Until We All Fall Down Chapter 4, Inexplicable, a naruto fanfic

Until We All Fall Down

XxMookinexX

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, I only wish I did. Any and all unrecognisable characters and situations belong solely to me and are not to be touched without permission. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the soul purpose to entertain.

This story takes place when our characters are 18/19 and takes account of everything up to chapter 337 of the manga. Written in Ino's POV.

So, I have a ridiculous amount of work I need to get done today, so I'm posting this now before it distracts me anymore. I'm super nervous about this one… you'll get why when you read it.

Special thanks to Lori, Itsumo Neko, Cheese Maiden and Katar who all reviewed last chapter! Here are your metaphorical customised cookies, complete with an option of either gothic, flowery or bubbly calligraphy of your name in icing of your favourite colours. (Hands out metaphorical cookies). I think next week I shall give you chocolate fudge brownies to cheer you up about this chapter.

– Chapter Four –

Inexplicable

The cry went out at midnight.

The Hokage was dead.

"How…" The voice was so small – too small to be my own. I swallowed thickly, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "How did this happen?"

Shikamaru shook his head, which in itself told me that there was something wrong. Other than the obvious I mean, because she seemed fine yesterday when I took Gaara to her for their meeting. Well, not exactly fine, but alive enough. It didn't seem possible for her health to have just vanished over night.

"Just find the Kazekage and go to the meeting at the Hokage's tower, I'll meet you there. We're still looking into it. Now go."

I was running before my brain even had time to process his words. There was something in his tone of voice – a coldness I'd never heard before. In fact, in all the time we've known one another, he's never spoken to me like that. Commanded me as if I wouldn't obey.

My destination was upon me before I knew it, and Gaara was waiting for me, as if he'd already sensed the tension in the air. Either that or he still didn't sleep as he was supposed to and had heard the cry go out. Probably both, I mused on reflection.

"What's-?"

"The Hokage is dead," I said, my voice layered with emotions. His eyes widened and he stared at me in shock for a few seconds, completely speechless. It wasn't a sight I ever expected to see in this lifetime, but I never expected to be in this situation either. Not for a long, long, long time. "This way," I said, jumping out the window to speed up our progress.

But he already knew where we were going. It was obvious. That was where everyone was going.

I walked straight through whatever people were already there, regardless of rank, with the stead-fast determination that only appears when you're not going to take no for an answer and other people damn well know it and get out of your frickin' way. It didn't hurt that the Kazekage of all people followed in my wake. Although, I noticed with some apprehension, some of the Chunin were whispering and giving him suspicious looks.

Frel that. They didn't think he was responsible for this, did they?

What low-life scum. Gaara's been… well… from what Sakura says he's been through enough. And he was perfectly nice yesterday. I honestly think he's changed. He wouldn't do something like this. He wouldn't. I'll believe in that if nothing else.

"Move it!" I snapped as we approached the door to her office and lines of jounin got in my way. I shoved them aside, not even bothering to glare at them as they snarled ungrateful comments at me as I passed. With all the force of an avenging angel I made my way through the barrage of people, through the door and slammed it behind Gaara as he came in after me, growling slightly at the angry cries this produced. I whiled around, furious. Someone was going to answer for this.

Breathing heavily I took stock of my surroundings.

Right. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Shika, Chouji, Neji, Kakashi, Shino, Gaara and myself.

That doesn't seem right, even if many of us are now part of ANBU.

Where're all of the-

The blood drained from my face as I realised just who I'd neglected to count. The Hokage's corpse lay on her cot, the genjitsu finally ended, leaving a wrinkled 80-year old stranger in place of the Tsunade I had known and loved. But the damage was worse than that… On the floor, behind the desk, her face a rictus of pain was Shizune. I couldn't tell what was wrong with her, but she seemed to be in extreme pain.

I guess that's what broke my final straw. Seeing Sakura, trembling in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sought comfort in Sasuke's arms whilst the rest of them just looked on helpless, and all the while Shizune lay there in agony. Why weren't they God-damn doing anything?!

"What's going on?" I whispered my voice dangerously low. If it were possible, I'd like to imagine the rage I feel radiating out from me in supernatural waves as a warning sign to the rest of them that they'd better have a damn good explanation for this.

"What I'm going to tell you now does not leave this room," Kakashi said. "The Hokage has been murdered."

"I can see that for frel's sake," I snarled. "I meant, what are you all doing about it?"

Shikamaru looked uncomfortable.

"No one expected it so soon… Jiraya isn't here. We were waiting for the elders to get here… to elect the new Hokage since we can't find her Will."

"That's not good enough," I snapped, smacking my fist into the wall to alleviate my desire to punch the living daylights out of one of them.

"Ino-" Kakashi started as if to tell me off. If I could breathe fire, I would be.

