"Firefight" by JackieLupin
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.
Rated for language, battle sequences, and adult themes.
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And time stands still
Inside a picture
(I think of every word you say)
And time moves on to the next one
(I think of every word you said)
With every word you said
-Acceptance, "Breathless."
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CHAPTER FIVE
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Ten minutes later the mismatched group stood at the border of the training grounds. Naruto was still half asleep, though he looked rather excited as they waited for Kakashi to make his appearance. Sakura slouched against a tree impatiently, her foot counting down the seconds with every tap. Like Naruto she was excited too, though she hid her excitement behind annoyance. After five minutes of staring blankly at one another, Yamato offered, "We could warm up."
Naruto nodded and slung his bag to the ground where it hit with a resounding thud. "Kay, Sakura-chan," he said, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, "I'll take it easy on you-"
Sakura narrowed her eyes; was he seriously going to goad her? She packed a wallop of a punch that could down a fully-grown rhinoceros. Not to mention a mountain.
Her teammate barely had time to finish rolling up his sleeves before a well-aimed punch sent him flying back three feet. The bewildered expression that was plastered on his face almost made her laugh. But as the adrenaline raced through her veins, all time for humor was gone. In a flash, Sakura was next to him; her next jab flung him in the air. The third hit threw him back down on the ground. The fourth hit he managed to deflect, ducking underneath her wild punch.
Naruto's first punch grazed her cheek, and his second jabbed at her ribs.
Hissing in pain, she spun around and swiped at his legs with one of her own.
Naruto blocked it with his arm, slightly out of breath. Then he jumped up into the air with a victorious laugh and shot off into the canopy. "I thought we were just warming up!" he called back to her over his shoulder, blue eyes sparkling in his tan face. He raced through the trees, flinging branches out of his way.
She laughed and climbed up the trunk of the nearest tree to chase after her friend. "Yeah, well," she yelled at him, "This is more fun!" She ducked underneath the branch he pulled back and let go, narrowly missing those sharp bristles colliding with her face. Sakura sped up, her strong legs propelling her through the air, but a sudden, approaching presence made her give up the chase. Heart pounding, she turned around to look for the source of the familiar chakra signature.
Kakashi was walking towards Yamato and Sai, looking rather awkward without his Icha Icha. His silver hair was just as unkept as usual, though she wouldn't change a thing about it. He raised a hand in greeting to the two, then exchanged informal pleasantries with his fellow shinobi. Pride that Sakura had no business feeling spread over her; he was a good man, deep down underneath that cool, hard exterior.
Naruto too noticed the new visitor after he realized that Sakura had halted. "Kaka-sensei!" he shouted, jumping down from the canopy and loping over to his other teammates, "You made it!"
Kakashi glanced up at her. "Well, I promised I would."
Sakura jumped down and followed Naruto at a calmer pace. "You remembered," she teased quietly.
The Copy Ninja scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, well, if I hadn't-"
Whatever he was going to say was lost forever with the sudden presence of four new people in the training area. Two were standing next to the oak tree to her left, and the other two peered down from the leafy branches of the tree opposite their team. Sakura tensed and gripped her kunai; she hadn't even sensed them approach! Were they friends or foes? Before her whirling mind got the best of her, she recognized the masks and realized the newcomers made up an ANBU squad. She relaxed, but didn't let go of her kunai. She trusted them, sure, but why they were here she had no idea.
One of the four ANBU stepped forward while the others hung back restlessly. "Yamato, Sai," he said in a deep, gravelly voice, "Report back to the Hokage immediately."
They both nodded curtly. "Hai, ANBU-sama," they said simultaneously. Yamato looked at the four of them. "Sorry," he shrugged with an apologetic smile, "Looks like we'll have to postpone this until we return."
"Good luck, Sai, Yamato-taichou," Sakura called as they shouldered their backs and prepared to leave, "We'll be here when you get back."
Yamato nodded curtly and glanced at Kakashi, then turned and took off from the clearing.
"Take care," Sai nodded at the three of them stiffly; he knew the words to say goodbye, but understanding their importance was a whole different story. The dark-haired artist hesitated for a moment, an unreadable emotion squinting his eyes and thinning his mouth. He smiled falsely, then reluctantly followed the older shinobi back to the Hokage's office in the middle of the hidden village.
"What was that all about?" Naruto asked as soon as their two teammates disappeared into the canopy, throwing himself to the ground and sprawling out on his stomach, "I wonder what the rush was about." He rested his head on his arms and blew at a long strand of grass that stuck out from its companions. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, his eyes were hard and she could see the wheels turning.
Kakashi sighed and dropped his own pack. "Usually they don't send an ANBU squad to retrieve a shinobi," he mused thoughtfully, slouching against a tree and crossing his arms, "It must be urgent..."
A loud cry broke the quiet that had just descended into the training grounds after Kakashi's last words. Sakura jumped slightly and stiffened, hand still clenched around her drawn kunai. Naruto jumped to his feet and fell into a defensive position immediately, hands already forming the seals to the Replacement Jutsu.
Kakashi merely stood where he was; his arms remained crossed over his chest as a large messenger hawk glided down to eye level. The massive bird held out one leg in which it gripped a large scroll that was secured tightly by a piece of twine. Adrenaline raced through her veins, icy-hot, when Sakura realized it was an official mission scroll.
The older shinobi reached out and took the scroll from the bird. It took off moments later with another deafening relaxed and walked over to Kakashi. "A mission? What does it say?"
