Reception Hall, Konoha.
Ino internally sighed as she slow danced with Choji- they were the two of only three that didn't arrive with any dates for the wedding and the reception; with the third being Naruto. Not that Choji wasn't boyfriend material for Ino- the young man had already proved his valour many times over during what was now known as the Great War- and, as Ino thought to herself when they met at the wedding earlier that day - 'he looks good in a suit, even though…' Ino chuckled to herself when she first waved at Choji and Shikamaru as they talked with Naruto, 'well, he could lose a bit of the weight.'
And immediately Ino internal monologue told herself to shut up, 'he's already going out with that girl from Kumo… what's her name again? Oh right, Karui, he's dating her even though he doesn't think we know about it. Diplomatic mission nearly every few weeks? Yeah, sure.'
As Ino danced with her chubby teammate with a small smile on her face, she was very aware of the fact that she was one of the most sought-after women of what used to be called the Konoha Eleven- with the death of Hinata, that group was now referred to as the Ten. Ino knew that she herself was beautiful, smart, and her knowledge of her clan's techniques were second to none. In addition to also being a full-fledged Medic-nin who was almost on par with Sakura herself, she was proud of her sensory abilities. The only problem was that she still had feelings for Sasuke, however those had lessened somewhat over the years.
And with his marriage to Sakura, Ino knew he was out of the eligible bachelor market.
After Sasuke returned to the village after his self-imposed exile, he returned to Sakura. It was after the proposal to Sakura that Ino felt slightly depressed, and it was in that state that the widow of Yamanaka Inouchi discovered her daughter. And then they had a long talk that lasted for hours.
'Mom's right,' Ino thought to herself as she glanced at Sasuke and Sakura dancing in the middle of the dance floor, 'it was just a one-sided love.' Ino looked back to Choji who had a far-away look in his eyes.
"Hey, Choji," Ino said while gently slapping his shoulder, "you're dancing with one of the most beautiful girls in Konoha, and you space out?"
Choji then grinned before saying that he was thinking about something. And before he could finish what he wanted to say, Ino leaned in and smirked, "that red head from Kumo's coming soon, isn't she? I think the Chuunin exams are coming up again and well…." Ino chuckled at the redness spreading across Choji's cheeks, "and representatives from all the villages are coming here for a combined Chuunin exam."
"Yea… well…." Choji chuckled.
"Oh, come on, Choji," Ino smirked, "you really didn't think that I wasn't going to ask how its going between you and your girlfriend?"
"We're… we're okay," Choji stuttered looking away from Ino, "I mean I've gone up there a few times and she's been here and… yeah." Ino chuckled at the swirls on his cheeks that were highlighted due to his face turning red as a tomato.
"Don't let that one go, Choji," Ino's chuckle faded, and she had a serious look on her face. Choji looked back at her and his face now had a serious expression as well before nodding his head, "and don't wait." Choji grinned before he chuckled. Ino smiled and turned her head to look at Shikamaru and Temari dancing- the young man had a look of boredom on his face while Temari had a smirk while staring at her dance partner.
'The two of them are going to be good together,' Ino thought to herself before she turned towards Sasuke and Sakura while thinking, 'you're lucky, forehead. The first of our group to be married'. Ino then internally chuckled at the insults that the two girls had for the other- it was more like terms of endearment now, rather than insults, 'just like how Naruto calls Sasuke-kun 'Teme' and he calls Naruto 'Dope'.' Ino then turned towards Sai, who was dancing with another girl who was wearing a red shimmering dress. She recognized the girl as one from Iwagakure who fought alongside them in the war, but the blonde couldn't recall her name. She was, just as Temari, in Konoha as representatives for their villages so that they could pool their resources and carry out the Chuunin exams in Konoha later this year. The idea was that all the villages would hold the combined examination together in a village- the hosts rotating every year.
It was Kakashi's idea to further foster and cement the comradery built during the war.
Ino shook her head, her eyes moving away from Sai who she also had a slight crush on ever since he said she was pretty. Ino liked that moment, but ever since then, they haven't really talked since they didn't socialise together. Ino sighed again before turning towards Neji who was dancing with a fellow Hyuuga from the Main branch; the two of them were already engaged and scheduled to get married next month with the blessing of Hyuuga Hiashi. The poor man had lost his oldest daughter during the war, and Ino's heart went out to him and the younger Hyuuga Hanabi – the latter being the newest heiress to the Hyuuga Clan. As the thought of Hanabi, Ino chuckled at the thought of Sarutobi Konohamaru having a crush on the heiress.
