Naruto Tales: The Next Uchiha | SasuSaku, NaruHina, InoShikaTema, NejiTen +

XXIX: Vampire Queen

QOTC

[About her dream] I was dying. Didn't think I'd wake up and spot you in here—right in front of me.

- Ino to Shikamaru

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Chapter 29: Vampire Queen

"Morning," a voice murmured.

Ino squinted her eyes at the soft luminescence of the light. She waited for pain to strangle her down when she sat at the edge of her bed, glancing at her sorroundings. Her eyesight was moving in a speed making everything slow; and there she'd heard a lot of curious nuts and bolts—the loud, tapping of pen from the clipboards held by medics outside, the pigeons' chirrup from her tranparent oriel, and the apple whom Shikamaru was tossing into the air with his hand. He sat at the velvet cuschion of the room, wearing his navy long-sleeved Leaf uniform.

"How long was I asleep?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Twelve hours," he said, pitching the apple to her. Ino caught it with a single hand. "What's this for?"

Brusque as always, he said, "Breakfast."

Ino chuckled. "So you're babysitting me now?"

"Orders," he simply said. "This is so troublesome."

She smiled exhultantly. There were creases over the couch and gray circles under his eyes, and she really missed him. She knew how boring it was to spend some cloudgazing, but it as certainly more lively than watching Sai paint Konoha from the hills (as though she would trip due to her ninja boots). In that way he was every contradiction of the emotionless Sai, where he lived in the chimera of art while Shikamaru had a fantasy of world peace simply by staring into the blue. Something rang inside of her, as she threw her blankets and teleported to the bathroom. "Shit. I'm gonna take a leak."

Little did she know, she wore her orange shirt and cream-colored elbow guards and she wasn't wearing any short.

As the corridor of Room 21 came into her view, Sakura breathed out wearily, quickening her pace. She reached the door and wrapped her hand around the door handle, praying things would go back to normal.

Last night Sasuke told her there is a way to bring the dead back to life; and it's gonna cost her something.

Kabuto's voice rang on the back of her head. If you want your friend back, feed her the child's blood before her soul fades away. Then the girl shall rise as one of us nightchildren.

She opened the door quickly, and the first thing she noticed was Shikamaru, who yawned on such a disturbing morning. "Where's Ino?" She asked. The bed was empty, and something made her shiver just by staring at it—meaning she was on her feet. Alive.

Her eyes scoped the entire room, and a gasp escaped her lips. There she was, her best friend, brushing her teeth. He tried to fight the joy and merriment inside of her, but then she realized the two of them aren't alone.

You've gotta be kidding me, Sakura thought.

"What?" Ino asked, unfazed.

She whispered soft as she could. "What are you wearing??"

"It's called PJ's." Ino rolled her eyes, then the pinkette gave Shikamaru a scorning look for not butting in. He didn't mind her disheveled appearance and scandalous attire, since when the two of them would carry out missions Ino would fetch him by Sunday mornings and splash him with cold water and even pull his blanket. In return, Shikamaru would ruin her beauty sleep even when she's at her lingeries. They were best friends, Ino thought, but it was more than what do they call.. Fight like married couples, flirt like lovers, act as best friends. Those two are inseperable. As referred to Sakura by the Godaime, and the pinkette could only see the similarities between the two of them and her and Naruto. Though there was hardly a spark on both of them, and if ever there was, she was not going to let it spread like wildfire.