Three for the Price of One

by AFrozenDuck

When Sasuke unexpectedly shows up to demand Sakura for a mission, he gets more than he bargained for. The bonds of Team Seven have long spanned time and distance, but will the strain of an unpracticed team be enough when everything goes inevitably wrong? Sakura-centric. Canon-divergence AU.

19. Chapter 19

They had been at this for hours.

Sakura's chest expanded in a deep breath and held, before letting the air pass inaudibly through her nose. The press of cold stone against bare skin and the subtle itch of thin wool around her shoulders had long since faded from her conscious awareness as she sunk further into meditation.

Their plan was in motion. Their risky, scrambled together plan that relied so much on luck and hypotheticals, and Kakashi not electrocuting himself. So now all that was left was to pull it off.

Sakura's numb hands rested in her lap; each of her fingers just touching the tips of the other, from thumb to pinkie. It was a hand sign Shikamaru had taught her; described it as a sign of absolute balance, a way to focus the mind and sharpen clarity of thought. She had known the lazy genius far too long to ever doubt his results, much less his methods. So, Sakura reached for chakra that wasn't there – ignored the phantom panic of an empty hole where a vital organ should be – and funnelled her thoughts to comb through what she could of the blank spots in her recent memory.

She wasn't about to sit on her hands whilst Kakashi was busy trying to save their collective asses to bust a way out of the inhibitor cuffs – her professional medical opinion on his methods be damned – and give them a running start in gaining an upper hand in the wild turn of events they had found themselves dumped in.

Sakura squared her shoulders and sought to build back the missing pieces of her capture and interrogation. There had to something she had inadvertently misplaced, a detail of information that could help make heads or tails of their captor's motives.

Yukine didn't take her just to knock her out again… Something had occurred. Something that returned her to the cell in better condition than she left it… She had met someone.

There was a niggling in the depths of her memory. An itch of information just beyond her conscious reach, and yet frustratingly close. Sakura pressed her fingertips firmly together and painstakingly retraced her steps.

She remembered the long, pale fingers wrapped around her neck in their cell as she watched Kakashi crumple under Yukine's touch. She remembered the heat of her anger as she was marched through the abandoned fortress. Sakura could still taste her wariness and fear as she contemplated her muted chakra.

And then, the room.

Sakura inhaled and let the breath invigorate her with fresh recollection. She had been at this for hours and yet always drew a blank at this exact moment. The moment she felt the surreal buzz in her core, a warm tingle trace up her spine, pin pricks of awareness rippling across her flesh. A strong pull towards –

She drew back from the sensations with a controlled jerk and Sakura ground her molars in brief frustration when the memory slipped from her grasp once more; her invisible hold on nothing slipping through her fingers like smoke. She felt physically bereft for a moment, and yet her mind wanted to be relieved. It was becoming an unnerving pattern in her endeavour.

Why am I getting stuck at the same point? I know there is something more beyond it, but it's like my body is resisting the memory. Sakura's pink brows furrowed, mind swirling in thought. No, that isn't right.

Sakura tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and cautiously amended her conclusion. It wasn't her body resisting the memory, it was her mind. In fact, her body appeared almost eager to react to that hollow pull – a promise of fullness and connectivity, home. And yet, it was her mind which was shutting her off before she was drawn too deep into the feeling.

Her mind was trying to protect her… but from what?

A creeping slither of apprehension crawled under her skin, but Sakura was practical in so many ways as she was stubborn. And so, she resolved herself to revive the memory once more; this time armed with conscious surrender.

Sakura stretched her fingertips and repeated what had become a mind-numbingly familiar trail through her mind's eye. She carefully kept her mind switched off, and let the memory carry her forward; through the iron doors and past the blood-stained floors. She let her eyes linger on the empty throne, and didn't fight the intense magnetism that forced her ears to ring and heart to race; that made her blood thrill in her veins.

Sakura unheeded the adrenaline coursing through her mind, saying 'no, dangerous, go back', and silenced the pinpricks of disaster screaming along the nape of her neck. Instead, she leaned into the swirling vortex of energy expanding from within her – so full and yet alarming empty – and watched as new pieces of imagery played before her eyes.

A tall ethereal man stepping out into frame of view… Her pulse in her throat.

Soft lavender eyes… Ice trailing down her flesh.

A gentle smile… Her mouth gone dry, hands slick with sweat.

His full lips parting and moving as he spoke softly to her… A sharp ringing abruptly muted.

As he introduced himself and thanked her…

Sakura's world tipped off its axis, and her body went with it. Her stomach dropped straight through her, and heart shot upwards until she all but choked on it.

In the midst of disorientation, she felt a surge of chakra swell within her so strong it could've torn her in half. And then she tasted blood and her eyes snapped open.

The man was gone, she was back in her cell; but that did nothing to stop her from feeling him in her wildly pumping blood.

Otsutsuki!

"Shit! Kakashi!" The shout spilt from her wet lips and Sakura blinked around the lingering taste of copper, surreptitiously wiping her bitten through lip as Kakashi whirled, startled towards her. "I remember something." She breathed, wide eyed.

He didn't speak, though his eyes had always done his talking for him, she supposed, whether he liked it or not. Those charcoal grey orbs were ripe with thinly veiled concern and a battle-hardened resignation that Sakura almost stopped herself short, momentarily unwilling to add to his burdens. But the name on her tongue repeated on loop in her frantic mind and it couldn't be ignored, no matter how much she wished she could.

Otsutsuki Atsuhiko.

"There was s-someone else. In the room. I remember now. A… man." Sakura licked her lips as they trailed another drop of blood, and tried not to notice the tightening of Kakashi's eyes. "H-he said his name was Otsutsuki Atsuhiko. He said that… I freed him."

Her heart was a caged hurricane rattling against her ribs and ripping through her as though she were nothing more than a house of straw. She didn't bother trying to pin a solid defence against it – to hold the seams together when the straw so easily broke between her fingertips anyway – she was practical enough to wait through the worst of the storm before she attempted to assess the damages and start again. She knew how to take a hit and rebuild herself stronger.

Kakashi tore his eyes from her and stared hard at the stone ground. "Fuck." He spat.

It didn't mean the hit didn't shatter her though…

Otsutsuki… The Clan of the Gods. Just like Kaguya. Perhaps worse…

The hurricane in her chest expanded and then disappeared all at once, leaving a cold sense of detached reasoning unbalanced against her hollowing guilt. "I-I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei." She whispered to his bent head.

The man didn't flinch, and Sakura didn't take his unmoving form as an offence. She knew he was processing, calculating, shuffling through a million and one different strategies, outcomes and counter-moves as easily as a magician shuffled cards. His wit and mind had always been as sharp and fast as the quicksilver that ran through his veins. But that didn't mean even he couldn't mourn the catastrophe that was Sakura's revelation.

Sakura clasped her hands in her lap and tried to pack and unpack the enormity of what she had remembered, tried to put together the sharp edges of a puzzle that had been poking and cutting at her the last few days. The pieces were shattered around her, mixed in with the straw remains of her strength – nothing but bare hands and a harried mind to fix the mess around her.

I…freed a God… Acceptance was an important first step in dragging yourself into a workable headspace for evaluation and problem solving, but even Sakura couldn't hide the way the thought wracked a shiver through her.

It took everything we had for Naruto and Sasuke to seal the last one… and they're not even here now. Sakura gazed unseeing at her pale, cold hands. And I'm…not on their level.

A large calloused hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed. Sakura had half a mind to wonder how his hands could stay warm in such sub-zero conditions. "It's going to be okay."

Sakura didn't laugh, but it was a very near thing.

She shook her head. It wasn't okay. Nothing about what she remembered or done was okay. She had… unleashed another God unto the world. He had thanked her for it. She had felt –

"Hey." His other hand moved to grasp her chin, and suddenly Kakashi's hard set lips were in her vision as he ducked to catch her eyes. "There was no way you could've known. Understand me?" His voice wasn't soft, neither was his grip.

Sakura instinctually moved to fight it, but Kakashi wouldn't budge. She had done a patchwork job of keeping her panic over the situation at bay, she was now trying to operate in the liminal space between practiced professional detachment and crushing guilt. She justneeded a moment to sought things out damnit! And she couldn't do that with Kakashi appealing to her hastily barricaded emotions.

Sakura was gearing up to snap at Kakashi; remind him that emotions were not helpful to a shinobi, that a damn Hokage should know better than to be side-tracked by feelings. But he cut her off.

"Sakura." There was harshness and command behind his tone, and Sakura unwittingly sought his eyes in response. "This wasn't your fault."

It wasn't the relaxed grey of her Sensei, nor was it the ashen steel of her Commander. It wasn't even the warm charcoal of her Rokudaime. It was silver that reflected back at her – a conduit of sharp grief and practiced mending – piercing her with its ductile strength. And Sakura understood with a gaping regret that maybe had someone said these words to Kakashi years ago, in the immediate, maybe that would've made a difference to him.

