Ino
Everything with Deidara is over now, but it doesn’t feel resolved. Some part of her wishes she wouldn’t have seen him tonight and gotten the answers to the questions that have been plaguing her mind for years because now she’s stuck with the worst question of all: what does she do with this information?
Does she tell her family and run the risk of them going to Tsunade, which would lead into the village elders—specifically this Danzo character he kept mentioning—finding out the real reason why Deidara ran away in the first place?
If she did that, she’d be condemning her brother to a death sentence and she’d never forgive herself for it.
Okay, but what about her friends? Could she trust Lee and Naruto to keep this a secret like she knows she can with Sakura?
Lee will be able to keep it a secret, this much she can say. Growing up in the clan he did, she’s positive he’d be more empathetic and willing to keep it a secret for her brother’s sake.
Naruto, however, is too loyal to Sasuke…which isn’t bad thing, if she’s being honest. However, this could lead into Sasuke doing something stupid and reckless to either get more information from Deidara or push him further down a dark path to kill Itachi one day. Which would lead into Iruka and Kakashi knowing about it, thus leading into Tsunade and the elders discovering the real reason Deidara ran away, ending up with him being wanted for execution.
Due to this, she knows Naruto cannot be trusted…but then…what should she do about it? Just keep her mouth shut and pretend as though she’s still ignorant to the true reasons for her brother’s departure? She’s not sure she could even if she tried, especially not around her parents.
It wasn’t until they got closer to the village that Sakura cleared her throat, “Ino, are you okay after everything that happened?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Because you’re giving off a lot of distress pheromones right now and you haven’t said a word since we left Deidara behind.”
All she can tell her is, “Oh right…sorry about that. It was a lot to take in—I’m still taking it in.”
Sakura can acknowledge this, “Yeah, I bet it would be very hard to do because he did leave for a good reason and it wasn’t like he helped massacre the clan or did anything bad. I don’t think he would have ever left at all if things in the village weren’t so bad for him…none of it truly was his fault.”
She can admit to feeling relieved about this, yet on the other hand, she feels nothing but deep guilt for not noticing her brother’s pain before he ran away. She can’t help but to believe she could have done more to prevent him from becoming a criminal in the first place—maybe she could’ve snuck him out to their aunt in Suna, maybe she could’ve gone with him to prevent him from leaving with Itachi to begin with.
No, there’s nothing she could’ve done. Deidara is as stubborn as she is and if he really did want to leave with Itachi, he would’ve left with him regardless of what she did.
Still…she should’ve been a better confidante…right?
Maybe then he wouldn’t be so angry at everything in the village, including their parents.
“True, but I don’t know… I guess I feel dumb for not noticing there was something off there this whole time.”
“No one noticed something was off between them this whole time, not even Sasuke. There’s no way you could’ve either.”
She didn’t have much of anything to say to this because damn, Sasuke… She feels so horrible for how she’s treated him over the years! Here she had thought he was horrible because Deidara said his clan was horrible and now, to discover he had been friends with Itachi long before they were mated, made her realize that she treated him as badly as she did for years over an act their siblings put up to thwart any more negative attention from her brother.
As they got closer to the village, Sakura was blunt about the issue at hand, not sparing her a moment on it, “You will tell your parents about this, won’t you?”
She didn’t have an answer to this. Telling them would bring up the risk of Deidara’s real reason for leaving being made known to everyone and that’s the one thing she wants to avoid, “I don’t know…if they learn the real reason why he left, I’m not sure if they’d be able to keep it a secret. Deidara didn’t trust them for a reason and I know he’s not one to say that to anyone without any real motive to.”
“But you can’t hide this from them! I didn’t know how badly they’ve been handling this until recently; you weren’t the only one missing him this whole time. He’s their son too—how can you keep anything about him a secret from them?”
“I don’t want him to be brought back here to be executed! What else am I supposed to do, tell them everything, have them go to Tsunade, and then have that Danzo wanting his head? Besides, how do I know they’ll be supportive of him when he talked like they weren’t?”
Sakura doesn’t back down on her position regardless as they make their way back to the village, “That doesn’t matter; they’re his parents and they wouldn’t do anything to get him killed.”
“But—”
“You don’t come from a conservative clan, Ino. If he was from Lee’s clan, then yeah, I could see not wanting to tell them anything but he’s from your clan. There’s no reason to not tell them.”
She would have had something to combat this with, but she never got to say it thanks to a little development happening when they were only a few trees away from the village’s gate.
“Ino, what the hell!”
