A/N OMG, this is the third time I've had to right this darn author's note, I'm about ready to kill someone. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, even though I really didn't have all that much fun wiriting it. It was like I knew where I wanted the story to begin, and I knew where I wanted it to go, I just didn't understand how to get it there. This chapter is kinda supposed to be my bridge. So, I hope you can bear with it.

Disclaimer: I really don't feel like writing this, the fact that I'm writing on should be enough

So on with the story-

Through out my whole shower, one thought kept coming back into my mind, like an annoying fly. I didn't like this shampoo. It wasn't really the texture of it that bothered me. It was the smell. It smelled like chemicals, like…..shampoo. It didn't smell like my lavender shampoo. I really wanted my shampoo back.

Every time I thought this, I quickly reprimanded myself. I had bigger things to worry about than what the shampoo smelled like. Yet my mind kept going back to that. I think it was because that was the easiest thing to worry about. It was easier to think about such petty things instead of what was really happening.

I had heard of things like that happening. When someone was in such a horrible situation, their brain sort of played tricks on them. It was like they would focus on something else because they were unwilling to face the real problem. It happened to people who were depressed too. If that was the case, then it was no wonder that this was happening to me.

At this point I figured I had probably stolen enough of my capturer's hot water. And besides, I had successfully washed the feel of Itachi's groping hands from my skin. I sighed, and groped around for the faucet. With a few reaches, I finally grabbed it. I turned it, and felt the water cease.

I bit my lip as I pondered my next move. I knew that you had the most chance of having a fatal accident in the bathroom. With me blind and wet, I was pretty sure that gave me even more of a chance. I ground my teeth as I tried to remember where I had felt the towel. It was on one of the sides next to the shower… I think. I experimentally reached my hand to my left, hoping to catch hold of the towel. When all my hand touched was air and a counter slippery with condensation, I reached my hand towards my left. It hit a wall painfully, jamming one of my fingers.

I yelped and immediately pulled on it, trying to relieve the pain. Stupid wall, stupid blindness, stupid Itachi, I pouted. I huffed and pulled on my finger a bit it more. Finally, it began to feel better. But now I was started to get cold. I was standing in the middle of the shower dripping wet and naked, and there was a cold draft. The heaven's had not been smiling on me recently. Words could not describe my frustration. So I refrained from yelling obscenities into the air. That would do me no good.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust at me new predicament. I had tried either side and I still didn't find any towels. That left only one possibility: forward. But I didn't like the idea of venturing any farther than need be. It was so aggravating being blind, and I was extremely worried to do even the slightest of movements because it would somehow end painfully for me. It was a perfectly valid thought; so far everything little movement that I hadmade had ended with a new bruise.

Another gust came through though and made up my mind for me. With a shiver, I hesitantly and carefully stepped forward. I should have been more careful. I felt the tips of my toes catch a small metal lip at the edge. Every thing seemed to go in slow motion as I realized with horror what had happened. I felt my hair swish back as I fell forward. My arms swung around wildly trying to catch onto something, but they were met with no resistance. I yelped. As I was falling it seemed that time suddenly regained natural motion, and I fell against something hard and porcelain with a chilling crunch. My head bounced off the toilet, and then off the tile.

Stupid toilet, I added to my list of things that were stupid. I lay groaning and whimpering on the hard tile floor. Tears sprang into my eyes as I lay in agony with an ear splitting head ache. For a second, I was sure that I was about to die. That had a hurt immensely, but it was nothing compared to the frustration. This was horrible and I just wanted it to end. I couldn't even move around like a normal human being with out practically killing myself.

I felt fresh tears prick my eyes as I thought about how my family would react. I was a useless kunoichi now. I was weak and handy capped. I may not be defiled, but Itachi had already done his damage, and now I would still lose my place as the heiress that I had worked so hard to obtain. How could this have happened? How could everything have gone so wrong? Why had God forsaken me? What was wrong with me!?! I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand in a very unladylike manner. Gosh life was such an excruciating menace.

"Oi, you still alive in there," a gruff and impatient voice from the other side of the door yanked my out of my thoughts. I heard him knocking, or more like, gently pounding on the door. He must have heard my crash and yelp as I it the toilet. I couldn't blame him for wondering if I was alive, it had been quite a big noise, and to be honest I very nearly did kill myself.

I was suddenly reminded of how, just recently, Neji-nii-san had done close to the same thing.

