Desperate

Shackles. The first thing Sakura felt when she regained consciousness were the heavy iron shackles binding her wrists and ankles.

She opened her eyes, and a dimly lit room came into view. Various documents and bottles littered a number of tables in the room. There was no window.

As Sakura turned her gaze on herself, she saw that she was bound to a slightly slanted vertical board with arms wide open, in the shape of a 'T'.

She eyed the shackles thoughtfully. It wouldn't be difficult to break them. Closing her eyes, she prepared to wrench her left hand free. But something was wrong.

She couldn't focus her chakra.

Every time she attempted to manipulate it, it slipped out of her grasp like water. She could feel it, but couldn't hold it. What was going on?

She grunted in frustration as she struggled against her bindings, now an insurmountable wall without the strength that came with chakra.

"I know what you're trying, sweetie. It won't work." A woman's voice came from somewhere in the room, and Sakura's head snapped up in surprise.

"You regained your senses fairly quickly, considering the dose we gave you. But it is to be expected of a great medic like you." The woman strode towards her, a curvaceous beauty with long, dark hair.

Sakura wrestled with her shackles.

"It's no use, dear. We injected you with a drug that blocks chakra pathways, similar to the effects of the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist." The older woman smiled, displaying a row of pearly teeth. "We can't have you breaking down the walls, can we now? After all, you are Tsunade's apprentice. Haruno Sakura, is it?"

"What do you want with me?" It was unsettling how the woman knew so much about her.

The woman laughed. "Oh, darling, it's not you we want. It's your silver-haired companion, the Copy-nin Hatake Kakashi."

"Why?" Her voice was laced with suspicion and spite. Her eyes narrowed.

"My, you're bright," she replied sarcastically. "He's not called the Copy-nin for nothing, sweetheart. I imagine he's put his Sharingan to a good use all these years."

Sakura stared at her, not completely comprehending her words. The woman rolled her eyes, and continued.

"As you very well know, he's copied over thousands of jutsu. Now won't it be just fantastic to have them all? We'll pick his memories for every last detail, every bit of his extensive knowledge."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror. The woman grinned, and patted the medic's head almost endearingly.

"We'll need him to be here, of course, and what better way to lure him than with bait?" She cocked her head to the side.

"He won't fall for it," she said desperately. He won't, he won't…

"Oh, I don't think so." She started to stride away. "It's been fun chatting with you, darling, but I have to go now. Ja."

She knew he would come. Then he would be a sitting duck for the woman and whoever she was partnering with. How did she even get into this situation anyway?

Don't be rash, Kakashi. Don't.

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Kakashi slammed his fist on the table. "We have to rescue her!" he insisted. "She's your apprentice! How could you just let her be?"

Tsunade looked pained. "We can't, Kakashi. Don't you see? This is a trap. Why else did they leave you alive? They want you to go to them. We'd be walking right into it."

"But-"

"Dismissed," Tsunade announced firmly.

Seething, Kakashi took his leave.

It was his fault she was captured. If he hadn't lost his temper, she wouldn't be in danger right now. If he had believed her, none of this would have happened. He had to save her. He had to.

Even if the Hokage said not to.

Pakkun had met him at the gates half an hour ago, and had reported that the two Stone nins had disappeared into what looked like an underground base. The spot was about halfway between Leaf and Stone, maybe a few hours' journey.

He went home to pack up some supplies. If Tsunade wouldn't give him help, then he would do it himself.

As he departed, the two forms of his students raced after him.

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"Kakashi-sensei's being a little over-protective, don't you think?" Sai voiced his thoughts as the pair leapt from branch to branch. They were keeping a safe distance from Kakashi, far enough not to be discovered but close enough to give assistance if necessary.

"Of course not!" Naruto bounded along beside him. "Teammates are teammates, and we definitely ought to protect them."

"But don't you think this is going a little too far? I mean, this is clearly a trap he's walking into-"

"That's why we're here," Naruto answered irritably. "We know enough from Kakashi-sensei's debriefing with Granny Tsunade to know that it's just two people we're up against. We outnumber them. Problem resolved. See?"

Sai sighed. Naruto was just as simple-minded as always. Maybe eavesdropping outside the Hokage's office wasn't such a good idea, but still, Sakura was their teammate and they really should save her.

It was just that Kakashi seemed to be overreacting a little.

"Kakashi-sensei's slowing down,"Naruto commented. "Could it be-"

"Whoa!" The two leapt aside to avoid a barrage of exploding kunai from the canopy. Before they even had time to recover, waves of senbon flew at them, forcing them to dash at full speed to avoid them.

"Hn. Traps," Sai murmured grimly. Traps designed not to kill, but to weaken. They knew their target would come to them. This meant that they weren't far from their destination.

Kakashi was seriously deep in the enemy's trap. Why was Kakashi so intent on rescuing Sakura? He would always have thought things over before deciding, not charge headlong into a battle without preparation like Naruto always did.

The pair edged around traps, and Naruto's sense of smell told them that Kakashi was also not making much progress. Surely the enemy knew that their lure was working. Would they ambush them?

Kakashi-sensei, what's gotten into you?

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A/N:

So sorry for the long update! There should be about three chapters left.

Naruto does not belong to me.