Post by Mr Nim on May 17, 2014 14:07:00 GMT
Resolutions
(6 months into the timeskip)
(6 months into the timeskip)
A Collab between Little Alice, Fieryfly, Gerontis and Mr Nim
Summary
After seemingly being injured with a deadly toxin, Ino decides to go and get rid of unfinished business that she had, and afterwards...
Ino Namikaze Dies.
(This also partially relates to Deidara Yuhiko's Timeskip thread.)
After seemingly being injured with a deadly toxin, Ino decides to go and get rid of unfinished business that she had, and afterwards...
Ino Namikaze Dies.
(This also partially relates to Deidara Yuhiko's Timeskip thread.)
Sitting on a branch of a tree in the middle of a forest, Ino was considering her next move. She had gained a bit of time to relax, which she had no idea what to do in the meanwhile, and the loss of Gimiroti had still hurt her as he was her best friends for nearly a decade. Looking up at the sky, she felt a light breeze which went across her face and through her hair. Getting up, she turned away from facing the forest clearing she was next to and begin making her way deeper into the forest, wondering if she should contact Zakito and see if he has any new missions for her.
As she made her way through the branches, Ino felt something. A feeling that was familiar, and it was something she felt many times throughout the years. A feeling of being watched. She figured it was an ANBU sent after her from Konoha, but whoever the ANBU was, he was very persistent and careful, managing to keep his chakra concealed very well. Stopping in her tracks, she took out a couple of kunai and threw them in two different directions, managing to hear one of them being deflected. She quickly did a few seals and shot a few air bullets in that direction, and managed to suddenly see a small mist which jumped from the air bullets to a different branch. Understanding what she is facing, Ino wasted no time in doing a few more seals and jumping up as her hands began gathering chakra around them. Moving downwards in a high speed, she sent the two chakra fists toward the mist, managing to clear it and break several branches.
Landing on the top of a tree in front of where the mist was before, Ino looked at a man with an ANBU outfit and a weird mask. The man quickly did a few seals and shot a few water bullets in her direction and then jumped up, preparing another jutsu. Dodging the bullets with rather ease, she watched as the ANBU jumped up and quickly began doing seals as well. As the man shot a strong wave of water at her, Ino took out a kunai, produced a wind chakra blade from it and sliced through the wave, managing to stay dry and make everything around her wet, when the ANBU came for her quickly and threw a few kunai with blinding tags around her which exploded instantly. Not believing someone had managed to pull such a thing off with ease, she quickly jumped away from her branch while blinking, trying to regain her eye sight as quickly as she could before she felt a punch hit her and send her crashing, hitting a few branches on the way down.
As she regained her sight, she noticed a few kunai coming her way and she quickly dodged them by rolling to the side, and reacted by using a few air bullets to make the ANBU move to the side before she sent a few wind waves at him. She then begin running, understand this ANBU was unlike the most. This one completely understood who he was facing, and the fact he used Mist as one of his primary weapons made it clear to her that he was most likely relate to him somehow. To Shikaku Yuhiko. Coming to a stop, she turned around just in time to show him that she managed to enter her more restricted Sage mode. She created a couple of shadow clones which charged at the ANBU while she jumped up and did a few seals, preparing a couple of her enhanced Wind fists. The ANBU managed to get rid of both clones with ease by using his own Mist fists, and then jumped up, dodging the Wind fists on the way before throwing a kunai which finally managed to hit Ino.
She dropped to the ground, holding her arm, and the ANBU landed in front of her "Just finish me off then. Don't poison me, just finish me off!" Ino shouted as she felt the kunai had a poison on it, but the ANBU did not reply and instead removed his mask, making Ino be shocked for a few seconds before feeling a wave of pain go throughout her entire body "Your limbs will slowly go numb, and after 48 hours, you will perish. Goodbye, Ino Namikaze." The man, known as Shikaku Yuhiko, said, placed his mask back on and then left. This made Ino wonder what she should do next, and decided to get up and head to Konoha, as she had something to do.
Feeling a sting going up her arm and also seeing that the cut was looking nastier than before, Ino kept going toward Konohagakure. She had to find someone, and quick. It took her over a few months to realise that she needed to do something, but she wondered if she was really up to the task. Using the transformation jutsu to go in unnoticed, she managed to get inside without a problem and afterwards begin heading toward the training grounds, figuring that the person she was looking for would be there.
A large explosion was heard. Panting, the crackling of lightning was fading away as the iris of the young girl turned normal. Dust, sweat and mud were over her garb as face. Wiping with her left hand, she straighten up and looked around. The field has several big craters, indicating that the power of her jutsu was effective. But she was missing something. Looking at her right hand, she noticed how the finger less glove was ravaged. ''I should maybe exert more control during the punch?'' She mumbled to herself. Sighing, Lilia sat down on her butt and decided to take a break. As she sat down, something slithered towards her with a soft growling. Frowning, Lilia then scoffed. ''I'm fine. Just a bit disappointed. I truly need to make it more powerful. After all, the punch of him was quite.. the deal. I want to do the same. But instead of piercing my target, I want to slam them with the lightning.'' Lilia explained to Samehada. Waiting for a reply, the shark blade made a short growling sound. This caused Lilia to sigh and drop her head. ''No Shady... Just, never mind.'' She told him, before she then heard another growl of Samehada. It sounded more like a warning. Raising her eyebrow, she knew better than to ignore that warning. ''Ah...''
Turning her head to the other end of the field, Lilia raised her voice. ''I dislike surprises. Though glad to hear that you're the surprise.'' Lilia's voice sounded rather cheerful, even due being tired, Her green eyes were fixed on the direction Samehada had told her of who was coming.
