Hana Inuzaka stared up at the full moon in the sky, enjoying the peacefulness of her village in nighttime. She liked to take an evening walk alone when she had the chance, a ritual she'd had since she was old enough to be allowed out of the compound on her own. Her dogs as a habit were left behind in the house, one of the few times she wasn't surrounded by the excitable triplets. It was an odd trait of hers, most Inuzaka were inseparable from their partners, but then again she had three energetic dogs instead of one or two. It was nice to have some peace and quiet to herself, even if only for half an hour or so.

The seventeen year old tracking specialist hummed a tune to herself as she walked, allowing her mind to wander as her feet carried her along the same path she took every time. Things were changing. Kiba had finally graduated and was now an official shinobi of the village, so she got to spend even less time with her little brother. With both kids now considered legal adults, the Inuzaka Matriarch had returned to more active duty meaning her mom was also missing a lot. It saddened Hana somewhat to see her family drift apart like that, but such was the way of life.

The friends she had thought she'd have forever at the academy had all went on to lead their own lives, some having flunked out and never making the cut, others dead on one mission or another. Of the few that were still active shinobi, Hana only occasionally crossed paths with and when she did they seemed to only exchange polite greetings and inane chit chat.

Hana had never been particularly close to her own genin squad mates. Both of them were reliable enough, but their personalities had never really clicked. She'd been the first to make it to chunin, and as a consequence of her tracking specialty was often taken off to aid in the missions of higher ranked shinobi. The other two had eventually made chunin as well, Tazo now a regular part of the border guard patrol and Shinobu having vanished into ANBU black ops.

The kunoichi sighed as she stared down at her feet. It seemed everyone around her was slowly moving away, and while she knew it was a consequence of life rather than anything to do with her personally, it still saddened her to see it. Hana had her own goals she wanted to reach, namely saving up enough to start her own veterinary, but that seemed like a rather hallow life without friends and family.

She supposed she could try to find a mate, a lot of girls her age seemed eager to be married off and start popping out little ones, but she hadn't met anyone to her tastes. Not to say she didn't get her fair share of dates or offers, but she'd never met a guy who could keep his eyes above her chest for long, or indeed his hands to himself. Maybe she just had bad luck with men.

A sharp crackling noise caught her ear and she immediately snapped out of her funk, senses fully alert. Her eyes darted towards the darkened alleyway where the noise had originated from, a shadowy corridor of brick and mortar.

Slipping a kunai into her hand, she advanced cautiously, careful to mask her presence in case there was trouble and she needed to intervene.

There was a mesmerizing cloud of light dancing between a dirty ten foot wall and an overflowing trash bin. Arcs of lightning periodically jumped about between the motes of light, increasing the illumination with a sizzling sound. The air reeked of an odd odor, unlike anything Hana had ever smelled before, and if she squinted at the specks hard enough she could see an image of someplace else superimposed over the area as if a translucent picture was slowly snapping into focus.

Before Hana could decide exactly what course of action to take next, there was a terrifying crack, and she was momentarily blinded by sudden flash. Blinking back tears in her eyes, Hana managed to catch a glimpse of two people in the alleyway that had most definitely not been there before.

Both figures appeared to be unsteady on their feet judging by the way they swayed, but one recovered faster than the other. They let loose a howl that raised the hair on the back of the kunoichi's neck, backhanding the other mystery person into the wall with a horrific crunch.

The violent individual turned their head towards Hana and in an instant was upon her. The chunin found herself forced on her back, a large clammy hand with unnaturally long fingers wrapped tightly around her throat, the other pinning down the hand holding the kunai.

Stars exploded in her vision as the hand around her throat constricted. Her assailant leaned in close, hissing something in an odd language, his foul breath stinking with the rot of decaying flesh. A long rasping tongue flickered out and ran itself along the edge of her jaw, sending a shiver down her spine.

Hana swore something fierce in her mind, bringing a knee up repeatedly into her attackers abdomen, feeling something give with a satisfying crunch. Channeling chakra into her free hand, she allowed the energy to strengthen the sharp nails she kept for this exact occasion. Five claw like tips ripped into her opponents face, leaving a trail of deep bloody tracks across the pale skin, cutting deep into the soft epidermal tissue.

