Weeks had passed since Akaharu had been forced to join the Akatsuki. Or at least it felt that way. In reality, it had been only ten days. And yet, Akaharu found herself with a strength she never knew she had.

That was when Itachi walked up to her, and sat on a stone beside her. "Leader-sama has told us that you're coming along with us for our next mission."

Akaharu gritted her teeth. As an insult?

"We're leaving tomorrow, make sure you're ready," Itachi said as he stood up and walked away.

Akaharu felt her head sink into her hands the second that she was alone. She had been completely powerless to do anything on the evening that she was kidnapped. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. And all she could do was stare at the dark insides of her hand.

It wasn't until the next day that she really wanted to cry. She had been practically dragged to her feet by the shark man, all because she wasn't out of bed at the right moment. It resulted badly for each of them, with Akaharu automatically kicking Kisame in his… Well, area, and Kisame nearly dislocating Akaharu's arm.

But that wasn't the part that made her blink back tears.

They had just began walking, an awkward silence being heard as they moved, and Akaharu wearing the black and red Akatsuki cloak. Her sleeves flowed loosely behind her as she walked, not seeming to care. Rather, if the cloak burned to ashes right then and there, Akaharu would have appreciated it.

"Oi, little quiet there, eh, Hime-chan?" Kisame asked with a smirk. Akaharu, for once, didn't say a word as she continued on walking. She figured this wasn't worth it, it just wasn't worth it. "I wonder if it's because Hime-chan is homesick."

No one said a thing, although Akaharu clenched a fist beneath her robes. Her jaw tightened as she gritted her teeth, which was all the reaction Kisame needed.

"Maybe, Hime-chan, you're afraid of us? Maybe you know you'll not be going back there any time soon? Maybe you know you don't stand a chance against a single one of us?"

Akaharu was ready to break her teeth by grinding them together to keep herself from bursting out and giving the shark the satisfaction. Walking normally was beginning to become a struggle, as she fought the urge to bolt.

"Oi! 'Ime-chan! Why don't you say something, eh?" The shark stopped walking and turned with his sadistic smirk to face the girl. His gills seemed to open more when he smiled in this manner. "Is it because you know it's all true?"

That was it. Akaharu slammed her fist into the shark's ribs, tears leaking out of her eyes as the man was knocked off his trail and back a few steps.

"You little bit-"

"Stop it, Kisame," Itachi finally intervened. "You were out of line. Let's keep moving."

Akaharu didn't budge an inch. She had ripped open her cloak when she threw the bone-crushing punch at the tall and blue man, and it was now inches away from falling off her completely.

Kisame picked himself up, walking right up to Akaharu with a dangerous look in his eye. Not that Akaharu paid him any mind. Her breathing was heavy, heavier than it should have been. She was clearly in some sort of inner torment, although Kisame was shooting for that. He just wasn't counting on the powerful strike to his ribs. "Oi, Hime-chan, just because Itachi sided with you doesn't mean you can stand here all day. Move."

Akaharu said nothing, staring blankly in front of her as if she were caught in a chance. A slight breeze blew through the area, pushing Akaharu's hair into her face and hiding the tears stocked up in pools in her eyes. What if it was all true? What if she was going to be stuck in Akatsuki forever? What if she was weaker than all of them?

"Oi! Hime-chan, are you going to stare that way forever?"

Once again, Akaharu's silence was the only thing that showed any kind of response. She was thinking. But not clearly.

What if I run away? Will they catch me? But… There's no reason to worry about that. If I get caught, I get caught. It won't stop me from running again, yeah. I'll…

Her thoughts were the way that she wanted her tears to be, and yet she couldn't. They were running in cascades through her mind. And when Akaharu finally responded to the Akatsuki member's taunts, the reaction was nothing wanted: She ran.

She spun around and sprinted off into the woods, as fast as she possibly could, leaving behind a baffled Kisame, now with a look of annoyance scrawled across his face. "That little bitch."

