A/N: Welcome back, dear readers and lurkers! I do want to apologize for the two week absence. Things are a bit hectic right now. I'll do my best to keep to my regular posting schedule, and thank you for understanding any missed posting dates.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Ino and Sai Make Plans

While he slept he looked most vulnerable, like a mishandled porcelain doll poised to shatter on the floor. The pale moon-face glowed white in the dark shadow of the attic space. Ino was awake and it was the wee hours of the morning. Sai was in deep sleep beside her; they had curled on their sides toward each other in the center of the worn mattress. He'd insisted she sleep beside him on the single bed. She, in opposition to him, had insisted she'd be fine on the floor, really, don't worry about it, but Sai was adamant she be beside him. He'd dismissed her arguments, pulling her under the covers before he switched off the light.

She'd slept some, but a terrible dread had woken her. Not a dream, no, but questions. Anxiety stirred under her put-together veneer. What was going on between them? What was the extent of the bond they shared? And what was this growing sense that she could not survive without him?

They were too close together. He huffed soft breaths of warm air on her face. His hand was tucked on her waist; his body heat saturated her. Yes, he was too close, like Kiba had been, and sometime soon, she'd hurt him like she'd hurt Kiba. Maybe worse. Sai's feelings for her had changed drastically over the course of the last several weeks. It was obvious in how he spoke to her, how he touched her, how he looked at her. She'd warned him, for god's sake, but he had assessed her with cool black eyes and ignored her warnings, and with things spiraling out of control, and spiral out of control they did, she had to take action to save him, to gain space from him, to force him away from the disaster looming over her head. She'd have to escape him and while she forged her path, he could focus on his own protection and protecting the rest of their friends.

The trick would be to convince him he could leave her alone. She should've made her move while he went after Takahino, but he'd gotten her to promise to stay in place. Soon she'd have to talk him into another attempt at Takahino's rescue while she simultaneously traveled back home and infiltrated the village. She'd had plenty of time to think about unnoticed survival in the village- -the Academy had empty classrooms to serve her purposes. Set up a base, surround the empty room with misdirection genjutsu, and use hypnotic suggestion to instill fear into the students to avoid the classroom. She'd be undisturbed with access to fresh water, food from the cafeteria, supplies, and a good cover story to come and go as she pleased as either a teacher or a student. She'd be near the Office of the Hokage as well and could spy on Shikamaru and Lord Hokage if she so chose.

But how to shake Sai loose?

She'd sneak away, but she didn't think she could leave Kiri without help. They had barely managed to elude Kiri's defenses, so sometime between leaving Kiri and entering Fire she could give Sai the slip. Sai's original plan had been to hide her in a safehouse while Miayzato (and the rest of her family) searched high and low for her. He had not indicated a change in this plan. If she couldn't talk Sai into a new and immediate rescue attempt for Takahino, Ino bet Sai'd carry on with the original plan to hide her in a new safehouse. They'd have to travel which could afford her a means of escaping him, but Sai was cautious and may not allow her any opportunities to leave him. Once at the new safehouse, Ino assumed Sai would attempt to reconnect with Takahino to bring him into the fold, and afterwards, while she and Takahino were safe and sound, Sai would return to Konoha to function as their double agent. Should Takahino join her in the safehouse, she doubted she could convince or sweet-talk him into a suicide mission into the village. He'd actively work against her and prevent her from returning despite the clan's danger.

Sai might even think of staying with us. No. She'd have to pressure him into going after Takahino by himself while she stayed behind. Tomorrow, she could use Mind Transmision to connect to Takahino, and if he was still free after being separated from Sai, she'd convey his location to Sai. Sai could be convinced to leave and rendez-vous with Takahino, leaving her ample time alone and an avenue of return to Konoha without the threat of immediate pursuit. Once in Konoha, she could evade Miyazato, her clan, and the entirety of the Leaf forces. They'd not consider she'd be inside the walls, in the heart of danger. If she played her cards right, she might find an opportunity to address her concerns with Lord Kakashi to seek a nullification of the marriage license which he had the power to grant.

"Are you awake, Beautiful?"

