A/N: It's been a long week, so I'm sorry the update took a bit. This
chapter has some violence in it. Other than that... Review if you like. I'm
sure you all know the drill.
Disclaimer: As I'm sure you could have all guessed, Naruto's not mine, nor are any of the characters found therein.
............
The night was cold, chilly enough that Ino was glad of the thick blanket that she kept at the foot of her bed for nights just like this. Some small remnant of her childish fancies had been left with that old blanket, an irrational sense that the soft, worn cloth would shield her from all that was wrong in the world, things that she had seen all too clearly as a jounin. Especially now that she lived alone. As she pulled it tight around her, Ino couldn't help but humor the nostalgic notion that it might keep all the bad things that went bump in the night at bay, just as it had when she'd been a small girl. Surely it had lost none of its magic.
Drowsily, barely clinging to consciousness as she allowed her mind to drift, she laughed at herself for thinking these childish, innocent thoughts which occasionally surfaced from somewhere deep inside while she rode the brink of sleep. These were thoughts that had never seen the blood of death or felt the thrill of killing or felt the first blushing awareness of love. Love. What a beautiful way to descend into sleep, thinking about something so new and fragile and wonderful...
As she was hovering on the thin line between a waking dream and the first delicate stage of sleep a small thump, too loud to be a creak and too quiet to be a crash, jerked her fully awake. More than a decade of hard work and training had not gone to waste; in less than a heartbeat she had crossed the length of her room and had crouched, kunai in hand and clad only in a thin nightgown, right behind her door in a position that would allow her to see whoever entered before they saw her. Her unease grew as seconds passed and melted into minutes of silence and just as she was about to shrug the sound off and laugh at her jumpiness, someone spoke from just outside her door.
"Ino?" Her heart leapt into her throat as she recognized the intruder's voice. "Ino, can I come in?"
"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" she exploded, irritation at the man replacing caution as she straightened from her tensed position. Of all the times for him to come over unannounced... Making an entrance like that, he could have easily earned himself a kunai through the throat. This sort of randomness was extremely un-Shikamaru-like, though, and Ino hesitated in throwing open her bedroom door and telling him in no uncertain terms that she never, EVER expected something like this to happen again.
"Che... Ino, open the damned door. I want to talk to you." A hint of undisguised anger had crept into a voice that was suddenly harsher than it should have been under the given circumstances. Especially when taken into account that it was Nara Shikamaru speaking...
Ino frowned, backing a step further away from the door before resuming her crouched position. She had never heard Shikamaru use that tone of voice with anyone, least of all her. Something was very wrong here and it was irritating her more with each passing moment that she couldn't quite place the problem let alone the cause.
"What is so important that it can't wait 'til morning, Shika," she snapped, her tired patience thinning. "Honestly. It's late and I was almost asle-" She cut herself off abruptly, realizing that she was speaking to nothing. She could no longer sense any presence behind the all too thin door that separated her from the rest of her small apartment. How had he gotten in without her sensing or hearing him, anyway? WHY had he entered her apartment without her permission when he knew that all he had to do was knock? They had been dating for a year. He knew better than this.
A shiver reminded her just how chilly the night really was. She refused to consider the possibility that she was shaking, even the tiniest bit, from fear. Just what did Shikamaru think he was doing? All thoughts of sleep, of returning to her warm bed, had left her mind the moment she heard his voice. She had to get to the bottom of this before she could rest.
After a moment of consideration, she decided with a sigh that the situation merited more clothing than just a nightgown. She had a feeling that she would be paying Shikamaru a visit before the night was through to demand some answers and regardless, the nightgown hindered her movements in a way that her normal apparel did not. Most nights, she felt secure enough inside her own village to allow herself the luxury of comfort over serviceability as she slept. Tonight was different, though. A few brief seconds of letting her guard down while she changed would be worth the benefits of clothing that was designed for concealed weaponry and for easy mobility.
