Thanks to everyone who reviewed. My internet is a bit off and I couldn't see your reviews so I'll reply to them later.
Previously…
Ino knew what was coming, she knew it. He only had to say two words, the two words that would end her life.
"Sabaku Sōsō!" he yelled, closing his fist.
Please remember, chapter 25
"Sabaku Sōsō!" he yelled, closing his fist. Ino closed her eyes, knowing that she would be crushed; she would be torn to pieces. She remembered the guy that confronted Gaara during the Chuunin exams, the one who was torn to pieces by this move. She felt the sand's pressure on her body, squeezing harder and harder, she screamed bloody murder, feeling the bones of her body at the verge of breaking apart. At that moment, she knew she would be crushed. There was no turning back.
Suddenly, it all stopped.
Ino opened one eye, before opening the other. She wondered why Gaara hadn't killed her yet. She saw him, standing still with his eyes wide open. His fist was half closed and the sand hadn't closed in fully on her.
"Hakke Kūshou!"
Ino looked at the scene to see some kind of an invisible force, and in a second, Gaara flew across the room. His body was covered with a layer of sand before hitting the desk, falling behind it. She gasped as she looked through the dust to see Shikamaru, still in control of Gaara, and Neji nodding at her.
"S-Shikamaru! Neji!" she yelled, tears strolling down her cheeks. She noticed the seal Shikamaru had made, the seal of his famous Jutsu.
"Kagemane no jutsu: succeeded" he said, chuckling. Neji turned his head towards the redhead to see him standing up on his two feet still, gulping and looking at Ino straight in the eye. His face was cracked, as if he was made out of sand or clay. Gaara's technique had lost its effect on Ino the moment he was hit so she dropped to the ground in pain, her body bleeding in several places. Temari and Kankurou went inside the room, the blonde Suna Kunoichi was panting.
"Neji managed to get here in time. Luckily for us, Shikamaru was—" she groaned, falling to the ground. Kankurou kneeled next to his sister, helping her.
"We're sorry we're late, Ino" Kankurou said, helping his sister up. Shikamaru was looking at his girlfriend worriedly.
"Kankurou, take them both out to safety" Shikamaru yelled. Kankurou nodded at Neji to help him out, letting go of his sister for the second Neji walked towards her, helping her up before leaving the room in a flash while Kankurou was running towards Ino. She looked at him, knotting her eyebrows.
"C'mon, Ino, we're leaving" he said, helping her up, his hand grabbing her right arm. Ino snatched her arm out of his grip as her other arm made her scream in pain, falling on her knees, making Kankurou curse. 'Man, I think it's broken' he thought as he saw Ino trying to standing up, holding her left arm. Her face was paler and she was sweating as her eyes kept narrowed from the pain. She inhaled sharply through her gritted teeth. Kankurou shook his head as he kneeled and held her right arm softly.
"Ino, we have to go—"
"—NO! I want to stay. That's not Gaara, and I want him back!" she yelled, pointing at Gaara who stood still in his place, looking at her with a blank expression on his cracked, sand-leaking face.
"No! It's too dangerous" he said, pulling her up on her own two feet. Ino shook her head, trying to snatch her arm out of his grip.
"Let me go!"
Shikamaru struggled to keep Gaara in place. A drop of sweat strolled down his forehead, down the side of his head and towards his chin, dropping on the ground. The Chakura emitting from Gaara was a hundred times stronger than Shikamaru's, the reason which made the latter refuse to give up.
"There isn't much time, Ino. I can't get a grip on him much longer!" Shikamaru said, his hands shaking out of their calm status. Neji came back to the room and took his stance.
"You have to go, Ino!" Shikamaru repeated, seeing the look on his friend and team-mate. The way she looked at Gaara. The expression on her face was a mix of fear, anger and worry. Ino turned her head towards her friend as he repeated his words, as soon as he opened his mouth to speak. Something happened, something they definitely didn't expect.
"Get out of here," everyone paused at the calm voice as they turned their heads towards the source, "Ino-chan"
Ino knew that voice belonged to Gaara; the Gaara she knew and loved. She looked at him with a hint of hope in her eyes.
Gaara looked back at Ino, but not the way she hoped for. He had a smirk on his face. "You'd better leave, if you don't want to witness your friends' demise" he said, chuckling psychotically. Ino cried, not because of his words, but because of whom he's become, of what he's become.
"Gaara, please—"
"—Shut up!" he silenced her, looking at her patronizingly, making Both Neji and Shikamaru boil with anger. "What you've done was unforgivable! You lied to me about him!"
"About who!?" she yelled, crying harder. Kankurou had to literally carry her out. Ino tried her best to stay in the place, but Kankurou was stronger than her, yet she was wriggling out of his grip, despite her broken arm. Eventually, he had to put her down.