It was then, while staring at Neji and the girl from the Main branch, that Ino saw out of the corner of her eyes, a shadow darting from one side of the far wall to another. Ino sharply turned her head, a motion that had Choji asking if she had seen something. He looked around finding nothing before turning back to Ino who looked all around her as a chill ran up and down her spine.
"Ino?" Choji asked, watching his teammate furrow her eyebrows as she looked around the room. But he was concerned when Ino ignored him. He turned his head towards where he thought Ino was looking, the far wall to the right off the raised dais where Sasuke and Sakura were married. But he didn't see anything. Choji turned his head back towards Ino and frowned as Ino scanned the immediate area with her eyes, even seemingly looking past him - and then through him - as she turned her head slowly from one side to another. "Ino?" he called out again.
But Ino had no response.
'What is this feeling?' she thought to herself; she didn't see the shadow again, neither did she feel any unusual chakra signatures. But she still felt as if there was something in the hall with them… something that was dark and dangerous. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when Choji asked once again if there was something that bothered her.
Ino didn't answer again. Instead she shook her head, thinking to herself that it was simply her imagination. Ino then looked up to the worried expression on Choji's face, and the sides of her lips pulled up to give a smile that she knew would have any other guy weak on their knees. But Ino knew it wouldn't work with Choji, he and Shikamaru knew her too well… she knew that Choji was aware she was hiding something.
'But what was that shadow? It was just a dark shapeless thing… it didn't look like anything human at least or like any…' Ino then shook her head, 'maybe it was just my imagination', she thought before saying, "I just thought I saw something, Choji."
"What did you see?" Choji asked. Given the high-level officials in the reception- from some of the Council of Elders who were quick to forgive Sasuke, to the current Hokage, the former Hokage, Sasuke himself, and even Naruto who was considered one of the greatest heroes produced by Konoha – Choji knew that the ANBU were close by watching the reception with keen eyes for any signs of danger.
'If there's anything funny, the ANBU would intervene,' Choji thought to himself before saying in a whisper, "we have Konoha's heavy hitters here, Ino. And a few foreign dignitaries. Anyone tries anything funny, they'll have to deal with us."
"What I sensed was… was something dark," Ino whispered with a worried look on her face. Choji then scanned his immediate area with his eyes, but he saw nothing that was unusual or out of place. Turning back to Ino, Choji wondered if Ino was being upset at Sakura marrying the guy they both had a crush on, a boy that the both of them initially ended their friendship for before mending their relationship over time.
"Ino," he started to say as she looked around once again. "Ino," he whispered again. The platinum blonde turned her head back towards Choji who continued, "maybe it's just your imagination."
"Maybe," Ino whispered shrugging her shoulders. She sighed, thinking to herself that she should just enjoy herself.
Ino, leading Choji in the slow dance, had a brush with Shikamaru's shoulder. Ino looked over her shoulder and smirked at the pineapple haired Shinobi, "this is gonna be you and Temari next month." Shikamaru laughed nervously while Temari smirked before the latter said that Gaara would be coming a week before the wedding to meet with him.
"He will be coming with Kankuro," Temari said, "they want to have a heart to heart talk with Shikamaru," Temari then chuckled as a sudden cloud seemed to hang over Shikamaru.
"Troublesome in-laws," Shikamaru groaned.
"Ah yes," Choji jumped in, "the brothers protecting the sister speech."
"And in this case," Temari added, "two very dangerous brothers"
Choji and Ino laughed while Shikamaru hung his head before whispering, "troublesome." A few seconds later, he looked up at Temari and shrugged.
"Oh well, I was expected it," Shikamaru said, "I even expected that they'd wait until the last minute to have the 'speech'. I'm guessing to scare the crap out of me."