Still the grip did not relent, if anything it strengthened the more she hurt him. Hana found herself jerked up and slammed bodily against the floor, the repeated motion making her head swim. As a kunoichi she knew down to the very second how long her body could operate without oxygen, and she was fast approaching the point where she would begin to lose strength with her airways cut off. She needed to end this fast.

Stomping on the trigger on the sole of her heel that activated the hidden knife switch on her sandals, Hana kicked upwards with the blade. Her aim was true and the shoe blade found itself into her attacker's groin, drawing out a satisfying shriek of pain. Twisting her foot viciously, Hana found herself suddenly sailing through the empty space, her opponent having opted to throw her through the air to stop her from doing any more damage.

Gasping for precious oxygen, Hana scrambled to her feet, trying to force her exhausted body to gather the chakra for the beast transformation that would allow her to use her more powerful offensive techniques. However being able to breathe again wasn't enough for an immediate recovery, and her adversary proved quite tolerant of pain.

Once more she found herself on her backside with her assailant on top, though this time she managed to grab both his hands before he could get to her neck again. Now that she could see her attacker more clearly, it was apparent that whatever he was, he was most certainly not a normal human. His pale sallow face resembled a fresh corpse that had enough indications that it had once been a living person, but could never be mistaken for anything that still drew air. The rents she had torn into his face was already rapidly fading, and the hungry look in his blood red eyes screamed of murderous lust bordering on sexual in his frenzy.

He opened his mouth, a gaping maw that was unnaturally wide, hissing in that strange language again. Hana could not help but notice the massive elongated canines of his rotting teeth, wicked curved things that jutted out like a viper's fang. She pressed a knee into his chest, pushing him back enough so that his snapping jaws just missed her neck by centimeters, though the closeness of the man made her want to vomit.

There was a flash of red light and her attacker was suddenly off her, blown away by some unseen force. Hana didn't question her luck, scrambling backwards quickly to try to put space between her and the unnatural man that had been attacking her. He crouched on the ground on all fours like an animal, crimson eyes narrowed as it glared at something behind her.

Hana chanced a glance backwards and saw the other person that had arrived earlier, somehow back on their feet. Her quick appraisal showed a man with rather foreign looking features, a mess of dark hair framing green eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. He was favoring one side of his body, his posture suggesting to her healer trained eyes that he had a few busted ribs. The raised hand holding the stick that was glowing at the tip was steady though, and his steps did not waver as he advanced.

Her savior shouted something in that strange language the creature had hissed at her. The creature got to its feet and it's more unusual features seemed to fade leaving a more normal if not extremely pale man behind. It said something soft in reply and laughed darkly, gesturing around it.

Emerald eyes flickered towards Hana briefly as she slowly got to her feet. She didn't know if he was friend or foe, but seeing as he wasn't the one who had jumped to attack her the minute he laid eyes on her, Hana was willing to give him the benefit of doubt. The kunoichi turned to face their adversary.

The unnatural man surged forward, causing Hana to tense, but her dark haired savior barked something and the creature slammed into a shimmering force field. The Inuzaka fingered a few kunai, preparing to throw them, noting that the tip of her ally's stick had changed to a cool blue, similar to the color of the barrier in place.

The man creature pulled back, prodding the shimmering light field here and there, testing it for weakness. Calm blue light flickered at his touch, but did not falter. It gave another sinister chuckle, taking a step backwards. Right before her eyes, he seemed to dissolve into a cloud of bats, the winged vermin scattering and taking off through the night air.

Hana couldn't help but stare. That was not like any jutsu she had ever seen or heard of, and she was fairly certain it wasn't genjutsu either.

The sound of a body hitting the floor drew her attention back to her savior, the man having apparently exhausted the last of his reserves in their defense. She hurried over to the still man, turning him over to check his breathing and pulse. A quick superficial survey showed that her original hunch had been correct, a busted rib, and judging by his labored breathing probably a bone fragment poking at his lungs. She'd have to get him to a hospital quick if she wanted answers.

"Stay strong stranger," she murmured. "You and I have much to speak of."

AN: Yeah I know, I got a handful of other stories still going with the promise of finishing, so why am I starting another one?! Good question…but hey it's written so why not post it? Please let me know what you guys think.