Author's note: So, another chapter. I'm pretty sure this is going to be a Sakura/Sakumo romance, and only partly because the pairing will be called Sakusaku. I'm still not sure what will happen here. I have the first few chapters and then the final scene in my head. I've got lots of internal conflict planned out, but it seems like there should be some external conflict, too. I'm open to suggestions, recommendations, and criticism, so long as it's constructive.

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Sakura landed hard on her back, panting hard and fighting back nausea. She heard a high-pitched scream nearby, somewhere off to her right. She rolled onto her stomach and drew herself up into a crouch, looking right into the eyes of a little boy sitting against a tree. A little boy who was now standing up and yelling for his dad. This wasn't the Kamui dimension. Kakashi must have realized he had trapped her in it and stopped the jutsu. Or their enemies had stopped him from completing it. So where was she?

She stood on shaky feet, wobbling a moment before trying to put on a reassuring smile for the little boy. She had to get him to stop yelling before he gave away their position. She was just about to open her mouth to say something reassuring to him when the ground beneath her erupted, knocking her off-balance right before five large dogs sank their teeth into her, pinning her against the nearest tree. She felt their teeth sinking into the flesh of her arms and legs, one small dog hanging off of her hand, effectively preventing her from making hand signs. She tried to shake it off but that only made the small dog hold on tighter, growling as it tightened it's jaws around delicate bones. What was going on? This was Kakashi's jutsu, but these weren't Kakashi's dogs. At least, not his regular pack. She didn't know these dogs. None looked familiar to her.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stay still, not reacting even when the little one hanging on her hand adjusted his teeth for a better grip. She didn't want to fight these dogs and take the chance of hurting one, plus, she'd probably lose anyway. The little boy was closer now, yelling something that she couldn't make out over the growling in her ears. Close enough to possibly get hurt if she did manage to break the pack's grip and tried to fight these dogs off. Maybe she could reason with them.

"Hey guys, I think there's been a mistake. It's me. It's Sakura. I'm am friend of Kakashi's."

At the sound of Kakashi's name the pack reacted, its collective jaws tightening, the small one twisting in the air as it worried her hand with renewed vigor. Not what she had hoped for.

Just then saw movement in the forest, a familiar gray-haired figure running toward her at top speed. Thank god! She was so relieved she didn't even question why Tsunade was with him, blonde hair streaming behind her as they both ran toward her.

"Kakashi-se-" the words were cut off by the pressure of a fist at her throat. Kakashi glared at her, a cold, calculating look she had only seen him give to enemies in battle, right before he killed them. But something was different. His mask was down. Not down, gone. And he was staring at her with two gray eyes. No Sharingan.

"Kakashi-" she started again, hating how small her voice sounded, how uncertain.

"What do want with Kakashi?" He asked, increasing the pressure on her throat as the dog holding her right arm growled and tightened it's grip.

"Wha? No, Nothing! I, uh, I.." Sakura stammered, her mind searching desperately for the right thing to say in this situation where everything was wrong. Kakashi and Tsunade fighting against her. Was it a genjutsu? It had to be. The missing nin must have stopped Kakashi's Kamui and then placed her under a genjutsu while she was disoriented. It didn't feel like a genjutsu, but there was no other explanation. She bit her lip, hard, hoping to dispel it with pain. Nothing happened. Maybe because this was a rather painful genjutsu already. The caster must be very powerful. Even Kurenai-sensei couldn't maintain a painful genjutsu for long. Sakura took a deep, calming breath and started drawing her chakra in. She was about to let it surge forth, trying to raise her hand and shout "kai" at the same time when she was punched in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

"Don't try that again."

Sakura looked up into the cold, dead eyes of this new, strange Kakashi. Vaguely she was aware of the crying of the little boy in the distance, but most of her senses were tuned to the man in front of her. The man who looked like Kakashi, but couldn't be. There were differences. She had seen Kakashi without his mask, and this wasn't him. The face was a little fuller, the jaw a bit more square. The eyes were wrong. The hair was wrong. The uniform was wrong. This wasn't Kakashi, but who was it? A clone? A Henge? What about Tsunade? Sakura cast a quick glance over at her mentor, who had grabbed the little boy and was now holding him protectively in her arms while glaring at Sakura. Her clothes were different too. She was too far away to see her other features clearly, except for her chest. That looked about the same. When she flicked her eyes back to the imposter Kakashi before her, she saw one of his eyebrows arch up.

"There's nothing over there for you. Your mission is over. Failed. Keep your eyes on me. I'm all you have to worry about now."

"Mission?" Sakura asked, surprised into speaking. "What mission? What do you think I'm doing here?"

Just then another person dropped from the trees. It looked like...but it couldn't be. It couldn't be Jiraiya.

"How about you let me ask the questions, hmm?"

Same booming voice. Same long white hair hanging down his back. Same mole. The red lines at the corner of his eyes were shorter. And he looked...younger. A lot younger. Almost as young as Tsunade.

Jiraiya approached Kakashi and clapped him on the shoulder. Sakura felt the fingers around her neck tighten reflexively at the sudden contact.

"All's clear. No signs of anyone else. Orochimaru's got his snakes searching the forest but I don't think they'll find anything. Looks like she's working alone."

Orochimaru? Sakura froze, scanning the forest before her as best she could with an angry fist at her throat. She caught a movement to her left and then there he was.. In front of her. Orochimaru. Pale. So Pale. Long, dark hair. Reptilian eyes.

"I see my reputation precedes me." Orochimaru smirked, coming around into her full view.

Sakura tore her eyes away from Orochimaru, but it was difficult. Almost as difficult as it was to return her gaze to the imposter Kakashi standing before her. The one who's fingers kept their tight grip on her neck.

Jiraiya stepped forward and assessed their prisoner. And then kept on assessing her. Sakura huffed and rolled her eyes. Pervert.

"Well, Sakumo, looks like we've caught a fiesty one!" Jiraiya laughed, clapping the man on the back again.

Sakumo? Who was he talking about? Sakura looked, but there was no one else in sight. Sakumo? She knew that name. Everyone knew about Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang, father of Hatake Kakashi. Everyone also knew that Sakumo was dead. As dead as Jiraiya. And if that was Sakumo, then was the little boy...

Sakura closed her eyes, wanting to shut out the world for just a minute. She was so confused. She needed to think, to process. Something was going on here and she would figure it out, if she could just get a minute to gather her thoughts without a Kakashi impersonator waiting to tear her apart with his strange dogs.