Flaming Heart

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

Author's Note: Yay another Update! I got excited with your wonderful reviews so I decided to add the 5th chapter. I'm kind of skeptical about this chapter. I hope everything makes sense and there aren't so many typos. I keep looking for them but a few always seem to escape me. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for reading!

Sakura suddenly found herself in an up right position. She was in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, trembling and didn't know why. All she knew is that she was sitting in something fragile, as if an improvised seat, or bed. She couldn't really tell because of the darkness around and of her blurred vision. The kunoichi knew one thing though, they had been captured and she was now in some stinky dark cell.

She brought her hands to cover her face and shook her head shrugging the cell thoughts away. She focused on her dream. It was not the first time she had the same dream. She had been having them ever since she found herself back in the past with a young irritating, arrogant, bastard version of Kakashi-sensei.

The pink-haired girl heard a long exasperated sigh not too far from where she was sitting and tried to focus her hearing. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she clearly indentified the signs of her condition.

Blurred vision, soared muscles, bad hearing… she was on effect of powerful drugs.

"Owh," she whispered quite displeased and clearly annoyed with her current situation.

She had a gigantic headache and she could not think clearly. She simply closed her eyes and decided to wait for the drugs effects to wear off.

Meanwhile, just mere meters away from her, a spiky silver-haired nin eyed his surroundings. He could see clearly through the tick darkness with his red-eye. He spotted the pink-haired girl right next to his cell.

She had woken up quite agitated and short of breath. Kakashi arched an eyebrow at her worried features. It intrigued him. He suddenly felt the need to know what she had dreamed about.

He sighed once again and saw her move, she was aware her surroundings but she seemed not to know where the sound had come from. Kakashi frowned as the memories of what had happened came to him at once.

Her monstrous strength… the green chakra.

A medic-nin. By Kami, couldn't things get weirder? He would have to find a way out and immediately report to Minato-sensei.

Kakashi sighed, and moved closer to the other cell. His both hands clasped around the cell bars.

Sakura groggily glanced at him warily, and quickly tried to step back.

"It's me. Kakashi," he said as he stared directly at her confused green eyes.

"Prove it," she said as she tried to focus her blurred vision on his silhouette.

Kakashi shook his head irritably, his spiky silver-haired moving as he stood up. Carefully, he calculated the width of the cell. "It's six by six." He mumbled to himself, but she heard him.

"By Kami! Kakashi can count! That must count as a proof," Sakura said as she spotted his silver-hair and his dark mask.

She thanked all the Gods that her vision was now returning to normality.

Kakashi scowled. "Shut up Haruno. Now, do you remember what happened? I'm drawing a blank. Explosion and then, nothing."

"And here I thought you wanted me to shut up."

"Out with it Haruno!"

Sakura sighed melodramatically. "Well, if you insist. Actually, I don't remember much either."

"Great. Just great." Kakashi replied as he started to walk back and forth in his cell.

Sakura slowly turned around, her eyes adjusting more and more to the darkness. Her stomach revolved weirdly and she felt slightly dizzy as she noticed it.

"Kakashi?" Sakura voice sounded strange to her own ears as she softly whispered his name.

Kakashi stopped to look at her wonderingly. Sakura noticed his activated sharingan and remained quiet as looked directly at his red eye.

"Kakashi…Where's Rin?"

His both eyes widened and he felt as if he had been kicked on his stomach, hard. His senses were completely awoken as he replayed the simple question on his mind.

He ran a trembling hand through his hair and started to walk back and forth again, not offering the pink-haired girl an answer for she did not need one.

Sakura swallowed dry as she watched her future sensei. He seemed troubled; in fact he to be panicking and desperate. The kunoichi lowered her eyes to the floor.

She needed to think through this.

"Kakashi,"

"What do you want, Haruno?" Came the response, her name nearly spat out as if it were a curse word.

"Look, you're a complete and utter arse and I seriously am starting to despise you." Sakura gave a long-suffering sigh and then continued, ignoring the sputter of indignation.