"Do you understand, Sakura?" He repeated firmly.

And Sakura's heart ached a little, her broken house and unsolved puzzle momentarily forgotten. "Yes."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he studied her for a long moment; a crease between his brows. Her fingertips grazed his wrist before she even realised she had moved. She curled her icy fingers around his steady pulse and gently squeezed.

"I understand." She promised sincere and soft, the taste of sweet copper in her mouth.

There was a twitch to Kakashi's cheek as he watched her, then he released her chin and she let her fingers fall from his hand. They both sat back a little, the air still frigid but less weighted than it was a moment ago.

"Good." Kakashi murmured off to the side, his gaze fixed on stone.

Sakura selfishly ignored the mess around her for another quiet moment in favour of watching Kakashi; hands at the ready for even the smallest crack or slightest wobble in his house of mirrors. A house of reflective surfaces and polished glass illusions expertly crafted in self-preservation.

"For now, this changes nothing." Kakashi said to their silence, and Sakura let him lead. "Escape is our priority. From there we can regroup, get a message to Tsunade, find Naruto and Sasuke and call for reinforcements. But we are getting out of here. Today."

Sakura nodded, tucking a long strand of pink hair behind her ear as she peered at him. "You're confident you can counteract the cuffs?"

Grey eyes flit to her, and for a moment the corner of his lips pulled upwards, but then it was gone. A trick of the light. "It'll work, Sakura. We just need to be ready for when it does."

Sakura nodded. "I'll be ready. On your mark." He had trusted her when she was willing to risk her life on that Seal, he had supported her and never doubted her success. She felt foolish now for not offering that same confidence and trust in him the moment the situation was reversed. "I trust you, Kakashi."

Kakashi settled her with a heavy stare, not reacting to her words beyond a steady blink. "We'll strike on the next rotation of meals." He reminded. "They seem to leave us for a period of six to eight hours after delivering food, provided they don't come earlier for an interrogation. Once they've dropped off our food, we'll make our break and won't look back."

Sakura thinned her lips in understanding. It was the bones of their plan and it sounded no better now than it did several hours ago. If nothing else, their incentive had now doubled whilst their odds had dwindled.

Kakashi paused. "Whatever happens, we are getting out of here together. I don't care if we're dragging each other out, we aren't staying here another night. I've got your back and you'll have mine. Understood?" It was an order.

Inexplicably, Sakura's gut twisted. "Understood."

Kakashi regarded her silently, his fingers lightly twitching as they lay rested in his lap. Sakura calmly watched him through her lashes as he appeared to quietly wrestle with himself over something.

Sakura would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed the change in him since she was returned to their cell. There was a distance between them now, carefully measured and executed on Kakashi's behalf. And while Sakura had always been rather apt in reading the man in the past, now even with his entire face on display, she was having trouble reconciling what it was that had him so… withdrawn. His house of mirrors was in full effect in keeping her preoccupied with misdirection and self-reckoning.

"Kakashi." She called bravely and waited until he faced her. "Talk to me."

His jaw ticked and his left eye tightened, and Sakura sat and watched his face move, trying to decipher what each expression looked like on Kakashi's pale features. It was only when he smoothed his appearance free of all emotion that Sakura was reeled back into the reason as to why she was seeing his face in the first place.

"Sakura, the man, Atsuhiko…"

And just like that, cold reality was dumped forcefully back unto her shoulders, no longer content to be ignored.

"He said you freed him - I'm assuming when you destroyed that Seal." Kakashi leaned forward, forearms braced on his knees. "All that chakra that the Seal had taken, we thought it could've been a siphon to somewhere, or something."

Horror edged at her but Sakura chewed it down in favour of a rational discussion. "And when I broke that Seal – "

Kakashi nodded grimly. "The timeline matches. I had my doubts before, but now I'm certain. That Seal had nothing to do with Orochimaru… This was a trap from the start, and we fell right into it."

The news didn't come so much as a shock, but rather a pained acceptance. Kakashi had never liked the sound of this mission from the start, and now she could do nothing but agree with his sentiment – they had screwed up and been played for fools.

Sakura ran her tongue over her teeth, considering. "Okay, say it was a trap. But for what? Solely to free a God?" She frowned. "If that's case, who was the trap intended for?"

Kakashi raised a brow at her expectantly. "Our lovely hosts did seem keen on you as an Uchiha love interest." He reminded blandly, despite gleam of calculation in his eye. "Adds another potential layer, I'd say."

Sakura dutifully snubbed the part of her that heaved with the reminder, and crossed her legs opposite Kakashi.

"Okay. Let's consider what we know. Sasuke tracked down those missing nin of his own volition after rumours of Orochimaru's weapon. He saw shinobi dying at the hands of the Seal, clamouring over themselves to unlock said weapon." Sakura pointed out. "That cave had Orochimaru written all over it, so I'm not going to disregard him as a factor, but obviously that Seal was beyond even his 'ingenuity'."

"Fact number two," Kakashi added, "A merry band of peculiar missing nin working in collaboration for something that doesn't exist, with no cognitive recollection of ever participating. Our 'Summoner' was either trying to break the Seal on their own, or draw enough attention from someone who could."

"And with the name Orochimaru, they had the perfect calling card." Sakura finished with a curl to her lip. "They knew Sasuke would be the one to come after them. Whether or not any of the missing nin succeeded, Sasuke would've come."

Kakashi's levelled her with a measured stare. "The next question is; what did they expect from Sasuke?"

The words skated across her skin, raising her flesh with whispers of 'what if Sasuke had tried...?' Suddenly Sakura was back in that cave, a scrap of paper and an ancient Seal standing between her and her life; and with only one resounding thought keeping her grounded.

Better me than them.

"When I touched it, it was hungry, ruthless, unforgiving." She began quietly. "It was a death sentence… Those missing nin, the 'summoned', they were being used to feed that Seal." Sakura met Kakashi's eyes with the revelation. "The shinobi were lining up for slaughter – that's what Sasuke had said. Our mystery Summoner had been using them to feed the Seal, knowing none of them would ever come close to breaking it."

"But from Sasuke's perspective all he saw was rogue ninja attempting to work together to unlock a weapon, and knew he had to put an end to it before someone did succeed. Or at least find someone who could." Kakashi supplied, running a hand over his face.

"The perfect set up." Sakura acknowledged. "Until Sasuke did the most unpredictable thing an Uchiha could do." She tilted her head at him, a sad ironic smile on her lips. "Ask for help."

Kakashi didn't match her humour, and Sakura's weak smile slipped from her cracked lips. There was a severity to his eyes, a tightness in his bare lips as he murmured. "And yet the question still stands, what did they expect from Sasuke?"

Sakura blinked. Something almost like accusation ringing through Kakashi's tone. She cautiously reached a hand forward where it came to rest on the cold stone floor between them.

"Sasuke-kun would've done anything in his power to stop something of Orochimaru's falling into the wrong hands. He wanted to break that Seal and destroy whatever was inside before it could hurt anyone else. He was trying to do the right thing. That's why he came for help." Because the world had to be ending before he'd willingly come back to Konoha. Come back to me…

Sakura shook her head, trying for an answer. "So, were they expecting him to succeed or fail? Did they want him to attempt the Seal and fail, adding himself among the Seal's victims? Were they just after his chakra?" Her fingers curled against the grain of the stone. "Or did they hope he would break the Seal for them?"

"Or were they after something else."

Like a strike of lightning they both jerked towards one another.

"The Rinnegan!" They said at once.

Something in Sakura snapped – a string one too many times played until it couldn't handle the strain of repetition. Suddenly the world was a cliché and Sakura was the unfortunate soul with a lifetime pass to the reprise of yet the same song.

She ran a hand through her hair agitated, "Great, of course another damn God has their sights set on a stupid eyeball." She threw her hands in the air. "So what, this entire thing has been a ruse to get the jump on Sasuke and his genes?!"

Sakura was pissed. She had been drained, kidnapped, emotionally manipulated. But now she was pissed for another reason entirely. The utter single-mindedness of divine beings and their unoriginality in spending their eternal time on things like eyeballs and world domination! And the fact that Team Seven always had to be in the middle of it.

Kakashi stared hard at the wall, running his fingers over his lips in thought. "Seems likely." He conceded distracted, but the creases in his brow only buried further into his skin. "But why did it have to be a trap at all? Assuming the Summoner is working for our new God, then why not just 'summon' Sasuke in order to obtain his eyes directly? Or simply force him to break the Seal?"

