The Saltwater Prince
Chapter Two: Sick with Envy
A/N: F.Y.I. The first chapter's little piece correlates to this chapter.
Saltwater will only make you sick.
Ino stared into her bare palm; it was free of the dirt and blood that marred her only hours before. When she woke, her eyes stung with sudden unfamiliarity of the bright sun that bore down a heated stare. For a moment, she felt as if she was in a hospital, and she knew that she could not afford one. The smell of anesthetics, medicine that was nothing but foul as well as homemade and bandages that Ino silently liked the smell of filled the air. However Ryo's daily routine of sprinting down the wooden steps two at a time was a rhythm deeply embedded in Ino's mind.
"Hey you," he mumbled informally.
"Is that how you greet a person who was so close to death?" Ino joked, before she realized that Ryo found no such humor in her voice, in fact he looked away most likely to keep Ino from knowing how he had fainted on sight of her.
"Hey kid, there's no crying in this household!" Ino continuously joked, however she understood his pain. It was uncomfortable, seeing him so upset when usually he's as loud as a thousand hummingbirds chirping at once, and as happy as a child in a candy store. Not to mention as insolent as a brat.
Before Ino knew it her whole entire world was spinning, around and around, faster than she could make it still.
First things first, know your surroundings. Ino had no idea where she was.
Fine! Second things first, try and decipher voices. The voices were many and all male, at least that's something…right?
"Who sent you?" the voice was demanding and harsh, yet slightly familiar. Where was Ino's warm bed, where was any warmth? More shamelessly, where was her mother? Ino was in some sort of holding area, with an interrogation table between her and a mesh of people moving around importantly, slipping papers to and fro as if they were in a whirlwind of duties that all had to be accomplished simultaneously. It almost distracted Ino from the shadowy figure speaking to her.
Ugh. Third things first, tell the truth, unless you have to lie. "No one," Ino said truthfully, poverty sent her into the Uchiha Manor, if that's what they were even referring to, Ino wouldn't spill unless she had to. By the flash of silver that caught her eye, it was a weapon, and she would have to spill sooner rather than later, if at all.
"What were you looking for?" the voice, now more definitely male sounding to Ino's ears that slowly eased in more recognizable sounds. Ino knew better than to think this a dream of some sort, when Shikamaru was nearly sliced in to pieces from holding his tongue for as long as he did, Ino knew fear like the one she felt couldn't be conjured from the fabrics of a dream. The pain she felt when a cold blade sliced against her arm when she also refused to speak and was knocked out cold from the first interrogator. This was interrogator number three and by far the calmest in approach, even if his voice was the gruffest.
Ino's mind was frighteningly blank. Why had she been there? Spying? No, that didn't make any sense; the ANBU Black Ops did that. She wished she had been there for Sasuke, Lord knows he treaded thick waters inside her dreams all night, all of the anguish of the night faded when Sasuke entered her dreams.
"Sasuke…" Ino lovingly whispered. She had to swallow a sigh of adoration.
Ino had obviously said the wrong thing by the quick rise of Shikamaru's head. Not only that the entire police force members inside the room that had once been too busy to even cut her a single glance, froze in place. Silence roamed the room.
"He's our friend; we wanted to see him is all. Shikamaru was chasing me because I ran ahead and he was worried the police force might think we're intruding. Weird how he was right." Ino recovered quickly, nerves eating her when usually situations like these called for the utmost strength.
"Loving tale, funny how you told it differently when I caught you," Kauri suddenly appeared. Ino felt the sickness that came with each encounter with Kauri.
What did I tell her last night? Ino's mind began to cave on her, and sweat began to bead. Ino wished she had stated what Ino had said last night.
"I was disoriented, I fell on a train, not to mention grieving because I thought Shikamaru was dead," Ino defended well enough.
"Let them go," The voice said, easily drinking Ino's words. She was safe. For now at least.
"Ibiki-san, Fugaku-san said to—"one man said in protest but his objection died down quickly. Ino tried to remember the name Ibiki, but the more she tried, the tougher her brain resisted any form of thought.