Though he whispered to her, her heart leapt like she'd been caught red handed as she fished around in her father's keepsake box. How'd he know? Had she broadcasted to his brain without realizing it? She tried to keep the steady throb of her heart quiet and checked the boundaries of her astral self. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep."

"You should go back to sleep, too."

She sighed, annoyed he had awakened. "I'm trying, but someone's talking to me."

"You are the one who's been awake," Sai answered, and, goddamn it, he stroked her hip. The stroke was careful, loving, and she had an impulse to press skin-to-skin with him. "Are you feeling okay?"

No, not with you so…aware of me. "I'm worried about Takahino's safety. Tomorrow I want to use Mind Transmission to try and locate him."

"We'll see."

"What does 'We'll see' mean?"

He paused, and Ino filled in the silence with a few conclusions. She prepped an argument in case he decided to try and stop her. Instead he said, "It means you should go back to sleep and be well rested. We'll discuss everything tomorrow. We'll have time."

Ino sucked in a breath to harangue him, but he shifted forward and planted a kiss on her mouth. The kiss was closed-mouth for a moment, enough time for passion to spark in her heart. A hot rush burned from her chest up her neck to her face. She was aware of his hand sliding along her side, and in retaliation, she raked her fingers into his raven hair. He angled his head, mouth opening; she reacted instinctively to the new slant, so their tongues curled, wet and pliant, together. Time was suspended. She tangled her tongue with his, took a fierce grip in his hair, and when he cupped his hand at the junction of her thighs, the passion scorched her. A needful ache zipped between her ovaries and upwards. Her hips jerked outside her control.

Panic ensued. The heat and the dampness where he touched should not have happened. She should not be this yielding to him so soon after their outrageous sex in the bathroom. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel this way? No, no, no, no, it can't be...

Pulling away, ostensibly for air, she murmured to him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Sleep first, sex later."

"Hm. I think sex first, sleep later sounds better," he said, the low husky voice almost inaudible, but so very sexy. Since he'd kissed a trail along her cheek, he'd whispered into the shell of her ear. She shivered as tingles raced down her spine, and nervous because no one gave her tingles, she giggled. He removed his hand; she felt the loss of his touch. "But you're right, we should keep to our sleep schedule."

Did she hear a smile in his voice? The room was pitch black, so she couldn't be sure. She was torn, okay? She was torn because he sounded as if he teased her about sex, and she shouldn't let him get away with a tease, but she desired him. Boy, did she desire him. And since her elders and betters had told her for her whole life that self-denial built character, she denied herself the pleasure of an early morning rut with Sai.

"I'm always right," she said, to disguise her conflict, "so go to sleep and stop breathing in my face."

"I'll stop breathing in your face when you remove your knee from my testicles," he said. He hadn't taken offense, his tone light and playful.

He did have a point as they had sunk deeper into the bed's saggy center and her knee had indeed migrated to his groin. Ino sighed, and to solve the problem for both of them, she rolled to her other side. Her back was to him. She remembered the temple in Sunda Umi after the fight with Takeshita Shijo, when she hovered with one foot in the grave and had dreamed of the conversation with Uncle Ibiki. Sai smoothed her hair out, to keep it from his nose and mouth, and his arm slid around her waist. The affectionate gesture brought stinging to her eyes. Stop it, you're not a crybaby. She couldn't prevent her hand from caressing his, her fingers dipping between his knuckles. No, no, I can't feel this way...

But Sai apparently could track the change in emotion. "Are you sure you're feeling well?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Go to sleep already."

However, she remained awake for a while longer because hormones didn't turn off like a faucet and Sai's touch had burst a smoldering fire within her. She feared the fire would immolate her. Her decision to separate from him was the right decision; they both needed to get their heads screwed on straight. While she stared into nothing, she listened to Sai's breathing, which didn't slow or even out like she expected it to. The logical conclusion was he was awake and waiting for her breathing to slow down and deepen. To get him off his surveillance of her, she faked slow steady breaths. She'd meant to stay awake and think her plan through more, but the low slow breathing exercise relaxed her and she fell back asleep.

The next morning, they dressed and ate breakfast together. Ino engaged in small talk with him, but her mind was focused on the exact manipulation of Takahino's absence to get Sai to leave her alone. For Sai's part, he answered when she spoke to him, but in the silences between their conversation, he was concerned about her. The black eyes didn't wander far from her; the watchfulness disconcerted her and she tried to ignore her perception of his attentiveness.

