Heyy! This is Meagan again and thank you everyone for reviews and alerts :). If you're wondering why Hinata is along for this ride because as I was writing I figured it was so unlikely that only one of them was kidnapped, seeing as how Hinata did have a broken ankle and that got me thinking. I liked how I had set it up so I just kept it. So yep :). Now I actually have plans for her so thats good. Well anywho on to the story ;D.

Disclaimer. This is not my creation. I just choose to embellish it :)

Chapter three. Humanity.

Ino walked with Deidara, his hands were sweating and it was really starting to sicken her. Maybe she could brush his hand off her arm but she thought maybe that would be a little rude. Just a little. That and he might blow her up. That wasn't necessarily on her to do list at the moment. So she sucked it up and continued walking with the blonde member.

That's when she noticed the ugly scar on his arm. From being so immerged in working in the hospital she knew that it was a nasty wound. One that could easily get infected. Her mind flashed to the green of the leg the doctors cut off a small child. She remembered the screaming and gagged.

" What's wrong, un?" Deidara looked at her and stopped walking, she felt that he almost sounded concerned.

" Your wound," she told him touching it, her hands glowing from chakra. " That could get infected." Soon the wound completely disappeared.

Just as soon Ino felt the affects of using that much chakra after all that she went through in the last two days. She staggered a bit but regained composure.

" Wow," Deidara spoke with awe as he touched his skin. " It doesn't even hurt anymore! Thank you, un!" He looked to Ino smiling widely his hand out.

This is when Ino noticed that the mouth on his hand was grinning as well. Well that explained why her arm was wet. Ino wasn't sure what thought grossed her out more. Sweaty hands or palms that lick people. She would have to think about that one.

" You're welcome," she told him, wincing a bit. " Where are we going?" She asked as she leaned on the wall, trying her best to give a smile. Fake as it probably was.

" You want to see the other girl, un?" Deidara picking Ino up a bit." She's out in the main room, un. I told I'd get you, she was asking for you." Ino gasped. Hinata was still OK, Ino felt tears about to gush out.

" Are you ok, un?" Deidara asked, not expecting the blonde to break out in tears.

" Y-Yes," Ino choked out as the tears started to drip down her cheeks. Ino felt her skin turn bright red as these weren't ordinary happy tears. No. She was full out bawling.

" Don't cry, un!" Deidara yelled, starting to freak out. " Danna will be angry!"

" Shut up!"

" Deidara, what are you doing to her?" A dull monotone came from behind Ino. She felt pressure on her back, like someone was holding her up. She turned her head to come face to face with Sasori. She desperately wanted to wipe her face, but he had control of her arms now.

" She just started crying, un!" Deidara yelled, putting his hands in the air. " I didn't do anything I swear!" He started to look on the verge of tears himself, which caused Ino to giggle. It was like a hiccup on account of the tears but it was the first time she laughed in what felt like forever.

" I would hope not," Sasori murmured as he took hold of the petite blonde, letting her lean on him. Ino smiled, glad the tears were stopping. " She looks horrible when she's crying." He said and looked down at Ino who just laughed.

" She cries when I tell her good news but Danna calls her horrible looking and its Ok, Un!" Deidara complained throwing his arms in the air exhausted.

" What happened to the scar on your arm, Brat?" The red haired man asked, intrigued by the lack of scar. He was there , after all, when Deidara was struck by the blade that caused it. Unfortunately he was also there during Kakuzu's shabby job at stitching Deidara up. Now that would have traumatized anyone normal.

" She healed it before she started to cry, un!"

" Interesting," Sasori murmured as he started to walk with Ino. " You want to see the other girl right? " He didn't wait for her to affirm as he walked into the main room. Sitting in the middle of the main room was indeed Hinata rubbing her ankle. Next to her was what Ino would have called a fish, had it not been or the clothes or the fact it was laughing.

Was everyone in the Akatsuki a freak? Ino was beginning to think the answer to that question was a big fat in your face yes.

