Kurenai sighed and flopped back on the couch. A week, and no sign of Asuma, no sign of Konoha nin, and no sign of any attempt to reclaim her. She was going to have to do this herself…

"You're not thinking of going someplace, are you?"
Kurenai looked up at the sound of Itachi walking in. "No," she said slowly. "I'm just thinking, period. What Kakuza said…about Asuma being a jinchuuriki…"

Itachi nodded. "He is. He contains the Four-tailed…Swallow, I believe."

Kurenai sat up abruptly. "He has a ninjutsu/taijutsu move called the Flying Swallow!"

Itachi nodded again. "He probably gets that from the demon."
Kurenai exhaled slowly and sank back again. "This sucks."

Itachi shoved her to the side and sat down next to her. "Suck it up and deal."

Kurenai glared and considered punching him.

"Don't punch me."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"…Kick you."

"So original."
They lapsed into silence, until Itachi said, "What are you going to do if we succeed in capturing Asuma? You know we need to extract the demon from him-"

Kurenai stood up, whirling to face Itachi. "And you know I'll defend him with my life."

Itachi shrugged. "You know as well as I do that I won't be able to help either of you if Kakuza sets his mind to the demon."

"You wouldn't dare…!"

"I would if I had to."

Kurenai set her jaw and turned. "I hate you."

"I know you do."
The kuniochi groaned and stomped out of the room, storming. Itachi spread his feet out on the couch and shrugged. What she doesn't know is that we are well on our way to three of the demons.

OOOOOOOOO

Asuma was pacing again.

What if she finds out?

What if they want to get the demon?

What if they want a hostage?

What if they need the rest of the demons, so they go after the others?

What if they come back for Kakashi? The poor thing has no idea…

What if-?

"Asuma."

Asuma snapped out of his daze and turned to face Tsunade. Tsunade was smiling a bit, and a squad on ANBU trailed behind her.

"We're going to get Kurenai now. I have no doubt that she is still alive, and I need you to watch Kakashi while I'm gone. Shizune should be here, but he's traumatized badly and he needs someone there. Try not to leave him alone. I don't care who's with him, if he trusts them and you trust them, that's great. But don't leave him alone."

Asuma nodded, and Tsunade turned to the ANBU. "Any of you wanna see something cool?"

Everyone shrugged hesitantly, unsure if they should consent to Tsunade's "cool." The Hokage spun, emitting a large amount of chakra-

"Release!"

Asuma knew a genjutsu had been released, and he looked at Tsunade, puzzled.

The Hokage was dressed in an ANBU uniform, skin-tight black to the silver vest. A porcelain mask was in her hand, which was painted with red and black. Asuma recognized the mask as the Tiger, and smiled.

"You used to be in ANBU?"

"Yeah," Tsunade said. "Feels good to be back." She settled the mask over her face and turned, showing off the two katanas crossed on her back. Red ribbons trailed from the ends of the swords, ending at Tsunade's waist. "Let's go!"

Asuma sank onto the edge of the bed where Kakashi was dozing and put his face in his hands. This is not going to work-

"Asuma…?"

Kakashi sounded groggy, sleepy. Asuma had to smile, though; Kakashi could probably sleep for days. "Yeah…?"

"Kurenai's gonna be okay. Stop worrying."

Asuma smiled. "Yeah…yeah, everything's going to work out…"

Kakashi sat up, sheets slipping down to reveal his boxers. "I know."

Asuma's head snapped up. "You know what?" he asked sharply.

"I know you're a jinchuuriki."

Asuma exhaled. "Have you told-"

"No one."

Asuma sighed. "How long?"

"Remember when we were in the locker room…about a month ago…you had just come out of the shower and your towel was slipping down…I saw the seal on your stomach."
Asuma's head fell back into his hands, and he felt a shock wave go through him. The seal was coming out…it shouldn't be. He had been sealed with a seal that was set so that it would not show up. Ever. So why was it showing up…?

Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe Kakashi's Sharingan had something to do with it…Asuma shook his head. He was tired, he was stressed, and he felt sick with worry. Kakashi looked at him curiously.

"Are you okay?"

Asuma shook his head. "Since you know I'm a jinchuuriki…"

"Nothing's going to change," Kakashi said, resting his forearms on his bent knees. "I'm still going to be your best friend, next to Kurenai, and nothing's going to change at all…"
Asuma smiled and raised his head to look at Kakashi. "Thanks," he whispered. "I never really expected anything to change but still…"
Kakashi nodded. "I know it's hard…Naruto's my student, so I see it every day."

"Speaking of Naruto…he said he wanted o see you, and that he was coming by some time to day."

Kakashi nodded. "He said he was coming around noon…oh well."

"When he comes, I'm going to leave, okay? I've got to take care of my team…"

"Of course."

"Sensei!!"

"Naruto, keep it down-oof!"
Naruto tackled Kakashi, throwing the jounin back against the pillow. "Naruto-get off!!"

