The moment they were back at her home, Ino whirled on Sai, staring him down. She'd been holding back her irritation the entire time during their meeting, and the fact that her head was pounding wasn't helping, either. Sai's choice to withhold information from her was beginning to aggravate her. How could he have not told her about wanting to get Hinata involved? Had he forgotten that Hinata was her assistant-no, her friend? She'd spent the entire car ride brewing more and more, and the angrier she got, the more she knew her plan was going to go out the window.
"Ino?" Sai could see the tension in her body, a tender hand reaching out. She slapped it away, gritting her teeth as she stared at him. She wasn't sure why, but she was beyond angry. She knew who she wanted to talk to when she was like this; unfortunately, that person was nowhere near. No, she was far away, hidden somewhere that Ino couldn't find her, and the longer things went on, the more she felt like nothing was being done about it.
"Don't 'Ino' me," she snapped, taking a step closer to him. "What the hell has been with all of the secret-keeping lately, huh? What, I'm not good enough since I got smacked on the head and had my brain rattled a little?" Feeling left out was one thing, but to feel like Sai had practically abandoned her when it came to their investigation? Hell, she was probably the one who wanted Sakura back the most of all of them!
"I don't know what you're talking about." Sai was… confused by Ino's sudden outburst. He hadn't meant to leave her out of the investigation; he'd wanted to avoid burdening her with too much at one time. She struggled to recover her memories, and he figured adding more to her plate was a bad idea.
"Oh, you don't, do you? Oh, no, just the fact that you brought the only other damned friend I have into this after my best friend's been labelled a murderer and a fugitive?" She scoffed and shook her head at him, turning away for a moment before turning back at him. "No, as always, you just went ahead without thinking of including me, was that it?"
Sai could tell now that he'd screwed up in his decisions, but he also knew what Ino was going through. He'd gone through the same struggles as a child and even as a teenager, wanting to know where he came from, what kind of person he was, everything. He'd been a boy with no past, shuffled around and feeling like his life had no meaning without it. It'd taken far too long for him to get past it.
"Ino, please, listen to me," he coaxed, his expression softening as he reached out to grasp her shoulders gently. Ino could feel her hands balled into fists, the urge to hit something rising. She raised a hand, fighting between the desire to slap Sai across the face and punch him in the nose. His hand reached up, catching her wrist before she could strike.
"Let go," she demanded, though he ignored her requests. Even as she tried to pull free, he remained firm, not allowing her to escape. She raised her other hand to strike, but he was much quicker than she was, catching it with the same firm grip on her wrist. She tried to pull away again, demanding he release her, but she felt her resolve waning. She just hung her head, feeling defeated. She hadn't wanted to strike him, but she was overwhelmed and feeling lost. A sob choked her, and her arms went slack in his grip.
Sai didn't miss the change in her demeanour, slowly bringing her wrists in and against his chest before he pulled her in for a hug, ignoring the growing sensation in his chest. It wasn't a feeling he could explain because he'd never experienced it; all of this was new to him, but now wasn't the time to be confronting it.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to overwhelm you," Sai explained as he ran a hand over her hair. "Ino, I… I know what you're going through on some level. I spent years like this, not knowing who I was, and the last thing I wanted to do was overwhelm you with more information. I did not mean for you to feel as if you were left out of things." He'd been worried about her since what had happened.
"Stupid… I can handle it, and I can remember new things, I just…" She trembled against him, fighting sobs. "I just want her back more than anything, and I… I can't do this without her!" Sakura was like her other half. Not in the same way a soulmate was, but Sakura was the closest thing to family she had. Her mother was missing, something she was still struggling to comprehend, and her father was gone…
"I'm… everything around me is falling apart, and I… I don't even know who I am anymore… I don't know anything about the life I've lived, my memories are a mess, my head hurts, my best friend is missing, my mom might be dead, my dad might be involved in all of this, and…"
"Shhh," Sai coaxed, keeping her close. "I'm sorry, Ino. I'm truly sorry, but I… I don't know what to do to help you." He was not good with this sort of thing. In fact, he was terrible at it. He wanted to help her, but what was he supposed to do?
"Well… I know it's not the best idea, but… There was an old bottle of wine that Sakura bought me years ago, and… She made me promise not to open it unless I really needed it, but… I think today I've earned it, you know?" Wine always solved Ino's problems. It wasn't the best coping mechanism-in fact, it was a terrible one-but if it was going to make her feel better, then she'd just have to go with that.
"You want… wine?" Sai was questioning it for sure. He pulled enough away that he could look at her, chewing his lip before he helped wipe some of the tears off her face, tucking her blonde hair behind her ear. He wasn't sure why, but… looking at how short her hair was made him sad. Her hair had been so long and beautiful, and she'd been forced to cut it off. It looked good on her, but he found himself sad at the fact that he couldn't run his fingers through its length the same way he was now.
