Guu~ Late again … Sorry~

Sasuke's spider bite is actually something real that happened to me and right now the poison is still in my system and its giving me some trouble that involves making it quite hard to type or really do much with one of my arms.

Hopefully it goes away soon!

He was quite the sight to see, this 'Kakashi sensei'. As they sat, all rags, soiled slave clothing and unslept undereyes, this man was so neat and clean. Next to Naruto and Sasuke's prickly, unshaven jawlines and Sakura's split dirty hair, he was bathed and scented. They could smell it; a musky aroma as he leant in over them.

His moonlight silver hair, despite the way it stuck up was swept slightly to one side, groomed and tidy, falling gentle and soft. Even as he stood with his eyepatch and surgical mask, he was immaculate; dress shirt and trousers under a splendid white coat, shiny black shoes against bare feet and dirty boots.

Sakura stumbled upward to her feet, ankle rolling sideways in her haste. She fell against the bars and then raised her head slowly to meet the eyes of her sensei; bent knees and trembling hands in his shadow as he straightened. His face was smiling with a mysterious ebb at the corner of his lips, eyes closed into the curious expression.

"Sakura," he said simply causing the girl to draw a long breath.

"K-Kakashi sensei! This isn't-" A thin arm flew out in a wild gesture as if some sort of explanation could be right there in the air around them but it only served to draw the doctor's eye to their environment. Sakura's arm immediately came back to close inside her small, frail chest as Kakashi gaze followed the movement.

The man moved to rest one hand on his hip. Naruto was standing too now. No one seemed to know what to say.

Kakashi was studying them, his eyes currently running the length of Sasuke's sitting form and lingering at his knee. He clicked his tongue, his eyes coming back to the raven's.

"It's my fault," said Sasuke suddenly.

"Sasuke its not-" began Naruto.

"What is?" cut in Kakashi. Sasuke blinked.

"Everything. It's my fault that all this had happened," he replied calmly. "If Naruto and Sakura hadn't have gotten involved with me, none of this would have happened. Everything is my fault."

So don't punish them

So don't scold them

So don't look to them

Because it was all me

Kakashi's smile had dropped and he let out a sigh after a minute.

"Kakashi sensei," started Sakura again but the man held up a hand, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Naruto is a bad liar but still no one told me anything. You think I wouldn't notice if you didn't come to work, Sakura?" He opened an eye and stared pointedly at the girl before him. "You don't think I don't know you better than that? You think that after working next to you for so long that I wouldn't see through this…" Another sigh. He turned to face her completely. "Even though you should know I would see through it, you didn't come to me for help? You sent Naruto to get your pastes and your gauzes but you wouldn't come to me for help? Aren't we family?"

Sakura was crying, wide eyes of realization and as Sasuke looked between the two and then to Naruto who was biting his lip, eyes on the ground, that although the doctor's face was calm, that although he spoke in a soft tone, he was hurt. But no one had considered such a thing, heads only full of the disgrace, the danger of losing a job.

Just who was this man to the two, to Naruto and to Sakura? Clearly more than a family doctor or employer.

There was a long moment where they all stood in silence. Sasuke watched until Kakashi lowered his eyes to him again.

"So you're Sasuke are you? I heard something of you before all of this. Sakura and Naruto's stray kitten."

An observing face that again drifted past Sasuke's eyes and to his knee.

"That, it's quite nasty isn't it?" Sakura drew a long wet breath through her nose.

"I tried to treat the best I could," she muttered. Kakashi hummed.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then I suppose. I'm here to rescue you by the way," Kakashi told them as he took a few steps towards the corner of the building.

"What!" yelled Naruto, grabbing the man's arm, expression serious. "Kakashi sensei, you can't possibly be thinking of trying to buy them? When I bought Sasuke it cleaned me out!"

Kakashi's smile was back and as he pushed Naruto gently aside he reached to ruffle the boy's grimy hair.

"I'll figure something out."

And he disappeared around the corner. Naruto stood for one second and then followed.

A moment later the door slammed back on his hinges and there was the clean, tidy doctor standing inside the slave quarters, a guard, different from the day before, and Naruto tailing him as he crossed the room in quick strides and stood next to Sasuke and Sakura.

"Now, Mister, I hear ya when ya say yer interested in buyin' a slave, respectable doctor like yerself but it's just yer with that boy…" Skirting eyes at Naruto who had followed them in. Kakashi turned to the guard and rummaged through his pocket.

"The boy is with me and yes I'm here for my 'slave' but I will not be paying for her because you see, unlike yourself, I do not simply steal people, and this little lady-" Kakashi's hand came to rest on Sakura's shoulder. "- is my nurse and she has a contract with me that I'm not prepared to overlook. She is mine."

The guard opened his mouth to protest, lips popping into a 'p' sound in preparation of 'prove it' but before he could Kakashi had shoved a signed contract in his face. His pleasant smile was unnerving.

