A/N: Hiya! If anyone still reads this story, I'm sorry for the late update. I had to get through all my ending studies and all my finals and end of the year parties. I haven't forgotten about this! And I'm not the type of person to leave something unfinished (not that this is the last chapter, but you know)

Chapter Seven: Shadow

Shikamaru and Choji continued to swap unsettling glances at one another. In the thick of the forest, Team Ten trudged slowly into the outskirts of the rich man's castle. After Shikamaru quickly surveyed the castle up close to check if the bandits had succeeded in killing the rich politician - as far as Shikamaru was concerned, they hadn't - he regrouped with Choji and a very irritated Ino and made their way towards Konoha.

The night was silent aside from Choji's incessant chomping on potato chips and Ino's loud stomps reluctantly following he and Shikamaru at a fifteen foot distance. Despite Ino's best efforts to persuade her team to go find Suigetsu, the boys overruled her judgement and were dragging her back to their village, their mission deemed a success.

Shikamaru sighed. "Ino-"

"Don't speak to me."

Shikamaru shared another glance with Choji and did as Ino had said, knowing there was no reasoning with her. He knew Ino well - he was fully aware that when Ino found something - or in this case, someone - to believe in, she was passionate about it to the point of no return. No arguing, lecturing or pleading would get Ino to see that going back to Konoha was the right thing to do. Shikamaru shook his head and let out a slight groan. When Ino become stubborn, there's no winning, which Shikamaru found to be quite troublesome.

The swift, cruel slashing of a blade whistled into Suigetsu's unconscious ears. That oh so familiar sound. A sound which, when the blade was in his hands, sounded beautiful. Like a symphony. When the blade was in someone else's hands, however, the noise only seemed twisted and unreasonable.

Another cold slash of a blade. What was going on? Was someone being killed? Was he being killed? Was he already killed? A faint, rational voice in the back of Suigetsu's mind told him if he were already dead, he wouldn't be talking to himself.

Suigetsu let out a small gasping, groan and his eyes fluttered, but stayed closed. They were too heavy to open and if he were the victim of these cold slashes of a blade, which he was still uncertain about, he was pretty sure he didn't want to witness his own death.

An odd, trumpeting sound called out, like a bird singing. Like someone summoning someone else. Who was around him to do that? Suigetsu slowly and quietly thought about this...who was the last person he had come in contact with? Wasn't he still with Taka? - No, that was a while ago. Where the hell was he? Ino...Ino? No, she's probably long gone too. Ah, yes. Suigetsu caught a memory of the leader of a group of bandits piercing him through the chest with a Lightening Style Jutsu. So that bird-like sound...he's calling someone. The other bandits?

"Hmm...no one's coming. Cowards," a voice talked aloud and came into Suigetsu's ears at different pitches. His brain was still trying to process his unconsciousness. He was getting tunnel vision in his ears. Suigetsu groaned again and instinctively slapped his hand over his ear to stop the ringing.

"That rich guy." Suigetsu's eyes shot open. He was lying on the ground in the dead of night. On a bed of grass...a bed of grass? Wait a minute- he didn't collapse on grass, did he? No. He was attacked while he was on the dirt road leading to the politician's house. He was moved?

Suigetsu's eyesight blurred for a few moments and after a few blinks he was able to see clearly: the rich politician lay dead on the ground about fifty feet in front of him. His Executioner's Blade was triumphantly stuck into the ground beside his body, blood-smeared. In a flash, the blade was gone. There was a short rustle in the bushes and the leader jumped in front of Suigetsu, overshadowing the moon's dim light.

"I'll assume you're the one who killed all my fellow thieves?" he speculated. Suigetsu wanted to tell him he was wrong - he hadn't killed anyone tonight...but his voice wouldn't come. The leader shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm not mad," he smiled wickedly. "It just means more money for me!" he laughed. Suigetsu concluded that if he had the ability to move his numb, tingling body, he'd punch the guy. Here and now. And he'd kill him in revenge for using his Executioner's Blade to murder someone who posed no threat to him. But he couldn't. Because he couldn't move. All he could do was drool out of his limp mouth.

The leader stopped laughing maniacally and looked back down at Suigetsu, towering over him. "However, I still wish to kill you." He frowned. "You've tampered with my plans for far too long and I'm putting an end to this. I don't need some vigilante teenager chasing me down at every stop to the bank I make. So," he drifted off happily, tightening his grip on Suigetsu's blade, "I'm going to have to kill you now."

