Chapter 6:
Pacing the foyer of the Hokage building, Sakura looked anxiously out the locked glass doors of the main entrance. "This could work," she repeated on occasion, more to convince herself than instill confidence in the others.
"It's a five-man squad Kakashi put together and well-balanced with long, mid and close-range attackers with different skill sets including those specializing in capture, including sealing." Shikamaru looked out the glass doors as he spoke, keeping a vigilant eye on the street and sky. "Even if they don't succeed, we'll have gathered vital data."
"You make it sound like they're test subjects in an experiment," Naruto complained.
"Sometimes you have to have someone test something in order to up your chances in battle," Shikamaru explained. "And every mission has risks. If this was…"
"I still say I could test it with my clones instead of sacrificing shinobi."
"We're not sacrificing anybody," Shikamaru retorted. "They're more interested in increasing their numbers than killing people. We know that from Sai. And we already explained that your clones could pop before gathering important information. There's also a good chance this could work and Sai has been subdued by the team along with the other guy."
"Vampire," Naruto corrected. "Not just some guy but a vampire. Don't underestimate them."
"I still say this being a jutsu is more believable than vampires."
"We should have warned them," Naruto said. "Or at least send them off with some garlic or something."
"And how would we explain that?" Shikamaru asked. "They would conclude that we think it's vampires-"
"Because it is."
"-and not believe us. They would laugh and not take it seriously or think we're nuts. There's not enough proof to support the vampire theory anyway."
A loud thump drew their attention to the glass doors where Sai stood with blood in the corner of his mouth. He grinned fiendishly at them, fangs bared.
"That proof enough?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the shinobi pressing his hands against the glass.
Sai looked from one to the other slowly and his smile grew. "It was so nice of you to send a welcome home party to greet me. How thoughtful. We all shared a bite together."
Sakura backed away from the glass, seeing the blood clinging to Sai's lips. "The plan didn't work. You turned them, didn't you?"
Sai looked in her direction. "Ohh. Only one. Maybe two. The first was a bit fatty but tasty nonetheless."
The fangs, blood and sinister mannerisms finally convinced Shikamaru as he gaped at the shinobi on the other side of the glass. "I don't believe it. He really is a vampire."
"Now you get it?!" Naruto barked. "Took you long enough! That's what we've been trying to tell you! Some genius…"
Bringing his hand down, Sai jiggled the doorhandle that didn't move no matter which way he tried to force it. "Ohh. You're so excited to see me, you forgot to unlock the door."
"We locked it to keep you out just in case this happened," Naruto told him sternly.
"Aw, come on, Naruto. Let me in." Sai changed his expression to a playful pout, practically mocking them. "Let your friend in."
"You're not my friend," Naruto said firmly. "I told you before. The Sai I know would not act like this."
"Aw, now you've hurt my feelings," Sai said, putting a hand to his chest to feign an assault on his emotions but it just came off as a scornful taunt.
"Just let us help you," Sakura told him from a safe distance.
Sai ignored her and focused his attention on Shikamaru, thinking he would make more headway with him.
"Shikamaru. Oh, Shikamaru. Open the door, Shikamaru."
The ninja inside made eye contact with Sai and found something hauntingly beautiful about the way his eyes contrasted with the rising moon behind him. That mysterious glow seemed to be pulling him in and the soothing way Sai spoke made it hard to think.
"Shikamaru. Open the door, Shikamaru. Let me in."
His hand started to rise towards the latch on the door, compelled to do as he said. Realizing what was happening, Shikamaru forced his hand back to his side and looked away.
Growling in annoyance, Sai's expression changed back to the look of a hungry animal on the hunt. He banged the glass with his palm, making the door rattle, to show his distain. "Stubborn and strong-willed, as to be expected."
Though Shikamaru could play it off as an easy feat, the truth was that Sai's new power for manipulation was anything but a simple trick. Even when Shikamaru knew what was happening, pulling his arm away was like trying to yank it out of a strong vacuum. His body was doing it even when his mind was telling it not to. Sai was strong in more ways than one.
