The ground was damp and the chill soaked through their pores. Zabuza suppressed a shiver; he had known that it was cooler farther North, but he hadn't prepared. Thankfully, he had at least thought enough to put a shirt on, though it was sleeveless.

Exhaling tiredly, the man leaned his head back against the tree behind him. Zabuza had only been traveling for a few hours, but a coughing fit had kept him from continuing. Sakura (when had he started using her name?) had yet to wake up, but he knew that she wouldn't sleep for much longer.

After laying around a bit longer, Zabuza stood. His strength had returned, somewhat, but it was enough to keep going. He double checked all of his gear and moved to pick up the girl. One step and he felt a slight tickle in his throat. Zabuza ignored it. Three steps and it became an itch. Five steps, a light cough. Seven steps, the itching continues. Nine steps and Zabuza was on his knees, clutching at his chest with his hand while his body racked with coughs. It was no longer an itch in the back of his throat; it was almost to the point of suffocating.

Wet, sticky blood splattered on the white bandages covering Zabuza's mouth, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only wait it out.

But it didn't feel like it would stop anytime soon. Reaching up towards his face, Zabuza ripped the bandages down and let them pool around his neck. In a rare moment of weakness, he let his pain show on his face.

The blood continued to drip from between his lips. His throat was raw and his chest ached. But, miraculously, the coughing had stopped. Zabuza looked to find a small hand, flooded with chakra, resting on his chest. Looking farther, he noticed that the hand belonged to one Haruno Sakura. From the look on her face, it was obvious that she was struggling. Her brow was pinched, her eyes closed, and she bit on the corner of her bottom lip.

Only then did Zabuza register that she was healing him. The bleeding stopped, his torn up throat was healed and an impossibly heavy weight was lifted from his chest. Sakura leaned back and removed her hand before opening her eyes. She looked up at Zabuza, ill-concealed worry and fear covering her features. Did she think that he would kill her for healing him? Zabuza was unaware that she was worried for his health, not her own life. After all, it was a medic's duty to heal those in need.

Sakura's head quickly turned away and she glared hard at the forest floor. "It's not permanent; I need more of my own chakra." She said. Choosing to ignore her odd reaction, Zabuza took a few tentative breaths before standing. He was shocked at the feeling of being able to breathe properly. It was the first time he could fill his lungs in months.

As Zabuza slowly walked around the trees nearby, Sakura discreetly watched him. She cataloged the shock, wonder, and amazement that plainly showed on his uncovered face. It was the first time she had ever seen the supposed 'Demon' of the Mist show such gentle emotion.

He must've remembered that she was there, for his face returned to its cold mask.

"Why did you do it?"

Sakura's eyes widened. She should've assumed that Zabuza would question her. Taking a deep breath, she answered truthfully.

"I did it because I saw how you were hurting and I knew I could help you."

There she had said it. Sakura looked down at her lap, afraid. Why am I afraid? She thought, angrily. Her hands clenched into fists where they lay on her thighs. She missed the incredulous look Zabuza gave her.

"Let's go."

Sakura's head shot up and she analyzed the man's face before nodding and standing up. Zabuza unsealed his sword- now that she was awake- and put it in its rightful place. He handed her a few of the storage scrolls (how many hidden pockets does that man have?) and she clipped them on her belt and hid them in her own pockets. With one curt nod from Zabuza, they were off. The fact that he ran off without looking back struck her as odd. What if she escaped? No, Zabuza was much stronger than her, even if Sakura had greatly advanced in skill.

And boy, was the man fast! It must have been in the job description of missing-nin. Sakura didn't think she would survive if this was her everyday life, especially if she was to use Zabuza's chakra the whole time.

They eventually stopped, a few hours later. On earlier trips, Zabuza had obviously been holding back on his speed. "That was the fastest run of my life." Sakura panted. Her companion didn't even give her a glance.

"Yeah?" He said while setting up a small fire. "You better get used to it, Sa- girl."

Sakura tried hard, so hard, not to laugh, but a quiet giggle still escaped from her lips. Zabuza finally turned around to look at her with exasperation. When she saw the expression on his face, Sakura laughed harder.

"I- I'm sorry!" She managed to squeak between giggles. Zabuza turned back to the now-burning wood. What was she even laughing about? He shook his head. What is it with captives these days? He thought.

Sakura's laughter soon faded away, but a small smile lingered on her lips. The way he slipped up and almost said my name, she thought, And then his face when I started laughing! And then, a realization came crashing down. Sakura curled in on herself. She would not, would not, get friendly with the enemy. She needed to spend more time trying to figure out what the awful seal on her arm was. And why was her chakra so slow to replenish itself?

Not to mention, her and Zabuza's fight (spar?) had brought up a lot of questions. Sakura had an idea as to why her heart-stopping technique hadn't worked. The only way she could prove her theory was to test it out, and there was a fat chance of Zabuza letting her hands anywhere near him. Healing him had also been a challenge. His chakra wasn't responding to his body properly, so she had used all of her own, which was almost nothing.