Temari, Choji, and Ino chuckled while Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. The two of them moved away and Ino turned back to Choji. As she turned her head towards her teammate, Ino noticed Tsunade sitting by herself- her cheeks were bright red from drinking so much Sake that she smacked the side of her head onto the table. Turning her head back towards the woman she and Sakura shared as a Master, Ino was worried that there was something wrong, but a cursory sensing of the former Hokage's chakra told the younger blonde that Tsunade was simply taking a nap.
Smirking, Ino then turned her head and looked over Choji's shoulder at Naruto who was raising the glass in his hand towards someone in the crowd. Ino looked around and smiled at Sakura who was smiling back at Naruto before laying her head on Sasuke's chest.
Earlier, she had noticed Naruto turning down those women who asked him to dance with them; he said sheepishly that he was a bad dancer, and that he'd be stepping on their toes for most of the time. She overheard him saying, while laughing and scratching the back of his head, that others would be far better than him. By that time, Ino had already dancing with Shikamaru, and then with Kiba, and now with Choji.
'I haven't asked him for a dance,' Ino thought to herself as she looked at Naruto who looked as if he was talking to the empty chair next to him. Ino furrowed her eyebrows wondering it was just her imagination, or if he really was talking to the empty chair next to him. She spied as he looked around in surprise, before looking back to the chair, and then he looked around once again before turning back towards the empty chair. Ino then saw him take a deep breath before his lips moved, 'it's like he's talking to someone there.' Ino's eyes shifted towards the empty seat, 'I don't sense anything. Maybe…'
Ino continued moving while her eyes focused on the empty seat. She felt a chill permeate through her body. She could hear Choji whispering if she felt something after noticing she stopped leading their slow dance. Ino ignored the chubby shinobi, instead she now narrowed her eyes at Naruto- she looked on as he turned his head towards his hand laying on the table, and then up to the empty chair next to him. The look on his face was that of utter surprise.
"Ino?" Choji asked with worry in his voice. Ino realized that she must have seemed suspicious looking over his shoulder as Choji turned his head, and then body, towards where she was looking. The both of them watched, with Ino now rubbing her arms and hands because of the chill that seemed to be going through her.
"I…." Ino was about to say that she felt strangely cold… that it felt as if there was an unnatural chill in the air. But she stopped talking when she saw Naruto's lips moving again, it was as if he was speaking animatedly to someone on the empty chair next to him. And Choji had the same surprised reaction as well.
He watched Naruto speaking into thin air, "is it just me, or is Naruto talking to someone?"
It was then that Ino gasped, and Choji immediately turned back towards her before asking the wide eyed blonde, "Ino, what is it? Are you…"
The two of them were closer to Tsunade, turning towards her when her glass fell to the floor as she stood up with eyes wide open in stunned silence. Ino saw the glass shatter on the floor before another chill went through her body; and a wave of what can only be described as utter fear went through her chest. She started to tremble while turning back towards Naruto. Ino saw the short haired blonde grab his chest with one hand, and the side of his neck with the other. The expression on his face was that of intense pain as he slid from his chair.
And Ino's eyes wide in shock before she and Choji dashed towards their comrade sliding out of his chair.
Tsunade was the former Hokage, the strongest Shinobi in Konoha before resigning her position to Kakashi. Now, she was simply the Head of the Konoha Medical Corp and the Hospital; she was preparing her apprentice, Sakura, to take over those positions within the next few years so that she could go on a journey around the Great Nations, and the world outside. But for now, at the wedding of her apprentice to the former traitor, Sasuke, Tsunade she was laying forehead down, on the table. A sake bottle to her left, and a cup to her right. This was her fifth bottle, and she was already a little tipsy… but not drunk enough she couldn't feel a sudden shift in the air.
She immediately looked up, her eyes scanned her surroundings. She was in 'Hokage' mode as she focused on Naruto. She sensed something… it was something she couldn't explain as a chill went up and down her spine. Tsunade was a gambler… the Legendary Sucker they called her… but she was betting that something was wrong with the young man she considered a godson. She could feel something dark… something evil around the blonde Jinchuriki. And then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he grabbed his chest.
Immediately, Tsunade was away. She dashed for Naruto as he fell to the floor. From the corner of her eyes, Tsunade could see Choji and Ino rushing towards Naruto.