Sakura noticed that Sai wasn't trying to break the glass to enter the building. Perhaps it was true that vampires couldn't enter a building unless they were invited in. This was useful information, but for now, she would keep it to herself.
"We have to tell Kakashi-sensei," she said to the others. "Come on."
"Go right ahead and tell him," said Sai, pressing his forehead to the glass. "Have him come out here and fight me. It worked so well for the others. I'm sure the master would love his company."
Sakura hesitated. What if they were wrong and Kakashi became a vampire, too? Was this the right move?
"Don't let him put doubt in your head," said Naruto, grabbing her attention. "It's just another trick. You know Kakashi-sensei wouldn't fall prey to them so easily. He'd have, like, a thousand plans to avoid turning into one of them. He wouldn't attack a vampire directly."
Sakura nodded. "You're right. Come on."
Sai called after them as they ran towards the stairs. He watched to make sure they were gone before taking another look at the doors. The glass was reenforced because it was the Hokage building. They wanted to make sure the lower floor was as secure as possible in case of attack to serve as a kind of stronghold, but the upper floors weren't as well fortified. That glass could shatter easily with the right amount of force. Including the ones in the Hoakge's office.
He now knew that Kakashi was in the building and most likely upstairs, as indicated by the direction his friends ran in.
Sai looked up at the upper levels of the building, assessing. Attacking directly wouldn't be wise. Kakashi would see him coming through those large windows overlooking the village. But there were other windows leading to small rooms and offices. Using one of those would be better.
Sai had let Sakura think that he couldn't enter the building but she was wrong. He could have forced his way in now that he had the strength to do it, but he didn't. He wanted to toy with them a bit and have some fun. Make them doubt themselves and the information they had.
However, there was one other little secret he had yet to reveal that would make things even more challenging for them.
"They all failed?"
"If we can believe what Sai was telling us, then all the shinobi in that squad have been turned," said Shikamaru. "He did have blood around his mouth and he was clearly uncaptured. But it could be a ruse."
Kakashi looked out the large window behind his desk. "This enemy is certainly formidable. Couldn't even be captured by shinobi specializing in it."
"They were probably off guard because we didn't bother to tell them we were dealing with vampires," Naruto said. "If we had told them…"
"Whether we're dealing with a vampire or a powerful shinobi, what is the difference in their approach?" asked Kakashi. "Are you saying they would take a powerful shinobi invading our village lightly compared to a vampire?"
Naruto dropped his gaze with a frown. No matter what they had told the shinobi, they would have taken their job seriously. The Hokage telling them that they were up against a powerful adversary who had placed one of their own under a powerful genjutsu and planned to invade the village was enough to convince them that this threat was real and had to be cautious.
"Ok," Kakashi said, trying to think of a new plan. "We can't get too close to these guys and now their numbers have increased. Sealing won't work and other means of capture were a bust. What are our options?"
"We can wait until daylight when the vampires will be at a disadvantage," suggested Sakura. "It would be easier to capture them then. Or use garlic, as Naruto suggested. At least we know they can't enter a building unless you let them in."
Down the hall, Sai used his new claws to cut out a hole in the glass of an office and climb inside silently. He stepped over to the door and peeked into the hall. He could hear voices chattering softly from behind the closed doors of the Hokage's office.
"We could do that. But there are still shinobi out there. The curfew will keep the numbers in check to an extent, but the vampires could still find prey and they've already gained five new members, if Sai is to be believed."
"And those shinobi might have families who would let them in and then the numbers would go up again. It's also hours before sunrise. Can we hold out until then?"
"Vampires can be tricky and this head vampire is probably the most powerful. If we can get him then maybe we don't have to worry about the others."
"What if they try to free him if he does get captured?"
"Can Ino use her jutsu to subdue the vampire?"
"Maybe. I can ask. If she can use it on humans and animals, maybe a vampire…"
Kakashi looked at the ground and called out a warning. "Get back!"
A snake made out of ink lunged at their legs as they jumped away at Kakashi's warning. Sai came bursting through the door with scroll in hand. "Hello, friends!"