"How's your arm?" she asked to get the ball rolling. "May I see it?"

Sai shifted his position on the bed, freeing his arm from the long sleeve and lifting the hem so she had an unadulterated view of his toned abdomen. Ino had sat next to him, legs folded under. She pretended not to notice the field of unmarred white skin and instead worried her thumb over the mended tear at the shoulder of the sleeve. He offered his arm to her, and while she saw he'd need additional healing, her work from the previous sessions had done wonders. Ino used Mystical Palm to finish the job, and when she relaxed her hands after fifteen or twenty minutes, he had no indication of a scar and had a full range of motion with the arm.

While he readjusted his shirt, Ino pushed her bangs behind her ear. "I think I should contact Takahino with Mind Transmission. He needs to know we haven't abandoned him," she said, choosing her words with utmost care, "and that we have organized a plan for our escape and protection. You do have a plan in mind, don't you?" As if she didn't know and had no thought of going to Konoha by herself.

Sai wore a pleasant expression. "I agree you should contact Takahino. I'll share the location for a new safehouse with you to relate to him. I'll declare my presence at the Mizukage's Office since they may have information from Konoha. I'll send a missive to Shikamaru to tell him I've tracked Takahino into Water. More than likely, I'll be told to rejoin Team 8, wherever they are. From there, I'll continue to follow Takahino's trail. Before all that, I'll help you manage an escape to the mainland. You'll return to Konoha and set up a base in my house. "

She'd followed the logic of his plan, but his last sentence took her off guard. "You…want me to return to Konoha?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

When he didn't elaborate further, she asked, "Why?" What in the world are you thinking?

A quiet smile slid across his lips. "I can tell you've already decided to return home. It was either you go with my blessing or you attempt to trick me and go anyway. Acknowledging your desire to go home cuts out a huge waste of time and effort on both our parts." When she stared at him in disquieted silence, he continued, "While I chase down Takahino to distract from your trail, you get settled at your base. When I return, either with or without Takahino, we work together to design the next stage of our plan."

She didn't know how to react. His plan was the exact solution to the problem she'd worked through last night, so why was she hesitant to agree to it? Why did it feel like he'd fucking overheard her thoughts? Or had he somehow absorbed the plan she decided on via the bond? An impulse to flee twitched her muscles. She restrained it and worked her ponytail with her hands as her sense of control over the situation diminished in front of her eyes.

He'd noticed her reaction. "Something wrong?"

"No. Your plan is solid."

"Is it? You seem upset," he replied and tilted his head. She feared he'd tug at her and discover her lie. "What have I said to upset you?"

"Nothing. I'm not upset." She needed to divert his attention, so she smiled and changed the subject. "Sooner's better than later, I suppose. I'll use Saiko Denshin to see the safehouse's location in your mind. Have it ready when I activate the technique. Then I'll use Mind Transmission to contact Takahino. I hope he's not too far away or else we'll need to gain altitude to further my astral reach."

"I'm ready when you are," he said.

Ino activated the technique with a touch of her hand to Sai's crown. As she'd fished around inside his head before, she experienced the surreal suddenness of being accepted into his mindspace. He had no resistance to her, no push back to her dominance over his psyche. Ino didn't have to dive deep to find what she searched for. It was front and center, vivid and crisp, as Sai offered it to her on a silver platter. The new safehouse was a considerable distance from their current location- -all the way in Earth Country, near the borders of Earth and Plain, home of Kusagakure. Ino knew of no fast way for Takahino to travel there, but at least he'd be hidden in a vast country and difficult to find.

She walked through Sai's memory some dozen times to be sure of how to get to the cabin. The images she transmitted to Takahino must be crystal clear for him to refer to. While she prepared to exit Sai's ink-cool mindscape, she was summoned deeper into the psyche, to the secret cave they'd used often in recent times. Ino hesitated to join him as she wasn't sure whether he could hear her thoughts, or not hear them but sense them with a preternatural ability calibrated to Yamanaka Ino. His change in his plans to accommodate her own secret plans remained a sore spot. However, should she refuse to join him, he could decide she had a secret and aggressively pursue an answer.

