A.N: Hey y'all! Just a few quick announcements before we begin. 1. I will update as frequently as I can, however, I am in graduate school starting this summer (yay) so it might be sporatic. 2. I have not read the Bloodlines series, but I will be including details from the series that I've gathered from (basically wikipedia and other fanfics I've read) so I apologize in advance if I screw anything up. Please feel free to call me out on anything that's glaringly obvious! 3. There will be some OC's that I may or may not really get into, they are mostly there to 'set the scene' (I might write an actual backstory but that'll be its own fanfic if I do). 4. I generally watch anime in English (it depends on which I catch first) and I don't read manga (I don't like comic books in general-not to my style) so again, if I make glaring mistakes, I apologize and let me know! Finally 5. I will generally be writing in Dimitri's POV, but will switch to Third or specific characters if the plot calls for it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing bar a few characters and the plot! The rest belongs to Richelle Mead and Masashi Kishimoto

Chapter 1

(DPOV)

I sighed and stretched my back, feeling the bones of my spine pop back into place one by one. I didn't mind my job, my career, but there are certainly days where the standing around and blending in really is droll at best. I stare around the room as the Council argues back and forth on another mundane, in my opinion, legislation. Things have, in some respects, calmed down whereas others have gotten worse. All the Guardians feel as if we are in a moment of strained peace, similar to the silence before a storm. The reported amount of Strigoi has decreased substantially, at least among the Moroi and Dhampir, but we have heard rumors of a large contingent of Strigoi gathering nearby. Without most of the Moroi population noticing, we have started increasing security, pulling any willing senior Novice in for ward patrol from all the schools in the U.S. To this as well, many of the schools were incorporating any senior Moroi who had taken self defense and magic combat classes and any junior Novices (both voluntary of course) to protect the schools just in case Court wasn't the target as we had determined based on the rumors. It had been months since the rumors started, however, and the Council was getting increasingly irate about having to postpone their own agendas for this "farce of a rally" and decided that things needed to get back to business as usual. The Queen was in serious doubt that the rumors were false and thought the threat was, and still is, very real, so she agreed to let Council meetings continue as normal with the stipulation that her own agenda be added at the end. To this end, most of the senior Novices were being sent back to the Academies (except those who got express permission from their institution to remain at Court and complete their schooling and training here, under the direct supervision under myself and my wife, Guardian Hathaway-Belikova, or Guardian Hathaway for those who wanted to keep it shorter.)

Speaking of her, I sought her out and saw her standing directly behind the Queen, her face completely expressionless, telling me she was completely bored and more than likely irritated by the never-ending show boating that the Royals seemed to revel in. I saw her attention shift and saw her refocus, clearly showing her interest being piqued by the conversation, so I too, tuned in to find the Queen going over her agenda and her only agreement to completely revert to "business as normal" status:

"All I'm saying, Prince Dashkov, is that if we want things to go back to normal around here, we need to consider that our Guardians simply cannot be everywhere at once. I have then decided to pull in outside help considering we are overworking the Guardians. IF we expect them to be 'battle-ready' as you put it, then we need reinforcements. You all have indicated your distain at seeing such 'lack-luster' and 'under-performing' work from the Novices who all volunteered to come here, therefor I need to make sure our Guardians have the help they need to make sure we can defend ourselves should anything occur."

"Yes, but your Majesty, there have been nothing more than these ridiculous rumors that Strigoi were going to attack. I highly doubt that they will move onto such a large compound as Court and have simply realized they could do no real damage here. That's why so many of us feel that this outside help is unnecessary and rather a waste of time and money," Prince Dashkov looked at the Queen with barely held annoyance and exasperation similar to how a parent would look at a child.

Vasilisa noticed this and narrowed her eyes, her voice never losing its politeness, "I apologize Prince Dashkov, but I fail to see how you could assume such a thing when the movement was initially noticed but somehow, they all vanished. Simply put, we have NOT seen ANY movement, telling me that they were waiting for this. They, somehow, managed to rally behind someone, again, long enough to hold out and keep quiet until we fell into a sense of peace and arrogance. Therefore, I believe that we need to stop hiding and being defensive. The 'old ways' are no longer applicable. The Strigoi are willing to change and find new and different tactics. We have started moving forward somewhat by being more involved with human government agencies that we deem trustworthy and it has been working for us, so far. But, they are getting bolder and more dangerous, especially since we have started finding and making anti-Strigoi vaccines and charms. A big source of Strigoi are being cut off from them, except those who choose of course, and they are getting desperate. I also have reason to believe their new 'leader' is not a Strigoi at all, so we need to level the playing field. I am to the point of not asking permission any longer because my people, our people, are potentially in danger and I cannot take a risk where the stakes are their lives! I would appreciate your support, but if I must, I will do this without your vote as an executive decision."

