AN: Not sure where this chapter will lead me. As usual I get taken by the muse and get lost on the bunny highway of plotting it leads me on. Oh and ps. REVIEW PEOPLE! Geez, nobody reviews these days and it's totally discouraging....
Neji's eyes flickered open. He blinked them blearily, his entire body feeling like it'd been run over by a fleet of enemy ninja. All he could see in front of him was a blonde woman. He tried to focus but his head began to ache and he lifted his hand to stop the pounding.
"I-Ino?" He croaked. His throat was dry and scratchy and his mouth was full of cress. The woman gave him a drink and he drank it almost greedily, so desperate for it.
"Slow down, Neji" The familiar voice of the Godaime Hokage greeted him. Disappointed, but startled that the Hokage was taking personal time for him, he replied. "Ho-Hokage sama." Neji croaked.
"Take it easy there, Hyuuga. You've had quite the brush with death. Ino filled me in on the pressing details. Uchiha Sasuke was behind this?"
"Aah." He replied as he spilled some of his water in his haste. He wiped his mouth feeling disoriented. He felt gross, covered in sickly sweat, his hair caked with dirt and grease. "Where is Ino?"
"Recovering. As you will be doing. You will spend this week getting yourself healthy. You've lost some weight and your weak. You may experience dizzy spells from the after effects of being in a genjutsu for so long, so you are to take it easy, do you understand? I'm assigning you a nurse" Tsunade fixed her most heated glared.
"Aah." Neji nodded, but his heart wasn't in it. Ino wasn't around. How utterly disappointing.
"Focus, Neji. I only have a few more minutes before I have a meeting" Tsunade growled. Neji straightened.
"I need you well because next week you're back into the ranks. I wish I could have given you more time, but we simply don't have it to spare. After next week you should have some time to straighten...other things out."
"How was Ino when she returned?" Neji asked. Tsunade's eyebrow arched. He missed her look.
"Tired and thoroughly beat when I saw her. She looked like hell, but not nearly as bad as you do." She replied skeptically as she eyed him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah..." Neji's brow furrowed, lost in thought.
Tsunade sighed. "I realize that there were a lot of things that probably happened inside your mind, but those things will have to wait, Neji. Give her and yourself some space to deal and process with it all and then go talk to her. Give the girl some time to clear her head." Tsunade said kindly.
Neji sighed. As much as he didn't want to wait, as much as he simply wanted to go to her right now, the Hokage was right. It was too soon for the both of them. He didn't want to scare her and he didn't want to talk out of his ass and the painkillers and other meds he was on. He also didn't want to be pitied by her. It was chaffing enough that she had saved him, that he had been outdone and out classed by the Uchiha.
Ino was arranging the most recent customer's flower vase when she heard the bell ring. She straightened her apron to greet the newest arrival and felt him. His chakra signature was hard to mistake and the fact that she had most recently spent a great deal of time inside his head had her over sensitive to his chakra patterns. She knew when he was coming not that she wanted to. If Ino was being honest she'd say that she wanted nothing to do with the proud Hyuuga prodigy. But that would require acknowledging his existence, something she had sworn off after "the incident". It helped that the Hokage was keeping him busy. After all loosing her star anbu captain had put a strain on the entire squad. Instantly on the defensive, her eyes narrowed, hardened as she stiffly offered a murmured greeting of welcome. What was he doing here?
Hyuuga Neji, resplendent in his Anbu captain's gear, hair tied back as usual, eyed her with those pearlescent eyes and a triumphantly bright smile. Ino's eyes flashed, weary already of his overly enthusiastic swagger. She didn't know why he looked so damn smug. If he had wanted to find her two weeks after their "incident" because that was how Ino was referring to it, then it wasn't that difficult. He had found her by looking in the one and only place she ever was; the flower shop. He looked at her and then began walking down the aisles of the flowers pretending to browse the aisles. Her eyes took him in as he turned from her. He had gained back the weight he'd lost in the short time and his skin had returned to a healthy pink. She'd been in the shop the past two weeks avoiding the rest of the world, not specifically him so she hadn't seen him since "the incident".
"Can I-help you?" Ino asked, trying not to grit her teeth. Her smile was purely deceptive saccharine.