As she came closer to the field, she heard Lilia's voice and was glad she came to the right place after looking at a few other fields. She opened her mouth to reply, when her left leg became numb from pain and she fell down a couple of steps from Lilia, with Ino's face meeting the dirt and a hissing sound was heard from Ino. She slowly began to get up, but felt the pain starting to move to her other limbs. It was just like he described it to be. She wondered how much longer she had left as she noticed that she barely managed to get back up to a sitting position, and the levels of pain felt like they kept increasing as the seconds passed by.
Sitting, as she had noticed Ino, Lilia tilted her head. It wasn't much like Ino to act like a goofy person. So it was only natural that Lilia wasn't sure what to do. Was it a joke from the woman? If so, then it wasn't really that funny. Maybe little children would love to see an adult fall on his or her face, for some reason. But Lilia didn't.
''Euhm. Are you doing okay?'' She asked with raising her left eyebrow. Maybe something was wrong, but Lilia was also wondering why Ino was here. Wasn't it not unsafe for her to come just like that in Konoha?
"Lilia...I need your help." Ino said, sounding slightly weak, but still managed to have her usual cold tone. She suddenly realised that the way she speaks wouldn't matter within a couple of days, so she decided to drop the tone as she managed to move to a sitting position. Sighing, she looked at Lilia and gave the young girl a small smile "I need your help with doing something, but it will require you to come with me to Kumogakure. I need to find someone there and explain something to him, but I never did anything like it before, so I want to make sure that I manage to..." She slightly hesitated and bit her lower lip before speaking again "Do this thing right. I need you to guide me through this, Lilia-chan." She said and then slowly begin to get up on her feet, feeling the pain has calmed down, but the sting in her arm was still there, and the cut on her left arm appeared to have now gained a greenish colour.
The expression of calm and relaxed changed. It happened in a second as Lilia heard Ino's voice. It was weaker, even the cold tone didn't seem right. The request was however... odd. Lilia wouldn't mind to help Ino. The woman had been around her search for answers and had helped her to reach Masuba. Though it was on the order of Ino, Lilia wouldn't mind to repay the favor. ''Kumo? That is a bit of a distance. I can't stay long away, Ino-chan.'' Lilia told her. ''I want to repay the favor... But maybe you should take a rest? Or shall we go to see if Chang-kun can help you?'' She suggested. Though she wasn't sure. Maybe it wouldn't be wise to bring a missing nin to the head of the hospital. But what else could she do?
Shaking her head, Ino took a couple of steps closer to Lilia and placed her hand on the young girl's shoulder "Thank you, Lilia, but no. I'm afraid that what I have cannot be treated within the time that is needed. As for reaching Kumo, well..." She said, removed her hand from Lilia's shoulder before touching her cut with the palm of her right hand "There is a way for making the trip much quicker, but first, can you leave right now? I can also make sure you will be back here within a day or so. She said, hoping Lilia would be capable of leaving straight away.
Thinking about it, she considered some options. It would be strange if she would be suddenly gone. Even if some knew about her newest secret. Making a shadow clone, she had made a decision. ''The shadow clone will try to make sure nobody will miss me. It won't be strange for many to see me without Samehada. I'm ready to go, whenever you are.'' She told Ino. Though she had questions, she didn't want to bother Ino. The woman seemed to be tired and weakened out. And if Lilia was needed back, she had her own option to get back in Konohagakure. Looking up to the woman, she still had a worried expression on her face. ''Just take it easy. I hate to see you like this, though... Ino-chan.''
Taking out two sets of cloaks from her pouch, she gave one to Lilia, which would be a bit big for the young girl, before putting on the second cloak and hood and then doing the seals for "Summoning Technique: Void Rose." Ino whispered in a weak voice that could barely be heard, and pressed her right hand against the ground. A moment later the dark colored rose came up, and Ino picked it and watched as the dark sphere came all around her and Lilia.
Taking the cloak with the hood, she donned it on. Her own outfit was still dirty, but seemed they were in a hurry. As Ino used the summoning jutsu, Lilia kept her cool as the dark sphere came. All she did was just wait and keep an eye on Ino. The young girl had realized something. Last time, Ino had watched over her. Now Lilia would do the same for her. It was something she however wanted to do, not because she felt like to in order to repay Ino back from before.
As the dark sphere began to dissolve, Ino turned to look at Lilia "Lilia, I brought you here to help me by making sure I can explain something important to someone in this village. We will be looking for a young man who is called-"
"Deidara Yuhiko was the name of your teammember right? He is looking for you." Midori's mother pushed the hair out of Midori's face and looked at her daughter. Midori sat on her bed, her legs pulled up against her chest, her eyes on her knees.
"I don't want to go out." She mumbled against her knees. Her mother lifted Midori's chin. "Midori..." Midori's eyes shot away from her mother's face and turned to the wall as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. It was not, it was boring and didn't do anything, yet Midori liked to watch it exactly because it didn't do anything.
"Come on, up and out. We need some other stuff to, so you can get that on the way back." Chie tried to sound upbead, but the status of her daughter worried her. She missed the happy bubbly girl and wondered by now, if she would ever get her back.
Without saying anything Midori got up and without looking back to her mother pulled a hoodie over her head, the cap hiding her haif from view before walking out of the room. Then she halted and turned back. "I'll be back soon." She mumbled and left the house to look for her teammate, who she didn't really want to see. She just wanted to see no-one really. All these people, they would look at her and talk to her and ask things of her just like... And then maybe the voice in her head would wake and scream! And... Midori bit on her lip and pulled her hoodie further over head. Hopefully Deidara didn't want to do any important stuff that involved more then him because she was not doing that.
Walking to the trainingsfield was painful. So many people she had to dodge. So many faces. She saw Asami in some of them. Quickly she moved on and arrived only ten minutes later at the field.
Standing still in the center of the field with his eyes closed and holding the Tiger seal, Deidara appeared to be concentrated. The moment he heard Midori's footsteps he released the seal, letting out a few fire butterflies from his mouth, which begin circling him as he turned to look at Midori "Hey Midori. We haven't seen each other in a while, so I thought we could train a bit, just the both of us." He said and approached her with a few steps, and sent a couple of the fire butterflies to circle her "You begin making me and Natsuki-sensei worried, you know." He said with a small grin.
Training, right. Midori's eyes peered from under her hoodie and her hair to Deidara, her lips tightly pressed together. As soon as the butterflies moved towards her she eyed them wearily. Training was not good, training involved fighting and fighting involved using chakra and who knew if she might accidentally waken the chakra monster inside of her. And he would scream and rage! There were a lot of dreams that went like that and they never ended well. Still being cautious of the butterflies Midori raised her bag to indicate that she was supposed to do shopping, maybe that would put Deidara off.
Seeing her raise the bag made Deidara wonder what she was trying to tell him. The fact Midori didn't speak was something he still didn't get used to, as before she managed to speak 120 words within a minute, if not more. Her mouth was notorious for being deadly, and now she was the most quiet person in the world. Trying to think about what she was trying to tell him, Deidara begin thinking about all the activities which require a bag. Traveling? Not likely. Studying? Midori wasn't the type to read books. Shopping? possibly "Your mom told you to go shop for a few things?" He asked and did the release seal, making the fire butterflies which circled him and the ones that circled Midori vanish.
"Well, I guess I can help you with shopping. Not exactly what I wanted to do, but sure, as long as I get to spend a bit of time with you. You have to understand that we are still a part of a team even if you refuse to say a single-" Deidara suddenly stopped talking and placed a finger on his mouth, telling Midori to be quiet, which had no effect at the time. Turning around as quiet as he could, he begin scanning the bushes and trees around the trainingfield, as he have heard a sound of a branch being snapped. He turned back to Midori and marked to her to stand behind him, to make sure she is safe and then turned to look back at the trees, when he heard another branch snapping, and before he could take out a kunai and throw it, a woman fell from the tree and crashed on the ground, letting out a hissing sound from landing on her injured arm.
"There goes the..." Ino felt as her arm made her ache with pain again. It gained a greenish colour and the skin around her arm also started looking a bit dead. Deidara simply stared, not believing, at the fact the woman he wanted to find an get answers from, which fell, quite literally, right in front of him, already in a bad shape. Taking out a kunai, he began approaching her, his eyes now showing a dead look in them "Ino Namikaze... Now that I know your name, you are going to answer a few things for me." He said, walking slowly forward her, wanting to make sure this wasn't a dream.
Another rustle in the leaves would signal the mark of somebody else being there. Landing between Deidara and Ino, just in front of the woman, two bright green eyes looked with a warning gaze at the young boy. ''Ino-san, are you alright?'' She asked worried, while keeping an eye on Deidara and Midori. Lilia wanted to make sure that Ino was doing alright before she would approach her rival. The one that she hadn't seen in a long time. It actually made her happy to see Midori again, but she knew it wasn't time to goof around.
The idea of having Deidara shop with her was actually one Midori liked. She didn't hate Deidara or something after all. She was just... just.. not good right now. But of course it wouldn't happen like that. Nothing ever happened like she wanted it to. As soon as Deidara raised his finger to his mouth Midori tensed. Her eyes shot around, but she remained perfectly still. The woman that fell from the sky she recognized and she took a step back. She was the one that had attacked her before. Her and Lilia and the rest of their team and now... With confused eyes Midori watched how Lilia appeared before the evil woman. Did that mean the woman was not evil or Lilia had turned evil? But Lilia would never be evil because she didn't have red eyes. But then again, neither had Asami. Why were her thoughts so jumbled? Midori took another step back and decided to wait for Deidara to do something.
Seeing Lilia jump between him and Ino, it took a moment for Deidara to know her face "Your name is Lilia, right? Get out of my way." He said, his tune turning into an agressive one, as he steadied the kunai in his hand. Ino, in the meanwhile, begin standing up while also using Lilia's shoulder as leverage, and then leaned on her a bit. She coughed a bit, covering her mouth with her hand, and she noticed that she spat out a bit of blood. How much longer did she have? Few hours at best, she figured, but she couldn't be sure of that either. Before Lilia would react, or Deidara could make his move, Ino raised her healthy arm "We are not here to fight, Deidara Yuhiko. I'm here to answer your questions." She said, breathing heavily and feeling slightly weak. Deidara still held his kunai high, not intending to believe his father's killer so quickly or easily.
Lilia glared at Deidara, not noticing that Midori wasn't reacting like she always did. Ino was just in time before Lilia could sneer back at the boy. But as Ino raised her hand, Lilia dropped her glare. The right hand of Lilia, that was near her kunai pouch, moved away. A soft grumble was however heard from the white bandaged weapon on her back. Frowning, Lilia tilted her head and looked at Midori. ''You're awfully quiet, Midori-chan...'' Lilia said, more as a statement than as an actual question.
So the woman was not fighting. That was good, if she was speaking the truth, but who knew if she was speaking the truth. Since when did people honestly speak the truth? Still it must mean something that Lilia was with her. Slowly Midori decided to step back towards Deidara. He shouldn't fight her so maybe she could hold him back if he tried anything. When Lilia spoke to her Midori turned her eyes to her friend from Konoha. She wanted to talk to her, ask her about Konoha, about herself, about Ryo, but then she suddenly remembered how the Hachibi and the Nibi had reacted towards each other, it would be very bad if that happened again! So instead of saying anything Midori just sent Lilia a small smile and pulled her shoulders up.