Kakashi broke the seal and unrolled the document. Sakura moved closer to him to read it over his shoulder, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered at their closeness. The writing was instantly recognizable as the Hokage's lazy scrawl, hastily written. A separate piece of paper fell out of the scroll; it was the blueprints to a building. She snatched it up and quickly scoured over it, memorizing its details even as Kakashi read the missive out loud.
I don't have time to brief you on your mission, the missive began, Two hours ago I received confirmation of the location of an suspected enemy infiltration of one of our ANBU bases. The squads stationed at the base, Squad 6 and Squad 12, have failed to answer my messages. Your mission is simple; you will infiltrate the base, discover the fate of the other ANBU squads, and take back the base. It is imperative that we regain control of it once more. There are also civilians that run the control and research centers. They are a secondary objective, but if at all possible, discover and recover them.
Naruto heaved a sigh. "Sounds simple enough," he said glumly as she handed him the map to look at.
"Baka!" Sakura chided lightly, "You want a harder mission than this?" She rolled up the blueprints that Naruto handed back and gave them to Kakashi, who pocketed them absentmindedly as he continued.
Sai's place on the team, who will be recalled for border duty along with an ANBU squad, will be temporarily filled by Hyuuga Neji. He has already been informed of the mission and will meet you at the west gates no later than midday. When the base is ours once more, signal by explosion. ANBU squads in the area will be able to reach you and help secure against any enemy reinforcements. May Kami protect you.
Sakura sighed. Any plans for a relaxing day with her team - and not to mention Kakashi- had just been washed down the drain. "We only have half an hour," she said, looking up at Kakashi and Naruto, "I need to go home and pack; why don't we all meet at the gate?" When Naruto nodded, she rounded on Kakashi. "Kami help you if you're late! I swear-"
Kakashi held up his hands and laughed. "I'll be there, Sakura, I promise-"
"On time!" Naruto added quickly, sealing all loopholes before Kakashi exploited them.
"Okay, okay!"
-
"All done," she announced to herself as she folded the last shirt and stuffed it in her pack.
She straightened her black leather gloves and belted the pants that she had just unceremoniously hiked up over her hips. She was wearing a simple black tank top over netting that covered her from hands to neck and tight, black pants with many pockets. In the plethora of pockets she slipped small things, like a protein bar for when she got hungry, as well as a couple of bandage rolls, a small, flat knife and a smoke bomb. She hooked her kunai pouch on the belt, then slipped on her boots and laced up the strings. Grabbing and shouldering her backpack, Sakura turned around to leave her room.
The light glinting off of a picture stopped her.
It was the one of her team those many years ago... Sakura stared at it for a moment, unsure of why it had caught her attention. After a long pause, she reached over and slammed the picture frame face-down on her bureau and then left the room.
-
It was no surprise that when Sakura arrived at the west gate there was just one other person standing there.
"Hyuuga Neji," she greeted wearily as she approached, mentally picturing how best to torture her other teammates for their chronic tardiness, "Nice day, huh?" She moved to stand next to him and glare out at the crowd that milled around them, hoping that in the next couple of seconds her eyes would train on two tall men, one with spiky blond hair and the other with a mop of silver.
The Hyuuga raised an eyebrow at her and grinned at her obvious exasperation. "Haruno Sakura. To your question, yes, the weather is very pleasant," he said sarcastically, his voice deep and smooth, "Of course, we have a mission to complete so we can't really savor this moment. Speaking of which, where is your team?"
She sighed and took a seat on a nearby bench, dropping her pack beside her. "I have no idea," she sighed heavily, rubbing her face with her hands, "Sorry about this. It's always like this."
Neji took a seat beside her. "I would nod in agreement, but my team is usually punctual."
Sakura rolled her green eyes at him. "Yeah, well, not all of us have a team such as yours."
The dark-haired Hyuuga chuckled. "We are certainly one of a kind." He folded his arms, sweeping in the long sleeves of his robe. He was wearing his usual white robe with the grey tails, paired with standard-issue sandals and white flak pants. His left arm was wrapped, the other left bare except for the support wrapped around his knuckles. Neji hadn't changed at all, Sakura realized; he was still the same man she knew from their Chuunin years.
The pink-haired kunoichi was just about to ask how his teammates were when she was interrupted by the arrival of one very-late teammate. It was Naruto; his blond hair was tousled and his jacket hung off of one arm as he hopped down the street trying to secure his other sandal. Neji raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sakura in amusement. However, she wasn't very amused, and pointedly refused to look at him. This was so embarrassing...
"You're late," she muttered, blushing slightly.
"Sorry!" Naruto laughed with a shrug, "I ran into H-... well, I ran into a friend."
Neji suddenly stiffened and glared. "What friend?" he asked coldly, his voice dangerous.
Naruto realized his mistake and folded his arms over his chest. "Inuzuka Hana," he lied smoothly, "She said to say hello to Sakura for me."Inwardly she sighed. Naruto had never been a good liar, but this... this was painful to watch. Neji's pale eyes were narrowed and hard, glinting like diamonds on Naruto's tight, defensive face. The seconds ticked by with the tension growing, and still neither man said anything. Just when Sakura was about to consider pummeling them both just to break the tension, Naruto looked away. "Where is Kakashi-sensei?"
"Late," Neji growled, not quite ready to let his anger go nor change the subject, "What, may I ask, are you doing with Hin-"
"There he is," Sakura interrupted, relieved that he finally decided to show himself.