The entire room was silent, stunned that the normally gentle and compromising Queen would threaten executive overrule. Some of the council members seemed to realize that the threat must be real enough for the Queen to go this far. Vasilisa noticed this and sat back slightly before continuing, "now, will you approve the request I have made so I may send it to the group I have contacted to let them know we will hire them?"

One by one, the hands slowly began to go up: first the Dragomir Princess regent raised her hand and Vasilisa practically glowed at her half-sister. After her, the Taurus, Drozdov, Ozera, Conta, and Badica raised their hands in near succession. Voda, Lazar, and Szelsky followed soon after, but all three looked rather apprehensive at the notion. Only Ivashkov, Dashkov, and Zeklos remained steadfast in their belief that this was ludicrous and waste of time and money. Vasilisa looked pleased that most of the families agreed to let her go ahead with the proposal with the unknown "mercenaries". She stood up, calling this council meeting to an end and the members dispersed, save for Christian and Jill, the former had been sitting off to the side and behind Vasilisa as more of moral support for her than anything. She motioned for the remaining guardians to be dismissed other than Eddie, Rose, and myself. We all walked in silence back to Vasilisa and Christian's house (more like mansion in my opinion) as the sun began to rise.

Once we were behind closed doors, everyone instantly relaxed and began the routine of winding down for the day. Eddie practically crashed onto one of the couches, dragging Jill down along with him who instantly grabbed his feet and gently rubbed them after pulling off his shoes. Rose claimed the large armchair while Lissa (now that she was "off-duty" as well) laid across the second couch after she took off her blazer and heels. Christian and I went into the kitchen and threw together some drinks and snacks since most of us would be heading to bed, except Rose who was pulling a double shift in order to make sure everything was prepared for the classes and our "guests", especially since she would be being taken off of the Court roster to complete everything.

I placed a mug of mocha in front of her and her eyes lit up. We found out while her and Lissa were in school that she loved very sweet coffee especially if it had chocolate in it, "mmm, have I told you how much I love you, Comrade?"

I chuckled, "at least once or twice, if I'm lucky. Usually more if it involves food, especially sweets," I finished setting down drinks while Christian placed a large tray of snacks on the coffee table in the center of the group. I turned back to the large arm chair to see that Rose had slid onto the floor, allowing me to sit in the chair and her to lean on my legs while she ate from the tray. We drank and ate in silence, everyone too tired or too deep in thought to go beyond.

After everyone had a chance to wind down Jill sat forward and looked at Lissa with a somewhat serious look on her face, "so, can my big, powerful sister tell me WHO exactly we agreed to bring in to help out our world? Especially since we're, ya know, SECRET?!"

Lissa grinned and leaned forward as well, "it's sort of nice because they are technically non-existent. According to both our world and the human world, they are a myth! In reality, they are just as much of a secret to both worlds as we are to the human world. Technically, they mostly don't know we exist either, but similarly to me, the council members, and the Alchemists knowing about them, their leaders know about us."

"So… who are you bringing in?" Eddie was now excited and just as curious as his girlfriend.

"Shinobi!" Rose managed to shout out while her mouth was completely stuffed with a ham sandwich.

"Sh-what?" Jill turned to Rose, confusion written as clear as day on her face.

"Shi-no-bi. In other words, ninjas."

Eddie's eyes were as big as saucers, "seriously, ninjas?! Real life ninjas?! Oh man, that is awesome!"

I nodded, "yes, but as Lissa said, they are secret to our world just as much as we are a secret to them. For most of the population of Court, they will not be ninjas. They've been instructed to not use anything that would give them away and to blend in here as much as possible, including their clothing and mannerisms. That being said, no one is supposed to know what they are, save for those of us here and those in the Council. I'm sure there are a few others like Adrian and Sydney that will also know. Of course, Hans and a few other senior Guardians who need to know their whereabouts. For the most part, they will be with Rose, myself, or around the wards or Court."