"Midori has been through quite a bit, so let her be. Its not like you see her every day." Deidara explained, sounding a bit cold forward Lilia. The fact she was with Ino, who tried kidnapping her in the past, confused him, but he also knew that meant she was probably either tricked, under a genjutsu, or Ino had managed to bring her to the other side. Looking at Ino again, who appeared to be sick and weak, he lowered his kunai a bit. She didn't appear to be much of a threat, but he also wanted to make sure he will still have some defence.
Seeing Midori going closer to Deidara, Ino was glad to see that he had some friends. She wondered if he perhaps already knew the truth, but just wanted to be sure. With the way he looked at her, she figured that he most likely didn't know anything yet, and she let go of Lilia's shoulder "Ask me anything you want to know. I'll give you answers. Its time I answered for my personal crimes against the Yuhiko's." She said, sounding calm, serious, but also somewhat peaceful. Making the choice to do so made her feel like she was ready to let everything go.
The boy was pushing the limit. Lilia bit her tongue to keep herself not from sneering at him. Slowly she started to clench her right hand into a fist, under the cover of her black cloak. The only one that noticed that Lilia was getting irked was Samehada, but this time he didn't made any sound or reaction. As however Ino said that it was time she answered for her personal crimes, Lilia glanced at the woman briefly. ''Take your time, Ino-san. After all... it's not like we see each other every day.'' Looking back at Deidara, Lilia raised her right eyebrow as she was indeed clearly making a reference back at him. This time a strange sound came from Samehada, but Lilia didn't pat the bandaged weapon.
Deidara was kind of mean for saying that, Midori thought, but they shouldn't fight. Her hand closed around Deidara's wrist as a reminder that she was there and hopefully an indication that he should be careful. She didn't completely understand what was going on though. Ino killed Deidara's father, right? So what else did she do? What answers did Deidara want from her? Lilia's answer was kind of mean too and Midori tried to capture her eyes and shake her head, maybe Lilia would not be mad anymore? Because she clearly was.
Hearing Lilia's remark made Deidara want to say something back at her, but he also felt Midori's grip on his wrist. He almost forgot she was behind him. Lowering his kunai completely, but still holding it in his hand, he looked at Ino with a cold look "What do you mean by crimes? Unless..." He said and remembered his father said something about someone called Shikaku at his time of death "You killed another person in my family. Someone called Shikaku." He managed to come to a conclusion, and Midori would feel as Deidara began to shiver with anger "Why? Why would you go and kill two members of my family? What in the world would make you do it?" He asked, and Ino saw he wanted to kill her now with no mercy.
Sighing and glancing at Lilia before turning back to Deidara "I killed Nagato Yuhiko because I blamed him for what happened to Shikaku Yuhiko. Your father didn't protect him like he should've. Or so I thought. I am actually the one to blame for your brother's death. I am the one who got him killed. But I did wasn't the one who took his life." She said in a quiet voice, and Deidara was slightly shocked. He used to have a brother, an older one, most likely, but Ino caused his death. He still wasn't sure if he should believe all of this, but he didn't see another explanation. Maybe it was because of the anger boiling inside him, but he knew that she still had more to explain.
"How long ago?" Deidara asked, and Ino looked down "When I was 12, 14 years ago. Thats when your brother died." She said, and made the last word sound off. Deidara didn't notice it, but he simply turned to look at Midori for a second, wanting to make sure she was fine. He gave her a nod before looking at Lilia this time "Do you think I can trust her?" He asked, wanting to get an answer from her to be able to tell from her answer if she was trustworthy or not. Not that he was going to become best friends with Ino, but simply to know if her answers are true or not.
''Depends on how much you have to see somebody, if I have to use your logic.'' Was Lilia's cold reply. She didn't like this kid. Deciding that it was best to keep her lips sealed, she sought eye contact with Midori. Getting angry or pissed off wouldn't help the situation at all, so Lilia focused her attention on Midori. She hadn't say one word the whole time. Why was that? What had happened? Lilia wanted to have answers, but now wasn't really the time. Or was it? ''What has happened to her, that she won't talk?'' Lilia asked, already having an idea of what could've happened. Though she didn't show it, she was getting angry of the idea. Though she never had trouble with it, people tended to threat Tailed Beasts hosts as if they were some kind of disease.
Deidara was shaking. For a moment Midori wondered if he was perhapse cold, but that made no sense because it was not a cold day today. So he was angry, really angry. That was not good. Lilia didn't seem to be less angry either. She really didn't seem to like Deidara, which was weird because Midori liked Deidara very much and Lilia too so why weren't they friends? When Lilia asked her question however, Midori's eyes narrowed and she looked away. She didn't want to talk about it. Not now, not ever. Her hand clenched harder around Deidara's wrist, but still she did not speak.
Feeling Midori's grab on his wrist becoming harder, he kept his eyes on Lilia "Only when she'll want to, she'll tell you. I'm not sure of everything that happened as well, as both her and another person that was present refused to tell me." Deidara said, not wanting to say Asami's name in front of Lilia. He was sure that if his cousin learned of all of this, she would hunt Lilia and Ino down, but also place him in a cell to ensure his safety. Moving to look at Ino, he tried to decide if he should believe Ino or not. He still wanted to go and cut her into small pieces, and Lilia's answer made sense, but it wasn't the one he hoped for.
"How did it ha-" Deidara's sentence was cut short by something. Ino pushed Lilia towards Deidara and stood in front of the three young ones, getting hit by an attack from a few concealed tags. Breathing heavily and looking down, Ino counted at least 10 kunai and 13 shurikens which struck her body, and it appeared as if the tags were set to hit one of the two Jinchuuriki's, most like the Hachibi's "Its not safe here..." Ino said before falling to the ground on her side, and she touched one of her wounds with her healthy hand.
