Hi everyone, my name is… Ashley… for now call me Ashely, that's not my name but I thought I would introduce myself and this "story."

Before anything happens, I need to make this advertently clear. This is a continuation of the Fanfiction, The Bush Clover, written by FreakyKitty13, Thus I will be building off events that transpired in the fanfiction which I aspire to stay true to. I may quote it in flashbacks, thoughts, etc. I want to make sure that credit is given where it is due. Because let's be honest it's a perfect and captivating fanfiction. In fact, the best Saino Fanfiction.

So, as a die-hard Saino fan, it broke my heart to reach chapter 30 and realize it wasn't finished. It was left on a cliffhanger and the last update was in 2017. It's 2023 people! It's been 6 years and I'm willing to bet FreakyKitty13 is out in the real world putting their talent to use. They're probably too busy for us Saino fanfiction folk. (Tears).

But as a recent film school graduate who is definitely unemployed from the industry due to the writers' strike, I thought I would have enough time on my hands to write this up. Sometimes you just gotta do things yourself!

So first and foremost, I apologize. Unfortunately, we are two different people with different writing quirks and vocabularies so as much as I want it to be as accurate to the author FreakyKitty13 themselves, I admit that there may be some discrepancies and I apologize in advance. They are a very skilled writer, and I worry that I will not rise to the occasion. So, if you read it and are put off by my direction, I totally understand. As much as I want to read their mind, get their plot summary, and stay true to what the ending was supposed to be, I can only go off what they alluded to in the comments and what the plot alluded to in the story. I've researched as much as I could to stay accurate. I've read the fanfic three times, read the author's comments, and sifted through fan comments. I even went on an internet tai-raid reading about the canonic Saino ship that also led me to read Sakura Hiden (Which I may or may not include). SO,

I'll certainly try my best and I hope that this can help you get closure and tie off this beautiful fanfiction with a—shitty, albeit—bow.

Without further ado, let's finish this.

I give you, The Bush Clover PART 2, INSPIRED by THE BUSH CLOVER by FREAKYKITTY13.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or universe or even story. It's a fanfiction based off of a fanfiction based off of the anime Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto.

Disclaimer Disclaimer: Do not read this if you haven't already read the original. Go read The Bush Clover and then come here. Link: s/11120146/1/The-Bush-Clover


It had been two months since the day Ino raided Sai's home to find out that he fled the village. As she walked to the Hokage's office, she found herself walking through a familiar alleyway. The alleyway she took to get from her home to the Hokage's office and the same alleyway that Sai's apartment used to exist in.

Every time she passed by, she always found herself looking through his window. The apartment lights always out. The first few weeks she could still see some of his paintings and belongings, as if his home had welcomed him back. But by now, his apartment had been marked as abandoned. She didn't know what day it was, but sometime along a month, his stuff was gone. The apartment was cleared out. Every time she walked by now, she was greeted with the interior of an empty apartment. But today was finally the day. The lights were on. A small family had seemingly moved in. As she passed the window she noticed a young mother, father, and child sharing their morning breakfast.

A few more steps and she found herself in front of the great Hokage's office. Shikamaru and Choji leaned back on the wall as they waited for her. Perhaps he had said something to her at that moment but the image of the new family in his apartment kept her thoughts busy.

Shikamaru waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Ino."

Breaking out of it she smacked his hand out of her face. "I'm here, Shikamaru." Her tone sounding more annoyed than she wanted it to.

The ancient trio walked up the stairs to their next mission. The two men walked in silence carefully diagnosing Ino's mood. Knowing what had happened to her, they knew better than to joke about it.

But somehow Ino hated the silence and the pity. When she looked at Shikamaru and Choji their smiles softened into commiseration. Since when were they so considerate?

She laughed a little.

"Don't look at me like I'm some lost puppy… I'm tired of moping and I just want to get back on the field." She said putting on a smile that she used to get people like Sakura and her mom off her back.

Shikamaru raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "If you say so." He said, opening the door for his peers to enter the building.

As Ino and Choji entered the Hokage's office, Shikamaru shut the door softly.

"Can't say that I'm surprised with the squad you chose." The silver-haired Jonin teased. Not missing a beat, Shikamaru turned to face the Hokage and his teammates. "What can I say? I missed the good old days."

Ino smiled. The Hokage and his Advisor seemed to have a sort of synergy together. Shikamaru tucked his hands in his pockets. "That. And I learned my lesson the last time I tried to take care of everything by myself." He looked at Ino. She blushed remembering the ruckus she and Temari caused when they seemingly brought everyone to the land of silence to save Shikamaru.

"So, what's the deal then? Is it Gengo part two?" Ino asked.

"Not quite," Kakashi said shooting down her joke. He opened the thick file sitting on his desk and took out a photo. Ino and Choji stepped closer to get a better look. The photo featured a bloodied figure hung by a tree. In the dirt marked a familiar cult signature. Choji looked up.

"Hidan." He said through gritted teeth.

"But- you took care of him- for good right?" Ino asked.

"As far as I know, Hidan should still be dismembered and buried deep beneath the dirt. But as for the way of Jashin or Hidan's little followers? They've seemed to create a church in a village near the land hidden in steam." Shikamaru answered.

