A/N: This is a fic based on a series of ten prompts over at the 10_what_ifs community on livejournal. The theme set I'm using is Spaceship. So, if you've figured it out, this is going to be an AU fic. The particular prompt for this chapter is 7. Weapons

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

How Complicated Can It Be?

Ino was seriously starting to second guess her decision-making skills. Sasuke was recovering, but he was still in delicate condition. Ino knew Sasuke wasn't the type to take any orders on best rest, so she had suggested to Itachi via Kisame that it was in Sasuke's best health to stay in the infirmary. At least, until he was past the critical stage. A little bit of a lie, but it was in everybody's best interest. So what if she liked the idea of spending some extra time with Sasuke? Was that a crime?

That was before she found out what a little prick the boy was. The whole dark, brooding, mysteriousness of Sasuke had lured her in – he brooded very handsomely – but after several days of the same thing it got dull. Not to mention annoying. Trying to have a conversation with him was like pulling teeth. She had had better conversations talking to a wall. No, she had had better conversations with Kisame; that was how low the bar was.

She honestly didn't understand his attitude; he had enough angst for at least a half a dozen teenagers. She wondered if something actually traumatic had happened to him, or if he was just socially inept. And as her patience started to wear thin she was leaning more towards socially inept – and she also wanted to beat him upside the head with some heavy, preferably that had sharp corners. It was so frustrating to try and do her work with some sulking boy bringing down the mood. Everything became so depressing, which wasn't stroking her ego any either. Sasuke's severe lack of interest was a big blow. Seriously, is there something wrong with me? I can't attract a good looking guy but I can catch the eye of a guy who looks like a damn fish? If she really believed in God, she was would bet anything that he was fucking with her.

"How's my favourite medic?" A voice called from the door.

Looking up her current task (reorganizing the medical supplies), Ino mentally groaned. Yeah, God was definitely fucking with her. But whether it was the fact that Kisame had suddenly appeared or that she was glad from the break in monotony, she wasn't sure.

"Fine," Ino grumbled, turning back to her work-in-progress.

Kisame just raised a perplexed eyebrow to her response. "Uh-huh. And how you doing, Sasuke?"

Sasuke huffed, blowing his hair out of his eyes. "I'd be better if I was allowed to sleep in my own room."

Kisame shot a wide grin at the boy's response. "Well at least the company is good, am I right?" Kisame's gaze flickered over to an unaware blonde medic before sharing a knowing look with Sasuke. Dark eyes flicked over as well and held a appraising light before becoming dismissive.

You have no taste, Kisame growled inwardly.

With a sneer on his face Sasuke commented, "It's not bad."

The first officer rolled his eyes. "Well, mind if I borrow the lovely 'not bad' company for a minute?" Kisame had gripped Ino by the elbow and was escorting her out of the infirmary before she knew what was happening. Well, escort was a nice way to put it. It was more like her stumbling after him as he pulled her along.

"Okay, okay," Ino groused as they exited the medical bay, "Will you let go now? You're gonna bruise me with that grip!"

Kisame released her elbow, and leaned casually against the wall. "You remember how you owe me a favour?"

Ino cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah...?"

His usual confidence seemed to be diminished; Ino would dare say he downright looked uncomfortable. "Well, I have a favour that needs doing."

Ino put her hands on her hips, a little frustrated. "Okay, but did you have to drag me out of there? Unless this is some top-secret favour you're having me do?"

Kisame stared off to his right, his hands in pockets. "No, I just didn't want to ask you in front of the kid. I trust Itachi with my life but his little brother can be a real shit sometimes."

Ino shrugged. She could sympathize, to a point. "Well, now you have me all to yourself. So, ask away." Ino made shooing motions with her hand, as if to provide encouragement.

Kisame shot her an unamused look. "I need to have somebody come down with me on the next trade."

Well that didn't sound so hard. She couldn't understand his hesitation about asking her something like that. It was an honest request. Was he worried she'd say no? "Really?" Ino inquired, "That's all? Is there something I'm supposed to do?"

Kisame shook his head, a cautious look still on his face. "No, you don't have to really do anything. I'd actually prefer if you didn't do anything. Let alone say anything. The only reason I'm even asking is because of Itachi's damn buddy system. Normally I would take Sasuke but seeing as he's not going anywhere... And that's why I didn't want to ask you in front of him – he can be a little touchy about it."

Ino didn't understand. "It's just a trade, right? How complicated can it be?"

