A/N: Yay, chapter five! Sorry for not updating in a while. I got a bunch of ideas for one of my other stories, and my muse wouldn't leave me alone until I worked on it. That and my mom has some relatives over. Well, this chapter is based on a weird dream I had, except Deidara, Tobi, and Itachi were replaced by Team Seven, and Kisame was actually Zabuza, and I was Tsume. When I woke up I just lay there trying to figure it out. It was rather odd.

-----

It was raining when the group departed from the inn. Thankfully, Tsume's jacket had a hood, and she pulled it up when she stepped outside. Because the backpack was made of heavy, tightly-woven canvas, Tsume didn't have to worry about the rest of her belongings getting wet. She felt decidedly out of place, walking in the middle of the four shinobi, all with their cloaks and straw hats. They were all taller than her as well, making her even more uncomfortable.

But there was nothing that Tsume could do about it. She had resigned herself to whatever fate was in store for her, and would take things as they came to the best of her ability. With the rain, it was unlikely that much training would happen, and though part of her dreaded learning from any of the shinobi, Tsume couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. Though, for the life of her, she couldn't understand why, Tsume wanted to be useful to Kisame in some way or another. Perhaps it was that he hadn't hurt her. Or more likely it was because he had saved her and given her a new life, at least of a sort. At the very least, she was no longer alone.

It was only after they had left the village that anyone spoke. "So Tsume-chan has a photographic memory?" asked Tobi, who was walking to Tsume's left. Tsume nodded, looking straight ahead at Itachi, hoping that he would repeat what she had written in explanation. He did no such thing.

"That's pretty rare," said Kisame. Who was walking on Tsume's right. "It's too bad that you weren't born in a shinobi village, onna; you'd've made a great ninja."

Tsume smiled and blushed at the praise, bowing in Kisame's direction. The more time she spent with him, the more Tsume found herself thinking that Kisame wasn't that bad a person after all. She'd gathered that he, Itachi, Deidara, and Tobi all belonged to some kind of organization that wasn't exactly lawful, to put it lightly. And despite that, Tsume found herself beginning to trust the shark-nin, if only a little.

"I must be mad," Tsume thought to herself. "Trusting someone who is more than likely to be a criminal. But even if he is dangerous, he hasn't done anything horrible to me. Except for capturing me and biting me, I really can't say that he's mistreated me. I mean—" Tsume quickly broke off her train of thought, shaking her head and disguising the movement as shaking rain out of her face. It wasn't a good idea to think about that very much. Surviving was the goal, and nothing else.

-----

Kisame was surprised that Tsume showed no signs of fatigue when the group finally stopped walking at sundown, though it was still raining heavily and they had been walking for a long time. The group took shelter beneath a canopy of trees, the wide, waxy leaves preventing most of the rain from getting through. Despite her backpack being waterproof, Tsume's jacket was not, and had been soaked almost completely. Only the inner lining of the garment had prevented her shirt from becoming soaked as well.

After a fire had been started, Tsume had dragged a small log over and laid her jacket out on the log before the fire to dry. Despite her delicate appearance, Tsume was sensible, and had a good head on her shoulders. As she sat cross-legged by the fire, Kisame got up walked over to sit beside her. She looked up at him and gave a small smile before turning her gaze back to the flames. Amber eyes holding a soft, almost lost expression.

"What's wrong, onna?" Kisame asked.

"Why does he always have to call me that?" Tsume thought to herself. Tsume then turned to rummage in her backpack, after a moment pulling out the pad of paper and pencil that she had stolen from the inn. She wrote her answer calmly. "I haven't spent time with this many people for almost as long as I can remember. There was one person who took care of me when I was young, and that girl, Aya, from the village, but other then that, you and the others are the first people I've spent time with for a very long time, Kisame-sama. It feels . . . a bit strange. Kind of hard to adjust to. I've been alone for so long, being around people like this is . . . it's just a bit funny feeling to me. Sorry, Kisame-sama, I'm not making any sense."

Kisame shrugged. "Eh, it's fine," he said. "I think I get where you're coming from. Being with strange people is better then being alone."

Tsume nodded. "Yes, that's very true," she wrote. "I know I'm probably only a hindrance right now, but if learning from you, Itachi-sama, Deidara-sama, and Tobi-sama means that I can travel with you for just a little longer, then I'd be happy to do so. I really am grateful to you, Kisame-sama. You saved me, in more ways then one. I'm in your debt."

Kisame eyed Tsume curiously. "What a strange person she is," he thought to himself. "She's grateful to me because I took her prisoner."

