Sai stayed with Ino after Naruto left, urging her to get some rest while he looked through some of the files on the cases they were investigating. He was trying to find some link between them that he could effectively utilize, but he wasn't finding anything of note. Dr. Senju was back in the room momentarily to speak with the both of them.
"Ino, I need to discuss some things with Naruto. Dr. Senju, can I trust you'll look after her?" The last thing he wanted to do was leave Ino alone, but since the last time an unsub had attacked someone in the hospital, the hospital had stepped up their security. Sai hadn't been present for the incident that had caused it, but he'd read enough about it.
"Yeah, I can stay with her. I have a few things to discuss with her about whether she can go home soon or not, and then after that, she needs some rest." Sai ducked out of the room with a nod at the doctor, quickly calling Naruto to explain what he needed. After a short conversation, he was off to the detective's apartment, climbing flight after flight of stairs until he reached it.
Naruto's apartment was… not what he expected. The place was a mess, to put it mildly. Unwashed dishes filled the sink, the counters had not seen a cloth in at least a few days, and there were clothes strewn about that probably needed to be washed.
"This place is…" Sai didn't know how else to describe it. He'd undoubtedly seen worse, and while it didn't smell horrendous, it was clear the detective wasn't the best at keeping his place clean.
"Shush," Naruto griped. "I pay for a maid, and she's been sick with the flu the last three days and doesn't have a replacement. It's not usually this bad!" Well, that explained it, at least. The place had been cleaned recently, in a sense. He was just… a slob, in general. Sai hoped that the maid was paid well if this was the guy she was looking after.
"Right." He wasn't going to do anything more. They had more important things to discuss. He took a seat at the table, opening his laptop and booting it up to show the files he wanted. "These are the files Ino and I were going over before things happened. These are financial records for her family that we were combing through." He turned the laptop to Naruto, letting him take over to look through what was there.
"I would like you to take a look through them and see if there is anything that stands out to you. You're the only person with as intimate a knowledge of the Akatsuki investigation as she and I do." Sai knew that there had to be something within those financial records that had started all of this. It hadn't been until they were looking into those records that Ino had been targeted. Something was in there, something that Akatsuki didn't want them to find or be aware of.
"Financial records?" Naruto's frown made Sai wary. "What do her family's finances have to do with anything?" Oh, right. Sai hadn't filled him in on that particular part.
"Well… We came across the knowledge that Ino's parents were former Akatsuki members. Inoichi Yamanaka, formerly known as Koton Yamakichi; Ume Yamanaka, formerly known as Hana Yamakichi; and Ino Yamanaka, formerly known as Hagi Yamakichi." It felt strange to associate Ino with that name; he couldn't ever imagine her going by Hagi.
"She also has an older brother, Yahiko Yamakichi, who is a confirmed member of Akatsuki, though he hasn't been seen in years. As a result… her family's financial records became an important part of the investigation." That was the shortest explanation Sai could offer, but it seemed to be enough; Naruto was quick to begin skimming through the records, leaving Sai to do nothing more than explain any questions Naruto had. There were a few, but most of the things Naruto seemed to find were parts he and Ino had already identified and flagged, or she had been able to explain and allow them to eliminate.
"Say, did she know what this purchase was for?" Naruto pointed one out on the screen, drawing Sai's attention back. He read through it, brow furrowed in concentration, but shook his head. That was new information, at least. Something there stood out, and Naruto had clearly remembered it.
"I'll have to look at these in more detail, but something's up with them," Naruto explained. "Something doesn't add up, and I think we'll have to ask Ino about those." That was a relief to Sai. Naruto had managed to find something that hadn't been determined by either himself or Ino.
"Sure. I'll send you the documents so you can take a look. For now, I'm going to head back to the hospital and check in on Ino." He didn't want to leave her alone too long at the hospital. Dr. Senju was trustworthy, but he was still wary about leaving her without the protection of someone he trusted, and he couldn't rely too much on the doctor to look after Ino. She had other patients to tend to, after all.
With a final pat on Naruto's shoulder, Sai closed his laptop and slipped it back into his bag, bidding the blonde farewell as he left the apartment.
Ino was left alone with Dr. Senju, glancing at the woman periodically as she seemed to be writing something down. Ino was… bored. She had nothing to entertain her, and she wasn't sure how to even talk to Dr. Senju. Her memories were a blur, and while it felt like she could remember some things, she couldn't pinpoint most of her memories.
"How are you feeling?" Dr. Senju asked as she took a seat in the chair next to Ino's bed. Ino shrugged, toying with the edge of her blanket. What was she supposed to say? Saying she was okay would be a lie. She wasn't okay. She was lost, confused, and her head hurt. She wanted to go home, close her eyes, and have all her memories come back to her, even if they were terrible or terrifying. Terrifying memories were better than no memories.