"Who are you talking about, Gaara?" she asked, looking at Gaara who was calmly looking at her with a twisted smile on his face.
"Deidara," he said, looking at her with the corner of his eyes. Ino froze, widening her eyes. "You shouldn't have lied to me about the truth. If you really meant every word you've said to me, you would've told me the truth" he went on, a hint of pain in his eyes forced him to look away.
She knew, she knew he was there, she knew he saw her with him. He witnessed the whole scene.
"G-Gaara!" she said, pleading for him to look at her but no avail. He refused to even look at her with the corner of his eye, instead, he moved his vision towards his brother, then at the Hyuuga and then at Shikamaru. Gaara smirked as he saw that the Nara couldn't hold on much longer.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth. He was nearing his limit. "Ino, get out!" he yelled, releasing Gaara from his technique. Yet the redhead didn't move. He slowly crossed his arms and turned to face his blonde girlfriend.
"I despise liars." he said, raising his eyebrow. "You, Ino, are one of them" he said, disappearing into a puff of smoke, taking every grain of sand along with him. Ino looked at the empty space where Gaara stood, a single tear strolling down her cheek.
A minute of silence passed, none of the four in the room moved. "H-He's gone" Ino stuttered, falling on her knees. Kankurou leaned on the wall, shaking his head. Neji looked at Shikamaru who was kneeling on the ground, looking at the desk, at what Gaara was standing behind.
"What did he mean by that, Ino?" he said, turning his head towards his blonde friend. Ino shook her head in disbelief; words wouldn't come out of her mouth. Her head was spinning and her eyelids felt heavy. She closed her eyes, and fell forward.
"Ino!" all three yelled, running towards her. Kankurou managed to break her fall by holding her shoulders. Neji kneeled, putting his fingers on her neck.
"We have to get her to the medical center" he said, figuring it out from her slow-paced pulse. Shikamaru sighed and crossed his arms. Kankurou decided to carry Ino to the hospital. He lifted her in his arms, making sure her broken left arm is in a comfortable position, and all three walked towards the door when Tsunade walked in.
"What in the world happened here?!" Tsunade's strong and loud voice said, stopping all three in their tracks. Kankurou looked at Ino's unconscious body, making Tsunade knot her eyebrows.
"What happened to her?!" she looked at Neji and Shikamaru, surprised they were both there. "Neji. Shikamaru." she mumbled, they both looked up at her, having serious expressions on their faces. Tsunade knew.
'Something big happened' she thought, clinching her fists. "Kankurou, please take Ino to the infirmary" she said, receiving a nod from the Suna Shinobi as he quickly moved out of the room. Tsunade moved her vision to the two Konoha shinobi.
"Both of you. My office. NOW!" she said, turning her back at them, walking off. Both Neji and Shikamaru exchanged looks before following her.
Tsunade's office, a couple of minutes later…
"What did you say?!" Tsuande said, slamming her fist against the desk. "Are you telling me that we have a threat on Konoha? From the Sand shinobi, our allies?!" she said, gritting her teeth. Neji looked at her firmly and nodded.
"We tried to stop him, but he managed to flee before we were able to do anything" he explained, breathing deeply. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
Tsunade leaned her elbows on the table, intertwined her fingers and rested them in front of her mouth, closing her eyes to think. Shikamaru and Neji looked at each other, knowing that Tsunade would order something once she's done thinking.
"Shikamaru, Neji," she said, opening her eyes. "this is a dangerous situation. I want you to gather as much Shinobi as you can to bring him down!" she said, looking disappointed. "Even if he's one of our allies, we must do what we can to stop him from destroying us, from destroying himself" she said, sighing heavily. "You're dismissed"
Both of Shikamaru and Neji bowed before walking off. As Neji reached to open the door, Shikamaru spoke up.
"Tsunade-sama," he said, looking at the ground, knotting his eyebrows. "there's something that Gaara mentioned that I don't think we should miss." he said, looking at Tsunade with a firm look. She narrowed her eyes, nodding as to let him continued.
"He mentioned something about Deidara. He's Ino's relative who lives with her. Apparently, He, Gaara and Ino encountered each other at some point, resulting Gaara's sudden defection against his siblings and us. I thought it would be an important statement" He said, clinching his fists.
'I won't forgive him for hurting Temari and Ino, I swear, I'll get my hands on you, Gaara. Just wait.' Shikamaru thought. Neji noticed his fists were shaking in anger. 'I would feel the same way as you if there was a threat on the people I love, Shikamaru' he thought, looking at the ground. He knew that Ino, out of all the girls in Konoha, was his closest friend. Together with Chouji, they were the unbreakable Ino-Shika-Chou trio, not to mention that Temari was also hurt which doubled the pain within him.