"Cat, Wolf, Raven," Tsunade whispered as she rushed past the tables and chairs between her and Naruto. She was no longer Hokage, but she knew that the ANBU were watching everyone in the hall given the importance of the people present – particularly the presence of the representatives from the Sand and the Stone – and that meant they were required to take orders from a former Hokage; at least within reason. Even though they were at peace after the war, there was no way that the Sand and the Stone representatives should find out something happened to Naruto, 'it's too risky'.
Tsunade continued whispering as she reached Naruto, along with Ino and Choji, "I need a genjutsu now. One where sitting where I'm supposed to be, and Naruto's sitting at his chair drinking."
Tsunade then felt a tingling sensation which indicated the genjutsu was active. However, she knew that people who sensed active genjutsu's would recognize something was wrong. And in this particular crowd, she had to mainly worry about Sasuke and Kakashi, even though the latter didn't have his Sharingan anymore – the man was still able to sense and dispel high level genjutsu.
"Ino," Tsunade looked up into her blue eyes, "use your mind transmission jutsu and inform the Hokage of what's happening. After you inform the Hokage, contact Sasuke and tell him what's happened to Naruto… just tell him he fell of his chair and that I'm checking on him. If he asks why, then tell him it's to prevent a panic from the others if they see that Naruto mysteriously fell to the floor with some kind of an injury. Understand?"
"Yes," Ino nodded her head before turning towards Kakashi who was walking away towards the bar with his date. She made her hand seals before activating her jutsu. All the while, Tsunade reached down and felt for a pulse on the side of Naruto's neck.
"Naruto," Choji said, knowing that the others couldn't hear his voice thanks to the Genjutsu which simply showed everyone that Tsunade was unconscious after drinking her sake, and Naruto was watching everyone dancing. Choji then looked up to Tsunade who said that Naruto had a pulse, and added, "Tsunade-sama, Ino and I saw him grab his chest before he fell of his chair. He looked like he was in pain."
"I saw him grab his chest too," Tsunade said as she pushed aside the unease she was feeling, 'I'm tipsy, but this feeling I'm getting isn't from that. I've operated on patients while tipsy… but this is different. I'm feeling.. cold? Really cold… like something's walking on my grave.'
"I've sent a message to Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun," Ino said as she turned back to Tsunade. The former Hokage turned her head to stare into the eyes of the current Hokage, even thought they can't see one another. The grey-haired shinobi gave her a subtle nod before he turned his head towards Sasuke who was staring straight at Tsunade. The blonde turned towards the former nuke-nin and stared into his eyes, silently telling him not to do anything that would bring attention to whatever it is that happened to Naruto.
And then, he too subtly nodded his head. But he wasn't happy.
'I'm not happy either, kid,' Tsunade said before looking back down at Naruto who, simply looked as if he was sound asleep.'
"Tsunade-sama, we saw him talking to someone," Ino said, after which Tsunade snapped her head up to meet the Yamanaka's eyes, "someone who wasn't there."
"Someone who wasn't there?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes and then looked down at the young man's head. She put her hands over his head and released chakra very slowly – chakra meant to act as a diagnostic tool that would show her if there were injuries to Naruto's brain, 'something we missed during his last physical?' But there was nothing physically wrong with his mind, and then she felt something that was off. She stared confused at Naruto's head as she pumped slightly more chakra into his pathways, muscles, and circulatory system – and she had the same feeling.
"Tsunade-sama?" Choji asked when the former Hokage pulled away her hands and whispered to herself something unintelligible.
Tsunade looked back up at the two Clan heirs and said, "I felt my Chakra being pulled away from me."
"Pulled?" Ino asked.
"I felt my Chakra being pulled, along with Naruto's chakra to…" Tsunade shifted her eyes to an area just above Naruto's neck and chest, and then whispered, "here." She had her hand hovering just above Naruto's neck, and her hand slowly travelled down to his chest, only three inches above his heart, "and here." She then continued, "and not just that, I feel something here. As if the air is thicker like…"
"Hot sour soup?" Choji said as he placed his hand close to Tsunade's, "but I don't feel anything."