The Hokage continued. "It seems innocent villagers have gone missing in this same village where this photo was taken as of last night. Now that we've got substantial evidence and a team with expertise against the Jutsu, I thought I'd have you three investigate this matter and snuff it out, as quietly as possible since the land is technically a territory of the mist."

Ino looked to Choji and Shikamaru, accepting their mission.


They darted through the trees in the outskirts of the leaf village as Shikamaru ran them through the mission details. Hopping from tree to tree, feeling the wind in her hair and the blood coursing through her veins as she rushed to the mission to save the next person from becoming targeted, was a feeling Ino missed dearly. The rush, the urgency of it all. She could almost smile, especially now that her old squad had been reunited for another rendezvous. But as fun as it was, she couldn't ignore the nerves she felt remembering what Hidan had done to her sensei. Though they were in a time of peace, she couldn't let her guard down. Especially now. Save the innocent villagers now, reminisce later.

She picked up her pace to fall in line with her teammates discussing the mission.

"We really don't know a lot. All we have is this photo. Unfortunately, more than one person has gone missing." Shikamaru stated.

"Do you think the rest of them are alive?" Choji asked hoping for the best.

"Possibly," Shikamaru replied flatly. "Or maybe they're dead elsewhere." He said thinking out loud.

"Then Isn't it kind of fishy that what we're seeing in the photo is all out in the open?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, that's why I plan on keeping tabs on the "Journalist" who took the photo. I've already set up a meeting with him and we'll investigate from there." Shikamaru stated. He pulled out the photo again. "But you are right. Something doesn't feel right here. It's almost as if they wanted to be found." Ino looked at the photo. The face of the body is unrecognizable as it is shrouded in shadows.


Once night fell, they set up camp to rest for the night. Ino insisted on taking the first shift of the night. She had a hard time getting to sleep nowadays and she'd rather use the restlessness productively rather than keep two people awake for no reason.

As the two men drifted off into sleep. Ino sat up in a tree staring at the moon. Full and much larger than usual.

Truth is. It wasn't the mission, or even Hidan that was keeping her mind active. Lately, no matter what she tried, whether that was sleep medication or meditation, she could never fall asleep until the whole world did first. Until she became so deprived that she couldn't keep her eyes open.

It was probably loneliness. Everyone nowadays is busy with their own things. Shikamaru was the advisor, Choji was integrating further as the clan leader, and Sakura was getting close to opening up her rehabilitation clinic. Of course, she had her own things to keep her busy, like the flower shop and the hospital, but her greatest fears have come true. People had grown up without her. People had become so busy that they could no longer make time for her. People began putting serious time and effort into their families and significant others.

She didn't realize how much time she was spending with him until he was gone.

She thought she could just fill the void, but nothing did. Everyone was just so... Busy.

She looked down at Shikamaru and Choji. She was lucky to have a mission with them now, just when the loneliness was starting to become cemented into a depression.

Why don't you tell someone how you feel? She thought before inwardly laughing.

She never thought she would be the one who became depressed in adulthood. It was hard to believe, even for herself. How could anyone else understand that? Ino Yamanaka... Depressed?

And the truth made it even worse. It was over some stupid boy. Not like the time Sasuke became engaged to Sakura and rejected her.

Sai was her best friend when she really thought about it. During those last few months of his required break, the two had spent every day-no- free minute, together.

Not to mention that she did love him.

She grabbed her heart. How embarrassing. A beautiful fair maiden with a broken heart left to grow old, ugly, and alone.

She smiled to herself at her own melodrama.

On nights like this, she let her mind wander aimlessly.

Some nights she wondered where he was. What he was doing. Other nights she wondered if she had done things differently, maybe he would have stayed-

She remembered back to the day she found his apartment.

His chakra was seemingly gone from the village. She had kicked down the door to find the destruction. His paintings that used to neatly line the walls were knocked down. The wood floors gashed and torn, furniture collapsed and thrown askew. Blood painted on the walls and floors.

Blood. The sight became suffocating. A battle between Sai and a Gentile fist user had undeniably happened here. She looked around until something caught her eye. A letter sitting suspiciously centered on Sai's bed. Getting a closer look, the careful, neat, and slanted handwriting, was unmistakably his.

Beauty,

I am so sorry.

But I am afraid that I will not be returning.

Please don't go after me.

I want you to be happy. So please don't worry yourself over me.

Thank you for everything.

Sai.

She had to read it twice to make it make sense, but it just couldn't, and even now she didn't understand. How could he just pick up and leave like this?

As much as the note confused her, she was able to catch her breath. Even if he was gone, he was alive.

But before she could mobilize, Sakura who had a talking to with Hisao had caught up with her. Sakura stepped through the gaping hole and took in the destruction. The two didn't need to say anything. Sakura immediately stepped forward to wrap her arms around her as tears filled her eyes.

Sakura rubbed her back. "It was Hisao. He did this. I tried to get a hold of him, but he got away…" Sakura said through gritted teeth.

Ino remembered back to the cryptic Hisao at the flower shop. But instead of hating Hisao for battling Sai, she somehow hated herself as though she shared the responsibility. Everyone had warned her and now she was paying for the consequences.