"Whatever,"

Sakura ignored his displeased grunt, "However, due to these rather… desperate circumstances, and for Rin's sake… we have to call a truce,"

"A truce?" Kakashi repeated as he stared at her as If she was mad.

"Yes, a truce, does your feeble brain comprehend that word?"

Kakashi scowled at her form, half-hidden in the shadows of the cell.

Slowly she approached the side of his cell and she held to the bars, "We need to work our way through this. Together,"

The masked nin stopped again and stared at her. This time completely bewildered by her words. Nodding slowly he approached her, and he too held on to the bars. Their faces were merely inches away from each other.

"Alright," Kakashi whispered as he held eye contact with the pink-haired girl.

Sakura nodded and forced a smile ignoring the discomforting feeling on her stomach, "How long do you estimate we've been blacked out?" Sakura asked, her face growing serious.

Kakashi regarded her for a few seconds and shook his head, "Dammit, days?! What makes you think we've been out for days?" Kakashi asked now feeling completely stupid.

"Okay, first. I have been drugged and I can't feel any chakra run through me." Sakura eyes furrowed in frustration, "It's as if… as if they have drained it for me in order to keep me from… breaking through these cell doors,"

The silver-haired nin opened his mouth to speak but decided against it.

"So, yeah… and it takes days for the drugs to wear out, and they are at this very moment still wearing out," she whispered as she looked around her trying to see if someone was close. She couldn't hear or see a thing.

"That makes sense," Kakashi agreed, "I only started to feel my chakra return short after you woke up,"

"So… this leads us to question why they haven't come to give us another dosage," Sakura said, her emerald eyes hinting for the obvious answer.

"Rin," Kakashi whispered, his both eyes burned with hatred.

"Hai. We need to find a way out," Sakura said as she stepped back, "here… let me try something,"

Kakashi arched a curious eyebrow as he carefully watched her. Sakura focused her gaze on the steel door. As she inspected it, she could clearly see that the door was massive and that the fact that there was no guards around was quite suspicious.

These guys, whoever brought them there, seemed pretty confident that they would not escape.

Sakura took a deep breath and tried to force chakra to her fists. Nothing. She still couldn't feel a thing.

"Okay, so I can't bring the door down by using force," she told herself as she eyed the door, "Think… Sakura… think,"

She didn't need to think anymore though. Kakashi and Sakura, both froze completely as they heard the door of the cell creak open. They both regarded their own cell doors and Sakura didn't manage to catch her breath as she realized it was her cell door.

"Well, well… Now what do we have here? Awake are you?"

Sakura didn't move as a sudden light filled her and Kakashi cells, causing the figure who had spoken, causing the figure to cast long. There were looming shadows, shadows that hid all his facial features. All features except for the glittering honey eyes. They were filled with something akin to pleasure as they gazed at her.

Sakura shivered in the suddenly frigid air as her mind kindly reminded her that she was out of chakra.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked as he tried to take a better look at the shadowed stranger, "Where's Rin?!"

The stranger let out a light chuckle, "Oh the other girl… let's say she's providing enough entertainment. After all she is a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

Kakashi's hands drenched in anger as fury blurred his vision for a moment before he regained control.

The stranger suddenly came out of the shadows and Sakura emerald eyes widened at the sight of the man's appearance.

He was a monster.

His facial skin seemed to have been burnt and it had ugly and deep scars carved on it. He had no lower lip and he seemed to be trying to grow some hair since there was a very few amount of dark hair on top of his head.

He approached the pink-haired girl and walked in circles, his honey eyes never leaving hers, "I wonder… I wonder what the yellow-flash will offer for his beloved apprentices,"

"You bastard," Kakashi whispered, "Just wait until I'm done with you,"

"Hmm… though I have no idea who you are. My spy had quite hard time finding information about you…" the stranger's hand touched Sakura's cheek and she recoiled at his cold touch.