"How'd he get in?" Sakura asked, climbing onto Kakashi's desk to escape the snake. "I thought he couldn't."
"I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" Sai started scribbling on the scroll and sent two large tigers their direction.
"He can still use jutsu as a vampire?!" Naruto said, drawing a kunai to fend off the tigers.
Sai drew more animals, then tossed the scroll aside, setting his sights on Kakashi. He intended to attack him amidst the chaos. "Once you're enslaved to the master, you can order all the people from their homes and right into our jaws."
He flew at Kakashi and managed to wrap himself around the Hokage's shoulder and bit him.
"Kakahsi-sensei, no!"
POP!
Sai stood where Kakashi had been and looked around, empty-handed. "A clone? Where is he?"
Naturally, even though the situation seemed farfetched, Kakashi took it seriously and decided to treat it like any other shinobi mission while keeping the vampire theory in mind. He was glad that he did.
After Naruto and the others went to the lobby to lock the main doors and wait for results, Kakashi took some precautions. One of which was replacing himself with a clone. He knew Sai's first objective would be to try to reach the person in charge and try to subdue them. This was a standard tactic for a shinobi and Sai knew Kakashi would be one of the biggest threats to him. That being said, a vampire wanting to increase their numbers would seek him out for similar reasons and try to turn him into a vampire as well. Having gained a formidable alley, their strength would increase with the added benefit of having someone with a lot of influence.
He knew Sai would head for his office the moment he got into the building. The issue he and Shikamaru still had was not knowing exactly what vampires were capable of. The only way to separate fact from fantasy was to test it and, unfortunately, that meant someone would have to put themselves at risk. However, Kakashi was used to going into battle with little information on his opponent and had a method of upping his chances. Using a clone to face the enemy first was something he had done numerous times in the past, including when he faced Pein years ago. Now, not only did he know that Sai really was a vampire and couldn't be reasoned with, he also knew that Sai still possessed his shinobi abilities and had gained vampire abilities as well. Those two combined made him even more dangerous and harder to fight.
"Which also means those bitten and turned will also still have their jutsu and vampire powers," Kakashi muttered as he rummaged around for supplies.
He felt bad for not telling his students his intentions but he had to keep them in the dark just in case another vampire ability had some merit to it.
"According to lore and movies, vampires can use hypnosis to take control of a person and make them tell him what they know. I can't risk Naruto or Sakura getting caught in that and spilling intel about anything I told them. Sorry, but it's not worth the risk."
Kakashi found what he was looking for and tucked the items into his pocket. If they couldn't get near Sai and jutsu proved ineffective, then this was one of their last resorts to subduing Sai and the other vampire shinobi.
Sai picked up Kakashi's desk with one hand and threw it at his friends who jumped aside in time. "Where is he?!" Sai roared angrily.
"Even if we knew, we wouldn't tell you," said Naruto. He wanted to know where Kakashi was, too. Maybe he was hiding in this room, getting ready to pounce on Sai from above or behind when his back was turned. That's what he was hoping but so far, he hadn't seen even a hint of Kakashi anywhere.
Snarling, Sai looked around the room as if expecting the same thing. Then he narrowed his sights on Shikamaru and that sinister smile was back on his face. "Kakashi's one thing. But obtaining an expert strategist would help us just as well. You could even help flush him out if needed."
From the other side of the room, Shikamaru's entire body tensed. If he got bitten, it was all over. He would be helping the enemy whether he wanted to or not. Judging from Sai's actions and smile, he probably would want to and enjoy it.
"Come here, Shikamaru!" Sai tried to run towards him but Naruto tackled him before he could.
Sai was incredibly strong. Naruto tried to keep himself around Sai's waist and away from his mouth but Sai was pulling him towards his jaws with both hands and Naruto was about to lose his grip. He willingly let go and punched Sai before his shoulder could get any closer and sprang back. Sai made a grab for him but couldn't move.
"Of course," he said as if he had just been tagged out in a game.
Sai had been deliberately trying to avoid having his feet on the ground to keep the shadow linking him to Shikamaru from doing what it was doing now.
