A/N Oh. My. Gosh. Guys. Can anyone else believe that I am possibly here tonight actually updating. I thought the fire for this story was absolutely gone. I thought it was never coming back. But here I am! Actually updating! I don't know when the next one will be, I can't promise anytime soon. But my goodness guys I'm still alive!

Thank you so much to all of you were the constant stream of positivity that kept reminding me that the story was NOT dead. Thank you all so much. You all rock and there's too many of you to thank individually. Check out Zetsubel's fic Seek and Destroy though because she and her story were part of inspiriation to write this again. Anyway-

Just to recap, last night was the super long hospital night where Sakura was a bitch then Zetsu left the coffee and then in the morning Zetsu gave her all the money and then she hugged him and we pick up just after she hugged him. And breathe. Haha, enjoy guys!

Disclaimer: blah blah blah get on to the story.

"Have you spoken to your friend recently?" Zetsu watched her shoulders tense a bit at his voice. He hadn't spoken a word since she had, not briefly either, hugged him. He could remember with unnerving clarity her warm arms wrapped around his shoulders, her nose nuzzling against his neck, and her chest pressed against his. As soon as she had realized her actions she had leapt away immediately, of course, but the deed had been done.

"My friend," the girl asked uncertainly as she creased a shirt. She was sitting with her back to him, folding laundry. He was sitting in his same chair, watching her, planning rapidly, thinking of how to phrase his questions and demands. He had arrived in Konoha with little more than his cloak and weapons, nothing to aid him in his subterfuge, but now… Now he had the perfect malleable tool, just waiting to be manipulated.

"Yes. The ANBU member. Have you spoken to him?" He didn't think so. He had kept careful tabs on the girl, unwilling at times to let her out of his sight; he would practically have to live through her for his plan to work. His confidence was high though: the coffee, the money, all brilliant ideas he had to congratulate himself on.

That wasn't why we stayed up all night, he thought, but the notion was quickly put down, dismissed as trivially emotional. The girl didn't answer right away. He could mentally see her lips turning down in a frown, her eyebrows knitting together. He didn't care if she questioned his motives. She would have to be daft not to.

"Shikamaru?" A slight pause that served as his affirmative. "No, not much. He's too busy chasing you." Zetsu stiffened at the change in her voice. It had turned guilty and accusing. She was always wrestling with torn and indecisive feelings on his part, he was sure. The point was to get her to stay that way: wrestling. She couldn't throw the kunai at him while still grappling. .

"He has access to vast stores of information," he continued, slightly pointlessly. He was stating the obvious. "Information on the Akatsuki?"

"I wouldn't know. It's not like he goes around gossiping about it," Ino said, waving a hand flippantly over her shoulder. Zetsu wondered if she realized just how transparent she was. When she was truly at ease, truly being honest, she faced him. Met his eyes, even. The girl was by no means shy, yet her back was still to him. This conversation made her uneasy, she didn't want to show it, but to him her body language spoke volumes. "He doesn't tell me anything at least."

"Don't lie to me."

"I work with Uchiha Itachi. I only wanted information on him," his other half cut in now. Demands, coercion, and scare tactics were all very well, but this girl had other senses to appeal to than the one of self preservation.

"Itachi," she questioned, glancing back at him now. She'd heard him mention the other Akatsuki a number of previous times, and now she was curious. "Why would you need any more information on him? You work with him."

"Exactly."

"No one in Akatsuki can be trusted; least of all one who murdered their own clan," Zetsu explained, and he wasn't even lying. Stretching the truth perhaps, but not straight out lying.

"We're just trying to protect ourselves." The change in her countenance was so obvious. Yes, there were much more effective ways than fear and threats. Zetsu turned and stared thoughtfully out the window. There was a word he had used when he first met her. It was the word that had convinced her to let him stay. He hadn't used it since.

"In our current predicament, however, there's nothing we can do about it." He pinned on her the full effect of his yellow-eyed stare. "We need you to get the information for us." She sat up straighter, her eyes brightening at the word.

