A/N: I don't have excuses to explain away such a ridiculously long absence, so I won't try to make them up. Everyone has issues and life sometimes gets in the way. I never forgot about this story; I just didn't think I had it in me to continue it. I'm going to give the old college try and if I still have just one reader left to read it then that is all that matters. Since it's been so long, I recommend going back to start from the beginning. Hopefully, I'll regain some momentum here, as I really do love this story and I always wanted to see it to the end. As a reminder, not a single scrap of this is the canonical Narutoverse, and I kind of want to go back and rewrite some of it so that it has a chance to sort of align with that canon but I'd rather just keep going from here and see what happens. Just to clarify, as I saw a reviewer had commented, Sakura is 19 in this story and Kisame is 31. She isn't a child but he will occasionally refer to her as such because her form lends itself to a more immature appearance in addition to the age gap. The last little bit at the end of chapter 5 was a dream sequence, peppered with a brief memory of the encounter they had shared. But you know how dreams can be. As always reviews and criticism are welcome. *bows*
Chapter Six
Small Steps
...
If I could I'd trade my heart for a second brain,
I wish I was as brave as my last name suggests.
I wanna pour my feelings down the drain,
But I'll just take another sip, until my eyes drip.
'Stay the same.'
...
"Ah-ah-AHH! That stings!"
Sakura rolled her eyes exasperatedly at the declaration of discomfort, her hands deftly stitching through flesh. The blonde individual on the receiving end of said exasperation winced rather un-shinobi-like as the hooked needle in her hand made another pass through flesh.
"Well," The rosette kunoichi declared, completing the final stitch and lifting herself from the metal rolling stool, "If you'd stop blowing fingers off as party tricks, we might not have to do this every week." Sakura retrieved a roll of tape and gauze from the Formica counter behind her and sat back down, taking care with her back as she settled.
Of all the things pregnancy seemed to bestow upon her - morning sickness, headaches, her funky chakra control, the urge to pee every twenty seconds - the constant stiffness in her back had been the most annoying. A quiet sigh punctuated her bottom hitting metal and she turned her attention back to the angry, purple (but now intact, mind you) finger and the blonde man sitting on the bed attached to it.
"It wasn't even my fault this time, yeah! It was an accident, Sakura-chan. I told you-" Deidara proclaimed wildly, other arm flipping upwards in exaggeration as the kunoichi finished her wrapping.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. 'But uh, Sakura, the clay went off early!'" She couldn't help the smile creeping up her lips as she deepened her voice to impersonate the rambunctious man sitting aside her. It didn't even sound like him, but the effect was felt regardless as Deidara's handsome features turned down into a pout, his lower lip sticking out in the most immature of ways.
"That's not even what I sound like, yeah."
Sakura's smile grew without her permission at the childish display. In these moments the boisterous, rather unpredictable nukenin reminded her a lot of another boisterous blond man she knew. And though she was loathe to admit it, in the month she had spent trapped in this luxury prison - for that is what it was, she would constantly remind herself - she had grown unsettlingly fond of this wild artist. With the exception of Konan, he had been the only one to reach out and try to make her feel like she was more than what she was: a prisoner. He wasn't Naruto, and this she could never forget, but he shared a lot of characteristics with her longtime friend. It was both comforting and heartbreaking to realize and it made her miss Naruto more than she had ever thought possible.
Green eyes settled on Deidara's boyish features and an unheard pang pulled her heart into a lurch, as she was overcome with a wave of intense homesickness and sadness. A single unobscured eye caught hers briefly and she turned away, unable and unwilling to let even Deidara see her in a moment of weakness. Unshed tears stung the corners of her eyes but never made it past. As friendly as they had been, she couldn't let herself become too comfortable here.
To let anyone see weakness here would certainly become her undoing and she just had to tough it out. There was no other option if she wanted to survive this with her life - and maybe more importantly, her sanity - intact. She stood up, the metal chair creaking slightly as Deidara flexed his hand, pleased with the results.