Tsunade nodded, "Thank you, Shikamaru. Your words are to be duly noted" she said, receiving a nod from the young Shinobi. "Shikamaru, Neji," she said, "other than the people recruited for this situation, no body is to know about this situation. I don't want any panic around Konoha. Do you understand that?" she asked, "Yes, Hokage-sama!" they both replied, receiving a nod from their superior.
"I want both of you, Ino, Temari, Kankurou, along with the Shinobi you choose, to be here within the hour" she ordered, narrowing her eyes. "We will, Tsunade-sama" Neji said, nodding his head in respect. Tsunade nodded back, "Now you're dismissed"
The two shinobi bowed in respect to her before going out of the office.
Once they were out the door, Tsuande leaned back in her chair, sighing heavily. "This is bad." she exclaimed, shaking her head. "I knew this stable status wasn't a good thing" she said, leaning on the desk, rubbing her temples.
"Deidara" she mumbled, closing her eyes as she continued to rub her temples. She knew she had to interrogate him about the situation.
"SHIZUNE!" she yelled, causing the door to be swung open by the young woman, rushing into the office at once. "Hai, Tsuande-sama!" she replied, still holding the door knob.
Tsunade got up, straightening her shirt and her 'Fire' embroidered green jacket. "I want you to get me Kakashi, Gai, Anko, Asuma and Kurenai here, right now!" she said with her usual commanding voice. Shizune nodded and went out the door in search for the requested five.
In a couple of minutes, they were all assembled in front of Tsunade's desk. She looked at each and every one of them straight in the eye.
"We have a major situation here and your attendance is needed."
Rooftops of Konoha…
In a few minutes, Kakashi, Anko, Gai, Asuma and Kurenai separated; Asuma and Kurenai in one direction while the other three went towards a certain house.
Asuma narrowed his eyes, jumping from roof to roof with Kurenai as they went in search for the threat, as Tsunade put it. He was worried. One of his best students was injured during her encounter with Gaara and was nearly killed. Although one of their Ninja requirements is not to get too emotionally close with your students, Asuma couldn't help himself from caring for his students as they were his own children. He knew that any threat on his student would have to be ended by his own hands. Kurenai looked at him and frowned.
"Don't get too emotional, Asuma, or you'll be of no use to us or to Konoha" she said, pacing ahead of him, he looked at her and sighed. He knew she was right; after all, that was Kurenai Yuhi. Whenever they were together, she was always the brains while he was the muscles.
While those two were searching the area, Gai, Kakashi and Anko were on their way to The Yamanaka residence. Kakashi remembered her words to him:
'Never underestimate anyone you meet on your way, even Deidara. Make sure the Yamanakas don't know a thing, not even that their daughter is injured'
He thought that the last part was a bit too much. The Yamanakas will certainly ask about their daughter.
As soon as they were there, all three stood in front of the door. Gai looked at Kakashi and Anko. "Anyone's gonna knock the door? Or should I do it?" he asked, crossing his arms. Kakashi looked at him
"Did you say something?" he said, making Gai gasp and move closer to him raising his fist in Kakashi's face.
"Kakashi, You're attitude is so…" he said, trying to find the word, "…hip! You never change" he said, angered. Anko swore she could almost see sparkle between their eyes. Both guys earned a slap on their arm from Anko.
"This is not the time for you two!" she said, taking a step towards the door and raised her fist. Kakashi and Gai looked at each other, having the same thought.
'She sure is scary'
Knock, knock
In a second, the door was answered by Asuka, Ino's mother, holding her hand against her chest. "Oh, Hello!" she said, narrowing her eyes. "Kakashi, Anko and Gai, how can I help you?" she said, stepping aside, letting them in. Kakashi shook his head.
"I'm sorry for disturbing, Yamanaka-san, but we were wondering if Deidara was here" he bluntly asked. Asuka blinked a couple of times, knotting her eyes brows. "Deidara? He went out with Ino this morning" she said, widening her eyes. "Did something happen to Ino?" she said, her eyes were filled with tears and her hand rested on her heart. Kakashi shook his head, "She's fine, we just wanted to see if Deidara was here" he said, nodding his head. She looked at the ground, then at Anko and Gai.
"He didn't do anything bad, did he?" she asked, making the two look at each other before looking back at her.
"No, but we just needed to talk to him about something." Anko said with a smile on her face. Asuka sighed and nodded.
"Well, I'm really sorry, I wish I could help you more with this, if he comes by, I'll let him know—"
"—Don't!" Gai said, making all the three look at him, "I mean, I don't think you should bother yourself. It's not a big deal, you know." He said, chuckling nervously. Kakashi looked at him and shook his head.
Asuka nodded, quizzically looking at Gai. "Okay, I won't" she said, smiling. Anko smiled and nodded at Asuka.
