Chapter 8

Questions with no Answers

Ino stood, perfect posture, aligned with her two ex-team mates. She glowered for no particular reason at the woman in front of her, her jaw was clenched slightly as she fidgeted with her lithe fingers. Despair was draping over the room and the young blonde felt like the silence was slowly chewing away at her already fading sanity. She heard Shikamaru shift from one foot to another before adding some comment about the events that have transpired. Nothing made sense to Ino; it was all just incoherent syllables and muffled words. She waited for the conversation between her hokage and one of her closest friend to end before she stepped out of the room; respectfully dismissing herself with a nod before doing so. Concern directed towards Ino drown in the honey hue iris of Tsunade before she gave her a curt nod.

Ino felt as if her feet weren't touching the ground. She felt like it was all a dream; just a sickly disturbed nightmare. She prayed to whatever powerful being out there that it was, but she knew better. She wasn't that naïve girl anymore. She couldn't put on a smile and pretend anymore; this was life and she had to deal with it, whether on not she wished to. She didn't want to be mature though; she didn't want to be the strong one. She wanted to be able to break down and cry, but she knew deep down that would make things worse. She couldn't let feelings get in the way at the moment; she still had something to do before then. Something that will effectively break her from the inside out, but if she didn't do it it would just make it that much harder.

Her tired feet dragged on and on; down the streets of her familiar home town. She hadn't been home for a month and a half now; it was slightly comforting to be home, but only slightly. It was just another reminder that it really happened. She trudged onwards and didn't care much about the stares and murmurs she was receiving from the not-so-comforting townsfolk. She hadn't showered in a week and her eyes had been red and irritated from the dirt and blood contaminating them. Her shoes torn and clothes nearly shredded to pieces; this wasn't about her though. Sooner than she preferred she was standing outside her parents' house. She felt a tinge of pain stab her in the heart. She slowly moved her way in through the front door; not bothering to knock or even announce it was her. Her mother would see her soon enough, as if on the woman read her thoughts Ino heard lightly footsteps slap down the stairs in an even pace.

Her mother turned to look at her daughter once she was placed at the foot of the stairs; ready to make a sly remark until she took in her daughter's broken appearance. She rushed over to her and hugged her tightly before speaking in a rushed hushed voice as if someone would hear. "Oh my God, honey, what happened?"

Ino relished in the feeling of her mother's loving embrace before she pulled away softly and held both of her mother's hands in her own. "Mom, let's sit down." Ino's voice was raspy and unfamiliar to both of the women when it escaped her mouth but neither commented and made it over to the living room and taking a seat just as Ino suggested. The young blonde stared into the still water blue eyes that mimicked her own before she brushed a few strands of platinum blonde hair behind her mother's ear; a loving gesture she picked up from said woman. Mrs. Yamanaka's brow furrowed in confusion; she saw pain and fear marring Ino's usually calm face. What slightly scared her is it showed brightly through her dim eyes.

"Ino, talk to me." Mrs. Yamanaka coaxed her daughter in a soft, comforting voice before she held securely onto Ino's hands again.

Ino looked down, obviously torn between something very troubling, and chewed on her bottom lip nervously. By the time the girl collected herself enough and dared to look her mother in the eyes tears were brimming in them, but she didn't allow for them to fall. Couldn't allow them to fall. "They killed Dad."

Those three simple words sent Mrs. Yamanaka's brain completely blank. Her heart sank into her stomach and she suddenly felt the urge to vomit, her expression didn't change for a few seconds. She merely squeezed her daughter's hands as tightly as she possibly could before it finally hit her. Her husband, Inoichi, was dead. Killed. Murdered. She didn't want to think of any more possible words; she didn't want to think of anything ever again, period. A sound emanated from the room; a croak of some sort, and Mrs. Yamanaka didn't quite realize she was the one who the atrocious sound came from. Quite suddenly; too suddenly, tears came rushing down the widow's cheeks.

She wasn't Mrs. Yamanaka anymore; along with the title, she lost the only man she'd ever loved. The tears came down like a pouring river and all Ino could do was grab her mother and wrap her into a secure and protective hug while she rocked them both back and forth. "It'll be okay, it'll be okay." She murmured over and over again.

The real question was, did she believe it?

Did she believe either of them would ever be okay again? Her mother had lost the man she had loved her entire life and Ino had lost her one and only father. The man that raised her and stood by her every decision, who always helped and supported her throughout her entire life, he had been the words of wisdom that she followed throughout her life. Now, without him, how could she live? How could her mother? He loved them with everything he had and they loved him, with him gone such a big piece of their lives will both be missing. There will be a place within both of their hearts that could never possibly be filled again.

