8. Take Me Back

Purple and blue swirls twisted on the ceiling when Ino opened her tired eyes. Have they always been there? With half closed eyes, Ino sat up, rubbing her eyes with the side of her fist, taking the tiredness out of her blue orbs. She let out a long yawn as she glanced around the bare, pallid room. Ino sat on a forest green couch with her bare feet propped on a cherry wood coffee table.

"It's about damn time," the irritated voiced boomed from her front. Leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees, the man glared at her with a bored expression. He smirked at when their eyes met.

Ino's breath hitched in her throat as she flipped the table over and kicked it in his direction. She jumped off the couch and hid behind it, wondering what the hell he was doing here. Ino couldn't feel the rapid beating of her heart. Ino peeked over the couch to see if the man was still there. The table was in its original position, and the man sat in his chair, grinning at her. Ino plunged her head back behind the couch.

Why did he look so familiar?

"We should go somewhere more private," he suggested as he leaned closer to her, placing a hand against the wall beside her head. "I know somewhere not too far from here."

"I don't know," Ino said, stepping away from the close man. "My boss would be pissed if I left in the middle of the night."

He snorted and laughed at her. "What is he? Your father?"

"Well, no."

"Then there's nothing to worry about! Come with me. We'll have a good time."

"No, I have to go."

This wasn't happening, was it?

"Okay, we've gotten off the wrong foot, okay?" In a blink, the man disappeared from his seat and suddenly appeared in front of Ino. She squeaked in surprised and whipped her foot to swipe him off his feet, but he caught Ino's flying foot before she could do such. He picked her up by the ankle, dangling her upside down. "Can you calm your shit for a second?"

She grunted, whipping her free foot, but with sharp reflexes, he caught that one, too. He flung her on the couch. She tumbled off the couch and knocked over the table.

"Now ya done it," he said, suddenly materializing in his chair. With his foot, he set the table up right.

As Ino stood up, she dusted her clothes while sending deadly glares at the man, who simply shrugged her off.

Ino opened her mouth to insult him, but he raised a hand to interrupt her thoughts. "Yes, I already know. I've heard it all - you monster; you sick man; you're going to Hell. Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass. You want to kill me, I know. You shouldn't want to…because you did ask for it."

"I asked for it?" Ino balled her hands into fists and thought about taking a swing at his face, but what were the odds of laying her knuckles into his delicate looking face? "Since when did I ask to be raped and cut into pieces?"

He pointed at her. "You're over exaggerating. I did not cut you into pieces."

Ino plopped into the soft cushions of the couch, glowering at the man's forehead. "You're missing the point."

He grinned. Ino looked away, staring at the deep shade of purple painted on her toenails. She heard him say, "You did ask for it. From across the room, you looked at me with that look that said, 'Hey, let's get it on tonight.'"

Ino kept her head down. "Definitely not," she argued.

"Did, too."

"Maybe you mistook me for the other blonde girl. She's the one that pointed you out."

He shook his head and pointed at her with his usual cocky grin. "No, I vividly remember you looking at me and winking, so I went over there to talk to you. Then your shift ended, we had sex… because you practically begged for it."

Ino's lips pursed in frustration as she tightened her fist. How could this man be so casual while talking about such a serious matter? "I asked you for sex? No, you threw yourself onto me." She paused for a second, then added, "And I definitely did not wink at you!"

"Nope. I remember having a little chat outside the pub. You laughed at my jokes and twirled your hair with your finger, and then you asked me if we could go somewhere more private. So, I took you to my place, and we did our business then I left."

Okay, she had to give him that one. Ino is notorious for being a horrible flirter…. "Okay, I did flirt with you, but I said I had to go to sleep, you said, 'Sorry, I have to do this to you, Blondie,' then you knocked me out, and when I woke up, you were on top of me having your way. You're a pervert."

"Sorry? You're saying you forgot about all the sweet things I said to you that night, but you remember the sex, and you're calling me the pervert."

"Nothing you said to me was sweet. Nothing you did that night was sweet."

"All right, Ino. No need for the tears, kay? I raped you, yes, but you're lucky you're even alive. I know how to kill you in more ways with a strand of your hair than you know how to kill someone with a kunai. I could've killed you. "

"Then, why the hell did you - why?"

