A/N: And Happy New Year, dear readers and lurkers! I am thankful we have a fresh start and we can leave 2020 behind us. To celebrate, enjoy a new chapter!

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Ino and Takahino See Bad News

Ino, in the compact body of a white-feathered goose, paddled closer to the dock where four shinobi of two nationalities stood in a loose group. Around her, water lapped at the hulls of many boats as a flock of her feathered brethren disguised her. Floating closer, her webbed feet churning beneath her light body, the water was cool and bobbed her as she waited. The eyesight of the goose wasn't crisp or colorful, but she could observe the team's movements at a safe distance. As it stood, Sai and his team would not discover their escape for hours to come.

She watched, breath held, as Sai illustrated an Ink Beast hawk but once it was completed, his pale face turned ashen as he stood before it. After a long hesitation, he did not jump onto the hawk's back as expected and soon after, he dispersed it. Good. The hypnotic suggestion, which layered Sai's first fearful encounter with Sasuke and his experiences flying on a hawk, had taken hold. Sai's ability to cover long distances at a fast pace was neutralized, and though it had killed her to clip Sai's wings, it would serve to slow him and give her and Takahino breathing room. Kiba and Akamaru remained in the hospital, sight and smell neutralized but improving by the hour. Ino had implanted a vision of Naruto in full, glorious, erect nudity in Hinata's head, to appear in front of her each time she activated the Byaguken. Hinata, poor girl, had never had an up-close and personal encounter with a penis, let alone Naruto's bare anything, so the vision had the intended effect of pulling the plug on Hinata's all-seeing dojutsu.

Ino felt rotten about every single thing she'd done. But she and Takahino had to survive. She had to fight dirty.

After his final orders, Sai took off with the other two Yu shinobi and left Shino and Hinata to investigate the rental boats. Ise had proved invaluable in two ways: first, she had been a wellspring of information about Yu's ins and outs, including Ino and Takahino's current escape route; second, she assisted in the diversion of the rental houseboats and the on-going diversion at the Yu Office. Earlier, Ise had helped them hide two of the rental houseboats in different waterways. Shino and Hinata would report the absence of those two houseboats and a search for them would ensue. With Sai's attention and forces divided, she and Takahino would have at least a few hours' worth of rest as they gained distance.

When Ino released Shintenshin, her vision darkened as her soul flew out into the world, where she spread out her molecules, free and untamed. When she awoke, Takahino was in a position at her feet, fingers and brow in a concentration pose as he maintained the genjutsu around them. He was in the guise of a hunched old man with scraggly gray hair, but while she was in Shintenshin, she could not also hold a henge. To protect them and the people around them, the genjutsu was a necessary evil. While she transformed into her henge, he kept the genjutsu as close to real life as possible, to hide the poof of the transformation. The tricky moment passed, and Takahino dispelled the genjutsu.

Ino and Takahino huddled under the canvas awning of a wooden plank raft. Together, they looked around to see if anyone had noticed the shift in reality, but they needn't have worried. Takahino's genjutsu had been flawless. At the other end of the flat raft, a husband and wife couple used poles to push the craft along, oblivious to anything but their work. The water already flowed quickly, and with the cloth sail unfurled and billowed with wind, they sailed at a nice, comfortable clip. No one else appeared to have noticed a thing. Relieved even through his old man henge, Takahino flopped backwards on the bedroll.

"Have they taken the bait?" Takahino asked. His eyes were steady on her, faithful and loyal to a fault, but oh so tired, too tired to use Mind Transmission. She, herself, was exhausted to the bone and pressed a rag to her nose. Blood oozed from her nostrils. They both had awful headaches, having overused their jutsu the last twenty-four hours. Precious few pills remained of the medicine she'd taken from Sasuke.

"Yes, looks like it. Hinata and Shino stayed at the docks to check on the rental houseboats. Ise sent Remon to hurry Sai and Josuke back to the Office. They were on their way before I released Shintenshin. Keep your fingers crossed that she'll keep Sai busy chasing after our likenesses the rest of the afternoon."

"Sai is terribly good," Takahino said. "You weren't kidding about him. I think he'll see through our diversion and be on our heels quicker than before."