That didn't stop her from running to the dark haired girl and giving her the biggest bear hug she ever gave anyone in her life. What did stop her was the fact she was super tired and Sasori still had his grip on her.

"Hinata!" Ino choked out from her sobs, waving at her fellow ninja. Hinata looked up shyly but on sight of Ino she covered her mouth and she too began to tear up.

" Ino!" Hinata smiled and looked at Kisame who helped her up. "Ino, I am so glad! I was so worried when um Deidara-san told me you were here too!" Kisame helped the girl wobble her way to Ino, embracing her. Ino noticed Hinata's ankle and frowned. Sakura wasn't able to heal it so that meant Hinata must have been captured before herself. Ino wondered how she hadn't noticed before.

" I was worried about you," She whispered. Sasori's eye brow raised. The girl hadn't been meek since he met her. Why now?

" Oh! This is Kisame-san, he and Deidara-san have been helping me walk," Hinata quickly introduced Ino to the S-Class criminal.

" Pleased to meet you, Ino-chan," Kisame said through his sharky smirk. Ino couldn't honestly say the feeling was mutual but she smiled and lied.

"Oh yeah, this is Sasori," Ino couldn't believe it. Last week she would have laughed if someone told her Hinata was going to introduce her to a member of the Akatsuki in her near future much less herself doing it.

" Hinata-chan was telling me you're a medic," Kisame smiled a toothy grin at Ino as she nodded her head.

" Yes, one of the um best," Hinata nodded, Deidara took over the part of keeping her up.

" She healed my arm, un!" Deidara showed Hinata who slowly felt the new skin. She gasped at the difference, she had seen the wound before. " She could probably fix up that ankle of yours, un."

" She can't heal right now," Sasori interrupted. " She's much to weak." He put his arm around her once more. " I'm taking her into my room so she can get some rest. Say your goodbyes, Ino."

Ino made a face at this. He was so bossy and he made it seem like she was dying. She didn't argue, seeing as she was tired and hugged Hinata, promising in a whisper to heal her when she could.

" Get better, Ino-chan," Hinata smiled and squeezed Ino once more. Ino smiled sadly, proud of how brave Hinata was being.

" Are you two close?" Sasori asked as they made their way back into his room.

" Not at all, really." Ino admitted looking to the ceiling. " We never really talked… I've known her all my life but in Konoha people don't mix. You know who you are going to be surrounded with by day one. It's kind of silly, isn't it?" she laughed even though it wasn't funny.

" What?' he asked, impressed. This girl was changing his first impression of her, which was that of her being fairly weak and stupid.

" Oh, just how sheltered the villages really are," she answer sniffling a bit. " I mean, this is my first time being with people I don't know. Even in different countries I always have my partners. Now, I'm not safe. You could kill me and nobody would think twice," she laughed a bitter laugh. " and you know what? I feel really good."

Sasori didn't know what to say but he nodded.

" The villages can be," he searched for the right word. " Suffocating." Ino looked up to him.

" I feel like you just told me a lot about yourself but I'm not sure what to make of it."

" I could say the same about you."

She laughed and smiled.

" I guess you could, huh?" She didn't say anything after that. A couple times he felt like he could but Sasori liked the silence. Suddenly she stumbled and he picked her up. Not surprised by how light she was.

He delicately plopped her onto the bed and started working on his creations. It was hard to concentrate but he managed.

" Hey," Sasori slightly jumped not expecting a voice that late. He looked over to see Ino eyeing him.

" What do you want?" He asked returning to work, not looking at her.

" I was just wondering if you wanted the bed seeing as I've been sleeping on it and I suspect you're probably tired and," Ino blushed embarrassed about forgetting about her host, sleeping her young life away.

" I don't need to," Sasori chuckled, or what Ino thought was his attempt at chuckling. It had that monotone in it.

" You need to sleep," Ino continued. " At the hospital people would get really sick when they didn't sleep."

Ino was about to get into a long and intricate story about this lady that she and Sakura were nurses to that hadn't slept in a week and was starting to dream while awake. Right before she did she was interrupted by Sasori.

