Simple Things Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One: Rock and a Hard Place

  
Kakashi quickly gathered a variety of supplies and sealed them into scrolls. He wanted to travel light, but not unprepared, so he armed himself with more than his usual range of weapons.  He would leave absolutely nothing up to chance with Sakura's life at stake.  Once he had everything he needed, the elite shinobi briefly stopped by the records office and then headed straight for the gate, this time not bothering to return the comments made by the jonin on duty.  
  
As soon as Kakashi was out of the visual range of the village, he stopped to summon all the working members of his ninken pack.  He couldn't remember the last time that he had called everyone, though, he had intended to do so sometime in the near future for an entirely different, much happier reason. With his fingers working quickly through the signs, Kakashi fervently hoped that he would still have the chance.
  
Abruptly arriving in a puff of smoke, Pakkun sharply surveyed his surroundings before focusing his puzzled attention on Kakashi. The pug had expected the entire pack to be summoned for something special, however, he quickly noted that none of the pups had been called – just the ninken on active duty were present. They were there for a more serious reason.
  
"All of us?" the little dog asked with some surprise.  
  
"Yes, all of you."  Kakashi growled, not even trying to keep his tone civil.  "It's urgent.  I need you to find Sakura – she came by this way two months ago.  Fan out and keep pace with me as I travel on the road.  She went missing somewhere between here and the border of Rain.  Find where she left the path and where she went from there."  
  
"You want us to find Sakura?"  Pakkun asked incredulously.  He knew that Kakashi had recently become more protective of his former student – hence the reason the jonin had been planning to give Sakura one or two of the dogs who were more interested in a domestic lifestyle than that of a summons – but this seemed excessive.  "You summoned all of us here for this?" he grumbled.  "What, is she avoiding you again?  You two have an argument or something?"  
  
"No, she was abducted." Kakashi snapped tersely.  "Stop complaining and get to work – this is an emergency."  Unable to stand still any longer, the silver-haired man took off down the road, trusting his dogs to follow.  
  
Quickly overcoming their surprise, all of the dogs scampered into the underbrush to begin searching for traces of Sakura's scent.  They did not need a reference because this was not the first time the Copy Ninja had summoned them to find his female student.
  
Pakkun chose to stay close to the elite shinobi instead of joining his pack mates as they dispersed along the path.  He wondered what could have gotten into his friend – Kakashi was not acting like himself, and the little pug wanted to know why.  After all, Sakura was now an adult and a thoroughly competent kunoichi with enough experience to deal with most conceivable situations in which she might find herself while traveling.
  
After studying the jonin for a moment, the canine suddenly understood: the stubborn old fool had finally come to the conclusion that he loved Sakura – which, Pakkun conceded, would certainly give Kakashi reason to worry about her excessively. Of course, the pack had known for a long time (some things that are easily hidden from humans are not so easily hidden from dogs) and, for the most part, the ninken had hoped that Kakashi would eventually understand his feelings and do something about them.  It was unfortunate, the little dog reflected sadly, that it had taken Sakura's disappearance to make the foolish man recognize his desires.
  
"I didn't realize," said Pakkun.  "I'm sorry."
  
The Copy Ninja said nothing as they continued along the road, only nodding his acceptance of the apology.  His mind was elsewhere.
  
Pakkun waited a few moments then, realizing that Kakashi wasn't going to offer any details, he asked, "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"
  
Kakashi nodded, knowing his old friend deserved some answers.  "She was taken about eight weeks ago and they've been sending ransom notes to me, personally, ever since," he said.  "Unfortunately, I was out of the village when it happened – only just found out about it an hour or so ago.  If the last letter is anything to go by…"  He shook his head, not wanting to think about the all too real possibility that he might already be too late. "They've become… impatient with my lack of response, or apparent lack of interest.  I'm afraid that if I don't get there soon, they might do something drastic or irreversible…"  His pulse jumped at the terrifying possibilities.  "That is, if they haven't already…"

The pictures had given him a more accurate idea of Sakura's state than the poorly written ransom notes.  The first few photos had been, under the circumstances, okay – Sakura was very much alive, struggling, and obviously giving her captors a great deal of trouble.  A part of him was proud of her for showing as much spirit as she did.  But as both time and the pictures proceeded, she seemed to become progressively paler and unanimated. The last few photos definitely didn't bode well: the medic was glassy-eyed – clearly drugged – pale, and thin.  In the most recent and absolute worst of the lot, her body was slack, limply posed in a chair, and her eyes were closed. It was impossible to determine if she was still alive.
  
