Title: Locked Down
Author: Killaurey
Word Count: 500
Rating: T

Written for Day 22 of the Last Fan Standing Challenge on KakaSaku's Dreamwidth community.

Prompt: Jelly Belly

Breaking into a friend's house in most cases probably meant that, really, you weren't that great of a friend at all because that seemed like the sort of thing that friends just… didn't do.

Ino figured that this was a special case and she was a special friend as she picked her way through Sakura's jutsu traps, taking a moment to admire the way they interlocked in deviously devilish patterns.

(That, and knocking down the door would only have succeeded in knocking herself out. Naruto had found that out yesterday. Ino was not above learning from his mistakes.)

Sweat beaded down her spine as she focused her chakra on unraveling the jutsu traps enough for her to slip in through the window.

The only reason she wasn't having an even harder time, Ino thought, was because Sakura was still far more honest than she was. It meant, due to that subconscious bias, Sakura's wards had exploitable weaknesses when it came to people whose chakra they recognized.

It just took a little… finesse… to use that against them. Ino flexed her hands, bit her lip, and continued her work.

Two hours later, she was in.

The apartment was silent and dark. Ino shut the window behind her and left the bedroom.

She found Sakura sitting on a low couch, curled up in a blanket. The only illumination in the room came from the small lamp that sat on the coffee table beside her.

Ino glanced at the floor and raised her eyebrows. To speak or not to speak…

She looked at Sakura, who gave no indication of having noticed her, though Ino knew she had, and shrugged. "Do I want to know why there's Jelly Bellies all over the floor, Forehead?"

"I threw them there." Sakura's voice was rough, like she'd been screaming until she was hoarse.

"What a waste of perfectly good candy," Ino said, draping herself over the back of the couch. Sakura made no move to stop her and, indeed, shifted over slightly for Ino to join Sakura on the couch proper. Ino slid down and wrapped an arm around Sakura.

"I don't even like them," Sakura said. "I only had them because…"

"Kakashi likes them."

"Liked," Sakura said, closing her eyes.

"You're wrong," Ino said, keeping her voice gentle. Sakura stiffened. "He does still like them."

"He's dead."

"He's not," Ino corrected. "It was a jutsu designed to make him scan as dead to all medical jutsu. They had to call my dad in to break it but he's awake now."

Sakura looked at her, green eyes suspicious. "There's no such jutsu."

Ino raised one eyebrow. "You could always go confirm that Kakashi is at the hospital and awake." A pause. "Locking yourself away means you're behind on the news."

"He's dead," Sakura repeated as hope grew in her eyes.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Ino said, smoothing a bit of hair back from Sakura's face. "Then we'll go and see."

"Do you promise he's not?"

"Promise."