'What is this sense of….. dread?' Ino thought as she brought her hand down next to Tsunade's. She felt as if her cream coloured hand dove into seemed to be like a pool of thick, viscous liquid- except there was nothing she could see that would give her such a sensation. But as her arm entered this thick layer of air, Ino gasped out as an electrical charge seemed to travel from the thick layer of air; it travelled up through her skin, her flash, her bones, and then up to her spine. She felt the charge at the base at her neck as she pulled her head back and screamed while hearing Choji and Tsunade calling out for her. And then she was surrounded by blackness, and then Ino closed her eyes from the bright light as two holes opened in front of her.
"Eyes… I'm looking through someone's eyes," Ino was stunned as she stared at what could only be described as tears being ripped into the sky which had a pinkish hue as what looked and smelled like blood started to rain down, "there's no one here… who.. who eyes am I… what am I seeing?"
But before she could finish her thoughts, Ino felt something tighten around her throat.
'Fingers?' she thought to herself while hearing growls, followed by the sounds of screaming. In addition to feeling sharp nails digging into the skin covering the right side of her neck, she felt blood gushing out from the left side of her neck as well. The fingers were cold…. Very cold. "Help! Shika… Choji… Tsunade-sama," Ino yelled out as she stared out though the 'windows' while thinking to herself that this wasn't how any of her Clans jutsu's were supposed to work. They were supposed to make her mind part of the entire body… she could control it… do whatever she wanted. But now, she felt as if she was a passenger watching what was happening without interfering.
Hearing shallow breaths, Ino felt as if she was barely alive… or rather the body where she was a 'passenger' was struggling to breath.
Ino tried to raise her arms to grab the arm of the one holding her by the throat. But no matter her commands, her arms wouldn't move.
"Aarrrghh!" Ino heard several screams before they cut out with disgusting 'squelching' sounds.
As the stench of death- the stench of blood, guts, muscles- as the stench of war wafted into her nostrils, Ino wanted to become sick. She had been on the front lines of the Great War, but even that didn't feel like this. She felt terror. Pure and utter terror.
"I have won, Commander," a female voice spoke - it was a pretty voice, that of nobility; but Ino sensed a chill behind it. Ino looked through the 'windows' as they shifted down from the sky to something that had her cover her mouth with her hands to stifle her gasp.
Ino was staring out at a female wearing black scaled armour with red accents down her sides – she could see blood, guts, and even pieces of brains stuck to the armour. The blonde kunoichi then stared at the jet-black eyes staring back at her, the lips red with fresh blood that was dripping down the sides of her mouth, the platinum blonde hair that was covered in blood; that was all Ino could focus on as she felt life leaving her body, 'but I'm still conscious'. The eyes then, at that moment, looked down at the rows of sharpened teeth as the armoured creature in front of her grinned. Ino stared in silent fear at the two razor-sharp fangs on the creature's upper jaw.
"Do not worry, Commander," the creature smiled an evil smile that had Ino trembling as she stood surrounded by the darkness in the mind of whoever she was occupying. Ino saw the woman in front of her raise an arm up to her left side, and clenched her hand into a fist. Ino heard screams before several squelching sounds. But she couldn't turn the head of the body she was in… she could only stare at the monster in front of her, "your soul will remain in me."
'Soul? A soul will be in her? In it?' Ino whispered to herself as she stared at the creature while her heart raced.
"Humanity will be extinct," the monster claimed, "this world, like all the other worlds, belong to me. As it was always meant to."
Ino wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered staring out the 'windows'.
"And I… Lilith, Queen of Darkness and Damnation will rule this world," Ino breathed in and out as she felt a chill once again. She looked away from the 'windows' in front of her, and then looked around her darkened surroundings, and then back out through the 'windows', "And then, I will bring more of my brood here. They will feed on the dead, just as I feed on life. And then… and then the universe… all life throughout this universe is mine to feed. Then I will move on to the next universe, and my next meal."
Ino felt the creature release her throat, or rather the throat of the body she currently occupied. She felt herself falling and, before she knew it, the body fell sideways onto wet ground that stank of iron and bile. She fell on her side, the side of her head hitting the ground and sinking partly into the wet blood soaked mud. She saw the creature walk away, but not before it killed more and more people wearing sliver and cream coloured armour.
