Ricochet
Yamanaka Ino was in dire need of a diet.
As of late it seemed she'd been walking a mile in Chouji's shoes - - suffice to say that her unshakable immunity to the edible delights of the world had recently come crashing down. She credited Naruto with the start of her downfall; all it had taken was one kind offer of a spoonful of his ramen and she'd been hooked. There was something addictive in Ichiraku's noodles as far as Ino was concerned. What started as one curious bite escalated into Ino ordering her own bowl. And then Naruto suggesting other flavors for her to try. It then became a habit with the pair meeting up for ramen dates any time they could. (A habit Neji arched a suspicious brow at - - because really, she didn't need yet another commitment to occupy her time with - - but raised no protest against.) And maybe something cracktastic was in the dango shop down the street as well because unlike the way the scent of ramen now made her mouth water, Ino didn't even have to see or smell the dango to pine after it like a spurned lover. Her lust for the sweet confection was unreasonable; it didn't matter if she'd just eaten a meal only two hours prior because somehow she always had just enough space in her stomach for a stick of dango. Or twenty. And Kami, was she paying for it. Although her waist remained trim and her hips slender, the scale in her bathroom declared her five pounds heavier and no matter how much extra physical activity she added into her daily schedule, the small bit of extra weight refused to melt away. Even as her mind contemplated how big her butt must have been getting, her taste buds danced in anticipation of dango.
"How much longer?"
Neji activated his Byakugan, looking far ahead of their path as they leapt through the forest trees.
"Another twenty minutes."
The sound of bark breaking off of a branch reached his ears as Ino landed on a limb incorrectly and Neji turned instinctively to grab her before she fell. He wrapped a steadying hand around her wrist as they leapt to the next bough and Ino seemed to snap out of her daze, at least for the moment.
"Sorry. I zoned out for a second there."
She flashed him a sheepish smile, which melted under the awkward silence that followed while Ino became aware of how still Neji was. How intensely he was staring at her. At that instant, she doubted he was even breathing.
"What?"
The color drained out of Neji's face, tiny floes of ice floating in his bloodstream as he stared at his partner-turned-lover. She was getting nervous, he could tell by the way her chakra started to fluctuate unevenly.
The tiny second chakra signature in her belly, however, was perfectly stable.
Half an hour later the shock had yet to wear off. For either of them. With a palm on her midsection, Ino ran a medical diagnostic on herself for the fourth time. When she reached the same conclusion as the previous three times she burst into tears.
Dear Kami, this was not supposed to happen.
What was she going to do, being 20 and pregnant? Okay, fine, so she'd seen her share of knocked up fifteen or seventeen year old kunoichi, but this was different. She wasn't a chuunin who could just be put on the teaching roster at the academy for the next couple of months. She was a jounin, one of the top shinobi in Fire Country if she said so herself, and her absence from the ranks would be felt sorely. What would Shikamaru say? What would Asuma say, if he was around? Great Bijuu, what would her father say? At least the day she died, he'd been out on a mission and it had been days before she had to deal with his clingyness once word hit him. This was something she'd have to tell him personally, face to face. She'd almost rather die again than face that conversation. And once her father knew then Shikaku and Chouza would know, and once Shikaku was drunk the entire village would probably know, thanks to the Nara's tendency to get louder with every glass he emptied. Perhaps a pregnant chuunin with no noteriety to speak of wouldn't be disgraced by the simple act of becoming pregnant, but Yamanaka Ino? It would be the scandal of the year. Her head hurt just thinking about it. She was going to have a baby. There was a baby in her abdomen and it was Neji's. Nothing would ever be the same.
Shellshocked, Ino lowered herself to sit on the thick oak branch they stood on, staring silently at her surroundings without seeing any of it. She hadn't believed Neji at first when he vocalized those sobering words, but it was sinking in now. So was the panic attack. Her tears came harder as the functional, kunoichi side of her psyche registered Neji settling down beside her. She didn't know how many minutes had passed when she felt him wordlessly slip his hand into hers, threading their fingers together. She sobbed until her eyes were parched and her throat was tight and the fog in her brain finally began to clear.
