Woot! Chapter 2. I've had a lot of this written down in my notebook, but retyping it and editing it is a pain. XD But yes. Here's chapter two. It's almost twice the size of the first chapter so that's good. XD

Please be gentle in your reviews!!!

Thanks to all who read!

Chapter 2: Falling Faster

Pain ripped through her chest, so unbearable that she wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She had no air. She couldn't move. Luckily she had been able to kick up her leg, pulling herself to the side just before it struck, its hand going straight through her shoulder to the other side. Her blood ran freely down her chest and the tree bark, pooling beneath her. She managed to pull a kunai from her pouch, shoving it into the arm that held her, ripping it through the muscles. He pulled his arm out of her chest roughly, letting her fall to the ground in a heap as it clutched its arm.

She took the few seconds to pull in as much air as she could, filling her deprived lungs. Before she could look up, she was suddenly rolling across the ground, a sharp pain in her side. She slowly pulled herself up, glaring at it. "Kick me when I'm down, cheap sh-shots now, eh?" She asked, slowly pulling herself up, and then darting at him. She cried out as they collided, both managing to land hits, each very different from the opposing.

Ino's lungs heaved, her attacks growing slower. He landed a hard hit to her temple, making her world spin as she struggled to stay balanced, but ending up falling to her knees. Staring up at him, she grimaced, her body aching. His eyes… his face… his smile… it was like… he was enjoying this… enjoying her pain, making her suffer like this. She pulled herself up, stumbling slightly as she resumed battle stance. "So… Take away everything and everyone that I love. That's how you things play?" She whispered, charging at it and parrying with it for a minute before jumping back. "How dare you take away everything that I cherished? Everyone that I love is gone!" Talking louder now, she dashed towards him as he did towards her. "I'LL RIP YOU APART!" She screamed, feeling the adrenaline of anger pump through her veins, giving her the strength to carry on, though her shoulder had soaked her shirt, blood running down her stomach to her skirt.

At first, he dodged quite easily, as if waiting for her to fall from blood loss. Then one strike diagonally across its chest. "That was for my Chouji!" She growled. Then another of the opposite diagonal. "That was for my Shikamaru!" She raised both kunais. "Time to pay up." She said softly, yet acid dripped from each word. Ino had dug each kunai into his neck, wrenching them apart until the head slowly detached, falling to the ground, the body following after.

Ino stood almost frozen, her arms slowly lowering, the kunais falling to the ground. Her breath was slow, then quick, growing labored. She stumbled a bit, struggling to stand as her head spun. She widened her stance, blinking several times. "I will not… go down until my… my duties as a ninja… as Yamanaka Ino, are completed…" She muttered, her voice growing slightly louder as she spoke. Turning first to Chouji, her hand flew to her mouth as she walked unsteadily towards him. His eyes were open, his face contorted in pain. Ino leaned down and closed his eyes with her shaking hand. She then untied his headband, retying it loosely around her neck. Then she took his weapon pouch, tucking it under her arm.

She went to Shikamaru, inhaling sharply as he laid there, his own weapon through his heart. She kneeled by him and placed one hand on his chest, using the other to pull out the weapon, tossing it weakly aside. She struggled with his headband. 'He must have tied it really good to keep from having to untie it and retie it… That's my Shika.' She thought solemnly, tying his around her neck as well, taking his weapon pouch too.

Slowly pushing herself up, Ino wiped the tears that had formed, sniffling as she headed towards Konoha. Their battle had luckily been close by, for that she was grateful; she didn't know if she could make it back if it was somewhere else. Upon entering the empty city, Ino's eyes slowly checked and double checked the area, making sure that it was indeed empty. Arriving at the supply shop, she grasped the notch, pulling it open and walking inside.

A few minutes later she walked back out, a large bag on her back, half way filled, and a shovel in her hand. Grunting, she made her way to her house, pushing the door open with her foot, keeping her eyes down as she went to the kitchen. She pulled out all of their dried foods, along with all the rice, dropping them in her bag, following them with a pot, chopsticks, a spoon, and some bowls. She stared up at the sugar canister for a moment, before snatching it down, tossing it into the bag too. Her mother's recipe with rice included it.

