A/N: Hi again everyone. Ready for more ACTION? Yes, this chapter has ACTION, not action, and also a little fun. I hope you like it. Enjoy!

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Anko sat silently on the branch in the tree she'd been hidden in. She had watched Sakura and Kakashi set up the exploding notes so she knew where the enemy would most likely come from. She began to get a bit worried. She didn't worry about herself as much as she was concerned for Kakashi and Sakura. She thought even though we've taken soldier pills, I don't know how much we can do. At least Pakkun will be back with some reinforcements. Kakashi's like a machine, but he's got to be tired. And if something happens to Sakura, we're all as good as dead. She continued to watch the area where the tags were strung, waiting for the enemy to appear. She could feel them now. Even with a healing head injury, she could feel that they were close.

It happened quickly, almost before any of them could register it. The lead enemy ninja sailed right into the trip wires causing a massive explosion that shook the ground and the surrounding trees. He never knew what hit him as he flew forward and to the side a bit, then fell to the forest floor and was still.

Kakashi said quietly, "One down, three left. Let's go Sakura."

Sakura watched and prepared to take on the first person she saw after the smoke cleared. But instead of clearing, the smoke seemed to intensify a bit. She turned to Kakashi and whispered, "Mist jutsu?"

"Yeah. This is going to be more difficult than I thought. Be careful. Roll out and keep to the bushes. Hunt one down. I'll take out the other two. If you hear an enemy – take them out."

"Got it." Sakura snuck out to her right, keeping behind as much foliage as she could. Where are they? She thought as she tried to feel for any chakra presence that the mist jutsu seemed to be masking quite well.

Kakashi got low and closed his exposed eye. He concentrated. He enhanced his hearing and sense of smell as he quietly felt with his senses for the presence of their pursuers. One's close. Damn it! The blood smell is throwing off the other scents. Apparently the lead ninja was hurt pretty badly from the blood Kakashi smelled. He stayed as still as possible, eye still closed and he waited.

Anko couldn't see a thing. She saw the explosion and the lead ninja, or what was left of him; fly forward and to the side a bit. But after that, she saw nothing, heard and felt nothing. Nothing moved, except the smoke that got thicker. Mist jutsu, I'm sure of it. We've got a water ninja on our hands. She didn't move her head, just her eyes as she tried to see through the mist that surrounded her.

Sakura snuck forward silently. She couldn't see much at all, but she loosely made a semi-circle toward where the blast took place. Something was on the ground. A hand, attached to an arm sticking out of a bush. Got one! Seems unconscious, she thought, as she crept closer to investigate. As she rounded the bush, ready to spring if her enemy was conscious, she found that the arm she'd come upon was just that – an arm. It wasn't attached to anything. She thought must be part of the lead guy. Guess I don't have to worry about him. But there's three more. Better move on.

Kakashi slowly opened his eye. He'd found a target. From the slight way the mist seemed to be changing direction to his side, he could tell something was blocking it, and the mist was traveling around that something. Or someone as was the case. Kakashi thought these guys are good. They'd have to be to be employed by Orochimaru. Unfortunately for them, we're better. From a crouching position, he launched a kunai into the mist, and rolled to his side to conceal his whereabouts. He heard someone yell as the kunai made contact. He thought, got one. Sakura knows what to do next. Need to get the next one.

As soon as the enemy had made a sound, Sakura took off. She quickly launched herself toward where she heard the kunai induced yell had come from, zeroed in on the sound and suddenly her enemy came into view. She burst through the mist and saw him completely, a youngish rogue ninja, trying to get the kunai that was stuck in his side pulled out. She was on him before he could react. He turned in time to take the full force of her punch to his face that was fueled by her anger and freakish strength. He flew sideways into the mist, she didn't really see where, but she guessed he fell in some foliage by the sound his body made when it landed.

Sakura had taken out the ninja who was creating the mist jutsu. When he went down, the mist began to dissipate.

Kakashi thought Sakura got him. Good. Two left. Once this mist clears, they're dead.

Sakura took up a new hiding position and watched as the mist cleared. She could almost make out a shadow moving ahead of her, but she wasn't sure if it was Kakashi or not. So she stayed hidden and watched.

Anko noticed the mist had begun to dissipate. She thought, they got another one! Kakashi and Sakura work so well together. Well they should – student and teacher should know how to work together. They're a good example of how it's supposed to be done. She tried to look through what was left of the mist to see what was going on, but she couldn't see anything yet.

Kakashi looked left and said to himself, "found you." He snuck forward, made some hand seals and aimed an arcing water dragon jutsu directly at the enemy nin he'd found. This ninja was a bit more prepared and put up his own water wall, which Kakashi's dragon crashed into with very little effect. Knowing that his cover was blown, the enemy water ninja began doing additional hand seals. Kakashi knew what he was doing and instantly began leaping into the trees. He shouted, "Sakura get up high!"

