Pein heard the door grate open again, and his dark eyes slowly travelled over to see who it was. It couldn't be Otoha; Ibiki hadn't come in yet. And no one else ever came in to see him…Pein saw immediately who it was, and fought down a sigh of exasperation.

"What do you want?" he whispered. He wasn't happy to see this new person, but he wasn't crestfallen, either. The man crouched down in front of him, sliding one hand under his chin and gripping it forcefully. The sannin forced Pein to look into his eyes, which were dark and unreadable. But maybe…Pein's Rinnegan sparked and twitched, but settled within the chakra bands around his wrists and ankles. "I don't have anything left to give, unless you want sex."

Jiraiya smiled. "Not here for that, sadly for both of us. I'm straight."

Pein shrugged. "Bi. But I think you know that."

Jiraiya sighed and grabbed a chair from against the wall. He sat down in front of Pein, who was still chained to his knees. "Look," he said. "I feel the urge to tell you that if you don't give us some information in a matter of days, you will be executed."

Pein shrugged. "Better dead than a useless burden."

"You sound like Kakashi when he was young."

Pein's skinny shoulders hitched, and his chest shook with what Jiraiya could swear was laughter. "That little whelp? I remember him. Insolent and immature. He's still insolent, but at least he's grown up."

Jiraiya shook his head. "Hardly," he said. "But that's beside my point."

"Whoever asked for your point?"

A stinging slap rang out across the room, and Pein was left with a white handprint across his face. It quickly reddened, though, as blood rushed to the injury. Pein's head snapped to the side, and Jiraiya's heart leapt to his throat as a sickening snap reverberated in the stone. Had he broken Pein's neck? Well, at least he would feel no more pain…Jiraiya's fears were eased, however, as Pein's head turned back to give him a glare that could cut through stone. "Remind me again what I did to deserve that?" he asked, his voice as icy as the chill that went down Jiraiya's spine when he hit Pein. Jiraiya sighed.

"Don't give me lip. At all. Or I can call Ibiki over in a matter of minutes. He'd be delighted to come in here and set you straight."

"He can't touch me!" Pein suddenly cried, his Rinnegan shooting to life. Spirals supposed to be dormant turned in wild circles, and Pein's anger was visible in his eyes, wide and furious. But…Jiraiya could swear there was something else there…could it be..? He almost thought he saw…

Fear.

"Nagato," he whispered, reaching out to touch Pein's face. The Rinnegan master yanked away, looking suddenly disgusted.

"Don't touch me!"

Jiraiya only looked sad for a moment. Then, he wiped all emotion from his face and walked out of the room. Pein waited in agony for several minutes; where had Jiraiya gone? Was he coming back? Pein counted the minutes. Three…four…five…where was Jiraiya, anyway?

The door opened again, and the stench of burning metal filled Pein's nose. He visible recoiled at the smell, knowing full well it was for him. Jiraiya crouched down next to him, moving Pein's body so his left side was turned towards him.

"I'm sorry, but this one stays."

Pein could feel his body shiver away from Jiraiya's touch as he pushed Otoha's blanket off his hip, baring the pale, unmarked skin. Also courtesy of Otoha. But still, he held his ground as Jiraiya lowered the hot metal to his flesh. It was the same as almost every other burn Pein had received: outrageously cold at first, and then searing hot. But this time, Pein felt something different. What was this feeling, deep in the pit of his stomach? It was like someone had reached into his chest and ripped his heart out and was now laughing cruelly as they crushed it to pieces in their hand. Pein felt something wet sting his cheek: blood? No…it was smoother, and of a thinner substance then blood. What was this? Was this what they called tears?

The brand was finally removed from his hip, leaving Pein with a painfully clear vision of what Jiraiya had marked him as. A kanji, etched deep into his flesh forever: the kanji of the toad, and under it, the kana for Jiraiya's name. Why had he done this to him? Especially after calling him by name-! Jiraiya set the brand aside, staring at Pein's face, torn apart and streaked with blood and tears. Had Pein ever cried? No…it wasn't a question of whether Pein had cried, but whether, had Nagato cried? Because, when it came down to it, Pein was still Nagato, and he was still human. Jiraiya gently touched Pein's shoulder, catching his attention momentarily.

"I'll tell Otoha not to heal that one."

Pein's body was shaking, but Jiraiya couldn't tell why. Pain? No. he had endured much worse without even batting an eye. Emotions? No. Pein had done away with those years ago. Cold? No…it was hot in here. Jiraiya sighed. There was only one way to find out.

"Pein…calm down…what's wrong?"

Pein suddenly stopped shaking, and his head rose to stare Jiraiya in the face. "What's wrong?" he growled, no higher than a whisper, but still deadly in tone and shaking with emotion. "You take me prisoner, torture me for days, restrict my basic human rights, keep me chained in this dank cell, and you dare stand there and ask me what's wrong?!"

