Chapter 38 At Night

It was just after 10:30 at night when Sakura finally left the medical bay and move up into the cafeteria, Ino was with her as they entered the cafeteria. Most of the room was dark however along one back wall a makeshift bar had been set up with a couple of saw horses and a wooden board. Bookcases where being used to hold bottles of different drinks and a mini fridge held the beer. It was far simpler, planner and unimpressive then the massive bar in the restaurant which protected the openningto the base. Kiba and Kuria where still there drinking however, it was clear to even the untrained eye that Kiba was beyond wasted and Sakura was used to dealing with Tsunade. Shikamaru and Karui where also drinking but Karui seamed still drunk but dead drunk and Shikamaru was drinking slowly and eating which helped him retain some common sense.

Her green eyes scanned the room, she had expected to see Naruto already there he got off duty at 10 but had not come down to get her. She assumed that he had gone for a quick drink before moving to get her but he was not there. Suddenly she felt a hand brush across her shoulder as Naruto came out of the door behind her and moved to stand where Ino had once been.

"Where have you been?" inquired Sakura

"Sasuke and buddy where late." explained Naruto with a smile which brought out a smile on her face.

"Well I am not surprised, he smelled of the perfume that Karin uses," said Fu as she moved to stand by Naruto. "Likely he was getting some action and didn't want to leave."

"Or she didn't want him to leave, Sasuke is a cold person he likely takes no pleasure in being with." Said Sakura as Fu shrugged.

"Could be, but I have been with a few man and a handful of women too even the coldest people take pleasure in the act." Stated Fu "That is just biological."

With that Fu moved on leaving Naruto and Sakura standing there.

"I hate to admit it but she is likely right," admitted Sakura "It is chemically written for anyone to enjoy the act."

"Did you learn anything from those fish oil pills?" inquired Naruto as Sakura let out a sigh.

"Not yet, I running a few tests on them breaking down their chemical makeup and the like but like everything else it takes time." Explained Sakura "And the DNA breakdown of you, Fu and myself wasn't as helpful as I had hopped."

"How so?" inquired Naruto

"Well you and Meiko's DNA structure are very close." Stated Sakura

"Well we are brother and sister," laughed Naruto as Sakura shook her head, causing Naruto to look at her confused.

"I expected that, but since she is a Demon there should be differences but beside from a handful they are the same." stated Sakura

"So am I a demon?" inquired Naruto with fear in his voice as Sakura took a deep breath.

"Yes and no, you are human that is for sure the DNA is very much human but some of the indicators are not fully human." explained Sakura "It is like when the Kyuubi died he passed on some of his traits to you, besides your chakra that is."

"Well I have noticed that my hearing has improved." stated Naruto "But Fu's hearing didn't?"

"And that is the thing; Fu shows the same deviation from human then you but in different locations. You are both human but you have gained some slight demon traits." explained Sakura as she closed her eyes. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Well her demon wasn't the kyuubi could that play a role?" inquired Naruto as Sakura's eyes snapped opened.

"I hadn't considered that." admitted Sakura "The tailed beasts are different maybe they effected you and Fu differently."

"Well mom's fur is a darker shade of red because she had the kyuubi in her for a while." added Meiko as she seemed to appear out of nowhere with a smile that belonged on any little sister. "Yugito had blue fur when she became a demon, something I have never seen on a Bakeneko but her demon the two tailed cat was blue. Utakata had a lot of blue on his body and his demon was blue as well but that doesn't really stand out blue is common on a water kami."

"The Kyuubi did have an orange tone to his fur that could seam very dark at some points." explained Naruto before pushing the idea aside. "Either way lets hope you learn something from those fish oil pills."

"They aren't fish oil, not likely anyway." Stated Meiko as Sakura looked at her.

"How did you hear us talking about that?"

Meiko grinned.

"First I was in the room when Kiba learned about his parents and the pills," laughed Meiko as Sakura mentally slapped herself. "Secondly I heard you two talking about it, I am a Kitsune and we have the best hearing of any of the demon races. The Inugami's those are the wolf ones have us beat when it comes to smelling but we have them beat in hearing. I can hear the others talking at the bar."