His silver hair was like a beacon for his location; she could see him make his way through the crowd slowly and leisurely, as if they didn't have a mission that needed attending to. As if this was just a simple stroll through the park. He looked utterly unconcerned, but then again, emotions were hard to read when she couldn't see the set of his jaw or mouth. Kakashi met her eyes as he approached them, hands deep in his pockets. "Sorry I'm late," he said rather cheerfully, now pointedly ignoring the glare she shot at him, "There was a-"
"Let's just go," Naruto growled, turning away and walking to the gate, "We've wasted enough time."
Kakashi shrugged and followed him quite nonchalantly. She raised an eyebrow at him and watched them go. Sakura exchanged a glance with an exasperated Neji. "Like he weren't the one who held us up," Neji whispered quietly to her under his breath, "What is going on with-"
"Drop it," she said firmly.
Neji stared at her, affronted.
Sakura quickly softened her words. "Look, Neji, Hinata is her own person, and she can make her own choices."
Instead of relieving him, that just seemed to aggravate the Hyuuga shinobi even more. "What kind of a choice?"
She shook her head and shouldered her pack. "She'll tell you." She jogged ahead to catch up with the rest of her team, the Hyuuga right behind her. Silently they walked through the west gates and onto the dirt road that took them away through Fire country. Just as quickly, the team casually walked off the path and faded into the forest around it.
Sixty miles to the west lied the base. It was an outpost that she had seen countless times on the way to other missions, but she had never set foot inside of it before. And that was where they were headed.
She followed her three teammates, silently preparing herself for battle. She tried not to look at Kakashi more than was normal, but she found her eyes wandering over his form despite her resolve not to do so. If he noticed, he didn't say anything or do anything that meant he noticed. In lieu of a mission, Sakura was only slightly disappointed that the full day they would spend together in Konoha didn't work out. At least she would see him for a couple hours.
Three hours passed in this fashion. Naruto and Neji didn't speak as the minutes passed by; both seemed cold and angry. It was no secret that while Neji called Naruto a friend, the fact that he was 'seducing' the Hyuuga heiress away from her teammate made him angry. Neji was protective enough of Hinata as it was. Naruto was now a threat even though his intentions were pure.
Sakura breathed a huge sigh of relief when the compound finally came into sight. She hid herself behind a couple of scraggly thorn bushes to inspect the area. Even though her teammates had their chakra masked, she could still sense them, if only barely. Afterall, she had been around them for about ten years now; familiar chakra signatures could be sensed even if their shinobi was doing his or her utmost to hide it. Kakashi was about fifty feet away from her. She couldn't see him, but she knew where he was all the same. Naruto was almost halfway in between them, and Neji was on her right about twenty feet away and approaching her quietly.
She looked at him as he came over. His pale eyes were glinting in the gold afternoon light as they searched the area even as he whispered, "I don't sense anything."
Allowing a tiny sliver of chakra to escape, Sakura closed her eyes and just felt. She could feel the energy of the birds chattering around overhead, could feel the rabbits hiding in their burrows, and feel the fox that was hot on the trail of his next meal. Kakashi's signature was more pronounced now, and Naruto's was so strong it was like he was standing next to her. But she felt nothing else. "Nothing," she whispered back, "That's...odd."
"It feels like we're walking into a trap," the Hyuuga muttered, scowling, "I hate this feeling. Are we the hunters, or the hunted?"
She had no response to that.
Neji glanced up over at Kakashi. She felt the shinobi flare his chakra once, twice. The signal to approach the compound. Masking her chakra completely - she sensed Naruto and Neji do the same - she stepped out from her hiding place and carefully vanished into the underbrush as she approached the ominous building. The sun was setting now, the darkness creeping into the woods as the orange light from the sun bathed all it touched in a sickly glow. Great, she thought, It is going to be pitch black in there.
Kakashi touched the door, running his gloved hands up and down its length, searching. He turned the handle and pushed gently; the door swung open. She frowned. Why wouldn't it be locked?
Neji entered first, then motioned for them to follow. Sakura ran in after Naruto as Kakashi closed the door behind them. She waited patiently for her eyes to adjust to the light; all she could sense was her teammates in front of her. She tried to ignore Kakashi's presence behind her; he was too close for her liking, but not close enough at the same time. Tense, she waited. Beside her, Naruto shifted his weight, obviously impatient to go.
A touch on her arm nearly made her jump a foot in the air. Kakashi gently moved her to the side so he could walk past them into the darkness. Sakura held her breath for a few seconds, trying to now ignore the tingles that ran up her arm from just that single touch. Was it just her imagination, or did he hold on to her for longer than was necessary? When he walked by, she rubbed her arm in the place that he touched, glad that it was dark enough that her other teammates could not see what she was doing.
"Grab my hand," Naruto whispered, "I have Kakashi."
Sakura searched in the dark, then gripped the warm hand her friend offered her. She tapped Neji's shoulder - or where she thought Neji's shoulder was - and took his hand as well. Thus Kakashi lead the way down the pitch black corridor as the younger shinobi followed.
They continued this way for what felt like twenty minutes, even though inwardly she knew it was probably about five. The darkness was heavy on their shoulders, and the air was stuffy and dank. It hung in the air as if there hadn't been a window or a door open in years. The only things they could hear were each other's breathing and footsteps.
"First things first," she heard Kakashi whisper from the front of the odd formation, "We find the ANBU teams and any civilians. Then we take back control of the base."
