"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" One of the guards snarled, swinging his broadsword to point accusingly towards the prisoners. Who, incidentally, weren't really prisoners anymore. Sakura smiled.

There was a hurried frenzy of movement as tent flaps were swished open and men rushed out into the clearing. Alarmed shouts and yells echoed in the cool dawn of morning, the sight of four unrestrained Konoha ninja standing in the middle of the camp catalyzing a minor panic.

Sakura allowed herself a smirk, finding some perverse enjoyment in how the rogue ninja scurried about the camp fearfully. She cracked her knuckles. They would pay for their overly zealous interrogation tactics. I'll show them to hit a lady... She grinned sweetly at a man who was stumbling nervously across her field of vision. He dropped his thick, metal shield on his foot with a yelp.

I think I'll punch his head off, she decided, feeling generous. And then I'll kick that guy with the unibrow in the balls! An immense amount of chakra thrummed through her arm and collected in her tiny fist. She couldn't fully repress the thrilled giggle at the intoxicating rush of power.

And then she was sprinting forwards, her fist clenched tightly and raised high above her head. Roaring with a pent-up righteous fury that could rival Tsunade's, she startled her prey into fear induced paralysis. So intent on creating a human pancake was she that, absorbed in the throes of divine retribution, Kakashi's warning cry fell on deaf ears.

A split second before her fist connected with the horrified face of a man about to die a very violent death--a spiky human boulder tumbled forcefully from the sky and crushed him into the earth.

Sakura had just enough time to redirect her momentum and swing into a clownish pirouette. She twisted away jerkily, stumbling backwards. Naruto caught her under the arms. Dirt sprayed into the cool morning air and the ground rumbled at the impact. It was tremendous in every sense of the word.

Sakura quickly disentangled herself from Naruto's possessive hold. The Jinchuriki smirked, clearly pleased with his timely and valiant rescue.

"Chouji!" Sakura stifled the urge to smack the smugness off of her teammate's whiskered face, "A little warning next time please!" Kakashi sighed in exasperation behind her, his energetic stance faltering for a moment.

"Sorry, Sakura." Chouji's eyes squinted as he smiled apologetically at her, his round cheeks dimpling. He reached into his pack and swiftly tossed a kunai to each of them, stepping seamlessly into their formation. The five of them stood with their backs to each other in various stances, ready to spring at a moments notice.

During the few seconds it took for them to get organized, the rogue ninja had surrounded them completely. In the grey light of the coming morning everything looked fuzzy and soft except--

Sakura's green eyes widened at the sight of a hundred razor-sharp arrow heads, dripping with black beads of moisture, facing them on all sides. She felt Naruto shift beside her.

"Stop!" She put her arm out in front of him, "Nobody move! Those arrows are dipped in poison!" If they so much as scratch us we'll be in trouble--I haven't stolen any antidotes yet!

"Smart girl," A deep voice chuckled, "She's right. One move and you're done."

Everybody's eyes shifted to see a tall man push his way through the ranks. He wore a sleeveless vest that was left unbuttoned, the scarlet and gold designs accenting the bulky muscles that rippled powerfully beneath his tanned skin. Dark, billowy pants were tucked into a thick, decorated belt and shin-length black boots. His long black hair was twisted into snarled dreadlocks that swirled about him as if he were moving through water. Jagged pieces of glass and metal were woven sporadically into the strands, glinting and clinking with each heavy step that he took. Sakura squinted and, in the thin light of the approaching dawn, she could see that the shards of glass and metal were glossed with a thin layer of some slick green substance. Poison! She tightened her grip on her kunai, The man went and turned himself into a poisonous porcupine!

She opened her mouth to warn the others but was shocked into silence when one of the archers shot the tall porcupine man straight in the foot. There was a collective gasp of horror and all of the bows went slack for a moment. The shock and horror of one of their own randomly attacking their leader muddled the rogue ninjas' movements. That's gotta be Ino and her mind-body-transfer jutsu!

Before Sakura could even blink, thick wooden walls erupted violently from the ground around the camp. There were screams of pain and surprise as the wood corkscrewed wildly to the treetops, fencing everyone in. The towering walls cast a ring-shaped shadow that encircled the five Konoha ninja. Sakura glanced warily at the startled faces of her teammates, their expressions illuminated softly in the thin light of morning.

"What are you doing?!" Hijame bellowed, his barbed hair swinging wildly in his rage, "Shoot them!"

There was a moments hesitation and confusion before the rogue ninja starting yanking back on their bowstrings. The jagged tips of countless arrows pointed at the tense knot of Konoha ninja standing in the impromptu spotlight.

