The leaves in the trees rustled from the chilled wind that blew through the night. There were no sounds of crickets to be heard as they hid in shelter from what they knew was coming. Slowly little trickles of rain began to fall from the sky, tapping upon the leaves before falling in heaps to the ground. No sooner than it had begun, the trickle turned to a downpour as the cloud carrying showers passed overhead, darkening the view of the moon above. It was a bad day to be in the forest.

Ino and Sakura did their best to hide from the rain, but their shinobi escorts pressed them on. Having started their journey back in Wind Country, the girls were clad in summer gear, exposing their bodies to the elements as they went.

Hachoo!

Sakura groaned and wiped her nose as her watery eyes tried to concentrate on where she was going. It seemed that all of her immunities were focused more on her pregnancy than she was. Having not taken much vitamins to aid in her pregnancy, she was quickly being drained of all that she had to offer.

"Hey! Yoshii!" yelled Ino. "I thought you folks wanted to keep the child, because it sure seems like you don't when you leave the mother carrying it to freeze in this weather!"

Yoshii ignored her. He kept looking straight ahead and did not even wince or twitch to the sound of her voice.

"Bastard..." mumbled Ino as she sneered at him from behind. "This fucker doesn't know how close he is to death!"

"It's okay Ino, but thanks," smiled Sakura to her friend. "Having you around sure relieves the stress, even if a tiny bit."

Ino moved behind Sakura and began rubbing her arms rapidly in an effort to warm her. Sakura, clashing between the sudden warmth and cold around her, let out another sneeze.

Sakura watched the two behind them struggling with the irritating rain. They were not used to moving so slowly on the forest floor through the rain, but they couldn't travel any other way as they were watching the hostages. They also didn't want to take the chance of pushing a pregnant woman to her limit, even though they still forced her through the storm.

Ino moved and put her right arm around Sakura's back, grabbing onto her arm at the other side. Sakura did the same but instead wrapped her arm around Ino's waist.

"I need to get you out of here, Ino," said Sakura, loud enough for Ino to hear but not enough for the escorts to catch it over the rain.

"I'm not leaving you," said Ino, resolute.

"Come on, Ino. You and I both know that it won't be long before they try to dispose of you. They have no business with you. You can make it!"

"No Sakura, I promised shishou I'd bring you back, and I'm going to. Besides, Naruto would never forgive me."

Sakura squeezed her arm around Ino's waist, thanking her for her friendship. The strong bond between best friends was something that not many people have, and Sakura knew that the one she had with Ino was as strong as hers and Narutos, just with a little more cat-like characteristics.

Suddenly Yoshii took off ahead, leaving Sakura and Ino in the care of the other two. As they debated within themselves as to whether they should just beat the crap out of the other two, no sooner was it hatched did Yoshii return.

"Alright, we're taking the back way," said Yoshii. "I'll take the blonde, you two watch the pink."

As Sakura and Ino followed Yoshii to the base of the mountain, they looked up towards the sky and saw that the very top of it was truly hidden in the clouds.

"Shit!" said Ino as she stared up. "You're going to make her climb up there? Are you fucking insane!?!"

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" yelled the shinobi behind her, shoving her forward.

"Touch me again and I'll make your dick fall off," said Ino with a completely placid face that told him she meant it, and could do it.

The shinobi saw Ino's hand glow blue, establishing to them that she was a medical nin.

"One touch, and I'll make the skin tissue on your tiny penis rot before your eyes..."

The shinobi took a step back, covering his crotch with both his hands. A bead of sweat passed down the side of his face. Turning around, Ino went to stand beside Sakura.

"Can you really do that?" whispered Sakura.

"No, but I probably could if I tried...." giggled Ino.

Traversing the mountain was not an easy task, at least not for a pregnant woman. Sakura moved much slower and had to stop several times. It appeared that the back way was up a dip in the steep cliffside, rather than the winding road that almost everyone took to get to Kumogakure.

Sakura, already experienced from being taken hostage by Kirigakure before, knew that the Raikage must have had the same idea about keeping her hidden. If no one could verify that she was seen there, all they'd have to do was deny, deny, deny. This thought made Sakura irritated. No one was stupid enough to believe it, not when you had sent a fleet to Kirigakure for her, flashing your banner all along the way.