"Akashi," Ino's eyes widened as she stared out the 'windows' upon hearing the whispering voice that echoed in the darkness. Ino saw the 'windows' slowly shifting towards a yellow haired man, partly covered in blood, in the distance who lay on his back over several other dead bodies. Ino saw that his armour torn to shreds… the flesh underneath the armour torn and bleeding, while his neck was ripped apart. Ino brought her hands to her mouth as she felt the woman- Ino could tell from the voice that it was a female -crawled through the blood red ground towards the man. Ino could feel the wet ground beneath her as the body she occupied crawled over other dead bodies while hearing "BOOMs!" and "ARRGHs!" all around her, followed by the sounds of bones breaking and steel being crumpled.
But Ino felt the urgency, the rage, and the sorrow of the woman as she continued to crawl towards the dead man, all the while feeling her strength being sapped away. As the woman crawled, Ino saw bodies that were definitely not human laying dead and bloodied round her – some of the bodies had no heads, but she could clearly see rows of broken teeth and tongues that were hanging out of hollows in their chests. Ino then saw other creatures that the woman crawled past, that had two heads with the body of a snake, or another that had mouths in their hands while their heads were made up of what seemed to be a metallic box surround by sharp spikes.
'What is this?' Ino's eyes widened as she looked away from the 'windows', 'What am I seeing? Some kind of war? A war against demons? Where is this happening? Or rather, when did it happen?'
"Akashi," the voice echoed again within the darkness surrounding Ino.
'Who are you, Akashi?' Ino thought as the woman whose body she occupied, neared the dead body and reached out with a shaky and blood drenched hand. Ino felt the woman's emotions as tears welled up in her eyes while the hands of the woman, shaking as they landed on the left hand of the dead man, tightened.
Ino squinted as she stared at the man- his pale blue eyes staring back at her, eyes that didn't have any life in them. Ino gulped. It was then that she heard the sound of thunder in the distance. She heard what seemed to be the creature scream out, "you are too late!" in the distance. Ino wanted to see what was happening, but the woman she was occupying continued to stare at the dead man before she used the last of her strength to crawl forward once more before she was looking directly down at the man named Akashi.
Ino heard the woman panting, her eyes just above the eyes of the dead man looking back at her. This close to the man, Ino ignored the stench of blood and opened her mouth to pant as she shook her head.
'What kind of a joke is this?' Ino thought to herself as the woman leaned forward, her forehead resting against the dead man's, a man who looked just like Naruto- at least how he would have looked without any whisker marks on his face.
"She… she said that… that my soul will be in her…" the woman whose mind Ino occupied ground out through her lips while the sounds of heavy battle roared in the distance, "I'll see you there, Akashi. I'll see you there, my love."
'Love?' Ino shook her head, 'what the hell is this?' Suddenly there was a great roar in the distance. Ino wanted to turned the body's head to see what was happening, but she couldn't. She was stuck with her forehead resting against the Naruto look-a-like, Akashi. Ino felt the body's strength getting weaker and weaker. She felt more of a chill now than before.
"Keep on her!" a woman's voice yelled over the sounds of thunder and what sounded like crackling wild fire, "don't stop! We seal her here and now!"
"I want to see what's going on!" Ino yelled out as she stared out the woman's eyes which were already starting to lose focus.
And suddenly, there was silence.
"She did it, Akashi," the woman whispered, her forehead still pressed down against the man's forehead. However, Ino was staring out though what looked like white haze, "it's over… it's over. But she has us now. She has us and… and…"
"Find survivors!" a male voice yelled out in the distance, "get the medics here now! Move! Move!"
Ino didn't recognize the voice. She could already feel the woman's life fading away, and just then, she could hear other more familiar voices coming from the darkness surrounding her.
"Choji carry Ino!" Ino heard Tsunade order - her voice emanating from the surrounding darkeness.
"Hai," Ino heard Choji say while the woman whose eyes she was staring out off was starting to take her last breathes as she gasped for air.
"I don't see anything physically wrong with Naruto, so carrying him back to the hospital won't be a problem," Ino heard Tsunade say.
"Tsunade-sama, Choji!' Ino yelled out into the darkness.
But there was no response.
"Reana!" Ino looked back out at the woman's eyes. She felt as if someone was moving the body. Ino watched the hazy view through the woman's eyes shift as the body was turned onto her back. Ino could see the clouds parting away, the tears in the sky closing, and the fight signs of sunlight breaking through. And then the woman's eyes shifted, and Ino stared in awe at the face staring back at her.