He had knocked on my door while I was bathing. And here this stranger was doing much the same thing. Except if he came in it would be a whole lot more improper, and Kisame-san's way wasn't near as polite. I decided to call him Kisame-san to show respect, since I was basically at his mercy. And I wasn't sure how much mercy an Akatsuki member had. If Itachi was anything to go one, they had none. But then I was reminded of how Kisame-san had called me prejudice, and I quickly squashed that thought.

"Hey, girl," Kisame-san continued yelling, when I didn't reply. I had been too busy lost in my aching head. He spoke so harshly, I thought to myself. I hadn't really been focusing on the way he talked and his voice before. But I found myself analyzing it now. It was after all, the only thing I could identify him with. "I asked you a question: are you okay or not. If you don't answer, I'm going to be forced to come in there whether you're decent or not."

"I-I'm f-fine," I managed to stutter out. At his last comment my face had heated up to probably about twice its normal temperature. I franticly fumbled around for the towel. I snatch it up off of the toilet and wrapped it firmly around me, just in case he didn't hear me, or decided to come in anyway.

"Good," Kisame-san replied brusque. I heard his heavy foot steps retreat away from the door, and I heaved a sigh of relief. I carefully felt around for the clothes that Kisame-san said he had left me. He said they were on the toilet, and I knew pretty well where the toilet was, after it nearly killing me. But I suppose that was just because I was clumsy. I laughed wryly, and with out humor. Even blind, that shouldn't have happened to a good kunoichi, but then, I didn't think I fell into the good category.

Never the less, I allowed myself a small smile as I felt my fingers wrap around a fold of fabric. It felt good to finally taste the sweet taste of triumph. I pulled the big piece of clothing towards me. It was then revealed to be a large shirt, a very large shirt. I gaped at it; it wasn't just large, it was huge, at least compared to my petite form. With quite a bit of struggling I finally managed to get the shirt on. I felt like it was strangling me for a second. It was so difficult to do anything when you're blind, even when you did it with ease before.

The shirt went down to below my knees. It was a soft and warm material. It had a kind of masculine scent that I found I sort of liked. It made me feel safe and protected. The over all feeling of the shirt was that it comforted me. But the shirt got me thinking about the man that wore it. He must be huge and intimidating. I pictured in my mind a man that stood over seven feet tall. His muscles bulged and rippled, and his face was hard and chiseled. Somehow though, the image didn't conjure up feelings of terror. It gave me the same feeling the shirt did. Once I had finished admiring said shirt, I grabbed the pants.

I shook my head in discontent; I wasn't even going to bother trying to put these on. They were huge. The waist line was about twice as big as mine, and they were beyond too long. I bit my lip as I set the pants back down. The shirt worked as a dress, as it went below my knees, but it was still weird not having any pants under a shirt. Another thing was that I had to wear the same underwear under it, because I had no others. I had packed a change of clothes in my bag, but they had taken that away. So the over large shirt and dirty underwear would have to do.

I carefully found my way to the door, and put my hand on the knob. But then I hesitated, fidgeting. I was a bit panicky about going out there. Not only was I immodestly dressed, but they were evil. These were evil scary people that I was dealing with. Fear suddenly engulfed me, tightening my throat. I backed away from the door with shuddering breaths. But then I trembled slightly and gritted my teeth. I was letting my fear cloud my head again, and I couldn't allow that to happen. So without thinking anymore about it, I stepped back up to the door and tentatively turned they door knob. I took a cautious step out. I was struck again about how unnerving it was to know that your environment had changed, bit still see unadulterated blackness.

"Feel better," asked Kisame-san in his deep voice. I started in surprise; I hadn't realized he was there. He had been completely silent; then again, he was a powerful shinobi. I wondered if it was true concern I detected in his voice, or if I was just fooling myself. I nodded timidly in reply, but otherwise just stood there, unsure of what to do.

Kisame-san's foot steps neared me and I felt him grab hold of my elbow, I recoiled instinctively. I still wasn't used to being grabbed so suddenly. All he did though, was lead me over to my right and sit me down on a couch. I tucked my legs under me as I sat obediently still. He released my arm and stepped back. I was thankful for the space. My skin was an icy cold, because of fear. I wasn't terrified, per se; it was more of a dull horror. If that made any sense, I wrinkled my forehead in confusion over my own reasoning.