Suddenly, a noise filled the area. Sakura jumped and released her teammates hands to immediately whip out a kunai. Kakashi backed up until his back bumped into her shoulder; defensively, Sakura spun around until they were back to back. She couldn't see anything or feel anything. She didn't want to risk unmasking her chakra and giving away their location. Next to her she felt Naruto; she gripped the sleeve of his jacket with her free hand.
Smoke filled the corridor. Coughing, Sakura struggled to catch her breath and discover the source of the smoke bomb. Someone was there, playing with them.
"Go!" Kakashi said hoarsely, his presence fading as he ran. Neji followed suit, quickly disappearing into the gloom. Naruto tugged at her arm, pulling her with him a couple feet before releasing her once they were moving. Sakura followed blindly, one hand over her mouth and nose. She hit something hard; a wall. No time to be embarrassed. Hastily she spun to her right and fled down the hallway to what was hopefully cleaner air. Her body ached as her lungs begged for air, but she couldn't breathe now. The taste of smoke was still strong in the air. She grew dizzy, and her movements grew weaker. She hung a left as she felt the wall end, then hung another left ten feet away.
Sakura fell to her knees, dropping her kunai. She kept one hand on the wall to orient herself as she drew in a deep breath of air, unable to hold it any longer. Immediately the dizziness went away, but she was left gasping and choking for air. When she had recovered, she glanced around. There was no one there. "Kakashi," she breathed quietly. No answer. She pulled herself up against the wall and waited.
Minutes passed with no sound, no answer. Her ears started ringing.
She gritted her teeth together and searched the darkness with wide eyes. Where were they? Irritation and agitation were starting to make her impatient as she waited for something to happen. Sakura didn't want to call out again; she had no idea if friend or foe would stumble on her hiding place. But she couldn't just stay where she was, otherwise sooner or later she would be discovered. So what to do?
Sakura sat still for a few more minutes, contemplating what her next plan of action would be. She would have to count on just herself; there might not be any backup available. And while she knew her team was skilled, they were in the middle of an operation. "Okay," she whispered finally, picturing the map of the compound in her head; objective one was to find what happened to the ANBU squads. Objective two was to retake control of the base. For now, Sakura would head towards the detention blocks and try to find the rest of the squad. And if she met up with her other teammates on the way, then great. For now, she would be solo. Just like I was trained, she thought wryly, thinking of her mentor and Hokage.
Noiselessly she straightened up and slipped into the hallway, a dark black shadow that blended with the walls. She avoided the circle of light coming from the intersecting hallway, pausing momentarily only to check to see that the coast was clear. Satisfied that for the moment she was alone, Sakura continued on her way, one slender hand clenching a fistful on senbon.
Left, she chanted inwardly, turning down the corridor and skirting around the next light that threatened to reveal her in its eerie glow. Three halls down, then left, then right. She emerged into a long corridor that was much wider than the others. "The main hall," she whispered, peering in the darkness to make sure no one else was with her.
Deciding to take a chance, she knelt to the floor and ever-so-slightly let a thread of chakra escape its firm cage. She sensed no other chakra signatures, not even slight traces. There wasn't even a single trace of energy that a civilian would give off. That either meant that no one was there and no one had been in this area for a long time, or it meant that all shinobi were hidden. Sakura masked her chakra again and slowly peered around the corner again.
Still no one.
Carefully, making sure her boots didn't scuff on the floor, the pink-haired kunoichi took off, jogging very lightly. The faster the better. This corridor was creepy to begin with; although it was wide and obviously one of the major hallways that connected the base from one end to the other, there were no doors or windows. She kept on, tired emerald eyes straining to see in the dark. She hoped she made it to the detention blocks soon, and hoped even more fervently that the two ANBU squads and countless civilians were alive.
She suddenly realized that she was getting no closer to the end of the hallway, no matter how much she ran. She stopped and flung her back against the wall, searching the darkness for the trap. But the only thing that met her was silence. She shifted the senbon to her other hand to wipe her sweaty palm against her pants, then gripped them again. Still, nothing approached her. There was no living energy that she could sense in this part of the building.
But this was a genjutsu.
Sakura formed the appropriate hand seals and whispered, "Kai." The sudden swell of chakra released itself with her whisper, suddenly exploding and dissolving the genjutsu. She waited silently in the darkness for a moment, hoping that her chakra spike wouldn't alert any enemy shinobi to her presence. Hesitantly, she stood up and moved a couple steps down the corridor. This time, the door moved closer with every step she took to meet it. With a sigh of relief, she continued.
Right. Left. Straight, then the second right. Left. Right. Right again. Left and straight.
Sakura was a little concerned. She had not felt one signature this entire time, had not felt one life-force. She had no idea where her other teammates were, and had no idea how to send a message to them.
Just as she was rounding a corner, a noise made her stop. She flung herself to the side and rolled back, hoping she made it in time not to be spotted. Even as she righted herself and stared down the hall, four people walked by. Sakura was astounded; they were shinobi, but she couldn't feel their chakra signatures. She only knew they were shinobi because of their graceful and powerful walk. The balance in which they moved. That was the only thing that gave them away, for their clothing was nondescript and casual, to say the least. She only had three brief seconds to learn as much information as she could about them, for then they were gone, having passed by her corridor to continue on their way.
That means that there is something that blocks chakra signatures in here, she thought, I can use as much as I want and still not be detected. But why would they want to block all chakra signatures? They'd be shutting off a major defense... so why? Unsure of that question, Sakura counted to five silently before getting to her feet once more and heading from where the four shinobi had come from. I hope the others are okay. Just as she thought of them, she shook her head. Can't think about them now. She had a job to do.
