Sorry about the delay! Work has been brutal. I've only had 1 day off in the past four weeks! Hopefully (fingers crossed) things will go back to normal and I can pump out chapters more regularly. Enjoy!

Also, this chapter is more Kakashi-centric than usual. Graphic violence ahead.

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You Gotta Go There To Come Back

Chapter 7: Mercy

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Time stands too still

Left you there for the kill

But this hope that sorrow bleeds

Leaves a man with nothing

There's just no mercy in your eyes

There ain't no time to set things right

And I'm afraid I've lost the fight

I'm just a painful reminder

Another day you leave behind

-Mercy by BRMC

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Sakura leisurely strolled up and down the sides of trees in her training area, wondering where to go next in her career. After a successful movie and two successful albums, she was left trying to figure out which path interested her more at this point. Movies were fun, allowing her to meet new people and pretend to be someone else for a while, putting her troubles into the back of her mind. However, music was her passion. She loved singing and songwriting, both activities giving her the opportunity to release her emotions in more productive ways than sitting in her room and crying or throwing things.

With a sigh, she sat on a lower branch and leaned back to hang upside down. She started in on her inverted sit-ups and smiled slightly. Her mind could be blissfully blank during workouts or she could ponder life's more difficult questions, whichever she preferred. She decided to push thoughts of her career aside and thought about where the last six months had taken her.

The pink-haired celebrity had done things that made her happy rather than work. She had taken a few classes on art and history, trying to find subjects besides ninja studies that interested her. The most she had learned from those classes was that her 'art' consisted of sad little stick figures. Sakura had also taken up guitar and piano, feeling like a more rounded musician for her efforts. And she truly did enjoy the instruments, finding peace and the feeling of the world's drama melting from her shoulders as she played. The last thing she had taken a class for was cooking. She had always been a decent cook, but now her food was phenomenal, causing her circle of friends to beg her to cook for them when they were around. All in all, she felt better than she had in ages. She felt like she was growing and maturing, things she had hoped to accomplish when she left Konoha. She was discovering new talents and hobbies, improving things she had only been mediocre in before and she had kept busy enough that she rarely thought of Kakashi.

At least that's what she kept telling herself. Truth was he was in the back of her mind 24/7 and nothing she did or thought about changed that. Her greatest success was managing to keep deep thoughts of him from her mind, but those little glimpses of him in her mind's eye and the emotions they produced were constants. Her stomach would clench, her chest would constrict and she'd have to take deep breaths to reel it all in.

The thoughts were getting too depressing for the kunoichi and so she smiled as she wiped her mind blank and just allowed herself to feel muscles contracting as she finished her workout.

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Sakura swept her matted pink tresses away from her neck as she entered the palace and headed straight for her room to shower. Koyuki wrinkled her nose as she passed and let out a whistle. "Someone's smelling a little ripe."

Green eyes rolled at the Feudal Lord. Thankfully, things had been smoothed over with the princess. Once she realized Koji didn't harbor any ill will towards Sakura, she realized she didn't have the right to do so. And now, things were normal between the three friends.

"You try working out for four hours and not sweat, oh mighty Koyuki-hime."

With a playful smile the brunette waved as she turned a corner. "See you at dinner!"

Sakura groaned as she heard the princess's giggles fade. She had forgotten all about dinner and the fact that she was expected to cook for the large and rowdy group that would be there. After a rushed shower and clothes haphazardly donned, Sakura flew to the kitchen to see what she could whip up for the night's meal. As she gazed in the kitchen's pantry and the refrigerator, an evil cackle escaped her lips. She'd teach them to keep making her cook!

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The dining room was buzzing with noise as stylists, bodyguards, Hiro, Koji and Koyuki waited for Sakura to present the scrumptious meal she had created for them. The chatter ceased as her pink head bobbed into the room, a large pot in her hands. With a bright smile and a flourish, she lifted the lid. "Taadaa!"

Hiro arched one eyebrow at her. "Beans and franks? Seriously?"

Sakura merely nodded, bright grin still on her face.