"Yeah… I know, it's stupid, but it's the only thing I know, and… if it makes me laugh and giggle, and I pass out and sleep like a rock, that's all I care about." At least she wasn't on any medications; her injuries hadn't been severe enough to warrant that. For the most part, the blast had just rattled her head a little and left her memory foggy. Things were starting to come back, but only little by little. The more time went by, the more her memories seemed to come back, but they were in bits and pieces and out of order.
"Hey. If it… If it makes you happy, then… then I'll do it." He stared at her for longer than was appropriate, allowing the smallest of smiles to grace his features. Ino saw it, and she couldn't help but think… she couldn't remember seeing him smile much, but she definitely thought he should smile more now that she'd seen it.
"Okay. Um, wine glasses are in the top cupboard beside the sink. I'll, um… I'll go get the bottle." Ino sniffled and wiped at her face, taking a few breaths to calm herself. She hadn't meant to snap at him, but she'd been growing more and more irritated the more she realized he'd kept things from her. She already felt like she was in the dark with her own life; the last thing she wanted to be was in the dark about clearing her friend's name.
Grabbing the bottle of wine from the small cellar she had, she made her way to the kitchen, fumbling with the cork. The bottle was old, and for some reason, the cork was proving to be a struggle. No matter how much she tried to twist, she couldn't get the screw into the cork. Sai saw how she was struggling and came over, gently placing his hand over hers. "I've got it," he said, gently pushing her hands away before taking over. After a few challenging twists, the cork popped free, and they could let the bottle air out a bit.
"Okay… I have glasses and some tortilla chips, and a little bit of salsa… if that's good for you?" Ino set the plates on a tray with the wine glasses as Sai grabbed the bottle, heading to the living room as he followed behind her. They sat down on the couch, Ino taking one of the glasses the minute Sai poured it, downing half of it and holding her glass out again for a refill. His eyes widened at how quickly she consumed it, making him hesitate to refill it.
"Ahhh… now this, this is a perfect wine." She wasn't the most extensive wine connoisseur, but it was enough. "The real question now is, what kind of terrible movie is worth watching?" She grabbed the remote and contemplated before tossing it at Sai so he could choose. She didn't want to pick a movie today; she wanted him to choose. She'd watch whatever; the movie wasn't her goal, anyway. "I don't care. You pick. I'm just here for the wine."
Sai gave her a sideways glance, narrowing his eyes with concern before turning the television on, scrolling through the channel. Ino was already finishing off her glass of wine, pouring another to start going through; he'd barely taken a few sips of his glass. Was this honestly how she drank wine? Well… He'd better keep up with her, or he might not hear the end of it.
He picked a movie that looked mildly interesting, though it was some silly romantic comedy that he didn't find himself very invested in. They made their way through one bottle of wine, leading Ino to stand up-albeit shakily-to grab another bottle for the two of them. After that was done and they'd cracked open a third bottle, the movie was over, and Ino leaned back on her couch, laughing so hard she was in tears.
"Oh my god, I still can't get over when he locked her in the trunk because she wouldn't listen," she said through tears and laughter, giggling and snorting as she did. "And then he… oh man, she was so mad, and that's so unrealistic and so illegal, but it's so goddamn funny." Oh, she was losing it. She was definitely losing it. She struggled to sit up, inhaling a deep breath as she prepared to stand. Sai himself was well past tipsy, barely able to move out of the way as Ino tried to struggle past. She couldn't quite make it and half-tripped, catching herself on the armrest as she fell across Sai's lap, almost face-to-face with him.
"Oh, hello there~," she purred, a drunken giggle surfacing. Sai was startled once he was close to her, feeling a mix of feelings in his chest and other places. He'd never denied she was attractive, but he intended to protect her, not… anything else. The fact that he'd been drinking changed his ability to focus, and the more Ino stared at him, the more he stared at her.
"Ino," he whispered, instinct taking over his body and driving his actions. His hands reached up as she shifted on his lap, adjusting, so she was practically straddling him. They were inching closer and closer, silence falling between them as they inched closer and closer. Some small part of Sai knew they shouldn't be doing this, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. His fingers tangled in her hair, drawing her in closer until their lips met. Ino released a soft sigh as they did, leaning into him and pressing against him hungrily. Well, damn. She'd intended to get a little information out of him, but she was a little too far along with the wine to get that.
Well… this was fine. She had no qualms with this. Their lips moved in tandem, creating a slow rhythm as she could feel one of his hands tangling in her short hair, the other reaching around to grasp her rear and tuck her in tighter against him. She smiled against his lips, humming in appreciation.
"God, you've been… tormenting me lately," she whispered, breaking away enough to unbutton her blouse, her hands fumbling and shaky against the buttons. She eventually succeeded, tossing it off and exposing her lacy bra.
"Speak for yourself," he whispered back, taking a moment to savour what he was seeing. His hands begun to wander, exploring every curve as he kissed her deeper, pressing against her as hungrily as she was him.
This… was about to be one of the most exciting nights of Ino's life.