Wake Me Up

by Tussinomics

(AN: Chapter 13 up!) One night of drunken indiscretion can lead to a lifetime of consequence. Haruno Sakura has just discovered that the hard way and now she has to devise a plan to deal with her problem before anyone can find out the truth of that consequence. She'll quickly learn that this is easier said than done. Slowish Burn. Sakura/Kisame

3. Effortless Abduction of Haruno Sakura

A/N: Edited as of 1/1/2023.

Chapter Three

The Effortless Abduction of Haruno Sakura

...

I'm stuck in a coma; stuck in a never-ending sleep
And someday I will wake up
And realize I gave up everything.

...

It had been nearly a week since Sakura's first prenatal visit and the apprehension that had been corked inside of her seemed to have lessened a little. Actually, she had been feeling a hell of a lot better since then.

She had decided against the abortion. She had no issue with the procedure from a moral or scientific standpoint; it just wasn't what she'd truly wanted.

She and Tsunade had discussed her options for adoption and honestly, she was feeling pretty good about it. She wouldn't have to worry about the search for potential candidates until sometime after her fifth month. Tsunade had said that they could keep track of the pregnancy until then, in case someone found that important and wanted to know.

Obviously, she'd been restricted to the village - so no field missions - until after her postnatal recovery but would still be able to work full-time in the hospital until she and Tsunade decided it would be wise to cut back. Tsunade had informed her that she'd be able to take her maternal leave whenever she was ready.

Personally, Sakura was more than eager to hand this over to Tsunade now that she knew she wasn't going to cut her head off. It was an enormous weight off of her shoulders. Now all she had to worry about was how she was going to explain this to everyone else.

In a few months, she'd be showing and as much as she wished she could explain it away as a few pounds she had packed on she knew that wasn't going to cut it. She'd have to be as honest as she was able to be; she just had to figure out when she was going to break the news.

It wasn't going to be today, she knew that for sure. She had dealt with enough over the past week and today, she had decided, was her day to just relax. A mid-morning bout of morning sickness has Tsunade insisting that she take the rest of the day off. She'd wanted to argue that she would be fine but couldn't lie and say that the break wasn't appreciated.

She left the hospital feeling a bit better and by the time she reached the apartment, the nausea had abated. She put on the kettle for a cup of tea and sat at her bar, fingering through some mail that she had left on her counter before she'd left for work that day.

Pretty much nothing but junk mail and bills greeted her. Suddenly something small and black caught the corner of her eye. Her hand drifted towards the Bingo book that was sitting next to where the mail had been and she pulled it towards her. Lazily she flipped through a few pages, passing faces she knew and faces she didn't before she stopped to look up at the silent tea kettle.

When she gazed back down at the book, an unfortunately familiar face stared back at her and her breath caught in her throat, hand instinctively going to her stomach in response.

On his face was a malevolent smirk, revealing perfectly white, razor-sharp teeth that contrasted sharply against the bluish gray of his skin. She narrowed her eyes at the photo, noting that the hitai-ate wrapped around his head was missing its signature slash through the Mist symbol. He looked quite young, possibly late teens, and somehow seemed more volatile than in the picture she that was more familiar with, in the more current bingo book. A shiver ran through her spine and her eyes seemed to be firmly locked to his.

A surge of anger flooded through her, increasing the longer she stared. Finally, she tore her eyes away and read the description below:

Name: Hoshigaki Kisame

Date of Birth: March 18th

Blood Type: AB

Classification: Cypher Intel Division (former); Seven Swordsmen (former)

Village of Association: Kirigakure no Sato

Current Association: Akatsuki

Status: Excommunication from village; current nukenin status

Rank: S-Class rogue shinobi; high-priority capture

Hoshigaki is a violent, bloodthirsty, and sadistic fighter. He takes the utmost pleasure in wounding and maiming his victims before he kills, and has a knack for dismembering body parts with his chakra-absorbing blade, Samehada. Extreme caution should be taken when in his presence. Hoshigaki should NEVER be approached by a single agent, and ONLY with prior permission from the Hokage, should the proper classified team approach and attempt to detain or eliminate.

For some reason, though she was already familiar with these facts, reading it now brought a sense of perverse intrigue to her. Why, exactly, was he such a violent person? What had happened to him in life that had made him that way?

She knew she shouldn't care. Hell, she shouldn't even be looking at this. Wasn't she supposed to be trying to forget that he existed? The simple fact that he was alive haunted her enough; she didn't need to willingly remind herself he was out there somewhere. The chances of their paths crossing again were tiny and that was how she liked it. She had no doubt he'd take no hesitation in killing her if they did. This especially rang true if he'd ever found out about just what they had made, however unwittingly.

Someone like him was unlikely to care about something like that. He'd simply eliminate the problem without hesitation, namely with his sick brand of infamous slaughter.

Predators didn't care about the well-being of their prey, no matter how defenseless.

Right?

She shook her head violently, trying to clear such thoughts from her head. She was never going to see him again. There was no need to worry about it and she had enough on her plate as it was.

The sharp whistle of the tea kettle broke through her thoughts and she was glad for the distraction. Leaving the book still open on Kisame's page, she went to the kitchen to focus on making herself some tea, completely unaware that in a few hours her life would once again take an unexpected turn.

...

Getting into Konoha had been simple enough and - as far as he knew - Kisame hadn't been detected.

