Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

Summary: The Third Great Shinobi World War didn't finish quite so early, Haruno Sakura is born into the sworn enemy of Konoha - Iwa, and she just so happens to meet one Hatake Kakashi more than she would really like to. It's just another day on the front line. KakaSaku. Au.

...

A rustle.

A flash of red, like a brief flicker of flame, could be seen amongst the tall swaying grass in one of the many plains in Kusa no Tuni - Grass Country. The source of the noise was a dark haired young boy of about thirteen, clad in the fierce scarlet of Iwagakure shinobi, lying hidden in the waist height grass. Rubbing one of the blades of grass together, idly, he shot a dark-eyed glance at his two companions - one male, and one female; both dressed identically to him - who lay perfectly still, waiting.

This was the fifth hour of their sentry duty. The objective of this mission was to observe the area around the new Tatara Bridge, which was used to supply Iwa in a fresh assault into Kusa - and, eventually, Konoha. It was a replacement for the old Kannabi Bridge which had been destroyed some fourteen odd years earlier by the Leaf.

Letting a puff of air escape his thin lips, he extended his chakra out to feel for enemies for the fourteenth time that hour. Finding nothing, he deemed it acceptable to break the stony (pun not intended, he thought, inwardly patting himself on the back) silence between his teammates. He spoke quickly - in the vaguely lilting, lifting, accent of Kusa that he had never quite been able to rid himself of.

"If Sunagakure just accepted that their Third Kazekage was gone then this would all be over and we could all go back to -"

There was a barely perceptible rustle before a noticeably deeper, heavily Iwa accented voice cut through the first with an irritable air, "Go back to what, Kazuhiko-chan? We're shinobi: we'd be fighting and killing bastards just the same as we are now, you stupid, filthy Kusa."

A sneer spread slowly across the face of the man speaking. A few years older than the other two: he was obviously far taller and the bulging muscles of his biceps that were clearly visible through the straining net that covered his, otherwise bare, arms gave the appearance of far greater strength. He too had hair and eyes as dark as a starless sky.

This was followed by a distinctly feminine, but by no means lady-like, snort, "Maybe what Kazu means, Tatsuo, is that if this were over maybe trade could go back to normal, and Iwa could start building good things like hospitals... proper training academies and markets again. And maybe not quite so many people would die horrifically. You know small things like that."

The final member of the team - the young girl - lay stretched out on the grass like the other two. Unlike her companions she did not have the dark hair, and equally dark eyes, that were so common in Iwa. With the exception of the odd bright blond, her hair stood out like a sore thumb. A very brilliantly pink sore thumb. That combined with her unusually cat-like eyes - in a startling shade of what Tatsuo persistently called Konoha-Grade-Leaf-Green, despite the bruises he gained - made her countenance one that was not easily forgotten. This was not a particular asset for a kunoichi.

"Don't you go all sarcastic on me, Haruno. It's not like it's even Iwa's fault anyway... First, Suna coming into our land, then calling in their little fuckbuddies Konoha to help out... Makes me sick to my fuckin' stomach," hissed Tatsuo.

"Yeah, Konoha are worse than Suna," Kazu agreed, voice partially muffled by his forearm.

Tatsuo turned, eyes glinting in a way that always meant impending insults, "You're only saying that because they killed your total dyke of a girlfriend."

Kazu didn't say anything, but they all heard his teeth clack together and saw his nostrils expand as he took in a deep breath. Sakura took the opportunity to slam her elbow into the back of Tatsuo's head - small, white teeth bared in a ferocious snarl. He muffled a curse and rolled over to aim a powerful kick at her armoured stomach just as she moved to launch herself at him.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook ferociously as though it was a giant, growling beast. More than one of the trees at the edge of the grass they were in shook and toppled, splintering to the earth with a heart-stopping crash.

"Kazu!" Sakura hissed, drawing up onto her knees and flicking out a kunai - emerald eyes scanning the grass.

"It was me. I swear! It wasn't me." Kazu gasped, moving to crouch.

As though to prove him right, the wind brought the unmistakeable sound of metal clashing against metal and a brief cry of pain. They exchanged looks - fight forgotten. Sakura's mouth hardened into a thin line as she nodded in the direction of the noise and then began to slink forward like a feline through the swaying grass. Tatsuo's hands went straight for the metal hilts of his two katana.

Grasping them, he felt the comforting weight of the weapons and smiled inwardly. Haruno and that pussy Kazu just intended to check out the fight, but he wasn't going to be backing away. Not when he knew they were Konoha - judging by the latest intelligence they had received.

Leafs, he thought - narrowing his eyes, always deserved to die.

...

Sakura was not pleased.

First of all; sentry duties just were not good. Sentry duties with her team were equally unpleasant - it was rare for Kazu to be quiet for long, and Tatsuo was just a complete jerk. Glancing back at him - barely visible through the grass, dark eyes shining in a way that she really didn't like - Sakura frowned. Kazu still looked a little paler than his normal tanned hue, and she could see a vein pulsing in his forehead. Oh, Tatsuo, you've done it now.