"Well, maybe. Next time I see him," she said, and she set one of her folded tank tops into the laundry basket. Zetsu nodded, pleased, and ended the conversation. They sat in silence; an easy silence, a comfortable silence. The silence almost of two people contented for the moment. He with the smooth progression of his plan and she with whatever it was that pleased her. After a few minutes, Zetsu happened to glance at the clock. Quarter of an hour until the opening of the shop.

With no word of explanation, he got up and took the remaining laundry from her. Before she could protest, he directed a pointed look at the clock. She instinctively followed his gaze and leapt up with a slightly overdramatic yelp.

"The shop," she exclaimed, then disappeared into the bedroom in the back, calling over her shoulder. "I have to get ready to open it up. Finish that laundry for me please!" The plea was unnecessary as he was already folding what she had left behind. He executed the chore quietly, almost lazily, amusedly observing the girl's harried and rushed attempt to make herself presentable before going out in public.

She worried too much about what other people thought, their opinion of her swayed too much her opinion of herself.

"Are you coming down or are you going to stay up here?" The blonde was standing by the door to the stairs and watching him impatiently. Zetsu stood up.

"Coming."

During the first days of his stay, the wary kunoichi would have watched his every move as he descended the narrow stair case directly behind her. She would have searched for a weakness in him that would allow her to escape. Now, she did not. In a warped way, she trusted him. She trusted him not to spring on her the moment she turned her back; trusted him not to slit her throat in her sleep. She did not trust him with her secrets, with her village's safety, with her life. But in a way, she trusted him. She displayed this by dashing down the stairs as soon as he stood up, knowing he would follow.

He took his time descending the stairs at a respectable pace. When he entered the sweet smelling room, she was still spritzing and trimming his bonsai. She glanced up when he entered and spared a brief smile before clipping off a tiny branch.

"You know, the shop might not even need these now," she said. "Looks like we won't go under after all." Zetsu did not reply and only waited for her to quickly finish. When she had turned her back to open the shop he morphed into the bonsai. She was smiling when she turned back around.

She continued smiling for the rest of the day. At customers, at her flowers, and even at him. He had never seen her smile so much, though that made sense. His white side was simply buzzing with anticipation and pride, while his black side was pleased, yet for seemingly different reasons.

Despite his pleasure though, he began to shifting uncomfortably in his bonsai. He was cramped and this day at the flower shop had achieved nothing. He had a lot to do tonight to prepare for another meeting with the other Akatsuki and his time was wasted watching a dithering blond putter back and forth with her pretty flowers.

We shouldn't have even come down. It's not like she's gonna run off and turn us in now, he thought. One of his leaves was shaken free in irritation. After what we did for her, we have a couple weeks at the least where she won't cross us at all.

We don't want this to seem like a give and take deal. We are posing as kind and considerate. The kind and considerate do not then demand cooperation after their gifts, he sniffed back. Just be patient. It's only twenty minutes until closing time.

The welcoming bell had jingled at sometime during Zetsu's argument and when he looked back up he was greeted with the ironically unwelcomed sight of a Hyuuga girl and a large man. The blonde was already embracing each of them. Looked like the shop might close late today.

"Hinata," Ino exclaimed. "I'm so glad you stopped by. And Chouji, I haven't seen you in months." She wrapped her arms around his neck, for perhaps a bit longer than completely necessary, and unfortunately for her, everyone in the room was extremely observant.

"We met at the market and decided to come by and see you, too," Hinata said, smiling as she made herself at home in the shop. She picked up a watering can and began filling it up.

"Yeah, and there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Chouji said, with a coy look. Ino didn't have to be a genius to figure out what he meant. Shikamaru had been quick to inform his best friend of his success with their former teammate.

"Oh me too," Hinata piped up as she watered a purple flower. "I leave tomorrow on a mission." Ino felt her mouth fall open slightly.

