If looks could kill, he would've died the minute that Sakura saw him. He had explained what had happened and her look had only darkened even more, somehow he knew it was his fault. With a deep sigh she turned around to the gray haired man that was following her.

"Send you hounds out Kakashi, if she used her chakra she's most likely unconscious somewhere in Konoha. "

Without even arguing he quickly performed the necessary hand signs and the pack appeared in front of them.

"What can we do for you boss? " asked the small pug.

"Ino's missing, she's very low on chakra and most likely unconscious. Find her." He ordered his nin-dogs before the all disappeared. Once they were off only did the lazy ninja decide to speak up.

"Do you want us to help? "

Again with the murderous look. "No it's fine. Kakashi's dog will find her, plus wouldn't want to bother you on your date. " She said bitterly before turning around and back to do her rounds; copy-nin in tow.

A sigh escaped his lips as guilt washed over him, before he could think too much of it someone grabbed his hand and pulled him so hard he almost lost his balance.

"Come on! " said the bossy voice of the sand princess. "You heard her; your teammate will be fine so let's go!"

He looked at Temari and another wave of guilt washed over him. She looked so happy and so hopeful; it pained him a little to have to destroy all of her expectations so very soon. He had only agreed to go on a date with her because his mother kept nagging him to get a wife, but the truth was she wasn't who he wanted to be with…

"I'm sorry Temari, but I'm tired. I think I'll head back home…" he said rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"Well I'll come with you, I mean it's not like I have anywhere else to be and I am going to need some water for these flowers; so let's go!" she said grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

How troublesome… this woman is so persistent and bossy…


Something was nudging her, trying to hoist her up onto something so very soft.

I have to help them! Open your eyes Ino!

If only she could open her eyes or her mouth she could tell them what happened and tell them to go get Sakura. If only….


As soon as they stepped into the compound he could sense something was horribly wrong. In all of his 18 years of life, he had never seen that many deer gathered around the compound. They seemed to be reckless, which only increased his stress level. He started walking faster until he finally spotted his father who was preparing his medical kit and weapon pouch.

"Dad! What's wrong with the deer?" he asked.

"I don't know for sure, I reckon one of them is seriously injured somewhere in the forest. Grab the medical kit I might need your help."

He stopped himself from muttering his usual phrase and quickly grabbed the medical kit. As he was running after his father and the deer they were following, he started to wonder what could have happened. Could it be Hidan? No, he would have felt his chakra… His genius brain starting imagining all of the possibilities and the most logical one he could come up with was that a fawn was probably injured.

In theory, all of his guesses could have been right; unfortunately none were. Even with his 200+ IQ he could have never guessed, or be prepared for that matter, to what was waiting for him. Ino was sprawled on the ground, blood dripping out of her mouth and her hair all messed up. However, believe it or not, that wasn't what was bothering him the most; it was her tear strained face that made his heart clenched. Once again he had made her cry.

"Why are you just standing there, son? Hurry and help me! "

His father's voice snapped him out of his train of thoughts and he quickly came back to his senses. In the end, they were right; one of the deer had twisted his ankle. By the looks of it, it had tried to hoist Ino on its back, since they knew who she was they were probably trying to save her.

"Grab Ino and take her to the hospital; I'll take care of the deer. " said his father in an urgent tone.

While it is a known fact around Konoha that Shikamaru Nara is a very lazy person and usually avoid doing any work when he can; anyone that saw him run that day wouldn't be able to confirm that statement. Never in his life had he run so fast, but this was different from any other situation; Ino was hurt and it was because of him. The feeling of guilt that plagued him was simply unbearable, all of the times he had hurt her were unintentional; he did care for her quite a lot. It took him only a few minutes to cross the village and arrive at the hospital and a few seconds before he spotted the pink haired medic.

"Sakura! " he cried out a little desperately.

Both the copy-nin and the medic turned around at the sound of the cry and in a nanosecond Ino was placed on a stretcher and Sakura's hand started glowing the all too familiar green. As he watched them take the blond beauty away from him, he felt a pang in his heart. He needed to make sure that she was okay, but didn't want anyone one to see him. It was time to use his newest technique; he stepped back and quietly slipped into the shadows. He had invented that jutsu after witnessing Ino's Mind Hoping jutsu, just as she jumped mind he jumped shadows. He jumped shadows until he was in her room and could look over her peaceful face. As much as admitting it made him sound like a stalker, he often did use that technique when he wanted to make sure she was alright.

"She'll be fine; she just needs to rest properly this time. We better leave her alone so she can sleep. " said the pink haired girl in the room.

"Hai, why don't you go get your coat Sakura and I'll walk you home. " said the copy-nin with a small smile and a reassuring shoulder squeeze.

She nodded weakly before exiting the room; the copy-nin turned around to face the bed and started doing a few hand signs.

What in the world is he doing? Thought the young Nara, the hand signs were executed much too quickly for him to realise what was going on. Before he even had time to ponder any further the copy-nin's gloved hand reached into the shadow, grabbed his collar and yanked him out of his hiding place.