"Alright," She cleared her throat and put on her most professional medic voice, willing the broken feeling she felt to vanish before continuing, "Same drill as before: Don't get it wet, clean the area twice a day and keep it bandaged for at least a week. There may be a little bit of numbness for a couple of days as the nerves recover; that's completely normal. Don't overstretch it or the stitches will come out and we'll be back here again."
Deidara flexed his hand a couple more times before he dropped to the floor, a positively devilish look overtaking his features. Clearly, he wasn't listening to anything she was saying, planning to just go off and blow off more of his appendages for fun. No doubt that head was already concocting schemes for his 'art' before he'd even left the medical ward. Sakura sighed.
"No more explosive party tricks, Deidara-kun." She said sweetly, her sing-song voice not matching the rather vindictive way her eyes sparked, a devilish smirk of her very own to accompany his own, "Unless of course..."
His blue eye widened in excitement as he waited for her to continue, his smirk growing wider. An ultimatum he could do, if she were offering.
"...You'd like a referral to Kakuzu-san next time?"
Unless of course, it was that ultimatum. He winced.
The smirk fell into a rather unpleasant frown, his upper arm tingling in remembrance of the masked nin's rather...unorthodox and disagreeable method of so-called medicine. And not to mention creepy. He was not a fan. None of them were. His hands raised defensively, a beaming smile taking his face.
"Ahh no, umm, I'm good, yeah!" He exclaimed rather loudly, backing up slowly. Sakura tilted her head to feign confusion, hands coming to rest on her hips.
"Are you sure? I could probably get him to stop by now if you'd rather-"
"Oh-Oh, is that the time? I really gotta head out. Mission, ya know!? See ya later, Sakura-chan!" He snatched his cloak up and bolted, knowing that the rosette would make use of her threat if for no other reason than to keep him in line. Sakura could practically see the dust cloud he had kicked up in his wake, not even trying to hide the chuckle that bubbled up into her throat at his rather Naruto-like departure.
She really had to stop comparing the two.
The faint hum of fluorescent lights above her reinforced that she was alone in the room once more, and the silence suddenly seemed deafening. With a quiet sigh, she stood and began cleaning the work area, tossing discarded gauze packets and discarded syringes into their respective bins. If she could be honest with herself, she could say that she at least appreciated the distraction that her 'friend' brought her with his never-ending antics. Once she was alone, she could only focus on the crushing realization that she was truly alone here. It was a sobering and frustrating thought, especially at this time in her life and at such a different and important juncture.
During this time, in her condition, what she really needed was the support of her friends - her family, really - to help reinforce and get her through. Here she didn't have that and it really sucked. She could take a few moments of Deidara's distractions and Konan's kindness to distract her but it just wasn't enough. Sometimes in those moments, she could almost forget that she was being held against her will but as soon as those few interactions were gone, she was crushed with an even greater realization that she was truly a stranger in a strange land. Did she mention that it really, really sucked?
Not to mention, she thought forlornly, the current state she was in that tended to become just a little more apparent with every passing day. Her hand drifted towards to her abdomen, coming to rest on the tiny bump that was thankfully hidden beneath the white medic coat and simple yukata she had been provided.
'Hidden for now.'
For now, sure, but what about when the time came that the tiny bump became not-so-tiny and couldn't be ignored? Pregnancy already left all expectant shinobi mothers at a disadvantage and it was only exacerbated over time, as the terms progressed. Pregnancy was seen as something of a weakness in the shinobi world and while it was an important and unavoidable part of life, it could not be argued that even the most efficient kunoichi would be seen as a liability because of it.
That rang doubly true for herself, considering her current predicament. She was like an antelope trapped in a lion's den; any sign of weakness and she was done. Game over.
She shut the door behind her and began to make her way towards the common room, not wanting to linger any longer on the uncertainty of the days to come and instead focusing on the idea that her days here might just be shorter than she thought. For all she knew, a rescue party could come crashing through these deep stone walls at any moment to save her.