Sakura did notice how every time she drew some of Zabuza's chakra, the man flinched. And why was his chakra even in her body? The only logical explanation was the seal on her arm. The run to their current location had been agonizing, to say the least. Sakura assumed that her captor's experience hadn't been much different from hers. With her needing chakra to run quickly, Sakura had used a lot of Zabuza's. Every time it moved in her pathways, a terrible pain came from within her. His chakra grated against her and it took so much effort for Sakura not to cry out. Later on in their run, the pain wasn't as sharp, but it was still very much there.

The familiar smell of cooking fish brought Sakura out of her musings. She stood and walked to the campfire. The gentle flicker of the light and the burning wood's crackle lulled Sakura into an easy sleep.

{O}

{O}

Zabuza woke up at what some would call the 'butt-crack of dawn'. But for him, it was late. He set about making a mediocre breakfast and thought about what was to come. The night before, he had determined that they could make it to their destination in just a few more hours of traveling. But of course, Sakura was much slower than him, so it might take the whole day. And he was not going to carry her. Not to mention, every time she used chakra, his chakra, he could feel it being painfully sucked from him. In the beginning, all he could do was grit his teeth and keep going.

After a few more minutes of contemplating his situation, Zabuza stood to wake up Sakura. He proceeded to use a small water jutsu and dump a handful of almost-freezing water onto her face. Sakura woke up with a start and instinctively brought chakra to her fist. Zabuza stumbled back a bit and she cried out, but he noticed that the pain wasn't as bad as it was before. She must have more of her own chakra now. He mused.

"Get up and eat, girl." Zabuza barked. "We leave in fifteen minutes."

Sakura nodded and got up off of the ground. Huh, she thought, absently. I swear, I fell asleep by the fire last night. Dismissing the idea, she ate her oh-so-deliciously bland meal. Double checking that all of the storage scrolls were still where they belonged, she stood. She turned towards Zabuza with a question in her gaze. The man didn't say a thing, he just glanced at her briefly before taking off into the trees. Sakura rolled her eyes, but she followed him anyways. She wouldn't risk an escape, even if there was the slightest opportunity.

Zabuza had been correct; it had taken them three extra hours to get to their destination, the middle of nowhere. He could tell that Sakura wanted to ask him why he had stopped, but she held back. Was it fear that kept her quiet?

"Why did we stop?"

Never mind.

Zabuza started walking without replying. He knew this area well.

Go towards the trees grown together, four hundred feet.
Ninety-degree turn to the left, one hundred feet.
Forty-five degrees to the right, two thousand feet.

He could barely hear her following, she was almost silent.

Tree directly left with a small dent located on the bark, four feet from the ground.

Zabuza found the small notch and placed his finger on it. Pushing past the pain, he let a small amount of his chakra flow into the opening. "Move back." He warned, wondering why he even bothered.

"What-"

Sakura quickly leapt back as the ground beneath her opened up, showing a small, dark staircase leading underground. Of course, she internally scoffed. It's like a requirement for missing-nin to operate in underground hideouts. But she still followed when Zabuza began going down the staircase.

They walked in circles for at least five minutes. Sakura knew it was a genjutsu and that Zabuza was actually taking her to her doom, but when she tried to dispel it, he gave her a stern look. Finally, they stopped and Zabuza released her from the illusion.

"A door?" She asked. Sakura refrained from slapping her forehead. What a stupid thing to say. All she got in reply was a grunt before Zabuza opened the door and shoved her inside. Looking around, Sakura decided that she was in a bedroom, and an old one too. The walls were covered in wood paneling that most certainly was reinforced with chakra. The only furniture in the room was a cot, a small table and a single stool that looked like it would break at any moment.

"This is your room." Zabuza said. "Get rest, your work starts as soon as possible."

And then he left, shutting the door behind him. Sakura felt his chakra surround the room, indefinitely locking her in. What kind of work are they going to have me do? And how long will I be here for? She sighed, might as well acquaint herself with her surroundings.

There was a basin under the table, mostly clean. Sakura found an odd faucet on the wall that spat out water if the pressure was high enough. And there was a pillow and a blanket on the cot. She made a note of all of these things before preparing to rest. Anxiety clouded her mind as she thought of the day ahead. Her sleep was not restful that night.

{O}

{O}

Word count: 2,033
I AM ALIVE, Y'ALL. I BET YOU ALREADY HAD A FUNERAL AND EVERYTHING. I am so not motivated. I have no motivation for anything. I do school, then I do nothing for the rest of the day. So I pushed to finish this and I have another one-shot I need to type out and publish.
Anyways! Give me your thoughts on this chapter! It was kind of rushed...

~Rus