The Bug Queen

Don't Go - Ino / While No One Was Paying Attention - Temari

"I wish you wouldn't go..."

Sakura unhooked Ino's saline and this time, flushed and pulled her saline lock as well.  She put a big wad of gauze on the now bare spot.

"I need to go.  I need to get out of here.  You know that."

Ino picked her arm up, moving it as she kept pressure on the wound to keep it from bruising any more than it already would. She bruised a lot these days.

"Then at least promise me that you'll visit Sunagakure's hospital if your head hurts too badly. Get some saline, or even a feeding tube. Please. If they give you pushback, please have them call our hospital."

Ino could tell that her friend was trying not to cry, but she couldn't stay here any longer. She had to get out, at least for a little while. She had to try and clear her head and feel useful.

"I will. I'm hoping that , this time, I'll feel better. Who knows? Maybe I'll finally meet some handsome man and my life will turn around."

She gave her best friend her best fake smile. She knew Sakura could see through it, but that was okay. She had gotten the go-ahead from a reluctant Kakashi and she was leaving tonight. She'd sleep on the train and start with Suna's barrier team tomorrow morning. The only downside was that the other two members of her team were Shikamaru and Temari.

Shikamaru was finally back from Suna with his girlfriend in tow and had been for a month. He had a minor meltdown when he saw her, quickly seeing past her perfect makeup and perfectly placed hair. And he hadn't quit pestering her, which was annoying.

He had mostly been gone for three years, so why care about her now?

The only constant she'd had in the last three years was Sakura. Since the war had claimed the Yamanaka clan, Sakura was the only thing standing between her and the inevitable: grief finally claiming her weak body. Her grieving mind had attacked her body, leaving her unable to eat or sleep. And after years of little food and no sleep, her body was beginning to give out. She was skeletal and, although she was trying to hide it, her hair was falling out and her teeth were starting to become loose in her gums.

She could only hope that leaving on a month long mission would help her find some hope and comfort. Maybe she would find a reason to live. Maybe the nightmare would stop. Maybe food would settle comfortably in her stomach again.

But she wasn't dumb. She knew that nothing would come from this, except maybe she would finally fall asleep and not wake up. She didn't want to die, but she also didn't want to live. Not in constant pain like this. Not in tears, throwing up, waking with nightmares every night when she did finally drift off.

Something had to change soon, or it would be too late.

***

Temari sat beside Shikamaru, her legs draped over his lap. She could tell how distracted he was as he watched their friend lay in a fitful sleep on the train bench across from them. She reached a hand up and touched his face gently.

"Hey, come back to me..."

She looked over.

"I didn't realize she was this sick. I guess she wore baggy clothes and hid it well from everyone. Or no one was paying attention..."

She watched him as he looked like he could break down into tears.  Temari spoke to him softly.

"You've been trying to put your life back together as well. You didn't know. You both lost everything in the war."

"Yeah, but I found you. And I found family in your brothers. I guess Ino didn't find anyone. I didn't realize that this was happening..."

Neither of them knew until a month ago. Ino had always put on a brave face. A smile. A kind word. Looking back, Temari realized that it was all premeditated. Ino would never ask for help. She watched as tears rolled down her boyfriend's cheeks.

"This is all my fault..."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"How is this your fault?"

"I haven't been around. I've been a bad teammate."

Temari hated this line of reasoning.  Shikamaru wasn't the only person in Ino's life.

"Well, where the hell has Choji been? How is this all on you? You lost your entire clan as well!"

He buried his face in his hand.

"I'm only responsible for my actions, and I let my teammate down..."

Temari watched as Ino stirred in her sleep. Her face looked sunken in the dim light of the train car.

"She's done a good job of holding it together. She's been doing her makeup and her hair is always on point. Do you think Kakashi knows-"

"Yes. Ino is his student's best friend. And she had an obligation to report shinobi issues to the Hokage. He knows, and he's still allowing this to happen. I begged him not to let her come on this trip. This could be a suicide mission for her if she doesn't receive treatment in Suna-"

"I know, but do you really think she won't listen to you? Do you really think Suna won't treat her? She'll be okay there. My brother is the Kazekage. As long as she's willing to go to the hospital, I'll make sure she receives the best care."

She held him tightly, doing her best to comfort him as he cried. He had worked so hard to pull the pieces of his life back together.  He was someone who had lost everyone, and he was trying to rebuild his life.  He didn't need this guilt.  He didn't deserve it.

"It's not that Suna won't treat her; I'm afraid this really is a suicide mission for her. I'm afraid that she's coming here to die, like a dog that crawls under a porch to pass away..."

Temari frowned as she held Shikamaru. It made sense, but she refused to let herself believe that. Shikaku and Yoshino were gone and she had watched her boyfriend's team implode over since the war. The people she had spent so much time with before the war... those relationships...

They were all just gone.