Ricochet
As Ino heaved the last of a stack of completed paperwork into a filing cabinet, she sensed another person enter the room. A scathing remark sat ready on the edge of her tongue because dammit, hadn't she told everyone to have their paperwork in by 0100 hours? And wasn't it a full hour past that? She had just devoted a mindnumbing amount of time to signing off on documents and making corrections on incorrectly completely forms and hunting down missing paperwork and - may the Sage of the Six Paths be her witness - she didn't care if the Hokage herself came in with paperwork, she was not touching another sheet of paper. But the chakra in the room rolled with unmistakable familiarity and Ino let her shoulders drop as she shoved the cabinet shut and turned around to lean against it. Shikamaru stood a few feet away, his arms bearing a bundle of confections and baked goods Ino could smell across the small distance, no doubt compliments of Chouji.
"Hey," she breathed, walking over with open arms to accept her giftbasket. Shikamaru forked it over with an expression that almost became a smile before it wilted into concern.
"You should get some rest. Pulling long hours like this..."
She smiled at him and bit into a scone, setting the basket the side of her desk. Propping herself on top of the desk as she chewed, the lamplight beside her painted her profile on the wall.
"I know. Trust me, it's murder on my back. It's like there's barbwire cradled at the base of my spine."
The shadow user winced as he looked her over, dark eyes observant. The shadows on the wall flickered and his silhouette, seemingly independent of Shikamaru himself, crouched by Ino's shadow and set a hand on Shadow Ino's stomach. She was almost six months along, and the curve beneath Shadow Shikamaru's hand was evident to them both. In spite of her efforts, her weight gain was fairly obvious and while Sai had said nothing of it, few would mistake her round midsection for simple fat. Shikamaru cleared his throat.
"You tell your dad yet?"
Her crestfallen look was answer enough. He could see the flickers of fear in her eyes.
"We can be there, when you're ready. Just let us know when."
The offer coaxed a smile from her lips. Having him and Chouji there really would make that whole confession a little easier for her, but she knows that if they are there when she reveals her pregnancy, Inoichi will immediately suspect one of them as the father. This was something she'd have to do without their backup.
"No, it's okay."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"...Okay."
She knows they are with her in heart the night she does tell him. She neglects to reveal the identity of the baby's father to Inoichi, but makes clear the uniqueness of the situation. His face is an iron mask the entire time she talks, and when she finishes, he exhales loudly and rubs the back of his neck. For a few tense seconds, Ino feels three years old again and almost shakes with fear. Almost. Then, he speaks. He doesn't fail to let her know that she couldn't have chosen worse timing with her just dawning into her prime years as a shinobi, but with a small smile he adds that he is not adverse to the notion of being a grandfather.
Her mother cries rivers and latches onto her as if she'll float away if she doesn't.
The first time Sai kisses her, it is midday and they are sitting at a benchtable under a pavillion. The air is still moist from a rain shower earlier and the sun is hiding behind the clouds. A chaotic pile of flowers rest in front of the blonde - just common blossoms found in the area - as she cuts and meticulously arranges them before binding them with the cheapest twine on hand. To her side, Sai thumbs through her edition of The Fine Arts of Ikebana IV until he comes across a pressed Mum in its pages. He peels it away with his fingertips and lifts it in front of his face for a good look of it's flattened state.
"This one got smashed."
Ino's hand movements stop as she looks over at him, a smile budding on her lips. The sight of it already conjuring a memory of Asuka's first birthday celebration.
"It's not 'smashed', it's pressed. It's supposed to look like that."
Sai's dark eyes left the bloom in his hand to meet her gaze, his look quizzical.
"This was done on purpose? Why?"
Ino almost laughs. She can see that, to the artist, pressing a flower makes about as much sense as pouring bleach on a painting.
"It's like a momento; a keepsake. A little something to jog your memory of a happy time."
Sai remains confused. Why would anyone want a dried up flower?
"But it's dead."
Ino spends the next two hours explaining to him the value of flowers after they've technically died. She decides that it's impressive how he hangs on her every word about pressing flowers and drying herbs and how to make potpourri.
Sai's eyes never leave her face. Ino has always had a very universal beauty, but she seems to glow as she speaks passionately about flowers and all the ways they make people happy. Her lecture is cut short by a bumblebee insistent on landing on her head. After much swatting, she decides the two of them might be better off in the next pavillion over. They stand to move, and she's shocked beyond her senses when he drops a kiss on her forehead.
The second time Sai kisses her, she is sweeping the floor of the florist shop when the bells chime and he comes through the front door. His uniform is an absolute mess of ink and dirt and blood - still wet in some places - and Ino literally drops what she's doing to lead him out back. A few feet from the garden she hoses him down, clothes and all, like a pup who's been playing in mud puddles. Even when she rinses his hair for good measure, he doesn't make a single complaint about the water's ice cold temperature. Instead, he stands patiently and waits for her to finish. When she does she fetches him two large, fluffy towels and instructs him to remove his sandals before he comes back in the shop. He complies while she sets to making hot cocoa to warm him up. When she hands him the steaming mug, he bends down to press his lips to her cheek.
The guilt in her heart grows.
