First responders were quick to arrive on the scene after Sai had called them, the dark-haired agent silently praying Ino was going to be okay. He did his best to try and make her respond to him, but she was out cold; he assumed she was dazed from the impact. She was still breathing and still had a pulse, which was a good sign. He kept as much pressure on her wound as he could without disturbing the piece that had impaled her abdomen. Once they loaded her into the ambulance, Sai asked if he could ride along. He was given the okay and took to sitting near the back and staring down at his hands. They were covered in blood, and some of it had even stained his shirt.
"Here," one of the paramedics said, handing him a moist alcohol wipe. He took it with gratitude, wiping off his hands and tossing it in one of the bins inside the ambulance.
"Thanks," he replied quietly, going over the last few words he'd said to Ino. He understood now why she'd been angry about his statement; here he was, in the same-or at least similar-situation that Detective Uchih had been. Looking back on it had there been someone trying to escape the scene, he likely would have fired a few shots in an attempt to stop them but ensured he stayed with Ino until he was confident she was in good hands.
Who would have wanted to blow up Sakura's old house, though? He couldn't figure out whether it was because Ino had been on her way there or if it was because Sakura had been the one targeted. That was the most challenging part for him to wrap his head around right now. Who had been the intended target, and why? He'd known someone was targeting Ino, or at the very least stalking her and watching her, but he couldn't be sure whether it was related or not. Once they arrived at the hospital, it became chaos around Ino.
"Female, 30s, concussion and blunt-force impact injuries to the torso," the paramedic rattled off. Sai could barely keep up with what she was saying. There were words he recognized, but nothing seemed to register; he just watched as they rushed her into a trauma room. He was escorted to a waiting room outside the surgery wing, taking a seat and trying to think of any way he could distract himself. The wait was agonizing; he was told by a nurse that she'd been rushed into surgery and that it would be a few hours before he heard anything.
Ino was in and out of consciousness, barely able to ascertain what was going on around her. She saw lights, but they quickly disappeared; her body felt cold, and she felt exhausted. She couldn't even focus enough to make a noise or grunt in response, despite the questions being asked of her. Anything she heard was incoherent, and as her eyes closed again, she could feel herself falling.
Suddenly, everything went bright white, and Ino couldn't make sense of it. Before her stood a dark-haired woman and a brunette male, two people she didn't recognize; they both looked at her, the man wearing a stern look while his wife smiled beside him. She recognized neither of them; she'd never seen them before, not even in photos. Old relatives, she figured. The woman stepped up to her, shaking her head.
"Oh, no, not like this," she said, her expression turning sad. "This was not supposed to be how it went." How what went? Ino tried to ask, but she couldn't find her voice; it was like she could not speak, like something had taken her voice away. The woman shushed her before continuing.
"Listen to me. You must forgive them. No matter what happens, you must forgive them, please. This was not how we wanted things to end." Her expression became more sorrowful as she spoke. "Please... please forgive them. Now, go back... it's not your time." The woman gently touched Ino's head, patting it before she seemed to fade away. Ino tried to call out, but her voice was no use; she couldn't make any noise or do anything of the sort.
Sai waited with bated breath, standing up abruptly as hours later, one of the nurses finally approached him.
"She's critical but stable. We have her in a separate room with extra security, and Chief Hatake has told me that you're cleared to visit her. Is there anyone else you would like cleared, agent?" Those words were a relief to Sai. Critical meant there was a chance she could make it and a chance that things could go south for her. He hated that thought. Some part of him thought it could be his fault she was like this, though he shoved that thought away. Now wasn't the time for him to think like that. Now was the time for him to think about what they were going to do next and how he would handle the investigation. Not about whether he was somehow at fault for this happening to Ino.
The sound of a door behind Sai caught his attention, causing him to turn. He could see someone speaking to one of the front desk receptionists, then heading toward him.
"Section Chief Tenshi?" Sai asked, recognizing the woman's periwinkle hair as she approached, his expression filled with surprise. Konan rarely, if ever, would appear on cases such as this. To have her here meant his case was much larger than expected. Had she come to see what information he'd gathered? No... there had to be something else afoot if she was coming. How would she have caught word of what happened? He hadn't sent anything in. Something was off about her response time. There was no way she should have responded this quickly to the incident.
"Excellent work, Agent Gaka. You've done well identifying the source of all of this... unfortunate corruption in Konoha." Her expression was solemn. "I've put out immediate orders for the arrest of Detective Uchiha and Dr. Haruno. As it was Dr. Haruno's house that was the source of the explosion, not to mention we identified a body in the fire, we believe we have found our... root cause," she explained.
"A body?" There had been a body inside the house? Or perhaps behind? No, that couldn't be. How? They hadn't found anything when they were there, and they'd gone all over the house looking. Had there been a room they'd missed or forgotten to check?
And on top of that... How had they so quickly identified the body? He could understand the blaze being out, but for the body to be already identified? Sai was almost sure that someone was jumping the gun somewhere.
"Yes, Agent Gaka. We positively identified the body of Idate Shimura to be within the fire; it was easy since we had dental records to match, and as you know, ROOT operates quickly." Quicker than the average law enforcement, that was for sure; Sai wasn't surprised by the speed of identification, not coming from them.
"But— Detective Uchiha couldn't have, and Dr. Haruno was one of the victims of Hidan," Sai explained, feeling confused and exasperated. Konan's claims made no sense whatsoever. Granted, he hadn't sent any of his reports in, so perhaps she was without information, but he had a nagging feeling that he wasn't fond of. He'd suspected something was up, but this? Too many things making little to no sense were setting red flags off left, right, and center for the agent.
"Ah, an unfortunate incident staged by them, I'm certain. Surely Detective Uchiha planned it, then killed Hidan when he came to the hospital the second time to paint them as the hero and the victim. Clever, but not enough," she said. "Her potential involvement cannot be ignored, either, though we cannot arrest her until she is no longer... incapacitated." Now Ino was a suspect? Well, she had been the last person in the house...
"I see," Sai replied quietly, electing to keep his mouth shut. "I understand. I will continue to monitor Miss Yamanaka's well-being, as she will still be crucial to the investigation, I am sure. Thank you, Chief Tenshi." He seemed to still be on ROOT's good side, which meant if this investigation was going in a particular direction, he needed to see that he was on the inside edge of that investigation. He knew deep down there was no way Dr. Haruno and Detective Uchiha were behind this. Anyone who'd taken the time to get to know them could have known that. There had to be some information planted here, information that was being played with.
Once Tenshi was gone, Sai ducked out of the room and gestured to Detective Uzumaki, indicating for him to come into the room. He dragged him to an empty room, closing the door and the blinds before he spoke. "Call Detective Uchiha. Something isn't right here. ROOT is coming for him and Dr. Haruno, and whatever information they have... well, I think you can vouch that it is likely false evidence or only circumstantial. Something is... amiss here, and if my suspicions are correct, Chief Tenshi may have a hand in it."
"What?" Naruto asked, speechless. "They thing Sasuke- and Sakura-? No. Hell no." The blonde ran a hand through his hair in frustration, shaking his head. "Okay. Don't worry about those two. I'll take care of it. I will figure things out with Sasuke, then speak to Chief Hatake. We'll figure this out, Sai. Whatever this... crap is, we'll figure it out." Naruto was determined, and Sai could see it. His suspicions were correct: something was amiss here, something big.