Her mother clung to her daughter like Ino used to do to her after a terrible nightmare. She was pathetic. Mrs. Yamanaka was crying all over her heartbroken daughter, she should be the one consoling her but the tears just wouldn't stop. The pain just wouldn't stop. She wanted her love, she couldn't believe that he had disappeared as easily as that.

"Why?"

That was an unfair question to ask Ino, she knew she wouldn't, couldn't have an answer to that. There was no reason good enough for Mrs. Yamanaka. He was a loving husband and a wonderful father, an extraordinary ninja. He didn't deserve to be taken from them so quickly, before he should have been taken.

If there was one thing that Mrs. Yamanaka knew it was that life was not something fair. It didn't care how much you cared for someone. It didn't care how much you cried over a loss of a life. No broken friendship, no ruined relationship would ever been enough to satisfy the greedy need for despair that life craved.

And Ino was starting to see it the exact same way.

0o0

A week had passed since the devastating news Ino delivered to her mother and Ino was receding into herself, she wouldn't speak to anyone she didn't have to for longer than five minutes. Ino had completely ignored all human contact besides that of her mother or if she was obligated to make said contact.

Life hadn't been very eventful since then, she would train and go home then go to sleep, sometimes grab something to eat. Then do the whole process over again, But today was different, today she broke her routine, today she had decided to head to the ninja academy, she wasn't exactly sure what called her there but regardless of why and how she was there.

She sat on an old wooden swing that was hung from a incredibly large tree, it's branches and leaves just barely poked their heads over the academy roof, it had grown since her years in the old school. She remembered she used to ditch with Naruto, Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru and they would all have to out run the Hokage and Iruka-sensei. The whole town could hear Iruka's shrill screams, it made the florist's lips curve into an almost invisible smile. She slowly started swinging back and forth, in some weird way this repetitive motion calmed the blonde, it sent a way of nostalgia pumping through her veins.

Back and forth

Back

Forth

Back

Forth

She could've sat there for days just letting thought after thought plummet her already overworked brain while she would swing back and forth. Back and forth, that reminded her of her relationship with a certain pinkette.

Their relationship was constantly swinging back and forth, one moment it was wonderful the next it was terrible. The both of them butt heads too much for them to have a consistent friendship. Ever since Sasuke entered both of their lives it has been utter turmoil for them and their friendship. They would find anything to fight over, anything that could possibly cause a conflict between the pair. At times they would fight over nothing at all, just fight to fight. Sometimes it felt like the fighting would never stop, but it always did.

But one thing that still surprised Ino is that every time they fought or disagreed they would always find their way back to each other. The relationship they shared was unstable and maybe it was harmful to both parties, maybe even destructive, but she knew they both cared way to damn much about each other to stop whatever it was they had.

And she knew Sakura knew it too.

She suddenly felt her heart clench. Her father used to push her on this swing.

'Dad.'

She let her memories consume her.

"How was school Ino?" A deep husky voice asked a young blonde, his callused hands pushed against the girl's back gently moving her and the swing she was sitting on back and forth like clock work.

Back and forth.

"Great daddy! I had a lot of fun with Saku-chan today!" A large smile was plastered across her lips, she was aware her father couldn't see her smile but she knew he heard the happiness in her voice. Her hands were holding onto the thick ropes that supported the swing securely as she lightly kicked her legs back and forth.

"That's good to hear baby. I'm glad you had a good day today, you haven't been having problems with the other girls in your class have you?" Inoichi's voice turned stern as he asked, still pushing his daughter on her favorite swing.

"No! In fact, Saku-chan and I are getting along with them a little better." Ino pouted at her dad's accusations. How could he think his little angel would cause problems with those other girls?

"That's my girl." He chuckled and started pushing her higher and higher.

"D-daddy what're you doing! I'm gonna fall if I go to high!" Ino was terrified now begging her dad to stop pushing her faster.

"Come on now Ino, you gotta face your fears head on! Here, I'll keep pushing you until you try to swing on your own, 'kay?" Ino squealed at her dad's reckless behavior, what if he killed her?

The young girl glued her eyes shut and started kicking her legs in time with each swing, soon enough she felt her father's touch leave her back, in a panic she opened her eyes to search for her dad. She looked straight in front of her to see her dad standing there with his arms outstretched and a huge smile stretching across his thin lips. "Ino, you did it!"

"Now jump off!"

Ino was terrified but she knew her dad wouldn't do anything to hurt her, so she complied. While she was at the highest point of the swing she let the ropes go and propelled herself through the air. Soon enough her father's arms were wrapped around her, he caught her, and was now swinging her around in his arms.