Idiots...thought Sakura. No wonder you're our enemies...

Sakura picked up her pace, leaving the other shinobi behind for a brief moment before they caught on. As Sakura mentally pushed herself to ignore the burning in her legs, Ino stayed beside her step for step, making sure that if Sakura slipped that she'd be there to catch her.

Ino stepped on a small rock and purposely swept it back and into the face of the shinobi who shoved her. Looking over her shoulder, she snickered at his pissed off face.

Ah, what fun.... sighed Ino with a smile.

It took the group about twenty minutes before they even broke the first cloud that skirted alongside the mountain cliffs. Sakura tried not to look back as she was busy keeping her very pregnant self from misstepping. As Sakura moved as quickly as possibly, she couldn't help but feel eyes upon her as she scaled the mountainside. Looking towards the ridges that skirted them, she could see why.

Hidden in the trees were camouflaged shinobi who undoubtedly guarded the secret paths. If it wasn't for their chakura signatures, Sakura would have easily missed them. However, she knew that they weren't supressing it because they were aware of her company.

Ino picked up on them too. She side-eyed a group of them as she zig-zagged through the trees. As the party she was with edged away from the outpost, Ino chose to stop, immediately catching the attention of the others.

"Keep moving," said the shinobi stopping beside her, in the meantime the others stopped too.

"Nope," said Ino shaking her head. "As a medical shinobi, I advise that we break here before your goal miscarries."

Yoshii turned to look at Sakura, who nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, you two go ahead and let the next outpost know we've stopped to rest. Make sure they pass the message on," ordered Yoshii.

The two shinobi took off, leaving Sakura and Ino sitting together a bit away from Yoshii. Yoshii tossed them a canister of water, to which Ino forwent a drink to let Sakura have it all.

"Why did you make us stop?" asked Sakura. "You know I could've gone longer."

"I wanted to survey the land before we get locked in the clouds," said Ino. "I needed a landmark so that we can avoid those sentries below. From what I've been seeing, they're spaced around a hundred yards between eachother, alternating sides up the ridge."

"Good idea," said Sakura. "I counted five outposts, how many did you get?"

"Eight."

"Eight?"

"You were busy watching out for the future mini-forehead."

Sakura giggled. She thought of a mini-pig, running around with her mini-forehead, and she hoped that would become a reality someday.

"Ino, hurry up and get pregnant," said Sakura, nudging her friend.

"What!?! Are you crazy!?! And with whom do you suppose I get pregnant with? I can beat up half these dorks," said Ino, crossing her arms with a smug look on her face.

"Hmmm, true. You have a point. Though.... there is Sai."

Ino blushed.

"Hah! I knew it! Think about it Ino, you could have albino-babies with him!"

"What the fuck!?!"

"Your blonde hair, his paleness, and from what I've heard from the way he teases Naruto, he's got a big..."

Ino slapped her hands over Sakura's mouth, blushing bright red. The two of them sat there and laughed at the fact that even though they were in the face of danger, their minds could not help but float to funnier things. It was a nice break from the harsh treatment they were getting, and they were thankful they had eachother to keep their spirits up.

Before they could really get the burn out of their legs, a shadow passed over them.

"Let's move," said Yoshii. "We have to get up there by sunset."

Sakura and Ino followed Yoshii on to the next outpost where the other two shinobi were waiting. As the two of them once again took up the rear, they continued on for another hour until the light that surrounded them began to pale as the sun touched the western horizon. A sudden chill passed over them as the mountains brought them closer to the sky, and the sound of chirping birds echoed through the trees, announcing the days end with their afternoon conversations. All was at peace, except for the two female souls that moved along with a cloud over their heads.

The sun was halfway below the horizon when the group finally became drenched in the clouds. The air was absolutely chilly and it made Sakura feel like she was getting sick again.

"Ino," said Sakura, beads of sweat dripping down the sides of her face. "I don't feel so good."

Ino was getting worried. Sakura wasn't a complainer, at least not when it came to pain. If Sakura was complaining, it meant that it was serious and that she knew that she'd need help.

"We're almost there, Sakura," said Ino looking ahead. "Just a little bit more."

Twilight struck and the group saw lights up ahead. They had finally reached the outskirts of the village that was swallowed in the clouds, hidden from all below.