"Got him in time," Shikamaru said, trying to keep his voice even. It was actually difficult to hold Sai with his jutsu and wondered if vampires could resist it better than others.
"Hold him while we tie him up," Naruto said while he looked around for something strong enough to secure Sai.
"You're wasting your time," Sai said, pulling against Shikamaru's jutsu. "Those shinobi you sent didn't stand a chance. What makes you think you will? Our numbers are already growing. It's only a matter of time before this village is overrun. This is a pathetic and futile attempt to stop the inevitable."
"Would you shut up?" Naruto tossed a folder at Sai's face. He was still looking for materials he could use against Sai but it seemed most everything in the Hokage's office was just for business.
"Sai, do you even hear what you're saying? This isn't you," Sakura tried to reason with him.
"Don't even bother," Naruto said, picking up a cord from a lamp he thought might make a good bind for Sai. "Sai's a vampire now. Right? Your loyalty is to the vampire who bit you. You'd never listen to us, no matter how much we've been through."
Sai smirked. "Well, as your friend, I'm advising you to join us."
"And I'm advising you to shut up."
"We're just too different," Sai went on. "Once you become a vampire like me, we'll be together again. You'll finally understand me. I mean, you don't want to be alone, do you?"
"Sai, don't go there."
"Think about it. With our numbers growing, it's only a matter of time before everyone's a vampire. Except for you. You'll be shunned and an enemy and no one will want anything to do with you. Sound familiar?"
"I said shut up."
"I can save you from that. All you have to do is let me bite you. Trust me. It's not so bad. Far better than being alone. I'm trying to save you from that pain. You just got the village's respect. Why lose it and go right back to being-"
Naruto used the lamp cord to gag Sai's mouth. "Can't bite me now, can you?" Naruto knotted it behind Sai's head and went back to looking for something to bind his hands. "You think chains would be strong enough? Basic rope's not going to do it."
"Why don't we use garlic to weaken him?" asked Sakura. "That's how it works in movies and books."
"We don't know if that stuff's accurate," said Shikamaru. "For all we know, garlic has no effect or vampire's love it."
"What are you basing that off of?" asked Naruto. Every vampire lore he knew of consistently stated that garlic and vampires didn't mix.
Shikamaru blushed slightly and looked away. "It's from a manga Ino likes. She's into the vampire stuff. She subjected me to it. Don't ask."
Sai started pulling against the shadow again and Shikamaru's feet slid a tiny bit on the smooth floor. If they were going to restrain Sai, they had to do it soon.
"Naruto, Sakura."
They turned to the door where Kakashi was standing, using it to shield himself in case of sudden attack. He quickly assessed the situation and motioned for them to move away from Sai. They traded places and once Kakashi was in front of Sai, he instructed Shikamaru to get ready to run.
"I'll handle him. You get out of here. Shut the door and do not open it."
"But-"
"That's an order. Trust me."
Shikamaru couldn't hold the jutsu any longer and broke it, sprinting to the door as instructed. Sai didn't try removing the cords from his mouth, lunging at Kakashi the second he could move freely. Kakashi did not run. Instead, he returned the motion, coming to meet Sai in the center of the room and wrapped both arms around him in a kind of bear hug.
"Shut the door!" Kakashi ordered them as he kept Sai's arms at bay.
Sakura did what Kakashi told her to do, almost whacking Naruto with the door as he tried to keep an eye on the battle within the office. Once the door was shut, they had no idea what was going on in there, but they heard a struggle.
"Don't worry. Those electric cords will prevent Sai from biting Kakashi-sensei."
"What if Sai bites through them?"
"He told us to get out and shut the door. He must have a plan."
There was a loud noise and thudding inside, then they heard Kakashi grunting in pain. Naruto went to open the door to take a peek but Sakura stopped him. He listened intently to the fight and heard more thumping and grunting, then a loud thud.
"I have to check," Naruto said when things went quiet.
"I'd wait a minute," said a voice. A hand touched the hand Naruto had on the doorknob. It was Kakashi.