The number of holes in the village's security was laughable. He figured that with something as precious as a tailed beast - the strongest one, no doubt - in their hands, they'd be more apt about keeping it safe.

Fortunately for them, Kisame wasn't there for the Kyuubi kid.

This baffled him to no end, though he was wise enough not to question Leader's orders. He'd wanted to ask -desperately - why, instead of going after a medic kunoichi, he couldn't just snag up the kid instead. Kisame scoffed.

He knew the answer, but the reality was unsettling to him.

Chances were, even if he got anywhere close to him, the kid would just unleash the beast inside and either take him down or put up so much of a struggle that he'd alert half the village to his presence. Kisame didn't want to admit the former. The fact that a simple child, barely an adult as far as he was concerned, would be able to render him useless or even dead made him uneasy.

He kept to the forest inside of the village most of the day and as soon as the sun went down he started scouting for information on his target. Unsurprisingly it hadn't been very hard to come by.

Apparently, Konoha was very proud of their Haruno Sakura, their little medical ingénue. The records office had been uninhabited; otherwise, someone would have been in for a surprise when they came in the morning for work to find their co-workers dead.

He had gotten information on everything he could possibly want to know about her - academy graduation, elemental affinity, address, work schedule, certificates of achievement - and was headed now to stake out the girl's apartment until she turned in for the night. He wanted to just incapacitate her quickly and get the hell out of there as soon as possible. Just because it had been easy to get in, didn't mean that he wanted to hang around and get friendly with the locals.

He didn't need to remind himself that he hated it here. Something about how happily its inhabitants had gone through their evening routines had irked him, as he had watched from his hiding spot in the trees early that evening.

The moon hung high in the sky as he approached her apartment building and scaled the building opposite of hers with ease until her window came into his line of sight.

The curtains were drawn back, allowing him to get a good view of her living room and kitchen. Darkness enveloped him, giving him the advantage on her that provided a thrill greater than even the highest quality sake ever could. He waited a few minutes, predatory eyes fixed on the window, watching until she walked past and settled at her dining table.

Her hair was knotted high on her head in a messy bun that shone with dampness and she was clothed in a pink camisole and a pair of pajama pants and with what looked like smiling cupcakes on them. A thin eyebrow rose at her choice in sleepwear. She had a book in her hand, thick, short and entirely black, and was reading from a page in it.

She stayed on that particular page for a long time, so he could only assume that she was studying its contents carefully. A few times she shut the book, placed it on the table and got up, only to return to it minutes later, opening it back up to what he could tell was the same page.

Her face traveled through a myriad of emotions as she studied it. Something like disgust, fear, curiousity, and finally worry flitted across her features before she'd close it and abandon it on the table once more. She repeated this ritual four times before she got up, book still in hand, and began to shut the lights off in her apartment, finally disappearing down the hall and into what he figured was her bedroom.

Instinctively he moved, switching buildings until he located her bedroom window. This one was completely covered, mint green curtains blocking his view. A faint light shone through the curtains for about half an hour before they too were extinguished. He had taken this to mean that she was finally going to sleep, and he decided to wait another half an hour before he made his move. If she was still awake and caught a glimpse of him, unintended, things would not go as smoothly as he had planned.

He took this time to figure out the best method for subduing her, intent to keep her unconscious - or at the very least, disabled - until he was far away enough from her village for it to matter.

He had to remind himself periodically that she was supposed to be unharmed when she was presented to Leader, or else his balls would be on a platter. This was disappointing; he at least wanted something of a fight, for entertainment at least. He doubted this girl could give it to him though; she looked as harmless as any fly he had ever swatted.

'Probably why she's a medic.'

Of course, if there was one thing that shinobi life had taught him, it was that one should never judge a book by its cover. The most unassuming opponent was usually the one that would kill you in the end.

The moon hung high over Konoha now, drenching it in a peaceful glow, and Kisame decided that he had given her enough time to promptly fall asleep. He made his way back towards the living room window, hopping silently on the ledge.

He was glad he had sealed Samehada in a scroll since the lack of extra weight ensured his silence and allowed him to balance perfectly on the sill. He slid the unlatched window open slowly and found himself even more disappointed in this kunoichi. She must have put great trust in her village to not even lock her windows at night - a foolish mistake that soon she'd be paying for.

He slid inside and took a look around, familiarizing himself with the little apartment for some reason he didn't understand. For such an obviously feminine woman, she sure didn't have a lot in the way of personal effects. The majority of the clutter in the small space was comprised of books. A ridiculous amount had spilled over shelves and onto the floor, piling up in several stacks, some even reaching the ceiling in height.

'Impressive.'

Contrary to popular belief, Kisame wasn't purely brawn. Occasionally, he enjoyed a battle of wits and was more than properly educated, more so than most people ever assumed.

Itachi had said once that Kisame's brutish facade wasn't always fitting on him, and that stupid didn't do well on him. It wasn't exactly a compliment but as far as his interactions with the Uchiha had been concerned, it was the closest he'd ever get. Kisame had taken it as a compliment though, so the point had been made. He did enjoy a good book from time to time, and this girl had a very impressive collection, something that - if circumstances weren't what they were - he might have enjoyed perusing.