She was pregnant. And it hit her just what that meant for the man sitting next to her. The one who had just as much to lose, if not more, because of their selfishness. This was it, they'd screwed up in the grandest way possible and the moment she had been dreading since the whole thing began was finally upon them. Here was where their story would end; the ordinary little spot in the forest filled with the sounds of birds and buzzing insects and the everlasting ring of Goodbye hanging in the air.
Ino unlaced their fingers and drew back her hand.
"We're over, aren't we?"
Neji turned his head to study her demeanor, his eyes catching every nuance as she tried to put on a brave face and make herself be okay with what was most likely going to happen. For the first time, he wondered why she couldn't read him as clearly as he could read her.
Over? Ino was his partner, his lover, and now she was carrying his child. She was the only true happiness he'd known in longer than he could remember, and he would wage war with anyone who so much as looked at her wrongly. 'Over' was the last thing they were.
His arms circled around her to crush her to his chest and Neji placed a light kiss on the top of her head.
"No."
They sat in silence again, both lending thought to what they could posibbly do with this turn of events. The more Ino contemplated it, the more it became apparent to her that they'd dug themselves into a pit with no escape. As best as her medical skills could gauge, she was somewhere in her third month of pregnancy. She would start to show soon and the baby would be born eventually; there was no hiding the inevitable. And now that she thought deeper on it, the pregnancy itself wasn't even an issue. Now wasn't the best time she would have chosen to become a mother, but she could make do without too much hassle. There was space in her home for a baby and the frequently high profile missions Tsunade had been sending them on afforded her a comfortable lifestyle. The real issue at hand was the fact that the baby was Neji's.
Perhaps there weren't rules in place about being romantically involved with one's occupational partner, but Ino had the distinct feeling that doing so was frowned upon. And then there was the fact that he was married. And a member of the prestigious Hyuuga clan. It hadn't occurred to her in her childhood, because Sasuke had been the last of the Uchihas and rules could be bent around that, but the village didn't respond well to clan mixing. The Senjus had expressly forbid themselves from intermarriage with the Uchihas and there were no records of Inuzukas or Akimichis marrying outside of their clan. Of course there was that old rumor in her own clan, something about being distantly related to redheads with doujutsu, but Ino was vaguely certain that was just an old wives' tale. When clan mixing did happen, it was always with a clan from outside of Konoha and usually done for the sake of a treaty, and that hadn't happened in decades. Even in this new era of prosperity and relative peace, Ino doubted it would be tolerated.
Ino frowned, her eyelashes tickling at his collarbone while she focused on the white of his shirt.
"What do we do?"
Neji's arms squeezed her lightly in response and she felt him draw a deep breath.
"Whatever we have to."
"We'll be targets the second the elder council knows. Koharu and Homura...even Tsunade-sama gets pressured by how strict and old fashioned they are. And Danzou,"
she grimaced, the sound of his name triggering disgust. Danzou's persistence was legendary. When he focused on a point, he followed it to the end.
"Danzou will never accept this."
"Danzou is well-worn in his age. He may not let up, he may fight this at every turn, but he will tire and wither long before I let him take steps against our child."
She closed her eyes to the serenity in his voice, the sureness of his words. Our child. Three hours ago she hadn't even known she was pregnant, and now she already knew there was nothing she wouldn't do for the small life growing inside her.
She also knew that their child deserved better than the situation they were in now. All the love in the world wouldn't prepare their little surprise baby for all the ridicule that was certain to come. Ino had heard stories both from Sakura and from Naruto himself of how the whisker-marked ninja had spent his childhood in scorn. The thought of her child experiencing something similar horrified her.
Very quietly, scarcely loud enough to be called a whisper, Ino thought out loud.
"What if we hide it?"
His hold on her loosened and Neji pulled back just enough to see her face. Tipping her chin upward, pearlescent eyes searched hers.
His stomach clenched. His reply was already welling up in his throat and something told him he wasn't going to like the answer. Her very question had that same force in him already screaming No. He was so tired of hiding, of caring what anyone else would have to say about them. He'd gladly take every punishment known to man if it meant he could keep her and their child without interference.
"What are you suggesting?"