She pondered this, emerald eyes scrunching with resolve, and although that particular outcome was highly unlikely, it didn't do her any favors to focus on the negative. She had to keep hope alive, no matter how unlikely, if she had any chance of surviving here. She felt slightly better and picked up her steps, winding through the long hall faster and with a little more vigor at her new outlook on life. And why the hell should she let this time go to waste anyway? While she was here she could be doing a little bit of reconnaissance of her own. It wasn't as if she wasn't in a prime position for it and anything she could recover would definitely be valuable to Konoha when she returned.
'Might as well make myself useful. After all-'
The thought left her head just as the wind left her lungs, her body coming to collide with something large and hard and she was knocked down, skidding across the smooth floor as she grunted in pain.
"Hmph."
She heard the huff above her before she opened her eyes to set upon the towering figure responsible for knocking her down. Angular features looked down at her almost disapprovingly, as if annoyed that she had interrupted his day. Emerald met his pallid ones and her mouth twitched in annoyance, as he stood there, clearly non-plussed with the fact that he had just knocked her on her ass. A thirty-second staring contest ensued and Sakura's wounded pride and bruised bottom became even more apparent as he made no move to help her up or apologize or something.
'This fucking guy. How you ever managed to see even one redeeming quality in him to sleep with him is beyond me. Truly, Sakura, you've picked a winner to father your child. Bravo!' Her inner self wasn't wrong but she could feel her cheeks begin to burn with something hotter than anger at the reminder of the role he had played - however unwittingly or unaware of that he was.
To say that his presence in the base had her internally twisted all of the time was an understatement. A part of her - the more logical and forward-thinking part - avoided him at every turn, relishing in relief when his chakra - deep and dark and intense - couldn't be felt in the building. But another part of her - a more wistful and downright stupid part she tried to repress - couldn't help but wonder if there was just more to him than this.
'Look underneath the underneath.'
Her former sensei's words rang in her head and the blush burned even impossibly warmer on her cheeks. Was there even anything underneath Kisame's well-constructed and immovable persona? Was there more to him than this cold facade of indifference to her? Was there some spark of humanity in this tower of a shinobi that could be unraveled once all of the pretenses had come down? She knew these were dangerous questions to be asking and honestly she really didn't want to be asking them but her own humanity had her second-guessing herself at every turn. It certainly didn't help that more often than not her dreams were filled with flashes of his strong hands on her body, more vivid than her daytime musings could ever conjure. When she woke, she could still feel the places where his teeth and tongue had grazed her sensitive flesh, angering and further confusing her. Even now, under his intense scrutiny, something hot stirred low in the pit of her belly as a primitive need tried to rear its ugly head. She squashed it down deep.
'Dangerous.'
He broke his gaze first and briefly, she felt victorious at winning the silent war, until he moved past her. That bastard! Her head snapped around in a flash of pink and without regard to her back she bolted to her feet, angrily throwing herself in front of him. The snarl on his lips was not missed and he stopped, hand coming up to rest on a sword that wasn't there. Luckily for her.
"What the hell is your problem!?" She hissed, immediately regretting her whole life up until this point. This was stupid and she knew it but she was sick and tired of his attitude. If she was going to be forced to be in the same building as he was, damn it surely he could wedge that stick out of his ass so that every single interaction wasn't like this. She didn't want his friendship, she didn't want his support, she wanted nothing from him but she refused to be treated like nothing more than a wad of gum he had stepped in.
"My problem, kunoichi-"
"It's Sakura."
Pale eyes narrowed and he stiffened but the snarl from before was replaced with what almost looked like a teasing smirk. Not a good-natured one, of course, but it was strange to see. Her chest started to pound, so loudly that she was certain he could hear it.
"My problem, Sakura-" Suddenly he was closer to her, his lips mere centimeters from her ear and her heart thundered even more wildly. Her name left his mouth sardonically and she shuddered involuntarily as his warm breath ghosted over her neck, "-is the little kunoichi standing between me and my bed. Move."
