Gloom and light

A/N: I'm not fond of author notes before the start of a chapter, but for this one, I'll make an exception: This, my friends, is the start of the end -from Part One, I believe that I have settled the basic premises of the story already, two more chapters after this one, and Part 1 will be concluded. I'm not sure to do a separate story for Part 2 -honestly, I probably won't-, and likely I will be moving up the Rating to M -just to be safe. I honestly can't wait to reach that part of the story already -the reason why I even started this fic-, but I'm a Slow Burn maniac, and without setting the basics of the universe the characters will be moving through, nothing would make much sense.

In any case, hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you want to read a Fantasy AU (team 7 centric), I have the perfect fic for you: Scarecrow -I know, I do like crow-themed titles-.

Regards!

When she walked into the room, sunlight poured upon the space, the white tile reflecting its harshness directly into her eyes, forcing her to close them to maintain her balance. Clouds still preyed upon Konoha's skies, threatening to pour upon them again, but now the sun shone in between them, picking through rebelliously. Blinking as to accustom her gaze, she heard the gentle tone of a voice that soothed her ears and spoke her name with the highest, most respectful of honorifics.

When she saw him, kind face with brown eyes and hair, body and existence forever tied to a wheelchair, her heart sank as recognition reached her as did a harsh, strong sense of shame that settled: she had forgotten of his existence, had he not be here now before her, she would have never asked about his whereabouts.

"Oh…" A sigh went past her lips, tears hung from her eyes threateningly but she closed her hands until her nails bite the skin of her palms, moon-shaped red marks left on her grip. She was able to say no more to him, even when his smile became more forced, his brows twisting and giving away his worry.

He tilted his head and cleared his throat, the curve of his fingers lightly pressed against his mouth, pads dancing on the skin of his cheek. "I was so glad to hear of your recovery Ino-sama," his lips stretched –he had a scar on his temple that looked old, the same color of his skin, his words seemed genuine, but she could not find her voice to reply to him. "Ah – if it's…" he paused, his smile trembled, unsure, "if this troubles you, Ino-sama…"

Ino was quick to deny such claim, shaking her head with her mouth pursed, she chewed the inside of her upper lip and felt her cheeks heat in shame to be standing by the man before her, who saved her at the expense of him. How could Ino, a girl too frightened to fight –a shame to her ancestors who battled for the safety of their people, allow this man to have her in such a mighty position as to use honorifics when she had not earned it? Useless, useless.

Her wound was sore still despite having healed, the only trace of the harm that had been inflicted upon her being a pink, almost faded scar; yet, the muscles that were under the sharp kunai still resented harsh movements. Now that she had experienced being on the brink of death, Ino could not understand how her comrades jumped back into action just a few days after recovering.

Her father had assured her there was no shame in focusing on healing before resuming her chores –and he even hinted that she was in no pressure to return to them if she wished not to do so. But looking at her savior who, stuck in a wheelchair, returned to his duties after barely more than a month since his doom, healing people while he could not be healed, made her insides burn with guilt and humiliation.

She swallowed her discomfort and offered a small bow –pain didn't allow her more than that-, hiding her trembling lips in the collar of her shirt, "oh no –Ino-sama, please that's… please do not, there's no necessity for-"

"I-" she swallowed, her voice got trapped somewhere inside her throat, "t-thank you ah- I'm sorry," she flushed, narrowing her eyes shut as if darkness could hide her mortification.

"Ino-sama I beg you not to belittle yourself on my behalf, I should be apologizing to you – had I find you sooner, then…"

"Allow me this!" She shrieked –much to her dismay, and she glanced at him, "you saved me a-and, I'm the reason you…" she paused, looking at the wheelchair.

The man blinked, watching her struggle with a twist of his mouth, his hands rested on the wheels of his chair but he did not move, "I do not blame you, Ino-sama," he whispered, "this is the consequences of my own doing." He sentenced, and smiled again, so warmly that a tear escaped Ino's hold.

"It's not…" her voice came out small, shy.

"I believe we found ourselves in an impasse then," he said, "because I'm not changing my belief to entertain your guilt." She sighed at his words, a small smile creeping up her features, regret still had its hold on her, but she pushed it down for his sake, she could do that for him, at the very least. "Shall we – ah, if you feel comfortable enough that is, start, Ino-sama?"

