Thicker than Blood Chapter 2

"Do you see the target?" Lee whispered into the tiny microphone attached to his collar. His eyes narrowed as he pressed his back against the tree, watching for any sudden movement that didn't belong to the night.

"Yes. He's about fifty yards to your left, but he'll be moving soon." Tenten's voice came through the earpiece. Lee grunted under his breath.

"We'll attack from both sides then. You cover the right and I'll take the left. There's no way we can miss him."

Once Tenten gave a signal she agreed, Lee dropped down from the branch he'd been on and shot out towards the target. The animal mask felt snug against his face, and a part of him wondered if he'd ever get used to wearing it. That, and not being able to tell anyone he and his teammates had been chosen for the Black Ops. He still couldn't believe it! A year after he and his team made jounin, they'd been called into the Hokage's office and assigned several S-rank missions that had to be done as soon as possible. No breaks in between and no one else was allowed to know about them.

It'd taken them a little over a month to complete all of them, and when they reported back, all of them were exhausted both mentally and physically, had nearly died several times, and seen things either so horrific or disturbing they never thought they'd smile again. Then they found out they'd passed the test required for them to become members of Anbu.

After the initial shock, came the excitement and if she wouldn't have punched his face in, Lee would have given Lady Tsunade the biggest hug of her life! Tenten had reacted much in the same way and both of them had nearly been bouncing off the walls as if everything was right in the world. Neji, had remained completely cool and calm throughout it all though. He simply said thank you, that he was honored and nothing more after details were given.

When it was just the three of them though he let a genuine smile cross his face and though more subdued, seemed just as excited as they were.

Of course Tsunade warned they couldn't say anything. Not even to their former sensei.

That was perhaps the hardest part for Lee. They all knew their sensei had once been a part of the Black Ops himself, and Lee wanted to tell him how they were all following in his footsteps! But while it was one thing for retired Black Op members to tell their genin teams who they once were, it was another issue entirely for active members to let anyone other than their fellow Anbu know who they were.

One day they'd be able to tell him though. They'd probably all have their backs broken by a hug, but seeing the pride on his face would be worth it! Not one, not even two, but his entire team had earned this rank.

Lee smiled under his mask, then narrowed his eyes as he got closer to the target.

Tenten should be waiting on the other side and they'd attack in complete unison. That is, if the target hadn't moved by now, which was very likely. He was always moving at the last second to throw them off. It was frustrating to say the least, but tonight was the night it ended. Tenten and he had been working to hard and to long for it to go any other way. No matter what it took, this time it was over.

Pushing himself to go faster and faster, Lee launched himself into a tree and soundlessly landed on a branch. Directly below him, he could see a dark figure sitting on their haunches with a weapon twirling in their hands. The deep orange symbol on their jacket let Lee know he had the right person. This could be a clone though...

No. He hardly used clones.

A good ten yards away, Lee heard the faintest sound of a leaf being crushed. There was nothing out of place about it considering they were in a forest. But it was the way it was crushed, and then left. Not carried by the faint breeze...

Tenten was there. That was her signal. He stepped back and brought out his blade, making tiny chipping noises with it that mimicked a native birds call.

The figure had heard them as well, but they didn't run. Only stood up and shot looks at all the shadows.

Lee hid a dark smirk.

Now they had him!

As soon as his blade made the final cut, it was back in his sheath and he shot forward as fast as possible. Tenten was a blur on the other side and they both struck at the same point. Just before they hit though their target leapt up and slammed his fist in Lee's direction. Lee bent over backwards in half a flip before landing and shooting back up at the figure. Tenten was attacking from blind spots as best she could and soon Lee was helping her.

He was fast though. Their target always was and with his face obscured by shadows, it was impossible to read his intentions. Fortunately, the slight shift in his muscle movements telegraphed just enough and they were able to keep up with him. That's why it had been so hard to track and take him down. Until recently, it looked as if he didn't move at all until it was to late. Now they could read him.

"HYAH!" Tenten let out a scream as she pulled out a scroll and after performing several hand seals, threw it at their opponent. Instead of hitting him though, it went over him, and when it landed on the ground it formed a circle. Metal bars began springing up, putting them all in a small ring. The only way out now was up. Lee was making sure he didn't get the chance for that though.

"Not fast enough." their target said as he dodged Lee's attacks from overhead and pushed himself up from the bars towards an opening. Right before he made it though, Lee tackled him midair with enough force that he was sent flying down. Tenten was at his side in a second and grabbed onto his chest.