Sakura without questioning him, leapt into the trees. Immediately, the forest floor began to flood with a torrent of water. It flowed in angry swirls, swallowing anything that wasn't rooted, or held down, and sweeping it away. Sakura couldn't see Kakashi anywhere. The mist was about gone, and the water was receding, but Kakashi wasn't in the trees. Where'd he go? She thought as she looked around for her sensei.

Anko was able to see a bit better now that the mist was just about gone. She saw the huge water jutsu that the enemy ninja had produced, and she saw Sakura jump into the trees to safety. She looked around, suddenly scared out of her mind. Where's Kakashi? He didn't get swept away did he? Then she calmed down a bit, when she figured out where he was. She thought, that water guy doesn't have a clue what he's in for. Anko stayed perfectly still and watched as Kakashi revealed himself.

The water didn't stay for long, and when it had flowed away from them, Kakashi surprised the enemy ninja. He reached up through the ground, grabbed him by the ankle, and pulled him into the ground – earth style. Immediately, Sakura flew to where the enemy ninja was now buried up to his neck in the ground. Then she used a tiny bit of chakra as she hit a pressure point in front of his ear that rendered him unconscious.

Both ninja were breathing heavily. Sakura finally said, "I found the lead guy – or at least part of him over there. Don't have to worry about him, I only found his arm."

"So that's why I smell so much blood. Makes sense now."

"That other guy you hit with the kunai. I decked him. He should be over that way." She pointed in the general direction she'd sent the young rogue flying.

"Excellent work Sakura. We make a good team. That leaves this guy, who we'd better keep for questioning."

"Yeah. But wait Kakashi, there were four right?"

Horror swept across Kakashi's face as he realized that the fourth one was nowhere to be found.

Anko watched her two comrades catch their breath. She was relieved that neither one of them was hurt, but both looked very tired. She herself was so tired she wanted to nod off, but she knew that was part of the side effects of her head injury. Soldier pills would work for a good long time on a person with full chakra, and an uninjured body. But she was pretty beat up and had little chakra to speak of. It was keeping her alert, but barely. She just wanted this to be over, so she could go home. She knew that meant going to the hospital, or if Kakashi meant what he said, he'd take care of her. Either way, she wanted this whole thing to be over. Unfortunately, it almost ended sooner than she expected when the fourth enemy ninja put a kunai to her throat.

Kakashi looked up at the tree Anko was hidden in and he saw the branches that concealed her moving the wrong way. Wind doesn't make branches move that way, people do. The fourth one's got Anko! Got to get to her. Then he heard it,

"Stay where you are! Don't move. I've got your friend here. Nobody move, or she'll be forever remembered as your DEAD friend."

Kakashi and Sakura stayed still, not moving an inch. Kakashi began to boil with an angry intensity that made his hands shake. All he kept saying in his head was, I'll kill him, I'll kill him, I'll kill him over and over like a mantra to try and keep himself calm.

Anko felt the sharp side of the kunai against her throat. She thought to herself Dumb ass! What the hell are you doing letting this guy get you! How the hell are you going to get yourself out of this one?! Then Anko thought of the only alternative she had. As her captor finished his sentence about her being their "dead" friend, while he was still distracted with his speech, Anko reached up in a flash with her hands facing away from her. She inserted them between the ninja's arm and her body. She grabbed his arm and held it tightly, and then she pushed it slightly away from her throat making him utter a slight "huh?" She leaned forward, still holding his arm, and fell out of the tree, taking him with her.

Kakashi looked up horrified to see the woman he loved falling head first to the ground with an enemy ninja wrapped around her. I'll never get to her in time! She's falling too fast! She'll die! He still had to try so he lunged forward to try to intercept her fall.

Anko saw the ground rushing up to meet them, so she tucked her legs up, and curled her back, causing both ninjas to do a slow somersault over as the ground got closer. A sickening thud was heard as the enemy ninja's body slammed into the earth, and Anko sat firmly on his mid section. Anko was thrown almost flat against the ninja she'd basically used to break her fall. She heard his breath escape his lungs. Immediately, she sat up a bit, turned slightly to her side, and brought her elbow down on his nose with an almighty "KYA!!!" breaking his nose instantly and knocking him out cold. She rolled off him and sat on the ground a few feet away from him, testing herself to see if she'd done any more damage. She seemed to be no worse than she was before she "dove" out of the tree.

Kakashi had stopped running and only stared at her with a shocked look on his face. Anko looked over at him and smiled.