Granted, if she hadn't been alive, there would be little reason to send yet another ransom note demanding that he pay for her freedom in person.  Exactly what they wanted from him was never mentioned in any of the notes, but it didn't take a genius such as himself to hazard a guess…
  
Sakura's captors weren't the first to try and wrest the Sharingan from Kakashi, but what set them apart from the others was the fact that they actually had a chance of succeeding. They held captive the only person he would ever value more than the parting gift from his genin teammate.

Kakashi had to believe that they would drop the whole ransom bit if Sakura was already dead... He couldn't bring himself to speculate on the possibility that he might be too late – what it would be like to finally arrive, just to find that all that waited for him was her lifeless body and a lifetime of regret.   
  
Frustrated and panicked, he couldn't keep his mind from replaying the same thoughts again and again in a desperate attempt to convince himself that he would get there on time and that she would be okay. All of the notes mentioned that the kidnappers were taking good care of his kunoichi – that they were not hurting her more than necessary.  The elite shinobi had to wonder what they deemed 'necessary' and just what sort of a psychological state she would be in when he got to her.  Kakashi could think of many things that they could do to Sakura without 'hurting' her to which he and, most certainly, she would object.  
  
The little pug stayed silent when his summoner stopped talking.  It was clear how the elite shinobi felt for his former student and that he finally intended to act on his feelings.  Pakkun had wondered on several different occasions why Kakashi hadn't just done something about his relationship with Sakura  Knowing that the Copy Ninja had finally discovered his real feelings for his former student, Pakkun understood that Kakashi's mind must be stuck in some sort of private hell – wondering and worrying over what had happened to Sakura.
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Sakura groggily opened her eyes and groaned. She had completely lost track of the time.  It could be sometime after noon or it could be the middle of the night for all she knew.  Restlessly, she shifted into a sitting position, wincing in pain, to take another look at her surroundings.  As far as she could tell, nothing had changed. She was still dressed in her shirt and shorts, lying in a fairly comfortable bed in a small windowless room with two chairs and a table.  They hadn't restrained her, but then again, they didn't have to – the chakra inhibitors around her wrists, the sedative running through her system, and the fact that someone had decided to disable her legs just to be vigilant, guaranteed that she wouldn't be going anywhere on her own. Severing her Achilles tendons had been a cruel, painful and, above all, effective way of ensuring that she could not leave the bed.  As she pulled herself into a more comfortable position, Sakura hissed and hoped, not for the first time, that someone would either come for her or put her out of her misery.
  
Sakura had no idea how long she had been there, but she knew that it was too long.  The drug they were using to keep her quiet, calm and out of trouble was beginning to have malignant effects.  At the most, she figured her body would be able to tolerate it for a few more weeks before giving out.  Things were not looking good for her, but then again, they hadn't been looking good for her since she had met her captors and very decisively turned down their request.

The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't figure out why she was still alive and relatively (in the grand scheme of things) unhurt – never mind the fact that for the entire duration of her stay she had remained untouched.  As far as she knew the only other woman staying with them was the elderly one who did the washing and cooking and attended to Sakura when she needed something. Sakura had seen the way some of the men had looked at her the few times she had been taken from her room and had fearfully braced herself for the worst… but so far no one had so much as laid an inappropriate finger on her.  Granted, the fact that it hadn't happened yet did not mean that it wouldn't. She kept that thought at the very forefront of her mind and always tried to be prepared to defend herself.
  