Other than the absurd amount of books, not much else was out on display. He turned towards the little open kitchen; with the exception of a Chinese zodiac calendar next to the refrigerator and a few framed photos of some roosters over the stove, it wasn't very lived in. There was a stack of boxes in the corner next to the dining room table, all packed full and sealed, labeled according to room, indicating that she had just recently moved in and hadn't bothered to unpack.

He fought down the urge to dig through their contents and turned his back on the kitchen, moving out of the little living room and towards the hallway. He stopped at the entrance, listening for any noises to indicate she was waking up or was still awake. Satisfied with the silence he moved and stopped before a cracked door - one of only two in the hall; he guessed the other was the bathroom - and peered through it.

She was tangled in the bed sheets, illuminated by only the soft glow of the moon through her sheer curtains, one leg slung over a pillow. Her hair was undone now, flooding the pillow with pink, much longer than the picture on the mission scroll in his cloak. It had an almost metallic shimmer in the dim light and he narrowed his eyes.

A strong but incredibly calm chakra signature filled the room, wrapping itself around him in a way that made him intensely uncomfortable.

Something about her chakra was unsettling - almost familiar - even more so than her picture or seeing her in the flesh. A tingly shiver traveled down his spine at their close proximity and for the very first time in his life, Kisame was overwhelmed with the urge to run. He remained rooted to the spot, angry with himself, and tossed the feeling to the side. Finally he stepped toward her.

Her scent caught in his nose and filled it with the soft, delicate smell of freesia and peony and some kind of muscle balm. Her legs were bare now and he could see how long and lean they were. She had decent tone in her muscles - the result of intense training - and despite the little scars that dotted her here and there, her skin was a pale creamy color that shimmered in the glow.

There was something inside of Kisame - something he'd over time come to identify as the echo of the dormant demon fused in his cells - that was responsible for a huge amount of his more... primal actions and feelings. This shark echo tended to make its presence known in vital situations and controlled the bloodlust he was sometimes consumed by as well as other more carnal actions. It was also what gave him such keen instincts.

And now that very same shark was behaving in a way he'd never felt before - making intent circles, concentrating on the sleeping woman deeply, strangely curious. It was strangely satiating - calming even - and for a moment he gave himself to it. It had only lasted a moment before rationality caught up with him and he shoved the feeling deep down, taking full control of himself once more.

He shook his head, a frown settling on his mouth. What the hell was his problem?

Sure, she was attractive; a pretty young girl who smelled nice and had legs that seemed to go on forever. Any idiot could clearly see how good-looking she was, but that wasn't enough for him to actually want to look more than once at her. He saw women every day who were clearly more endowed and more filled out - though for her age, she was pretty well filled out herself - and more mature than her.

But for all of her mature features she was just a girl, this much was obvious, and if Kisame had wanted to seek out the comfort of the opposite sex, he'd seek out a woman. He could tell she lacked the experience that a mature woman might have. Her face held a brazen sort of innocence that indicated that the world had yet to break her.

Now the shark was behaving strangely - apprehensive and with not a hint of its usual aggression - it circled with caution, as if it sensed something Kisame could not. He shook his head again, wanting more than ever to hurry this up, the knowledge that she had to come with him unsettling him.

'Get yourself together, idiot. It's just a weak, little, kunoichi. Stop acting like a bitch and get on with it.'

Pearlescent eyes still trained on her form, he removed a glass vial and capped syringe from his waist pouch.

Kisame couldn't rely on genjutsu to keep her from waking up and making his job a miserable hell, so he'd have to rely on the old fashioned way to do this. He could have used Samehada to drain her chakra, but that left a small opening for her to wake up and cause a panic. He'd rather not take the chance. He slid the needle into the tube, taking only a small amount of fluid into the syringe and pushed slightly to relieve any bubbles, before sliding the needle into her neck, depositing fast acting sedative into her bloodstream.

She tensed visibly for a few seconds, her brain probably trying to rouse her to defend herself against suspicious chemicals being entered into her body, but soon she relaxed heavily, body sinking into the bed deeply.

Her eyes opened for a fraction of a second during this time, but he doubted she had seen him, not that he cared if she did or didn't. Now she was out, and he had about six or so hours until she'd need another dose if they hadn't made it back by then.

He could make the trip from Konoha to Ame with ease, taking the shortest route he knew and the only reason it had taken him so long to get to Konoha was because he had to stop and take care of some prior business halfway through. He could make it back in about seven hours, six if he really pushed it, but since he'd have to carry the girl - an obnoxious dead weight - he probably wouldn't be able to make it in six.

He placed the vial and the recapped syringe back in his pouch and pulled out a pair of chakra restraining wrist cuffs which he fastened around her small wrists. This would ensure that, if she did somehow wake up early, she wouldn't be able to use but only the tiniest amount of chakra, just enough really to keep her alive and no more, so she couldn't use any jutsu on him. He leaned over to lift her onto his shoulders when something on her bed caught his eye and he almost jerked back from the sight.

It was altogether weird, like an omen - if he believed in those, which he didn't - and it caught him off guard. On her bed, splayed open next to her chest was a bingo book and on the page was his own face smiling viciously back at him.

'The hell-'

Kisame bit his cheek.

The chances of her checking up on him of all the people in that book were so slim, so infinitesimally small that it could be only be coincidence.

The book had probably been moved and shifted to his page while she slept. Yes. Of course, that was it. Here he was getting all crazy and superstitious for no reason. He wondered if his age was starting to catch up with him. Something was wrong him, obviously, because his neuroses were intensifying with every second he spent with his unconscious captive.