Hajime went into one of his rants. "Okay, so let me get this straight. I made myself fabulous so I could go out and all you plop down in front of me is stinkin' beans and weenies? Sweetie, I hope there is something tasty cooking away in there because this piece of stunning-", he paused and gestured to himself, "-doesn't eat slop."

Unable to stop herself, the giggles burst forth as she flung her arms around Hajime's neck. "I absolutely ADORE you! You know that, right?"

Koyuki watched in concern as the hair stylist went through a few unhealthy shades before rescuing him from Sakura's choke-hold/hug combo. "Hell, we have been asking her to cook a lot for us lately. Let's give the poor girl a break."

Sakura took her seat between Makoto and Hiro with an ungraceful flop. "Here, here!"

Dinner was lively with multiple conversations going on at any given time. Everyone laughed and joked and poked good-hearted fun at each other until Koyuki's voice carried over all the others. "So, Sakura, what are your next plans?"

A manicured hand swirled the straw in her drink as she thought. "I enjoy movies, but my true passion is music. Although on this next album, I don't know what to do exactly. There are multiple genres I enjoy and I would love to do something in all of them. All I know for sure, is I'm going to take my time on this next one. I didn't feel a whole lot of passion in the last album and as a result, I'm not overly proud of it. I won't make the same mistake twice."

Hiro beamed at the singer who he fully intended to hand the reigns to on her next project and raised his glass in acknowledgment. "Can't wait to see where you take us!"

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Kakashi was hunkered down in the same cave they had been living in for the better part of four months. It had taken two months to narrow it down to the area they were in, but they had stalled there. They knew the base was close, but pinpointing the location was tougher than they had imagined. There was no scent for Kakashi's dogs to pick up and none of his other team members had strong tracking abilities. He would have questioned the Hokage's and Raikage's sanity in choosing team members that couldn't track on a tracking mission ... but to be fair, they had all assumed he would be able to track the base and then it would just be fighting from then on.

A young man with red hair hanging over one eye entered the cave after completing his rounds with a sigh. "Nothing to report, Taichou."

Harada ruffled his curly brown hair. "This is ridiculous. We've been on this mission for six months and are only slightly further than when we first began. Are we even sure we're in the right area?"

Kakashi's icy glare cut off any more of the man's complaints. "Do not question my abilities, boy. I understand your frustrations, but impatience and recklessness will cause any ANBU mission to fail. If you wish to stay within the ranks of the elite, I suggest you start acting like one."

Harada stilled and gulped. Despite all of his bravado and posturing, he was deathly afraid of the intimidating team captain they had acquired. Countless rumors and even more true stories circulated around ANBU about the fearsome Hatake Kakashi and his numerous accomplishments. The man was a legend and still in his prime and Harada knew he would be wise to remember that. Kakashi was not a man to trifle with.

The tense atmosphere turned a different kind of tense as the squad in the cave immediately took their battle stances as a chakra signature advanced on their location quickly. Just before Kakashi gave the signal to attack, a low whistle reached his ears and he relaxed, his group doing the same. One of the Lightning ninjas rushed into the cave. "I found them! Just slightly north of our current perimeter."

Takeshi rubbed his hands together before gathering his blonde hair into a low ponytail. "No wonder we couldn't find them. We weren't going far enough north."

Matsumoto patted himself down to make sure he had everything. He smoothed a hand over his super-short blue hair. "Let's finish this up so I can find me a lady." The way he drug out the last word had Takeshi rolling his eyes.

Shuichi's red hair bounced as he jumped up and down a few times to get his blood pumping. "I vote we go now so we can get this over with and go home. Whether Matsumoto's libido dictates it or not."

Kakashi nodded. "I agree. Let's move out!"

The group bounded from tree to tree, using the fog and large rocks throughout the country to their advantage. As they perched on a treetop, Kakashi uncovered his sharingan to observe the base. "It doesn't look like they have any high level shinobi employed here. It's mainly civilian mercenaries."

Harada slouched slightly. "We spent all this time out here and we don't even get a good fight out of it?!"

