You guys are NUTS! Only five chapters and TWO HUNDRED REVIEWS ALREADY! I'm not sure if I should pass out from shock or what…

I managed to read from halfway though to three quarters through the DaVinci Code in one night. I feel special.

Anyways… Here's the long awaited chapter six. Bit more cuteness in here. Hope you like!

Chapter 6: The Race Begins

"Hinata?"

Neji had been wandering around the property of their home aimlessly when he noticed her nestled in a tree reading by herself. Her white eyes moved down to face him when she heard his voice and soon lit up with recognition.

"Oh! H-hi Neji." She smiled. Neji jumped up into the tree. He hadn't spoken to his cousin in a while… nor had she come for afternoon tea lately… so why not visit her?

"Aren't you supposed to be with Naruto?" he asked as he got comfortable. Hinata shook her head.

"Team seven was sent to the S-sand." She replied. "The k-kaze kage wanted to speak with them." Neji pondered over this. Why would Gaara want to speak with them? And out of the blue for that matter…

"Was it a mission?" he asked.

"N-no… he wanted to speak with them immediately… I don't know why…"

"Could they be in trouble for something?"

"N-not that I can think of…"

He nodded. "I guess we'll find out in a matter of time…"

"NEJI!"

Tenten appeared before them, hanging upside down in the branches. Neji nearly lost his balance, but quickly regained it.

"What are you doing here, Tenten?" He asked sharply. Tenten had always been one to waltz in at the strangest times.

"I heard from Shino who heard from Kiba who heard from Ino who heard from Shikamaru who heard from Temari that Sakura was illegally put in the swimsuit issue of Icha-Icha Paradise!"

It took a moment for him to register what she had said. He blinked once, twice then figured it out.

"What!"

Tenten sighed. "I SAID-" Neji covered her mouth.

"I heard you." He said calmly. Tenten flushed and apologized under his hand. Sighing, he removed his palm from her mouth.

"Why would Sakura do something like that?" Neji then asked. "She's not the most… open girl."

"S-she didn't choose to…" Hinata piped up. Tenten nodded.

"Someone took pictures of her that day when we went to the beach. They still don't know who it is."

Neji paused. "So the stampede of men…" They nodded. "How did she outrun them?"

"Sasuke helped." Hinata replied. "I s-saw them when I was with N-Naruto."

"That must be why they went to the sand…" Neji muttered. "Because it spread to the other villages too…"

"Illegal cracks from what I heard." Tenten muttered as she took her seat between the two Hyuuga's. Hinata glanced up.

"W-well since they're gone… and w-we don't have any missions…" She started. Tenten grinned, getting the idea.

"Let's get ourselves into the mess too!" She exclaimed. Neji frowned, not that fond of the idea.

"You two can go. I'll pass." He said. Tenten glared.

"Neji!" She cried. "How could you be so careless? They're DEFILING our friend here!"

"It's not my problem." He replied calmly. "It's Team 7's."

"Well imagine Hinata in Sakura's position."

Neji paused for a moment, imagining his poor cousin in that position. They were right. It wasn't fair… it was sick.

"Okay I'll help you." He growled. "Just don't do anything too drastic, okay?" The two nodded, smiles on both their faces.

"Great!" Tenten cried. "Now all we need to do is keep this from Lee or he'll-"

"SAKURA!"

Lee barged through the trees, tears streaming down his face. "The beautiful Haruno Sakura has been TAINTED by horrible MEN!" he cried. Their mouths dropped open.

"She was RAPED!"

Lee blinked through the tears. "No… she was put in…" He bit his lip.

"The magazine…" Hinata sighed in relief.

"You had us worried there, Lee." Tenten scowled. "Besides, the man would have to be pretty damn powerful to hold Sakura down that long."

Neji chuckled. "Far worse a fate is in store for the man that took the pictures." He pointed out. "Imagine the state he'll be in when they find him."

Lee looked up. "You mean you already knew?"

"Of course." Tenten said. "We didn't want to worry you… because you'd do something crazy…"

"… like tear down half the forest just to tell us the news…" Neji finished, glancing at the huge path he had created. He sighed and leapt down.

"You'd better replant these trees, Lee." He said in a dark voice. "Or my uncle might not be too happy with what he finds." Lee looked over his shoulder and saw the destruction he had created.