"It's not a trade, but a trade," Kisame hinted, leaning forward trying to convey the importance of the message through his eyes.

"Huh?" Ino said, before recognition lit up her face, "Ohhhhhhh."

Now it made sense, it was the other kind of trade. And the realization hit. "Oh... can't Haku or Zabuza go?"

Ino didn't want to be rude, but she just did not feel comfortable with idea of attending a pirate liaison. She was still getting used to the idea that entire crew of The Courtesan were primarily pirates. Her stomach still dropped whenever she thought about it too much. Anything more was definitely going to be too much.

Kisame his head, looking a little worn. "Zabuza is too damn hot headed; he's worse than the kid. He'll lose his temper and then you'll be lucky if you only have to do a neat job like last time."

"Well what about Haku? Can't someone else pilot the ship for a while?" Ino argued.

Kisame just sighed. "That won't work. Haku would be perfect, only problem our dear pilot has agoraphobia. You know what that is right?"

Ino heaved a sigh herself. "I know what that is. Damn, it sucks to be Haku." Damn, it sucks to be me!

Kisame stood away from the wall, looking ready to leave. "Look, if you don't want to do it, I can't make you. We'll just have to hold on to our lot and sell it off later when Sasuke gets better."

Ino knew she was going to regret it, in some way, what she said next, "No, I can do it!"

Kisame gave her a look that said he wasn't all that sure that she could. "I know you owe me a favour, but-"

"But nothing," Ino interrupted. "This might not be my area of expertise, but I still know a little. I know that whatever you have in the hold might not find another seller. I also know the longer you hold on to it the more dangerous it is for everybody and the less money you make. Am I right?"

Kisame ground his teeth, thinking. "You're right. You sure you can handle it?"

The blonde gave the First officer an exasperated look. "All I have to do is stay quiet and out of the way right? I think I can manage."

MWMWMWMWMW

"Ready?" Kisame asked.

Ino nodded, trying not to fidget, "Yeah, no worries here."

They had landed on Calor, another bone-dry third order planet, and were disembarking from the harbour. Kisame had drilled into her on the hour flight about what she was supposed to do. Mainly just stand by and look pretty. Kisame was in charge of all the transaction business. She was lead to believe that, worst case scenario, she might have to help carry the mon cards back onto the ship. But Kisame had also prepped her on other things as well. Like, if the impossible happened, how to shoot the weapon holstered on her hip. A Cobalt KA6, styled after the old Colt revolvers, but this shot titanium-plated rounds, versus the lead that was once used. It also had a handy automatic laser sighting, which made aiming easier. Kisame had told her it was mostly for show; it didn't stop him from taking the time to show her how to turn off the safety and how to fire it properly. He had also given a small foldable blade to tuck in her boot 'just to be safe.' She was seriously wondering if it was too late to hightail it back to the ship.

On the street, they were mostly ignored. She had been sure that because of Kisame's distinct looks they would garner some attention, but Kisame wasn't the only non-human life form running around in the city of Mephtoph. Some were passably human, while others blatantly extra-terrestrial. No one gave the Courtesan's first officer a second glance. She on the other hand... more than one man had given her the glance over. That put a chill in her spine and she had to remember what Kisame had said – stand straight, with your head held high. It didn't help her nerves much either that the only females walking around seemed to be either hookers or built like brick houses with gnarly tattoos marring their skin. Thankfully, any eye she caught seemed to lose interest the minute they saw the gun on her hip. It also helped to have a hulking six-foot-something alien walking next to her. With his high collared black duster, looming figure and broad shoulders, Kisame made quite the intimidating sight. How he wasn't dying in all that black she'd never know.

"It's going to rain," Kisame grunted.

Ino gave him a glare. "Where the hell did you get that idea form, genius? There isn't a single cloud in the damn sky." And it was true. On earth, the sky would have been that hazy, humid looking blue that always dogged hot August days. On Calor, the sky was a dry orange, but it still had that hazy look to it. And it was hot. She was sweating buckets under clothes. After much deliberation she had decided to go with her black Coalition pants and a plain white cotton button-down shirt. Sure it wasn't fashionably-savvy but she wanted to look professional. Besides, aside from her medical scrubs and uniform, she didn't have much in the way of clothes.

Kisame gave her a grin and tapped his nose, "The nose knows."

Ino gave him another glare. Being able to smell a storm? Now that was just plain freaky. Unless he was pulling her leg like he was apt to do. Apparently he found her angry reactions funny. She would never understand the man's weird sense of humour.