"Let's go get her," Itachi said as if he were agreeing with Kisame. The words came out as a sigh. Orders were orders, even if he didn't care for them. And with that, the two S-ranked criminals began their pursuit.

Akaharu ran for what seemed like an eternity. Tears were finally streaming down her face, now that she was sure that she was far away from the two Akatsuki members. It was safe to cry if she could just keep running. But that was when the unthinkable happened: She ran, and she ran, and her foot got caught in a root that was ever so slightly above the ground.

She plummeted to the ground with an unnatural twist in her ankle, and a pulsing pain in it too. It was throbbing and she had no power over it. Attempts to remove her ankle only caused her more pain, and she eventually gave up, setting herself down in the dirt, looking defeated.

She was there for about ten minutes before one of the Akatsuki members noticed the shoe of an adolescent on the ground and went to investigate. Unfortunately for Akaharu, the member was Kisame.

"Oi! Hime-chan, I've got to speak to you about this," the blue man said in a cackle of a voice. Akaharu didn't even look at him, unable to move and too focused on the intense pain in her ankle. "Stand up."

Akaharu couldn't stand up, even if she wanted to. She was stuck here.

"Oi! Stand up!" Again, Akaharu didn't do anything. She was far too stubborn to admit she was actually stuck. That was when she felt a sharp kick to her stomach and she coughed out all the air she had. "I said stand up!"

Akaharu didn't say anything, still unable to catch her breath as the blue man stood over her, continually telling her to stand and kicking her in the stomach when she didn't concede. After the fifth time, the shark got impatient and knelt down beside her. His hand went onto her head, searching through her hair. Once his hand was spread around her skull, Akaharu feared for the worst.

"WAIT! I can't fucking stand you dumbass- OW!" Akaharu yelped in pain as she was yanked up by her hair, uprooting the… root. "OW! Put me down you- ow! Baka!"

Yelling the expletives didn't seem to make Kisame falter his grip. He was instead, grinning a manic grin and looking at the girl. "Maybe I don't want to, Hime-chan."

"If this is revenge fo- ow!- me punching you in the ribs, -ow!- then you're one goddam bastar- ow! Goddammit, put me down!"

"Alright, Hime-chan." With that, Kisame dropped Akaharu and stared at her with his same manic smile. "Oi! Itachi-san! I found the runaway."

Itachi came not long after, and studied Akaharu with his head to toe in a single glance. Moments later, he sighed. "Kisame, she can't move."

"Eh?"

"Her ankle. Her left ankle."

Kisame lowered his gaze to Akaharu's ankle and then recoiled in shock. "Wow, she wasn't lying?"

"Fuck no, Baka!" Akaharu cursed as she forced herself into a sitting position and grabbed her ankle, pressing it right on the joint. She bit down on her lower lip as she rubbed it, finally trying to twist it back into place. Unfortunately, Akaharu was bright, but she didn't know shit about first aid. "OW!"

Kisame snickered. Itachi closed his eyes in annoyance. Akaharu bit her lower lip. She wasn't able to bolt again, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she stayed, and here she was, the perfect opportunity to escape for good, and she blew it.

And that was why she wanted to cry. But she knew that she didn't have the time or the strength. But she didn't know that-

"Geez, slowing us down," Kisame said as he knelt beside Akaharu and turned his head back to Itachi. "Hey, can I just carry her since we have to get moving?"

Itachi said absolutely nothing, and just stood there, staring. That seemed to mean "yes" between the two criminals, and that was what scared Akaharu, enough for her eyes to actually widen slightly. As anticipated, Akaharu found herself being hauled over the blue-man's shoulder and hanging there as he stood up.

"Put me down, Baka!"

Kisame ignored her this time, or at least he didn't say anything. He smirked and the two began to walk on, Akaharu over his shoulder, wanting to kick and scream, but knowing she couldn't. Not unless she wanted to really ruin her ankle.