"What the frel are you all doing standing around here like headless puppets?" I overrode him. "Neji, get Hinata and start looking for Tsunade-sama's Will. She's not stupid, she will have written one already and placed it in a safe place. You guys have the best eyes for it." He looked like he would protest but I ignored him and moved on. "Shino, find Kiba, the two of you have the best senses for finding unwanted strangers. It's entirely possible that whoever did this is not from Konohakagure and is trying to escape before they're found, if so I want them found. They're gonna frelling pay for this." If I had time to be surprised, I would have been when he nodded and left the room immediately on my orders. "Kakashi-sensei, please summon your dogs to help them. It's extremely important. If possible could you also locate the elders and damn well hurry them up a little. Shika, you're a God-damned genius, figure out how the hell this happened, and start guessing what might happen to Konohakagure as a result so you can write it all down in a scroll for the next Hokage when they get here. Sasuke, leave Sakura alone and start using your Sharinngan to work out what's wrong with this room. This building was guarded by the ANBU, yet somehow both Tsunade-sama and Shizune were attacked without them noticing. It doesn't add up. How did an impostor get in here? Figure it out. Haruno Sakura!"

The cherry blossom had the decency to flinch. "Fragging stop that infernal blubbing before I give you something to really cry about. You're the best damn medical frelling ninja of the two of us yet you've done frag-all to help Shizune when you were perfectly capable of it. If you can't be helpful I'm going to kick you the frel out when I come back! Chouji, you're with me!"

I whirled on my heel to approach the masses outside the door. Pleased to see them all jumping to it as I left. Hell, even Sakura was wiping her eyes.

"What about me and Gaara?"

I blinked and glanced over my shoulder at Naruto and the Kazekage from the sand, both of whom were looking startled at my seething.

"What do you think you should be doing at this time, Naruto? What would a Hokage do? If you want that title you'd better start earning it. Ask your friend if you need ideas," I said, although I wasn't the explosive force I was before, gesturing to the two of them before heading back to the door again.

"What are you going to do?" Sasuke asked.

I grinned ferally.

"I'm going to clear out the trash, of course."

Behind me I heard Shikamaru mutter, "Ino doesn't like crying. She likes to get angry instead. I knew it would be a good idea to get her to bring Gaara to us."

I ignored him and moved on, following Chouji out of the room before slamming the door shut again behind me, not at all surprised by the bombardment of questions that met my arrival.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

Silence, blissful silence…

Well… it was as silent as silence can be when you're in a situation like this, so I ignored the mutterings.

"Alright," I hollered. "Everybody piss off unless you're necessary. And by necessary I mean that you have been summoned to be here at this time by important people, not people who think they're important but actual important people who run this place, and that means that no, those of you who merely think you should be a part of whatever's going on should not be here. Rest assured that if you are needed we'll damn well send someone to find you and bring you back here. Now SCRAM!"

There was an outbreak of angry complaints. Probably something along the lines of 'What's going on?' and 'Who are you to order us around?'

And hell, they'd be justified if the situation was any different, but I'm not exactly in the mood to be rational.

"Is there anything in what I just said that made you think I was joking?! I'm serious, get the hell out, before I forcibly eject each and every one of you from the building, regardless of what you think your orders are or not!"

Nobody moved.

"Chouji! Clear the isle!" I snarled, watching as his eyes bulged as if to ask if I was serious. Believe me, I was. There's nothing worse in a situation like this than having self-important people vying for attention when they're actually insignificant flies. "Go for it," I whispered, a manic gleam in my eyes. And somehow I must've convinced him because before most knew what had hit them Chouji was on a roll, metaphorically and literally, at double size – bulldozing all those who didn't get out of his path. And runaway they did, to at least the end of the corridor. I walked sedately down the isle after him. "Right," I muttered, dusting off my hands. "Are Tenten and Lee here?"

There was a shout from somewhere in the midst of the crowd of squashed people.

"Feel free to come to the front," I invited, still beaming with that slight insane glint in my eyes. They fought their way through the crowd to the front. "Okay," I whispered, just loud enough for all three of them to hear but no one else. "I need to get back in there and check everyone's doing what they're supposed to, I can't give out any details because I don't know any, but I'm asking you to please hold the fort until we know what's going on. The three of you should be enough; if they start rioting Chouji can always flatten them again. If they seem to have legitimate orders let people filter through one at a time to line up sensibly outside the door, but try not to let more than ten people line up at a time. The longer you make them wait, the more likely it is that the right people will be getting through. Do not under any circumstances let any pompous know-it-alls in. We have enough to deal with. I'm relying on you guys."

I patted them on the shoulders, sharing reassuring smiles with them and pecking Chouji quickly on the cheek before walking back to the office again, almost collapsing from exhaustion. I entered to find Naruto and Gaara deep in conversation in the corner, with Shikamaru in his usual 'thinking' pose by the wall. Sasuke was looking around, scrutinising every detail with those incredible eyes of his.

God-damned crush.

In fact, the only one who wasn't doing their job was Sakura. She just sat there next to Shizune, biting her lip and frowning. I joined her, figuring that would be the best place I could help. After all, I'm a medical ninja too.

"What's up?" I questioned softly, hunkering down next to her and Shizune, who was still unconscious.

