Death Angel

He heard running footsteps from behind him, so he stopped and turned his head to see a smiling pink-haired teen stop next to him, panting all the while.

"I thought I had to run further to catch up!"

"Hn. Need anything?"

"Eh? Haha. No. I just thought that, hey! You're new here, may as well accompany you and all." She grinned. "By the way, welcome to Leaf Academy!"

"Thanks and…" He shook his head and smirked slightly. "I'm not the only new student here, you know?"

"Really?" Sakura blinked, and then turned behind her after hearing a voice.

"Yep! Really!" the voice exclaimed.

Standing behind her were three students dressed in her school's uniform, one girl and two boys.

"Wait." Sakura said, seeing their necks adorned with the silver cross necklace, and their left ears with the same earring that Sasuke had. "That means…"

"They're also DAH." Sasuke said. "But I forgot to explain yesterday that we're not yet official members."

She blinked, and then turned back to Sasuke. "Just… what do you mean by that?"

"I'm trained to be a Hunter, but I'm not yet an official Death Angel Hunter." Sasuke turned back to the three people he was with. "So are they." he turned to the blonde boy. "Sakura, this is Naruto, next to him is Haku, and the only girl over there is Hinata." All three smiled at her, Haku giving a slight wave, Hinata bowing a bit and Naruto grinning and grabbing her hand to shake. "Nice to meet you! Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!" he gave a thumb's up. "I'll be the best DA Hunter in the world!"

"In your dreams, dobe..." Sasuke muttered, turning around. "Come on, it's almost time for class."

Sakura smiled back at them, observing how Haku wore his uniform properly, and so did Hinata, while Naruto had his tie undone and his coat unbuttoned. She gave another smile and turned to follow Sasuke, the other three trudging behind.

"Sasuke-nii," Hinata called. "Sir Kakashi, is he your teacher too?"

"Aa, he's the new English teacher, right?"

"Mm. We passed by him earlier, and he asked me to tell you to see him after school."

"Alright..."

"How did he know you know each other?" Sakura asked.

"It's not that hard since our necklaces and earrings are already dead giveaways." Haku explained.

Sakura just blinked and gave a nod.

Chapter 2: Sparks

"Sasuke-kun..!"

"…You sound like a fan girl." He picked up his tray and turned to greet her.

"Ah, stop kidding around and meet my friends!" she grabbed his arm, (thankfully he didn't spill his lunch) and dragged him all the way to their table. "Hey guys, this is Sasuke! Although I'm pretty sure Ino knows him, since we're in the same class."

"True…" Ino sighed, staring at him as Sasuke fidgeted a bit. "Um… hey." He greeted.

"Sit down." Sakura said cheerily, making him sit with the guys and going back to her seat adjacent to him and next to Ino. "Sasuke, the two guys next to you are Gaara and Shikamaru."

Sasuke nodded at the two, his eyes staying on Shikamaru for a while longer and then turned back to Sakura when she introduced the three remaining guys. "That over there is Sai, Lee, and Kankuro." She then turned to the two girls next to her and Ino. "This is Tenten and that's Temari."

He felt slightly nervous at how the three girls stared at him, particularly at how Temari had at least. She looked like she was ready to pounce on him, and he didn't like it one bit. Aside from that, he was sensing a warning aura from Gaara, Kankuro, and Shikamaru, despite how calm and lazy he looked. "Blast these instincts." He thought, sighing.

"Sakura… thanks for this and all but I-"

"Oh, it's no problem, really!" she said with a smile. "From now on, you're hanging out with us!"

"Alright..!" Ino and Temari cheered.

He sensed Gaara, Kankuro, and Shikamaru's aura double. "Thanks but…" he trailed off when Sakura looked at him. And though her eyes seemed to blink innocently, he felt what she was feeling – which was weird. She seemed disappointed at the "but" part, so he sighed and scratched the back of his head, turning to the side a bit and slightly turning red. "I was planning on walking around campus to get to know the place better after this." He lied.