"Well, excuse us but we have an important thing to do" she said, disappearing along with the men out of Asuka's vision. She sighed and walked out of the house. She checked right and left for any suspecious act before walking back inside.
At the rooftop, Anko slapped Gai on the back of his head. "OUCH! What for youth's sake was that for!?" he asked, Anko crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
"I don't think you should bother yourself?!" she mocked his tone, repeating what he said to Asuka. "What kind of a lame excuse is that!?" she said, tapping her foot to the ground.
"Well, for now, I believe that kid is a threat. His name was mentioned by Gaara, he might be his assistant. If Asuka told him that we asked for him, he might flee then WOOSH, GONE WITH THE WIND" he said, clasping his hands together. Anko gaped at him, not getting his philosophy.
"For the first time in my life, I agree with you" Kakashi exclaimed, earning gaping looks from both Anko and Gai. He looked at them quizzically, "What?" he said, sarcastically. Anko shook her head.
"I'm stuck with idiots!" she said, walking towards the edge of the roof. Kakashi shook his head.
"She's gonna kill herself" he sarcastically exclaimed, earning a death glare from her. Gai believed the situation.
"Don't! Anko, you're too young to die" Gai said, extending his arms to save her. Anko rolled her eyes, Kakashi sighed.
"Now, you're really going to force her off that ledge" he said, looking at Anko who turned her head sharply at them.
"Someone's coming closer to the Yamanaka residence" she said, taking a step back and kneeling, hiding from the person's vision. Both Gai and Kakashi walked to her side, kneeling too.
"Is that a girl?" Gai asked, looking at the blonde who was walking closer to the house. Anko looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"You can totally tell it's a guy!" she said, "I mean, look at the flat chest—"
"—there are lots of girls with flat chests" Kakashi interrupted, earning a weird look from the two. "No more Icha-Icha series for ya" she said, moving her vision back at the young person down there.
"That's it! I'm going down there" Kakashi said, jumping down. Both Anko and Gai forcefully followed, jumping in front of the blonde.
"Hold it right there, Deidara" Kakashi said, making the young man smirk, digging his hands in his pockets.
"How can I help?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 'So this IS Deidara' he thought, narrowing his eyes at the young man. "You're Ino's cousin, aren't you?" he asked, earning a chuckle from the young man.
"You can tell, right?" he said, narrowing his eyes at Gai and Anko who looked carefully at him. Deidara moved his vision back at Kakashi. "You're coming with us, Hokage-sama wants to have a word with you" he said, walking closer to the blonde. Deidara's face went pale at once, but in a split second, the color came back to his face as he smiled. Kakashi knotted his eyebrows at the blonde's reaction.
"Alright," he said, walking towards the Jonins, "lead the way" he said, walking off. None of the three Jonins noticed the looks exchanged between Deidara and Asuka inside.
Asuka closed the curtain of the window, leaning on the wall with a smirk on her face.
"It's time" she said, walking upstairs to Deidara's room. She opened the door and walked towards the cabin, opening it. She smiled once she saw Deidara's coat and Hat.
"It's been a while" she mumbled, chuckling.
Konoha Medical Center. aka Hospital
Ino lied down on one of the two beds in the room; a cast was covering her left arm all the way to her elbow. Parts of her face were covered with bandages, including her neck. Her shirt was taken off, replaced by bandages that covered her upper body fully, leaving her shoulders bare. She was unconscious, unlike Temari who lied on the other bed wide awake, thinking about her brother. She had parts of her arms and body bandaged as well, leaving her only in her black shorts and light-blue tank top. Scrapes covered her face.
Kankurou wasn't aware that Temari was awake. Leaning against the wall, Kankurou sighed. "What's gotten into you, Gaara?" he said, looking at the ground.
"Still talking to yourself, eh?" Kankurou lifted his head to see his sister, her head turned to the side, looking at him with a smile on her face. Kankurou chuckled and leaned off of the wall, walking towards her.
"Yeah, that habit would never go away" he said, chuckling. She chuckled, turning her head back and closing her eyes. Kankurou knew she was thinking about their younger brother.
Temari pushed herself up, causing her to wince in pain. Kankurou sat next to her, holding her shoulders to help her lie back down.
"No," she said, pushing his hands away before sitting up straight, "we can't rest, we have to find him!" she said, looking at her brother in the eye. "I don't want to live in fear! Not again!" she said, trying to hold back the tears that were already strolling down her cheeks. She looked at her hands, which were resting on her lap, and watched the tears drop on the white sheet.
Kankurou looked at the ground, and then moved his vision to Ino, still unconscious. Temari moved her vision to her brother and then to Ino. Kankurou sighed, shaking his head.
