Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

XXX

Fumaren was a small village. Looking down on it from atop a hill, I could see the entire expanse of the thing. It was mostly made up of tiny houses with slanted red roofs, and then sprinkled among those were the occasional multi-family buildings. Toward the center it seemed to have a few open areas, most likely a couple of parks.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gaara take something small and round from his pocket. He held it in the palm of his hand, but I was unable to get a good look at it.

His eyebrows knitted together in frustration. "This is where I leave you. The pack I'm tracking isn't here."

"See you then," Tsunade said and nodded her head in farewell.

Gaara nodded and took off without another word, and thankfully without a glance in my direction. He wouldn't have been met with a friendly gaze anyway.

"Good riddance," I said when he was at the bottom of the hill, and he started curving around the outside of the village wall. The last view was of him dashing around the wall until it hid his figure from my eyes completely.

"Be nice," Ino voiced, her hands on her hips as she scolded me. The puppy look that she was eying where Gaara had last been visible gave away the fact that she only yelled at me because she was smitten with him.

"Ugh, Ino." I nudged her shoulder with my own. "Stop falling in love with every male you see."

She snapped her head around. "I do not!"

Sai interrupted us. "Should we find the Head of the Village now?" His monotone, yet happy, voice made me come back to the present.

Right, we had a mission.

"Yes," Tsunade answered. "Daishi is the man we're looking for. I trust you've memorized his picture from the mission folder I gave you all." She looked at each of us in turn to confirm this information, to which she was met with all nods. "Good. Let's go."

My questions for her would have to wait it seemed. Now that Gaara was gone, I could ask her what the object had been for which he was searching. But, Sai was right, we needed to find Daishi first and make a plan to settle things here with the vampires attacking Fumaren.

Then I would ask Tsunade.

Walking through the village was a bit surreal. I was so used to the busy streets of Konoha. In comparison, this place was like a ghost town. My shoulders would not relax no matter how hard I tried, and at irregular intervals I kept having to physically remember to breath.

Tsunade led us through the streets with an assured confidence. Turning this way and that with just a few street signs to signal where we were. With all the directional twisting, we finally pulled to a stop in front of a brick building. The outside exterior wasn't anything special, not very distinct from the surrounding buildings whatsoever. The only thing that stuck out on this one was a cloth banner hanging over the doorway with three painted white lines in the middle of it.

The door opened without any fight, and we filed through it one by one like a line of ants. We walked into a spacious room, adorned very minimally. Even without many items around, the aura surrounding us was very cozy and welcoming.

There was a young woman sitting behind a counter, and she looked up as soon as we reached her. She was mulling over a mess of papers, looking back and forth furiously between two sheets. Her face showed genuine confusion, like she was trying to solve a puzzle and couldn't even begin to fathom how an answer would appear to her.

Tsunade cleared her throat and knocked on the counter like one would a door. The sound of her knuckles rasping the wood tangled through the air and successfully disturbed the frazzled woman.

"Oh!" she uttered, her lower lip hanging open slightly as she took in the sight of us. "Sorry! I didn't see you…" Her voice trailed off at the end as she did a mental count of us. Five people was indeed a hard thing to not see coming.

I hoped to all hope that the rest of the village wasn't like her, because then no wonder so many people had gone missing. The vampires would have a field day picking them off one by one with that kind of obliviousness.

"You must be the hunters!" she said excitedly, her face lighting up instantly. She stood from her chair, which creaked against the floor in a scratchy way. "Daishi, they're here!" she exclaimed as she half ran to an open door behind and to the right of her desk.

The sound of a similar chair being pushed back alerted us at the arrival of Daishi, the Village Head. He was an older man, perhaps around the age of 50 or 60. His hair was a dark gray at the roots that grew lighter the farther they were from his head. And his mustache was bushy and grey as well.

"'Bout time you showed up!" he yelled, his eyes a frantic mess. "Come in here," he ordered and gestured with his head back into his office.

Tsunade gave us all a look that said "Talk and you will be punished."

Not wanting to get on her bad side, no matter how much I liked to press her buttons, I would stay quiet. I needed her to not be angry at me at all for when I'd talk to her later. She'd definitely be less inclined to offer any answers if I royally pissed her off beforehand.

Inside the tiny office, we were almost all standing shoulder to shoulder. Tsunade took the only seat that was settled in front of Daishi's desk, leaving the four of us to shuffle in awkwardly behind her.

Daishi splayed his hands out on his desk, a few fingers twitched with obvious annoyance. His face wasn't very welcoming, like I'd thought it would be. We were here to help, why was he being like this?