Eddie's face turned serious and he nodded before standing up and pulling Jill with him, "well, this has been fun, somewhat, but we need to get home. Early day for me tomorrow and Jill's got a few things to do before we head out for her final round of internships."

Lissa stood and hugged Eddie before hugging Jill and leaning in to whisper, "thank you. I'm sorry that you've had to step up for this for so long. Just a few more years, yeah?"

Jill smiled and hugged her sister back, "hey, anything for family. Besides, I know Olivia will be fantastic when she's old enough. I can hold on for a little while longer. I just want to finish this up then I can focus solely on this until she's old enough."

I hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but I had been leaning over the table to pick up the tray and mugs/cups and overheard it. It wasn't much of a secret in our group that Jill had had to put her life on hold with all the craziness that had been happening over the last few years, but she took it in stride and dealt with it with the grace of a princess. Her and Lissa had really improved their relationship over the last several years. Jill had agreed to be the Princess until Lissa and Christian's 6-year-old daughter was old enough to take on the title. I smiled as I thought about little Olivia and mine and Rose's adopted son, Alexi, practically the next generation of Rose and Lissa, owning St. Vladimir's Academy. I shook my head and walked Jill and Eddie to the door, hugging Jill then fist-bumping Eddie as they left.

I locked the door then quietly went upstairs to Rose and mine's room at the end of the hall, nodding to the guardians that were stationed outside of Lissa and Christian's rooms. I opened the door to see Rose sitting at the table in the living room (we basically had moved into the guest suite since Alexi came into our lives. It had a small living/sitting room, kitchen with a 4-seat table, 2 bathrooms, and 3 bedrooms- a master's bedroom, a secondary bedroom, and a guardian's bedroom) and grabbed her suite jacket and shoes to put them away while she worked. I gave her a kiss goodnight and went into our bedroom to shower and get ready for bed. Rose would be skyping with the leader of the group of shinobi we were hiring in a few hours, so she had to make sure everything was finalized and approved by Hans. She already had everything set with Lissa, so she was just awaiting the final "stamp", or in the case, call, of approval by Hans. I slipped under the covers and fell asleep almost instantaneously.

I woke with a start, trying to figure out what woke me up until I felt small, cool hands gently shaking my shoulder. I looked up at Rose who had a relaxed expression on her face, indicating nothing was immediately wrong, but something was troubling her, since she never woke me up unless it was necessary.

"Roza? What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

She smiled at me, her eyes slightly unfocused showing her exhaustion, "it's okay, Comrade. I just wanted to get you up for your shift. The power just went out. They are working on fixing it. Lissa and Christian are fine, there are two guardians inside the room with them while they work on fixing it. I'll go wake them up, but I figured you'd want to get going first since your shift is in an hour. I'll get a few hour's sleep and meet you this afternoon for our first assessment class of the remaining senior Novices," she stifled a yawn and stretched, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, unsuccessfully might I add.

I smiled and sat up, giving her a kiss good morning before swinging my legs over the bed as she disappeared through the door towards, what I was assuming Lissa and Christian's room to wake them up. I walked into the bathroom and took a semi-long shower then got myself ready for the day, leaving my hair out so it could dry on its own; I wasn't doing anything more than ward patrol this morning, so leaving it out seemed like a fine idea. I walked out of the bathroom to find Rose sitting on the edge of the bed, her tired eyes suddenly lighting up at seeing my almost naked form (towel included). Her eyes sparkled with dulled hunger, the only indication of her true level of exhaustion- considering she usually was more enthusiastic about her once-over of me. I chuckled softly and walked up to her. She pulled me down to her level and kissed me deeply, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck while one of her hands lightly played with my hair. I returned the kiss with as much fervor but pulled away, earning a soft whimper and glare from Rose. I shook my head and kissed her forehead, "get some sleep, love. I'll see you this afternoon, so we can review the class schedule and check the Novices."