"A mission," she repeated, maybe a bit insipidly. "But… to where?" Hinata was not a better ninja than her. She couldn't be. Not the shy, stuttering girl who couldn't even master her own bloodline limit, surely not that girl. Ino hadn't been offered a mission in months, how was it that this girl had?

"All the way to Lightening country!" Hinata gave her an exceptionally large, if nervous smile and had started fiddling with her fingers again. But it wasn't the shy sort of fiddling she used to do, it was anticipation. It was that before mission buzz Ino couldn't even remember feeling anymore. As Ino looked harder at the purple haired girl, she realized something that she'd always known but hated to admit.

Hinata wasn't the same shy stuttering girl. She was tall, beautiful, strong, talented, and with her own unique skills. She was better than Ino. She was a better ninja, a better kunoichi, of more value to her village; needed by her village.

Ino forced a happy smile.

"That's so exciting," she exclaimed. Before her smile could break, or her lie could be seen in her eyes she looked back down at her bonsai. "I suppose you can't tell me much, but how long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Only a week if all goes well," Hinata replied, and now that she had seen Ino's positive reaction she was absolutely glowing with excitement. If she were anyone else, Ino would have wanted to punch her. But no matter how envious you got of the heiress, she was impossible to get mad at. Chouji had apparently already heard all about Hinata's mission and he was off in a corner with some exotic blossom now. None the less though, Hinata checked to make sure he was out of earshot before lowering her voice and saying, "And Neji's going to be coming too."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Is he?" She instinctively glanced at the male too, before stepping closer and conversing in hushed tones. "So you're sure, then, about how you feel about him? You really like him like that?"

"I…I think it might not just be like, Ino," Hinata said slowly after a moment's deliberation. "It's hard to explain, but… I really love him. You understand that sort of thing don't you?" Hinata's eyes were earnest. Ino wanted to say that of course she understood. She was a master of all things with a Y chromosome wasn't she? But no, she did not understand. She had never loved a man. Sasuke, she knew, had been nothing more than a crush. All the other men were nothing more than one night stands. She could not understand.

"Of course I do," she replied with a small smile. "I understand completely. And you know Hinata"— she put a hand on her shoulder—"I think he'll take care of you better than any other man ever could."

"I don't think he will." Hinata's voice fell. "He doesn't feel the same. He probably doesn't even realize how I feel."

"Hinata." Ino's voice was that stern sort that all girls used on their fellows when trying to snap them out of their self-deprecating bouts. "Neji is a prodigy of the Byakugan. He is certainly not that blind." She grinned, and was pleased to see Hinata giggle back.

"I suppose." Whatever else she may have been planning to say was cut off by the bell jingle as the devil walked in the door. Speak of him and he shall come, after all. Ino and Hinata quickly stepped apart, trying not to look as though they had just been talking very deeply about him. Neji, however, always observant, seemed to realize something was up and had the decency to look at least slightly embarrassed.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but Hinata, your father wants to see us before we depart on our mission tomorrow," he said, and for a moment Ino heard his voice as Hinata must. That stereotypical warm flowing chocolate. And all of its seductive powers were aimed purely at the pretty girl at Ino's side. If Hinata didn't see Neji's attraction to her, than she was blinder than she thought he was.

"Of course." The Hyuuga straightened up quickly and followed her cousin to the door, but not before giving Ino a quick embrace. "Wish me luck. I'll see you as soon as I get back!" And then she was gone. Really gone. Ino felt as though she could no longer hope to catch up to her.

"Ino." The blonde started in surprise as Chouji's voice murmured near her ear. For a moment she had forgotten he was even there. She felt his big hands come down on her shoulders and pull her partly against his chest in that comforting half embrace he had given her after hard missions when she started brooding. "Don't be jealous of that, you'll get even better one day."

"What are you talking about?" Ino brushed his hands away good naturedly, trying to laugh his perceptions off. "What am I jealous of?" She sat behind her counter across from him and placed her elbows on the surface comfortably. She was smiling widely, but Chouji only offered her a quiet sincere one.

