Kakashi was barely able to control his rage as he ran, his loyal hounds leading the way while Naoko kept up pace beside him. Naoko had planned on going straight to the ANBU after telling Kakashi of Kazuko's abduction, but Kakashi had convinced him that wouldn't be necessary. They had returned to the pair's home and Kakashi called on his canine comrades, intent on using them to track Kazuko's scent. When they realized the blood had come from the Night Demon, he had split his team in two, with half taking the criminal's scent while the other tracked Kazuko's.
It was dark by the time they set out in search of Kazuko. The blood in her apartment was already dry by the time they got there, which told Kakashi that she had been gone for a few hours, at least. The thought drove him to run faster, his heart beating wildly in his chest at the thought of what the criminal could do to her.
They made good time, the hounds following the scents skillfully to the outskirts of the village, where many derelict buildings stood, broken and unused. Kakashi had to give the criminal credit—this was a perfect place for a hideout. He wondered why the ANBU hadn't thought about it sooner, but then again, since the Night Demon seemed to go to the victim and not take them to a secondary location, they probably hadn't thought about him using a hideout at all.
Beside him, Naoko was tense and his eyes scanned the buildings for any signs of danger. Kakashi had suspected almost from the beginning that Naoko and Kazuko didn't share any romantic feelings for one another, but he also knew that the male ANBU cared about his partner a great deal. He felt no jealousy towards the younger man, even knowing their long history together. The two of them were best friends—like siblings, even—and Kakashi was grateful to Naoko for being in her life.
Kakashi himself had only known Kazuko for a relatively short while, but in that time she had become very special to him. She had intrigued him from the start, and the more time he spent in her presence, the more he wanted to get to know her. After finally confirming his suspicions—that she wasn't actually married—he had been determined to see it through to the end. Kakashi never imagined himself settling down with someone; he had never really held romantic feelings for anyone in the past. But recently, he had started wondering what life would be like to be married to someone. To be married to her.
Kakashi came to a halt when his dogs did and he watched as they sniffed the air, finding the direction of the scents. Pakkun trotted over to him and he bent down to get closer to the small dog.
"It looks like they went into one of the buildings close by," the small dog said. "Do you have a plan of attack in mind?"
He glanced up at Naoko, who was standing beside him. "What do you think, Naoko? It would be best if we had a strategy in place instead of running in blind."
"Yes, of course," Naoko nodded his agreement, his jaw clenched tight. Kakashi got the feeling he didn't want to waste anymore time than was necessary.
Kakashi rocked back on his heels and stood up, eyeing the buildings. "Right," he said, turning to his hounds. "Show us the way to the building. Naoko and I will take it from there."
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Kazuko jolted awake. Everywhere hurt. The throwing needles remained embedded in her flesh. Her wrists, arms and shoulders ached from being chained to the ceiling for such a long time. And the stump that was once her finger throbbed, reminding her that it hadn't been just a horrible dream.
She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to open them to start session two of the torture. Kazuko tried to make a genjutsu, but she was in too much pain to do it. Her genjutsu earlier had been hasty, and she normally used it when she had a partner—Naoko usually, since they worked the best together. But it had been an attempt to distract him until she thought of something else, though it hadn't worked out to her favour.
Pain exploded in her side and Kazuko gasped, her eyes flying open. The Night Demon stood before her, one of the ninja sais in his hand while he gave her an almost annoyed look.
"Don't pretend to still be asleep," he said, pulling the weapon slowly out of her side. He watched her reaction with a sick hunger, relishing every movement she made that told him she was in pain.
"It was worth a try," she replied, her teeth clenched against the ache. She felt so weak and she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep herself from screaming if he started sawing into another finger.
"Well, now that you're awake. Let's get down to business, shall we?" He retrieved the strange knife from the table of doom before making his way back to her side, his movements graceful and silent. Kazuko had never stopped to study him too much, but he moved about like a deadly feline, his eyes always on his prey. The thought made her shiver.
Every fibre in her being told her to fight back, but Kazuko was too exhausted to do anything when he reached for her hands again. He chuckled when she whimpered, and he grabbed her right hand. The cool steel of the blade touched her finger and she closed her eyes, readying herself for the explosion of pain that was about to come.
The door to the warehouse exploded inwards and Kazuko's eyes sprung open at the sound. She fought against the desire to pass out again, her eyes drooping so low that she could barely see what was going on.
Two figures burst through the entry and Kazuko heard Naoko call her name, his voice full of alarm. The Night Demon swore, springing away from her to defend himself against the intruders. Kazuko desperately tried to see what was happening, but her body strained against her, wanting to sleep. Another explosion sounded and the smell of smoke permeated the air of the warehouse.
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Kakashi had never felt rage quite like this. He spotted Kazuko hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the building, covered in blood. His sharingan shifted as he spotted the offender, and it took every ounce of self-control to remain calm. The Night Demon had leaped away from Kazuko and was standing by a table covered in weapons. Kakashi's stomach roiled at the thought of him using those weapons on her.
Kill him, a voice whispered to him. Make him suffer for hurting her. Kakashi was all too happy to oblige.
"Naoko, grab Kazuko and get out of here. I'll take care of the Night Demon."
After seeing the ANBU member rush off to do as he asked, Kakashi set his sights once again on the criminal. He wasn't the type who enjoyed killing people, but he knew he would relish every second of this.