"So where do we meet the client?" she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper.

Kisame grunted, "Soon enough. You see that building, the one on the corner?"

"The one with the busted up neon sign?" she offered.

"That's the one. We'll go in, and get into the back room. That's where we'll meet the client."

Ino had to suppress a shudder. Where they were going into was the sort of place her parents had always warned her about. It looked dingy, and poorly kept. The women that loitered in the entrance were obviously hookers. The men also looked, no offense to Kisame, a little fishy. It wasn't the place a Coalition officer would be in unless they were making an arrest.

Kisame must have caught on to her mood because he whispered into her ear, "Not feeling nervous are we, blondie?"

She snorted, "No."

Kisame chuckled lowly, "That's my girl."

She wanted to snap that she wasn't anybody's girl, and certainly not his, but there were butterflies making a racket in her stomach. She really didn't feel like getting into an argument.

They made into the bar (maybe more of a tavern?) with no problems. The music was loud and had that fake sound that came from the music being purely composed of synthesizers. Patrons were seated all around them, and it was hot and close, not to mention dark. She didn't like it.

She jumped at the hand that appeared on her waist, but Kisame's voice in her ear erased he panic. "I'm just going to let them know we're here. I'll be gone for a minute. Stay here, got it?"

She nodded, ice in her veins. She wanted to whine, tell him to stay. God, when did I get so childish? Ino thought as leaned against a support pillar. She was safe enough, she could see the top of Kisame's head from where she stood. Didn't matter that this place made her terribly nervous. Or that she really didn't like how the guy with all the tentacles was looking her over, and seemed to be gathering courage to talk to her. Nope, didn't matter at all.

Crap, where did Kisame disappear to?

Feeling a hand on the small on her back almost made her yelp.

"Jumpy much?" was whispered into her ear.

"Kisame! Don't scare me like that!" She gave him a punch on the arm. He didn't have the decency to pretend to flinch.

"Come on, time to meet and greet with the client, blondie," Kisame growled. He lead her with his hand on her back, pushing where she had to go. Under normal circumstances she would have snapped at him for it, but it was nice to have the contact in such a dangerous place. It made her safe. Which was weird when she thought about. Safe, with Kisame... mmm, yeah, I need to get my head checked.

They were admitted through a door by the two thugs that were guarding it. They descended down the staircase that followed right after it. Ino instantly noticed the drop in temperature, it was practically blissful.

"Kisame, you've finally show up, hm?"

"So impatient, Deidara. I said I would be here, didn't I?" Kisame countered good-naturedly.

Lounging at the far end of the room was the man in question, who nodded. Ino definitely would have classed him as handsome. He had that fine bone structure that the Uchiha brothers seemed to possess. He had long hair that almost made her jealous; it was such a rich gold colour and it looked so damn healthy. This was a man who didn't have to wash his hair with recycled water. His bangs hung stubbornly over one half of his face, so she could only see one of his striking blue eyes. And he looked young. This Deidara character was definitely skewing her predictions. She had expected some old overweight man, not some handsome man her age with an easy smile, when she thought crime lord.

"That you did, and here you are. And you brought a new face, hm? What happened to Sasuke?" Deidara peered at her, eyes shining with curiosity.

"Sasuke ate something that didn't agree with, so I brought the medic," Kisame said with a shrug. His voice was uncharacteristically dismissive.

An eyebrow was raised. "A medic, huh... I thought the Coalition raised some sort of legislature about that sort of thing? Ships get their medics assigned from Coalition schools don't they?" Deidara said, his voice thoughtful, but it had a dangerous lilt to it that sent Ino's nerves on edge.

Kisame was calm, but Ino saw the twitch in his jaw as he ground his teeth. Shit! He doesn't know what to say! We're so screwed...

"Only if the ship hasn't acquired a medic before it was passed," she said, her voice steady, but inside she was quaking.

Kisame gave her a look that asked if she was crazy, but she ignored him, favouring to meet the client's eyes. She needed him to buy this.

"Is that so, hm? And you would know... how?" Deidara asked, silky notes in his voice. Despite the terror Ino couldn't help but think how damn sexy it was.

Ino had to swallow hard before she could say anything, "I would know because I had to find a loophole, otherwise I would have lost my job to some little Coalition brat." Inside Ino was wincing. Man, I'm sure my grandfather is rolling in his grave at the things I'm saying.