He lifted her gently - not that it really mattered - and settled her on one of his broad shoulders. The sedative, while safe in the right doses, was very potent and he could sling her around like a bag of rocks with no reaction. When he turned his head, he was met with the sight of her red lace covered bottom in his face and pondered if he should put some pants on her. He looked around for something easy to slide up her legs and located a long, flowy skirt on the chair settled next to her closet. He disregarded any other personal effects of hers and slid the skirt up onto her hips.

He grabbed a dark throw blanket and threw it on top of her, just in case someone saw him toting a live hostage out of the village - though he doubted anyone would see him at all. She was light, like he thought she would be, despite the fact that every muscle in her body was slack.

As he left he caught sight of a black medic bag settled on the wooden desk across from the bed. He peered inside and saw that it was full of various medical supplies and different sorts of balms and ointments. He didn't know why but he grabbed it and fastened it to his waist before leaving the bedroom. He didn't waste any more time after that and left the apartment quickly.

He was out of the Konoha gates, one unconscious leaf kunoichi heavier, in no time.

...

Konan sat on the edge of the bed, fingers fiddling with a piece of paper absentmindedly, listening to the sound of the bed's other occupant's light and steady breathing. He had finally fallen asleep after almost four hours of intense love-making, something that usually put her to sleep and kept him up afterwards. This usually allowed him to tend to business matters uninterrupted; but not tonight.

For some reason, since Kisame had left the base, she'd been unable to relax.

She couldn't fathom why Pein had thought it a good idea to send the Mist-nin after Haruno. She knew his reasoning for bringing the medic-kunoichi here. But why would he dare to put Kisame close to Sakura like that? She had argued to him that Zetsu would have been able to kidnap her but he'd waved her off dismissively.

Kisame didn't know the truth, Pein would never tell him and letting him discover it on his own came with many different outcomes that Konan knew wouldn't be good.

Pein's true intentions - the ones he'd never tell her himself - must have been to get his hands on that child. It was his actions regarding its mother that bothered her. If he simply wanted to keep the child out of Konoha's hands, he could just wait until she was nearing the delivery period, have her killed and take the child then.

It was a harsh solution but it was more like Pein to do that than to take Sakura as a hostage and keep her here until the baby was born. Through a little additional intel from Zetsu they had discovered that the rosette kunoichi had made the decision to give the child up for adoption, so she obviously didn't want it.

Konan had offered the suggestion that they should stage an adoption meeting, possibly use hired shinobi to pose as a couple, and take the baby themselves. Pein had refused that route, claiming that anything could happen to Haruno in between now and then and that the child could be put at serious risk.

He wanted to watch over the pregnancy himself, to ensure the health of both mother and child until delivery. She could understand that the child would be a very valuable asset to the organization, especially if raised in it and taught to hone its skills efficiently. With its father's massive chakra stores and it's mother's incredible chakra control, it could come to be one of the most efficient shinobi the organization would ever have.

The time and effort it would require to raise a child seemed to be worth it to Pein, if the result was as he predicted it would be. That was of course if the DNA held out through generations. Unlike a traditional demon sealing, Kisame's had taken place in a much more medical setting, with true to life bonding between he and the demon. The shark was literally as much a part of Kisame as his skin, and could never be removed.

It truly thrummed within his veins; molded and bonded to his cells, which meant that the chances of part of the demon being passed onto his offspring were more likely than not.

If said offspring survived of course.

She had done research on this type of DNA bonding and demon sealing, and while the details were sometimes lost on her, one specific detail was not. The chances of the baby surviving outside of its mother's womb while carrying such inhuman DNA markers were iffy. It was about a fifty-fifty chance of survival and really the chance depended on the mother herself. If her body was strong enough to deliver the child safely, the chance rose significantly.

Since this was such an unusual case, the child itself would be unusual and the labor and delivery would be much more difficult. And if Sakura herself could not deliver the child smoothly enough, her chances of survival would dwindle as well. And there had been several cases of the child being born fine and the mother would not survive.

Konan shivered as a cold draft crept in from somewhere unknown and she sighed, eyes gazing at the sleeping man to her left. She truly hoped that he knew what he was doing because the lives of two innocents hung in the balance. She had to trust that he did and she would but she was allowed to have her doubts.

One thing had been plaguing her relentlessly, something even more so than the actual prospect of dangerous births or chances of survival postnatal: Kisame's reaction.

What would he say, what would he do, when he found out about this?

It was well known how violent his tendencies were but he was, when stripped all down, still a man. Would he try to eliminate the mother of his own child? She wanted to believe that no, he wouldn't, but this whole thing was like a terrible game of Russian roulette. There was no way to determine the true outcome of this.

What if, by the tiniest chance, Kisame accepted this for what it was, and wanted to take care of both the baby and Sakura? Konan doubted that but there was always a chance. Either way, she didn't believe that Kisame would appreciate Pein's interference in his personal life or his potential family's lives. Or perhaps, and this thought saddened her more than she cared to admit, perhaps he simply would not care one way or the other, for Sakura or the child and would allow Pein to do as he wished with them both.

Suddenly she became very tired, and laid down beside Pein, trailing her fingers down his arm.