Kakashi reached over and hit Sakura on the shoulder and pointing to Anko he said, "She's trying to kill me." Then he leaned forward with his hands on his knees, and tried to catch his breath in order to try and stop himself from passing out again.

Sakura looked at Kakashi and then went over to Anko to make sure she was ok. "You ok Anko? That was amazing! How'd you do that? Are you some kind of closet acrobat or something?"

Kakashi looked up and said, "WHY did you do that is the question! You scared me half to death! I still may have a heart attack! Are you TRYING to kill me?"

Anko just looked at him smugly and said, "It was my only option."

Kakashi headed toward her and yelled, "ONLY OPTION! Diving out of a tree and using an enemy ninja to break your fall was your only option? What the hell Anko! You could have landed on your head and in case you forgot you already HAVE a head injury! You could have done yourself in permanently!"

Sakura said, "He is right Anko."

Anko rolled her eyes at both of them. "I got him alright? Quit hassling me!"

Kakashi stood right next to Anko and kept yelling, "Quit hassling you? Hassling? You think I'm hassling you now? You wait until we get home,"

Anko looked at him and said, "What're you gonna do? Spank me?" She smiled sideways at him with a completely devilish look on her very tired face.

Kakashi shut his mouth immediately and let the thoughts of his hand bouncing off Anko's pert little ass flood his mind, causing testosterone to flood something else in his pants.

Sakura thought she might puke. She thought we almost get killed, and still they flirt. I think I need an aspirin.

Sakura couldn't stand it anymore. Kakashi and Anko had only been officially "together" a couple of hours now, just since they left the area where Anko had her epic fight with Kabuto, who had put her in the state she was still recovering from. Yet when the two of them were together, they acted like two long married people who were still on their honeymoon. It was sickening. She had to stop this before she really did puke.

"Alright you two. Enough already. Kakashi, sit your ass down,"

"Language, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"If I may continue?"

Kakashi nodded.

Sakura continued, "Please sit you ASS down before you fall down! Your chakra is almost gone, and the jutsu you used has just about used up whatever boost that soldier pill gave you."

Kakashi said, "I am perfectly capable of standing if I,"

"SIT. DOWN." Sakura shouted for she had finally lost patience with her sensei.

Kakashi, rather than risk an argument and an angry Sakura, sat down next to Anko. He thought wow when did she get so bossy? It's Tsunade. She's learned how to be scary from her. It's official. She's scary.

Sakura said, completely back in control of herself, "Thank you Kakashi. Now, I think we should all rest here until our reinforcements come. We've got to bring back any of these idiots that are alive with us for questioning, and we are in no shape to do it ourselves. Let's take a break and rest a while."

Anko said, "I agree Sakura. That's a good idea." She was truly tired and almost unable to keep her eyes open by that time.

Kakashi said, "OK, we rest then. Actually, it is a good idea because," Kakashi stopped speaking and slumped over into Anko.

Sakura helped Anko lower him to the ground. She said, "I told him he was almost out of chakra. Idiot never listens to me. Never listens to anyone."

Anko just looked down at Kakashi's yet again, unconscious form, and she gently picked his head up and rested it on her thigh. She thought I know he's alright, but I wish he'd quit passing out on me. She smoothed his hair back a little and looked at his face some more. He could be a vicious animal of a man when he had to be. A ruthless murdering remorseless beast when it was called for. Yet, he could be a gentle caring man who would do anything for her the moment she asked. He was so many things all rolled up into one complex ball of a person. One she deeply cared for.

Sakura looked at her and knew that Anko loved him. She couldn't resist and she asked, "You love him don't you?"

Anko looked at Sakura like she'd just been slapped in the face. She said, "What are you talking about? This is Kakashi for crying out loud. Your former sensei. Me? Love him?" The whole time she said these things to Sakura, she never once stopped stroking his hair. She looked down at her hand and stopped abruptly. I love him? Kakashi? I love Kakashi? Really? She looked down at him with concern of this new thought that Sakura had put in her head. Then she thought about it again, and her look of concern began to be replaced with something else. She knew she cared about him a great deal. They were much more than friends, they'd established that. They were going to continue their relationship, and their "benefits," but did she love him?

Sakura just smiled a knowing smile and let it go. She said, "If we're going to transport these guys back to Konoha, I'd better see how many are still breathing. Ok if I go check things out?"

Anko looked up from Kakashi and said, "Sure. Go ahead." She watched Sakura go check on the enemy ninja that Anko had used as a human cushion, and then she turned her attention back to Kakashi. She smoothed his hair out again and watched him rest on her thigh.

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A/N: See, I said ACTION, not action. It's funner this way. I hope you liked it. Review please!

Next up: Kakashi wakes up and he and Anko have a request of Sakura. Then their help arrives, and they try and complete their travel back home. Will they succeed? See ya soon!