Sakura barely had time to get settled in her office before she could hear heels clicking down the stairs, the familiar sound of Ino making her way to the pinkette's office audible. If Ino was coming all the way down to her workspace, it had to be important. Ino tended to avoid the area, claiming it was haunted (even though Sakura knew for a fact that the idea of it being haunted was absolute nonsense.
"Ino?" Sakura asked curiously, tilting her head to the side as Ino rushed into her office, closing the door behind them and turning the lock. Oh, so this was a girls' conversation, was it?
"Okay. You, me, quick talk." Whatever had Ino rushing had to be important.
"Yeah, yeah, I've got time," Sakura replied with a gesture toward the couch, taking a seat on it beside her friend.
"Okay, so, short version of what's going on. I'll give you the full details later, but they're, um... you know how I said I might be gone for a little bit?"
"Yeah, I remember," Sakura replied.
"Well," Ino continued, "essentially what's happening is I'm being moved to protective custody for a bit. At least until this case blows over. There are, uh, more details than that, but I don't want to talk too much about them, at least not around here. Anyway, tonight I have to stay in a hotel, and I want you to come with me, just for tonight. I can't bring you to the safe house, but Sai said it would be fine if you stayed at the hotel with us. Just for tonight." A hotel, really? Was this Ino's clever attempt to get her to give up on staying in her office for the night? It was a clever offer if she'd ever heard one. Granted, from the sounds of things, there was a lot more that Ino wanted to tell her about that she was holding back on.
"Are you sure? I really don't mind staying here tonight. I managed to get an apartment situation figured out, so I'll be moving my stuff into that over the next few days, anyway. One night won't hurt." She couldn't potentially put Ino's life in danger by staying with her. It would be easier for Sai to look after Ino if she weren't there.
"Sakura," Ino pleaded, grasping her friend's hands and staring at her. "Please. I'm not asking because I don't want you sleeping in your office... although the prospect of you sleeping in this weirdly haunted, morbid area of the precinct does creep me out a little. I'm asking you because I want you there. I want my best friend. I want her to be in the know about what's going on because I trust her and because she's the most important person in the world to me. Please." Sakura couldn't ignore that tone in her friend's voice; Ino rarely begged her for anything. Hopefully, there would be enough distractions in the hotel for them; Sakura couldn't imagine spending the night stuck in her own head, going over the events of her spat with Sasuke over and over again, wallowing as she did so.
"Okay," she relented, sighing and shaking her head. Ino knew how to win her over every time. "I'll come. But if things get hinky, Sai's priority is to protect you, not me, okay? Got it? Got it. I have all the stuff I need with me, so I'll meet you upstairs..?" Oh, right, she didn't know what time to meet her.
"Five P.M. is when we'll be leaving. Come upstairs around quarter to, and you and I can meet up with them together." Ino squeezed her hands. "Thanks, Sakura. After all of this, the number one thing I need right now is my best friend." Funny enough, Sakura couldn't agree more; after what she had dealt with the night before, she just wanted to laugh and cry with her best friend. She couldn't have asked for a better friend in her life.
Five P.M. came faster than Sakura was expecting; by the time she'd wrapped up the last bit of paperwork she was on, it was already 4:45 PM. Scrambling, the pinkette grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, rushing upstairs toward Ino's office. By the time she reached it, she was out of breath, panting from climbing the stairs and rushing down the halls at breakneck speed.
"Sorry," she greeted, trying to catch her breath. "I just finished my work and didn't realize what time it was. I'm not late, am I?"
"No, no, you're right on time. I'm just, uh..." Sakura watched as Ino stiffly sat down in her chair, giving her an awkward smile and a shrug.
"Being an insane, neurotic control freak on crack right now because your whole life is falling apart?" Sakura offered, giving Ino a mocking smile and a thumbs-up.