Five minutes later Sakura was crouched outside of the doors leading to the detention blocks. After her initial shock at seeing other shinobi, she had seen no one else besides the ones who they had run into previously. Taking a few long, deep breaths, she waited in the darkness, ears straining to hear any kind of noise. But all was silent.
She pushed the door open and slipped inside, hoping that the slight light coming from inside wasn't disturbed. Immediately she crouched behind what appeared to be a pile of empty crates to wait. The room was barren except for what looked like a single lab table in the middle of the room, piled with empty flasks and bottles that once held a plethora of substances. She sniffed the air; it smelled like the bottles and vials held antiseptic and herb poultices. There were bandages and splits piled on one corner of the table that supported her findings. At the far end of the room were cell blocks, barred and gated.
She had found the detention blocks.
Carefully she got to her feet and approached the cells. The light was dim and only illuminated the middle of the room and the lab table, so Sakura couldn't be sure if there was anyone inside the blocks. It was the small shifting sound of a body that alerted her that there was indeed someone there. She inched closer, but still wasn't able to make out a form in the darkness. Thankful that using her chakra wouldn't alert any enemy shinobi to her presence, Sakura concentrated a ball of chakra in her palm. Immediately the light from her chakra flooded the rest of the room.
A face stared up at her, its eyes fixed on her. She jumped back as she realized that the man was dead. His face was pale white and ashy. His eyes, though open, were stone. Sakura fell back another step and clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting in horror and surprise. She shook her head as if to clear it and continued.
The next cell over, however, held an occupant, and he was very much alive.
At first she thought the man was Sasuke. He had dark hair that fell forward into his eyes and similar pale features. Her heart pounded and her brain refused to work for a few seconds. Could it really be the Uchiha? A strangled cry fell past her lips. The man stirred and looked up at her groggily. It was just a trick of the light. Just something her overactive imagination decided to conjure up. Not Sasuke.
This man had green eyes, and his hair wasn't black, it was brown. "Genma," she breathed, immediately crouching down next to him and touching his neck to check his vitals. "Genma, can you hear me?"The shinobi groaned and turned his head away from her as she poked and prodded him. "S-Sakura?"
"Yeah, it's me," she whispered back, searching his body for any injuries. Besides a bandage on his arm, he appeared to be okay. "We're here, now. You're safe."
He groaned again and tried to focus on her face. "Just... just you?"
"Kakashi is here. And Naruto and Hyuuga Neji too."
"But.. where?" he asked.
She realized he hadn't moved anything but his head. "Genma, listen to me, okay? Can you move your feet? Wiggle your toes?" She waited with bated breath, hoping that his body hadn't been compromised. She shot another glance at the lab table that lay in the middle of the room. Did those potions also have a purpose for interrogation?
Genma nodded and shifted his foot slightly. "Mm... drugged."
"Drugged?" Sakura asked, lifting one of his eyelids to check his pupils. They were dilated. "Okay," she whispered, "Okay. Wait here for a second. I'm not leaving you, I just need to check-"
"I'm the only one," Genma slurred, shaking his head, "They...they are d-dead." He slumped back against the cell wall and closed his eyes.
Sakura sighed and let his arm drop. She gently inserted a small flicker of chakra into his veins and let it run through his body. A few seconds later, she realized that other than his sleepy state, Genma was healthy. She left him momentarily to check the other cells, knowing already what she would find. Two more were dead, a woman with short dark hair who she vaguely recognized and a man she had never seen before. This must be the rest of Genma's team. But where was the other ANBU team? And the civilians who also were employed here?
She was suddenly aware of a noise coming from the door that she had entered. Laying a hand on Genma's shoulder - a sign she hoped would tell him to keep silent - she moved towards the door silently. She crouched on the other side of the empty crates, a hand already reaching into her kunai pouch and wrapping around the cool metal. A shadow blocked the light and flickered to the left- there was definitely someone there. She tensed and waited to spring out of her cover and hopefully neutralize the danger before others were alerted that she was there.
The door was flung open so abruptly Sakura jumped a few inches. A hand shot out and caught the door before it slammed on the opposite wall just as she leapt out and flung her kunai at the intruder. She raced behind her kunai with her fists clenched and ready. She punched, but the intruder ducked with a hasty, "Sakura, stop, it's me!"
She stopped and squinted in the dark. Only one man she knew had silver hair that stuck up like his did, only one who towered nearly a full head over her. "You idiot," she softly hissed as Kakashi handed her back the kunai he had caught, "I could have-"
He chuckled and stepped around her. "Yes, if I wasn't aware of your techniques and how you fight." More seriously, he asked, "Did anyone make it?"
She led him over to Genma, who appeared to have fallen back under the effects of the drugs. "Genma is alive. He's okay, just heavily sedated. We'll have to carry him out. The others..." Sakura watched quietly as Kakashi knelt beside the other bodies to inspect them, ripping off the glove on his right hand to touch the body. A couple seconds later, he motioned for her to come closer.
"What do you make of this?" Kakashi asked, holding back the flap of the ANBU vest to show her a mottled bruise surrounding a single, small puncture wound. "Poison?"
She crouched beside him and placed her hand on the wound. It felt bad even before she used chakra to reveal the internal injuries. "Yes," she said simply, "The other two must have died in the same manner."
Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Genma and his squad were transferred here only days ago. Usually shinobi keep their prisoners much longer than this."
