I really meant to update this last night, since I finished writing the chapter on Sunday (a fairly impressive feat for lazy me, considering I re-wrote a good deal of it and added another third or so), but due to various things… I didn't. So I'm updating now, with the hopes that you'll forgive me. Also, this delay is not a long one for me. My current record is… six or seven months. I'll try not to do that with this story, though. So, now that the chapter is here, substantially longer than the first one, and I'm already working on the next one, enjoy!

I do not own Naruto.

Bloodline

---Chapter Two: Hello, Little Girl---

"Lee."

The thin, dark-haired boy looked up from his copy of Sports Illustrated to meet the pale eyes of Neji Hyuuga.

"Yes, Neji?"

"Tenten says you have a crush on Sakura Haruno."

Lee's cheeks turned pink. "There are times when I wish that Tenten did not tell you everything."

"She also said that the two of you saw the Haruno girl talking to Sasuke Uchiha last night. I want you to find out how well she actually knows him."

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"It was really weird, though. He just came out of nowhere."

Naruto took a bite of his sandwich. "I don't see what the big deal is," he said around his mouthful of half-chewed bread and meat. "He probably lives in the neighborhood. What did he look like?"

Sakura sighed in annoyance. "I told you, he had dark hair and eyes, really pale skin, and he was wearing old-fashioned clothes."

"Sakura! I was not aware that you were acquainted with Sasuke." Rock Lee slid into the seat next to Naruto. The other two stared at him. Lee usually hung out with Neji Hyuuga and Tenten, though he'd spoken to them on occasion. Still, all three were seniors and barely associated with the others of their class, much less random juniors. Especially at lunch time, when everyone in the school divided into their proper clique and stayed there.

"Huh? His name's Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"Yes… did you not know?" Lee looked guilty, as though he had let an important piece of information slip.

"I didn't know anything about the guy; I just ran into him on my way home last night. Do you know him, Lee?"

This time his expression darkened considerably. He almost looked angry. "We have met before. He is not the type that you should associate with. Please excuse me." Lee stood up and walked away. Sakura and Naruto watched him go for a moment before turning to face each other again.

"What do you think's eating Bushy-Brows?"

"Don't call him that!" Sakura snapped. "It's rude."

"It's not like you like him or anything… you're too busy thinking about that Sasuke guy."

"That's not the point; it's still rude to call people names."

Suddenly his index finger was in her face. "Hah! So you do like the mysterious Sasuke!"

Sakura blushed fiercely. "I didn't say that! I don't even know him!"

"You didn't deny it either!"

"Naruto!"

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"She doesn't know anything," Lee told his waiting teammates. "She didn't even know his name."

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That afternoon Sakura and Naruto walked home together, arguing as the usually did. Normally they would split at a certain street corner. Sakura would go left, and Naruto would go right. Today there was someone standing on the sidewalk to the left. He wasn't in Sakura's way, so she barely glanced at him as she passed. Had she looked closer, she might have noticed his feral grin- complete with fangs. But she didn't. She didn't even get the chance to scream as he covered her mouth with a hand and pulled her into a nearby alley.

Naruto, walking in the opposite direction, turned around as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Sakura, what would you say if…" He frowned and forgot what he was going to ask, because Sakura was no longer there.

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Sasuke mentally uttered several epithets that in most company would have elicited several gasps of horror. In his head, it didn't matter. He should have known some idiot itching to climb the ladder of the vampiric hierarchy would do something like this. Never mind the fact that he didn't even know the girl. They had been seen together; for anyone who didn't already know Sasuke that would be enough. Why was he bothering to save her? She didn't mean anything to him. But enough innocent blood had been spilt on his behalf. Saving this girl might help, somehow.

He followed them into the alley and found the vampire holding the girl awkwardly, her throat exposed. He was leaning down, his mouth wide open and the fangs now clearly visible. Sasuke recognized him now; one of the few survivors of the purges not with his group. The creature went by the name of Zaku Abumi and hung with vampires that Sasuke, as a member of the elite Uchiha clan, considered worse than scum.

"What do you think you're doing, lowlife?"