"Gen… General," the woman, Reana, who body and mind Ino now assumed she was occupying, croaked out, "d… did… we… we… win?"
"We won," the older blonde-haired woman said as tears stared to slowly stream down her blood-stained cheeks, the warm tears cutting through the still wet blood, "we won… they are all dead. They dropped dead the moment Lilith was sealed away and…"
"G… good," Reana whispered as Ino stared with a sense of loss as she placed her right hand on her chest. She saw the older woman, this General, get down on both knees while yelling out for a medic. Her voice cracking every time she called out for someone to help. The General then looked down with wet, puffy, red eyes, and leaned down before she yelled out in rage.
"Get me a fucking medic now!" she yelled out once again.
"Gen… G…" tears streamed down Ino's face as she felt the full blast of emotions from Reana, "mo… moth… mo… mother, we won."
Ino's closed her eyes and wiped her tears before opening them and staring out at the General.
"I… I… I.. can… can…" And then everything turned dark. Ino heard a rage filled scream as she closed her eyes. She knew what the woman, Reana, was going to say- that she was going to be with Akashi. Suddenly she heard Choji asking why she was crying, and Ino snapped her eyes open to stare back at the eyes of the Akamichi which were filled with concern.
"You.. you guys," Ino whispered as she sat up panting. She looked around- she saw everyone still dancing, however there was a look of concern on the face of Sasuke who was staring right back at her before looking back down at Sakura. Ino shook her head before smiling at Choji who placed his hand on her upper back to keep her stable.
'Okay,' Ino thought, 'I'm back in the reception hall.' Ino then turned her head and looked at Naruto. She stared confused at the blonde, and then her eyes immediately shifted away towards Tsunade staring back at her with worry etched on her face.
"Ino, what happened?" Tsunade asked.
'She looks so much like her,' Ino thought as she thought back to the woman she heard Reana refer to as 'General'. She continued, 'the eye colour is colour is the same, even the facial features… they are all the same, except for the seal mark on Tsunade-sama's forehead. What did I see?'
"Tsu... Tsunade-sama," Ino said shaking her head before continuing, "how.. how long was I…"
"You screamed, closed your eyes, fell back, and then you woke up… all in the space of three seconds," Choji said. Ino stared at him with surprise. To her, it had seemed longer.
"Ino, what happened?" Choji asked.
"I.. I don't know," Ino replied as she wiped her eyes, "I.. saw some things that… that I can't explain."
It was just then that Ino felt a tremble throughout her body- she felt fear. Ino felt a chill go through her spine. It was just then that Tsunade too snapped her head towards Naruto, and then back at Ino with her eyebrows furrowed. The both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Tsunade said, "Choji, carry Ino."
"Tsunade-sama," Ino shook her head, "I can make it on my…"
"You just fainted," Tsunade gently said before looking at Choji, "carry Ino. I'll carry Naruto. We're going to the hospital right now."
"Okay," Ino whispered as Choji carried her in his arms while Tsunade had Naruto in hers, "but Tsunade-sama, there's something I need to tell you and the Hokage. Something I saw or… I mean, I mean I don't know what I saw… but…" Ino was unsure of what to call what she experienced. So instead she continued, "I saw something that's… well, not normal."
"After you get checked out, we'll talk," Tsunade said, "mentally contact Kakashi, tell him to meet us at the hospital once this reception is over."
"If anyone asks about Naruto and Ino?" asked Choji.
"Naruto got a little sick from the sake, and Ino… well… you felt some pain in your chest which I'll diagnose as heart burn. Choji took you to the hospital the same time I took Naruto," Tsunade said, "okay with you lot?"
"Yes, ma'am," Ino and Choji said before the former sent a message to Kakashi through her jutsu. The grey haired Hokage nodded his head and then got back on the dance floor. Once the jutsu was over, Ino nodded her head, signifying the message was sent.
"Let's go," Tsunade said before the four of them took off.
'Naruto,' Ino thought staring at the unconscious Naruto as Choji and Tsunade kept pace while they were jumping from one rooftop to another; the fasted route towards the hospital, 'what's happening to you?' She turned her head away from Naruto and slightly shivered, 'what is this feeling of dread?'
TBC.