"Kakashi, he's staring at me again."
"Just stare back. Show him what you think of people like him."
Sakura tried to look as hateful as she could. The man she glared at was terrifying in appearance; pale skin, long lank hair, slitted eyes with dark circles around them, and an aura that wasn't quite human. She reminded her of so many other horrible faces, but beneath it all there also seemed a hint of sadness that was somehow more unnerving. Finally, she looked away first. She redirected her eyes to the back of the head in front of her. Hiro was that guy's name. He was a fire-user that Kakashi seemed to know. She didn't like his attitude, but she didn't ask questions about why he or any of the other strangers were there. She didn't seem to ask many questions at all anymore. When she encountered something odd or unlikely, her mind simply glossed over and accepted the first explanation Kakashi gave her, no matter how unsatisfactory. Where are we going? Back to Konoha of course. Who are these people? Old friends of mine from other villages. Where are the rest of the leaf-nin? They went on ahead while you were healing. Who is our captive? I'll tell you when we get back.
She usually walked beside the cart with the prisoner as they travelled, and for some reason it felt unbelievably good to be outside. At night she slept in the same room as the others, but a little distance away from them, even Kakashi. He was definitely her old sensei. But for some reason he had become slightly odder, slightly colder than she was used to. She'd say some random joke about Naruto, and he'd laugh like he was clearly expected to. But he never said anything of his own, just agreed with whatever she thought about a subject. And he never read while he walked. Sakura would have thought that the long, boring treks with mere acquaintances would have made him pull out the Icha Icha books in the first hour. But it had been three days since she could last remember travelling, and he still seemed alert and battle-ready, not sleepy and battle-ready. She had noticed these things, but her feeling of walking under-water meant she hardly even cared about such subtle problems. She healed the people they were with (she couldn't think of them as 'friends' yet) when Kakashi asked her to, and she stayed with them at all times- though she kept pretty quiet. They were heading home apparently, but every piece of signage they passed told her they were heading in the complete opposite direction.
But still she couldn't bring herself to care.
That night there were staying in a cave like the others, but this one was different because it came pre-made. Tanto the earth-man didn't have to do anything, not even seal up the prisoner. They simply tied him up in the corner of the cavern and kept an eye on him. The place itself was hard to find from the outside despite its size, and was filled with an impressive assortment of trinkets, finery, and precious gems and metals. They spilled out of boxes with a variety of stamps and seals from all the nearby countries. She looked to Kakashi quizzically. Why were they here, in a place that screamed 'looter's hideout'? Kakashi gave her a toothy smile, saying "everything will be alright". Immediately Sakura believed him, calming down so much that the smile she returned was soppy and unfocused. The usually-quiet prisoner in the corner made a soft noise that sounded like disgust. Sakura couldn't have cared less about the strange, sad man in the corner. All she wanted was to do whatever Kakashi asked. Anybody who knew Sakura knew that unquestioning loyalty was a tall order when not in battle or a medical situation. Naturally she had always trusted Kakashi's judgement and followed his orders; he was her leader. But at that moment she felt like she would jump off a cliff if he told her to. And she didn't have any weapons on her, either. That was pretty weird…
The others seemed happy about being in the new cave. They were louder and bolder than they were on the road, when they were driven by a kind of urgency that suggested either pursuit or escape. She stood and fidgeted as they went through the trunks, pulling out gold-embossed scrolls and strings of pearls. Kakashi watched them at it, barking the occasional order in an uncharacteristic manner. Hayseed was going through a particularly-large chest made of mahogany, removing its assorted contents carefully and placing them at his feet.
"Hey, look at this!" he said as he held up a short silky robe for the others to see.
"It's not really your type!" Hiro called out from the other side of the room.
"Ha ha," Hayseed laughed sarcastically and threw the yukata to Kakashi. "I meant for the girl, idiot."
This idea seemed to appeal to the rest of the men. They started leering in a way that made Sakura nervous despite her current Zen attitude. She eyed the summer kimono with slight apprehension. Such a thing looked pretty, but was rather impractical for a kunoichi on a mission. The others stepped in closer and even the prisoner seemed more alert than usual.
"Here: just try it on, Sakura. Your mission clothes must be filthy by now. Wouldn't you prefer a change? You'll look beautiful in it." Kakashi smiled at her and she felt another wave of calm wash around her like a strong perfume. All thoughts of 'it's impractical', 'you know I've worn the same clothes much longer than this before' and 'you never compliment me like that' flew from her head before she'd even worked up a good frown. The dark blue material flowed from Kakashi's hands to hers, and she retreated to another part of the cave maze to put it on. When she returned she felt very pretty, but the leers and whistles of approval also made her feel dirtier than being in her old clothes. She could feel her face redden and she wished they would look away.
