hello, world ...

[ino]

Who: Ino and you!
What: Finally waking up after being knocked out (thanks, Peeta B/)
Where: The clinic
When: Tonight
Rating: PG? Possible swearing and mentions of war/death



[It hadn't been very long at all in Konoha - shorter, in fact, than the time she had truly been asleep - but that time had felt like a century. Of course, nonstop fighting had a way of making the days seem longer, and the deaths of thousands had its way of making each day seem worse.

It all seemed like a distant dream for a moment as she blinked her eyes open and found her limbs badly in need of a stretch. She glanced around momentarily, noting that she was in the clinic. Given the amount if bruises, cuts and scuffs all over her from the fighting, she looked like she belonged in one of the cots, but her mind needed a moment to catch up ...]

Comments

[save_the_souls]

[Allen was in the clinic, stepping in to check up on her when he sees her stirring...and wow looking w ay more beat up WHO WAS ON THE LAST SHIFT!? SO FIRED]

[Whatever he's rushing over to her]

Ino?

[ino]

[She starts at her name being called, moving to sit up, but then she relaxes a little when she sees who it is]

Allen ... what happened?

[save_the_souls]

You were hit on the head and fell unconscious. It's been about a week now.

[ino]

A week ... [it didn't feel like that long. it'd only been two, maybe three days of fighting, if she remembered right ...

Fighting. shit. she felt the soreness and the aching coming back to her now, and she let out a groan] Ugh ...

[save_the_souls]

- Careful.

[He's moving to see if he can check where she's been injured]

What happened? Were you at home?

[ino]

Yeah ... the war finally started. [she sucks in a deep breath, rubbing her face] Naruto finally got there ...

[save_the_souls]

War?

[No no no, this is not good]

Who are you fighting?

[ino]

The Akatsuki ... kind of. It's a lot like what happened here, except ... worse. [she finishes that sentence a bit lamely, but hey, she's not feeling so hot] They have all of the Tailed Beasts except Naruto's and one other ...

[and that makes her freeze. the ten-tails had fired towards headquarters, and ...]

[save_the_souls]

[His stomach ties up in knots, fearful. He almost wants to ask if the other was Gaara - but no she would mention him by name. But her freezing makes him pause]

..Ino? What is it?

[ino]

[it takes a moment, but a look of horror slowly dawns on her face, and she covers her mouth with one hand, squeezing her eyes shut. she knows, somewhere in her head, that Allen is worried and wants to know what happened, but it's a few moments before she can manage in a choked voice:]

Dad ... !

[save_the_souls]

[He does want to know what happened, Konoha was full of his friends even if none of them remembered him. Even though it was a place he's only seen twice through the castle's magic- in a way it felt like a home from how accepting the people always were.]

[But that word and the choked voice? Explains more than anything else.]

[And so he puts away his own concerns and moves to the side of her bed, sitting on the corner. Putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, he'll watch her]

Ino...

[ino]

[she struggles for a few moments to stop the tears, to take a deep breath and continue the fight, but there is nothing left to distract her, nothing she absolutely needs to do to keep herself alive now. she thought she'd have more time, more time to put it off before she had to truly deal with that punch to the gut, but now ...

a bubble of rage surfaces in her: how dare he, how dare madara and obito play so dirty. how dare they do something so utterly despicable? and why hadn't she thought to redirect the shot again? if she even had the energy to do so. no, she would find the chakra, if it meant her dad could still be alive right now.

she lets out a scream of frustration, her fist connecting with the wall to make a rather obvious crack in the wall, before she sobs wordlessly into his shoulder]

[save_the_souls]

[Allen will flinch slightly at the scream and fit cracking the wall, but he doesn't move beyond that. He's used to letting out his own feelings like that, so he can't really judge considering the circumstances. It's merited, if her father has been killed]

[So instead without saying a word, he'll wrap his arms around her and give her a comforting hug when she begins to cry into his shoulder, resting his chin atop her head as he bites back his own emotions thinking of what's happening to Konoha. First it was everyone else that had left, then Arthur and now this...]

[Why can't anything go right? Why is it always about suffering?]

[ino]

[she wishes she knew, Allen! but for now she just lets out a few more sobs, trying desperately to calm down and deal with this rationally. it was only a matter if time, wasn't it? her dad was lucky, as a ninja, to have survived as long as he had ...

but somehow, that didn't make it any better]

[save_the_souls]

[Nope, nothing ever makes it better. He will rub her back comfortingly and say softly]

It's okay if you want to cry.

[ino]

[she shakes her head, letting out a shuddery breath. she probably will cry more later, in the privacy of her room, but for now, in front of others, she has to be strong. it's the only thing that will keep her from being a complete wreck]

Crying won't help.

[save_the_souls]

[He hesitates, almost wanting to say neither will shutting down your emotions, but this is no time to argue about forms of grief. He knows Ino does not have the emotional maturity of a brick wall]

[So he'll slowly let go and look at her]

I'm sorry.

[ino]

[she shakes her head, wiping her eyes]

Don't be. He ... he was very brave. I'm proud to be his daughter.

[that's what she's supposed to say, right? assuming she survives this war, she'll have to say something like it at his funeral, right? better to start practicing now]

[save_the_souls]

And I'm sure he'd say the same about you.

[Even if he's never met him beyond a dream of Ino's, he has only heard good and loving things about that man]

Do you need anything?

[ino]

[that gets a smile, though it's a small and sad one. because it makes her recall his last words to her -- that he was proud of her, that he loved her. she sniffs a little before replying]

I'm alright. Just ... [she shifts a little, with a bit of a wince] I think I need some rest. [some time to re-adjust, to wind down from the adrenaline ...]

[save_the_souls]

[He nods as he moves to stand]

Take all the time you need, if you need me simply hit the call button by your bed.

[ino]

Yeah.

[she just sounds tired, now. she rubs at an eye ...]

Thanks, Allen. I really appreciate it.

[save_the_souls]

Of course. It's what friends are for.

I'm..glad you're back, Ino.

[he'll smile at her before heading to leave the room to give her some rest]