Kakashi crouched in the shadows of the crane, watching the warehouse with cold eyes. He could feel Inoko's chakra in there, sluggish and irregular. Drugged.

Taking his anger and shoving it into a tiny corner of his mind with the rest of the emotions he didn't want to deal with - yes, that was completely healthy and no, he wasn't going to see a therapist, Gai - he focused on the chakra signatures in the building, Sharingan whirling slowly.

There were a handful around his student, plus one he took to be Gato judging by the general lack of control. There were at least three dozen more, maybe four dozen, scattered in and around the building.

Does he think to ambush us? Kakashi thought in grim amusement. He was ex-Anbu; it would take much more than what Gato had to ambush him.

Unfortunately, Gato still had the advantage of Inoko's life. What he could do and had done before was drop in and violently murder all of the more troublesome ones, grab the hostage, and scram before they knew what hit them.

This plan had many holes in it, the biggest of which being that Gato and his men almost certainly knew where they were. And it would probably traumatize Inoko as well. Hm. Problem.

"Naruto at Point A, dattebayo," echoed in his ear.

"Sasuke at Point C," came shortly afterward.

He touched his throat mic. "Kakashi at Point B," he said in a low voice, all business. Was it really just a few days ago that he was teaching his students to use these? It felt like a lifetime ago. "In position."

The boys echoed him quietly. Clearly the importance of what they were about to do had hit them. They wouldn't get a second chance if this failed.

"Naruto, use shadow clones to occupy the guards at the door and secure the perimeter, but do not engage yourself. I repeat, do not engage with your real body," he ordered. "Sasuke, I want you to make your way to the roof under the cover that Naruto provides. Find Inoko, but do not engage. Over."

"Copy, 'ttebayo."

"Copy, Sensei."

He waited until he heard the shouts of shadow clones before moving, sliding into his Anbu mindset as easily as putting on a well worn shirt. Hound noted Sasuke's blur as he ran up the side of the warehouse but didn't think anything else of it.

He had other things to do, such as utterly destroying Gato's empire and incriminating him in a variety of different things as payback for thinking he could snatch one of his adorable little genin and get away with it. The best part? He didn't have to even go to the trouble of framing the man.

Fate was truly kind.

Inoko once told Naruto that sometimes, you just gotta hit something. Repeatedly. Until something is bleeding or burning. He wasn't quite sure how hitting something would make it burn - Inoko had given a vague explanation involving chickens, which just confused him further - but there was something to be said about taking your rage out on living targets.

Kakashi-sensei had sat him and Sasuke down before they headed out and briefly informed them on what they might find. He had said that there was no guarantee that Inoko would be alive, or even in one piece. Gato had done horrible things to other people like Inari's step-father.

His eyes had tightened as he continued, saying that Gato's men might have… hurt her. At first, Naruto hadn't understood, but then Kakashi had explained in a low voice with short and clipped words.

Even now as he stood hidden by a stack of crates, hearing his shadow clones fight, he was nearly shaking with anger and fear, wanting nothing more than to hurt them for daring to even look at her. Inoko was going to be fine. She was one of the strongest people he knew. Nothing could keep her down for long. She was going to be just fine.

…. right?

Sasuke slowly let the skylight drop closed, being sure to remain silent at all costs. The rafters of the warehouse provided a good way to walk all around the area without touching the ground. There were no booby traps or anything - was Gato expecting ninja or bandits? These defenses were pathetic. Naruto could do better than this.

He could hear the shouts of guards both inside and out of the building as the aforementioned idiot did what he was best at - causing a ruckus and grabbing people's attention.

Sasuke crept along the rafters, carefully scanning the ground below for his teammate. There was nothing but crates and crates and boxes and sacks everywhere. A group of thugs ran towards the door underneath him.

And then he saw her.

Inoko was tied to a chair, her long blonde hair dirty, limp, and hanging in her face, and two cloths knotted at the back of her head. Blindfolded and gagged. Sasuke took a deep breath and calmed himself. There was no obvious signs that she was hurt aside from the old red stain on her shirt. She was fine. She was - looking right at him.

