"Hold on just a few more seconds, Naruto," Hiroto said, tying the last layer of bandages around the boy's stomach.

Naruto sat silently while Hiroto did his work, staring down at a non-interesting plank of wood inside the small cabin that was their client's new home. Sakura and Sasuke leaned back on the wall opposite of Naruto and Hiroto, both looking as if they were at a loss of what to do. At least Sakura was. She had no idea what was going on, or if her sensei was even safe. But besides that, it seemed that Sasuke was the most troubled by this out of anyone. He stared at the floor like Naruto, though his gaze wasn't empty or lost at all; it was filled with fierceness and anger, the likes of which Sakura hadn't see for a long time.

"Thanks Hiroto," Naruto said to the older man once his wounds were all bandaged up and he had pulled his shirt back over his head. His gaze became fixated on Sasuke, "Hey."

The Uchiha looked up at him apathetically, knowing that the idiot was going to start pummeling him with questions that he couldn't answer without screwing them all over.

Naruto's gaze remained stone-hard, "You know something about where he was taken, don't you?"

Sasuke's gaze narrowed. His prediction was correct, "… I think so," He answered hesitantly, looking back to the floor.

"Well?" Naruto seemed to be getting impatient, "Do you know where?!"

Sasuke brought his head up to glare at his teammate again, "Not exactly, no."

Naruto allowed a frustrated sound to escape from his mouth, making Sasuke even more irritated at him. But it was true; he really had no idea where Orochimaru's hideout was, and even if he did he had no desire to drag the squad there. They wouldn't last two seconds.

"Do you know… Why he was taken?" Sakura asked, taking a more indirect approach than Naruto.

Sasuke closed his eyes momentarily, "Yeah, I do... At least, I get the general picture," Naruto decided to pay attention, "And it's not good. It involves…" He hesitantly started to explain, "Do you guys remember… Orochimaru?"

Sakura clenched her fists a little, memories of Sasuke's mark started to come back to her. How could she ever forget? "Yes… I remember him."

Naruto nodded slowly too, a snarl slowly coming on his face. He already didn't like the turn that this conversation had taken. That bastard almost killed Tsunade; he would never forgive that.

Sasuke paused shortly before continuing, "… He has Kakashi."

A spark of shock was passed around the room, "What?!?!" Naruto sputtered, his voice squeaking a little in apprehension.

"You can't be serious, Sasuke," Sakura said in a hurried whisper. She was usually never one to doubt him, but this was just… Unbelievable. Why would Orochimaru want their sensei?

"It's nothing for me to lie about," Sasuke huffed, closing his eyes, as if he was trying to focus on something.

Naruto had already shot up from his seated position and was now once again staring at an uninteresting spot on the floor; though this time the gaze was more deadly and scrutinizing, "We're going to get him."

The others glanced up at the blond shinobi curiously, "We're going to go get him!" He repeated, more fiercely this time.

"How?" Sakura questioned, "Naruto, we don't even know where Orochimaru's hideout is; if they've gone back there, how are we supposed to follow them?"

"Well we have to do something!" Naruto yelled back in a tone that he never used with Sakura.

"Yelling's not going to help, you idiot," Sasuke replied icily.

"I'm afraid you guys wouldn't stand a chance even if you knew where the hideout was," Hiroto suddenly interjected from his spot on the floor. His expression was a serious calm one that Sasuke usually wore, "You all are quite strong. But L-" He paused momentarily, making Sasuke's eyes narrow, "… Orochimaru… Is unbelievably strong. And his followers are loyal to his every breath. If you were to go to his hideout, you would all likely be killed on the spot."

The silence somehow became more eerie as Hiroto told them this, each of the squad members lowering their eyes to a different spot on the floor, wondering how they would be able to get Kakashi out of Orochimaru's hands.

"We know that," Naruto said after a moment. He turned to Hiroto, "But we can't ignore looking for Kakashi-sensei just because we're afraid of death. He's always putting himself at risk for us, so the least we could do is get him out of there."