She sighed and nodded reluctantly before giving another yawn and rolling under the covers. While she began to relax and drift off, I grabbed my clothes and got dressed in the bathroom as to not distract her (and thus myself). Once I was dressed and ready to go, I grabbed a cup of coffee that Rose had so generously made me and walked down to the main kitchen, greeting Christian and Lissa's secondary- soon to be temporary primary-guardian, Guardian Long (or Jackie for when she was off shift). I grabbed an apple and breakfast bar from the kitchen and made my way to Headquarters to change shifts with the overnight guardian for the back sector of the wards. I took the radio from the guardian coming off shift and snatched a flashlight from my locker since it was a moonless night. I walked the well-worn path along the ward lines, carefully scanning the ward line and just beyond it between the thick trees and wild grasses. I kept the radio on low and kept it in my upper pocket, so I could still hear it should something come over. As usual, the shift was quiet and uneventful, save for the odd wild animal here and there. I checked my watch and stretched: 3 a.m. I had about an hour to kill before our training class would officially begin. I headed back to Headquarters to turn in the radio to the next guardian on shift and give them the "all-clear" and anything I needed to report, which was nothing. Once I did this, I replaced the flashlight into the locker and grabbed out my gym bag that I had thrown into it earlier. I walked to a small café that was near one of the small gyms that we had commandeered for training and slid into a booth just as Rose entered the café.

She spotted me and made her way over, her gym bag slung over her shoulder as well. She sat down and pulled out a clipboard, training roster, and generalized schedule she had made up the previous night. Since this would be our first class, she only had a few general ideas for where to take the class but was mostly unsure since these students had come from all over the U.S. and could all be at different levels. Of course, only those who were in decent standing with their academics had been allowed to remain here and complete their training and any coursework online to be returned to their respective Academies. Because of this, we expected most of the students to be in or near top of their classes, however, it was possible to be "book smart" but not, as Rose stated, "street smart". I rolled my eyes at her antics, although I did agree with her. We would let the students show us what they could do then go from there, but we were hoping for a more of an "independent study" so Rose could focus on the class on her own and I could return to my main job as Christian's guardian. This wouldn't occur until later this week when the shinobi would show up and start helping where we needed it. The only thing we had requested from the village was that we get sent the best, however many they deemed enough was up to them. We had set aside accommodations for up to 20 of them and could easily maneuver things around for more if they decided it was necessary. I shook my head and sighed, this was going to be interesting.

(Third POV)

Kakashi sighed and sat back from his desk, happy to have finished the required paperwork for the day. He had been at it since sunrise and it was just now high noon, he noted as he looked outside at the busy village below. Just as he stood up to stretch and potentially find some lunch, maybe bring Guy some, his door opened, revealing Shikamaru holding a piece of paper. Kakashi practically balked at the paper but held his hand out and scanned over the paper quickly, determining if he could put it off or not. With an eyebrow raised, he realized he had actually been waiting for this to come through ever since he had been contacted by one Rosemarie Hathaway about a month ago. Kakashi looked up at Shikamaru, "get Naruto, Sakura, and Ino. I'll send a message out to their final team member and a return message to Ms. Hathaway. We are ready to go."

Shikamaru nodded and quietly left the room, a small smile on his face. He was rather surprised to not be going along considering the importance and the fact that Ino was, but he assumed her role would be more of infiltration and interrogation since those were her specialties and not necessarily combat directed. Besides, if this other person was who he assumed it was, then he had nothing to worry about. He found Naruto sitting at the Ramen shop, as usual, with Konahamaru, talking with him and listening to his most recent mission, "hey, Naruto, hate to cut this short but Kakashi's requesting you at once. Also, do you know where Sakura is?"

Naruto looked up from his bowl and nodded, "yeah. She's over at Ino's flower shop helping her with some huge order that came in a few days ago. They should be finishing soon."

"Thanks man." Shikamaru waved at Naruto who quickly finished his ramen and headed towards Kakashi's office. Shikamaru weaved his way through the crowd towards the Yamanaka flower shop to see Ino and Sakura standing at the entryway. It looked like the pink haired friend was waving goodbye and had a bundle of flowers in her arms, probably a gift for agreeing to help. Shikamaru ran the last few yards and shouted to grab their attention. Both girls looked toward Shikamaru with confusion written on their faces, "hey, just wanted to catch you before you headed out. Kakashi wants both of you to head to his office. New mission."

"Ohh! How exciting! Getting to go on a mission with you and I, eh Sakura?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed, "uh-huh, just the greatest!" She turned to Shikamaru, "who else is going with us?"

Shikamaru snorted and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Naruto and some 'unknown' fourth person."

Sakura smiled wistfully until she was nudged by Ino, "ohh. Some 'unknown' fourth person. I wonder who that could be?!" Sakura blushed and rolled her eyes before lightly punching Ino on the shoulder. Ino laughed and rubbed her arm softly before the girls turned arm in arm towards Kakashi's office as well. Shikamaru shook his head and headed off to find Choji, figuring he could use some company.

