I don't own Naruto. Minako Ibuka is mine.

It was sometime at night. Two figures were walking down an empty street. They looked young, around twenty years old. They both had black leather coats over them. It was raining heavily, but it didn't seem to bother them at all.

One of them was a man dressed in jeans and dark green T-shirt, with a pair of black sneakers to match. He had two guns hanging on his belt. He was lazily staring at the gray clouds, glad that he tied his hair up before he went out – dealing with it at this time would be troublesome.

The other was a woman, she wore black jeans and a blood red sleeveless shirt that tightly covered her upper body and neck. She had black leather boots on her legs that reached her knees. Her pair of guns was divided on her sides, each one was secured with small belts on her thighs. Her black hair hanged lose. It didn't bother her since it was rather short – it didn't even reach her shoulders.

They were coming back from a mission, a failed one. First time ever.

Rain... When it doesn't fall for long, it seems like it never did... When it starts falling, it seems like it'll never stop... "Hey, Mina! You alright?"

She turned her gaze to meet his. "I'm fine Shikamaru, why do you ask?"

He observed her empty onyx orbs for a moment, than he sighed. "I know you're upset. I am too. But this things happen."

"They happen to other people, not us. We never fail."

Shikamaru looked at her worriedly. "Minako, I -"

She cut him off. "Don't. You're right, it happens. I'm just not used to it. I'll be fine."

"If you say so."

They've known each other for years. They're best friends, partners on missions, family. They live in the night along with quite a number of their comrades. No, they aren't vampires, they're human, but in a very tight connection to the immortals. They fight them. In the war between humans and vampires, they are the protectors of humanity. Obviously, they aren't normal human beings. They have special abilities, one for each one of them. They also go through years of special training, something only a selected few can handle. But those who do become capable of fighting against immortals, killing them and saving ordinary humans and themselves. They are called the night watch.

They didn't always fight though. This last war has begun rather recently. Before it has, humans and vampires had an agreement: humans have the day, vampires the night. Vampires can feed off the animals as well as the donated blood that hospitals provided. As long as they didn't attack humans, everything will be in order. Unfortunately, agreements never last long. Eventually, vampires got tired of dancing at the humans' tune and decided to make their own rules, which consisted of the absence of them. It began that one night, the slaughter. Many people got killed or taken away. Some were turned into vampires, some are still slaves to the vampire lords, and the rest are already dead.

They entered a dark, ten-floor building and climbed the stairs to the top. They never use the elevator, they don't need it. They passed by a pink haired woman, who greeted them with a smile, but frowned quickly after noticing the looks on their faces. "Tsunade is expecting you. Just go in."

Shikamaru was the on who answered. "Alright. Thanks, Sakura."

She just nodded and left in a hurry. She was a medic, since she had rare healing abilities, many people depended on her to survive. Sakura was second best, right after her mentor, Tsunade.

Minako knocked on the door in front of them, and they went in after hearing a quiet "enter". A blond woman in a white doctor's robe was sitting at the desk across the room. "You're back, Shikamaru Nara, Minako Ibuka. Report."

Minako spoke first. "The mission was a failure. The entire family was wiped out. Both parents and the girl. They had already been dead for thirty minutes when we got there."

"You were late."

"Yes."

"How? We knew they were going to be attacked."

Minako glanced at Shikamaru, as if looking for support, before she answered. "We were expected... and ambushed. One of the enemies was a high level vampire. One of the lords."

Tsunade scowled at this. "I shouldn't have sent you in the first place. Accidentally finding out who their next target would be was too good to be true, yet I fell for it."

She was silent for a moment, deep in thought, before she looked at them again and said, "You are dismissed, you need to rest. Go to the ambulance to fix your wounds in case you have any."

"Understood." They turned around without another word and left. Tsunade silently watched the door close behind them. They knew it was a trap, that's why they volunteered to go in the first place. It's strange... They were both aware that a chance of success was small, yet they're so disappointed now when they actually failed. I'm glad I sent them though... I don't think anyone else would've survived. She smiled at her last thought and turned her gaze to the window. The sun was rising. Another night is finally over.

Shikamaru and Minako exited the building and separated on their way to their apartments. Minako turned around after saying goodbye to her friend and started walking slowly towards her home. She wasn't in a hurry, sun was barely up, which meant the vampires were done for the night and that it's too early for any people to come out.

She reached her building and went into her apartment. After taking off her boots, coat and guns, she took a white shirt and dark blue shorts from her wardrobe and went into the bathroom to take a shower. This is stupid... Why can't I stop thinking about that damn mission. So what if I failed? I should feel lucky to be alive... I'm such an idiot sometimes... That damn Uchiha... If he hadn't shoved up, Shikamaru and I would've taken care of the others easily... She thought with a frown.

Once she was done, she went out of the shower and dried herself. After getting dressed, she went into the kitchen where she grabbed an apple of the table and bit on it aggressively. She went to the window and ate while staring at the people passing by. Some of them could be next tonight... Why doesn't it bother them? Do they have such a high faith in the night watch, or did they simply stop thinking about it? I know there are still some of them who try to convince themselves that vampires don't exist. Idiots...

She turned away from the window and threw away what's left of her fruit. This won't do... I'll have to eat something heavier once I wake up... I'm too tired now anyway... She went into her bedroom and climbed on the bed. Another night was finally over.

Shikamaru dragged himself to his apartment. He took off unnecessary items and went to take a shower. A while later he emerged from his bathroom in boxers. I just hope Mina doesn't beat herself up about this thing... Why does she have to be like that? So troublesome... Without even bothering to eat something he jumped in his bed and fell asleep a moment later. No matter how long he did his job, he'll never get used to sleepless nights. He was just glad that it was over. For the moment, that is.

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