Kakashi waved a hand. "Don't get too disappointed. The sheer number of them will keep us busy. Let's get down there an-" His speech was cut off as a kunai whizzed past his ear.

The Lightning nin growled as he dodged a senbon. "Shit! How did they know we were here?"

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The fight was lasting much longer than it should have. Mostly due to the ungodly number of mercenaries they were up against. When two of the Lightning shinobi fell in battle, Kakashi knew what had to be done. This poison that was circulating was dangerous and Tsunade needed that information. They all needed to leave so if they were attacked, there would still be a chance for one of them to get to Konoha. "You guys get back to Konoha and report to Tsunade. I'll hold them off."

Harada yelled back. "We won't leave you, Taichou!"

Kakashi grunted as he pushed the nin he had just run through off his katana. "What is it with you disobeying me, Harada?! Get your ass back to Konoha, now!"

With an uncertain glance exchanged between the squad members, they took to the treetops at breakneck speed. The enemy tried to follow, but a row of shadow clone Kakashis kept them in place. The echoing baritone of multiple Copy Ninjas rang out. "Your fight is with me, now."

He fought fiercely, punching and kicking with the beauty and deadly precision he was famous for. But with enemy thugs surrounding him and flying at him from all angles, he didn't notice the tiny dart headed for his neck. He barely noticed the prick since he was deeply ensconced in battle. But when his legs gave out and he found he was completely paralyzed, he choked back a curse. He was able to maintain consciousness as they carried him into the base and dropped him in a cell. But without use of any muscles, he couldn't fight back when he was injected with a sleeping potion.

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Hours later, a charcoal eye creaked open and a groan passed dry lips. It took only a split second for Kakashi to remember where he was. He did a quick mental check of his body and nervousness clenched in his stomach. He still had no control over his movements and now he had no chakra circulating. To add insult to injury, they hadn't even strapped him to the table he was laying on. He was as harmless as a newborn baby at the moment.

A man with gray hair and wearing a white coat stepped into the room and smiled smugly at him as his eyes raked over Kakashi's almost nude form. Thankfully, they had left his boxers on. "You must be very popular with the ladies, Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi remained silent. You were never to tell the enemy anything in these situations. Even if they already knew something, you weren't supposed to confirm or deny. Kakashi always snickered at that rule. He had one sharingan eye with a scar over it, gravity-defying silver hair, his picture in just about every Bingo Book around and a famous father that he was identical to. Hard to mistake him for anyone else!

The man pouted as he inched closer, grabbing a scalpel from a nearby tray as he advanced. "Not feeling very talkative? That's too bad. It would have been nice to have a chat before I made you scream."

He ran the blade along Kakashi's legs, watching with a sadistic smile as the elite jounin fought to stifle his sounds. "Something you wanted to say, Kakashi? Oh, I'm sorry there's just no time for talk now. We have work to do. Now let's hear some of those pretty screams I love so much."

He stabbed the scalpel deep into Kakashi's forearm and grinned when it twitched involuntarily. "Oops! Looks like we hit a nerve. We'll have to try a different area." He pulled back and drove the blade into his bicep this time.

Kakashi groaned and the man smirked. "Ah, progress! But not quite what we're looking for. Let's try again."

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Kakashi woke again without any concept of what time it was. There were no windows, clocks or anything to give him an idea. He had passed out from pain during his last torture session and now his arms were above his head, cuffed to the ceiling. It would have been nearly unbearable to have his arms like that for so long if his legs and the punctures on his arms didn't overshadow the discomfort his position brought with it. With his head hanging limply, he took in the state of his legs. Multiple cuts ran the entire length of both legs, large and angry red lines that were still oozing blood. There were some trails of the crimson liquid on his torso that he guessed were from the punctures in his arms. He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping his team was well on the way back to the village. If they were quick enough, there may be a chance for a rescue team to come get him.

The man in the white coat entered again, a large man following carrying a whip. "Ah, Kakashi. Good to see you're awake! I'm afraid you'll have to play with my friend here, not me. I was never very good with whips, you see? Unless of course, you're willing to give us some information. Then we could possibly let you down and skip this game."