"I see." Said Naruto as Meiko gave a knowing smile.

"Yes, I earn heard what was going on in Sakura's room last night." said Meiko as both Naruto and Sakura blushed. "You two need to keep it down, it was faint but I could hear it and if you do anything in Naruto's room I will hear it a lot better."

"Ok." said Sakura with a blush.

"Good." said Meiko as she punched her brother playfully on the shoulder.

"She is a keeper, make sure you don't do anything stupid to lose her." Said Meiko as Naruto blushed some more as his sister walked away. As she passed, he reached up, and rubbed her head playfully as any big brother and she spun around and glared at him like any little sister would do. Sakura smiled as she watched the interplay between the two siblings who had spent so much of their lives apart.

"I need a drink." said Naruto "care to join me?"

Sakura didn't need to be asked again as she followed Naruto toward the bar.

"You got any water?" inquired Meiko to Karui who was working as a barkeep even as she drank with Kiba.

"Yes." confirmed Karui as she reached for a bottle of water in the micro fridge.

"Water?" inquired Naruto as he moved to sit on the stool beside his sister.

"Mom and dad do not let me drink yet." explained Meiko.

"Two shots of whiskey, one for me and one for my little sister." ordered Naruto before looking at Sakura.

"A bottle of sake." ordered Sakura

"What am I the bartender." Complained Karui as she got the three orders and placed it down infront of the three newcomers, everyone else already had one either beer, sake or whiskey of some kind.

"Dad will not even touch the stuff, too worried about it becoming a crutch for dealing with being separated from you. I have seen mom drink some wine but that is it." explained Meiko as she looked at the golden liquid in front of her. Slowly she picked it up and took a pull only to get a look on her face which caused all the older people around to laugh. The only person who did not was Kiba and that was because his head was resting on the wood as he said something to himself in a drunk stopper.

"What the hell is that?" inquired Meiko as Naruto took his own drink; unlike her he didn't get a face.

"Whiskey, a good version in fact one of Jiraiya-sensie's favorites." explained Naruto with a sadness in his voice. Sakura lowered her own head a bit and looked at the bottle of sake, she had took a few of Lady Tsunade's bottles when she was her student and ordered it out of pure habit. It was then that she noticed the brand, one of Tsunade's favorites. She poured a glass of her own leaving the bottle beside her before raising her glass to Naruto's. The glasses chimed as they hit surprising Naruto and everyone else in the room.

"To Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya, two the three sannin and our teachers." toasted Sakura as the two of them shared a look before kissing each other. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the event while Ino smiled, Kiba was still too drunk to notice and Karui simple shrugged.

Meiko smiled just like Ino; however her smile wasn't as true.

"Naruto needs to become a demon to live, the demon chakra is killing him but will he do it if he is with Sakura? Will she become a demon too?" thought Meiko as she looked at her brother and Sakura. "I like her and I think so would mom and dad but if she doesn't become a demon then there may be no way to convince Naruto to become one and I would rather have him live then that happen. I guess I have to convince them both to turn now."

They tried to talk about anything beside the virus and the demons but it dominated every topic, when they tried to talk about friends it turned into talking about if someone was still alive, still human or remembering how they died. Finally, Sakura decided she was going to call it a night, Meiko had stuck to water after her little run in with whiskey and she had left a ten minutes earlier, Shikamaru had left before her and Karui had carried a drunk to the point of black out Kiba to his bed. Sai had shown up and started talking to Ino, seeing her best friend flirt with her other teammate cause her to smile before she moved her hand and placed it on top of Naruto's. He looked at her with a smile before nodding his head.

"Have a good night you two." said Naruto as he clapped a hand on Sai's shoulder. "Make sure you turn off the lights when you're done here."

"Will do." confirmed Sai

"So forehead are you going to Naruto's place or yours?" laughed Ino, both women knew that Ino was really asking if she would have the adjourning rooms to herself.

"Naruto-kun's." answered Sakura as she and Naruto left the bar leaving Ino and Sai alone at the bar.