Surprised, Lilia made a roll over the ground and swiftly got up her feet. Narrowing her eyes, she looked around and heard Samehada's warning. ''Six of them, approaching fast.'' She told the others. But most of her attention went to Ino, as the woman had been struck. Though Lilia had enough confidence in her abilities, she wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to keep Ino in a fight. ''Ino-san, shall we... use that?'' Lilia asked with caution as she made a reference to a summoning they both could use. Samehada made a hissing sound, clearly meaning that they should decide something and fast.
Midori pushed her hoodie of her head to get a better view of what was going on. Something was really really wrong and it was not good, not good at all: she probably had to fight. She had been right all along, she should not have gone out today. Her room was way saver. Still she could not abandon Deidara could she? Alarmed she looked around for the attackers.
With her blood on the palm of her hand, Ino slowly did the seals for the Void Rose technique "I think we shall." Ino whispered and did the final seal. The rose appeared, which Ino managed to just barely pick, and then the sphere surronded all four of them. Deidara became cautious, not knowing what she just did "Midori, stay close to me." He whispered to her, keeping his eyes on the fatally wounded Ino and Lilia, unsure of what kind of jutsu they had just cast. He had seen it before, but from the other side, and he had no idea what it does and if it has any kind of...special effects they should be worried of.
Lilia noticed that Ino already used the Void Rose Technique, but she heard Samehada's warning. Deciding to not go in a fight alone, Lilia bite her lower lip as she stayed still. The dark sphere would shield and get them away, thus giving them some time. Looking over her shoulder to the two others, Deidara and Midori, Lilia narrowed her eyes. ''My question still hasn't been answered.'' She told Deidara with a cold tone before walking to Ino, trying to give her some support in any way that was possible. The kunai and shuriken that hit the woman made it clear that she wasn't in a good condition. The wounds and the poison. Finding it frustrating that she couldn't do anything about the poison, she could try to do something about the wounds. ''Hang on, Ino-san.'' Opening her left hand, a few red bubbles started to form as she placed it on the chest of the woman, using her other hand to pull out the weapons. ''Would be great if you would help instead of watching.'' She told the others with another cold tone, while keeping her focus. Losing focus while using that chakra wasn't smart. Not at all.
Deidara probably thought Midori was scared. That wasn't weird, but it was not true. Midori was not scared, she was just not good right now. She was very much aware of the fact that things were broken. That was frightening. There was another bad thing though, the woman who made Deidara angry was in a really bad condition. Midori left Deidara's side to kneel down next to her and see if she could do something, though she doubted that since she couldn't do any medical ninjutsu. She knew that Raspberry-sensei could. Maybe she should ask... Or maybe not.
But then Lilia did something that made Midori freeze on the spot. She knew that type of chakra. That type of chakra was not good. It hurt and it destroyed and it was angry and it had only saved others by accident and not by will. It belonged to her fear. Midori shove backwards on the ground, away from Lilia, afraid that the Nibi's chakra might activate something that was now sleeping so peacefully within her. Or so it seemed. Midori knew it was not peaceful at all. You shouldn't do that she thought. You shouldn't use that. Don't. Midori's hand digged into the ground. Don't. The last word suddenly would resonate in Lilia's mind.
Watching as Midori moved to see if she can help Ino, and Lilia also beginning to help her, Deidara didn't move from his spot. He simply wanted them to be out of this jutsu already, and he also wanted to finish getting answers from Ino, so he slightly hoped they would be able to get Ino into a better shape, so he could finish getting answers and then finish all of this. Suddenly Midori moved back, so Deidara moved next to her, kneeled and placed his hands on her shoulders "Everything is going to be fine. I'll make sure of it." He said, before looking at Lilia and seeing what she was using to heal Ino. The red chakra made him slightly nervous at first, when he noticed that she used it with caution, and she appeared to be controlling it "I don't think its very smart using that." He said, figuring that was what made Midori move backwards.
Ino, in the meanwhile, had her eyes closed and she felt as her wounds begin to slowly close. The bijuu chakra has helped, but the poison still made her weak, as well as making the wound healing slower than it should've been, because the chakra was not coming from within her. In her mind she cursed her past decisions as her breath began to become slower.
While she continued, she heard Midori's voice in her mind. How did she do that? Lilia slowly stopped the treatment with Matatabi's chakra. It always felt weird to transfer some of his chakra to somebody else, but it seemed that Ino was doing a bit better. At least, with the wounds. She could see that the poison still was doing it's vile and evil work, weakening the woman further. Glancing at Midori and Deidara, Lilia scoffed. ''I've it under controle. Actually, I still haven't got an answer. And if you think it's not smart to see me use it, I suggest I get my answer. And fast.'' Holding her right hand on the chest of Ino, to make sure the woman knew Lilia would stay by her side as well to make sure that the heart of the weakened woman was still working.
Deidara was nice for saying that but how could he know? How could he know if everything was going to be fine? He didn't know what happened because Midori hadn't told him. She hadn't told anybody because she didn't want to tell anybody. Midori drew her knees back up against her chest as she watched Lilia. She looked fine. Was there a battle going on in her head too? Actually she didn't want an answer on that question. Her eyes dropped to Ino, and she nudged Deidara that he should pay attention to her as well. Didn't he want answers? The woman didn't seem to be doing well so he should get them now before it was too late...
Feeling Lilia's hand on her chest, Ino slowly grabbed her hand with her own, sick looking hand "Lilia-chan...Tell Zakito that someone tried attacking the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki... And thank you for helping me..." She whispered to the young girl.
