𝑰𝑵𝑶𝑪𝑯𝑰 𝑵𝑶𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨 :: Dauntless

16. EYES

As Inochi started gaining consciousness, she found herself leaning against a tree. She opened her eyes slowly and squinted because it was way too bright.

- "Shit, am I in heaven" Inochi thought while being oblivious that she was still in the park.

- "Umi neechan, are you okay?" Gaara caressed Inochi's cheek with his small hands.

- "Gaara kun, here .. Take this water bottle" Shigeru came running and handed Gaara the bottle from which he sprinkled some water on Inochi.

- "Gaara sama, I am fine" Inochi sat up and looked around. All the kids Gaara was playing with were staring at her with concern." How long was I unconcious for?" Inochi repositioned her scarf and skirt and started looking for her shopping bag.

- "Just a few minutes.." Gaara answered "Maybe 3 or 4"

- "Here Umi neechan" Matsuri and another girl named Sari handed Inochi her bags.

- "Thank you Matsuri chan, Sari chan" Inochi took her bags and looked around. She noticed that the tree she was leaning on was pretty far from where she fainted. "Who carried me to this tree?"

- "It was Gaara chan's sand!" Matsuri and Sari said in unison, in order to appreciate Gaara's skills. "His sand caught your head before it could hit the ground and then it carried you to here" Both of them acted out the whole scene while Gaara stood beside Inochi, blushing at the compliments. The other kids nodded in agreement and praised Gaara.

- "Thank you so much Gaara sama" Inochi gave a warm smile to Gaara who hid away in embarrassment. However, his expression quickly changed when he saw Inochi getting up to leave.

- "Shouldn't you take some rest here Umi neechan?" Gaara said while the other kids looked at Inochi for an answer.

- "I think I got a heat stroke suddenly. I will rest at the residence okay?" Inochi tousled Gaara's hair. "Come back in an hour okay?" Inochi said to Gaara as she left the park.

Inochi staggered through the lanes to the Kazekage Residence. Once she entered the building, she went straight to her room and shut the door. She threw herself onto the bed and pushed a pillow on her face

- "AAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHH" Inochi let out a hysterical shriek. "NO NO NOOOO!!" Inochi rolled on her bed, stood up and threw every pillow at the wall in front of her. She wanted to beat someone up, to vent out her anger for the blunder she just did. "I am gonna get killed right. That's the only possibility at this point. There is no way in HELL he is going to let this slide" Inochi screamed into a pillow to muffle her voice. She got up and punched the wall in front of her as she couldn't hold her anger anymore. The wall thus broke into numerous pieces and made a huge mess, aggravating Inochi even more.

- "UGHHH....SHIT.... now I gotta clean this" Inochi used her earth style jutsu to build a new wall and hung two curtains to hide the obvious difference in colour of her mud and the previously used golden clay. She cleaned the space and started preparing dinner for the night.

-"I need to calm down first. If anything, whatever happened wasn't my fault, so I shouldn't blame myself. I just need to secure myself right now, and my loved ones" Inochi thought as she continued slicing up the vegetables. "But HOW?" Inochi cut her finger and realised that no matter how hard she tried to, she couldn't stop her hands from shivering out of fear and guilt.

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It was the start of the sixth month in Konoha with no Inochi, but the spy mission she left in the hands of Shin, Tenzo and the enigma, Kenta, was going normally. In the previous five months, Kenta was able to send only two letters; the first informing Inochi about the coup, and the second informing her about the level of tension between the Uchiha and the village. Kenta was able to keep an eye on Itachi and Shisui all day long, until both of them would return to the Uchiha compound, which ultimately became the biggest obstacle.