"So any progress is uncovering anything hidden in the files from the Leaf?" inquired Sai as he took a drink from his drink, it was a sort of tea only spiked with liquor but not enough to really call it a hard drink. Ino on the other hand had taken the time to make a mix fruit drink and was enjoying it the fruit with mixed in with the rum.

"Some but some of it is dead ends." explained Ino "There were countless reports about cures that worked but don't make any sense."

"Demons are turning humans into their kind, sense as gone out the window." countered Sai

"True, but some of the "cures" make no sense at all and seams the act of desperate people trying to find a way to save themselves." explained Ino. "There was a report from the Land of Demons where a woman was cured because she lied on heated sandstone because heat helps fight the pain of the blisters only to wake up to find all the blisters gone. Another said a man was cured because he had sex with his wife and one woman said she was cured after giving birth so her son must be a holy figure. Both she and her son died from the flue a week after being cured."

"So beside Naruto and Fu no one has been cured over night from the flu?" inquired Sai

"And in those cases, we know that was because their demons died within them." Explained Ino "Now, lets not talk about that or the flu or anything that has to do with the demons."

"What do you want to talk about?" inquired Sai as Ino blinked, she could not think of anything that didn't in some way come back to the demons. If they talked about home or families that would led to who was still alive, talking about movies or entertainment didn't feel right as people died.

"What do you hope for the future?" inquired Ino as she jumped on the only topic she could think of that didn't relate to the demons, she was wrong.

"Well if we are still human then I assume our first goal will be rebuilding the Leaf and the human population how many people have died because of this flu?" inquired Sai

"In general 9 out of 10 people in some the less affected areas 1 out of 5 or even in a rare case only 7 out of 10." answered Ino wishing she did not know that.

"Then our first goal is to rebuild our home and then start repopulating the world." explained Sai

"Well I would imagine that Naruto and Sakura are working on repopulating right now." Laughed Ino "So is Neji and Tenten and once Temari gets here I think Shikamaru and her will both admit what we all know about the two of them."

"You are correct, but you forgetting that Sasuke and Karin are together." added Sai

"I try not to think about that snake, Sasuke as much as I can." Explained Ino "But you are right he is human after all and after this is all over we need as many babies to repopulate the world as we can get. We will be an endangered species."

"Endangered species." said Sai as he looked straightforward for a moment chewing on the words. "That must be how the demons felt, only a handful living on by the skin of their teeth as those who had slaughtered them rose to power. I guess from their point of view it made sense to get payback and turn the humans into demons."

"They are killing millions of people. That is wrong on so many leaves." Snapped Ino as Sai nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree but while I hate it I can understand it." Explained Sai as Ino closed her eyes and let out a resigned sigh.

"Yes, you may be right." admitted Ino "They could see it that way, this is payback for the sins of our ancestors but their sins shouldn't carry over to us."

"True." Confirmed Sai as both of them took a drink from their drinks.

Only a few hundred feet away in the serirty checkpoint, Sasuke Uchiha was fighting to keep breathing steadly as Karin stood beside her seated lover. She rolled up her arm to show the countless of bite marks all signs of her healing ability doing its job to keep Sasuke alive. She moved her arm and Sasuke bite down, causing her to wince a bit but soon the pain passed as her healing ability went to work. Sasuke breathing steadied and his strength began to come back.

"How long can you keep this up?" inquired Suigetsu as he leaned back in his chair and looked board both at the monitors which showed the outside world and with the feeding that was going on in the small room.

"As long as it is needed," said Karin but both Suigetsu and Sasuke heard unsureness in her voice. "We can keep this going a while."

"Until you find a cure?" inquired Suigetsu

"We aren't going to wait on a cure." said Karin "Not a full cure for everyone; Orochimaru did a lot of research into passing along bloodline abilities which my healing skill is. We are going to use that to cure Sasuke-kun, after that happens then we can worry about the rest of humanity."

"And if whatever you are planning fails? What happens next because he is get worse with each passing day," countered Suigetsu

"I will not let Sasuke-kun die." said Karin as she felt faint and reached for a third chair and pulled it over. She sat down and placed her head in her free hand, "If what we have planned doesn't work then we have one last option."

Sakura Haruno lied awake, her body was screaming at her both in mind and body to go asleep to close her eyes and let sleep take her. Even so she fought against that basic need to take in the moment and enjoy what was happening around her. She and Naruto where lying in his bed, but they had just come in to sleep not to have sex. Both of them had changed into more conformable clothing, a pair of black shorts with an orange T-shirt for Naruto and a simple white tank top and a pair of black shorts. Naruto had kissed her softly after they had shared a kiss on her forehead as they lied side by side in bed just enjoying being close to each other.

Both of them where lying on their side facing each other, since Naruto was slightly taller her head rested partly on his shoulder. One of his arms was under her head while the other arm rested on her hip, her hands where on Naruto's chest both of them holding each other close, their feet where also interlaced. Sakura just lied their listening to Naruto's strong heart, while she filled her nose his scent, she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the safety that came from being with the man she loves. Finally she let sleep take her until morning.

It was just after four thirty in the morning when the alarm began going off in Neji's and Tenten's room, unlike the others ninjas from the Leaf they hadn't even attempted to hid that they were together. They had gotten a bed big enough for both of them along with everything else a couple living together would need, it was of a much better quality than either of them could have offered but everyone was doing it. Neji slapped the alarm off as he got out of bed and headed toward the shower. Tenten pretended to be asleep and waited until she heard the shower going before she started to put her plan into action.

She quickly got out of bed and moved toward a nightstand beside her bed, she pulled it open and found beside a kunai a wedding ring box. She quickly and quietly moved to the dresser where Neji had placed items such as his father's watch, which he wore almost every day, his wallet and other items. She quickly place the tinny box beside the other items before heading back to the bed. She lied on her side and waited for Neji to do what he did every morning like clockwork. Neji finally got out of the shower and moved to grab his items; he put on his watch without noticing the box only when he reached for his wallet did he stop.

He picked it up and turned toward her who was lying on her side in bed with a smile on her face.

"I knew you wouldn't want to make a huge deal of it, but Neji-kun will you marry me?" inquired Tenten with a smile as to her amazement Neji chuckled a bit. Tenten sat up in bed and glared slightly at her boyfriend. She watched as Neji reached into one of his vest pockets and pulled a ring box of his own, Tenten's eyes widened as she realized why Neji was chuckling. "You were going to ask me soon weren't you?"

"When we got off guard duty." Explained Neji as he got down on one knee in front of her and opened the ring box, it was a simple golden ring with three diamonds. One larger then the other in the center with two smaller ones flanking it. She pulled out the ring and tried to put it on her finger only to find that it was slightly too small to fit her finger. "Sorry that it doesn't fit right, I don't know who could resize it. It belonged to my mother."

Tenten simply nodded her head, she did not care that the ring was slightly too small that could be addressed. It was a family heirloom and Neji's late mother was a small thin woman so it made sense that her ring was small. Tenten leaned forward from her sitting position on the bed and kissed Neji, when they pulled apart Neji opened his box to see a simple gold band inlayed with some silver.

"We were thinking alike, that is a good sign that we were meant to be together," said Tenten as Neji nodded his head. "I was actually looking at wedding dress shops when we were searching the town for supplies."

Neji simply smiled, as Tenten got ready for her day, since she could not fit the ring on her finger she slipped it over a thin silver necklace. She paused for a moment before the mirror and looked at the golden ring sitting in her cleavage; a smile crossed her face as she touched the ring before she got dressed. They walked out of the room and into the darkened common area, everything seemed peaceful.

The common room was set up in a circle with 22 rooms radiating out, 2 of the rooms were designed for couples. One of those was taken by Sasuke and Karin and the other was shared by Neji and Tenten. Some of the rooms where currently empty but if the group they had made contact arrived they would actually have to use the second level, which sat below them and matched the top floor in every way.