"Baby, you did it!" His booming laughter could have filled the entire town, and soon his daughter's laughter joined his own. "Daddy, I did it! I did it! That was so much fun!"

After much more play the sun finally began to run into the hills and Inoichi had decided it was time to go, he lifted his daughter up on his shoulders and smiled proudly as he walked them both home.

"Ino I'm very proud of you. You faced your fears head on and that's not something a lot of people can do, heck, even I can't face my fears at times. Some day you're going to make an amazing ninja, one that the whole town can be proud of. Never forget that I love you, okay Ino?" His still water blue eyes shined with love for his daughter, how could he have possibly been so lucky?

Ino giggled and played with Inoichi's hair. "I love you too daddy, now we should get home, mommy will worry!"

And with that they hurried home in hopes of a warm meal, loving wife and a amazing mother awaiting them.

Ino bit her lip, God she missed him so much, too much. She wiped the tears that appeared at the corner of her eyes, now wasn't the time to cry, it seems like it never was anymore.

"Ino." A familiar voice called, the florist could hear footsteps approaching. She quickly sucked in a breath and tried to compose herself.

"Hey, Naruto." The young woman looked at her spiky haired friend as he made he way over to her. He sat against the truck of the tree and looked at Ino thoughtfully.

"What's on your mind?"

"My dad," Ino responded truthfully, still swinging back and forth.

"I'm sorry. I know times are tough, I just wish I could do or say something that would help. I know you don't want my pity and you probably don't even want to listen to me right now but I'm always here if you need to talk." He was trying to console her, she knew she needed it but she didn't want to accept it from him. She didn't say anything so the kyuubi took this as a sign that it was okay to continue.

"I know what it feels like to be alone, I know what if feels like to not have anyone there that you can talk to. This isn't something you should keep bottled up forever, if you bottle these feelings up they'll turn into hate and resentment. Iruka saved me from that; he saved me from myself, so let someone save you, let someone be here for you." Naruto tried to coax a response out of her and from the look on her face he was about to get one.

"Naruto, I don't need or want to have someone save me," She turned her hard still water eyes on him, her words full of venom. "I just want to be left alone, I'm tired of people taking pity on me and comparing me to them. I'm my own person and I don't need to be consoled over every hardship that I'm facing, now will you please leave." With that Ino averted her eyes from the usually spunky blonde, she didn't want him here anymore.

Naruto let a soft sign escape his lips as he stood, he patted Ino's shoulder before he left and murmured, "My offer still stands, if you need someone you know where to find me."

He walked away silently leaving the florist in solitude.

She couldn't take it anymore, it was all too much to bare. It was too much for her, her love for Sakura and the death of her Dad. Her reclusive mother as of late. She couldn't handle it all. Abruptly she stopped swinging, her feet dug into the soft soil. She was shaking now, she wrapped her arms around her body, embracing herself. A whirl pool was spinning within Ino's eyes as streaks upon streaks of salty liquid poured from her eyes, down her cheeks, onto her lap. She sobbed and sobbed and sobbed; she sobbed until her eyes were almost too puffy and red to see, until her chest hurt from the sudden intakes of breath. She cried until her entire body was numb.

'Would you still be proud of me now Dad?'

Unbeknownst to the blonde, someone had been calling her name for quite some times, Ino merely continued to sob. She didn't care who or what was around her at the moment she just needed to drown out all of her sorrow. At some point she had felt arms wrap around her and carry her off, not too long after that she felt soft objects surrounding her and what she assumed to be a blanket cover her but she couldn't place any other event that happened after that, soon enough she just let sleep take whatever there was left of her. She didn't care where she was or who she was with. She just had to slip away from it.

While Ino slept, a hand caressed her hair and a soft kiss was placed against her cheek.

'I'll let her sleep for now.' The hand and lips had left Ino, leaving the blonde with a dissatisfied look on her face.

The only thought that echoed within the blonde's mind was the same question she'd been asking since her run in with Naruto.

Would you still be proud of me now Dad?

Okay, yes, this is a shity chapter in my opinion and I probably could've done waaay better but... I'm just too much of a little shit to keep working on it xP I hope you guys at least like it those and please let me know what you think of it. I apologize for not having updated in such a long time but so much has gone on in the past... year.. or however freaking long its been since I've updated. It's just been so chaotic I haven't had much time for anything, and my inspiration for this story dwindled away, but, now I'm back with a vengeance! Aha.. aaany who... Thanks for everyone that has taken the time out of their busy lives to read and review this. It really means a lot to me. I'll be trying to update regularly again so wish me luck! (:

Read and Review please!