Sakura paused to mull over his argument. "There must be limits to the Summoner's ability. Or perhaps their technique is incompatible with a doujutsu? Maybe they couldn't get close enough to infect Sasuke-kun with whatever their procedure dictates." She offered with growing ideas. "The 'summoned' nin had almost no chakra signature and yet they were disproportionately skilled and powerful. Maybe our Summoner didn't want to risk levelling Sasuke-kun up and lose control?"

Kakashi hummed. "I'm willing to bet my Hokage Hat that our mystery Summoner is one of our three unhinged hosts. Genjutsu, Chakra stings and a unique Sensor – all capable of manipulation and control. Either way, our master Pied Piper has apparently worked very hard to create the perfect ploy in both unleashing a God and obtaining a pair of unmatched eyes."

Sakura sniffed, hooking her arm around her knee and bringing it to her chest. "Except Sasuke isn't here. We are. Two non-Uchiha shinobi, minus special eyes and extra minus any chakra." She waved her manacled hand, chains rattling.

Sakura could feel her mood swirling downwards the longer they hypothesised. She was becoming sick of her teammates being used for 'doomsday devices' and the 'second coming' – although at this rate it was more like the fourth coming. It didn't help that she and Kakashi were trapped here, as bait no less, with absolutely no clue as to the whereabouts or wellbeing of her boys.

Sakura curled in around herself. It's not like I'd be able to help even if I were free. Not when I can't even trust myself to use chakra.

Suddenly Kakashi's spine strung ramrod straight, a dark look settling across his face. "Sakura, when you were out of those cuffs, did you have access to your chakra?"

Sakura startled at him, apprehension seizing her muscles and blood flushing her face. "W-what do you mean?"

"You keep mentioning how the Seal took chakra as if that was its goal. It took yours. You destroyed it, but it still took yours to the point of extreme chakra exhaustion." He stared at her. "When you were out of those cuffs, did you have access to your chakra, if even in the slightest way?"

She instinctively drew back as he drew forward. She couldn't tell him. Not when it would worry him. Not when she wasn't even sure herself. "I – "

A whistle of wind and the clank of a heavy door caught her attention, and Sakura snapped her jaw shut, unforgivably relieved. Something in Kakashi's posture adjusted at the sound of heeled boots clacking against stone until finally a tall, beautiful woman came into view, a tray of food in her hands.

"Welcome back to the land of the waking, Princess. Have a nice nap, did we?" Straight white teeth gleamed against ruby painted lips.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the new visitor and felt cool displeasure at placing her as the woman in the woods. A twisted sense of eagerness played against dread in her stomach; for while the woman's presence dictated their impending escape, Sakura was also abruptly reminded of their conclusion that one of the three could very well be the Summoner.

With languid movements, Ara set the tray on the floor and pushed it through the bars with the toe of her boot. She cocked her head, a silken smile sliding along her lips. "You don't look like you've slept a wink, Guard Dog." She said innocently. "What's the matter, bad dreams?"

Sakura chased the woman's attention to Kakashi, sitting rigid at her side; eyes dark and lips pulled taut. Whomever this woman was, Kakashi clearly held no desire to speak with her. Kakashi not willing to use words to deceive or swindle an opponent? Sakura filed the information away for later.

"A real chatterbox, isn't he?" Ara laughed, turning her golden gaze unto her. "Let me guess, he's an acquired taste?"

Sakura stared calmly at the woman but said nothing to rise to her baiting. The woman seemed talkative enough, she would let the situation play out a little longer, build a basis of strategy.

Ara flicked a tendril of auburn hair from her shoulder and settled Sakura with a pleased smirk, running her golden eyes over her in blatant appraisal. Sakura swallowed her unease at the woman's predatory gaze, and subtly shifted the blanket higher around her person. It was only with the action that Sakura's gaze fell upon Kakashi's hand laid between them; his fingers flickering through a small repeated movement. Hand signals, she realised.

Genjutsu. Be wary.

Right. Kakashi had mentioned earlier that she was the Genjutsu specialist. And if she was the Summoner, well, they might not realise until too late.

"Guard Dog hasn't scared you off me, has he? And after I was so accommodating to him." The woman continued as though there was a conversation happening and not just her own obnoxious voice bouncing off dank walls back at her.

It was Kakashi that broke the pattern with a heaved sigh. "If you're here to interrogate us, get it over with." He clipped blandly, drawing the woman's gaze back to himself. "You're ruining my appetite."

Ara laughed, the sound melodious. "Ouch. Is this what happens when you leave a dog out in the cold? They get snappish." She grinned at Kakashi. "Don't worry your pretty little muzzle, hun. I'm not here for that. I'm just the delivery girl. Though I can pass on the message that you're growing rather antsy for a formal introduction with our Master?"

"If you think you can handle it, go right ahead." Kakashi retorted, lips curling back to display his sharp canines in a brittle smile.

Ara hummed non-committal and stepped forward, head tilted. She ghosted her hand over the cells' bars as she considered him, then her eyes flickered to Sakura. "You're looking better, Princess. All healed up I see?"

It was so clearly said to bait, and yet a surge of desperation overcame Sakura when faced with the challenge of knowledge withheld. "What did you do to me?" She demanded, chains clattering as she jerked to her knees.

She hardly wanted to give power to the woman's suggestion, but she had to know. Sakura wanted to wince at Kakashi's sharp glance at her. She was the one who asked him to believe in her 'self-healing' chakra theory.

Well, no point in trying to pull one over him when he's already begun asking the right questions.

Ara held up her hands in surrender, "I did nothing, Princess. Would if I could, but my skills aren't exactly of the nurturing capacity. Although I would be happy to give you a demonstration of my skillset." Ara purred.

Sakura dug her nails into the flesh of her thigh in crude resistance lest the woman cast a genjutsu on her here and now.

Ara raised a brow and laughed. "A little dramatic, Sweetheart. I'm not going to genjutsu you when you've only just woken up for me. I'll save the fun stuff for later." She winked and Sakura wrinkled her nose. "But I suppose it would be remiss of me not to ask the big question while I'm here."

Flaxen eyes gleamed in the low light and were Sakura's nails not drawing blood from her thighs, she might've thought the pure beauty it created were a genjutsu in itself. "Where is the Pomegranate, Sakura?"

A scoff pushed past Sakura's lips before she could help it. But she relished in the feeling of some sense of power over the situation returning to her. "Clearly I don't have it on me." She deadpanned, sweeping her blanket out to the side and gesturing to her bare state of dress.

"Clearly you've concealed it elsewhere." Ara retorted, matching her stare.

"Then you're obviously wasting your time with us." Sakura pointed out saccharinely and it felt bizarrely good to be the one answering questions instead of asking them, if in the most impossible way.

Ara ran her tongue over her teeth, hands flexing over the iron bars of her cell. She pressed herself closer to the bars, the decorated Tachi at her hip knocking against the metal and drawing Sakura's attention to the sword… a Samurai's weapon. A tool so obviously not belonging to a rogue shinobi. Sakura was building a clearer picture of this woman the longer she was subject to her arrogant presence.

"You know, you're a little mouthy for a Princess." Ara commented lightly.

Sakura shrugged. "Well you can let us go and I'll be glad to be out of your hair."

Ara licked her lips and leaned her temple against the metal bar as she appraised Sakura closely. "Who said I wanted you out of my hair? On the contrary, I'm looking forward to digging my hands into yours, Princ – "

"Why do you need it?" Kakashi cut in, his voice like steel on copper. "The Pomegranate you're so desperate to find. Why do you need it?"

Ara cocked her head at him, but Sakura kept her eyes glued to the sultry woman, watching closely for any change in pattern or environment.

"Decided to re-join the conversation? I'm not sure I have much more to say to you, Guard Dog. At least not while you're growling like a hurt puppy."

"Then talk to me." Sakura interrupted, drawing the woman's attention from the stiff lines of Kakashi's shoulders. She wasn't certain on this woman's motivation, but for now she seemed most invested in her, and Sakura wasn't about to waste an opportunity on discomfort. "Why are you doing this? Why are we here? What could a God possibly want with a piece of fruit?"

Ara lolled her head back and sighed, her long pale neck mockingly exposed. With an exaggerated tsk she brought her golden eyes back to her. "Full of questions aren't you, Honey? You're lucky I like you so much. But I'd like to hear the word 'please', if I am going to be so gracious."

Sakura bit back her impulse to tell the woman where to shove her 'graciousness'. Instead she swallowed the urge – and her pride – and murmured a grated "Please" through clenched teeth. She could play whatever role this woman thought she wanted to see from her if it meant getting some answers.

"'Please', what?" A new voice intoned.

Sakura wasn't proud of the way her hair stood on end at the sound of that smooth tenor voice. But mostly she hated how her body begged to sink itself into the lulling sound he produced so effortlessly. She would later kick herself for not immediately suspecting him as their primary Summoner, but priority of information gathering out won in the moment and Sakura could hardly spare the brain power to fret over it. She stole a glance at Kakashi to find him sitting back against the wall again, eyes alert but face betraying nothing.