"What would you recommend for a friend that's been...distant?" Neji asked her, touching the Lillies delicately.
Ino flinched. "How about a Thank you card for saving your life and calling it even. Cards are a lot less personal" Ino retorted with a scowl, turning.
"But what if I wanted to buy flowers to say thanks?" Neji retorted with a small smile tugging at his lips.
Ino turned, hands on her hips. "Flowers? Really Neji?"
"Really" He replied, pearlescent eyes meeting her own obstinately.
Ino sighed "I work here, for pete sake's, Neji. If you wanted to thank me all you had to do was say it. I wish you'd sent a card instead. Now that you've said it, without saying it, you can leave unless there's something else I can help you with. But if you're gonna waste my time, I have work to do." Ino retorted, heading back to her vase. She settled herself on the stool and took a deep cleansing breathe, applying herself to the work at hand.
"You know I've never seen you here in the flower shop before." Neji commented, breaking her zen like state she'd flowed into.
Ino's eyebrow twitched and she shot a dark glare at him.
"I'm enjoying watching you in your element" Neji quipped as he leaned against the counter.
Ino's fist slammed against the counter. "What do you want from me, Neji? If you're not buying flowers then get the hell out of my store" Ino snarled.
"I'll take these" He said grabbing a bouquet behind him with a small smile.
Ino rolled her eyes. "Who are they for?"
"Ten Ten and Lee." Neji replied, straight faced.
Ino choked, red faced in her embarrassment. Of course they were for his fallen teammates. He'd never come to this shop before now, and the only reason he did now was to honor his comrades. His entire conversation had been to rub it in her face. Ino stiffened. How stupid. She had walked right into that. Ugh. Typical Hyuuga back to his charming self.
"I.."She swallowed. Her pride was quite difficult to chew, much less to digest but she didn't have a choice. He didn't give her one. She wasn't going to disrespect the dead, damn him. The bitter aftertaste it left in her mouth didn't help. "I didn't mean to be insensitive" She started.
"Yes you did. You thought I meant them for you. It was a simple mistake" Neji smiled. It wasn't a nasty smile like she'd thought it was. In fact it was a handsome smile, the kind of smile someone makes when someone they care about walks into the room. He smiled that smile, something she'd rarely seen on his face before. It irritated her.
Ino felt herself boiling, she was so angry she could just explode. How dare he mock her like this? And then put her into a situation where she was forced to make amends? After all that she had done for him. OOOooooohh.
"But if you want to come and contribute your own, I'd like the company" He finished smoothly.
Ino blinked. Had he really just said...she sighed. "You are purposefully trying to make me angry" She accused eyes narrowing.
"I figured it was only fair. You've got me all figured out, and now it's my turn." Neji replied with a smug smile.
Ino raked a hand through her bangs. "Look, Neji, just because I've walked through your mind and seen...the "real" you, doesn't mean that you can just waltz into my flower shop unexpected after two weeks of not talking, and-"
"And ask you to visit the dead bodies of old friends we both loved?" Neji asked her, with his eyebrow risen.
Ino could've strangled him. He was suckering her into going with him. And it was working. "If I go with you, will you leave me alone?" Ino asked.
"After this visit I won't bother you again" Neji replied.
Ino took off her apron, grabbing miscellanious flowers as she made her way to get her coat. She slipped her coat on, pulling her ponytail out of the jacket to stream like golden silk down her back. She used a hairtie to bind the flowers together.
"For a last minute bouquet that's pretty good." Neji told her, with a smile.
Ino rolled her eyes "Let's get this over with."
Neji led the way into the cemetary. Ino followed, a few feet behind. Neji set the flowers down on the grave, bowing his head. Ino set hers on the grave next to it, murmuring her own prayers for the dead.
"You know I never got to say goodbye to them. Team Gai was split apart after I made Anbu. But we had agreed to collaborate on this assignment. I was late from a mission and didn't get to see them off." Neji told her.
Ino sighed. "Why are you telling me this, Neji?" She asked him.
"Because you needed someone to talk to about Shikamaru's death and I do too. Too good to return the favor, now, Yamanaka?"
