Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: This chapter gets violent in the end, but I spared you guys the gruesome details of everything that is implied to happen.

Chapter Nine: Cold

Something was very wrong. Kakashi didn't know if it was the eerie silence in the cottage or just some gut feeling that made him get out of bed and check all the rooms. He checked Genma's room first, since it was right across from his and he appeared to be fine – sleeping off the drunken night they'd spent at the bar. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen or heard from Sakura when they got back; was too drunk and probably assumed she was sleeping. They were supposed to start the mission tonight, but he'd come back for a few minutes and told her they'd start the next day. Something pulled at his heart and his breath caught in his throat as he made his way to her room. He reached for the knob and opened the doorknob with a loud creak. At first sight, he threw himself back against the hallway wall, eyes widened in terror.

"SAKURA!"

Kakashi bolted up in bed as he woke in a sweat. He threw his covers off and struggled to calm down. 'Dream,' he convinced himself. But it didn't stop him from getting up and immediately turning towards Sakura's room. He opened the door slowly and poked his head through to find her tossing and turning in her bed. Her hands were bleeding, but he had learned to expect as much. As he approached her sleeping form he could hear her soft whimpers and cries.

"No… no, please not again… leave me alone… help me… Kakashi help, don't let them take me again… please, please…"

The trip back to the place she'd been kept in for three long months had taken its toll on her. She was nervous and apprehensive the entire time they'd been scoping the perimeter earlier that night. Kakashi didn't know whether to feel flattered that it was his name she called out at night or feel miserable for not being able to help her in the past. He sat down at the edge of her bed and took her hands in his as he always did when she was clawing at her own palms. He looked down at her face with furrowed brows and recalled his conversation with Genma earlier that day. Taking a deep breath, he dropped her hands gently and stepped away from her. 'No. You can't do this anymore. She's your student. She's younger than you. If you keep yourself this close to her all the time, you'll start having feelings for her. That cannot happen. She has to get through this alone from now on. You can't help anymore,' he told himself regretfully. It took all the fight in him to keep from staying at her side, but he slowly made his way out of the room, shutting the door softly.

"Sakura, what happened to your hands?" Genma looked over to Sakura questioningly. They'd all woken up early to start their missions. The light hadn't even shown up outside.

"Huh? Oh… it's nothing." Sakura smoothed the bandages around her hands. Kakashi stared at her from across the table.

'Damn it. You made the right decision. Just stick with it.' He cleared his throat. "We should probably go see if anyone in the village knows about these men. We'll go hit some bars and mingle… find out as much as we can before we scope out the HQ perimeter."

"Okay. Give me half an hour to get ready…" Sakura nodded. "What are you doing today, Genma?"

"Ah, I've got some things to do in the next village. I won't be back for two days. If anyone calls or comes looking for me, tell them you don't know anything."

"Ne, we're not going to run into any of your trouble, are we? I mean we have enough to deal with from our own mission." Kakashi scratched his head with some frustration.

"No, I don't think so, but unless its one of my women, you pretty much have my permission to deal with them however you want."

"You think you could tell us what your mission is all about, so we know what we might be getting ourselves into? And don't give me any of that classified bullshit."

"Just a retrieval mission. Little bugger is pretty hard to find, actually."

Sakura raised a brow. "Isn't that usually left to ANBU and hunter-nin?"

"Yeah, well Tsunade thought I'd be better suited for this one. I know the target."

"Who is he?" Kakashi inquired.

"Watanabe… wanted for raping and killing his wife."

A disgusted look came over Kakashi's face. Sakura was quiet.

Walking away from the cottage, Kakashi cleared his throat. Sakura looked up at him questioningly and saw his guilty expression.

"When we go back home… I think you should move back into your place… or we can find a new apartment for you."

"But… I thought you said --"

"I know what I said… but I think it would be best for you to be on your own now. You've had too much help from me… you need to learn how to be independent again." He fought hard to keep a stone face.

"If... you want…I guess." She searched his visible eye for something and felt something break inside when she didn't find it.

"I do," was his harsh reply.

'Why so cold?' Sakura sighed and walked a little faster, leaving Kakashi following behind.

He stared at her back for some time, wondering if he'd really done the right thing. 'I'm sorry.'

"Why don't you buy me a drink?" Sakura was leaning over the bar and batting her eyelashes at a man sitting there alone. He looked over her briefly, eyes traveling over her curves.

"What will you give me in return?" he boldly inquired.

Sakura hated these games. She hated being a female in the world of shinobi. She hated the "benefits" it came with… using your own body in such a way. It sickened her. She did it anyway. Her fingers went up to the zipper of her vest, pulling it up and down, up and down teasingly. "Play your cards right, and I might just share with you some of my...deepest… darkest secrets." He inner-eyes rolled… she never was good at this part.