Kakashi merely glared and the man sucked in a breath. "Have it your way." The large man stepped forward and behind Kakashi. There was a loud crack and the sting of the whip along his back. Kakashi was never a very religious man, but he started to say his prayers. As incapacitated as he was, he didn't think he'd be able to get out of this one alive unless a rescue team was sent. Being a genius didn't mean much if you couldn't move. The whip cracked again and Kakashi closed his eyes and continued his praying.

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Four ANBU hurled themselves into Tsunade's office and the Hokage looked up in alarm. When she recognized them as Kakashi's squad and no sign of Kakashi, her heart plummeted to her feet. 'Oh, dear gods, no!'

One of the ANBU stepped forward to place the map of the base's location on the desk. "We were able to locate the enemy compound. Kakashi-taichou stayed behind to allow us to escape."

Tsunade's brown eyes roved over the map. "I see. Was he still alive last time you saw him?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"How long ago was this?"

"Five days. We rested only when absolutely necessary on the return trip."

Tsunade was proud of her ANBU. They had cut three days off the normal travel time to Lightning. "Very well. Get some rest. We'll give Kakashi one week to return on his own. If he doesn't show, I'll organize a team to retrieve him."

"Actually, Tsunade-sama.." Takeshi gave her his most disarming smile "...I was hoping we could be the retrieval team."

"Out of the question. You just returned and need to rest."

"We want to save our captain. We'll go whether we're authorized or not." Harada spoke with conviction. "Plus, we know the location of the base."

Thoughts of Asuma's students came to mind when they went off to avenge him and she fought down a smile. "Hm. Alright, get plenty of rest. You'll leave one week from now if Kakashi is still missing."

She summoned Shizune after jotting down a quick note and tucking a copy of the map into a small tube.

'Kakashi captured in Lightning. Map enclosed. Poison utilized. Wait for ANBU backup.'

The brunette scurried in, Ton-Ton cuddled to her chest. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Have the bird handlers send this to Sakura if Kakashi isn't back by the deadline. She may be needed."

Shizune worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "Are you sure that's wise?"

A manicured finger ran over red lips in thought. "She's closer to Kakashi's location than we are, a capable kunoichi with a strong understanding of poisons and antidotes and she has a right to know. We have to let her know if we intend to bring Hatake home alive."

Shizune nodded hesitantly before racing to the message handlers.

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Sakura continued plunking out the little tune on the piano, stopping every now and then to jot down some of the notes or some lyrics that crept into her mind.

She let her fingers run over the keys as she smiled and sang.

We'd be so grand at the game

So carefree together

That it does seem a shame

That you can't see

Your future with me

Cause you'd be oh so easy to love

The song was reminiscent of older tunes, a very nostalgic feel to it. The lyrics were a little sad, but the tune was bouncy and Sakura was loving it. The songwriting process was fun for her today. No heart-wrenching thoughts to hash out into song form, just light-hearted tunes. She put her pencil down and stretched her arms way above her head, feeling every muscle pull tight before relaxing again with a sigh.

This new album was going to wear her out. She just couldn't decide on a genre. Rock, pop, oldies, big band, ballads, country, hip-hop, they were all giving her ideas and she just didn't know what to do.

She jumped slightly when Koji's voice spoke from the doorway. "I liked that song." Her head swiveled to see him leaning with his arms crossed against her door frame.

"You startled me!" She patted her chest slightly in a useless effort to try and calm her pounding heart. "So, what brings you here?"

He moved over and sat on the bench next to her. "Came to see how it's going and say good-bye before I head out on my business trip. Got any ideas?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Too many! What am I going to do, Koji? There are too many genres I want to dip into and I can't narrow it down at all!"

Her manager smirked at her. "Who said it only had to be one CD?"

Sakura's confused look morphed into a wide smile. "Koji, you're a genius!"

With a teasing smile, the man replied, "Well, I do try."