"Oh, that." She felt relieved. "I can tour you after school."

"But… sir Kakashi wants to talk to me."

"Ah, I see…" she looked downcast again.

Damn. He wasn't sure why he felt so attracted to her. It was only day two, and he still needed to do his mission. She was getting in the way, but then, his friendship with her could work to his advantage in taking cover from Death Angels.

"I'll hold you on that." He finished, leaning back on his chair. "Maybe, tomorrow..?"

Her eyes were wide with happiness, and again, he had that stupid feeling in the pits of his stomach once more. "Hai!"

"Hey, Sakura, come with us to the bathroom and let's leave the boys to bond and all." Temari said, grabbing the girl as Tenten and Ino followed, telling the guys that they'll be back.

And so, all the guys turned to Sasuke.

"So, why are you interested in our Sakura-chan?"

Sasuke had just concluded that Sakura's male friends acted like male bodyguards instead. And after assuming that he was fond of the pink-haired girl, it made their auras grow much fiercer. But – he was a Hunter, therefore, these guys are just easy to handle. Deciding to end this quickly, he turned to the side a bit; head slightly lowered so his bangs would shield his eyes and cheeks, making sure that the guys saw his face turn a bit pink.

"I like her, okay..?" he said softly, and it caused everyone to suddenly stay silent at his sudden confession.

"That's-" Lee got cut off when Sai had covered his mouth with his hand and gave a smile. "So do a lot of boys in school." He said. "Are you up for the competition?"

Sasuke had no idea why he blurted his inner feelings out.

"So, tell me, Sakura, are you two… you know…"

"No, Ino. Sasuke's just a friend. I mean, I only met him yesterday!"

"You don't need a week to go out and get to know each other." Temari said.

"Ah geez." Sakura smiled a bit. "I'm not… oh fine, I admit, he's-"

"Hot?" Ino suggested. "And dare I say, sexy?"

Sakura blushed. "Attractive."

"That isn't the best word to describe him." Tenten said, giggling. "I'd go for… hmm… actually… we need a new word to describe him."

Sakura just laughed as her three friends talked to each other until they reached the cafeteria. There, she saw how the boys were on their feet, towering over Sasuke who was sweat dropping. He didn't look nervous, but from his eyes, she concluded that he thinks her guy friends are weird.

"Guys!" she scolded, causing the boys to sit back down and pretend nothing was wrong. She frowned at them and then turned to Sasuke. "I'm really sorry, they're not always like this, I mean… I'm sorry I…"

He smiled at her, and she stopped, feeling her breath caught in her throat. "It's alright; they're just being good friends." He laughed slightly, scratching the back of his head as the others eyed him, Sai giving an approving smile, Shikamaru muttering troublesome but smiling softly none the less. Gaara just gave a nod, and Lee seemed to be forced to admit that he was okay. Kankuro just shook his head but smiled none the less, and it had Ino, Temari and Tenten grin from ear to ear as Sakura smiled back.

"In that case…" she pulled him up. "I'll tour you around right now," she glared at the guys. "Some people apparently don't have enough courtesy."

"Like I said," Sasuke eyed her as she blushed at his intense gaze. "They're just being good friends."

"Tenten's right, there's no word available in the dictionary to describe him." She thought, shaking her head a bit to clear her thoughts as she laughed nervously. "Well, let's get going then!" and she dragged him outside, him letting her be.

It's been more than a week, and Ino noticed that there were sparks flying between her best friend and Sasuke, and she couldn't help but grin whenever she catches Sakura staring at Sasuke when he recites orally, or goes to the board to answer. Even in gym class, when the boys are split from the girls on some occasions, her blue eyes would see Sakura staring at Sasuke.

"Why don't you just make a move?" Ino suggested with a grin, brows wriggling over to Sasuke who was currently playing basketball with the other guys in class. "We're in modern times now, dear," Ino said. "Chivalry has been dead, gallant boys seem to have gone extinct."

