A/N: For all of those of you around the world who have found themselves in troubling and unknown times recently, I hope you find solace in reading. I have always aimed to provide stories to get lost in, which provides a nice distraction.
Chp 4: Revelation
For Shikamaru and Sai, their mission was finally over. They were on their way home, so Shikamaru found it an appropriate time to speak personally.
"You have been sending messages to Ino, haven't you?" Shikamaru asked, his voice remaining neutral.
He watched Sai out the corner of his eye and witnessed him reflexively flinch. Shikamaru kept his judgements at bay, for it concerned Ino, and recently Sai had been doing a better job of looking out for her than he had. Shikamaru had been a little preoccupied as of late and had failed Ino.
Sai tried to quell the flush of embarrassment at how he had compromised his professionalism.
"Only twice," Sai justified quickly, "Once to tell her that we had left and the other to say that we were coming home."
Shikamaru stuffed his hands into his pockets then. "Her distant has affected you quite a lot then for you to be this distracted," he stated plainly.
Sai's eyes came up in surprise as he met Shikamaru's. The question was on the tip of his tongue, but Shikamaru bet him to it.
"It is pretty obvious that things were off," Shikamaru pointed out, "She is usually so touchy-feely with you."
Sai detected the hint of concern in Shikamaru's words, so he quickly addressed it. "I like that," Sai stated simply.
The admission only served to cause Shikamaru's expression to break. "No doubt, you do."
It was with this that Sai caught Shikamaru's implied statement.
"She likes it too when I reciprocate," Sai assured, thinking that this is what Shikamaru wanted to hear—thinking that Shikamaru wanted him to prove that his relationship with Ino was not one-sided. However, it was not the right choice of words as Sai watched a look of sheer awkwardness warp Shikamaru's features.
"I'm starting to regret that I saved us a day of travel," Shikamaru openly admitted as he focused on the path ahead and moved past Sai.
He could not look at the pale shinobi as the very idea of Sai being intimate with Ino was too much to compute.
"Let's talk about something else," he advised.
~ooOOoo~
In record-breaking time, the pair reached Konoha, much to Shikamaru's chagrin. It didn't help that Sai was now walking with a sense of urgency through the main gate. Shikamaru trailed behind Sai while trying to maintain his relaxed demeanour, but he could not do so as Sai's eagerness put him out. No doubt Sai was hoping or planning for a fiery reconciliation. Shikamaru shuddered but knew that he should follow as he had to see how Ino was fairing. He owed her that much as Ino had seemed upset for some time before he had left. However, Shikamaru did feel a measure of guilt for not finding the time to speak to her sooner.
Eventually, they reached the flower shop, but Sai abruptly halted in front of the open door. Once Shikamaru had arrived, he wondered why Sai blocked the door with his back.
"You need to go in the-" Shikamaru, however, did not finish as he saw Sai's face then. His eyes were incredibly round, and his pupils were shaking. It wasn't until Shikamaru looked inside the shop for himself did he finally realise why. The Ino before them was not the same Ino they remembered. She was trying to inspect her flowers but struggled to walk around the shop. Her stomach was swollen underneath her thin summer dress, and she was trying to support her lower back with one hand. Ino was soon breathless from the excursion and had to sit down on a nearby stool.
Sai just remained utterly still as he continued to stare at Ino with a stunned expression. His breath had caught in his throat.
Once able to catch her breath, Ino registered the intense eyes on her, and it caused her to look up then. She came to find the two men staring at her. She froze. Her sudden terror was so evident. Neither party spoke or moved but merely continued to stare at each other. The seconds were long-drawn and ticked by.
Eventually, Ino struggled to her feet. She tried to bring out words of justification as she approached but to no avail. Her mouth just couldn't.
Shikamaru looked between the fearful Ino and dumbstruck Sai. He stood awkwardly there. "So...this is why you've been acting strange?" Shikamaru acknowledged out loud.