Sakura quickly ruffled through the multiple sheets laying on the floor next to her, counting all the songs she had written in the past few months. Koji smiled slightly as he watched the gears turn in her brain.

"Trilogy."

Koji arched an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Sakura grabbed his arm giddily, excitement written all over her face. "Trilogy! The new CD set will have three CDs. One with ballads, one with light-hearted pop songs and one with the harder rock songs. A trilogy that we'll call, brilliantly, 'Trilogy'." She ended with a bright smile and Koji couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, that solves your problem!" He glanced at his watch and stood. "I have to leave if I intend to catch my train. Have important business meetings to attend! I'll see you in a few weeks." He gave her a friendly hug good-bye and let himself out.

With newfound excitement, Sakura turned back to her piano with gusto.

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Kakashi eyed the man who entered warily. He still couldn't move. The bastards were smart enough to keep him pumped full of the poison that immobilized him. The man settled in front of him with a bowl of something goopey and gray. "Boss says you need to eat." The spoon was placed in front of his mouth and Kakashi merely glared, keeping his mouth stubbornly closed.

He hadn't eaten in what he guessed to be about four days, but he wasn't about to let these fools demean him any more by feeding him. "I'm not a patient man, Copy Cat. Eat." The spoon was jabbed slightly into his mouth and he narrowed his eyes even more.

Patience gone, the man flung the spoon to the far corner of the room and used his free hand to pry open Kakashi's mouth. The bowl was tipped so the slop slid into Kakashi's mouth and he coughed as some of it choked him. "I told you to eat!" The man chuckled, thinking he had won, when a wad of the food was spit back into his face.

With an enraged growl, the man punched Kakashi in the face, the sound of his jaw cracking caused a satisfied smirk. "That'll teach you to mind your manners."

A few minutes later, Kakashi's main tormentor, the man in the white coat entered, a deep frown on his face. "I hear you haven't been very cooperative, Kakashi. I figured you may be hungry after so many days without food, but you aren't very grateful." He pulled out a syringe and sighed. "I guess we'll have to give you fluids and nutrients intravenously." He knelt down and smirked darkly at Kakashi. "Of course, this means if you ever did get lucky enough to escape, you wouldn't have any strength to run from us." He chuckled slightly before injecting Kakashi with the fluids. "I'll see you later for another round of games, Kakashi."

He wasn't too sure how many more of these 'games' he could take. His body was riddled with punctures and gashes and lacerations. The poison was keeping him still and he was afraid his muscles were starting to atrophy. He had a few broken ribs that were making it hard to breathe and he felt the poison affect his lungs even more every time he was injected with it.

Even worse than his body shutting down, was the fact that he worried for his sanity. Having no concept of time and its passage was more frustrating than he ever thought it would be. He tried to escape into a world he created of him and Sakura living happily ever after to keep the torture from breaking him. However, he worried that the same fantasy world would consume him and he wouldn't know fantasy from reality. After all, that fantasy world was all he had in the dank and dark dungeon he was being kept in.

But if he was going to die, he was going to indulge in some daydreams before he did. He closed his eyes and a slight smile flitted over his features as he pictured Sakura, looking as she did in those photos Tsunade had shown him and Naruto.

Sakura stood staring over the Hokage Monument, dressed in jeans and a fluffy black sweater. Her long pink hair was wound into a bun on top of her head. "Kakashi! I was wondering when you'd get here!"

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path..."

A fond smile lit Sakura's face. "Liar." She walked over and pulled her body flush against his, her embrace tight, secure and comforting. "Are you ready?"

Kakashi smiled brightly and adjusted the pack on his shoulder. "To go on vacation with you to that beautiful spa in Tea Country? No ninja business or missions or teammates interfering? To celebrate the fact that you are now Hatake Sakura?" He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Absolutely ready."