"Maybe they refused to talk." She didn't really want to think about what had happened, sad only that it had, and to Konoha ANBU to boot. "Kakashi... Naruto and Neji, do you-"
"They're fine," he answered immediately, "They are leading six civilians back out of the base as we speak. The second ANBU squad is dead as well, all with the same kind of puncture wounds." He got to his feet and tugged his glove back on, then looked at her. "We need to get Genma and the civilians to safety first. Then I plan to enter again to secure the base. We can't do it right now."
Sakura nodded. "I agree."
Kakashi smiled at her. "So much for my promise, huh?"
"It's okay," she chuckled, hoping she wasn't flushing under his gaze, "This counts for a day." Whenever he smiled... there was an ache in her chest that tugged sharply. Why did that pain feel so nice?
She wished she could understand what that sudden glint in his eye meant after she spoke. It was frustrating at times not being able to read him like she was able to read Naruto, and even at times Sai. She shook her head and turned away from him instead. This was neither the time nor the place to lose herself in daydreams.
Genma was out cold at her feet; it didn't even appear like he had been awake moments before and talking with her, he was so lifeless. Sakura forced herself not to think the worst and just get him to safety. Crouching down beside the older shinobi, she flung his cumbersome arm over her shoulders and straightened with a groan as she supported their combined weight on her legs. "Can you-" the silver-haired shinobi asked, before shaking his head at the glare she sent him, "Alright, alright."
They moved into the corridor silently, three dark shadows against an even darker backdrop. Her ears roared with the silence that was only punctuated by Genma's soft breathing every now and then. Kakashi lead the way, inching carefully through the hallways, sniffing the air occasionally. Sakura felt so cut off, so naked without being able to sense the chakra signatures of her companions, or even of herself. There was just a sickening emptiness inside of her. She could feel her own chakra, but she couldn't sense it. It wasn't smell, or sight, or even taste. A chakra signature was more like an image, a feeling that rolled over the body. For Kakashi, she usually felt a wind, and imagined more than saw the way water rippled when the wind blew over its surface. Naruto's was like fire, warming and reaching as far as it could. Neji's felt like smooth stones, warming in the sun. Genma's usually felt like the ground beneath her feet and the way it trembled when walked upon.
So intent was she on trying to remember the sensation of chakra signatures that she almost walked head-first into Kakashi when he stopped dead. Instead, the kunoichi glanced up just in time to see him stop, and hastily took a step backwards to avoid colliding with him. He briefly looked over his shoulder at her with a silver eyebrow raised in question. She stared back nonchalantly, hoping that the dim of the corridor would hide her blush from him.
"Kakashi," she said suddenly, hoping he would know the reason she couldn't sense anything, "Chakra-"
"I know," he replied, "It's a part of the base. It's the walls. Something about them absorb chakra signatures, leaving nothing."
"But why? It makes defending this place even harder."
"I don't think that Konoha did this. I think this is the work of whoever has control of this base now."
Ten minutes later and Sakura was starting to feel edgy. Every small noise had her jumping slightly like a skittish cat would jump at its own shadow. Kakashi seemed as cool and collected as ever, but the tension radiating from him told her otherwise. There was just a bad feeling in the air; she was sure that her old sensei could even smell it, for his nose was as good as Kiba's. She paused; she hadn't thought of Kiba in the longest time. Only a slight tinge of hurt radiated through her at his name. Maybe she had finally gotten over the hurt that the dog-shinobi caused her, accepted it and moved on.
There was a soft footstep from their left, and then the sound of metal on metal that had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
Even as Kakashi yelled, "Sakura!" she threw herself forward onto the floor, taking Genma down with her as the kunai whipped past their heads to clatter on the wall behind them. The sedated shinobi groaned as he hit the stone floor but then was still, settling back into his drug-induced stupor. Sakura crouched beside Genma, shielding him with her body. For the umpteenth time that day she cursed whoever came up with the idea to make sure that chakra could not be detected inside the walls.
When she heard Kakashi growl, she looked up. Standing before them were the four shinobi she had seen earlier, plus another two that rivaled Chouji in height and bulk. Her breath caught; they were severely outnumbered, and with Genma out for the count-
Sakura reached behind her to grab a fistful of kunai, already knowing that the narrow hallways would prove to be a hindrance in battle. There wouldn't be much room to maneuver in here at all. She glanced at Genma; if they even got close to him, they would kill him. But it would be hard to protect him while protecting themselves. So what to do?
Kakashi attacked first, a blur of silver, green and gray that flashed from wall to wall in the dim lighting. Then there were three Kakashi's, each one battling three of their enemy. That left three that slipped past him and their other teammates to head towards Sakura. One was burly and tall; he must have been a guard, for he was still wearing the uniform. One was cloaked and had a staff gripped tightly in his hands. His face wasn't visible under the hood, and for a fleeting instant Sakura was reminded of Daeco, the monster she had killed on her last scouting mission. The last was one of the shinobi she had seen earlier after being separated from the others; he had a katana, drawn and ready. With a curse, she flung her kunai; it was deflected by the Stone shinobi with the katana, just like she knew it would be. Her instincts told her weapons would be useless. She had to fight with them at a close range so she could protect Genma at the same time.