Ino grimaced, "no honorifics."

He blushed, "I beg your pardon? It's highly… informal for me to drop-"

"No honorifics." She repeated, "I… I command you."

That made him laugh, which only intensified her shame, the pads of his fingers tapped the armchair, he looked highly amused. "Very well," he breathed, "inside these walls, we're equal if that's your desire." He moved towards her with his hand stretched, the chair making a rusty sound, "My name is Eiji, Yamanaka Eiji."

Ino ventured a small smile of her own and met his offered hand with her own, "Yamanaka Ino." She said.

He wheeled towards the desk in the room, "shall we start then?"

Ino nodded, despite Eiji not being able to see the action –having his back turned to her, and walked to the bed, her fists clenched by a new sense of shame that was not related to the previous conversation. She stripped herself of her shirt, exposing her bandaged torso, Eiji was kind enough to occupy himself with some paperwork to give her some sense of privacy, but when she cleared her throat, he immediately turned.

His hands were quick to glow with a faint green, the same color that reminded her of her father's eyes, and he lightly caressed her side without actually touching her skin, it was a weird feeling –she now realized, not completely painful, but not nice either. She watched as he worked, noticing the way the light flickered and bounced in between his fingers, she tilted her head to see better when he turned his hands on her waist.

"Would you like to learn?" He asked, not looking at her, Ino jumped at the sound of his voice, having been too engrossed on his motions.

"Learn?" She asked, and saw Eiji look at her and point at his hands with his chin, she blinked, surprised at the proposal, and swallowed, she hadn't noticed how dry her throat was. "You'll teach me?"

Where before there was a warm aura around her waist, now there was nothing, the faint green disappeared before her eyes when Eiji moved slightly backwards, his hands dropping to the armchairs, "you looked like you liked it." He shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I can show you the basics, it can come in handy during missions."

"I'm not a medic."

"True." He replied with a nod, a smirk uplifting the corner of his mouth, Ino could understand his amusement –it had been a stupid remark on her part, "you can be tho, I'm not offering you to become a full medic, it takes too much time and practice and… well, you won't have time for it," he blushed when returning to the topic of her position in the clan, "but you could be a pretty good field healer if you desire to."

Ino furrowed her eyebrows and pouted her lips, she hadn't been watching the medic jutsu out of the desire to learn it, but her curiosity came solely by the esthetic pleasantness that brought her. "Did you survive because of it?"

It was the wrong thing to ask, Eiji's mouth became a thin line and his expression hardened, "yes. It's one of the reasons." He replied to her question but didn't add anything beyond that.

She watched him for a moment before glancing at the world behind the window, the idea of being regularly inside a hospital didn't please her, but then becoming able to tend her own wounds and avoid the building altogether was tempting enough. "All right," she nodded. Her father wouldn't be pleased to hear it, she just recovered from chakra depletion and now she was agreeing to become a field medic, but if he wanted to stop her –and the words about resting kept hunting their interactions, as if giving herself more time will change what had happened, then she will find someone else to train her.

Besides, the idea of being damaged enough not to be able to move like she hadn't been able during the invasion… she couldn't stand the thought of becoming so useless again, to lack so much control over her body as to depend so completely on others. No. She wouldn't. Not again. She refused.

"All right," she repeated, "when do we start?"

The evening approached quicker than expected, the tea's vapor fogged her window, the warmth of the cup was unpleasant against her calloused palms and the pads of her fingers danced on the white porcelain, her eyes roamed the empty street, saw the cold wind rose in between brownish leaves.

Her father had left, it was just a matter of time before he was forced to, the Grand Council –rulers of Konoha just behind the Hokage, had allowed him to stay in the village during her recovery, but adamantly opposed extending that privilege for longer. Konoha needed his services and entrepreneurs were quick to hire the mighty leader of a mind-reader clan to take care of their business and deeds.

Ino knew that soon people would be on her door, forcing themselves inside her house to take care of her, Inoichi had been absent for a couple of hours now, and she knew he left expressed orders for his minions to look for his heir. Hiding of them will be useless given their skill.