Shikamaru was greeting them and boy, did he look pissed, “Your dad is freaking out because he thinks you ran away to find Deidara! I was woken up from the best sleep I was ever getting to your dad banging on the door of my home and panicking to my dad when he couldn’t find you after feeling a draft in the house and not smelling your scent anywhere!”
Sakura was the one to answer this, “How did you know to look for us here?”
“I followed your scents, how else was I supposed to find you?” he is snarling and clearly, still extremely pissed off at them, “I swear, if this is because of your psycho brother—”
Ino is now the one who’s pissed off, “How dare you talk about him like that! Deidara is not a psycho!” the only reason she didn’t attack him on the spot is because Sakura got to her side and held her back before she could.
“Ugh, spare me the lecture already! We need to get back to the village before they send out a full search team for you.”
Sakura answered for Ino here because she didn’t think she could give a proper answer to this, “We were just coming back, Shikamaru. We weren’t running away, honest.”
He let out a harsh breath and turned his back to them, “Come on, let’s get going.”
The girls followed him back to the village without any small talk being made because Ino still wanted to attack Shikamaru for what he said about Deidara, Shikamaru was still mad at being woken up for this, and Sakura was holding onto her, trying to maintain this fragile balance of calm.
A calm so fragile, it was broken the moment they entered the village and Inoichi was there, being equals part relieved and angered in appearance at the sight of the girls. He had approached them both, with his first reaction being to cross his arms and frown, “What were you doing?”
“It was nothing!” she insisted, only to be cut off by her father, “Nothing? It wasn’t ‘nothing’ when I couldn’t smell your scent in the house, it wasn’t ‘nothing’ when I thought you had deserted the village to go after your brother! I thought you were out there, going to get yourself killed—don’t you know how sick you made me with the stress and worry of your actions? I truly thought you were being as reckless as your brother! How could you do this to me, to your mother, after knowing what Deidara’s leaving did to us as a family?”
Sakura decided to intervene before Ino did or said something in a moment of anger or defensiveness, “She knew what it did to you guys—she knows that better than anyone else! Don’t you think it affects her to have you and your mate gone all the time? Don’t you think losing Deidara—her only friend for years—bothered her just as much as you? Deidara’s disappearance didn’t just affect one or two people; it affected everyone in your household equally. The only difference is, Ino didn’t have the support of a mate like you did over the years.”
While this led into a moment so tense anyone walking near them would turn around and walk away, Shikamaru, his father, and Chouji’s father all left the scene in silence. None of them wanted to be there for whatever would happen next, nor did it feel right to be there. Whatever will be said, whatever is going on, it’s clearly a family affair that should be handled behind closed doors. This much they all knew when leaving the trio behind.
The moment they were alone, Inoichi shot a curious look at Sakura, his first words to her being, “Let me guess, Ino told you about that, huh?”
When she nodded, he shot back with, “Well then, did Ino tell you about why, exactly, she left in the middle of night without shutting her window?”
Ino’s kicking herself for being so dumb like that mentally whereas Sakura doesn’t lie to him, “She did, and I left with her.”
“Why did you two leave, then? What could’ve been so important for you two to do something so reckless at a time when our village’s security is down, and the both of you would’ve been more prone to kidnapping or worse?”
Before she could say it, Ino grasped her hand, “Sakura, don’t say it!”
“He needs to know.” she stated firmly, “Besides, you know if he really wants to find out, he can. There’s no point in lying to him about this.”
It is with a glow of dread on Ino’s face that Sakura makes her request, “Can we go back to your place?”
“We can.” he tells the girls, not asking for more information than this as he led them back to his place with Ino feeling as though her brother’s being condemned to death because of her and that guilt is enough to kill her on the inside.
When they do arrive at the Yamanaka home, they are met with the sight of Ino’s red-eyed mother, wrought with anger and heartbreak when addressing her so harshly it caught all of them off guard when they entered the home, “Didn’t you learn your lesson years ago?”
Ino didn’t get the chance to defend herself here when her mother was shoving the note to Inoichi, “She hid this in her drawer from us! She didn’t tell us Deidara was going to be here, she never said a word to us about it! We could have gotten him home, he could have come back and everything would have gone back to the way it was before!”
Her tear eyes were on her once more—the color appearing so similar to Deidara’s in the light—as she cried out while grabbing her shoulders, “Why didn’t you tell me anything? Why didn’t you tell your father anything? How could you have kept this from us?”
