tampered | Log; on-going

When; Right after TenTen's rescue run
Rating; No rating yet
Characters; Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji... and whatever other Konoha-nin decide to stop by Apartment 5
Summary; Team 10 regroups after the rescue, to heal, talk, and perhaps bring a few secrets to light
Log;

Chouji had been miserable ever since TenTen and Lee had pulled him out of that dank, dark cell in the Underground. He had been alone in the pitch black nothing for almost a day, with only a talkative boy and his teddy bear to keep him company... not that he was complaining. He kind of enjoyed it.

What he didn't enjoy, however, was how useless he felt. Both of his legs had been broken in the kidnapping, and Shizune-sama only had the time to do a patch job on them, due to the overwhelming amount of incoming wounded. He didn't enjoy having to stay back while all of his friends, his teammates... possibly rushed off to get themselves killed. He didn't enjoy how similar this felt to those old games of ninja that he had always been left out of. And after he was allowed the time to think on it, he hated the way Ino must have felt when Shika and himself were rushed off into the unknown, chasing someone that they didn't even particularly care for: Uchiha Sasuke.

Trash.

But right as that word that an old foe had used all too frequently ran through his mind, he heard the door open, and familiar footsteps walk in...

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Familiar footsteps they were indeed, but they carried themselves with a shuffling, slow pace that wasn't typical of them. Shikamaru stumbled through the doorway, looking battered and worn. Covered with numerous cuts and bruises, he looked utterly drained. He had one arm wrapped around the waist of an equally-drained Ino, her arm slung across his shoulders. His other arm was resting around the shoulders of a tired-looking Hinata who seemed to be doing her best to support his heavier form. Of the three, she seemed the least-injured. As the trio made their way across the room, Shikamaru helped Ino to a chair before he stumbled, feet finally going out from under him.

Hinata let out a startled yelp as his weight toppled forward, gritting her teeth as she tried to keep the taller shinobi from crashing into the floor. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't as strong as she wanted to be.

Ino looked to the three around her, as she settled into the chair.

Chouji was home. HOME. And she had helped him.

Reaching an arm out to Shikamaru, she caught him as he fell, an arm around his back, standing from her position in the chair, steadying him. "Shikamaru, are you ok?"

Shikamaru leaned on her arm, expression showing his gratitude for the assistance. Sinking down onto the couch, he leaned back, letting his head lol back onto the cushions. Reaching behind his head, his fingers fiddled with something. With a yank, he broke the tie that held his hair up, letting the mass of chocolate-brown fall down around his face and shoulders. With a sigh, he ran his hands through it, massaging his scalp as if he had somehow strained his mentality during the mission.

"Yeah, Ino. I'm fine. Just drained. Too much Kagemane, I guess. Not to mention Shadow-stitching that one group to the ground and holding them there took a lot out of me. What about you?"

He glanced at the Hyuuga girl with a nod.

"You alright as well, Hinata? I think Ino and I took the brunt of the damage. Though it would help if either one of us knew any medical jutsu..."

"Hinata?... Ino? Shika? Y-you're back?"

Chouji attempted to straigten himself up in his chair. Pushing up with his legs still hurt, but he managed to right himself with his hands.

"You guys... you... you're hurt! You need to go see Shizune..."

This was the truth, but he hoped with all his heart that they didnt take the advice. He'd been alone for too long the two days, and just the sight of Shika... of Ino... made him feel a little better.

And it was obvious.

She glanced up at him, shaking her head.

"No, I'm alright. A bit tired, but nothing that some rest won't fix. But...I know a little bit of medical jutsu. I could try and heal your wounds, if you want. I could even try and fix Chouji's legs....I just can't do anything for your chakra. It'll have to replenish on it's own."

Shikamaru shook his head, shoulder-length locks swaying slightly.

"She's got her hands full right now. Besides, it's nothing severe. A few days rest and we'll be fine. Don't trouble yourself on me, Hinata. Save your chakra. I'm fine."

"Well, thats good, then, I guess..." Chouji managed to crack another small smile. And they didn't even come back too bad off... thats my team.

Except for me. he thought, his mind moving back to beign beaten, legs broken, and dragged underground. He cringed a bit, but tried to move on.

"W-what happened out there, Ino-chan?"

Hinata watched his face, the lines creasing in pain. She closed her eyes, hands quietly threading seals.

Byakugan

Studying him, her eyes traveled over the broken bones and she frowned. Slipping closer to him, she placed one hand gently on his leg.

"Chouji-san, I'm going to see if I can't make this a little more comfortable for you, at least until Shizune-sensei can finish the healing. Just sit still, alright? It won't take long."

She closed her eyes and concentrated, the bluish chakra accumulating around her hands, small tendrils and slivers delving into his legs to stimulate the regeneration of damaged bone and muscle.

Ino knelt beside Shikamaru, dragging his spindly form over to sit beside their heavier teammate. Sitting Shika up against Chouji's uninjured leg, Ino stood up, running a hand playfully through the bigger boy's ruddy hair.

"You're the one who needs to see Shizune-san, Chou-kun. I'll take care of everything..so you and Shika rest, ok?"

With an angelic smile, she turned from them, a warmth bubbling up from her heart, and radiating through her. Chouji was safe, as well as Shikamaru. The two closest people to her in the world were once again safe, and at home...if you could call this city 'home'.

Chouji looked down at his old friend, and then up to the girl who had been with them since almost day one. He smiled to himself... it was almost funny how much they'd grown as a team, grown as friends.

Chouji blushed a little, as his eyes met Ino's smile, and then her own eyes. This wasnt the loud, bossy girl that he had known so long ago. This was the loving, caring, kind girl that had seemed to appear after he had nearly died...

"S-sit, Ino! You've had a long night... Y-you're ok, right? You look a little, um, banged up."

She just smiled, wreathing an arm under the chubby boy's chin, and giving his cheek a squeeze. Moving her hand back, she slowly traced around the spirals inked into the skin upon his face, with a soft, almost sensuous touch.

I've always found them to be cutely peculiar..

She shook her head at his remark, ruffling his hair once again, before getting her proud voice, the one she always used to draw attention away from the situation. It had always worked in the past, why wouldn't it work now?

"I'm perfectly fine, Chouji! We're Team Asuma, dammit. What's a couple of bruises and scrapes?" She pumped her arm into the air, continuing her shpeel. "We're the unstoppable InoShikaChou! The Second generation trick hand of Konoha. We'll always pull through! Am I right?!" She kept grinning, keeping up the ruse, though her legs were in considerable pain. She had taken a few hits that night, protecting Hinata and Shikamaru, or at least trying to. With a chagrin, she remembered that a lot of the time it was her being protected. But, she wouldn't dwell on that. Chouji was safe, so it didn't really matter at the time she was a worthless shinobi..

"Yeah!"

Chouji's voice grew louder as Ino's speech grew more and more intense. She's prolly lying about getting hurt, he told himself, but at least she's here. And in a good mood, too.

"Are you and Shika hungry at all? I-I made some extra food tonight, in case you guys decided you wanted to stay over here..."

Log; on-going

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject