Chapter 10 is out! This year will be kinda busy since I've just gotten into college so the update time would be longer… please bear with me! :X And do continue reviewing :D

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(Chapter 10)

Knockknockknock.

Impatient knockings were heard on Naruto's door. The fast and irregular pace of the knockings sent both Naruto and Kakashi looking up in surprise, wondering who it could be at such an hour and furthermore, in such a hurry. The answer was shortly revealed when Naruto opened the door, as a breathless Sakura barged violently into the room.

She was dressed in her chunnin attire, her headband tied firmly around her upper arms and a bag behind her. It looked as if she was going on an A-ranked mission which actually quite matched the situation she was in. Beads of perspiration dripped down her forehead, as she wiped them off with a swipe of her sleeves.

"A-Arashi-kun… Gasp… we're going away for a mission." She breathed out while at the same time, taking in large amount of oxygen. "NOW. No time to waste."

"C-calm down, Sakura-chan… what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Naruto asked as he made gestures for the girl to simmer down. Sakura took a few deep breaths before regaining her composure. She gazed past Naruto into Kakashi's single eye which was filled with utter confusion. His brows were knitted with apprehension and his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish out of water.

"Tsunade wants me and Arashi-kun to go for a mission right now. Pack your stuff and we need to go now, Arashi-kun! It's urgent!" She half-shouted out in desperation. Her eyes were glassy, on the verge of tears as she looked pleadingly at Kakashi who was still taken aback from what had conspired in that room.

It was a few seconds after when everything became clear for Kakashi as he rushed into a room which Sakura assumed belonged to him. He soon emerged with a backpack and his newly gotten hitai-e tied around his neck. Everything was present.

"I'm ready for the mission, Sakura-san." Kakashi announced to the girl as a flash of relief skimmed across her face.

"W-Wait, what's going on now?!" Naruto cried out. His hands were waving madly in front of Sakura, attempting to catch her attention. He was still confused. What mission? Why Arashi of all people?

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. It's a long story. I promised I'll tell you when I come back." She smiled softly at the blonde. After all, who knows when they will be back? The least she could do was to take one last look at her friend. She allowed her gaze to linger a bit longer on Naruto before turning back to Kakashi. "Let's go, Arashi-kun."

"Hai. I'm borrowing your packbag, Naruto. I'll return it to you when I come back." Kakashi ran past the boy, catching up with Sakura, who was a few feet ahead of him. His stomach was churning. Somehow this mission did not bode well for him. He gulped before enhancing his steps with chakra, landing just beside the girl who was the root of his worries.

They travelled in silence for some distance as the sceneries beside them changed from buildings to trees. Every minute, Kakashi would take a peek at Sakura from the corner of his eye. There was too much information still unknown to him and it was his job to get it out from the pink-haired girl. The girl herself wasn't handling the situation quite well either, she was on a dangerous mission and furthermore, in such a short notice! Where are they going to go?! She hadn't even made plans for this mission yet!

"Where are we going, Sakura-chan?"

A muffled sob came from the girl.

"Sakura-chan?" Was that a sob he heard from her? Is she crying? His question was answered when he saw the tears flowing down her cheeks. What was happening?

"How long are you going to hide from us, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Ahaha… Didn't I tell you I'm not Kakashi… I'm Ara…"

"It's pointless, Kakashi-sensei. I already know about everything."

A sigh was let out.

"So my cover is blown away huh? Are you the only one who knows about this?"

"Hinata-chan, Neji-kun, Tsunade-sama, the Elders," Sakura listed out the names. "And Sasuke-kun."

"Heh. So I presume they are after my life now after seeing what I had in possession?" Kakashi let out a chuckle when Sakura stared at him in bewilderment. "I noticed my stuffs were ransacked a few days ago. It's just a matter of time before they figure out who I am. But I didn't expect it to be this fast."

It was Sakura turn to sigh as she turned her head back to the front. They were nearing the border now. Just a few more kilometers and they would be out of Konoha, to some other places. Sakura prayed silently, hoping they would make it out safely without any interference. Unfortunately, her prayers were not heard.

"Watch out, Sakura!" A cry from Kakashi sounded out as he pushed her back, resulting in both of them crashing into the ground. A kunai whizzed past the space which they were at before and planted itself into the bark of a nearby tree. The copy-nin glanced around, spotting for the intruder before landing his sight on a few looming shadows near the bushes. "It's better if you come out from your hiding places, you know."

"Not bad, Hatake Kakashi." The shadows moved as the leaves from the bushes rustled in the cool night, giving it a sinister atmosphere. "Not bad at all."

"Sasuke-kun! Neji-kun!" Sakura shouted out. She was positioned below Kakashi with his hands on her back, cushioning her spine during the fall, "what do you want now?!"

"Our objective was simple: To kill Kakashi before he could get out of Konoha. That was from the Elders. But since you became an accomplice in aiding the criminal's escape, I'm afraid you'll have to go too, Haruno Sakura." Sasuke stated coolly. His onyx eyes bore straight into Sakura's wavering ones. A shiver ran down her spines as the words came out of his mouth and it did not go unnoticed by Kakashi. A gush of adrenalin ran through the copy-nin body as he could feel the mixed emotions rampaging in him.