" Primary lotus!" Lee yelled, giving Tenten the cue to let go. She jerked away, and Lee held tightly to the target. They struggled with everything they had, but his grip was solid. Lee didn't use wraps so much anymore to perform this move, but found a way to lock his arms around the opponent so if they moved to much it made it hard to breath.

Seconds later and braced for impact, they slammed into the ground, though not as hard as normal. Lee was up in a split second and his left leg lashed out at the other's face. He felt his shoe clip against their chin, but before his leg was down the target was behind him. Striking as hard as possible and sending him forward with continuous blows. He staggered forward, trying to whirl around but finding it impossible as he was struck again and again. Tenten raced towards Lee, and flipped over his head, then the head of their target and slammed her fist into his back. He gasped for air, but she wasn't done yet. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and Lee forced himself to spin around and tackle him around the waist. They all went down on the hard ground, but neither Lee nor Tenten lost their will.

"Keep him down!" Tenten yelled, as she tightened her grip on his neck then quickly changed strategies and grabbed his hands to keep them from forming seals. She was almost on top of Lee as he kept his knee on the targets chest and pushed down on his shoulders as hard as possible. Eventually they managed to flip him over and bind his hands. He was still struggling though and in a rather unorthodox move, Tenten sat down on his back as hard as she could and Lee sat on his head.

"Alright alright! You win! Just get off my head!" Neji's voice was muffled, but the meaning was clear and after they counted five seconds, both Tenten and Lee jumped up.

"We did it! We finally did it!" Lee pumped his fist in the air and Tenten laughed.

"Sorry Neji, I didn't know what else to do." she smirked as she undid his hands and pulled back his hood. He was gasping and looked like he was seconds away from murdering Lee.

Neji muttered under his breath as he forced himself up and spat out the dirt that had found it's way into his mouth.

"I thought this was supposed to be an exercise in catching criminals. Not a game." Neji said as he looked over at Lee.

Tenten smirked as she plopped down next to him and eventually Lee sat down as well.

"How long has it been since we started trying to catch you?" Lee asked as he moved his mask to reveal his face.

"A few weeks. I don't keep track." Neji waved it off.

"Uh huh. So I guess you're not sulking now about the fact you owe me and Lee a five note?" Tenten smirked.

"It's fine Neji. Winning against you is more than enough reward for me." Lee grinned at his rival and best friend. Over the past few months things had been rather quiet in terms of S-ranked missions and even A-rank were being given mostly to teams of jounin. So they'd come up with this. They would pull details from other missions they'd completed and mix them together to make a training program. Since the other Anbu members were doing other things though, it usually left just the three of them. Meaning one of them had to be the target.

They had been working for nearly a month to catch Neji in the allotted time and finally they'd managed. It was Tenten's turn next, and as excited as he was, Lee was also nervous. The last time she was the target she had nearly broken both his and Neji's arms and using a scroll had managed to put them in a rather awkward position.

"If Lee doesn't want it, I'll take his to." Tenten beamed and held out her hand.

Neji rolled his eyes, but dug sourly into his kunai pouch and handed Tenten two five notes.

"There? Happy?!" he sulked.

"Yep!" Tenten laughed.

Lee hid a smirk as he saw Neji's face fight a smile. When was he going to get over his fears and just ask her already? It was getting frustrating to watch! Though in a way, he understood what was holding Neji back. It was the same thing that was keeping him and Hinata from seeing each other as much as they'd like. He hated the fact he was lying to her father, and helping her do so. There were times it made him feel sick inside and he would put himself through the worst of workouts as punishment. But...he couldn't help it. Her father and the Hyuuga elders all looked at him like he was some kind of rodent and had Hinata almost completely bound to what they wanted.

Lee shook his head to keep his thoughts from wandering. Right now, he simply wanted to enjoy the night with his friends. They had brought camping gear with them and intended to watch the stars. Tenten told him she had seen Konoha's symbol in the sky a few nights ago and promised to point it out.

As they stood to head back to their camp though, a hawk's cry pierced the air. They all whipped around, slipping their masks back on and waited.

Up above, against the moonlit night, they could see a hawk circling in a strange pattern, and letting out several sharp cries in rapid succession. It dove occasionally, but never ceased it's cry; changing from long shrieks to short, sharp calls.

The Hokage needed them.