"I thought to expect you lot sooner," he accused.

Tsunade was the vision of utmost respect no matter his rudeness. "Very sorry for the delay. We left quickly after your request came in and have been traveling ever since." She bowed her head deeply as she sat.

He looked her over and waved a hand at her, dismissing her completely. "We have had too many deaths at the hands of these vermin. Can I trust you to fix the problem swiftly?"

Tsunade raised her head to look at him. "Yes, we will survey the area and take out the vampires killing your citizens."

"Then get, go!" He shooed us out as quickly as he'd forced us into his office.

Tsunade rose, turned to us and gestured for us to file out of the room. Sai was closest to the door, so he started our parade out of the place.

As we walked past the lady in the front room, she gave us apologetic looks and mouthed the word "Sorry" at us. Seemed like he was always this grumpy then if this woman looked so used to his behavior.

I huffed when the front building door closed behind us.

Ino crossed her arms over her chest. "What's up with him? He didn't have to be like that."

My thoughts exactly.

But, it took my by surprise when it was Naruto, Naruto, who answered. "Give the guy a break. His own people are dying and he can't do anything about it besides trust that some strangers will help." The usual hot-headed blonde was so serious. "As a leader, that must be very stressful."

"Well put," Tsunade agreed. "It is not our job to judge those we come in contact with on missions. It is our job to help them and restore peace in their worlds. We aren't getting paid to become best friends. Now let's do our job."

She brought us to a nearby park and took her bag from her back, laying it on the grass to open it. She took out personal radios for each of us. I took mine and looped it around my belt and shoved the earpiece in, securing it around the top of my ear. The others did the same, though Ino laughed a bit when Sai couldn't quite get the hang of securing the piece around his ear. She helped him finish the job though.

"These will help us communicate. I want you all to work in pairs, and I will be alone. If you run into trouble, call over the radio. Be as descriptive as you can about your location." She looked us over. "Sakura, Ino, you two pair off. And Sai and Naruto."

"What will we be doing?" Ino voiced.

"Tonight, we will be running border patrol outside the village. Keep in pairs but move around in your designated section." She brought out a map of the village and pointed out where we were to go. Ino and I were in charge of the north and west part of the border, Naruto and Sai got the south and east part. "I'll be keeping tabs all around. Periodically checking in with you all in person."

She closed her bag and slung it back over her shoulder. She pointed past us. "North." And then she brought her arm around in the complete opposite direction. "South. We don't rest until daylight hits the village."

Then it was back. That bubbly feeling nestling itself at the bottom of my stomach and slowly making its way up, up, up through the rest of me. This was it, I'd finally get to be a part of a real mission. No more travelling, no more talking. I'd get to do something. Keeping watch in and of itself was not something that sounded very excited, but there was always the prospect of fighting my very first vampire.

I turned to Ino and saw not quite the same look. In her eyes it was clear to see the nerves she held ever since the last days at our Academy. After confiding in me how scared she was of dying on a mission, I couldn't help but see a bit of fear in her eyes at every turn.

I wish she wouldn't think like that. I know this was a pretty fearful position to be in, but, seriously, there hasn't been a hunter death in so long. And on top of that, a Hunter Captain hasn't died in quite some time either. With the training and studying, we have become smarter than all hunters before us. She should be confident in her abilities.

The sun was setting, sinking lower and lower in the sky as it yawned to meet the horizon. The sky filled with hues of deep red, signalling the approaching dusk.

Tsunade spoke one last time. "All right. Be safe." Her eyes reached all of us, and when they landed on me they held for just a few seconds longer than the others. I would ask her about Gaara's item when she met up with us during the night. With that look in her eyes, I was sure that I would be able to talk with her about it. After all, I didn't know why I was seeing worry in them, but it wasn't a negative emotion projecting at me. That had to mean something good at least.

Running with Ino through the streets towards the north felt liberating. No villagers stepped out of the doors, most likely shut in for the night trying to stay as safe as possible with all the other disappearances. Even being locked up won't do any good though, vampires can enter a house at anytime unless they take the correct precautions.

I really hoped that they were all prepared.

My legs were aching when we came to the border. I leaned slightly against the village's outer wall to catch my breath. Ino undid her ponytail to redo it again, making sure every hair was in place rather than forming a wild halo that framed her face.

I righted myself after a few more deep breaths, though my legs still barked in protest as I made that initial step.

"What do you think the item was that Gaara is looking for?" Ino asked before I could broach the subject.