Feeling the nudge from Midori, Deidara realised what she wanted to say. Ino appeared to be in a terrible shape and most likely didn't have a lot of time left. Approaching her and Lilia as Ino let go of Lilia's hand, she turned to look at Deidara, who kneeled next to the wounded woman from the other side. Before he could ask anything, the darkness around them begin dissolving, revealing they have arrived at a backyard somewhere. Deidara wasn't sure where they have arrived, but Ino smiled as she saw she managed to bring them to where she wanted to bring them. Turning to look at Ino again, Deidara appeared to be very serious "How did it happen?" He asked, and Ino coughed some blood "I was in trouble, and your brother sacrificed himself to save me, or so I thought." She said and then brought herself slightly up, with what seemed like a lot of effort from her side, and came close to his ear "Shikaku Yuhiko is still alive. The owner of this house must know of this." She said and then her head fell back onto the grass. With a final smile to Lilia, and a glance at Deidara, the colour in Ino's eyes slowly faded away.
Biting her lower lip, Lilia's right hand closed Ino's eyes. Knowing where they were, Lilia was thinking. The loss of Ino was one she could carry, though it was heavy. The images of when she had been traveling, laughing and been in trouble with Ino, during the two weeks when they were searching for Masuba of the Mist. That time was when she had managed to make some bonding with Ino. But now, Ino was no longer with them. ''Rest now... I-Ino-san.'' Lilia whispered, feeling sad that the woman had taken the courage to face her crimes, but only to die in a horrible manner after she had faced it. ''I.. I will bring both of you home in a bit. Just need a moment.'' Lilia said as she kept looking at Ino.
Midori hadn't know the woman at all, she had thought she was evil, but... She still didn't like to see her die. She hadn't seem that evil beside the fact that she had once attacked her. But a lot of people had done that. Lilia was sad. Midori glanced to Deidara to see if he was sad. She, herself, felt pretty sad for some reason. Then she looked up to the garden that they had appeared in. Looked like normal garden. It had a nice tree in it. Lilia's words were sad too. Midori wished she could do something, but there is nothing she could do. So she just did nothing besides looking at the dead body of a woman she had hardly known. It felt weird and wrong for some reason. She could wait with going home.
Deidara stayed kneeled next to Ino's body as Lilia closed her eyes and said her short words "You can take as much time as you need. I need to find the owner of this home." He said, standing up and looking around. The small garden looked nice, and the house also looked fairly simply and pleasant to the eye, but he didn't care for that right now. He still had unanswered questions, and he wanted to find the person who owned the house to be able to find out if Ino's final words were true. Was his brother still alive? It confused him deeply, and he hoped that the man would be capable of making things clear for him.
''You may, but I suggest you stay here. You neither have given me my answer nor do you know the owner of this home. I suggest you sit back and still, Kumo nin.'' Lilia sneered. A tear rolled off her cheek as she was thinking what to do. If Aki and Kei would be here, than Lilia would likely get a lecture. She already flinched by the thought Keiko would tell her. Likely that she had really done it now. Making the small note to be sure that there wouldn't be any tea cups present when Keiko would hear this, Lilia decided to hide the body away from sight. Using the transformation jutsu on the body, to make it look like a kunai. A kunai that Ino had given Lilia some time ago, the young Hon could feel more at peace. At least nobody would notice a fresh corpse in the yard now.
Midori's eyes narrowed at Lilia's sneer, but she didn't look up. Why was she here anyway? She had nothing to do with all of this. Moving back and forth in the grass she realized that she really wanted to go home now. She was not ready yet. But she couldn't ask of Lilia to do something now. Lilia was grieving. Deidara was looking for more answers and she was just doing nothing. She was just a Kumo nin after all, was she not?
''Hhmm?'' Lifting his head up, the right eye of the man looked outside the window into the garden. He was sure he had heard something. The former Third Hokage and current head of the Hon clan noticed three figures in his garden. Narrowing his eye, he easily spotted one of them. Lilia. But as he looked at the others, he was surprised. Kumogakure shinobi. Then his eye widened as he noticed the other girl. The Jinchuriki of the Eight Tailes. Slowly rising up from his seat, as he stopped his writing, Zakito pondered on what was going on. He was sure that he had not asked Lilia to bring him two Kumogakure nin or her asking to see the jinchuriki of the Eight Tails. There was something very odd about this. Turning around, he was glad that Figiki was off on the walk with the twin. So that meant those three wouldn't notice this. As for Aiko, she was likely training or doing something else. But her afflitations with the Dragon Lotus wouldn't make this a problem. Once he was downstairs, Zakito walked quickly to the door, opening it as he gazed at the three younglings. ''Quite a visit, though I wonder what is it that you all are here?'' Zakito asked on a polite manner, though looking with a stern look.Taking a step outside, he closed the door behind and kept gazing at the three.
Turning to look at the voice who spoke to him, it sounded familiar. Watching Zakito gaze at him, Lilia, Midori and the concealed body of Ino, Deidara wondered why the man appeared so familiar to him, and then he decided to stop over thinking about it. Taking the transformed Ino from Lilia's hands, he quickly approached Zakito and raised the kunai so it stood in front of the older Hon's face "Are you the owner of this house, and if you are, what did you know about Ino Namikaze and Shikaku Yuhiko?" He asked him quickly, almost mimicing the quick speech of Midori. Giving her a glance, he noticed she gave Zakito a small nod, as if she had known who he was. Looking back at Zakito, he still had a weird feeling that they have met before, but he couldn't place Zakito's face anywhere, so he decided to completely stop thinking about and focus on what was important now.
