A/N: This is the real chapter 2, because the other one I had was the old version, and this is the updated version that I had on my other computer. I just forgot to transfer it over. So, the REAL chapter 2, enjoy!
Chapter 2: Victims Due to High Tension
Tenten slumped in her seat, staring at the test paper before her with a glum expression. "I can't believe I flunked that," she groaned, looking at the bright red F at the top of the page with distaste. She glanced over at her seatmate's paper and saw with annoyance that Sakura got an A+ on the test. "You suck Sakura."
"Sorry Tenten," she said, sticking her tongue out at the weapon's mistress. "Maybe instead of daydreaming about Neji-san you should have been paying attention to our studying."
Blushing, the pink clad girl glanced around the room, her eyes resting on the always attentive Hyuuga as his pale eyes watched Iruka-sensei studiously. "I can't help it if he's one of the hottest guys in school," she argued, crossing her arms in annoyance. Sakura couldn't deny it, but she giggled at the brunette cheerfully.
"You wouldn't be talking about me now would you?" a voice asked from the desk behind theirs.
"No, not even close Naruto," Sakura replied, examining her nails and giving Naruto a grin. He slumped back in his seat and frowned. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow at him and rolled his eyes, going back to sleep. Mendo kusai… he thought with annoyance, I can't believe Naruto woke me up…
From the front of the class, Iruka told them, "Now, for those who failed today's examination, I hope you plan on studying next time. Your homework tonight is this worksheet. Take one on the way out please." The bell rang and the class left in an orderly fashion, grabbing the groundwork as they left he room.
"Oi, Shikamaru!" Naruto called, poking him in the side, "Wake up dude, class is over." He got up and stretched, scratching the back of his head absently.
He mumbled, "Wish I hadn't stayed so late now. That damn woman was right, I am an insomniac." Sakura and Tenten stood by the door, waiting for the two boys and they left together, heading for their meeting place where all the ANBU unit members met up. Each of them had gotten a text message from Kakashi, urgently ordering them to meet him there. The four spotted the rest of their crew already heading into the alley, and followed suit. The cherry haired girl passed by Sasuke without a word, and he pretended she didn't even exist. Sitting on a rock in the center was Kakashi, an eye patch over his left eye. His silver hair was mussed as usual and his face was masked.
"Kakashi-san, what's up?" Ino asked, crossing her arms. "I thought we didn't have to come until later tonight like usual."
He glanced up at her, his onyx eye scanning her blue ones. "That's true Ino, but I wanted to relay some news to the eight of you before I headed back." They all glanced at each other, then back to Kakashi. "We're going to be having a few visitors in the near future from Wind Country. I put in a request for some aid because of the population skyrocketing recently."
"Wind Country?" Sakura speculated, tapping her chin. "Who exactly did we get?"
He shook his head. "I'm not sure, Sakura. We'll have to wait until they get here. In fact, only two of them were sent to help us." The man furrowed his brow and shook his head. Then what appeared to be a smiling expression he glanced at all of his comrades and said, "Why don't you all go home and do your homework or whatever until tonight. Okay?" They agreed and exited the secluded hiding spot. Neji and Shikamaru headed for the library to do their homework in peace. Hinata followed Ino to her house to tutor her in math and Naruto trailed after Tenten to practice his aim with her, leaving the angry teammates to glare at each other.
She told him icily, "Hello Sasuke."
"I have homework to do Sakura," he replied coldly, turning on heel and heading in the direction of the Uchiha district.
Her voice growled, "Stop right there Uchiha." He stopped, but didn't to face her. "Why do you hate me so much?" He winced and rolled his eyes, continuing to walk on the sidewalk. "Excuse me! Did you hear what I said?"
"You're annoying, woman. Leave me alone." She clenched her fists tightly, furious tears swelling up in her eyes. God, if he could just get his headout of his ass for once! Sakura thought angrily, stomping her foot. Arrogant asshole!
…:oOo:…
"Stay out of my way tonight, Sakura," he told her, tying up his boots and shooting her a death glare. She rolled her jade eyes and made a face at him when his back was turned, causing Ino to giggle hysterically.
"Good luck out there you guys," she told the six of them, smiling slightly.