The few times her captors had felt like chatting, they had insisted that someone, namely Kakashi, would be coming for her.  But Sakura did not believe them.  Kakashi would never walk into such an obvious trap, and the village of Konoha did not negotiate to free captured shinobi.  That didn't mean that they wouldn't make an attempt to rescue her, but as far as she could assume, attempts to save her had probably already been made and failed.  And, if that was the case, Tsunade's last avenue would be to send in people to collect her remains after the destruction of the compound.  As far as Sakura could predict, she would die in captivity – either by an accidental overdose of the sedative, or by her kidnappers' hands when they realized that no one was coming for her.   
  
As Sakura was thinking the same heavy thoughts she had thought every 'day' since her arrival, the lock on the door rattled. She hastily lowered herself back onto the bed and feigned sleep – which wasn't particularly difficult since the sedative was still hard at work, conspiring to keep her quiet and inactive.  The medic had learned that if she appeared to be asleep, visitors would usually go away after a moment or two.  Lately, if she wasn't already asleep, someone would be found to give her another dose of sedative – they had apparently tired of dealing with her when she was awake.  Sakura was painfully aware that each injection brought her a little closer to a cumulative overdose.
  
She waited in an expectant moment of silence before she heard the retreating footsteps.  Just as she was about to heave a silent sigh of relief, the person returned, dragging a chair to her bedside.  It squeaked faintly as he or she eased onto the cheap piece of furniture to wait.  Her heart rate accelerated.  Unnerved, the medic stayed still, debating with herself.  Should she pretend to wake up or just continue to feign sleep until the real thing took her?  Her curiosity soon got the better of her – this was a new and different sequence of events and she couldn't help but hope that it might signal a positive change in her status.  Carefully she shifted herself a little, as though just awakening, and turned her head. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly – at least she had intended for them to – but then snapped open wide with shock.  
  
Sakura recognized the man sitting at her bedside almost immediately despite the fact that he had discarded his glasses, lost a lot of weight, had his nose broken and improperly set in several different places, and now wore several large and faded bruises on his face.
  
"Hideki?" she asked incredulously, too shocked to even think of trying to lash out and inflict major damage on the odious man.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Kakashi's apprehension swelled with each mile they traveled.  They had almost reached Rain and he had, so far, found no traces of where Sakura had been forced from the path.  The  (generally defunct in peacetime) border reports which he'd collected from the records office before departing revealed that Sakura hadn't made it into Rain – or rather, her capture had occurred before she officially crossed the border, though her kidnappers could have easily smuggled her over.  His concern increased. They were almost there, yet he hadn't found anything to suggest that this was indeed the path that Sakura was taken from.  The elite shinobi couldn't help but worry that his original assumption was wrong, that they might have wasted a lot of time and energy on a fool's errand.
  
Because the medic had been gone from the village for two months, any traces of her scent, both at the gates of the village and on the path itself, were long gone.  Instead of trying to find and follow a nonexistent scent trail, Kakashi had made an estimated guess about which road Sakura took.  The possibility that he had made a mistake ate away at his confidence and fed his fear.  Unfortunately, he couldn't be sure, not until they reached the border.  Only then could he decide that he had chosen wrong and turn back to try another route.  The suspense and worry were wreaking havoc on his nerves.
  
It was getting dark, and though he didn't want to stop and rest, Kakashi knew his ninken would need a break for the night.  Just as he was about to call a halt, one of the dogs barked sharply from the underbrush bordering the path, and a moment later several of the other dogs converged on something.  Kakashi hastily joined them to discover a small black dart crushed into the ground.  He picked up the tiny weapon to examine it and recognized that the dart was one of the variety usually tipped with a poison or drug. At the least it solved the troubling puzzle of how Sakura had allowed herself to be taken. But it also caused him more concern – he would not be dealing with amateurs.  Because of the poor quality of the ransom notes and the fact that they were addressed and sent to him personally, Kakashi had held on to a faint hope that Sakura's kidnappers were unskilled, and, therefore, that rescuing her wouldn't be too difficult.
  
A careful sweep of the area resulted in the dogs finding another, then another, and another. It had obviously taken quite a few of the darts to take Sakura down.  Kakashi was thankful that she had a high tolerance for most commonly used sedatives. While it wasn't required, many kunoichi took the time to build up a resistance to a wide variety of drugs – it was just plain common sense.
  