"I met my requirements for that month, so I used you for some fun."

"Some fun that was." Ino blew her long bangs out of her eyes and rested her chin in her hand.

"I thought so."

"You took advantage of me."

"I'm aware."

"You don't feel bad."

"I tell myself you wanted it."

"You're sick."

"I've heard that one before. I'll start to listen when you think of a better insult than that."

Pause. "I can't think of anything."

"What a shame," he said. "Guess I'll have - scrambled eggs and pancakes?"

"Excuse me?"

The blank walls began to rumble as pieces of the walls began falling to the floor, revealing more black and purple swirls behind the white walls. A large piece of the ceiling dropped and cracked the table in half.

"Looks like you're waking up." The silver haired man chuckled at the frightened Ino, who jumped around the room, trying to dodge falling ceiling pieces. Ino's eyes flickered from the falling ceiling to the fading man.

She lunged forward, trying to grasp the disappearing man, but her hand only went through his fading face. "Wait," she whispered. Before he completely disappeared, he grinned.

Ino felt herself waking up, coming back to reality, but she didn't want to open her eyes to face the real world. Staying in bed for the whole day sounded like paradise to her…. Ino could've stayed in bed with her eyes shut tight, but her bliss quickly ended when someone started shaking her violently.

Azure eyes hovered over Ino when she decided to open her eyes. Ino's gasped at the proximity of the eyes, and she swung her left arm to punch away the blue. Ino stopped when she realized what she was doing before her fist made contact with Sachiko's delicate face. With dull eyes and a straight face, Sachiko watched Ino's fist relax and drop to her side.

"Sorry."

"Do you want breakfast?"

"I'll be down in a second."

For Sakura, it was another day at the office. Her team had their days off on the weekends, but definitely not for Sakura, who worked in the office for nine hours on Saturday and five on Sunday. Her missions with Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto felt more like her days off compared to the days in the office, which consisted of constant errands for Tsunade and Shizune with the occasional - well, not occasional really, since Tsunade sent her twice a week - trip across town to fetch Tsunade's wonderful alcohol. And sometimes, Sakura would work at the hospital if Tsunade or Shizune didn't need anything.

"You work too hard, Sakura," Naruto said as they walked back to the Hokage's office after she picked up Tsunade's mail. She hummed at his comment, fingering through her superior's mail, looking for anything interesting. One time, Tsunade received a baby magazine with tips about motherhood, and for a month, rumors spread throughout the village about Tsunade being pregnant until Tsunade had enough and socked someone for bringing it up, which spread around town causing the end of that rumor.

"I like being busy," she hummed. Sakura stopped flipping through the mail when Shikamaru's name popped up on an envelope.

"Why is Shikamaru sending Tsunade mail?" she mumbled to herself as she lifted the envelope to the sunlight, wondering if she could read the small note placed inside. "He could just go to her office if he needed to speak with her."

"You didn't hear Shikamaru went on a mission about a month ago?"

"Hm, no, I wasn't aware."

"Choji said he's in Cloud for a renaissance mission or somethin' like that."

Sakura turned to Naruto. "Ino went to Cloud as well, before Shikamaru." She raised the envelope up to the sunlight again trying to see the contents. "Do you think it's about that?"

"You're really nosey, Sakura."

Sakura pushed Naruto away when he tried to confiscate the envelope and turned her back on him to keep a barrier between him and the letter. "I could open it," she said under her breath, hooking a finger under the folded crease and started to tear it until Naruto snatched it from her hands and shoved it down his pants.

"That's a federal offense."

"Since when did you follow the rules?" Sakura interrogated, placing a hand on her hip. When Naruto didn't response, she held out a hand and gave the blond boy a displeased glare. "Naruto, give it back to me. I don't think Tsunade would appreciate your crotch germs all over her mail."

"I think my 'crotch germs' are preferred over someone openin' her mail without her permission."

"Fine, I won't open it, okay?"