"Amazing...." said Ino, verbally saying what Sakura was thinking.

Never had the two seen such a sight. The village was carved high into the mountain, skirting around the many ridges and embedded with fields of vegetables and fruits. Had Sakura and Ino not been captives of such a wondrous place, they might have chosen to vacation here at some point. As they neared the very top of the ridge they were following, the smell of food wafted down to them and welcomed them with warmth. Sakura and Ino could hear mothers calling to their children, commanding that they come home to eat before their food got cold. It made the girls smile to be around such familial sounds, something they had missed since the start of their journey. It was a welcomed sight and sound, but the welcome party that stood at the top waiting for them was somewhat less than warm.

A group of eerie looking men stood over the girls as they pulled themselves over the last hurdle. As Ino and Sakura stepped onto flat ground, they were immediately grabbed and dragged off down the road. Sakura and Ino looked around in an effort to memorize the surrounding roads and houses. They looked back at where they had come from and noticed that anyone walking down the road would have never recognized that there was a path just below. Sakura watched Yoshii stay behind and bow low to a man dressed in plain clothes.

The Raikage...thought Sakura. So, he did come out personally to get his report.

As Ino and Sakura rounded the bend, Sakura just made out a smile that came across the Raikage's face as he looked over to her before she disappeared from sight. It was more like a smirk of cockiness than anything.

The two girls were led silently down the road away from the villager's homes, and as the road wound up and down the hills, no one said a thing to them, nor did anyone look at them. There was one however, who was.

Ino had managed to catch the eyes of one of their guards, a rough looking shinobi with perversion in his eyes. Ino hadn't seen it as she was ahead of him, but Sakura locked on to him like a homing device and didn't avert her stare until he noticed she was looking at him. The shinobi immediately looked back forward, trying to play it off but it was too late. Sakura knew what kind of person he was, and that was the kind of person that did unforgivable things to females. Just how bad he was though, was yet to be seen.

The girls were led to a area that was blocked off from the rest of the village. There was a house situated on a dip in the ridge that was flattened just so to the point where it offered a bit of shelter. It overlooked the western horizon and was a beautiful spot to watch the sunset, but the surrounding ridge made a slight wind tunnel that pressed upon the roof of the home, making it creak and fill with a chill. As Sakura and Ino approached the entrance, they could see why this spot had been chosen.

The two ridges around the house had sentries sitting upon them, but it was the opening to western horizon that afforded the most security as it turned out to be a two hundred foot drop straight down from the very edge. Sakura and Ino got a little antsy at the thought of the house blowing them right off the cliff, but the thought quickly perished as their guards pulled open the shoji doors and shoved the two girls in, closing the doors behind them.

"Well at least we don't have to see their ugly faces anymore," said Ino, fixing her top that had shifted from being escorted.

"They've probably prepared clothes and food for us. Let's see what they have," said Sakura.

"It's scary how used to this you have become, Sakura. I hope I don't get that way."

"Let's just hope they'll leave us in peace. That one shinobi was eyeing your goods out on the way here."

"Which one?"

"The one that looked like a pervert."

"Oh, that one," said Ino, here eyes narrowing. "Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for that one."

It may have seemed like a nonchalent way of approaching the topic of a potential pervert in their midsts, but Sakura and Ino as kunoichi, were frequently introduced to this prospect, and as such, knew how to handle these situations. Constant vigilance and an eye on eachother's backs were always their best friends.

"Found a bath," said Sakura upon meeting up with a wooden basin. "We'll have to heat it up ourselves, but at least we have warm water."

"Found the kitchen!" shouted Ino from the other room. "Looks like they've stocked the bare minimum."

Sakura slid open a set of shoji doors to reveal two futons laid out for them. Grabbing a pair of clothes neatly placed out for her, she went back to the bath to start the fires. Ino, sensing that her friend was ill, helped her with warming the water.

As the two girls took turns bathing and warming their bodies, they made their way over to the kitchen for a meager meal of rice and furikake, before laying themselves down to rest. By the time Ino had blown out the last candle, Sakura had already fallen fast asleep.

Ino lay awake in the darkness of the room and listened to the wind billowing down upon the roof. As the wind tested the strength of the house's construction, Ino could hear footsteps outside of their window, and knew that a sentry must be making his rounds. Turning over to snuggle beneath the sheets, Ino began to think of ways to get her friend out this mess. It seemed that the attacks were relentless and the only way they could escape it was by being relentless in their attempts to escape as well.