"How…? A clone?" Naruto asked, looking from this Kakashi to the door hiding the one inside.
"I had to get close enough to Sai while minimizing the risk of being bitten myself. Since Sai appears to be able to resist some jutsu and is stronger than normal, I went for a different tactic. Now that I no longer have the Sharingan, this seemed like a decent substitute for the situation."
Kakashi allowed Naruto to open the door to learn what happened. Sai was inside with the electric cords still gagging his mouth but he was on the floor and the Kakashi clone was nowhere in sight. Sakura cautiously stepped closer to Sai and notice a faint residue on his clothing. His body was twitching but he made no attempt to reach her. She understood why.
"You used a paralysis bomb," she concluded, looking at Kakashi. "They only work at close range."
"That's why I used my clone," he explained. He turned Sai over and tied his arms behind his back with the thick wire he found while gathering materials. The wire worked about as well as chains and were thin enough to be wrapped around Sai's body without leaving any gaps for him to escape. Sai's hands were bound as well as his legs and arms, making him look like a caterpillar encasing itself in a cocoon. Kakashi lifted Sai over his shoulder and marched towards the door.
"Where are we taking him?"
"Where he can be contained and examined for a cure, as we discussed," he explained. "Let's hurry. I don't know how long the effects will last on a vampire body."
It would be dangerous to move at night with vampires abound, but they had little choice. Thankfully, they didn't have to go far from the office and where Kakashi was taking Sai was partly underground so they wouldn't be out in the open for long.
Sai's muffled speech, faint as it was, made Naruto nervous about going outside, thinking any sound would draw the vampires near. Of course, that was the point. Sai was trying to draw attention to them.
Slinging Sai over his shoulder, Kakashi cautiously peered around the corner of the building, checking above their heads first before looking at the street and other buildings. He motioned for the three to follow him across the street and they hurried to a building under the Hokage monument. With the mountain at their backs, it made it easier for them to focus on what was going on in all other directions.
Again, Kakashi motioned for them to head in another direction, never speaking a word and moving silently the entire time.
Sai tried to make as much noise as he could but the cord was in the way. He started to chew through it in order to free his mouth. The others were too busy looking out for other vampires to notice what he was doing.
Kakashi pointed to a door hidden in a dark alley by trash and rusted pipes. It was meant to look unassuming on purpose to disguise the secret entrance to their path underground. They nodded in understanding.
Just then, Sai spat aside the broken cord and bite Kakashi's arm.
"No!" Sakura cried out automatically when she saw Sai successfully sink his teeth into the Hokage.
POP! It was another clone.
"How many of those things does he have?!" Sai asked loudly in irritation.
Naruto picked Sai off the ground and told the others to hurry to the door, hoping the noise hadn't drawn too many enemies. They managed to get inside and as soon as they were, Naruto lectured Sakura.
"Why did you shout like that? You could have lured them right to us!"
"Me?!" Sakura clubbed Naruto over the head, offended. "It didn't matter because Sai shouted way louder than I did!"
"It doesn't matter," said Shikamaru, calling for peace. "Let's just continue. At least we know Kakashi didn't get bitten."
"You got one thing right," said Sai with a growl. "It doesn't matter. It's foolish to resist. You'll all join us eventually. You're just making it harder on yourselves."
"Will you shut up?" Naruto asked yanking Sai's bonds.
Still unable to move, all Sai could do was hiss menacingly in response.
The long tunnel didn't take the group directly to their destination. It was just an underground passage used in case of emergency when being on the street was too dangerous. At the end of the tunnel, they would have to go a short distance to the actual location, which meant they would have to travel above ground again. At least this way, it shortened the amount of time they were exposed.
Naruto had hoped Kakahi would be waiting in the tunnel for them but that didn't seem to be the case this time. They were on their own while Kakashi's whereabouts were uncertain.
"I hope he's ok," Naruto muttered, breaking the silence. "That's two clones he's used so far. We have no idea where the real one is. I mean, it's Kakashi. He's probably fine. Waiting for us at the safe zone or wherever."
"Sure about that?" Sai asked from behind Naruto. Unable to walk and unwilling to bring him too close to their bodies, Naruto had to drag Sai by his binds across the secret path underground. Naruto barely glanced in his direction at the question, though Sai could tell his interest was piqued.
Sakura had slowed her pace to a stop when Sai spoke. Not because she thought Sai had anything worth paying attention to, but to make sure Naruto wasn't fooled again.
"Think about it," Sai continued. "We've already established that vampires maintain their ability to use jutsu when turned. And you have no idea where the real Kakshi even is. It's possible that he's already become a vampire and he's using his clones to lure you into a trap. Just on the other side of that door is a swarm of vampires ready to pounce. It makes sense if you think about it."
Naruto gave Sakura a worried look. "What if that's true?"
"There's no way. Kakashi's too cautious to be turned. He took so many steps to make sure…" Sakura was starting to wonder if maybe Kakashi had been ambushed. After all, there was no way to tell who had been turned or not in the main building or any other buildings Kakashi may have fled to. And if they had come across the real one, there was a chance all this was a trick. The real Kakshi wouldn't have left their side like this. "For him to hide is… But he's super careful, so…"
Now both were having their doubts about the situation. This could have been a trick.
"He's lying," Shikamaru said with certainty.
"How do we know for sure?" asked Naruto. "If there's even a chance that Kakashi was turned and that all this is a trick, then we could be going right into a trap."
"Then he wouldn't have said anything and let us keep going." Shikamaru glanced in Sai's direction. "He's trying to put doubt in our heads. If this were a trap and there are vampires waiting for us, then he would have let us walk right into it instead of warning us about it. Which pretty much means he knows Kakashi hasn't become a vampire and that we're doing the right thing. You don't want us to keep going, do you, Sai?"
Hissing, Sai gave Shikamaru a dirty look and showed his teeth.
"Just as I thought."
Naruto gave Sai the same dirty look and yanked his binds. "Would you quit messing with our heads? As if this situation weren't stressful enough."
"He's taking advantage of it," explained Sakura, realizing what Sai was doing. "In these high-stress situations, it's easy for people to be convinced of something and get paranoid. We have to stick to our guts so we don't fall for any vampire tricks."
"I'll just assume everything out of his mouth is a lie," Naruto muttered and dragged Sai down the path.
At the end of their path was another door. This one with a sliding flap that they could peek out from to see the street safely. Shikamaru used it to check the street and their surroundings, bringing his eyes to the rectangular opening. From their vantagepoint, he could see the corner of the hospital building on their left and a street on their right which led to a research lab.
"Is it clear?" Naruto asked, trying to see around Shikamaru's head.
Shikamaru frowned. "It is. But…"
"But what?"
Shikamaru closed the flap and took a step back from the door. "I don't think we should go to either location."
"Huh? Why not? The hospital has all kinds of rooms we can use and drugs we can use to subdue Sai and even restraints. And they have a lab in the hospital we can use. The research lab might be further away, but they have heavy metal doors and cells to keep Sai in until we can figure this out. If not there, then the interrogation rooms back at-"
"Not good," Shikamaru cut him off. "If you think about it, those are the most logical places to go which makes them the most dangerous."
"Huh?"
"Look at it strategically. If you're hurt, where would you go? In times of crisis, where do you flock to? If you're looking to make a stronghold, where would you go? What's ideal? A hospital is one of the first places you'd go to because it has everything you need. Which makes it the first place a vampire would want to target. It also carries blood. Not just in the staff but in packs, too. And the lockdown wouldn't affect a hospital from closing its doors. A vampire could easily walk in there and infect somebody who would infect somebody and so on. The hospital could be overrun for all we know or have a few vampires already making their rounds, turning people here and there so no one will know until it's too late."
"You're right," said Naruto. "The interrogation rooms would be the same way. They're dark, windowless rooms underground. A shinobi on guard duty could have been turned while at their post and then went inside to do the same to the others. We go there, there could be dozens of vampires ready to jump us. Research lab, too."