"Hinata and Neji," he replied. "You're lonely." Ino opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand. "Don't tell me I'm wrong, I know you way better than you think I do. I know you're lonely, and you want someone, and that's why I'm so happy you made that promise to Shikamaru." He had a hopeful smile on now, and Ino felt almost out of her element in a weird way.

However, the first thought that had come to her, was of Zetsu. Did Chouji really know her that well? If he did, could he guess that she was hiding the criminal? Would she be caught? Then what would happen to Zetsu? He was powerless to help himself. She couldn't let him down. She dismissed the thought train quickly, before it could become apparent in her face.

"I get you're proud of me, but I don't get exactly how it's going to magically make me not lonely anymore," she said skeptically, yet amusedly. There was something about the contagious excitement hanging around him now that made her feel almost giddy.

"Now you can find a real guy," Chouji explained. "You're not just gonna go to a bar and get drunk and… well everything that comes after that." Maybe Ino's eyes deceived her, but it looked as though a light blush had found its way onto Chouji's swirl adorned cheeks. "You'll get a guy you connect to now. That cares about you." He reached forward and grabbed Ino's hand, looking into her eyes with such intensity she had to look away. It made her feel almost uncomfortable, but also, almost in a good way.

"T-That would be nice, wouldn't it," she said indulgently. She looked up at the clock, and Chouji took the hint.

"It's almost closing time," he said, standing up, but not releasing her hand. "Good luck, and stay in touch." He smiled and kissed her on the cheek before striding out the door. As Ino watched him leave, she felt the air displace behind her and Zetsu's earthy scent fill her nose.

"Zetsu, what are you doing," she gasped, turning to confront the tall figure. But he wasn't looking at her. That unreadable yellow gaze was still staring after the large man. "I haven't even closed the shop yet."

"I don't care, I was cramped," he muttered. "And you're lucky I only came out now, I was close to taking out that fat bastard. Irritating lump." Ino, who had gotten up quickly to shut the shop and draw the curtains, turned to gape at him.

"Don't say that," she snapped. "He's a good man." She glared at him, confused a bit by his outburst but indignant and protective enough that she was more interested in sticking up for her teammate. Zetsu sniffed.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say."

"Continue closing the shop please."

Ino turned her back on him and did just that. Let him be a jerk if he wanted. She closed the curtains tightly, and flipped the sign over. Of course, she could no longer lock the door, because Zetsu was still in possession of the keys. She had given up the thought of ever getting them back long ago. She had offered to get copies made of them, but he had been right to point out that that would have looked much too suspicious.

As Ino pulled out the cash register to start counting the meager earnings, she realized just how much less stressful it was than every other time she had done it. This time, when she came out to a less than satisfactory number it didn't mean yet more cut backs. It was just disappointing. She had a cushion now, a cushion of security. Because of him.

She looked up and watched Zetsu lean intently over a cluster of orange flowers. His fly trap was opened wide to allow him better access, leaving his torso relatively exposed. It was ripped with muscle, all working seamlessly together at his every movement. His amber eyes were focused hard on the flower he tended. All of his startling intelligence, and for all his cruelty, focused an innocent, superfluous being.

His eyebrows were furrowed in his concentration and his tousled green hair fit with all the other plants in the room. His skin shone with just the faintest sheen of sweat, both his black half and his white. They were such startling contrasts and yet after being around him, Ino had come to accept that he was in fact, one man.

It wasn't until she was halfway towards him, that Ino realized she had even come out from behind the counter. How could he be? She found herself wondering. He was a marvel, truly. Such an incredible blend of humanity and the plants that had always fascinated her. How could such a creature really be?

When she came level with him, he glanced up about to say something in respect to the flower, but stopped. She saw the momentary confusion flit through his eyes before he straightened up and slightly away from her. He watched her warily. Somehow unafraid, she reached out and grabbed gentle hold of the side of his fly trap.

