A/N: Told you that I had another chapter almost ready to go. I'm sorry it's
so short, but the next one promises to be longer. As always, reviews are
appreciated.
Disclaimer: As I'm sure you could have all guessed, Naruto's not mine, nor are any of the characters found therein.
............
How she arrived at Sakura's apartment, wrapped in nothing but her bedclothes and painted in a flaking coat of dried blood, Ino could not recall. All she remembered was pounding on her friend's door, heedless of the late hour and not caring a whit whether she might be disturbing the neighbors.
After a few minutes of frantic knocking, the door was finally cracked open and Rock Lee's tousled head poked out. His eyes, still heavy with sleep widened slightly as they focused on her, took in her ragged condition, and he raised an eyebrow in a drowsy invitation for her to speak.
"Where is Sakura?" Ino demanded, for once ignoring formalities as she pushed her way into the main room of the apartment. "It's Shikamaru..."
"I'll go get her Ino-san," he said, straightening to perform a military style salute before marching out of the room. In different circumstances, she would have been amused at this resurgence of his youthful energy. Lee had never lost his over enthusiasm, but he had gradually learned some self control over the years. Anything to please his Sakura.
He returned shortly, the pink-haired girl trailing slightly behind him as she rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong, Ino..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the state her friend was in. Obviously, Lee had left Sakura to find out about Ino's appearance with her own eyes.
"Someone who looked like Shikamaru attacked me tonight." That much was easy, a matter-of-fact way of summarizing the hell she had just been through, but the rest still sent cold shivers down her spine. "He... Was using Shika's shadow jutsus. I think the real Shikamaru might be dead. He came to save me..." She broke off as she caught the twin expressions of concerned horror on both Sakura's and Lee's faces.
"Ino..." Sakura began, but the blonde cut her off.
"Most of it's not my blood," she assured them quickly, understanding their pointed stares. "Most of it came from Shika... He's got to be dead, Sakura. No one could survive the wound that he sustained."
"So you think someone used a transformation jutsu to appear like Shikamaru, copied his family's shadow jutsus and then killed the real Shikamaru who just happened to show up in the nick of time? And you think that whoever did it accomplished all of this without suffering so much as a scratch? That is going to make this guy really hard to track down, Ino." Sakura's disbelief was evident, and Ino had to admit that she wouldn't have believed herself without the constant crackle of dried blood on her bare skin.
"I'm not making this up," she protested, hesitating as Sakura raised a hand to silence her.
"I know what you think you saw. Tsunade-sama needs to hear this. And I think we should go make sure that Shikamaru is really not there. You can borrow some of my clothes."
Vaguely, it surprised Ino how well Sakura had learned to take charge of any situation. She had grown so much from the shy, scared girl that Ino had befriended long ago that she was hardly recognizable now. Sakura had transformed into a confident young woman, bloomed into the beautiful flower that Ino had always suspected she could be. As she obediently trailed after her friend and exchanged her soiled blanket for clean clothes, Ino had to smile.
Everything would be okay now that she was no longer alone.
Disclaimer: As I'm sure you could have all guessed, Naruto's not mine, nor are any of the characters found therein.
............
How she arrived at Sakura's apartment, wrapped in nothing but her bedclothes and painted in a flaking coat of dried blood, Ino could not recall. All she remembered was pounding on her friend's door, heedless of the late hour and not caring a whit whether she might be disturbing the neighbors.
After a few minutes of frantic knocking, the door was finally cracked open and Rock Lee's tousled head poked out. His eyes, still heavy with sleep widened slightly as they focused on her, took in her ragged condition, and he raised an eyebrow in a drowsy invitation for her to speak.
"Where is Sakura?" Ino demanded, for once ignoring formalities as she pushed her way into the main room of the apartment. "It's Shikamaru..."
"I'll go get her Ino-san," he said, straightening to perform a military style salute before marching out of the room. In different circumstances, she would have been amused at this resurgence of his youthful energy. Lee had never lost his over enthusiasm, but he had gradually learned some self control over the years. Anything to please his Sakura.
He returned shortly, the pink-haired girl trailing slightly behind him as she rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong, Ino..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the state her friend was in. Obviously, Lee had left Sakura to find out about Ino's appearance with her own eyes.
"Someone who looked like Shikamaru attacked me tonight." That much was easy, a matter-of-fact way of summarizing the hell she had just been through, but the rest still sent cold shivers down her spine. "He... Was using Shika's shadow jutsus. I think the real Shikamaru might be dead. He came to save me..." She broke off as she caught the twin expressions of concerned horror on both Sakura's and Lee's faces.
"Ino..." Sakura began, but the blonde cut her off.
"Most of it's not my blood," she assured them quickly, understanding their pointed stares. "Most of it came from Shika... He's got to be dead, Sakura. No one could survive the wound that he sustained."
"So you think someone used a transformation jutsu to appear like Shikamaru, copied his family's shadow jutsus and then killed the real Shikamaru who just happened to show up in the nick of time? And you think that whoever did it accomplished all of this without suffering so much as a scratch? That is going to make this guy really hard to track down, Ino." Sakura's disbelief was evident, and Ino had to admit that she wouldn't have believed herself without the constant crackle of dried blood on her bare skin.
"I'm not making this up," she protested, hesitating as Sakura raised a hand to silence her.
"I know what you think you saw. Tsunade-sama needs to hear this. And I think we should go make sure that Shikamaru is really not there. You can borrow some of my clothes."
Vaguely, it surprised Ino how well Sakura had learned to take charge of any situation. She had grown so much from the shy, scared girl that Ino had befriended long ago that she was hardly recognizable now. Sakura had transformed into a confident young woman, bloomed into the beautiful flower that Ino had always suspected she could be. As she obediently trailed after her friend and exchanged her soiled blanket for clean clothes, Ino had to smile.
Everything would be okay now that she was no longer alone.