Suddenly the figure of Himari came to her mind, her long orange-like hair up in a bun and a teasing smile on her lips, and Ino scoffed. She will gladly give out her soul on a silver plate to the Shinigami before allowing such a woman in her quarters.

A sigh went past her lips, she lifted her hand and drew a little smiley face on the foggy glass with her fingers, and a drop of water fell from one of the eyes she drew, making it look like a tear. Ino rolled her eyes and walked away, resting the cup on the naked wood of her desk. It will likely leave a mark, and she should be furious with herself for doing this, but it seemed such a superficial worry now.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to have beautiful things and taking care of them, her dad allowed her to have devotion over her objects because the world they lived in allowed little pleasures, and taking that away from her at such a young age would have been cruel. She left her room while scratching her forehead, wondering what to do now that she was able to let her mind roam free.

Then she paused, turned around and went back to her room, taking the cup with her and cleaning the water that fell in the wood. It wouldn't stain, thank goodness, and she huffed contently. You couldn't help to be passionate about what you treasured the most, and Ino really, really loved beautiful things.

The knock on the door found her when she was leaving the empty cup on the sink, Ino let out a growl, looking at the beginning of the stairs that led to the street. "Go away!" She yelled, but the knock came again.

"Ino-sama!" A voice that she knew by heart called her, "open. Inoichi-sama said-"

Ino stomped her feet on the floor, walking purposefully loud and going down the stairs with as much annoyance as she could imply through her movements. The person behind the door didn't finish the sentence, perhaps assuming that her stampede meant that she would reluctantly allow her presence, but when Ino finally opened the door, she quickly blocked the entrance. "I said, go away."

Ena stood in the entrance with a basket full of things Ino didn't even bother to look at, her gray hair was loosely tied in a low ponytail, her mouth a thin line that accentuated her wrinkles, the light green kimono she used was decorated with soft yellow petals embroidered on the fabric. "Now, now Ino-sama," she raised an eyebrow, "don't be so rude, should I teach you proper manners? Again?" She added with a click of her tongue, eyeing her warily.

"I'm not a kid anymore," Ino shrugged, and swallowed the discomfort that arose at the sight of the older woman, "you don't have to babysit me."

Ena laughed shortly, treating Ino like a child, "I do if Inoichi-sama asks me to." She said, "now move, child, it's getting dark."

"No." Ino planted herself far more harshly, "I'm here, and I'm well, I'm done with people breathing down my neck."

"Inoichi-sama said-"

"I'll handle my father, I'm ordering you to leave-" she narrowed her eyebrows, "you can't overrule me."

At that, Ena opened her eyes before lifting her arm and pinching her in the cheek, it was ridiculously painful, "watch the tone young lady, I might not be able to overrule the clan head, but you have virtually no power until you're crowned." She hissed, "Inoichi-sama ordered me to take care of you, and by Kamisama, I will fulfill my duty. Now move, or I'll spank you like when you were a child."

Ino slapped Ena's hand away and pursed her lips, feeling embarrassed, "fine, do whatever you want, but you won't be coming into my house. My dad might have a soft spot for you, but I do not."

She closed the door before Ena could do anything about it –the woman used chakra to enhance her physical capacities, and Ino had no desire to revive her childhood. The woman used to be Inoichi's caregiver, and he grew up to see her as the maternal figure his own mother hadn't been eager to become. Ino's grandparents were solely focused on their careers as shinobi and clan heads, and so Ena was forced to raise their offspring. While their dedication to the family cemented her lineage into the ruling position for generations to come, it didn't mean their direct family members remembered them fondly, Inoichi did not care much for his parents, while Ino had never met them. They died before her birth.

Years later, when Inoichi had his own daughter, he was more than willing to allow Ena –and only Ena-, to take care of her while he was away, but Ino hadn't been able to replicate the type of relationship Inoichi had with the older woman.

Dear old Ena did not immediately go away, it wasn't like Ino hated her, she just didn't care much for her; Ino placed a fine chakra net as to sense the woman's movements, and she felt a tingle run down her spine when Ena spread her own chakra net, the feeling of cold water shook her core.

"Nice chakra net," Ena's voice reached from the other side of the door, "you don't mind me making sure you stay in your house, don't you?" She taunted, and Ino could clearly imagine her rolling her eyes.