A little surprised by Naruto's sudden attitude, Hiroto smiled softly, "Of course…"

Sakura smiled at him too, knowing that what he said was true: "Don't worry Naruto. We'll find a way to get Kakashi-sensei back."

Sasuke suddenly stood up, "Come on. If we're going to do this, we're going to need manpower. What Hiroto said was true: we wouldn't last in there, and we wouldn't be much help to Kakashi if we were dead," He made for the door, "We have to go back to Konoha; fast!"

Everyone nodded and immediately followed Sasuke out. Sakura looked back to see Hiroto following them, "Hiroto? You don't have to come with us. The mission is finished; you're safe. There's no reason to put yourself at risk again."

The man shook his head, "It's partially my fault that Kakashi was captured. It would be cowardly of me to stay behind."

Naruto flashed a wide grin back at him, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

……………………………………………………

Kakashi's eyes opened blearily. Immediately noticing the lack of movement he got from his arms and legs, the man ventured a guess that he was strapped to a wall… A stone wall. The restraints that held his wrists and feet firmly to the wall were solid iron.

As his eyes refocused, he started to scan the area around him, looking for familiar objects or sights. Of course, he could place no familiarity on anything surrounding him, except the fact, that he was being held prisoner; that was familiar to Kakashi. It was a simple cell with stone walls behind metal bars with sparse torches lighting the hallway beyond. Yes, this situation seemed quite familiar.

The next thing to hit Kakashi was unexpected exhaust. Almost every portion of his body felt stiff and sore, like he had just done the most draining workout he could think of twice. That fact alone worried him. Thinking back, the last thing the Copy Ninja could remember was feeling sheer hatred towards Kenshin and a searing pain that made him feel like he'd been doused in flames. His eyes narrowed as his thoughts brought him back to the damned mark on his neck.

"It must have been the curse mark…" Kakashi thought to himself, "Kenshin WAS just luring me into using my Sharingan," He sighed softly, "Well; I guess now we know what happens when I use it…"

With that last 'we', Kakashi's thoughts immediately went to his squad. His situation definitely put a huge stress on their mission, but he hoped that they had made it to Hiroto's house… Maybe they could be safe there for a while. But were they alright?? A sharp stab of guilt pierced him as he thought back to the fight and the injuries they sustained. Naruto and Sasuke's conditions were getting to the point of being fatal. Kakashi swallowed the lump in his throat.

He had to get back to them soon.

Once again he looked around the room, searching for any means of escape from wherever he was being held, "Nowhere but the entrance," He thought wearily.

Kakashi actually thought about trying to snap off the iron restraints using chakra, but his exhaustion had also taken his toll on the chakra he could use. He found it rather strange, considering the only chakra he had used was for one Chidori. In fact, this whole fatigued state was one big question to him. Did the curse mark really take that much of his stamina?

Suddenly he heard the light tapping of footsteps from beyond his cage and lifted his head warily. A silhouetted figure opened the door of the bars and stepped inside. Kakashi could see a long and satisfied smirk cross this person's features. The light hit them when they were only a few feet away from Kakashi.

"So nice to see you alive… Kakashi."

The Copy Ninja's eyes narrowed to slits. He spat the name: "Orochimaru…"

The Snake-Sannin chuckled, "Kenshin has told me that you've advanced very quickly," His sickly yellow eyes shimmered in the available torchlight, "Let's see if you're ready to be a good little boy."

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay; I really wanted to post this sooner, but I kept on getting distracted with other things… -.-' (Though I really need to start focusing on other projects too. XP I can't help it; I love writing this story)

For this one, it's kind of a pretense to what everyone is going to be doing in the next few chapters. Squad Seven (plus Hiroto) is heading back to the Leaf Village for reinforcements and Kakashi… Well, I'll just leave the meaning of Orochimaru's last words to you! ^^

I hope you guys like this one! These reviews are some of the nicest I've ever gotten!! :)