Ino's panicked instinct was to smile to offset the tension, but it came out as a troubled one. However, Shikamaru had already found the answer to his question, though in the silence. Ino could then see the regret in his eyes for not checking up on her sooner.
What was there left to say?
Sai hadn't moved or even reacted, and so Shikamaru tried. "I know this looks bad, but-"
Sai, who had been mute the whole time, finally turned to Shikamaru and interrupted. "You should leave us."
Shikamaru stayed put, though and instead looked to Ino for direction. Her eyes flicked to Sai before returning to him. She nodded in agreement, and although she looked terrified, Shikamaru had no choice as he realised that he could make the situation worse if he stayed.
Though he hovered around while struggling to find the right thing to say. "Just go easy on each other," he advised before leaving.
~ooOOoo~
Shikamaru's place
Temari managed to sit up then when she heard the door open, but the sight of Shikamaru's was enough to make her eyes pop. "You're early!" she stated almost in accusation.
Shikamaru, who was still reeling from the revelation he had witnessed, couldn't speak. It appeared that Sai and Ino's touchy-feely nature had led to consequences.
"I definitely regret saving us a day of travel," Shikamaru admitted once again.
Temari looked up at him in worry. "How did Sai look?"
It was only now when Shikamaru was starting to recover did he manage to make a face that gave Temari all the information she needed.
"Oh no," Temari groaned, "She was going to do it gently."
Shikamaru sighed. "How can you when you look like that?"
Temari bit her lip. Maybe Sai would take it better than they all thought.
~ooOOoo~
Back at the flower shop
The couple had very much been left in the stiflingly awkward situation, which did not ease with time. Sai could still not compute the sight that remained before him no matter how many times he blinked. Odds were odds. Ino's words were ringing like a bell in Sai's head, and he was reminded of that morning.
"You're..." Sai barely began as he had somehow made his way into the shop.
Ino held out her hands and weakly smiled. "Surprise."
When Sai didn't respond, Ino's face fell as she grew serious. "Too soon," she acknowledged before explaining. "I was going to tell you it's...I had a plan of how I was going to do it when you came back, " Ino defended, although her voice soon trailed off into quietness.
It was hard for Sai to find his voice as he continued to gaze at her stomach. A living being in there had changed the body he once knew. "How...did this happen?" he eventually managed to ask.
Ino toyed with her collars as she suddenly felt hot all over. "It's pretty simple," she started, "Remember, it took us longer to return to Konoha because of the bad weather. I fell out of the time window to take the emergency pill. And that was that. "
Sai tried to swallow past the dryness in his throat. "That long ago?" he asked in an almost accusation.
Ino wrung her hands together. "I know. I should have told you sooner."
Sai didn't know where to begin, for so much had happened between them since that passionate night in the cabin. It had mostly been turmoil, though, as they had been at odds with each other from that moment on. Sai tried to gain some semblance of order. "Is Shikamaru right then to say that this is why you've been keeping your distance from me and acting strange?" Sai asked.
Ino tried to silence her rising tears that were quickly forming because of her heightened emotional state. She nodded then. "I was scared that you would find out before I was ready to tell. I didn't want you near me, and I also am hormonal."
Ino watched on helplessly as Sai began to pace.
"Was it me who did this to you?" he asked then without tact. It was a valid question in Sai's eyes as he had not been intimate with her since that night, and logically anything could have happened during their months of distance.
The question's absurdity is what finally broke Ino out of her fear. A mild annoyance rose within her, and Ino wanted to punch Sai's arm hard. "Of course, it was you! Who else would it be?"
Sai was struggling to regain his breath as he didn't stop pacing. He did not find the relief he was looking for in her reply. Of course, Ino's infidelity would have torn him apart, yet it seemed that he was still not appeased. "Why does your response worry me equally to you, being unfaithful?" he asked out loud.
Ino's expression softened. "Maybe because it is a big responsibility."