"I'm sorry, Neji!" He said, bowing respectfully. Neji frowned.

"What did I tell you about bowing to me?"

"Not to do it!" he cried, straightening himself out again. "Sorry again, Neji! I'll go to work now!"

The three watched as Lee ran off into the distance. Tenten laughed.

"Lee sure is a determined guy…" She grinned. Neji nodded in agreement.

"Its no surprise that he got to where he is now." He replied. Hinata nodded.

"So where should we start?" Tenten soon asked.

"W-well Naruto's team went t-to see Jiraiya about it…" Hinata explained. "They were called to t-the sand the next day though…"

Tenten nodded in understanding. "Okay. Let's start there." She turned to Neji. "Coming?"

The Hyuuga sighed. "Why not? I have nothing better to do."

Sasuke blinked a couple times as his eyes adjusted to the bluish hue of the room. The sound of loud music blasted into his ears and the vibrations from the bass rumbled at his feet. Lights flashed everywhere. He instinctively moved and caught Sakura's arm as some random girl started to walk up to him. Once the woman saw this action, she quickly turned towards the bar to get herself a drink. Temari came up on the other side of Sasuke and frowned down at the building.

"Ugh… I've seen better clubs in alleyways." She muttered. "Too blue for my taste. A little colour would be decent too."

Sasuke hated to admit it, but he agreed. Even Naruto would be hard to distinguish in this blue light.

Well at least nobody could recognize Sakura…

Turning to his left, he glanced at the young kunoichi, whose now aquamarine eyes were still adjusting to the light. Her pink hair was now an odd looking purple and her clothes had turned an unrecognizable hue. She glanced down at herself and then up at Sasuke, her face turning into a small scowl.

"Why do you get to look normal in the blue light?" she whined. Sasuke smirked. Sure enough, his blue and black clothing had changed little in the light despite his skin now resembling Kisame. He leaned closer as a man walked by and whispered, "Too bad…" before dragging her further in. As they entered, the music got louder and the area a little more cramped. Temari was behind them, scanning the area for any signs of Hikone.

"He's probably in the VIP area…" She told them. Sasuke and Sakura nodded and followed her to the back of the room. She opened a glass door and motioned them to go inside. They traveled up a short set of stairs and around another bend to find a large, circular room. This room, unlike the one below them, was much quieter and had some decent lighting. A long red couch lined the right side of the room and on the left were full-length windows viewing the dance room below. Tables for two and three were seated on the left side touching the windows and another door sat at the far end. People chatted happily, pleased to have their own drinks brought up to them and for having a quieter night than the ones downstairs. Hikone sat on the couch talking to another man of his ranking. He didn't seem to notice the three newcomers that had just arrived. A couple girls glanced over at Sasuke in interest, winking at him or sending over a smile. Men glanced over at Sakura and Temari, some quickly dismissing them while others gawked at the sight. Small whispers started going through the room, eventually leading up to Hikone, who finally turned his piercing gaze towards her. Sakura took a deep breath before looking back. This man was oddly attractive… he didn't appear to be older than twenty five. A small smile appeared on his thin lips as he stood up and walked over.

"You look strikingly familiar…" He said, looking down at her. "By any chance… is your name Haruno Sakura?"

She tensely nodded to him, a sweet smile immediately appearing on her face. Hikone's eyes glinted with interest.

"Well I must say, Haruno-san… I've been wanting to meet you for a while now…" And with that, he led her away, leaving Sasuke and Temari behind totally stunned.

"Want drinks?" Temari asked. Sasuke nodded and took a seat. He glanced over at Sakura who was now talking to Hikone in a relaxed fashion.

She was good… really good…

He scowled over at Hikone as Temari sat down across from him, placing a drink beside his head.

"I made sure they were non-alcoholic." She said as she messed with the twizzle stick. Sasuke muttered a thanks as he lifted his head. Temari glanced down at him and frowned.

"What the hell is up with you?" She asked hotly. "Sakura's okay. She can handle herself."

"I know…" Sasuke growled, resting a head on his hand. "She's just being… too happy about it…" He looked over to see Hikone pull the traditional yawn and stretch tactic to pull Sakura closer to him. "This guy's an idiot…"

Temari blinked, realization dawning on her. "Oh quit acting so jealous. It makes you look pathetic."

