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Chapter 7:The Black Lake.

Kakashi watched Sakura disappear into the room and waited for the door to close behind her. He took another glance at the grating in the bathroom, trying to decide what to do. He hesitantly put a gloved hand on the door handle, mulling over whether he should watch the proceedings through the grate or carry on searching the upper level.

She would be fine. She was a big girl now.

He needed to focus on gathering as much information as possible before they made their escape and if they didn't find what they needed…Well, this mission might just turn out a little bloodier than originally planned.

Tearing his eyes away, he stalked silently down the corridor past the room Sakura had entered and began exploring the other chambers. Thankfully, the doors slid open easily on well-oiled hinges and he slipped inside the rooms unseen and unheard. The chambers on this level were quite unremarkable and his thoughts traveled down to Sai and Naruto, hoping that they had found something more interesting. Persistent nags and worries surfaced to his mind. It had been quite some time since he had worked closely with anyone else, having taken to requesting solo missions over that last few months. He knew they were capable. Yes, they were more than capable.

How was Sakura doing? How long had he been away from her? Five minutes? Ten? He chastised himself for being so protective, but what if she couldn't do it? What if they saw through the technique and hurt her? Impossible. It was a strong technique, the strongest. She would easily be a match for them...If she had her chakra, which she didn't, he reminded himself. And the two girls in the room seemed furious, their chakra signatures strong and complex. No, she wasn't a little girl. She was nearly eighteen. He'd been an ANBU captain well before that, but still…

He was about to turn and make his way back to the bathroom to wait for Sakura when his eye caught sight of a small bronze plaque on one of the otherwise uniform wooden doors. He traced his fingers over the engraved orchid. His curiosity suddenly spiked and he pushed his way into the room. Pulling the door closed behind him, he flicked on the light.

The hall he had entered mirrored itself almost perfectly: Wooden pigeonholes faced each other from opposite sides. Further down, wooden slatted holsters were drilled into the wall. Clothes rails and lockers stretched down to the furthest end. Along the back wall were more pigeonholes. On one half of the room, the lockers, railings, and cabinets stood empty, gathering dust, but on the other side the pigeonholes were stuffed full of scrolls, containers of flammable liquid, coils of cutting wire, and kunai. Shurikens were piled high in boxes and wicked looking katana were held in the wooden holsters. Jars of smoke pellets and grenades were stuffed into larger cubbyholes. Barrels of gunpowder were stacked next to large bamboo canons. Leafy piles of exploding tags sat amongst wired charges. Remnants of combat uniforms hung discarded from metal hangers at the far end.

He fingered the fabric of a woolen cloak that hung alone on a bent railing and stooped down to pull out a large wooden tray. Battered wrist guards with leather trim lay strewn at the bottom. He reached in, pulling out a porcelain animal mask which had a crack running down its length. Its red cat markings were worn and faded. The design itself looked a little outdated.

A feeling of dread washed over him as he stared over to the emptier side of the room. How long ago had this been full? Was all this stuff coming from Konoha? There was enough ammunition here to wipe Konoha's presence from the face of the planet. The base had the capacity to hold a hundred or more soldiers from what he'd seen alone, but it was unusually empty.

Pakkun only sensed a handful of people in the actual base, but reported a vaster number had been through here recently…

Shit. They'd been raising an army, but where is it?

The cold water frothed and foamed around Naruto's ankles, trying to drag him off balance as he braced himself for the next torrent that slammed this time into his stomach. The pressure winded him, knocking him forward onto his knees. Sodden pieces of paper clung to his shoulders and he pulled himself up once again to face his attacker, a tall man with blunt, even features. Books and small scrolls bounced around on the surface of the now calf deep liquid as one by one Naruto's clones were thrown against the walls, their bodies bursting into thick, smoky clouds.

Gathering strength into his legs, Naruto leaped across the room and onto a solid, oak table. His eyes searched the room for Sai, but he couldn't distinguish anything human shaped in the turbulent eddies swirling around him. He leaped once again as another jet snaked at an alarming speed towards him. It surged straight into the overhead lighting, causing the hinges to snap under the force. The fiber optic tubes shattered and swung violently on long, thick wires and sent a fine rain of blue sparks showering down around them.