Without a word in response to Sakura's promise, he started walking in the directions of the Hokage's office. Sakura rolled her eyes as she jogged to catch up with her blond teammate. They didn't say a word until they reached the red, double doors of the office. Naruto reached into his pants, pulling out a wrinkled envelope and handed it to Sakura, who pinched the corner of the paper between her index finger and her thumb.

"Dinner is still on, right?" Sakura asked as she placed the small envelope between two magazines, guaranteeing Sakura she will not touch the crotch infested mail. "Seven o'clock?"

Naruto grinned, shaking his head and stepped closer to her. Sakura smiled, looking up at him. "Yup, then my house, right?"

"Yes."

"Cool. Oh, and we should stop by the furniture store to pick up your couch you bought. I'll be here when your shift ends, so we can go." He pecked her cheek quickly and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura wafted the smoke away and watched the young man in black bound from rooftop to rooftop…and he thought he was sneaky. She watched him travel farther and farther away until his blonde hair and the bright orange swirl on the back of his long-sleeved shirt disappeared. She caressed her fingers over the warm heat his lips left on her cheek, creating a bubbly feeling her stomach, also known as a heavy case of butterflies.

"Okay, Sakura," Tsunade called from inside, "you're done flirting with your lover; now, get your ass inside, and give me my mail!"

"Coming!"

"Ino, are you okay? You don't look so good," Minako noted as she studied Ino's face up close and personal, making Ino feel queasier. Ino shut her eyes and pushed the other girl's face away from her. "Maybe you should go back to sleep. You look like you're going to puke."

Ino groaned and didn't mention how she sprang to the bathroom to vomit the minute contents from her stomach. She'd rather keep that a secret.

Sachiko glanced over her shoulder at the two blonde-haired women from the oven as she viciously diced the cooking eggs with the spatula. Minako threw her a concerned glance at Sachiko then began rubbing Ino's back. "What's wrong with you?" Sachiko asked, focusing on the eggs once again. She heard Ino groan something about her chest and her stomach.

"Ino says she doesn't want to eat anymore," Minako announced, stopping Sachiko from pouring pancake batter into the frying pan. "She's sick from the smell of the eggs."

Ino lifted her head from her arms with a sickened smile. "I'm sorry, Sachiko, but the smell is just…overbearing right now. I'm sorry."

Minako skipped to the refrigerator, rummaging through the contents of it. "Is there anything else you want to eat?" She closed the refrigerator and climbed onto the kitchen counter to look through the cupboards.

"Get your feet off the counter. That's disgusting." Minako continued her rummaging, ignoring the quiet commands from Sachiko, who eventually whacked Minako in the calf with a burning spatula. Minako swatted at Sachiko with a box of cereal.

"Do we have saltine crackers? That's probably the only thing I can stomach right now."

"No, we don't, but I can make a quick trip to the store if you want."

Ino shook her head slowly. "No, it's okay. Can I just have a glass of water, then?"

"Eventually, you'll have to eat," Sachiko piped, flipping a pancake.

"Eventually," Ino agreed, resting her head in her arms once again.

Shikamaru's head spun as he followed the two Cloud shinobi up the stairs that escalated higher and higher around the mountains. Not only did he suffer from a raging headache, but the wind blew so strong, he and the Cloud shinobi had to brace themselves against the cold rock of the mountain, so the wind wouldn't knock them off the stairs. One of the shinobi looked up at him with a sheepish grin. "We're getting a guard rail soon."

How long has Cloud been a village? Cloud has been a village for centuries, and they have yet to install guardrails. How many people have died from being blown off the very stairs Shikamaru walked on?

The three men came upon a bridge that stretched across a giant valley. Shikamaru peeked over the edge of the mountain. If Shikamaru happened to fall off the bridge, the drop could last forever, and the chances of hitting the narrow stream at the bottom of the gorge was one to a million. To make Shikamaru's nerves edgier, there were no guardrails to catch Shikamaru if the wind decided to push him over.

The same shinobi who spoke before glanced at Shikamaru once more. "We usually don't lose anyone on this pass."

Usually.

To calm himself, Shikamaru glanced to his right to look at the city. The skyscrapers blended with the snowy capped mountains, and the windows of the building glinted as the sun hit the windows. The people who walked around the market place looked like black blobs that scurried around. Ino could be among those people….