Sakura nearly sobbed in relief at the sound of the new voice, if only because the vampire loosened his hold on her to look at the owner of the voice. His grip was still too strong for her to escape, and she couldn't turn enough to see the newcomer herself.

Zaku looked up and grinned. "Uchiha," he nearly purred. "You're just in time to watch me drain this lovely young lady dry."

Sakura whimpered in fear.

"There's no reason to get her involved," the person she couldn't see said. The voice was male, youngish-sounding, and she was sure she'd heard it before. Then it hit her. It was the boy she'd run into yesterday- Sasuke, Lee had called him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called pleadingly, not knowing if it would make a difference. "Help me, please!"

"None of that," Zaku said. He made a strange noise, and Sakura felt herself slipping away into darkness.

Sasuke mentally swore again as the girl swooned in the other vampire's arms. The sound technique was rare, and made feeding much easier for those who knew it. It knocked humans unconscious for at least an hour, far more time than any vampire needed to take their victims life.

"Sakura!" shouted another male voice. A blond boy ran into the alley, and Sasuke had to grab him by his shirt collar as he passed to stop him. "Don't be stupid," Sasuke hissed. "He could kill you without a second thought."

"But… Sakura…" the boy practically whined.

"Just shut up and stay out of things you don't understand."

"No way! Sakura's my best friend! I'm not gonna sit here and -mmph!" He was cut off when Sasuke smacked his hand over the blond's mouth.

"I'm only going to tell you once, Abumi. Let the girl go."

"Or what, Uchiha?" He lowered his head once more, clearly going for Sakura's neck.

"Hold it!" a female voice shouted just as a kunai flew past Sasuke and grazed Zaku's cheek. The vampire looked up, blood dripping down his face, and his eyes narrowed. "Hyuuga," he whispered. His eyes widened as a stake, flung in his direction by the same person who'd thrown the kunai, struck his chest. Then he vanished, turning to dust. Sasuke darted forward to catch Sakura before she hit the ground.

Naruto turned around. The angle of the setting sun made it nearly impossible to positively identify the two figures at the entrance to the alleyway.

"Damn," the girl who'd thrown the kunai and the stake said. "Uchiha got away."

"Huh?" Naruto realized that Sasuke was also gone and Sakura was no where to be found. "Gah! That bastard took Sakura!"

"Sakura? The Uchiha dared to kidnap the loveliest of Konoha's flowers?" another male voice cried.

Naruto blinked and stepped out of the alley and into the fading sunlight. "Lee?"

"Ah! Naruto! The vampire Sasuke Uchiha has committed the most heinous of crimes in stealing our dear Sakura! Come; join us in our quest to- ulp!" Lee stumbled as the girl whacked him on the back of the head. Naruto recognized her now as Tenten, who usually hung out with Lee and Neji Hyuuga at school.

"Wait, what? The guy that took Sakura was a vampire?"

Tenten sighed and shook her head. "You're coming with us, kid," she said as Lee rubbed the spot where she'd hit him. "The head of the Hyuuga family is going to want to hear about this."

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As Sasuke entered the complex's library, he was almost glad (for once) to see it occupied.

"Ino."

A thin girl with pale blonde hair and light blue eyes looked up from the magazine she'd been perusing. "Hm? Oh, Sasuke! Where have you been? We were getting worried."

"Shut up and find Kakashi and Kurenai. The Hyuugas just took out Zaku Abumi."

Ino's eyes widened not only at Sasuke's words but at the sight of the unconscious girl in his arms. "Abumi was a bag of douche. Who's she?"

"The human Abumi was attacking when the Hyuugas showed up. I thought I told you to find Kakashi."

Ino stood and left the room to search the deeper hollows of the hideout without another word, though not without a distinctly annoyed look on her face.

"And see if Shikamaru's around while you're at it," Sasuke called as an afterthought.

"No need," a bored-sounding voice said from his right. A teenager with his dark hair pulled back in a high, stiff ponytail and sleepy-looking dark eyes was leaning against the wall near the doorframe.

Sasuke, to his credit, was not startled by the other young man's apparently sudden appearance. "I'm going to assume you heard me talking to Ino. Do you know this girl?" he asked instead, pushing Ino's magazine off the nearby table and putting Sakura on it.