Tatsuo was technically leader of their group - as he was the highest rank - but most of the planning and actual judgements usually fell to her because Tatsuo just didn't want to deal with it. Kazu was too docile to think of questioning, normally. But, Tatsuo loved to fight - loved it to the point where he would risk their lives and the objective of the mission; simply to observethe area around the new Tatara Bridge and not interfere unless it was absolutely necessary; if it meant a good battle.

And now that he had gotten Kazu all riled up, the stupid idiot: so fighting was almost inevitable.

Sakura swallowed heavily and ran a hand through her long pink hair, absently plucking a blade of grass from the shiny, well cared for tresses. The crown of her head felt warm from the attentions of the mild, if slightly humid, climate of Kusa. The grating sound of kunai against kunai set her teeth on edge as she crept under the shadow of the trees. The tiniest coppery hint of blood teased her senses above the bitter smell of warm mud and organic decay, and she knew she hadn't imagined it because Tatsuo inhaled sharply and grinned wickedly.

If Tatsuo actually ordered her to fight - it was a compulsion. He would - she knew he would. Besides, she wouldn't leave her team.

A few more metres of creeping through the undergrowth listening to the something that sounded suspiciously like someone gargling their own blood and Sakura really wished she was back in that pretty, warm meadow. But, of course that wouldn't last.

Then, Tatsuo was touching her bare arm lightly - his fingertips quivering with excitement, "We're going in - right goddamn in."

"What formation?" Sakura whispered.

A glance at Kazu proved her worries to be well-founded. He was shaking - big, dark, normally sweet, eyes wide and staring. She hated when he got like this.

"Uh, V. The V formation."

They all knew he wouldn't stick to any formation. He was an all-for-one type shinobi - how he had made chuunin was anyone's guess.

"Huh. Trite," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth, trying to soothe her own anxieties.

"Shadup, girlie."

Through a gap in the trees Sakura could see that it was definitely Konoha nin fighting several of their own; she could tell by the ninja attire they were wearing. Three out of the four were largely non-descript, but one had a shock of silver hair that caught the golden fingers of light streaming through the trees in an almost startling way. Weird.

"Are you ready?" Tatsuo hissed.

Sakura nodded, swallowing again. She stared resolutely at that strange, spiky, silver hair that seemed to defy gravity - no matter how that guy moved it still stayed as it was; pointy enough to skewer enemies on.

Ready as I'll ever be.

...

This was every bit as foolish as she had thought it would be.

Sakura watched grimly as yet another one of her Earth-bushins was stabbed into a crumbling pile of dirt. These were Leaf ANBU, and even with the back-up of the other team of Iwa chuunin they were being beaten badly.

It had all started terribly anyway. Tatsuo had gone solo almost immediately - slash-happy as always. Kazu usually stayed near her, but he seemed even more eager than usual, and had launched himself at the nearest enemy with an almost frightening gusto. She could see him now, out of the corner of her eye, pinned down by some kind of roots - still struggling viciously, eyes bulging, neck tendons straining: the hair-trigger of his calm personality long since snapped. They were going to die - or, at least, Kazu would die if she couldn't get to him.

And now that man with the strangely alluring - weird, Sakura corrected - hair was charging towards her at near lightning speed. The way the light caught his near full-face mask it almost looked like he was smiling beneath it, but the look in his single, visible eye told her he wasn't. It dawned on her just how tall and strong he was in comparison to her when all she could do was put her forearms up to protect herself when he rammed into her.

She flew through the air and crashed into the undergrowth in a way that jarred all her bones and made it feel as though she had left part of her back in the clearing. Rolling onto her knees, Sakura moved to leap away just as a large hand grasped her thick hair and dragged her up by it despite the way she clawed and kicked. She stopped moving when the cold steel of a kunai was pressed against her throat. Her scalp began to prickle and tingle.

Up close she could see that his hair really was silver, and that he wore a dark, tight, mask that covered half of his face. Only one eye showed because of the forehead protector that slanted across the other one. Sakura took in these details as her quick mind worked on a solution to this situation that wouldn't end with her throat slashed.

"Well, little girl, I'll let you go," he smiled, or - at least - Sakura thought he did judging by the way his one visible eye crinkled, "but not your teammates."

His grip on her long, pink hair loosened a little until the tips of her toes touched the ground. Sakura frowned up at his strange masked face and shock of silver hair. This had to be a trick or a trap, but even if it wasn't... to leave her teammates to certain death -

Oh, hell no.

Planting one foot firmly on the ground, she heaved herself backwards and pulled her head away from his grasp despite the disheartening number of petal coloured strands that stayed grasped in his fist. The only thing left to do was fight, and the only move she had that would help at all now would be the last big thing she could manage with the chakra she had left. Even with her chakra control.

