Hi there, folks!! :D

This story is dedicated to Choices of Life, a great author who has blessed me the pleasure of reviewing my stories! I hope you like, Choices! :D

Now, without anything else to say, I give you the prologue of Story Behind Soldiers!

Prologue

"God damnit!"

Loud gunshots rang out through the air, bullets flying, connecting to anything solid within their reach. The yells of men and the shouts of women surged through my ears, making the eardrums pound painfully, while the blaring sun cooked the many soldiers below, to my level.

The heat didn't bother me any, but the known fact that I was getting shot at was particullarly annoying. My makeshift shield behind the column of the abandoned building we visited was working efficiently, and I thanked the lord for my shelter from the array of bullets; if I were out there in the open, I'd be shot to death in less than a second.

To my right, I heard Sakura let out a loud, angry bark, her long canines bared with extreme irritation. Though not to the fullest extent, one could call us werewolf, only our bite doesn't turn others, and that we actually have different animal forms... I guess you could call us Entysri, a really rare species of shapeshifters...

I turned when Sakura directly began to speak to me, having to shout in order for me to hear her.

"Sasuke, Naruto is gonna give us some cover fire in order to get to a better position!" She said, looking over to where said blonde was. Indeed, I saw Naruto, the golden-haired man ducking behind an old vehicle. His own fangs were bared, his whisker-like scars on each cheek seemingly curling to fit his expression. His body was so tense with adrenaline; I could see the perfect muscles buldging from underneath his camoflauge outfit.

"Come on!" He snarled over the roar of war. "Come to me! Kiba, Shikamaru, cover fire!" Kiba, a muscular brown-haired shapeshifter, and Shikamaru, a lean light-brown haired human, both nodding before catiously moving to the edge of the car. Kiba threw a grenade at the enemy, and I could hear one of the enemy's front lines yelling out in horror before it detinated. As soon as it blew up, Shikamaru let loose with his SMB150, Kiba soon following his example with his own gun.

Taking the chance, I swiftly stood up, Sakura barely missing a beat, as we charged down the open space, running quickly to the shelter of the old, battery-missing car. "Damnit!!" Naruto snarled again, reeling back when a stray bullet hit his shoulder; I was a bit concerned, but I didn't really worry about the bullet.

It'll take more than just one bullet to kill any of us, especially Naruto, for he was the strongest.

The kitsune bared his fangs, the fur of his long, thick fox tail bristled. All the while, his pointed, elf-like ears seemed to perk at the sound of another roar as a rocket launched over us, exploding many feet behind us as it hit a part of the building.

My own tail was fairly ruffled, the long, panther appendage seemingly swishing anxiously on its on accord. "What's our next plan?" Kiba shouted over the loud gunshots, moving so that his tail would brush against Naruto's leg to gain his attention; I almost felt a pang of resentment towards the dog Entysri, but I held firm.

He was, after all, only trying to get a plan from the alpha.

Said alpha grunted in response, his mismatched colored orbs, his left eye cerulean blue while the other was blood red, darting to and fro to find a safer, more secure place for a better advantage. "The building's out of the question." He said, talking loud enough for us to hear him. " And this car won't be able to keep us safe forever. So, our best bet is that shed over there."

I looked over to where he was pointing at, and there was, indeed, a shed. But, it looked as though it were old and rusty, and that only a couple of bullets could pull it to the ground. But, ever since I've been 'recruited' by this small army of nothing more than 25 soldiers, this unit of Entysri and rebel humans, I've learned to never judge by appearance.

I did when I saw Naruto, and that was a big mistake... I was lucky enough that the man was as forgiving as he is.

With a low, shallow breath, I nodded towards him, reloading my shotgun before grabbing one of my smoke grenades. When he signaled it, I stood up swiftly and, with all of my speed, ran out, chucking the grenade at the enemy lines.

"Go!" I yelled; I usually don't get this excited during a fight, but this time was a bit different. It was probably the fact that I actually got hit in the stomach with at least two bullets during the whole scenerio, and that we were actually having a hard time with these soldiers.

But, then again, that was probably because we were still sore from that last breakout of gunshots.

Despite the reason, my senses were on their highest alert, and I was pratically running on all four when we were trying to get to the shed. I was there first, with Sakura second, then Naruto and Shikamaru, but none of us saw Kiba. "Where the hell is Kiba?!" The blonde shouted, suddenly frantic.