Fog suddenly rolled into his vision, blocking his sight of the large city. The fog engulfed him and the two other men. He couldn't see his surroundings except for the piece of rock he stood on and half of the bridge. Shikamaru never noticed how Cloud really does hide in the clouds.

"Sweet, now we can't see," one of the shinobi—Shikamaru thought the voice belonged to the man with the glasses, who didn't talk very much and didn't seem very affable—said in disappointment while clicking his tongue.

The other man nudged Shikamaru in the side. "Are you in a hurry to see the Raikage?"

"No."

"Good, 'cause we're gonna have to go slower now that the clouds have set it."

Shikamaru kept his eyes on the heels of the man in front of him as they crossed the bridge, taking cautious steps across the bridge that seemed to take an eternity to cross. They stepped slowly up the twisting staircase until they arrived to an oval shaped building with a large window wrapping around the building. Shikamaru spotted people hustling down the hallways with stacks of paper wrapped tightly in their arms but loose papers fell from the stack. He could see teams of shinobi entering a room with a large, gray door.

"That's the Jounin lounge. The Raikage's office is this way." The two Kumo shinobi continued walking again, making Shikamaru run to catch up with the two when he noticed they were walking away.

The friendlier of the two men looked over his shoulder to smile at Shikamaru. Shikamaru noticed one eye was a deep blue while his left eye was a cloudy gray. He was blind in the left eye. The man winked his cloudy eye, making Shikamaru clear his throat in embarrassment for staring at the discolored eye. The man chuckled and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. "So, what's one of Konoha doing here?" he asked. "Usually, the Raikage doesn't get visitors from other counties unless there is international business to be done."

Shikamaru shrugged. "You can call this international business I supposed."

The half blind man chuckled with a slight smile playing at his chapped lips. "By international business, I hope you don't mean you're here to assassinate the Raikage."

"By no means am I here for assassination."

"Well, good. You don't look like the assassin type, anyway.

Shikamaru's steps falter for a second as he wondered what type of shinobi he did resemble. He had to admit, if he did appear to be the assassin type, he'd feel totally bad ass.

The men arrived at an oval shaped building, similar to the Jounin's lounge, but it was reasonably bigger.

"Well, you're free to go. Just go up those stairs and through that door."

Shikamaru stepped between the two men and made his way towards the building. "Thank you."

Shikamaru trudged up the stairs that led to his building as his calves burned from the excessive stair climbing he has done in a day. He was convinced he climbed more stairs this particular day than he has in the past twenty-one years. At least, his calves will be firm and toned.

He pushed against the gray double doors to find an empty hallway. He followed the violet carpet as he passed more doors that led to empty rooms or to rooms that held small groups of people huddled around examination tables. At the end of the hallway, more stairs greeted him. His breath escaped his throat in rapid rhythms as he forced his body up the narrow staircase. On the second level, another empty hallway with violet carpet greeted him. His tired feet scraped across the carpet as he dragged his heels down the hallway, still following the carpet that eventually led to a gray door at the end of the hallway. This door has to lead to the Raikage's office. If not, those two shinobi were forever on his hit list.

Shikamaru staggered towards the door and gave the door two quick raps.

"Come in, Guest!" The door swung open automatically, revealing a humongous man with a biceps the size of his own head—Shikamaru had to remind himself his biceps were normal and "modest", and those with watermelon-sized biceps were freaks of nature. The Raikage stared at Shikamaru with stern, intense eyes as Shikamaru stepped into his office.

"Lord Raikage, I am Nara Shikamaru from Konohakagure." He bent at the waist to show his respects, but the man raised a large hand to stop Shikamaru from completing his bow.

"Please, there's no need for bowing. Who does that nowadays? What's hip and stylish among you young kids? How about we make a secret handshake?"

"Uh…." No one mentioned the Raikage being a nutcase, which is probably why the blind man was smiling so damn much. That has to be why…. That's it. He's going on Shikamaru's hit list.

The Raikage grinned and waved Shikamaru's clueless expression away. "It's all right. I'll give you time to think of one." Suddenly, the grin on the man's face disappeared, forming a serious, hard line, which made him even more intimidating. Shikamaru held down the urge to gulp. The Raikage's eyes intensified, and it almost looked like his muscles starting to bulge under his dark skin. "What brings you here? It's rare Konoha would show their faces here."