Sakura flinched but no arrows came.

All of the warriors were frozen in various poses, caught mid-action. Shadows writhed like snakes about their feet. Shikamaru! Sakura grinned at the confused and furious expressions contorting the rogue ninjas' faces as they struggled against their invisible bonds.

Exploding tags attached to kunai were thrown into the disheveled ranks of rogue ninja. Small explosions and clouds of dust and grit filled the air. Water was sprayed into the sporadic fiery explosions, maintaining an effective smog. Sakura blinked as her vision was obscured--she couldn't even see Naruto standing right beside her! Now what am I supposed to do?

A hand fell heavily on her shoulder from behind.

Sakura gasped in surprise and, out of reflex, jabbed her elbow backwards sharply. There was a muffled 'Oomph!' from her attacker as her elbow connected with a hard chest. Never one to be taken advantage of, Sakura swung her leg blindly in a powerful roundhouse kick. She reeled, off-balance, when her foot met with empty air. Suspecting that her opponent had crouched, preparing to spring at her, Sakura fell into a crouch herself. Her suspicions were verified as a sandaled foot caught on her side, the taller body of her attacker tumbling clumsily to the ground as he tripped over her. Through the clearing dust she could make out his slender form sprawled unceremoniously on the ground before her. She smirked, gathering chakra into her fist, I'll teach him to sneak up on me like that!

As the murky form of her opponent quickly rolled and executed a tight backflip, Sakura felt a tingle of trepidation. He looked fast. He landed in a catlike crouch that was so graceful it was almost sensual. Sakura steeled herself.

She started swinging her chakra-strengthened fist the second he sprung forwards.

Just as a pair of hard, thin arms encircled her waist, her fist came into contact with a silvery white crown. She heard a noticeable crack as his neck snapped sideways and felt the reverberations echo up her forearm. The force of her blow sent her attacker flying to the side, but she was dragged with him. His arms were hugging her tightly. Sakura shrieked in surprise as the world spun around her, a dizzying kaleidoscope of dust and grey predawn light.

She made a small sound as all of the air rushed out of her lungs when a limp body landed heavily on her, pressing her into the dirt. Sakura lay still for a moment, beneath him, and just tried to breathe. As soon as she got half a breath of oxygen she started struggling, pushing the unwelcome weight away furiously. This had gone on long enough. Sakura felt her anger rising to a dangerous level.

All of a sudden her abductor squeezed her tightly to his chest. Sakura shrieked. I thought that he was dead! Her face was forcefully buried in the crook of his neck. A familiar, deliciously masculine smell flooded her nostrils as her nose rubbed against his collarbone. But this just made her angrier.

She clawed at him, struggling. He clumsily yanked them both into a standing position, weaving dizzily. Sakura took full advantage of this momentary lapse. She snarled angrily as she drove her knee into his crotch.

The reaction was instantaneous and gratifying.

He cried out loudly, a surprised and unguarded yelp that was a couple octaves higher than normal male speech patterns. Sakura had to take a step back as he tremulously collapsed against her, his legs giving out. Mind muddled with pain, he clung to her desperately, unable to make the distinction between friend or foe. He panted, fingers fisting in the back of her shirt, and tearfully buried his face in her neck.

Sakura smirked evilly. She had not been conservative with the amount of chakra used.

Sakura briskly shoved him off her. He stumbled back into Yamato's wooden wall and slid haltingly to the ground, hands between his trembling legs. That felt good, Sakura smiled to herself at the satisfying sight.

She quickly turned away from his hazy outline--I need to find the rest of my team! She took a few hesitant steps forward through the cloudy fog. If I could just see! Another round of exploding tags erupted around her, and she felt a thin spray of moisture dust over her. The dispersing fog was renewed. Crap, where are they?

"D-Dammit Sakura," a deep voice stuttered angrily in her ear, making her jump. What--Who?

A gloved hand squeezed her wrist and she was jerked around. She gasped in surprise. The masked face of her sensei swam nebulously through the mist, millimeters from her own. He was frowning.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura tightly hugged the older man's rigid frame, melting a little with relief, "I'm so glad you found me! Some creep wouldn't stop attacking me and I couldn't find you guys!" The words spilled out of her and she squeezed him like a big teddy bear, "But I kicked him in the balls, sensei, just like you told me I should if some guy gets too grabby! I don't think he'll be having kids anytime--"

"I wasn't attacking you..." He muttered weakly.

Sakura froze in the middle of rocking him back and forth. Her eyes snapped open in horror.