Ino had only realized she had been tied with her hands behind her back when she was released. She stood up, noble as a queen, and walked past Shikamaru who had a lot of explaining and paying to do, but when she hit the hallway she had a different feeling.
The motion of walking was suddenly very foreign, Ino felt heat swarm her and her sight begin to slip again. Ino's hand clamped against the cool wall next to her that was next to the medical room Sakura managed to find an internship with. Mainly because of Sasuke only being a floor above, but also because Uchihas spare no expense for health, and having a healer inside their headquarters made sense.
Ino struggled to stay up right, her knees threatening to cave in if she dared to take another step. Ino's hand made a fist, she heard footsteps approaching behind her, and the last thing she needed was for a wooden door to knock her over. Ino took a step further, having the audacity to go against her weakened body. It wasn't like she could crouch over and heal her knees.
"You got lucky, this time," Shikamaru stressed. Ino tried to keep her anger at bay.
"Aren't you the one who shoved me onto a moving train?" Ino heatedly whispered, swiftly turning around to puncture his chest with her finger.
Shikamaru's face distorted into complete confusion, "What are you talking about Ino? What train?"
Ino looked behind him, and found the room was empty. Why is he denying all this?
"Shikamaru, you pushed me onto a train last night in the Uchiha Manor," Ino said, but as she spoke she realized her words made no sense. Shikamaru would die protecting her, what use was it for him to push her into harm's way?
"Ino you practically begged me to allow you to go alone last night. What happened in there?" Shikamaru whispered, taking hold of her shoulders and moving her against the wall to focus her. Ino blinked at Shikamaru, staring into his serious, marble brown orbs.
"Shikamaru…"
"I see the Yamanaka Clan has never ceased in getting weaker," a cutting, arrogant voice said from behind Ino. Ino's teeth clenched in reflex to Kauri Uchiha's voice, it took all the power within her to keep her fists busy hitting the wall. Ino didn't even spare her a look; she knew their conversation was speeding to disaster from her first words.
"Lady Kauri," Shikamaru bowed formally. Ino cut a look to her oppressor, and tried not to pounce her. Kauri yawned, actually yawned in response! Ino's eyes darkened, her bloodlust that only came in the heat of fight was seeping in quicker than she could try and contain it.
"You were foolish enough to fall for the Uchiha jutsu weren't you? I could tell from the minute you were spouting Shikamaru's name over and over again, one would think that you two were in the midst of an illicit romance…Except there was no Shikamaru. So tell me, what were you doing there Ino?" Kauri asked deducing things faster than Ino herself could comprehend.
A mind jutsu….wasn't the Yamanaka's masters of mind jutsus?
Silence punished the air between them; Ino's mind was evaporating underneath the pressure. Shikamaru broke in that Ino had gotten drunk last night and wandered off without him, also spouting Sasuke's name and wanting to see him. The only reason why that made sense was because Ino smelled of alcohol from work at the hospital; she had dealt with a severe alcoholic who threw a glass of wine at her. It also helped that she was incredibly at a complete loss of words and thoughts.
It barely satisfied Kauri's askance, but she didn't press it any further, in fact a coy look sauntered upon her face. A look Ino deeply wanted to pleasure of wiping off. "It seems I need a closer eye on you."
Ino wanted to storm out of the room, because she knew if she went off on the noble's daughter, Kauri Uchiha that things would turn for the deadly. Not only for her, but her family too.
Her family!
Ino didn't wait for Kauri's permission to leave, nor did she even wait for Shikamaru. Knowing the Uchiha's they probably had her entire family in holding. If they so much as hurt her mother…
Ino knew she was being ridiculous, but the feelings she felt so strongly had to come from somewhere, even if it was the jutsu.
Ino halted her panic. She was a ninja for goodness sakes! Why was she roaming around like a drunk, confused person?
"I might have found you to be tolerable, but using my noble name to cover for your own lack of morals, simply sickens me," a voice said from behind her.