"I have concerns I would like to address with you, Lord Raikage."

"Proceed."

"Have you heard of the Blue Pub?"

"No, I've never heard anything about the Blue Pub."

Shikamaru inwardly groaned. This made his case harder to present with the Raikage being unaware of the Blue Pub. "For the past year and a half, there have been killings and kidnappings in section two. Considering the size of the city, there could be more, but I am only aware the the murders happening around the Blue Pub. It's been my understanding that women have been kidnapped and later found dead in the area surrounding the village. Are you not aware?"

"It hasn't come to my attention."

"Then, someone has been keeping these findings a secret for the past year."

"I have a question for you, Nara."

"Yes?"

"Why are you, a Konoha shinobi, coming to me to address this problem?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "The owner sent a request to Konoha, asking for help. One of the reasons I am here today is partly because Konoha has been dragged into this predicament. If it weren't for the owner asking for Konoha help, this would strictly be a Kumo problem."

"I see."

"My question to you, Lord Raikage, is why the owner of the Blue Pub is asking for help from Konoha when there are perfectly able candidates here?"

Speechless, the larger man glared at Shikamaru, making him regret asking the question. The man seemed strong enough to snap Shikamaru in half with his corneas.

Shikamaru had to smooth the air out quickly. "I will not get into the subject of whether your shinobi are capable or not because I know that it will get me nowhere"—maybe with a snapped neck, but that's pretty much the farthest Shikamaru would go—"and really, I'm not here to insult your men. I am here for the benefit of my comrade and myself."

"Which is?"

"I am requesting you to send men to look after the Pub. My comrade has been undercover at the Blue Pub in search for the murderer, and she refuses to leave because she knows it is unsafe. The man is still out there. Do you want more of your people dead?'

The silence lasted for several long seconds as the Raikage conjured his answer. "That is part of life."

Shikamaru couldn't believe his ears. "A psycho murderer killing innocent women is part of life? You're the Raikage! Do you not care for your people? Isn't that the job of the great leader?" Shikamaru caught himself before he could continue with his sudden outburst. He straightened up and looked at the surprised leader with a calm façade. "Excuse me. That was out of line."

Lord Raikage shook his head. "No, you are right, young man. It is my duty to look after my people and make sure they are safe. I will send one of my men to help with the search of this murderer."

"Thank you, Lord Raikage."

"Nara, when are you returning back to Konoha?"

"Soon, I hope. My comrade is stubborn and won't leave until the mission is complete."

"Is that so? Please bring your comrade some time. I would like to speak with her."

Shikamaru nodded. "Understood."

"This is goodbye?"

"For now."

Shikamaru pushed against the doors and yielded to a lanky man with shaggy black hair and round glasses. The man's shoulder bumped against his own, knocking Shikamaru back a few steps. Shikamaru thought he heard him say, "Sorry," but he wasn't positive.

"Aw, Konan, I've been expecting you."

"I've been running late all day, Lord Raikage. I apologize."

"Will our secret handshake make your day better?"

The man named Konan prolonged the silence, probably waiting for Shikamaru to leave. When Shikamaru closed the doors behind him, he heard a faint, "Yes."

That's has to be the longest chapter sooo far and. considering my schedule for the next few weeks…or months, probably will be for a while. Just until summer break starts. Then I'll have time to be totally anti-social and lock myself in my room and just write. Well, maybe go tanning while writing. I really need a tan….

ANYWAY, hopefully, the next chapter will be up next weekend because I am FINALLY free from all my busyness! I'm also busy this weekend, which is why I decided to update early. Happy Early Update Day!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I did. Writing Shikamaru and Sakura were my favorite part of the chapter.

Oh, if you wanna know what I'm listening to when I write, I'll post the playlist on my profile, so…yeah? Go look at it. Listen to some of the songs….

Anywho, I'll let you continue with your day!

Oh, thank you to those who read. Thanks to those who go beyond that and review, favorite, alert. Spiffy things like that. Keep it going!

HAVE A GOOD DAY!