"Ugh, you're probably right. He is the most dangerous one on the team besides Shino. Once he discovers he's been tricked, he'll return his attention to the docks. He may see the houseboats as another distraction and get from Ise the same information we got about the raft people."

"We're already distant from him. He'll have so much ground to cover before he can pursue us. The hypnotic suggestion you implanted took hold? He's grounded?"

Ino nodded and glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Shizuka, who lived aboard the raft. They coordinated their efforts to navigate a narrow bend in the river. "We should rest. Our chakra levels are extremely low and who knows what obstacles we'll face." She didn't add, And our henges will release without chakra.

"Ino, are you worried?"

She bit her lip and stroked a lock of Takahino's fake gray hair. He felt deep anxiety; it was a dark cloud of fog inside him. "Yes. Terrified."

The two cousins lay close together as the water rocked the boat with gentle hands. The river helped lull her with the quiet slap of waves against the raft sides and the fresh coolness of the water. Around them came chatter from other rafts, piloted by 'the raft people'. The raft people traveled the canals and waterways on their handmade wooden rafts, and because no one nation was their destination or home, they camped in solitude in different areas. They lived day by day, night by night, and had no need for structured living. In fact, the raft people traveled in caravans, so when Ise mentioned them as another possible escape, Ino couldn't have thought of a better way of leaving Yu.

Ise had negotiated with the head raftman to transport Ino and Takahino in secret to the southeast. They would float day and night until the next major junction, located at the village Merodichi. There, her path with her cousin would diverge. The agreement with Ise had entailed passage for Takahino- -who wore an old man disguise and called himself Uncle Kusa- -to this village and further passage to Konoha for Ino. She was a plain woman, the same as the one she used in Hinokoku, and called herself Miss Koruba. Under the cover of the raft people, Ino could pass into Konoha with no one the wiser. Once in Konoha, Ino would assess the situation, report back to the faction, and together, they'd figure out what steps to take next.

Ino faded into a deep, revitalizing REM sleep and when she woke, night was dark and chilly around her. In the negotiations for passage, Ise had extracted a promise from the raft people of continuous travel to Merodichi. With the head raftman's raft acting as the leader, all other rafts followed behind, and on the rafts, the navigators took shifts, with their various needs signaled with whistles and calls. The head raftman, when time was discussed, was confident they would reach Merodichi in the evening of the second day, today.

Scrubbing her groggy eyes, Ino peered out from under the canvas awning. Mrs. Shizuka sat near her and Takahino, who continued to sleep heavily. Ino was not aware if the older woman had taken any rest. Toward the middle of the raft was a metal wood-burning stove. From the stove wafted the delicious scent of cooked fish and roasted vegetables. In their self-sufficiency, the raft people could make meals as they traveled without stopping to cook on land.

Mrs. Shizuka smiled. In a single deft movement, she pulled out a cast-iron pan and set it in front of Ino. "Have supper. You must be hungry. Eat if you want to keep up your strength."

"Thank you for the food." Ino accepted the proffered chopsticks. The generosity of the raft people was marvelous. She did not feel in the least sorry she had Ise broker a deal with them for permission to dock within the Yukagure borders to trade and purchase supplies. "Are you and Mr. Shizuka okay? I'm sorry Uncle Kusa and I have caused so much trouble."

"Oh, we're fine. You're no trouble at all. We're used to long floats and guests. The more the merrier, we always think."

"You haven't noticed anything unusual in the sky, have you? A different kind of large, black bird? Or maybe a big white canine on the riverbank?"

"My, my," said Mrs. Shizuka, "you have such an imagination. You ought to tell a story at the next storytime gathering. But to answer your question, the skies have been clear and we have seen no white canine, Miss Koruba. Please eat. Regain your strength."

Only partially soothed, Ino ate as the nighttime landscape rushed past. Everything was cool and quiet in the dark. Stars twinkled and winked overhead, vibrant with no moon in the velvet blue above. She missed her moon, but she didn't dare enter the secret cave where Sai could clutch at her and worm answers out of her. On the raft, lost in the vast forests of Fire Country, Ino felt detached from her problems, away from the real threat of her grandmother and Miyazato. From the threat of the jaguar entity inside him. What was it? A god? A jutsu?

Unbidden, a memory of Hidan reminded her of the terror a god's power could create. Jashin. Shuddering in revulsion, she'd never forget, never, never as long as she lived. And she'd never let go. Master Asuma, how will I fight it? How do I survive?

Her thoughts entertained anxiety for Shikamaru and Chouji, their golden bonds strong enough to drag them into danger with her, because of her. The others- -Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, each of them bound through life and death, war and love. Soon, marriage. Later, children. Sai's big black eyes were heavy on her, she felt them on her back though he was miles and miles away. She should not have slept with him and complicated matters between them. Another mess she'd have to figure out later.

For the entirety of her meal. Takahino had not stirred. Ino finished, her appetite strong because she needed sustenance to fuel her body, and at Mrs. Shizuka's gentle urging, lay down again. She didn't think she'd fall asleep, but out-thinking a team of skilled shinobi, keeping one step ahead of them, had wiped her out.

The next day, she and Takahino lazed on the raft and ate until they were stuffed. Their henges, plus the niece-uncle relationship, were easy to maintain. Frequently, they checked for familiar chakra signatures within their range with chakra sensory, but did not possess water fowl to get a view from above. Chakra was precious in the field and though Ino itched to see their surroundings from the sky, she could not waste what she might need later.

The raft people moored their rafts at the outskirts of Merodichi. Twilight had lowered and the tiny village was aglow with the warm yellow of street lanterns strewn along walkways. Mostly the village was residential, but with the intersection of two major rivers- -one flowing north to Yu and south to Konoha; the second flowing east to Water and west to Grass Country- -inns and various outfit shops had good business.

Takahino could find passage into Water Country, or canoe himself, which would be safer. The river east was a main river and easy to navigate, but Ino thought it'd be necessary to purchase supplies for both the family and Takahino before he attempted the trip. The line of raft people had sailed and poled into one of the many tributaries of the river. Ino and Takahino were shown a beaten footpath into a dense patch of forest from the pebbly shoreline. They walked together along the path for five minutes and came to the heart of the village. Yu was small, population-wise, and Merodichi was tiny in comparison to Yu.

"Looks like we're too late for a shopping spree," remarked Takahino. He craned his neck, but the short main street had nothing more to offer. "Most of these shops are closed for the night."

"Yeah," Ino replied, disappointed. She glanced at the empty and abandoned stalls, half in the hopes to find one open. The night life here was nothing like Hinokoku or Konoha. "We can return tomorrow. We should try to glean some information about search efforts to find us. I'm dying to hear any news from Konoha."

She spoke too soon.

Takahino's attention was directed at a newsstand across the street. Most country villages were a day or two late receiving national or continental news. With Konoha twenty-four hours downriver, news was relayed to Merodichi more quickly than remote locations. Hurrying behind her cousin, Ino crossed the street and purchased a newspaper. They stood in front of a shop window for the light; an indoor restaurant sparse with patrons.

'REWARD FOR INFORMATION,' screamed the headline. 'SHIPPING MAGNATE'S FIANCEE KIDNAPPED, FRIENDS AND FAMILY HEARTBROKEN!' Her engagement photo was blown so large Ino swore she could see the blackheads on her nose. The article continued in the usual way. Miyazato, the beloved affianced, in despair over stymied search efforts. In control of the newspaper, Takahino turned the page, and promptly choked and coughed.

"Shit," he wheezed. His eyes bugged out of his head. "Shit!"

She saw why when she read about the reward money. "That's...a lot of zeroes."

"Where does one find so much money?"

"The reward money changes nothing. We've been careful when we've mingled with civilians. The raft people don't know our true appearance or names. Our last known location is Yu," she said. Their conversation had been conducted in quiet whispers. "We're clean. We have nothing to worry about."

Takahino folded the newspaper. A photo and information about him had also been included in a sidebar. "With the kind of money offered, we won't be anonymous for long. No one can be trusted from now on."

"True," she said, "but we can travel as far as we can with the raft people. They'll hide our presence and our scents. Kiba and Akamaru will be recovered, but our henge techniques are strong enough to keep us hidden."

"I'd rather we go it alone. It's too risky to try and keep a disguise among civilians. Anything could happen to disrupt the jutsu," he said. "We should camp outside of town for tonight and return in the morning to purchase supplies. Think you're up for a quick communication with the family? We haven't checked in for a while. They'll be worried."

"Love it. Let's say goodbye to the raft people before we disappear from their lives forever. I feel we owe it to them. And they may have some good advice about the river east to Water."

Takahino, amiable as always, agreed. They left the street and returned to the footpath, but Ino never quite took another step. Without warning, a new reality slammed into her. Screams, calls for support crashed in a din around her; the crackle and whoosh of fire, swords and kunai clanged, feline roars, the thick copper of blood and baked earth filled her nostrils, and most of all, she felt. Fear, and pain, and shock, and a chill of betrayal- -an attack on the family.

Dizzy, in a tornado flashing with a myriad of experiences, Ino groped to refine the signal in the clamor (Who? Who has done this? Someone answer me!), but too many minds were connected and inputting information at once. All was a mire of sound and color and distress. She overloaded, brain circuits sparked and smoked, and sheer white pain exploded in her vision. In a panic, she snapped out to Takahino, her nearest solid anchor, but the horror was too forceful, the torment too overwhelming, and he buckled under the weight of it. She lost her grip on him, tumbled and spun away.

There was one retreat, one safe place left: the secret cave.

She was in a sorry, pathetic state as she sank to her knees in the night field, the humongous white moon coasting along in the midnight blue, but the moon was too far, so far, and she was weakened, wracked with agony. In a dream- -was this a dream or reality?- -Sai appeared at her side, supporting her, hands cool and soothing on her hot face and her pounding head.

"I need you," she gasped. She didn't know what she said. Pain had chased her even here and she convulsed from it. Her one comfort was him and his passive black eyes. "Please, I need you!"

"We're very far apart. How can I…" The question trailed off. He was quiet and serious as he considered the dilemma, and though pain razored her everywhere, lashing her, she noticed, despite the hot sizzling torture, his eyes were trained to the side. "Are you next to water?"

"No…nearby."

"Are you able to reach it?"

She sobbed, the lash and sizzle and searing heat had intensified. "I...don't know."

"Try. And I will try to reach you."

Ino could not question. If there was the remotest possibility of him being with her, not in the dreamworld, but physically, she would drag herself through the darkest, deepest pits of hell. She left him and returned to the outside world. Takahino lay in an insensible heap to her side, unconscious and pallid. Neither had their henge active anymore. Ino's sensitivity to her family's jutsu, the strength of her connection to them as they fought and suffered, sawed her to the bone. Blow after blow ravaged her, but she grit her teeth and dug her fingers into the marshy soil and began to drag herself, hand over hand, toward the river shore. I must survive. I must bring Sai to me.

Minutes or hours later, she couldn't tell, she slumped face-first to the ground. How long? How long could she resist the hysteria? Panting, close to hyperventilation, she pushed back against the senseless jumble of a panic attack. The pungent earth was around her; she was in black darkness, couldn't hear an animal or insect. No sky above her. But a dewy cool refreshed her flushed skin. Under the pungent muddy smell was the crisp clean of water. She didn't have much farther to go. Half mad from the constant pain, Ino squeezed the last drop of energy from her muscles and in a scrabble of feet and hands and sheer fucking pigheadedness, clawed herself from the treeline to the river.

"I'm at water, what now?" she asked the scalloped waterline. No answer came forth. Sai, Sai, where are you? I need you, I need you, I need you...

Her strength failed. She had been on her knees, but her arms gave out and she collapsed on the cold, wet stones of the shore. Water sloshed in her face, tugging and playing with her loose hair, and the quiet tide toyed with her lax hand. She felt...she felt a sudden doom around her, not a storm, no, but a...an emptiness. Ahead of her, each of her family members was a light on a string of them, and first one then another and another winked out. The connection to them...had snapped under the tension, a neat snip of invisible scissors through thread.

The hysteria rose a steep precipice at her feet. Teetering on an edge, she flung out her chakra to activate the Mind Transmission any trained Yamanaka could use. Her attempt to bind the remainder of the family to her was futile…she couldn't establish a stable mindlink. Helpless, her chakra pumping out into the water at her hand, she watched in mute horror as the lights diminished until there were three, then two, one...and none. Once the last light cut off, the last connection sheared, she realized. She was alone. Ino screamed, her soul gutted from the loss of her family. Within the devastation, a hand reached out and gripped hers.

A hand with skin as pale as alabaster.

She hadn't seen it, with her attention fixated on her family in the distance of her psyche, but chakra had shaped the water into a sort of flat, meter-wide vortex. The mouth of the vortex did not have a pit in the center. Strangely, it was smooth and water swirled in a circular loop, churning but not pulling. There seemed to be a bubble or a tunnel beneath the vortex mouth. An eerie light gleamed from the liquid. The fingers on her hand tightened. From behind the swirl, a dark figure emerged, slicing through as though from behind the pour of a waterfall. The last vestiges of her chakra leaked into the river; the vortex closed behind Sai as he knelt beside her.

"I'm here," he said. He cupped his hand under her head and lifted her a little. His hair dripped water, thick black locks plastered to his cheeks and forehead. "Where's Takahino?"

She made some vague gesture toward the east. "The clan...the clan. Oh, Sai...they've..."

"We'll get to them. First, Takahino. Where's your cousin?"

"There's...a footpath. In the forest." A vicious throb in her temples blinded her. She ground out, "I...can't!"

"It's all right." A moment later, she smelt wonderful spearmint, and a glass vial touched her lip. "Drink the medicine."

She did as he told her, and in seconds, she became cognizant of her surroundings. All the bright spangles diminished, a warm blanket of painlessness wrapped around her. Sai had stayed at her side, watchful and unhurried as the clouds broke and blew from her mind. Her breathing steadied, her thoughts more coherent, Ino heard a rustle from the forest; a multitude of footfalls, the questioning calls of people as they searched the woods for the source of the screams. In one fluid movement, Sai had her arm draped across his shoulders and his other arm tucked around her waist. Together, they fled upwards into the giant red maple trees common in the area. She clung to him, limp and knock-kneed as a newborn fawn.

A second later, a group of six or so people broke from the tree line with lanterns and poles. They fanned out, using the poles to stab the riverbed. The Shizuka couple were among those in the search party.

"They might have found Takahino," Ino said. "He was unconscious when I saw him last."

"Will he be safe with these people?"

She gave him a long look. "You're not thinking of leaving him."

"No, but we can't extract him and possibly worsen his condition with continuous travel. You can barely stand." He kept his gaze transfixed on the raft people as they continued their search. "A good idea would be to establish a base of operations, confirm Takahino's whereabouts, confirm his condition, and finally, to enact an extraction. Your medical jutsu may be required."

"I can't say we'll have time to wait," she whispered. "Takahino and I saw a local newspaper. Our photos were in it, and a reward offered for information. The reward money...it's enough to convince good men to do evil deeds."

Sai's eyes shifted to her. A swell of heat filled her chest. "Miyazato."

"Miyazato," she repeated. "We can't wait to extract Takahino. News of his capture will travel fast, and the area will be inundated with Leaf."

"You're right. An immediate extraction is necessary. Before we go, I have something for you."

Sai reached into his hip pouch and fished out a square of twisted wax paper. Despite Sai's soaked state, water had not penetrated the tiny packet he handed her. Inside was a soldier pill, and grateful for Sai's foresight, she crunched it between her teeth and swallowed. While they waited for the pill to stimulate Ino's chakra network, Sai used a technique- -a handy Fire technique, she thought- -to wick off the excess water on his clothes and hair. A minute later, warmth and high octane energy buzzed into her chakra network, the pill's effects at work.

"I'm ready." With the influx of chakra and physical strength, she straightened and no longer needed Sai's support. She pointed to the east. "The raft people are anchored close by. I can use chakra sensory to confirm Takahino's location. If he's unconscious, he won't respond to Mind Transmission, so we may have to create a diversion to draw witnesses away before I can assess his condition."

"I'll provide the distraction," Sai said. "If he is unconscious, are you strong enough to move him?"

She let her annoyance slide because the question was legitimate given the context of the circumstances. "I'm strong enough to carry my cousin, and I have access to a variety of techniques which will transport dead weight over short to medium distances. I can't go a longer distance, though."

Her answer satisfied Sai, and as one unit, they vaulted and sprinted among the upper branches of the treetops to where the raft people had weighed anchor in the narrow length of water. Fires had sprung up along the shoreline. Raft people had dragged logs to the fires, and a quantity of them attended great soup pots and grills with fish sandwiched between them. She did not see Takahino among the many busy people on the shoreline, so she activated her chakra sensory. He was on a far raft, surrounded by weaker signatures, other raft people, and remained unconscious. She relayed the information to Sai, who disappeared in a shadowy streak.

Ino waited. Before long, the river farthest from Takahino's raft began to churn- -in what firelight reached the water, black fins bladed through the silken surface. A few of the rafts were knocked aside. Sai's Ink Beast was a considerable length, and powerful. Soon, the cries and screams of fright summoned all the men and as the crowd watched to see what harried their rafts, Ino made her move.

Takahino had been abandoned. A medic had been in the middle of examining him, so his clothes were in disarray. Otherwise, he was uninjured and stable, thankfully, so she hoisted him across her back and with a burst of chakra, dashed away into the dark forest line.

I got him. We're clear, she thought to Sai.

He caught up to her minutes later. They traveled in silence a distance before Ino slowed and came to a stop. Sai pulled out a shinobi lantern to give light to the scene. Her clothes, already filthy and swampy because of her face-down crawl to the river, were also drenched in sweat. The wobble to her knees had returned, but her chakra was steady and good as she revived Takahino from unconsciousness. When his eyes opened, she smiled.

"Hey there, cuz," she said. "You jerk! You totally fell asleep on your watch."

Confusion passed over his face. "Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"

In her relief, she relented and ignored the sting of her tears. "It's a tease, silly goose. You've been unconscious for the better part of an hour. How do you feel?"

But Takahino had seen Sai, who'd given them a few feet of space. Surprise jolted Takahino upright and into shoving at Ino. "Sai's here! Run, Ino!"

She gripped his shoulders. "No, you misunderstand. He's here to help." When the information didn't register, she repeated herself. "Stop! He's helping us!"

"Are you nuts?" Takahino's hands clasped her arms and he lowered his voice to a savage whisper. "In case you've forgotten, he's the captain of the team sent to take us back to Konoha. Back to Lady Inohime and Miyazato."

"I haven't forgotten."

"We can't trust him."

Ino felt those words like a thorn to her heart. "Trusting him is the only option we have." She had a sudden worry that Sai would think she didn't trust him, but he was impassive, standing to the side with his perceptive eyes on the forest around them. "I trust him."

Takahino bit his lip. He had more to say, but would defer the argument until they were in private, which was fine because she needed time to think of counterpoints to persuade him. "Do you…did you see what happened to the rest of the clan?"

"No, but whatever happened wasn't good. I haven't had time to think and sort everything out," she said. "One thing I am certain about is we have to investigate Sunda Umi."

"We'll go a bit further away from town," Sai interjected. "I feel we're too close for comfort. Once we're out of range of serious search parties, we'll rest for the night and continue eastward at sunrise."

Ino smoothed Takahino's loose hair from his face. "Think you can manage on your own feet?"

"I suppose I'll have to," he said with a faint smile.

Ino drew him to his feet. When he was steady, she kept her arm inside his to keep him supported. Sai had waited patiently for them to group together, and as a clustered trio, they exited the area with all due haste.

A/N: I do want to apologize for any confusion for using the name "Remon". Evidently, this name is used in "Boruto" for a different character, but as I have not followed "Boruto" I didn't realize it until too late. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave some love in the comments and I'll see you next Saturday.