"I don't know!" I gushed. "I want to ask Tsunade about it. But, I think my previous deduction was correct, about it being able to let vampires come out during the daytime. Why else would he have gotten so defensive and creepy?"

She shivered. "Could you imagine what that would mean?"

Yes, I could. And none of it was good.

Thus far, hunters have had an easier time of fighting off vampires. Well, I shouldn't say easier. Just more...relaxed. Since vampires couldn't come out during the day, that meant that we could take that time to relax, to recuperate. hunters spent more of their waking hours during the night to combat vampires.

So now, if they were able to come out during the day as well...Well, we would lose our rest time. Every moment would be a problem for us. We'd have no idea when to be most vigilant, a constant worry of attack would always be at the back of our minds.

I have never heard of such an item existing before. And that was truly terrifying.

The terrain surrounding the village was mostly grass. Occasionally we'd run into a patch of dirt the size of a rain puddle. The forest was a long distance away, and mostly I could see hills stretch out beyond. If anything was coming, at least they wouldn't have the cover of the forest to launch a surprise attack.

I kept my hand to the wall for most of the walk, feeling the individual bumps and grooves of the structure. The cool stone kept me grounded in our continuously curving walk. Ino and I said very little as our attention was on our surroundings, on finding any minute changes in motion that we could see.

It came upon me slowly, but I had the feeling someone was watching us. Bumps crawled up my arms and I dropped my hand from the wall to look off into the distance.

Ino noticed that I stopped walking and stared back at me. "What is it?"

Her panicky voice didn't make me lose my focus. It was dark now, the only light coming from the lamps lit on the top of the wall, and they did not cast a very far reach.

So, just the inky blackness of a still night met my gaze. Something was out there though, I could feel it.

I lifted a finger to point in the direction that gave me the most chills. "There. Something's there."

Almost as if I'd summoned her somehow with those words, Tsunade appeared by my side. I hadn't heard her approach, so she startled me as she spoke.

"I feel it, too. Stay here while I check it out," she ordered. "Be ready if I radio."

She took off so fast the wind burst my hair everywhere. Her body was quickly swallowed by the night, no stars shown down far enough to make her out. The moon might've been able to had it been out tonight.

Seconds ticked by and we heard nothing but silence. The radio didn't even crackle.

I was about to go after her when she made a reappearance, her blonde hair swaying across her shoulders to settle at her back. Her lips were set in a thin line, showing off her irritation.

"Nothing. By the time I got over there, whatever it was had left."

I leaned over to look past her. The feeling of being watched was gone, but I doubt it'd be long before it came back again.

"Was it one of the vampires terrorizing the village?" Ino asked.

Tsunade shrugged. "Probably. And it was scared away for the time being. We may have to set a trap if they appear to be intelligent."

"Bait them out?" I asked.

"Exactly," she agreed.

Then a silence settled over us as we all looked towards the darkness. The longer I stared at it, the more I could feel it inch its way inside of me, wrapping me all up inside with its grip. It called to me, and I wanted to explore it. I wanted to reach out and hold it in my hand to examine it, to see what made it tick.

What brought me back to reality was Ino clucking her tongue.

"You okay?" she asked.

I nodded in answer, but it was Tsunade who I addressed next. "What item is Gaara trying to track down?" My voice came out dry and chalky, as if the words didn't want to make their way past my lips. I had been building this moment up in my head, getting excited for answers. I didn't want my hopes to be up for nothing.

And with just one disapproving look, Tsunade began to crumble my hope into a speck of dust. My shoulders slumped and I waited for her reprimand.

She took a deep breath before saying, "You were correct in your previous assessment, Sakura."

My mouth opened, jaw lined with astonishment. "What did you say?"

Her lip curled back in a completely unpleasant look. "Sakura," she admonished like I'd just said the most stupid thing in the world.

I folded my arms across my chest and moved passed her disappointment. "How is it that there's an item powerful enough to make a vampire capable of walking in the Sun and we haven't officially heard anything about it?" Never in school was this mentioned. Never had I heard Kakashi say it aloud.

Ino waited patiently beside me for an answer.

Tsunade sighed and ran a couple fingers through her blonde hair. Her hand dropped to rest over her lips, leveling the two of us with a serious expression.

"We walk and talk," she ordered, moving her legs to start the trek around the village wall.

We followed her, walking to the left as she held the position on the far right, the one farthest from the wall, and nearest to the darkness.