X

Minutes later the three arrived in front of the Hokage's building where they were met in the shadows by Lady Tsunade. Before anything could be said, she gave a sharp nod and they followed her into the shadows around the buildings, and down several back roads and alleys. Their footsteps made no sound against the stone as they ducked under arches, and hurried past broken doors. Trash lay strewn in certain areas and there were times the smell was almost enough to make the gag. Eventually, they ended up in an older part of town in front of what looked like a normal charred wall. There were a few old signs that were peeling away, and rats scurried in an out of holes.

All in all, it didn't look like anything special. Then, Tsunade made several seals and once her hand began to glow a deep red, placed it against the center stone. Without so much as a hiss, the wall parted and they followed her inside, down several flights of stone stairs. The wall closed behind them and if it weren't for Tsunade's glowing hand, they would have been in pitch darkness. After traveling through several underground tunnels, they finally came up a flight of spiral metal stairs and walked out of a door into the basement of Konoha's hospital.

Iodine and bleach quickly cleared their senses and made their eyes water.

"We're almost there." she said.

Neither of them said anything. Just followed her as she made her way up another staircase, and finally they found themselves entering a hidden room in urgent care, with Anko currently resting on the bed.

They all shot each other quick looks from the corner of their eyes. What was going on? Her leg was up in a cast, her face was bruised, and instead of her normal chain mail suit and trench coat, she wore a hospital gown. But they could see her chest was bandaged, and her hair was plastered to her face from sweat.

The last time they had seen Anko this bad off was...well never. None of them could remember a time where she ever was this injured, or weak.

"So you're really assigning them?" she looked over at the team and Tsunade nodded.

"I figured they were best for the job." the Hokage's voice was soft as she came towards the younger woman, and quickly looked over her wounds again. That was the strange thing about Tsunade. One minute she could be as vicious as a lioness, taking even the most innocent remark or action the wrong way, and then the next she would be completely gentle and calm.

"Then they know?" Anko winced as she looked over at them. There was a mix of pity and uncertainty in her eyes that made the teenagers nervous. On top of that, another question they had was how did she know who they were? And what did they know?

"Not yet. That's why I brought them here though. I figured since you were there you could give more details."

Anko nodded and forced herself to sit up further.

"Are you kiddies gonna take your masks off? Or are you gonna make me stare at those weird faces the entire time?" she smirked.

Tsunade palmed her face.

"What? I know who they are. You wouldn't choose anyone else for this." Anko said.

The Hokage nodded, and despite the breach in protocol had them move their masks to the side of their heads.

"Lady Tsunade...what is going on?" Tenten finally asked. She knew it wasn't right for her to address the Hokage first, but the way things were going she felt as if they would take an hour to say anything. There was something about how both the Hokage and Anko were acting that told her something was wrong. Not anything normal either, but something that could be detrimental to all of them. And what did Anko mean by the Hokage not choosing anyone else?

The Hokage took a deep breath, then looked over at the three.

"As you know, the Land of Lightning is currently in the midst of political upheaval. Save for the emperor and the Raikage, no one knows whose in charge anymore. Shoguns are being replaced weekly, daimios' are fighting to hold onto their necks, and families with higher standings have been forced to flee. Most have come to our village as a place to hide."

Tenten shot a look from the corner of her eye at Neji. The Land of Lightning was where the Village Hidden in the Clouds was stationed. It was the same village that was at the core of his father's murder. He looked calm though. His eyes hadn't even narrowed. But she could tell he was tense. His breathing had changed slightly, and his hands began to curl every few seconds before he caught himself.

"Recently though, some families have started to return home once they receive word they've been cleared and are no longer in danger. Still, they're not stupid enough to go alone. Teams of our jounin have been accompanying them, and except for a few skirmishes, they've all returned." she looked down, then over at Anko who closed her eyes as a snarl crossed her face. "Until now."

The three Anbu's eyes widened and they shot quick looks at each other. Before they could ask for information, Tsunade went on and pulled a picture from her jacket pocket. She handed it to Tenten who was standing between Neji and Lee. All of them looked at it as the Hokage spoke.

"That picture is of a family that took residence here last month. They were expecting to stay at least half a year, but were called back to their home just last week. Nothing unusual about that. But unlike the others, they specifically requested who would guard them."

Tenten cocked an eyebrow. That was strange. Not strange enough to be suspicious. Some ninja simply had a reputation that preceded them and would be asked for by name. It'd happened to Neji a few times.