Her decision made, she wasted no time in throwing off her nightgown, stalking over to the first shirt that she laid eyes on and lifting it over her head as quickly as she could. For once, boyfriend or not, appearance meant nothing to her. Something was very, very wrong here and -
Warm breath on her neck and bare arms encircling her waist stopped her short. Eyes wide, frozen in place by surprise and, unaccountably, fear, she made no move as a soft kiss was placed just below her right ear. "Ino."
His voice was low and rasped and full of something that she did not want to think about let alone name, and she couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't even think coherently as alarms reverberated through her mind and she frantically tried to deduce how he had gotten in and why he had come and what he could possibly want from her at this late hour. He... He shouldn't be seeing her like this, completely exposed and vulnerable and she wasn't READY for something like this with him.
Get angry.
She still couldn't breathe properly and her lungs were practically begging for air now and something inside her was screaming that she had to run, to get away right this moment. But she was Yakamana Ino, the brilliantly, vibrantly purple girl with a heart full of courage, who never ran away, never backed down, never second guessed her own abilities. She was the strong one, the one who always knew exactly what had to be done and did it no matter what it took or what the cost. Never in her life had she been rendered this damned HELPLESS by anyone or anything and that alone was killing her.
Get angry.
The arms around her waist were tightening, drawing her inexorably closer as butterfly kisses were planted at the base of her neck. Her back made contact with his chest and she felt the surprising contact of his bare skin against hers, and at that unexpected touch she finally found the strength that she needed.
Get ANGRY!
A low growl rose in her throat, full of rage and animalistic ferocity as she forced herself to focus on her fury, stoking it to the whitest, hottest point she could manage so that she could break free of her own self-imposed restraints...
She moved before she could think, before she could register her own thoughts or heed her own doubts. With a cry that was wrenched from a place inside her that she never even knew existed, she twisted away, swinging around to face him with both hands held in a fighting stance. She retained a death grip on the kunai, but it seemed a small weapon versus what she knew in the calm and calculating part of her mind that he had at his disposal.
Her knees were shaking, betraying the fear that she still could not understand. As a ninja, she had faced life or death situations a thousand times over and had always done so without worrying about the consequences. She had always come out alive, her confidence in herself and her teammates never wavering.
Her confidence in Shikamaru, the man who was her teammate and her friend and - she had thought - something more than that, had never faltered, never once in ten damned years. Ten years of hours upon hours spent together every single day, of training together and teaching each other and learning from one another. She trusted him above all the others. Trusted him so much that he knew every single thing about her.
She didn't want to be doing this, not with Shika.
He stood there smirking at her, settling into that easy slouch that was his trademark. Peripherally she was aware that he was half-naked, shirtless, more exposed than she had ever really seen him but the thought was fleeting, of little importance. She opened her mouth to speak, to demand an answer to every single one of the questions that were overwhelming her mind and he cut in before she could formulate thoughts into words, his expression melting into a sneer.
"You should have let me in Ino," he said softly in that voice that was but wasn't his. A flat, dangerous voice.
Where was the real Shikamaru, she wondered. This most certainly could not be him! This was not the man that she would willingly entrust with everything right down to her very life!
But he was advancing toward her as he spoke, slowly moving forward step by step and as she stood, willing herself to move and finding herself utterly powerless to move or speak or do anything at all, she realized with horror that she had been caught in one of his shadow jutsus. The night. Shadows. Oh shit, he was holding her completely immobile and there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it. She couldn't even cry out as he finally reached her side and slowly, methodically ran his hands up and down her body, feeling her in a way that she was going to murder him for the moment she could move again. His smile was nothing short of feral now and somehow that LOOK on his face struck yet another chord of terror within her.
"All I wanted to do was talk to you. See you. I didn't want to hurt you, Ino, but you've made me angry. Very, very angry. I'm going to have to punish you, you know..."