"He couldn't even recognize her anymore; the one he spent almost all of his time with" he sadly said. Temari nodded, wiping away her tears. "That's why we have to find him as soon as possible" she said, moving her vision from Ino to Kankurou who was nodding, silently.
Suddenly, Ino stirred, causing Kankurou to jump off his sister's bed and walking toward hers.
"Ino, are you awake?" he asked, watching Ino's movement. She moved her head to the side, her eyes were still shut. She stirred, moving her head right and left; her right hand tightened its grip on the white sheet she was covered with. Kankurou narrowed his eyes, 'She's having a bad dream' he thought, looking at his sister who was in some sort of a trance. Kankurou grabbed a nearby chair and moved it next to Ino's bed, sitting down.
"Ino, hang in there" he said, reaching for her hand and held it with his. It's true her life wasn't in danger, but what she'd witnessed before by Gaara's hands was much worse than being in danger.
Unconsciousness POV:
Ino stood in a dark place, her eyes were closed. She could hear faint voices in the distance, but she couldn't reach out for them. She opened her eyes slowly, only to be faced with pure darkness. She looked around: blackness surrounded her. She couldn't make out anything. She couldn't see her feet, and she couldn't see her hands as she waved them in front of herself.
"Where am I?" she asked herself, looking at her hands. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
A cold hand touched her shoulder, making her turn around. She screamed once she saw his face.
"No!" she said, taking a step backwards. Deidara laughed as he walked closer to her. Ino screamed, trying to get as far as she can away from him but no avail, she fell on her knees, shaking her head.
"Did you mention that spiders were your worst nightmares?" he asked, sarcastically as hundreds of clay spiders came out of nowhere and crawled towards Ino. She gasped and got up again, running away but stumbling across her own legs, falling on the ground. She cried while getting up, trying to run away from him. The spiders were getting closer, she looked back at them and screamed. Due to being panicked, she fell down, freezing in place. She looked at the white spiders as they made their way to her, their owner laughing behind. Ino closed her eyes as the spiders pounced at her. Time seemed to move slowly, as the spiders almost touched her skin, almost.
"Ino"
Ino shot her eyes open, feeling a sudden rush down her spine as she saw a wall of sand in front of her, protecting her from the spiders. The wall suddenly crashed to the ground, every single grain of sand disappearing into the darkness. Ino looked in front of her to see that the spiders were long gone, along with their owner. She got up and held her arms, shivering. It suddenly became cold as the voice whispered again.
"Ino"
She didn't know where it was from. It seemed like it was from everywhere. Ino turned around, looking everywhere her eyes can go; unfortunately, it was too dark for her to see.
"Ino!" she stopped, stopped walked, stopped looking around, stopped thinking, and stopped breathing as the voice spoke her name one last time, She knew, it was behind her. Ino turned around slowly, seeing the figure standing a couple of feet away.
Her breath was caught in her throat as she saw him, wearing his burnt-brown colored trench coat, his grey vest, that wild hair. It was no mistake.
"G-Gaara" she said, her voice barely a whisper. She started walking towards him, but every time she took a step forward, he seemed to be going further away. Gaara extended his hand, reaching out for her.
"Ino," he said, smiling sadly, "help me" he whispered, his figure slowly fading into the darkness. Ino ran, ran as fast as she can. "Gaara! Wait!" she yelled, running towards him. Gaara smiled sadly at her before disappearing in the darkness. She continued on running towards him until her feet couldn't hold any longer. Ino collapsed, falling to her knees, tears making their way quickly down her cheek.
"G-Gaara, please." she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again, calling his name on top of her lungs.
"Gaara!!!"
End of Unconsciousness POV
She shot up in her bed, calling out his name. "Gaara!" she yelled as Kankurou quickly got up, holding her shoulders.
"Ino, look at me. He's gone, he's not going to hurt you anymore" he said, shaking her out of her state. Her eyes were still closed as Kankurou felt goose bumps form on her bare shoulders. Ino shook her head frantically, her movement dying down as Kankurou continued to talk to her. Temari, clutching her sheets tight, watched the whole scene.
"Ino, please," Kankurou whispered, calming her down. "it's alright, look at me." he said, his current tone softer than his usual. Ino slowly opened her eyes, looking at Kankurou as tears formed in her eyes, making their way down her cheek like a waterfall.
"G-Gaara," she whispered, barely audible, causing Kankurou to get a bit closer to hear her, "he needs me" she said, leaning her head on Kankurou's shoulder and sobbed lightly. Kankurou turned his head to the side, looking at his sister who had a saddened expression on her face.
Kankurou wrapped his arms around her petite, injured body, sighing heavily. "He needs us all, Ino" he said, rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her increasing sobs. Temari pulled the sheets off of her, swinging her legs to the side of the bed. Kankurou looked at his sister and shook his head.