Ino is 24 weeks pregnant and she still doesn't know what they're going to do once the baby is born. In less than a hundred days, she will be a mother. She's fully aware that she's running out of time, but every time she tries to think of a solution, it falls apart. She cannot leave Konoha, there is too much of herself here; everything that has meaning to her is rooted in Konoha. She cannot give her baby away either; no amount of peace would be worth the seperation from her child. And to have it all out in the open, to announce her weakness and connivance to the village for everyone to judge her is absolutely terrifying. With every day that passes, the voice in her head warning of impending disaster grows louder.
After so many months of spending copious amounts of time with Ino, the separation from her is painful. The separation from his child is downright brutal. A visit here and there is not enough to soothe Neji's nerves, and little by little he makes concessions along the way. He learns to sleep again, though even that is only possible when he's home and Tenten allows him to hold her. It's not even remotely the same. He can't have what he wants, that's the story of his life, but he can hold what he already has.
Neji has never been one for pretense, his mind is far too shrewd to entertain fantasies, and a little more each day his resolve to perpetuate the image of a dutiful clan member in a perfectly stable marriage cracks and degrades. With Ino out of his life, he has a lot of unwanted time in the boundaries of Konoha, and his abundance of time inevitably breeds an abundance of thoughts. In his daily meditations, his mind spins theoretical scenarios. He cannot protect Tenten from the truth forever and it is she, perhaps more than himself, who will be most affected. What will become of her place in his home? What of her place in his family? What action will Hiashi take when he learns of his adultery? What if Ino's plot succeeds, is he to stay away from her indefinitely? He already knows he cannot.
In the meantime, he knows that he can still compromise.
He finds reasons to send Hinata to the flowershop: Natsumi is feeling unwell, go and fetch some clover from the flowershop. Hachirou is developing an allergy to the shrubbery, please ask Yamanaka-san for advice. I wish to visit the memorial today, bring home a bouquet when you return from your briefing. Hinata accepts his requests without question. She knows her older cousin has not been himself in quite a long time. She also knows he cares for the blonde heiress deeply, and though Hinata doesn't know just how deep his connection to her is, she can tell from her very first visit that the sunny blonde is pregnant. Excluding Kiba's little scare with a barmaid last year, none of the Konoha Eleven have had children. Hinata can see how this would be reason enough to keep eyes on the girl who was his partner. As seasoned shinobi now, her comrades know the value of the generations to come. One year's offspring can change the world.
After a while she begins to visit the flowershop on her own. Neji never brings it up, but Hinata knows the knowledge of that calms him. Some days it is a quick visit, just to stop in and keep Ino company. Often, she'll walk in and find Shikamaru or Konohamaru or Naruto already there with carry-out ramen. Some days she stays for hours, helping the mindwalker with things that have fallen to the floor or pots too far back on the shelf for her to reach. They form a sort of gentle friendship, and Hinata finds it easy to hold conversation with her.
They don't discuss Neji.
It remains unclear to the Hyuuga just how all of the dots connect, but there's something in the way that Ino rubs her belly and something not in her eyes when Sai shows up that makes her think the dots connect somehow. She bids her farewells when he makes his greetings.
"No really, I have money this time! You don't have to have water. Here, have the good sake."
Naruto nudged a shot of premium sake Ino's way, trying again to coax her into having a drink with her ramen.
"It really enhances the flavor of the seaweed."
Ino released her stare from the two kunoichi in the other corner of Ichiraku who were none too subtly glancing at her and speaking in hushed tones. Self-consciously, she pulled her trenchcoat a little more firmly shut. No doubt that if her recent changes in apparel hadn't tipped them off to her condition, her reluctance to have even one drink had practically confirmed their suspicions. The two empty bowls in front of her in addition the the half-eaten one she was working on probably didn't help to hide it either. She wondered how many rumors were circulating about her already. Her eyes dropped to Naruto's hand.
"No, it's okay. I took some medicine for a headache earlier, so I can't really have anything. Besides, where'd you get money from? You're constantly broke."
The way Naruto jerked his chopsticks away from his mouth and broke into a blissful grin told Ino she'd asked the right question.
"That's right! That's what I meant to tell you today! Baa-chan is finally letting me captain a team; she gave me the mission this mornin'. About time, right?"
Ino set her own chopsticks down, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
"What? That's great, Naruto! Congratulations!"
"Yeah, thanks! It's Uzumaki-taichou now, by the way."
"Excuse me. Congrats, Uzumaki-taichou." Ino giggled, humoring him.
"Damn that sounds good. I'm never going to get tired of the sound of that. It's barely a B rank recon mission but still. I get to call the shots this time. Baa-chan's even letting me handpick my own team! So I've been thinking. I've got all the muscle, so that's covered, I just need a good tracker and someone really good at infiltration 'cause this place is like maximum security lockdown. So here's where you come in. I heard you're not really teamed with Neji anymore and Baa-chan really wants you to work alone, but y'know if I ask her..."
Ino quickly grabbed her glass of water and downed half of it. Shit shit shit. This was a big day for Naruto and he was celebrating and he wanted her to be a part of this milestone. The Hero of Konoha wanted to work with her. Even if he was still the most dense, hyperactive, eternally optimistic shinobi around, what he was offering her was still a great honor. She set down her cup and scrambled for words.
