XIII: Returning a Favor
"I'm telling you, that is how we should do it," Temari said, pointing BBQ laden chopsticks at her boyfriend.
"So I heard," Shikamaru replied, glancing down as Choji laid out more strips of meat on the charcoal grill built into the table they were sitting at. They had arrived at one of the old Team Asuma's favored restaurants to hammer out a plan for getting Sai and Ino over their romantic road bumps, and it was fair to say that they had made some progress. Shikamaru, however, was surprised when Temari started asserting herself and steering the conversation.
"But," Shikamaru continued, keeping his eyes on the sizzling meat, "I can't say that I'm comfortable with what you're suggesting."
Temari shrugged as she chewed on the piece of meat she had just put in her mouth. "What can I say? Think of it as payback," she said once the food was down her throat.
"I get that Ino tricked you into confessing to Shikamaru," Choji commented, taking the juiciest piece of meat off the grill and putting it on his plate. "Still, it seems kind of cruel to make Ino think that she's in a dangerous situation when she's not."
"What goes around comes around," Temari replied. "Besides, you guys said yourselves that the reason for their issues is that Ino expects Sai to be like the boys she imagined in her head when he isn't. Don't you think the best away around that is to let her see what he's like from the inside?" She mimicked the sign for the Mind Transfer Jutsu, pointing it at Shikamaru.
"You have a point," he said. "I suppose that's the real brilliance of your scheme."
"Thank you," Temari replied. "Besides, do either of you have a better suggestion?"
The two friends exchanged glances before Shikamaru answered for both of them. "No."
Temari took her glass of water and lifted it up for a toast. "Then let's hope for a successful match making with a little revenge on the side."
Choji picked up his drink and brought up to Temari's. "Sound's good!"
The Sand kunoichi glared at her boyfriend as he sat stoically across the table from her.
"Fine," Shikamaru said. "It's a drag, but let's do it." He took up his glass and clinked it against those of his coconspirators.
Sakura was walking home from her work at the hospital when she saw a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye.
"Who's there?!" she called out, confident that she could directly confront whoever it was without worry.
"Whoa, no need to be so jumpy," Shikamaru replied, stepping into Sakura's line of sight.
The medical ninja relaxed. "Oh, sorry, didn't realize it was you. What's up?"
"Remember that issue with Sai and Ino?" the Nara asked.
"Yeah," Sakura answered. "I recall you saying that it was an Ino-Shika-Cho matter and that you'd be the ones to solve it."
"I did," Shikamaru admitted. "We've figured out a plan, but it will work out better if you get involved."
Sakura smirked. "So now you need me?"
Shikamaru sighed in response. "Don't get all smart with me, that would be a drag. Can I count on you to take care of this?" He offered a folded up piece of paper to the medical ninja.
Sakura took the sheet in hand, opened it, and read the first few lines. "Wow, this seems...extreme."
"Don't ask me, it's Temari's idea. " Shikamaru defended himself. "Besides, you should read the rest of it."
Doing as she was bide, Sakura's eyes widened with realization as she looked through the rest of what the paper had to say. "OK, I see how I fit into this. But how do you guys fit in?"
"Don't worry about that," Shikamaru replied. "You do your part, and we'll do ours."
"Alright," Sakura said with a sigh. "If that's what you've got to say, then I'll trust you on this."
"Thank you," Shikamaru responded. "Don't worry, we'll take care of rest."
Sakura looked over the note once more as Shikamaru retreated back into the shadows. "I hope no one at the hospital asks why these are missing from the medical lab," she commented to herself.
Ino pushed a low branch away from her face as she followed Shikamaru through the woods.
"What are we doing out here?" she asked.
"I told you, I found a great spot for cloud watching," Shikamaru replied.
"In all our years together, when have I ever so much as hinted that enjoy cloud watching?" Ino responded.
Shikamaru looked over his shoulder and smiled at his old teammate. "Just trust me, I'm sure you'll find something worthwhile."
"Argh," Ino groaned. "You're lucky that I value our friendship."
"Almost there," Shikamaru said as they started climbing up a hill in the tree covered area. They soon crested the rise, standing on top of the hill next to a large tree that stood at its apex.
Ino glanced upward, the sky barely visible through the canopy of leaves above them. "I'm pretty sure that first part of cloud watching is being able to see the sky. What is this about, Shikamaru?"
"Nothing," the Nara replied. "Honest, we just need to get up..." he paused, making a show of looking past Ino. "What is Sai doing here?"
Turning around, Ino saw the object of her affections a ways off, laying down on the hillside under the shade of a tree. "Why would he be out here?" she asked.
Shikamaru gave his old teammate a light shove. "Why don't you go over there and talk to him?"
"What?!" Ino exclaimed. "I can't do that! We're...going through some things." She took another look at the former Root member. "Besides, it looks like he's sleeping." Indeed it did look like Sai was asleep, though there was something strange about it. As if he were a rag doll that just been dropped somewhere rather than a person who had made a purposeful decision to lay down on a spot.
"Hm, so he is," Shikamaru commented. "Wait, what's going on there?" He pointed at a spot and Ino followed his directive, noticing a figure standing on a tree branch, dark clothes covering their entire body and a mask over their face. They were staring at Sai with obvious intent before drawing a kunai.
