What a point love has brought me to

کس موڑ پہ ہے لائی عاشقی؟

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"I didn't remain conscious for long when we were still en route," Hinata recalled, her expression morphing into one that showed her concentration in thinking. Her hands in her lap started intertwining like they did whenever she was nervous as a child.

"When did you wake up?"

"Probably a day or two later," she confessed. "I felt terribly parched, my head was spinning and the nausea and vertigo were overwhelming,"

"They probably used anesthesia on you throughout the journey," Sasuke guessed, a twinge of anger hitting him even as he thought about it happening.

"Maybe," she said. "My... condition probably didn't help,"

An uncomfortable silence descended upon them at her statement, because they both knew exactly what condition she was referring to. Hinata knew she owed him an explanation but she wanted to go about the story chronologically. "Anyways, when I woke up-,"

"Did you know?" Sasuke interrupted.

Hinata paused. "What?"

"When you went out that night," he said, not meeting her eyes, every muscle in his body tensed, "Did you know you were pregnant?"

Hinata felt a rush of anger. Didn't he know her? She would never have willingly put her child in danger simply because of a tantrum she was having with her husband. But then again, she thought, the Hinata he knew wouldn't have done what this ruthless mother had done to him either.

"Of course not," she told him, careful in letting no emotion show on her face. "I would have told you,"

Sasuke didn't say anything. He just scoffed. "I don't know anymore. But go on,"

Hinata did.

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Hinata woke up to darkness and the sound of raindrops pattering over a tin roof.

She blinked; the darkness overwhelming to her head which was still spinning. God, she felt nauseous all over again. Where was she?

Her mind still felt blank when she tried to recall where she was and how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was-

Was what?

Panic started to well inside her when she realized she couldn't really feel her arms and legs. "Oh Gods," she breathed heavily, anxiety welling in her chest. Her voice was hoarse, as if it hadn't been used in a while.

"Breathe," a reassuring voice told her in her mind. "Calm down Hinata,"

...Neji

"Breathe in," his voice sounded, as if from far away. She obeyed the phantom in her memories as he guided her breath through this panic attack like he had done so many times in her life before. "Breathe out,"

She managed to get a rhythm in her breathing, focusing on only that one thing, before she carefully brought herself back to where she was. By now, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could see the outlines of objects around her. A few chairs...a table-

She had been going out when the car was attacked, she remembered slowly. They shot the car. Kai was dead. She was kidnapped.

Her heart dropped.

Why had she gone out in the first place, she berated herself. Sasuke had warned her that it was dangerous right now and even then, she hadn't listened. If she had just decided to wait for him at home, Kai wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't be wherever she was right now.

She tried to move her arms. With a jolt of relief, she realized her arms and legs weren't paralyzed, just very heavy and slightly numb. Also tied up.

She had been raised to be logical and analytical about every situation- hypothetical or real- presented to her. She tried to imagine this as one of Neji's complex situations she had to find a diplomatic route out of. She needed to think.

"You need to focus," Neji's lesson rang in her head. "There's always a way out,"

"Okay," she thought, recalling what little she knew of the situation. "Someone brought me here for leverage so they can't kill me yet,"

She realized the only thing left to do was wait for someone to come so she could further assess the situation. She would find a way out. She could negotiate.

Sasuke would save her.

Sasuke...

He would be so frantic. He would never let her go after this. There would be no more freedom after he found her. She didn't know if that thought was better or worse than the situation she was in right now.

Hinata didn't find any consolation in her thoughts. So she tried to drown it all out- the regrets, the anxiety and the panic.

She focused on the cool of the metal Uchiha pendant in the hollow of her neck and the pattering of drops on the tin roof of whatever warehouse she was stashed away in and hoped for the best.

___________

It was much, much later when she heard noise.

She had dozed off, feeling exhausted. When she became aware of the noise, she jolted awake. She was keenly aware of how much her head throbbed, how parched her throat was, how hard it was to keep her eyes open and how her arms and legs were pretty much numb again.

A dim bulb was lit up pretty close to where she was sitting, casting its yellow lighting near her face, encasing the rest of her surroundings in its glow. A group of men entered the room.

When the doors opened, Hinata shivered at the draft of cold wind that entered with them. The gates shut heavily behind them and she watched two men stand guard at the entrance while 2 others made their way towards her.

Hinata could feel her heart beating brutally against her chest as she watched the two important looking men approach. She had dealt with self-absorbed and important people her whole life- she could identify them at this point.

One of them was the most peculiarly elegant looking man she had ever set eyes on. His skin was so pale it was almost paper white under the ugly lighting, and even so his eyes were piercing blue. His hair was white when he stepped closer towards her and even his outfit was off-white.

"Hello Hinata," he greeted her with soft eyes and his voice was so warm that she was tempted to relax around him, despite knowing that he was the enemy.

Of course he knew her name. "Who are you?" she asked, casting a dubious look at his companion, who looked aloof at the whole thing. He had orange-ish hair and strange violet eyes, which were trained directly at her.

"I'm the Otsutski leader," The white-haired man told her, "But you may call me Toneri,"

Otsutski. Hinata wasn't familiar with the name.

"Why am I here?" she asked, trying to look as fierce as she didn't feel.

"You're here because your husband is a stubborn fool," he told her with a sneer that changed his whole demeanor. The soft look disappeared to give way to a sharp stare. He was undoubtedly dangerous.

"He's also a very possessive one," she told him through gritted teeth, leaning forward in her bindings despite her screaming limbs. "So he's not going to be very happy that you took me,"

Toneri also mimicked her, leaning forward, bending very slightly in his tall form. "Look at you," he cooed, "So magnificent even alone in enemy territory,"

"Am I supposed to cower in front of you?" she asked, even though a part of her was begging her to do just that if that's what it took to get her out.

"Maybe," he warned her, a strange smile coming over his face. "You know the things I could do to you?"

Hinata forced herself not to physically shake at his words- forced herself to keep her face straight. "I don't doubt the things your depraved mind could come up with,"

"Your husband has done much worse to his enemies I'm sure,"

The mention of Sasuke brought unexpected tears to her eyes, even as she tried to push them back. She missed him. She had been missing him for months.

God, she was tired. She was so, so tired. She wanted to just crawl into a hole and let herself pass away.

Instead, she leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes.

"Don't cry, princess," Toneri's voice turned soft again. "I won't hurt you,"

She shook her head, not wanting to call him out on his lie. "Leave me alone,"

"Maybe I'll keep you for myself," Toneri's voice turned gleeful. "You look like you were made for me,"

"Toneri, maybe it's time to check on the Uchiha's status instead of gloating," the orange haired man told him in a bored voice and Hinata opened her eyes to look at him.

"We can't leave her alone here," Toneri mused. "Maybe she should stay by my side,"

"Or maybe I can watch over her while you go and work the other kinks out of this obviously brilliant plan," the other man said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Enough, Pein," Toneri snapped. "Don't forget the generous compensation you're getting for letting us use your base,"

Pein didn't respond. Toneri sent her one last look. "Loosen those bonds a little," he instructed, before leaving. Hinata watched him go. She heaved a small sigh, which came out resembling a sob.

She could feel Pein's eyes on her as he bent down to loosen the ropes.

"Sasuke," she thought, "Please come find me,"

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Author's note: And we're back with our favorite (dysfunctional) couple. This and the next few chapters are what I was really writing and re-writing because I didn't want it to be overly detailed yet also give a good grasp of what really happened. Extortion, blackmailing and torture aren't really my forte so I'm writing this based on speculation (hello intelligence agency), so forgive any inaccuracies.