His voice shifted imperceptibly and though most people wouldn't have noticed the little wince, the hitch in his breathing, and the slightly guarded way he was holding himself, Sakura did. It was the sort of demeanor that belied injury. And sure enough, when her eyes drifted down toward his slightly open cloak, she could see his arm beneath, cradling his side. Veridian orbs snapped back to his face and she could see the signs more clearly: the thin sheen of sweat on skin that was just a little more pale than usual, the glassy look in his eye, his jaw tight and clenched.
"You're injured. Let me-" Medic mode had kicked in as her hand reflexively moved to the front of his cloak, stopping just short when his own released the grip on his injured side to grasp hers firmly.
"No."
"Don't be ridiculous." She snatched her arm from his grip, almost wincing from the heat felt at his touch. His skin was on fire and clearly, he had a fever. Judging by the slightly disoriented look she could see in his eyes and the ragged way he was breathing, he was more than likely injured a great deal more than he let on. "I-It's my job to tend to all of you when you get hurt. Now let me see."
She reached for his cloak again only to be met with his hand batting hers back down. Argh! This frustrating man! Was he so full of pride that he'd rather die than receive her help?
"Stop acting like a child and let me help you!" The fire that lit in her eyes was stronger than the fear she felt at the possible repercussions of the way she was speaking to him.
"I don't need your help, kunoichi."
He turned to go around her but stumbled into the wall, bumping his injured side into the wall, cursing under his breath at the pain.
Frustrated tears sprung to her eyes and an internal war raged on in her brain as she shook them away. Why did she even care if he refused to accept her help? If he'd rather skulk off to burn up and possibly die from some infection he was obviously dealing with then who was she to stop him? As far as she'd be concerned, life without him in it would be infinitely easier for her to deal with.
She winced at that last thought because as much as she wanted to believe that, her heart couldn't seem to agree with it. Damned empathy.
Unfettered Sakura could have probably managed to drag his huge, but clearly weakened, body into the medical office but expectant Sakura would not. She'd have to get his cooperation, somehow. She breathed in deeply, focusing all of her frustration out of her body before she spoke, her back to him as he struggled to move along to his room.
"Kisame-san."
He heard but didn't see him as he stopped moving, the shuffling ceasing immediately. His silence was permission enough to continue. Sakura took a deep breath.
"I understand that you don't like me. Rest assured that the feeling is mutual. But unfortunately, while I am here, I am the one in charge of your health. It's clear that you have a severe injury, a fever, and very possibly an infection. I have no personal qualms against letting you die, but it's my job and my responsibility to ensure you don't."
His strained breathing was becoming more ragged as more time passed and internally, she began to panic. He needed help soon, and the longer she stood there trying to appeal to his self-preservation was one more moment he might not have.
"Fuck." His voice was quiet and she could hear the reservation as his shuffling picked back up and he stumbled towards her slowly. Without hesitation she was at his side, lifting his arm over her shoulder as she guided him towards the medic's office, surprised that he didn't push her away, taking small steps as they walked back. Sakura almost smiled.
'Small steps.'
...
He had fucked up.
Not even the intense burning of his wounded shoulder could overpower the morbid shame he felt at having been nearly bested by that little Suna shinobi's katana. He'd been distracted and let his guard down, giving the boy just enough time to stick him with the blade. Normally this was no big deal, his massive chakra reserve being well enough off to slowly regenerate most wounds over time, as long as he didn't bleed out. Unfortunately for him - and the Suna shinobi that had faced his rage immediately after and wound up as Samehada's evening meal - there had been something on that blade.
It wasn't poison, more likely some sort of anti-coagulant that was preventing the wound from attempting to heal. A steady stream of blood seemed to pour from the wound no matter his attempts to halt it.
It had been like that for at least two days, and though he had managed to dispatch of the rest of the Suna hunter-nin at the site he'd been ambushed and make it back to the base, the effects were starting to make themselves very known.
As he hit the front door of the towering building, hands shakily making the seals to allow him entrance, he was hit with an irrepressible shiver and chill. His vision was starting to waver from fatigue and he was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, he was a little more fucked than he initially thought.