Even Kakashi was staring at her. Actually, this didn't surprise her too much. Kakashi was a pervert, but he was also usually more shy and embarrassed about this sort of thing. At the moment he was staring openly, unafraid to show the desire in his eyes or the contemplative curve in his smile.
The prisoner stirred. His narrow eyes flickered between herself and Kakashi, and this time he looked truly frightening. Sakura backed up a few steps, almost tripping over. What was his problem?
Kakashi, the real Kakashi, had never felt less in control. He had endured Sakura's misplaced looks of disgust, had accepted it when she left him to join the others at night. He knew she was okay for the most part. So he had bided his time, waiting for some sort of opportunity, some crack in the genjutsu. But here, in this place where the enemy was able to relax and let their guard down, they might also feel just as confident in other ways. Kakashi knew it was probably only fear of him that kept Aoi and the others from telling Sakura from doing something that would harm her. But with Sakura looking like a feudal princess, he could hardly blame them for their less-than innocent looks. He wanted so much to help Sakura, but all he could do was make it clear to Aoi that if they so much as thought about thinking about her, he would tear his own self to pieces and be unidentifiable to any bounty collectors.
Aoi understood, and dropped the hand that was reaching out for the girl's shoulder. Sakura's eyes were glazed and oblivious. Aoi told her to sit, so she did. The others were told to sit away from her, and they did (albeit grudgingly). Kakashi was soon joined by the man who stood, arms crossed in front of him, obscuring the pink-and-blue girl from view.
"You're lucky she doesn't think of you that way, or I'd have had her long ago," Aoi purred. He leaned forward until Kakashi could have touched him were his hands not bound. "But once we've dropped you off at the collection point, I think I might keep her awhile longer. No sense wasting something so beautiful. At least, not until I've had my fun." He didn't smile except with his eyes, and Kakashi could feel his own widening in horror at his words. The man's voice was little more than a whisper when he next spoke. "Before she dies, I'm going to make your face the thing she hates and fears the most. She, who trusted you so much, will die at your hands. Or so she will think." Aoi loved how easy it was to hurt this man. He wondered if he would be as easy to control if they held any other teammate against him. Would he be as scared for the shinobi on his team as he was for this kunoichi? He doubted it. It was sheer luck that the medic was also the key to subduing the famous copy-nin. He and the others could kill two birds with one stone, and use his genjutsu to have their own fun from it.
Kakashi felt as though he had been released from a genjutsu himself when the man finally walked away. His words still stung his ears, and not for the first time he wondered where the search party was, or if there even was one. They didn't have much time, and would be at the border before long. After that, they would never be heard from again. If only he could free Sakura, she might be able to get away on her own. It was him they wanted really, and he could agree to co-operate if they agreed to not pursue her. But how was he to achieve it? Kakashi had sometimes seen small flickers of subconscious chagrin cross Sakura's face in the past few days. But no emotion had been strong enough to make her see clearly, and he even though he had seen Sakura break free of mental constraints before (Ino's mind-swap technique had been no match for her), he wasn't sure she would be able to this time. She had just turned eighteen, and now she would die a horrible death. That couldn't be the end, could it? Your eighteenth birthday was meant to be the start, the first step to achieving what your really wanted from life. If ninja weren't jounin before then, eighteen was the ideal age to consider it. Sakura could even have made ANBU one day if she wanted it. There had to be something that would make her break the genjutsu.
And suddenly it came to Kakashi.
"Hey, Tanto," he called to the large man who was now poring over a map nearby, "Aren't you bored? Don't you wish there was something to entertain you?"
"Well we can't get the girl to entertain us, or you'll cut yourself up." Tanto grunted, gazing wistfully over at Sakura, who hadn't moved.
"She can't entertain you in the way you'd like, but I've thought of something else she can do that I don't have a problem with." Kakashi hoped he could convince him.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" The big man sounded sceptical.
"Well, back in Konoha, Sakura has a nickname. People call her the 'Cherry Nightingale'." He was making this up as he went, but he thought it sounded plausible. "It's not because of any special jutsu, it's because she has the sweetest singing voice in the whole city. She could have been a famous musician if she hadn't chosen the life of a ninja." The silver-haired man raised his eyes to the ceiling, as if reliving some fond memory. "She's an angel, alright. Some music might really liven up the place, and it'd certainly curb my suicidal tendencies." His eyes returned the other man's face, giving him a significant look. Go on, go tell the others.