In his peripherals, Kakashi saw Pakkun running across the warehouse, setting up paper bombs to serve as a distraction so Naoko and Kazuko could get away safely. The Night Demon was currently eyeing the ANBU member running for his partner, and as soon as Kakashi knew Pakkun was a safe distance away from the blast radius, he made the paper bombs explode.
Like he had hoped, the Night Demon was momentarily distracted by the explosion and Kakashi took the opportunity to run to him, his chidori crackling away in his palm as he closed ranks on the criminal.
He saw Kakashi coming and leaped away before he could land a hit. His sharingan kept a close watch on his enemy, letting Kakashi track his movements easier than would be possible with the naked eye.
The warehouse was on fire from the last explosion. Kakashi hadn't considered the fragile interior of the building when he had thought of his plan, and he cursed himself now for his naivety. The skeleton of the building was metal, but there was plenty of wood in its body to make it flourish much quicker than Kakashi would have liked.
He saw the Night Demon lunge for him from the corner of his eye and Kakashi sprung away, careful to not let the criminal touch him. Kazuko had said he had the ability to drain one's powers, and Kakashi refused to let that happen to him.
He took another moment to check on his comrades' progress, only to find they hadn't moved. He yelled at Naoko to hurry up and then turned once again to the Night Demon. Despite wanting to take his time in killing the criminal in front of him, Kakashi knew he had to make this quick, before the whole building came down on him. He refused to do anything that could jeopardize him seeing Kazuko again.
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A high-pitched sound, like thousands of birds chirping, filled the warehouse, and behind her closed lids the warehouse lit up. Kazuko managed to open her eyes when someone touched her shoulder and she saw the worried face of her partner in front of her.
He grabbed the chains surrounding her feet and pulled and the metal screeched before the pressure around her ankles disappeared. She would have collapsed to the floor if her arms weren't holding her up, and when he wrenched her wrists free, she fell forward into his arms. He picked her up carefully, his face twisted in pain as he saw the damage done to her.
The smell of smoke was stronger now, and a bright orange glow illuminated the dark building. Naoko held her still, his eyes searching the room. "You're going to be okay, Kazuko. Kakashi is taking care of the Night Demon, but we have to leave. This building is old and unstable, and the fire is ripping through it faster than we expected it to. It'll come down any second."
The sound of her partner's voice was like balm to her ears and tears sprung into her eyes. She hadn't expected to be rescued. To hear the two people she cared about most had come to save her was overwhelming. "Thank you, Naoko," she whispered. She held his gaze and he sent her a strained smile.
Kakashi's voice came from somewhere to her left, angry and urgent. "Hurry up, Naoko. We don't have much time."
"Right." A look of determination came over Naoko's face and he hurried to the door, being careful not to jostle her too much.
Creaking, like nails on a chalkboard, sounded from above, and the next second Kazuko was on the ground, the wind having been knocked out of her. She looked around to see what had happened and found Naoko on the ground, a large sheet of metal crushing his torso. She scrambled on her hands and knees until she was beside him, ignoring the pain that licked through her body with each movement, and tried to lift the metal off him. She tore her hands away with a yelp when it burned her.
"Naoko," she called, shaking his shoulder. "Naoko, get up! You have to help me get this off you."
He groaned, opening his eyes to locate her. "You have to leave, Kazuko."
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "No. Not without you. Hurry up, this should be easy for you!"
One of Naoko's specialities was being able to increase his strength tenfold, but he struggled against the steel, unable to move. His eyes widened when his body didn't obey his commands. "I can't feel my legs, Kazuko. My body isn't responding."
"Stop joking around, Naoko!" Tears were burning hot trails down her cheeks as she watched her partner try and fail to move the hunk of steel on top of him. It terrified her. This should be a walk in the park for him. Why couldn't he lift it?
Her hands burned against the steel as she took hold of it, but still she heaved, ignoring the pain. Naoko was yelling at her, telling her to go, but she shook her head, refusing to listen as she tried to pry the metal off his body.
She was torn away from him and she screamed, ignoring the pain in her body as she thrashed against the person holding her. "Enough, Kazuko," Kakashi whispered in her ear, trying to calm her.
Her mind ran wild, imaging her partner left for dead, unable to move as the building burned around him. "Let me go! I'm not leaving him!"
Kakashi ignored her pleas. "I'm coming back for him," he told her, lifting her into his arms as he quickly made his way to the entrance. "I need to get you to safety first."
The cool night air should have comforted her as Kakashi settled her onto the ground softly, but Kazuko's mind was a jumble of emotions. By sheer willpower alone she had refused to pass out, and after using what was left of her strength to try and help Naoko, she felt beyond exhausted.
A voice pulled Kakashi's attention away from her and he told the newcomers that Naoko was inside. He turned back to Kazuko, his eyes grazing her body.
She tried to push his hands away as he brushed hair out of her face, but she could barely lift her limbs. "What about Naoko?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.
Kakashi looked into her eyes, and she saw so many feelings in their depth as he stared at her. Worry, pain, anger, relief, and longing all shined in his different coloured eyes. "He'll be fine. The ANBU are with him as we speak." He reached out, his hand hesitating before resting on her cheek softly. His eyes shone with unshed tears and he leaned down to press his forehead against hers. "I thought I'd lost you," he breathed, voice thick with emotion.
She tried to reply, tried to reach out and touch his cheek, to reassure him that she was fine, but all her energy had drained from her. She managed a weak smile before her eyes fluttered closed, and for the third time that day she lost consciousness.
This story doesn't get many rates or reviews, so I don't really know if many are following it, but if you have been: thank you. Please stay tuned for the last chapter coming soon.