He trailed off, turning towards her bed and against her will she mimicked the movement. She did not want this. Not like this, not with this man who looked like her Shikamaru but who was not. Not even his jutsu could keep the angry, helpless tears from washing her cheeks. One careful step after another they were approaching her bed, and she wondered if he was moving this slowly on purpose just to prolong her agony.
And then they were there and he was leering at her and extending his hand as she was forced to extend hers too until she was handing him the kunai. He took it, examined it for a moment before gently pressing the sharpened tip to her face and actually caressing her cheek with the weapon as her arm replicated his every move. She could see a small indent on his cheek that followed their conjoined motions, knew just how close he was to drawing both of their blood. It was little comfort to her that he could not do her any serious physical harm as long as they were connected by this jutsu unless he was willing to risk the same damage to himself.
A crash just outside the window drew both of their attention, and with more speed than she would have ever guessed that Shikamaru could possess she was released from the jutsu and pulled against him, his arm snaking back around her waist in an iron grip as he pressed the kunai pressed so hard against her throat that it drew blood. It was all she could do from trying to jerk away, from crying out as she watched - and saw Shikamaru's face appear in her window.
"I thought you'd never show up," the voice behind her growled. "I had to start without you. Hurry up."
A flare of chakra and he was in the room, his face hidden behind his hand as he yawned in the most characteristic display she had seen all night. Unconsciously, Ino shrank away from both this new intruder and the kunai at her throat, bringing herself closer to the man behind her in her confusion. But then this new Shikamaru looked up, saw how she was being held and his face settled into an angry scowl. "This is going to be troublesome... Let go of her."
That voice! Eyes wide, she stared at him. It was really him. It had to be him! How had he known to come save her? Did... Did she trust him?
She was shoved aside then, landing with a small cry on her bed as the Shikamaru behind her advanced on the man near the window. Immediately, she turned and dove for her nightstand with all of the speed she could muster, reaching for the trio of shuriken and the kunai that she kept within easy reach of her bed in case of emergencies and ignoring the warm trickle of blood on her throat and the tears coursing down her cheeks. She had to arm herself, to help her Shika against whoever the hell was sick enough to be doing this to her. To them.
A shuriken, thrown by one of the two men behind her, embedded itself in Ino's bare shoulder while another found the crook of her elbow just as she reached her weapons and whirled around, rearmed and finally ready to be of some assistance. Her grunt of pain as the razor-edged stars hit her went unnoticed and unheard, lost in a resounding crash that had her instinctively moving her hands into the initial rapid seals of a jutsu that would get her the hell out of there.
Her eyes widened as she actually took in the sight before her and her hands, spurred on by fright, moved even more quickly. Blood had been splattered everywhere in the brief second that she had had her back turned, and she knew in that moment that none of it belonged to the Shikamaru who stood, unscratched and triumphant, over his opponent. The Shika who had leapt to her defense was crouched, panting and clutching his stomach in a vain attempt to stop the blood from a deep gash that began at his right shoulder and ended just above his left thigh. Even she, who had received only minimal medical training, could tell that such a wound would almost certainly be fatal.
All thoughts of retreat flew out of her head as she watched her Shika kneeling there, hurt and defenseless. Heedless of the pain that coursed through her arm and shoulder with every move she made, she aimed and released her shuriken at the gloating man. He deflected them, of course, easily evaded the physical attack that she initiated the moment the throwing stars left her hand and reappeared on the other side of the room, his hands forming a familiar seal. Ino felt her stomach sink as she realized exactly what he was doing.
Fighting this man in a room full of shadows had once again put her in the worst possible position, a lesson that was driven home as her muscles refused to answer her commands for the second time that night.
Against her will, the arm that still held the kunai, her last weapon, was being raised as Shika lifted his until they had both settled into one of the most basic throwing positions. He stopped moving, looked at her and forced her to look at him through his jutsu and she felt her lips curling into a feral smile as his did the same.
"I think it best if you deliver the killing blow," he murmured, his voice silky and low.