Jiraiya was taken aback by the outburst. "Pein…I didn't mean it like that-"

"I know what you meant."

Pein's head was lowered in submission, and he seemed to suddenly break under the pressure. "I don't care anymore," he said. "But, on the other hand, I've learned a valuable lesson." He lifted his head, shaking his orange hair out of his face. The fire had returned him, and the chains restraining him shook with the trembling of Pein's coiled muscles.

"It's all a lie!"

The chains shattered. Absolutely shattered. Broken metal spewed in every direction, faster than speeding bullets. Jiraiya hit he floor desperately, trying to avoid the suddenly-lethal metal shrapnel. Pein's shackled feet suddenly sprang to life, and he ran, dragging the chains. Jiraiya was forced to wait until the last chain link had fallen before springing to his feet and chasing after Pein, calling out to the guards and yelling to stop him. Pein could feel blood run down his body as kunai and shuriken skimmed his skin, and chains caught on his flesh and body. Pein still forced himself to fight, through: his could feel panic overtaking him, but ignored it. Blood dripped down his leg from the brand, and he knew he had lost Otoha's blanket the second he broke the chains. How had he broken those, anyway? Had he forced chakra through at the last second and broken loose? Pein shook his head. He could afford to ponder this now. Right now, he was fighting a losing battle. He glanced back over his shoulder just in time to duck a cloud of shuriken, and then continued blindly running.

He slammed into something tall and solid.

Pein crashed to the ground and immediately began to scramble for his footing, only to have a booted foot come down on the chains around his wrists. Ibiki leaned down and sneered, "Going somewhere?"

The prick of a needle was nothing unexpected to Pein, but the drugs he knew were coming seemed a bit late to him. Why didn't they drug him before, to further discourage him? Ibiki seemed smug.

"So you see, Jiraiya, even the fieriest of spirits can be tamed. If only broken right. I respected your opinions and orders to let up a bit on him before, but now I refuse to do so. He's going to be executed in three days, and only after I torture him beyond all recognition. He is not to be healed, and no one is to see him at all. I will give him enough water to survive, but other than that, you can count on him not living to see the light of day one more time."

Jiraiya sighed. "You were right," he whispered. Pein could see black spots encroaching on his vision, but fought back as he slowly lost consciousness. "I couldn't save him. I'm sorry, Nagato."

Pein could see Jiraiya's feet receding, and shivered in defeat. This was it. It was all over. He let out a tiny whimper of pain and fear-the first he'd ever heard from his own throat. Well, he could always go to another body before this one was dealt away with. His one secret…the one that could keep him alive…Pein used the last of his energy to summon Konan:

Catch me as I fall. Say you're here, and it's all over now…no one's here, and I fall into myself.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Konan felt it hit her like a brick.

Pein! Hold on! she cried, paper gathering at her shoulders and fanning out. "I'm going ahead!" she called back to the Ame ninja behind her. "Wait for me a few hundred yards away from the gates!" Kona's wings opened magnificently, and she took off into the air. Like a bird, she leapt into the air and took off, flashing far ahead of the ANBU and disappearing within seconds. Her wings pounded furiously, and Konan flew at top speed. She couldn't stand it anymore; she had to get to Pein! There was no hiding anymore, how much she cared. Pein was her friend, and the two had grown closer than ever in Akatsuki. Close enough to share long nights together, whether passionately having sex or just sitting together. And now, Pein had been taken from her, and was crying out for her. How could she leave him to suffer? Was it even possible?

Konan felt tears streak down her cheeks as the scenery flashed by. She was getting closer by the second, and yet, she felt so far away. Konan shivered as the wind began to work against her. She put it under her wings and ignored it. She needed to get to Pein, and that was all that she could think about. And anything that was in her way was going down!

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was raining.

Pein's emotions had manifested themselves in the form of a magnificent downpour. Heavens opened for the god of the Ame's tears, and Pein found himself curled into a miserable ball on the floor. Still, his eyes peeked out over his knees, casting a terrible glare over the entire room. He watched the rain through his chakra: he could sense everyone and everything within the rain, and knew exactly who they were and where they were. Pein sensed someone heading towards him: and h didn't like the someone.

"Ibiki," he growled, just as the man himself walked through the door. A smirk was across his face, and he was staring at Pein like a torture master with a new toy.

"Excited? I am."

"How thrilling," Pein said dryly. He acted bored, disinterested. Ibiki wasn't daunted, however: Pein wasn't going to like the news he bore.

"You die in three days."

"I heard."

Still disinterested and bored? Ibiki frowned. "Do you care at all?" he questioned, striding over to Pein and seizing a fistful of the bright orange hair that defied gravity like Pein himself defied Ibiki. He yanked on the locks he held in his hand, forcing Pein to look him in the eye.

