Forty-Eight: Convergences

It had taken them about a day and a half longer than Kakashi would have liked to reach Silver City, but at least Shikamaru was well-rested, and Kakashi was now up to speed on all of Shikamaru's possible theories concerning Sakura.

As promised, Temari was waiting for them on the outskirts of the city. She'd told Ino and Choji that she was going on a simple scouting mission, and could be gone as much as a few days, so they had a little leeway before anyone started looking for them.

"Kakashi?" Temari gasped, as soon as the two figures came into sight. "What are you—?"

"He overheard me talking with the Hokage. It's troublesome, but he decided to come along."

Temari eyed him warily, not bothering to hide the fact that she was obviously worried about his emotional stability on this mission. It wouldn't do for him to blow their cover because he couldn't keep his emotions in check.

"It's okay, Temari. I won't do anything to put you or Shikamaru in danger on this mission. You have my word."

Temari nodded, slightly embarrassed, but not surprised that Kakashi had read her so easily.

"Alright. I think we should go over the plan, and then head out. We've still got some daylight, so we should be able to make it to enemy territory before nightfall," Shikamaru said. "Temari, have you scouted their camp?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes, I went yesterday, and three days before that. Everything seems to be normal there. They've got guards, but they don't seem particularly strong, and they work on a normal rotation so there are gaps in their coverage where it would be easy enough to sneak it. But as for where they could possibly be holding Sakura, I wasn't able to see."

Shikamaru nodded. "That's fine. I'll need to see the place anyway to put the final details on my plan. But Kakashi, you'll probably have to be the one going in. You're the quickest, and not to mention the most experienced fighter. You'd have the best shot at coming back alive if you get into any trouble."

"Agreed," Kakashi said. "Shall we? We can work out the rest of the details once we get there." He was itching to go. Now that he was so close, he couldn't bear the thought of Sakura spending another moment alone as Kaoru's prisoner. Especially when she didn't know he was coming for her.

"Lead the way," Shikamaru said, inclining his head toward Temari.

"Right."

They'd been running for about an hour when Temari finally succeeded in getting close enough to whisper to Shikamaru without Kakashi getting suspicious.

"I don't know if sending Kakashi in alone is a good idea," she hissed, when she'd finally gotten the brunette's attention.

"Huh?"

"I said, I don't think Kakashi should be the one to go in."

"But he's got the best chance of getting out."

Temari shook her head. "Maybe with a clear head he does, but think about it. He's obviously highly emotional about this mission, and just think of what he's going to be like if it turns out you were wrong. Or, Kami forbid, you were right, but we were too late. What do you think would happen to him then? I've heard the talk in your village. I know he's got a dark past, and that everyone's spent his entire life wondering which death it'll take to finally break him."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I understand where you're coming from, and all your points are valid, but that's not Kakashi. No matter how broken he is, he'd never let himself get killed recklessly or in vain. He knows he can't risk any secrets he may have on him—dead or alive—falling into enemy hands, and besides, his desire to protect the village is too strong to let him die for nothing. So I don't think you have to worry about him."

"I hope you're right," Temari said, but she didn't press the issue any further.

"I know I am," Shikamaru said, more to himself than anyone.

"Well, this is the place," Temari said, when they finally reached a secluded clearing just as the sky was beginning to grow dark. "Do you want to take a lap around the perimeter?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru said. "It's got better hiding places than I thought it would, so that's a start. But I'll still need to take a look at the entire area to make sure I don't miss anything."

Temari nodded, and the three shinobi set out at a sprint, taking a quick look at all the sides and angles of the enemy's base. Much to Shikamaru's dismay, it appeared that all the exterior guards would have to be eliminated, but he also knew that they wouldn't prove to be too much for he and Temari to handle as long as they only faced them a few at a time.

"So?" Kakashi prodded once they were back at their starting place. "What's the plan now, Shikamaru?"

"Pretty much the same, except you're probably going to have to fight your way in yourself. Temari and I will take care of any of the outside guards that go after you, though."

Kakashi nodded. "I can do that."

