"Would you please tell us what's going on?"
Shikamaru and Naruto said nothing, waiting patiently in the moonlit clearing. Tenten sighed, twirling a kunai between her fingers, a bored expression on her tanned face.
"Give it up, Sakura, they're not gonna tell us any more than what they already did," the older she-wolf was just as curious as the pinkette but she figured that the two werewolves would tell them when they were ready.
Shikamaru gave the two a blank stare, stifling a yawn, "It's not like we don't want to tell you. It's just easier shown than explained, understand?"
Sakura huffed at Shikamaru's lazy reply, plopping down beside Naruto. The blonde was tapping his fingers on the floor, squirming in his seat every once in a while. Sakura looked like she wanted to hit him to make him stop.
She leaned back on her hands, blowing a strand of pink hair out of her face, "What are we waiting for anyway?"
Suddenly, Naruto grinned, "That."
Both Sakura and Tenten turned to where Naruto was looking. At first they saw nothing. Then, out of the shadows, emerged a dark shape. It materialized into the form of a navy-blue wolf. Its pelt shone in the moonlight. It padded forward, making absolutely no sound. The two she-wolves watched spellbound. Naruto stood, grinning widely.
"About time you got here, Hinata-san," Shikamaru drawled lazily. Hinata hummed in her throat, her eyes sparkling with laughter. Naruto glared at the wolf man.
"We weren't waiting long at all, Hinata-chan," Naruto stepped forward, giving the wolf a reassuring smile, "Where are your friends, then?"
The two females on Naruto's pack were speechless. Sakura recognized the physical traits that Naruto described on the she-wolf that rescued him. Both noticed at the same time that the wolf had Hyuga eyes. They looked at each other, eyes wide. Hinata tipped back her head and let out a melodic howl.
Out of the shadows of the forest, three shapes materialized. The first to pad forward was a dark, chocolate-brown wolf with a cream underbelly. The wolf also had Hyuga eyes. Next, came a pitch black wolf, his red eyes gleaming in the moonlight and sending shivers down Sakura's and Tenten's spine. And last, a pale yellow wolf pranced forward, glancing at the werewolves with twinkling sky-blue eyes.
Hinata moved forward, phasing with liquid grace. She moved toward Naruto, her smile warm.
"Hello, Naruto-kun," Sakura and Tenten found themselves instantly relaxing at the sound of the stranger's soft voice. Naruto grinned in response, pulling her in and pecking her on the cheek. She flushed a light pink and giggled.
"Hello, Shikamaru-san," she smiled at the pineapple-headed man, "It's good to see you again."
"Hey, Hinata-san," the genius returned the smile, nodding his head towards her.
"I'm afraid I don't know your names," the raven haired beauty had turned to the two other females, smiling shyly.
Naruto bounced excitedly, eager to please, "That's Sakura-chan and Tenten! They're two of our strongest warriors!"
"It's troublesome, but they're two of our most trustworthy pack members," Shikamaru drawled, choosing to ignore the glares sent his way.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san, Tenten-san," Hinata bowed, smiling warmly at the two.
"The pleasure is all ours," Tenten found that she instantly liked the raven-haired woman. She had been a bit wary when the stranger had first entered, since she had vampire eyes. But she found that Hinata was charming. Disarmingly so.
Sakura found that she too liked the strange woman. She was polite and shockingly beautiful. 'If she didn't act so nice, I'd probably be jealous,' the pinkette thought good-humoredly.
She turned her attention back to the two men, "Have you told them?"
Both of the male pack members shook their heads no. Hinata nodded in understanding, flashing the boys another warm smile.
Shikamaru gestured to the wolves sitting behind Hinata, a curious light in his eyes, "Are these the others you told us about?"
"Getting right down to business, I see," Hinata laughed softly, making Shikamaru flush, "Yes, these are my friends and pack members. Allow me to introduce them."
As she said this, the dark chocolate-brown wolf padded forward, phasing with just as much grace as Hinata had done. The werewolves' eyes widened as they looked at the man standing before them.
"This is Neji Hyuga, my cousin," Hinata said softly. The long haired man stood before them, his Hyuga eyes glittering in the waxing moonlight. His pale skin glowed, giving him an ethereal air. He nodded toward the pack, moving to stand beside Hinata.
The black wolf padded forward next, phasing as soon as he was in motion. The werewolves once again were shocked by who they saw.
"This is Sasuke Uchiha," Hinata introduced the dark-haired man in front of her in the same soft tone she had used to introduce her cousin. His eyes had gone from red to black, staring apathetically at the gathered werewolves.
"And lastly, this is Ino Yamanaka," Hinata smiled slightly as the pale blonde wolf trotted forward, her head held high as she phased. The blonde woman smiled cheekily at the female werewolves before going to stand by the others in her pack.
The werewolves said nothing at first, staring at the well-known vampire assassins before them. Sakura was the first to stir, "Would someone PLEASE explain what the hell is going on here?"
"Sakura, language," Tenten hissed at the pink haired woman. The older woman fidgeted slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. It was one thing to meet your enemy on a battlefield when the adrenaline was high and your blood was hot. It was another thing entirely to meet your enemy secretly under terms of peace. Especially when your enemy was very good-looking. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the Hyuga had caught Tenten's appreciative look-over. Tenten flushed when the Hyuga actually had the audacity to smirk. She looked away, trying to cool down her burning cheeks.
"Sakura-san, we are not what we seem," the Hyuuga female began, "We are hybrids, a mix between werewolves and vampires. And we need your help to stop this pointless war."
The two werewolf females shifted uncomfortably, but listened attentively.
"Our pack has tried to stop this bloodshed but without success," Hinata sounded tired, her shoulders slumping.
"Hinata-chan said that it isn't the vampire lords who are keeping the war going. It's someone else altogether. Me and Shikamaru said we'd help," Naruto looked at the two earnestly, giving them puppy dog eyes. Sakura and Tenten looked at each other and sighed.
Tenten shrugged helplessly, flicking her kunai down into the ground, "Where do we sign up?"
"Count me in," Sakura gave a helpless shrug. The hybrids visibly relaxed, relief evident in their eyes.
"So," Tenten placed her hands on her hips, "when do we start?"
Neji smirked at the bun-haired female, stepping up to answer her question, "First, we train."
