She opened her eyes slowly, only to shut them right back. She waited a few minutes before risking it again; this time slower. White. Everywhere. White sheets, white wall, white ceiling and floor. A sigh escaped her lips as she realised where she was, the only place that was all white.
The hospital.
She leaned her head back down and ran her hand through her blond hair; the more she thought about it the more she remembered. She had gone on what was supposed to be a fairly easy mission: get a scroll and come back. However, things never work out the way they should. They (obviously) got ambushed by a big lot of rogue shinobis. Not only were they outnumbered but they were also a very strange team composition. Instead of the usual team ten, their chubby team-mate had been replaced by Suna's representative: none other than Temari. Said sand-nin got very reckless during the battle and rushed in on her own and was immediately injured, which of course meant that Shikamaru lost all of his concentration as he rushed toward the fallen blond. As a result she had to jump in and save their sorry asses. Of course short range combat wasn't her forte and as a last attempt she used a very secret Yamanaka technique that the copy-nin had agreed, although reluctantly, to teach her. She was very close to exhaustion when, by sheer luck, Genma's ANBU squad were passing by and ended up saving the day. She had passed out shortly after the senbon user's squad had arrived, due to chakra depletion, thus why she was in the hospital right now.
I wonder who had to carry me back, surely not Shikamaru; he was way too preoccupied with her to even see me. She thought somewhat bitterly.
A voice interrupted her bitter train of thoughts: "I see you're finally awake."
She pushed herself upward and stared at the other occupant of the room. She smiled when she saw the Copy-nin sitting crossed legged on the bed facing her with his ever so famous book in his hand. He was in his normal jounin attire, which means he wasn't injured; so why was he in the hospital?
"Why hello Kakashi-sensei, what brings you here on this fine day?" she asked smugly. She had a small idea that the real reason he was there involved a certain pink haired medic.
"Been waiting for a certain blond to wake up." He answered putting his book down.
"Why? To scold me? " She asked half-jokingly.
He sighed as he got up and place the book back into his pouch. "Ino, you have to be more careful. I agreed to teach you the mind crush technique against your father's wishes. It's a technique that drains a lot of chakra and you have to be careful while using it. You're lucky Genma's team had a medic otherwise you'd already be dead by now. " He said more serious than she had ever heard him,
"I know, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight…." She admitted with shame. "How long was I out?"
"You've been here for about 4 days. "
"Oh shit…" she muttered.
"You don't say. While you were sleeping, I was getting scolded by every single person that came to see you and knew I was the one to teach you that jutsu! "He whined.
"And you deserve every single word." said a third voice that had just entered the room. "Glad to see you're okay Ino."
Said blond turned her head to see her best-friend for years and her newer quieter Hyuga friend. They were both wearing their medical coats, meaning this was not a friendly visit but more a professional one.
"You gave us quite a scare Ino, when I saw Genma carrying your lifeless form I thought for sure we had already lost you. "
So I was right, it wasn't him who carried me back…
"Anyways we have a lot of work on our hand, Hinata?"
"Yes, please try to relax Ino-chan while I check your chakra level. You reserve were quite depleted when you arrived . " She activated her family heirloom and took a quick look. "They seem to be up, but still not perfect. I recommend that you don't use any chakra for another day or two until you're back to normal levels. " She said with a soft smile.
A nurse came bursting into the room, interrupting the heiress's speech. "I'm very sorry Haruno-san, but we need Hyuga-sama in the delivery room now."
The indigo haired girl bid her goodbyes and rushed out of the room hot on the nurse's tail.
"She seems to be adjusting well to the doctor role." Said Ino, hoping to divert the subject from her case.
"Yeah, she's a really big help and she loves to be in the delivery room. But we aren't here to talk about Hinata. " She said turning her attention back to her best-friend. "Although everything else looks good I'm gonna have to ask you to stay here until you're all clear. And you! " She said turning to her old sensei with a murderous glare. "To show how grateful you are to me for not ratting you out to her parents, you are going to keep her company and make sure she has everything she needs. And no smut! " She yelled while snatching the book away that he had pulled out at some point of time.
"Yes ma'Am. " he answered giving her an eye crinkle.
"Say Sakura… " Started Ino in a low voice. "By any chance did he come to visit me once? "
The pink haired medic's face darkened a little and she answered in an equally low voice: "I'm sorry Ino…"
She plastered a fake smile on her face and started rambling: "Oh no big deal right? Hey I really need to go outside… alone…Can I go to the flower shop to change? I'll be right back promise and you know it's really close and all…." She said designating her white pyjama pants and purple tank top.
"I'm really not supposed to let you out yet…" she answered with a sigh. She took another look at her friend, the usually so strong headed sitting on her hospital bed ready to burst out in tears at any moment. "But, since the flower shop is right next door I guess I can make an exception. Kakashi help her up, she hasn't walked in four days so we'll wheel her to the door. "
"Yes ma'am." He said helping the youngest Yamanaka out of her bed.
"You are so whipped." she muttered while he was helping her into the wheelchair.
"Hey you're her best friend, you know how freakingly strong she is. And I happened to like my face the way it is now. "He whispered.
They both accompanied her downstairs, she got up wobbling a little, promised Sakura to come back in 20 minutes top and turned around to leave. As soon as she exited the hospital and started walking on the road she realised she wasn't wearing any shoes.
Oh well. She thought suddenly in a brighter mood at the she breathed the fresh hair and felt the wind on her face.
She walked slowly towards her family's shop, stumbling at every step but never falling. After what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only a few minutes, the flower shop was finally in her sight. The smile on her face quickly vanished however when she saw who was standing in front of said shop.
What is Temari still doing here? Shouldn't she be back in Suna? Well I have to go in one way or another… She thought, but as she was about to start walking again, he walked out of said shop holding a huge bouquet of red roses.
No, it can't be! They have to be for his mother, or Kurenai, or Asuma. No! I mean he's way too lazy to take her out on a date right? Right?
And just like in a melodramatic movie all of his actions seemed to be in slow motion as he offered the sand princess the flowers. She took the flowers from her blushing lazy team-mate's hand and a small blush of her own crept on her face; this was most definitely a date. Tears started gathering up in her eyes, she wanted to run away as far and fast as possible but legs refused to listen to her.
I have to get out of here! Screamed her mind.
As if they sensed that someone was watching them only a few feet away both turned to face the stunned blond clad in her pyjamas in the middle of the street. Shikamaru was the first one to react and walked towards her asking: "Ino? What are you doing here? "
She opened her mouth to say something; anything! As he continued approaching her and tears started cascading down her face freely.
"Ino? You okay? Shouldn't you still be in the hospital? " he asked almost caringly as he was standing at arm's length.
She shook her head vehemently to make the tears go away and without realising it her hands quickly started forming seals.
When he realised what she was doing it was already too late: "No Ino! You're not-" before he could finish she had vanished in a swirl of black rose petals. "Black petals? Usually they're red…" he muttered.
She stumbled in an all too familiar place. Why was she here? Was it because she was thinking about him too much? A cough fit attacked her and blood started dripping down her mouth, she tried to move but her leg gave out and she fell head first in the ground.