"Hey! I resent that. I am neither insane nor on crack right now." She paused, considering the rest of the statement. "Neurotic control freak, though... yeah... just a little. Just a tiny, tiny bit." Sakura snorted and sat down in one of the armchairs, shaking her head. Ino tended to be many different kinds of trouble when she got like this; no wonder she wanted Sakura there. If nothing else, she'd tame the blonde and ensure that her presence was at least tolerable for Sai.
Sai poked his head in the door and gestured for the both of them to follow; Sakura grabbed her bag and followed Ino, listening carefully to Sai's instructions. She knew what it was like to have strict instructions for this sort of thing; though she hadn't been given any direct ones in the hospital, she knew they had existed. She wasn't left alone for more than a few seconds at any time, and there were always guards posted outside her room. It had been a freak coincidence that Hidan had managed to get past them, a perfect series of events that lined up for him at that moment.
"There are two suites attached to an inner unlocked door," Sai began, handing a key to each of them. "You will not leave the room, nor will you answer the phone unless it's coming from my room. If we order room service, it will come through my room, not yours, to ensure that everything is vetted." No room service even? That was rough. Well, at least they could order it through his room. "We have security set up in every corner of the hotel, including the kitchen. If you need anything, we will send someone for it." Strict rules, to say the least; well, they would hopefully have enough in the room to entertain themselves.
"Okay. She and I are sharing one room, and you will be in the other?" Sakura asked to clarify.
"Yes. The room is spacious enough that you will have plenty to do. Any questions?" Sakura glanced at Ino, meeting her gaze and giving her a nod before turning to Sai and giving him a final nod.
They headed for the hotel with everything in order, Sakura and Ino putting on simplistic disguises before exiting the car. Ino's hair was tucked underneath the hood of a sweater, making it appear shorter than it really was; Sakura, on the other hand, twisted hers up underneath a hat to hide the majority of it. Once Sai checked them in, they headed up to the room, Sakura and Ino making themselves comfortable in one room while Sai waited in the other room.
"Okay, so, I have a few things with me that we can have fun with," Sakura offered, wanting to keep as distracted as possible. "But first... ooh, I think we should take advantage of this bad boy," Sakura said, making her way over to the large jacuzzi that was in the room. "I'm guessing this room was intended to be a honeymoon suite. Makes sense for a great cover. Maybe we should just roll with that," Sakura teased with a chuckle.
"Hey, if that's what we want for a cover, I'm all for it if it comes with a jacuzzi," Ino commented, digging in her bag almost frantically. "You start filling it, and I'm going to get changed. I'm so down for a nice soak in a jacuzzi tub." Ino was gone within seconds, dipping into the bathroom to change while Sakura turned the water on to fill the tub. Sakura followed suit the moment she was out, changing into her own bathing suit and coming out.
"Hey, where'd you get that suit?" Ino asked. "Oh, please tell me you wore that one at the lake house." In fact, she had, though her memories of the lake house were currently a bit... tainted.
"I picked it up before we went out for the weekend, actually. I, um... yeah, I did wear it that weekend." Her expression went briefly sad, but she pulled it back together for her best friend's sake.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Ino reassured. "Today sucks, but let's at least pamper ourselves before we start getting out the catharsis we both desperately need." Ino's beckoning was brief as Sakura nodded and climbed into the tub, releasing a sigh as she relaxed into the water.
"Okay, agreed. This? Definitely worth it. Oh, I haven't had a soak like this in forever." It was like her worries were melting away, letting her relax and think about the last few days. Her weekend had been wonderful; in fact, she and Sasuke had slowly begun to grow closer and closer over it. There were still things they needed to figure out in their relationship, but it was at least something, and something was better than nothing.
The girls sat there in silence, both more relaxed than they'd started the day as. Even if there was no talking between them, it was the perfect way to enjoy themselves and let the day's worries melt away. Sakura had a few things planned for the rest of their evening, but they could wait for just a little longer. Just a teensy bit longer...