"Normal speech"
'Thoughts or emphasis'
I hurried inside the tower as the sky suddenly opened and let loose buckets of water. It's grim looking clouds and thunder seemed to match my feelings for the moment- dark, worried, and in turmoil.
Waving hello to Shizune, I pushed my sopping wet hair out of my eyes and gave a brief knock on a large wooden door before quickly opening it and slipping inside. I closed the door briefly with a small snap, gaining the attention of the older woman sitting at a desk shuffling through papers.
"Reporting for duty Hokage-sama."
"Ah...yes," the current Hokage, Lady Tsunade, replied."Sakura, thanks for coming. I have some matters in which to speak with you. I believe it is of some importance."
'No duh,' I thought angrily. 'What do you think I woke up at 3 in the morning to come here for- and summoned by an ANBU, no less? A freakin' party!'
Tsunade, completely oblivious to my inner rant continued. "As you know, your ex-sensei, Hatake Kakashi took off on a jounin mission recently."
"Yes," I replied slowly, my fears growing. I tried to keep my face still as a shiver of worry wormed its way up my spine. In the past years, I had grown closer to Kakashi and thought of him more as a close friend rather than a teacher. If anything happened to him, I don't know what I would do.
"I know. What of it? Did something happen to them? Are they-"
The older woman held up a hand to stop my wave of questions. "I do not know. This is why I have called you in." She threw a folder on the table in front of me.
I quickly opened it. It was a description of the mission involving Kakashi. I looked up, confused. "But, Lady Tsunade, this is only a B-class mission?"
"Not anymore," Tsunade stated. "As of now, this is now an A-class mission, possibly higher." Despite her calm voice, I could tell she was worried by the way she clenched and un-clenched her hands and the faint wrinkles between her brows. I wasn't too sure about myself either, I probably mirrored her.
"Kakashi set off nearly month ago. He was to report every week. Everything seemed to be going well, but three nights ago he failed to report."
"At first I believed it was a small delay, but now I'm not so certain. In his last report Kakashi observed that their employer in this undercover mission might have seemed to be growing aware of him. This was supposed to be a simple spy mission to recover information about the illegal black market trade going on in the Tea Country, but if he was discovered...anyways, I believe he might have been exposed."
"I want you to take two other ninja of your choice with you on a recovery mission," she finished.
I stared at her in horror. "You sent him on this mission alone, knowing these dangers?" The illegal trade market had been a large problem for the past years for the Land of Fire. If Kakashi was caught, it would be very possible that whoever was running the operation might have some high-class rogue ninja serving him. He could be in serious trouble.
Tsunade frowned at me. "I figured it would not be a problem for him, Sakura. After all, he is one of our most adept ninja."
I froze. Realizing my foolish words, I quickly apologized. "I will take off immediately, Tsunade-sama." The woman nodded, turning her head back to her papers, already preoccupied with other things.
"Sparrow in position," a young man's voice crackled loudly over a com device. I winced, pulling the mike quickly away from my ear. "Ow, Neji! Don't hold the mouthpiece so close."
Loud snickering could be heard through the mike again, this time from a different man. "Kiba, shut up. Get serious here, we're on a mission, not a walk in the park!" I hissed.
I heard a soft remark. "It's Inu right now..."Kiba complained. "You're not supposed to reveal our names Cherry."
"Aw bullshit, nobody can hear us right now. It's fine. Shush now, I'm going in."
I crawled out of my hiding place and checked to make sure no one was watching in. I made my way towards my destination- a small pub name the Jumping Evelyn. I figured if I was looking for dirty information, I should head to the dirtiest place in town.
I kept to the shadows of the town of Nanamake. I had debated about bring Neji and/or Kiba into town with me, but had wisely decided that three stranger travellers would garner more curiosity than she needed here. Thus it was two nights after leaving Konohagakure, I was slinking along the streets alone.
As the night descended, a new group of people started emerging. The daytime bustle of children and ladies and their doting husbands gave way to a colorful array of prostitutes, soldiers, beggars, and of course, thieves.
Almost everything about this town sickened me. I detested the smells, the noise, and the nasty people who lurked here. I pulled my wide hat down even lower over my eyes, tucking a slip of short brown hair behind my ear.
I had used a slight henge that changed my appearance just slightly to a more rough visage. I now had a head full of unruly brown locks that fell close to my ears and a pair of dusty green eyes in a slightly more worn and weathered face. Along with my black used and fraying at the hem grey shirt and loose pants covered by a dark long coat, similar to Anko's, I hoped to appear inconspicuous.
Grumbling and angry conversation followed me around the corner and a group of rough looking men strolled down the street toward a nearby tavern. Just the one I had been looking for.