Their space was set at the beach near Sunda Umi. Water, sunset, white cliffs. Once she stood beside him, he knelt and thick ink spread over the ground, an ever widening pool of liquid which coated the landscape. Soon, nothing was left of the beach and the black pool stretched in every direction. Overhead, the sky and the sun remained stationary. Sai exerted a spiritual or emotional force. Objects sprouted out of the ink; trees, bushes, grasses, animals. Their design indicated they weren't real because they looked like something Sai would've painted on a canvas. The flora and fauna were life-like enough, and Ino recognized they were outside the Great Barrier Wall of Konoha. Between the tops of the various matured trees, a glimpse of the red clay structure was seen.

Sai gestured. Hidden beneath overgrown bushes and low-hanging tree limbs was the secret escape route she, Takahino, and the other members of the clan had taken the fateful night when they broke loose of Miyazato's grasp.

"Your family's escape tunnel isn't the only hidden way into Konoha," he said. "Follow me."

They sprinted among the treetops along the perimeter of the Great Barrier Wall quite some distance before Sai slowed and bounced from limb to limb to the floor. He kicked around the loose debris- -leaves, shards of peeled bark, and various sticks and twigs- -until he uncovered a metal sewer cover set flush to the ground. He stuck his fingers into the little cut-out in the diameter of the manhole cover and wiggled it loose. Metal grated as he jimmied it open. Rusted rungs disappeared into a dark hole which breathed noxious fumes at them.

Ino eyed the manhole. She was prissy when sewers were involved, but because Sai made the effort to show her, she commanded her disgust and revulsion and did not comment as she descended the rungs to a human-sized cement storm drain. Overhead, Sai had replaced the cover and with his shinobi lantern in hand, he climbed down after her. The cement storm drain, though smelly like a sewer pipe, did not have standing water or any flow of vile liquid. Sai tapped the cement across from them where a graffiti tag had been sprayed. The tag was a colorful orange design of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the nine tails splayed with luxurious saturation. Kurama's white teeth shown in a cruel smile; red eyes blazed with black vertical slits. Black outlined Kurama's body, a detail which emphasized the vibrancy of the orange.

Sai traced a finger over one of the tails- -the fourth tail from Kurama's right hindleg. "Remember this tail. It'll point you in the correct direction at a crossroads."

Together they walked through the storm drain. He had her use the graffiti Kurama as her compass and map, and he didn't correct her one time. Sometimes water trickled at the bottom of the pipe. Sometimes the water gushed, islands of trash and garbage trapped in the continuous stream. They were in the darkness for at least thirty to forty minutes, perhaps an hour, Ino despairing of ever seeing the light of day, when Sai turned into a corridor off the main storm drain. Around the entrance to the corridor was a graffiti of Kurama's gaping mouth; a cool effect, Ino thought.

They had to jump to a higher level, but it was a straight shot to a dead-end where metal rungs led upwards to another manhole covering. Sai preceded her, hoisted open the heavy lid, and reached out a hand to help her onto solid ground. The shinobi lantern cast light on an unfinished, empty and narrow space. Ino could put out her arms and her hands would touch the walls on either side. However, a ladder leaned at an angle in front of them which they used to climb to another level where an actual metal door blocked their path. Painted symbols, in white paint, were laid out in a sort of grid or square pattern, four wide, four deep for a total of 16 symbols.

Sai turned to Ino. "Activate the symbols with chakra in the correct order. Watch carefully."

He indicated a sequence of seven symbols, and while he indicated the seven symbols, he told her a little rhyme. The rhyme's words correlated with the symbols. He asked her to repeat the rhyme, which she did verbatim, and over again three or four times. Then he had her input the sequence of symbols, which she did with the use of chakra in her fingers. The door's locks popped. Sai slid it open, stepped through, and closed the door once she had followed him. The same set of symbols were painted on the inside as well, and she went through the rhyme and the code once more to engage the lock. Sai had covered this strange door with a set of rice-paper screens, which he removed as they came through. Around them was a large rectangular space, damp and chilly like a basement. Large in width, depth, and height, and Ino assumed the space was used for practice. Wooden stairs took them to another door and on the other side of this door was a clean, bright, beautiful kitchen. Ino instantly fell in love with the design of the kitchen, the color scheme, the island, the everything.