"What am I going to do with you," I heard Kisame-san mutter to himself, as he turned away. I heard to bed creak slightly as I'm sure he collapsed onto it. I resisted the urge to sigh sadly. I was always a burden, wherever I went. I sniffled a little and bit my lip. Now was most certainly not the time to cry. But those feelings inside of me, just below the surface, were being aggravated. Those feelings of uselessness, and weakness. I sniffled again.

The bed creaked and I felt Kisame-san's eyes on me. I squirmed under his gaze, that I knew he was directing at me only through tingles it gave me, and as the hair rose on the back of my neck. I held the tears, threatening to spill out, firmly within my eyes. Kisame-san, my enemy, would not see my weakness.

"What's wrong," I heard him growl. I gasped and jerked my head up to him. That wasn't what I had expected him to ask at all. How was I too answer that? And that was certainly not the question a kidnapper should ask. Shouldn't they know that those they kidnapped would be terrified? They would be scared for their lives. They would be missing their family and friends and the future they thought they had. Obviously this was not the reason for my misery, but it would suit everyone else. And there was no way he could know what went on my life, which was so different from that of others. "Well?" He prompted. I bit my lip. With little deliberation, I sighed, and answered honestly.

"I-I…a-am a b-burden," I answered honestly. It felt weird to tell someone that. No one had ever asked me a simple 'what's wrong.' They had always jumped to the wrong conclusions of what it was, and it had simply been easier to just agree with them.

I was met with silence. I didn't hear him moving around, I think he was just sitting there, staring at me. I wondered what he was thinking. After awhile, the silence started to unnerve me. I moved around uneasily. Then the bed groaned once more as Kisame-san reclined back on it.

"Odd."

I cocked my head in confusion. That was all he had to say? Surely there was more to say than that, and if there wasn't more, at least something different. It was just such an unnerving and unexpected answer. After deliberating over it for sometime, I just sighed in defeat; he probably didn't care anyway.

Banishing my former thoughts away, I curled about in my chair and listened. When you're blind, you notice more noises, I noted. When I focused, I was surprised by how in tune I could be with the world just by the sounds. I began to feel less detached from reality.

I could here rustling leaves from outside, as well as the odd chirp from a bird. Those were the underlying sounds. More prominently, I could hear the creaks from the bed as Kisame-san moved around in his thoughts. I liked hearing his movements just because it reassured me that he was there, and liked having someone there; it seemed to take away my loneliness, and I liked that. But I liked best just hearing him breathe. There was something calming in it. They were leveled, and relaxed. In, out; in, out. I closed my eyes and settled down in the couch as I listened to him.

BAM! BAM! BAM!!!

Suddenly, the ease of the atmosphere was shattered as someone pounded hard at the door. My eyes sprang open reflexively and my head whipped around to where the pounding was. I heard Kisame-san get up and rush to the door.

"Hurry up, Kisame, yeah" said a man loudly and urgently as he stepped in. I recognized the voice of the man that I had run into before. He had seemed at ease then though, now he seemed clipped and stressed. "There are a bunch of mist village ninja heading our way, yeah. Itachi and Tobi are waiting for them, so hurry it up. We need to dispose of them quickly."

"With pleasure," Kisame-san sneered. I shuddered at the malevolence and bloodlust in his voice. The change between the calm Kisame-san that had been lying on the bed not a minute ago and this venomous one was a little terrifying. I drew in a breath and shrunk away.

I heard Kisame-san's heavy footsteps move towards a corner of the room. There was the scraping of something heavy being lifted. "I guess, I have a few old friends to deal with," he snickered. I could hear the sadistic delight in his voice and I recoiled. Then I heard him pause. I cocked my head, wondering cautiously what the hold up was. "What about her," he asked. His voice had changed to the more gentle tone of voice that he had been talking with before and I relaxed slightly. I assumed I was the 'her' that he was referring to.

"Who cares, yeah," the other man replied obviously impatient. "We've got to hurry, there's a lot of Mist ninja out there, yeah."

"Deidara, can you stay here and watch over her," Kisame-san asked, it really sounded more like a demand. "I'll go out. Just make sure they don't get to her."

"What," the other spluttered. He practically started yelling at Kisame indignantly. "What the heck is wrong with you, yeah? Who the hell do you think you are, yeah? You're asking me to stay here and baby-sit her, while you get to go and fight, yeah?"

"No," Kisame replied levelly. "I'm ordering it." With that coldly said, there was a rustle of cloak as he swept out the door, which slammed closed after him. I winced as I heard a thump against the wood. I guessed that the unfortunate man had kicked the door rather violently.