They were frowning in concentration as he forced her to aim for the heart, slowly and methodically as he did everything. The flick of the wrist and the release and the kunai was on its way, speeding towards the injured Shika's chest as the man who held her bound in his jutsu forced her to watch.
The kunai never hit its target, embedding itself instead in the floor as Shika disappeared at the last possible moment, lunging at his opponent in a last desperate attempt at victory.
The shadow jutsu was released as her captor was engaged in combat, and again Ino dove for the nearest weapons. Another anguished cry, and without any other warning, something large and heavy and warm and wet fell on her, knocking her off her feet. She was bathing in a puddle of blood, or so it seemed, and the shirtless man who stood above them had eyes as red as the blood that covered both Ino and Shika.
As he approached, he grinned at her. The body pinning her down was lifeless, may as well have been dead.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow... Ino." A smile that could not possibly belong to her Shika was flashed and the heavy warmth was being removed from her lap as she sat there, frozen and stunned. As suddenly and abruptly as the whole nightmare had begun, they were both gone.
It took a few moments for their departure to register as she sat there, naked and covered in her own and Shikamaru's blood in the display of gore that had been her room only ten minutes earlier. It was not until after she took in that they were truly gone that she was finally able to scream, and scream she did.
That beautiful sound was music to Sasuke and Naruto's ears as they released their jutsus and transformed back into themselves before grabbing one another's hands in a desperate gesture. Brief though their separation had been, it was still too long for either of their comfort. It was the promise of violence that had caused Sasuke to ever agree to such a plan voluntarily in the first place. Naruto's wounds, serious as they would have been on any other man, were already healing as they melted back into the darkness, a relief to them both.
Sasuke had slipped a little at the end, but Naruto couldn't blame the man, didn't care in the slightest. It must be difficult to hide Sharingan eyes, transformation or no, and Naruto and the demon fox privately felt that seeing that brief moment of red had been an interesting addition to the whole scene. They had been successful, though, and that was what mattered the most. The seeds of doubt and mistrust had been firmly planted and for them, the fun had just begun.
Ino's screams followed them as they vanished into the night.
Disclaimer: As I'm sure you could have all guessed, Naruto's not mine, nor are any of the characters found therein.
............
The night was cold, chilly enough that Ino was glad of the thick blanket that she kept at the foot of her bed for nights just like this. Some small remnant of her childish fancies had been left with that old blanket, an irrational sense that the soft, worn cloth would shield her from all that was wrong in the world, things that she had seen all too clearly as a jounin. Especially now that she lived alone. As she pulled it tight around her, Ino couldn't help but humor the nostalgic notion that it might keep all the bad things that went bump in the night at bay, just as it had when she'd been a small girl. Surely it had lost none of its magic.
Drowsily, barely clinging to consciousness as she allowed her mind to drift, she laughed at herself for thinking these childish, innocent thoughts which occasionally surfaced from somewhere deep inside while she rode the brink of sleep. These were thoughts that had never seen the blood of death or felt the thrill of killing or felt the first blushing awareness of love. Love. What a beautiful way to descend into sleep, thinking about something so new and fragile and wonderful...
As she was hovering on the thin line between a waking dream and the first delicate stage of sleep a small thump, too loud to be a creak and too quiet to be a crash, jerked her fully awake. More than a decade of hard work and training had not gone to waste; in less than a heartbeat she had crossed the length of her room and had crouched, kunai in hand and clad only in a thin nightgown, right behind her door in a position that would allow her to see whoever entered before they saw her. Her unease grew as seconds passed and melted into minutes of silence and just as she was about to shrug the sound off and laugh at her jumpiness, someone spoke from just outside her door.
"Ino?" Her heart leapt into her throat as she recognized the intruder's voice. "Ino, can I come in?"
"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?" she exploded, irritation at the man replacing caution as she straightened from her tensed position. Of all the times for him to come over unannounced... Making an entrance like that, he could have easily earned himself a kunai through the throat. This sort of randomness was extremely un-Shikamaru-like, though, and Ino hesitated in throwing open her bedroom door and telling him in no uncertain terms that she never, EVER expected something like this to happen again.