“I didn’t want to make him run away or lose his trust for good! I only brought Sakura along because I figured it’d be better to bring only one person instead of an army that he could smell out.” she sighed, owning up to it then, “He’s still my brother, I will always want him to approve of me… I guess losing his trust scared me because I didn’t want to lose him as a friend.”
“I’ll forgive everything without any punishment for you if you let me look in your memory of this meeting with him.”
Her mother is stunned, “Dear, no! Don’t make such an offer to her! That’s just cruel—”
“I’ll let you look, but only if you promise to never tell the hokage, Danzo, or any of the village elders.” Ino bargains back, shocking everyone in the room.
Her mother thinks it’s because she wants to avoid punishment. Sakura thinks it’s all down to her not wanting to keep the truth a secret from them while doing whatever she can to secure Deidara’s safety in the process.
“I promise I will not tell them anything.”
“Then you may look right now if you want.”
He nods, using his jutsu then as his mate and Sakura watched on. While this was happening, Sakura asks, “Can I stay the night? It’s just…what happened tonight…it was a lot on Ino and since my parents are out of the house, I think it’d be nice to have somewhere with people to stay.”
“Sure, you can go ahead.” she decides to lift the air of tension, “Do you want some tea, Sakura?”
She isn’t hungry or thirsty at the moment. She’s more worn out and tired than anything else, however she won’t deny the olive branch being extended to her, “…I can always go for some tea.”
When alone with the mother of the girl she’d like to mate one day, it doesn’t feel too awkward, though she can tell she is just as worn out from all of this as she is. Her dark circles, bloodshot, puffy eyes from crying, and the tremors in her hands as she makes the tea are enough to hope that something will end the silence between them soon for her sake.
“I’m so sorry…I never knew Ino would talk you into this.”
What?
“No, she didn’t talk me into anything—I chose to come along to keep her safe from a potential threat just like I did when he first went missing.”
She chuckles, though it’s painfully apathetic, “I’m sorry for assuming, it’s just, well, Ino was so dominative back then…she really got that from her brother, didn’t she?”
Sakura would never deny that, “She really did.”
Things fall into a silence between them again, with Sakura wishing she had just gone up to Ino’s room to sleep there instead of dragging this out, but then she pours her the chamomile tea (she can tell what it is by the scent of it alone), “…Thank you for coming along and keeping Ino safe. I know you never liked Deidara and he never liked you back, so I can only imagine how much it had to kill you to do anything to see him again. Still, I think it’s lovely that you were so willing to set aside whatever negative feelings you have towards Deidara to come along with Ino on this mission of hers.”
“I did it for her, not me.”
“You must be in love with her then to do such a thing.” she blushed a bit to this while being handed her tea, to which she started to drink down rather quickly, “I don’t mind it; I have always approved of you for Ino despite Deidara’s objections. All I ask is that you keep a promise to me; can you do that for me, Sakura?”
She agreed with a nod and the woman smiled, “Great—now, I want you to promise me you will never abuse her, cheat on her, mistreat her, play games with her heart, or get her pregnant before you two mate.”
The alpha girl almost choked on what little is left of her tea to this, but she sets down her cup long enough to confirm it, “I promise I will never abuse her, cheat on her, mistreat her, play games with her heart, or get her pregnant before we mate. I would never think to do any of that stuff anyway—”
“I know but it’s nice to have a verbal promise made. I could never think to get such a thing out of Itachi and let’s face it, you’re the only decent alpha that’s ever had anything to do with one of my pups.” she pauses, stopping herself from rambling off on a tangent, “I mean, what I was trying to say is, I just want to be sure that I have your word on this because I know you to be an alpha whose word I can trust.”
She finishes the rest of her tea (the Yamanakas never fill their cups all the way for some reason or another) and with a smile is able to speak without any awkwardness on her end, “You really think I am that trustworthy?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You may have made mistakes in the past with Ino, but you’ve clearly changed to become a better person and I can respect that more than I could a perfect person I hardly know or trust.”
She was about to say something when a yawn escaped her. In response, her (hopefully) future mother-in-law told her to, “Get to bed if you’re that tired, Sakura. I wouldn’t want to keep you awake any longer if you aren’t in the mood to be.”
“Are you sure you can handle for waiting for this alone?”
“I’m positive I can; Ino has handled a lot on her own—it can’t kill me to do the same just this once.”
Sakura’s a bit hesitant…but also very tired now that the adrenaline has worn off from this situation, “If you say so…but where would I sleep then?”