"If I die, I die. My people will not stand for it, though. I feel the urge to warn you. The rain will rise!"

Ah, there it was. Fire in his eyes. Emotion. Ibiki didn't care which, as long as it was a reaction. He smirked and slammed Pein's head back into the wall behind him, then, surprisingly, took a step back. Pein felt a bit of blood trickle down his scalp and through his hair at the impact, but refrained from flinching. He would not show any form of the weakness he was feeling right now! He glanced up as the door opened again, and two jounin walked in.

"Asuma, Gai," he greeted. "Nice to see you. Kisame has stories for me about you."

Asuma sighed. "Hello, Pein," he muttered. "I have to admit, you're even nastier in person."

Pein smirked. "Flattered," he purred, straightening a bit. "Now, I can't imagine you came in for just idle chat?"

"Hardly," Asuma growled. He reached out and put a pair of handcuffs on Pein's slender wrists, tightening them until they were almost cutting off Pein's circulation. The chains around his wrists fell to the floor, and the ones around his ankles were cast off to the side. Ropes wound around Pein's legs, and he found that he had been tied so that he could walk, but not run. The handcuffs had chakra restraints all over them, and Pein felt a metal collar encircle his neck. The same story, spelled out in black: chakra restraints. Pein was hauled to his feet and dragged out of the room, only to be shoved into another right next to it.

"I don't know why I didn't just put you in here before," Ibiki said, sounding disgusted with himself. "Anyway, you're here now, and that's all that matters. Right princess?"

This earned a chuckle from the two men who had led Pein down the hallway and left, bruises, and Pein immediately shot the two a death glare, Rinnegan spinning viciously. Asuma stopped laughing cold.

"It wasn't funny."

Ibiki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Pansy," he muttered. He seized Pein's hair and threw him against the opposite wall, where Pein found himself slamming into a cement wall with a metal grate over it. Wait…metal grate? And there were wires running to and from it? Not good…were they planning on torturing him with electricity? Oh, this going to hurt…being from Ame, Pein naturally wasn't fond of electricity. Ibiki was over next to him in a flash, Gai and Asuma right behind him. Asuma grabbed his right wrist, and Gai took hold of his left. Pein found the handcuffs removed, only to have his wrists tightly wrapped with metal bands and secured to the metal grate behind him. By pulling up on his arms, the jounin were also able to ensure that most of Pein's body was in contact with the metal. Pein took a long, shaky breath as his feet were tied to the grate. This was not going to be pleasant…

The first shock almost made him vomit.

The second did.

The third had him screaming.

Pein slumped down, breathing hard. Since when was he so vulnerable to electricity? He had trained for this, he had anticipated this, he had planned for this…so why was he still reacting so violently?

"Those drugs we pumped into you amplify electricity through a special atom created by one of our very own torture specialists," Asuma gloated, standing in front of Pein with a nasty smirk. "Since you're from Ame, we figured you would be especially vulnerable to electricity. What do you know? Physics came through for us!"

Pein glared up at the jounin in front of him, just trying to get his breath back. "Curse you," he gasped, struggling through the pain. "Curse you and all your children to lives of pain and misery, and damnation to the fieriest depths of hell!" Electrical burns criss-crossed his body, and his skin was already melting from the burns on his wrists. Ibiki stepped away from the control box and approached Pein, firmly grasping the Akatsuki's chin with one hand and forcing him to meet his eyes.

"Now, there are a few things I want from you," he whispered, "And we aren't going to stop until we get them or you pass out five times. So, be nice and answer me, and it makes less trouble for you and me. Now, who are you working for?"

"I'll bite off my own tongue and drown in my blood before I even speak his name to you!" Pein spat, suddenly very angry. He couldn't believe that these men had found a way to make him suffer-mere mortals, causing him pain! It was unreal!

Ibiki frowned and stood up straight again, walking over to the control box and twisting the knob. Pein felt fire suddenly burn through his body, coursing down every vein and tearing him apart from the inside out. Pein felt his body arch in inexplicable agony, and a tortured scream burst from his throat. The electricity cut off, and Pein was left hanging from his bonds again. Blood dripped down from burned wrists and ankles; whip-lash-like marks covered Pein's body.

"I know you're not alone in this!" Ibiki shouted, hand threatening close to the control for the electricity. "You didn't start this whole thing alone! We have information that there is someone else, but our source didn't give us a name. We want a name!"

"You…you'll never get it," Pein whispered, trying to control his breathing. His heart was fluttering like the wings of a butterfly, and his breathing was ragged and uneven. "You have no idea…exactly what you are dealing with here…" Pein swallowed down a bit of blood and choked down some air, then defiantly raised his head and tossed his hair out of his eyes.

"I…am…a…god!"

A/N: Oh, my, gory much? : ) Anyway, reviews, please! I really love them, and they encourage me…pwease? –puppy eyes-