"I- I don't…" Sakura trailed off, shaking her head. My eyebrows rose and I swore. If Sakura didn't know what was wrong with her, how the hell would I know? Wait a second…

Shizune's fingers suddenly caught my attention and I held them up to the light, studying the flesh there intently. Bruised. Why would her fingertips be bruised? Unless…

I swore again and jumped to my feet, moving towards Tsunade's body and checking her fingers too. The purple was there too.

"Poison…?" The word escaped my mouth before I could clamp it off. I meant to keep my musings to myself until I was surer of it. But bruising in the fingers can be quite a common symptom of being poisoned. Everyone in the room broke off from their jobs to glance at me.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. I nodded, although I was still a little uncertain. With any luck for them both to be poisoned it would be by something in this very room, like Tsunade's water tank.

"Sasuke can you look at this for me?" I asked, pointing to Tsunade's water. "Does it seem like it's been tampered with?"

Shikamaru's frown increased and he closed his eyes to think again. Apparently I'd sparked a brainwave.

Sasuke activated his Sharinngan again and his eyes widened.

"Something's in the water," he confirmed, his voice a mixture of shock and carefully controlled anger.

"Sakura," I said, turning to face her again and using a more gentle and concerned tone of voice. "I know you're hurting, we all are, but you're the best at making antidotes out of the two of us. We could still save Shizune. Please…"

She straightened up, wobbling slightly, but made her way to the desk with the determination I was used to seeing from her. Her eyes flickered as she took in the situation, and I smiled slightly as I saw her tying up her hair. She'd come back to her sanity again.

"Who would do this?" Naruto asked, clenching his hands into fists and shaking with anger.

"And how?" Gaara asked. Shikamaru froze, his eyes snapping open as he stared around the room quickly, as if evaluating the entrances and exits.

Sakura gasped and looked at me with sudden clarity, as if she'd just had a thought which made everything make sense. Her eyes drifted to Gaara.

"You," she muttered, a dangerous anger seeping into her voice. "It was you. You were the last one to see Tsunade before her death. You're the one who contaminated that water, it must've been you! I didn't see anyone else last night, so it must've been…"

She stalked towards him as she spoke, and I had a sudden flash of insight which turned my stomach to lead.

But that isn't right…

Sakura… You were the last one to see her. You and Shizune both, and as Shizune's a quivering mass on the floor…

Everything started to happen in slow motion.

Sakura lunged, thrusting a kunai at Gaara's chest, an unnatural scream of fury and outrage bursting from her lips.

Shikamaru was on his feet, obviously with the same thought I had in mind, but he was too far away. He wouldn't make it in time. I saw Gaara's eyes widen impossibly large, watched as he stepped backwards, expecting his sand to rise and shield him, only it never came, and we both realised he'd left his gourd behind in that room. There was a shout from Naruto who started to reach for Gaara's shoulder as if to drag him out of danger, and a sudden flurry of movement as everyone caught on.

I didn't remember moving. But somehow Sakura was now in front of me, prevented from reaching her target as Sasuke's arms pinned hers to her side.

"You're not…" I muttered, suddenly out of breath. This wasn't Sakura. This must be the impostor. I tried to say it, but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. Sweat trickled down my spine as cold realisation hit me. My stomach suddenly felt all warm and wet and I glanced down, only to realise that there was blood soaking my clothing. Blood that no one but me, the impostor and Sasuke could see as of yet. I looked up at him with wide eyes. How cruel, I thought as I fought to avoid panicking, that I should be looking at him when I die. That my failure to keep that promise would mock me from the grave.

"You…" I tried to say that it was her - that she killed the Hokage, that she hurt Shizune, that she… she was robbing me of my life - but it didn't work.

"INO!" someone shouted.

Then the world tilted and I found myself staring up at the ceiling, dazed. Involuntary spasms surged through my muscles as my body tried to deal with the shock of all the blood I was losing. And I was losing one hell of a lot. I could feel it coating my hands where I'd tried to cover the wound. As if that could so easily heal it. Sakura would be good at a time like this. She'd know what to do.

"Find Sakura," I managed to gasp as my vision started to blur and the pain kicked in. Oh god, I'm scared. I don't want to die like this… Not like this… Not like this…

The ceiling was red, blood red like my hands. Funny, I'd never noticed from all the times I'd been in this room. But I guess death gives you a different perspective.

Shika… what should I do now? Where are you? Somehow, when I died, I expected you to be there, holding my hand.

Maybe I'll get lucky and get another shot at this? I didn't want to die with regrets... but if that's it... if this is truly the end... it could be worse, right? I did my job, right sensei? Even if I can't keep that final promise to you, I was good, wasn't I? I tried. I really tried. I looked after them, and I practiced so hard to become better than her. And I carried out the mission in front of me. With any luck, if Konohakagure does go to war, at least it will still be friends with the sand. Maybe that will save them? Those people I'm leaving behind. I hope so…

Gaara, you'd better save them for this.

If you don't… I won't forgive you. I swear to you I won't forgive you.

My vision blacked out as my eyes rolled up into my head.

Chapter four. I really don't have the words. Please review and give your opinions/predictions/mass outraged lectures.

To be continued next Monday. See ya then!

Luv ya

XxMookinexX