Chapter 11: Consequences

A/N: Here it is, chapter 11! Sorry it took a bit longer than expected, but I'm am excited that I can finally upload it. I know I still have to get started on Chapter three for Secrets, but I have two questions for my readers and I would love if you guys could answer them:

1) Which Fanfic are you guys most interested in me updating (Happiness?, Secrets, or Rebirth)?

2) Do you prefer long chapters or short chapters? (Really important because this will factor into how long it takes for me to update.)

I would be thankful if some of my readers can answer these questions. On that note, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Kakashi!"

The silver haired man was up in a flash at the sound of his name. Within a few seconds, he was at the door embracing the pink haired woman. Previous fears were quelled once he had Sakura in his arms, but he knew there were still serious matters to be dealt with. A small cough interrupted the embracing couple causing Kakashi to release her and glare at the man responsible for the disturbance. His one good eye zeroed in on Sasuke who was lounging beside the wall, a mask of indifference as he observed Kakashi's arms wrapped around Sakura.

A single eyebrow arched in response as Kakashi took in the appearance of the Uchiha as well as Sakura. Conclusions began to formulate in his mind resulting in the scowl coloring his expression. Quickly he replaced it with his usual indifferent expression.

"Uchiha."

"Hatake."

The two stared at each other, sizing each other up. The tension that filled the hallway could've been easily cut by a knife, but it was dissipated by a snarl.

"Will the two of you stop acting like a pair of animals and focus on the situation at hand?"

Sakura's anger-filled voice immediately caused a sensation of guilt to well up as the two men lowered their heads in response. A hearty laugh echoed through the hallway as Asuma sauntered to the door way.

"Who would've thought I would be able to see the head of the Karasu group and the silver haired menace bowing their heads like two school boys preparing to be lectured by their sensei."

"Asuma."

The tension in Sakura's shoulders left her as she recognized Asuma's gruff voice. She was thankful that she had insisted Kakashi bring him, because she knew she could depend on him to put Kakashi's in his place when needed.

"Sakura-hime."

The older male smiled as he watched Sakura bristle at the use of her old nickname.

"Don't call me that."

"Can't, you are our hime."

A disgruntled expression marred her face as Sakura pointedly walked past Asuma to enter her loft.

"Who else is here?"

"Kakashi, me and we were able to drag Gai as well but since you took too long, he decided to go demonstrate his springtime of youth by running around your building a few times. I think he is on lap 245..or something."

"Incorrect! That was my 365th lap!" The boisterous voice filled the room. Sakura chuckled as she could already picture Gai in his iconic green spandex suit. Quickly she squashed the urge.

"That's fine, the reason I asked Kakashi to bring you here is because Ino is missing."

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi watched his best friend immediately straighten in response. Ino was like a daughter to Asuma. After she had announced her decision to leave the Haruno group and marry Sai, all members including her father were forced to cut off their ties from her. To the outside, it would seem as if they were casting her out, but this was the only way she would be able to escape the lifestyle. By renouncing all ties, she would have no connection to the group and it would be pointless for other rival gangs to come after her. Still, Asuma took the time to visit her and make sure she was okay. It was better for Ino to seem to be connected to Asuma, rather than the Kizashi's right hand man who was in charge of intelligence on other groups.

"I'm assuming that whoever kidnapped her were looking for me. Are there any new upcoming groups that are looking to gain favor with the Furido group?"

Kakashi's bored tone filled the room, but it was obvious there was a steely undertone to it."There have been a few groups here and there, however the only one reckless enough to try something like this would be a small group that call themselves Hebi. However there are only a handful of members and only three of them are worth noting."

"Names."

"Suigetsu Hozuki, Karin, and Jugo."

"They were originally part of Orochimaru's gang."

A small smile played on Kakashi's lips, but it was concealed by the face mask he wore ever since he was initiated into the Haruno group.

"Correct."

"Hmm...depending on how...knowledgeable they are, it won't take them long to contact Kazuma, especially when they realize that Ino is not me. I doubt they would hurt her, but since they were part of Orochimaru's group before it was disbanded and Orochimaru was killed, I wouldn't put it past them."

Kakashi watched for the telltale signs of Sakura's anger. Gently he approached her and soothingly rubbed her back.

"Everything's going to be fine. Ino is a fighter after all."

She leaned into his comforting touch as she allowed Kakashi's words to reassure her. Sasuke watched the two from afar before adverting his gaze. The familiar feeling of jealousy began to brew in the pit of his stomach. Even though she had reassured him that she had no romantic feelings for Kakashi, their ability to create an atmosphere that prevented others from intruding, conjured up the vile emotion.

"What's the plan, Sakura?"

Turning her gaze in Asuma's direction, Sakura sighed before turning to search for her phone.

"We are going to get her back, but first, I need to call my fiancé."