Luckily the base was quiet tonight, the two normal disruptors - Hidan and Deidara respectively - didn't appear to be around. Kisame thanked whoever for that. He couldn't handle either of them right now. He knew he needed to deal with his little problem somehow but he also knew that if he didn't get his report to Pein, he'd be in for an ass-chewing and he didn't think he could handle that right now either.
A wave of nausea crashed against him but he stood upright and with all the energy he could muster, strode towards the main hall. In the dim light, he could see Konan perched under her little alcove right outside of the hall doors, legs folded beneath her as she seemed to be in a deep state of meditation. He attempted to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb her and most importantly, draw any unwanted attention to himself but her amber eyes fluttered open, coming to rest on him.
"Kisame-san," Her chocolate voice rang out in the hall, echoing softly as his hand reached out to rest on the door handle. "Welcome back. How was your mission?"
Always with pleasantries and formalities, that was Konan, and normally he'd be happy to indulge her idle chit-chat but as it was, he was having trouble staying upright.
"Konan-san." He nodded in response, the slight movement making him uncharacteristically dizzier than he had anticipated. "Successful. Is he in? I need to get this report to him."
The blue-haired woman's eyes never left his as she nodded and didn't close again until he had disappeared behind the doors. Kisame's shoulders tensed upon entrance, the heavy doors behind him gliding closed as he made his way towards the man peering out into the window, clearly focused on the rain pelting the glass.
Kisame's knee hit the floor in a bow and almost immediately he was hit with another wave of nausea that he fought down vehemently. If he threw up all over Pein's floor, he'd never live it down.
"Leader-sama."
The orange haired man didn't turn to regard him, still too entranced with the downpour assaulting the thick glass, and spoke instead.
"I trust our little problem has been taken care of?"
Despite his discomfort, the shark-nin couldn't help the vicious smile that curled at the corner of his mouth as memories of his mission surfaced. Oh that problem had been taken care of alright.
"Hai, Fujika won't be able to make idle threats without a throat. Or a head." Latent blood-lust tingled through his fingertips despite his weakness and he couldn't help the chuckle that followed. Fujika Tenshu had been a thorn in the Akatsuki's side for far too long and he had been more than pleased to be given the opportunity to shut his vile mouth up for good. As much as Kisame adored a good kill in the heat of battle, something wholeheartedly pleased him just as much to make a show of a soft-handed, money-hungry, big-mouthed politician in the comfort of his own home.
His own entrance had been spectacular, if he had to admit, a true spectacle.
...
The smell of sex lingered and intermingled with the heady scent of fresh blood as Kisame made his glorious ascent up the massive staircase, almost skipping as he went, stepping over the dozen bodies left in his wake. Casually he tossed a human head up in the air, from one hand to another, catching it jovially as one would a ball, following screams of passions coming from down the ornately decorated hallway.
He found himself before a huge pair of gilded double doors and with no effort kicked them inward, one of the doors falling from its hinges and landing perfectly to accompany the terrified scream of the woman currently bouncing up and down on his target. The woman froze and was consequentially pushed onto the bed as the man beneath her came to attention, leaping up and grabbing a katana from one of the walls in alarm.
"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" His blubbery arms came up to raise the sword at the intruder but trembled in fear. Kisame breathed it deeply, and the shark inside began to trash intently. Skillfully Kisame flung the head he'd been juggling towards the man, fist-pumping as it landed, neck down, on the katana Fujika was brandishing. The fat man jumped back with a disgusted yelp and dropped the offending sword, sheer terror filling his beady black eyes. "What the - !"
"Fujika-san! What a lovely home you have," The shark-nin exclaimed charmingly as he settled down on what he could assume was an excessively expensive chaise lounge set in the corner of the massive bedroom. He kicked his leg up before continuing, watching half-amused as the naked woman scrambled out of the room as fast as she could, before turning back to the cowering man in the corner, "You know, I'd be a little more careful if I were you. Security is awfully light around here. Important man like you, you'd think you'd want to be a little more protected."
Fujika's mouth hung agape, body still trembling as he watched the strange blue man reach his arm back to grab the massive sword and pull it down aside him. He watched in horror as Kisame proceeded to pick what looked like bits of flesh from the scales(?) that covered the thing.
