"They think you're a traitor."

A tight pinch awoke me from my sleep. Groaning, I forced my eyelids open. For just a moment, I thought I was back home and the twin brothers were waiting for me on the other side of my bedroom door. It can't be though, the sunlight wasn't hitting my face and the room feels like there's a draft of cold air. I tried to rub my arm were I felt the pinch, but I couldn't move. Alarmed, I wiggled in my spot and noticed cold metal tightly pressed against my back, ankles, wrists, and even my neck. I glanced around the room and saw four walls of wood and a cloaked figure. My heart pounded against my rib cage and panic started to seep into my mind, causing me to think how helpless of a position I am in.

The woman - what I assumed the figure to be - simply leaned against the wall nonchalantly. She had a samurai hat on that dangled white strips of thread so it obstructed her face from my view. The cloak she wore was black as night with decorative red clouds dotted over it. I blinked rapidly in attempt to see her more clearly.

I struggled to gain some composure, "Akatsuki?"

The figure sighed irritably, "go back to sleep."

I almost felt like laughing; the woman was actually a guy! That voice was not necessarily low, but low enough to sound male. My brows furrowed, "go back to sleep?"

"Man..." he mumbled, "I did not agree to this." I watched him turn around to walk over and stand in front of a glass table that displayed syringes and bottles. He clicked his tongue and picked up a random bottle that was filled with murky red liquid. "They didn't put labels on these things," he muttered in frustration.

An alarm went off in my head and I felt my heart beat faster. "Which one did you give me?" I asked, failing to hide the anxiety in my voice.

"Hey, I know who you are, alright? Medical Ninja; one to be trifled with, yeah?" His attention didn't stray from the medicine in his hand.

A scoff escaped my lips, "I could say the same to you. Strapped down by Akatsuki and injected with unknown medicine."

He finally looked at me, but once he had, he immediately turned back around to glare at his hand. That mere second gave me that chance to catch his face. The Akatsuki's eyes were sky blue and a headband that was shielded by his overflowing blonde hair.

A feeling of mischief suddenly overcame my fear, "are you sure you even know how to use a needle? Do you know how to find a vein?"

"Enough, alright? I know I injected you with the Chloroform, but for some reason it just hasn't kicked in yet," he snapped at me.

It took a few seconds for my brain to register what he said. I'm not sure what kind of medicine I expected him to reply with, but I was hoping for something along the lines of drug that would lull me to sleep. "Chloroform? That stuff could kill me!" I yelled. I flailed and tried to pull myself free and noticed that my strength was sluggish and flimsy. Before I could even try to break the cuffs that bound my hands, the blonde man held me down with his hand on my shoulder.

His blue eyes narrowed, "Relax, yeah? I didn't use enough to kill you - obviously." Once I calmed down he continued, "it hasn't even been five minutes and I'm already annoyed of you. You aren't even supposed to be awake right now, so do me a favor and just lose consciousness."

Despite the threat, he failed to act on anything. Instead of easily knocking me out, he released his hold on me and shuffled back over to the table to continue examining the bottles.

I hesitated, "Which bottle of medicine did you use on me?" I simply had to know. Injecting me with Chloroform is bad, but who knows what kinds of medicine are on that table. I doubt he did inject me with that disastrous drug, I would be losing my hearing and seeing stars by now. So far, I wasn't feeling any side affects.

After a few silent moments, he lifted up a little bottle of pink liquid that was the color of bubblegum. "I used this."

I twisted my mouth, "can I smell it?" He didn't budge a muscle. "I think I might know."

To my surprise, he reluctantly bent over and unscrewed the white cap. He held it by my lips and I instantly recalled the memory. "Yeah, that's definitely Methadone."

"Methadone?" He repeated.

I nodded, but didn't press on anymore information.

I patiently watched his over exaggerated roll of the eyes. He straightened and returned to the table to put down the bottle. "Methadone, huh? It'll take a good thirty minutes for you to pass out on me," he mumbled to himself.

My gaze drifted from the Akatsuki member to all corners of the room. "Where am I anyway?"

"An abandoned shack."

As if a light bulb turned on, my mind reeled and recalled the memories of the night before.

"How long have I been here?" My voice wavered.

The blonde's eyes glued to mine and he smirked at my expression, "only a few days. You remember, don't you? I heard it all from the chore boy."

I swallowed and felt the grip of the cuff on my neck. "Heard what?"

"That you stayed awake." When he saw my confused look he continued, "that wine you drank had enough anesthetic to knock out an elephant. It surprised some people that you actually managed to keep consciousness until Tobi had to stop you."

I don't remember running into this Tobi guy. In fact, the only thing I remember is dancing with a stranger, but my recollection of it is blurred and in pieces.

"Do you know what happened to my friends?"

"Who?"

"My friends. I was supposed to infiltrate and then they would come in and cause a distraction. They never showed up, though."

The man sighed, "as far as I know, they never ran into anybody."

I rose an eyebrow, "you weren't there?"

"No," his eyes suddenly darkened and his mouth twisted into a frown.

Silence filled the room. The voice in the back of my head said to keep talking to him, so I did. "Who are the people who noticed me?"

"People who wouldn't normally notice you," the Akatsuki member leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He gave me a look that spoke for itself; he was judging me. "I don't know how you of all people could obtain the Feathertop."