"I am going to go check on Hinata before we head up to replace Sasuke and Suigetsu." explained Tenten as she passed by Fu's room which sat next to theirs and headed toward the door beside it which was Hinata's. She knocked before she pushed open the door to find the room dark, the bed was a mess but empty. She moved toward the bathroom and knocked again, before pushing open the door. It was a simple bathroom, a shower tub mix with a toilet and a sink. Nothing much, the master room she and Neji shared at a shower and a tub with two sinks. None of that mattered as she spotted a figure lying in the tube with a kunai on the ground.

"Hinata!" yelled Tenten as she rushed toward her friend, she was nude her arm limp and but blood was still pumping out of her silted wrist. "NEJI GET SAKURA NOW!"

Only a few rooms away one of Naruto's ear twitched as he heard the sound of yelling coming from outside. He lifted his head up off the pillow as he focused on the sound for a moment.

"Sakura-chan." Said Naruto as he shook the woman in his arms.

"What?" complained a mostly asleep Sakura

"Someone is yelling for you outside." Explained Naruto as his door burst open as Neji rushed in, causing both of them to sit up.

"Sakura, come now Hinata did needs you." Said Neji as Sakura's eyes widened.

"God, she didn't do what I think she did." said Sakura as she rushed out of the room, not even bothering to put on her shoes. She rushed to Hinata's room and found Tenten holding back the blood from Hinata's silted wristed.

"God." Said Sakura as she studied the wound with the eyes of a highly trained doctor, the water was red with Hinata's blood.

"Shit, she cut straight across and then down." thought Sakura until she noticed two bottles of pills on sink. She picked it up and read the labels.

"Naruto-kun." said Hinata weakly as life began to leave her.

"Shit." cursed Sakura "Blood thinners and sleeping pills."

"You can heal this right?" inquired Tenten with fear in her voice.

"It is hard but I can seal the wound, but she took blood thinners has increase blood loss and the sleeping pills make it possible. I could stop one easy, two possible but not all three. I can't stop this." stated Sakura as Tenten's eyes widened as Sakura placed a hand of healing chakra on the wound. "Damn you Hinata, all this because Naruto-kun is with me."

"You have to be able to do something?" inquired Tenten as Sakura lowered her head.

"I can seal the wound but she has loss too much blood and the sleeping pills…" explained Sakura with tears in her eyes. "Nothing I can do can save her. I can hold death off for a little bit or I can end it for her."

"There is one way." Said a voice from behind her, as Sakura turned her head to see Meiko standing there. She was in her demon form which caused Sakura's eyes to widen as the same idea Meiko had crossed her mind.

"Turn her into a demon," stated Sakura

"Turning heals wounds, it should heal that and it should clear the blood and the stomach," explained Meiko as Sakura looked toward Tenten.

"Talk to Neji, he is her only family member here he should make the call either she dies as a human or lives as a demon." Explained Sakura as Tenten eyes widened as she moved out of the door to talk to Neiji.

The sky was dark and the waves where even darker as Konohamaru and Moegi sat in the ship heading toward the demon home village, they had been riding all night and now the sun was just beginning to poke over the horizon.

"Alright we are ten minutes out, we will hit them right before sunrise." Stated a mist ninja as he moved down the line of handing out small cups full of a clear liquid, the older ninjas took the cups without questions. Konohamaru and Moegi took cups of their own and waited. Once everyone had one they all raised their glasses and drank. Both Moegi and Konohamaru gagged at the taste of the liquid.

"These kids have never had moonshine." Laughed one of the mist ninjas

"You guys drink before battle?" inquired Moegi

"One last drink before you die." stated the Mist ninja as the others laughed as the dozen small ships made a turn as it headed toward a small island with a tiny harbor. Konohamaru and the others looked out toward it only to see it aglow with electric light. He lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes and saw the shape of demons walking on the docks, they were dressed like fisherman and seemed to be preparing their boats for a day out on the water.

"It is time for some payback." said Konohamaru with hate burning in his eyes as he pulled a kunia, it was one of the special ones that they had given him it was made out of bronze instead of hardened steel.

Well I hope you liked this chapter, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I ask that you keep reading. Thanks Wilkins75.