The right eye of Zakito was focused on Deidara, who raised the kunai in his direction. ''It's not wise to point a kunai in the direction of a former Kage. Certainly not her kind of kunai.'' Zakito calmly responded back. Raising his eyebrow, he briefly shifted his gaze at Lilia. ''Lilia-chan, send the other back. As for you.'' Again looking in Deidara's direction, Zakito pauzed. ''Lower the kunai and we will talk.'' It almost sounded like a polite request by the friendly tone of Zakito, though his serious expression would likely tell Deidara something different. At the meantime, Lilia weaved several handseals to summon the Void Rose. With the two jinchuriki gone, Zakito was glad that he could focus now on the young boy in front of him.
Shaking his head slightly, Deidara took a step back, placed the kunai on the ground and touched the kunai, before doing the release seal. This revealed Ino's body to Zakito, who simply laid there, her eyes closed and the final smile still on her face. Her skin was now very pale, but still not completely white "Ino Namikaze is dead by someone else's hand. Someone tried attacking Midori at a training ground in Kumo and from some weird reason, Ino decided to protect Midori, Lilia and me. But she appeared to be injured even before, just look at her ha-" He turned to look at Ino's body and saw that while the wound in the arm was still there, the poison was gone. Her arm looked as pale as the rest of the body "I can swear it was green before. But she told me something before she died, and that was to tell the owner of this house that the reason my dad, Nagato Yuhiko died by her, my older brother Shikaku Yuhiko, is still alive." He said, feeling like he could burst from confusion at all the new knowledge he learned.
Without revealing any emotion, Zakito glanced at the body in front of him. He only briefly closed his right eye as he thought over the words that Deidara just told him. Right after that, he took a decision. ''It's not safe to talk here.'' He said as he focused some lightning chakra at his right index finger. Using that to prick his left handpalm, Zakito started to weave at his blinding speed the handseals to use the summoning technique of the Dragon Lotus. The dark sphere started to isolate him, Deidara and the body of Ino away from the world. With every light cut off, Zakito flicked his right wrist to generate some light, using his lightning release. ''I can understand you're full of questions.. As for Shikaku Yuhiko, a talented and rather.... special aquantance of me. I would say he is still alive... as he stands right in front of me.'' Zakito told Deidara, slightly chuckling. The boy really looked like Shikaku or was his memory failing him? No, he could remember that time. ''I'll answer some questions, but I expect that you will answer mine as well. How does that sound, Yuhiko?'' Zakito asked with a calm tone.
"My name is Deidara, and don't say I look like this Shikaku, because he made me lose my dad. And that sounds like a reasonable deal." Deidara said, figuring there was no other way he could get answers from the man, since he already stated he was a former Kage. He wondered what kind of a connection Ino had to a former Kage, except for the fact they both used the same weird transportation jutsu. Thinking carefully before speaking again, Deidara decided what his first question will be "Ino stated she was responsible for the deaths of both my father and brother. She also told me my brother died 14 years ago, but it sounded like she didn't believe it. When she told me Shikaku Yuhiko was alive, she sounded like she was scared. Is he really alive?" He asked, thinking that as a former Kage, he would most likely provide trustworthy answers.
Zakito looked at the body of Ino as he then shifted his gaze back at Deidara. ''Did she?'' Zakito mumbled. He was aware of many things and it was true that he was in a small way involved in the things around Ino and Shikaku, but as he thought, he couldn't really remember it. Of course he remembered some key events, but it wasn't that sharp. ''She is right that it was around 14 years ago.. Shikaku was a young talented nin that had the abilities and skill to become an ANBU. Which he became eventually. Like most ANBU, they often erase themselves from this world. By either faking their death or just vanishing away. Such is the buseniss of the ANBU.'' Zakito explained, though he wasn't sure if Deidara would understand the rather grim and dark ways the ANBU moved about. ''As for Shikaku being alive.. I can try to look him up with some of my rescoures. Though the more recent things have been distracting me so I can't remember the last time I saw or met Shikaku.'' Zakito continued to calmly explain it to the young boy. The dark sphere slowly started to vanish, revealing they were in a dark cave. The lightning that was crackling in the air around Zakito's right hand was for now the only light source. ''Now I've a question. You said you were attacked.... where did it happen?'' The question would sound odd. The tone sounded more serious and cold as Zakito asked Deidara the question.
Scratching his head a bit as they appeared in a dark cave "Well, I invited Midori to train with me in a training ground, and according to what Ino said, the target. I have no idea how they would know I invited her there, since I approached her mom directly. The general direction was toward the entrance to the training ground, where Midori stood." He said, trying to think if there was anything else Ino said, but he couldn't come up with anything else "What can you tell me about Ino?" He asked. sounding a bit more wondering than serious.
So that was it? They were in Kumogakure? That was faster than he had expected. If they were capable of tracing Ino's movement, that meant that they could be on the others. Suddenly Zakito felt worried about Lilia. Narrowing his right eye, he thought more about the situation. As Deidara asked, Zakito sighed and shook his head lightly. ''A very deadly kunoichi. One that could fight several capable nin at the same time. Besides that, loyal to what she believed in and worked for. She was much like what you could call.. a special ANBU.'' Zakito told him. He wouldn't be able to recover any information from this about the Dragon Lotus. After all, he would have to make sure Kumogakure would become a haven for the Dragon Lotus again. ''Other than that.... you could ask the other girl. Ino could be a caring woman, even with her cold demeanor. A person that has my respect.'' Looking with a sad look in the direction of Ino's dead body, Zakito felt a bit of sorrow. Though every member was aware of the risk to be involved with the Dragon Lotus, he hadn't wished Ino to perish this soon. ''That is what I can and will tell you.''