Perhaps we're going about this all wrong, thought Ino. Our desperate attempts have all failed, but it's not like we had a choice... We need to figure out a better way.... don't know though....

Ino heard the wind rushing against the roof before she even opened her eyes. She could feel the sun shining through the window, warming the little pod that she created with her blanket. Turning over to get the sunlight off her face, she peeked her eyes open to the pink-haired bush sticking out of the blanket across from her. Ino sat up and rubbed her eyes. Something didn't seem right though. The air smelt sour.

Looking over to Sakura, Ino crawled over to her and pulled the blanket back a bit. The sour smell got stronger once she did so, and Ino realized it was because Sakura had broken into a full-blown sweat overnight.

"Oh no," said Ino, placing her hand on Sakura's forehead. "Sakura, are you okay?"

Sakura mumbled and opened her eyes. "I feel like shit."

"Wait here," said Ino, rushing off to the kitchen. When she returned, she had a cup of water and a wet towel.

Ino threw back the blanket so that Sakura could dry off, not to mention get her fever down. Sitting Sakura up, Ino made her drink some water to stem the dehydration.

"I need to get you some medicine," said Ino, laying Sakura back down and placing the towel on her forehead. "I'll be back."

Sakura felt too ill to ask where she was going, but watched as Ino found her bag and threw it over her shoulder. Sliding open the front doors, Ino left a crack open so that the house aired out.

Ino walked towards the path to the village, but immediately stopped when two shinobi jumped in her path.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked the first shinobi.

"Out to get medicine and supplies," said Ino. "Sakura is sick. Your fucking goons made her walk through the rain and then climb that mountain all in one day. Check if you want."

The shinobi nodded to his second, who in turn went to peek in the house. Coming back out, he nodded to the shinobi who stood before Ino, acknowledging that what she said was true.

"We will get them for you."

"Oh? I don't suppose that you know everything I need, on top of that, I don't know everything that you have available. There's groceries, medicine, toiletries, and womanly products that I doubt you will get the right size, brand, and absorbency power right."

The last part made the shinobi twitch. He grossed out at the thought of what she meant by absorbency power.

Hehe, got him!thought Ino. Never underestimate the power of male impotence in the face of womanly needs.

"Ahem!" coughed the shinobi. "I'll escort you myself."

"Good!" said Ino with a bright smile. "You can be my date!"

Hooking her arm in his, Ino spun him around and set off down the road, jealous eyes watching their backs as they went.

"So!" said Ino to her date. "What is life like in Kumogakure? I always wondered if it was a place worth visiting."

The shinobi frowned, a tad bit insulted, but answered her question just the same.

"As you can see for yourself, we are quite well-established in this region as a shinobi village, but we also offer much in terms of sweets and pastries."

"Ooh! I must get some while we're out. What's your name by the way?"

"Sasaki."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ino. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Sasaki was startled by such a blunt question.

"What's it to you?" he said defensively.

"Well, I want to know if my arm around yours is going to get you some unwanted attention, that's why."

"Oh... no... I don't."

Ino smiled and pulled him in closer, making his posture change uncomfortably. She could tell that he was just a gennin, assigned to do the boring stuff. Noting his insecurity, she let him switch to tugging her along as she playfully smiled to the villagers they passed.

The marketplace was quaint with a nice setting of simple shops. The market that Sasaki took her to was much like the one they had back in Konoha. In fact, it had just about everything they had back in Konoha.

Ino walked around and began throwing things into her shopping basket. She got soup, tea, medicine for the common cold, and aspirin to bring Sakura's fever down. When she reached the female products section however, Sasaki conveniently slipped away to grab some drinks and snacks for himself and his comrades.

As Ino examined a jumbo-sized box of tampons (having decided to get the biggest box she could find as she didn't know how long they would be there), Ino noticed that she was also next to the section with hair dye.

Hmmm...thought Ino. It seems that my prayers for an escape have been answered...somewhat.

Snatching two boxes of pink dye, Ino buried it beneath the many cans of soup and boxes of medicine that she had accumulated before walking over to the cashier.

