Chapter 1

At first, Yasu was stunned. She simply stood there for a moment, staring at Itachi. Itachi returned the stare, blood red on speckled white. Finally, Yasu laughed. Her eyes danced as she said,

"Itachi, please! Capture the Copy Ninja? You know he'd suicide before we could do anything to him-"

Now it was Itachi's turn to laugh. "You don't know him, do you? Or were you not listening?"

Yasu abruptly fell silent. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward, placing her hands on her hips and making sure to invade Itachi's personal space. "Challenging me, Itachi?"

"Not at all, Yasu-sama," Itachi said smoothly. "As I said earlier, Kakashi is suffering from chakra depletion and exhaustion. He could barely move when I last saw him, and he'll probably be unable to walk for about a week. And besides, you must know about his "issues." He can't ever leave a teammate in the lurch, so as long as he knows that there are people searching for him, he'll stay; for their sake."

Yasu smiled. "So we have him right where we want him."

Itachi shrugged. "In so many words." They started walking down the halls, no particular destination in Itachi's mind. He would follow Yasu; she probably wanted him to anyway.

"Where to?" he asked lazily, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm getting a look at the Hatake," she said absently. I want to know what kind of condition he's in, and what needs to be done with him."

Itachi shrugged. "I'll follow you."

Yasu was surprised when she opened the door. Kakashi was still fighting the chains that held him, and he was beginning to wear them down. Unfortunately, his own body was in far worse condition than his bonds, and he was fighting a losing battle. His wrists and ankles were bleeding, and it looked as if he was at the point of collapse. His ANBU clothes were soaked with sweat, and it was mixing with the blood pouring from various cuts, abrasions, and burst capillaries all over Kakashi's body. Yasu coughed as the first wave of dank air hit her nostrils. Combined with the stench of body odor and the pungent scent of blood, the smell was overpowering.

"Aw, damn!" Yasu muttered, holding her cloak sleeve over her nose and mouth.

"Won't help," Kakashi grunted, hauling on the chains again. "Might even…make it…worse…Agh." He collapsed to his knees, simply spent. The Sharingan over his left eye burning like hell-fire with a murderous hatred, swirling like a power drill and boring right through Yasu's defenses, driving down into her soul, coiling around it-

Yasu stepped forward, breaking Kakashi's spell. Kakashi froze, unsure of what to do. Finally, he threw his weight forward, using his momentum to heave himself to his feet. He swayed a bit, then regained his balance and lifted his head, looking Yasu in the eye again. His chest heaved with the effort of standing. Yasu watched, amused, as he brought his eyes to hers again, silver hair falling about his face, mask clinging to his face with sweat. A low growl rose in his throat: a warning to keep away from him.

"So proud," Yasu murmured, stepping forward. Her footsteps echoed eerily off the stone walls and resounded in the condensing air. Sweat was beginning to shine on both Yasu's and Itachi's bodies, and the heat was growing more and more oppressive every minute. It was also getting hard to breathe.

"Why won't you quiet?"

"I belong to no one," Kakashi panted, still trying to stand. "I submit to no one, I bow to no one, I break for no one, I am no one's. No one shall own me, possess me, and hold me against my will. That's how I survived all this time: by allowing no one to touch me, and by never belonging to anyone. I am no one's property."

Yasu smiled, Sharingan beginning to spin. "I do."

"Perhaps I wasn't clear." Kakashi hoped that his fear didn't show; he was trying to sound aggressive, but he currently doubted his efforts. The smell was slowly fading from the air. It was either that, or Yasu had gotten used to it. She smiled again and took another step towards Kakashi. Kakashi mirrored her, stepping back to her forward. Yasu kept advancing; he couldn't back forever! Sure enough, with every step they took, Kakashi's grew shorter and Yasu's grew longer. Itachi shifted from one foot to the other in impatience: how long could they keep this up? Kakashi's steps were limited, and Yasu was matching him-

A sharp intake of breath drew Itachi's attention to Kakashi. The jounin had finally hit the wall, and was now pushing himself back, as if trying to fuse into the damp concrete. Yasu smirked one final time, placing her hands on either side of Kakashi's shoulders. Itachi's eyes flickered over the pair, then to his left, and finally his right. He caught a glimpse of a chakra signature slightly behind him and over his right shoulder. He recognized it almost immediately; an orange flare. Itachi sighed. He was used to his former leader skulking around, but he didn't really want him here. He knew his former leader wanted Kakashi for himself, and Itachi had never been good at sharing.

"Come on," Yasu said sharply. Itachi looked back to Yasu: she was unlocking the chains on Kakashi's wrists and ankles and was throwing them aside, not caring about the loud echo that was beginning to hurt Itachi's ears. Yasu cast aside the final chain, and, without skipping a beat, picked up Kakashi. Itachi was hardly surprised: the shine of charka along Yasu's arms told all. She brushed past Itachi with a short, "Let's go" and continued walking. Itachi simply shook his head and started off after her without saying a word.

"What are you going to do with him?"

Yasu turned to face Itachi. "Clean him up, send Konoha a little note, and see what happens."

Itachi shrugged and continued digging through his cabinet for a roll of bandages. "What if Konoha's reaction is hostile?" he asked absently, as if pondering the thought. "You know as well as I that we may need-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Yasu snapped, snatching the newly-found bandages and stalking off. Itachi sighed and picked up a small basin of water he had filled up not too long ago. He may as well help Yasu with Kakashi: he wanted the Copy Ninja to trust him, simply so he could make life more difficult for him in the future.

A/N: Ooooo, nasty little cliffy I'm leaving you all with! Oh, well. You all know the rules: one review, or noooooo next chapter! Thanks!!!