Kakashi watched her from the dark corner of the small club. His body was tense, ready to pounce at any second. He recalled the first mission where Sakura had to use her more feminine techniques. All three male members of the team were apprehensive about it; being very protective of their teammate. But it seemed to be the only way to get any information around places like these. Naruto had been red with anger. Sasuke's eyes were a bit sharper than usual, and Kakashi only looked apathetic. He looked much the same now.

"You're not from around here are you, girl? What brings you here, anyway?" The man inched closer to the kunoichi.

"Well I met a man around these parts not too long ago. I left something very precious with him, and I need it back now." 'Way to go Sakura. That was quite possible the lamest story you could ever come up with.' "Maybe you know him!" She felt his hand on her waist and struggled not to react.

"Sure, what's his name?"

"Um… Jiro, I think."

"Jiro… yeah I know him. Let's dance."

Sakura furrowed a brow and inwardly sighed. "Okay…" They both walked away from the bar and onto the dance floor. "What's your name, again?"

"Goro. Yours?" He placed both hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him.

"Kasumi." Looking over Goro's shoulder, she couldn't seem to locate Kakashi. She bit her lip slightly, and then looked back at the man in front of her. She sighed again and started to sway her hips from side to side. "So what about this Jiro?"

"Jiro? I don't think you should be trying to find him. A girl like you… well he's into some heavy shit, if you know what I'm saying." He began moving more aggressively against Sakura's body, his hands sliding up her arms and holding them above her head.

"What do you mean? He seemed nice enough when I met him." She gritted her teeth. Jiro was not nice. He was a monster. His grinning face haunted her at night.

"Well you know, there have been some rumors. Let's not talk about Jiro anymore. You're with me now." He leaned his head forward, and Sakura tried to back away until she felt another set of hands around her waist. Goro's eyes snapped open to find a silver haired masked man standing behind 'Kasumi' with a scar running down one eye. He was dancing with her now… the three of them danced together. Sakura was trapped between the two of them, but comforted that Kakashi was there.

The night went on, and Sakura kept trying; asking more and more about Jiro, but Goro wouldn't budge on the subject. He had stopped glaring at Kakashi suspiciously and Kakashi seemed fixated on her. She knew better. He was really watching the other man.

Kakashi moved his body behind Sakura, the rhythm coming to him easily. Somewhere in the background he could hear the words to the song playing; drowned out by the heavy bass sounds. Suddenly more people were around them, closing in on their space and crushing the three bodies together. Goro cleared his throat and informed them that he'd be back shortly, and made his way out of the crowd. Sakura and Kakashi kept on dancing – somehow getting lost in the music for a long while. He felt Sakura's body tense against him after about fifteen minutes… felt her arm move down. He followed her movement right down to the sight of Goro's hand pushing up against her skirt. His own arm moved to grab Goro's throat, but suddenly he felt an intense pain in his skull, and darkness filled his eyes.

It was the last thing he remembered before waking up in an unfamiliar room. He tried to get up, but found he was chained to the wall. He blinked a few times, the pain rushing to his head again. He groaned slightly before taking a better look around. It was dark, but for a silver table with a bright overhanging light. It seemed to only brighten that one part of the room, as if it was a spotlight, and the table was a stage.

"Ah you're awake. Good; I was getting anxious," called a voice.

"Who…Where…" His throat was dry. How long had it been?

"Ah, don't worry about that just yet. One of my men accidentally gave you a little too much drugs, and you were out a lot longer than expected. You've been asleep for four days. It's alright, I suppose. We've all been occupying ourselves with your girlfriend."

"Girl…what?" he rasped. 'Sakura? Please, god no.' "K-Kasumi…"

"Kasumi? No, no her name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Don't you remember? Let me refresh your memory." A knock was heard and then the opening of a door.

There was some sort of struggle in the darkness and then a muffled cry. A body was thrown onto the table, naked and shivering. A syringe was pierced into the pale flesh, and the whimpering ceased. Sakura could only stare sideways at Kakashi. Kakashi could only stare back. Then something blocked his view of her scarred expression. Another body… the speaker's. Jiro, he could only assume. He slapped her.

Kakashi screamed. "STOP IT!"

He was punched in the head. He looked up to see who had done it. Goro.

"Copy ninja, Kakashi. She told us that first night she was here… six months ago, I believe. You're her precious sensei. The one that didn't come for her before. Now you've led her straight back to hell." Jiro laughed maniacally. "Tragic, really. Anyway, we used a much stronger drug on her this time. It works much faster, and she wont have the chance to save herself like she did before." His hand wrapped around Sakura's throat… the other hand moved to unzip his pants. Kakashi threw himself forward, pulling against the chains with all his might. "We'll show you what you've missed since you were knocked out."

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HER. YOU FUCKING BASTARD, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Sakura couldn't move her head anymore… she could only see Kakashi now. He would go insane; she knew. She could use her voice, but she didn't. She'd learned not to scream long ago… it only gave them pleasure. Oddly, only one thought entered her mind. 'This mission was a total bust.'