"Shit. You grabbed the wrong girl! You are such an idiot Suigetsu!" A smack rang through the air as the blue haired man clutched his head in pain. He turned his sharp gaze on the red head, promises of revenge were evident in his eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I didn't know what she looked like!"

"She has pink freaking hair! I told you that twenty times and yet you still ignored me! "

Suigetsu flinched at the sound of the Karin's voice that was raised another octave as she yelled at him. Muttering a few curses under his breath, he turned to glance at the girl before them. She was tied up and still unconscious. As Suigetsu examined her, questions began to formulate in his mind. Who is she? Why was she in the girl's apartment? Does she have some sort of connection to the girl?

"Would you stop checking her out already?"

Shock appeared on his face as he turned to look at Karin. The red head was once again reverting to her nervous habit of playing around with her glasses. How was it that she joined this world he didn't know but for one, she couldn't fight and most of the time she was just sitting out during a fight. Plus she couldn't stomach the smell of blood. Cursing his luck Suigetsu yelled "I wasn't checking her out goddammit! I was trying to figure why the hell she was in the girl's apartment! She might have some connection to the girl and that would definitely help Kazuma!"

Karin's eyes narrowed in response as she turned towards the girl.

"If that is true then hurry up and call Kazuma now. She might start waking up soon and wait until Kizashi finds out that someone kidnapped a friend of their daughter. They will come after us."

"Che, they don't know who we are and they wouldn't start a fight over some unknown girl." The smug tone that carried Sugiestu's voice wasn't lost on Karin. His damn cockiness would be the death of them. With a sigh, she turned and grabbed her phone before she made the call to Kazuma. Unlike Sugiestu, she didn't want to chance Kizashi finding out that his daughter's friend was kidnapped.

An irritating vibration near his bed had Sasori up in an instant, glaring at the device responsible for producing the noise. Annoyance contorted his usual expressionless mask as he answered the phone, not even bothering to see who was calling.

"What the hell is it?"

"Hmm, if this is what it's going to be like when I wake up next to you, I might have to rethink this entire marriage."

Amber eyes widened in response as he registered who exactly had called him. The irritation he felt early was replaced by a fluttering in his stomach as he took in Sakura's voice. It was interesting to hear the teasing tone from her.

"I wouldn't use that tone on you."

His soft admission had Sakura chuckling, which in turn brought a smile to his face, however that was quickly interrupted as other voices could be heard in the background. Specifically two voices admonishing someone to not flirt.

"...Overbearing jerks...although it would be interesting to continue with this conversation, I called you for an entirely different matter. My friend was kidnapped and I believe you would know where to find her."

The serious tone in which Sakura spoke had him alert. Who would be idiotic enough to kidnapped Sakura's friend unless they were trying to kidnap her...but that would be stupid. No one would mess with Kizashi's daughter...but...Sasori groaned before he responded with " It was Orochimaru's old gang."

"Glad you could put the pieces together. Now I want their location and I assume they would've called Kazuma by now."

Sasori smirked in response to the compliment as miniscule as it was. "Let me see what I can do. I will call you back in a bit." With a click Sasori quickly got up and dressed before heading over to the main house where Kazuma resided. Running a hand through his unruly hair, he barely looked at the men stationed in front of the back entrance before entering. In a few strides, he was in front of Kazuma's room, poised to enter when he heard a distinct yell.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Sakura was right in assuming they would call Kazuma. With an amused smirk, Sasori entered and was greeted by the sight of a pissed off Kazuma lighting a cigarette. A sound could be heard from the adjourning bedroom and Sasori only had to take in the sight of a half dressed Kazuma to figure out what he was doing.

"You imbeciles! Where are you right now? I swear if this engagement is jeopardize because of your stupidity I will kill you myself!"

Sasori grimaced as the phone was slammed against the table before Kazuma turned to look at him.

"What are you doing here?" The anger was evident and had Sasori mentally cringing before steeling himself to face Kazuma.

"I received a call from Sakura saying her best friend was kidnapped. She had assumed it was because of Orochimaru's old gang and wanted their location. Seeing how you have just spoken to them, where are they?"

A calculating expression appeared on Kazuma's face as he thought of how he could use this to his advantage. If he sent Sasori to retrieve the girl, then maybe she would warm up to him and the engagement would commence, but...he recalled the little scene she had made in front of the other heads. Of course it irritated him, but he must admit it was enticing to see a beautiful female stand up to him. It would make it all that much sweeter to force her to submit to him. A malicious grin replaced the previous expression as he could picture Sakura begging him. If he couldn't have the girl, he could at least make her beg him for the information.

Sasori watched the emotion that had flitted through Kazuma's face and he had a strange sensation of fear trickle down his spine. He didn't want to imagine what Kazuma would try to make Sakura do in order to relinquish the location of the idiots. Luckily, he was able to see the address that Kazuma had written down. Deciding it best to tell Sakura now before Kazuma called her, Sasori turned to leave but was halted by Kazuma's voice.