Nodding, Deidara scratched his head once again while thinking about what his next question will be. After taking another look at Ino's body, he noticed that there was still a bit of green left in her arm, but it was slowly vanishing. He quickly took out his own kunai, and without hesitation grabbed Ino's dead arm and brought the kunai's edge close to the green part "Come take a closer look. Do you know what can make the skin be so green and affect the entire body?" He said, remember how weak Ino appeared to be as she just arrived. He didn't dare cut the part out, even though he figured that it might give him a bigger chance of finding out what caused it.
Zakito looked at the body, not moving at first. It was a bit of surprise that Ino was dead. After all, she had been a very skill kunoichi. One that had the guts to even face him, while knowing he was her superior. Who ever had managed to take her out was clearly somebody that was very dangerous. Deciding to take a closer look, he wasn't sure if he could help. After all, he wasn't a medical nin. Maybe he could take a piece and let it be examined. Chang would likely be more capable of figuring out what had happened.
''Hhmm, no. It's clearly poison as I can't see any other place that looks like that. Seems like it's some kind of infection rather than a wound.'' Zakito responded. Pondering, he then took out a kunai. Channeling lightning chakra through the weapon, he managed to easily cut of the arm. Not touching the spot that look infected, Zakito placed it next to him. Using the heat of the lighting, he then made sure to close the wound. The smell of burnt skin and hair was terrible, but the sight of the infected place on Ino's arm was worse. At least in Zakito's opinion. Storing the kunai away, Zakito took out an empty small scroll. ''I will let somebody examine this as I can't. I neither have the knowledge or the ability to figure out what it is. But from what I can tell, it's clearly poison. If it was a technique, it makes use of poison...But all I can do is assume for now.'' The man said as he sealed the cut off arm in the seal. Storing the small scroll in his pocket, Zakito glanced at Deidara.
Turning away as Zakito cut off Ino's arm and sealed it away, and he wondered why he had done so. Ino was someone he despised, so why had he felt sad for her death now? Why did he suddenly think it wasn't her fault? Turning back after Zakito was done, Deidara wondered what his next move should be. He closed his eyes for a few moments and remembered what he had seen in the Waterfalls of Truth. Opening his eyes again, he looked at Ino for a moment before looking at the Hon again "What is the jutsu you used to move us here? What is it called?" He asked, and in his head already begin thinking about several things he wanted to do.
''I am not obiliged to tell you about it.'' Zakito replied on a serious tone. The less Deidara would know about either the technique or the name, the better. An outsider that would know about the technique of the Dragon Lotus would be able to cause a lot of damage to the balance. Something the organization had worked so hard for. ''It's not wise for a Konohagakure nin to pass something valuable to a non-allied nin.'' Zakito continued, making it look like it was more or less a Konohagakure technique. Which was true, but the location of the scroll was hidden. Only two people had access to the secret library.
"Except its not an official Konohagakure jutsu, otherwise everyone would've known Konohagakure has such a jutsu, or at least a lot more people would know of it. It is a jutsu used by the group Dragon Lotus, which you are a part of. So, please don't try and make it sound like political stuff, because I know its not. I have seen Ino use it, you use it, and several other people who tried to kidnap my teammate and Konoha's Jinchuuriki. So unless you just accidently know the jutsu, please tell me what is it called, or at least if another kind of such jutsu can be.... created." Deidara said. His voice sounded calm, almost too calm, as if another person took his the young man's place and switch spots with him.
Zakito looked calmly. He had to admit that the kid was using his brains, but he was however talking to the wrong person. Deidara would feel that the tempature around him was slowly decreasing. ''It's enough that Ino-san died today. You may think what you want, but to create a technique that was created by somebody that was wiser than me or any of the current Kages... I doubt it will be that possible. I have to warn you.'' Zakito lowered his voice. ''Ask me again about the technique and I will kill you.''
Feeling the tempature lowering, Deidara closed his eyes. Soon enough Zakito would see that the area around him begin to gain mist, and a bit of heat was being felt "Fine, I will not ask about the technique, but please don't threaten me. I only asked a question and expressed my opinion. You cannot blame someone for smelling something delicious and then wanting a slice of it, can you?" he said before taking a few steps away from Zakito and Ino's body "One last question. Ino was a missing-nin from Konoha. Was there anyone from there who might have been appointed to kill her?" He asked, keeping his calm tone, and hoping Zakito's answer would be a certain one.
Not fazed by the technique of the boy, Zakito frowned. The boy kept asking about Ino, but Zakito wouldn't just tell the truth. It would be foolish to do such a thing. ''She was like you said a missing nin of Konohagakure. A price was placed on her head. For all I know, it could be anybody that was a bounty hunter to the Hokage ordering it.'' Zakito replied with a neutral tone.
Zakito managed to avoid the answer Deidara wanted, but he got something else in return, which was knowing Zakito was holding back on information "Alright, mind taking me back to Kumo? I think I'm out of questions." He said and walked back closer to Zakito as the mist around them faded. He did not give Ino another glance, thinking that her chapter in the big story that was his life is over, and now he was headed forward a new direction.
''I can do that.'' Was Zakito's calm answer. Using his infamous speed of weaving handseals, he placed his right hand at the ground. As the black rose erupted from the ground in the dark cave, Zakito took it and rose up. The dark sphere started to from around them again, but Zakito stepped backwards, out of the sphere. ''Good day.'' He told Deidara as he would summon the boy back towards Kumogakure. Likely near the trainingfields. Glancing at the dead body, Zakito sighed. Some thoughts started to cloud his mind as he looked at the dead body of Ino.
Trying to see the seals Zakito used for the jutsu, Deidara could only make a couple of them, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. There was research to be done, and a lot of it. And he had plenty of work ahead of him. Waiting for the black sphere to dissolve, he soon found himself in the same trainingfield where Ino had taken him and Midori from. Hoping his teammate was fine, he quickly begin running towards Midori house, wanting to ensure her safety and afterwards, he had more research to do.