Ara tilted her head and leaned back from the bars. "Yuki baby, what are you doing here?"

Yukine spared her an apathetic glance as he strode towards her and into the low torch light. "I could ask the same of you, Ara. Were you not instructed to keep your distance from the prisoners?"

Ara plucked her shoulder innocently. "Someone had to make sure they didn't starve."

"A job which Hansai was in the midst of fulfilling, as per instruction, when you so happened to usurp his task." He rebuked plainly.

Ara, for her part, merely bit her finger and bat her lashes at him. "Oops, how careless of me."

Sakura had a moment to wonder at their exchange before she became locked under the gaze of dark jade eyes. "To return to my question," Yukine said, "'please', what Sakura-san?"

Sakura's eyes darted briefly to Ara, cataloguing the moment the woman returned her glance with piqued interest. The woman gave nothing away except for keen appreciation it seemed, and Sakura rolled her jaw in consideration.

"Tell us about Otsutsuki Atsuhiko." It was Kakashi who answered Yukine, blank faced and firm. "The Seal wasn't just housing something, it was a siphon. A tether. It wasn't just concealing a Pomegranate, it was sealing him."

Sakura held her breath and watched as his words fell into the empty space between them and their captors. A test. A gamble.

"An astute observation, Hatake-san." Yukine acknowledged mildly, bordering on sarcasm, while Ara smirked at him from under her thick lashes.

"This." Kakashi continued, "All of this, has been a trap from the start. The curiously collaborative missing nin, searching for 'Orochimaru's prize'. You used the legacy of a name to attract attention, then you somehow started controlling the missing-nin into your bidding. They weren't just competition, they were your pawns. Sacrifices. It was the perfect setup to draw the attention of one specific individual."

It wasn't so much an accusation as a statement. An accumulation of their hypothesis put to the test.

"And whom might that be?"

The smallest twitch pulled at Kakashi's cheek; a tell. "You were after Sasuke. What I can't figure is if you wanted him to break the Seal, or if you were just after his chakra… Maybe you couldn't wait to pluck his eyes from his head once he was dead."

Sakura concealed her horrified gasp at Kakashi's callous assertion, reminding herself that now wasn't the time for demonstrations of bonds.

Kakashi's voice never wavered as he continued his allegation. "Only you never banked on Sasuke fetching help. Or did you? Because now your Master is free, and so desperate to get his hands on whatever was behind that Seal. The same Seal which was keeping him all but locked away, while you're left scrambling under his thumb doing his bidding."

"Are you – " Ara took a step forward but was cut off but Yukine raising his hand.

"Except now you have a destroyed Seal, a missing Uchiha and Jinchuuriki, two high profile hostages, and an impatient God on your hands. So I'm just wondering whether you're actually the ones flying by the seat of your pants with all your plans going to absolute shit." Kakashi finished with a casual shrug and dark smirk.

Sakura raised her brows, flesh rippling at his bold statement. She could practically hear the 'fuck you' radiating off him. For a moment she was separate from her body, as though she were merely watching some simulation; a live seminar on how to insult and irritate your captors into spitting their secrets at you, delivered by her recluse of an ex-sensei.

Ara sneered, "The arrogance on this one. Do you really think – "

"It appears you have spent much thought on this, Rokudaime." Yukine interrupted, and Sakura wanted to curse him for being invincibly tolerant. "Is there truly a question here, Hatake-san? Or are you merely speculating?"

But Kakashi just leaned back as though everything was falling into place as he had planned it.

"Well, if you'd prefer I'd be blunt. That Seal posed the challenge of a God in order to unseal one; clearly more of a taunt than a task. So, why would you be trying so hard to 'free' a God who was by all accounts, sealed by another God? And why would a Pomegranate be so important to him? Just seems to me like you've walked yourselves into a rather troublesome mess, and now you're scrambling, Yukine-san."

Sakura followed Kakashi's challenge to Yukine who seemed almost pleased with such an invitation for rectification.

"Indeed, your intelligence is not overstated, Rokudaime. Although I find your hypothesis lacking in some areas."

Kakashi shrugged with an air of absolute indifference. "I see no errors."

"Then your eyes are clouded in egotism." He settled with a whisper of revile.

"Or maybe it's you who can't see for shit under all that blind loyalty, Yukine." Kakashi said, aloof and yet so undeniably pointed.

It was when Ara stepped forward, eyes wary, that Sakura knew they had won this round.

"Yukine." The tall woman warned.

But Yukine merely raised a hand. "It is alright Ara. It's seems Hatake-san here has yet to comprehend the nature of his position in our turn of events. And Atsuhiko-sama would wish for vermin to know their place."

And just like that, Sakura triumphed over the deflective exterior and quicksilver wit that was her Kakashi-sensei. A house of mirrors and glass and the determination to use those sharp edges and sleek surfaces to benefit him in every way possible.

Yukine slid his gaze from one to the other, jade eyes piercing yet distant. His lilting tenor filled the cell as he spoke.

"The story goes that Atsuhiko-sama once angered his sister in a fit of sibling quarrelling. He took something of hers, something insignificant but no less important to the woman. She returned in kind, taking something of his, this time of greater value, for the pure purpose of retribution. From there led to greater defilements; Atsuhiko losing his betrothed to her manipulation, and his sister losing her child to Atsuhiko's reckoning. And so, what began as harmless squabbling eventuated into a fierce conflict and ultimately, the downfall of his omnipotence.

"In her anger and devastation, his Sister tore his Godhood from his very being, carved it out with nothing more than malice and the strength of her grief. She took his supremacy and fashioned it into a simple Pomegranate – the fruit of death – and cast it to earth. Atsuhiko-sama in his ruin and desperation, followed it down to this plane of existence, bequeathing himself his realm and searching to regain his place among the Gods.

"But his Sister was cunning. And in her cruelty, she took from him further; using his very chakra to create a Seal that would keep his salvation from him, eternally. No matter how hard he tried, Atsuhiko-sama would not be able to destroy that which is linked to him. And no one would ever meet the challenge of his Sister's power. No one but another God."

His eyes landed on hers and Sakura felt a thrill run down her spine in the cold depths of her prison cell. A trickle of foreboding slipped over her skin as she held Yukine's eyes, and he continued, dispassionately.

"In some ways you could infer kindness from the Sister's actions. For Atsuhiko-sama would not die from old age, nor would he lose his gifts of Godhood – they were all simply lessened, weak. In a sense, he became mortal. For all he lost, he was as powerless as a human against a God. He no longer belonged in the realm of his brethren. And he has been seeking his deliverance ever since."

Sakura let his words wash over her; feeling an abstract sense of sorrow for the tale. There was a tug in her which pulled uncomfortably. Sakura pressed a hand against her stomach without even realising she had moved.

"That is why you are here, Haruno Sakura." Yukine declared, snapping her attention to him once more. "In truth you were not our intended target, but you demonstrated the power of a God when you broke that Seal and returned to him control of his chakra. And in associating yourself with the Uchiha, your role in this game is two-fold."

It was here that Sakura began losing a grip on her restrained rationality, the same time Kakashi had begun to lean forward again, muscles coiled. And yet Yukine's eyes had fallen flat, as though reciting the words from pure memory and disinterest alone.

"When the Uchiha comes for you, he will surrender his eyes in exchange for you, willing or not. And you will return the Pomegranate in exchange for the Uchiha's life. And Atsuhiko-sama will have all that he requires. You configured yourself squarely in Atsuhiko-sama's path. You made yourself the key to his redemption. You are his last obstacle and final salvation before he can rightly take his place in the land of his Brethren. I tell you all of this so you are prepared for the inevitable, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura shot forward in a burst of conviction; her Will of Fire ignited and scorching her very bones.

"I'm never going to give you want you want. And Sasuke isn't going to come for me. You misjudged us, you completely screwed up thinking I was anything more to him than a person of his past. Sasuke would rather blind himself than give you his eyes." Sakura barred her teeth, her smile sharp. "I'm not even part of the equation."

The truth perhaps would've hurt if she wasn't already wielding it as a shield.

It was here that Yukine turned thoughtful once more, almost smug. "I sense emotions in chakra, Sakura-san… Chakra does not lie. The Uchiha will come for you. I could feel it. Your… feelings, they are connected." Yukine told her, his eyes sliding fractionally to Kakashi.

A laugh bubbled out of her. "Chakra doesn't tell you everything. You don't know Sasuke. And you don't know me. You lost the moment you thought you did."

Across the room Ara stepped forward back into the light, a contemplating tilt to her lips, a flash of fire in her flaxen eyes.

"That remains to be seen." Yukine corrected calmly.