"I would...love to, Naruto, but I'm going to have to take a raincheck on that. I'm working this case in T&I and I'm just so close to being done. If I leave now, it'll be re-assigned and someone else will get credit for all my weeks of hard work. You know how much that sucks."
"But Sakura-chan can't come and you're the next best choice."
Ino glowered and Naruto backtracked.
"Not like that. I didn't mean it like that! I'm saying you're the expert, and since Sakura's busy-"
"I know what you meant, Naruto. Thanks, but I still can't. Next time, definitely. Meanwhile, why don't you take Hinata as your inside guy? She can even double as your tracker. I'm sure she'd love to go."
Naruto squinted uncertainly, crossing his arms over his chest and cocking his head to the side. He had spent more time with the Hyuuga heiress lately, most of the time running into her when he came to visit Ino at the shop. He didn't seem to have picked up on how completely lovestruck the girl was, but at least he no longer thought of her as 'weird'. Ino found it endlessly amusing how Hinata gradually learned to relax in his presence while Naruto began to have random moments where he looked at anything but Hinata, a look of guilt painted on his face as if he'd commited some great offense by noticing she was pretty. Finally.
"Yeah but...it's going to be really dangerous. I don't want Hinata-chan to get hurt."
Ino's glower resurfaced.
"N-Not that I wouldn't care about you getting hurt either, Ino-chan. It's just different. Do you think you can ask Neji for me if he'd do it? We're kinda friends and all, but you know him better than I do."
"Oi! You guys are sitting here with good food and good sake and you're talking about Hyuuga? You've got to get out more."
The blondes turned to the third voice joining their conversation, and Ino recited a little prayer of restraint in her mind when she saw that it was Fujiwara Shingo, asshole extrordinaire. Naruto greeted him and clapped him on the back when he claimed the empty stool beside them. Shingo smirked at Ino.
"Don't know Neji that well, eh Uzumaki? Well, I've always believed that the two best ways to learn a person are either to fight 'em or fuck 'em."
"Fujiwara!" Ino went pink, though rather in fury or embarassment she couldn't say for sure.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Eh? Well, I only ever fought Neji that one time. Ino-chan knows Neji pretty well, I guess that means you guys fight a lot?"
It made perfect sense to the self-proclaimed future Hokage. After all, he and Sakura fought near constantly - if the pinkette punching him repeatedly and him cowering in submission counted as such. Heaven knew he could never honestly raise a finger against her.
Below the bar's counter, Ino's foot delivered Shingo a vicious kick before she pushed away her bowl and stood up.
"Yes, we do. And with that, I think I'm done here. I've got a date in a couple of minutes anyway. Catch you later, Naruto."
She ducked out of Ichiraku before the jinchuuriki could protest. How Naruto could stand to be around Fujiwara was a mystery to Ino. If his chauvanism wasn't revolting enough, the barrier specialist was absolutely tactless, even moreso than Sai, and that was one hell of a feat to accomplish. Sai. She was supposed to be meeting him over in the residential side of town in five minutes. Looking down at her work clothes, Ino groaned when she realized she didn't have time to change into something cuter and more 'daytime date' appropriate. The cream colored dress with the white lace ruffles would have been perfect for today had she realized earlier how quickly the time was passing. Pausing in front of a store, Ino checked her reflection on the display window to make sure her face and hair at least looked good. She smoothed down a few flyaways before she once again set out to meet her "boyfriend". Ino found Sai exactly where he said he'd be waiting; in the oldest housing section near what was once Orochimaru's childhood home.
He wasn't alone.
Sakura flanked his right side and, judging by the taciturn expression on her face, Ino was willing to bet she was still trying to discourage Sai from dating her. It didn't surprise her in the least, Sakura's stubbornness being one of her stronger qualities. Evidently, Sai was paying the pinkette no mind at all. His eyes settled on Ino and their coal depths lit with warmth.
"Hey Beautiful."
"Hi Sai. Do you mind, Forehead? The whole Third Wheel thing is a bit too uncool even for you, don't you think?"
Sakura tried to muster a glare at Ino, but it dissolved as her verdant orbs traced the slight arcing of Ino's coat along her stomach. Ino didn't even attempt to suppress her chakra, and her childhood friend appeared to be mildly surprised to find Ino's 'secret' still there. The fact that the mindwalker had allowed the gestation to continue reenforced her theory that the father was no common joe. She had to be feeling a strong sense of attachment to the baby to chose to keep it despite knowing what sacrifices would be made and what consequences might play out. Ino ignored the medic's uneasy expression and concern in her voice.
"You should stop by the hospital some time. We could check up on that room they're renovating; I hear they're painting the walls baby blue."
"There's no need. I'm sure however it turns out, it'll look fine. Don't worry about it."
She could almost see the protest forming on Sakura's lips, and turned her attention back to Sai to make it clear the conversation was over. She clung to his arm for good measure.
"Ready to go, Sai?"
Sometimes Ino forgot just how effective her flirtatious side was. She achieved the desired effect; Sakura indeed shut her mouth - figuratively speaking, as it was quite obviously gaping at the moment - but not because of Ino's brazen flirting. Sai's response to Ino's seemingly innocent question was to lower his head and place a small kiss at the corner of Ino's mouth.
But the violent spike of chakra that immediately followed was not Sakura's.