All she could do, she decided before her eyes drifted lazily shut, was trust in Pein. That was all she could ever do.

...

Something wasn't right; she could feel it before her brain even drifted back to partial consciousness.

Her dream had been hot and fevered, marked by uncontrollable shivering and shaking of her limbs and she could feel, even through deep sleep, that something foreign had been introduced into her body.

The thing that had shaken her back to her barely lucid state was doing just that: shaking. The ground felt like it was moving beneath her and she could feel the wind through her hair and smell the distinct odor of leaves and dirt. This confirmed that she was outside somewhere, though how she had gotten there was a complete mystery.

She fought down panic in favor of trying to gather her bearings.

She could feel, without even moving them, that her limbs were extremely heavy and that if she were to try, she would be pretty much unable to move them. Her body kept trying to push her back to sleep but she fought it hard. She wanted to open her eyes but did not try for fear that whoever had taken her from her bed would see and take more drastic measures; she didn't even know if she could open them yet anyway.

She began to feel things out as carefully as she could, without using chakra to help her. Unfortunately, she could sense that her chakra was being repressed, so much so that the weakness she had was doubly so on top of the sedative she'd been given.

Without any warning, her stomach clenched before she could even hope to stop it, her stomach expelled its contents.

"Shit..."

Suddenly all was still, and she could feel exaggerated breathing from the thing or person that seemed to be carrying her before she collided butt-first with something hard, soreness rippling through every muscle. Her consciousness was wavering back and forth now and she couldn't even hope to stand and defend herself. The only details that were clear to her were these: She had been kidnapped, she had been drugged and she had just thrown up all over her captor.

She heard rustling leaves and cloth and a deep sigh before she felt something rubbing against her front. At first, the fear that she was about to be ravaged violently on some dark forest floor had her snared and her whole body tensed in defense.

However, the offending touch halted and she realized that whoever it was must have just been wiping her mess off of her shirt. She wanted to move so badly but did not know if she even could, or if that would even be wise. Her chakra was useless and frankly would not have been much help anyway, considering the fluctuations it had been enduring with the pregnancy.

The realization hit her like a slap in the face. She had forgotten all about the baby! Before she could stop herself with rational thought, her body kicked into involuntary fight or flight mode. With as much strength as she could manage she viciously kicked out, feeling briefly victorious when her bare foot connected with something firm.

"Ow! What the fu-"

She didn't stick around to listen to the rest, unbelievably pulling herself up, without the use of her hands and took off as fast as she could run in the opposite direction, only opening her eyes after she had moved. She could feel her sluggish limbs dragging her down, and whatever speed she might have had seconds ago was dwindling fast. Her eyes were bleary with sleep and she couldn't see at all. If she could just get somewhere and hide, she might be able to stay low long enough and he might let up.

Without warning something hard collided with her body and she was flung forward, through a thicket of branches or brush. A series of burning sensations engulfed almost every inch of her bare arms and legs and she cried out, immediately spotting the scratches and small puncture wounds that were hidden beneath spiny balls that had attached themselves to her skin.

The pressure on her back lifted momentarily before she felt a strong hand bury itself in her hair, yanking her head back viciously.

"Do. Not. Move." Hot breath puffed against her ear and the voice was very clearly filled with irritation and anger.

She remained still, for fear that he might decide that she was too much trouble and kill her now. Normally that wouldn't have bothered her so much, she had been prepared to die for the sake of her honor. But now...

Now she couldn't say that. Now she only thought of protecting the life inside of her. If she could do nothing else more for it, she would at least bring it into the world safely.

Of course, if she had been in this situation and not pregnant, she would probably be able to fight back. She could have forced the sedative out of her body with chakra and been alright to fight. It obviously was only meant to sedate, not to kill, or else she'd be dead by now. It was only then that she realized she was unable to gather any chakra at all.

She had a feeling of where that was coming from, possibly the cuffs binding her arms behind her back.

Okay... maybe she wouldn't have been able to get out of this alive, but at least she could have tried, which was more than she was doing now, lying on her stomach in a nest of nettles, helpless.

Suddenly the hold on her hair was relinquished and she her head fell onto ground, tears prickling behind her eyelids. She wanted to turn her head, to see who had her so helpless, so useless, but she refused to let them see her cry. Her hormones were working overtime and she just couldn't find it in her to expose herself anymore to this person.

"Get up, kunoichi." The malevolence coming off of him was palpable. She didn't think she'd ever heard a voice so angry, so cold.

She couldn't get up; he of all people should know that since he was the one who had her hands bound and her chakra at a nearly dangerous level.

"I said get up. Now."

"I-I can't..." Her voice broke, and the resulting response was a pitiful little whimper; she wished she hadn't said anything at all.

The man from behind her sighed and she felt her body being lifted with ease, felt the little snarls tug on her clothes and skin before she was freed from the offensive bush and placed on her own two feet. She could feel his presence behind her, chakra emanating from him like a blinding heat that she hadn't thought to notice until now. He was clearly strong, a large man with a broad shoulder and little patience. She could tell that thus far. Still...

Why hadn't he killed her? Why even bother to take her at all? She was hardly important to anyone, at least outside of Konoha, and yet here she was.

Why wasn't she reacting differently to this? Why not make a scene and freak out, maybe someone would hear, maybe someone could help her.

But probably not...

"Kunoichi..."