I didn't like Kiba that much, but he was a comrade nonetheless, and I felt my own panic coil into my stomach; it didn't show, though, for I wouldn't allow it. But, Naruto's question was answered when a loud howl of agony pierced through all of the gunshots, making each of us turn around with wide eyes.

The mutt was on the ground, his leg bleeding heavily from bullet wounds, three of them to be precise. Luckily, my smoke gernade kept him concealed from site, but he most likely couldn't move in his condition. I saw Naruto move to get him, but Kiba yelled out, his voice hoarsed with pain and a bit of panic.

"Akamaru!!" He litterally howled, the sound of his rumbling cry for his companion making Naruto smirk. Even I, the one who was the most likely to hide emotions, had to allow my lips to twitch upward.

When Kiba called for Akamaru, and was bleeding, it always resulted in death of the enemy until all were slain.

The ground shook, and the gunfire seemd to stop firing, before a loud roaring howl could be heard, making me shift to see a large white paw come into view. Then a head, next the whole figure, the lop-eared dog growling in rage.

His eyes were a deep golden color, glowing angrily, as the massive, SUV-sized dog lept over his master protectively before charging in. We could hear the screams of terror that rippled through the mass army, barks and growls ringing along with the sound of guns open-firing.

Naruto took the chance to go and quickly grab Kiba, slinging him over his shoulder before bolting away, towards us. When he got close enough, putting Kiba down gently, I had to snicker a bit.

"Told you we should've traveled together." I said curtly, revelling that glare he sent my way. "The others needed to rest, and we were the most uninjured out of the last onslaught. How was I suppose to know that we'd get ambushed during the patrol?"

"I never said you should know. What I am saying is that you should be more careful when planning."

It was true, though; sometimes, Naruto doesn't plan all the way through his strategies and, despite them always working out in the end, it sometimes came with a price. Shino nearly lost his sight in the last fight we were all in. But, then again, Naruto saved his life by risking his own.

He always risks his life for us when a plan goes array...

My thoughts were interrupted, however, when I heard Sakura yell out in pain, her emerald green eyes wide and her couger tail fluffed. "FUCK!" She snarled, clutching at her bicep.

"The smoke's cleared! They're starting to move in!" Shikamaru called, watching as Akamaru came back behind the car, having to crouch in order to keep within its protective cover.

"Mother fucker! Akamaru, carry Sakura and Kiba back to the camp! Sasuke, Shikamaru, I'm going in; cover me!"

We all moved to follow the orders, Sakura helping Kiba onto Akamaru, despite the wound in her arm, while Shikamaru and I flanked Naruto, the blonde bolting through all of the human soldiers. They hollered and shouted, attempting to go after the kitsune, but Shika and I kept the chasers to a minimun with our shots, watching occasionally as the blonde wove easily through the units.

I vagely heard someone fearfully, yet stupidly yell out, "Suck my cock, bitch', possibly to Naruto. I kinda felt bad for him, believe it or not; saying something like that to Naruto meant the end of your life ten-fold.

And I was right.

We saw Naruto leap up high into the air, propelled towards us, as he aimed to the ground with what looked like a bazooka; I'm guessing he hi-jacked it from one of the opposite soldiers.

I heard the distinct sound of the rocket falling into place, and a growl from Naruto as he aimed carefully from his decending position in the air. "Suck this." He said, and I couldn't help but smirk at his choice of words as the rocket launched not even a second later.

A loud boom was heard, and the explosion expanded swiftly; we took it as a que to run back for the camp. Naruto wasn't far behind, a large grin of triumph on his face, making my heart thud; it wasn't directed to me nor Shikamaru, but his smiles always seemed to stop my heart...

Yes, how sweet.

With a subtle roll of my eyes, I slowed down my running to ease the throbbing in my stomach wounds, coming down to a slow trot along side the blonde and the brunette when we reached the dense forest. "Well, despite the fact that we were ambushed, got shot at and actually got hit, I'd say that went pretty well." Naruto was still smiling as he spoke.

In all honesty, it really didn't go all that bad; we were trying to gather some supplies for the wounded back at our camp before we headed out, and came across that building. We had already got the supplies we needed, hence why Akamaru was away from Kiba's side, and the ambush happened right when we were getting the last of the bundles out of the building.

They were lost to the flying gunshots, but we at least got enough to last for about a couple of days.

"So, what's our next step?" Shikamaru asked, looking over from me to Naruto. The blonde shrugged, his layed back personality ringing around him, before he began to talk again.

