Magnetism

Chapter Two

-Interrogation-

Sakura's eyes shot open as she heard the heavy door to the dungeons open. They were coming for her, she just knew it. She looked down and noticed that Gaara was still asleep. She decided to try and wake him before they got there, knowing that he wouldn't want to be unaware of their arrival and caught off guard. She wouldn't either.

"Gaara." She said, stroking his cheek in an attempt to rouse him.

His face twitched a bit into irritation. "What?" he grumbled out sleepily, turning his head a bit in her lap and burying his face in the warmth. Why was this so comfortable and warm? Then he tried to remember what happened the day before. His eyes shot open and he was met with the view of Sakura's lower half. "Um…" he didn't really know what to say. He only hoped she hadn't been upset with his unknown advance.

She blushed slightly, since nobody had ever been that close to her, ever. But she knew it was an accident, so didn't say anything. "Those men are coming." She told him, her body slowly tensing, preparing for what was to come.

He sat up then and moved in front of her. After all he was a man, and a man was supposed to protect a woman, no matter how capable she was of protecting herself. "What do they want?"

"They are going to take me away and interrogate me again. Don't worry, I will be fine." She said seriously.

"What?" his voice rose a bit. "I will not let them. What if they do something terrible to you?"

She locked gazes with him. "We're in the middle of a war, of course they're going to do something terrible to me, just like last time. How else do you think I got all these scrapes?" she asked, gesturing to her healing arms and legs.

"I know that, but I will not allow it." He repeated, taking her wrist in his hand as if it would keep her there.

"Gaara, I don't want you to get hurt defending me. Your head needs to heal more, and I don't want you to overexert yourself." She said, giving him a meaningful look. She was more worried about him then herself at this point.

"Sakura, you are precious to Naruto, I will not allow you to be harmed. I do not care if we are at war. I will protect what Naruto wishes to protect."

By then the two men had entered the hallway and were walking towards the cell. Sakura's attention was immediately on them. "Hey, you kids play nicely?" The smaller of the two teased, reaching behind his back to pull out the keys to the cell.

Gaara watched them wearily, not letting go of Sakura. He would protect his friend's friend. "You two should leave." He threatened.

The men began to laugh. "Whatever, like you can do anything in your condition. We have chakra, and you don't." the man said, opening the door.

"Gaara, don't." Sakura pleaded.

"I don't need chakra to kill you two." He said sharply, ignoring her protests. He got up, feeling a wave of nausea wash over him, but he held it back. He would not appear weak in front of anyone. "If you're going to take anyone, take me, not her."

"There will be plenty of time for that later your royal Kage-ness." The large man said, walking into the cell, his partner following. "Come on Pinky, it's time to play." He said with a sinister smile. Sakura stood as well and glared at him. How she loathed that nickname.

Gaara held his head painfully, as a new wave of ache washed over his body. "No, Sakura. Don't."

"I will be fine Gaara." She said, walking around him and over to the men. She held her arms out and watched as they bound her wrists. Then she looked back at him and smiled reassuringly. "Trust me." Then the large man gripped her arm painfully and yanked her towards the door, the other one shutting and locking it behind them.

Gaara ran, more like stumbled, over to the cell bars and gripped them tightly for balance. "Sakura stop! If something happens to you, what am I supposed to tell Naruto?"

"Tell him I went out like a true kunoichi!" she yelled back, disappearing around the corner. They took her out of the dungeon and through a few corridors. This was one of their biggest mistakes, for she had a nearly perfect photographic memory. If she were to try and escape again, it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out how to get out of there.

They entered a large room then, and in the center she saw a huge vat filled with water. Her anxiety rose slightly. "What are you going to do?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"We're going to give you a bath so to speak. You looked like you could use one." The small man said, smiling wryly.

He grabbed her bound hands and lifter her arms above her head, securing them to a hook. She was lifted off the ground then, and looked over to see that the other man was controlling a lever. Her body jerked as she was moved above the vat.

"Now," the big man said, "tell us all of the defenses Konoha has. And don't leave anything out."

"No." she said, glaring at him. Suddenly she was submerged in the cold water and yanked back up.

"That was a warning Pinky. Next time you'll be in there longer." He warned.

Her glare increased. "Go to hell." She was dropped into the water once more, but this time she was prepared and had taken a breath. Before she could become groggy they lifted her.

The smaller man walked forwards then. "Let's try a different approach, shall we? How about you tell us the number of ninjas that are at least of Chuunin level."

"How about you go swallow some arsenic? I'm not going to tell you anything." As expected, she was put into the water, and this time they kept her in there longer, and she lost all her stored air. She shook her head when she was brought back up, flinging water everywhere.