"Hm… that's because I'm not with them," Sakura said as she stared at the stranger eyes avoiding Kakashi suspicious staring.

"Really now?" the stranger seemed surprised at her disgustful tone of voice.

Sakura said nothing else and kept avoiding Kakashi angry stare.

"Then maybe we can talk privately?" the man asked with a wicked smile on his burnt face. His skin stretched and Sakura tried her best not to make a face.

"Okay, then," Sakura said as the strange offered his hand. She stared at it considering whether or not to take it.

She felt her heart beat increase as she watched her hand reach for the man's. She forced herself to look confident as she walked outside her cell with the stranger man by her side.

"I knew it," Kakashi said as he watched her step outside, "You traitor. I'll make sure I kill you too,"

Sakura didn't respond and merely kept walking, his hatred words sinking down to her empty heart.

"A spy…" the man drawled as he led her through the corridor. Twists and turns were constant and Sakura quickly stopped to keep count.

"Yes a spy," Sakura said as cold as possible, "of the rain country,"

She risked. She kept her face as stern as possible. The man stopped to stare at her.

"Rain country?" he asked quite in shock, "What business you have against Konoha?"

Sakura smiled knowingly, "What business you have against yellow-flash?"

The man let out a dark chuckle causing the hair of her neck to stand up.

"You're a smart one… or a very stupid one," the man commented as they stopped in front of a sturdy door, made of hearty wood and several inches thick, "But if we both have business against Konoha… I ought to think we should gather strengths,"

Sakura smiled graciously as he invited her in.

"How long you've been a spy?" the monstrous man asked her as he walked towards a very old dusted desk.

Sakura quickly took a mental photograph of the office. Her puffy eyes spotted the black headband on the desk. The man noticed her curious eyes and smiled. The pink-haired girl tried as hard not to shiver as he did so. Whenever an emotion crossed the man features, his burnt skin would stretch and she could only imagine how painful it was for him to even talk when he didn't even have part of his lip.

"Curious aren't you," he said with a completely changed voice. It sounded raucous and dangerous.

"Merely trying to understand my situation here," she bluntly said as she stepped forward. Her emerald eyes were now clearly seeing the symbol on his headband.

Earth country, Sakura thought.

She remembered something related to the Earth Country… a war…

"I thought the Earth country had signed a peace contract," Sakura said with a devious smile on her face.

She would have loved to see Tsunade-Shishou face now as she stood there right now.

"Indeed. However, I'm not acting upon direct orders. I just hold a grudge against the Hokage,"

Sakura eyes widened and the man laughed, "Yes… he did this to me. But that's another story. I don't think we have been introduced properly. My name is Tarou,"

He stared at her expectantly.

"Sakura… Sakura Haruno,"

"You have the power to end it anytime soon," the masked man whispered in her ear and she shivered violently against the cold stone wall.

Her brown eyes locked with his absurd blank mask.

The man laughed loudly causing her skin to crawl, "I think you're enjoying this!" he said with a heavy strange accent.

His hand quickly slapped her hard across the cheekbone. Rin coughed blood to the floor and stared back at him.

"Well then… I think I'll get harder on yeh," the man said as he pulled her by her hair towards a wooden chair, "Shall we begin?"

Hours later, warm crimson trickled down her back, coating her hands that were secured behind her. She was on her knees and blood ran down a corner of her mouth as she bit down on to it hard, determined not to scream.

She wouldn't give in… She wouldn't give in… but it hurt… it hurt like hell…

The man was obviously upset by her stubborn manner. By the Gods, the girl was clearly willing not to spill a word. He was feeling rather impressed and rather disconcerted as he kept torturing her.

"Scream for me… Rin,"

The brunette eyes widened at the sound of her name. She bit her lip again, staring ahead with dead, cold eyes.

The man laughed quietly and pulled her up from the wooden chair. Rin tried her best to stay on her feet but her legs were too weak, not able to support her. Her body was a mass of bruising and lacerations that even now continued to ooze. She had a broken arm, a broken rib, and she couldn't see anything a head as her tears mixed with blood blurring her vision.