Eventually the pack discovered a section of the path where the bordering underbrush was fresh and new – a sign that there had been a struggle.  Kakashi wasn't surprised to find the remains of another dart where his dogs found widespread traces of blood.  The Copy Ninja could easily imagine the progression of the fight and was proud of how courageously Sakura had resisted.  He hesitated for a moment in indecision.  It was late and they'd been going non-stop.  They really should call it a night and resume their search at first light, but his concern for Sakura gave him cause to consider continuing.  While he was planning his next course of action, the dogs spread out to pick up her scent without waiting for their master's orders – they could tell how very important this was to the elite shinobi, and for that he was very thankful.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sakura exclaimed with surprise, the shock sweeping away the sedative cobwebs and making it easier for her to think.
  
"I'm sorry they got you.  I thought that if they were stymied a couple times they might give up and lose interest…"  Hideki trailed off, seemingly genuinely apologetic.
  
"What?  What are you talking about?  What's going on?"  Sakura asked, feeling angry, frustrated, and now that the drugs had cleared from her mind, pained by the wounds on her legs.
  
Her guest sighed and shook his head.  "I was never particularly sure that you didn't recognize me. Guess I have my answer now."  
  
"Hideki, tell me!  What the hell is going on?!"  
  
"Now is not the time. I'm meeting with my uncle shortly.  I just wanted to come by and apologize."  He rose to his feet and nodded at the now irate woman.  "I'll be back later to explain.  In the meantime, no one should come by to bother you.  If you're as intelligent as you're supposed to be, you will use that time wisely."  He nodded at the surface of the little table by the bedside, upon which now rested sheets of paper and a pen.   
  
Sakura paused for a moment after he left, allowing her temper to cool a little.  Finally, when her ire had subsided, she reached out and grabbed the paper and pen.  The medic had no intentions of writing what they wanted her to write, but she did have something else that she needed to put to paper before she lost the opportunity.
  
Kakashi,
  
If you're reading this, chances are you're too late.  I'm sorry…
  
  
~*~*~*~
  
Running on sheer adrenaline, Kakashi quickly followed his pack through the dense forest.  He had tried to offer a break for the night after finding a viable trail – knowing they were exhausted and more than deserved some rest – but none of the dogs had the heart to stop.  It was rare to see Kakashi in such a state, and they wanted to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.  To an outside observer, he would appear to be as calm and collected as usual, but his dogs, who had known him intimately for years, could tell just how upset he was.  
  
The trail led them further and further into the wilds of border territory.  It was difficult to tell if they were in Fire or if they had crossed into Rain.  If Kakashi had to guess, he would have estimated that they had indeed crossed into Rain.  But, he couldn't be sure without actually coming across some sort of recognizable landmark, and to all honesty, it didn't really matter.
  
Kakashi's mind kept returning to the same thoughts, his concern for Sakura's safety driving everything else away. He didn't want to lose Sakura – he'd do anything to save her.  Any sacrifice would be worth the price if it meant her safety and freedom.  In her he had found something he had never expected to find in anyone, and now that he had finally accepted it for what it truly was… Kakashi had no intentions of ever giving it, her, up.
  
His Sharingan would be a dear and dangerous price to pay, one he would never consider lightly.  But, Sakura… As for the danger that giving up his weapon could potentially cause Konoha… well, it wasn't as great as it had once been.  Sakura had told him that the Sharingan was taking a toll on his body, and vice versa. It wouldn't be nearly as sound for a third owner as it had been for him.  And, even if they were able to find someone who could successfully complete the transplant, there were only a handful of medics (Sakura included) skilled enough to ensure the eye would be fully functional after a second transplant.  Also, there was only one other person aside from Kakashi who could supervise the training necessary to master the transplanted kekkei genkai, and he rather doubted Sasuke would even stop to listen to a solicitation for his aid before killing anyone with a Sharingan after Kakashi returned to the village without one.
  