"Che... Ino, open the damned door. I want to talk to you." A hint of undisguised anger had crept into a voice that was suddenly harsher than it should have been under the given circumstances. Especially when taken into account that it was Nara Shikamaru speaking...
Ino frowned, backing a step further away from the door before resuming her crouched position. She had never heard Shikamaru use that tone of voice with anyone, least of all her. Something was very wrong here and it was irritating her more with each passing moment that she couldn't quite place the problem let alone the cause.
"What is so important that it can't wait 'til morning, Shika," she snapped, her tired patience thinning. "Honestly. It's late and I was almost asle-" She cut herself off abruptly, realizing that she was speaking to nothing. She could no longer sense any presence behind the all too thin door that separated her from the rest of her small apartment. How had he gotten in without her sensing or hearing him, anyway? WHY had he entered her apartment without her permission when he knew that all he had to do was knock? They had been dating for a year. He knew better than this.
A shiver reminded her just how chilly the night really was. She refused to consider the possibility that she was shaking, even the tiniest bit, from fear. Just what did Shikamaru think he was doing? All thoughts of sleep, of returning to her warm bed, had left her mind the moment she heard his voice. She had to get to the bottom of this before she could rest.
After a moment of consideration, she decided with a sigh that the situation merited more clothing than just a nightgown. She had a feeling that she would be paying Shikamaru a visit before the night was through to demand some answers and regardless, the nightgown hindered her movements in a way that her normal apparel did not. Most nights, she felt secure enough inside her own village to allow herself the luxury of comfort over serviceability as she slept. Tonight was different, though. A few brief seconds of letting her guard down while she changed would be worth the benefits of clothing that was designed for concealed weaponry and for easy mobility.
Her decision made, she wasted no time in throwing off her nightgown, stalking over to the first shirt that she laid eyes on and lifting it over her head as quickly as she could. For once, boyfriend or not, appearance meant nothing to her. Something was very, very wrong here and -
Warm breath on her neck and bare arms encircling her waist stopped her short. Eyes wide, frozen in place by surprise and, unaccountably, fear, she made no move as a soft kiss was placed just below her right ear. "Ino."
His voice was low and rasped and full of something that she did not want to think about let alone name, and she couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't even think coherently as alarms reverberated through her mind and she frantically tried to deduce how he had gotten in and why he had come and what he could possibly want from her at this late hour. He... He shouldn't be seeing her like this, completely exposed and vulnerable and she wasn't READY for something like this with him.
Get angry.
She still couldn't breathe properly and her lungs were practically begging for air now and something inside her was screaming that she had to run, to get away right this moment. But she was Yakamana Ino, the brilliantly, vibrantly purple girl with a heart full of courage, who never ran away, never backed down, never second guessed her own abilities. She was the strong one, the one who always knew exactly what had to be done and did it no matter what it took or what the cost. Never in her life had she been rendered this damned HELPLESS by anyone or anything and that alone was killing her.
Get angry.
The arms around her waist were tightening, drawing her inexorably closer as butterfly kisses were planted at the base of her neck. Her back made contact with his chest and she felt the surprising contact of his bare skin against hers, and at that unexpected touch she finally found the strength that she needed.
Get ANGRY!
A low growl rose in her throat, full of rage and animalistic ferocity as she forced herself to focus on her fury, stoking it to the whitest, hottest point she could manage so that she could break free of her own self-imposed restraints...
She moved before she could think, before she could register her own thoughts or heed her own doubts. With a cry that was wrenched from a place inside her that she never even knew existed, she twisted away, swinging around to face him with both hands held in a fighting stance. She retained a death grip on the kunai, but it seemed a small weapon versus what she knew in the calm and calculating part of her mind that he had at his disposal.