Sai could not look at Ino as he tried to re-centre his world.
"It's natural," Ino quickly tried after noticing his sheer panic, which was bordering on a meltdown, "I lost my mind too when I find out for the first time and-"
However, Sai could no longer hear Ino's words as they were replaced with a sharp ringing. His head was sent spinning, and he could barely keep his feet together. Maybe Shikamaru had been right. Maybe Sai's desire was more than Ino's and that he had forced it on her, which had led to this consequence.
Sai knew nothing other than he had to escape.
~ooOOoo~
That night
Shikamaru decided that it would be best to visit Ino, and he hoped that the dust had finally settled. Ino was good at these things, after all. He was sure that she would have found a way to talk Sai down. Shikamaru let himself into her house as the door was open, and his assumption appeared untrue as he found Ino in her living room with her eyes red and leaking with fresh tears, which renewed the old tracks down her face. Shikamaru found himself utterly lost like a Bedouin in a sandstorm. It was a new situation that they both found themselves in
Shikamaru sat down then and pulled Ino into a hug which she readily accepted. "I'm sorry." It was a blanket statement for many things. For his behaviour, for the situation in which Ino found herself and everything in between.
It was a while before he spoke again. "I'm sorry," he repeated, "I guess I haven't been paying attention to you. I should have made the time. I guess- "
However, Shikamaru didn't get to continue as Ino cut in. "It's okay."
Shikamaru found his stomach clench at her understanding. She was too understanding. "It's not okay, though."
Ino moved to cover her face with her hand then. "It's been hard going through it alone, "She confessed as her voice cracked.
In the quiet and with Asuma coming into his mind's eye, Shikamaru held Ino tighter. "Choji and I have failed in our job to look after you then."
He felt the shake against his shoulder. "Don't say that," Ino sniffed as her hands came away from her face. "It's not like I didn't get consumed with Sai either. so perhaps lately, we have been caught up in our own lives."
Shikamaru nodded at this. "That could be true." He then pondered for a moment before asking, "You love him quite a bit then?"
At this, Ino stilled against Shikamaru's chest. She was quiet for a long, drawn minute before admitting. "Yes. We've never said it out loud, but we know."
With Sai's actions alone, Shikamaru could verify this as the truth. With a heavy sigh, he then finally admitted. "I guess you can say that I am jealous then."
Ino did not dare move in the possibility that she would disturb the moment since Shikamaru rarely talked about himself.
Shikamaru, thankful that Ino had not looked up at him, continued. "Maybe jealous by the idea that you don't need me as much as you once did," Shikamaru confessed, "Sai has been doing better than me at looking after you, but I'm going to try harder."
It was with this that Ino both laughed and sniffed. "Shikamaru, it is not a competition. You are both important to me but in different ways."
Shikamaru grudgingly accepted. "I still don't like him, though," Shikamaru lied.
Ino smiled then. "Of course, " she appeased Shikamaru. However, her face soon fell as the tears resurfaced. "He hasn't come home yet."
Shikamaru did his level best to console Ino. His shoulder was wet, but Shikamaru bared with it and spoke words of encouragement. However, it was after some time that he awkwardly patted her head. "Let me see what I can do."
Shikamaru felt his brain kick into action as he left the house. He thought about all the potential places Sai could go.
It was a shame that Shikamaru was not a sensor type, as it would have made his job much more manageable. He would have asked someone in the Yamanaka clan, but to be honest, the fewer people that were involved in this, the better. Therefore, Shikamaru went into primitive hunting mode. Sai was apt at hiding himself, although Shikamaru doubted that he would be good at it in his current state. Sai was no doubt working on the instinct of wanting to seek refuge in a troubling time. Shikamaru was conflicted in his quest to find Sai. He both did and did not want to find him because Shikamaru could understand the force of such life-changing news. Deciding though that his loyalty was more heavily weighted towards Ino, Shikamaru put his all into the task.
To be continued