She concentrated her chakra into her hands until they glowed with a yellow-green light. She had actually copied the technique from the Healers at the hospital in Konoha, except it was the complete opposite of its intention. Instead of healing from the inside out, this specific technique of hers would kill from the inside out. All she had to do was get close enough to touch them. The male shinobi hidden in his long cloak stopped and smirked at her. "Ladies belong at home," he taunted at her, crossing his arms over his staff.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. He didn't think she was dangerous? She was jounin level dammit! With a cry of fury, she leapt forward and slammed her fist into the bridge of his nose. She felt blood spurt over her hand as bone snapped with an awful crack. He died instantly from shards of bone that lodged their way inside his brain. She didn't look at the body that lay at her feet; she knew the face would be mangled beyond recognition underneath the hood. Trying to ignore the hot blood that soaked her hands, she focused on the shinobi in front of her. The remaining two shinobi balked slightly, then seemed to remember how to work in pairs. Both rushed her at the same time; one was wielding a katana in one hand, and she had no doubt that he knew how to use it. The other had an evil-looking knife. She didn't want to be hit with either. Hoping that the corridor would be stable enough not to cave in on them, Sakura grabbed Genma and raced down the hallway, hoping that they would follow. They did.
Getting as far away from Kakashi as possible - she didn't want to hurt him - Sakura let Genma slide to the ground as she retraced her steps. The shinobi with the katana was the first to draw even with her as she ran back through the corridor. She ducked underneath his swing, but wasn't fast enough for his second. A line of pain originated across her abdomen, followed by the metallic smell of blood on the air. She winced and drew her fist back, chakra concentrated and ready for impact. As soon as her fist hit the low ceiling, a deafening rumble followed as the stones from the walls piled down around her. Blindly she threw her weight back to land near Genma, trying to shield him from the boulders that were raining down on them. She cried out as a particularly jagged one connected solidly with her back; that was definitely going to leave a bruise.
Sakura crouched on the ground and covered her head with her arms as the rubble fell down around them. Two seconds later, the rumbling stopped and the air was filled with dust. Genma stirred underneath her, groggily blinking as the dust slowly cleared away from the air. She looked up; the hallway was darker than before. The cave-in blocked out the light from the other side. Kakashi!
The pink-haired kunoichi scrambled to her feet and stumbled over to the pile of stone that separated them from Kakashi. Desperately she tried to listen for any sound of life on the other side, but there was nothing. She hoped that he was alright. She knew he was more than capable of looking after himself in fights, but still, she couldn't help but worry. With a sigh, Sakura turned around to look at Genma.
He grinned at her lazily. "What'd I miss?" he slurred slightly, eyes still unfocused.
"Nothing important," she answered distractedly, peering around the corridor. It didn't appear that anyone had noticed all of the commotion, otherwise they would most likely be surrounded. Frankly, Sakura didn't want to push her luck by staying where she was any longer. She turned to glance at Genma. "Stay back, okay? This will just take a second."
He nodded and gave her a weak thumbs-up. "As you say, cherry blossom."
She walked back over to the pile of rubble sitting in the middle of the corridor. "Kakashi?" she called tentatively, "Kakashi, if you can hear me, stand back, okay?" She waited a couple seconds just to be safe, then concentrated chakra in her palm just as she had done moments before. She coiled up, then smashed her fist into the middle of the rock pile. With a shuddering groan the rocks were shot to the floor. She winced and cracked her bruised knuckles. "Enough for today," she said to herself before walking over to the sitting shinobi and hauling him to his feet, "C'mon, let's go."
Genma nodded, eyes slipping shut again. His feet dragged on the floor beside them, his weight threatening to collapse them both. Sakura gritted her teeth and stepped over the rocks, yanking Genma along with her. Two bodies lay at her feet; the guard had been crushed by the rocks. The other one who had taunted her lay a couple feet away, face down on the floor. Two feet away from the dead men was a tall silhouette, leaning lazily against the wall. She sighed with relief as she realized it was just Kakashi.
He was staring at her bemusedly. "Should have seen that coming, I suppose," he teased. It was just then that Sakura noticed the egg-sized lump gracing his head.
She winced apologetically. "Ouch."
Kakashi just shrugged. "I'm getting old," he responded with an eye-crease, "I should have moved out of the way." He looked at Genma. "Still as lazy as ever." He walked over and hooked Genma's other arm over his shoulder, helping her support the sedated and unconscious man. "Let's get out of here."
Together they moved through the rubble and continued on their way.
-
It was not ten minutes later when Sakura heard raised voices begin to echo throughout the compound. They began softly, so softly that she was sure she was just imagining them. Sakura couldn't deny that they were just figments of her imagination when even her teammate tensed and stopped to look around. She glanced at Kakashi with an eyebrow raised. "If that's Naruto," she whispered heatedly, "he's dead."
Kakashi chuckled. "I think that means that they're okay."
Just to be sure, the odd company waited in the shadows, the two on either side barely breathing while one snored away unsuspectingly in the middle. As the voices came closer and closer, Sakura could also hear footsteps, and lots of them. It must be Naruto and Neji with the civilians. "Stay here?" she whispered to Kakashi, ducking under Genma's arm and stepping out into the corridor. Without waiting for a response from the older man, she tiptoed down the hall and peered to the left.
No one yet, though the noise was getting louder.
She fervently hoped that no more enemy ninja heard them coming, though she knew it was foolish to wish that, for the group that was moving so quickly through the compound were making enough noise to wake a village from a mile away. Sure enough there was a gaggle of people speeding down the hallway.
Naruto roared as soon as he saw her. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled, "We need to get out of here! NOW!"
"What's the matter?" Sakura asked, racing over to him, "What's going on?" Six terrified civilians stared at her with pale faces. They were clothed in an assortment of jackets that someone might find at a lab; three were wearing the white lab coats, one was wearing a simple robe, and the other two had grease covering their raggedy, patched clothing.