A few moments later, Naruto was leaning against the wall, opposite Kakashi's desk, chatting with Kakashi when Ino and Sakura walked in, laughing about whatever they had been talking about. They both turned serious as Sakura's gaze flickered between Naruto and Kakashi before settling on the sheet of paper in front of Kakashi, "so, is that the new mission then? Where to, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and pointed to the paper in front of him, "you're going to the United States. It's part of the 'unhidden' world. Few shinobi, and certainly even fewer civilians, are aware of its existence much like most of the 'outside world' is unaware of ours. Most of the leaders of the Nations and the Samurai know about the 'outside world', but we don't often interact with them unless absolutely necessary."

Ino and Sakura looked surprised at this, but Naruto's face remained impassive, mainly because he had arrived earlier and had found out about this from Kakashi already. Ino managed to pull herself together first, "Okay then. When do we leave? Who will be our fourth person? Who will be leading the group? How long will it take to get there?"

Kakashi's eyes flickered to Naruto then turned to Ino, "Naruto will be leading this mission. Nothing against you girls, but I figured this would be an excellent opportunity for him since he wants to take over as Hokage. Also, I've been warned that the groups you may be dealing with can be very…. Political and a bit… sexist and 'old fashioned'." Kakashi had turned his head towards the paper with a scowl then raised his eyes again to Ino, "this will also draw attention away from anything you may get up to that could indicate what we are. We decided that it would be ideal to minimize who knows what your abilities are, so the less you have to draw attention, the better."

Ino scoffed, "since when can Naruto be inconspicuous?"

"I have to agree with Ino."

Naruto stretched and sighed, "I told you, Kakashi-sensei. They would not want me to lead this, besides, I think Sakura or Ino would be much better at this than me."

Kakashi leaned back in his chair, "normally, I would agree, to some extent. However, the issues here lie more with the group you will be talking to. Granted, most of the time, you'll be in the shadows and not talking to anyone outside of your 'handler', but when you are, I think that some of their ideals and mannerisms will just piss you both off." He eyed the girls with an eyebrow raised who both nodded with understanding, "Naruto may be a lot of things, but his patience and level-headedness has certainly improved over the last few years. To answer your other questions, it'll take a few days to arrive to the nearest country, Japan. From there, you will fly to the U.S., where a car will meet you to take you the remainder of the way to your location. I would say it will take around 4 days total from getting to the border to get on the boat, to arriving at location. As for your fourth person, he'll meet you at the boat. I'm sure you can guess who that'll be."

Ino eyed Sakura who just blushed furiously, confirming Shikamaru's earlier comment to a T. Kakashi and Naruto both laughed silently as the girls regained their composure, "I've also been informed that you all will be going 'under cover'. Meaning, no clothing or styles that could give away what you are and where you're from. That means, no headbands and you have to keep all your weapons hidden or sealed on your person. This also means, only civilian clothing and speech. I will give you each a seal hidden on you, of your choosing, so you can easily switch between our language and theirs. You will have to be careful to avoid using our language when in their company, of course," they all nodded and stood in front of Kakashi to received their seals, "I have been told by your handler that if you don't have any clothing deemed 'appropriate' by their standards, that they have a budget set aside to help purchase anything you'll need beyond what will be provided for you. Just grab what you have and if there's anything more, your handler will help."

Naruto piped up, "Kakashi-sensei, who is this 'handler' you keep mentioning?"

"They, well, she, will be your 'captain' if you must put a name to it as well as who to ask any questions to and your 'go to' person and general contact."

"She?" Sakura seemed surprised to hear this.

Kakashi nodded, "I've been told that she's the 'best there is' so you will be in good hands. Just listen to her and follow her lead, she'll get you to where you need to be and help you out. Now, enough talk, get packed and meet me at the front gate. You leave in an hour." All three bowed and left quickly to pack and get ready. He watched them leave and sighed, staring at the dossier that Rose had sent to him. He gathered all the papers and sealed it back up to give to Naruto, so they could go over it once they arrived on the boat.

That was chapter 1! Just setting the scene and all that jazz. Let me know what y'all think! Any an all criticism is welcome, as is any and all praise! I look forward to hearing from you!

strangemind