-----

The fire had died down to a pile of smoking embers. They glowed brightly in the dark forest, hissing when the occasional drop of water made its way through the foliage. Tsume's eyelids were growing heavy as she sat before the fire, legs still hugged against her chest. Tobi, Deidara, and Kisame had already retired, and now only Tsume and Itachi were still up. Itachi was sitting opposite Tsume, and she avoided his gaze. He continued to watch her, and though Tsume could not see his face, she could feel his eyes on her.

Tsume began to doze, but came quickly awake when the nightmare began to surface, with the same red sky and the sounds of a battle. Tsume's hands clenched on her legs, and she willed with all her might for the nightmare to go away. But she knew it was there, waiting in the back of her mind for her to doze off again. Tsume shivered. Why did this have to keep happening? It was just a dream, and dreams usually faded over time. Why wouldn't this one?

"Tsume." Tsume jumped at Kisame's voice, shifting her knees to the ground as she turned to face the direction from which his voice had come. "If you're going to sleep, onna, you'd better come over here." It was only then that Tsume remembered Kisame's previous words.

"I don't want you waking me up with any more of your bad dreams, onna. If being near someone keeps those dreams away, then you're sleeping with me from now on, alright? Just don't wake me up, and it should work. Deal?"

Slowly, Tsume rose to her feet. She walked hesitantly towards Kisame's voice, and soon saw his shadowed figure. He was leaning, cross-legged, against the trunk of a tree, cloak open to bare his chest. His eyes were closed as he gestured for Tsume to come sit in his lap. Blushing lightly, Tsume complied. Slipping out of her sandals, Tsume sat down sideways in Kisame's lap, feet braced against his right thigh. She jumped slightly when Kisame's arms encircled her, but quickly relaxed and leaned her head against Kisame's chest. And once again, Tsume felt that strange, warm kind of safety surround her. It was like Kisame's arms put up an impenetrable barrier around her.

"Why does he make me feel so safe?" Tsume thought. "I'm his prisoner, and yet I feel so safe around him. Why? He feels so warm when he holds me . . . tender almost. And after he'd bitten me . . . he looked genuinely sorry. Why is he doing this?" Tsume's brows furrowed in mild frustration. "Dammit, it's like he's purposely trying to mess with my head!" But Tsume sighed out her frustration. "It's not like I should complain. If he makes me feel safe, I really shouldn't. I've never really had this feeling of safety before, so no matter who causes it, I should be grateful."

Tsume sighed again, and nuzzled closer to Kisame, who just grunted and held her close. Tsume couldn't hold back a blush, but it soon faded as she began to doze again. And she wasn't afraid this time. She knew that she wouldn't have the nightmare as long as she was in Kisame's arms, so she let herself relax, and soon had drifted off into slumber.

Kisame felt Tsume's breathing become deep and even as she fell asleep, and her body relax against him. Holding her like this again made Kisame realized how small Tsume was compared to him. And now that he thought about it, Kisame realized that Tsume couldn't be more than seventeen at the most. He remembered the thick scar running diagonally across her back from her left shoulder to her right hip. That was a bad scar. What had happened to Tsume to give her such a painful past? Kisame wanted to ask Tsume, but he knew better then to ask her about something like that.

Kisame lifted one hand and stroked Tsume's hair, letting the dark, silky strands run through his fingers. Tsume made a sound in her sleep, and leaned into the touch, making Kisame smile to himself as let his hand drop. She really was a delicate individual, underneath all her logic and polite manners. Then Tsume whimpered slightly at the loss of contact, surprising Kisame. But, all the same he returned his hand to her head, letting his hands run through her hair again.

-----

Tsume awoke before Kisame the next morning, the sun peeking through the branches to shine on her face. She grimaced. That blasted star must have something against her. Tsume tried to rise up, but was restrained as the still-sleeping Kisame growled slightly and held her firmly. Instead of blushing, Tsume cracked one eye open to glare sleepily up at the shark-nin. When she didn't get a good night's sleep, Tsume was very grumpy in the mornings. Tsume sighed, opening both eyes.

The reason for her not getting a good night's sleep the previous night was because she had been dreaming. It hadn't been the nightmare that so often plagued her, but a strange dream, surreal and floating but with every detail so clear and crisp at the same time. She couldn't remember much about it. She remembered feeling Kisame embrace her, and whisper something that she couldn't quite here. Then the scene had changed and Kisame had been standing with his back to her on the surface of some body of water, and there had been a girl standing on the opposite shore facing him, anger in her hazel eyes. The girl had been wounded yes, but Kisame had been as well. Something about it worried Tsume, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Tsume was shaken from her thoughts as Kisame awoke, opening both eyes quickly; something that Tsume attributed to his being a shinobi. Kisame looked down and met Tsume's gaze. And this time, Tsume did not look away. This early in the morning, shinobi or not, Kisame was just as tired as her. It made her want to smile, but she held it back; she and Kisame weren't that different . . . at least in a certain sense.