Ino straightened up, confidence returning to her as the idea more fully formed in her head.
"I'm suggesting we cover this up, use a smoke screen. A decoy."
"Decoy?"
She nodded firmly.
"If news spreads right now that I'm pregnant and it's yours, there will be hell to pay. But if we keep silent about this, if the public sees me dating someone..."
Neji caught her implication. If Ino pretended to date someone now, it would not only dispel any suspicion about the two of them being together, but later down thee road when the pregnancy became visible everyone would assume the decoy fathered the child. The thought of it rattled his soul. Dating someone else while his child grew in her stomach. Pretending it was not his. He took a steadying breath.
"...the village would be deceived and our child would be safe."
Another nod.
It was asking for more than he could imagine right now. He knew without question that this was the hardest thing he would ever have to do. He'd just discovered he was going to be a father and already they'd reached a conclusion that his participation would be limited. It was too much too soon but they both knew that the clock was ticking and the sooner the plan went into action, the better. His heart, his pride - - it was all taking an epic hit, but he would willingly surrender them if it meant the safety of their baby.
One day, when Naruto became Hokage, he would ask him for his support. Naruto had proven himself to be an incredible instrument of change, surely he could sway Konoha to change it's ancient mindset for Neji could not do this forever. He couldn't bear to step back and watch his child grow up with another man playing father. Ino's solution would only be a temporary fix at best, giving them time to figure out what to do once the child was born.
"Fine."
"You are NOT going down there."
On their fourth mission since the discovery of Ino's pregnancy, they find themselves having their twenty-fifth argument over Ino's safety. Their path back to Fire Country leads straight through the remnants of a Sound hideout. The structure is worn and more or less unprotected, but there are still a few shinobi taking refuge in its shelter. By the looks of them - - underweight and clothed in garments that have clearly seen better days - - they have nowhere else to go. Even their weapons look uncared for. But Neji examines the small group with the eyes of a man who has something important to protect, and they fail his safety appraisal.
"Neji, they're gennin."
The scowl on his face stays put, and in the end they compromise: Neji is right at her side as they literally walk past their enemies. After Ino assures him she's put a strong genjutsu in place, of course.
They soon realized that, in all practicality, Ino could not stay on the active duty mission roster. So long as she was pregnant, Neji would have her nowhere near the action and didn't dare to leave her by herself. A failed mission could be atoned for; there would always be other missions. There would never be another Ino. Prioritizing her well-being increased the difficulty of their already strenuous assignments, effectively elevating their chances of failure, and this was a gamble the both of them knew they could not afford to continue to take. Together, they decided to request a joint leave of absence from the Hokage. As much as they'd been working, a small hiatus would be plausible and wouldn't rouse suspicion.
Tsunade spares them the trouble.
On a day when the skies were cloudy and the air was thick, they each received a scroll via Genma announcing the end of their partnership. The luck in timing manages to keep their shock and anger in check long enough for them to appreciate the Hokage's decision. Ino seizes the opprotunity, modifying her request for leave with the claim that she wants to focus on the Torture and Interrogation department. Tsunade is pleased at Ino's supposed 'motivation' and grants her request.
With the most immediate causes of concern taken care of, Ino finds the time to conquer her next objective.
She feels his footsteps hesitate as he notices her presence in what is usually a private, secluded space. His home.
"Beautiful?"
The word rolls off his tongue in question as if he can't quite register the yellow of her hair and the violet of her clothes amongst the stark black and white of his apartment.
Ino glances back briefly with a small smile before her gaze veers back toward the various paintings and sketches that line Sai's walls.
"Naruto and Sakura always told me how much you love painting, how often they see you working on a new art piece. I came to see for myself."
His house is not a gallery. The artist isn't even sure if he wants his art to be seen by anyone, but the sight of the friendly blonde in his home strangely does not upset him. He sets down his bag of supplies and moves to stand beside her. One of his more abstract pieces has captured her attention and he studies her reaction as she takes long, appreciative glances at it. The sudden shift of her attention from it to him almost startles him.
"I like this one. It's so peaceful."
