Twenty: Demonstration of Power
Kakashi sighed. It really was bad luck that had gotten him into this situation. He'd done what he was supposed to—just sticking to the shadows—and look where it had gotten him. He was sitting up against a pole, his hands bound tightly behind him with chakra rope. He tried loosening the knots, but so far he had been unable to succeed. Kakashi was stuck.
The only comfort he had in his situation was that they hadn't dragged Sakura in yet, which must have meant she'd made it out. He prayed she wasn't stupid enough to come back for him.
Everything had been going according to plan, but really, he should have known better than to think that they could be so lucky. The apparent incompetence of the first men he'd seen had made him think that the mission could be that easy, but he was wrong.
He had made it almost three-quarters of the way to his and Sakura's meeting spot when he'd heard a noise behind him. Recognizing it as the sound of an approaching squad, Kakashi had tried to find a place to hide, but there wasn't enough time. The area he'd been in had been too open.
He cursed the fact that he'd forgotten about the genjutsu barrier. He should have known that the barrier would not only prevent the outside world from sensing what was going on inside the camp, but prevent those inside the camp from sensing what was going on outside of it.
His only chance had been to fight. Considering how recognizable he now was amongst the rebels, he didn't trust his ability to bluff his way out of the situation.
Kakashi knew it would be a scout team heading back in. If nothing from outside the barrier could be sensed, it was logical to assume that there was always a scouting party outside somewhere. He noted that they apparently weren't doing a very good job if he and Sakura had been able to traipse around without attracting any notice.
Kakashi had his weapons out and his Sharingan exposed by the time the scouting group had burst through the barrier. He wasted no time, hurling a shuriken in the direction of the group's apparent leader, and downing him before the man knew he was being attacked.
The rest of the men let out various exclamations of surprise, but Kakashi didn't give them a chance to recover their wits. He attacked quickly and fiercely, trying not to be discouraged by the fact that more men were coming through the barrier.
Realizing he had no other choice, Kakashi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. There were too many men now for him to handle without the use of the Kamui. Unfortunately, it would sap his strength much quicker, making a long escape harder. He would just have to finish the fight quickly.
Kakashi had managed to dispatch over half of the scouting regiment before he felt his control over the Kamui start to slip. He was getting tired, and he knew it wouldn't be long before it would become impossible for him to use the Mangekyo and move at the same time.
Something sharp lodged in the back of his neck, and Kakashi grabbed it, pulling it out instantly. It was a small senbon, and its tip had clearly been coated with something. His body began to sag, and the silver-haired jonin feared it was poison, but he knew he'd pulled the senbon out before much of the substance could have worked its way into his system. And it would take a lot more than a few drops of even the deadliest poisons to affect him like this.
"A sedative," he murmured, dropping to his knees and cursing himself for getting hit.
His control over his body waned, and Kakashi found himself tipping forward. The ground rushed up to meet his face, then everything went black. When he finally came to, he was slumped up against the post, black cloth back in place covering his left eye, unable to move or use his chakra to free himself.
There was a loud noise somewhere in the back of the crowd that had formed around him. Kakashi wondered if it was the leader, coming to decide his fate. The silver-haired shinobi knew he would likely be killed. It didn't make much sense to keep him alive when he was obviously the strongest person there. His escape would be too high of a risk for them.
The commotion continued, and in a way, Kakashi was glad for it. The men hadn't said much since he'd woken up. They just sat and stared at him, and Kakashi had found it to be quite unnerving.
Suddenly men started dropping like flies, and pit started to form in the bottom of his stomach.
"She wouldn't…" he whispered, but his fears were confirmed when the men in front of him fell, and a flash of pink and black moved to stand protectively in front of him.
"Hey Kakashi," Sakura said, without taking her eyes off the enemies that were carelessly charging her.
They were clumsy, and they didn't have a hope of defeating Sakura as she was now, but that wasn't what worried him. What worried him was what would happen when she started getting tired, or when the enemy realized that they had an immense numbers advantage and started attacking as a group.
"Why did you come back?" Kakashi yelled, straining against his bonds as Sakura took on enemy after enemy, preventing them from attacking him.
"I wasn't going to leave you here, idiot!" she snapped, sparing him a quick glance before turning back to the fight. "What kind of useless teammate do you think I am?"