"You bastard," he yelled. I flinched and curled up into a ball, as he continued to yell obscenities after Kisame-san. "You can't just order me around, yeah!" He let out a ferocious yell of frustration and collapsed onto the bed. I could feel the simmering fury radiating off of him. I also felt his ferocious glare, which was directed at me. I let out a small whimper and squeezed my eyes shut as I turned away. It wasn't like it was my fault Kisame-san told him to stay. He didn't have to hate me. I felt my heart wrench again as I realized that I was just being another burden.

That was me, always in the way, always a burden. I didn't have a use; I was just an obstacle that others had to get around. And when they couldn't, they were forced to pay the consequences. I quickly swiped at the tears that were beginning to form in my eyes. I shouldn't be crying at a time like this.

Abruptly, I heard a defeated sigh, and I looked up at the man questionably.

"I shouldn't blame you, yeah," came the grumbled reply to my inquisitive look. He sounded apologetic, and I a ghost of a smile drifted across my lips. "It's not your fault Kisame is a bastard, yeah. Sorry, yeah."

"Oh," I said softly. I hadn't been expecting an apology, but I welcomed the unexpected surprise. There was one thing I didn't agree with though: that Kisame-san was a bastard. It seemed more like he was just being practically. He was making sure that nothing happened to the hostage. I also owed him a bit; he had protected me so far. Sure it wasn't good for this man because he was being held back, but I really couldn't think ill of Kisame-san for it. "I-its o-okay."

"I'm Deidara, yeah," he introduced himself. "I'm partners with that pain in the ass: Tobi. He's actually going off to help his beloved Zetsu with some long and extremely difficult mission though. So he'll be out of my hair for a while, yeah. What's you name, anyway, yeah?"

"H-Hyuuga H-Hinata," I replied after a second of hesitation. At first I had doubted whether telling him would be a good idea. But I figured Itachi already knew who I was, so there was no use hiding it from Deidara. I knew I shouldn't go on first impressions, but I didn't think this man seemed that bad. Sure he was obviously rather temperamental, but he seemed amiable enough.

"Hinata, yeah," Deidara repeated, as though tasting the name on his tongue. I compared the way that Itachi and Deidara said my name. Itachi had sent shivers down my spine, but when Deidara said it, it felt like it was an old friend saying it. "That's a pretty name, yeah."

"Th-thank y-you," I replied, with a small smile, to the unexpected compliment. A comfortable silence spread over us. I listened again to the creaks of the bed, and Deidara's breathing. Yet it didn't have to same effect that Kisame-san's had. It wasn't quite the same, but I still like it. Finally, Deidara broke the stillness.

"How is it, yeah," Deidara asked suddenly, his voice was thick with curiosity. I narrowed my eyes in confusion to his question. How was what? He clarified for me. "Being blind, yeah."

My head immediately hung, dejectedly. Blind. A horrible handicap. It would kill my career, and my dreams and hopes. Everything that I was working so hard for was for naught now. And Neji-nii-san…what would he think? What would he think of having a blind and weak cousin for a bride? When he used to have Tenten. Blind…I would rather have been killed. I felt my throat tighten, and tears spring into my eyes. I struggled to breathe through the lump and in my neck, and tried to keep the tears at bay. I tried to remain strong.

"Hey, hey," Deidara quickly shouted in bewilderment. Well what had he expected, asking a question like that? I immediately regretted that thought, it had been cruel of me. It was probably just an innocent question that he hadn't thought through before he asked. I had been too… 'prejudice' recently, as Kisame-san put it. "No reason to get teary eyed now, you're perfectly fine, yeah. If Kisame hadn't gotten you away from Itachi, then there would be reason to cry, but you're fine now, yeah." He was talking quickly, as he frantically tried to say something to calm me.

"W-what d-do you m-mean," I choked out. That was a ridiculous notion. I was the exact opposite of fine. I should die now and get this over with. "I-its over. I-I'll n-never be a g-great n-ninja. E-Everything, I've w-worked for is g-gone."

"Eh," Deidara seemed thoroughly confused now. But that was nothing compared to what I was. How could he just act as though nothing had happened? As though this was just a little sand in my eye; like I could just wipe it away. "It's not like it's going to last forever, yeah!"

"W-what?"

"It's only temporary, yeah."

"T-temporary?"