"Hm," Deidara gave her an appraising glance, "I didn't know the Courtesan had replaced their medic after what happened to the last one. Real shame that, she was quite pretty. Not quite as pretty as you though."

Ino blushed a little at the compliment and a little at the look he was giving her. "Thank you."

The tense air that had suddenly built was quickly dissipating. It was surprising no one had sighed aloud in relief.

He gave her a debonair smile. "I suggest we get to business, yeah. What do you say, Kisame?"

"More than willing," Kisame said with teeth bared in a smile.

Deidara waved them closer, and Kisame passed over a slip of paper to Deidara once they were close enough.

Deidara looked the slip over with a lazy eye, his cheek resting on a hand. "Same as always? I pay you, and you give me the code to get into the crate that you've hidden the stock?"

Kisame nodded. Ino had a vague idea what they were discussing. They had stashed the trade items (high grade ammunition rounds for laser pulse rifles amongst other things) at one of the places where you could rent storage. Once Deidara proved he had the mon cards, they would escort one of his to the rent-a-storage. It was the best way to deal with merchandise that was too big to carry, or might catch attention. It felt a little iffy to Ino, but Kisame assured her that the clients they dealt with were the same ones from five years ago. There never had been too much a problem with the system in all that time.

Deidara's attention never wavered from the slip in his hands. "Hm. Alright then, I'll give you five thou in the five main currencies in exchange for the product, yeah."

Kisame's brows furrowed. His voice was polite though. "That's not the price we agreed on. It was six and a half for the agreed currencies."

Deidara gave Kisame a bored look. "Hm, things change. If Itachi paid attention to what was happening planet side and not in that vastness of space he's so intrigued with, he would have realized the market has changed. I can buy exactly what you're offering for thirty percent less, hm. It's only because I've dealt with Itachi for so long that I'm still willing to buy from you." A snake of a smile was curling in the corners of Deidara's lips.

Ino saw the muscle in Kisame's jaw twitching again. "You sent a confirmation of the price two days ago. I doubt that the prices have dropped that much in that span of time." The tension from earlier was back, building quickly.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Deidara drawled. He sat up from his sprawled, lazy position on the couch. The one visible blue eye was narrowing.

There was a sneer on Kisame's face as he spat out "No, I'm not, but that doesn't mean we're selling the stock for less than what was agreed."

There seemed to be an audible hum in the air. Something was going to happen, and it was probably going to be bad. Ino swore she heard the safety of a gun flick off in the silence. A little voice in Ino's head was telling her to bolt; to keep running until she was exhausted, and even then, run a little further.

"Well that's a shame," Deidara practically purred, "because I refuse to overpay for something. Maybe you should sweeten the deal, hm? Make it worth my while, hm."

Deidara's gaze flickered to Ino, and her heart accelerated in fear. I don't like this. Neither did Kisame if the rigid way he stood was any indication. "Such as?" he ground out.

Deidara pouted as he thought, "Let me think... what do you have that I want, yeah?"

He snapped his fingers as the obvious came to him. "How 'bout I hold onto the medic for a while? Just a little while, hm?"

"No way," Kisame practically shouted, "she's part of the crew of The Courtesan and under my responsibility. If you're going to be holding onto anybody, it'll better goddamn well be me."

Deidara cocked his head, fixing Kisame with his gaze. "Cute, it's almost like you care what happens to the Coalition bitch."

Ino flinched at the expletive. It like a sharp a slap to the face. "But ... I...I'm not..." she said, stumbling over the words. Shock was taking precedence.

Deidara gave her a bored look. "Oh, please. I wouldn't be where I am if I couldn't pick your type out. And you're so obviously Coalition that it's sad. I bet you've never even had an independent thought in that little air head of yours."

That kind of took any response out her mouth. She was sure that she heard her teeth click as she shut her jaw. It had been a really long time since someone had insulted her like that; she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Coalition or not; she came with me, she's leaving with me," Kisame ordered.

The blond shook his head, like a disappointed parent. "You don't understand how this works do you?"

Kisame just glared, his mouth a thin line. Ino was standing next to him, trying not to be terrified.

The bored expression started ro wear thin on Deidara's expression. "I'm insulted, yeah. Hm, here I am, working hard for my business and then you come along with this military jarhead. She's Coalition, you idiot, and you have the audacity to bring her here? It's too coincidental, not with what I have planned, yeah. You're lucky I both haven't riddled you both with holes by now."

Kisame's tone was much more soothing than before. "Deidara, look. I'm sorry for the transgression, but believe me when I say this; the girl's not gonna rat us out."

