Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the associated characters, locations, jutsu, etc. The only thing I own is the plot of the story. If there is any plagiarism of any form it was completely unintentional.
The reunion was not what you would call 'emotional'. They were practically ambushed and kidnapped in the blink of an eye. It was rather strange how he had managed to subdue them both so quickly, Sakura knew that she could have fallen for it, but Kakashi? Something was off, either he had been truly and utterly distracted with something else, or he had known all along and yet chose to let it happen. Both seemed unsettling, but which one was true?
"Hey, Kakashi?" Sakura asked nervously. Said man was, off course, indulged in his favorite reading. He looked up to her with what Guy described as his "cool" face. A lazy eye looking straight at her with his whole body turned the other way.
"What is it, Sakura?" He asked. She looked dow for a minute as she formulated the right question to ask.
"What happened with Sasuke last night?" Kakashi seemed a little surprised at her question, he shut his book and shoved it down his back pocket before answering.
"He injected us with a strong sedative. We were knocked out and he took us hostage to a secluded camp in the forest. Honestly Sakura, do you think the venom might have messed with your brain somehow?" He was smiling and chuckled a little at his own joke, but deep down Sakura could see that he was hiding something. But before she could ask anything a hawk swooped down on them and dropped a tiny wooden tube. She picked it up and saw that it had a message inside it.
"What does the message say?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"Apparently Temari has been ambushed by a couple of ninjas. At first sight she thought it was a common group of thugs, but when she took down one of them she found he had been carrying several pictures, not only of her, but of all of us. Including one of Naruto." Kakashi was shocked at this, though his expression remained calm and collective as always.
"Just who are these people, and could they have something to do with the kidnappers and local gang?" He raised one of his hands to hold his chin in deep thought. They stood there in silence for a short while, until Kakashi let out a loud sigh and spoke up. "For now I think the best thing for us to do would be to report back to the Kazekage. After all, we were only given permission to capture Naruto. If we were to run into another enemy we risk overstepping our boundaries. We are lucky that Temari-san chose to overlook Hinata's confrontation with the alley assailant." Sakura wanted to object, but in the end Kakashi was right.
"Yeah, as much as I hate it we will have to ask the Kazekage for permission to continue our investigation."
"Very well then. Onward to Suna!" The journey back to the capital of the Land of Air was uneventful, unlike Temari they had no unwanted visitors. Since they were basically in the border with the Land of Rivers the trip took them all day. By the time they arrived the sun had completely disappeared into the horizon and the dark and peaceful skies were dotted with countless shinning stars. Being a desert environment no animal sounds could be heard around them, no piercing lone wolf howl nor the ominous hooting of an owl. Their arrival would have gone unnoticed if not for the stationed guards at the gate. Since they were so tired, and the main building would most likely be closed for the night, they decided to go straight to sleep. When the morning came they were escorted to the Kazekage's office by some Sunagakure ANBU. And strangely enough, when they arrived the whole Suna council was there waiting for them.
"Sit!" One of the older looking women said. They did so very slowly and calmly, afraid that any wrong movement would bring down the whole ANBU force on them. Every single person in the room was looking straight at them.
"Secure!" The Kazekage's voice made them flinch, expecting some sort of attack. But instead for ANBU shinobi surrounded the whole group within the room. After making a short series of hand seals a barrier was erected around them. Sakura looked at Kakashi with a confused expression, but his eyes remained glued to the Kazekage. Said man took notice of their internal dilemma and let out a loud sigh.
"Don't worry. We have no intention of hurting you. We have summoned you here to talk, I believe you have already met the bandit group in the border town. Am I correct?" The Kazekage said. Sakura was still doubtful so it was Kakashi who nodded with a silent 'yes'. "Then you must have realized that something is not quite right. Not only do they know that we are looking for them, but they know the exact moment we are going to strike them. Every single plan, every single attempt has been FUTILE!" He slammed his fist down in anger before speaking again.
"It was weird enough that somehow the Air Daimyo was convinced to renounce the charge of the investigation. I had my suspicions that there was a traitor among us, but now I am sure of it. YOU TWO!" He pointed a single finger at them that made them tense up in fear. "You have got to help us."
"US? What do we have to do with your conspiracy theories?" Sakura asked a little too loudly.
"Because out of all the shinobi within our borders you two are the only ones I know are not the traitors?" The Kazekage reassured.
"How are you so certain?" This time Kakashi was the one who doubted his reasoning.
"First of all, you are not from this village, it would be very hard for you to spy on us when the last time you were here was over two years ago! Second, your former student is also the apprentice of the current Hokage, Senju Tsunade. You yourself were trained by the former Hokage, Namikaze Minato. I doubt that with such proper guidance you would end up being rotten seeds. Lastly, I don't know much about being a rogue nin, but I doubt you would attack your own with poison traps."
"Wait, how did you-" Sakura said but was cut off by the Kazekage.
"I have eyes everywhere, Miss Haruno. Remember that as long as you are here."
"With all due respect, Kazekage-sama, how are you so sure that none of the council members present are spies?" Kakashi said with a careful tone.
" Apart from the fact that most of them have been retired for several years, I have known them all for years, I can swear on my name that they are fully loyal to our village. But enough of doubts, we need a plan! Chiyo-baasama, Ebizo-jiisama!" Two old and stern looking elders stood up, one woman and one man.
"I have to admit, Rasa, I find it quite pathetic that you must rely on the help of Konoha nin." The woman said brashly. "But, better they die than one of our own." The man shook his head and spoke as well.
"Please, Shimai*, show some respect towards our guests. I apologize for her behavior, she just doesn't trust shinobi from Konohagakure due to not so recent events." He said calmly, the other woman just scoffed and turned her head away from him.
"Shut up, Ebizo! Now you two, you will sneak into their main hideout and obtain as much information as you can. If you can you must capture another one of them, as you must know already yours was lost due to sloppy decisions." Sakura seemed to have the intention of saying something, but Kakashi shut her up with a firm hand on her shoulder.
"I believe you already know where their base is, I am afraid that for now the only help we can give you are supplies, we have no idea if any one of our shinobi is also a traitor. Better be safe and just send you two alone." Ebizo said with a respectful tone, but they knew that he also held a small resentment towards them. "You can rest and prepare for now, you'll leave when night falls. Try not to reveal your identities to anyone." After that they were dismissed from the office. As they were walking back they started talking.
"Kakashi, do you think this is the right choice? I mean, we don't know what we are getting into, and if Sasuke is right it might be far too dangerous." Sakura said with a worried voice Kakashi sighed and turned to face her.
"I know that this could go potentially wrong, but it's not the first time we have been assigned missions like this. I will notify Tsunade-sama of our current objective, she will most likely send someone here to back us up. And don't forget this is a potential opportunity to mend the bonds between Suna and Konoha. If this mission turns out well we could be closer to forming an alliance."
"Yeah I guess you're right."
"Don't worry, Sakura. Now let's go get ready, this mission is far from over!"
Shimai*: Sister