"Well, considering that the ambush happened pretty close, we should get on the move by sundown; try to find a more secure place for the next base. That may cost us a few days time, but it'll be well worth it when we are safe again..."

It was clear enough; many of the people travelling with us were human, and the majority of them couldn't fight against the many attacks we had thrown at us. There were possibly over 50 of us, but only about half of that number are professional soldiers from any previous war apart from the one we are in now, being either shapeshifter or human; for those who didn't know how to fight, we taught them the basics of our own training. From then on out, they learned for themselves by observing the veterans.

As I said before, Shikamaru was a human, and one of the best snipers we have, along with Neji, Hinata, Shino and Kakashi.

"And if we can't find the anymore supplies? Our gun ammunition is starting to run low." I said, breaking out of my musing over the situation. Naruto gave a small smile, raising his brow in that fox-like visage he usually wears when being mischevious.

"Dear Sasuke, we are shapeshifters! We just maul the shit outta every enemy soldier and steal their ammo!" He said, almost cheerfully, making both me and Shika smile a bit. From then on out, we walked in a bit of silence, a comfortable one, before we reached the middle of the forest, where our little camp was set up.

Everyone was currently outside, out of the big custom-armored transport bus we've managed to get our hands on; those who were virtually helpless stayed within that bus, while the soldiers traveled in either warthogs, or 'upgraded' motercyles or, in Kiba's case, a demon mount.

It was funny, how shapeshifters, demons and humans actually began to work together, despite the current war all over about it; shapeshifters and demons were hated among many humans, mostly because of our power, which resulted in an almost world-wide war. Those who rebelled against the humans, including other people, were killed without hesitation.

What a cruel year we live in, even I know that.

With a small sigh, I walked over to where I'd usually find my computer 'geek' of an older brother, most likely working on the bus's defence systems again.

And, once again, I was correct, seeing Itachi's boot-clad feet out from underneath the vehicle, many tools lying beside him.

"Nice to see that you're so bent on keeping everyone safe, Itachi, but I think the bus is fine as it is." I remarked, watching as he came out to reveal himself to me. He sat up, his tail thudding against the soft grass patiently, before he held out his claw-tipped hand.

Rolling my eyes, I reached back into my pack and pulled out a laptop, tossing it to Itachi without a care about the piece of equipment. He caught it easily, examining it with intent dark eyes, before plopping down, turning the laptop on and checking all of its functions thoroughly.

After a few minutes of simply watching him, I grew bored, and began to wander away, only to be caught by my arm. I turned around and found myself staring into my older brother's studying eyes, those dark gray orbs staying specifically on the two bullet wounds my stomach recieved. He let out a growl after a while, his eyes narrowing before shifting over to stare resentfully at Naruto's back.

If looks could kill...

"Look, Itachi," I started, bringing his attention back to me, "it's not Naruto's fault that I got shot. I just got a bit careless, that's all."

It looked like my brother didn't believe what I said, and he simply furrowed his brows and continued to glare at Naruto. I had to sigh at his verbal-less actions; Itachi was one to be overprotective, and usually, he would subtly show it. But, if I ever shed even the tiniest drop of blood around someone, especially Naruto, that subtle show of 'I'm just watching you' turns into a possessive 'I'm not leaving you out of my sight'; he didn't dislike Naruto, according to how surprisingly respectful he acts towards the other, but I think he doesn't like the fact that I am, virtually, more prone to getting into a gunfight alongside the fox.

At times, the possessiveness is kinda creepy, and that's saying a lot coming from me.

"Itachi, I'm not a child; I can take care of myself." My brother gave me a look that clearly said "yeah, right," in a sarcastic manner, but I didn't let it faze me none. Instead, I simply pointed at his new laptop, watching as his eyes still studied mine. "If it makes you stop your nonsense, I'll go and see the medic." I promised, earning a small growl at the word 'nonsense'. But, finally, Itachi rolled his eyes, a sign that told me 'whatever', before he somewhat reluctantly went back to work, scratching lightly at the large scar on his throat(1).

I sighed before turning and began walking again, occasionally looking around for the medic through the small crowd of people; most were sitting down, while some others were walking around, looking like they were stretching out their sore bodies from the seated position they were in for the most of the day. Among the seated was Sakura, grunting and growling as a blonde haired human dug into her bullet wound as gently as she could.

"Ino, if you weren't such a wimp to hurt me, then this little procedure would've been over already!" The blonde, Ino, had snapped back with just as much feroucity, her own teeth bared as she growled at Sakura; sometimes, I have to wonder if she really was human with behavior like that.