"The smart one! The one who realizes that without backup this situation is hopeless!"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "What makes you think I don't have backup?"
Shikamaru, I'm trusting you on this one.
Kakashi frowned. Was she trying to bluff in case their enemies were listening? If that were the case, he wasn't going to ruin her plan by contradicting her in front of them, but it didn't seem like she was acting.
"Shit!" Sakura swore, diving in front of a barrage of shuriken that were aimed at Kakashi. The enemy seemed to have finally figured out that the captive jonin was her weakness.
She got there just in time, blocking the weapons with her own kunai. They clattered uselessly to the ground, and Sakura bent down, stashing a few for her own use later.
Another barrage hit, and this time Sakura wasn't able to block them all. One kunai grazed her right shoulder, while she took another in her left arm to prevent it from hitting Kakashi right between the eyes. There was at least one marksman in the group.
Sakura ripped the kunai out of her arm—not feeling any pain because of the adrenaline—and threw it back at its owner. Her aim was spot-on, and the man dropped to the ground, instantly dead.
The enemy fell back slightly, as if they were just now taking her seriously. Sakura hadn't minded. She was used to being underestimated in battle, and it was something that both Yamato and Kakashi had taught her to use against her enemies.
It seemed someone among the rebels was finally getting them organized, because Sakura heard an authoritative voice bark out some orders, and the front line started creeping forward. At first Sakura thought they were trying to move closer to her, but then the men on the corners started to move and she realized what they were doing.
"Damn it," she barked, hurling shuriken in their direction in hopes of forcing them to back off, but she couldn't keep up a constant barrage while she had to watch her own back.
The men on the corners crept up farther until their formation was more of a semicircle than a straight line. She gritted her teeth, stepping back so she was closer to Kakashi.
The silver-haired man turned his head, taking in the enemy's placement and their angles. His brain analyzed the situation quickly, and he swallowed.
With the formation they were in, she couldn't dodge their attacks and protect him at the same time. She would have to choose.
They had her trapped.
"Don't you dare," Kakashi warned, as the pink-haired medic moved to stand more firmly in front of him. "Get out of here, Sakura! Now! That's an order!"
"Do you really think I'd get very far?" she asked. "No way. I won't run. I'd rather at least give it a fighting shot, wouldn't you?"
Kakashi sighed. He wasn't happy that she wouldn't try to save herself, but Kakashi couldn't say he wasn't proud. She was his student, through and through.
Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.
He'd taught her that, and she had always been fiercely loyal to her friends and her village, so he couldn't say her decision surprised him.
The man who had orchestrated the attack raised his hand, signaling the men to pull out their weapons. Sakura saw she would be facing a variety of throwing objects, from kunais to shurikens. She braced herself, kunais raised in each hand.
His hand went down, and for an instant Sakura was sure that she was a goner, because a plethora of weapons rained down from the sky, but it wasn't until she heard Kakashi's surprised inhale that she realized the weapons weren't headed towards her. A wall of buzzing insects came up in front of her, and two masked ANBU agents dropped down on either side of her.
Sakura knew who they were instantly.
"Tenten. Shino. You guys came!"
"Yes. And at just the right time, it seems," Shino said, nodding to the two maskless ANBU in greeting.
"Sorry, we're late, Sakura," Tenten said, discarding her used up scroll and pulling out another one.
"But how did you get here?" Kakashi asked. "There's no way you could have been remotely close to us, so Sakura couldn't have put out an SOS."
Sakura grinned, giving him a good view of her face for the first time. "Blame Shikamaru for being a paranoid bastard back when we were kids and he was the only chunin. He made us all carry these charm things, and I guess they can still be used to teleport."
"Yeah, it's good to know they work," Tenten mused. "Someone in research will have to work on these when we get back."
"No kidding," Sakura muttered, wondering exactly how Shikamaru had come across them in the first place.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I can't keep this wall up forever."
"Oh, right. Sorry, Shino," Tenten apologized. "We can handle these guys, Sakura. You take care of Kakashi."
"Right," she nodded, running back to her team leader and cutting the rope binding his hands. She helped him stand, noting that he was still a bit dizzy.
Kakashi put a hand to his temple. He could feel a massive headache coming on, and he knew he wasn't very steady on his feet after using the Mangekyo Sharingan and being hit with that tranquilizer.
