Log: Complete

[lovelyyamanaka.livejournal.com]

When; In the Afternoon
Rating; PG-13 for content
Characters; Yamanaka Ino lovelyyamanaka and Shizune medic_assistant
Summary; On her way back to her new 'home', Ino is stopped by Shizune. The two have a conversation about the weekend's events..
Log;

Shizune took a look around her apartment. It was sort of like standing in the middle of a war zone. The couch was burned, thankfully no longer smoldering. A pillow had been blown up; there were cookies and square-shaped pancakes on the floor, sand all over the carpet... and gunpowder on the ceiling. With a small sigh, Shizune slowly hit her head on the wall. Never. Never would she have children. At least she'd sent Anko off with Deidara to blow things up and Hinata, Lee, and Tenten had gone with Neji. Now she just had Gaara, who was off with Kabuto. Or, female Kabuto. She gave a long sigh. It had been a very, very, long day.

Ino sat on a bench, looking out into the backdrop of the city. A sigh escaped her lips, as she scanned the environs, for something, anything to take her mind off of what was going on. She sighed once more, looking down. She would go back to the temple later. Where she was staying with that guy. She didn't need to think of past mistakes. She was the cause of unhappiness--and she needed to wedge herself out so she didn't come between them. Though she had come between them in another way, and THAT was the cause of all her troubles.... Standing, she prepared to return to her new 'home'. Walking, she looked up, as she passed an apartment building. The windows were open, and the balcony was scorched.

Resigning herself to the task, Shizune bent to pick up a soggy pancake, wincing at the sounds coming from next door. Deidara and Anko setting off firecrackers and god knows what else. But Deidara had given his word he would not harm any of Konoha in the City, and for some reason, she trusted that word. Giving another sigh, Shizune dropped the pancake in the trashcan, stopped, and decided to at least check on the explosions. She stepped out onto her balcony, scooting a toy out of the way, and looking out onto the City-scape. But her eyes caught sight of a familiar figure...

Ino stared up at the balcony, when her eyes caught a familiar figure. Turning sharply, she began to briskly walk in the other direction, as to not be noticed. No doubt the one standing on the scorched building protrusion had heard of her exploits, and would want to talk about them. Biting her lip, she tried to continue on. It would be hard, distancing herself from all those she knew, but she would do it. She did not wish to be a burden any longer. Nor did she want to remember what she did.

Now that did it. She had been chasing toddlers all day. Her lover had turned into a woman. Her couch had caught fire. And now, Ino was going to try and act like she didn't exist. Shizune did not think so. Her chakra may still have been depleted from all the healing she'd done earlier, but she wasn't letting that hold her back. With a fluid leap she was over the balcony railing, and after Ino. Very, very, fast.

Ino's periphreal vision caught sight of the Hokage's assistant coming quick on her heels. Without warning, she broke into a run, trying to escape her. But a voice echoed within her mind at this: Who are you trying to escape? Her..or yourself? Slowing, she put a hand to her head, looking down.

"Ino." Shizune's voice, when she caught up to her, was level. Not warm, but not cold either. She realized how frazzled she must look, but that didn't matter. She meant to begin a lecture about informing your superiors of your whereabouts, or some other matter, but she ended up heaving another large sigh. "Chouji and Shikamaru are worried about you, Ino."

Ino stopped at this, fighting back the urge to sigh. She instead spoke up, a matter of fact answer for the statement. "I've left for their own good. They don't need to worry about me. After all, Shika was right all these years. I am troublesome." She began to walk again, shaking her head. " I don't want to be troublesome any longer."

"No, you're not being troublesome." Shizune matched the younger girl's pace, her mouth set in a firm line. "What you’re being is childish." She said it bluntly, becoming more and more aggravated by the step. She was normally a rather calm and understanding person, but this was too much.

"Fine." She sighed, stopping once more. "Just because I don't want to drive my fucking best friends apart, I'm being childish. Because I just want to get the hell away, and let them live." She snapped around, staring dead into her face. "What the fuck, Shizune. Do you even understand?"

"Of course I don't understand, Ino!" Shizune raised her voice to match the level of Ino's. "I didn't sleep with my teammates, so no, I don't!" She wanted to stop herself there, but she kept on. "And I'm not you so I don't understand, and I'm not running away, so I don't understand!" She paused. "What I do understand is that Chouji came to talk to me yesterday. He told me what happened, Ino." She sighed, bringing her voice down to a normal level. "And I'm trying to understand. I'm trying to help you."

"And yet, you berate me." She turned around once more, ponytail swinging with the weight change. "You say you try to help me, but you cut me down at every pass. This is a very interesting way to help someone." She wanted to begin walking again, but something held her. "So, Chouji told you everything, hm? He probably didn't tell you of the reprocussions it's going to have, did he?" She bit the end of the sentence, accentuating every word.

"Ino..." Shizune cursed herself mentally. God, all frazzled and worn out and Ino couldn't have been spotted when she was calm and collected, now could she? No, that would be too easy. "He told me that he loves you. That he's afraid that if Shikamaru loves you too then he'll have to compete against his best friend. And he worries about what you feel." She put one hand to her forehead, feeling a migraine coming on. "And couldn't you at least come back to my apartment for some birth control?"

Ino visibly shook at this. 'B-birth control?!" Oh God.He told me that he loves you.. This also echoed in her mind clearly. She bit her lip hard, as tears began to flood over her cheeks, like acid waterfalls. "He's not the only one who said that. Shikamaru said it, too."