"You shouldn't be up—", he stopped in the middle of his sentence once he saw a serious expression on Temari's face. She made her way across the room and stood next to Ino's bed, resting her hand on Ino's back, above her brother's hands.
"Ino, look at me." she said, firmly. Ino moved away from Kankurou's shoulder and looked into the Suna Kunoichi's eyes, noticing how serious she was.
"If Gaara needs your help, you have to be strong for him. Stop crying like a baby!" she scolded her, making the blonde sob a couple of times before containing her sobs, eventually stop crying. Kankurou looked at his sister who crossed her arms with a victorious expression on her face.
"Ino, you'll stay here. Kankurou and I will go look for Gaara" she said, moving back to her bed, picked up her black Kimono from the chair next to it and wore it, tying the light-blue sash around her body. Kankurou got up and walked to his sister as she picked her fan up and attached it to the clip on her back.
"What are you, crazy? You're exhausted and you need to—"
"—What I need is to find my brother" she said, looking firmly at him, yet her eyes betrayed her. They showed the anxiety to her brother. Kankurou opened his mouth to speak, but someone spoke before him.
"I want to go too." Ino exclaimed, catching both of the Suna-Shinobi's attention. Temari shook her head,
"You need to stay here!"
Knock, Knock
The door was opened, revealing Shikamaru, peeking his head through the half opened door. He smiled once he saw Temari on her own two feet, but frowned when he noticed Ino in bed with a broken arm.
"Hey guys" he said, walking towards Temari. She smiled as he gave her a peck on her lips, asking her how she was and receiving a glare from the overprotective brother. Shikamaru turned his head to face Ino who had a smile on her face, yet it wasn't a sincere one.
"Hey Ino," he said, walking towards her bed. "how're you feeling?" he asked, mentally slapping himself. 'That's not the question to ask, baka'
Ino nodded, looking at the sheets before moving her vision towards her team-mate. "I'm," she said, pausing, "I'm ok" she continued, smiling. Shikamaru nodded, "Good, because Tsunade-sama wants to see us," he said, looking at Temari and Kankurou, "all of us" he repeated, receiving a nod from the Suna Shinobi.
"Alright, I'm down" Temari said, crossing her arms. Ino smiled and moved the sheets off of her, her bandaged legs swung to the side. Ino turned back and forth for her upper dark-blue shirt and pants, as soon as she realized she was in her short dark-blue shorts.
Ino blushed, moving the covers back on her legs. Kankurou and Shikamaru looked at each other and both walked towards the door, walking out of the room, leaving the young Kunoichi a chance to get dressed.
Ino looked at Temari who was shaking her head. "I'll help you with that" she said, moving to her bed and picked up the shirt, realizing that Ino needed a help getting dressed with that broken arm.
In front of Hokage's office…
Kankurou and Shikamaru were waiting outside the office. Apparently Tsunade was having a meeting with someone. They weren't the type to eavesdrop, but Kankurou and Shikamaru couldn't help but to hear a couple of muffled words.
Inside…
"When was the last time you saw Gaara?" Tsunade asked, expecting a reply from the blonde. Deidara narrowed his eyes, remembering the last time he's encountered Suna no Kazekage
"Um, this morning, hmmm" he said, raising an eyebrow. Tsunade didn't like his attitude but she had to let that pass. "Where were you? What was the situation?" she asked, waiting impatiently for the blonde to reply.
"Well, I took a walk with Ino when we ran into him. He and Ino got too friendly before I left" he said, smirking. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"Too friendly?" she repeated, receiving a nod from the blonde. "Yeah, I think they've been dating for a while now" he continued, crossing his arms. "Everyone knows by now" he said, narrowing his eyes at the Hokage. She closed her eyes, thinking.
'Am I the only one who doesn't know about this?' she thought, before opening her eyes again.
"Did you and Gaara exchange words of some sort?" she asked, letting a small sigh after her words. Deidara shook his head, "Only introduction, hmm" he said. Tsunade wasn't pleased with the interrogation; she wasn't getting much out of him.
"Deidara," she said, getting up. "how long have you really known Gaara?" she asked, crossing her arms. Deidara sighed, "I told you that I just met him this morning. All that I know is that he's Ino's boyfriend and I don't like him" he said. Deidara was tired of the interrogation himself. "Where did you go after that?" she asked, noticing that Deidara was at the verge of breaking down out of boredom.
"I went to the Hokage Mountain to relax. I like spending time there alone" he said, moving his hands behind his back. "Do you have an alibi?" she asked, receiving an eye roll from the blonde. Tsunade gaped, 'He's got the nerve to roll his eyes on me?' she thought, wanting to grab any near by thing to smack him across the face.
