Chapter 14 Rescue

Sasuke lead the way to Orochimaru's lair. The group was silent. Apprehension for their friend's life as well as there kept in their own thoughts.

'Why didn't I stop her from going alone with Sasuke? Why didn't I follow them? Why didn't she come to me?' Kakashi thought. 'I'm never letting her out of my sight again.' He refused to think that he wouldn't get the chance to fulfill his promise.

'This all is my fault. I couldn't just accept her decision. No, I had to been an ass and I let her go off on her own. Knowing me has brought the worst kinds of hurt possible. I promise I'm staying out of her life forever.' Sasuke swore.

"Stop!" He called over his shoulder, landing on a branch of a large tree. The rest did likewise. "We are here." He pointed to rocky cliff side. The sea stretched out on the right side and forest on the left. The cliff rose as a natural barrier between the two. "You see those two large boulders?" The rest nodded. "That's the entrance."

"Great, lets go." Naruto made to jump out of the tree heading directly for the boulders but Sasuke grabbed him by the collar.

He made a gasping noise as the shirt choked him. "I wasn't finished. We can't just going running in without any plan."

"Sakura can't wait for us to make a plan. We need to save now." Naruto protested.

"Retard! If we just run in like you suggest, not only will it be the surest way to get ourselves killed, but also Sakura." Sasuke pointed out. "Orochimaru has no plan of letting her go once he has me. You guys need to survive in order to get her out of there."

"We are all getting out of there with Sakura." Ino corrected him.

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Ino. But remember Sakura is our main goal. Saving her is the objective of this mission."

"What's the plan, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked calmly. His nerves were on needles but he knew from years of being a shinobi that a cool level head was needed for success of any mission. This mission had to succeed.

"There are ninjas guarding the entrance. Mostly failed experiments so they shouldn't be too much trouble. Ino and Naruto will have no problems with them as Kakashi and I go in and find Sakura. When you two finish with the guards you will go in after us. This will be a rendezvous point."

"My lord?" Kabuto handed the dark haired sannin a cup of steaming liquid.

"What do you want, Kabuto?" Orochimaru drank the vile mixture that would assure his body last until Sasuke arrived.

"I was hoping you would allow me to study our guest. The information I gather from her might be extremely useful to you." He rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Fine, but scar her too much. She has to be presentable for Sasuke homecoming."

Kabuto opened the door to Sakura's cell. Standing over her unconscious form, he brushed the hair covering her face. 'Very pretty.' He glanced at the petite hands that with chakra could kill him. 'And powerful.' He gave her another injection of adrenaline to wake her up.

"Hello, Sakura-chan."

The pounding headache returned with consciousness. She moaned taking in her surroundings. It hadn't been a nightmare liked she'd hoped. "I didn't expect to see you again. I thought I was only bait."

"Pleasantly surprised to see me then?" The former Leaf medic spread out an array of malicious looking instruments on a small table.

"Hardly." She turned her to make sure he caught the insult. Her chest closed up as she realized what he was planning. She scurried into the corner. Her brain told it was futile. There was no way to escape especially without chakra but her survival instincts had taken over her body.

"Shhh." He sounded if soothing a child. "It's okay." He grabbed her arms and legs strapping them down on the bed. "This won't hurt…much."

Kakashi and Sasuke were running down a darken hallway. Naruto and Ino were fighting what use to be ninjas. After being Orochimaru's test subjects they were grotesque versions of ninjas.

The hallway ended suddenly, opening on to a large circular room. On there were three doorways leading out of the room on the side.

"Which one do we take?" Kakashi asked surveying the three paths ahead.

"Sakura will be held in the guest rooms, at least that is what Orochimaru likes to call them." Sasuke pronounce the words guest rooms with disgust.

It made Kakashi's stomach churn. He was sure that those poor souls they encountered at the entrance to this hellhole had been "guests."

Crackling laughed vibrated the walls. A figure with long dark hair emerged from the center archway. "Sasuke, welcome home. I'm delighted that my guest rooms left such an impression. As a matter fact, Sakura is our honored guest and is being…ummm…shall we say entertained right now."

Electric white chakra surged in Kakashi palm. His chidori ready to strike.

"No Kakashi. I'll handle him. Find Sakura. Take first doorway on the right." Sasuke's sharingan already activated, he unsheathed his sword. "It's me you want, Orochimaru, so here I am."

The older jounin sprinted in the direction he was told. The sound of metal clashing with metal sounded behind him.

He passed door after door but all the rooms were empty. An ear splitting scream pierced the silence. He ran faster towards a closed door. What he found there brought on a pain he hadn't felt in years. Sakura was shackled to a bed, Kabuto over with what looked like an ice pick. It was the same pain when he had watched Obito die after changing his life forever. He had been powerless then. Not now.

He lunged at the him. His sharingan exposed. Kunai and ice pick met. Both jumped back ready for another attack.

Kabuto's hand started glowing with a blue chakra.

"Kakashi, watch out. That is his chakra scalpel. He can do internal damage if it touches you." Sakura warned. But with the sharingan he already knew that.

"Better finish this quickly then." The unique sound of the chidori chirped through the room.

The ice pick came flying at Kakashi's arm. He swirled missing it, cladding near Sakura. He charged once more.

Kabuto didn't have room or the time to move to miss the hit entirely. The chidori made contact just left of his heart. Its usual instant kill didn't work. He was able to build his chakra to the area rejuvenating the cells to prevent death, though it caused serious damage.

Kakashi prepared for another chidori attack. Before he rushed again the ice pick whizzed by his ear, lodged itself deep in Kabuto's chest. The man's eyes registered the pain and the face of his killer before they went blank.

Kakashi turned to see Sakura breathing heavily but smiling. One of her hands was free from its constraints.

Following his gaze, she explained, "I used that ice pick to cut the rope." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "He wasn't going to live after what he did…" Her voice faded.

Fresh blood was covering her thighs and there was dried blood on her face. He couldn't really tell where she was hurt or how bad. He hurriedly untied her.

"Can you heal yourself?" He asked hopefully.

She shook her. "He gave some sort of paralyzing serum that drained my chakra and stops my body from making more."

"Is it permanent?" If so her career as a shinobi was over.

"I don't think so. He gave me injections often so I'm guessing the effects wear off."

"Let's get you out of here. You are going to need medical attention." He scooped up in his arms in swift movement.

She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "Thank you for saving me."

He kissed the top of her head. "Save your thank you's for when everyone is together. You can thank us all at once."

A/N: Woot! I'm on a roll this week. 3 chapters plus a new story. hehe. This is another somewhat short chapter, I know sorry. :( I'm not every good with fight scenes so they tend to be short. My last update until I come back. DC here I came. hehe.

Thanks everyone for your reviews. I love reading your feedback.