Shikamaru looked the girl over briefly. "Sakura Haruno, junior at Konoha High. Hangs around with Naruto Uzumaki, though you'd think she'd have better sense. She gets top grades."

"Her friend… is he a loud, blond idiot?"

"That's a pretty accurate description."

"He was there when Abumi attacked her. He's probably with the Hyuugas now."

Shikamaru sighed. "Great," he drawled. "More fun for the double agent. Sometimes I wish I were a vampire like the rest of you just so I wouldn't have to do this."

"If that were the case, the Hyuuga family would have a great deal less work to do," Kakashi said, entering the room just as Shikamaru turned to leave. "It certainly hasn't hurt any of us to have a human friend in their employ."

"I don't consider him a friend," Sasuke muttered.

"The feeling's mutual," Shikamaru said. "I only stick around because of Chouji." He checked his watch. "I'd better go if I want a few hours of sleep before school. I'll handle the Hyuuga issue, but I make no promises about the Uzumaki kid." He left.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "What happened? Ino merely said you brought home a girl. While I must admit that I'm extremely proud of you, as your guardian I also must express some concern with your methods."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's not like that, pervert. She was attacked and it was either bring her here or leave her in the hands of the Hyuugas."

"She was bitten, then?"

Sasuke looked away. "No."

"Then it wouldn't have mattered if you left her to the Hyuugas."

"Just… just put her in the bedroom next to Hinata's and find some other clothes for her, will you? I'm going out again."

Kakashi shook his head as Sasuke left. "That boy… I don't know what I'm going to do with him."

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"The Uchiha was there?" Neji looked up sharply. "Are you all right?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. We didn't fight him; he ran away before we got the chance."

Neji relaxed. "Hn."

Tenten glanced at the door to the head of the Hyuuga family's office, where Hiashi was now questioning Naruto and Lee. She was exempt from such things, by virtue of her position in the family. Besides, the only difference between a report from her and one from Lee would be the exact wording and the amount of exclamation points. She turned back to Neji, who was sitting in a chair across from hers. The fairly narrow hallway outside the head of the family's office was set up rather like a waiting room. "Just because we're supposed to get married doesn't mean you have to be overprotective, Neji."

He frowned and looked away. "I know."

She hid her smirk. She could still remember the day, ten years ago, when a hunter from the Hyuuga family took her from the ruins of her home and into the world she now knew. Her parents had been killed by a pair of vampires, who were in turn destroyed in the fire that demolished her house. Only Tenten survived, and the Hyuuga family took her in. They trained her as though she were one of them, and when she and Neji were twelve, it was arranged that they would marry someday. She had learned, by then, that all marriages for the Hyuugas were arranged. She didn't mind; she and Neji had been close as children and were on through their teens. She loved him, and though he had yet to say it, she knew he loved her in his own way. Duty to the family just came first.

The door to Hiashi's office slid open. Naruto and Lee emerged, the former appearing annoyed and the latter troubled. Tenten and Neji looked at their teammate expectantly.

"Naruto has asked to learn the art of the hunt, and Hiashi has agreed under the condition that he remain here, as we do." Lee paused. "He also wished me to tell you that he is sending for reinforcements from Suna."

Neji's eyes narrowed. "We don't need help from another hunting family, especially that one."

Tenten sat back and crossed her arms. "Sounds like we're getting it anyway."

Shikamaru stepped into the narrow and already crowded hallway, drawing all eyes to him. He grimaced. "What'd I miss?"

---End Chapter Two---

Yep, the Sand sibs are coming in Chapter Three. Zaku's inclusion was random inspiration, since I was originally going to get Itachi involved in this story before I decided I didn't like the way I was portraying him and it was just too troublesome. Certain elements of certain character's (coughInocough) dialogue come from my own daily speech. The Neji and Tenten thing… yeah, it is what it is and it's not going to change. If you have any other questions about events in this chapter, leave them in a review and I'll try to answer as best I can (assuming it doesn't ruin future plot developments). Thanks for reading, and please review!