"You know, Fujika-san, I didn't realize you were so tight lipped, considering how you seem to enjoy running your mouth at every turn. If I didn't know any better," He flicked an eyeball that had been wedged in Samehada's scales onto the lush carpet, tsk'ing before continuing, "I'd think that you were trying to get our attention."
At this rather blasé display of disrespect, the man – still naked, still trembling – finally chose to spoke. Unfortunately for him, he chose to grovel. Kisame hated grovellers.
"I-I don't know who you are or- or who you work for, but I promise you I am a very wealthy man! I can pay you double, no triple what you're being paid! Just please-"
In a flash faster than Fujika's eyes could follow, Kisame moved. Samehada shifted from one of his hands to the other and was now pointed directly at the fat man's throat, barely a hairs breadth from his trembling jowls.
"You know what? I changed my mind; you talk way too much."
With barely a flex of muscle, Kisame shifted the sword horizontally and grazed it against Fujika's throat, a sharp cry filling his ears as the scales at the tip began to gnaw at the skin there. It made very quick work of that and began to flutter into Fujika's throat cavity, tiny barb-like scales latching on as the cry became a gurgle. Fujika pitched backwards as fresh blood bubbled over his bare chest but the sword kept him upright, sawing its way through his voice box and then windpipe. Fluidly Kisame shifted and forcefully ripped the sword back, slicing it through the man's jugular, the macabre fountain spraying onto the shark-nin's arms. His hand released Samehada, letting the sword fall gracefully to the floor, before he swept down and caught it, ripping it swiftly through the man's knees. Still alive, somehow, Fujika's eyes grew impossibly wider at the pain, the shock from bleeding out setting in as his body began to crumble in pieces to the floor. The shark-nin rose up to meet the man's terrified gaze, skin painted in slick blood
Kisame brought the sword to rest on his shoulder, as his face spread out into a vicious grin, sharp teeth shining in the moonlight.
"The Akatsuki sends its' regards."
He swung the sword fast, and like a spiny guillotine it whipped around and cut through the man's fat neck, disconnecting his head from his neck in less than a second. As it bounced onto the floor that vicious grin spread impossibly farther on Kisame's face.
Oh yes, he thought as the shark resumed its quiet circling, it must truly be a pleasure to watch him work.
…
As amazing of a spectacle as that had been, the particular high he had ridden on it had only lasted until he was just a few miles away from the mansion. That's when he had run into the large group of Suna hunter-nin – awfully far from their sandbox, he mused – who had managed to nearly bring him down.
"Excellent." Pein finally turned from the heavy window, making his way towards the desk Kisame was kneeled before. He pulled a rather hefty envelope from the top drawer and laid it down on top. "With such...distractions...out of the way, it should be nominally easier to navigate the coming days." He nodded to Kisame, who stood and picked up the envelope, squeezing it briefly before placing it into his cloak. Money was nice of course, but it did him little good right now. Nonetheless he bowed his dizzy head with a soft thank you to the man across him.
"Anything else, Leader-sama?" He hadn't meant for the words to come out slurred but they did, if just a bit. Fortunately, if Pein noticed anything amiss, he didn't remark on it.
"That will be all, Kisame. I do have another mission for you but it can wait. I'll give you the rest of the week to rest up beforehand. I have a feeling you're going to need it."
The shark-nin didn't miss the slightly amused smirk on his leader's face but he didn't have time to focus on whatever the hell that could mean. Not wasting anymore time he made his way quickly out of the room through the hall outside.
"Kisame-san?"
'Damn it.'
"Hai, Konan-san?" He paused his steps at the woman's inquisitive voice. Didn't these people recognize a getaway attempt when they saw one?
"You should see Sakura-san about your injuries. She should be able to fix that right up."
Kisame couldn't help the ironic laughter that bubbled up into his throat at the blue-haired woman's suggestion. The very last thing he wanted to do was be confined in a room with the frustrating little captive. Her very presence brought him a discomfort that he couldn't even begin to understand and he didn't want to.