Sakura laughed. "Yeah, you guys say that while you're nice and safe back here in the Ops Center." Shikamaru shot her a disparaging look and turned back to the monitors. He typed out a few things and nodded at the screen.
"All right, there's eight of them tonight, so be careful," he told them, pressing a button on his remote control. Two panels opened wide on the floor and a table rose up covered with six different bags with names labeled on the front. "Also, Ino has a shot to give each of you before you go out tonight."
Naruto looked rather wary. "A shot? For what?"
Ino smiled at him. "Vaccination Naruto. This shot gives an hour's worth of protection against vampire venom. You can get bitten a million times over and it still won't affect you. Thank Sakura, she created it." The pink haired woman smiled coyly, and scratched the back of her head to show her diffidence. Sasuke rolled his eyes as the rest of the group congratulated her ecstatically.
"Just give it to me," he growled to Ino, who looked slightly taken aback. She complied though, and he was soon out on his way after picking up the bag marked "Uchiha." The bags had not been changed in years, always bearing the family name of the child who represented the clans. His parents, before the elimination of his clan, but he didn't enjoy talking about that, had represented the Uchiha name. They expected his elder brother Itachi to follow in their footsteps, but he mysteriously disappeared after the massacre so Sasuke continued on as a Seeker to honor his parents.
He heard her voice say, "Sasuke, wait! The rest of the group hasn't gotten the vaccine yet!" He rounded on the cherry haired girl and gave her the Evil Death Glare™ that he had become so famous for giving. She merely laughed at him, much to his chagrin, and shook her head. "Is that supposed to be intimidating Sasuke?"
"You know what Sakura?" he told her angrily.
She replied, crossing her arms, "No, why don't you fill me in?"
"You're fucking annoying. Shut up." She was about to retort irately, but the rest of the group came up behind them, breaking up the fight with their presence.
"Everyone ready?" Neji asked, as the group pulled their weapons out of the bags, dipping the bullets and other projectiles in the Holy Water before strapping them to their bodies. Tenten by far had the most extensive series of hooks and holsters than anyone, and nobody could understand how she was able to understand it all. She had knives and ancient, small shuriken, as well as a small handgun and innumerous other projectiles no one but Neji, her sparring partner, had seen all of. Speaking of which, said Hyuuga had two guns strapped to his thighs, as well as a katana on a belt on his back. He was second-to-none in unarmed combat, even trumping Sasuke's ass, much to the Uchiha's displeasure.
Sakura and Hinata carried guns as well as metal oriental fans to block from bullets that some of the guns a few vampires tended to carry around. Sasuke had his swords, four in all, on his back and his amazing hand-to-hand combat skills. He also had a strange precognition, somehow able to detect the move the vampire was about to perform before the creature was able to pull it off. Naruto was a special case, occasionally showing signs of vampiric tendencies whenever he felt strong, negative emotions. He didn't talk about it, only Kakashi-san knowing anything about this strange power he held.
"As six teenagers preparing to take down bloodthirsty vampires will ever be," Tenten told him with a grin, spinning a set of nun-chucks in her hands and slipping them back into the holder on her belt. They exited through the back door of the ANBU building, slinking out like bats into the shadows.
"Okay," Shikamaru told them over their headsets, scrolling down on his monitor screen. "You guys are taking out a coven I discovered a few weeks back two streets down from the Hyuuga district."
Neji asked, slightly irritated, "Wait! You knew there was a coven near my family and you didn't tell me!"
The sound erupted as slightly static when the brunet sighed. "I had to make sure, Neji, before I sent you all out there." He nodded slightly in agreement, and glanced to his partner. Tenten was swiftly front flipping across a rooftop, and then jumped down to meet him.
The Hyuuga pressed a button on his headset so she alone could hear him. "You okay, Tenten?"
"Fine as pie!" she replied, shooting him a grin.
He nodded and told her, just before switching back to the main line, "Be careful okay?" She blushed, slightly surprised.
The Hyuuga tuned in just in time to hear Shikamaru yell desperately, "—more than I thought are coming up behind you!" Neji and Tenten turned to see their amber eyes flickering maliciously in the shadows and ran, catching up to the rest of the sprinting team.