The scene before him was not at all what Neji had been expecting when he left the training grounds minutes prior. He'd fully intended to buy lunch somewhere, maybe even utilize the public bath before finally swinging by the hospital for that annual exam he was due for. Thus, he was caught completely unaware when he took a shortcut through the residential district only to be graced with the sight of somebody kissing Ino. He barely noticed the swift change in his energy, but all three of the people present abruptly turned in his direction.
The mortification in Ino's eyes was clear, but it was countered by the genuinely friendly smile Sai showed him. Clearly he had no concept of why the atmosphere had shifted at his appearence, as demonstrated by the hand he kept loosely around Ino's wrist. Neji did little to clue him in. Outwardly, the Hyuuga was eerily calm.
The one to break the ice, oddly enough, was Sai.
"Hello. You're Neji, right? The strange green man's former student?"
Perhaps it was lucky the artist knew so little of Neji so that he had no offensive nickname to assign him.
Neji took a deceptively harmless step forward and Ino felt her nerves rise.
"Let go of her."
Ino knew that posture, that tone in his voice. While she had witnessed and - on occasion - been the cause of his anger rising to the surface, she knew that it was when Neji was well and truly pissed that he seemed the calmest. Sai however, was not privy to this knowledge. He shifted the weight on his feet, his body hiding a little more of Ino from view protectively even while his voice remained cordial.
"Ino and I are on a date. Contact is important in this instance."
Sakura's gaze bounced between the two of them, not entirely sure why things felt so tense. Did Neji also not approve of Sai and Ino dating? She looked to the blonde for some sort of hint. Ino's face bore no anger at the Hyuuga's interruption nor any confusion. Pure dismay was written across her features and Sakura found herself that much more lost. What exactly was going on?
"You'll be making contact with the ground if you don't let her go."
Ino's heart raced, not knowing what she should do. If she defended Sai, Neji would feel insulted. If she acquiesced to Neji, her mock-relationship with Sai could be stunted and Sakura would have even more motivation in her quest to find out the truth.
"I don't think that's likely, Hyuuga." , came the reply from the pale shinobi, the earlier friendliness simmered to a flat tone. He didn't need to be an expert at socializing to know when he was being threatened, and he had no reservations about meeting threats head on. He had fought Naruto, Kabuto, and Sasuke at different points in time and had no doubts about his skill level.
Neji bristled and Ino's panic got the best of her. She tugged at Sai's arm, prompting him to break the staring match and look at her.
"We're going to be late for the play."
Sai searched her expression, his experiences on missions leading him to recognize her look as one of muted fear. The hand joined with hers gripped tighter, reassuringly.
"Let's be on our way, then."
His free hand rose to cup her cheek and before he could think to kiss her, pain bloomed simultaneously in his right shoulder, mid-ribcage, sternum, lower ribs, and abdomen. Sakura quickly snatched Ino out of the way, transfixed as she watched the two top tier shinobi trade blows. It was the oddest sight; two people Sakura had never presumed to have even spoken to each other before, swinging fists and throwing kicks with fervor as if they were mortal enemies.
As if they were Naruto and Sasuke.
The thought sparked something in Sakura, and she nudged Ino back before diving in to intercept, not unlike her sensei had once done with her teammates. In one well-timed move, she deflected the attacks of both and used her chakra-enhanced strength to forcibly fling them far apart.
"I don't know what is wrong with the two of you, but this nonsense ends right now."
For the second time in her life, Ino felt like she was seeing Inner Sakura. And Inner Sakura was still extremely scary.
The Godaime pinched at the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. A double shot of Rice Country's best sake would have been perfect right about now. She hated being diplomatic! This was why, this was exactly why she had never wanted to be Hokage. Her eyelashes raised enough for her to glare at the group of shinobi standing before her.
"Would someone mind explaining why two of my most skilled shinobi were brawling in the street like common thugs?"
Her voice raised a decibel and her small audience had the decency to look remorseful. The occasional bar fight was to be expected from the older generation, maybe even from Naruto or Kiba as well. Neji and Sai were the last two people she would have bet to show up in her office for disorderly conduct. What the girls had to do with the issue, she didn't know, but for the moment she was disappointed in all four of them.
"I was tending to my girlfriend, Hokage-sama. Hyuuga-san seems to have reacted badly to it."
Knowing her apprentice had no time to maintain a love life, the Hokage's eyes flickered over to Ino.
"You. Step closer."
Ino eased closer to the desk, knowing all too well what was to come next.
"You're quite far along. Why didn't you tell me sooner you were carrying? I would have capped your office hours to the minimum. And you," her sights shifted back to Sai, "Had you told me your girlfriend was pregnant I would have sent someone else on that last mission." Tsunade huffed. She could tell from the second the girl set foot in the office that she was pregnant; when you'd spent as many years as she had in the medical field the difference was as plain as gin and water. And obviously the Hyuuga had a possessive streak a mile wide. She couldn't say she was surprised; Jiraiya had been much the same when she had chosen to date Dan. From what she heard on the days when she got to go to the bar to drink, between the Hyuuga, Nara, and Akimichi boys no man could approach Ino. Under her breath, she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like It's Dan and Jiraiya all over again.