Nothing had prepared Toro for the shock he had received when stumbling upon the young man standing brazenly in the middle of the library, staring up at the attack plans, talking to himself. Initially, it had surprised him that the boy had got all the way down here without being caught, but then again, the base was largely deserted.

He could have sworn he'd heard another voice coming from inside the room, but when he'd entered he had only seen the one before him who stuck out like a sore thumb in a black and bright orange outfit. It had taken several seconds for him to notice the shadow clones milling about in the aisles, tearing out files and scrolls with no consideration to the order. It had taken him weeks to painstakingly order and catalog the wealth of information that had accumulated over the last six months, and with new files coming in all the time, he'd be damned if some little idiot was going to mess up all his hard work.

His first two attacks had landed with unrivalled precision and he could not contain his gleeful chuckle as the teen choked up water, clutching his stomach in agony. Now as the lights hummed and strobed around him, he raised his hands once again, about to send a wall of water at his victim's exposed body, certain that the force would crush him. He hesitated briefly, knowing that he should spare the boy's life so that he could be taken upstairs to Kawa to be tortured and questioned.

He revised the strength of his technique, angling his hands lower. The pressure built up in his palms, the surface of the pooling water on the floor starting to drag up into a wave, foam and bubbles forming a spewing crown along its edge. The lights flickered again, plunging the room into blackness for a split second only to jump back into life, revealing an empty space where his victim had been. He swore aloud in frustration as the technique dispersed and he began searching slowly and systematically the book filled aisles.

Naruto pulled himself up a cast iron stepladder and onto the top of one large, wooden bookshelf. Flattening himself as much as possible, he edged along the smooth surface on his stomach.

"Where are you, you little fucker?!"

Naruto could hear him sloshing through the water below, checking each aisle, slowly coming closer and closer to finding his hiding space.

"Come on out! I just want to chat!" The man shouted, followed by his manic laughter. His breathing came in ragged bursts as he walked just feet from where Naruto lay.

Naruto needed a plan and fast. His initial reaction had been to just get out of the water and away from the sparking electricity, but this room was cluttered and cramped. He was a power fighter, he needed space to manoeuvre. He wouldn't have time to use the Rasengan. His hands moved slowly to his thigh as he looped his index finger into the handle of a kunai, every nerve on edge as he prepared for the next attack. An abrupt crash from in front of him drew his attention and soon the enemy was dragging himself through the water towards the center of the room.

"I can hear you!" the man called, moving further and further away from Naruto's prone position.

Naruto allowed himself a small sigh of relief and wiped away the line of perspiration that clung to his top lip.

Small black flashes.

Movement on the lower shelves opposite Naruto grabbed his attention, snapping his gaze around to stare down at the darkened room around him. The fitful flickering of the broken lighting lit up the room at irregular intervals with a harsh, blue brightness, revealing a swarming mass of little black bodies that crept and scuttled along the shelving, following after the man.

When a fat, black rat pushed past Naruto's chin, he covered his mouth to hold back a grunt of repulsion as its hairy little body wriggled over the edge, landing with a quiet splash into the flood, the water around it billowing into clouds of dark black.

"You can't hide forever, coward!"

Soon, countless rats were lining the edges of the shelving, their haunches quivering in excitement, the wiry hairs down their backs standing erect with anticipation. Long, yellowed incisors working rhythmically up and down, emitting small low-pitched clicks similar to the busy chattering of cicadas.

The faint sound had not gone unnoticed by the enemy either who was instantly more alert. He turned on the spot, slowly taking up a guarded offensive position.

Climbing over each other and down the wooden frames, the rats slipped into the water. Clouds of dark murky colour spread with them as they swarmed forward in a uniform triangular formation, only their blunt heads visible above the water, edging closer and closer to the unsuspecting man who was now shouting goading comments in the centre of the room, his eyes darting back and forth as he scanned the bookshelves. They were completely surrounding him, glinting eyes barely visible in the black lake of the room.

Naruto watched grimly, finally understanding what was about to happen. For a second, his and the ninja's eyes met, the ninja giving out a low grunt of triumph as he began to form hand seals, but his face fell from a satisfied smirk to dark confusion when his orange clad opponent did nothing to defend himself. He just lay atop the shelving, shaking his head sadly.

