Hlomondodeli Majoribanks – I try to be quick, but i fear endings so it probably will slow down as we get close.
Suzako – you want more huh?
CuteLittleEarthebender – you spelled tension wrong (sorry, for some reason it really annoyed me, no offense)
Cookbook24 – thank you for noticing. Secret between you and me (and anyone else who reads this) Shikamaru definitely was not entirely crying for Chouji, could they be tears of shame(dun dun)?
Flaming Beauty – yeah I know, that chapter just blew my entire day after i read it.
the mighty mighty m – aren't you a thinker! I was actually deciding whether or not i meant literally someone else or just him being different, you'll find out this chapter.
tomboy14 – o.0 you read my note at the top (about fast updates) I'm a little shocked. Feel my APPRECIATION for your slave driving!
NaRA iNo – I hope i live up to the standards your name entails.
A/N: I really don't want to break 10 chapters but i have three ways i want this to end. I'm still kind of deciding. But other than that all is well, watch out for any grammar mistakes and point them out to me please, i hate it when i miss something – especially little things.
For all those who wanted more, read on!
Disclaimer: is in the first chapter.
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Ino watched the stars, slowly being blotted out by clouds that could quite possibly hold one of the worst blizzards the Fire Country had ever suffered. The wind bit at her face and her ears stung but she wouldn't move from the spot. A spot where Shikamaru and she had spent many lazy summer days watching clouds float by. She turned her eyes away from the heavens and turned it to look at the empty space beside her. At this angle the white puffs of her breath floated up past her gaze, making the spot beside her seem almost mystical. She wasn't fooled, however, and looked back up quickly, just as sobs clogged her throat.
She hadn't confronted him about the smell of someone else soaked into his skin, hadn't even mentioned that he smelled different. She had almost tried, but he had cried until he fell asleep and she couldn't bring herself to disturb him. So, instead of being warm in her own home, she had slipped away to lay freezing on the ground. Unfortunately the sound of the trees made her comfortable, so comfortable that she had to face her own thoughts.
Who?
Who had he found the arms of if not her? Was there someone else, who could provide something she could not, love him a way she could not? The guilt and shame had come first surprisingly. The anger had yet to dominate her thoughts but it was there, demanding answers and screaming at her for letting him off so easily. Age had wizened her, and now she regretted it. When she was young she would have shouted, raged, broken things – never once would she have blamed herself. As her misery caught up with her she realized she was angrier with herself for not making him talk to her, than with him putting her in this situation.
She sat up with a sudden gust of wind, the force brought tears to her eyes and she couldn't hold them back anymore. Standing up, she headed to the one place she could think of for a sturdy piece of advice. Asuma's grave.
"Hello," she choked as she said it, staring at the engraved letters. "I don't know what to do sensei, please help me!"
And of course, just as she expected, only the windy, but quiet, night spoke to her. In a way it was comforting, at least things outside of her relationship were acting like they were supposed to. She thought about Chouji. She wondered if Chouji had met Asuma in the afterlife and was enjoying all the food he could eat at Asuma's expense. She wondered if they were both watching the remainder of their team in the land of the living suffering. The night grew incredibly dark when the clouds engulfed the moon. Ino actually had to use a few jutsu to make her way out of the cemetery.
She wandered aimlessly, lost in her thoughts. How would she handle this? He had been with another woman, how does a wife handle that? She had warned him that he might lose her already – did she act on those words and leave? The thought slammed into her gut and she gagged. Bile rose in her throat and she bent over, throwing up the contents of her already empty stomach. After she was done, she opened her eyes, wiping her nose and mouth, short of breath and faint. She stared at the pretty purple petals of a flower covered in stomach acid and grimaced, stumbling away.
As she continued her trek she found herself not recovering from the dizzy after effects of her nausea and stopped to sit down. Sometime after she had sat down, the edges of her vision began to blur. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, but the darkness only grew. In the freezing cold she passed out on a bench.
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"Ino, open your eyes."
Ino followed orders, eyes fluttering open to rest on a worried pink haired woman. "Sakura?"
"It's, about time, you know they found you on a park bench right?" Sakura immediately went to scolding "You could have died of hypothermia Ino, what were you thinking?" Her eyes softened at the bedridden blonde "Did something happen?"
Ino put on a small convincing smile "I went out for a walk, to clear my head. I guess I got sick so I sat down and must've fallen asleep." She hadn't lied, but of course she couldn't tell Sakura the complete truth. She felt ashamed enough without telling someone.
"Well the doctor said he was going to run some standard tests – that was a half an hour ago. They checked you for hypothermia and found it all clear." Ever the medic nin, Sakura had been on top of all on Ino's charts and test progress. "They should be back soon, I made sure they put a rush job on them."
"Thanks," Ino looked around the sterile 'room'. It was a bed surrounded by curtains, not much else other than the IV that was currently stuck in her hand, and a few monitors here and there. "Is all this necessary?"
"They found you outside in freezing temperatures Ino, I'd say it was necessary" Sakura frowned. "They wanted to call Shikamaru" Ino's eyes snapped away from the blood pressure monitor.
"As in they didn't?" she eyed Sakura, who looked down at the bedding. "I had come around to check on a certain patient of mine when they brought you in; I told them I'd call him. I didn't call him."
Ino followed Sakura's stare onto the bedding "Good, he's sleeping." But Ino's heart clenched thankfully. Sakura had saved her a lot of explaining and saved her from facing some truths she didn't want to face.
Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but a head peeked in through the curtain "May I come in?"
Ino nodded at the doctor, watching him step through the curtain with a clipboard. "Is it alright to discuss your results with someone else present, Mrs. Nara?"
Like a sledgehammer to her ribs, the doctor had reminded her of her current situation with just his name. "Of course, its fine." She swiped a hand through her hair, pushing it out of the way.
"Well, everything seems fine, you are completely healthy – "
"So what happened to her?" Sakura cut in skeptically.
"– but we found the pregnancy test came up positive" he finished as if Sakura hadn't jumped in. "We think that and some stress probably caused the vomiting and cause you to faint. You have to be more careful…" Ino didn't hear him as he continued. She could feel Sakura's eyes piercing her but she couldn't look away from her womb hidden under the blanket.
Pregnant?
Pregnant! As if things couldn't get any worse! She wiped her eyes as tears gathered. "Is that all?" she snapped.
The doctor closed the folder, abruptly ending his sentence. She hadn't meant to snap, but that anger that had been hanging in the back of her mind had come forward like a whirlwind. How dare he do this to her! "Yes, you are free to go whenever you sign out."
"Thank you" she said it gently enough she hoped he took it as an apology. "I think I'm ready to go now." Her gaze turned to Sakura as the doctor slipped through the curtain. "Can I stay with you tonight?" She was now fully prepared to tell Sakura everything or she might explode.
"I'll tell Sai to go to Naruto's," Sakura was always so smart.