Ino woke bright and early the following day to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. She grabbed a brush on her way out, pulling the long braid she'd let her hair stay in overnight over her shoulder and removing the tie, taking a seat at the table and slowly working through her hair with the brush, starting with the ends.
"Have I mentioned how wonderfully convenient it is that you're a cook?" She teased, carefully separating the strands of her hair with the brush. It was a good thing she always slept with it braided; without that, it would have taken her hours to brush through the entire length every morning.
"Do you not enjoy cooking?" Sai asked as he glanced at Ino out of the corner of his eye. He was deeply grateful for her presence last night in calming him down. His head was still spinning, but her clarifications had made things more straightforward for him.
"Not really. I don't hate it, but I don't love it, either." She shrugged and ran her fingers through her combed hair. "After high school, Sakura and I stayed together in a small apartment since we both had scholarships and plenty of money for school. She loved cooking, so I left it to her and took care of the cleaning. There was one time I tried to cook something... I think it was lasagna, and boy did I ever burn it to a crisp," she said with a laugh.
"I am assuming Dr. Haruno did not enjoy that very much," he replied with a chuckle.
"Oh no. She outright told me she had no idea how someone could burn a lasagna so badly. After that, she told me I was banished from the kitchen except to use the microwave to warm things up. She would handle all of the cooking as long as I would keep the kitchen clean after." Then, satisfied that her hair had been combed enough, she started to braid it again, this time in a long braid over her shoulder to keep it tamed.
"I see," Sai replied as he set a plate in front of Ino. "I do hope that my cooking is of a suitable standard, as I am sure Dr. Haruno is a wonderful cook." He'd never had Sakura's cooking, but if she was an experienced cook like he was, he was confident that it would be good.
"It is. Sakura's got this magic little touch that I don't know how she does it, but I like your cooking." Ino reached for her utensils and took a bite, savouring the taste. As she'd said, Sakura's just had this magic touch that couldn't be replicated... but she'd certainly never say no to Sai's cooking.
After breakfast, Ino checked all of the security policies on her laptop, ensuring her location couldn't be traced by routing through a variety of different servers. Once it was sure that she couldn't be tracked, she pulled up various files, made notes, and organized things. Whenever she came across something significant, she reported it to Sai, who quickly compared it against his notes. A few charges and financial things lined up with other events Sai had indicated, but nothing seemed concrete. It felt like they were at a dead end with the information they had.
Until Ino noticed her email chimed. She clicked the notification that popped up, opening it and reading it. It was from... her mother? She opened it to see a series of photos. It was a floral arrangement, consisting of various darkly-coloured flowers, most appearing black in colour: dahlias, roses, and lilies primarily. At the center was a large cluster of black rhododendron flowers. To anyone else, they would have just been simple flowers. To Ino... They meant something. Especially the rhododendron. Flower language was a unique knowledge that she and her mother shared, and to be sent something like this had significance in meaning.
Ino was up and out of her chair the moment she looked at the email, reaching for her jacket.
"Where are you going?" Sai asked, standing between Ino and the door. Did she really think she was going to leave after something so cryptic? Her safety was his main priority. Letting her leave would jeopardize that.
"Where do you think I'm going? If my mom is in trouble, then I have to do something about it." She held her hand out. "Give me the keys," she demanded, holding her hand out. She was fierce and ready to go. She wasn't going to sit here while her mother was potentially in danger. Sai stood his ground, puffing up in front of the door and staring Ino down. He wasn't afraid of her; there wasn't much she could do against him. But, he wasn't about to give up the keys without a fight. Would Ino be so foolish as to pick one with him?
"Give. Me. The. Keys." Ino demanded again, snapping her fingers and holding her hand out. She, too, was maintaining her ground. Did Sai really think she was going to back down? If he did, then he was a fool. Her mother was potentially in danger, most likely due to the files they'd been accessing and looking through, and he seemed inclined to stand there and block her way. Frustrated, she tried to reach for his pocket, but he moved just slightly, keeping it out of her reach. She tried again, and he did the same; he clearly wasn't going to let her get the keys from him that easily.
"I cannot allow you to go," he said firmly. "Your safety is paramount."