Her body stiffened at his voice, but still she refused to turn and face him, refused to let him see the tears that had already begun, despite the fact that she willed them to stay put. She wouldn't let this bastard see her weakness. She just couldn't. If he wanted her, he'd have to take her by force, she would not move from this spot.

It was as if he had read her mind and she felt the tiny sting at her neck and, despite the fear of being unconscious again, she did not resist; she did not try to fight it because she knew that whatever he had in store for her she'd rather be out cold when it happened.

Before her mind gave way to total darkness again, she felt a pair of large hands slide around her middle, and something inside of her, something unusual and foreign couldn't help but think that those hands felt vaguely familiar.

...

Kisame's hand came up to wipe across his upper lip, a slight wetness coating his fingers, and fought down his frustration. The little bitch had made him bleed. Surprising considering what little fight she'd put up.

The kunoichi's shallow but easy breathing drew him back to her presence. Since her little escape attempt he had been increasingly uneasy that she'd wake up and attempt to run away again. The sedative appeared to be working as intended but still he found himself unusually paranoid and wary.

Something about her struck a bad chord in him. She didn't fight the way he figured she would have, had barely even tried, and though this disappointed him, there was something else about her that had - for lack of any better word - momentarily quelled the shark inside of him.

It was as perplexing as it was anger inducing. The bloodlust, which would normally override any real logical thought, hadn't surfaced at the sight of her, bloody and bruised from her attempt to outrun him. Something else had replaced it. Something he did not want to discover further. There was definitely something off about the kunoichi, something that he was beginning to think was being kept from him deliberately.

Honestly, he thought as he reached the village gates, tower looming into the dark rainy sky above him, he wasn't even sure he wanted to know.

...

"Kisame has returned."

"Hn."

"The girl is unconscious. He had to sedate her. What do you want done with her?"

The air in the room was rife with tension as Konan awaited further instruction. Her apprehension about this entire ordeal was only exacerbated as she watched the shark-nin towing the young medic out of the rain and into the building with an unusual look on his face. She'd never seen him so at war with himself and she wondered if he was suspicious that something was going on.

At first she was sure he'd be able to sense it, considering his strong inclination towards hormone and scent disruption, but she didn't think he had yet. He surely would have mentioned something.

Perhaps it was just too early too really tell. Something was different about him; she could sense it when he walked past her in the foyer, something volatile and yet at the same time placid. Even if he didn't yet know what it was, something was effecting him and that in itself was enough to frighten her with its possibilities.

"I suppose we should let her sleep off the rest of the medication. Have Kisame put her in the cell."

"The cell? Pein, I don't think-"

Before she could finish, the burning heat of his hand was wrapped around her arm in a way that was almost painful, but not quite. It was enough to shut her up though.

She had questioned him again and he didn't take too kindly to that, and though she knew better she did not think that locking the poor girl in that dark, awful place was the best - or safest - thing for her.

"You question my methods, Konan?"

"Forgive me, Leader-sama. I just don't think that putting her in the cell would be healthy. She's been through a lot already; the added stress of being down there alone would only make it worse."

"Konan-chan, do not tell me you've gone soft already. She's been here barely ten minutes and already you're feeling sorry for her?" His hand dropped and she breathed out quickly.

As loathe as she was to admit it, and as much as she loved this man with every ounce of her soul, sometimes his tendencies frightened her. He had never hurt her, and probably never would, but she couldn't put it past him if she refused him something he wanted.

"I haven't gone soft. I just thought that it would be best to keep the stress to a limited amount, if we could help it. Otherwise, she may miscarry and your plan would be for nothing."

In a second he was behind the desk once again, his hands perched below his chin as if he were thinking very hard about it. She knew he wasn't, he never needed to think hard about anything, but she was pleased he was considering her counsel. Sometimes he did.

"Alright, Konan-chan, no cell. Do you have any ideas on where we should keep her then? Since you are so full of wisdom today, after all."

She couldn't tell if he was picking at her or if his sarcasm was a verbal blow to her intelligence. Pein hardly ever insulted her, so she doubted it. Perhaps he really was asking.

"She could stay in Itachi's old room, just until we find a better place for her."

The smallest of smirks graced his face and suddenly she realized the depth of her mistake too late. Itachi was still a sore subject for Kisame, even if he would never admit it. When someone did bring up mention of his old partner, Kisame would just avoid it entirely.

He liked to act as if he could care less that Itachi was dead but she knew the truth. Though he and everyone else knew that it was coming, had been coming for quite some time and was not remotely unexpected, it shook him in a way that it would have if he had lost a brother. And placing the girl in Itachi's old room? Well that might very well place an even more viable dislike in the kunoichi than Kisame might already have.

She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that Pein was trying to sow some seeds of resentment between the two. He definitely didn't seem to be interested in providing a stable foundation for any relationship that might be laid because of this.

Her head began to ache. What exactly was she doing? Of course there would be no relationship. It's not as if they would kindle some sort of romance just because she was carrying his drunken love child. This was all being done for the sake of the organization and here she was letting her heart get in the way over what? Some kind of weird womanly loyalty?

"Just when I think you couldn't possibly get any more brilliant, there you go. Very good Konan-chan. Tell Kisame to put her in Itachi's room, and when she wakes you bring her to me. She and I need to have a little chat. Dismissed."

Konan couldn't repress the shiver of anxiety that only rose as the heavy doors slammed behind her.

