Hewwo again! Sorry that this one took longer. I've been working my ass off on all the other fics.

If people are worried, this is NOT a Saku/OC fic! STRICTLY SASU/SAKU! YAAY!

Chapter 5: Kagaimaru

A tall man stalked down the decorated halls, his hair shining in the light. He turned a corner and opened the doors to Yubaba's office.

"Ah, Kagaimaru. What brings you here?" Yubaba said as she continued to work on bills for the bathhouse. Kagaimaru's piercing red eyes flashed and a smile appeared on his thin lips.

"A woman." He replied. "A young girl to be precise. Kira, I believe her name is." Yubaba looked up at the man in question.

"Hm? Kagaimaru, what about your wife?" Kagaimaru chuckled.

"She is busy with her little friends." He laughed. "I merely wish for this young woman to be my personal maid for the next little while." Yubaba frowned.

"Kira? Why? She's merely a human!"

"And quite fair for a human, I must say." He said, smirking. Yubaba frowned at his statement, but the man continued. "If you pay my request, I shall pay you twenty extra gold pieces." The old woman's head snapped up.

"Deal!"

Sasuke watched from the hallway, frowning. This Kagaimaru… he had seen him before… but for some reason, he was different this time. The last time, Kagaimaru had mentioned his wife with great respect, but now he made her sound like a foolish child. Something here wasn't quite right… and now that Sakura was pulled into it, he needed to find out what soon.

& & & & &

Sakura sat on the balcony, humming a soft tune. Lin had gone to sleep a while ago with the other women, leaving her to watch the waves of the ocean. She smiled softly to herself, letting her legs hang over the edge of the balcony, dangerously over the waters below.

Pulling her hair behind her ear, Sakura felt a soft object brush against her fingers. Pulling the strange object out of her hear, she smiled when she found the cherry blossom.

"Sakura… that's my name…" She told herself, caressing the small flower. As she did so, a sudden gust of wind blew by, snatching the blossom from her hands. Sakura watched helplessly as the flower was carried away in the breeze. She cursed under her breath as the flower disappeared from view.

"You lost it already?"

Sakura turned to see a familiar pair of onyx eyes gazing down at her. Furious with herself, the pink-haired shinobi averted her gaze, not daring to reply. Sasuke chuckled as he sat down beside her.

"You always have had a knack for losing things." He said. Sakura turned to him in protest to feel something tickle her nose. Looking down, she saw another cherry blossom in his hands. She quickly pulled back, rubbing the pollen from her nose with the back of her hand. Sasuke smiled softly and placed the flower in her hair.

"This time, take better care of it." He teased. Sakura frowned.

"Hey. I lost it just before you came!" She argued. "The wind blew it out of my hands!" Sasuke sighed and glanced out at the sea of water.

"Sakura… there's something I need to tell you." Sakura glanced over at Sasuke questioningly. "You're going to be assigned as a personal maid to a man named Kagaimaru." Sakura frowned.

"That's all you came to tell me?" She said, slightly annoyed. Sasuke shook his head.

"No… I've seen Kagaimaru before… and now… he's not acting like himself." Sakura gave him a questioning look. "Kagaimaru is usually much… kinder, I guess you could say. He's generous and loyal… and he usually can start a conversation at a table. At least, that's what I've seen from past meetings." Sakura looked at Sasuke longingly, waiting for him to continue. "Now, he's… different. I can't explain it. I don't trust him." Sasuke turned to her, a serious look in his eyes. "Just… be careful around him, okay?" Sakura nodded in understanding.

"Alright. Thanks." Sasuke nodded and turned back out to admire the view.

"Just remember. We both need to get out of here alive." He informed her. Sakura turned her head in surprise. He said… 'we' and… 'both'? This was a new twist in events! She had been the one that had trapped them here, and he was still helping her escape.

Smiling slightly, Sakura turned back to face the horizon, letting the moonlight shine on her face. There was a sudden rush of cold air to Sakura's right, and she didn't have to turn to know that Sasuke had left.

& & & & &

"Kira!"

Sakura's head snapped up. The same old woman from before stood at the doorway. Sakura clambered onto his feet, bowing quickly.

"Yes Yubaba?" She said quietly. The wrinkled old woman frowned.

"You have been assigned to be Kagaimaru's personal maid." She said sternly. "His orders, of course." She added darkly. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Kagaimaru?" She questioned.

"Ask Lin to tell you." Yubaba growled before scuttling out of the room. Sakura stood in the same spot, totally clueless about what had happened.

"Hey, there, Kira."

Sakura blinked as Lin appeared in the same doorway where Yubaba had once been. She held two dumplings, one in her hand and the other in her mouth.

"Catch." She said, tossing her the food. Sakura caught it and hastily took a bite.

"Lin?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's Kagaimaru?"

Lin paused in mid-chew. Turning to face her, she gave her a puzzled look. "Why? What's got you so interested?"

