Chapter 1: The Mission
Ino groaned as a persistent knocking was heard from her door. She rolled over, pulling her comforter tight over her head. She smiled as the knocking stopped, but it was short lived as the knocking turned into a frantic banging. Ino let out slew of curses as she kicked off her comforter and sheets and stomped to the front door.
"What the fuck is your problem?! Do you know what time it is?!" Ino growled as she yanked open the door.
Her anger quickly turned into confusion and worry as she saw a frantic looking Sakura.
"Ino!" Sakura shouted as she grabbed her blonde friend's hands.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino asked quickly, returning Sakura's grip.
"It's Sasuke, he's—he's in a coma! Please, you have to come! You have to—" Sakura stated, frantic, as tears began to fall from her eyes.
Ino grabbed Sakura's shoulders, shaking them slightly. "Sakura, breath. Let me get ready and we'll go take a look okay?" Ino said calmly, leading her pink haired friend back into her apartment.
Sakura nodded as Ino left her by the door to return to her room and dress quickly. She had pulled on her normal purple outfit, and raked her fingers through her loose hair before gathering it into her signature ponytail in a matter of minutes. She quickly returned to Sakura who seemed to be in another world. Ino slipped on her sandals and pushed Sakura out the door, locking it behind her.
"Where are we going?" Ino asked as they made their way out of Ino's apartment building.
"The hospital," Sakura mumbled. Ino nodded and they both set off towards the hospital that was only minutes away using the rooftops. They arrived quickly and Ino followed down the corridor towards the ICU.
Ino's brain had been running a mile a minute since she saw Sakura in her doorway. Of course Sasuke was hurt. Of course he had to have a brain injury that only she could fix. Of course it had to be him,the one person she hated with every bone in her body. Ino couldn't say no to helping a leaf ninja, especially him. Because she might hate him, she might despise him but he was the last Uchiha, and Konoha needed him.
At this moment in time Ino hated the fact that she specialized in the brain, but she would do this. She would save Sasuke, but for Sakura, for Konoha. For her best friend, for her village, and not for the traitorous bastard that tried to kill the people she loved.
When they entered the room she saw an unconscious Sasuke laying in a bed, hooked up to multiple monitors. He had bandages covering most his body, and Tsunade and Shizune were checking his vitals. Naruto and Kakashi were standing in the corner, trying to stay out of the way, but she could see how scared, how worried they looked. They didn't want to lose him…again.
"What's the situation?" Ino asked from the doorway, drawing everyone's attention.
"Yamanaka, good," Tsunade said, grabbing the chart and handing it to Ino, letting her read it as she began explaining the situation. "He was late contacting us, and Sasuke is never late updating us on his mission, which is still confidential. When it became evident that he was not going to contact us the Hokage decided to send Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to his last known location. Upon arrival they found him unconscious and in bad shape. Sakura preformed lifesaving medical ninjutsu on scene before transporting him here. Sasuke was also found with what looks like the enemy, who was also unconscious and in a life threatening state. Sakura also performed enough medical ninjutsu to sustain his life so Sai could transfer him to Ibiki."
Ino nodded, as she stayed quiet for a moment, taking in all the information. After a few moments of silence she walked towards Sasuke and placed a glowing green hand on his forehead. His old teammates looking on with bated breath.
Ino turned towards Tsunade, "It's a genjutsu induced coma. I'm going to have to enter his mind to try to pull him out of it, but I can't guarantee anything."
Tsunade nodded in understanding. "Of course. We will hook you up to monitors to keep track of your vitals."
Ino nodded and looked down at Sasuke, his face relaxed making him look much younger than he actually was. Bringing Ino back to her genin days when she thought she loved the man before her. She looked towards Kakashi, catching his gaze. "Chouji and Shikamaru, are they still in Suna?" She asked.
"They should be back within the next day," he answered.
"Good," she mumbled to herself. She turned back to Tsunade, seriousness exuding from her, "If I happen too still be in his mind when they return, do not let Shikamaru in the room."
"Why can't Shikamaru come into the room?" Naruto asked, confused.
Ino ignored the question and turned back to Kakashi. "I need you to make this a mission. You need to tell me that I have to bring him back, and when Shikamaru yells and uses his angry voice you need to tell him it's a mission, and that he cannot come in this room."
Kakashi nodded and straightened his body from a slouching position. "Yamanaka Ino," he began, his voice stern and his eyes serious, "I give you the mission as followed: you are to enter Uchiha Sasuke's mind to retrieve him from the genjutsu in which he is trapped. Do not return until you have successfully retrieved him. Is there anything you require to successfully complete this mission?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I require that Nara Shikamaru not be allowed in this room until my mission is complete," Ino replied.
He nodded in comprehension. Ino moved to the sit on the bed Shizune brought into the room. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, calming the thoughts that had begun floating through her head.
"Ino," Sakura called, gaining Ino's attention. "You—you're my best friend, and I wouldn't be the person I am today without you. I know this is dangerous, and I just—I just…I won't hate if you fail," she finished, tears starting to fall from her eyes. Naruto stepped up and wrapped around his pink haired teammate and friend.
Ino smiled as she saw the little girl she found years ago crying from the bullying she had been subjected to in front of her. "Sakura," Ino smiled, grabbing the crying woman's hand. "When have you known me to fail? I'm Yamanaka Ino, daughter of Yamanaka Inoichi, student of Sarutobi Asuma, I don't fail," she finished winking at her best friend.
Sakura returned her smile before Ino turned her attention back to the mission at hand. She adjusted herself on the bed and flew through the appropriate hand signs before collapsing on the bed. Tsunade adjusted Ino's body on the bed as Shizune began hooking her up to multiple monitors.
"What if—what if she doesn't find him?" Sakura whispered.
Naruto pulled her closer to him, "Come on Sakura, when have you know Ino to give up? She's as stubborn as me!"
Sakura chuckled and nodded, but kept her attention on the two unconscious people in the room.
Thank you all for reading! I have never written a story like this, and I'm really excited about it. I'm not sure how I want to approach all parts of the story yet, but I do have a rough outline for the entire story finished. I'm still not sure about the little details just yet, but that's fine. I don't think I'll actually show Ino in Sasuke's brain seeing as this story is supposed to focus more on Shikamaru, but I'm VERY excited to write this and share it with you all! Please let me know what you think of the first chapter so I can have a little more idea of what I want to do with the details of the story!