I went rigid at the comment. My forgotten state of panic had resurfaced and I gawked at him with wide eyes. "No..." I whispered. The shining feather popped into my mind and I had the itch to reach up and feel around my hair. "You took it from me?"

The blonde's blue eyes seemed to brighten and he cracked a smile, "Yes. We have it, but don't you worry, it's in good shape." He cleared his throat, "We're not sure what to do with you. We were going to kill you, but our leader said to question you. Ordered me not to harm you while he was away." He looked me up and down, "I don't know why you would have any interesting information, but I'm not calling the shots."

A chill ran down my spine, but I tried to ignore the feeling. Feathertop is something special to me, and having it taken away leaves me empty. The legend, the past, the regret it carries with it, is what makes it so valuable. I don't trust the Akatsuki with the Feathertop, nobody but me can have it.

I squeezed my eyes shut, praying to some God out there that I can escape from this. But, I know that the only one who can act and succeed in the request is me. I thump my head against the stone table in frustration. "I'm so fucked," I exhaled a sigh. I swiveled my head to face him, "when are your friends coming back?"

The man finally took off his hat and set it on the table, "soon."

I rack my brain, "how long have you been watching over me?"

"Not long."

"Why would you want Feathertop? What could you possibly do with Feathertop?" Akatsuki were powerful and rich already, so why would they need a silly charm?

The blonde frowned down at me, "are you that ignorant? You couldn't possibly be carrying around Feathertop without knowing it's history."

I sighed, "good fortune?"

At that, his eyes widened and he snorted. "Don't tell me you believe that. Good fortune?" I jumped in surprised when he laughed out loud.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"A little naive, are we not? Who told you that garbage? Good fortune my ass-"

Suddenly, there was a loud thump from outside that followed with sizzling. I watched in horror as the blonde man cursed and stuffed his hand in his pouch. My eyes caught the sight of a tongue on the guy's hand that chewed on a piece of white clay. Within a second, a dome of white clay surrounded me and the Akatsuki member that reminded me of being in a shadow of a cloud. I heard a muffled explosion from outside our dome and I could only lay still, dumbfounded.

"Looks like we have some uninvited guests."

My mind reeled and I struggled in my spot, "let me go!"

"Shut up, yeah?" He said through clench teeth.

The dome bloomed a hole to the outside world and I caught sight of the shack - or what used to be the shack. It was demolished and completely blown up, random splinters of wood laid in the snow. I gasped at the alien world, tall mountains and plump pine trees with piles of white snow coated the entire area. The Akatsuki member flew threw the opening and once he disappeared, the hole closed back up, leaving me alone and even more disabled and powerless.

A voice in the back of my head reminded me that I was never powerful or even safe in the first place. "Hey!" I screamed, "somebody!"

Then, my ears picked up multiple muffled voices. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to focus on making out their words.

"He...over...mountains..."

A female voice spoke up, "fighting...-Kun..."

"What's this?" The person who spoke sounded as if he was right next to me. The distinct tapping of a finger against the clay was a sign that the person was.

"Hey! I'm in here! Get me the hell out!" I yelled, not caring if the people were good or evil.

There was a moment of silence, but then an all too familiar voice spoke up. "Break it."

I dared not to think that it was Konoha Ninja, but that voice was like a nostalgic tune in my head that resurfaced repressed emotions. I waited patiently, hoping that they would find a way to me. There was a well-known twitter of birds and then a crack in the clay. A flake of a speck fell down and then the crack zig-zagged all the way to the ground.

My heart pounded against my ribs as the clay crumpled and fell to the floor. Freezing cold brushes of air swept over me and it was then that I noticed that I wore only my skirt and tank top. My teeth already started to chatter and goose bumps appeared on my arms.

I met the eyes of the Copy Ninja who had his trademark Sharingan showing. Even though he stared at me in silence and his face was half hidden, I could make out the shock and the confusion. I watch with shy eyes as he stepped over the rubble and next to the table.

He spoke in a hushed tone, "Sakura." He seemed at a loss for words because he didn't say anything more.

"Kakashi-sensei, it's good to see you." He looked the same as ever, not a day aged. "But, I need you to get these cuffs off of me. I'm going to pass out in less than ten minutes and I need to get out of here."

His eyes wavered from mine to the mountains. "I see, but Naruto is dealing with Deidara right now, and I need to aid him." Kakashi sent a glance to Hinata who stood speechless with the rest of her team. "Would you mind taking care of her?"

"S-Sakura-San?" To my luck, Hinata was genuinely concerned for me. She rushed to the other side of the table and put a hand on my arm, silently reassuring me.

My gaze surveyed the Ninja who stood before me and my eyes rested on Kiba who stared back at me with mouth wide open. Only one eye showed while the other was covered with an eye patch that failed to hide the damaged tissue around it. Behind him sat a panting Akamaru with battle scars that decorated his torso. The two of them together looked intimidating.

"What the hell are you doing here? Where the hell have you been, Sakura?" He questioned me, sounding angry, but his look was soft. "You have a lot to explain."

Before I could reply, Kakshi intervened, "I want you guys to wait for Naruto and I at the check point." Kakashi gave me a forced smile, "Naruto will be ecstatic to see you. We'll come back to welcome you soon."

A overwhelming feeling of hate and rage swelled in my chest and I suddenly wanted to spit in the Copy Ninja's face. I bit my tongue and held back profanities that would risk my chance of escaping. Instead, I took a deep breath. "I'll keep waiting, then."