"Stone shinobi," Naruto panted as they ran, "They're going to blow the base. We have only a couple minutes before it goes!"
Sakura turned to glance behind her as Naruto ushered and herded the civilians through the corridor that led to Kakashi and Genma. "Where is Neji?" she demanded.
"Holding them back- as long as he can!"
With a curse, Sakura rounded on Naruto. "Get them out of here," she ordered, "I'm going to help Neji. Kakashi is down that hallway with Genma. No matter what happens, keep going, okay?"
Naruto stared at her with shaded blue eyes. Then he nodded and closed his mouth, his eyes narrowing in determination. "I'll kill you if anything happens to you," he said furiously, then slapped her on her back and took off down the hall to meet up with Kakashi and Genma. She watched him for a moment and was both saddened and happy to realize once more how much her friend had grown up. She saw a man now - a very tall and energetic man - leading six men to safety, no matter what it took.
Neji.
Sakura took off, ignoring the twinge of pain from her abdomen as she all but flew down the hallway. It wouldn't be too hard to find the Hyuuga; once the pounding of footsteps faded away behind her she could clearly hear the tell-tale clashes and scuffs of fighting ahead. She sprinted around a corner and gathered chakra in her fists, preparing to leap into the fray. Sure enough when she rounded the last corner there was a mess of shinobi in the mess hall, all surrounding one blur of white and black in the middle.
With a yell, Sakura launched herself at the nearest group of shinobi, fist already aiming to kill. Three turned their backs on Neji's brutal attack to face her instead; one died instantly from the impact of her fist. The two others leapt away to regroup. She spun around on her heel to stop her momentum just as one of them attacked. She blocked the first punch and was forced to duck underneath the second kick as the chamber shook with a deafening roar. The very ground was trembling underneath her feet.
The pink-haired kunoichi gasped in pain as she was suddenly sent flying through the air. She watched the stone fly away underneath her and closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the inevitable impact. She hit the ground just as hard as she feared, bruising her knee and scraping the side of her arm. "Dammit," she gasped breathlessly, struggling to pull herself upright. But she wasn't fast enough; she barely had time to look up at the shinobi standing in front of her before she was flying through the air yet again.
Blood dribbled from her mouth onto the stone floor once she was grounded again. "That's it," she groaned, "No more." Using all of her willpower, she pulled herself to her feet and swayed. There were only five shinobi left standing, and with every tremble of the ground they seemed more and more ready to leave. Even as she looked around the room three Stone shinobi turned around to leave the building before it collapsed. Neji spun and kicked his opponent square in the jaw; the shinobi did not get up, but neither did Neji.
"Sakura," Neji greeted wearily as she ran over to him, wiping a trail of blood from his chin, "You look like I feel." Somehow, the Hyuuga pulled himself to his feet and balanced on one leg.
"Thanks," she bit out sarcastically, eyeing the two shinobi that remained warily. "The whole place is caving in," she called over to them, "In a few minutes we'll all be dead. Are you really going to wait for that to happen?"
"We-we have orders!" one of them called back, but the other hesitantly moved to the door.
"Get out of here," Sakura said tiredly, "We have no further quarrel with you at this moment." Her stomach was beginning to throb with a dull, constant ache. She was at her limit for excitement for the day.
Neji sighed with utter relief as the two Stone shinobi left without another word. "Let's get out of here," he muttered, limping to the exit, a pained grimace accompanying his every step.
"Remind me to look at your leg when we're out of here," she said, walking over to the wounded Hyuuga to help him move along faster, "Right now we just need to find the exit."
"Byakugan!" the dark-haired shinobi said as he allowed Sakura to tow him behind her as she sped down the hall, focusing a good amount of chakra into her legs just so they could make it out of the building in time. "Take a left, then two rights; here, Sakura!" Her chakra was draining at an alarming rate. She hoped she would have enough chakra to get them out of the building before it collapsed. Neji wasn't going to be able to help much; his leg lay at a twisted angle that nauseated her to look at.
The hair on the back of her neck began to prickle. No, she thought desperately, Not yet! Just wait a couple more minutes! She thought they were getting closer to the exit; the air seemed cleaner, not as dank and thick.
"Hurry," Neji whispered hoarsely, "We don't have much time."
Even as he whispered, there was an earth-shaking explosion from behind them. The entire building trembled with the aftershock of it and Sakura almost lost her footing.
She ran and ran. Her stomach ached and the muscles in her legs cramped and pulled, but she knew she couldn't stop just yet. With every breath came a sharp pain. Neji tried to help, but his broken leg only served to send them stumbling a couple of steps. After several terse minutes of running for their lives, Sakura thought she could see light. Fire boiled and bubbled behind them.
"There!" the Hyuuga shouted as the building gave one last shudder before there was a deafening roar. The building was collapsing behind them! Neji quickly released his hold around her shoulders to grab her waist; with a push of his good leg, he sent them flying as far as he could as the last of her chakra was drained. She clung to him tightly as they flew, closing her eyes and covering her head with her hands as fire raced on behind them.
Did we make it? she asked herself quietly, unable to bring herself to open her eyes. Her last regret was not being able to see Kakashi again, to at least tell him what he meant to her. Will I ever have that chance?
They hit something solid, and then all was black.
-
Hello all! I'm not dead, just busy. This might be the longest chapter I've written for 'Firefight' yet, so consider it as an apologetic gift for taking so long to get this chapter out. Hope you liked it!
Over and out.
-Jackie