"I figured Miss Haruno had gotten herself in a fair bit of trouble so I thought I'd bring this along. And-" The contract was withdrawn into the depths of Kakashi's doctor's coat as he bent on one knee and slid his arms carefully under Sasuke's knees (somehow expertly arranging his hold around Sasuke's bite) and in one smooth movement, lifted Sasuke with ease into his arms. Uchiha was surprised by Kakashi's stern and straight-forward manner after seeing him, even when he was hurt, so kind.

"-I'll be taking this one with me for treatment." The doctor looked down at the guard who seemed unsure what to do and then to the children along the wall watching with round eyes.

"It's disgusting in here. Be sure that while these children aren't in a state severe enough to be rescued right now, I will be writing a letter detailing their living conditions. Come on Sakura."

As they headed for the door they were children next to Kakashi. Sasuke, cradled in his arms, holding carefully around his neck; Sakura, teetering along behind him crying tears of happiness and Naruto, at his elbow grinning a strange relieved smile at Sasuke. His fingers were holding onto Sasuke's dirty toes as if it were his hand.

"W-wait!" yelled the guard, sliding between them and the exit. "The girl I get is yours but there is no reason for the boy to leave! He's been being treated by that boy through the bars! That can still happen with you! He can't leave this room!"

Kakashi had come to a stop.

"You can't be suggesting an infected leg stays in a place like this?"

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure he liked the way Kakashi referred only to his leg rather than him as a whole.

"He's doin' just fine! He's a whole lot better than yesterday ain't he?"

"He's coming with me," replied Kakashi firmly, taking a step forward.

They'd almost made it past the failing guard when from outside came a voice.

"Ooooi, I'm takin' over the shift noooow, you can-" The guard, familiar face and voice stopped in the doorway. Kakashi came to a halt too. The guard from yesterday looked the doctor up and down and took in his nervous college standing off to the side.

"Sir…" the first guard called weakly. Cruel eyes were running the length of Naruto.

"Oi, oi, oi, just what's going on here now?" His eyes skipped to Sakura. "You, Little Miss Doctor, I told ya no one leaves without being paid for didn't I?" Kakashi shifted his shoes on the dusty ground.

"She has a contract with me, you can't simply steal someone's nurse like that," he told the guard calmly. The other man scowled darkly and stepped forward, jabbing Sasuke in the arm, raising his voice.

"Then what the hell are you doing with this other one!" Naruto moved forward slightly. He'd let go of Sasuke's toes.

"This leg needs treatment! I'm taking him with me!" snapped Kakashi. "And I'm quickly losing patience with you people so kindly move!" Using his body, the doctor tried to shove the guard but the other pushed him back.

"I'm the one losin' patience! You can have the girl, tits aren't big enough to bring in any good money anyway, but the boy is staying here, he can be treated right here and sold when he's better!"

"He's coming with us!" yelled Naruto as both he and Kakashi pressed forward and were pushed back yet again. The blonde growled lowly. The guard was glowering and reaching to his thigh. A shiny knife emerged. Sasuke felt panic rise in the back of his throat but no one else knew the brutality of slave keepers so they stood his ground. When he tried to speak his voice came out chalky and Kakashi shushed him.

"Now boys, I'm right about at my limit with bein' a nice guy. You can't just come prancing in here and taking your pick of my slaves. The girl, yes, but put the boy down and you can leave quietly," grinned the guard waving the knife in lazy circles, point towards Sasuke and Kakashi. "I'm top dog around here so if you all just wanna take a step back…"

Sasuke felt Kakashi square his shoulders.

"I'm not leaving without Sasuke," he said tightly and took a step forward. The guard sighed and then snapped his eyes open.

"Fine."

An arm raised.

The blade glinted in the sun and then suddenly the shiny metal was a line of swift white light as it came down in a slash motion.

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut.

Sakura screamed.

Kakashi's body rolled back.

There was movement in front of Sasuke's closed eyelids.

A strange noise of something spattering onto the ground.

Silence.

Sasuke's body was drawing tiny little breaths and then Sakura gasped. Kakashi's arm slipped against Sasuke's bite as he slid the boy roughly to the floor, but the pain didn't matter. When Sasuke opened his eyes, Sakura's wide eyes were a piercing shade of green against a faded everything. Just her terrified green eyes and the horrifically red colour of the blood on her hands…

Voices were muted against his ears.

"Naruto! Naruto move your hand let me see!"

"Sakura move, let me look!"

"I-Its just a scratch, is Sasuke ok?

"That's not just a scratch moron! Why did you jump out like that!"

"I was protecting K-Kakashi sensei and Sasuke…"

"Sakura, your bag please."

"Right!"

"Keep your hand there Naruto, just like that. It's not too bad, I'll have to stitch it though."