"You've miscalculated Yukine-san." Kakashi sighed as though he wasn't commenting on anything more than a child's mistake. "Sasuke is not a man easily led or threatened. He's sealed a God before. He can do it again. However, if you insist on baiting him… well, I'm sure you've heard by now, just what an Uchiha is capable of when challenged."

"What I have heard, Rokudaime, is the unstable nature of a Clan now all but wiped from existence. I do not fear a mere man, least of all one with whom carries a great attachment."

"Then you really are blind." Kakashi said simply.

Something prickled in the air. The room stilled, only shadows brave enough to dance in the fire's light cast over the cell.

"Do not expect sympathy from me, Kakashi," Yukine returned softly, voice like ice, "when your end comes at the loss of your attachment." His eyes slid slowly to Sakura. "Come, Sakura-san it is time."

Kakashi flinched minutely and Sakura set her shoulders in preparation. It wasn't fear that crept upon her spine – it was anger and impatience. "Time for what?"

"Atsuhiko-sama regretted that your time with him was cut short previously, an error on both our parts. You will be reacquainted now, however." Yukine untucked his hands from his yukata, reaching for the cell's gate.

Kakashi didn't move, but his voice stole up a tone in urgency as the gate was wrenched open. "What about me? Doesn't your God want to talk to a leader among the mortals? Is he really stupid enough to be overlooking a Kage in his midst?"

Ara stepped forward next, bouncing on her feels and barely sparing Kakashi a glance as Yukine enclosed on Sakura. "Don't feel bad Guard Dog, you're just not his type."

That large pale hand was inches reaching for her again, and Sakura held her ground even when Kakashi angled in her direction.

"Torture me all you want, it won't change a thing." She sniped, eyes fierce and lips curled back.

"I'm going to start taking things personally if you leave me here again Yukine-san. Why am I even here if I'm not invited to the fun parties?" There was no mistaking the dangerous edge to Kakashi's flippant tone.

"Collateral." Yukine said, and Sakura grit her teeth as his fingertips grazed her neck.

"Yuki!" A singular shout shattered the tension in the room as a short man trotted up to the gates.

Yukine's hand dropped though he did not turn to acknowledge the intrusion. "Hansai, your interruption is unwelcome."

The sandy-haired man whined, clutching his dusty orange robes. "It's not my fault, Yuki! Atsuhiko-sama would like to speak with all of us now."

Ara turned towards the hunched man in surprise and yet Yukine barely betrayed an itch of movement. "I am in the midst of preparing Sakura-san."

"He said to come get you Yuki!" Hansai beckoned, "He looked like it was important."

When Yukine did not move, it was Ara who spoke up, her voice quietly firm in a way Sakura hadn't heard from her before. "Yukine."

The name from her lips seemed to hold more weight than any command, and Sakura could only wait as Yukine continued to hover over her, Kakashi still poised at their periphery.

"Very well." He conceded at last stepping back and slowly moving out of the cell.

"I better be first picked next time, Yukine-san. Or else I'm going to think all our time spent together has meant nothing to you." Kakashi called as the Yukine departed without a second glance, Hansai following closely at his heels.

Ara lingered for only a moment longer, studying Sakura intently. "Wait up for me, okay Princess?" She said with a curved smile before disappearing in a distorted shimmer.

Into the silence of their departure, Sakura let the last of her nerves collapse in on themselves; just another useless pile of straw at her feet. A sense of foreboding was becoming clearer around her, as though she were only in the eye of the storm, not past it. She couldn't put her finger on it – honest to Kami was perhaps even scared to – but something in her was still pulling, and Sakura wasn't sure how much longer she could pretend to ignore it.

"Kakashi." She whispered. And it was a warning as much as it was a plea.

"I know Sakura." He said, voice tired and yet resolute. "I'm going to get you home. I promise."

---

Naruto stood with a straight spine and stared at the neon-painted trees as darkness drew around them, heralding their departure. His skin was tight from dehydration, his body itched with grime and his limbs ached in heavy exhaustion; but his spirit stood strong and unmarred against bitter uncertainties.

They were going home.

"Ready?" A voice croaked from behind him, and Naruto turned to watch Sasuke struggle to lever himself towards him.

Naruto twisted his wince into a smile and stepped quietly up to Sasuke, offering his hand. "I've been thinking. You sure it wouldn't help if I leant you my chakra?" He asked lightly as though he hadn't been agonising over this thought for the better part of six hours.

Sasuke shook his head weakly. "We can't afford to risk our only shot out of here on an experiment. Our mix of chakra's could be unstable for the jump." He rasped.

Naruto nodded, his face pulling into a frown before he could stop it. He expected as much… He just wished he had thought of his idea before it got to this point; before Sasuke got sick and their chances of survival dwindled into an inordinate responsibility being placed on the Teme's shoulders. He wished they never got separated. He wished they had been better prepared. He wished…

Naruto shook his head and cleared his throat, a smile pushing past his chapped lips. "Well, I guess that just means we have a new training regime to try out when we get back home. We'll blow Sakura-chan and Kaka-sensei away with how well we'll work together. Even down to our chakra compatibility." Naruto cheered lightly, taking more of Sasuke's weight and wrapping an arm around his torso.

Sasuke was damp with sweat and slumped easily into his hold but Naruto didn't comment on it. He carefully walked them out into the middle of the clearing and cast a final gaze around the supernatural glowing forest, coming to life with snarls and shrieks. Kurama stirred inside him; a mix of anticipation and impatience swelling to life within him.

"Take a whiff, Kit. We ain't coming back here."

Naruto tried to keep his exhaustion from showing at the mere thought of leaving. "Ready to go home, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's chest expand in a heavy laboured breath, and then mismatched eyes turned to him.

"Don't fall on your ass this time, Dobe." His smirk was feeble at best, but Naruto beamed at him.

"I'll be there to catch you, Teme. Don't worry your fat Uchiha head." He grinned, all teeth.

With a weak chuckle – turned – cough, Sasuke drew the last vestiges of his strength and spun his Rinnegan to life. It started with a dull whirl; the very air itself pulling and twisting in on itself. And then Naruto felt it – a sharp ripple of chakra pulling at his core, and with a whoosh they were gone; scuffed dirt and the echo of a wail trailing in their wake.

Colours blurred from fluorescent green to blinding white as their worlds warped and collided; spinning in and out of focus. With a muted thud and a crash of limbs, they were knee deep in powdery snow and howling wind, a haggard gasp torn from each of them in pure shock. True to his word, Naruto kept his feet under him, immediately catching Sasuke when he stumbled gracelessly into him and began violently dry heaving.

Naruto clutched his shoulder as Sasuke shook and spluttered, quickly scanning their immediate area for any concrete sign of where they might've ended up. It felt like 'home' enough, despite the blasted winter snow and unfamiliar terrain. All Naruto could see was white; sheets of ice pelting against his dry skin and stretching as far as the eye could see, giving way to no shape or form of solid terrain.

Electric blue eyes were torn back to Sasuke when he suddenly went taut and then hacked a wet cough. Naruto's very blood went cold at the sight of two red splotches of blood colouring the pristine snow, more droplets dribbling from Sasuke's chin.

He gently urged Sasuke upright and bent his head to catch his eyes. "Sasuke – " Naruto chocked to a stop seeing the intense trails of blood leaking from his left eye, screwed tightly shut.

Sasuke kept his face turned as he brought a shaky hand up to swipe at his mouth. "M'fine." He croaked, shifting to get a solid footing on the slick ground. He didn't give Naruto a chance to protest before he was running his Sharingan over their surroundings with a wince.

"Where are we?" The harsh wind threatened to carry his voice away before the words even made it past his wet lips.

The blond concealed a grimace and matched Sasuke's wandering stare. "My guess, somewhere north-west of where we want to be." Naruto observed with a tight jaw.

Sasuke nodded mutely and moved to tread forward, but his legs gave out before he could manage a step. Naruto caught him clumsily and slung Sasuke's arm around his shoulder, readjusting his grip to all but carry his teammate.

He could feel Sasuke gearing up with a stubborn protest and silenced him with a bright smile he simply didn't feel. "Alright Teme, let's find some cover and get you rested. We'll figure out the rest later, yeah?"

"Naruto." Sasuke cut sharply, "Sakura needs – "

" – us to be strong and healthy when she finds us? I agree. So let's get started on the healthy part first, okay? Look at all this snow. Plenty for drinking with your handy Katon, eh Teme?"

"Dobe…" Sasuke murmured, his head lolling.

"It's alright Teme. You did it. You got us home. You can rest for a bit now, ne? I'll take care of it. Believe it."

"We have to… Sakura…"

Naruto barely took a step before Sasuke's weight became all encompassing. He stumbled slightly catching Sasuke's unconscious form and carefully swung him around until Sasuke was rested at his back. Hitching his hands under his knees, Naruto hefted Sasuke until he was secure and then activated Sage mode.