...

Something soft and warm cradled her in its grasp and Sakura was thankful for it. Her head began to throb with a severity she hadn't thought possible as her senses flared back to life. It felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her skull. What the hell had happened that had her feeling so ungodly awful? Every time she tried to conjure the slightest thought, the sharp pain in her head intensified.

A small tear made its way down her cheek, forcing one eye open in the process, allowing her to see.

The room she was in was dark, the only window seemed to be covered in thick curtains, but were open just enough for her see a tiny stream of moonlight peak through.

Where was she?

Her skin felt as if it had been set on fire, and now she could feel the pressure of the sheets rubbing against what felt like numerous scratches along her bare arms and legs. She wanted to cry out from the pain but she kept her outburst to herself, knowing that self-preservation was far more important than venting her anguish.

She knew she wasn't in her bed and briefly she could remember an altercation with an unknown party taking place somewhere outside. In addition to her burning flesh and screaming head, she could feel the after-effects of some drug: disorientation, drowsiness and a rather uncomfortable ache in every muscle.

So she had been drugged, but for what? And when?

She couldn't remember getting into any situation willingly where anyone would have a chance to dope her up, so that meant it had been administered while she was unaware. She must have been asleep when it had happened.

Had someone broken into her apartment and drugged her in order to abduct her?

That seemed to be the only logical explanation, considering her current unknown surroundings and general malaise.

If only she knew where said surroundings were...

All she needed to do was try to relax and concentrate on figuring out where she was; the pounding in her head was having none of that, however. She couldn't move very much, and she could feel lingering amounts of the drug administered to her still in her body so whatever movement she could make was limited.

With a sharp inhale she leaned up slightly, attempting to bring herself up on her elbows, bristling when her fiery skin made contact with the cotton sheets beneath her.

It didn't make any sense, why the hell was she so weak? She attempted to do a small chakra probe but found her reserves dangerously low, and what was left didn't seem to want to form to do anything of worth.

Low chakra was an appropriate explanation as to why she had no energy. Combine that with some unknown sedative and it made all of the sense in the world.

'Wonderful... I'm trapped, I'm in pain, I've been drugged, I have no chakra and I'm pregnant. I couldn't be more useless if they had lopped off all my limbs and tossed me on a bicycle.'

Before she could further attempt to diagnose herself in the dark, a shuffling noise outside of the room made her freeze and a blinding light penetrated the darkness for a split second as a door opened and then quickly shut.

"Haruno-san? Are you awake?"

The voice was female and soft, completely throwing her expectations to the wind about what was coming through that door. Visions of monsters and terrible things had clouded her mind and made the resulting intrusion surreal.

"W-where am I?" Her voice was beyond hoarse and her throat burned with disuse and something else. Soft, gentle footsteps came closer until she felt the bed dip slightly as the woman sat somewhere near her legs. A few seconds later she heard a click and immediately shut her eyes as the room was flooded in a dim light.

A lamp.

"You're safe for now, I can assure you that. How are you feeling?"

"Like absolute shit. Who the hell are you?" Sakura winced at her tone but couldn't really blame herself. Waking up in an unknown place with their skin on fire and doped up from whatever would do that to even the nicest of people.

Slowly she opened her eyes, willing them to adjust before coming to rest on the woman perched beside her.

She was quite pretty, in a somber kind of way. Cobalt hair shone in the yellow light, a delicate paper flower set just above her lips. Her face was stoic but her amber eyes - they reminded her of Tsunade's - were kind and just beneath her lips sat a tiny silver stud.

Sakura had never been one for piercings herself, but it was a lovely addition on this woman. It suited her.

She was dressed simply, black mesh under-armor beneath a white tank top and standard issue shinobi pants gave off the impression that she was a simple servant to the cause. However, there was an aura of nobility and grace that spoke volumes to Sakura that she was much more.

"My name is Konan. To answer your question from before, as I said, you are safe. You are within the confines of our headquarters."

Konan shifted to allow Sakura to sit up further before continuing, "Our leader has requested a quick meeting with you, but I'd think you'd rather eat something first. You've had a long trip." As if on cue, sparing Sakura no embarrassment, her stomach growled loudly and she blushed slightly. She was hungry...

"Well," Konan clapped her hands together, "I'll see to some food, and perhaps some clean clothes. When I get back we can discuss a few things and then we'll go and see Leader-sama."

"Y-yes... Thank you." An odd sort of numbness had taken its hold on her, leaving her confused and ultimately not in the state of panic that she had felt before. What was wrong with her? Just because this lady had been pleasant and kind to her did not mean that she should just sit back and allow herself to be kidnapped!

She had been kidnapped right?

As Konan made her swift departure, Sakura sighed and collapsed back onto the pillows, deciding to take stock of her surroundings to keep her mind from going to darker places. Her head still hurt but it had dulled to a softer thrum. Her skin still felt raw and sore but no longer burned as fiercely as before.

The room was plain and judging by the thin layer of dust on everything untouched, it hadn't been lived in some time. There weren't any personal effects, so she supposed it was an extra room in the building. The walls were painted a deep shade of grey and the curtains that she had thought to be black were instead a lovely, rich crimson.

There was another door on the opposite side of the full-size bed, and she deduced that it was either a bathroom or a closet. The comforter that covered her legs was the same color as the curtains and was lush. Micro-suede fabric lined in soft cotton. The sheets were black.