Sakura hung back, watching what transpired with attentive eyes while her academic brain reeled. The fight had been the mother of all clues, but she had hoped against hope that her rising suspicions were way off track. She felt bad for even considering where her mind was heading, but the parallels between what she knew of Tsunade's past and Ino's present were too striking. Over the years, Tsunade had waxed nostalgic every so often, recounting to her the tales of her youth and occassionally her love life. Sakura knew Dan had been the love of Tsunade's life. She also knew that Tsunade had always known Jiraiya was in love with her. And if Sai was Ino's Dan, then Neji was Ino's version of Jiraiya.
Suddenly, the fight earlier made much more sense to the pinkette. Her eyes darted to Ino.
Ino watched Sai's profile for a reaction to see if he'd be shocked or disgusted, knowing he couldn't possibly mistake the baby for his, but the ex-ROOT member was the picture of stoicism. He gave a shallow bow of apology and Ino followed suite. Tsunade's sharp stare finally setlled on Neji.
"It sounds as if you instigated this incident, Neji. I'm disappointed in your lack of judgement. Do you have any idea of how irresponsible it was to engage in a physical altercation while in the presence of a pregnant female? Are you aware of the harm you could have caused her and her child?"
"I would never harm our child."
Again, the words slipped from Neji's mouth before he could catch himself. A moment of stark silence passed before Tsunade ordered Sai and Sakura out of the room.
Sakura could hardly believe her ears, and as hard a time as she was having digesting it all, she knew it must have been harder for Sai. As the door shut behind them and they headed for the stairs, she marvelled at how he was seemingly unfazed by the news.
"You didn't know about this, right? Aren't you angry? Ino was pregnant and never even told you. Don't you care?" She looked at him as she spoke, but Sai kept his gaze straight ahead. She half-expected him to ignore her, but in the same monotone voice he was infamous for, Sai gave Sakura the answer she craved. And it was far from what the kunoichi was prepared for.
"It didn't matter that she was pregnant; she was my girlfriend."
He walked on ahead of her and Sakura watched him trail away with a deepened understanding of her teammate. Sai did care, surprisingly. And in contrast to the clinging emotional mess one would expect of someone experiencing love for the first time, Sai had shown a superior sense of devotion by choosing to let Ino go. If there was someone else she wanted, he wanted her to be happy. Ino had melted his plastic little heart and though it lay open and weeping, Sakura couldn't say it was an entirely terrible thing. In her years of life she had hurt people and in turn been hurt, but Sakura was still certain that feeling something awful was better than feeling nothing at all.
When Sai reached his apartment, he set down his keys and took a minute to glance at all the new paintings he had stewn about. Some were large and some were small and all were done in a variety of styles, but each held one feature in common: a sole girl. The scenery, her outfit and hairstyle all changed with each picture but the face was always the same. Every face was Ino's.
Konoha was positively buzzing with rumors about Ino's pregnancy and the fight that had broken out in the streets. Some said that the Hyuuga was furious about losing his mission partner and took it out on her boyfriend. Some said that the baby belonged to someone not from Konoha, and that the artist held a grudge against Ino's partner for that. Some said the blonde got pregnant on purpose because Neji worked her too hard and she wanted to quit. And still others said she'd gotten pregnant just so the artist would marry her. Some even dared to say the entire thing was a hoax. Hundreds of theories circled the hidden village in every department and every rank. It seemed everyone had heard the news by sunset.
And everyone had.
Neji held no delusions that there was some way his wife hadn't heard about the fight with the ink-ninja, nor that she wouldn't guess what - or, more accurately, who - the fight had been about. She was well overdue for an explaination; a full telling of the truth of what had changed in the time since he'd first gotten to know the Yamanaka. He went straight home after the scolding and subsequent guarantee of a serious discussion in Tsunade's office, prepared for the storm of fury sure to hit him when he walked through the front door. He was perplexed when he walked in to find everything in order - nothing was broken, the house looked immaculately clean, and the dinner table was full of entrees and side dishes. From sight and smell, Neji could already recognize them as all of his favorite foods. In a moment of question, he took a second look around to reassure himself her things are still in place. They were. The strangeness of it all, not to mention the timing, confounded him. Tenten herself emerged from the kitchen seconds later, dressed in one of her best outfits and hair worn down in a manner he'd never seen outside of bed, save for the fact that every hair was in place. She smiled when she spotted him motionless in the living room and he couldn't help but to think that something in the curve of it was wrong.
"Oh! I finished just in time, huh? Come eat before it gets cold."
She took her seat and started to load her plate. Neji obliged with a slow stride toward the table, approaching cautiously as one would upon a sleeping bear. As he sat down it crossed his mind that his portion might have been poisoned, but he banished the thought immediately after. As much as they've been through, he has more faith in her than that. He started to dig into the katsudon and Tenten surprised him yet again when she tried to stir up conversation. She told him of how she got one of the recipies from one of his cousins, reminded him of Lee's upcoming birthday, and mentioned that she'd been thinking they should get a new stove. He knew her well enough to detect that she was only pretending nothing was wrong. When they finished their meal, she began to chatter about ceramic tiles versus linoleum and Neji knew they'd both avoided The Discussion long enough.
"Tenten, what is all of this?"
His voice, low and even, is enough to make her stop mid-sentence. There was a time when that voice made butterflies swarm in her stomach; now it filled her anxiety. She closed her eyes, willing back the tears that had been threatening to spill all day long. Just once more, for just one more day, she'd wanted to feel happy and loved like she used to. Her voice shakes.