She heard as she hit the floor, his footsteps walking away from her until they became faint and finally exctint.

A smile played on her features.

She may be bruised beyond limits, she may be on the way to catch her own death, but she wouldn't be beaten.

No.

Never beaten.

Like the last time she got captured. She would never spill a word no matter what.

"Minato!"

The blond turned around to stare at the red-haired girl. She seemed out of breath as she held her arm to his chest and supported herself.

"What is it?" Minato quickly asked as he stared at her. Worry instantly flashed in his blue-eyes.

"It's reports from the water-country," she said as she tried to held her breath.

He waited patiently for her to calm down. His blue eyes fell on her long, luxurious crimson locks which were matted and tangled with dirt and sweat and she pushed it back with an annoyed grumble, "They were last seen crossing the grass country… there was… some sort of explosion… we found Rin's backpack… and your map,"

Kushina finally took her hand away from his chest as he frowned at the news.

"I… I'll go check the area if you want," she volunteered and forced a sympathetic smile.

He shook his head, "I'm going," he said as he turned his back on her.

"Where?" she almost shouted as she ran to catch up with his quick steps, "You cannot leave the village. You're the Hokage," she said as she nodded to herself, "I'm not sure how… but you are the Hokage,"

Minato smiled softly, "And they're my team. Hokage or not,"

Kushina returned his smile, "Well then, who's replacing you while you're gone?"

"That would be me," Jiraiya said as they turned left and faced the white-haired man.

"Why do I have a feeling that when we get back, there will be no Konoha?" Kushina asked while Jiraiya feigned to be hurt by her words. Minato stared at her a smirk adorning his features.

"And who's saying your coming? Shouldn't you be on your way to your village?" he asked as he winked at her.

"Pftt, honestly blondie. Who'll save your ass if I'm not around?" Kushina retorted as she trotted behind him like a lost child.

His heart screamed at him when he saw her injuries, and it felt almost as if himself was inflicted with them as well. Kakashi felt worry, anxiety, relief and a comfortableness that frightened him. She was still alive. He quickly kneeled next to her putting his bloodied kunai aside. He pushed her bloodied hair away from her face and studied her unconscious form.

He fought hard to maintain control of his emotions. Kakashi stared at her unusually silent form. His hands still caressing her hair.

He had been an idiot. Wounding their friendship all these years, in order to try to keep distant from her, because the truth was that he feared moments like the very moment he was facing. He had ruined a friendship that could have grown into great heights, but he squashed it down before it could grow.

All of it… because he had learned the hard way. He knew that shinobi could not maintain solid attachments. It was irrational to do so.

"Rin… please… wake up," he said as he pulled her close to his chest.

Rin stirred slowly, her eyes closed tightly as she stifled a loud moan as the slight movement of her arm brought the sharpest stab of agony through the length of her now fragile body. She lay still for a moment, waiting for the pain to pass. She could hear someone's heavy breathing on her face.

Her body quickly started to shiver rather violently as her heart started to race at an abnormal rate at the thought that he was back. He was back to finish her or worse…

Swallowing dry and what she was sure to be her own blood, she blinked and opened her eyes letting out a sigh of relief as she spotted his shiny silver hair.

Kakashi looked down at her as he quietly ran his fingers through her messy tangled hair.

"K-Ka-kashi-kun," Rin rasped.

Kakashi turned expectantly to her and let out a cry in relief, "Shhh… don't talk," he told her quietly as he tried to figure a way to carry her without inflicting her more pain.

"Kakashi…" she repeated as she forced a smile on her swollen features.

Something inside him stirred as he stared at her smile. How could she smile? How could she smile at him despite everything?

"Here… try to put your arm around my neck," he gently spoke as he stared at her brown orbs.

She shook her head, "Sakura-chan?" she asked quietly when suddenly the door of the room they were at closed behind them. Kakashi was immediately alert and tense.

