Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Poisoned Petals. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto and a few others do.

Ino drummed her fingers on the counter of her families' shop. It was so quiet today that she almost wondered why she had decided to keep the shop open today.

"Why did I decide to open today?" Ino questioned herself wile rubbing at her eyes. She knew better than to question herself.

Her parents had told her how easy it was to tend to the shop with just herself… Ino didn't agree, while she loved the shop more then anything? It was easier to man the shop when there were more people present. It wasn't easy to mind the shop and handle all the work at the same time.

Ino sighed and decided to go out for a while. As the keeper of the shop? That meant that she made her own hours, she could afford to let herself enjoy town for a while.

Ino hummed as she walked out of the shop before gently turning the sign in front of her. Ino hummed and then noticed something next to her shop.

There were faint red stains on the side of the building. She hummed and looked to the side as she bent down to study the floor.

"Dried blood?" Ino questioned herself and blinked as she started to follow the trail, she was curious as to why there was dried blood near her shop.

If it was a shinobi? They would have been taken to a hospital, there was no reason for someone to be wounded. Perhaps they were a criminal seeking refuge?

Ino followed the trail of dried blood to a fenced off part of the shop recently created. She blinked at what she saw.

Behind her shop was a figure clad in a dusty cloak which framed his face gently. Ino could see the trail of blood led up to the figure who clutched at the wound on his side. She could see nothing that marked him as a missing nin.

Still? Ino kept her fingers on the holster to her kunai just in case she had to use it. Ino was confident in herself and her abilities… But she wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she was unstoppable and thus couldn't lose a battle to anyone.

She approached the figure and bent down to look him in the eye. She started to examine the figure. She touched a manicured finger to his eyelid and slowly peeled it open so she could check on the figure. She could see that his eyes were bruised and he had several lacerations on his forehead. His arms weren't much better.

She could that his eyes were light red unlike hers. Ino could see clear signs of shock setting in. His body was limp which showed Ino that he had been here for a long time without medical attention to deal with his wounds.

Still? Ino didn't know what to do. She didn't know the identity of this person nor did she want to end up helping someone who could end up being a monster.

"I still can't just leave them to die out here," Ino muttered with annoyance as she sighed and hummed. "Damn it." Ino muttered and started to heal the figure.

Ino would be damned if someone died. If they were a criminal? She would handle it like a shinobi was expected to handle it.

Ino sighed and started to remove his cloak so she could start healing him. Ino almost wanted to laugh at how weird and out of place this probably looked.

Then again? Ino was a woman who could transfer herself to someone else, lived in a village where the leader had a large demonic fox living inside of him, and where several shinobi had powers able to dismantle a country. The idea of something being weird was not even a small thought in her head. Ino tossed his weathered cloak to the side and looked at his bloodstained blackish hair.

Ino looked at the yellowish blue jacket that the figure wore. It was caked in dried blood as well and had several long cuts torn into it. Ino could barely tell that the jacket was yellow due to how damp It was.

Ino sighed and rubbed at her temples. Who the hell was this guy? Someone either hated him to death… Or he had been through a hell of a fight to have clung to life so fiercely.

Ino tried to tug his jacket off only to feel that it was pretty much glued to his skin. Ino sighed and twisted her kunai around.

"Out of all the shops…" Ino muttered to herself before rubbing at her temples.

It was not going to help him breath anyway if she was unable to reach his chest so she could heal him.

She dug the kunai into the fabric and began to saw through the fabric. The smell of blood pulled at her nose. It was a smell not even a war could fully dull her to.

The sharpened kunai easily cut through the fabric like butter. Ino slowly cut down his jacket and peeled it from his skin.

Ino finally cut through the jacket and tugged it free before discarding it as well. Ino tossed the kunai aside as well.

"I swear if you bleed on me…" Ino muttered to herself and transferred charka to her hands.

She could see the cuts that had torn apart his jacket had done a number on him as well. Ino almost didn't want to question what could have torn someone up so badly… Still? If she didn't know? She couldn't help him.

"Hmm…" Ino muttered and raised her glowing hands to the figure's chest.

She'd have to call Sakura. His wounds were a lot more severe then they looked. It made her wonder what had brought the shinobi ended up to her doorstep.

Still? Ino didn't much care for the circumstances at the moment. Ino didn't want someone bleeding out behind her store. She would make sure that he didn't die out here.

Ino cracked her fingers as the figure let out a slow breath and looked to the side. His eyes were still stitched closed for the most part. Ino was shocked he was still clinging to life.

Still? Ino had seen people survive worse then this and walked away from it. Ino shouldn't have been surprised and wondered just what would happen if she healed him.

Ino sighed and decided to go and find Sakura… At least when the figure was indeed stable enough to survive.

Ino felt the figure cling to what life was left in his body. It made her smile slightly knowing her training was sufficient enough.

Author notes

Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that next chapter and chapters don't the road will be 1200 words or so. Next chapter will be in 2-10 weeks and will show Ino talking with the Shinobi and explaining more of his life and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!

P.S: Ino is 1200 words. Tsunade 1200 words, Hanabi is 1200 and Sakura and Sarada is 900 for now among other things.