"No way! I missed you!! And what happened to you anyway?"
Kakashi sighed. "I was tied to a cross and stabbed for three days. My best friend's girlfriend was just captured by the Akatsuki. And I was raped a couple days ago. Anything I missed?"

Naruto's jaw fell slack at the list. "Sen…sei…?"
Kakashi shoved Naruto off and turned onto his side. "I'll live."
Naruto looked up and motioned to someone else to come in. Kakashi heard footsteps, but didn't bother to look up. He already knew who it was.

"Sensei," the girl said shyly. "Are you okay…?"

"No."
Sakura sighed and placed a small bouquet of flowers on the small table next to his bed and sat down beside Naruto. A tentative hand touched his shoulder blades, and Kakashi stiffened. Sakura's hand shot back, and Kakashi turned over.

"What?"

"Aw, don't be like that," Naruto said. "We just want to cheer you up, you know, since all you're doing is sitting in here being emo and cutting yourself…"
Kakashi sighed. "First of all, I am not cutting myself. Second of all, I wish I could cut my throat. So leave."

"Hell no. Not if you're that emo."

Kakashi sighed. "What can I do to get rid of you?"

"Nothing."

Kakashi sighed again and pulled his pillow over his head. "Someone save me from the horrible yellow…"

Naruto held back the urge to slap Kakashi.

It was hard, but he managed.

Barely.

"Come on, sensei!!" Naruto cried, pulling at his pillow. Kakashi only held on tighter, and Naruto growled in frustration. "Come on!"

A high-pitched whine rose in Kakashi's throat, and he raised a leg in warning. Naruto, oblivious to Kakashi's warning, continued the tug-of-war with Kakashi. Sighing, Kakashi kicked back, catching Naruto in the side. Naruto yelped, more in surprise than pain, and released Kakashi's pillow.

"Out. Now."

Sakura's hand began to gently glow with healing chakra. "He's stressed," she told Naruto. "He just needs a bit of time to…adjust, I guess…"

Naruto looked so lost Sakura almost laughed. "He's traumatized. Badly."

Sakura pressed her hand to Kakashi's bare back and let the healing chakra flow into his body. Kakashi stiffened against Sakura's hand, but otherwise didn't move. Sakura continued letting chakra slip into Kakashi's body, Asuma and Naruto watching curiously.

Kakashi never moved.

Sakura sighed. She knew her sensei was in distress, and she could do nothing to help him.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi picked up his bag and left quietly, Kisame tailing him. He had a mission to go on, and he didn't need Kurenai finding out what it was. She would be hopping mad, and then fly off on a rampage. Even Kisame was strangely quiet as the pair slipped through the darkened halls, on their way back to Konoha. They had left at midnight for a reason; Kurenai would be asleep. And Deidara would be calling Itachi's apartment "home" for the next few days…

OOOOOOOOO

"So…remind me why we're doing this again…?"

"Kakashi knows too much," Itachi hissed under his breathe. He knew it was dangerous to talk here; the trees had ears.

Kisame nodded as he and Itachi set up a camp in the middle of the woods. They had agreed to get close to Konoha that night, then rest and get into Konoha the next day. They would find Kakashi and take him at dusk, and be back at the Akatsuki by noon the next day. If everything went smoothly, it would be flawless. But if Kakashi decided to throw a fit, and doubtless in Itachi's mind he would, they would be delayed, or even caught depending on how lucky they were that day. Itachi sighed and crawled into his sleeping bag.

"Sleep. And you'll have hell to pay if you disrupt me."
Kisame knew he would.

OOOOOOOOO

Kurenai woke up the next morning to…silence.

Now's my chance! she thought. Finally…

Kurenai quickly looked around, checking for traps or sentries of any kind. She used every genjutsu skill she knew; nothing. Not a soul in the room. Smiling, Kurenai headed for her pile of clothes; her underwear, her dress, her shoes; everything. She yanked them on in a hurry, making sure she had her kunai pouch and shuriken holster. For once, she was grateful for Kisame's carelessness; he had left them not in his room or Itachi's, but hers. He had hidden them under the edge of the dresser, probably thinking she would not think to look there. But Kurenai wasn't stupid; she knew where he was hiding her things. She retrieved them even faster then she had put her clothes on and headed for the window.

"Suckers," she sing-songed, shoving open the window and jumping out. "I've got a date with a little something called freedom!"

Kurenai ran for the forest, heading South and East. She knew exactly where Konoha was; that was why she usually went on missions with Asuma. Good as he was at fighting an opponent, he was no good at finding them or tracking. He had once confessed to Kurenai that he was barely able to tell North from South, and he was only able to tell from the sun's positioning over Earth. Kurenai had laughed and told him to pair with her and Kakashi; they knew which way was North, without looking at the sun. Asuma had laughed as well, and accepted her offer. Now, Kurenai put her skills to use and headed for Konoha again.

A/N: Sorry this is late…but the good news is, it's spring break for me, so I can write more and stuff…bleh, that's all. Love it, or hate it, I don't care, as long as you don't flame me. Thanks!!