Her knees were shaking, betraying the fear that she still could not understand. As a ninja, she had faced life or death situations a thousand times over and had always done so without worrying about the consequences. She had always come out alive, her confidence in herself and her teammates never wavering.
Her confidence in Shikamaru, the man who was her teammate and her friend and - she had thought - something more than that, had never faltered, never once in ten damned years. Ten years of hours upon hours spent together every single day, of training together and teaching each other and learning from one another. She trusted him above all the others. Trusted him so much that he knew every single thing about her.
She didn't want to be doing this, not with Shika.
He stood there smirking at her, settling into that easy slouch that was his trademark. Peripherally she was aware that he was half-naked, shirtless, more exposed than she had ever really seen him but the thought was fleeting, of little importance. She opened her mouth to speak, to demand an answer to every single one of the questions that were overwhelming her mind and he cut in before she could formulate thoughts into words, his expression melting into a sneer.
"You should have let me in Ino," he said softly in that voice that was but wasn't his. A flat, dangerous voice.
Where was the real Shikamaru, she wondered. This most certainly could not be him! This was not the man that she would willingly entrust with everything right down to her very life!
But he was advancing toward her as he spoke, slowly moving forward step by step and as she stood, willing herself to move and finding herself utterly powerless to move or speak or do anything at all, she realized with horror that she had been caught in one of his shadow jutsus. The night. Shadows. Oh shit, he was holding her completely immobile and there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it. She couldn't even cry out as he finally reached her side and slowly, methodically ran his hands up and down her body, feeling her in a way that she was going to murder him for the moment she could move again. His smile was nothing short of feral now and somehow that LOOK on his face struck yet another chord of terror within her.
"All I wanted to do was talk to you. See you. I didn't want to hurt you, Ino, but you've made me angry. Very, very angry. I'm going to have to punish you, you know..."
He trailed off, turning towards her bed and against her will she mimicked the movement. She did not want this. Not like this, not with this man who looked like her Shikamaru but who was not. Not even his jutsu could keep the angry, helpless tears from washing her cheeks. One careful step after another they were approaching her bed, and she wondered if he was moving this slowly on purpose just to prolong her agony.
And then they were there and he was leering at her and extending his hand as she was forced to extend hers too until she was handing him the kunai. He took it, examined it for a moment before gently pressing the sharpened tip to her face and actually caressing her cheek with the weapon as her arm replicated his every move. She could see a small indent on his cheek that followed their conjoined motions, knew just how close he was to drawing both of their blood. It was little comfort to her that he could not do her any serious physical harm as long as they were connected by this jutsu unless he was willing to risk the same damage to himself.
A crash just outside the window drew both of their attention, and with more speed than she would have ever guessed that Shikamaru could possess she was released from the jutsu and pulled against him, his arm snaking back around her waist in an iron grip as he pressed the kunai pressed so hard against her throat that it drew blood. It was all she could do from trying to jerk away, from crying out as she watched - and saw Shikamaru's face appear in her window.
"I thought you'd never show up," the voice behind her growled. "I had to start without you. Hurry up."
A flare of chakra and he was in the room, his face hidden behind his hand as he yawned in the most characteristic display she had seen all night. Unconsciously, Ino shrank away from both this new intruder and the kunai at her throat, bringing herself closer to the man behind her in her confusion. But then this new Shikamaru looked up, saw how she was being held and his face settled into an angry scowl. "This is going to be troublesome... Let go of her."
That voice! Eyes wide, she stared at him. It was really him. It had to be him! How had he known to come save her? Did... Did she trust him?
She was shoved aside then, landing with a small cry on her bed as the Shikamaru behind her advanced on the man near the window. Immediately, she turned and dove for her nightstand with all of the speed she could muster, reaching for the trio of shuriken and the kunai that she kept within easy reach of her bed in case of emergencies and ignoring the warm trickle of blood on her throat and the tears coursing down her cheeks. She had to arm herself, to help her Shika against whoever the hell was sick enough to be doing this to her. To them.