She's complimenting him, he realizes, and struggles to come up with an appropriate response. The last time someone commented on his art, when Sakura had gazed at his special book of illustrations, she had done so with a much more scrutinizing gaze. Ino looked impressed. What did you do when someone was impressed? One of the books he'd read mentioned it being important when a girl gave compliments to a guy. It meant something. At least, he thought he remembered that meaning something. Either she was trying to befriend him, or she was showing signs of attraction to him.
Sai figured either way was some kind of progress. He'd started his friendship with Naruto and Sakura on rocky terms, maybe he could do better this time. Maybe he could learn more about what it was like to communicate with someone as a comrade and not as an outsider. Maybe he could learn to develop the kind of attachments to people Naruto and Sakura had to others.
He flashed her a soft smile, the one Sakura told him that looked more genuine, and pointed to another painting off to the side.
"This is the newest one I'm working on."
It takes surprisingly little prompting on Ino's behalf for Sai to start asking her on dates. She accepts every time with a dazzling smile, and if that smile is a bit tight around the edges, he doesn't notice.
It's why she chose him.
If she has to do something as underhanded as having a false boyfriend, she'd rather it be someone who wouldn't be too hurt by the end of things. What better choice could she have than the stoic artist, a novice to the world of hormones and emotion? She'd never seen a more perfect target in all her life. The least she could do, Ino figured, was make his time with her filled with smiles and laughter.
And if there seemed to be small mountains of cigarette butts appearing in places where she and Sai regularly met, she turned a blind eye to them. Her choices may not have been the best ones, but she had made them and she was going to see this through to the end. With or without anyone else's approval.
Neji trudged through the layer of leaves littering the ground, the bag on his back feeling heavier as he made his way down the levels of the Hokage Tower. He'd just completed his sixth mission without Ino - not that he was counting - and the success in finishing it had felt hollow. To work alone after years of heading teams had been a strange adjustment, one he wasn't sure he'd completely adapted to yet, and the trek back to Konoha had been bittersweet.
He hadn't seen Ino in fifteen days, half a month, and the workload was taking it's toll. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in days - - hell, the first two missions, he didn't sleep at all - - and now the demands of his body were catching up with him. He caught snatches of sleep when he could, though the lightly-forming crescent moons under his eyes were evidence that those short naps weren't enough. Between his insomnia and the constant question of how he was going to break the news to his wife that he'd betrayed her in every sense of the word, Neji turned to meditation to fill the void. It cleared his mind -temporarily- and relaxed his body, but was an all-around poor substitute. Meditation would not sustain him forever.
He navigated a hallway, swerving out the paths of several administrative workers and various shinobi until he reached the first floor. Passing by one of the lounges, someone called out to him.
"Hyuuga. I need to speak with you."
Neji twisted to face the lazy drawl of his name and was met with Nara Shikamaru's cold expression. He blinked, and the shadow user urged him out of the hallway. Inside the lounge was small, furnished with couches and chairs, a short table with an empty coffee pot and the remains of chips and cookies. Several dirty coffee mugs lay strewn about and the paintjob was chipping at the corners of the walls. Aside from the two of them, the room was unoccupied. Neji slung his pack on the couch and dropped down beside it; Shikamaru uncharacteristically took a seat on the cardtable in front of him, his hands linking together as he leaned his arms on his legs. Neji had long expected this to happen, some point down the line. Nara Shikamaru was a well respected man in Konoha for his intellect even if not for his combat prowess. He knew the genius, of all people, would pick up on what was going on eventually. He also knew the genius would not approve. Neji relaxed his limbs on the stiff, cheap couch cushions and waited for the volcano to erupt.
"I know what's going on between you and Ino." Shikamaru started, his tone serious. "And I know that she loves you."
Neji kept silent, his poker face unreadable to sharp chocolate brown eyes.
"And that's enough to worry me. I don't know you very well, Neji. I'll be the first to admit that, but I do know Ino and I know how strong her love is. Ino-Shika-Cho is not just a battle formation; Chouji and I wouldn't be the people we are today without Ino. There aren't words for what she means to me. And to see her now, running around with Sai when she really... I don't know what happened with you two, but please tell me you weren't just toying with her. That's something I can't forgive."