"Where do you think you are going? You are not allowed to leave until after I have spoken with Sakura. As a matter of fact, use your phone to call her now."

Dread filled Sasori as he quickly flitted through the keyboard and sent the address to Sakura. Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed the number before putting it on speaker for Kazuma.

"Sasori?"

Kazuma smirked at the sound of the girl's voice. Oh it would make it all that much better to hear her beg him.

"Sorry to disappoint, Sakura but this is Kazuma. I hear one of your friends was kidnapped and you need my...assistance?"

Silence was the only response he received until Sakura spoke, this time her tone was frigid, no sense of warmth that Sasori had heard when he had spoken to her earlier.

"Kazuma, where is Sasori?"

"I'm offended Sakura, is there an issue with speaking to me? After all I am the one who knows the location not Sasori."

"And what is it exactly that you want Kazuma?"

"It's quite simple really, beg me for the information."

Once again silence on the other end before laughter could be heard. This caused Kazuma to stop mid smoke and turn to look at the phone in disbelief.

"You really think I would sink so low as to beg you for information? You do forget Kazuma, the Haruno group is still the top yakuza gang out there. I don't need your help, I was only offering a means to reconcile about what had occurred earlier, but seeing how your miniscule male pride prevents you from doing so, I would be more than happy to end this conversation now. My men have already found out their location. Thank you though, you have confirmed my suspicion that a marriage is unnecessary, due to the obvious lack of honor. "

By now, Kazuma's face was slowly becoming an interesting shade of red as he listened to the girl's response. Previous thoughts of having her beg him flew out the window as he grabbed the phone.

"You listen to me little girl. Kizashi and I have a contract. If you do not marry Sasori, the entire Haruno group will be under my control!"

"Don't test me Kazuma. Even if you have control of the Haruno group, do you really think the men would follow you? Just try and see who they would turn to, a man who will go to whatever means necessary or a man who has maintained his honor and not once mistreated anyone in the group. Remember this Kazuma, you need me but I do not need you!"

With that, all Kazuma heard was the sound of a dial tone. The minx had just hung up on him and declared him useless! How dare she?! Throwing the phone against the desk, Kazuma turned to face Sasori whose face was schooled into a perfect expressionless mask.

"How is it that she found out the location, Sasori?"

"I believed she just told you that her men found out themselves, on their own. She was correct in saying the Haruno group does not need our help."

"Oh really, then why is it your phone shows a text message was sent to Sakura, minutes before I spoke to her?"

Mentally Sasori was cursing himself for not deleting the message after he had sent it. Refusing to demonstrate any fear, he remained calm.

"Not even bothering to admit it when you've been caught red-handed? It seems you have forgotten that the lives of your comrades are still in my hands. As a matter of fact, let's go see them."

In an instant, Kazuma was dragging Sasori out of the room, as the two made their way over to the area where Kazuma had confined Sasori's men. With a quick shove, Sasori was pushed into the room and was shocked to see his men all strung up from the ceiling. Their eyes were bound, and mouths were gagged. Their bodies were littered with scars, some fresh and bleeding. Just as one of Kazuma's men prepared another assault on his comrade's body, Sasori launched himself against him, slamming him against the wall.

"Raise your hand against them again and I will kill you." Anger was burning in Sasori's eyes as he faced the man before him.

"He was just following orders Sasori. You should remember that each of your actions against me results in more punishment for your men."

With that a muffled scream was heard, forcing Sasori to turn around and see Kazuma stab one of his men in the abdomen. Just as Kazuma proceeded to repeat his action, Sasori yelled for him to stop.

"Please...stop."

Kazuma watched Sasori with a gleam in his eye. "You want me to stop yet you had no problem disobeying me earlier. That requires punishment." With practiced ease, Kazuma swiftly slit one of the men's throat as Sasori watched on in horror. Kazuma grimaced as he flicked the blood off the blade before turning to leave Sasori.

"Let's go Seito, leave him be. I want you to clear out that body later. " Just as Kazuma was about to leave the room, he glanced at Sasori, a wicked smirk on his face.

"Remember Sasori, you belong to me."

Sakura glared at the phone before turning to the guys behind her. It was obvious that they had heard everything and she could feel the irritation radiating off Kakashi and Sasuke. Shaking her head she turned and slowly made her way over to her room.

"Get everything ready, we are going after Ino. Kakashi did you bring my tanto?"

At that question, Sasuke's eyes widened in response before narrowing and focusing on Sakura. "Your

tanto?"

"You don't really think I would sit around and wait for you to go rescue Ino, do you? I am more than capable of handling myself and I will be the only one to go in to greet the idiots."