When all was said and done, if he had to, he would give up the Sharingan.  The possibility of it posing a threat to Konoha was limited.  Also, the area was likely to be swarming with shinobi once the two weeks Tsunade had given him to retrieve Sakura on his own expired.  He was certain that the unlucky man who had taken Sakura wouldn't live long enough to enjoy the fruit of his labor.  As much as Kakashi would love to be the one to exact revenge for Sakura's abduction, his sense of honor wouldn't allow him to do so after striking a deal for his former student's welfare.  He would be satisfied so long as he had her back safe, and would leave the physical retribution up to their comrades.
  
~*~*~*~
  
Sakura felt herself being slowly tugged from an artificially induced state of sleep.  She sleepily sensed that something was not quite right.  Cursing the sedative, she yawned and opened her eyes.  The memory of what had happened the last time she awoke flooded back to her when she found Hideki once again sitting comfortably by her bedside, his face adorned by several fresh bruises.  Unable to help herself, she winced sympathetically.
  
"You're awake, good.  I was beginning to wonder if someone had snuck in and drugged you again while I was away."  Though his tone was light, she could sense the gravity of his words.
  
Sakura yawned again and tried to force her mind to focus – something that was getting increasingly more difficult each with each passing day.  There was a reason why she hadn't built up a resistance to this particular drug: the effects tended to be cumulative, making the dosages needed to create a tolerance very, very dangerous.  

Carefully, the pink-haired woman shifted herself into a sitting position, hissing a little in pain.
  
Hideki immediately leaned forward with clear concern.  "You're in pain, you should be uninjured.  What's wrong?  What have they done to you?"
  
A little taken aback, Sakura hesitated, still unsure about what was going on.  Obviously Hideki had been an accomplice in her kidnapping. Yet, he didn't seem to be aware of everything.  After a moment, she grasped the bed linens and pulled them aside enough to show the concerned man her bandaged legs.
  
Hideki gasped and let out a long string of curses before visibly pulling himself together.  "Who did this to you?"
  
Still unsure what to make of his actions, she shrugged.  "I don't know.  I woke up like this."  She eyed him for a moment.  "I was rather hoping that you could tell me."
  
He shook his head.  "That was not part of the plan, they weren't supposed to hurt you…" the upset man trailed off, running a nervous hand through his hair and averting his eyes from hers.
  
Wanting to get angry, but lacking the energy and knowing it would do her no good, Sakura pursed her lips and tried to be patient.  "Just what the hell is going on Hideki?"
  
He glanced back up at her and sighed, realizing that he would have to tell her the whole story.
  
"It's a long story…"
  
Sakura folded her arms across her chest and waited.
  
Hideki swallowed nervously before beginning his account.  "Well, you see… maybe ten years ago, my uncle ran a gang of bandits.  They did the usual stuff: robberies, blackmail, protection schemes, kidnappings…"  He shook his head as if to clear his mind of bad memories.  "I'd just been sent to live with him and my cousins after my parents died in a fire. The rest of my family had no idea that my uncle was a criminal since he maintained a perfectly legal sideline business selling his ill-gotten gains through an auction house which he owned." He sighed. "Anyway, one night a group of travelers wandered into our territory, among them a legendary shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and a small girl…"
  
Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she began to suspect where the story was leading.
  
"My uncle thought the set-up was ideal, too perfect to pass up, so he acted immediately.  He had the girl, you, kidnapped in hopes of using her as leverage to force the Copy Ninja to carry out several assassinations in a rival organization.  Unfortunately, my uncle hadn't realized just how strong Kakashi was or how angry he would be upon finding us…"  Hideki shuddered at the memories of that horrible night.  Kakashi had been thoroughly ruthless and totally vicious in ensuring that he punished all men involved in the abduction of his female student.
  
Sakura swallowed hard. She remembered just how brutal Kakashi had been and just how scary it was for her to see him like that.  
  
"For some reason, maybe because we were about your age, he let my cousins and me go with a warning… It wasn't much later that a squad of ANBU came and took all of the adults back to your village.  I learned later that they had been detained for interrogation.  As you can imagine, I lost contact with my uncle for a while.  And, not long after that I parted ways with my cousins – they wanted to try and rebuild their life in crime, and I wanted something more normal, more law abiding, and less dangerous."
  
"If you lost touch with them that long ago, how did you end up back here?"
  