Ohhh shiiiit.

"Oh shit."

He coughed awkwardly. Sakura quickly released him, mortified. Her mouth opened and closed in wordless horror.

"Just," he paused and Sakura noticed that he appeared to be having some trouble straightening his right leg, "C'mon." he growled.

Sakura let him drag her by the wrist back to the wooden wall and she followed him up it. Their ascension wasn't very fast. Their progress, to her utter chagrin, was impeded by his slight limp and inability to walk in a straight line.

After an eternity of awkwardly stubborn navigation, they leapt from the top of the wall to the large tree branches below. Sakura landed lightly. Kakashi had to use her arm to balance himself, his other was pin-wheeling sluggishly in an attempt to remain upright.

"There you are!" Her head snapped up to see Captain Yamato perched on a branch above them, "What took you guys so long?" He tilted his head to the side when he asked this and the motion reminded Sakura of a bird.

"Uhmm..." Sakura's eyes widened.

"I uh," Kakashi wheezed slightly, bending forwards with his hands on his knees, "She..." Words seemed to escape him as he let out a strangled groan and fell to his knees, "Ow..."

Sakura quickly stepped in front of him, "Heh heh heh." Sai and Naruto leapt up to stand next to Yamato, joining the already too crowded scene. Naruto's blue eyes widened at the sight of his former sensei attempting to fold himself in half.

"Hey! What happened to Kaka-sensei?" He demanded.

"Nothing!" Sakura looked at them wide-eyed. Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously and Yamato blinked. Sai frowned thoughtfully.

"Why are his hands down his pants? Did he hurt his penis?"

"SAI!!!"

"I told you to stop talking about that!" Naruto bopped the confused boy on the head, grinding his teeth together. Yamato sighed a very exasperated sigh and looked to the heavens for patience. Chouji suddenly leapt up next to Sakura and Kakashi, carrying Ino's limp body bridal-style.

"Alright!" Yamato cut Chouji off before he could ask anything," Shikamaru's jutsu won't last much longer so we have to leave now. Naruto," he turned to the hyperactive blonde, "Stay behind with him until his jutsu wears off. He'll lead you to the designated meeting point. Chouji, travel a little slower than the rest of us, Ino needs time to catch up with her body. Everyone else, let's head out!" He turned to go, but seemed to reconsider and looked back over his shoulder darkly.

"Sakura. You'll need to help Kakashi-senpai."

Everyone leapt away, Naruto towards Shikamaru's crouched form a couple of branches over, and the rest into the surrounding forest. Sakura stiffened as she suddenly became aware that the background noise of various moans had ceased. Her neck prickled and she felt someone's cold glare stabbing her in the back. She hesitantly turned her neck to look behind her.

Kakashi was pouting down at her, having stood up at some point during Yamato's orders. His lanky arms were hugging his bruised skull childishly and one of his legs was slightly bent and crossed over the other. His grey eye narrowed frostily.

"...Heh heh...heh," She laughed nervously, "Sorry sensei." He glared. Sakura tentatively reached out to tousle his hair in an intended gesture of apology. The silvery white locks were adorably ruffled, some parts fluffing up through his fingers and arms while the majority retained the intended smooth, glossy look.

Her hand was smacked away so fast that she couldn't see it.

He sniffed haughtily and looked away from her, dismissive. Sakura's eyes widened at the out-of-character disdainfulness. Kakashi sedately lowered his arms to his sides in an attempt to keep his dignity intact. There was a taut silence between them. Sakura's grin felt strangely lopsided.

The strained moment was cut short, his single eye flickering conspirationally back to hers. He smiled and his shoulders shook silently with repressed laughter. A loud giggle spilled out of Sakura and Kakashi shook his head.

"Tsunade's taught you well..."

"Heh heh...yeah."

Sorry for the long delay! Research papers are nasty little buggers they are.

So here's chapter 6! I'm trying to stuff in as much humor as I can before things start getting rough :/ heh. I might be lowering the rating, depending upon the outcome of some future chapters but who knows.

On a side note, some of you might be wondering about Kakashi's personality, especially in the last chapter. He's a little distracted. I did this on purpose, there's a reason why he always seems to be changing his focus. I'm not going to tell you why right here, you'll have to keep reading to find out, but I will tell you this. I didn't write him as a strangely distracted person because I think that is how he thinks or how he is. That was mostly for just that particular uncomfortable situation, to show how he reacted to it.

Alright! I've probably given enough away lol. Anyway, thank you for reading! Please review and tell me what you think.

Thanks!

~Flintyminty25