"So?!" Ino demanded, resisting the urge to stamp her foot like a child. "You're just going to stand there and make me stay here while my mother is in danger and we have the opportunity to save her? Do-do you even care?" She was upset, angry, and frustrated, but most of all, she was afraid. If their investigation meant that her mother was now in trouble, Ino could never forgive herself. Never. It was a direct message. Either her mother was in danger, or her mother knew that she was in trouble.
"A photo of a bouquet does not seem like something that would be of a concern given the primary concern for your safety at the moment-"
"Oh, so you think I'm overreacting, do you?" Ino snapped back at Sai, watching his eyes widen in surprise. "Your stupid simple brain may not think it does, but guess what? It does. My mother's been a florist ever since I was a kid. She taught me every damned thing I know about flowers, and guess what? There's a language when it comes to flowers. Different colours and types mean different things and that? That was one of two things. That's either my mom saying she needs help and she's in danger, or it means she knows full fucking well I'm in danger. So you can either give me the damn keys, and I can go on my own, you can listen to me, and we can find out what the hell's going on by going to her, or I can take my phone, call one of the detectives at the precinct, or Sakura, and one of them will come out here, and we'll go check things out. Your choice." Sai was shocked at Ino's insistence. He hadn't expected her to be so aggressive, nor had he expected her to be this passionate.
He stood still, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, contemplating. Sending detectives wouldn't get Ino an answer, and he was sure she wouldn't want to sit there and deal with that. Detective Uchiha was still on administrative leave, and Detective Uzumaki would be busy going through files and information for them. Ino was going to go no matter what he said or did, which left him one option. He had to go with her. At least if he was with her, he was doing his job. He was protecting her. He was making sure that she was safe, even if that meant leaving the safe house. If Ino's mother knew she was in danger, it meant that the safe house might not be as safe as they were hoping. They just had to be sure that they weren't being followed.
"Fine. Pack the electronics, make sure they're turned off and can't be traced. Five minutes. Meet me in the car." He swept out the front door and to the vehicle, sighing to himself.
Ino hurried back into the house, grabbing their laptops, her phone, and any of their documents from work. The only thing left behind was clothing; they could quickly either come back for that or replace them if need be. Though she felt a little bad she'd snapped at Sai, he seemed to understand why she was worried. Her mother would never send something like that without a reason. Had they started to catch on to her looking into the family finances? Was their past life beginning to catch up with them? Or was Ino's life as a prosecutor starting to affect her family, the way Sakura's new job had almost cost her her life?
Tossing their things in the back, she climbed into the passenger side and took a breath, sitting back and trying to calm herself. She was doing her best to remain calm and collected, pinching the bridge of her nose. Sai didn't miss the tension in her body; now that he had time to observe her when she wasn't ripping him a new one, he could see the worry in her. She was doing her best to hide it, but he could tell she was worried.
"I am sorry," he said as they were driving down the dirt road that led to the safe house. "I did not mean to downplay the message your mother sent, Ino." He didn't know how to explain what he'd meant. It was the kind of message that seemed like it was intended to draw her out and get her attention, and he was concerned. "As I said... your safety is my most primary concern, as that is my job."
"Just... stop," Ino said, shaking her head. "I know that. I know, damn it. Please, I just... I want to know what's going on with my family. I want to know if they've been lying to me, but I don't want them to be put in danger because of my digging. They're still my family, and if they've been running from Akatsuki because they're trying to get out, I don't want to be the person that gets them killed with all of this digging. I don't know if I could forgive myself if that happened." She was rambling, but it was the truth; if their investigation got her family killed, she wasn't confident she'd be able to handle that.
"It would not be your fault, Ino. It would be mine. I was the one who initially opened the investigation. The blame would be mine, especially if the investigation puts your family in danger. In the worst-case scenario, we will also put your family in protective custody to ensure their safety." He had already planned for that to be a possibility; he just had to hope that the people he'd chosen from the department to keep an eye on her parents, for the time being, were doing their job. If they weren't, then they would have a much larger problem on their hands.
"Don't say that. That's stupid. You're not the one providing the information," Ino countered. He couldn't sit there and take the blame. That was unfair to both of them.
"Whether you provided it or not is irrelevant. I would have found the information another way," Sai replied pointedly. Ino opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it. He was right; he would have found another way to get the information, though it might have been more difficult without her help. She crossed her arms and stared out the window, electing not to say anything more for the rest of the drive. She would need to be ready for whatever scene she'd come across when they reach her mother's shop.