Hideki grimaced at the memory.  "Was years later that they finally found me.  They had a harebrained scheme to get revenge…"  Hesitantly he glanced up to catch her gaze.  "I'm sorry.  I never thought they would actually succeed – my uncle hasn't quite been, er, right since being released after his interrogation... This whole revenge scheme was never supposed to get this far. It was just something to keep him happy and occupied while my cousins ran the show from behind the scenes..." the brown-haired man trailed off, lost in his own thoughts. Nothing had gone the way he wanted, and he didn't have the ability to fix any of it.
  
Sakura stared at him with her mouth agape in astonishment.  Her first kidnapping was a traumatic event on its own, never mind the distress and confusion caused by seeing her sensei in a role she had never thought to put him in, behaving in ways she hadn't thought possible.  The medic had spent a lot of time trying to forget the experience.  Now, she found herself trying to remember: what her captors looked like, what they had actually done to her, and who else she might have seen while she waited for Kakashi to save her.
  
Try as she might, Sakura couldn't remember.  Time, trying to forget, and trauma made everything one big, unpleasant blur.  The only thing she remembered clearly was the feelings of horror, nothing else… even after Kakashi had appeared and dealt with her kidnappers, she remembered nothing distinct.  
  
While she was digging into the depths of her mind, looking for scraps of memories long ago suppressed, Hideki seemed to return to himself and realize that he had something else to apologize for.
  
"I'm also sorry for what they asked of you… it was the only thing I could think of to convince them not to kill you right away.  My uncle was fairly set on watching Kakashi's reaction upon finding out that you were already dead… I'm afraid that has gotten out of control as well."
  
Still stunned, Sakura shook her head and answered without thought, automatically.  "That's okay.  Kakashi isn't coming anyway, so it shouldn't matter that I told them I'd rather die…"
  
Hideki swallowed hard, surprised that his uncle hadn't had her killed for refusing their offer – especially since she had admitted that she preferred death.  "That's what you think. I know better.  He will come, and when he does…"
  
Sakura shook her head.  "Even if he is stupid enough to come, which I highly doubt he is, I'll still refuse."
  
Hideki shot her a calculating look before asking softly, "And if he's willing –what then? Will you still refuse?"
  
The medic opened her mouth to respond… only to discover that she could find no words to answer that question.  Slowly, the true overarching horror of her situation finally asserted itself in her mind; this wasn't and never had been about just her.  Though she was the one currently being held captive, Kakashi was the one they really wanted.  Her kidnappers had only taken her to get at him, and after recent events back in the village, Sakura could not dismiss the likelihood of Kakashi coming for her and paying any price to get her back, out of hand.  Unless there was some sort of outside interference, her former sensei would come and then pay the disgustingly steep price – even if she refused to cooperate.  Sakura felt her face pale and a feeling of sickness overcame her with the full realization of the situation into which she had unknowingly pulled Kakashi.

Hideki watched as the captive medic suddenly saw the big picture and struggled with her new revelations.  He felt bad for having to point out some harsh realities to Sakura. Knowing that she would have a lot to think about, he rose to take his leave.  At the door he paused to look back at the deeply troubled woman.  "For your own sake, you should at least think about what you will do in when he does come and is willing to pay… I'd hate to see you put into such a situation unexpectedly."

~*~*~*~
  
Knowing that the dogs were exhausted and running on pure adrenaline, Kakashi finally called a halt.  It killed him to have to stop, his concern for Sakura driving him harder than anything else, but he knew that if they didn't rest soon, his dogs would start dropping like flies.  
  
As he set up a pallet for the night, Kakashi's mind returned to the ransom notes, and once he finished making camp, his hand automatically reached into his hip-pouch and retrieved the accompanying photographs.  They were starting to get a bit grimy around the edges from the many times he had pulled them out to reassure himself that Sakura would be okay – though, the most recent of the photos caused him more distress than he really wanted to admit.
  