"I did this." the blonde said backing out of Sakura's embrace.

"You didn't-"

"If only I hadn't been so friendly with Hisao."

"It's not your fault. Attacking Sai was his decision." Sakura said trying to talk some sense into her, but she avoided her gaze. Sakura grabbed her by the shoulders. "This is Hisao's fault. Not yours. It's not like you knew he was gonna do this."

Even still. Sai would still be here if I had set some boundaries.

She looked once again at the damage then back at the pinkette. "I suppose you're right."

Sakura let her go and put on a reassuring smile "Don't worry, Ino. We'll find him."

Ino stopped to look at the blood pool on the floor. It was still a wet velvet red. Sakura looked at it too. They turned to each other. "He couldn't have gotten far."

The two kunoichi immediately left the room.

When the two had approached the village exit, before they could pick a direction, they stopped, realizing they had been followed.

Her face became red hot with anger. You.

"It's no use, Ino," Hisao said frankly.

She bit down, grinding her teeth. She slowly turned around. She wanted to infiltrate his mind once again, but this time there would be no salvation for him. It took every ounce of her being to restrain herself. She stared at his smug face, the face that was nothing like the shy Hyuuga innocently trying to buy flowers. Oh, how he had played me. She didn't need to ask him why he had done this. He had always been playing innocent, but now he had shown his true colors.

"You had no business, doing what you did." She roared. "Did you threaten him? Force him out the village?"

"He chose to leave, Ino. We both know he can't give you what you want." The words stung deep, pulling at her skin. She remembered her time with him in Suna. How she loved him and knew that he wasn't capable of loving her back.

"Do you even love me?"
"I don't know."

She bit back tears. She remembered what was standing in front of her. The perpetrator. The one that had manipulated Sai into leaving. She found herself walking up to Hisao, her eyes deadlocking into his. "Don't you think for a second that You could give me what I want. I will NEVER love you."

Her chakra bubbled within her; she could no longer hold it back. Why not give him a little taste? Her hands weaved the signs.

Suddenly, the ground underneath him began to rumble and shake, slowly cracking until the earth's layers split in two. Hisao fell a few feet before taking hold of a loose jagged end of rock. He looked down. Molten lava bubbled below. He panicked as it nipped at his shoes.

Ino walked up to the cliff looking down at Hisao's futile attempt to hold on. The piece of earth he clung tight to, began to crack, and there was nowhere else to go but down. "And if you so think to mess with my life and those around me again, I will reduce your mind to nothing. Nothing but a hollow shell of what it used to be, trapped, without a single thought until the day you die." The rock came loose, Hisao fell through the air, each second getting hotter until his entire body became engulfed in molten lava. His flesh burned up so fast it immediately reached his bone. Scorching hotter than the sun he screamed and ached in agony until-

She felt a familiar sensation. Like a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't you."

Remembering what Sai had said to her in the cave, her anger faded, only for her to see that her control was slipping under her hatred. She released his mind.

Hisao blinked. He was standing atop flat ground as he was before. Sakura held her body as it regained consciousness. She took to her surroundings again, coming to the harsh reality. Sai had burrowed his way into her consciousness, but not where she needed him most.

Without wasting another second, she turned around and dashed out to the exit of the village in hopes of finding him.

But she didn't.

She kept running and running and running while keeping her mind laser-focused on trying to pick up his chakra. She just needed to find a hint of his chakra, or a sign, or anything that could point her in the right direction. But eventually, her feet became blistered, and her legs became simultaneously stiff and gelatinous. Her body and mind ached to give up, but every time she thought about turning around, she thought she would find him if she just kept going. Just a few more feet.

She kept running until she couldn't. Until her legs finally gave way. Falling face-first into the dirt, everything came to a screeching halt. She started crying, hard. Pain shot up and down her body. She pushed up from her hands as she tried to get back up from the dirt, but she had no strength left and collapsed on her side. She screamed in frustration, letting all its ugliness out. In the distance, she could see Sakura calling after her, but her vision and mind began to blur. Stark hopelessness had set in.

She had passed all the spots she and Sai would go, including Shin's "Grave."

None of which had a trace of Sai's chakra.

She felt as if she were to search the entire world, she would never find him.

She knew in that moment that he didn't want to be found.

Days had passed but Sakura encouraged her to hold out on hope like she had for Sasuke. She even asked team 8, to use their advanced tracking skills to find a trace of him. But after the detailed search, despite Hinata's visual depth, Shino's advanced tracking bugs, and Kiba and Akamaru's heightened sense of smell, the three came back with nothing. It led them all back to the same point, confirming her fears. He was purposefully hiding his chakra.

There was nothing more she could do. Why hold out on hope? Why search every corner of the earth? If the thing you're looking for doesn't want to be found.

She spent those first nights silently crying herself to sleep. Not only for feeling responsible for his leaving but also for missing his absence. She didn't think she loved him this deeply. But she had to, considering how much every part of herself ached to bring him back.

Even now, two months later, on a completely unrelated mission with her old teammates, Ino sat alone in the moonlight hoping for a sign.