"Morning, onn—Tsume," Kisame said, correcting himself and using Tsume's name. She smiled warmly up at him when he did so, and it took all of Kisame's strength not to let himself smile back. Despite his training and the life that he had endured, Tsume's smile was so warm and genuine. Kisame guessed that she could make even the stoic Itachi crack a bit of a smile, and that was saying something. Kisame opted instead for lifting a hand to ruffle Tsume's hair. "Sleep okay, onna?" he asked, reverting back to his usual speech patterns. Brows furrowing and smile turning to a slight frown, Tsume shook her head. Kisame tilted his head to the side. "Nightmare?"

Tsume shook her head again and shrugged. She knew that she wouldn't be able to explain it with just written words, and unfortunately, that was all she had as a ways of communication. Tsume tried once again to sit up, and this time, Kisame let her. She nodded her thanks to him as she slid on her sandals and went back towards the fire, where Deidara and Tobi were just waking up. Itachi was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning, Tsume-chan!" Tobi said brightly.

"Good mornin', Tsume-chan, un," Deidara said sleepily. Tsume smiled at the contrast in their characters. They reminded her of Kisame and Itachi. Kisame was more aggressive and rough, while Itachi was cool, quick, and deadly. Kisame was by no means slow, but in the short time that she had known him, she had seen him move at a speed that seemed almost inhuman.

Then Tsume looked down at herself and made a face. She need a bath and a change of clothes. Luckily, she had no shortage of the latter, but how she was going to wash herself was beyond her. Tobi must've noticed something. "If Tsume-chan needs a bath, there's a stream not far that way," he said, pointing in the direction behind Kisame while he tried to light the fire with his other hand. "Make sure to tell Kisame-senpai first, though. If you're his prisoner, then he'll want to know what you're doing."

Tsume nodded, and bowed her thanks to Tobi and the half-asleep Deidara. Lifting up her backpack and slinging it over one shoulder, she walked back over to where Kisame was still sitting. She sat down before him with her her legs bent beneath her. She brought her backpack around and pulled out her pad of paper and pencil. Kisame looked up when he realized that Tsume was about to write something.

"Excuse me, Kisame-sama, but I would like to take a bath and wash my clothes. Tobi-sama said that there was a stream nearby, but that I should ask you if I could go first. Would it be alright if I did that Kisame-sama?"

Kisame tilted his head to the side for a second, and then nodded. "Sure. I'll be close by," and then he added quickly at Tsume's scarlet blush, "but I won't be looking, so calm down, onna. My ears and nose are more then enough to tell me if you try to escape. And speaking of that, please don't." Tsume tilted her head to the side, and Kisame shrugged. "I guess I've gotten used to you sleeping near me."

Tsume hid her blush as she bowed her head in thanks. Stowing her notepad and pencil, she rose up, Kisame doing the same. Tsume started off in the direction that Tobi had pointed, Kisame following. She heard him call out to Tobi over his shoulder as they vanished among the trees. Tsume soon heard the sound of rushing water, and smiled quickening her step. Kisame put out a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. Tsume turned.

"I'll be waiting here, onna," he said. To illustrate his point he sat down cross-legged on the ground. "Make a lota noise if you get into trouble. I'll be able to tell what's an accident and what's not."

Deciding not to ask how he would know, Tsume bowed her understanding and agreement before turning around and heading towards the stream. It was clear and deep, running languidly over the rocks. Tsume smiled at the sight. She walked over to a large bolder that was situated on the stream's edge, and began to undress. She then folded her clothes and lay them on the bolder. Out of habit, Tsume looked around her before darting to the stream's edge. She stepped in quickly, the water coming up to her knees. Tsume was standing on a small shelf about a foot in width. After that, the water dropped off into deeper water. Tsume sat down on the shelf, and slid into the deeper water. It came up to her neck, and the pull of the water was only slight.

Finding a good foot-hold on the stream-bed, Tsume ducked her head under the water, shivering in delight as she was submerged in the cool water. Tsume shook her soaked hair from her face as she came back up, sucking in air. Tsume leaned back in the water and began scrubbing at her hair, eyes closed and lips smiling. Once she was satisfied that her hair was clean, Tsume went to work on the rest of her. She had to remove the bandages on her shoulder to wash the wound, and she winced as part of the scab was torn away. Twisting her head, Tsume bent to suck on the lightly bleeding spot.

Then Tsume felt something brush against her ankle. Thinking it was just some sort of water-dwelling plant, Tsume shook her leg slightly to dislodge the plant. But then, whatever it was tightened around her entire ankle, and Tsume realized that it was no plant. Senses on high alert, Tsume looked down. Whatever it was was still tight around her ankle, but Tsume couldn't see anything.

Suddenly, whatever it was gave a powerful jerk, yanking Tsume under the water. She felt herself being pulled against the water's current up-stream, held close to the stream-bed. Tsume thrashed and fought, trying to the surface. Finally she succeeded. She burst above the water, gasping for breath. Then, from amid the panic, Kisame's words echoed in her mind.

"Make a lota noise if you get into trouble. I'll be able to tell what's an accident and what's not."

Without a second thought, Tsume began to thrash wildly in the water, kicking and splashing as much as she could. When she was pulled underwater for a moment, Tsume grabbed up as many stones as she could. She threw them clumsily at the shore, hearing them crash into the underbrush. But then Tsume was pulled underwater yet again, and this time she could not reach the surface. As her consciousness faded away, Tsume realized that she wasn't afraid of dying. She'd spent time with people who didn't judge her, and she'd smiled. Even if that time had been short, Tsume treasured it, and had no regrets that her life was now ending. Except that . . . she hadn't been able to help Kisame-sama or the others . . . she'd been useless until the end . . . she did regret that . . .

-----

The three low-class ninja pulled the unconscious Tsume ashore, grinning at their catch. They'd set chakra traps in the stream in hopes of catching fish, but a beautiful girl was ten times better. One knelt down by Tsume, and preformed several quick hand signs. Tsume arched up and the water that she had swallowed was drawn from her lungs. With a quick motion of his hands, the ninja tossed the water back into the stream. Tsume coughed slightly, but remained unconscious.

"Quite the catch, eh?" one of the ninja's companions said, eying Tsume's naked body with lustful eyes. "She's pretty."

Then, with another cough, Tsume's eyes opened. She blinked, rising up on her elbows, and bringing her legs up. Upon seeing the ninja around her, Tsume's amber orbs widened in fear. Her body tensed, and she shivered under their gaze. "I have the worst luck in the world," she thought. "Perhaps drowning would've been better." But then something occurred to Tsume. If she survived this, she might still be able to be of some use to Kisame and the others. Tsume closed her eyes as despair flickered in their depths, tears escaping form beneath the closed lids.

"Looks like she won't put up much of a fight," the ninja kneeling next to Tsume said, a smirk in his voice. The next thing Tsume knew, she felt the man's weight above her, his hands pinning her hands on either side of her head. She shivered in disgust as the man whispered in her ear, "you belong to us now, onna."

Tsume bit back a sob. That word sounded so wrong not coming from Kisame. When he said it, the word was . . . different somehow; kind almost. In that moment, all Tsume wanted was to feel Kisame holding her and calling her by that name. She wanted to feel that same protective warmth that she had felt from Kisame on the night that he had saved her from her nightmares.

"Sorry, boys, but that girl's taken."

Tsume's eyes snapped open; that was Kisame's voice! Through her tears, Tsume saw Kisame standing at her feet, right between the other two ninja. They were both wearing twin expressions of utter shock. The man who held Tsume down had his neck craned around to look at Kisame.

"I'll give you one warning; get your filthy hands off of Tsume," Kisame growled, eyes narrowing in anger. "Now."

The next thing Tsume knew, the ninja hovering over her had yanked her up as a shield before himself, and had a kunai pressed against her throat. "And if we don't?" he laughed scornfully, unable to hide the slight shake of fear in his voice. "We caught her, she's ours. Back off."

Kisame smiled, baring his sharp, clenched teeth. "Just remember," he said, "I did warn you." Before the ninja could even react, Kisame was behind Tsume and her captor. Tsume heard the snapping of bone, and the man went limp against Tsume. Kisame caught Tsume up against his chest with one arm, holding her firmly. "You alright, onna?" he asked, glaring at the other two ninja who were now both standing in tensed fighting stances. "They didn't hurt you?" Tsume shook her head, burying her face in Kisame's chest. Kisame knelt down, shedding his cloak to wrap it around Tsume as he set her on the ground. He lifted her face to his, wiping away some of her tears with the pad of his thumb. "Good. Now you wait here while I destroy those bastards, okay?" Tsume nodded. Kisame smiled, ruffling Tsume's hair. "Sorry 'bout this, onna. I shoulda scouted the area first."

Then Kisame rose to his feet, cracking his knuckles. "Well now, who should I get rid of first?" he said casually. "I've gotten rid of that other bastard, but two on one seems a little unfair." Then Kisame smirked. "For you, anyway."

-----

A/N: And that's chapter five. My dream was pretty much me going to have a bath in a stream and being pulled away by a trap. I was caught by wimpy ninja people and then Zabuza saved me. It was weird. But anyway, I hope you liked it. I want to send a big thank you to all the wonderful people who've been reviewing.

(bows) Domo Arigato!