He blinked in surprise. There was no doubt about it; Inoko's face was briefly pointed towards him with a wide grin on her face. Then she settled down in her seat again. All told, it was barely two seconds. To the unobservant eye, it looked like she was stretching her neck.

She knows we're here for her.

This was good. She would be able to cooperate.

"Sasuke in the warehouse," he whispered, touching his throat mic. "I've found Inoko. Over."

Naruto was so busy beating on the guy who had stumbled on his hiding spot that he almost didn't hear his teammate across the radio. "Sasuke in the warehouse. I've found Inoko. Over."

He paused mid-punch. The man groaned, barely conscious. "What was that, teme?!" He added 'over' after remembering the protocol Sensei had drilled into their heads before the Tora mission.

"I said I found her. She's alive, and doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger. She has two guards with her, both appearing to be ronin. Over."

"Do not engage!" Kakashi said sharply. "Wait until I get there. I'm on my way. Over."

Naruto bit his lip, dropping the barely conscious man at his feet. On one hand, Kakashi-sensei had ordered them to not engage, but on the other, his friend was sitting in that warehouse captive.

He took a deep breath. Sensei had given him his orders. He had drilled into their heads that this whole operation hinged on them cooperating and following instructions. Slowly, he let it out.

He hated it with a passion, but he was going to stay. Right. Here.

Hound finished going through Gato's papers. The man had a finger in just about every pie, a truly impressive feat considering his civilian status. It would feel so good to watch this all burn to the ground. It also helped that a good deal of this information would be quite useful to Konoha's Intelligence Corps.

Which was headed by Yamanaka Inoichi.

…. Yeah, he wasn't going to go down that train of thought until he got back to Konoha. Because that would be a totally pleasant conversation.

Yeah, Inoichi-san, I made a royal screw up and got your daughter both captured and injured, and it took a week to get her back and oh did I mention that it was crime lord Gato that had her?

Haha, yeah, no. That was a conversation he'd rather avoid. He had heard stories of how much Inoichi adored his little girls.

Nope. No. Never again.

Anyway.

Rescuing his adorable little kunoichi - no, that sounded creepy and vaguely pedophilic. He'd have to think of a new nickname for her - shouldn't be too hard. He was an elite jōnin after all. Doing so in a way that wouldn't horribly traumatize her was another thing altogether.

Dropping in from a skylight and landing on one of the stacks of crates, Hound began to look around for the guards. Most of them were being swarmed outside by Naruto's clones, but there were still too many inside the warehouse for his taste.

Well then.

Stepping off the edge, he dropped his nearly seventy kilos on the first thug's shoulders, breaking his spine and killing him instantly. Hound's kunai found their way into the other two thugs' throats. It was over so quickly they didn't have time to cry out.

"Who's there?!" another man called, rounding the corner. He paled upon seeing Hound's blood splattered form. Hound merely glared at him with his Sharingan. "Oh f-" he started, trying to pull out his sword. Another kunai in his eye prevented him from actually doing anything.

He tore through the rest of the guards around the warehouse, leaving only the two near Inoko left. He knew that Sasuke was up in the rafters near Inoko, so he probably couldn't see the carnage his teacher was wreaking. Probably. Hopefully.

Satisfied that he had taken care of most of the problem here, Hound began to make his way over to his student.

"Sensei, there's someone else here!" Sasuke said tersely. "He looks to be a shinobi." Kakashi stiffened. It had to be Zabuza's accomplice, the one who had taken Inoko. "He's talking to her guards, and -"

Kakashi frowned, touching his throat mic. "Sasuke, come in." Silence. He swore under his breath. Great. Now they had not one, but two of his students. Now he was really mad.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he heard. "Damn you, shinobi! I'll kill her! I swear to every god out there I'll -" The speaker was cut out sharply, followed by a gurgle.

Not good.

Kakashi followed the scent of blood until he found his students. Sasuke was on the ground, unconscious but alive. Two guards with half drawn swords were lying dead, and Inoko -

His breath caught in his throat as he saw his blonde student. She was either unconscious or - no, she was breathing, just barely, but breathing. Two discarded cloths tied into a knot lay beside her. Her face was an absolute mess and her shirt had a slowly growing red stain on it - stitches broken? - but she was alive. And in their enemy's arms.