There wasn't much in the way of furniture, a dark wooden desk sat in front of the window and an accompanying dresser stood next to the closet/bathroom door. The walls were bare, but there was a lone nightstand to her right. With the exception of the wood furniture, everything else was either red, grey or black. Something about the color scheme struck an unusual chord in her, but she couldn't figure out why.

Come to think of it, there had been something familiar about the woman from before but she couldn't recall having ever seen her before.

Suddenly, a burning need made itself known in her bladder and she wanted to get up and see if maybe that door led to a bathroom after all, but didn't trust her weak legs to support her.

Honestly, just sitting upright made her tired, and she felt her eyes getting heavier the longer she sat there. The urge to lie back down and rest for a few minutes was overwhelming the urge she had to attempt to break through the window and run and find help.

She had the feeling that attempting an escape would not be her best course of action, at least not right now.

But it couldn't hurt to see if she could stand on her own, right? With more effort than she'd anticipated, she slid her legs over the side of the bed, wincing as her feet touched the cold concrete floor. She stayed like that for a few moments before she lifted herself up, using the wall as support.

"At least I'm not paralyzed." That might have been the case but standing was really taking it out of her. She really had to pee now though...

No, she'd make this happen.

Her first step was uneven and wobbly and caused her to almost collapse back in the bed but once she gained her footing and made a few more baby steps toward the door, a bit of energy returned and walking became much easier.

It seemed like a century had passed when she finally made it to the door, and she slowly opened it, revealing it to be, to her dismay, a closet. An empty closet.

Damn. Well now what?

She should have just sat back down on the bed and waited for Konan to return - surely she'd take her to the bathroom - but it was taking a long time for her to get back.

Sakura decided that she should just wait, but that surely it wouldn't hurt to just peer out the door and see what was taking so long. Right?

Her legs were still weak but they were much stronger than before so it only took a minute to get to the door that Konan had left through. She placed her hand on the doorknob for what seemed like several moments before she slowly turned it, thankful for the lack of clicks and creaks it made.

She waited a minute before cracking the door open and peered out into a dimly lit, seemingly empty hall. She looked to the left and the right, noting a few wall sconces set between a long wall of doors just like hers.

When she heard heavy footfalls coming her way, her first instinct was to immediately shut the door and run back to the bed - like a child who had been caught sneaking a peak at Christmas presents in their parents' closet - but made no move to do so.

At first she could only see a pair of shinobi sandals beneath the swish of a black cloak, but against her better judgement let her gaze travel upwards curiously.

Bright red clouds lined in white adorned the bottom of the garment, and her stomach sunk as her worst fear had been affirmed. She was, she knew now certainly, currently in an Akatsuki base, whereabouts unknown. Now she could remember where she had seen the Konan woman before, in the Bingo book, listed as a member of the infamously evil organization.

She resisted the urge to shut the door and go back to the bed, knowing without a doubt that escape now - even if she had been able - was ultimately futile, and stayed put to see the rest of whoever was coming down the hall. Green eyes followed the swish of the cloak up, up, up until they landed on the chiseled jaw line of a face that was all too familiar to her.

'No.'

Somehow it hadn't occurred to her, during her revelation from earlier about where she was, to consider that he'd be here of all places. Sakura wanted to cry. This was all too unfair.

As he walked past, he caught sight of her, and she froze, unable to do anything but gawk like an idiot. He didn't stop, or acknowledge that he had seen her, but his nacreous eyes never left hers, locking in on like a laser beam, keeping her in his sights, paralyzing her to feel nothing but glued to the spot. His eyes furrowed slightly as he moved closer, and hers followed suit. Surely he didn't recognize her, right?

Something decidedly unusual fluttered in her stomach but she didn't move until he was gone, having turned the corner, her eyes never leaving his back until he disappeared from her view.

With the shakiest hands she'd ever had in her life, she shut the door as quietly as she could manage and numbly walked back to the bed, collapsing onto it. Every ounce of energy she had been trying to get back was now lost, and she could feel her emotions colliding towards a break.

She had tried so hard to forget his existence, wanted to make a life for her child that had nothing to do with him and now she was trapped in his zone. Her bottom lip began to tremble before she could stop it and soon the tears burst through. A deep sadness filled her chest and her throat became so swollen that she could barely swallow her sorrow.

What was going to happen to her? Did they know about the baby? Is that why she had been taken? Or was she simply an unknown pawn in a game they were playing to acquire Naruto for the nine-tails?

She feared the ultimate worst, that either he or his leader - or both - had discovered the truth and she had been brought here to ensure that this child would never see the light beyond its mother's womb.

She wiped her eyes and bit her lip; they wouldn't kill her child as long as she could help it. She'd be damned if she let those bastards hurt this baby, especially him. He was the biggest bastard of them all.

As soon as she could, she'd get out of here.

Unfortunately, right now she was in no shape to fend off a whole group of the most dangerous criminals in the world. For now, all she could do was sit and wait and pray that they had no immediate intent to hurt the baby, or that Naruto wasn't stupid enough to go running off to save her and fall into their trap.

And, more importantly, she would avoid Hoshigaki Kisame at all costs, because any interaction with him could mean only the worst outcome.

She just hoped he planned on avoiding her as well.

...

I won't be saved...
I won't be saved.

...