"I don't want to be here." Ino said, meeting his gaze with her own angry steel glinted look.
"Why?" Neji asked, surprised by her admonition.
"Because I'm the reason they're dead, Neji! Gods how could you be so insensitive! It's my fault they're dead. It's my fault Shikamaru is dead. Gah." She sniffled, trying to fight her tears.
"It's not your fault." Neji told her wrapping his arms around her. Ino fought his hold "Let go of me" She protested.
"No, it's not your fault" Neji told her, refusing to let go.
"Shut up!" Ino snarled.
"It's not your fault" Neji repeated. Ino felt the tears streaming down her cheeks and she scrubbed at her face furiously with her palms. Ugh this was not what she wanted to do, why she'd avoided this place, avoided him.
"Why do you want to take the blame, Ino?" Neji asked her with a frown. "Because it's true." Ino retorted.
"It's not true. Stop saying that. Stop thinking that about yourself, Ino" Neji told her, tone rising. He was angry.
Ino's eyes narrowed. "If I hadn't saved those children, they would still be here." Ino pointed to the grave.
"and You think I would blame you for that? You think I could possibly hold that against you? You saved innocent lives, Ino. We're ninja. We're supposed to be saving lives by taking them. Making difference even if it means sacrifice. You were a part of something, a situation you couldn't possibly control. How could you think that of yourself? think that of me?" He asked, pearlescent eyes penetrating her own.
Ino couldn't fight the tears, though she tried. "I told you I didn't want to talk about this. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to come with you." Ino sniffled. Neji's arms wrapped more securely around her.
"I miss them." He murmured. "But I don't blame you for that. The blame falls entirely on Sasuke." Neji's eyes darkened at the name.
"I let the him win." Ino sniffled. "I let him walk away scott free just like Forehead did the first time." Ino said. "I let him slip through my fingers. Let him hurt me again, even though he's already done so much to me, to the people I love." Ino murmured, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. '
"Stop blaming yourself." Neji told her, lifting her chin up. "Stop abusing yourself. Your choices, good or bad have led you here."
"And where am I?" Ino demanded, glaring.
"With me." Neji replied, pulling her close. Ino's eyes widened, and she tensed as he drew nearer.
"I want to kiss you, Ino." Neji told her. "But I'm not going to do it, if you don't give me permission." Neji told her.
Ino's eyes closed, and she tried to push away. "You don't understand..." Ino told him.
Neji had to quelm his frustration. "Then make me understand it, stop holding it over my head." He told her.
"It's stockhold syndrome okay?" Ino shouted, finally having it up to here with it all. She couldn't lie to him anymore and she was tired of dealing with it, with him. Every time he looked at her she felt guilty.
"What?" Neji asked, wondering if he'd heard her correctly.
"When you are a captive of someone long enough, you develop sympathy, empathy for them. Sometimes even romantic feelings, Neji. What you're experiencing is nothing less than this." Ino told him.
"Excuse me?" He asked, startled.
"You aren't the first. You won't be the last. Whenever I'm in someones mind for an extended period of time their mind becomes captive to mine, alright?"
"I don't understand" He said, pausing as he looked at her with confusion.
"It's one of the reasons I took off right after this. Its the reason I've been staying in the flower shop all day. This isn't the first time someone has... pursued me after an encounter." Ino replied bitterly. Her dark words and even darker looks made Neji wonder just exactly what she meant by pursued, and who.
"How-how is that possible?" Neji asked her, mind racing to catch up with what she was saying.
"It doesn't matter, Neji. If you want specifics go see Shiho in research about it and she'll tell you the same thing. What matters is that this is what it is. The feelings you're having for me aren't real though chemically it probably feels so. I spent extended time in your mind so you're probably experiencing it in a heightened way, but it's not real." Ino told him.
"Ino..." Neji said, pausing, searching for the words.
"So Just...leave me alone, okay? I'm not going to tell anyone what happened and we can pretend this whole thing never happened and put it behind us." Ino told him, putting her hands in her jacket. She couldn't even meet him in the eye.
"Are you that embarrassed about it?" Neji asked her, tone a bit too sharp.
"Aren't you? You came onto me several times in your mind and I don't know what the hell to do with that. It was awkward and in some cases quite forceful" Ino retorted.