A shuriken, thrown by one of the two men behind her, embedded itself in Ino's bare shoulder while another found the crook of her elbow just as she reached her weapons and whirled around, rearmed and finally ready to be of some assistance. Her grunt of pain as the razor-edged stars hit her went unnoticed and unheard, lost in a resounding crash that had her instinctively moving her hands into the initial rapid seals of a jutsu that would get her the hell out of there.
Her eyes widened as she actually took in the sight before her and her hands, spurred on by fright, moved even more quickly. Blood had been splattered everywhere in the brief second that she had had her back turned, and she knew in that moment that none of it belonged to the Shikamaru who stood, unscratched and triumphant, over his opponent. The Shika who had leapt to her defense was crouched, panting and clutching his stomach in a vain attempt to stop the blood from a deep gash that began at his right shoulder and ended just above his left thigh. Even she, who had received only minimal medical training, could tell that such a wound would almost certainly be fatal.
All thoughts of retreat flew out of her head as she watched her Shika kneeling there, hurt and defenseless. Heedless of the pain that coursed through her arm and shoulder with every move she made, she aimed and released her shuriken at the gloating man. He deflected them, of course, easily evaded the physical attack that she initiated the moment the throwing stars left her hand and reappeared on the other side of the room, his hands forming a familiar seal. Ino felt her stomach sink as she realized exactly what he was doing.
Fighting this man in a room full of shadows had once again put her in the worst possible position, a lesson that was driven home as her muscles refused to answer her commands for the second time that night.
Against her will, the arm that still held the kunai, her last weapon, was being raised as Shika lifted his until they had both settled into one of the most basic throwing positions. He stopped moving, looked at her and forced her to look at him through his jutsu and she felt her lips curling into a feral smile as his did the same.
"I think it best if you deliver the killing blow," he murmured, his voice silky and low.
They were frowning in concentration as he forced her to aim for the heart, slowly and methodically as he did everything. The flick of the wrist and the release and the kunai was on its way, speeding towards the injured Shika's chest as the man who held her bound in his jutsu forced her to watch.
The kunai never hit its target, embedding itself instead in the floor as Shika disappeared at the last possible moment, lunging at his opponent in a last desperate attempt at victory.
The shadow jutsu was released as her captor was engaged in combat, and again Ino dove for the nearest weapons. Another anguished cry, and without any other warning, something large and heavy and warm and wet fell on her, knocking her off her feet. She was bathing in a puddle of blood, or so it seemed, and the shirtless man who stood above them had eyes as red as the blood that covered both Ino and Shika.
As he approached, he grinned at her. The body pinning her down was lifeless, may as well have been dead.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow... Ino." A smile that could not possibly belong to her Shika was flashed and the heavy warmth was being removed from her lap as she sat there, frozen and stunned. As suddenly and abruptly as the whole nightmare had begun, they were both gone.
It took a few moments for their departure to register as she sat there, naked and covered in her own and Shikamaru's blood in the display of gore that had been her room only ten minutes earlier. It was not until after she took in that they were truly gone that she was finally able to scream, and scream she did.
That beautiful sound was music to Sasuke and Naruto's ears as they released their jutsus and transformed back into themselves before grabbing one another's hands in a desperate gesture. Brief though their separation had been, it was still too long for either of their comfort. It was the promise of violence that had caused Sasuke to ever agree to such a plan voluntarily in the first place. Naruto's wounds, serious as they would have been on any other man, were already healing as they melted back into the darkness, a relief to them both.
Sasuke had slipped a little at the end, but Naruto couldn't blame the man, didn't care in the slightest. It must be difficult to hide Sharingan eyes, transformation or no, and Naruto and the demon fox privately felt that seeing that brief moment of red had been an interesting addition to the whole scene. They had been successful, though, and that was what mattered the most. The seeds of doubt and mistrust had been firmly planted and for them, the fun had just begun.
Ino's screams followed them as they vanished into the night.