He was wearing a Kiri hunter nin mask and holding Inoko in a bridal carry. Her hair fell down over the fake hunter nin's arm.

"Drop. Her," Kakashi snarled, pouring out killer intent. The other shinobi threw a handle of senbon at him. They were easily dodged, but he noticed with some unease that they were made of ice.

Great. His student was being held captive by a hyōton user.

His day really couldn't get any worse, could it?

Ice crawled across the floor as its creator picked Inoko up fully, clearly intent on escaping. Her eyebrows furrowed as she groaned. The fake hunter nin looked down sharply, holding her a little closer.

Kakashi frowned, fingering his weapons. Chidori wasn't an option as long as he had Inoko so close. Troublesome.

"I would advise you to leave," the hyōton user said evenly.

"Like hell I will," Kakashi growled. "Give me back my student."

The other ninja cocked his - her? The voice was rather androgynous - head to the side ever so slightly. "You did not care to come after her for nearly a week. Why do you care now?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I didn't come after her because I couldn't," Kakashi snapped. "Give her back now, or else."

Inoko's head shifted as her eyes fluttered. Come on, wake up. You can do it. "Ha… ku?" she questioned weakly. "Wha…?"

"Inoko-san. I rescued you from Gato's men," the newly dubbed Haku said. Kakashi still wasn't sure of this Haku's gender.

"I… 'preciate the… gesture," Inoko coughed out, flopping an arm onto her face as she rubbed her eyes. "But I really had it… handled."

"While I'm sure you did," Kakashi called, watching as she struggled to turn her head to him, "you're not safe yet."

"Sensei?! What -" Inoko was interrupted by a coughing fit. She shook her head groggily. "Sensei, please, don't hurt him. He's -" she coughed again "- he's taken care of me. Please." He was reluctant to lower his guard, but he could tell that 'Haku' was just as tense. He slowly nodded, never breaking eye contact with the boy. "Gato," Inoko said hoarsely, gesturing with her fingers towards the sidelines.

The man began to clap as he stepped into the light. "I have to say, shinobi-san, that I'm quite impressed with your prowess against my men. I'm afraid, however, that it won't be enough." The crime lord gestured for his small army - and that really was the best description for it - to come forward. They were all bravado as they surrounded the shinobi, figuring that their numbers actually meant something against him. How amusing.

Sasuke sat up and carefully took stock of the situation before moving to Kakashi's side.

"Gato," Inoko said after a moment, glancing at Sasuke for a moment. "I hope you remember what I told you, hm? About how I was going to enjoy killing you?" The sheer amount of malevolence in her voice kind of worried Kakashi.

"Ah, my dear, but you seem to forget one thing. My men will kill you first," Gato smirked. Inoko threw her head back and cackled. It was a harsh and entirely humorless sound.

"Unlike you, I actually have some sense," she said, still grinning. "It would take hundreds of your stupid thugs to even come close to matching Sensei and Haku. You may have drugged me to where I can barely move, but I can't wait for them to cut you all down like the filthy animals you are."

Ok, that was bloodlust from his arguably most stable student. That was some proper killing intent that made some of the thugs turn pale. He was so proud of her. Then he glanced at her and was slightly kind of worried again. There was rage and disgust and utter hatred and maybe just a tinge of something like madness in her eyes. He expected something like this from Sasuke, not Inoko. What did they do to you?

Then she blinked and it was all gone, hidden by a mask he didn't even know existed before then. Unnerving, to say the least.

"By all this firepower, I'd have to say that you're compensating for something other than your… stature," she drawled, a casual smirk on her face. She was draped over Haku, who didn't seem bothered by it at all. That brought up more than a few questions that could probably wait until later.

"Inoko, enough," Kakashi said sharply. He was torn between dealing with Haku and dealing with Gato, but the way Inoko was tiredly leaning her head on Haku's shoulder told him that she was safe enough, at least for now.

Inoko was a smart girl. He trusted her judgement, though he did wonder what she had done to make Haku protect her like this.

Turning to Gato and his men, Kakashi silently promised himself to make them understand firsthand exactly why he had a kill on sight reputation.

No one messed with his students, no one hurt his students without paying the ultimate price.