It took more concentration and energy than he would've liked, and Naruto withheld his sigh of defeat when not a soul in sight was revealed to him. They were utterly alone. And Naruto almost wanted to scream at the fact that maybe here – lost in a blizzard and stranded without any sign of shelter or warmth – they were almost worse off. As if to mock him, the wind changed directions, slamming into his face and chest and tearing a shudder from him.

Naruto brought a shoulder up and rubbed his stinging eyes on Sasuke's arm as it lay lifeless across his chest. Suddenly the weight at his back felt crushing. Days without proper food and no water were going to take its toll on him soon, and Naruto wasn't blindly optimistic enough to ignore the fact that his body would fail him long before his chakra did. And Sasuke…

"Kurama." He called hoarsely, nose and eyes burning. "Don't let me lose consciousness out here, alright? Keep me awake, whatever it takes."

"I hear ya, Kit. But you and the Uchiha aren't going to get very far with how you are now. Your flesh is feeble against the elements, not to mention you're already pitifully weakened." A cautious rumble replied. "You won't – "

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek roughly, a sneer bubbling its way to the surface. "Well you'll just have to suck it up and watch me!"

Kurama was silent as Naruto began his blind trudge ahead, his feet carrying him forward where his mind strayed apart.

"Watch me." Naruto repeated firmly to himself, ice whipping his tan cheeks and hands curling tighter around Sasuke. "Fucking believe it."

---

Kakashi could feel it; the minute currents of electricity flowing through him and masking his network from use. It was like an electric fence; a constant charge of currents keeping him from accessing what was on the other side. But the fact that he could feel it – no matter the degree of concentration and acute familiarity of his element it required – meant that he could do something about it.

Kakashi's brows knitted. Sakura was right – it was a gamble. Far-fetched, dangerous, potentially electric-shock inducing. But it was the best they had. And after the conversations they'd just endured… well, he would risk a lot more than mere electrocution if it meant keeping Sakura safe.

Kakashi clasped his hands tighter in the Rabbit sign, focusing on the surge of currents and spared a thought that in all his years as a prodigy of experimental jutsu, he had never once been this close to actively blowing himself up.

Don't fuck it up, Hatake.

All he had to do was theoretically break the current. Physics.

Either he could inundate the 'circuit' of the cuffs and force it to draw upon more electrical currents than it was intended to carry, therefore short circuiting it. However, that would require a gamble in potentially expending his entire reserves (if even possible to draw upon), and banking on having more chakra than the cuffs could handle in the first place.

A true Uzumaki Naruto way of handling things – head first, chakra blazing, bulldozing approach.

Or, he could render the circuit incomplete. A break in the flow. It was risky, but if he could manage to focus his chakra and affinity into one point in his body, he could create a mini short-circuit of his own and cut off the cycle by cutting off a piece of his own system. Sakura would call it self-destructive and idiotic and she would be right. But there was a reason he wasn't telling her the details.

Well, if there was one thing Kakashi was coming to learn on this mission, it was the ways in which he and Sakura had begun to take after each other.

Unstable theories first, consequences second huh? Who learned that from whom I wonder?

With a flex of his fingers, Kakashi made up his mind. He could almost taste it; the static pinching and spiking just beneath his skin. Bitter and positively charged, vibrating at a frequency just below perception… for anyone but him.

Fuck it!

With a grunt, Kakashi reached for an invisible lifeline and pulsed his untenable chakra. There was a flare beneath his skin, a prickle of static reacting to his elemental nature. It was an exercise in control to grasp unto the wisp of electricity as it surged in his direction and force the small buzz of energy to a focused point in his body.

Kakashi wasn't sure if it was some divine symmetry that the point happened to be directly over his still healing side, now all but a tender pink scar under Sakura's stubborn keeping. But he held steadfast as the ball of lightning began to grow and swirl from where he was holding it in his network.

A grunt pushed past his lips, his fingers tightening as electricity raced through his cells, nervous system, under his skin, behind his eyelids, around his wrists. The signals were repeating themselves over and over in a singular space as Kakashi willed the currents to; a dull buzz reaching his ears.

Kakashi wasn't sure what he was expecting – some grand pop, maybe a deadly sizzle – but suddenly where pressure was mounting and building, now was calm and mute. Stopped. Switched off.

It was only with the sound of a light clank of metal that he opened his eyes to see the cuffs at his feet and his body miraculously free of charred edges. He lifted his wrists and warily tried for his chakra. It was sluggish and marginally low, but it was there.

Huh. As simple as flicking a switch. Mostly painless…

"Kakashi?"

He blinked at Sakura and her worried face. "Yeah… I'm okay. Just a little tinglingly." He admitted quietly.

Kakashi didn't hesitate in reaching over and zapping her cuffs with a small amount of lightning. They both watched in silence as the manacles fell away in an anticlimactic turn of events, considering their last few days. Perhaps if he had the time, Kakashi might've felt aggravated with himself for not attempting this sooner. But he was a shinobi for too long to regret the importance of information gathered. That and he didn't have the time.

"How are your levels?" He asked cautiously, eyeing the way Sakura had gone still with the return of her chakra.

A deep crease had formed between her brows, as she stared concentratedly into nothing, one hand drawn protectively over her bare stomach.

Kakashi frowned, creeping closer. She hadn't complained of an injury there before. He looked her over carefully. "Are you – "

But when Sakura flickered her emerald eyes to his, she was smiling thinly. "I'm fine. I'll manage."

Kakashi wanted to protest, wanted to call bullshit on her bold-faced lie. He couldn't feel her, at all. From the state of her, she might as well still be chakra exhausted. And he was only slightly better. They both knew they couldn't afford getting dragged into a fight, they had to reserve all they had for getting out and staying out.

A cold thrill went up Kakashi's spine as he considered Sakura. She never had answered his question from before…

"Shall we?" Bright green eyes gleamed under the low light as Sakura effortlessly stood and held out a hand to him.

It was urgency that bade Kakashi to take her hand and shelf his concerns for a more appropriate setting. It was pride that held back his groan for his screaming muscles as he was pulled to his numb feet and stumbled into her. He withdrew his hand from her bare shoulder almost immediately, taking several steps back from her.

"I'll take point. Watch my six." He breathed, looking away and quickly taking a second to pop his back.

He had barely taken a step on unsteady legs before Sakura quietly called for him to stop. Kakashi blinked as his medic began tying both their blankets around his shoulders like a cape. He blinked dumbly for another moment as Sakura knotted the material and then checked the length on him where it brushed his calves.

"Uh, Sakura?"

"We can't afford to leave behind what might end up being our only source of warmth in the coming days. Besides, we both need our hands free, and I can't be tripping over a blanket in a fight."

It was logical. "But – "

Sakura's hands stilled on his collarbones as she stared up at him with nothing short of affection. "Don't worry, you've looked worse in your Hokage robes."

Kakashi's jaw slackened as though he'd been slapped, but Sakura had already edged her way towards the cell gate and was quietly prying it open.

Kakashi shook his head. "Alright then." He murmured under his breath

Sakura waited for him just outside the cell, and with a nod to the doorway at the far end of the corridor, they set off. Kakashi's legs burned with the fresh use, pins and needles still trailing along every muscle and joint in his body; if not from his cramped living conditions then from his experimental use of lightning chakra. But it was an undoubtedly welcome change from a barred chakra network and a stationary existence.

Reaching the iron door, Kakashi wrapped his hand around the handle and paused to sense what he could beyond their exit. His chakra was still slightly lethargic from his disuse, and he had lost a reasonably large amount in breaking the cuffs – or maybe he had never managed to replenish from the ambush – but he still had enough to extend his senses and fight his way out if need be.

The corner of Kakashi's lip pulled upwards, and he wedged the door open slipping into an empty stairwell, Sakura silently following at his heels. The blankets at his back fluttered with his movements as they crept up the winding stone corridor, and out unto the next level. Grey brick hedged them in either side, and Kakashi caught his first glimpse of daylight in days from one of the small high windows lining the hall.

He sniffed the air; cold, damp, and yet cleaner than what he had become accustomed. There was a draft from up ahead, and likely the key to their exit. With a tilt of his chin, they departed down the empty passageway; footfalls silent and chakra suppressed. Kakashi navigated them with blind confidence, trusting his nose to take them the path of least resistance to freedom.

He stuck a hand out and caught Sakura as she collided with his abrupt stop. He could smell him. A man ahead.

With a sharp glance, Kakashi catalogued his surroundings of brick walls and slits of windows. No cover. He signalled for Sakura to be ready – they were going to have to engage.

It was alarmingly easy to strike the man's neck as he rounded the bend and straight into Kakashi's awaiting palm; the man falling like a puppet cut from its strings. He fell without a fight or sound, Sakura already there to catch him and drag him back towards the empty stairwell they had emerged from.