Ino felt all her drunkenness and flurry of confusion evade her, leaving her cold and bare to Sasuke's voice. Ino tried to swallow the shame that built up inside her. If she wasn't caught before, now she was.
"Sasuke," Ino said politely, bowing with respect towards him.
A seeping fog covered Ino's vision, and she had to cover her eyes with her forearm. "What the…"
"Just kidding!" A familiar, annoying voice gleefully exclaimed. Ino gasped in shock, only to sigh in relief a moment later. A toned, tan Naruto back from a mission in Suna a day early grinned at her. He wore a sand colored hood that covered him from his spiky blonde hair, to his bare upper body, to the calves of his legs. He wore black shorts, and wore no shoes. Ino could only stare in the midst of shock at how much more older he looked; even his blistered, bruised feet were larger and as always, dirty. "Fooled you didn't I Ino-chan?" he winked, teasing with his more established, seventeen year old voice.
Ino would have been enraged, but seeing him now, so friendly, so alive only tears could come.
"Not you too!" Naruto whined, stepping towards her to silence her sobs with an embrace. "Hinata did the same thing, why do women always have to be so emotional?" he asked softly, but Ino could tell he was only moments away from having a tear or two slip.
"I wonder, is it because I spent most of life thieving with you, relying on you, being relied on by you? All those adventures we went on with Shikamaru on our days off just to keep our lives afloat together. Sharing the money, fighting over sharing even numbered heist money, all of those memories…" The words were unraveling with the memories attached to them, Ino could barely keep her feelings together.
"Ino, I was only gone for two months, was Shikamaru that bad?" Naruto joked, flashing a look over to Shikamaru who recognized Naruto's boisterous, loud voice without fail and came sprinting down the halls. When they made eye contact, it was long enough to silently trade greetings, wordlessly. Shikamaru shoved his fist into his pockets and moved over with slow steps.
Ino watched his mouth open, and was waiting for Shikamaru to unravel the events of last night. How Ino shamefully failed, lied, and could barely keep her own in the Uchiha Manor. However the words out of his mouth weren't condemning at all.
"Why does it have to be about me that she's all emotional now?" he asked with his usual lazy drawl. Ino finally understood. When Naruto was gone, Shikamaru was the leader, he took care of her and made sure she was protected, but when Naruto was here, he felt like Ino needed no protection. Naruto's best quality was protecting his friends. Ino smiled gently to Shikamaru, which was more of a thank you than because she finally understood.
"It must have been you, sir Negative!" Naruto joked, Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"It's most likely because she realizes now that her days without irritation are over," Shikamaru said, a little bit less tense and less bothered, than he was looking all throughout the morning.
Ino liked it when Shikamaru himself.
Ino's heart almost halted its beating, when she heard Sakura's voice. All of the emotion she put her former best friend and ex-rival, deserved an apology. When she turned around to match her voice with her face, Ino could barely look at her.
Sakura was beautiful, her hair a bit longer and a little less pale pink and a little more a perfect pink rose color, her smile genuine, and… for Sasuke.
"I'm so glad you decided to have lunch with me today, Sasuke-kun—Sasuke." Sakura corrected. Without a doubt, her arms were around his, and while he looked to be busy with the papers in his hands to notice it, her arms were still there.
Ino tried to kick away her envy. Sasuke never even granted her the pleasure, the real pleasure anyway, of even calling her name. Ino wondered bitterly if he even knew her name. He most definitely knew Sakura's.
"Its fine," Sasuke said, Ino wished that he would be a bit colder in tone, but it wasn't cold at all. Ino wished something would come up, that maybe if he noticed her; he'd have questions for her. Even if it was about last night, and Naruto would know all about it, at least he wouldn't be spending his time with Sakura.
Those nights where Ino dreamed of working up an intricate lie in order to visit him was instantly foiled by the fact that he already had a woman in his life.
Ino was being foolish, and she knew it, but by the gleam in Sakura's eyes and the cool relaxed demeanor of Sasuke, Ino had every right to be worried.
A/N: Review! Review! Review! Next chapter: Sakura and the Girl Next Door.