Shikamaru stared challengingly at the Hyuuga prodigy. Ino would forgive. She would hurt but she would forgive Neji if he broke her heart, even if she couldn't forget the heartache it caused her. Yes, Ino would grant him forgiveness and maybe Chouji would grant him sympathy for such a bad decision, but Shikamaru would only grant him pain.
Neji returned the stare. It was a threat, one Neji knew Shikamaru had every intention to follow through on if necessary, and Neji understood loud and clear. He'd react the same way if anyone looked to be treating Hinata-sama poorly. He resisted a flinch at the thought of how things looked. In the lazy nin's eyes, he was the douchebag who'd just broken the bubbly blonde's heart, causing her to go on the rebound. A threat of bodily harm was well within reason. He ought to have been suprised Shikamaru hadn't demanded he stay away from Ino. Then again, he was married and they weren't partners anymore. Shikamaru probably thought that was the end of them. In other circumstances, he may have been right - - if Neji didn't stand so much to lose with either choice.
"That's not the case. Ino and I...I have the deepest respect for her. You have my word that I would never treat her so trivially."
Some of the tension eased away from the younger man's posture, only to be replaced with a more somber look. Neji could practically see the wheels turning in his head : if Neji would never treat Ino so shallowly, then their relationship was mutual and more serious than Shikamaru had thought. Which most likely meant-
"You love her."
"Yes."
No pause. No hesitation. No shame. In that moment, Shikamaru wasn't sure if he admired the Hyuuga or despised him.
"Then let her go."
Neji wouldn't even if he could.
For two months, things go well. In reenforcement of her approved request, Ino concentrates her time into advancing the Torture and Investigation unit. She passes some policies that help the division run smoother and gets involved with nearly every case that comes in. She's present at every meeting, has read every new file, knows exactly who is assigned to what. One by one, her peers consult with her when they face troubles with documents or difficult prisoners and one by one Ino manages to find solutions. She has always been well known in the department, but it isn't until Ino pauses one day and thinks about just how much her opinion matters that she realizes she is now well respected as well. Perhaps a little more than as a comrade.
Things with Sai progress flawlessly. He has memorized her likes and dislikes, taken her teachings of normal behavior to heart, and holds hands with her like it's the most natural thing in the world. She learns that he only likes to use acrylic paints, his first ink-to-animated creature was a mouse, and that he'd like to fight Sasuke all-out one day and see whose skills are superior. Their dates are always in highly public places, Ino makes certain of it. When he opens up to her about his childhood friend Shin, Ino can't help but to ponder what she would have done in his place. The fight with Sakura in the chuunin exams, though mild in battle, was difficult enough emotionally. She can't imagine being ordered to kill her or risk dying by her hands.
She's flattered and a little guilted by how often the artist thinks of her. Though Sai doesn't go on missions nearly as often as she did with Neji, when he does go it's always short-term. He never mentions a word of his work but Ino is sure his assignments are short because they are assassinations and she's sure that he does them alone. She worries. Even if their relationship is fake, her friendship with the ex-ROOT member is genuine and she does not want him to die. During his recent assignments when he is far away and Ino is stuck brooding over his safety, she's come home to the sight of a small ink-made rabbit hopping around her apartment. Despite the fact that it dissolves eventually into a puddle of ink she has to clean, Ino loves it when the rabbit melts away. It means he's back.
Shikamaru, surprisingly, pops back into her life. For a while she tortures herself with trying to figure out what caused his change of heart, but the first day that Chouji comes by her office with lunch she knows that they know. She thanks the heavens that this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho are better at keeping secrets than the originals.
The baby is growing with time. At five months in, she had gained a total of eleven pounds and her stomach had developed a distinct curve, though still smaller than she expected so far along. She could believably pass for being only three months along, and Ino suspected that the embryo had taken root towards the back of her womb. She could feel her child moving sometimes, an odd sensation liken to a butterfly fluttering around in there. Her vanity had taken something of a hit - - some days, she awore feeling like she was the prettiest girl ever. Other days, she looked at the size 2 skirts in her closet and cried. She did what she could to lessen the noticability of her bump, having discreetly bought a slightly longer purple skirt she wore higher on her waist and took to wearing the signature tench coat of her department. And Sai seemed to love the long, billowy dresses she wore on their dates. So far, nobody had bothered to notice that the blonde with the killer body had put on a little pudge.
