A/N: Sorry that the fic is taking so long. And also, apologies that there are such long gaps between the uploading of chapters. Hopefully, you all aren't too bored yet.

And remember, my story does not go according to the sequel of events in the anime.

As always, R&R please

:)

Chapter 12 - Rescue

Yume's POV

I have been trying all day to try and find out exactly where Yoku is. Deidara is just as worried as I am, but no one has any answers. Pein's room is protected with several different seals, preventing entrance. I waited for more than an hour, pacing up and down in front of the door, but I heard no sound from inside. I was forced to accept that direct communication with the asshole just was not going to happen.

Deidara and I both skipped lunch. He searched outside the building for trapdoors or secret entrances to underground cells, where she might have been imprisoned, while I try to locate something, anything, within the building that might give us a clue as to where she is.

Itachi-kun has already felt my wrath. I yelled at him for fifteen minutes straight, not pausing to give him time to interrupt. I told him that, even though he is so duty-bound that he murdered his own family, does not mean he can go around destroying other people's lives as well. Because Yoku is my sister, if not in blood, but in bond.

Tobi is running rampant, panicking just as much as Deidara and me, but his panicking is not very helpful: he just mutters to himself and paces about the building.

All the others: Hidan, Kakuzu, Zetsu and Konan are all called away as the hours pass. I do not get a wink of sleep that night. I pull at the books in the living room, lift paintings and tap around the edges of doorways, trying to find a lever of some sort that will lead me to wherever Yoku is. In the middle of the night, despite their protests, Tobi and Deidara are also forced to leave.

I half the kitchen's coffee supplies, doing all I can to stay awake. After having searched every nook and cranny, lifted every book and gone through all the scrolls in all the drawers, I am forced to conclude that she is not anywhere within reach.

Thanks to the fact that I may not leave the building by my lonesome, my search is limited to the inside. More than once, I considered sneaking outside, but wherever Yoku is, I am sure that is not pleasant. And what help would I be if I was also trapped?

I exhaust every possibility of her location: prison, underground, banishment, death, but none makes sense. If she was imprisoned, then surely I would have found her by now. She would not be banished, because Pein would not want her to blab about the Akatsuki secrets, and if she had been murdered, it would have reached someone's ears, or he would have told all of us himself, to make an example.

I put coffee in a large tin bottle to keep it warm and head upstairs to the door to Pein's room, and sit against the wall. He has to come out sometime.

But the moment my head falls against the cold wall behind me, I fall asleep.

Deidara's POV.

I have just returned from my mission with Tobi. It was a success, but all I cared about was the faint hope that my beloved might be back from wherever she had been.

In the lobby, all the other Akatsuki, including Yume, are gathered, all looking slightly confused. I do not say anything. This must be a meeting arrnaged by the Leader. Tobi, for once, is quiet. Predictably, the Leader appears seconds later.

"We are leaving. Follow me."

"What about Yoku?" Yume asked in outrage, mimicking my shock.

"She will catch up," he replies.

Pein nodded to Zetsu, who nodded in turn and, in a flash, knocked Yume out and slung her over his shoulder.

"Leader, please," I try to beg, but my vision turns black, as well.

Sakura's POV.

I have been trying to get information about the Akatsuki, but there is nothing about them in the school library, village library or Tsunade-sama's study. If only Kabuto had not been such a traitor. He was excellent in gathering information. Perhaps he had even had something on that girl, Yoku.

I do not know her full name, so I could not search for her. There were too many Yokus in the world for me to try and go through each of them. All I know is that she, for some reason, wanted to become a medical ninja, and that she is not native. That does not help at all. Is she not native to the village, or the country?

I sit with my face in my hands, dejected.

Yoku's POV.

I have been in here for days. I have not received anything to eat or drink. I did not expect to, but that did nothing to quench my thrist or fill my aching belly. I sit slumped against the mossy wall, not even caring about hygiene anymore. I even start wondering if I would ever get out of here, wherever I am.

I have no track of time, but after what must at least have been five days at the least, I heard a loud "BANG!" nearby. Not really remotely interested in anything that is not food or drink, I do not pay it much heed. Minutes later, there is another explosion, closer to wherever I am.

I start panicking. Is Pein destroying the building in order to move on to the next? Without coming to get me? Is he having me executed for my crime?

I try to yell, but nothing more than a groan escapes my parched throat. I try again, and again, but barely any sound comes out.

"Hang on," a voice says from nearby. "I think I heard something. They might have left prisoners here."

I wonder who it is. What are they talking about? Prisoners? I start panicking. No one in the Akatsuki would have spoken any of those words. Have we been discovered? I try to get up, but my body refuses to respond.

I make no sound, but it is already too late. I hear footsteps and see a shadow near the door, made visible by the dim light directly outside the cell I am in. The shadow nears and obscure my view of the door. I cannot see a face, but I see the glim of a white ANBU mask.

"Hey, I found something! Get over here!" the silhouetted figure yells, making my ears ring. Two more figures appear. With another loud explosion, the lock of the cell door is smashed open, and I am slung over one of the figures' shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I croak, "My friends-"

"We will do all we can to rescue as many people as possible, miss, and return you home. For now, remain calm."

I can not really make sense of his words. He is wearing an ANBU mask, and running away from the cell with chakra in his legs. I find it impossible to protest. I shield my eyes as the light becomes brighter and, before I know it, I am consumed by darkness.

When I wake up again, I am warm and comfortable, and for a moment I think that the terrible ordeal had been a nightmare.

But then the weakness of my muscles and my starving stomach and dry throat remind me otherwise. I open my eyes. I am in what looks like a hospital. A needle has been stuck into the inside of my elbow and is attached to a drip. To my surprise, a pink haired figure is standing not three feet from me, her back turned to me.

"S-Sakura?" I croak, my throat parched. She whirls around, and her face lights up with surprise.

"You're finally awake!" she exclaims, hurrying over.

"What happened?" I ask, "How did I get here?"

"ANBU found the Akatsuki hideout, and they found you imprisoned under the building," she informs me. My heart accelerates in panic.

"You-"

"I know about the Akatsuki," she confirms. "You were the only person in the building, though. There was no sign that there had been any other inhabitance. All the rooms have been cleared before the ANBU got there. It's a miracle they found you. Your little friends would have left you to starve."

Her tone is accusatory. I knew that, if she ever found out, this would b her kind of reaction.

"You wouldn't understand," I tell her, "I have to get back-"

"Even if you were fit enough to go, which you aren't, I wouldn't allow you. If you return, then you can tell them all kinds of things-"

"Well, if you think I'll tell any of you anything about the Akatsuki, you can forget it!" I rage despite my sore throat, catching her by surprise.

"They left you to die," she says softly.

"No, my leader punished me because I disobeyed a direct order. I deserved it. And he did not leave me to die. He knew that I would survive somehow. He's waiting for me," I say stubbornly, hoping against hope that my words were the truth.

She stares at me in exasperation before leaving the room without another word. Minutes later, another nurse appears, carrying a tray full of food. I had expected to be fed icky hospital food, but on the tray rested a large bowl of Miso Ramen and a large glass with orange juice.

I stay in the hospital for three days. Since I do not have any permanent injuries, they decided to discharge me at noon. Before I could leave, however, Sakura appeared in the room, chased away the nurse that was taking my blood pressure and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Your little Akatsuki friends attacked some of my teachers!" she says angrily. A wave of panic washes over me. I know this part.

"Kakashi?" I inquire. "Where is he now?"

"He was discharged not minutes ago. He's at home."

I swear loudly, getting up, but Sakura blocks my way.

"Where are you going?"

"I-" I stop mid-sentence. If I tell her the truth, she would try to stop me. "I'm going to visit him. He does not know me, but I know him, and I am a fan. Where does he live?"