"The team they requested was Karenko Ukia, Mitarashi Anko, and your former sensei, Might Guy."

Tenten instantly clapped a hand on Lee's shoulder to keep him from demanding information and loosing his cool. She also held his shoulder to keep herself from doing something foolish. She locked her gaze on Anko as her heartbeat sped up. Guy was strong. He was always so incredibly strong it sometimes baffled her to think about it and more than once she'd thought he'd have broken something only to find out he was completely fine. But when on a mission, aside from completing it, he used his strength mainly to protect others. If Anko was this bad off with Guy protecting her, how much worse was he? Was he even...no! No, she wasn't even going to go there.

"I've heard it said that no one can outrun Death, or evade his hand forever." she remembered Guy saying one day after a particularly challenging mission. Then he'd laughed and patted her on the back. "But no one said you can't make him work for it!"

With an attitude like that, there was no way he'd let himself be killed.

"What happened?!" Lee demanded despite the growing pressure on his shoulder.

"It was a trap." Anko answered in place of Tsunade. "The family we escorted were either imposters from the beginning, or killed the originals and took their place sometime before they came here."

As Anko explained what happened, all of them grew stone faced and Tenten felt her nails digging into Lee's shoulder to keep herself from hyperventilating. He'd grown stiff as well and his eyes continued to get wider and wider. She felt Neji on her other side gently take her hand and give it a good squeeze before letting it go. Even that didn't help much though. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it would burst from her chest and she nearly let out a cry of rage when Anko told them what happened to their sensei.

"They used some kind of poison before knocking him out. I don't know what it was, but he didn't last long after that."

It was her choice of words that made Lee lose it.

"What do you mean he didn't last long?!" Lee snapped. "There is no poison that could have killed him! There..."

"Lee..." Tsunade said. Her voice was stern, but her eyes were soft as they swept over the three of them.

"He's not dead." Anko said. "At least not yet. They took him. Where I don't know but they headed East after killing Ukia and making sure I couldn't follow." she gestured to her leg.

"Why?" Neji asked. His voice was calm, but there was a shaking underneath. A building rage that Tenten knew would be kept boiling until it could explode.

"I don't know." she snapped, then sat back and shook her head. "They just gave me a scroll and left. I think the whole point of their mission was to capture Guy. Again, I don't know why."

Tsunade pulled out a scroll from inside her sleeve and handed it to Neji. He took it with a shaking hand and began to unroll it.

There was a moment of silence as Neji read over it and Tenten read over his shoulder. At first she thought it might be some kind of ransom note, but the further she read, the more she could see it was nothing but a taunt. They described several of the things they planned on doing, and said they'd write another letter in his blood to let them know when he was dead. At the bottom though, they issued a challenge.

"If you believe you can save him though, then please, come. Take the path your master walked, and do not stray. We'll know if you do. You have ten days to face us and free him, or his blood will be on your hands, and his head mounted on a pole in our caves."

"Any fool can see this is a trap." Tsunade said as she looked at the team. "But it's one that has to be walked into. Guy is one of our best men. We can't afford to loose him. Especially now. We may have recovered from Orochimaru's attack, and Sasuke is being dealt with, but there are still those who see us as weak. If word got out another one of our strongest jounin was killed, the attacks would begin. I have no doubt about that." her blue eyes narrowed and she folded her arms. "Besides all that though, if they've taken him then it's more than likely for the purpose of gaining information. I don't know what kind, and I know breaking him won't be easy...but for his sake as well as the villages, you have to find him."

"We will!" Lee stated, slamming his fist into his open palm. "We'll bring him back!"

"We'll gather supplies and leave in the next hour." Neji said.

"Good. And be careful, all of you. Even if you know this is a trap, you don't know what could be waiting for you."

The three nodded and without another word shot off towards the door. Minutes later they were rushing through the shadows and gathering supplies as fast as they could. They were to meet at the gate as soon as they were ready and head out.

Tenten shook her head as Lady Tsunade and Anko's words repeated in her mind over and over. Why would someone take Guy-sensei? If he had a curse mark, or something locked inside of him then she could understand. But he...well he was far above average, but aside from being able to open the inner gates, he had no special powers. He wasn't a master at genjutsu or a medical ninja with some cure for all ailments. He was just another jounin. At least to outsiders. To her, to her team, he was their sensei, and the minute these attackers chose to hurt him, was the minute they chose death.