"It's okay. You can talk to me. Anything you say you don't want to say to Detective Uzumaki or Agent Gaka will stay between us. I promise." That was a relief to hear. She had things she wanted to say, but she didn't know how to tell them to Sai. She didn't know where to begin with her questions.
"Are my memories going to come back?" She'd figured out by now that a lot had happened in her life that she was missing. One of the biggest glaring things was the fact that her best friend had a boyfriend. Ino could only imagine all of the girl talks they had been involved in and how much she'd loved watching her best friend finally find a sliver of happiness in her love life. Now her best friend was on the run, and she hadn't the faintest memory of her smiling face.
"At this point, it's difficult to tell. You seem to remember bits and pieces, so… hmm, how do I explain this? It's like your memories are a jigsaw puzzle, and you need to take some time to put the pieces back together. I think your outlook right now is excellent. You have to give it time and be patient." Ino was glad for Tsunade's optimism. Right now, she didn't have a lot of her own to hold on to.
"Was Sai here the whole time?" That was another thing she was curious about. How much time had he spent waiting beside her? She felt like he hadn't left except for now.
"Mm… for the most part, yes. He took one or two breaks, but in those times, Detective Uzumaki was there waiting for you as well. They both remained vigilant, but I would say Agent Gaka was the most vigilant of the two." Ino was… surprised. She couldn't seem to figure out Sai's motivations; what reason did he have for looking out for her so much? She had a feeling that it was linked to her missing memories, but the fact that he hadn't left her side was deeply touching.
"I see." Ino wasn't sure what to say to that, but she could also tell that she was exhausted. Sleep was a necessity now. "Am I safe to go to sleep? I'd like to… if I could."
"Of course," Dr. Senju offered. "I'll have to wake you in a few hours to check since we're dealing with head trauma, but you can get some rest. I'll stay with you until Agent Gaka or Detective Uzumaki returns. I have records to update, anyway." She took a seat at the small table, logging in to the computer system as she started to transcribe her notes. Ino closed her eyes, and within moments, she was sound asleep.
Sai returned not long after Ino had fallen asleep, bidding Dr. Senju a farewell as she left upon his arrival. He was glad to see Ino was resting; he was sure she needed it. Rest sounded like a good idea for himself, too; he was exhausted with all of the running around, sharing files, talking to everyone involved in the investigation, not to mention effectively being on guard duty for anything that might happen.
With Ino asleep, Sai saw an opportune moment to close his eyes, laying down on the cot and focusing on relaxing himself. It wasn't long before he'd drifted off to sleep, though he wouldn't call it restful. The images he'd seen the other day were back. He saw Shin. He saw the people who'd saved him. He saw the blood, the guns, everything. Blood on his hands, soaking his clothes, a bloody knife in his hand. A large rifle slung over his shoulder and weighing almost as much as he did, being fired into purported enemies.
The gun was in his hands. He was nothing but a tool, trained and conditioned to fight. He existed for no other purpose.
Ino was roused by mumbling sounds, hearing Sai tossing and turning on the cot near her. She pushed herself into a seated position, watching with a pit of worry in her stomach.
Sai woke up in a cold sweat, realizing he'd been breathing harder than he expected in his sleep. A worried Ino stared at him from her bed, almost like she was begging him to talk to her. Though she couldn't physically leave the bed, she damn well wanted to… and if she'd been able to, she would have in a heartbeat.
"I'm fine," he reassured her. "It was—just a dream." That part was a lie. It was no dream. It was a nightmare… one that had once been his reality. How was he supposed to explain that to Ino? She couldn't even remember the last conversation they'd had about his memory.
"…You had amnesia too, didn't you?" For some reason, she remembered that. It was a small detail, and while she couldn't remember anything exact, she could remember that. "I… I feel like you told me that once." As if on instinct, she rubbed her temples. "I don't know why, though…"
"Yes," Sai confirmed. "I did. I do. I… mine is a little different, though. Yours is amnesia caused by physical trauma. Mine is… more like repressed memories." It was the act of his psyche protecting him from traumatic experiences as a child, not from injury. "Because of that… I don't always know if what I'm seeing is part memory, part imagination, or fully one or the other. The mind is… finicky like that. I have to be wary of everything I seem to remember, lest it be false memories or figments of my imagination tormenting me." Sai pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
Ino wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to help, but she wasn't sure how. "Well… my mom would always say that the past doesn't matter, and what matters is who you are now. Live in the now, not in the past, because no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone screws up. If you let that dictate your life, then you're not really living it to the fullest extent." Words she'd always lived by; it had turned Ino into the kind of girl who would live in the moment and not worry about anything else. It made her wild and free-spirited compared to others.
"Hmm… your mother sounds wise." Sai's lips twitched into a smile. "Regardless, you should be resting, Ino. Please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." If there were one thing he knew would calm him down, it would be his drawings. He reached into his bag and pulled out a sketchbook along with a set of graphite pencils, flipping it open to a blank page to idly sketch.