The bag had grown heavier as she made her way to her room, pulling out all of her ninja clothes and tossing them in, as well as her large emergency kit and a rag. She pulled a blanket from her bed and tossed that in too, a first for her. Usually on missions, she would only bring the bare essentials, using Shikamaru and Chouji to keep warm. She smiled sadly at the memory, of how she used to sleep between them, clutching them to her in her sleep. She sniffed and wiped more tears away, heading out the door and out of Konoha.

As she passed into the clearing, she hit the ground, falling face-first into the dirt. She didn't move for a few minutes, forcing deep, painful breaths. "D-damn it…" She muttered, failing a few times as she tried to get up. Finally she had been able to hold herself up with the shovel, dragging her bag and herself to the large tree in the center of the clearing. She dropped her bag and leaned against the tree, glaring in the direction of Konoha. Those monsters gave off a strange aura, changing the air around them, sucking their chakra from them, stealing their life. It was the strongest in the city.

She pushed herself from the tree, her hand hovering over her shoulder as she tried to stop the bleeding for the time being. Her chakra had held it shut as she thrust the shovel into the ground, digging the graves for her comrades. Each scoop was agonizing, but the thoughts of her Shika and Cho pushed her on. An hour later, she had managed to dig two holes big enough for the both of them, grateful that the dirt had been soft.

She dropped the shovel and walked slowly to Chouji, kneeling down and hooking each hand under his arms and began to drag him; she had tried lifting him at first, which she easily could have done, but found herself too weak. Lowering him carefully, Ino grimaced as her torn muscles protested. She managed to get the majority of him laid down before she lost her balance, falling into the hole with him, landing on her back. She groaned, turning around and pulling herself out. She was able to pick Shikamaru up and lay him successfully into his own grave. She jumped into the hole with him, kneeling by his side and caressing his cheek. "G-good bye, my Shika-kun, may you rest well." She told him softly, kissing his forehead and getting out, sliding into Chouji's grave, patting his stomach. "Good bye to you too, my Chouji-kun, may you eat well where you're going." She kissed his forehead as well, and then jumped out, slowly filling the holes.

Tears stung her torn up face, falling to the ground. Thunder boomed in the distance, threatening rain as Ino patted the dirt down with her callused hands. Taking two kunai, one in her hand, the other in her mouth, she went to the tree they were buried under and untied Chouji's headband from her neck, stabbing the kunai through the cloth, pinning it to the tree above him, doing the same with Shikamaru's. She swallowed hard, wiping her tears away as she pulled two roses out of her bag, placing them on the graves; she had gotten them from the vase at her house before leaving.

Her hand hovered at her shoulder again, closing off the hole to stop the bleeding that had started up again. She was glad that she had learned some healing techniques; it was probably the only thing keeping her alive. She went around gathering all the weapons strewn about, tearing them out of the ground and trees before piling them next to her bag. She let her eyes roam around the clearing, counting the bodies.

'One, two, three, four…' She started walking around, getting a better view as she began kicking some heads away.

'Eight, nine, ten, eleven…' She walked slowly, trying not to pay attention as she kicked all of the heads into the clearing on the other side, still counting.

'Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two…' She picked up some wood slowly, her eyes still darting around the clearing as she dropped it where the heads were.

'Thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six.' She narrowed her eyes; that can't be right. She double counted, then triple counted as she dragged the bodies to the pile.

She started the fire with her chakra, stumbling back as it burst into flames. "Were there really that many..?" Still unbelieving, she walked back to the tree, pulling out a set of clothing and a rag, heading towards Konoha River. As she neared the river, she felt her body trembling. Her chakra was extremely low, making it increasingly difficult to stay conscious.

Collapsing by the river, she gritted her teeth as she pulled what was left of her clothes off, tossing them to the side, slowly lowering herself into the cool water. It almost felt good, beside the fact that it had her shivering, biting her lip as she cleaned the blood from her body, the rag scraping against the raw flesh. Finally, her agonized bath was over with, watching as blood-soaked water washed down-stream. She sighed; had she really lost that much blood? She pulled herself out, patting herself dry before slowly pulling on a new set of clothes, barely managing only two buttons on her top. She didn't care, anyways. She ventured back towards her comrades' graves, feeling her head grow light. She arrived, collapsing between the graves. "Shika… Cho… 'Night…" She mumbled softly, her eyes rolling up into her head as her world went black.