"Then don't" Neji told her.
"Don't what, Neji? Pretend that you didn't nearly molest me?" Ino snapped.
"Don't do anything with those memories. Keep them." Neji said simply.
"I don't want them, Neji. I don't want you or this. I never I can't just erase them...they replay over and over-" Ino realized what she said and stopped mid sentence.
"Again with the lies, the hiding. Why did you let me kiss you back in the forest if that's true? why did you come to me in the first place about Shikamaru's death? Why did you hold my hand at the funeral? For that matter, Why did you help me at all? You could have let me die, you could have been with Sasuke your true love. You could have brought your entire team back from the dead. You're telling me you don't care and that you don't want me, but everything you did and everything you're telling me contradicts each other, Ino." Neji told her, pearlescent eyes reflecting the hurt there. "I'm just trying to understand you"
"There's nothing to understand Neji. It's a simple matter of chemistry. Your endorphins reacted when I entered, they spiked. You're experiencing a chemical imbalance, an addiction to the feeling of my chakra because our minds were aligned. You're feeling the effects of it, is all." Ino told him.
"So this thing between us is merely...a chemical reaction?" Neji asked her.
"Aah" Ino replied.
"So why won't you look me in the eye?" Neji asked her.
Ino flinched. "Because I don't want to."
"What are you afraid of, Ino?" Neji asked her, finally recognizing it for what it was. Her front, her completely logical wall that she'd built and fortified between them was simply fear.
"YOU!" She snapped. "Can't you see that I'm doing my best to keep you away from me? I'm nothing but trouble and you would be better to stay the hell away from me!" She cried.
"I'll be the one to determine that." Neji replied firmly.
"I can't let you throw yourself away like this, Neji" Ino told him.
"Stop fighting me. I'm not throwing myself away on you. Gods Ino stop fighting yourself. You feel it the same as I do, whether it's a chemical reaction or fate itself. I don't care. I'm intrigued by you and nothing you can say is going to change that, in fact it might encourage me. I've always like a challenge."
Ino twitched.
"Don't be afraid. Have a little faith in me, Ino. I'm not going to vanish on you. I'm also not going to molest you. I'd never willingly hurt you, or disrespect you like that. And I think I'm resilient enough to make it in a life like yours." Neji told her.
"And just so we're clear, I had these feelings for you before you ever set foot in my mind. So if I'm feeling more "emotionally heightened" then I only have you to thank for inspiring those feelings, and developing them further. I always thought you were what everyone else said of you. A girl who only toyed with people, emotionally distant and detached a flirt, a tease. Shallow, weak, manipulative" Neji told her.
"But you cry, you bleed, the same as the rest of us." Neji said kindly, smiling softly. "It's...refreshing to find that in a woman I thought was made of ice and stone."
"And you have a fierce desire to protect people, people smaller than you, weaker than you. You are fiercely protective of the people you love. I discovered you don't want to use people and try to avoid it because of who you used to be. You're determined to succeed even when the odds are stacked against you. You're compassionate and though you're unsure, you really do comfort hurting people. You're smart and capable, you think on your feet and your quick to react which is good even if it's not always the right move. Your left hook is more powerful than your right hook. You can't stand defeat, and you're stubborn to a fault." He told her.
Ino eyed him skeptically.
"It's like we were a match made from the start." He told her with a grin.
Ino closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. "There's nothing I can do to convince you to abandon this, is there?" Ino asked him, eying him with sardonic blue eyes.
"Nothing comes to mind." Neji told her laughter in his eyes. His smile was warm. He was warm. He still had the worst jokes. She sighed shaking her head. Well she'd put up a fight at least. This was going to cause nothing but trouble...
Mendokusai she thought with a grin.
"The bitter irony of my life, I find myself the victim of a stalker prodigy, genius, clan member." Ino said with a wry smile.
"Guess you'll have to get used to having me around" He told her, pulling her close. She trembled. "Trust me...I'm going to stick around" He told her whispering it in her ear. "Can I kiss you now?"
Ino didn't have the strength to tell him. So she nodded, cheeks flaming as he pressed his lips to hers, sealing his fate and her own.