Feeling daring, Tenten turned and pull two machetes from the sides of her boots. Leaping into the air she came down on two of them heavily, the blades impaling their skin and reducing them to nothing. She glanced up in time to get decked in the face by a filthy shoe. She was flung bodily into a wall, but she leapt back up, wiping the blood from her lip. "Asshole," she cursed, flinging a knife from her side accurately into her throat. The female vampire blew away in the wind and Tenten grinned.
Sakura sped along the roof of a building, plugging another couple parasites in the back. She turned to see Sasuke leap into the air to avoid one of their attacks, falling down gracefully, embedding his katana into the creature's skull. He aimed for another one, silently coming up behind it, but the pink haired Seeker shot at it first, getting a direct hit on its back. He glared up at her and yelled, "I told you to stay out of my way!"
"Do you think it matters who gets how many?" she retorted, jumping down to him and pressing a finger to his chest. "As far as I can see no one's counting Sasuke! No one cares, obviously!"
"Hey, love birds!" Ino's voice called over the speakers, an annoyed Shikamaru mumbling something about troublesome women in the background. She obviously had knocked him aside and grabbed his headset. "Focus!"
"WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!" they roared in unison, both murderously prepared to throw their headsets to the ground and stomp on them.
Abruptly, freezing the angry duo in their tracks, Hinata's small voice cried out frantically, "Help! Please!" The two indignant hunters turned to the younger Hyuu
ga, who was being overpowered by another vampire.
"I'll get her," they told each other. Then they grew irritated with the other. "No I will!"
"Stay back Sakura," he ordered firmly, turning towards Hinata. The emerald eyed woman grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. She shook her head resolutely.
She told the Uchiha, "I'll go. I'm getting sick of your egotistical ass telling me what to do!" Suddenly there was a scream, and both turned to see Hinata's neck being pierced by the vampire who fought with her.
"HINATA!" a furious voice roared. Glancing up, Sasuke and Sakura saw Naruto leap down from a balcony to her, his skin unnaturally pale and his normally blue eyes deep amber. He swiped at the vampire, the little contact by his fist sending the creature through a wall where Tenten followed, going to make sure he was properly disposed of. The blue haired Hyuuga collapsed into Naruto's arms where she trembled, two slit like holes in her neck. Tears poured down her cheeks from her alabaster eyes and she clutched at Naruto's black jacket. "Don't worry Hinata-chan. You'll be fine, I promise. You took Sakura-chan's vaccine remember?" He hugged her to his chest protectively, trying to quell her falling tears.
Shikamaru's voice called, "Sasuke, Sakura, you two follow Tenten. She's going to need help. Three more are on her trail!"
"Roger," they replied, leaping into the hole in the side of the building. The onyx eyed individual shot the jade one a filthy look. "If you had just let me go Hinata would still be all right." She rolled her eyes, not wanting to dignify his accusations with a response. On the radar adorning their arms, the green blip that was Tenten was no more than a few yards away. The two silently turned a corner to see her surrounded.
Sakura immediately jumped in to help, firing a projectile into the back of one of the vampires. Another instantly leapt for her, causing her to slip a knife from her sleeve and make a slash for him. He dodged it, and grabbed the woman by the throat, slamming her into the side of a steel dumpster. She groaned in pain and dropped her knife, fruitlessly grabbing at the leech's hands to try and pull them away. "I'm stronger than you little girl," he sneered, tightening his grip. He girl felt she could hardly breathe anymore, her vision going black as the vampire toyed with her.
"Damn… it…" she cursed, failing to pry his hand away. Suddenly he was gone, just dust in the wind, and she fell to her hands and knees, choking violently, her hand on her tender throat. She glanced up to see Sasuke standing there, his sword unsheathed, his eyes filled momentarily with worry. She examined him up and down, a slight blush coating her cheeks. He's… kind of… cool.
"You're annoying," he told her, putting it back into one of the many scabbards on his back. "I hate having to rescue people like you." All complimentary thoughts flew down the drain, and her eyes narrowed furiously.