"I-Ino, you know how I was raised…"

"Yes, you still live in the traditional way, aw, come on, Sakura!" she wrapped an arm around her pink-haired friend while their gym teacher was busy with the other girls in their class. "This is your chance to get a guy! A hot guy like Sasuke for that matter, and you're not going to let him slip! I mean, there's no telling when one of these mindless girls may suddenly catch his attention!"

"Sasuke isn't like that Ino," Sakura defended. "I mean, sure, he's a guy, but he's not just any other guy." She pulled away from Ino and eyed another fan girl who asked Sasuke out for a date but was rejected. "There's something… I just can't tell what, but I can feel that… he's waiting…"

"Waiting for what? Christmas..?"

"No, Ino!" She giggled. "Stop kidding around," she eyed Sasuke again. "He's waiting for a right moment, and until then, I won't hint or pressure him into anything."

"Wait a minute," Ino turned to Sakura. "You mean, you noticed?!"

"Huh?"

"Noticed that… he… you…"

Sakura smiled. "He already told me, on the first day, but I'm not pushing it."

And during those past few days he's gotten close to her, he started to warm up to others as well.

"Hey, Sasuke, you making a move yet or what?" one boy asked, passing him the ball as their coach ended the game, Sasuke's team winning by two points.

"Huh?"

"You know," The guy turned to look at Sakura, spotting her talking with Ino. "Make a move on Haruno."

"Oh, that." He blushed slightly and shot the ball in the ring. "I… don't want to rush things."

"So you're one of those guys who… what's that word..?"

"Hn. To save you the trouble, yeah, I'd rather take my time getting to know her first."

"Hmm… Well, best of luck to you. Haruno's got a lot of suitors, but I guess you're lucky with your looks, and how she's so into you." He turned to head to their other classmates. "But don't push your luck."

"Aa…" he paused, and then turned back to his teammate. "Hey, who's the guy who only toyed with her feelings?"

"Hm? Oh, so you've heard of that too?"

"Her male friends make it a point to remind me not to be like that guy."

"Hah! I see. Well, it's quite a big story in freshman year, I mean; it's all over school during the week that it happened. This guy came up, who happens to be her crush." He sighed. "Good looking too, but we all knew he was a jackass and a player, but Haruno gave him chance, and then after just a week, dumped her and laughed at her face."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"His name's Seto; that guy over…" he looked around. "There! The blonde dude..!"

"Hn."

"Alright everyone, attention..!" the students approached their gym teacher as he checked to see if he got everyone's eyes on him. "You'll all be staying after school today, since the CA soldiers will be paying a visit to do a check up on Death Angels."

Majority had started whining, but they knew they couldn't argue. Sasuke just turned to Sakura, knowing that she was the daughter of the captain of CA after she told him. "Did you know about this?"

"My father said something, but he didn't tell me it was today…" she sighed. "I guess that cancels our daily walk home together."

"Why?"

"My dad would let me go, but you're required to stay here with the others."

"And do you have an escort with you?" he asked with a smirk. "If you don't, then I can convince your dad to let me accompany you home for protection."

"What, you're my bodyguard now?"

"Who knows when a Death Angel might attack you?"

"But you're still a trainee."

"Trained to be a Hunter, Sakura, but not yet an official Hunter…" He reminded. "Meaning, I can still protect you."

Sakura laughed. "You really want to walk me home, in other words?"

"You bet I do."

He yawned as he eyed the CA soldiers coming into the school. "Sir Kakashi…" he whined. "Do we really have to..?"

"Naruto, it's our job to prevent the CA from capturing Death Angels and studying them." He shot a Death Angel that a CA soldier captured, killing it in an instant. "We can't let CA know more about them."

"Aww… that bastard should be here!"

"Sasuke is currently on his own mission." Haku said through their communicators. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with courting the CA captain's daughter."