Her laugh put her at ease when she heard it, “You can sleep in Ino’s room! I’m not Deidara; I know you won’t do anything inappropriate. If you want, I can get you something to wear to bed.”
“Okay, sure.”
Ino’s mom wound up getting her a plain white sleepshirt to wear (it was pretty big; the shirt itself went down to her knees) that she claimed was one Ino got for her birthday a year or so ago that she never wore much because it was too big on her. As long as Deidara never wore it and she didn’t have to reek of him, she was fine with anything offered to her.
As she entered Ino’s room, she wished her a, “Goodnight. Thanks for the tea and letting me stay here.”
The gentle smile only left her feeling more confident somehow, “It’s no problem. I’ll tell Ino where you’re at when Inoichi’s done.”
Sakura shuts the door behind her and despite laying down on Ino’s bed, she can’t really sleep so she’s stuck staring at the ceiling. Ino’s mother, on the other hand, is stuck in the same predicament, except she’s at the dining room table waiting for Inoichi to be done soon in anticipation of what would be revealed from their daughter’s memory of whatever it is that happened tonight with Deidara.
It was ten minutes after she got Sakura to bed that Inoichi was done with seeing through Ino’s memory. When he was done, his eyes were full of an unspoken she’d only ever seen before in the Uchiha boy after losing his clan whereas Ino woke up feeling groggy, “I’m really tired, dad—can I go to bed now?”
He responded by hugging her tightly and whispering in her ear, “I’m so sorry…all of this was my fault, but I promise you, I will bring him home no matter what.”
“Dad…you don’t have to do that. Nothing we do will make him want to come home. The village has to change before he will ever want to come back, and I will change it so one day he’ll want to come home to us.”
“…I know you will.” he whispered out one last time when releasing her from the hug and letting her go up to her room to get to sleep.
Immediately, he faces his mate and with a heavy heart, tells her the truth of the matter as he saw it in her memories.
Sakura saw Ino entering her room and greeted her calmly, “Hey, how did it go?”
“Dad’s really upset…” she said when entering the room, “When he saw my memory, it bothered him to hear Deidara say the things he did about him and mom. Before he left, he was so devastated—I really thought he was going to cry, but he managed to hold it together somehow.”
She didn’t question Sakura’s being here still. If of anything, she wanted her to stay the night to help fill the emptiness in the home now that her parents know the truth of Deidara’s leaving the village.
She got changed in front of her, trusting that she wouldn’t perv on her, and got in bed wearing a pair of pale grey pajama pants and a dark blue cami. Being in bed with her like this made her giggle, “Man, if Deidara was here, he’d so kill me and my parents for allowing us to sleep together like this!”
Sakura didn’t want to think about Deidara and how he acted towards her whenever she did spend the night, but Ino continued, “It’s nice though; who knew having you here now would be all I need to actually relax and get some sleep tonight?”
“Yeah, who knew?”
Moving carefully, she treaded the waters with the omega by wrapping an arm around her waist. When Ino didn’t complain, she slowly maneuvered her close until she was cuddled up tight to her side, with her head laying on her chest. While Ino fell asleep shortly after, Sakura enjoyed this moment for as long as she could before sleep eventually took her as well.
Upon learning of the reason behind Deidara’s disappearance, all his mate could do was ask, “What will we tell everyone? You know it will only be a matter of time before they find out—Inoichi, we cannot tell them the truth no matter what, please! Deidara is still our son and I want him to come back home to us alive!”
“I know, that’s why I’m going to tell everyone else that Deidara met up with Ino and Sakura at the village border where he admitted to being forced into leaving Konoha by Itachi Uchiha. Years later, he was ultimately manipulated into a mating by the alpha with his Sharingan. The only ones who will know the truth are me, you, Ino, Sakura, Shikaku, and Choza. I know they will never turn on us or Deidara; it’s safe to tell them…but outside of this, no one else will know the truth, I promise.”
He held her hand tightly as she wept, “I failed Deidara as a father: I should have known something wasn’t right with his relationship with Itachi, I should have known he was writing letters to some older man in Suna, I should have known something changed in his scent—I should have done more to make him feel safe in trusting me with his very life and ultimately I didn’t. Clearly, he doesn’t see me as a good father and that’s all my own fault. I owe it to you, Ino, and him to make it right by fixing what went wrong between us in the first place.”
He released her hand, his heart heavy when going on, “Ino has dealt with far too much of this. She’s still a kid and I shouldn’t have let her believe bringing our son back was ever her responsibility. It’s time I step up as a father—it’s time I fix the mess I created by not being good enough to Deidara.”