"Let her go, this has nothing to do with her!" Kakashi retorted. He was furious… angry at the two who just willingly let words on killing their friend slipped out their mouth so easily. At the same time, he was guilty, for dragging Sakura along into this mess.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-san. It's the rules." Neji intervened the conversation between Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Those who follow rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash. Is that what you want to say, Kakashi? Unfortunately we already knew that and don't require another repetition from you. Let's get things done." Sasuke smirked and disappeared only to reappear behind Kakashi, with a kunai pressed against his throat. "Give up, Hatake."

"Hn, sometimes you really talk too much." The Kakashi that was in front of the Uchiha turned into white smokes with a 'poof'.

"A bushin huh?" Neji let out a chuckle. "BYAAKUGAN!"

Veins appeared beside his eyes as he scanned his environment. It wasn't long when he found what he wanted and threw an exploding tag towards Sakura's direction. Hands wrapped around Sakura's waist as she was pulled away from the scene, just a few inches from getting hit by the tag.

"Keh. Don't forget there are two of us here!" Sasuke bellowed as he threw a mass of shurikens and kunais towards Kakashi. Unfortunately, with Sakura in his hands, there wasn't enough time to dodge and three-quarter of the weapons went digging into his back as he tried shielding the medic-nin in his hands. Blood dripped from his wounds and onto Sakura's face as her face flushed with horror.

"Kakashi-sensei you baka!" Sakura cried out before glaring at Neji and Sasuke. "That's enough you two!" She stood up and faced the two.

"Give all you have, Sakura," Sasuke gave her a smug look. "You're going to die anyway."

The girl bit her lips at the response as she tried to repress the anger swelling in him. She gave a worried glance at Kakashi before her gaze hardened and went back to her opponents. She knew she would not have a chance of winning, especially when your enemies have bloodline limits which you don't have. Nevertheless, it was a dead end and there are no way out without a fight.

"Let's get down to business." Sakura tugged at her gloves as a drop of sweat dripped down her forehead.

It wasn't long when the fight came to a nearing end, as a worn-out Sakura fell to the ground, exhausted. The other two did suffer from some minor injuries but not as much as compared to the two on the ground. She was right after all. There was no way she could win this alone. After all, they have the Sharingan and Byaakugan on their side.

"Time to end this." It came from Neji but the words sounded more like murmurings in Sakura's ears.

"No. It's not the end yet!" Sakura looked up at the source, only to see a staggering Kakashi standing in front of her, blood still flowing from his wounds. His right hand was holding on to his left, as chakra started gathering around his palm.

"RAIKIRI!"

"Tch. Stubborn fellow." Sasuke took out his sword from his back and pointed the tip at him. Without warning, he lurched forward, charging at the copy-nin. The ball of lightning missed Sasuke completely, and so did Sasuke's sword.

"Nani?" Kakashi asked. He felt around his neck and felt something missing. Yes, this confirmed that the hitai-e which was currently in Sasuke's hand belonged to him.

"I'll be taking this… and that too." Sasuke looked over to Neji, who was untying Sakura's hitai-e around her upper arm. Kakashi's bewilderment only grew when he saw what the Hyuuga was doing. Neji passed the blood-stained item to Sasuke who immediately took a quick glance and smirked.

"Is it enough?"

"Hai, seemed like there's enough blood to convince them." The Uchiha turned back to the confused copy-ninja, "and of course, we owe you some explanations…"

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Kakashi helped shifted the unconscious Sakura into a more comfortable position as Sasuke and Neji built up a fire to protect them against the low temperature during night time. When everything was done, the three of them sat around the fire, with Kakashi facing both Sasuke and Neji.

"Hmm… where shall we start?" Sasuke was the first one to speak.

"The beginning." Kakashi deadpanned as the Uchiha let out a sigh.

"Fine, let's start from the time when you had yet to come back to Konoha." Fingers entwined each others in front of Sasuke as he bent down slightly, his gaze fixed on the fire before him. "I was on a mission few weeks before your appearance. It wasn't really a tough mission but on our way back, we got ambushed… by sound-nins. They were strong, I admit, and most of my teammates were killed in a span of ten minutes. In the end, it was only me who was left standing. I didn't want to exert myself nor do I have any business with them. But they were adamant. They got me surrounded. Suddenly, one came charging towards me shouting 'Hand him over, Konoha!' and I acted rashly by killing them off in a single blow. It was too late by then, to send them back for interrogation. So, I ransacked their belongings and found a wanted poster. Take a guess who's the wanted man."

A look of disbelief washed across Kakashi's face.