Knee deep in the water, the ninja hadn't noticed as the black film started to crawl up his legs, coiling slowly upwards to his waist. His face contorted into panic when he realized he couldn't move them. His arms thrashed violently until they, too, were restrained by thick, oily tendrils. He started to wail in terror as the ink oozing up around his neck and ears bubbled back into the form of screaming rodents, biting and clawing at his face. He tried in vain to force his mouth closed as the bristly black body of a rat pushed its way into his mouth, its haunches wriggling and straining with the effort. The rats' tiny claws scratched deeply as they fought for purchase, climbing over each other and forcing their way into his mouth, causing him to choke and splutter. His eyes bulged dangerously as the realization of his mistake gripped him. His chest heaved and jerked spasmodically as he tried to rid his lungs from the thick, black liquid.

The black water hissed and bubbled around him as first a head and then a torso began to rise slowly out of the water in front of him. The swathe of black retreated from the corners of the room as the ink was pulled up into its new form. The attacker's eyes widened as Sai emerged from the black mass, his hand reaching onto his shoulder to grip the worn handle of his katana. With one fluid motion, it was pulled from its sheath and plunged quickly up underneath the man's ribcage. There was a sickening crack as Sai twisted the blade, forcing the sharp metal through the man's sternum, slicing neatly through organs and muscle tissue as it tore before exploding violently out of the man's chest cavity. A dark mixture of ink and blood dribbled down the dead man's chin and landed in heavy droplets on the surface of the water. His body slumped slowly down and disappeared beneath the water.

Sai's head turned in Naruto's direction, his pale, still face patterned with wet splatters of bright crimson.

"Running and hiding…You pussy."

A wide, fake, yet perfect smile beamed up at Naruto and a twinkle of satisfaction danced somewhere behind Sai's eyes.

Naruto shuddered.

"Sai – You bastard!!! It was my plan all along to distract him so you could take the advantage!" he exclaimed, clearly lying.

Sakura entered the room, striding purposefully over to the table in the centre, deliberately meeting the eyes of each of the two men in turn.

"Manami." said the more relaxed of the two men with an easy smile. He winked at her devilishly as she moved closer.

He was good looking she supposed and looked young, probably in his early twenties. He had a thick head of hair that was dishevelled and curled slightly around his ears, a thin line of stubble shadowed his chin, and his eyes were deep set and dark.

The other man opposite her looked stern and didn't meet her gaze with the same warmth. He nodded once in greeting before turning back to the papers littering the table in front of him.

She turned her attention back to the man beside her who calmly placed a hand on her hip, rubbing his thumb against her affectionately. She thought she'd feel revulsion and searing hatred at being manhandled the same way the other girls in the room had been, but instead, she just felt the soft flutter of arousal warming her lower abdomen. A name floated up into her conscious mind from somewhere below the surface.

"Kobushi," she said teasingly, "It's been a while." Her voice came forward throaty and wantonly as she pushed her hip further into the warm touch of his hand. Part of her was reeling, her fists tightened automatically in annoyance. Her better senses screamed at her to maintain a distance, but the other foreign part of her moved her forward, itching for the contact. She went with it, hoping the strange instincts would see her through this exchange.

"How did it go, precious? Did you get what we needed?" he cooed against her throat.

"Of course." she purred back as he nipped and sucked at her collarbone. Her focus was slipping and she could feel it.

"You're late. That information is useless to us now. They left over twenty-four hours ago." the other man growled. His stare was hard, lacking of affection and his voice was monotone, unwelcoming.

"Don't fucking start with me!" she snapped with courage she didn't feel. "I ran into trouble on the way back! I got here as soon as I could!"

Sakura had to say that the use of profanity was quite liberating and made a mental note to employ a little more swearing into her general conversation when she got back to Konoha. It seemed to shut people up. She unhooked the satchel from her shoulder and pulled out the heavy contents, chucking it on the table so that it slid across the surface. Files and papers fanned out towards the stern looking man who she seemed to "remember" was called Kawa. A subconscious shudder ran through her body. It seemed even Manami had a dislike for the man.