Shino's insect wall came down, and the two sprung into action. Between Shino's thousands of bugs and Tenten's arsenal of weapons, the enemy was getting pushed back easily. They'd had the advantage over Sakura because she had been on her own and had to protect Kakashi, but the Leaf shinobi were clearly superior fighters.
However, they didn't need to kill all the rebels, only hold them off so they could make their escape.
"Let's go," Sakura said, draping Kakashi's arm over her shoulder and making a break for the edge of the camp. A few men managed to follow, but the pink-haired kunoichi was able to take them out with a few well-placed kicks.
Kakashi tried to help her out, but his lack of balance meant he'd really only get in her way, so despite his reluctance to do so, he sat back and allowed her to do all the fighting for him.
Tenten and Shino joined the pair as soon as they'd made it outside the barrier.
"We need to find a safe place to hide out for a bit," Tenten panted as they came up to run beside Sakura and Kakashi.
"There's a village not too far from here where we should be able to lay low for a bit," Kakashi said.
"Won't that be the first place the enemy thinks to look for us?" the weapons master asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "No. It's not the closest village to the camp, and its mayor is extremely loyal to the Sasakis. The rebels might assume that's where we've gone, but there's no way they'd risk following us there."
Tenten nodded, apparently satisfied with Kakashi's answer. "Do you two have any gear with you?"
"Shit," Sakura swore, almost tripping Kakashi when she remembered their discarded packs and armor. "We do, but we left it before we infiltrated their camp. Here, you guys take Kakashi and head toward that village. I'll go back and get our stuff."
Kakashi's grip on her tightened. "Just leave it. It's too dangerous for you to go back there by yourself."
"It'll be fine, Kakashi. It's not like I'm going back there to fight. I probably won't even see another person."
"At least take Tenten with you."
"No," Sakura said, shaking her head. "She needs to stay with you and Shino. That way, if you're attacked, Shino won't have to fight and look after you at the same time."
"I don't like this," Kakashi warned, fixing her with a stare.
"I'll be okay. I'm stronger than anyone I could run into, and I'll be able to fight using my full strength, knowing I don't have to worry about you."
Kakashi looked upset, and Sakura knew she probably shouldn't have reminded him of the fact that he needed to be rescued. She had always hated the helpless feeling she'd get when one of her teammates put his life on the line to protect her, and she imaged Kakashi was feeling something similar.
The arm around his waist tightened, giving him a small hug. "Don't feel bad, Kakashi. Everyone needs help every now and then, right? That's what friends are for! Didn't you tell me that?"
The silver-haired man looked down, his dark eye meeting shining emerald ones. Her eyes looked so comforting and soft, yet there was a fierceness about them that he couldn't quite place. That girl had a fire in her eyes, and he could only assume she burned to protect her team as much as her team burned to protect her.
He smiled, reaching up to ruffle her hair. "I did say that, didn't I?"
Sakura returned his smile. "See? Now you understand how I used to feel all the time."
"Yes. Those were the days. Ah, back I was the one who had to keep you three idiot genin safe. How times have changed."
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure the rescuer/rescuee tally is still tipped heavily in your favor, sensei," she teased lightly.
"I suppose it is." He sighed. "All right, go. But please, just be safe, Sakura."
"I will," she promised, before calling for the other two members of their party.
Tenten and Shino fell back, having moved a bit ahead to give Sakura and Kakashi a chance to talk. Both ANBU had realized that the two teammates were having a private conversation, and neither had wanted to eavesdrop.
"Be careful, and Sakura?" Kakashi whispered, bending down to place his masked lips against her forehead. "Thank you for protecting me."
He kissed her lightly, lips feeling like a ghost against her forehead. He pulled away, slinging his arm around Shino, leaving Sakura alone on the branch, unable to do anything besides nod mutely as the three took off in the other direction.
~A/N: So I'm not really sure how this whole 'transportation scroll' thing works, but it's super useful as a plot device haha. I needed to find a way to get help to Kakashi and Sakura, but there obviously weren't going to be any shinobi around, so there we have Shikamaru's scrolls. I suppose it's sort of like a deus ex machina...or more like deus ex Shikamaru, I guess...