"Yeah," Deidara assured me. He had slowed down that he had found the reason for my distress. There was a hint of relieved amusement in his voice. "It's just a drug, yeah," he explained. "A powerful one, and a long lasting one, but not permanent. It only lasts eight months, yeah. I mean, that's long, yeah, But not near enough to be as bad as you seem to think, yeah."

"I-I th-thought," I gasped. It wasn't permanent? It wasn't going to last forever? My goals weren't killed. I could still be strong. Neji-nii-san wouldn't have to marry a blind woman. All my hopes suddenly came rushing back to me. My relief was overwhelming. It was just impossible to describe it. Only eight months and I would be able to see again.

"You thought it was permanent, yeah," Deidara finished for me, amusement now evident in his voice. He chuckled. Again I compared the different laughs. Voices were the only things that I could identify Kisame-san, Itachi, and Deidara with after all. Kisame-san's laugh was low and rumbling, but it made me feel warm. Something about him made me feel small, but protected. Itachi's was evil, and sadistic. When he laughed, I knew something bad was going to happen. He had laughed at my terror. Deidara's laugh was simple. It was just a laugh that sort of made you want to laugh along with him. It was just kind of…open.

Another silence ensued between us. I sighed, and nestled into the couch. But my inner peace was slowly being encroached upon. My mind began swirling with urgent and dark thoughts. Because if I listened close enough, I could hear the sounds of the battle. What was going on out there? Were the Akatsuki winning? I hoped so, not because I was pro-Akatsuki, but because it was probably the safest thing for me. I gasped as I heard a deafening roar that sounded distinctly of water. What was going on out there? I wondered again.

"D-Deidara," I ventured nervously. Deidara grunted in reply, telling me to continue. I could tell by his tone, that he knew also that something was not good. "D-do you th-think that A-Akatsuki is winning o-out there?"

"Hard to say, yeah," Deidara replied. "We're pretty tough, but those were some high ranking ninja, and a lot of them, yeah."

"H-how d-did they f-find you?"

"They didn't come here because they knew we were here, yeah," Deidara explained. "I have no idea why they were here, but I do know it wasn't for us, yeah. Unfortunately, they were coming relatively close, so we couldn't risk being discovered, yeah. So we just have to kill all of them."

I gulped and shuddered. They were just going to kill all those people… Those people had lives, and loved ones. But they were just going to be killed. I knew there was no other option, but the harsh reality of the world stung. Unbidden into my head was the thought of Konoha shinobi.

What would have happened had it been Konoha ninja that had been sent out into the forest and just happened upon an Akatsuki lair. I trembled as I saw all the bodies of the jounin of my village lying dead in the dirt: Kurenai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, Genma, Kotetsu, Izumo, and scores of others. Neji-nii-san and Naruto-kun lay among them. All dead. I gulped down the large knot in my throat that had been making it hard to breathe.

The second nightmare to come was of someone else entirely. It was of Kisame-san. If something happened then it would be part my fault. It was because of me that Deidara was here instead of there. If Kisame-san was hurt it might have been prevented had Deidara been there to increase their numbers. I found I didn't want anything to happen to Kisame-san. I think it was because he had protected me from Itachi, and he had protected me so far. I guess I felt in debt.

"It's getting closer, yeah," Deidara noted seriously, breaking into all my former, dark thoughts. I listened, and indeed it was getting louder, at an alarming rate. I instinctively stood from the couch. I heard Deidara stand and come to my side. He grabbed my elbow and began tugging me to what I assumed was the door. "We should go to my room, yeah. I think that would be-"

CRASH!!!

A/N For some reason, I enjoyed leaving that cliff hanger probably more than I really should. I know you probably didn't like that, though. Anyway, so there was my bridge chapter, the story should start to head in the direction I want it to more in the next chapter.

I would like to say that Deidara will be a main charactor in this, as will Itachi, Tobi probably will have no involvment just because i really can't write him very well and he will disrupt the mood of the story that I am trying to convery.

By the way, when I said he wzs off with his "beloved" Zetsu, it wasn't like yaoi or anything. I was just referring to the fact that Tobi used to be Zetsu's subordinate (I think) If you have ever watched "fun with Akatsuki" on I think you'll understand me better. So I think that's all the things that need clearing up.

Oh also, Deidara will not be as goofy as he is in some other fanfictions, but he will be aimiable and stuff.

SO, now that I'm finally through, here. please, please, please review I really appreciate it, and it really makes me guilt my self into writing, as well as being just plain inspirating. Okay all done here. see ya all next time. bye bye