"Yes, it was you, Kakashi, with your name and village written in bold underneath your picture. The picture however showed a different Kakashi from the one who I've known for years. I dismissed the thought that you may be alive out there and that the picture was gotten during your younger days, but the answer was as clear as day when you decided to show up in the village. Obviously, someone out there is out to get you and whoever it is, he's strong. At least that's my assumption. Therefore, in order to prevent that whoever to track you down and start attacking Konoha, the best way was to kill you off. Or at least make it seems like you were killed. Neji agreed on helping me with this plan and since we're well-known for being 'merciless ninjas', the elders would most probably believe us if we claimed that we've killed you off and of course, with these hitai-e as proofs."

"So all those cold attitudes… all those fightings…" Kakashi stammered, still absorbing in the facts. Things certainly had turned around on him and Sakura.

"Those were to serve as distractions for the people to believe that we totally despise you and wouldn't show any mercy to you if it comes down to killing you." Neji explained as Kakashi finally understood everything there is for him to learn.

"Arigatou, Neji, Sasuke. It seemed like I'm indebt to you."

"Hn. If you want to repay the debt, just hurry up and get your things done. This is the furthest we can help you." Sasuke stood up, dusting his pants as Neji follow suite. "I believe you know what you are doing and thus, shall not press on your Akatsuki cloak and as much as I dislike saying this… Don't die."

Kakashi's single eye crinkled like it usually did before nodding his head.

"Well, we'll be leaving Sakura in your care and if anything happens to her, I'm sure you'll get it from a certain blonde." And liked he appeared, he was gone in a flash. Neji held up his hands as he performed a few hand seals.

"Take care, Kakashi-sensei." He went off too, leaving the copy-nin and the medic-nin behind. Kakashi took a deep breathe as he ran his fingers through his silver hair, still finding it hard to believe what had transpired then. At least he knew it would be safer to keep his profile low from now onwards…

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(Back at the Hokage's tower)

Two figures appeared in the Hokage's office as Tsunade and the Elders turned to identify the newcomers.

"It seemed that you're back. How was it?" the old man asked. Confusion was plastered across Tsunade's face as she looked over Sasuke and Neji for an explanation.

"The mission went well. The bodies were burnt and made sure that no traces of evidence were left behind." Sasuke said in a monotonous voice as he brought forth the bloodied hitai-e to the Hokage. The blonde could only gape like a goldfish as she once again, received Kakashi's hitai-e, only with an addition of Sakura's this time.

"T-This belong to Kakashi and Sakura?" The Godaime asked in disbelief. She looked up and glared at the Uchiha for an answer.

"Yes."

"Why?"

It was ordered by the Elders: to eliminate off the two traitors."

This time the glare went over to the two elderly who were looking solemnly back at her.

"It was not a choice, Tsunade-sama. The laws made it clear that whoever betrays the Fire country will be killed. I'm afraid we have to go to such measures for the sake of Konohagakure." He turned back to Sasuke, "Good job, I was right to trust in both of you."

"How could you?! You just killed off one of Konoha's best ninja and best medic-nin! Sakura's my apprentice, how could you kill her?!" Tsunade snapped at the Elders who were standing up, getting ready to walk out of the office. "You are being unreasonable here, killing off someone who had not even laid a finger on the village! What did you know about Kakashi and Sakura?! Nothing!"

That stopped the two.

"As the Hokage, you should know that laws are laws. No personal feelings should be involved when it come to dealing with this kind of matters. They would only serve as an opportunity for the enemies to strike, or would you rather wait until they made their move first before you retaliate?"

With that, both of them disappeared behind the door with a slam. Tsunade bore holes at the door before bowing her head to look at the hitai-e in her hand. There was silence in the room for a moment as her downcast eyes remained transfixed on the two headbands left behind by her favorite apprentice and Kakashi. Tears were threatening to flow down her eyes as a lump of emotions formed within her throat. She wanted to cry but couldn't. She was the Hokage. She can't let her emotions gain the upper hand of her. The grip around the Hitai-e tightened as she lifted her head to the two waiting shinobi.

"You two are dismissed." She croaked out. One could tell easily she was breaking inside just by her voice and that did not escape the both of them.

"Before we leave, there's something else which we need to report, Hokage-sama." Neji walked in front of her table and Sasuke followed suit. The Hyuuga closed his eyes as he concentrated on the chakra signals around him. Only after making sure that no was around or near the office then did he reopened his eyes. "Kakashi and Sakura are not dead yet."

That got her attention alright. Her eyes widened in shocked as she looked at Neji then to Sasuke for confirmation.

"It's true. We did not kill them."

"B-But…"

A smirk was now visible on the raven-haired boy. "It's a long story."

"I have time."

So Sasuke retold the whole story to her, from what he witnessed during the earlier mission few months ago to the fight with Kakashi and Sakura. When he finished, Tsunade could only stare at him in disbelief.

"Is this all true?"

"Positive. You can send a search party to look for them but it is not advisable since it would be better for them to remain discrete."

"I see… you two are dismissed then. Just make sure that this information don't leak out to the village."

"We will, Hokage-sama." Sasuke replied, another smirk forming on his lips. "It was the Elders' mistake for placing too much trust in us and to think they gave you a lecture for that."

It was her turn to smirk now.

"Indeed."

TBC

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Love you all and thanks for the encouragement you all had given me to continue this chapter :)