Kakashi was gently lowering Naruto onto the ground, hand behind his head, bloody fingers tangled in dirty blond locks. Sasuke's eyes slowly moved down the stretch of red blood that spread from one side of Naruto's chest to just above where his belly button lay.

He jumped in front of us. He has nothing to do with it and he jumped in front of us. And that guard didn't even hesitate…

A heat rushed to Sasuke's fingertips as Kakashi unbuttoned Naruto's shirt and revealed the knife wound. Sakura was quickly pulling a needle and thread from the medical she'd balanced on her knee. Something sour coated the roof of Sasuke's mouth and although he couldn't feel it, he could hear his chest rising and falling in long, angry breaths.

"You…" he snarled turning cold eyes to the guard. The man in the doorway shrugged.

"I warned you."

The heat lifted the hair on the back of Sasuke's neck and he suddenly realized he was gritting his teeth so hard they ached.

This man, so carelessly had slashed Naruto; made him bleed…

This man, cared nothing for the injury he'd given an innocent person; someone who wasn't even a slave, Naruto had every right to leave but this man… didn't care who it was that now lay on the ground, growling in pain as Kakashi stitched him…

"You!" Cried Sasuke and leapt forward. The guard's unconcerned features were a taunt, maddening. Sasuke threw himself forward; not thinking what would happen, just that this man had hurt Naruto. The guard raised his eyebrows and dipped his body low, readying the knife.

Something in the background clattered on the ground.

"Sasuke! No!"

In a rush of pink and dirty white Sakura was on him, arms locking tightly around his waist, their legs stumbling around each other as she held him back, face pressed into his back.

"Sasuke, no! Stop!"

Sasuke's leg buckled in pain and they both fell back. He sat panting between Sakura's long white legs, her arms still holding him, face still pressed into his back as they sat amongst the scattered utensils that had fallen from Sakura's bag.

Kakashi was finished stitching Naruto and was now holding him up as he dressed the cut. Blood from where Sasuke had torn the skin around his bite with his movement was running down his leg.

"Sasuke," called Naruto and the raven immediately turned his wild eyes to the blonde. "It's alright Sasuke, I'm ok." Naruto nodded at him with a lopsided, tight smile, eyebrows drawn together in a way that made the expression look strange. Blue eye moved away from Sasuke and to the guard who had straightened up and was now leaning against the doorway, watching.

"So." The blonde addressed the guard. Kakashi pulled the bandage tight and fastened it. Naruto got awkwardly to his feet, hand resting over his heavily bandaged chest, and then continued. "I was thinkin'- before you had a go at me-"

Sakura stood and Kakashi lifted Sasuke back into his arms.

"-How about a trade?" The guard raised an eyebrow. Naruto jerked a thumb at Sasuke.

"Yeah, me for him."

"No!" protested Sakura. "Sasuke should be able to come with us without—"

"Sakura," muttered Kakashi, stopping her. "Let's see what happens…"

The girl fell silent. Sasuke simply stared at Naruto, not believing what he was hearing.

"Let Kakashi sensei take S-Sasuke out and you can have me instead, that way you won't be l-losing anything right?" Naruto's words tripped over pain as he took a few steps back into the slave quarters. The guard's lips curled.

"That I think, will do nicely." Naruto nodded and the guard stepped aside, smiling all the while at the bigger and stronger youth. Kakashi bumped Sasuke up in his arms.

"Let's go Sakura," he said taking steps forward. The girl followed unsurely, looking back at Naruto who smiled at them.

"I'll be alright Sakura. Take care of Sasuke for me ok?"

"Y-yeah…"

Over Kakashi's shoulder, Sasuke's wide eyes watched Naruto walk stiffly to the side of the room and take a seat against the wall. As the door began to swing shut he lifted a hand and waved at the raven.

The door shut with a slam and Sasuke gasped.

"NO NARUTO! NO! LET ME DOWN!" The raven flung his arms out towards the door, struggling against Kakashi's hold. "NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T RIGHT! " One leg escaped the arms of the doctor but was quickly gathered up again.

"Sasuke this is the only way to get you treated!"

"Stay still boy!"

Kakashi picked up the pace and they were quickly passing the open front of the slave quarters. Naruto's blue eyes locked with Sasuke's. He was still smiling.

"NARUTO!"

The slave quarters were gone but Sasuke still struggled and screamed.

This isn't right!

This isn't right!

Naruto can't take my place! Naruto! Naruto!

No! He can't do this for me! I won't let him!

He's injured too! Because of me!

No! This isn't right!

Warm fingers came to his neck and pressed down firmly on something that made Sasuke's body limp, his fall shut.

Lol, Naruto made such a speedy recovery. You're probs supposed to wait for bleeding to stop n stuff but meh, Kakashi's a genius doctor and I don't know anything about wounds of any kind aside from spider bites.