He continued his daydreaming with the trip, the conversations and amusing tiffs they'd have along the way. He conjured up a few humorous mishaps and then sighed as he pictured the perfect honeymoon. Contrary to popular belief, Kakashi was and could be a romantic person. It just wasn't a necessity for ninja purposes and he wasn't a man who liked to let people in so romance didn't happen for him. However for Sakura, he could and would like to be that special man who made her dreams come true. If only she would come home so he could! That thought tore him up. He would love to be able to fight his way out of there, thoughts of Sakura spurring him on to give that little extra bit to get home. But he was immobilized in enemy territory, being tortured on a regular basis and wasn't sure he would ever see Konoha or Sakura again. So whether she came home sooner or later didn't really make a difference anymore. He wouldn't be able to be romantic with her.

All too soon for Kakashi, his captor entered carrying two syringes, one to keep him paralyzed and one to suppress his chakra. "I do hope you are ready for some fun. I thought of a new game we could play."

Kakashi kept silent and stared at the ceiling, picturing Sakura's sweetly smiling face. It wasn't healthy to be this obsessed with someone he didn't even really know anymore, but she was all he had. He hadn't spoken a word in the days since his capture, but when the first senbon slid under his thumbnail he let out a whispered curse. It always made him cringe slightly when people would pick at their nails, sort of a nails on chalkboard thing for him. So having someone jab senbon under his fingernails was double hard on the poor man. The pain was sharp and excruciating and the added shivers made this possibly the worst torture he had endured. He almost preferred the whipping, stabbing or cutting. It wasn't long before the lack of nutrition, the dehydration and the torture had him passing out again.

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Sakura beamed as she sat in Hiro's office, waiting for his opinion on her CD set. "So, what do you think?"

He smirked as he tilted his head slightly. "I like it! It's unusual and original and I think it will show even more people your diversity and gain you some more fans."

Sakura clapped in excitement. "When do we start work on it? I'm eager to do this."

Hiro chuckled. "I've got someone scheduled to record this week. So, next week good for you?"

Her pink lips pulled down into a pout. "A whole week?"

Hiro shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure you could work the controls yourself, but it's just easier to have someone else work those while you do your magic."

She giggled and rolled her eyes. "I'll see you in a week."

"See ya!"

She strolled home giddily, her wig, baseball cap, sunglasses and large trench coat keeping her free from an ambush by her fans or the paparazzi. She took note of the time on the large clock in the town's square and broke into a run. "Shoot, shoot, shoot!"

She completely bypassed the palace and headed to a large hotel nearby. She skidded into the elevator and bounced impatiently as it rose to the top floor. She hurled herself onto the roof with apologies spilling forth. "I'm so sorry! I had a meeting with Hiro that ran over and I got here as soon as I could!"

The photographer for her latest photo shoot waved a hand dismissively. "No worries. Just go into the tent and let the stylists do their thing. We'll get started once you're ready."

Sakura couldn't believe she had almost completely forgotten her photo shoot. She was supposed to be the cover story, too!

An hour later she emerged from the tent and the photographer sucked in a breath. The slinky black evening gown looped around her neck and hugged her figure all the way down to the floor. A long slit up the bottom half showed off one long leg and her shapely back was bare. Her hair had been left down and arranged into messy waves around her shoulders and the overall effect was breathtaking. Filled with inspiration, the photographer had a field day putting her in different outfits and different poses, snapping pictures until he had used up multiple rolls of film and the sun had set.

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Sakura finally hauled herself home from the exhausting photo shoot. She was dead on her feet and still needed to shower to get all the makeup and hairspray off of her. She managed to get her shower, but still had to use makeup remover over and over to get all of the eyeliner and mascara from her eyes. It was amazing how much they had piled onto her face.

Despite how tired she was, sleep wasn't coming easy to the young woman. She had the terrible feeling that something was wrong and her intuition was almost always right.

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Shizune twiddled her fingers nervously next to Tsunade's desk. "It's been a week, Tsunade-sama."

The blonde Hokage sighed. "It has. Summon Hatake's ANBU squad. We'll let them get a two days head start on Sakura. I doubt she would wait for them anyway, so we'll send for her later."

