. Naruto raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She brought the glass up, seeing the slight bubbles at the bottom of the strange brown liquid, as she took a sip. The refreshment was sweet, of that much to be sure, almost like a syrup, as the slight amount of fizz bubbled in her throat, her lips leaving a small crimson stain from her makeup onto the brim of the cup.

"It's soda," he answered simply, a response to her unasked question, but even still, that didn't trigger any recollection in her brain. "It's a carbonated beverage, of mixed syrup and caffeine, it's cheap too, so that's why you've never heard of it."

"That makes sense, but still, you don't have wine?" If not that, she'd imagined he'd carry around a bear or something; commoners usually held at least a few cans within their refrigerators.

Naruto shook his head. "Alcohol is bad for you."

"And this isn't?"

Naruto remained silent at her question, as she gulped down the remaining liquid, he watched her. Seeing the mixture going down her throat as various muscles constricted and contracted to push it down with each gulp, over and over again. Something was alluring about it, alluring about her, as if she were from a whole different planet from him. They were different species, born into different worlds, and lived in different classes. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but find her desirable, even with her faults. And believe him, he knew she was by no means ugly, far from it. The way her pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, her silvery strands gleaming in the night sky, as her red orbs gazed out of the darkness, she was beautiful— if not downright gorgeous. He'd know that about her since they were young, since he met her more so. Albinism was a strange thing, to be sure, so rare, so unique, yet it seemed to suit her. They were from different species, after all.

She flicked a look at him, as if knowing about his lingering gaze, but she didn't say anything, the small inflection upon her red lips being the only thing telling him that she knew. Even as he changed the subject that look still remained. "So, Carrmilla, you told me that you would be arriving here, but you failed to mention when you would leave," he said, his unasked question left ligering in the air.

"What? Are you that excited to watch me leave?" Humor dancing on her mouth.

The blonde merely shook his head. "No, it's not that. I was just wondering how long I would be stuck with you after all," he smirked.

"Oh, is that it?" she spat back, giving a fake pout across her lips, ever the eager one to play this little game of theirs. Before she gave his question a bit of thought, "Well, I suppose…" the woman said. Gazing at the clear crystal glass of her now-empty cup— it was fake, of course, different from what she was used to, but that didn't matter to her. It served its purpose, and that was all it needed to.

Naruto saw a undecernable question form across Carmilla's face, he was unable to tell what she was thinking. "I don't know," her voice was unsure, riddled with doubt. "Until I finish my business, I suppose." She sloshed around the invisible liquid within her cup, her eyes unable to lock with his own.

"And when will that be? As a matter of fact, what are you even doing here, out in the middle of nowhere, far from home, isn't it?" He looked at her, his hands on the counter, observing her expression.

But even still she look down, transfixed in her own world, resolution struck her face, she looked at him. His cerulean eyes locking with her orbs the color of blood. "Naruto, I need to go," she told him, fixing her hands into her jacket, as she walked to the door— but not before placing her glass on the countertop.

Surprise filled him, "What? What's the rush, you just got here?" But she continued on her path, walking towards his wooded exit, he soon followed. "It's late, at least tell me you'll be safe," he pleaded, as he forced his hand onto her shoulder in an attempt to stop her.

Carmilla reacted at his touch, whipping her whole body around, her white hair nearly smacking him in the face as she did so. And for a moment he saw it, the slight anger in her gaze, before she realized who he was, as his eye were filled with nothing but concern for her well being. She quickly fixed herself faster than he could blink, but he still caught it, a mischievous smile forming along her mouth.

"Of course." With but a word, she pushed his hand off of her, he was powerless to stop it. She closed the door, he couldn't help himself but to lean against the doorframe, his legs becoming weakened as he reached the floor, a sigh escaped his lips.

XXX

"Rough! Rough! Rough!"

The sound of an animal barking could be heard from his doorstep, and not long after, a woman's scream. Instantly, his eyes shot upward, and he grabbed the only thing he could in time, a small machete he kept near the front of his door, as he rushed outside, running towards the noise.

The sight that followed him was a strange one, and it was that of a woman, about his age, or a couple of years older, with brunette brown hair tied in a ponytail, black eyes, and a strange set of red triangle markings on the sides of her cheeks. In her arms were a set of leashes, holding back the ravenous beasts that were her three large wolf-like dogs—huskies, he believed—he had seen her attending to over the past for years. Hana Inuzuka, of course, he knew who this person was; it was his neighbor after all.

As the three dog's within the woman's hands were charging straight for someone, and that someone, was a person he knew all to well. Instantly he got between the two.

"Woah, woah, Hana, Carmillia, what's happening," he said, frantic, his arms facing the two of them—his knife pointing towards the dogs—even as the woman struggled to hold back her pack of tripples within her palms. The moment he stepped in between them, it was as if the dogs had gotten even angrier at the fact that their prey was being protected, their barking only increasing in volume.

But even still, the white haired woman, Carmilla at his backside still remained calm as ever, even as the cerberus charged towards her. She only seemed to look at them with a raised eyebrow, her ruby red orbs glowing in the midnight.

"I don't know—agh! I was just taking the triplets for a walk, and all of a sudden they started acting crazy!" Hana told him, the woman was still trying to reel in her pets.

Naruto nodded at the woman, he knew who she was and her capabilities, she was the sole lead veterinarian within the village after all, and she tended to all sorts of animals. It was strange to consider that she would lose control of her pets so callously.

"Alright," he put down his weapon. "Why don't you go take them to Kiba, he should be able to calm the boys down." As he turned to his friend, "Carmilla, if you're presence is freaking out the dogs we should go… Carmmy?" He said, eyeing the woman.

"Huh?" the woman asked, knocking herself out of her daze. "Oh, right, I should leave." She turned, walking in the direction outside the town. However, she did cast one final glance towards her backside, it wasn't to him, as she was seemingly staring at the trio of dogs that were at his backside. He chalked her behavior up to the woman still being in shock that a set of dogs was trying to maul her to death. But no, he was wrong, because the thing she wasn't looking at wasn't the set of triplet dogs, no, the thing she was staring at— the person she was staring at, was Hana, as she tried to rein in her animals.

He didn't know what to make of the situation, especially considering he still didn't want his friend walking out in the middle of the woods alone at night. Even still, he knew he was powerless to stop her. His hands hung limply at his side. The dogs were growling at him now, obviously still riled up by Carmilla's presence. Even still, he was holding onto his blade, and even as Carmilla walked away, his fist only tightened even more.

Nevertheless, when the dogs finally calmed down, and the people were safe, he left into his own home, walking into his bedroom, undressing his clothes, pulling over his blanket, as he went to bed.

XXX

It came within the night.

At first it went in with but a crawl, silently, and without any warning, but soon it got faster. Walking with each step, then breaking into a run.

All for one singular purpose, whether that being intentional, or just the luck of the draw.

It was a fluke, or perhaps it wasn't. But there had to be some reason she was chosen.

It didn't use the door, no, it's snake-like fingers glided towards the window, opening it with an ease not human. She remembered she had locked that window, letting none within or without.

But even still, she didn't awake from her slumber.

Even as the beast crawled into her room she didn't even hear a whisper. It twisted like a spider, it's grasp attaching itself to the ceiling above. Like a fly on the wall, it went unseen, and then…

It struck.

End Chapter.