I took a few deep breaths and thought to myself 'Okay, I can do this. Kiba and Neji are watching over me. You've been on plenty of missions before... Although, this is my first out-of-training ANBU recovery mission...'
I affected a swagger like that of the men before me and tried to stroll nonchalantly behind the men. One glanced back, cast a quick eye over her form, and turned away to resume his conversation.
Another one of the men turned again and glanced back at me with more interest. "What are you dong, boy? No pick pocketing here, understand?"
They thought I was a boy? 'Oh well, all the more better for me, I guess.' I tilted my head up in a challenging manner and stared at the man levelly. "I have no intention of robbing you. I am looking for some info on a lost friend of mine."
The men seemed surprised by my tough demeanour despite my small stature. One of them gestured toward the open doors of the tavern. "You willna find better information than 'n there," he said slowly.
I nodded and walked by the suspicious men, thankful to get clear of their mistrustful glances. I shuffled to the bar side and carefully eyed the customers. A dark hooded man nearby seemed like a good pick. I made my way to him casually and sat down on the stool beside him.
"Hey, stranger. You happen to hear any news about this here town at all?" I asked quietly. "Trade and such?"
The man turned his gaze on me and eyed me warily. "What's it to you?" He replied stonily. I shrugged. "Nothin' much. I'm looking for some info on a friend of mine. Tall, silver haired, brown-eyed. He should have been in town recently."
The man's eyes narrowed. "Yea, I know him. He's been sniffin' in places he shouldna be putting his nose in, that dog." I winced mentally at the close comparison. 'You have no idea.'
I leaned in more excitedly. "What can you tell me about him?" The man looked at me strangely. "I don't think this is the sort of business you want to be bothering with either. Same as you, he was. Came in here, asking all sorts of questions. He was hauled of a few nights ago I heard. To..."
The man carried on some more lengthy descriptions and colorful phrases when mentioning the illegal market and the men running it. I memorized all he said, thanked him, lucky to have gotten some much info in one go. Slipping a few coins into his palm for his silence I exited the pub silently.
Checking to make sure the coast was clear I slipped back into the shadows and whispered into the com. "Okay, I got what we came for. Let's meet back up at the 'base'."
"Roger that."
"Got it."
(Kakashi's POV)
It was black. Very black. At least I was spared having to watch the rats chew on the dead body in the corner, though I could still hear them and that was bothersome.
I curled my body back into a sitting position and winced as a lance of pain shot through my back. Or maybe it was my head. I can't even think straight anymore.
A shaft of light penetrated my dark blanket and burned my retinas. "Get up, you lazy bastard!" The ninja guard kicked me in the back. I glared at him. A swift punch in the jaw rewarded my insolence. I rubbed my jaw and stood up towering in height over the guard, who appeared undaunted.
"Get moving! The lord has some more questions for you." The interrogation had been continuing for the past day or two. 'Or has it been a week?' I thought weakly.
Before I blacked out at the end of the torture session surprisingly, even to me, my last thought was 'Sakura...'
(Sakura's POV)
"Hurry up!" Kiba demanded as I worked to pick a lock to the back of the jail. "If I could, I'd bite off your right hand and use it to unlock the door myself! Can't you use your super strength or something? We've been here forever" he whined.
I looked at Kiba with a cold, withering stare. Kiba saw the anger in my eyes and backed off.
"Are you an idiot?" Neji scoffed. "If she used her strength, the entire compound would know we were coming."
"I meant I'd borrow your right hand," Kiba tried to apologize to me, ignoring Neji.
"Of course," I said calmly. "I'd be happy to lend it to you any time." I punched Kiba with a deadly right hook and sent him flying. Thankfully for him, he landed in the bushes, muffling his landing.
I returned to picking the lock. As Kiba emerged, pulling the twigs out of his hair with a pained look, a slight click echoed through air and the door swung open silently. I gave a mental punch in the air. Picking locks was clearly not my forte.
We swept in without a sound, like the ninjas we were, and took to the shadows of the narrow corridor. I gestured for Neji to use his Byakugan to find Kakashi's location.
"This way," he whispered. And we were off, following Neji through the maze of corridors. I was suddenly really proud of my decision to bring him along.
As we were rounding a corner, Kiba suddenly grabbed the back of my collar and hauled my back into the shadows. 'UP' he gestured with his finger, and took to climbing up the wall like a spider. Neji and I tailed him and we silently slipped past a guard walking beneath us seconds later, whistling a death hymn. I nodded my thanks to him and the three of us slipped back down and carried on.
"I can smell him," Kiba said, wrinkling his nose. "Among other things...the smell of blood and death is all over this place." I made a mental note to make it up to him with his favorite treat once we got back to Konoha. I knew how his sensitive nose was and couldn't imagine how it was for him, when even I could smell the decay.