"This is truly amazing, you know," she murmured, stepping closer and running her hands along the smooth surface of the plant material. He did not reply. She almost wanted to take samples of it. It definitely had the cell make up of vegetation. This rigidity had to come from the presence of cell walls. So unlike the human part of him.

Her eyes slid away from her scientific query, to the face that watched her cautiously. He was pretty. Despite his strange coloring, his features were elegant, and eyes endless. Abnormal was the cruel word she had first used to describe him, exotic suited him better. Tilting her head curiously to the side, she took her hand from his fly trap and slipped it onto his cheek.

His skin was strangely smooth, with none of the rough stubble on other men. And it was warm, because despite it all, he was human. Smooth, and warm. She felt herself drawn closer to him, his smell encasing her. Her hand slipped softly from his cheek to his neck in a natural caress, and as she leaned closer she was prepared for more than that.

But, suddenly, a white hand shot up and grabbed her wrist. A black one came up in front of him, almost defensively. She froze, and met his eyes. It wasn't an angry expression he had; she'd seen that one many times. This was something else she found much harder to place. It was an uncertainty, almost a fear.

The grip on her wrist was firm, but it wasn't painfully. He pulled her hand away from him, and took one, two, three steps back. His other arm he held in front of him subconsciously protective. The moment of his weakness though was brief, and in seconds his arms were down at his sides as he stood tall. He gave her an indecipherable look, before turning and heading back up to the apartment.

Ino watched him go, then took one last look around the shop, and followed him up. She took a shower and made dinner while Zetsu sat in his chair and brooded. It was quite, though not completely silent. Their interaction was easy enough, but the atmosphere was taut. Finally, as Ino was cleaning the dishes, Zetsu laid a hand on hers and pulled it away from a plate.

"Go to bed," he ordered. Ino glanced at the clock and looked away, understanding. His late night excursions were no longer a secret among them, but they weren't openly discussed. She took the hint and nodded, leaving to go back to her room, but just before disappearing down the hall, she turned.

"Zetsu," she began, but then stopped. He turned and raised an eyebrow. What had she been about to say? What was there to say about something unspoken? She bit her lip while Zetsu waited expectantly. "Be careful, I guess." Then she hurried back into her room and shut the door.

Ino sat up in bed with a gasp. Her heart pounded in her chest, and for a few moments all she could here was her own rushing blood and panicked breath. The room was pitch black, and she closed her eyes, forcing her breath back down. Then, she opened them again, and this time she could make out the shadowy shapes of her furniture. All was quiet—

Then there was another crash like the one that had awoken her and a thud. Ino shoved her blanket off and jumped out of bed, lurching towards the door. She slammed into the corner of her dresser with a curse and a bruise, then proceeded to bang into the walls of her narrow hallway.

Then she came to the living room, stopped, and gasped.

"Zetsu…"

There was a smear of blood on the window sill, and then another on the floor, and then her eyes alighted on the tangled mess wrapped up in a shredded Akatsuki cloak. He was braced against the wall with one arm while another dangled uselessly at his side. Blood stained the fabric that hung in tatters around him. The remnants revealed more than they covered.

When he met her eyes, his were only a cloud of pain, none of the usual intelligence or spark or humanity. Only pain and desperation. He took a clumsy step towards her, one foot dragging behind him. He moaned.

"Zetsu!"

Ino ran to him just in time to catch him as he fell forward into her. His weight was tremendous, but she bore it. He opened his mouth, trying to say something but she shook her head vigorously. "No, be quiet. Please, be quiet. Let me help you." Slowly, painfully, he nodded.

She dragged him, as gently as she could to the bathroom. Her heart was beating so fast. How could this happen? What had happened? To him; to Zetsu; to the Akatsuki? How did this sort of thing happen to him? She'd even told him to be careful.

He didn't say anything as she heaved him through the door and into the bathtub, only moaned and grunted softly. His eyes, there was nothing there, it was terrifying. She got up quickly and grabbed her kunai from her pack, then ran back and started cutting the clothes from his body.