"Is it true? Is that girl pregnant?"
A pause, then : "Yes."
"...Is it yours?"
A full minute passes without a sound. Tenten takes his silence as a confirmation. It's feels like zero hour; the bomb has detonated and Tenten is moderately surprised at how anti-climatic it is. The apprehension built up in her flees and tenacity takes it place. She remembers that she is not, in fact, made of glass and she wants all of the answers now; all the answers to the questions she hadn't let herself ask.
"Wasn't I enough? What about my pregnancy? What about our baby?"
Neji's eyes glint angrily and his words turn thunderous, a low rumble in his throat.
"And when were you going to tell me you had been pregnant? In a year? In ten? Did you ever intend to inform me?"
Things are quickly culminating into a battle of words, Tenten realizes. Only this is a kind of battle she doesn't know the rules to. But she does know that all battles leave scars and that regardless of the passing of time and changing of hearts that they have never wanted to hurt one another. She wants answers, not verbal combat.
"I was; I wanted to. I just...couldn't."
Even now the pain of loss is fresh. It must be even more raw for him finding out secondhand and after the fact. Each question is difficult to ask and even more difficult to hear answered. Nothing about this is simple, but Tenten has no interest in stopping now. This is the most open and honest the two have ever been.
"You and her, was it one time? Was this just a drunk night or...?"
Neji breathes deeply and turns his face for a moment but his eyes find hers again when he answers.
"We were never drunk."
He leaves the first question hanging in the air, and Tenten will not have that. They've covered too much ground to recede back to old habits of avoidance.
"How many times?"
He would like to give her a clear answer but he himself isn't sure.
"I don't know."
She hesitates, then: "Do you love her?"
Even once it's left her mouth, she isn't sure she's ready to handle the answer.
"Yes."
Never in a million years would she have predicted Hyuuga Neji falling in love with someone else. It had taken three whole years for him to even notice she was in love with him, and several more after that to return her feelings. She was halfway sure he'd never even considered anyone else romantically before. She only has one question left.
"And me? Did you ever love me?"
"I do. I did."
Not all marriages were built on love, but until the past year and a half he'd thought his was. He did love her, in so much as he'd believed he did, but what does a caterpillar know about flying? Nothing, until it flies. Love is not always straight lines and function and peace. Sometimes it's the twists and the dysfunction and the challenge. Sometimes, just because an equation balances out doesn't mean it's right. Neji knows this now just as surely as he knows he loves her still...but it will never be in the way that she loves him. For that, more than anything, he wished he could apologize. If it would lessen her misery, he would.
Tenten shakes her head mirthlessly.
"Where did we go wrong?"
He isn't sure they were ever right.
"My intention was never to hurt you."
She knows. She never thought they'd end this way. She never thought they'd end.
"Onee-chan!"
Konohamaru belted out from the living room, causing Asuka's eyes to snap to the doorway as well. Kurenai chuckled and Ino hugged her in greeting before following her inside the apartment. Asuka latched on to Ino's legs before she could even sit down and Konohamaru hovered close by. Mixed in with excitement, Ino could faintly sense hesitation from the teenager. Kurenai peeled her daughter off of Ino's legs.
"Come on now, I now you're excited to see Ino, but she and Mommy have a few things to talk about." She placated the squirming child in her hands with a kiss on the side of the face and set her back on the floor. Then she turned to Konohamaru. "Why don't you take Asuka down to the Nakano River to play?"
Konohamaru made a face as if readying an objection, but thought better of it. Taking Asuka by the hand, they exited the living room with a soft click of the front door. Ino took her seat.
"What's up with him?"
Kurenai swept away some small toys and took a seat across from Ino. She met Ino's question with a small smile.
"He idolizes you. He was always hoping you would date his only other role model." With a tilt of her head, Ino signals that she has no idea what Kurenai's talking about. Kurenai clarifies. "Naruto."
The lightbulb in Ino's brain came on and she made a little "o" with her mouth. Even Konohamaru's generation had heard the rumors already? She'd thought it would be at least another day before the younger shinobi found out.
"Fat chance."
She shrugs out of her coat and lays it beside her. Folding her legs underneath her, her belly is even more prominent. Kurenai sighs and shifts in her seat. Though not her own student, the blonde's dedication to Asuka has bred a close kinship between them. She likes to think things would be the same even if Asuma had survived. Except, perhaps, a few less mouths would be gossiping with his intimidating form roaming about.
"People will want answers soon. What will you tell them?"
Ino shakes her head. "What can I say for myself? That I would nev- That it wasn't me? It was. I did. The rumors are true, I am pregnant." A long silence stretches before Ino allows herself to say the forrbibden words out loud. "And Neji is the father."
Kurenai's brows drew together worriedly. The hearts of men were fickle, this she knew. The hearts of women, however...
"Do you love him?"
Ino nods. "With everything I am."
The raven haired kunoichi leaned forward, her scarlet eyes grave as she imparted the best advice she had to offer.
"It was never my choice to be a single mother. We planned Asuka; Asuma and I planned to be parents. We just didn't plan on either of us dying. Asuka will spend the rest of her life with just me as a parent because he's gone, she won't have the choice to know her father. She won't get to call him unfair or rebel against him or apologize later. She won't get to ask him for advice when she goes on her first mission or cry in his lap when she kills her first human."