"I hope Sasuke-nii knows what he's doing…" Hinata said, aiming her sniper rifle at another Death Angel who got captured. "But if Fugaku-sama does not restrict him, then it's fine."

"Yeah," Kakashi answered. "Besides, we can't question Sasuke, despite my rank in this team, he is still far more superior than I am."

"Oh well," Naruto snickered. "Because of him missing this, he gets Night Watch duty!"

The four heard how the soldiers cursed as each of their catch had been killed. "These things are useless when they're dead! Their powers die with them!" one said, kicking a rock nearby. "Tell the captain about this! Someone's hiding out there, and I bet it's those Guardians!"

"But aren't they just rumors? I mean, geez…"

Naruto couldn't help but smirk.

Death Angels who were rumored to protect people were given the name Guardians, but not everyone from CA believes of their existence. In the meantime, DA Hunters are on the move. CA soldiers want to know more about Death Angels, yet DAH are preventing them from stocking more knowledge for these creatures, so what exactly could their goal be?

"DAH code number 3:" Kakashi said as he pulled the trigger to kill another captured Death Angel. "Captured Death Angels must be eliminated..."

"…In order to prevent humans from gaining control of their powers…" Haku continued, also killing another captured creature.

Hinata fired a bullet. "…From gaining control of the world…"

"…And for keeping the balance." Naruto finished, killing the last Death Angel that CA has captured. "Mission Accomplished."

"So… your father is letting you decide, whether to become a Hunter, or not…"

"Yeah, basically…"

"And… what have you decided on?" She asked, stopping in her tracks as he did as well. "Do you plan to hunt Death Angels too?"

"I don't know yet." He answered. "I want to, if it's to protect innocent people, but…" he trailed off, almost slipping. "Never mind..."

Sakura looked at him as he led the way back to her place. "Sasuke..?"

He stopped and turned to her.

"Tell me," she said. "Are you… hiding something?"

"If I was, would you hate me for not telling you?"

She sighed and looked down. "I'm in no place to force you to tell me, but… promise me you'll tell me someday?" she looked hopeful when she gazed at him with those eyes of hers, eyes that he just can't resist.

What was it about her that made him feel this way? Why was he attracted to her? Why can't he bring himself to lie to her? She's just a girl, a classmate, a friend. But he often feels like she's more than that. Like she's someone he can't put himself to deceive. When he's with her, he doesn't pretend who he is most of the time. When she asks something he's not supposed to answer, he has a hard time to lie, that he ends up telling half the truth. She was making him weak, and instead of pushing her away or hating her for that, he's actually welcoming her presence.

"Someday…" He said. "But not today…"

And she managed to smile a bit and continued walking along with him.

"Would you…" she began as they reached her place, "Like to stay for dinner?" she tried to hide her blush, but couldn't, so she ended up lowering her head and hiding her face behind her hair.

He smiled. "Love to, but I can't." he looked at her house, seeing tall gates that prevented trespassers from coming in, but gave the curious people a good view of the place. The garden contained a few bushes, and a pathway was paved in the middle which would lead to the front door.

Though her house wasn't a mansion, it was still big enough to let anyone know that her parents, or at least one of them, had a very high paying job.

"Oh, then, some other time..?"

"Yeah, some other time..." He turned and waved a dismissive hand before walking away, Sakura waving back before going inside, face red and a bright smile on her face.

Sasuke just glanced back while walking; shaking his head in amusement before turning back to the path he was on, taking his phone out when it rang.

"What?"

"Aww… disappointed to turn down a dinner invite?"

"Ch. Idiot. What is it?"

"Fine, you bastard, always direct to the point! You're no fun." Naruto muttered. "Anyway, you're on patrol duty tonight, you'll be covering the park."

"As usual…" He murmured, hanging up and turning to an alleyway. He glanced around before taking out another gadget from his pocket and punching in a few numbers.

