Mind Games

Chapter 5: Daring Illusions

"Wow, you look like shit. Saw a ghost or something? I mean they are really scary.", Naruto asked, still sounding like a real nuisance as always. He was dressed in his usual orange Jumpsuit, keeping his trademark grin, when he greeted her.

You are the damn ghost!, she thought, but Naruto opened his mouth right away.

"So why are you here? Wanna stalk Sasuke again? Is Sakura coming as well?" he went on with his ramble, while Inos thoughts drifted somewhere else.

How would Naruto react if she asked him directly?

Now that she stood right in front of him and had the chance to ask right out, she felt her gut clench.

How do you ask someone if they are fucked up in their mind?

"So when is she going to arrive? I haven´t seen her for such a long time."

"Sakura is working at the hospital right now, so she won´t come. I-I am only here because my mother forgot something at home.", she replied but her mind was still hung up on the crazy blond in front of her.

Noticing how lame the excuse was she brought up, almost made her blush. She really had to train her acting skills.

"A-Anyway I´ve gotta go. See you around, idiot.", she spluttered and turned around.

"What about your mother?", Naruto yelled but she ignored his question and simply kept going, only to come to a sudden halt as she realized something that had hurt her womanly pride.

"I don´t look like shit, you freak!", she screeched and walked away even faster.

As soon as she reached the corner and got out of Narutos sight, she let out a frustrated howl.

Under normal circumstances she would have never hesitated. Never. Maybe she feared to ask because her image she had from the stupid blond would be erased and replaced by an abhorred fantasy, even thought Naruto felt nothing like every other freak that fit in the same category. Every other person filled the prejudiced criteria almost perfectly. Only Naruto was the odd one out as always.

Seeing the real Naruto made her realize that the Naruto she thought about the last few days, were fundamentally different.

The real one versus her made up freak Naruto. It was ridiculous, but she knew both were possible.

So what is hiding behind all this?

Why does no one talk about Narutos past?

Before her meet up with Kejoro, she decided to pay a visit to Konohas library.

At this point the young kunoichi had no idea what kind of horrible things would happen in the near future.

"Naruto? Is everything alright or are talking to yourself again?"

"Ah no. Everything is alright, but I think Ino is going mad.", Naruto answered and turned around to face his best friend.

Sasuke irked a brow and shook his head. The blond didn´t make any sense again.

"Hn. Blond ninjas always have a few screws loose, don´t you think so?"

"Do you have to be this sarcastic?"

"I am just stating a fact.", Sasuke said, throwing a small smirk before turning around.

"Anyway, don´t cha think Ino is kinda cute?"

"You are weird Naruto."

Ino took the long way to the Central Library of Konoha, walking around the clan districts and avoided the busier shopping district, though she didn´t miss the short walk through the Konoha park to watch the beautiful flowers she and her mother planted only three month ago.

In this moment a thought came up, as always when she walked through the flower fields. She questioned herself countless times already if it was the right path to walk for her. Should she continue the harsh life as a kunoichi? Wouldn´t it be better if she just quit it outright, since she was neither very talented nor gifted with a powerful bloodline, that could be used on the battlefield. If she just did the same job as her mother, her life would be comfortable and safe. She wouldn´t have doubts about a fellow ninja or question the sanity of others.

She would never have to train so hard that her hand would be callused, her skin would be without scars and the list went on and on.

She hadn´t killed someone yet, but she remembered how Shikamaru reacted to his first. He didn´t get out of his room for three days straight and on his fourth day of self-confinement, he finally opened his door, though even then he was not the same old Shikamaru. She knew he had nightmares from time to time.

Would she end up like that too?

Could Chouji even take something like that? Could that softhearted boy even take a life.

Were there any benefits in being a ninja?

She couldn´t answer even one question, but despite that she stayed enlisted in Ninja register.

As she walked, her path led her to the hospital that was a few blocks away from the library.

The facility received a few upgrades ever since Tsunade took over the hat and even the grayed facade was painted over with a sterile white.

Right in front of the door, she saw a girl with cherry blossom colored hair walking down the sandy entrance path that led to the main street.

"Sakura-chan!", Ino yelled and waived her arm to get the other girl notice her.

Walking a little bit faster to meet her friend halfway, she noticed that Sakura seemed to have finished her shift already.

"Hey, what are you up to?", she asked.

