Title: Unplanned Tactics

Summary: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." –To Kill a Mockingbird

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Prompt: Impulsive

Warnings: T

Comments: Continuation from the previous prompt (Bravery). There'll be a third part, coming tomorrow (hopefully)!

Well.

This was a predicament. His first opponent had been no match for Kusanagi—the match over before it'd begun. But by then, a swarm of enemies had been about to descend upon Sakura, kunai out and ready.

If only numbers mattered.

Sharingan whirring, Sasuke cut through the mass of bodies with an eerie grace. More leapt into the air, and several things became clear to Sasuke. Even in the moonlight, Sakura's iconic cropped hair and uniform was distinguishable. These shinobi seemed intent on her and only her, suggesting that their goal was to sabotage the mission. And lastly, his sharingan picked up many more chakra sources from beyond the foliage.

It took a split second, but Sasuke reacted impulsively. Later, he'd try to explain to a fuming Sakura that it'd been the most logical way to accomplish his role as the investigator and to protect them. In reality, it'd been a gut feeling so strong, he couldn't ignore it.

He leapt to meet their onslaught. He saw the blow come from behind long before it hit, but this time, just this once, he let it through. Within seconds, he was bound and gagged, dragged back into the depths of the forest.

"Looking for your friend?" he heard faintly. "Ah, is that Haruno Sakura I see there? The Godaime sent her own pupil. How interesting.

"Haruno Sakura, I warn you now! Cease and desist from your current path, and we will return your teammate unharmed. But should you choose to continue, we will kill him."

So, he was right. They were worried about Sakura.

Without another word, his captors were on the move, due south if his bearings were correct. Whoever these people were, they were handling him carefully enough, giving him ample time to plan…

They tossed him. Him, Uchiha Sasuke, was tossed to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he forced himself to stick to the plan. The minute he hit the ground, he performed a quick transformation jutsu, disappearing in a familiar puff of smoke.

"What? What's this? What's going on?" rang out around him. He almost smirked. Almost.

When the smoke cleared revealing his disguise, even further confusion spread.

"Ehhh?"

"Someone get the boss! Quick!"

"But we saw her! On the field! What's going on?"

The sound of quick footsteps echoed through the prison.

"Wha—" The man loomed over his subordinates. His head almost touched the door frame, and with his arms folded as they were, he filled the doorway. His most distinctive feature, however, was the scar running across his face.

For a moment, blank shock crossed his features, and then he threw his head back and laughed. "AHAHAHAHAHA! You're a clever one, Haruno Sakura—changing places with your little bodyguard is quite the tactic," he said, still chuckling. But then his expression darkened as he continued, "Too bad we saw through it."

"Ano… Please let me go," Sasuke implored. (Internally, he was retching at how pathetic he sounded.)

"Not a chance, little girl," the man said, leaning forward to examine him. "There's no way your little group is going to continue if you're our hostage."

How would Sakura act? How would Sakura act?

Just then, a wounded soldier dashed in, clutching his side. "Boss! The girls have decided to go to the village! They're leaving him behi—Ehh? That's the girl I saw leading them away!"

Immediately, the room erupted in chaos again, with half a dozen of its inhabitants pulling out kunai and aiming it directly at him.

Tch, as if they could actually hold him down.

But, this scout's latest report gave him an idea.

"That's just like Sasuke-kun," he moaned, hanging his head in dejection. "He doesn't value my skills. He probably thinks those other two bimbos can finish the mission without me."

Silence.

"Can they?" the boss asked.

Gotcha.

"No! Ino-chan and Karin-chan are too interested in flirting with Sasuke-kun, even though they both know he's mine!" he wailed. Inwardly, he cringed. If anyone found out how he acted today… he'd never live it down. Seriously though, all this over emoting was so taxing. How did she do this all the time? "They'll be completely useless to the village while you kill me and start an international war!"

That certainly got their attention. "No, no, we don't want a war," the boss said easily. "We're not planning on hurting you, Haruno-san. We just need to keep you out of the way for as long as possible. And if those two medics are as useless as you say they are, well, I don't see the need to interfere for now. Take our… guest away, and put those chakra draining chains on her. We all know of her impressive strength. Wouldn't want her breaking free any time, now would we?"

The chakra chains were a hassle, but Sasuke was more worried about other things right now.

Sakura, it's up to you now.