At the end of two months, however, things go downhill. Immediately.
While Ino studiously avoided the hospital with ease, and to an equal degree avoided being in the presence of Tsunade or Shizune, eluding Haruno Sakura proved to be a different matter entirely. It had been a long while since they last caught up or even got a good look at each other's faces, and recently every time she turned around Sakura was headed her way. It took every strategy of evasive maneuvering Ino knew to continually escape her. Maybe Sakura had realized how long it had been and missed her. Maybe she thought Ino was angry with her. Whatever the reason, Ino did her best not to stick around to find out. Alas, even her best efforts eventually failed her, and one day Ino found herself cornered by the pinkette after leaving flowers on Asuma's grave.
"What the hell, Ino?"
"What?"
"What' nothing! You know 'what'! I've been trying to talk with you for weeks. You keep blowing me off."
"I was not blowing you off."
"That time in the dango shop?"
"Clan meeting."
"That time in front of your flowershop."
"Late for training."
"What about when you were buying supplies at the store last week?"
"Didn't see you."
Sakura facepalmed. It sounded like Ino had taking excuse-making tips from Kakashi.
"It's not like I've come to borrow money or anything. I just wanted to know about you and Sai."
Ino shrugged. "We're dating, what's to know?"
"He's my teammate. He may be awkward and sometimes downright rude, but I do care about him. He doesn't know anything about relationships. I guess I just- I don't know. He can't be what you want him to be. He kinda looks like Sasuke, but he's so much more detached. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I'm a big girl, Sakura. Thanks for looking out for me, but I'm fine. Really. Sai's a pretty good catch and, unlike Sasuke, he's willing to at least try to be human."
Ino stuffed her hands into her coat pockets as they walked, self-consciously covering herself lest the medic's keen eyes spy the change in her formely lithe physique.
Sakura frowned at her friend, growing unsettled by the physical and emotional distance Ino was putting between them. Ino may have been an exceptional liar and deceptionist extrordinaire, but Sakura had known the girl her whole life and she knew when the Yamanka was keeping something from her. And Sakura was hellbent on finding out what that 'something' was.
"But why Sai? Why now? Three months ago, he was barely on your radar and now you two are this sickeningly sweet item. It doesn't add up."
"Since when does romance have to 'add up'?"
"Since it's you and you don't do things randomly. You can tell me. Since when did I stop being someone you told everything to?"
Since forever ago. Since you were so wrapped up in Team Seven that you weren't there for me.
Centering her thoughts, found herself quoting Shikamaru.
"People change."
The blue eyed beauty Shunshin'd away before Sakura could pry any further, and Sakura stared after her with mounting concern.
No matter how well Ino had hid her physical symptoms, she hadn't suppressed her chakra until two full seconds after Sakura had first dropped in on her. And those two seconds had been telling. Ino's chakra was strong, thick in the atmosphere around her in the way only pregnancy could cause.
And Sakura had the sinking feeling that the baby was not Sai's. They had barely been dating a full nine weeks and even though she knew Ino was a flirt and seemed to be the poster child for impulsiveness, it was rare for Ino to rush into relationships. Romantic or otherwise.
It didn't take long for the Haruno to start sleuthing. Ino was not the type to hide big news from her friends, especially when the big news was positive. To hide a pregnancy could only mean that there were less than favorable variables involved. Sakura was willing to be that the variable in play here was the paternity of her baby. She hoped for Ino's sake that she'd at least been knocked up by someone in the village. It was not unheard of for kunoichi to return from missions impregnated, but it presented some very serious concerns. If the child's father was from a clan outside of Konoha, they'd have to kill it. If the child was fathered by a wanted criminal, they'd have to kill it. If the child was fathered by a political figure, they'd have to kill it. And given the Ino's tendency towards picking the creme de la creme, Sakura doubted the likelihood of the father being some ordinary foreigner.