"Well well… what a surprise," the voice spoke with malice, "Found yourself a new company?"

Kakashi jaw hardened and he laid Rin's head on the floor. He grabbed his kunai and turned around to face the blank masked nin.

"Anything?" Minato asked and the red-haired woman shook her head.

"No. There's no trace of them," she slowly said.

Minato nodded and turned his back on her. He kicked a rock hard which bumped against a burnt tree. The blond man growled in frustration.

They had been searching the forest for hours and there was nothing besides the explosion that could lead them towards them. He sighed as he glanced sourly at the muddy soil beneath him. It had started to rain not too long ago which made it harder for them to track the young nins.

"Don't worry," Kushina said as she crouched on the floor to touch of a small black fabric, "Kakashi is an experienced jounin,"

Minato nodded and stared towards the sky. The rain was obscuring his vision but it somehow soothed his anxiety down.

Kushina eyes stared at the dark piece of cloth. Her red eyebrow furrowed as she focused her chakra on the tip of her fingers. She watched as blue chakra slowly surrounded her fingertips and started to form a single line of blue chakra.

"M..Minato…" she whispered as her eyes widened at the sight of her blue line of chakra. It seemed to be expanding towards north.

Minato quickly turned around. His blue-deep eyes fixed on her petit form.

"You've got a trail," he said as he eyed the thin line of chakra that was heading north.

"Hai,"

It didn't take them too long to realise that the area was under a concealment jutsu. Once Minato broke through the jutsu he found the red-haired Kunoichi next to him jump in excitement, "Look! A fortress!"

"I see…" Minato was completely unmoved by her excitement and gazed at the fortress with determination flashing in his eyes.

"Well! Let's get going," she said with a wide grin as she readied herself to run towards the fortress.

"Wait," he said as he grabbed her wrist, "Look," he pointed with a movement of his head.

Kushina stared at the guards and raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "Eh, are you really going to go all political on them?"

"It depends," Minato mused, a glint of his blue eyes as he stared at the tallest guard, "of your political definition,"

The red-haired girl rolled her eyes as Minato smirk graced his handsome features. They both stared at the five guards that were guarding the main gate.

"We could easily pass through them unnoticed," she whispered. When she received no answer she looked to her left side and realized Minato was long gone.

She glanced forward and groaned loudly as the blond put the last standing guard to sleep.

"Show off!"

Minato chuckled and nodded, "Sorry, I'll leave the next ones for you?" he asked with a smile. His smile was soft and sincere, and Kushina found herself nodding in spite of herself as a faint weird sensation took over her stomach. She looked away from his intense staring and turned her back on him.

By Kami, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't be possible be blushing, could she?

"I can't believe this," Minato voice sounded outrageous and all her previous thoughts including her crimson blush instantly faded away.

"What? What is it?" She asked as she approached the blond-haired who was holding on to something.

"This," he told her as he threw it to her.

Kushina mouth opened in shock at the headband. It was the same headband she had on her head.

Next Chapter Preview!!

"Sakura… Sakura Haruno," Sakura said her name but Tarou didn't quite hear it as a loud bang was heard not too far from them.

"What the-" Tarou didn't have time to finish his sentence as his office door was opened without any ceremony revealing two tall shinobi.

"Someone's here!" one of the shinobi said as he stared at Tarou which features twisted in absolute anger.

Sakura bit her lip as Tarou stood up and walked towards the other two shinobi. His back turned on her. Her rosy lips suddenly curved into a sly smile as she could feel it run through her.

Her chakra.

The pink-haired girl hands turned into fists and Tarou tensed as he could feel her killing instinct.

Sakura quickly launched herself towards him, her punch ready to hit the back of his head when something burned her arm. She quickly withdraw her arm and stared at Tarou who had a satisfied smirk on his features.

"Congratulations, you almost… got me,"

"Hn," Sakura simply said in a cheap imitation of Sasuke's grunt and glared at the man in front of her while the other two shinobi simply stood at the door entrance, staring, and awaiting for orders.