Sakura threw a right hook at him - making no attempt to disguise the punch.

"Never!" she hissed.

He side-stepped easily, swinging his arm to flick his kunai to her throat - presumably. But, that didn't matter. Her fist connected with the soft earth with devastating force; tiny ripples spread out from the epicentre of the strike first, followed by the ground ripping itself apart. Dirt, roots, and grass flew up into the air between them, and Sakura saw him falter and leap backwards - one dark eye wide and surprised.

She smiled slightly - this was the only thing she could do that was even slightly impressive.

Unfortunately, the leaf ANBU recovered quickly and retaliated by throwing a volley of shurikan at her that pierced the edges of her dress and pinned her to a tall oak tree. The breath was forced from her lungs in a pained gasp that she didn't quite manage to stifle. None of the weapons had even scratched her skin. She wondered why he didn't just kill her - it was obvious that he could. There had to be a reason.

He advanced on her with the sinuous gait of a practised hunter that demanded attention even as she knew she should be struggling to get away. Somewhere, it sounded like so far off, she heard Tatsuo's distinctive voice - coloured with anger - and wondered if Kazu had been strangled, or crushed yet. The Leaf ANBU stopped too close for her to be entirely comfortable and put two gloved hands on the tree on either side of her.

The way he hovered over her with two strong arms planted just above her head - caging her in - made Sakura uncomfortable in a way that she had never quite experience. She wanted to squirm away from his intense gaze, but the shurikan and her own training kept her in place.

"Tell me all you know about the new bridge, and leave your team, and I promise I'll let you go unharmed," he said, in a deep, smooth voice.

"Never! I said - I'll never leave my team. You," Sakura spat, so flustered the only reply she could think of was one of Tatsuo's many Leaf insults, "... you tree shagger."

The hearty, deep, male laugher that followed startled her more than anything. Sakura felt herself blush scarlet from her neck to the roots of her hair. If she didn't die from a kunai at her throat, it felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. It didn't occur to her to attack him while he was near bent over with laughter; visible eye streaming, and wild hair shaking frantically. Besides, he would definitely pummel her... and probably do so while still laughing at her...

The bark humping, root licking, tree shagger.

Sakura tightened her previously lax hands into white knuckled fists, furiously indignant in a way that only a thirteen year old girl could manage, "Shut up!"

"You stuck with your team, I admire that," the Leaf ANBU replied, voice still holding traces of mirth, "and we know all we need to know about the bridge."

Shocked, furious, open-mouthed, silence followed.

"I was just messing with you, Iwa-chan."

He stepped back and turned around just as she was about to scream at him.

"I'm turning my back now," his voice became suddenly deadly serious, snipping her anger in the bud, "and you had better go and get those little boyfriends of yours before I turn around, and decide to get rid of you after all."

Sakura faltered, stared hard at his back for a moment, then pulled the shurikan from her dress as quickly as her fumbling fingers could manage and running back in the direction of the battle. Reinforcements had arrived - she could feel them.

Some part of her wanted to say 'thank you', but it was too late for that now. And he was an enemy.

Then, she saw both of her teammates alive: Kazu covered in scratches and slashes, and Tatsuo had clearly been burned on one side of his body, but they were alive. She saw Tatsuo jerk his head in the direction away from the fight. She was so relieved that she almost endeavoured not to mock him for retreating later. Almost. They had never been obliged to fight - the job they were assigned to do was watch, she thought - guiltily, as they retreated.

The Iwa jounin teams that had arrived would take care of it. Sakura tried not to think about the fact that them 'taking care of it' might mean that the silver haired Leaf would die. It didn't matter. She stared hard at Kazu to try and determine whether or not he would need the special, calming herb medicine he had made her keep for him. The way he was flinching, and the sticky mixture of saliva and blood she could see on his chin, even from a distance, told her he would. She ran a little faster to try and reach them and just get away from here.

"Those Leafs! I hate them so fucking much!" grunted Tatsuo as she approached him; pain was obviously keeping him from being more exuberant in his hatred.

She fingered the holes in her dress - the distinctive shape shurikan left painfully evident - and replied an affirmative in a detached voice as they began to run through the grass.

"Yeah, the assholes."

She tried not to think about that one Leaf ANBU for a long time after that as they ran through the plains and forests of Kusa to get to the base.

So, yeah, another multi-chapter fic. I'm a stupid, masochistic glutton for punishment. I'm thinking a three-chapter or so. Long fics and me don't go together well. I realise this is extremely AU and there's probably lots of people that are scratching their heads and wondering what I've been smoking... I feel obliged to tell you that I'm just high on life. Honest.

Oh, and sorry for my OC Tatsuo's rampant homophobia/racism/xenophobia/misogyny/etc - his views don't represent my own. He got some issues, dudes.

Hope you enjoyed!

~ Silver.