"Oh, god, Ino..." Shizune murmured, letting out another sigh. She didn't know whether to approach her, didn't know if she wanted to be comforted with an embrace or... she didn't really know what to do. When talking to Chouji she's sat opposite him, and goodness Hinata had just flung herself at her, and- "... I know it must be hard on you... I'm sorry I was so high-strung about it..." She just couldn't bring herself to continue to be mad.

"..Now you see my dilemma, and the reason I'm trying to stay away. I'm going to drive them apart, Shizune-san. They will hate each other, and it will be all my fault." She buried her head in her hands, finding no ground to stand on, as her knees collapsed from under her.

Shizune crouched down, bending at the knees. But that hurt from chasing children all day so she plopped down beside the other girl, reaching out to slowly pat her shoulder. "Ino... I don't think there's anything in the entire world that could make Chouji and Shikamaru hate each other." She considered her next words carefully. "And... I think what's really hurting them now is that you're not with them. That they don't know where you went, where you are..." She paused. "Where did you go?"

"..I went home with Greed-san." She paaued after saying this. "And..I don't know. I've seen enough instances, and read enough stores, where love destroyed everything. This may be the one thing they can't weather. And it would kill me."

"Greed?" Shizune was a tad alarmed. She knew Tayuya of Sound was often around the man, but since Ino hadn't mentioned the other girl she supposed there hadn't been a problem. "Why in the world... Ino... if you needed someplace to stay..."

She looked down. "He..gave me that carnal touch, when I needed it. When I was lost." Sighing, she wrapped her arms about herself, as if she was cold. "I just decided to stay. It gave me a way to forget. Everything." A breath, shuddering, was drawn between her lips, as she tried to swallow something back, painful and thick, constricting her breath."I don't want to remember Konoha, or the reprocussions of everything once we return. I just want to run from it all."

"... You... he…?" Shizune stuttered, eyes straying anywhere but the other girl's face. And she thought her love life was on the hard side. ... Giving all this advice she wasn't exactly qualified to give... it seemed Anko would be better suited to talking about such sexual things. But she suppressed her own embarrassment. "Ino, do you love anyone?"

"..I do.." Whatever she was trying to swallow was winning at coming back up, as a choking noise, suspiciously sounding like a sob, escaped her throat. "..and that's what my dilemma is. THAT is why I'm trying to run. My heart threatens to destroy my way of life."

"Ino... do you love Shikamaru? Chouji?" Shizune pressed, scooting a little closer to the girl, a sort of silent permission for her to cry on her shoulder if need be. "... or both?"

Her voice was dry and cracked, a sliver of sound, like wind through a desert. From her mouth, words spilled, and fell to the air, in moments that felt like eternity. "..I love them both." At this point, her knees began to buckle under her, bringing the concrete, clamoring for her attention, closer to what it desired.

"Ino..." Shizune finally reached out, hands gently touching the other's shoulders, steadying her. "... I think before you decide that this will tear them apart, maybe you should ask them? You need to talk to them Ino... nothing good ever came of hiding your feelings. I know that, I learned that here..." Shizune didn't relish broaching her own experiences, but if it would help the other girl, she'd do it without a single hesitation.

"..You've been in a situation similiar?" Ino's knees finally settled upon the hard ground, feeling the coarse surface dig into her skin. "..Then, what did you do, and how did he or she take it?" Ino bowed her head, biting her lip softly. Maybe Shizune could help. "And do you regret it?"

"Well... similar, sort of..." Shizune's glance drifted back to the balcony of her apartment. She couldn't dance around the matter if she wanted to help Ino learn from this experience of hers. "... I'm sleeping with Kabuto. And I don't regret any of it." Her voice was a tad softer, but just as level.

"...Kabuto..? As in Yakushi Kabuto? The 2nd in Command of the Oto Nin?" Ino stuttered a little at this, fathoming the information in her mind. "Do you ever worry about Konoha? And what will happen when we get back?" She sighed. She works for the Hokage. And she's sleeping with an Oto nin. That's got to be worse than ruining generations of friendship between three clans, doesn't it?

"Of course I worry about it." Shizune gave a sigh. "... And I know it's breaking so many codes it's ridiculous..." She once again glanced back to the balcony, to the shadows of shapes moving in the apartment. Looked like Kabuto was chasing one of the children around. "... but I do love him, and... right now that's all that matters." She looked back to Ino, catching her eyes. "... it's what your heart feels that matters. Not who you love, not what people might think of you, who you might be hurting... You just can't hide your feelings..."

"I'd guess so...." She hefted a sigh. "Maybe, I should...even if it kills all three of us. Even if it destroys the trick hand of Konoha." She placed a foot out, pushing herself up. "I guess, that's all I can do. Tell them...as they told me...and weather the storm as it comes." And if it becomes terrible, run. There's always that. her mind echoed. Run into oblivion.

"I'm going to the Day of Atonement party. After that...I will return to speak to them."

"... Thank you, Ino." Shizune stood as well. "Just... tell them both how you feel. I'm sure everything will work out. And Ino..." Shizune paused. "Please don't run away again... come to me if you need anything. And for goodness sakes come get some birth control."

"..I will." She nodded. "But..I'm going to get ready now...If you are invited to the party, come." And with this, Ino began to walk away, waving a hand up. "See you later, Shizune-san. I've got to go find an appropriate dress."