"I'll get my stuff, you get yours," said Ino to Sasaki. "I don't like people paying for my things, even if this is a date."

Sasaki shrugged his shoulders and stood in line behind her as the cashier rung all her items through. When the boxes of hair dye were uncovered, Ino began inquiring as to what he bought to distract him. To ensure that she had his full attention, Ino applied the age-old technique of squishing her cleavage together as she leaned forward to look at his snacks. The cashier rolled her eyes as she knew exactly what Ino was doing.

"Arigatou!" said Ino to the cashier, winking at her with a grin.

The cashier, in return, grinned a small grin as she rung up Sasaki's items. It was a cheap trick, but a good trick nevertheless.

Ino and Sasaki walked down the road, basking in the morning sun and taking in the mountain air. As they did so, Sasaki could not help but note the cute pins in Ino's hair, and the way she cutely held her grocery bags in front of her. With each step they took, he unconciously adjusted his speed to be as near to her as possible. Everytime their arms bumped together, he felt a tiny flitter in his heart.

"Sasaki? You're a gennin aren't you?"

"Ha-hai...." stammered Sasaki with a blush. "How did you know?"

"I can tell..."

"Do I look that inexperienced?"

"Well, no, but your reactions of being next to a fine-looking woman like me, tell me so."

Sasaki tilted his head to the side with an anguished look on his face.

"Oh don't worry, it's cute! I also thought so because otherwise you wouldn't be wasting your time with a bunch of damsels in distress like us, am I right?"

Sasaki shook his head reluctantly. "It sucks."

"Well, hopefully it won't last long."

Sasaki couldn't help but note a hint of foretelling in Ino's voice, but nevertheless, he led her back down the dirt road past the wooden fences, over the hills, and onward to the house that sat on the cliff.

"Sakura!!" shouted Ino as she came into the house. "I've got you lots of goodies!!!"

Ino walked over to the kitchen and began taking things out of the package. Ino heard the door slide open, followed by footsteps towards her direction. Turning around, Ino found a pale looking Sakura edging her way over to her.

"I got escorted by one of the shinobi guarding us. He's not bad," said Ino as she read the directions on the medicine box. "A gennin whose seen battle but really incredibly shy, kinda like Shika-chan."

"What'd you get me?" asked Sakura.

"Here. Take this, this, and this. It should be safe for pregnant women."

"Arigatou, Ino."

"Oh, I also got this..." whispered Ino, showing her the boxes of hair dye.

"You've got to be kidding..." said Sakura with a nasaly voice.

"Think about it! It's incredibly dumb but incredibly smart! They won't be fooled by a little copy juitsu, but they can be fooled with something they cannot detect! Think about it! Whose to know!?!"

"NO, Ino. It won't work."

Ino looked over at the frowning Sakura, confused as to why her friend who would normally be up for something like this, to suddenly become as frigid as an old woman.

".... What's wrong Sakura? You'd never have disagreed to something like this before.... oh...."

Ino looked at Sakura's eyes that suddenly had a hint of sadness in them, and she figured out why she would disagree to such a suggestion.

"You need to get out of here," said Ino firmly.

"Not like this."

"Don't argue. You have no choice. You can't stop me."

"I'm not leaving you, Ino."

Ino heaved a heavy sigh. She knew that Sakura would eventually agree.

"Look," said Ino. "You have to get out of here. I'll bide my time and escape when they think I'm too pregnant to do it. Don't worry. I'll definitely get out before they get any ideas about using premature birthing techniques. I just need to buy you some time, that's all. None of the other villages will think to look for you elsewhere, giving you safe passage to Konoha. Just make sure you keep yourself warm."

Sadness was now written all over Sakura's face, but she knew that this was indeed the best plan. Nodding her head, Sakura agreed to it.

The plan was set and Sakura's illness could not have come at a better time. Ino's leave would not be a surprise to the shinobi who would take it as abandonment. Trials of this sort definitely made shinobi think twice, and leaving a comrade to find help would no doubt be a good reason for her to leave. Sakura and Ino would just have to make sure that they timed it perfectly so that neither of them would get caught. If either of them were to be caught, the other's position would be immediately revealed. So, setting out the details late into the afternoon, Sakura absorbed every ounce of Ino's presence, scared that she may never see her friend again.