Tanto considered it. There didn't seem to be anything to lose. Probably the Sharingan-user was just trying to exercise some sort of control, showing he could get the others to do what he wanted. But the others would get to exercise control over the girl, so what was the problem? And some music really would liven up this stagnant cave…
It took less than a minute for Tanto to get up and whisper something in Aoi's ear. The young man looked over at Kakashi, who stared back innocently. Finally, he gave a curt nod. Calling the others to attention, he turned to face Sakura.
"Sakura," he said clearly and confidently, "how about you sing for us?"
"I don't sing," she replied promptly.
Aoi's eyes narrowed. "Sing for us, Sakura. You have such a nice voice."
"I don't sing." Sakura's forehead creased ever so slightly. Why was Kakashi asking her to sing? She didn't sing, not ever.
"Sing!" The man's face was changing colour to match his hair. It was clear he was concentrating on something.
Sakura could feel calm and obedience crash over her like waves. Everything screamed at her to sing, but she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth. She felt annoyed more than anything else. Kakashi had been there when Ino had talked about singing. He had heard her say she didn't like to do it, but the very next day she had caught him trying to hear her. Kami, she had felt so angry at him after that. But she had felt even more betrayed when he had been too cowardly to confront her again afterward. Then they had finally met up again with that mission. Wait- it was this mission. They had been after rogue ninjas with Naruto and Sai. They had been caught. Then what?
All the questions she had ignored over the last few days suddenly flooded her mind. What the hell was happening? She moaned aloud, gripping her head as her confusion and anger broke the neat little walls of the genjutsu. I don't sing… I don't know these people… I don't know what's happened to Kakashi…
Her head snapped up to gaze at the man she had thought was her old sensei. He still looked like him, but the image was wavering and wrong. His eyes were wide with shock at her actions, and his mouth was slightly parted as though about to speak. She gasped as she realised- eyes! She could see both of them, and neither were the blood-red of the Sharingan. In fact, the only thing reddish about the man was his hair, which should have been silver but looked sunset-streaked. And he didn't have a mask. And his jaw seemed too square. And he wasn't her sensei at all.
"You- you're not-" she tried to say, as the roaring in her ears blocked out the low growls and cries of surprise around her. Questions were answering themselves as she looked around at the shinobi she had travelled with, and the feeling of mild unease she had felt intensified to its natural terror. These were her enemies. Green eyes wide and glistening with desperation, she spun on the spot, desperately searching for her ally. He had been here; he had been here with her. And suddenly, with a jolt, he was clear to her. There was nothing in his face she hated or feared anymore. He was utterly and completely her Kakashi. But he was still just as tied up as the prisoner she had thought him to be. He struggled against his bonds, but called to her more urgently. "Sakura! Get out of here!" He motioned toward the cave's entrance, his eye pleading. "Just go!"
"What about you?!" she yelled as she side-stepped a punch and broke free of the ring of attackers surrounding her.
"Forget me! Just get out of here!" Kakashi bellowed. He had to make her see that there was no hope for him, but there was still a slim chance of her safety.
Sakura knew what he meant for her to do. He wanted her to leave him, and save herself. But even if she got away and found help, Kakashi would be whisked away before she could return for him. So she couldn't leave without him. She wouldn't.
Forcing chakra to her fists, she fought with unrestrained ferocity. Shinobi were backing away as she forced her way over to Kakashi. Breaking his bonds was easy, like ripping paper. He watched her, open-mouthed beneath his mask. A blow to her side made her turn around and face her attackers once more. They couldn't have him. They couldn't take him away again, or make her feel the guilt she felt at abandoning him the first time. If she couldn't leave with him, then she wouldn't leave.
She fought tooth and nail, keeping them away from her weakened friend, and trying in vain to clear a path for them. She knew they were holding back, not even using chakra-based moves against her. They knew they had them. They had always had them. All her little stunt had done was show they couldn't keep transporting them alive. It would be quicker for them to take one corpse than two prisoners. She could see this too, and she felt horrible for forcing their decision with her outburst. Even though she wanted to keep hitting them until they died, even though it went against all her instincts, she stopped, letting her arms rest at her side. A final blow knocked her out cold, but she was glad. There was no need for haste when your victim was unconscious. Rather than just kill her in the heat of battle, they might prolong it enough to execute her later, when they could enjoy themselves. So she fell back against Kakashi's chest with barely a sigh, wondering vaguely if she would ever wake up again…