"Er…" Sakura fidgeted. "Because… I'm now his personal maid." She replied quietly. Lin's eyebrows shot up.

"What!" Lin practically shook the young girl. "No way! You've only been here for like a day and you're the personal assistant of one of the most wealthy, powerful spirits out there! You are so lucky!"

"Uh…" Sakura was still clueless. "That still doesn't answer my question." She pointed out. Lin laughed.

"Okay, remember this morning when you were serving the food?" Sakura nodded. "Remember the guy with the long, silver hair tied back?" Sakura nodded again. "That, would be Kagaimaru." She explained.

"I see…" Sakura let out a sigh. "I still don't see why that's a big deal."

"Kira. Kagaimaru is one of the most powerful spirits in the world! Not to mention he's really hot." Sakura frowned.

"Right." She said, rolling her eyes. Lin chuckled.

"Well, we'd better go." Lin told her as she stood up. "We're expected at the front bridge to greet people."

Nodding, Sakura followed Lin out of the room.

& & & & &

"Kira… get me a glass of water, would you?"

Bowing, Sakura ran out of the room to get what he had requested. Lin had told her early the next morning that she was now Kagaimaru's personal maid and something about him being a powerful, handsome guy or something like that. Once she had entered the room, she found it to be quite dark compared to the other rooms. She ignored the jealous stares of the other women and got a glass for him. Once she returned, she found Kagaimaru standing in the center of the room. He smiled gently at her and took the glass from her hands. His cool fingertips brushed against hers, causing the Shinobi to blush slightly. Now that she saw him, she had to admit that, despite the fact that he was older, he was good looking! His looks rivaled that of Sasuke's! And that was saying a lot. The spirit smiled at her, taking a sip of his drink. His long, silver hair shimmered in the moonlight that radiated from the window.

"So… do you have a wife?" Sakura asked, trying to start a conversation. Kagaimaru glanced at her in curiosity.

"Yes, in fact I do." He replied, smiling. "Why do you ask?" Sakura blushed again.

"Oh! Just wondering!" She replied with a grin. Kagaimaru chuckled. Sakura mentally slapped herself. Great! Now he probably thought that she liked him!

"Hmm… I've noticed that the Uchiha boy is quite fond of you." He said, taking another sip of his water. "He's very protective of you, if I might add."

Sakura's eyes widened at the thought of Sasuke doing what Kagaimaru had said. Sure… he was sweet, not to mention he was helping her escape, but him being fond of her and protective of her… that didn't seem like Sasuke at all.

"Y-you must be mistaken." She stuttered, her hands fidgeting the way Hinata's did. "I just know him… that's all." Kagaimaru chuckled.

"Yes, but you must know him very well, or he wouldn't be keeping such a close watch on you." Sakura turned around, trying to sense Sasuke's chakara. For all she knew, he could be using his Sharingan right then. Kagaimaru laughed once again.

"So you do know him well. You know his tactics as a Shinobi… which makes you his teammate, am I right?" Sakura nodded.

"Yeah… he's my teammate… sort of…" Sakura bit her lip. Sasuke had been away for a while. It was as if he wasn't part of the team anymore.

"Ah… he left for a while…" Kagaimaru nodded in understanding. "Do not worry. Sasuke is still part of your team." Sakura smiled.

"Thanks…" She said. "I'd better go now. Bye!"

Sakura ran out the door, leaving the spirit to sit in the dark, a small smile on his lips.

& & & & &

Sasuke wandered through the libraries of the bathhouse. Yubaba had introduced him to this room a while ago, knowing that he needed to research spells and other things in order to become stronger. Sure, he had used it for those purposes, but he had also had other reasons for using the books.

Sasuke's finger ran down the page of a fairly large book as he searched for the name he needed. Once he had found it, he flipped to the desired page needed to learn about him. Sasuke's eyes thinned ever so slightly as he began to read to himself.

"Kagaimaru… a legendary spirit most famous in the Northern lands… married to Nagasaka… special powers… damn." Sasuke closed the book. "This information is worthless."

Glancing around, another book caught his eye. This particular book was brown, with a leather binding. It was quite thick… thicker than most of the books around him.

Pulling the book out, he carried it over to the table. Sasuke flipped through the pages until he found what he wanted. He skimmed through one particular battle against a demon that had possessed Kagaimaru's wife and taken over her body along with devouring his sister. As he continued to read, more pieces seemed to fit. By the time he had finished, he knew exactly what Kagaimaru really was… and what he was really after.

TBC…

Uh oh! Spaghetti-o's! Sakura in danger? How could that be? Will Sasuke save her? Dunno. I'll decide.

Happy belated birfday, Vegasbobcat! Lolz!

Thanks to all my reviewers! I couldn't have done it without you guys (And when I say 'guys', I mean both genders!)

REVIEW!