"Right." Shikamaru hesitated, clearly wanting to say more, but wondering if he would be out of line. Kakashi was still more experienced than he was.

"Go ahead, Shikamaru," Kakashi said, easily reading the younger ninja. "We're both jonin, and you're the brightest mind in Konoha. You should know I always respect your opinion."

"Look, just don't get carried away in there. Remember your mission and…if it turns out our objective isn't real, then just come back alive."

Kakashi gave the young jonin a long, hard stare, before crinkling his eye. It wasn't a smile as deep as the ones Shikamaru had seen him give his team, but it was a start.

"Of course."

To say Kaoru was displeased with Sakura's little scheme was a grave understatement, if the cuts and bruises now covering her body were any indication. The rebellion's top captain wasn't happy that his secret weapon had been taken out by her own captive.

Sakura, on the other hand, knew she probably didn't have long to live. She could tell by the way the men who brought her food looked at her. They were all afraid she would somehow be able to sneak into their minds and kill them too. She'd heard their whispers: If a mind user like Taya wasn't even safe, then what would happen to them?

Even Kaoru seemed warier than usual around her. There were two rules of being a captive and staying alive—don't give up your leverage and don't become more of a hassle than you're worth—and Sakura was beginning to realize that she had definitely violated the last one.

She wasn't disappointed. If anything, she was relieved. She wasn't ready to die yet, but with no chance of escape she recognized death as the better alternative to living out the rest of her days in constant agony that carried the risk of her one day giving in and telling Kaoru everything he wanted to know.

But by now Kaoru had to know that she wasn't going to buckle under her own physical duress, and with his mind jutsu trump card gone, he had to be feeling a little disenchanted.

And as much as she didn't want to admit it, her last mental battle with Taya had done more damage than she'd thought. It was bad enough that she'd taken on not just Kakashi's appearance but also his essence, but she'd had to force Sakura to strike a killing blow on him.

The funny thing was, that wasn't what had finally broken her. Not really. What had finally broken her was that that would be the last image she'd ever have of her silver-haired teammate.

"Are you finally starting to feel pain?" Kaoru taunted, although he sounded half surprised himself, and Sakura realized that she'd been crying.

"You can end this, you know. I'd kill you nice and quickly if you would just tell me what I need to know."

He crouched down, threading his hand through her blood-matted hair and raising her head.

"It doesn't need to be this hard. You've lasted longer than anyone else I've seen tortured here. There's nothing to be ashamed about. I wouldn't even tell anyone that it was you I got the information from. Your name will live on as that of a hero, and no one would ever know."

Sakura considered his words for one moment before a wave of self-loathing hit her. She hadn't spent weeks held captive in this place and put through all sorts of forms of torture just to break now that his voice sounded a bit smoother.

"Go to Hell," she spat, although in her weakened state it hardly contained any of the venom she'd imagined in her mind.

Kaoru sighed, slamming her head into the ground and kicking her for extra effect.

"A shame. But I suppose you're one of those that a mere human can never break. Too bad we didn't have time to capture your friend Kakashi too. One of you would've broken eventually. It's always nice to have some leverage. Ah! There it is. There's that fire in your eyes again. I was beginning to think I'd seen the last of it."

He smiled, and Sakura couldn't help the tremor that ran through her body at the sight of it.

"But I suppose this probably will be the last of that fire. Because, you see, I'm getting nowhere with you, and everyone's starting to grow impatient. We've lingered in this location too long, and it's time to move forward with the next phase of our plan. Besides, you aren't my only way of getting inside information on our dear Lord Sasaki."

Sakura knew that information should've gotten a rise out of her, but her body ached, and she was just too tired to care. Kaoru hummed softly as he hauled her to her knees by her bound wrists and suspended them once again above her head.

"This time tomorrow, my dear Sakura, you will be dead. But I can assure you, it won't be quick, and it certainly won't be painless."

~A/N: Sorry that this one's a bit shorter than the others have been lately, but I was crazy busy and I figured you guys would rather have a slightly shorter chapter than none at all! :)