"So how many do we have left here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice casual.

"Five." he said not looking up.

"Five?" She looked around the room, noting the two girls who sat in the corner, tuning their instruments on the satin pillows. That was four…

"That barbaric excuse for a librarian just went to retrieve a file for me. He should have been back by now though." mused Kobushi, stroking her bottom thoughtfully. "Maybe I should send someone down to get him. Arashi?" he gestured lazily at one of the girls who stood up immediately, moving gracefully towards the door.

Damn it! Naruto and Sai were down there…

"Wait!" Sakura said a little too quickly "…err, I've only just got back…and I...was hoping that the girls could play a little song to relax me." she smiled warmly, stroking a hand through Kobushi's hair.

"Play your own song, bitch." the girl called Arashi spat.

"No, no. Sounds like a good idea." Kobushi said with a slight smile.

With a low grunt, Arashi moved back across the room once again, picking up the wooden yamatogoto and began to play. Her eyes didn't leave Sakura, however, and Sakura felt a hot nervousness tighten around her neck under the dark scrutiny.

A shift by her side bought her attention back to Kobushi who had stood up and was moving away from her.

I have to buy them more time…

She caught his wrist a little too hard, but he didn't try to remove it. He just looked at her with an expression of amusement playing across his dark, handsome features.

"Manami, what are you doing?"

"Erm…S-stay." she bit out.

The music stopped abruptly and now all the focus in the room was on her. This was starting to go horribly wrong.

"What is wrong with you? I have to get that file." His tone had lowered, his brow creased in confusion, bordering on suspicion.

"Dance with me." It was quiet, unconfident, but they needed more time…

"You're acting strange…"

"I said dance with me!"

She surprised herself with the volume of her voice. It was a statement, not a request.

When his puzzled expression didn't soften, she felt she had no choice. Moving her feet slowly on the spot, she shuffled to and fro, adding a provocative sway to her hips once she had found a rhythm.

He stopped moving. Thankfully, she almost had his concentration. He lifted his hand, flicking it in Arashi's direction and with a roll of her eyes she started plucking at the instrument, building a melody for Sakura to follow.

His eyes ran up and down her body as she moved and she felt a bizarre rush of excitement spark through her under his intense gaze. She lifted her arms above her head, swaying along with the rhythm, dragging one hand purposefully down her neck, letting her slender fingers trace over the silky kimono fabric and over the soft curve of her breast.

One corner of his mouth quirked up into a lopsided smile, the desire evident in his eyes. He sunk back into the chair, crossing his arms in front of him.

Kawa looked up from his files and tapped the pencil against the desk impatiently.

"Some of us are trying to work here." he growled through clenched teeth.

"Oh, shut up, Kawa. Let the girls have their fun." Kobushi chuckled in good humour. "Hey, Haruka! Join in!"

The girl who had served the tea earlier stood slowly from her reclining position and moved silently over to Sakura. Soft, elegant hands reached around Sakura's waist and she felt herself stiffen in surprise. The hands began to move in long, lazy circles in time with the music, moving over Sakura's tight abdomen with feather-like touches. The pressure of hips against her buttocks and the placement of the girl's chin on her shoulder sent a wave of embarrassment into her cheeks. She could feel Haruka's breasts brush against her shoulder blades and the girl's hot breath against the back of her neck cause the tiny hairs below her hairline to prickle.

What the hell was going on? Did they make a habit of this in here? The proximity to this other girl and the overly familiar way she was being touched sent a wave of revulsion running through her, but at the same time if she closed her eyes and focused on the fact that it was someone else…someone male touching her, it almost felt good. It was kind of reassuring when she was absolutely terrified. If she just pretended it was someone she trusted, someone safe, then she could get through this. She could imagine she was back in Konoha and this was at some party and she'd had had too much to drink and was dancing provocatively with some equally drunk boy who she'd known for ages. Yes, these hands weren't female, they were large and calloused and male…and those weren't breasts smashed into her back, they were the large padded pockets of a jounin vest…and it wasn't long, silky, feminine hair tickling her arm. It was gravity defying, scruffy, silver hair that belonged to…

Where the hell did that come from?!