Not wanting to draw this discussion out further, he merely gave a soft 'hn' to indicate his receipt of her suggestion and continued his way towards the main living area of the building.
…
Konan looked on at the back of the man as he continued his way down the hall. She knew her mention of having Sakura tend to his injuries would be in vain but she couldn't help but bring it up. Pein obviously didn't agree with her little attempts to draw the two shinobi together and she couldn't help but feel like she was somehow going against his wishes whenever she tried her hand at it. The unsettling feeling that loomed over her with this entire situation was only growing as the rosette kunoichi's time spent here drew out.
Something had to be done before all of their mistakes played out.
She rose from her position on the floor and with a resolved determination opened the doors to Pein's chamber. The orange haired man was seated behind his desk, carefully going through a stack of papers. He didn't even raise his head as he acknowledged her presence, deep voice echoing out towards her.
"Something's bothering you."
Konan halted her movements, hands coming to clasp each other nervously before she finally spoke.
"Kisame's injured. It seems worse than he's letting on."
"And? Kisame will be fine. That's what we have Haruno for." Finally finding the paper he was looking for, his ringed irises came to rest upon her.
Konan shifted imperceptibly under his gaze, butterflies shifting within her core. After all this time, he still could unwind her with just one look.
"Pein, you know he won't allow that. He avoids her like the plague, even if he doesn't know why."
The soft chuckle that escaped Pein set her own nerves on fire, though she remained as stoic and cool as ever. Obviously, her warnings fell on deaf ears with him but surely something could be done to ensure that, at least due to his own stubbornness, Kisame wouldn't meet his own demise because he would rather die than deal with the girl.
"And you know, Konan-chan, that our little medic is fully aware of her role here. She won't let him avoid her if she knows his life is in danger. I've made it very clear that if any of our members were to meet peril under her watch that the consequences would be dire."
"But will that be enough? If he hides it so well that she never even notices..."
A warm hand caught hers across the desktop and stilled her words, soothing chakra swirling around her so intensely that it nearly knocked the breath from her lungs.
"It will have to be enough. You worry too much, hana." The sweet term of endearment did not go unnoticed by her, truly he must feel her apprehension if he was using outside of their bed.
"I suppose so... I'm just afraid of where this might lead us. It's a rather dangerous game to play."
The man across from her brought her hand to his lips in response, barely grazing the skin there in the affectionate response.
"You just need to trust in me, my hana. I always know what's right." He released her hand dismissively, indicating that he had work he needed to tend to.
'Trust in him.'
It was something she had done unwaveringly, without fail, for as long as she could remember. It had never been hard to do before so it shouldn't be hard now, she thought as she made her way back beyond the hall.
'Trust in Pein.'
Such a simple request and yet her heart couldn't bring itself to fully commit this time.
…
Kisame was almost to his room, his tiny sanctuary of privacy, and finally he could succumb to the sleep he desperately needed. Surely whatever was clogging up his system would wear off with some rest. He'd probably have to stitch up the seeping wound on his chest but surely after some time his chakra would kick in to take care of the problem.
It was the only option currently on the table.
'Not the only option...'
The thought was banished from his head just as soon as it entered. He refused to seek out that infuriating girl. It was a non-option as far as he was concerned and really, he was so close, just a few more doors and he'd be-
"Unf!"
Something collided into his chest and he winced at the pain as the offending object made contact with the throbbing open wound, but it was so light that it did little more than momentarily cause him to flinch back. Pale eyes traveled down towards the floor to land upon a rather disheveled, fired up kunoichi rubbing her hip where it had made contact with the stone.
"Hmph."
Startling emerald eyes flew up towards him as a cascade of responses flittered across her face. Shock, irritation and then anger all surfaced as his gaze lingered on her face, capturing her eyes in his, veridian pools drawing him in deeper. Briefly his eyes drifted to her perfect, rose-colored pout before he snapped his attention back to her eyes, the cool look of indifference and mild annoyance he struggled to maintain through his few interactions with her seemingly much more difficult to keep than he had remembered.
'Blood loss will do that...'