"Take his shoes and his clothes" Sakura whispered hurriedly, already divesting the bulky man of his belongings.

Kakashi spared a proper glance at the stranger they had just taken down. A slashed headband from Iwa, tall frame and solid build. And he went down without so much as a tensed muscle or twitch.

Kakashi frowned when Sakura handed him the man's boots and began working the pants from his muscular body. "What about you?"

The woman in question huffed, not stopping for a moment. "I would say the size difference is enough of a reason, Kakashi."

He had scarcely opened his mouth to respond when Sakura was interrupting him with another firm command.

"Here, take his weapons." She thrust the heavy pouch at him next, and Kakashi barely restrained himself from ripping her away from the man she was so quickly undressing.

"Sakura." He began, dropping the boots and moving to pull her back.

She shot him a glare. "No arguing. You don't have much chakra, at least not as much as you were hoping. I can see it from here." She returned back to her task, throwing over her shoulder. "You're the most unarmed right now."

Kakashi caught the pants she next tossed at him with an annoyed frown. "I would beg to differ."

Sakura never strayed from her task of shucking the unconscious man of his heavy coat. "Look, I know you're already planning on throwing me over your shoulder once we get a running start out of here, so it stands to reason that you should be the most equipped and clothed." She finally turned back to him with an expectant stare. "Besides, I can always reach into your pouch and throw some shuriken behind me."

It was just short of a snap, and yet Sakura delivered it so calmly and logically, Kakashi could do nothing more than reluctantly close his mouth and pull on the brown pants. He caught Sakura's faint little smile as she rose to envelope him in the coat next, working it under the blankets and hooking it closed as he belted the loose pants.

"I'm starting to think you're taking this escape-thing a little too casually, Sakura." He said disapprovingly to the crown of her pink head.

Sakura lifted her chin and stared at him through her lashes with a crooked slant to her purple tinted lips. "Well, you can blame my Sensei for my morbid sense of humour to joke at inappropriate times."

Kakashi couldn't find it in him to join in her humour, and let his frown settle deeper into his face as Sakura went to pull the near-naked man further from sight. "I'll be sure to have words with him." He promised himself.

Kakashi slipped on the ninja's boots and had attached the weapons pouch to his thigh when Sakura remerged, overwhelmingly bare, where he stood now covered in layers and weapons. Kakashi felt his skin crawl with discomfort at the scenario once more and immediately began reaching for the damnable large coat he was wearing. She may be stubborn, but so was he.

"Sakura – "

"No time." The woman completely ignored him, and swiftly darted from his side and back into the hallway. Kakashi clenched his fist and started after her, grudgingly holding his tongue as Sakura led their way through the fortress.

She moved quickly, perhaps being led by memory, and Kakashi reached into his pilfered pouch to curl his hand around the steel of a kunai; his instincts rattling with unease.

Something about this wasn't right. Where was everyone? Why had they run into only one guard? A man who did not fit into the mould of their captors. An Iwa missing-nin, hanging around a bunch of unaffiliated, powerful shinobi? And going down without a fight? He was almost more a help to them than a hindrance…

It was almost like the universe had planted him there, giving them almost exactly what they would need to escape. But the universe had never been that kind to his team before. Instinct was throwing him down a dark course of doubt.

The missing Iwa-nin certainly fits of the bill of someone they would collect as their 'summoned'. But with the Seal broken, they would have no use for them. So why would one be here unless they were part of the organisation or -

"Why haven't we run into another guard? Or anyone else at all?" Kakashi murmured warily to Sakura's back. His gut twisted, but his silent steps did not falter as he followed her path up another set of stairs, the air growing crisper with each stride.

Sakura didn't stop. "Please don't jinx us now, Sensei." Her words were teasing and yet her tone was almost off somehow.

Something prickled at the back of his mind and Kakashi opened his mouth to stop her when they reached the top of the stairs, spilling out into a large concrete dojo of sorts.

Perhaps they had taken a wrong turn, because he could see from the tall windows that they were on one of the top levels now – sitting at height with the cropping of winter trees surrounding the compound. He could smell it though; freedom was just beyond these walls.

"We're close." He breathed, eyes darting to find an exit.

"That you are." An achingly familiar voice intoned as Yukine peeled himself from the shadows of the opposing wall. "Your ingenuity in unlocking the cuffs was most expected Kakashi-san. Although I confess I anticipated such an attempt to have occurred sooner."

Kakashi quickly advanced to stand in front of Sakura as they squared off against Yukine, and locked away his growl of frustration at being so immediately caught.

"Maa, Yukine-san I wasn't joking about feeling left out. I have a delicate ego I'll have you know. I had to come and see what all the fuss was about." He shrugged carelessly.

The tall raven-haired man inclined his head smoothly. "My apologies then, Rokudaime. It seems I shall be the one to continually deny you your objective."

Kakashi took a step back, his hand straying to grab Sakura's wrist and pull her closer. "Think you can find an escape route?" He murmured, his eyes not leaving Yukine.

He felt Sakura flex her hand. "I would rather just make one."

Kakashi briefly tightened his hold on her before letting go completely. "On my signal." He acknowledged eventually. "I'll keep him busy for you."

Kakashi didn't wait to hear her confirmation. He peeled himself from her side and slowly withdrew the kunai he had been palming. "Well then, I suppose the least you could do is offer this poor forgotten Rokudaime a rematch?" He said lightly, twirling the kunai around his index finger.

Yukine drew his hands up and held them before him in a stance reminiscent of the Gentle Fist. A wry smile crossed Kakashi's face as he raised his kunai. They held each other's eyes for a moment, and then with an arch of muscle, met in a clash of violent taijutsu.

Kakashi was vaguely aware of Sakura as he moved to dodge and counter Yukine's fluid attacks. His kunai flowed from one hand to the other as he worked to keep Yukine on the defensive and force his hands from contacting him. The man was lithe, powerful and purposeful in his strikes; no momentum wasted, not a single form unperfected. Kakashi would've admired at such a worthy opponent, had his focus not been torn between deep annoyance and keen desperation to get Sakura out!

Kakashi drove his forearm up and twisted to the left, redirecting Yukine's palm to strike thin air where it once would've struck him. His kunai had already moved to slice the man's neck, but a simple shift of weight had Kakashi pivoting to avoid the leg shooting towards his kneecaps. It was a dance of blocked blows and near misses; and Kakashi knew he didn't have the chakra reserves to fight like this indefinitely; not when he still had to manage actually escaping.

Kakashi caught the wrist flying towards his chest and Yukine's grabbed his own kunai ladened hand as it shot once more towards the man's carotid artery. Grey eyes met impassive jade, and Kakashi could see the flicker of pink reflect in the man's dark orbs, as Sakura tracked their movements from the sidelines. Each arm tremored with the force behind the halted blows as Kakashi remained in a stalemate with the poised man.

"It is unfortunate, Kakashi-san. Perhaps were you not so desperate to hide yourself from me," Yukine said leisurely lifting his stare to gaze behind Kakashi, pink colouring his dark eyes. "You might've caught what she has been hiding from you."

Kakashi's grip slackened unconsciously, his ears catching upon the unmistakable sound of Sakura's hitched breath. That was apparently all the distraction Yukine needed to wrench his wrist free and burry his palm directly into Kakashi's stomach, chakra rippling. Kakashi's breath whooshed out of him, and with a grunt he reacted purely on instinct, landing a kick to Yukine's chest and sending them both flying to opposite sides of the room.

"What the hell did you just do to me?" he coughed, bringing a hand to his abdomen warily.

He still had his chakra, buzzing wildly beneath his skin, but something felt different. Twisted. So what did he do?

"I find it disappointing you allow yourself open to the same tricks, Hatake." Yukine righted himself with a small wince, flicking a strand of hair from his eyes and brushing the dirt from his chest.

Sakura was by Kakashi side in an instant, hands easing him back upright and whispering his name fretfully. Kakashi didn't take his eyes of Yukine, gentling reaching to return Sakura's hands back to her. He didn't spare her a glance as he stood in front of her once more, dutifully disregarding the words Yukine had tried to poison him with.

"Well Yukine-san, when you've been held captive, cramped and malnourished for a few days come and talk to me." Kakashi challenged with a small amount of spite as something in him swirled with bitterness.

There was a glint of assessment to Yukine's eyes as he spoke, "Were you aware of the risks when you counteracted the cuffs in the way that you did?" He tilted his head appraisingly. "You have created a tear in your chakra pathways, right here." Two long fingers indicated along the length of his own abdomen. "That is why your reserves are diminished and you are struggling to stand against me, Hatake-san."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and withdrew two more kunai, his last having scattered across the floor. Inwardly he cursed, though all he did was shrug. "Well I had to give myself some sort of handicap to level the playing field, Yukine-san." His smile was stale.