I'll-

Ino awoke with a start, a scream dying on her throat, her mouth wide open. Not for the first time, a nightmare made its way to the forefront of her mind, and she shivered, trying to shake her fear away. She brought a hand to her forehead and dragged her fingers over her damp skin, making a disgusted noise with the back of her throat. Carefully, she narrowed her eyes and threw her chakra net, and as expected, there she was, looking for her whereabouts. "Nosy old hag…" she mumbled, and made her way to the bathroom.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, twisting her mouth when noticing the paleness of her skin and the bags under her eyes. With a scoff, she ran her fingers through her hair, unknotting some of the locks at the back. It seemed that another sleepless night will occupy her schedule, and while she wished to move around as to exhaust herself to force her brain to shut down, wandering around the house aimlessly will surely get the attention of Ena.

Ino gritted her teeth, she knew this was bound to happen, but it still didn't make it easier, what she would have to do to get some privacy? She moved towards her bed again, sinking her head on her pillow and smelling the fragrance of her shampoo in the cover. She closed her eyes, forcefully enough to be somewhat a painful motion, and tried to fall asleep again, forcing herself to relax.

I'll burn-

She awoke again, the scream dying before reaching her vocal cords. Time and time again images of doom and destruction whispered in the corners of her mind, intertwined with infants' cries and adults' shouts, desperation and horror holding people hostage. In the chaos, the soft murmur of her father's voice, the tone was intended to sound pleasing –silk-like, but in the end, it brought no comfort, and while she couldn't make out the words, she knew that they didn't carry good omens. In the dream, she moved her head, trying to understand Inoichi's message, but his words were always swallowed by the agony of others. It made her uneasy because whatever he said, it was key.

And there, in the farthest corner, devoured by shadows, a figure stood –Ino feared it and, foolishly, was drawn to it despite not knowing what it was. The shape never moved, as if it was a mere painting, but Ino knew that it was alive, watching her, waiting patiently for her misstep. Sometimes, on the worst nights where the screams were whispered in her ear (torture so intimate and impossible to shut down Ino wakes up crying), the faintest sound of feathers will find its way towards her, and her eyes will open to see the figure unmoving still, but in the darkness, amongst the void, two red irises will gaze upon her.

They were her end and her beginning, and while Inoichi shouted the words she had tried desperately to understand seconds ago, when those eyes stared at her, she couldn't hear him.

Her end and her beginning. When she sat on the mattress, she forced her jaw to close. Ino swallowed, her throat was painfully dry, and she could see the sun rising behind the curtains. She swallowed again and furrowed her eyebrows. Control, she refused to allow her nightmares to have a hold on her, to allow fear to paint her path, to become weak in the face of calamity.

Her heart had been sacrificed in the heat of battle, her soul was glass shards scattered in a vast, frozen sea; those parts that were so intrinsically hers were hidden in the immense ocean of her mind, secured, but also unreachable. She had no desire to find them, not now and perhaps not ever, she wondered if her dad avoided her gaze because he knew her doubts or because he saw himself on her.

The figure in her dreams could signify many things, but she will dwell on none of them. She decided while looking at the light peeking through the curtains, that she wouldn't allow such a beast to rule her; therefore, the figure became her enemy, and she refused to lose. She'll be defeated no more.

And that's a promise.

A/N: Canonically, it was never established how Ino became a medic-nin (nor do we know much about how good her skills are, other than she's competent enough to heal Naruto and to try to heal Asuma). We can interpret by the way she clung to Shizune's body during Pein's Arc that she was her mentor (which has been changed in this story, had that been the case), not Tsunade; but we have not much more on her medic background. In that sense, Sakura helping her to become an apprentice was filler material from the anime, and therefore I allowed myself to ignore it completely. I have nothing against Sakura, but she had nothing to do with Ino's development as a ninja, she did everything on her own.

Let me add this as an afterthought: Shizune, canonically, is a poison expert (it is said that Sakura learned how to make an antidote from her during the Gaara's rescue arc), so if Ino did learn her medical abilities from Shizune, it's likely that she's more specialized in the poison field than in any other. It's not canon, sure, but is a nice thought to have, isn't it?