"Listen, I don't want to have to get rough with you, but I will if necessary." He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. She knew it was a lie though, since he had been the one to cut her last time. She just kept her mouth shut and continued glaring hatefully. The small man frowned at her. "Dunk her again." He ordered.

She shut her eyes as the water hit her skin, holding her breath once more. She waited, slowly releasing her breath over time to try and stay conscious longer. Just as her vision began to get blurry and her lungs began to burn, she was yanked out of the water. Coughing, she hit the floor harshly and looked up at the men, realizing that the large man was the one who had yanked her out. Her entire form stiffened as the small man walked up to her and knelt to the ground. His eyes ran over her form slowly, lingering unnecessarily in certain places. "Hm. You have a better body than I gave you credit for." He observed, since her clothes were now clinging to her.

"Don't touch me." She warned, shivering from the cold air hitting her wet body. She now had a new dislike to water, especially water in any form of a large container. Guess that meant she wouldn't be getting a pool any time soon if she ever got out of there.

He smirked humorlessly at her and stroked her cheek with his hand. "Oh I won't be the one touching you, my friend here will do it as I watch." He said, jerking his head in the direction of the larger guy, who walked towards her. She jerked her head away from his hand, looking at him in disgust. The small man rose and backed away, just as the other one knelt by her.

"I'm going to enjoy making you red Pinky." He said, reaching forward and grabbing her chin roughly, turning her head to face him. Just as he leaned in to forcefully kiss her, she moved her head and bit down as hard as she could on one of his fingers, not stopping until it disconnected from his hand.

He yelled out in agony and jerked his body away from hers, staring wide eyed and his bleeding hand. "You bitch!" he yelled, looking over in time to see her spit out his finger in disgust.

His partner was next to her in an instant, and kicked her harshly in the stomach, causing her to grunt at the pain. "Heal him. Now." he ordered her, pointing at the bleeding man.

"I would need my chakra for that, and even if I had it I would refuse." She sneered. He kicked her in the face this time, but she was prepared for the blow, and rolled her head along with the kick, lowering the damage exponentially.

"Go get someone to fix that." The small man said to his friend. Then he bent over and slung the pink haired woman over his shoulder. He carried her back down to the dungeon swiftly, throwing her into the cell once he opened the door. She let out a grunt when she hit the ground, not wanting him to get the pleasure of hearing her in pain.

"I hope you learned your lesson. Next time, we won't be so kind." He snarled, slamming the door shut and locking it.

"Neither will I you prick!" she yelled at his retreating back, attempting to sit up with some difficulty. Her ribs were most likely bruised, and her head hurt from the kick she received earlier. Great, now she was going to have another bruise on her face.

She felt her body lifted and then met Gaara's worried jade eyes. "Sakura? Are you ok?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. He scanned over her body, feeling for anything that might be broken. He wasn't a medic, but he could at least tell if something were seriously wrong. "What can I do to help you?"

"Untie my hands." She said, smiling slightly.

He did so, fumbling with the ropes. His head still hurt and it was causing him pain to concentrate on undoing the knots. But he wouldn't let that on. He knew he should have stopped her and gone himself. "Next time I will not allow you to leave."

"I'm fine." She said, rubbing her sore wrists. Then she grimaced and turned her head away from him, spitting out the rest of the blood that was in her mouth. Looking back at him, she said, "Don't worry, it's not my blood."

He touched her face softly, gripping her chin and moving her head so he could examine her. "What did you do to them? I could hear the cowardly screaming from here."

She smirked. "I bit off the big guy's finger. Guess it ruined the mood. But it's what he gets for calling me Pinky. I hate that name." she frowned.

"Ruined the mood?" he asked, not really connecting the dots. After all, he wasn't very adept on male-female relationships.

She gave him a serious look. "He was going to rape me Gaara, while the other one watched."

His eyes widened but he kept the shock off his face, his gaze hardened. "Never again. I promise I will make sure that you are not harmed in here again."

She smiled and placed her hand on his cheek. "Okay, but I really can take care of myself. Mostly." She said. Then she grasped the hem of her shirt and lifted it slightly, using her other hand to press on her stomach. She winced when she reached the area near her belly button, where her seal was located. She dropped her shirt and reached up towards her face, hissing when she pressed lightly against her opposite cheek. Now she had a matching bruise. "Damnit."

"You should lie down." He ordered, helping her up and leading her over towards the makeshift bed. He helped her back down and sat beside her laying form. "I'll stay up." He promised.

She looked up at him and nodded. "Wake me up if you get tired. You still need to rest because of your wound." She closed her eyes, sighing as she drifted off to sleep, her head wound not allowing her to stay awake any longer.

He watched her carefully, noticing when she fell asleep. He scanned her body, looking off immediately when he felt his mind complementing her curves. He would not be like those disgusting men. He leaned against the wall and sighed. He knew this was going to be a very altering point in his life.