We entered another dimly lit hallway. Neji slid past me like a ghost and made quick work of the guard on duty with a chop to the neck. I followed and caught the man before he hit the ground, then removed the keys from his belt.
Kiba, meanwhile, took down the guard's buddy who was trying to make a getaway quietly, but unsuccessfully. I looked at the guard, then at him again. 'Hmmm. This could work. They're about the same size.'
"Take his clothes off and put them on Kiba, Neji." Kiba shot a look at me. I shot one back. "Do you really expect us to get out of this place without them noticing? You'll be the decoy guards to escort us out."
He nodded reluctantly, undressing the one man while looking away with a wrinkled nose. Neji rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a baby. It's not like you're striping off his underwear as well." Kiba growled back.
While the boys fought to remove and pull on the two soon-to-be-naked guard's clothes, I made my way along the line of jail pens. A few number of menacing looking men leered out at me from behind the bars.
Finally, I found Kakashi's stall. "Kakashi!" I rushed to the door immediately, unlocking the gate and pushing it open. The man looked like he had been through hell and back. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his headband was gone. His pants were ripped and caked with blood. I couldn't tell if the blood was all his or someone else's and he was covered in grime, his usually bright silver hair looking quite muddy. He looked up at me with blank eyes for a moment. Then slowly I saw a small spark ignite within them and he replied, his voice hushed with amazement, "...Sakura? What are you doing here!"
"Coming to rescue you, of course!" I grinned. Kakashi slowly grinned back, then realized I could half see his face through his ripped mask and quickly pulled out a new one from a pocket. I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
Kakashi stood up slowly, then staggered as he held the wound on his side. My eyes went wide. "You need help!"
"Mah, mah. I'll be fine. No worries, it's just a scratch." He gritted his teeth though, I could tell. "A scratch, my ass," I replied shortly, clenching my jaw. "Come over here so I can heal you!" My hands already glowing green and reaching for him.
"Are you stupid?" He asked, his own jaw clenching. "I said I don't need help, and as long as I'm conscious and coherent, you can't force me to get hel-" his suggestion ended with yelp of pain as I lunged forward, hooked an arm under his and yanked him towards me.
"Jeez, why are you always so stubborn when in comes to getting healed! You're the one who should just shut up. Which means, you can take all your pride and honor of being a man who doesn't need help, drop it, and shove it all the way up your crack. Now stop squirming and let me heal you or I'll knock you out."
I got the feeling he probably knew I meant it. I took advantage of his stillness to heal up all the major wounds and scratches on his body besides the one on his side. Finishing, I released him with a exhausted sigh, slumping into the wall for a second.
"See?" Kakashi looked at me worriedly. "This is why I don't want you to heal me. I'm just an old man, you need all your energy to help fend off the enemies, not spend it on me."
Surprised, I shot him a look. 'He was worried about me?'
I was about to reply when Neji and Kiba came around the corner. "You guys done with your little get together? We need to get out of here, fast." Kiba said.
"Right," I replied. "Let's go!"
The four of us, or more precisely, the two of us were yanked to our feet and "cuffed" from behind and hauled sown the corridors with our two "guards."
A man patrolling the hallways looked up, scrambling to his feet, as we approached. "Whot's going on? Who ye be?" he gruffly asked in a heavily accented voice.
Neji replied, "We be sent here to take these two traitors out to see the interrogator for more questioning afore they get hung. The lord sent us. What are you stopping us for? I have been paid and want to get it o'er and done with."
"I heard naught of this matter, brat," the guard grumbled.
"Well then, tell your lord yurself that ya sent us away, I don' care, I get paid no matter." He and Kiba turned as if to move away.
"Agh. Fine, fine. Get movin' then."
If I hadn't known the real truth, I would have almost believed him myself. Note to self: Neji is a skillful and very convincing liar.
(Kakashi's POV)
We had just made it past the jail entrance when all hell broke loose. "Who are you?" A new group of ninja had shown up. 'Shit! This guy is the real interrogator!'
All of a sudden, the ninja guard we met earlier came running in from behind. "Stop them! Those guys are frauds, the other guards are sitting locked up naked as babes in a pen!"
At the same time the ninja captain before us narrowed his eyes at us, "Wait-! I know you! Konoha scum." He pointed at Neji, Kiba, and I. 'Crap, we forgot to do a henge.'
"You're here to rescue your little friend aren't you! Get them!" The man signalled forth the other ninja to attack.
Immediately, we leapt into battle. I saw Sakura meet an enemy kunai with her own and was being pushed back. 'Shit! She's still weak from healing my wounds!' For some strange reason, I felt a roaring anger burst out at the man attacking Sakura, a wave of killer intent rolling over the ninja present. I had know idea why I suddenly had an urge to protect her.