Deidara barked a laugh. It was a cold and manic sound. "And what makes you think that? Was it the fuzzy feelings of your heart or was it the feeling much more south, yeah?"

Ino felt the raging blush on her cheeks. Here she was, in this horrible situation, but her body still had the audacity to react to the dirty implications Deidara was implying. Kisame seemd to be as uncomfortable with the implications as well. Before either of them could argue or defend themselves Deidara talked over them.

"I'm going to give you the amount we agreed on, and then you're going to take one of my men to check out the product, hm. Then you're going to head back to that rust bucket you call a ship and take off, leaving the Coalition brat here. Easy enough to understand, yeah?"

"She's registered, they'll notice that she's missing, she's one of their best. They keep an eye on their own," Kisame rationalized.

"Is she really?" Deidara shrugged before pulling out a gun. "So if I was to, say, uh, put a hole in your shoulder she could fix you?"

Kisame met Deidara's stare evenly. "She could, but I'd rather not get shot to prove it, if you don't mind, but if it means we both leave, then fine."

The client barked another laugh. "As much as a bang that would be I think not. She's registered on your ship, and this is an unregistered stop, hmph. I think it's more your problem than mine."

"Fine," Kisame held his hands up in defeat, "You know what? We'll settle, you get the product at a reduced price. Just like you wanted."

A thoughtful look passed on Deidara's face, "Let me think... hm, no. Either you accept what I'm offering or..."

Deidara's gun was still trained on Kisame, but now there was the sound of other guns cocking, and Ino even heard a laser rifle hum as it was powered up.

"You leave like that cheese with all the holes, yeah."

The moment hung, spinning on a fragile thread.

And then Kisame smiled, but it was a grim. "What are you going to do with her?"

"Sell her most likely. I know a lot of terrorist cells that would love to send a message to the Coalition, I might even do the same thing. But then again, she is so pretty. It'd be like breaking an exquisite antique vase, yeah?" The complete lack of empathy of Deidara's face chilled Ino. It was like he was talking about Calor's bone-dry summer for all the inflection in his voice.

Kisame grumbled, a grimace on his face. "Fine, you want her? You got her. But expect to hear hell from Itachi."

Ino stared, incredulous. It's a trick. It's gotta be. He's not gonna hand me over to this lunatic, is he?

Deidara shrugged nonchalantly. That seemed to ease the tension again. The mood was again light.

"Unless he's sleeping with this one too, I doubt he'll care all that much, yeah. So, we're in agreement then?"

Kisame nodded. Deidara smiled and flicked a hand at two thugs behind them. Next thing she knew Ino had those two thugs on either side of her and they were starting to drag her off. This was bad, very bad.

"Get off me," she shouted, trying to wrestle out of their grip.

"You can't do this! Let me go! Kisame! Kisame? You bastard! Fucking help me!" She shouted. The first officer refused to look at her. It seemed like everyone wasn't paying attention. Like girls getting dragged off kicking and screaming was a regular day.

And kick and scream she did. She was sure the patrons upstairs had heard her. Not that it did any good. The two thugs had too good a grip to escape from and they seemed deaf to her pleading screams. They were almost out the door when Kisame called out.

"Wait, a minute."

Relief flooded Ino's chest. Oh thank God, he's not going to sell me off like cattle. Her relief was short lived.

"I do believe that's mine." She felt a tug and a weight lift off her hip. He had taken the Cobalt back!

Ino felt shattered. And among the broken pieces something ugly grew. "And this is yours too," she hissed before she spit at him. She had never done something like that before – her parents told her it was one of the rudest and most disgusting things someone could do. It had been a lucky shot, because she got him right on the cheek. An unreadable expression passed on his face while Ino glared daggers. But then he just wiped it away and turned away.

After that they dragged her down a hall, and then another, and then down some stairs. And then there was another hallway; it was bleak, with shoddy lighting. The electrical wires were hanging off the ceiling. Suddenly one of them swung her to the wall, her arms twisted behind back. The wall was rough, and seemed to be carved out of rock. It was gritty and cutting into her cheek.

The other thug frisked her a little more thoroughly then he had to. They found the knife in her boot and they took her tech that was in her pocket before they shoved her into a barren room.

Sprawled on the dusty floor Ino's thoughts raced with escape plans; each one was crazier than the last. She was stuck, with no chance of help.

A/N: Hopefully this update makes up for the long wait. And sorry, it's another cliffhanger!