"Oh, no, Ino, you need to use your mind transfer jutsu on Sai!" Shikamaru exclaimed.
"What?!" the Yamanaka questioned. "Why would we do that? It-it would be an invasion of his privacy! Isn't there something else we can do? What is even going on here? Something isn't adding up."
"Ino," Shikamaru said, grabbing his old teammate by the shoulders and looking her straight in the eye. "Whoever that person is, they are obviously about to attack Sai and he's in no position to defend himself. We're the only people here and your Mind Transfer technique is the only thing that could reach them in time."
"But-but," Ino stammered out.
"Ino, are you willing to risk letting one of our comrades die?" Shikamaru asked. "To let Sai die?"
Gritting her teeth, the blonde kunoichi turned back as the figure in the trees was preparing to leap down at Sai, kunai at the ready. In that moment she made a decision, forming the hand sign for her clan's signature technique and aiming it at the object of her affections. Her nervousness in the moment was soothed by the hard earned and practiced ease with which she used the Mind Transfer Jutsu, sending her consciousness flying out into the world on a collision course with the unconscious Sai.
Then she opened his eyes.
Seeing the cloaked figure now barring down on her, on Sai, she drew his short sword from his back and parried the kunai with it. With a flick of her wrist she pushed the enemy's weapon to the side, opening them up to kick to the midsection, Ino putting all of Sai's strength into throwing them as far as they could go.
Flipping in the air, the mask wearing ninja made momentary eye-contact with the possessed Sai before breaking off and disappearing into the undergrowth. Ino waited for moment to see if they would mount a new attack, but it never came.
Turning towards the sounds of footsteps on the leave covered forest floor, Ino saw Shikamaru walking towards her, carrying her body on her back.
"Looks they've run off," Shikamaru commented. "Good job."
"Thanks," Ino replied in Sai's voice but with her own cadence. "Now can you put me down? I'm ready to go back to my body."
"Sure," Shikamaru confirmed as he started lowering the Yamanaka's limp form to the ground. "But, since we're here, why don't you take a look at what's going on in Sai's head."
"What?" Ino questioned. "Look, I shouldn't have to tell you-"
"Listen, I know you're into him," Shikamaru interrupted. "This is a chance to figure out how to get closer, isn't it?"
"I..." Ino began before she could feel the blood rushing into Sai's cheeks as she started blushing. "OK, fine."
Closing Sai's eyes, she turned her consciousness inwards. Despite what some of the uneducated might assume, Ino could not read the mind of a person who she's transferred into. They might be occupying the same brain, but she was still a distinct entity. Perhaps there was a more detailed scientific explanation for, but Ino never felt the need to understand the why behind it.
She could, however, sense the general emotional state of whoever she was occupying, though only when it was an exceptionally unusual case. The instance that stood out in her mind the most was when she used the Mind Transfer Jutsu against Sakura during their match in their first Chunin Exams. That mass of pent up and suppressed frustration and anger had been so overpowering that it kicked Ino right out of Sakura's head.
If the individual in question was suffering some sort of anguish or in a state of euphoria she could also sense that. Problem was that she wasn't really certain what she would find in Sai. He was always so subdued, she might very well find nothing.
Except it wasn't nothing. One could mistake it for that, it was so small, but it was real and it had a resonance to it.
With instances like Sakura during the Chunin Exams, Ino was overwhelmed by a great swell of emotion. But now looking into Sai, she could not shake this feeling of emptiness. She knew that Sai's emotional development had been stunted by his upbringing in Root, but she could see now how it truly effected him. Yet there was something there, a spark that, in its own way, carried a power as great as anything Ino had ever felt. It needed only to be nurtured and guided.
She understood now what she needed to do, in a way that she had been blind to before. So she opened her eyes.
Sai came to on the forest floor. Wait, why had been unconsciouses out in the woods? He couldn't quite remember how he had ended up there. Also, why was Ino cradling him in her arms?
"What's going on?" the former Root member asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about," Ino said in a sweet tone as she gently stroked his hair. "Everything's going to be alright."
"OK, but, argh..." Sai began before a pounding pain in his head interrupted his thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Ino asked.
Sai took a moment to gather himself, in that span noticing for the first time that Shikamaru was standing nearby.
"It was strange," he finally said. "Sakura told me that there was something I needed to see, then she led me out here and then...nothing."
"Huh, that is strange," Ino commented.
As they were discussing the sound of approaching footsteps made themselves known at the edge of Sai's hearing. A person in dark, form disguising clothes and a mask walked up to the group.
"Hey, is everything going alright out here?" they asked in a vaguely familiar male voice.
"You!" Ino exclaimed, taking Sai's short sword from its scabbard and pointing it at the new arrival.
The disguised figure recoiled back is surprise. For a single beat all parties stood still, watching for the other's next move. Then the cloaked figure turned to Shikamaru.
"I forgot to undo it, didn't I?"
"Yeah," Shikamaru answered, annoyance writ large on his face.
"So I...do it now?" the masked man continued.