"If left untreated that tear will grow into a gaping hole, eventually rendering you an obsolete Hokage and a shinobi without use."

Kakashi chuckled darkly at the non-insult. "I dare you to say that to Matio Guy. They call him a Hyuuga's worst nightmare. I can only imagine how his 'disadvantages' would all but blind you." Kakashi ignored the swell of bitterness that was beginning to fuel him. "He'd have you flat on your back before you could even comprehend what you saw."

Yukine's stare was cold. "I did not have to withhold my technique, Hatake-san. I could have rendered you entirely without your chakra, if I chose."

"Then why didn't you?"

Something was surging within him, something dark and sour starting at his core, and slithering its way through him. No, Yukine hadn't taken away his chakra… Kakashi feared he'd done something far worse.

Kakashi felt a tentative hand brush along the side of his arm; Sakura's touch attempting to reach him. "Kakashi – "

"Oh my, Guard Dog. Who taught you to accessorize?"

Kakashi let a muttered curse slip his lips at the sound of her voice. All three occupants of the room turned at the condescending lilt of Ara as she strode into the room swinging her Tachi playfully, Hansai in tow.

"Yuki, you started playing without me!" The shaggy blond bounced on his heels, his eyes manic and wide.

Kakashi reversed his grip on the kunai and backed into Sakura, forcing her directly behind him and against the stone wall. The three nin began to gather to hedge them in, varying shades of amusement colouring their faces.

Kakashi huffed harshly and glanced back at Sakura. "I'd say that's our cue."

In the span of a heartbeat, Kakashi turned to hurl several kunai at his opponents, exploding tags fluttering on the hilts, and a handful of senbon hidden on their trail. He had barely let metal fly before there was a resounding boom behind him; pieces of rock flying past his head and a cloud of dust sweeping through the room, echoed by another explosion of his tags reaching their destination.

A harsh gust of icy wind swept past him, and Kakashi spared a panicked thought that Sakura still hadn't let him wrap her in any of his abundant layers. The thought chewed on him even as his gaze stayed glued to the three nin emerging from the dust, barely a scratch on them.

Kakashi eyed them off and ran his fingers along the sharp edges of a dozen shuriken, tossing up whether he could manage some ninjutsu in his state to give them a head start. He mentally shuffled through his stockpile of jutsu, knowing it would be a once off. "Go. I'm right behind you."

Ara stepped forward, swinging the blade of her Tachi in idle motions. "Oh Guard Dog, loyal to the very end I see." Her long auburn hair fell across her shoulders as she tilted her head to peer at Sakura. "Princess. I thought I told you to wait up for me." She grinned meaningfully.

"Sakura. Go." Kakashi ordered, nerves spiking with her inaction.

A hand curled in the material at his back. "Kakashi." Sakura whispered. And he knew that she wasn't going to leave him just as he knew he would never leave her.

Kakashi wanted to break something.

"Yuki, Atsuhiko-sama won't like the big hole the Princess made. Should we catch them for punishment now?" Hansai cheered with a jolted pounce forward, making Kakashi twitch in his direction, fingers tight over steel.

There was a sick satisfaction to Yukine's eyes as he caught Kakashi's wild stare. "Indeed."

Kakashi snapped, raising his voice to yell at the woman who simply wouldn't listen. "Sakura!"

Kakashi's voice cut off when the grip at his back tightened and pulled; Sakura's small hand yanking him back into her. She steadied him with a light touch to side, and then suddenly a pair of cold lips were pressed to the shell of his ear.

"Try to land softly if you can." Sakura whispered on a plea.

Kakashi froze. What?

His eyes caught the faces of the stilled nin before him, hardly looking as shocked as he felt in that moment. A cold sense of fear washed over him as those cold lips began moving again.

"Don't die, okay?" Sakura ordered.

And Kakashi had a second to wonder what she meant before she hauled him from his feet with all her strength and shot him through the hole she had demolished in the stone wall.

Kakashi's breath left him in a gasp as the ice-cold wind flew past him, through him. He twisted and swivelled in the air, turning around just in time to catch Sakura imbed her fist into the ground beneath her. He watched, horrified, as stone cracked and crumbled around her; as she and the other's fell from sight and became trapped in the violent rubble.

Kakashi screamed her name, the sound tearing from his throat, as the building faded from sight; sending him an impossible distance from her.

Kakashi felt that same darkness inside him twist and snap, forcing all air from his lungs.

His heels clipped the peak of a fir tree as he began to descend, the contact jarring him and sending him sprawling. He couldn't right himself in time, his body roughly snagging branches and brittle twigs scraping his face and arms as he fell through the wintery foliage.

Kakashi managed to get his feet under him a second before he hit the forest floor, tumbling gracelessly to his knees in the thick powdery snow, and barely catching himself on his cold, torn hands.

That slithering feeling was back, contricting and suffocating him from the inside out and Kakashi clawed at his chest desperately as the strange emotion overwhelmed him.

Fuck. Fuck Fuck.

What had he done? What had she done?

His eyes blurred as he struggled to his feet, his head swimming and chest heaving. Black spots danced in his vision a second before it went completely dark; Kakashi landing chest first in the snow.

---

Sakura coughed the dust and dirt from her lungs as something heavy moved, pressed against her chest. It was almost pitch dark from where she had condemned them all to the depths of the rubble she created when she smashed her fist into the floor. In truth, Sakura was surprised she herself wasn't suffering more than a twisted shoulder and a pair of aggravated lungs.

Sakura struggled to bring a hand up to rub her stinging eyes and nearly jumped when there was movement beneath her.

"I did it!" A voice exclaimed from startlingly close to her ear. "I caught the Princess!"

Sakura's blood went cold as she felt the shuffling of a warm body from under her, the heaviness across her chest becoming clear as an arm slowly unwound from her torso. Sakura jerked to remove herself from his grasp when she was halted by another hand snagging her chin and forcing her head back.

Sakura blinked harshly from the jarring movement and glared haplessly at the face towering above her own.

"That was reckless, Princess." Ara's silken voice admonished. "One might think you were intentionally trying to hurt yourself with a stunt like that. And then where would that leave us?" Fingernails dug sharply into the flesh of her cheeks as Ara gripped her face.

Sakura spat out a mouthful of dirt and saliva and bared her teeth. "Welcome to the point."

Her eyes had adjusted enough to catch the thrilled smirk Ara wore, and Sakura distantly felt the man behind let her go to scamper towards the last figure gliding through the rubble as though it were nothing more than leaves at his feet.

"I am undecided as to whether you are incredibly smart or overwhelmingly stupid, Sakura-san." Yukine commented with distaste as he stood above her, his once pristine garb now muted with filth. "Either way, courage does not seem to be something you lack, however mistakenly founded."

"Bite me." She sneered from Ara's tight grip.

A pleased laugh coloured the thick stale air as the shorter man cackled. In the next breath, Sakura was sent lurching sideways as an invisible force yanked her towards the man in question.

"Careful Princess." Hansai sang as she stumbled to her knees before him, the flesh of her legs opening against the jagged ground. "Yuki hates bad manners," his face bore closer to hers and Sakura drew her head away from the stench of his breath. "And you have been very rude."

Sakura at once became keenly aware of the chakra strings that were wrapped around her arm – the same strings that had likely pulled her free from the cave-in she caused – and stilled her struggling. She hadn't been formally introduced to this man yet, but something told her his deranged behaviour was not something to be underestimated.

"Hansai." Yukine called, "Your rough handling of the woman will not be tolerated by Atsuhiko-sama."

At once Hansai curled in on himself, and released Sakura as if she were poison. Sakura fell back slightly, and used the momentum to get her feet under her. Blood was trailing freely from her legs as she stood, but she did not dare take her eyes of her opponents. She did not try to run, but then again, she supposed she never really had a choice.

Yukine tilted his head at her and something like understanding flashed across his passive emerald eyes. Then he held out a hand towards her. "It appears you have come to your senses then." He said amiably. "Come Sakura-san, the inevitable awaits."

In the wreckage of her last stand, torn in flesh and spirit, Sakura took his hand.

---

Pakkun stopped abruptly on his heels and sniffed the air, his tail pointing straight to the sky as shards of ice whipped around them. A shiver made its way through his small body, and a rough yip pushed past his throat.

"Pakkun?" Yamato crouched beside him, Sai landing to his right. "What is it?"

The pug turned, dark brown eyes blown wide. "I've got a scent."

---

A/N: Hello and Sorry.

When I tell you I wrote and rewrote this chapter 27 times, I do not exaggerate. This is what happens when you don't have a Beta. You have to do it yourself. And then re-do it again because you still don't know if it makes sense.

Anyway, please except this long-ass chapter as my humble apology for the wait. You're all amazingly patient and wonderful. So thank you for sticking with me.

Much love Team.