"I told you I went there alone, apparently, I don't have an alibi. What is this, an interrogation? Am I a suspect in some kind of a cheesy murder?" he asked, throwing his hands in the air. Tsunade groaned. "YES, this IS an interrogation and we're interrogating everyone at the moment. Don't think too highly of yourself." She said, walking behind her desk and throwing herself on the chair.
"Can I go now?" he asked, crossing his arms. Tsunade looked at him and leaned on her desk, rubbing her temples. She wasn't pleased with the results, but she did have something on her mind.
"Yeah, you can go" she said, closing her eyes. The blonde turned around without a word and walked out the door. Tsunade opened her eyes, looking at the door.
"Kakashi." she said as he appeared out of nowhere. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?" he replied. Tsunade looked at him and narrowed her eyes.
"I don't like him. He remained calm during the interrogation as if he received special training in that." she bluntly said, "Keep an eye on him, all the time. I don't want him to get out of your sight, you hear me?" she said, receiving a nod from the white-haired Jonin before he cleared out of the room, silently following the blonde.
Tsunade's office, a Couple of Minutes later…
Shikamaru, Kankurou, Temari and Ino were standing in front of Tsunade's desk, waiting for Neji and the others to show up.
A few seconds later, Neji walked in, along with Tenten, Sakura, Sasuke, Lee, Chouji, Shino, Hinata, Kiba and Naruto. Tsunade looked at Lee who tried to ignore her looks from the moment he walked in.
"Shouldn't you be cleaning up your mess?" she said, talking about the restaurant. Lee nodded, "Hai, it's almost done. Yet, Neji told me that this was important, so I came here" he said, bowing. Tsunade sighed, intertwining her fingers and resting her hands on the table.
"Alright, I believe that you've all known what happened" she said, receiving a nod from the young Jonins and female Chuunins.
"I want you to find Gaara," she said, "and do whatever is necessary to stop him!"
"You're not suggesting that we kill him, do you?" Naruto asked with a worried expression. Ino, Kankurou and Temari all exchanged looks of fear before looking at Tsunade who gulped and closed her eyes, before opening them, avoiding to look in certain three pairs of eyes.
"If that's necessary, then yes, that's what I'm suggesting" She said, looking at her desk. Ino was shivering, holding back her tears.
'Kill Gaara? No!' she mentally screamed, 'He needs me, and I'll bring him back. I can't let them hurt him, I just can't' she thought, her right hand balled into a fist, her eyes narrowed.
Tsunade cleared her throat, "Is that understood, everyone?" she asked
"Hai, Hokage-sama" they all replied. Tsunade nodded, "You must keep this mission confidential at all costs. Now, you're dismissed, except for you, Ino." she said, receiving a bow from the Ninjas before everyone went out the door. Ino looked at Tsunade with a sad look in her eyes.
"Yes, Hokage-sama" she asked, narrowing her eyes sadly. Tsunade understood the meaning of her look. "You're going to stay here. You can't sustain any more injuries than you already do" she advised, making the young girl look at the ground.
"B-but, Tsunade-sama," she pleaded, taking a step closer to the desk, "he needs me, and I can help him—"
"—I know you can, but I won't let you. You're emotional right now. You'll only be a burden on your mates" she said, getting up. Ino narrowed her eyes, letting a couple of tears stroll down her cheek. She looked down, letting the tears hit the desk. She raised her head, slamming her right fist frantically at the desk.
"I won't let them Kill Gaara!" she said, running out of the door, ignoring Tsunade's voice.
As Ino ran out the door, with her broken hand being a big obstacle, she realized that she'd yelled at Tsunade, Konoha no Hokage. She stopped in her tracks, thinking.
She's always been polite to everyone, well, except for her friends. But she would never think of yelling at her sensei, not even anyone older than her. But she's just yelled in the Hokage's face.
'It's all because of you, Gaara' she thought, looking at the building's main gate. Ino took a deep breath and ran out, determined to find Gaara and bring him back.
Hokage Mountain
The wind blew, moving his hair and trench coat along as he could make out the Ninjas' figures walking out of the Hokage building, before splitting apart into groups.
Gaara stood there, arms crossed, raising his chin up, looking down at the Ninjas as they searched along for him. He smirked when he saw Ino run out the last, looking around.
"Look at you; lost like a black sheep" he said, chuckling, narrowing his eyes at her, still standing at the mountain.
Ino walked out, not knowing where to start looking for him. "If there's only a clue for your whereabouts, Gaara" she said, turning around, resting her right hand on her forehead.
"Gaara!" she yelled, finding it the only solution left for her in that state. Gaara kept looking down at her. His glare turned into a soft look once he saw her broken arm and that exhausted expression on her scraped, bandaged face.