While she ogled the space, Sai said, "Welcome inside my home. The top floor is my art studio. The rest of the space is the living room and bedrooms. I've placed strong seal-work outside the house to protect it from any intruders. Do not open windows or doors to anyone or anything. The seal-work will activate to repel any attempts at entry and will not differentiate between the inside and outside." She was in the middle of investigating the nearest cabinet which contained various dishes and glasses. "Miss Beautiful, do you understand the rules?"

"I understand them."

"Do you like it here?"

Ino backed out of the cabinet to grin at him. "I think I could be quite comfortable."

Underlying her comment was the worry of the cage, of an unbreakable chain keeping her to one place. Before her grin faded under the sick entrapped feeling, she opened a different cabinet to hide her face.

"We aren't finished. I want to show you the way to the street." What? Is he serious?

They returned to the locked door- -Ino again was required to input the code- -and when they came to the corridor, Sai gestured to the side. Pipes criss-crossed the pathway, but Sai navigated through them without a second thought. On the other side of the pipes, they were in a more open corridor. This one seemed to be accessed regularly as it was tidy, and after climbing a set of stairs, they came to a battered door which opened into a shack. The shack was a type of small service station. Outside the station was a park and the taller, bigger buildings of downtown Konoha shimmered in the sunlight.

"Be careful when exiting the service station," Sai said. "People tend to wander in the park. Also, listen for company before coming through the door as this is actually used by our village water and electricity managers. Any questions?"

Sai was detailed-oriented and thorough; she had no questions to ask. Despite her avowal to utilize the Academy as her hidden base, she was grateful for Sai's attention and his attempt to protect her from harm. He had such formidable skill and power, and she felt he wasted it on her because she was one person and not the entire village. She hoped Shikamaru would use Sai in a different capacity when, eventually, he would return home without her; Sai ought to be located far away from any blowback or fallout her fight with the clan and Miyazato would occasion.

She smiled at him and brushed aside one black lock of hair which had fallen out of place. "We should return, shouldn't we? Takahino needs to be told of our plans, and I should prepare for my travels to the mainland. I assume I'll be taking a boat rather than you flying me."

"Yes, you assume correctly." His black eyes softened. He caressed the hand she'd lifted and placed a gentle kiss on her wrist. "A regular passenger boat will take you to Hinokoku. I suggest you go by foot from there, but avoid roads and groups of people."

"I can manage once I'm outside Kiri's perimeter," she said and didn't stop herself from curling her fingers in his thick hair. She offered her mouth to him. "Thank you for everything."

"You're most welcome." His lips brushed hers as he whispered the words.

When he kissed her, his slow, languorous exploration of her mouth mesmerized her. He kissed her like he savored her, tasted her, and she had two conflicting physical responses. One response was to tear off his clothes and ride him to orgasm; the other response was a desperate scrabble for separation. His hand coasted along her spine to her nape and the other brought her against his chest, hip-to-hip, stomach-to-stomach. She framed his pale moon-face with her hands, fingers dipped deep into the roots of his hair. Around them, inside his head, inside the weird space they shared, she felt the emptiness asking to be filled. She'd pumped so much emotion into it, into him, and yet he wasn't tired of it, wasn't filled enough. Her emotions surged forward, and though she tried to check them, to rein them in, it was as if a dam had burst; it was as if she had not shared her emotions with him time and time again.

Half of her put its foot down and told her to stop it, stop it right now. We have work to do, so get on it already.

The other half of her said no, I don't think I will. I'd rather dally here with him. Go shove it.

Her toes curled when his erection rubbed into her pelvis. She could show him her gratitude. With a smirk curled in the corner of her mouth, she exerted her will over their shared space, sprouting a beautiful old oak behind him with lots of exposed roots. A dense, earthy funk spread in the air. Sai made a sexy noise in his throat as she redoubled the emotion behind the extended kiss they had shared so far. But then she felt a sudden shift in the emotional balance they shared. While she continued to outpour her emotion into him, he turned it around and reciprocated with a warm amorphous emotion. A shockwave hit her, lifted her clean off her feet. What stunned her was not the reciprocation, but the purity of the emotion; an emotion she recognized because she'd felt it for Daddy and Master Asuma and Sakura within the confines of her own heart.

The panic roared back.

Instantly, she withdrew to her safe harbor, to her head and body, to the attic safehouse in Kiri far from home. On her guard, she solidified the borders of her astral presence, tucked any stray feelings into unseen and hidden corners. Fear and anxiety scurried rodent-like thoughts across her mind; her heart hammered in her chest. She knew the blood had drained from her cheeks. It was imperative that when Sai searched her face, he would see nothing but composure and determination; he would see nothing he shouldn't see, he'd feel nothing from her he shouldn't feel. She fit the mask on before he recovered from Saiko Denshin.

Sai was alarmed with her abrupt departure from his mindscape. "What happened? Why'd you leave?"

"I worried we'd deplete my chakra," Ino lied. She smiled a sweet smile, pacing away from him a few steps, just out of his reach, and straightened one of the cobwebby books. "Takahino is important, too. I'll attempt to get our message to him via Mind Transmission. Will you please wait a moment?"

"Yes," but she heard the hesitation in his voice.

To defer further questions, she engaged Shindenshin. Kiri's physical obstructions faded from her perception; the mindscapes of every member of the Mist Village's community unfurled into a vast cacophony of sound and blurred, fast imagery. Some people broadcasted loudly; some broadcasted softly. Some were in the throes of grief or depression or loneliness or anxiety or stress; some experienced joy or elation or cheerfulness or relaxation. Still others carried on without strong feelings one way or the other. Ino's mind pinged these mindscapes, eliminating them as the chakra or current memories did not fit the parameters she had set. Further and further outward she reached, her astral self projecting miles from her body. Any more distant, she'd have to return and seek altitude, but as the dense population became more scattered, areas where minds clustered together in smaller towns and villages, she caught a glimmer of a distant familiar connection.

Ino dialed in on the mindscape, stretched herself to her utmost distance, and tasted Hikarino's chakra and near Hikarino was Takahino. No other familiar connection was near or linked to them, but after the devastating loss of the links to the rest of the clan, Ino was blind to their whereabouts. A headache rumbled on the horizon; she didn't have much time until the migraine put her out of commission. She seized Hikarino, who did not have a trace of the pelt-smooth chakra, and as Hikarino accepted her with open arms, she brought Takahino into the same connection. They didn't speak, per se, but exchanged mad dashes of information- -summaries of strong emotions and experiences, quick, quick, quick.

Ino didn't look into what they shared as it was enough that they were safe and whole and together; she'd evaluate everything when she had the opportunity. Relieved to find them alive and free, she transmitted the directions and location to the new safehouse. Once the relevant data was received, Ino conveyed a warm, affectionate hug to each which would tell them everything they needed to know about her feelings for them, and saying a final farewell, Ino released Shindensen.

A nasty spat of dizziness took her to her knees. The concentration and the amount of chakra she'd required had overtaxed her system. With the electric shock of head pain came the heat which fried her nerves; near her, an ink-cool aura rippled closer and she almost succumbed to it, she almost let the coolness, the thick comfort of the black ink wrap around her, paint her insides so she wasn't so hot, wasn't so pained. If she let him in, he'd know everything, and she wasn't ready to tell him each of her secrets yet.

"Were you able to transmit to Takahino?" Sai asked. His voice was distant and above her, as far from her as the moon. She wished she could see...

"Yes…"

Through the jagged snarls of pain in her temples, she floated and was placed on a softness. Her mind could not articulate more data because the blooms of pain, like fungus, grew over everything, blurred details into one giant blob. Something bitter, small, and hard was pushed between her lips. Oh. Pills. They clacked at her teeth, the bitter turning her mouth inside out, and water was brought to her lips. Eager to cool herself, she sipped and swallowed. The water went away. A cool weight pressed on her burning forehead.

And so as she suffered the pain her clan's mind techniques induced, she half-reached with her hand to the ink-cool aura, lapping at her shores, seeking a way to alleviate her; she was aware enough to register gentle fingers twined with hers.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. See you next week (hopefully)! Leave me some love in the comments.