Before he could find himself drawn into this little battle of wills further, and thoroughly deciding this wasn't worth his time, he stepped around her with as much poise as he could muster. Intending to put as much distance between them as possible he started his way back down the hall, praying to whatever deity that had long forsaken him that she wouldn't notice his unstable gait.
This was made all the more difficult as he found himself assaulted with her form before him again.
"What the hell is your problem!?" She exclaimed in a strangled, half-scream, and briefly he thought she looked a little bit like a cat, long hair whipping out behind her like a tail. As amusing as that was, he didn't have time for this. He could literally hear his bed calling to him. The nausea had returned and this time trying to fight it back was even more difficult. He swallowed carefully and fought down the urge to push her into the wall.
"My problem, kunoichi-" He started with an irritated sigh but this fiery little pink cat wasn't having it, cutting his words off with her own.
"It's Sakura." She ground out through clenched teeth. Hands coming to rest on her hips.
Clearly this method wasn't working and it was time to reel in the fear, or else he risked passing out right here in the hall. And wouldn't that just be something?
"My problem, Sakura," He drew the syllables of her name out for effect, trying very hardly to ensure they were steeped in malice but he was almost certain he just sounded drunk. With movement faster than he should have ever made in his condition, and with nausea that threatened to spring up all of his stomach contents, he closed the distance between them. His head dipped down low, mouth nearly coming in contact with the shell of her ear and he continued, not missing the way she shivered as his breath made contact with her skin, "Is the little kunoichi standing between me and my bed. Move."
Her eyes lingered on his face for just a moment, dipping down briefly to peer into his cloak. He cursed inwardly as he watched the gears turn in her pretty little head, expression changing at her realization.
"You're injured. Let me-" She reached out towards his cloak and his fight or flight kicked in hard, hoping she wouldn't see the almost scared look that had taken over his expression. Without thinking his arm snapped out of his cloak, the sudden movement intensifying his dizziness, and he snatched her wrists, halting her effectively.
"No." He ground out, hating how weak he sounded in just a single word. Truly pathetic.
As if she'd been burned, she pulled her arm out of his grip and he assumed that would be the end of it.
"Don't be ridiculous," She began, steeling her face against him, "I-It's my job to tend to all of you when you get hurt. Now let me see."
Apparently not. He would have rolled his eyes if he was certain that the simple movement wouldn't find him face first on the floor. Unbelievably her hand came back up to interfere in his personal space and he swatted it back down, desperately trying to keep his stomach from betraying him again. It was coming in intense waves now. He had to get to his room now!
"Stop acting like a child and let me help you!"
"I don't need your help, kunoichi." Weaker than before came that response but he had tried so very hard to sound like he meant it.
There was no more time to waste, he decided as the floor and walls started to tremble around him, his limbs falling weaker with every second. He tried to push past her but managed to collide into the wall instead. He felt his cloak sticking to his front as blood flowed faster from his wound than before.
What the hell...
The cool wall felt amazing against his skin and he came to the blurry realization that his skin was blindingly hot, though internally he felt a chill so deep it penetrated into his bones. He briefly registered his name being said, the sound of Sakura's voice pouring over him like a soothing waterfall, but he couldn't seem to focus on her words. Surely, she was pleading some sort of case to him and in a desperate act of self-preservation he felt himself pulling towards her promise of help. As if being guided to her unwillingly, he couldn't even stop himself as her dainty little arm wrapped around his back, leading him in some unknown direction. Everything blurred together and her scent filled his senses with extraordinary intensity, driving the air from his burning lungs and rocking him to his very core. Such a familiar smell, simple but divine. It encompassed every sense he still had registry of. Vaguely a rush of light registered in his blurry eyesight but he couldn't be bothered by it, eyes closing instinctually.
He barely had time to register his body hitting something soft before blackness crashed into him.
…
A/N: There was actually a lot more I wanted to include in this chapter but I've decided to piece it in half. There ya are! It was surprisingly easier than I expected to write that so I'll take it as a good sign. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out soon, I'd really love to finish this story. Not that it's anywhere near the end.