Kurenai paused, rueful.
"But if that Hyuuga loves you the way you love him, those things are not yet impossible for your child. You still have a choice for his involvement."
It is both the most useful and most useless advice Ino has ever heard. It does nothing to make her choice any easier.
It is well after dark when Ino leaves Kurenai's home. The older woman spent hours helping her make plans for the baby's arrival and giving 'new mother' advice Ino had already known, and when she departs her arms are stuffed with handwritten home cures for everything from morning sickness to tension headaches to swollen ankles. Kurenai is a fantastic mother, but Ino heard almost none of her words. The entire time she spoke Ino could not shake the thoughts of her situation. So much is up in the air and none of the outcomes look promising. What if Tsunade doesn't allow her to keep the child? What if, ultimately, she and Neji can't protect the child from the elder council? What if her own village has her assassinated to keep the peace? No, she thinks to herself, now I'm being paranoid. Konoha would never do something like that. She shakes off the thought and continues down the street. Rounding a corner, Ino finds herself face to face with the person she'd needed to speak with the most but had been too humbled to face. Although it's debatable if approaching her sooner rather than later would have done any good, because Hyuuga Tenten looks positively incensed.
They hold a tense stare for several moments as Ino is unsure if she should open her mouth or if a fist will fly into it. Finally, the silence is broken as Tenten speaks to her with clipped words.
"Thirty seconds."
Ino is grateful. There are, she's sure, many women who wouldn't even give her that much time to explain herself. She starts.
"I want you to know that this - all of this - was never, ever planned. I wasn't trying to take Neji from you and he wasn't looking for anything...but this wasn't some tryst either. It's not all skin and sweat, what we share. It's also faith and connection and strength. It's love. And this", she spares a second to gesture at her baby bump, "may not have been planned, but it's not a mistake. This is a symbol of that love and I can't say that I regret it, but I do wish things were different."
Tenten braces herself as she listens, trying not to let the hurt and rage overtake her. She is tough, but even she is amazed at how composed she is able to keep herself when she really wants nothing more than to rearrange Ino's face. She figures it is her sympathy that makes her strong as the only reason she is not attacking is because the girl is pregnant. Even with how off-the-charts fuirous she is with her husband and his mistress, this is still Neji's child, and she can't bear to rob him of fatherhood a second time. She hates what he has done and yet she cannot bring herself to hate him. The blonde stands there waiting, as if expecting a response from her but Tenten has nothing to give her. She is all out of questions, all out of answers, and even if she had any left she would not provide them to her. When a few more moments of silence pass, Ino takes the hint. With a shallow bow of the head, she cautiously walks around Tenten and disappears into the night. Tenten breathes deep and moves to brush a stray hair out of her face
only her hand won't move. A second too late she notices that even in the darkness of night, her shadow should not be so dark when standing under a lit streetlamp. Part of it seperates and recedes before her very eyes and by the time the shadow user steps out from a small alley, Tenten's fury is rekindled.
"Is she that important to everyone? Is she so damned special?"
Heaven forbid everyone's favorite blonde get the slap she deserved. Apparently she has not only a fanclub, but a bodyguard.
Shikamaru levels her with a look of patience, his hands kept loosely at his sides now that he no longer has to hold the final handsign of Kagemane. They do not return to his pockets.
"That, just now, wasn't about Ino. It was about you. You've seen what revenge does to people, we all have. I couldn't run the risk of you taking vegeance."
He is completely honest with her. Shikamaru remembered the day Team Ten set out to avenge their fallen sensei. He remembered the way he felt when they'd succeeded - guilty. He had survived against someone who'd beat his sensei; someone so much further from his skill level than from Asuma's. He'd been victorious, and that victory had felt stolen from the man that deserved it. He wasn't the hero, Asuma was.
Tenten, however, does not care for his honesty. She is sick of being last to know and sick of being made to think that her thoughts, decisions, and actions count for nothing. Shikamaru, Ino, Neji, she's disgusted with all of it. She is done.
"Hypocrite! What gives you the right to stand in my way?"
Shikamaru shifts his weight and settles a hand on his hip. Tenten is still full of anger, rightfully so, but at least her hands are no longer balled into tight, circulation-stopping fists. The worst of it has passed and for now, he knows Ino is safe.
"Nothing. And they had no right to hurt you. You don't have to forgive them, but I'm not going to let you hurt Ino."
She stares daggers at him to make up for the kunai she doesn't have with her. When it becomes obvious that Shikamaru is only going to reply to her ranting with rationality and facts, she deserts him and makes her way to Team Gai's old training grounds.