It would be difficult to unmask the identity of the man who'd put Ino in this situation, for who could hold a secret better than a spy? And this was not the kind of information that could be gained from thumbing through top secret files. She would have to try and pull some answers out of whomever she could, and Sakura knew exactly who to start with.
Sakura was in luck. Thanks to her access to many sealed rooms and documents, she discovered that Hyuuga Neji had returned from a mission recently and would be in Konoha for at least three more days. Up until their recent termination as a team, they'd practically been stuck with each other 24/7. If anyone knew anything about who Ino might have been intimate with, it was Neji. She wasted no time combing through the village for the sight of him, and eventually found him meditating on the outskirts of one of the training grounds. She casually sauntered over to where he was seated, his eyes shut even as Sakura stopped in front of him despite the both of them knowing he'd detected her presence long ago. Sakura shifted her weight to one foot, reluctant to break the ice and interrupt his concentration, and with one long exhale Neji slowly opened his eyes.
"Haruno." He greeted, pale orbs locking her in his gaze as he gestured for her to take a seat. She did. "Something tells me this visit isn't about me coming in for my annual exam."
His deadpan expression as he quipped about her visit caught her off guard and Sakura smiled, relaxing.
"No. Although it really would be nice if you could come in sometime this month. If I remember correctly, your medical file hasn't been updated in over a year."
"I'll make a note of that."
The kuoichi's hand toyed with the blades of grass around them, idly plucking random sprouts while she searched for the words to steer their conversation in the right direction. After a few moments of patient silence, Sakura decided it would be best to be frank with Neji. There was no way she could get answers from the Hyuuga without him knowing she was pumping him for intel.
"I saw Ino today. I noticed her condition."
The pinkette thought she might have seen a look of alarm flicker across his features, but it happened so quickly she wan't sure if it had happened at all. It was like trying to read a blank page, there was no text to give her clues. Unless the words were written in invisible ink.
"So you have. Is she doing well?"
"I guess. I barely got two words out of her before she pulled a disappearing act."
At that, Neji's lips curved upward. Towards the end of their run as a team, Ino had further strengthened her skills in developing exit strategies. There wasn't a structure the young mindwalker couldn't break into or out of, let alone her talent for shaking pursuing enemies from their tail.
"I see."
"But it's really important that speak with her. I'm sorry to ask, I know you and Tenten have just lost your baby, but-"
Neji went rigid. Sakura continued speaking, but Neji could no longer hear her over the volume of the chorus repeating on loop in his head. I know you and Tenten have just lost your baby. I know you and Tenten have just lost your baby. You and Tenten have just lost your baby.
"-if you know anything about who the father could be, please tell me. If Ino's gotten involved with some top-notch foreigner, she could be in danger. Konoha could be in danger. Some villages take that sort of thing very seriously. Or, at least, can you help me eliminate some prospective partners? Was she seeing anyone casually? Did she have to seduce anyone?"
In the answering silence, Sakura realized Neji had zoned out.
"Neji?"
Distantly, he remembered he needed to breathe. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Blink. Repeat.
His throat felt full of cotton.
"Tenten..."
Sakura swallowed. It really was too soon to be bringing that up, she knew, but she had to know. Konoha could not risk any ties with the wrong people. If the father turned out to be someone in the Bingo Book, even if the conception hadn't been...concentual, the few allies Konoha had could turn on them for associating with fugitives. If she carried the bastard child of a major clan, Konoha was at risk for attack.
"Neji, please. If you know anything about-"
"What happened?"
"What?"
"What happened to Tenten, and..." he couldn't bring himself to say our baby.
Understanding dawned on Sakura as it sunk in that Neji didn't know Tenten had miscarried. It had been half a year ago, she'd just naturally assumed he knew. An assumption she'd made at the cost of his dignity. Shamed to have been the one to deliver the news so crudely, Sakura told him what she knew.
"It was a high-risk pregnancy from the start, it could've been any number of things. Sometimes a fetus fails to thrive. Sometimes the mother's body rejects the pregnancy. Sometimes a lot of stress can trigger a miscarriage. Sometimes it happens for no reason at all. I wish we knew, but there was nothing we could do. I'm sorry."
His next words made her breath catch in her throat.
"How far along was she?"