" Ino," Sasori sigh turning around to face her. " I don't need to. Look," He brushed up his sleeve showing her his joints. Then he took off his shirt and showed her the lack of skin. The lack of a heart. She gasped and nearly fell out of the bed.

" My soul is sill intact, it is just in this body instead."

" Why?"

He didn't know how to answer. No one had asked him that before.

" It's easier like this." He told her shaking his head. He turned to face her, almost taken back by the look of sadness that now engulfed her face.

" That's so sad that you would think that," she murmured turning around so she didn't have to face him. Now she knew why his green eyes always looked so glassy. She didn't want to look at him. She felt her heart lower in her chest.

It didn't matter what she wanted since Sasori used his puppet strings to make the blonde look at him.

" Why do you say that?' he asked her his green eyes looking directly into her blue. She quickly diverted her gaze, not looking at him.

" Do you remember the last time you laughed because your heart was so full of happiness or that feeling when you look at someone and it just feels right?" Ino hadn't felt the latter herself but she would never give up the opportunity to feel it. The man in front of her wasn't even a man anymore and for some reason that really depressed Ino.

" I don't see why you care so much," Sasori also diverted his gaze looking to the joints on his arm.

" Maybe because I still have a heart?" that was a cold thing to say, but Ino didn't care. She turned away from him and stared at the wall. Soon she started to feel terrible about what she said and snuck a look at the red head .

He was still turned to face her. A horrible feeling overtook her when she noticed him looking at his arms, touching the joints. Maybe I should apologize she thought but a part of her couldn't. A part of her still couldn't believe someone would throw away their humanity as if it was spare change.

After a while she whispered. " I'm sorry I asked, Sasori-san. Truly I am," and fell asleep. Wondering if he had heard her.

He heard her. She wasn't a good whisperer.

For the next couple days Ino saw Sasori little, sure he was avoiding her. During that time she met with everyone and soon knew all of the associates names, seeing as she was quick with names and faces. Also in that time she was too heal people. Wounds were a daily thing so many times she felt busier here then she ever did in the hospital.

Today she was sitting in a dining room with Deidara who was talking about his mission. Hinata was also there nodding. It shocked Ino how peaceful she felt at that moment.

" Ino!" Ino's peace was broken when she saw Sasori. She frowned, biting her lip.

" An associate is hurt," He murmured, not looking at her, gently pulling her up. " Do you think you could heal him?"

" Yes" Ino didn't even think of her response. She knew that was probably frowned upon. She had learnt in the past two days that Sasori did not work off instinct but logic. He didn't flat up tell her but she had wonderful insight when it came to that kind of stuff.

" Come on then," he told her pulling at her arm and making her leave., She frowned, knowing she offended him. He's usually so much gentler, she thought biting her lip.

They came to a bloody mess, Ino noticed Hinata had already beaten her and Sasori to the scene and from what Ino could tell she was talking to the victim. Ino approached, her hand infused with Chakra and came eye to eye with none other then Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi was almost never injured and she had few conversations with him. Mostly she conversed with Kisame or Deidara. She had even met Konan, another female whom she enjoyed speaking too. Itachi? He wasn't someone she could easily say hello to. Something about killing his entire clan and leaving his brother just didn't fly with her.

Oh boy. Ino thought as she worked on his wounds, a nasty gash covering his stomach. It was hard to look at but Itachi was calm, listening to Hinata as she talked. Ino did too, Hinata's voice calming both her and her patient as the dark haired girl went on about eggs and other ordinary things.

It made Ino wonder why she never worked at the Hospital.

" Ok,' Ino put her hands up, admiring her work. " Someone pick him up and put him somewhere so he can rest." she told the others and looked at Hinata who smiled.

And she couldn't stop herself from smiling back. But soon she thought of Sasori and how he didn't have a heart and she frowned. She would have to speak with him as soon as possible.

Please review~ Tell me what you think :. Until next time. Bye bye!