Sasuke spun around to face her. "What?" Temari smirked.

"Don't act stupid, Sasuke…" She replied, taking a sip of her drink. "You don't like Hikone because he's moving in on your girl."

"Shut up." He shot back. "Hikone could lead us directly to the people that hurt Sakura."

"Well technically they didn't 'hurt' her…"

"They put her in a porn magazine. How would you feel?"

"Well how would you know how she felt?"

"Because I'm her team mate and I care for her!"

"Exactly."

Sasuke froze. Damn… she had tricked him. "Cheap trick…" He muttered, taking a drink. Temari chuckled.

"You said it yourself. I simply helped you out."

Sasuke sighed and twirled the twizzle stick around in his drink, watching the bubbles slowly rise to fizz at the surface. "I can't help it… I've known her since we were in the academy together… not that I really cared back then…"

"What was Sakura like back then?"

"Weak." He replied flatly. He paused. "Weak but smart…" He resisted smiling to himself. "Almost a genius when it came to genjutsu…"

"But…" Temari took another sip of her drink.

"She was… beaten a lot…" He murmured. "I'd always see her at the park alone… bloody… beaten… broken… both physically and mentally…" He paused. "She was always… crying…"

Temari nodded in understanding and glanced over at the kunoichi. "She really likes you, Sasuke…"

"I know…" He thought back to where she admitted her love to him. Had it really been that long? He turned to see Hikone stand up, pulling Sakura up gracefully alongside him. He whispered something in her ear, and she giggled as he led her out the opposite door. Sasuke and Temari didn't wait for the door to close. Sasuke downed his drink quickly and slammed it against the table. He turned on the earphones hiding under his bangs. "They're on the move." He said before he and Temari rushed after them.

"Got it…"

Gaara stood up after hearing the request. He didn't know how long he had been waiting, but it was long enough to test his patience.

"Where are you?" he then asked. Temari was the one that answered.

"we're going down a set of stairs… extremely dark… and from the curvature of the walls, we're going downwards counterclockwise."

"Where does it lead?" Sasuke then asked. There was a pause on the other end.

"I'm not sure… it seems to go out to the back…" he replied, quickly scanning the blueprints. "All that's out there are…"

"Alleys." Sasuke muttered. "We need Naruto and Kakashi out there at the one end, Kankuro at the other. You should go overhead to block any escape to the rooftops."

Gaara thought it over. It was probably the best idea to box him in. they didn't know his full powers just yet. And they didn't have enough time to contact Tsunade for any helpful information.

"Waitaminute…" Sasuke suddenly said. "How'd he get out the door so fast?"

Gaara looked at the blueprints once again, his eyes widening in realization. "Speed…"

"What?" Temari asked.

"Speed. That's his strength. That's how he's able to get from Konoha to the Sand so quickly!"

"But Sakura wouldn't follow that fast would she?"

"I don't think she's just following him anymore…"

Sasuke cursed on the other end. "Great, so where did they go?"

"They just passed us!" Naruto cried. "Kakashi's giving chase! They're headed west towards the outskirts of the village!"

"I'll be there soon." Gaara said. There was a whirl of sand and he was gone.

"Where are we going, Hikone?" Sakura asked over his shoulder. The man chuckled as he sped across the rooftops.

"A nice little place I like to stay sometimes…" He replied. "So, Sakura… have any friends?"

Her eyes widened. "W-what do you mean?"

"The two people you came in with… I know that you weren't just here for some fun… You're too young for that…"

Sakura's teeth clenched. "You… bastard…" She tightened her hold on Hikone's shoulders, causing him to laugh.

"You fool, I know who you are… and I know about the inhuman strength you have… don't think that I never come prepared." He pulled out a small empty syringe. "This serum is used on missions to remove the strength of a ninja to the point where they can't move. Because you are so powerful, you've simply been reduced to a weak, defenseless little girl…"

"No…" Sakura stared in horror. "W-what do you want from me!" She cried. She hadn't felt this weak in a long time.

"Nothing much…"

They stopped in front of a large warehouse beside some forgotten park. The building was clearly quite old and had rust stains here and there. Graffiti had been painted along the walls. He dragged her to the door and pushed her inside. The room was dank and musty, the only light that entered was from the window at the far side.