Heavens, the poor guy hadn't even known that much! Her sympathy for him rose.
"Eleven weeks."
Neji closed his eyes, a hand coming up to brace his forehead as he lowered his face and his brows twisted in anguish. Sakura stood to leave, her questions unanswered.
It was long past dusk when Neji returned home from the training grounds. The birds had gone silent, settled into their nests, and their melidous songs had been replaced by the monotonous chirping of crickets. Opening the door to his house, he first thinks that Tenten has gone to bed as well. The livingroom is dark and the house is quiet, but the house is always quiet and he can see from the small glow around the corner that the diningroom light is on. He removes his shoes in the foyer and heads for the back of the house.
As he passes the lit diningroom, Tenten turns to look at him and he stops to do the same. It feels like he's seeing her for the first time. It's hard to reconcile the fact that Tenten, the same girl who'd spent so many years by his side and knew how much starting his own family would mean to him, would keep her pregnancy a secret. The bitter, pleading looks on her face tells him that he isn't quite what she thought he'd be, either. There is a plate loaded with food still resting at his place at the table, waiting for him and he notes there is no steam rising from the tea in his cup.
She speaks, her voice careful and quiet.
"Hinata said you finished training with Hanabi hours ago. Where have you been?"
In truth, he'd wandered all around Konoha trying to clear his head but his mind kept going back to Sakura's words and he'd ended up at the very last place he should have been. Even that relief had been short-lived; Ino wouldn't let him stay more than five minutes in the flowershop, fearing that more than that would draw people's notice. They'd had just enough time to look each other over to make sure they were both okay and then she'd hugged him by the door, communicating with her mind that with her appetite she thought they were going to have a boy. He barely remembers where he went after that.
"I had matters to see to."
His wife scoffed, her arms rising to cross under her bustline petulantly. For a moment he had deja vu; flashing back to when her twelve year old self held the same pose with a look of absolute business on her face as Gai told the team they were making a detour for some outlandish reason too stupid to listen to.
Tenten could feel her perseverance wavering, the emotional damn she'd been guarding so well ready to burst. The first trickles of anger and resentment leaking out.
"Matters? That's your excuse for never being home? Neji, there have been matters since we were twelve! Since long before we were born! Is work the only thing important to you?"
His brows creased at her frankness. It's the first sign of expression she's seen on his face in months.
"No."
"Then what is? What else is important to you?"
In the corner of her mind, the word she really wants to ask is Who. He isn't teamed up with the Yamanaka anymore, she's heard it for herself in the everyday chatter of off duty jounins in the market. The blonde temptress wasn't around any more to entice him and she'd expected him to finally, finally put his marriage first in his life. He hadn't, and Tenten was nearing the end of her rope.
Tenten's words were daggers in his chest, her eyes sharp and accusatory as she waited for him to explain himself. Neji would do no such thing. Despite the irritation he felt rising in him he didn't dare to confront her about keeping things from him, not when he himself had withheld so much from her. No matter what she'd kept from him he would have to tell her about Ino; about the affair and her pregnancy.
But not tonight.
He needed time to process the clashing sense of loss and the rising anticipation of being a father. He would come clean about everything, just not tonight.
Wordlessly, Neji turned and continued down the hall as if the conversation had never happened, ridding himself of his training gear and sliding into bed.
Tenten stared at his untouched plate of food, the symbol of everything wrong in her life. He wouldn't answer her question, but she knew now who was important to Neji - - and it wasn't her. Apparently, disbanding their partnership was not enough to stop the Yamanaka girl from consuming her husband's thoughts.
Eventually she cleaned up the kitchen and retired to the bedroom, but as the both of them laid there, neither of them got any sleep
When Neji finally did drift into unconsciousness, he dreamt of Ino.
A/N : Apparently Ino didn't know about the notorious virility of Hyuuga men. That's why the Hyuuga clan is so big, Ino. Also, Uzumaki-Yamanaka bloodties implied (based off of Inoichi's comment about Nagato's abilities). Sidenote: it IS possible to 'carry towards the back of the womb', I've seen it in real life where someone's gaining the right amount of weight but still looks less pregnant than they are.