"You don't honestly expect me to tell an Akatsuki-"

"If I was a threat to anyone, all of you would have been dead by now," I tell her, "Please, please, tell me where he lives."

She seems to struggle with herself before she gives me directions. As an afterthought, she adds, "Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei are with him. If you try anything funny, you'll be killed."

"I won't," I promise, and I mean it. I have another plan. Without waiting for her to threaten me any more, I run from the room and down the stairs, following her directions. At first, I cannot remember everything precisely, but I finally find the small apartment, and jump onto the roof. Luckily the window is open, so I can hear everything. I sigh as I realise that I am just in time.

"I can't believe Uchiha Itachi has returned to the village," Aoba Yamashiro blabs.

"Itachi?" Sasuke's voice repeats in panic. "Itachi is after Naruto?" He runs from the room. Seconds later, I hear his footsteps and he starts jumping from roof to roof in pursuit of Naruto.

I know that the yellow-haired boy is on a mission with Jiraiya. Despite myself, a wave of excitement washes over me. I am going to meet the one and only Jiraiya!

I shield my chakra signature as best I can and step on the rooftops as softly as I can, always keeping out of direct sight while following Sasuke.

More than an hour passes while he searches for his blonde friend, asking almost everyone he passes if they have seen an old man and a kid with a stupid-looking face. Another half hour passes, and finally he enters the correct building. I recognise it distinctly. I stay outside, and climb a few rooftops until I am outside the window of the corridor that holds the room Naruto is in.

I wait patiently while watching, barely believing what I am witnessing. Saskuke attacks Itachi-san and is then trapped within Tsukiyomi, where he is tormented for a few seconds. Watching it first-hand is much worse than I thought it would be.

Eventually Sasuke passes out after twitching a few times, and Itachi-san moves to Naruto, putting Kisame-sensei in plain sight. I keep out of view, not wanting to distract either of them. A few minutes later, Jiraiya appears and traps all of them within his frog belly prison, obscuring all of them from view.

Knowing what is coming next, I run away and go to the entrance to the village, hoping that they would exit through here. I see the black flames of Ameterasu in the distance and, not believing my luck, I watch Itachi-san and Kisame-sensei heading my way.

They stop right in front of me. I have eyes only for my sensei, but his expression remains blank. A tear forms in my eye and rolls down my cheek.

"You have five minutes," Itachi-san says simply before walking into the trees.

I start trembling. I run forward and fall down at Kisame-sensei's feet, "I'm so sorry, sensei! I promise I didn't tell the Konoha runts anything about myself or the organisation! I swear! I'll do anything to prove it to you, because it's the truth! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, sensei! Please don't be mad anymore! Please take me back!"

I clutch the bottom of his cloak in both my hands, crying at his feet. His silence is discouraging, and I cry worse. Finally, I get pulled up by my hair. I don't mind the pain. Kisame-sensei pulls me up until our faces are level. His fish-like features do not bother me at all anymore.

Suddenly his face softens and he pulls me into a tight hug. "I knew you wouldn't betray us!"

"Sensei!" I hug him back. "I'm so sorry that I left. I'll rather ask Kakuzu-san to train me. I won't ever do anything that's forbidden again. I promise, sensei!"

"That's my girl," he says, and lets me go.

"The Leader said you would catch up to us," Itachi-san's deep voice says, and I see him leaning against a nearby tree. So he had heard my whole confession.

I look at Kisame-sensei in question. As always, it is as though he could read my mind. "We had to leave. The Leader knew that the base had been discovered. I do not know whether he thought you were the one who made it public. I don't know why he left you there, but he seemed convinced that you would find us again."

I nod. At least Pein believes my innocence now.

"Let us return home. Itachi and I have some planning to do."

I grin and salute, silently saying 'hai, sensei!' Kisame-sensei chuckles, the best sight I could hope for.