This is not what Hiashi had wished for his nephew. Thinking back to his urging him for a child a year ago, he never fathomed that things would turn out this way. He never imagined himself standing in the Hokage's office beside a far too calm Yamanaka Inoichi. Hizashi had always been the more rebellious brother; apparently it's a hereditary trait. Neji's taste in women is similarly reminiscent but, like his father, he is not favored by fate. It's a compilation of bad decisions stacked high, ready to crash on everyone in radius. The first - and perhaps least severe - is the girl. Yamanaka Ino is not only from another clan, but as the sole daughter of the clan leader is undoubtedly the heiress to the title. Any other girl, even from another clan, would have been a better choice. His second mistake, most obviously, is the pregnancy. Adultery is never a minor thing, even when there are only three people involved, but the addition of a pregnancy and half-breed children complicates things exponentially. Third and most grievous among his mistakes is the timing. The girl is a bad idea and the baby is a stupid accident, but nearly all of it could have been easier dealt with were it timed differently. Almost any other time would have worked : if Neji were older, more established in the clan. If Hinata had already borne children and the Hyuuga clan heir was secured. If Neji were still unmarried. Any. Other. Time.
"The way I see it, the best course of action would be for us to keep the child. Enroll the infant in our clan and keep the identity of the father confidential. There will be less conflict."
Inoichi is solemn, his words carrying an air of certainty. To Hiashi he's not only had too much time to think, but he's wrong. Hiashi interrupts.
"I disagree. It would be impossible for the Yamanaka clan to correctly train a Hyuuga. Without proper instruction, the child's Byakugan - should it be inherited - would have to be sealed. Doing so would simultaneously strip away all manner of sight, but the protection of the kekkei genkai supercedes personal interests. The child should remain within the Hyuuga compound; I can arrange for relatives to rear the infant. We cannot admit the progeny of such impure heritage into the clan registry and it is likely the child will be of the lowest status, however is that not worth the value of sight?"
Inoichi looks offended but lets the heritage comment slide.
"The Hyuuga clan is four times the size of the Yamanaka clan, they suffer no shortage of heirs. This is my daughter's first born child. It deserves all of the rights granted by bloodline."
"A child you would not have if not for the Hyuuga clan. Is it not tradition that children are enrolled in the clan of their fathers?"
"Is it not tradition that men be faithful to their wives?"
One of these days, Tsunade swore to herself she would get a No Pissing Contests sign just for her office.
The day Tenten took on the Hyuuga name had been a day full of ancient customs and sacred traditions. There was nothing traditional about what she was doing now. In the wake of the news that her husband had cheated on her and fathered a child, the house had become increasingly suffocating to her. Despite having finally laid their souls bare and having no secrets between them, Tenten found that she could no longer look Neji in the face anymore. Where there had been a time when she had harbored hope that things between them could be repaired, she now conceded the time for such a thing had passed. A one-night stand she could deal with. And affair she might get over with time. But a pregnancy? And still wanting to stay with the homewrecker even after Tenten's numerous attempts to keep their relationship alive? That she could not gloss over. Her time with Neji had run it's course and despite Hiashi's insistence that she needn't leave, Tenten felt it was time to leave, to heal, and maybe someday start fresh. For the time being, she took what little valuables she had with her to a tiny apartment she could now call her own.
At the end of the day, the problem is bigger than a simple squabble between two clans. It brings to question if the old policies are outdated; if clans should by themselves be allowed to decide who is admissable as a clan member and who is not. It's the kind of situation that can spark feuds and discontent, and for that Konoha's elder council must be involved. Tsunade arranges a time for the elders and the clan heads to convene and clears out her office. Looking ahead, she knows she's in for a long, stressful meeting. The Hyuuga do not condone divorce, the heirs of clans are forbidden intermarriage, and no one person can belong to two clans. She's still trying to sort it all out in her head when Danzou's old form shows up in her doorway.
He comes, he says, to offer a perfect solution. Give the child to ROOT.
Tsunade pacifies him with the promise she will consider it, and while the old warmonger grumbles at not receiving an immediate answer, it's enough to get him to leave. For now.
When Kiba shows up to turn in reports from his recent mission, he's met with an empty sake bottle smashing into his forehead and a door being slammed in his face. He'd say something about it if he didn't think the Hokage could beat every square inch of his ass. He shoves the paperwork roughly into Shizune's hands when he passes her on the way back to the stairway.
"Dunno what she's getting all pissy at me for, I ain't the one sticking it to my partner."
A/N : To Winry7405, congrats on your foresight! Your Sherlock skills are first class, noting the plan flaws before I could even bring it all crumbling down. (But yes, Neji was aware of how flawed the plan was)
To everyone else, sorry this is a super-rough draft. I just wanted to get it out to sate your curiousity, I'll fix it proper and pretty later. And it's finally time to tell you all the big secret : Ricochet has more than one ending! Three in total (Main, Tengoku, Jigoku) plus an epilogue (for Jigoku). There will not be a sequel to Ricochet. Sorry, but I have a lot of other Ino stories (some are NejiIno) that I've been neglecting. That being said, I actually recommend you read all three endings because I made sure there was something to satisfy everyone with each one. This is my last Author's Note, there won't be one on the endings, so here's where I say goodbye to all you lovelies. Thanks for reading! I appreciate each and every one of you, you've made writing this story a lot of fun. As usual, I'm open to any questions or comments you guys may have, so feel free to pm me or hit me up on Tumblr (RenegadeRoyale) anytime! In the words of Chrono Cross: "I'm sure we'll meet again, someday, you and I. Another place, another time. It's just that we might not realize that you are you and I am me. Let us open the door to the great unknown, come across another reality, and live another today. Even when the story has been told, life goes on. Until we meet again, take care of yourself, my friend."
With love, Nukumi