Shikamaru sighed before responding. "Go ahead. The truth will be less of a drag than anything else we could come up with at this point."
Ino loosened her grip on her weapon. "What's going on here?"
The masked man made a hand sign, causing a cloud of smoke to appear and block him from view. When it cleared Choji was standing in his place.
"What the hell?!" Ino exclaimed, lowering Sai's sword. "What are you guys doing?"
"Come on, we'll explain once we're back at something resembling civilization," Shikamaru said, taking Sai by the arm and pulling him up. "Can you walk?"
"Um, yeah," Sai responded, feeling his own weight on his feet as he stood. Ino soon took his arm over her shoulders. He didn't really need the support, but he decided to accept it without protest.
Shikamaru began walking towards the edge of the forest, back towards the village, the others following after him. After a short period of walking the came out from the trees, coming to a stop right on the edge of the village itself.
"Alright, you guys can come out now," Shikamaru called out. "The jig is up." From around the corner of the nearest building Temari and Sakura appeared, approaching the group.
Ino looked back and forth between the new arrivals and her old teammates. "What is going on here?"
Temari smirked. "Let's say that it's both payback and returning a favor."
"Wha-?" Ino began before glancing at Shikamaru. "I think I see," she continued, turning her gaze back to the Sand kunoichi.
Sai looked back and forth at all the other parties, uncertain as to what was going on. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?"
Ino hesitated as she stared as the former Root member. "Well, um, to start with, let's just say that I had a hand in getting Shikamaru and Temari together. You might say that it was a little underhanded too."
"To be more precise," Temari interjected, "she misled me into thinking that Shikamaru was injured when he was in fact not. In my rush I ended up making a fool of myself."
"And this is payback for that?" Sai asked.
"Um, ha, yeah, I guess you can say that!" Ino answered with a forced smile. "But, um, she and Shikamaru did finally get together, so, um, hooray!"
"And that's where returning the favor comes in," Temari said.
"Wait, you mean..." Sai began before glancing at the Yamanaka who was still supporting his body with his arm slung over her shoulders.
Ino blushed a vivid red. "Yeah, I'm guessing that's what she means. Except..." she turned her attention to Sakura. "I can't figure out what your part in all this is."
The medical ninja pulled an empty syringe out of her pocket. "Well, I brought him out here before I knocked him out with a specially made cocktail of drugs."
"Drugs?!" Ino exclaimed. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?!"
Temari smirked back at the other blonde. "Hey, you started it, girl. I just upped the ante."
"At this point I would like to say that Choji and I were against the idea," Shikamaru spoke up. "Unfortunately, we really couldn't think of another way to force you to use your mind transfer on Sai."
"Mind Transfer?" Ino echoed. "Oh, I think I know what you guys were trying to get at."
The quartet of conspirators all smiled at Ino and Sai.
"Um, Ino?" Sai asked, hoping for more explicit information.
The Yamanaka glanced back at him for a moment before turning her attention to everyone else. "Hey, guys, you think you can leave us for a bit? We'll catch up and then we can go get some BBQ, OK?
"Sounds good," Shikamaru replied as he started walking away.
"We'll save a spot for you," Choji commented, following after his friend.
Temari smirked. "Just remember, we're even now."
Ino nodded in answer, the Sand kunoichi hurrying to catch up to her boyfriend once the exchange was done.
Sakura made to follow the rest before turning back. "Sai, Ino, I hope you guys won't have any hard feelings over this."
"I think we'll get through it, billboard brow," Ino replied with a grin.
Sakura returned the expression. "Good to hear, Ino-pig," she said before hurrying off.
Ino removed herself from Sai's arm once they were alone, turning to face him with a soft smile on her face.
"So what is going on here exactly?" Sai asked.
"Our friends were trying to help me see something," Ino replied. "I think they succeeded."
"See what?" Sai questioned.
Ino took Sai's hands in her own. "Listen, I've had these ideas in my head ever since I was young, about how a boy and girl should act in a relationship. But I see now that I've been unfair in projecting that image onto you. You're a unique flower that's only started to bloom and is still trying to figure out what you'll look like when you've blossomed fully. I would really love the chance to help you reach that point."
Sai stayed quiet for moment, processing what Ino was telling him. Then he smiled. "I think that sounds great, Beautiful."
Shikamaru walked hand in hand with Temari, the pair accompanied by Sakura and Choji as they made their way to the BBQ restaurant.
"Well, I think that went better than expected," Choji commented.
"Despite the fact you screwed up, right?" Shikamaru needled back.
"Well, you don't need to put it like that," his best friend responded with a pout.
Sakura giggled at the exchange. "You know, this was actually kind of fun. Maybe we should find someone else to work with? Maybe Choji?"
The Akimichi grinned broadly. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that!"
Everyone else in the group stopped in their tracks.
"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked. "I haven't seen you with anyone lately."
"Like I said, don't worry!" Choji exclaimed as he continued on walking. "By the way, I'm actually leaving the village soon. A few weeks in the Hidden Cloud on an extended mission."
Sakura, Temari, and Shikamaru all watched as Choji continued on, a lightness to his steps as he went. They exchanged uncertain glances, wondering what he could be referring too.