"Shut up, Sakura!" She barked, jabbing the medical tongs a little too hard into Sakura's wound, from what I can see. After hearing the pink-haired feline snarl, I decided that it was the best of times to make myself known; I wouldn't want to be the one to break up yet another wrestling match between the girls. "Ino." I said, watching as the blonde immediately froze with surprise. Sakura, on the other hand, simply waved at me cheerfully, as if she wasn't getting prodded with by potentially wound-worsening tongs.

"Hey, Sasuke!"

The blonde human immediately righted herself, scratching the back of her head nervously; as Shikamaru would say, it was so 'troublesome'. "Hey there, Sasuke." She murmured, most likely embarrassed, making me tilt my head in the slightest while staring her down. Before she could say anything else, Sakura spoke, grinning almost as hard as Naruto would. "I see you've come to get them bullets out."

She pointed at my shirt, my blood so heavily on it that you could actually see it aganst the black of the fabric. "Gunshots are a bitch, neh?"

I didn't have to answer to know that Sakura knew I agreed; getting shot really was a son of a bitch, in the stomach, no less.

"Where's Tsunade or Shizune?" I asked, raising a brow when Sakura shrugged, not even wincing when the tongs pinched at her skin from the movement. This time, Ino finally spoke up, glaring at Sakura for interrupting her before "Hinata and I are the replacement medics for the moment; Tsunade and Shizune went out to get some herbs not too long ago, I think."

Well, that explains why Ino was 'doctering' Sakura...

Ino suddenly waved her hand, moving it in the direction of a camp fire. "Well, you're tough enough to wait a bit longer. After I get this bullet out, I'll come to you. Unless, of course, you'd rather go and see Hinata. I think she's just checking on everyone, so she should be free."

I gave a small nod at her advice, and set out to find Hinata; from where Ino was motioning; I'm guessing she's near the main camp fire we had going on. Instead of using my sight, I simply used my sense of smell, following the scent of lavender and peaches towards the small circle around said flame. My eyes looked at the many faces, spotting Choiji, our chef, Kiba and Akamaru, and Shikamaru. Among those faces was, indeed, Hinata, but she was a bit bent over, her back arched slightly in order to have a good angle to tend to the man she kneeled before.

That male was no other than Naruto... when did he get over here?

"Hey, Sasuke!" He said, snapping me out of my pondering over the ridiculous question to look at him. The kitsune didn't look too bothered as the shy human girl pulled out the bullet that was imbedded into his shoulder, holding it between her fingers to show Naruto. He nodded his thanks to the girl before pointing at Sasuke, his canines showing as he grinned.

"I think it's Sasuke's turn for his 'opperation'."

I had to allow my eyelids to fall halfway at the statement, my brows slightly furrowing; it didn't take a super genius to know that Naruto was teasing me. I refrained from retorting, however; I don't want to start another wrestle with the fox, especially in my current state. With a snort, I sat down next to Shikamaru, watching as Naruto got up and allowed Hinata to make her way over to me.

She leaned forward, crouching a bit, and I could see Kiba's eyes roam shamelessly over her hunched over body. She seemed oblivious, however, as she took the tongs and gave a small look of warning before slowly pushing them into my wound. It hurt, but not too much; my muscle mass was thick enough to keep the bullet from burrowing too deep into me.

After a little prodding, Hinata managed to take each bullet out without much of a problem, a small smile forming on her lips when she looked at me. "All you need now is a bit of rest." She said, the usual studder in her speech gone; it always was when she spoke to anyone but Naruto or Kiba.

With a small nod of her head, the young human woman made her way to another spot, where a few pregnant women awaited her attention; it left me with the other four males around the fire. I didn't speak, feeling content enough to simply listen to what the group was talking about, more so, to Naruto's rumbling voice.

Though it may sound a bit strange, I've always found myself lulled by the fox's voice for reasons unknown, even to me. Being a bit tired from the excitement of the day, I decided that staying awake would just hinder me from doing much in the future, so I simply rest my back on a nearby tree, lowering my head and closing my eyes.

--

To be continued...

--

1) Itachi lost his ability to speak during a fight that isn't mentioned yet, the reason why he has a scar along his neck... please don't kill me for it! D:

Well, that's the end of the prologue, and the official chapter one is in progress! :D I hope you've enjoyed it!

And, for those who is reading my story, Bittersweet: If you don't know, I announce to you that Chapter 12 is now up! :D

So, until next time..

Happy Hunting!