While he was lost in contemplation of the troubling photos, the smallest of his summons joined him.  After a couple silent moments, the little pug reached out a paw to one of Kakashi's legs.  "Don't worry, we'll get her back."  Pakkun did his best to reassure his friend, feeling a deep sense of empathy for him.  The canine knew how the shinobi felt about his former student, and the pug's heart went out to Kakashi in his current situation.  "The guys and I will find her, and then you'll take her back.  We'll be returning to the village before you know it."
  
~*~*~*~
  
Kakashi finally slowed his gait as he noted the slight signs of civilization and realized that he was approaching a settlement– most likely the one in which Sakura was being held.  Sure enough, half a mile further he caught sight of a large, old-fashioned estate complex.  It had been heavily fortified with extra walls and obvious security measures, which made it easy for him to surmise that it was the right place.
  
Cautiously, he called a halt to assess the situation.  After a few moments of calculation, he sent his dogs out on a quick reconnaissance sweep around the compound.  Kakashi could easily predict that Sakura was being detained in the main building, probably somewhere near the top floor in the most heavily-guarded area.  The ransom notes warned him against breaking in to steal her back– rather, they wanted him to walk in and present himself to the leader like any other visitor.  Standard threats had been issued: instant death to Sakura, et cetera. But Kakashi wasn't convinced that he should comply with their demands…  Though he usually would have just ignored the instructions, the reality that Sakura's safety was on the line made his next move much more precarious.  

Moments later, the dogs returned to give their reports.  The place was locked up tight – too tight for him to risk it.  He could probably slip in unnoticed and locate Sakura on his own, but it would take several days to observe enough of the daily routine to actually pull it off.  Unfortunately, time was a commodity he didn't have enough of, and Sakura's life just wasn't something he wanted to risk.
  
With a sigh, Kakashi decided that he would follow the instructions and enter as a visitor.  It was the surest and fastest way to actually see Sakura again.  And, by entering as they had requested, it also had the added benefit of not putting her in even more danger.  So he thanked his ninken, dismissing the whole pack, shifted the band of leather he'd been using to cover his Sharingan enough to allow him to see through it but not enough for it to be seen, and openly set out for the gate.  It was time for him to go and get Sakura – whatever her condition – back.
  
After waiting for only a few minutes, which were put to good use assessing the thickly fortified outer walls, Kakashi was allowed inside the compound.  The elite jonin kept his natural eye and his Sharingan moving while he and his escort made their way to the largest building and up to the top floor.  The place was a heavily protected, well organized fortress.  There were guards at every entrance, stairwell and exit; no windows without both horizontal and vertical bars; mobile guard squads and wards against jutsu were posted everywhere.  His guide stopped outside a door, knocked, and then gestured for Kakashi to proceed.
  
Cautiously, the elite shinobi entered – on-guard for a possible trap.  He was mildly surprised to find himself in a rather large office.  He wasn't all that sure what he had expected, but a somewhat cramped room filled with books and maps was definitely not it.
  
There were two seated men in the room.  One of them, the larger of the two, seemed very familiar.  Though Kakashi couldn't quite put his finger on the where or the when, he was positive he'd dealt with the man before.  The smaller man had a map unrolled in front of him and was busily marking different sections of it.  Both looked up upon his entrance.
  
The familiar man addressed Kakashi.  "Ah, welcome Kakashi – Copy Ninja.  My name is Akinori, and I'm glad you've come."  His tone was disconcertingly friendly, as though he hadn't been sending increasingly impatient ransom notes to Kakashi for the past two months.
  
"Where is she?" Kakashi asked, keeping a frown to himself.  The elite shinobi had contended with a lot of enemies before, and the ones who tried to act friendly were always the worst.
  
"Where is," he furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment before remembering.  "Ah, yes, your kunoichi… all in good time.  First, I think we have some things to discuss."
  
Kakashi narrowed his eye, not at all liking the fact that the friendly man didn't want to provide proof before starting the negotiations.  "We have nothing to discuss until I've both seen and spoken to her."  The silver-haired man worked hard to keep the growl of annoyance out of his voice.
  
Akinori sighed and turned to the smaller man, who was still working industriously on the large map.  The man with the map paled visibly before discreetly shaking his head in a negative.
  
"Oh.  Looks like you're too late."