"People like me?" she shot back, glaring at him from the ground
He narrowed his eyes. "Yes, people like you, who shouldn't even be on this force because they lack strength enough to protect themselves. Now get up." Glaring, she complied, leaping up and punching his powerfully in the cheek. He stumbled backwards in shock, his hand on the spot.
"You arrogant asshole," she told him, liking the new nickname she picked out for him.
Halting their conversation, Tenten's panic-stricken voice reached their ears, "I know how enjoyable your quarrel must be, guys, I have them with Neji all the time! But could you take some time out of your busy schedule to help me!"
They suddenly remembered the reason for being there and gasped, "Tenten!" as the woman fell prey under two other vampires. The two leapt into action, annihilating them before they were able to do anymore damage to the bun wearing girl.
"Tenten?" came Neji's voice over the speaker. "Do you copy? Tenten!" His voice sounded hysterical by the end of it, and the conflicting partners glanced at each other guiltily. "Sakura, Sasuke! Please, is she all right?" The Haruno knelt down by her and saw that the woman had been hit by a couple bullets in her shoulder, and a large cut running down her forearm. Two bite marks rested on either side of her neck, and she looked really pale. Her eyes were closed unconsciously, and her breathing was shallow.
She gulped and said shakily into the microphone strapped to her throat, "She's wounded Neji." A strangled sound erupted from the man's throat and he pounded a huge dent into the side of a large truck sitting nearby.
"GOD DAMN IT!" His piercing scream disrupted a large number of crows resting nearby, causing them to fly off into the night.
…:oOo:…
Sakura managed to extract the bullets from Tenten without any additional damage to the woman's shoulder, and she administered the stitches without any problems. As for Hinata, she had minor scratches from a knife, and the medical expert insisted she stay in bed. "They'll be fine Neji, Naruto. No need to worry."
The two glared up at her, such hostile expressions she didn't expect from them to be directed at her. She was slightly frightened, and took a step back in apprehension. "Easy for you to say," Neji told her coldly, his hand balled into a fist on his knee as he sat next to the brunette's hospital bed. "You and Sasuke act like little children. If you could, perhaps, stop bickering like… like…"
"An old married couple!" Naruto finished in a bellow. "Maybe Hinata and Tenten wouldn't have gotten hurt!"
Neji shook his head. "You tell me not to worry, yet both my cousin and my best friend are injured! And it could've been much worse due to your inane quarreling!" Sakura felt tears spring in her eyes. "Maybe next time if both of you could leave your egos at home it would be quite helpful!" A painful realization dawned on her. They're right… The wells in her light colored orbs dripped and she ran out of the room, the water flying behind her at the speed she was running at. The distressed girl flew passed Sasuke, who had the dignity to look slightly concerned for her. She narrowly avoided Ino and Shikamaru on her way passed the tech lab.
"Sakura?" her best friend called, trying to stop her.
She called back to the blonde, "Tell Hinata and Tenten, and Neji and Naruto for that matter, that I'm terribly sorry!"
Sasuke entered the medical room with confusion and saw Neji regard him with the Hyuuga Foul Stare # 8™. "If you and Sakura do not learn to work together," he told the Uchiha frostily, standing up with his face in the startled boy's, "I swear I will do everything in my power to get rid of you!" Sasuke blinked in shock, and stared at the pale eyed boy as he turned back to the two medical wards worriedly.
"Next time Sasuke-teme," Naruto growled, "it might be worse." The black haired junior glared at the floor, unable to find anything to vent his frustration on. A nice, relaxing round in the holographic training zone might work though…
…:oOo:…
Sasuke got home that night around four in the morning, spending five hours training in the Holo-Zone Shikamaru and Kakashi-san invented. But the young man still found himself unable to fall asleep, the guilt of Tenten and Hinata's injuries still fresh on his mind. Naruto and Neji were correct, as much as he hated to admit it. Even though he hated the pink haired woman, he knew that if they didn't learn to cooperate with each other it would jeopardize all future missions and the lives of their teammates. He needed to let go of his pride and accept that fact that hid indeed have a partner now, and she was as much as a capable Seeker as he was.
Tomorrow, he promised that to the full extent of his abilities, he would cease to be an—he couldn't believe he was saying this—an arrogant asshole.