Shizune nodded before darting out of the office to set the right people in motion. She still had doubts about sending for Sakura, but Tsunade was right. Sakura knew more about poisons and antidotes than even Shizune herself. It was entirely possible that Sakura even knew more than Tsunade, who had been famous in the last shinobi war for her knowledge of poisons. With a sigh she realized, like it or not, the young woman would be heading out to rescue Kakashi in a few days.

She scrambled into ANBU headquarters and sent out their couriers to find Shuichi, Takeshi, Harada and Matsumoto. "Tell them it is urgent and to report to Tsunade-sama's office ready to travel." The couriers disappeared and Shizune headed back to the office to await the team's arrival with her master.

The four figures materialized in the Hokage's office and she sighed before beginning. "It has been one week and still no sign of Hatake Kakashi. It must be assumed that he has been either captured or killed by the enemy. You are to return to the compound and retrieve Kakashi if he is alive or destroy the body if he is deceased. An expert on poisons will meet with you at the compound to heal Kakashi if necessary. You are to leave immediately. Dismissed!" With a wave of her arm, the four disappeared with a gust of wind.

She turned to Shizune. "It is eight days travel to Lightning. They will probably make it in five as they did on their return journey. Sakura is a five days journey to Lightning. It will take the bird two days to get to her and I know she'll hurry just as the ANBU squad will. If we send the bird now, she'll probably get to the base at the same time the ANBU squad does."

Shizune looked to the Hokage to make sure she understood what the woman was saying. "You want me to have the handlers send the message now instead of waiting?"

Tsunade nodded. "I was hoping we wouldn't need to do this, but Sakura's needed."

Shizune left the office again, rushing to the bird handlers. 'I hope you know what you're doing, Tsunade-sama. If Sakura can't control her emotions or they get to Kakashi-san too late this could go very badly.'

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Kakashi didn't even bother to glare at the men that came in to harm him anymore. He wasn't a broken man by any means, but he was realistic and it didn't seem like he would leave the compound alive. His only regret was that it would cause Sakura heartache. The young woman had faced enough in her life and Kakashi didn't want to cause her more, but it seemed he wouldn't be able to help it. He wished he could see her again, tell her how much he missed her bright smiles and witty remarks. He wanted to watch her bash Naruto in the head for saying something stupid or for performing one of his perverted jutsus. He wanted to talk with her about all the things she had seen and done on her travels. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for not being able to see if they could have had something. She was obviously drop dead gorgeous and an adult and he had no problem saying he was a man who was physically attracted to her.

The more poison they injected him with, the more labored his breathing became. It seemed to cause instant muscular paralysis, but would slowly weaken the lungs. Eventually, the poison would suffocate him if the torture didn't kill him first. He wanted to laugh about it. He always pictured his death to be some dramatic scene, he and a powerful opponent squaring off. The chidori would be crackling away in his hand while his opponent's own more powerful jutsu whirled with chakra in his hand. The two would dash at each other, but this opponent would get the best of Kakashi and the Copy Ninja would die valiantly on the battlefield, a hero to Konoha. Perhaps he would even save the village from some great threat like his sensei had. But no. In reality, he would be killed off by some weakling's poison and torture from the guy's hired civilian mercenaries, not even ninja.

If they were going to humiliate him by killing him off like this, they could at least give him a copy of 'Icha Icha' or something!

As the man in the white coat injected him again, Kakashi could feel himself losing consciousness just from the poison. He pictured Sakura's smiling face, knowing if his body couldn't even handle the poison, then he probably wouldn't be coherent enough to picture her later. It was a beautiful final image.

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A/N: Sorry! I know, I took forever to update and then you get this little scrap of chapter. This was the best place to end it. But on the bright side, the next chapter is written. It's been written since chapter 2. It needs to be tweaked slightly because my original idea for this chapter and the way it turned out are slightly different. So just a few plot holes that will need to be patched, nothing major. But please be patient! This was my only day off before starting another 12 day stint, so I may not have time to do the tweaking for a while.

The song Sakura is singing is 'Easy To Love' by the amazing Cole Porter, the Julie London version. Anyway, reviews greatly appreciated! Smooches!