"You're going soft, aren't ya?" the voice said, causing Gaara to clutch his head. "I'm not going anywhere. Ripping your own head off won't help" the voice said, messing with Gaara's thoughts. He breathed deeply then exhaled. Gaara had learned ever since he was a child how to control Shukaku's voice inside his head, 'Breathe deeply and get him out of there' he thought, the voice disappearing in an instant. Then he heard her voice, calling for him again.
"Gaara, where are you?!" Ino yelled, looking around. She stopped in her tracks, looking at the ground. "Let me find you, Gaara. Let me help you" she mumbled, sighing heavily. She looked up at the clear sky; a wind hit her, forcing her to close her eyes.
"Maybe Tsunade-sama was right, I should stay inside the building" she said, turning around and walking towards the building. She looked around, right and left, right and left. Somehow, she was forced to look up at the Hokage mountain.
Baby-blue eyes met sea foam green. Her eyes widened as she met with his cold yet burning glare. "G-Gaara." she stuttered, stopping in her tracks. He didn't move, not even blink. He just kept staring at her. His eyes were cold, yet they were telling her something else.
"Help me"
She remembered his words in that dream she had. Was he calling for her? Or were those words only what she wanted him to tell her? She closed her eyes, shook her head and looked up again, but he was gone.
Gaara paced away from the ledge of the mountain, trying to get out of Ino's vision range. He wasn't ready to run into her again, not after hurting her again.
'Why am I caring about her? she's a liar!' he thought, or perhaps those were Shukaku's thoughts. Gaara shook his head and continued on going away.
"Where are you going to, Gaara-kun?" a dreadful, yet deep voice said, stopping Gaara in his tracks.
He slowly turned around, fully facing his interceptor. "Who are you?" he quietly said, narrowing his eyes at the newcomer. Another wind hit them, moving Gaara's trench coat along with the wind. The man smirked at Gaara, lifting his head out of his high-collared, black and red-clouds marked coat, taking his conical straw hat off of his head to reveal his dark hair and blood-red eyes.
"It's about time we met, Kazekage-sama." he said, looking at Gaara with a smirk, trying to recognize the guy.
"You don't know me." he said, smirking, "Uchiha Itachi is my name"
As soon as Gaara disappeared, Ino grimaced, "It's your imagination, Ino" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She took a couple of steps before she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.
"Ino-chan," a male voice said, a familiar one. She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "where are you going?" Deidara said, still holding her shoulder. Ino gritted her teeth. "Stay away from me, Deidara!" she spat, turning around. Deidara smirked, narrowing his eyes.
"Now, Ino-Chan, is that how you greet—"
"—the one who ruined my life? the one who caused this mess?" she yelled, throwing her hand to the side. Deidara shook his head, sighing deeply.
"Ino," he said, digging his right arm inside a bag attached to his belt, "you don't want me to do this" he said, keeping his hand inside the bag. Ino narrowed her eyes, wondering what's inside the bag. She swore she could almost hear something wriggling inside the bag.
"What are you doing, Deidara?" she asked, a tone of fright in her voice. Deidara took a step closer to her. Ino moved away but he reached for her cheek, caressing it slowly, placing his palm fully on her cheek. Ino gasped and took a step backwards once she felt some kind of liquid on her cheek. He shook, taking his hand off of her cheek. Ino noticed a pink thing on his palm, but his hand was quickly hidden inside his pocket.
Deidara chuckled, "Didn't you wonder why I was never introduced into your family until now?" he said, chuckling. Ino took a step backwards as his chuckled became psyched.
"Because, you're my distant relative and my parents haven't found out about you till now" Ino said, making Deidara break in laughter. She shivered by his insanity.
"I can't believe everyone believed this distant relative shit" he said, moving his hand around in the bag. "I can't believe, out of all the people, that your stupid boyfriend believed that" he said, chuckling and shaking his head. Ino gasped, 'What does he mean by that?'
"When was the last time you saw your mother, Ino-chan?" he said, narrowing his eyes at her.
She looked at him with a fearful look in her eyes, "What have you done to her?" she yelled, taking a step closer to her.
"Hmmm, wasn't it when I first arrived? Or was it just this morning? Didn't you notice something strange in her behavior?" he asked, stopping his hand from moving around the bag.
Ino wasn't quite following him; instead, she remained silent, wondering where that was going.
"Your mother is dead, Ino," he said, making Ino's eyes widen, "I killed her"
AH!!! CLIFFHANGER!! ((Falls off a cliff))
Forgive me for this very long chapter, but I kept on writing and writing and I couldn't find a place to finish the chapter.
This story is approaching its ending. I wonder what the ending will be.
DID YOU SEE WHAT DEIDARA SAID?! MUAHAHAHA, I'm evil!!
What's the relation between Deidara and Itachi?! YAOI XP, LOL! Don't think so…
I'm gonna make ya wait till the next chapter.
Please review, Ja na!!