"Looks like nobody's been here for a while…" he muttered to himself. "Looks like some sand got in here too…"

Sakura glanced around and down at the sand. As she watched, it began to shift. She frowned. But… where was the breeze?

She looked down again and saw the sand begin to indent.

LOOK UP.

She craned her neck to see Gaara watching from the ceiling. He placed a finger to his lips in order to quiet her. Sakura nodded and turned back to Hikone.

"This, dear Sakura… is my hideout…" He explained. "This is where we hid our stash of anything illegal… weapons… scrolls… porn… you name it."

Sakura's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Then why bring me here?"

"I've got some… friends that would be interested in you…" He explained as he pulled out an expensive looking cell phone.

"W-who are they?" She then asked. Hikone glanced over. "Are they smugglers like you?" the older man chuckled and nodded.

"Yes… all of them helping with selling pictures of your wonderful body…" Sakura shivered, taking a step away. Why did he have to drain all her strength and chakara? Damn it! She glanced up at Gaara who looked at her in question. He knew her strength, but he didn't know why she wasn't using it. She bit her lip and glanced up at him in apology. She turned to Hikone, who had started to punch in numbers on the phone.

That was it. Strength or no strength, he wasn't going to get away with this!

"BASTARD!" She cried, jumping at him and snatching the phone away. She tossed it in the air towards Gaara, who caught it quickly. Then, pulling out a shuriken, he dropped it to the ground to replace for the clattering. Hikone snarled and caught her in a head lock, twisting one of her arms back as she used the other one to try and free herself from his choke-hold.

"Do you want me to drug you again?" He asked. "Any more and you'd be on the ground, free for me to do whatever I want!" His grip tightened on her and a smirk spread on his face. "Although… I must admit… that's not a bad idea…"

Sasuke stood outside the door, hearing everything that Hikone spoke through Gaara's end of the transmission. He had drugged her… that explained it… He closed his eyes as he tried to keep the rage inside him calm.

"Go." Gaara suddenly said. Sasuke's eyes opened in question.

"What?"

"You heard, me, Uchiha."

He glanced over at Tenten on his left, who nodded to him. He sighed in relief and tested the doorknob. Locked. He sighed. "Typical…" He muttered, jerking the door off. He rushed inside to see Hikone raising the syringe to plunge it into her thigh. He froze and glanced over at the intruder.

"You…" He bit out as he turned to face the Uchiha. Sasuke smirked.

"Nice to see you too, Hikone…" He drawled. He glanced over at Sakura, whose eyes were wide in fear. Hikone smirked and twirled the syringe in his hands. "Do you know what this is?" He asked. Sasuke glared.

"It's a paralyzing serum." He replied hesitantly. Hikone nodded.

"Correct." He replied with a smirk. "Usually, one bottle of this would keep someone defenseless for hours… but in your friend's case…" In one quick movement, he injected Sakura with the serum, hearing her cry out once before going limp. "… she needs two." Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at the fearful look left on her face.

"Sakura!" he cried, dashing towards her. Hikone laughed and let her fall into Sasuke's arms.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Hikone said slowly as he turned to face him. "Why don't we have a little competition?" Sasuke frowned, recognizing the tone of voice he was using. "A battle…"

"What kind?" he asked cautiously. Hikone smirked.

"A simple fight… winner keeps Sakura…"

Sasuke glared. "Like hell I'd do that!" He spat. Hikone chuckled.

"I had a feeling you'd say that…"

The next thing Sasuke knew, Hikone was before him, holding a third syringe to Sakura's throat. "This last dose would be fatal to her… you realize that right?" Sasuke's scowl only deepened.

"You wouldn't do that... she's worth too much."

"Who said she'd die?" Hikone said with a grin. "She'd be perfectly alive… her body perfectly preserved… no need for nutrients… she'd be like a priceless doll, Sasuke…"

Sasuke still didn't seem pleased. "If I win, I take her alive… this will wear off in a day or so… or…" He pressed the needle to Sakura's throat. Sasuke gulped, his bangs shielding his face.

"Where do we fight?"

TBC…

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN…. FINALLY FINISHED! What ever is keeping Naruto and Kakashi? And what shall Team Gai and Hinata find? Why do I sound like a freaking retard as I say this? Will I ever stop? Do I need sugar?

FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER!