She hadn't realized a good hour had passed of her daydreaming before there was a final knock at the door, followed by Sai poking his head in. "I hope I am not interrupting," he said politely. "I am done with what I wanted to accomplish for today if you are ready to get something to eat."
"Oh, yeah, sure, I'm more than ready," Ino said quickly as she packed her things up. No way was she going to miss this opportunity. Not in a million years! Quickly shoving a handful of files into her bag along with her laptop, she slung the bag over her shoulder and grabbed her coat and keys and headed for the door, turning out the light and locking the office.
"So, this place serves, by far, the best pasta, so I hope you like pasta." It was a lace that she and Sakura frequently went to when they were out together. It was a nice little restaurant; it was casual enough to go with a group of friends and not feel out of place, but formal enough that you could go dressed up for a date or semi-formal party and still feel like you fit into the atmosphere. Their food was wonderful, and they were well-known for their local ricotta cheese ravioli.
"Pasta is acceptable. It is quite nutritious," he commented. "I believe it will suffice."
"Good, because it's one of the best local places I know of." She led Sai to the parkade and her car, hitting the button to unlock and letting him slip into the passenger side. She tossed her laptop bag in the trunk and her jacket in the back seat and turned the vehicle on, pulling up her GPS to make sure she knew where she was going.
Their ride was in silence, Ino turning on the radio to a pop station and humming softly along to the lyrics. Sai didn't seem to mind, though she couldn't help but notice how much he seemed to observe her. Perhaps he did think she was cute. It wouldn't be the worst thing. She could live with that much.
"And here we are," she announced as she pulled into a parking space, grabbing her jacket and draping it over her arm. She led Sai and got them a table for two; they managed to get a small booth off to the side where it was quiet and away from the crowds. Perfect for getting to know somebody.
"So," Ino began as she took a bite of the complimentary bread they were given. "You were here for some sort of case, right? Something tells me if you're here for that, then we'll end up working together a lot, so is there anything I can help you with?" Ino tended to get a little too deeply involved in the cases she was working on at times. She'd tempered over the years, but there was still the occasional case where she got involved and found herself assisting more with the investigation than was necessary.
"It is nothing you need worry about. The prosecution is not likely to be handling the case here. It is a case of a much larger scale than what one city can handle." Sai had inadvertently given more information than what he realized; by that statement, Ino was confident that it was something to do more with a larger terrorist group--the kind of group that would pose a threat to more than one city, not just Konoha--and that it was linked to something going on around here.
"Oh. I see." She nodded and took a sip of her drink before taking another bite of bread. "So essentially, you're here because something big's possibly going to happen. Well, that much is good to know. If anything seems hinky about any cases that are being investigated, I'll be sure to let you know. I'll let Uchiha and Uzumaki know as well--they're our two best detectives." She knew that the most recent case was the biggest one they were working on, though not much had been figured out yet. Until they found their one missing person of interest, they were stuck at a standstill unless new evidence presented itself.
"Tell me," Sai asked as he nibbled on a piece of bread. "What do you know about Akatsuki?" Ino had heard of the group but only heard very little.
"Akatsuki, huh? The most we've heard is that they're a little-known gang with a few members. Each member is identified with a tattoo on one of their fingers, sort of like a ring, in the shape of a red cloud. We've yet to identify any members. Wait, no, that's not exactly true. There's one member we were able to identify." An event that Ino didn't want to go over; the moment she thought about it, she could feel the discomfort in her chest and stomach.
"Which member?" Sai asked.
Ino took a deep, calming breath, closing her eyes for a moment to center herself. "His name was Hidan Karito. After some digging, we managed to link him to a significant number of crimes, all of which we determined based on wound pattern and other factors were caused by him. The M.O. fit perfectly for each crime, even though some small factors were different. He--" Ino bit her lip, closing her eyes and steeling herself. "...He tried to kill my best friend. Sakura--Dr. Haruno--was the one who was getting close to catching him. She had evidence that would link him to everything. He went to her home, broke in, and shot her. She--she almost died." It was a heavy story to talk about. Ino could remember the fear she'd felt that day; even she knew that if Sasuke had been just a few minutes later, Sakura would have been dead. A brush with death like that was terrifying.
Sakura was family to her. They were like sisters. Just the thought of losing her best friend made her feel sick.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Bit of a heavy topic for dinner, huh?" She took another sip of her drink. "Why do you want to know about Akatsuki, anyway?" Was it perhaps related to what Sai was looking into?
"Another case I've been looking into," he said. "Larger, more dangerous groups at times form out of small gangs like this... Akatsuki, so I prefer to keep tabs on them." It seemed reasonable enough; Ino still couldn't shake the feeling that something else was behind it, something more significant. She was about to ask when their food arrived, quickly distracting her from their conversation. She was starving, and food was an excellent way to distract her from the heavy subject they'd been discussing.
They ate in silence for a bit, only the occasional comment about the food coming from either of them. As Ino was finishing up her plate, she noticed that Sai appeared to be distracted by something; his gaze was turned across the room, tuned into something. She tilted her head curiously to the side at him, watching for a moment before she spoke up.
"Something the matter?" She asked, mildly concerned. Whatever it was, it had his attention captured.
"No, not exactly," he replied, though his gaze didn't return to her. "Could I borrow your vehicle?" He asked suddenly, glancing at her. Did he want to just—borrow her car and leave her here? Like hell!
"Whoa there, hold on a moment, you think I'm just going to let you take my car? No, no, not a chance. Just—just hold on for a moment." Ino waved the waitress over, asking if they could get their bill. "If there's somewhere you need to be or someone you need to follow, we can do that. I'll even let you drive, but I am not letting you leave me stranded here. Don't even think about it." The waitress returned with their bill, and Ino quickly paid, scrambling to grab her jacket and bag as Sai was already making his way toward the door. She fumbled and got her keys out, giving them to Sai as she slipped into the passenger seat.
"So—what exactly is the rush, anyway?" The blonde demanded, frowning at her companion. "Letting you borrow my car for whatever it is you're chasing should at least earn me an explanation as to why you so urgently need to leave." Ino crossed her arms defiantly, huffing as she sat in her seat.
Sai pointed to a man that was making his way to a vehicle in the parking lot. He had long black hair tied at the base of his neck, long bangs framing his face. "See that man over there?" He said, observing and waiting for the man's vehicle to leave. "He's a person of interest I've been following in the case I was assigned. Since I have to bring you along, I won't be able to do much for investigation, but... I can bring you along for surveillance." He looked at her with a severe gaze. "But you must not speak a word of anything we see while conducting this surveillance. As far as my investigation is concerned, you are not here, and you have never been here. You know nothing about what will transpire while we wait." He turned the car on and shifted into gear, inconspicuously following behind the vehicle the man had got into.
"Okay, okay, fine, sheesh," Ino grumbled, shaking her head. At least he'd given her something. Conducting surveillance was exciting, though. Plus, it meant she would get to spend more time with Sai. That was always a bonus, no matter which way she looked at it. Unfortunately, it meant that they couldn't do anything that was particularly distracting, but having the real thing in front of her while she pretended that sort of thing was happening was even better.
"And I assume you're not going to tell me anything more than that," she added, stretching and settling herself comfortably in the seat."
"No. I cannot reveal anything more than that." The way he said that it was almost like he had already revealed more than what he'd intended to and was disappointed by that fact. Ino admired his focus on his investigation; if spending the night doing surveillance with him meant that she could help in any way possible, then that would be enough for her.