"You are not going alone." Kakashi's tone left no room for argument which in turn made Sakura sigh in response.

"I know that, you guys will be stationed outside. You don't really think that I would be dumb enough to go without back up and Kakashi...do you not have fate in me?" The way in which the question was poised had Kakashi gulping. He knew he was treading on dangerous waters and decided it was best to just let it go.

"Alright."

Sakura flashed a smile in Kakashi's direction before continuing her journey to her room. The sound of the door closing was quickly replaced by Asuma's laughter.

"You weren't going to win that argument, Kakashi."

"Shut it Asuma." This was delivered in a bored tone, but it was evident that anger was clear in his single gray eye. Deciding it would be best to leave it be, Asuma walked over to the window and light a cigarette.

"Well, it's been awhile since I've seen Sakura fight. Has she been training ever since..."

"Yes I have and no smoking in my house." Sheepishly Asuma paused in his attempt to take a drag from his cigarette. Quickly he put it out before turning to look at Sakura who had changed into a pair of black fitted jeans and a tight red tank top with the Haruno symbol in the back. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a pair of fighting gloves adorned her hands.

"Give me my tanto Kakashi." A black gloved hand was held out as she awaited Kakashi to comply to her request. Soon the familiar shape of her tanto was placed in her hand as a small smile formed on her face. It really had been a while since she had a proper fight. With practiced easy, she drew out her blade and went through some basic moves. Satisfied, she sheathe her blade before strapping the tanto to her leg. Sasuke watched in awe at the woman before him. Just moments earlier she appeared to be a delicate angel that could disappear in an instant, but the woman that stood before him was strong, sexy and ready to kick some ass.

"Stop staring and let's go."

"We are screwed." Karin's flat tone only served to irritate Suigetsu. The conversation with Kazuma only resulted in them being yelled at. Their chance of joining the Furido group was shot. Running his fingers through his hair, he turned to examine the now conscious girl. Amusement was evident in her blue eyes. She had awaken around the same time he was getting yelled at by Kazuma. Anger coursed through him as he crouched down to look at her.

"At least she's pretty. I can have some fun with her before Kizashi comes to retrieve her." A lecherous grin appeared on Suigetsu's face as he gently reached out to caress Ino's face. Blue eyes widened in horror as she cringed away from his touch. Just as Suigetsu proceeded to trail his hand a little lower, the sound of a knock interrupted him.

"Who the hell is that?"

Annoyed at the interruption he quickly walked over and checked to see who had the audacity to come over to their territory. He was surprised to see a gorgeous pink haired woman standing outside looking off into the distance.

"Hello there. Are you lost?"

Sakura turned to the direction in which the question was poised. Arching a pink eyebrow, she responded, "I heard you were looking for me. Where is my friend?"

Suigetsu's eyes widened in response as he took in the woman's cloudy eyes.

"Haruno Sakura?"

Impatience marred her face as she gave a curt nod. "Yes, now where is Ino?"

A smirk graced Suigetsu's face. This was a perfect chance to redeem himself.

"She's with me and I must say you interrupted us at such an important moment."

Sakura could hear the underlying message and was mentally visualizing how she would kill this man. Deciding it best to ignore that comment, she crossed her arms in response.

"My how rude of me." Sarcasm dripped from her words which Suigetsu failed to notice.

"That's right, how do you plan to make it up to me?"

Thank goodness Kakashi and Asuma, hell everyone that had come with her were too far away to hear the conversation, but she knew that what she was going to do next was going cause a stir. Hopefully Asuma and Gai could hold them back.

"Hmm...I can think of...a few ways." A flirtatious smile appeared on Sakura's face as she gently leaned forward and brushed against Suigetsu. Instantly rustling could be heard behind her along with a string of muffled curses. Thankfully Suigetsu was too preoccupied with the view before him. A faint blush appeared on his face.

"But, I want Ino back."

"Jugo, bring the girl. Now."

Footsteps could be heard behind the man. Within an instant, a girl was being pushed towards Sakura. Quickly she embraced Ino before gently feeling for the piece of tape that was they had used to stop her from speaking. Brushing against the rough material, Sakura tried to take it off as gently as possible.

"Sakura!

"Ino. Are you okay?"

The blonde haired girl leaned against her in response. Seeing it as the perfect opportunity, Ino whispered in Sakura's ear. "Be careful."

"Always. Just walk straight ahead. Asuma is waiting." With a final squeeze, Sakura pushed the girl behind her and waited until the sound of footsteps faded off in the distance. Turning back to address Suigetsu, a smile once again adorned her face, but this time a wicked gleam could be seen in her eyes.

"Now that I have Ino back, let's have some fun."

With that, Suigetsu smiled as he pulled the girl against him before the trio turned and disappeared into the hideout leaving behind two pair of eyes glaring at that their retreating forms.