"But there must have been a reason Kakashi wanted us to come this way," said Sakura. "He must have considered these possibilities. Why would he tell us to take this route?"
"I told you," Sai sang mockingly then laughed. "Kakashi's already been turned. It's a trap. Get it now? You got no chance. This was probably Kakashi's way of telling you to give up. Accept the inevitable. There's no safe place to go. Every safe place you'd logically want to go is the first place Master would target. And the shinobi who have already been turned know the layout of their own village. There's no safe place to go. Face facts."
"I hate to say it, but he's right," said Sakura. "The shinobi turned retain their memories so they'd know the best places to go in the village. Not just to turn people but to keep themselves safe. And if the whole point is for them to grow their population, of course they'd know how to get that done effectively and efficiently."
"Well, I'm not giving up," said Naruto. "There must be a place we can go a vampire wouldn't think of or know about."
"In our own village?" Sakura was skeptical. "What are we supposed to do, the opposite? Stand in the middle of the park or go to the interrogation rooms?"
"I'm up for it," said Shikamaru.
"Huh?!" Both turned to gape at him.
Shikamaru shrugged. "Fine by me. In fact, I'll go right now. Seems to me that if we do the unexpectedly expected, it's our best chance."
"Say what?" Even Sai had a raised eyebrow at this.
"They'd expect us to go to the hospital. And we know they expect us to, which is why we would avoid it. So, if we go there, it defies logic and they wouldn't be expecting that. To do exactly what they think we wouldn't do. Do the expected."
Naruto put a hand to Shikamaru's forehead. "You got a fever or something?"
"Trust me. I haven't gone crazy." Shikamaru lowered Naruto's hand from his forehead. "My plan will work. I know what I'm doing."
Naruto normally wouldn't doubt Shikamaru's plan but this seemed out of character. If he didn't know better, Naruto would have assumed Shikamaru was a vampire and that this was all a trick. Although, if this was out of character for Shikamaru, then there must have been good reason for it. He wouldn't just give up without purpose.
Even so, this seemed like a strange plan. To do the expected? Could that really work?
Naruto's eyes lit up with understanding and nodded at Shikamaru. "Well, you are the genius. Let's do it."
They opened the door and started moving towards the hospital, its sign fully illuminated in the dark. They moved along the guard wall to the entrance. Sai was quiet the entire time and didn't bother to resist. The group stopped on the path leading up to the main doors to look around. Spotting nothing unusual, they continued to the entrance and entered the white building.
As they expected, there was no one at the front desk and it was eerily quiet despite all the lights being on.
Shikamaru nodded to Naruto who nodded back. The blond ninja pulled Sai to his feet and stood him up. "Looks like everyone's out feeding," he said to Sai. "Anyone who's been infected has already fled the coop. We should be safe here."
Sai cracked a smile but didn't say anything, standing quietly while Naruto chattered away in relief.
"The first place the vampires would go is the blood bank, so we should head there."
"You sure, Shikamaru?" Sakura asked nervously.
"They would have bled the place dry by now, pardon the pun. There shouldn't be any vampires there anymore." Shikamaru peered around the corner and waved them forward.
It was a quiet and terrifying journey to the blood bank, everyone on high alert for any sign of movement. The hallway was unobscured, the large doors open wide for anyone to walk through. When they reached the lab area, they found a sign reading: blood lab. Shikamaru looked through the small window on the door and nodded.
"Just as I thought. No one's here."
Sai licked his lips hungrily and moved closer to Naruto's neck while he was facing the other direction. All three of them were looking the other way and never noticed how close he had gotten to his next victim.
For a genius, Shikamaru had come up with a pretty stupid plan.
"You don't think much of me, do you?"
Sai paused, his fangs hovering over Naruto's neck. Shikamaru's back was still to him but he knew Shikamaru was speaking directly to him.
"I think being a vampire has made you cocky."
Something wasn't right.
Suspicious, Sai continued what he had started and bite Naruto who vanished and a corkboard from the wall had Sai's fangs trapped in it instead. A substitution jutsu.