I leapt at the man and slit the man's throat with his own kunai. I glared at Sakura and spoke, "you! You are in no condition to fight now. You'll just get in the way!"
I saw the fury in her eyes but it was already to late. Neji and Kiba could hold off without me for a minute or two.
By the time she was ready to launch her protest, I'd scooped her up, thrown her over my shoulder, and carried her bodily back through to an empty room and deposited her on the slate tile. I turned away, and locked the door on my way out.
(Sakura's POV)
I stood for a moment, my hands at my sides, my eyes wide with disbelief. When my mind stopped spinning, I stared at the panels of solid wood in front of me and breathed, "oh no, he didn't."
'When I get my strength back and bust my way out of here, I'm going to rip that guy a new one! How dare he! I'm not a useless genin anymore!' I thought angrily.
I stood still for a moment, resting for a few precious seconds, then channelled my chakra into my fist. Powered by adrenaline and anger alone, I punched the door. It not only flew off the hinges, but it exploded into hundreds of fragments as well.
The first thing I saw was Kakashi's face doing an 'uh-oh' look. The second thing I saw was the man jumping at Kakashi's back from behind with a katana ready to stab. Before my brain had time to react, my own body moved by habit. Within split seconds, I had drawn a shuriken from my pouch and launched it at the man.
Kakashi eyes widened, and I'm sure he thought I was attacking him. But the shuriken flitted past his ear, dangerously close, I should say, and landed with a sickening thwok in the throat of the enemy ninja, who gurgled and fell to the ground dead instantly.
"Still think I'm completely useless?" I said to Kakashi. He rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, maybe I overreacted, but you looked really tired. Anyways, I never said 'completely useless'."
'Aw man, I can't stay mad at him. Is it just me, or does the Kakashi right now look incredibly sexy? Then again, I've never seen him without his headband and practically no clothes on...wait! What am I thinking? It's Kakashi-sensei! He can't be sexy-oh wow, check out those abs- agh, bad, bad, bad!'
I backed up too quickly and tripped, falling on my butt. Ow. I whipped my head away, embarrassed to find my face burning. "Hey, are you okay? Your face is really red." Kakashi asked, approaching me worriedly. His hand reached out to help me out. The second our palms clasped, a shock ran through me.
Our eyes locked, and I could sense that I wasn't the only one who had felt that. Time was suspended while I felt a pulse throb between our hands and race throughout my body. I saw Kakashi's face glow while a deep roar echoed in my head.
I shivered as bolts of electricity raced through my fingertips and down to my belly. My mouth went suddenly dry yet my skin was covered with a fine sheen of sweat.
I felt my thighs slip against each other as Kakashi continued to pull me up to a standing position. Staring into his mismatched brown and patterned red eyes, I was suddenly reminded of how powerful he was and looked.
I lifted my hand to brace myself on his bare chest and dimly felt and electric shock arc between them.
(Kakashi's POV)
As Sakura came busting out of the door, I was reminded of an avenging goddess. 'Yikes, she looks pissed.' Almost immediately she threw a shuriken in my direction and I almost moved to dodge it when I heard the war cry of a man behind me.'WHA-!'
I whipped around as the shuriken whizzed past my ear. I swore I felt a breeze. An enemy ninja landed with a dull thud on the ground behind my shoulder, the deadly weapon lodged in his throat.
I froze in surprise. The haughty girl sauntered up to me. "Still think I'm completely useless?" she asked me.
I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Okay, maybe I overreacted, but you looked really tired. Anyways, I never said 'completely useless'." I replied.
There was a pause and I took the moment to survey the area. All the enemies were dead. Neji and Kiba were busy checking the area. I felt like someone's eyes were burning into me and I turned my head back to see Sakura looking at me. She whipped her head away and backed up, tripping in her haste.
Puzzled, I walked towards her. Her face was red, I noticed. 'Is she embarrassed? About what? Falling?' I thought."Hey, are you okay? Your face is really red." I reached out a hand to help her up.
The moment our hands touched I felt a jolt of electricity rush through me. It throbbed in our clasped hands and through my body, straight to my groin. I held back an aroused groan. 'What the?' I thought. I locked eyes with hers and fell into her deep green pools.
I felt a sharp sting when Sakura's hand accidentally touched my nipple and I suddenly felt an almost overwhelming urge to kiss the heck out of her. I was snapped back to reality when I heard Neji clear his throat and I leapt back, dropping her palm in haste.
Looking towards the two boys, who were standing there- Neji with his arms crossed, a knowing smirk on his face and Kiba whose arms were at his sides with his jaw hanging- I felt my face go red as well.
Quickly I turned my head away and muttered, "Let's get going. I'm sure Tsunade-sama is waiting for us."
