I'm back beoytchs! Sooo sorry for the wait but I just got so sad thinking how this story was almost over and I went through the stages of grief. I denied it, I got angry, I bargained for its life, I got depressed, and now I have finally accepted it… GOD DAMMIT MOTHER F*#&$%R NOOOOOOO! AHHHHHH!... well sort of.
Anywho… enjoy this chapter!
Hiashi Hyuuga was a very busy man. After all it takes nonstop work and attention to keep an international corporation running smoothly, not to mention the lucrative criminal side business. He sighed heavily and continued with the pile of paperwork on his desk. There was a knock on the door. "Enter" he called without as much as an upward glance.
Neji entered the room and stood firmly in front of the desk. Hiashi looked up at him then continued writing.
"What do you want?" he asked impatiently. Neji frowned at his uncle's rudeness and waited for the older man to look at him again. "May I help you, Neji?"
"I have something I must discuss with you, Uncle" he said seriously. Hiashi set his pen down and folded his hands in front of him.
"Speak freely, Nephew."
"I know the company policy on inter-office dating but the truth is that Tenten and I have been seeing each other for some time now and I am done hiding our relationship. We've kept it a secret from everyone for so long out of fear" Neji explained.
Hiashi listened silently until Neji had finished then smiled. "Is that all?" he laughed. Neji was taken aback at his nonchalance.
"You're not angry?" he inquired.
"Of course not, when I was your age I had my share of affairs. You're fine, just as long as you know it cannot continue" Hiashi said.
"I have no intention of breaking up with her" Neji said seriously brining a frown to his uncle's face.
"Then that is an easy fix. Next time you see her tell her she's fired and must vacate the company apartment in five days" Hiashi said calmly then returned to his paperwork. Neji glared at his uncle and balled his fists.
"If she's fired then I quit" Neji said definitely. Hiashi glared up at the younger man. Neji met his gaze confidently. "I love her and I'm not afraid of it anymore, and I'm not afraid of you" After a few heavy, silent moments the young Hyuuga turned and walked back to the door.
"Fine! Go you ungrateful little bastard! You'll never make it in my city alone! Enjoy life on the streets with your precious whore!" Hiashi shouted, his face growing red. Neji clenched his fist one more time then grinned.
"You're pathetic, Uncle. Have a nice life." He opened the door and stepped out. On his way he passed Hinata. He gave her a smile and patted her shoulder. She walked into her father's office and shut the door silently.
"F-father?" she said quietly. Hiashi was fuming in his chair and glared at Hinata as she approached the desk.
"I'm in no mood now. Leave and shut the door behind you!" he said angrily.
"N-no" she replied. His eyes widened and he stared at his daughter.
"What did you say to me?" Hiashi asked.
"I s-said no, Father. I h-have something to say and I'm g-going to say it!" Hiashi sat back and took a deep breath. "I've worked hard for you for ye-years and you have never respected me! Ever s-since I was a child I did every little thing you asked of me yet you deny me even the s-smallest hint of pride or love. I mean nothing to you! Nothing I do will ever be enough for you. So I'm done. I'm leaving the company and enrolling in the police academy!" She exclaimed.
Hiashi fumed silently behind his desk as Hinata strode proudly out of the room. She closed the door firmly behind her and grinned brightly at Neji who stood in the hallway holding Tenten's hand. Together and with their heads held high the three walked away.
Yes, Hiashi Hyuuga was going to be a very busy man.
Kurenai yawned and sleepily scrambled eggs in a bowl. As she was pouring them into the pan Ino groaned behind her. "Good morning" she said over her shoulder.
"Ah, I need coffee, and aspirin uh and for someone to hit me over the head with a bat" Ino moaned.
"Sleep well?" Kurenai asked cheerily.
"Yeah, well, until this shooting pain in my arm woke me up" she explained grumpily. Kurenai stirred and scraped the eggs then turned to face Ino.
"You need to keep your arm still while it's healing. I sent Asuma out to run some errands." Outside a car door slams and Kurenai grins. "That'll be him now" she said, setting the spatula down. Moments later Asuma walks in carrying a bag.
"I smell bacon!" he exclaimed happily before planting a kiss on his wife's lips. "I wiped down the car and dumped it for you guys."
"Did you get what I asked for?" she inquired. He smiled and pulled a sling out of the bag. "Thanks, dear. Ino you should wear this for a couple weeks while your shoulder is healing" Kurenai explained. Ino sighed deeply but allowed her friend to put the sling on her.
"Ino, are you all right?" Sasuke asked sleepily from the doorway. She looked at him and flapped her incapacitated arm.
"I have to be half chicken for a while, but other than that I'm just dandy!" she said with a smile. Then she dashed over and kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.
"I'll take a half chicken over half dead any day" he whispered into her hair. She snuggled into his embrace and sighed happily. They stood there for a while until Kurenai cleared her throat.
"Breakfast is ready" she said.
"What in the flaming hell happened last night?!" Tsunade shouted. Her best detectives were gathered in front of her. Sakura shifted uncomfortably while next to her Naruto had his arms crossed and was looking away. Shikamaru leaned lazily on the wall, Choji nervously munched on a bag of chip and Kakashi and Anko yawned sleepily. The chief glared at all of the faces before her. "I go off duty for one night and things go to shit!"
"Ch-chief-" Sakura began but was cut off by Tsunade's raised hand.
"We have five bodies, including one of the most notorious business men in all of the country, no leads and no suspects! Even our witnesses are not cooperating!" A vein in her temple began throbbing as she spoke. "So will someone like to try and explain any of this?"