"I heard that Naruto came back this morning so I will make a quick visit and after that no one will be able to keep me from going to bed. Even if Tsunade-sama herself calls."

"That was your first twenty-four hour shift right?"

Sakura nodded eagerly, but she seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. Under different circumstances a Ninja would be able to hold out much longer, but since they were off-field, the adrenaline rush was missing.

"So If you excuse me, my bed is ca-" " Haruno! We have an emergency and no assistants, so you will have to do. Stop dilly dallying and get moving. ", an intern, that Ino didn´t know, shouted and disappeared behind the large hospital doors.

Almost instantly Sakura stood upright and pulled her hair back.

"Sorry Ino, I have to go. Lets talk later. ", she said, before sprinting towards the facility.

Ino caught a glimpse inside, when Sakura rushed inside and thought she saw someone familiar.

I must be imagining things again.

Kejoro has been working for a long time in this business. She dealt with all kinds of costumer, fellow prostitutes and other rather shady people that hung around in the red light districts. She was a women that could take care of herself. Something that was definitely needed in an area like this and with a job like hers.

Thought sometimes everything went haywire, no matter how strong she was. No matter how independent she was.

In those moments she realized how weak she was.

She was weak when her husband died on the battlefield. Kejoro fell in dept, so high that some local gangster had to take care of her depts and she was forced to prostitute herself. It was just a common story of someone who ended up selling her body. She was one of many that fell into that trap and never escaped.

She once more felt weak, when her child with an unknown father, got killed by an annoyed costumer.

After that she ran away from the prostitution house to open her own shop, the Lotus6.

A child was worth nothing in this district. It was just another mouth to feed.

That´s why it didn´t exactly surprise her, how her sisters reacted.

"Just make a new one, if you want one that much."

It still hurt her and she never was able to get over the death of the little infant.

It changed that day when she met Naruto, when she was once again weak.

She should have just kicked the child, the poor cursed child, from her threshold.

Yet she never even thought about it. He reminded her of her own kin, when he smiled. So she did her best to make him smile.

Every single time she was successful, she felt something deep inside her stir.

Was it the joy of motherhood? Before she was able to find an answer to the question, Naruto disappeared and she was once again weak.

Never again she was able to smile as wholeheartedly again and the rest of her life vanished in a seemingly gray matter consisting of the every day life.

She spread her legs if needed, cleaned and readied herself for the next one and went over with it.

However those days were finally came to an end.

Kejoro turned around to see three men, clad in a dark shinobi armor enter the shop, their swords in their hands, gleaming in the faint sunlight.

"May I help you?"

Ino finally reached the Central library. The large building was practically enclosed with a small Forrest, making relatively isolated from other parts of Konoha. Why it was built at a place like this, was not comprehensible to her, but she was sure that the founders had their reasons.

Right in front of the entrance she discovered a women in an elegant Kimono, that reminded her of Kejoro. As she got closer, the women nodded faintly.

"Ino, I thought I could meet up with you now. I don´t have time for you in the afternoon. ", the women said.

"Äh... Hi Kejoro, I thought you would be sleeping around this time. Are you sure it´s okay?", Ino replied, but tried to hide her confused state.

"It´s okay. I just wanted to tell you, that I am moving away to Suna. I found someone, who is willing to be with me. So please forget everything about that boy or else you will put yourself in danger. I

can´t help you with this anymore."

Shocked to the core, Ino looked the woman straight to eye but couldn´t detect a lie, but anger still built up.

"Are you kidding me? You said that you would help me, so why are backing out now?", the blonde girl growled.

"I am sorry, but I really can´t help you.", said Kejoro once more. "So just forget about this whole thing, okay?"

"Yeah, let´s forget about it. Do what you want. I don´t care. Be happy in Suna.", was all Ino mumbled before she walked past the prostitute.

Of course she wouldn´t give up, just because one source wouldn´t talk.

Somehow she couldn´t get rid of the feeling that something was wrong with Kejoro. She behaved strangely. Calling her by her name was one of the many thing that made the whole scene feel strange.

Something was up with this woman for sure.

Hearing the slow steps behind her, Ino knew Kejoro was distancing herself from her.

He father forbade her any use of their clan techniques on civilians, but he would never find out, if she did everything right.

Just in the moment when her fingertips touched to execute the jutsu, she heard a sibilant sound behind before something hard hit her temple with a force that knocked her out instantly.

"You know what to do next."

"Yes Sir!"