"Gaara has been working on this project only since quite recently," she started. "Only few know of his work. The device he's been working on is a Sun bomb, for lack of a better description. He's been trying to harness a miniscule amount of the Sun's power into a singular object. A new weapon to help us fend off vampires more easily and efficiently. Less hand to hand combat as it were."

Amazing, to be able to craft such a weapon must take immense power. I wonder if he had other witches and warlocks helping him to make more. How long would it take to make them?

"I'm not entirely sure how word got out about it to the vampires. Or how it came to be that they were able to get their hands on it. Regardless, it is not good, but I have faith that Gaara will be able to track them down and regain the item. He is more than capable."

I scrunched my nose in confusion. "How is it that the item will help them walk in the sunlight? From what you explained, the item should kill them, not aid them."

"Alone, the item would completely vaporize vampires in a second." She turned her head, scanning the dark line. "But there've been whispers as of late, whispers of a group of vampires obtaining an alliance with a powerful witch. There hasn't been any evidence in that, strictly just a rumor. Though I'm sure it's put Gaara on edge."

"And this witch…" Ino spoke up. "She is capable of using it for the vampires' gain?"

This put me on edge. And I wasn't sure why Tsunade was't more worried about this. Why we didn't go with Gaara to help him recover the Sun bomb was beyond me.

"If the rumors are true, then the witch working with them is Karin Uzumaki."

Tsunade's voice rang through me. Now she was a witch I've heard of.

Karin Uzumaki, a dark witch, a constant thorn in hunter's sides. Mom told me once that Tsunade met up with Karin on a mission, and she made it very hard for Tsunade to complete said mission. Her spell work is second to none, and her knowledge of the world and its magical components is vast and makes her a hard witch to get a hold of.

It was also hard to believe that she and Naruto hailed from the same bloodline, albeit distantly. That was something I brought up to him when I first found out, and he didn't talk to me for a whole week. Sore subject and all.

"But, how would she be able to do it?" Ino asked.

Tsunade shook her head in disbelief. "I am not entirely sure of the process. But, Karin is known to perform reversal spells expertly. She is the only one alive that I know who is capable of such a feat."

"So, you're saying," I goaded her to answer more clearly.

"She will most likely take the Sun bomb and reverse its effects. Rather than the Sun's power destroying vampires, she will instill the power within them."

"Why is it that only Gaara is going after them then?" I finally asked my question. "This is something that needs to be stopped!"

"Do you take me for a fool, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, her words laced with a harshness that I was ready for. "Gaara is not alone. He has enlisted two hunters from Suna to help him already, he already has a team. Suna dispatched it as an official mission, he isn't just out and about on his own. He told me his companions were coming at the group of vampires from different angles."

"Just two hunters with him?" I asked. There should have been more assigned than that!

"I know both of them, and they are the best Suna has to offer," she explained. "And before you ask something else, let me remind you that we are also on a mission. We have been assigned to protect this village, to destroy the vampires picking off the innocent people one by one."

I looked down at the ground, biting my bottom lip. The worst part about it was Tsunade made me agree with her perspective. In all my hotheadedness, I overlooked our mission, I was ready to completely abandon it. I'm better than that. And yet…I want to go after Gaara and help. It's pulling me in two places, two places called to me. And I couldn't do it, I could only be in this one place, doing one mission.

It made me so angry that I was limited. I wasn't at the level of going after Sun bombs.

When will the day come when I can finally go on missions like that? When I could be the best hunter the world's ever seen? When would that day come, the day when I'd finally surpass Tsunade for good?

I could taste the blood on my tongue from my bit lip. The metal tang made my mind pause, made me focus on the wind rustling through my hair, the heat from a passing fire lamp on my skin. My senses took over, and I tried to let them. To forget this feeling of utter helplessness.

The numbness ebbed away though and I was forced to endure my own unforgiving mind for the rest of the night.

At some point in the night, Tsunade switched groups and went to find Naruto and Sai.

I could feel Ino keep wanting to broach a conversation with me as we kept our watch, but she never spoke up, and I didn't mention it. I was no longer in the mood for talking, instead keeping a more vigilant eye out into the darkness, making sure no movement caught me off guard. This is how the rest of the night went, and when the sky faded from black to a dark blue sprinkled with purples and eventually reds, it became easier to see our surroundings.

I could feel my legs contract with each step, the crust along the bottom of my eyes made them slightly stick whenever I blinked.

Still, I didn't want to stop.

XXX

A/N: Don't worry, Sasuke is just around the corner! Sorry it's taken so long to get there, I promise it's going to be worth it though. :)