"I believe it was all gang related" Shikamaru spoke up and all eyes turned to him. "It was well known that Sound Wave Technologies was a cover for Orochimaru's criminal organization. My best guess is that one of his rivals finally caught up to him."
"And the blood that was found at the scene, has that been run through the lab yet?" she asked.
"It appears all of it belonged to the victims" Kakashi answered smoothly.
"How about the shell casing? Any matches?" Tsunade pressed.
"Black market weapons and they were all wiped and left at the scene. No way to tell who they belonged to" Shikamaru answered.
"Very well, in light of the lack of evidence in this case I have to insist that you all focus on cases that we can solve. We'll leave it open but we're moving on" Tsunade explained. "Dismissed!"
The six detectives dispersed all heading in different directions. Shikamaru wandered back to his desk and sat down. He looked at the computer screen then pulled up Ino's file. He stared at it for a few minutes then clicked 'delete' and the file disappeared.
Itachi rolled over in his bed and grabbed the ringing phone off the nightstand. "Hello?" he said groggily.
"Itachi." He jumped up at the sound of his brother's voice.
"Sasuke, are you all right?" he asked, voice full of concern. On the other end Sasuke chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm fine, we both are" the younger Uchiha answered. "Thanks to you." Itachi sighed and leaned back against the pillows.
"No problem, little brother" Itachi replied. "So what can I help you with?"
"I assume you have some kind of line to the police?" he began. "So have you heard anything about last night?"
"Yeah, they're putting the case on the backburner. Something about a lack of evidence" Itachi said with more than a hint of smugness in his voice. Sasuke chuckled again.
"Thanks for that too. Do you think it's safe for us to come back then?" he asked.
"I don't see any issues with that. Just be cautious."
"Always am. I guess I'll see you around then" Sasuke said.
"Yeah" Itachi replied. "Bye Sasuke."
"Bye Itachi."
Sasuke disconnected the call and walked back into the kitchen. Ino smiled up at him and waved with the fork in her good hand.
"What did he say?" she inquired.
"We're good to go" he replied. Ino smiled wider.
"Good, 'cause I have some unfinished business in the city."
Shikamaru took the lull in cases as a chance to catch up on the sleep he'd lost the night before. He snored lightly leaning back in his chair with his feat up on the desk. He was aware of a commotion from the front of the station but did not fully awake until her felt his feet slammed off their resting spot. He opened his eyes to see a fuming Inoichi Yamanaka.
"What the hell did you do?" the man growled. Shikamaru yawned and stretched before answering.
"I don't know what you're talking about" he replied coolly. Inoichi's face grew redder.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Ino's file! You deleted it!"
"Yes, I did" said the young detective.
"Why the hell did you do a stupid thing like that?!" Inoichi shouted.
"Because she's not a missing child anymore. She's a grown woman fully capable of taking care of herself and making her own decisions" he explained. "It's time that you accept this and maybe she'll want to see you again someday." The two men glared at each other silently for a few moments while Inoichi scrambled for a response.
"Who the hell do you think you are? This is none of your business, she is my daughter!" Inoichi cried. A crowd had gathered around them and various cops were watching the interaction intently.
"Yeah, and she is my best friend. You're the reason she left in the first place" Shikamaru said. Inoichi balled up his fist and took a swing at Shikamaru's head. He dodged and grabbed the older man's arm and shoved him against the wall. "You're under arrest for assaulting an officer. Can I get some cuffs over here?"
"Stop!" All heads turned to the new people in the room, specifically to the young woman who called out. Shikamaru's eyes widened as the girl approached him.
"Ino? What are you doing here?" he asked. She watched him grimly as he held her father against the wall. Inoichi struggled to see his daughter.
"Shika let him go. Please" she said softly. He studied her blue eyes for a moment then gave a slight nod. He released the man and Inoichi just gaped at his daughter. His eyes dropped to the sling and he felt shame.
"Ino, baby, I'm so sorry" he said earnestly. She watched him sadly then nodded.
"I know you never meant to hurt me, Daddy" she replied. Inoichi smiled but she did not return it. "But you did, in so many ways. You didn't trust me and that's what hurt the most. I'm not sorry that I left but I am sorry that it caused you so much pain. That it caused both of you so much pain" she said looking over at Shikamaru.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry; I chased you away just like I chased your mom away. I never wanted to let you get hurt and I guess I took it too far. But you've grown into a beautiful, strong, young woman and I'm very proud of you" he said.
"Thank you, Dad. I know that was hard for you to admit. I want you to know that I still love you, but I have no intention of going home." Inoichi flinched but did not speak. His eyes drifted over to Sasuke, who stood stiff and silent at Ino's side. "If you can show that you truly trust me I promise to come and visit as often as I can."
He glanced at her arm in the sling again and he sighed. "I promise I will do all I can to prove that I deserve this second chance. You're my daughter and I love you unconditionally." Now she smiled at him and gave him a one armed hug. He held her tight and cherished her presence.
"Just so you know, Dad, Sasuke and I are a package deal. You can't have me back if you don't accept Sasuke" she informed him. He grunted and glared at the Uchiha but assented. She smiled brightly at him then leaned around to look at Shikamaru. "Now, Detective Nara, is he still under arrest?"
Shikamaru froze from being put on the spot but slowly broke down and chuckled. "No, I guess not. The paperwork is far to troublesome" he replied. She grinned then threw her arm around him.
"Thank you, Shika" she whispered. He smiled and hugged her back.
*sob* I hope you *sob* enjoyed *sob* this amazing story! *cries uncontrollably*…. Wait, it's not over yet? Hell yeah! Stick around my friends!