"I saw you stand on your feet when Naruto stood you up. Your paralysis wore off when we left the tunnel. You didn't fight back because there was no need to."
Flexing his arms, Sai broke his binds and yanked the corkboard from his teeth and threw it at the back of Shikamaru's head. POP! A clone.
Click!
Sai spun around and saw Sakura standing on the other side of the heavy door that had been propped open for them earlier. He rushed to it but the door would not be pushed open no matter how hard he tried. Sakura pointed to the keypad on the wall. "This is a restricted area, so staff members have to scan their keycards in order to gain access. Didn't you know that?"
Sai grinned at her through the window. "Why do you think it was left open in the first place?"
In an instant, Sakura disappeared under a pile of white lab coats as five turned staff members attempted to get a meal from her. They jumped aside when they found an office chair in her place. Another substitution.
Sai rolled his eyes with a pout. "Figures. I should have known Shikamaru wasn't that stupid."
Sai tapped the glass and pointed to the keypad for one of the staff members to open. A woman stood up and held her card up to the scanner which beeped and the heavy door swung open. Sai stepped through it and looked around.
"They never made it past the front desk," said a man in a lab coat. "If they even entered the building at all. They used clones to substitute themselves. But why? If they knew this was a trap, why come this far? To gain intel?"
"To get rid of me is more likely," answered Sai. "They didn't want me to learn about their real plan."
He remembered what Sakura had said about vampires retaining their human memory and shinobi abilities. They knew what Sai was capable of and knew they couldn't come up with a plan or head to any location he wouldn't already know about.
"They can speak freely now."
Naruto threw his back against the wall with a loud sigh of relief. "Man, am I glad Sai didn't suspect it was a trap. Maybe he is overconfident as a vampire."
"Definitely more cynical," said Sakura. "Still, I wish we had been able to capture him like we planned. That hospital door trick won't hold him for long."
"Any place we could have taken him would have been too much of a risk. The best places would have been overrun with vampires."
"Ok," said Shikamaru after making sure the coast was clear. "I think Kakashi's at an undisclosed location and most likely safe. And he wants to keep his undisclosed location a secret, even from us. If one of us gets turned, we can head to his secret base and turn him. It's probably best if we don't try to figure out where he is for his safety."
"What about him wanting us to use that tunnel to get Sai to a place that could hold him?" asked Naruto. "Was he talking in code or something?"
"We should assume that clone was a scout," said Shikamaru. "We can also assume that he used that clone, not just to gather information, but to show us the situation rather than say anything in case one of us was a vampire or not turned soon after. The tunnel was a safe place for us to travel and plan, but we had Sai with us. That limited what we could and could not do. He probably knew that I would realize heading to those locations was too dangerous and come up with a new plan."
"Or to assess the situation and see whether or not those areas had been corrupted," added Sakura.
"So, how do we stop them?" asked Naruto. "How do we do this?"
"We don't," answered Shikamaru. "At least not yet."
"But we have to do something. At this rate…"
"We just have to survive until daybreak. In all the lore I've heard, vampires can't go in sunlight. Once the sun comes out, we can meet up with Kakashi and figure out what to do from there. In the meantime, the best thing we can do is gather as much information as we can get and report it to Kakashi in the morning. Things like who's been turned, places that have been tainted or compromised."
Naruto lowered his head. "Yeah. Those lab vampires probably trashed the place, making it impossible for us to use anything there for a cure. Might have also set up some boobytraps or something."
"As far as going places a vampire wouldn't think to go…" Sakura began. "Where did you have in mind? It's not like we can go home. The first place they'd look would be our homes. We can't use the tunnel again. Sai knows about that. We ruled out all the logical places for obvious reasons."
"Instead of focusing on where vampires wouldn't think to look, how about places they can't go?" suggested Naruto.
"My thoughts exactly," said Shikamaru. "Places that repel vampires. I'm heading to the shops to pick up some garlic. From what I hear, vampires can't stand the stuff."
"We should do the same thing."
Shikamaru nodded. "We get the stuff and meet up at an agreed location. Let's hurry."