"Name and Voice Recognition…" A female voice spoke as Sasuke brought up the object to his lips. "Uchiha Sasuke." He answered, the gadget granting him access to the information contained inside. He read each message in it, before shutting it off in case someone attempts to snatch it.

His secret, as well as the others', must not be discovered.

"Sasuke."

He looked up and spotted Kakashi standing on a building's rooftop before jumping down in front of him. "Get changed and ready. Rogues are on the loose."

"Hn." Sasuke grabbed his clothes from Kakashi, changing once the older man had left before emerging from the alley in a black trench coat, black fingerless gloves, and dark blue jeans.

Even though combat boots were said to be noisy, he was able to move silently in the dark, reaching his post in an instant. Next thing he did was jump on a tree branch and started assembling his sniper rifle, at the same time, keeping a close watch on the people who were taking their nightly strolls. "All clear, so far." He reported through his communicator, undoing the first two buttons of his black polo inside the coat. "How did the mission go earlier?" he asked, fixing his jeans so that it could properly be tucked inside his boots.

"Hah! You missed how awesome I was!" Naruto answered.

"It was fine." Haku said.

"Not one Death Angel was captured alive, Sasuke-nii."

"Hn. Looks like you don't really need my assistance." Sasuke said with a smirk, readying his rifle when he spotted someone move too fast for a human.

"Not true Sasuke." replied Kakashi. "You're the only one who can get closer to the CA Captain's daughter - that would be your mission."

He frowned at what Kakashi said, almost dropping his rifle at the process. "No." he replied. "I'm not deceiving Sakura for the sake of getting closer to CA."

"Told you he has it bad..." Naruto muttered.

"Quiet." Sasuke told them, closing one eye as he let the other view through the scope of his gun. "Ch. This Rogue's got to go…" he murmured to himself, ready to pull the trigger.

The Death Angel he was targeting was currently attacking a human, and since he had to be silent, he can't jump in to save the guy, but he can if he pulls the trigger and kills the Rogue. "Clear shot." And when he shot the bullet, the Rogue then decided to shift a bit, making Sasuke hit the shoulder instead of the head. "Fuck." He cursed and jumped down from the tree, tailing the now on-the-run Death Angel. He stopped though, when he reached the injured man, eyes turning to where the Rogue ran off to and then back at the dying victim.

"Sasuke! Tail that Rogue!" Kakashi demanded.

"I can't." He said, bending down on one knee and treating the man's wounds. His ears picked up the sound of two patrolling CA soldiers, and based from their rushed steps and alarmed tones, Sasuke concluded that these men were armed and ready to get themselves a Rogue. "Sorry, but I'm not a Rogue." He thought with sweat dripping from the side of his head when they were getting closer. He finished his treatment, then placed a hand over the victim's forehead and closed his eyes before rushing out of the scene, just in time to escape the two soldiers' eyesight.

"We got a victim here!" one of the two said, running to where the man was and assisting him to sit up. "Sir, are you okay?" he eyed how the man's clothes were tattered and covered in blood, but his eyes widened when he saw no wound present. "What the..?"

"What's wrong?" his companion asked, calling for back-up.

"Sir, were you attacked..?"

"I… I don't know… I don't remember…" He looked down at his suit. "Oh shit! My wife's going to kill me for this!"

"Uchiha! You disobeyed an order!"

"Shut up Kakashi." Sasuke answered back, brushing dirt off of his shoulder before looking down at the Rogue he shot dead. "I was able to catch up." And he turned away. "And besides," he added. "You're in no position to argue with me."

Kakashi, from the other line, was a bit shocked at first, before sighing and calming down. "Sorry..." He murmured apologetically. Who was he to argue with someone like Sasuke?

To be continued…

Next on Death Angel: Chapter 3: Courtship

"If it's alright with you sir, I'd like to ask your permission."

"Permission on what..?"

"On courting your daughter..."