One hand reached down, gripping her hip and the other snaked up her arm. The light scratch of fingernails against her skin caused Sakura to involuntarily shudder.

Yup, definitely female…After her previous thoughts, in a strange way that was suddenly more comforting.

Gripping both her wrists, the girl spun her around expertly so that they now stood face to face. An exposed bare thigh forced its way between Sakura's legs, causing her to bend her knees slightly to maintain balance. Their pelvises pushed together so that Sakura was almost seated atop the other girl who led them into a slow, sensual sway. Petite hands continued to roam around Sakura's body, one finding the small of her back to support her.

Sakura's breath was deepening as the music seemed to fade in and out of existence. She could feel herself getting carried away with the moment, a low heat simmering away at where the girl was making contact with the juncture between her legs. Whether the arousal was for her dancing companion or for the hungry gaze that bore into her back, she could not decide. Her body was betraying her. She needed to snap out of this. The unfolding events were leaps and bounds outside of Sakura's comfort zone, but the foreign tug of familiarity let her know that for Manami, at least, this was pretty normal.

Who were these girls? How could they be so comfortable with behaving this way?

Those thoughts were pushed brutally aside by the hot nipping at her exposed collarbone, the girl's tongue caressing her throat insistently, leaving fine, wet trails across her pale skin. Sakura unconsciously threw her head back, allowing the girl better access, a throaty moan escaping her lips. The soft chuckle behind her forced her to lazily open her eyes to look at Kobushi from upside-down.

"Kiss her." he said in a husky low growl, his large, rough hands rubbing up and down her thighs.

Kiss her?! Kiss another woman?!

For the sake of buying her teammates even the smallest amount of time she knew she would do it. As inexperienced as she was in areas beyond a quick grope and a couple of near misses in the drunken sex department, Sakura knew one thing: She was an excellent kisser.

Okay. I can do this. All those kunoichi classes won't be for nothing.

So tilting her head back up, she fisted a hand into the hair of her companion and bought their mouths together with crushing force.

The first thing to be said about kissing another woman was the smell: Sweet, light, and delicate. With men it was all spices and pungent earthy tones, which Sakura loved…but this? Well, it was different. Then, there was the softness. The pink lips of her companion were springy and warm and strangely inviting. Probably the biggest difference lay in the lack of stubble. The silky smoothness of the girl's chin was, for lack of a better word, pleasant. When she felt her companion respond in full, her tongue ghosting across Sakura's own, it was, to be honest, quite refreshing. In her past experience of kissing boys, there always seemed to be an underlying battle of the sexes going on of who was in charge and who was the boss, but here it was so strangely equal, almost mechanical, but at the same time still arousing. And what was more exciting was the sense of empowerment that ran through her, knowing that the man behind her fucking loved it.

But then Kawa spoke up.

"That's enough." His voice was flat, unemotional and commanding.

His far more relaxed companion gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes at his spoilsport companion before addressing the girls in front of him.

"Ladies, as much as I would love to partake in this beautiful exchange, I really must get some work done." he said in a regretful tone.

The music stopped abruptly.

Sakura felt the body of the girl stiffen beneath her. Her eyes were now devoid of expression when they met Sakura's, maybe even a hint of hostility gleamed somewhere behind them. How was that possible? Switching from physical attraction to complete indifference, even dislike? It made Sakura uncomfortable and on edge. She detangled herself from the flesh and silk she was caught up in, moving away awkwardly and tucking a strand of long, dark hair behind her ear. She kicked herself at the display of her own body language, but it had seemed to go unnoticed.

"I-If there's nothing else you want with me, I'm going to go have a lie down. I'm tired after my mission." She exaggerated a yawn to add credibility to that statement.

"You know better than to ask permission." Kawa said, not looking up from his papers.

"I'll be coming to find you soon, so don't stray too far…" Kobushi said with a grin.

Smiling back in return, she moved to the door, looking back at the girl Haruka who now sat back on the satin pillows, looking uninterested and bored. Nodding once, she opened the door and stepped back into the corridor. Inwardly she swore. That had been relatively useless, but hopefully she had made enough time for her companions to find what they needed to. Now she just needed to find Kakashi and the boys and get the hell out of here.