"I'm sorry, Zetsu. I have to," she apologized profusely. This seemed like such a violation of the private man, and somehow she simply could not look at this clinically. This was not just another patient. This was Zetsu and he could die. This larger than life figure could actually die.

Finally, she had pulled all the clothes from his body except for a strip around his pelvis. She had to give him some decency. She turned on the water, hot. There was so much mud and dirt caking him. When she looked behind her she realized the blatant trail of blood and dirt they had left. She couldn't get to the wounds with all that grime.

There was something else in her way as well. That massive fly trap that so fascinated her made it nearly impossible for her to get at his injuries. There was no room for him to open it wide like he had the first time, and even if there was it would still be an obstruction. She growled in frustration.

"Zetsu, listen to me," she said quietly, yet urgently. She grabbed his face gently and forced him to look her in the eyes. She felt as though they were seeing right through her. "I need you to get rid of that flytrap. If there's any way to do that, please do it." His eyes drifted to the side. "Zetsu! Listen to me. Get that thing out of my way." There was a fleeting moment of lucidity in his eyes, and then he closed them.

His jaw clenched, and he began trembling just slightly. Then, slowly, the fly trap began to shrink. It shrank into him, morphing into his body before Ino's very eyes. The strain was etched clearly in his rigidity, but inch by excruciating inch the fly trap disappeared until it was gone; seamlessly gone. Despite the situation, Ino took a moment to take in the odd picture of Zetsu as just a man. Not an ordinary man by any means, but with a purely human form.

Then the water finally climbed up to his chest and Ino started scrubbed. Within seconds the water was a flat brown, and she drained it and started all over again. When he was finally clean, she assessed his injuries. Numerous lacerations, a broken arm, a shattered leg, two cracked ribs, two completely broken ones, a growing welt along the white side of his face, and bruises adorning everything else that was relatively untouched.

The night was long. Longer than any night Ino had ever spent at the hospital. She had to prioritize. She could not fix everything. She sealed any life threatening cuts, and left the rest. She pieced back the broken ribs, but left them slightly cracked. She started the healing process on the broken arm. Then hours were spent finding and putting back together all the bone shards that had once formed his right leg. By the time she had exhausted herself, the night was not so dark.

"Stay." Zetsu's eyes were finally open again and this time there was clarity, yet an exhaustion in them. His voice was breathy and shallow. Ino hung over the side of the bathtub, resting her head on the cool porcelain. Slowly, a black hand, with a through and through in the palm, reached up and rested clumsily on her head. "Stay."

Ino looked at him through her half lidded eyes, then closed them and nodded. She let out a sigh and let her body sag. Zetsu leaned back in the water, and unconsciousness took its hold.

"Ino!"

There was a persistent knocking on the door.

"Ino, open this door right now!"

The knocking turned into a banging.

Ino's eyes flew open, and she pushed herself away from the tub in a sudden panic. Shikamaru! What was he doing here? She glanced around herself and the night flooded back. Zetsu caked in blood and dirt, healing all night, falling asleep at the tub. Zetsu still lay in the water, and in the light of the day his injuries looked all the more grievous. His eyes were opening blearily.

"Stay quiet," she whispered, then followed the trail of debris out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. This trail… did it extend outside? It was so obvious. An inedible trail of bread crumbs. Surely he wouldn't have left one. Surely not, oh please not.

Terrified, but trying to hide it, Ino opened the door. In front of her stood Shikamaru. His ANBU uniform was still on and his eyes were rimmed with sleepless bags. But they were fierce and serious and they looked straight through her. He had never looked so formidable.

"Ino, we need to talk about the Akatsuki."

A/N Soooo, what'd you guys think. It was weird writing this. I'd actually forgotten everything that happened and had to go back and read ALL of my previous chapters. Then I had to recap over my notes too. But there it was and I hope you liked it! So please review! :D Hope to see you next time. (Hope there is a next time. :P)

~Yuki