The leader raised the large sword over Suigetsu.

'So this is how it ends?' Suigetsu thought. 'In irony? Me being killed with my own blade? Ugh. I always hated irony. Then again, I guess I wouldn't want to die any other way.'

"Say goodnight!" The leader screeched, swiping the blade down from the sky and into Suigetsu.

'Then again, who said I was ready to die?'

Ino stopped walking and clutched her chest tightly, feeling a pang. A shift in the universe. That same dark, chilling feeling she had when Asuma-sensei had died. Shikamaru and Choji sensed her newfound dismay and turned around.

"Ino. What's wrong?" Choji asked her.

Ino made no response. She stood silently, clutching her chest, her knees shaking and her lip quivering.

"We need to go back," she responded. Choji opened his mouth to respond, but had no words good enough to get through to her. He turned to Shikamaru in aid, who had his hands passively in his pockets and an ever-present frown on his face.

"Ino, no." Was his only retort. "There's nothing I can say to deter you or convince you this is a bad idea, and I know that. So I'll save my breath. No. We aren't going back."

Ino continued to shake and bowed her head dismally. How could they find her to be the stubborn one? Weren't they doing the exact same thing to her? No.. they were worse. Far worse. Why? Because they weren't just being stubborn about not turning back. They were being cowards. Had they no value of human life? They were shinobi! Shinobi are ninja who took an oath to protect innocent life whether you have a connection with them or not! Were they forgetting everything they were taught?

"You..." she grit her teeth. "Are you people forgetting everything we've lost?" she yelled furiously. Choji and Shikamaru stared at her, stunned. "Aren't you Asuma's students? You're just going to leave a comrade behind?" she breathed heavily and glared and them both for a minute, trying to regain some sort of composure. "You may have forgotten any morale Asuma-sensei taught us, but I haven't. And I'm not leaving him behind. Not Asuma-sensei and not Suigetsu."

Shikamaru calmed his stunned expression and his frown returned. "Asuma may have been loyal, but he was also rational. There's nothing more we can do here and for the given circumstances of this mission, it was a success. Konoha is safe and we completed the task the Village Hidden in the Mist asked of us: to stop the bandits. We're going home."

Ino turned her back to them. "Fine. Then have it your way. Then go home. I'm already gone, too." The shadow clone exploded into a burst of fog.

Shikamaru stood with his mouth agape. A shadow clone? A shadow clone.

"Dammit!" Shikamaru cursed. "I knew something was off," he grumbled.

"She used a shadow clone," Choji stated dumbly. "She must have gone off to find her friend. How long do you think she's been gone?"

"Since I left to survey the castle to see if the politician was still alive," he remarked in frustration. It was the only logical response he could produce.

Choji shook his head. "No way...I was with her the entire time! I swear! I would've been able to tell if she was making a Shadow Clone!" he defended.

"Well at some point, she was able to. And she fooled us both. We have to go find her, and hurry!"

"Right!" Choji and Shikamaru leapt up into the trees and began racing their way back towards the castle in search of Ino.

The leader raised the large sword over Suigetsu.

'So this is how it ends?' Suigetsu thought. 'In irony? In me being killed with my own blade? Ugh. I always hated irony. Then again, I guess I wouldn't want to die any other way.'

"Say goodnight!" The leader screeched, swiping the blade down from the sky and into Suigetsu.

'Then again, who said I was ready to die?'

Suigetsu closed his eyes. He was right before - he didn't want to witness his own death. He heard the cold, cutting sound of the blade doing it's job. And yet, there was a floating feeling. Even more, there was no painful feeling.

'This is death? I feel like I'm flying...' Suigetsu slowly opened his eyes. Ino was carrying him up to a tree. She placed him gingerly on the branch and knelt down next to him, beginning to heal his charred chest, a green, healing chakra encasing her hands.

Suigetsu looked at her, the seriousness in her eyes. He had never seen that before.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned. "Go find your friends."

"I did," she answered quickly. She didn't take her eyes off of his wound. She didn't dare make eye contact with him. She wasn't ready for that. To fight for him? That she was ready to do. But she couldn't face him. She didn't deserve to.

"Then why are you here?" he tried to press on but the throbbing pain in his chest caused his voice to trail off.

"Because. Because I'm not leaving you behind," she told him, shaking her head vigorously. "I didn't even ask you to! I didn't even ask for your help but you helped me anyway! Why would you do that? I've been a bitch this whole time... these past few days I've been nothing but rude to you! But that still hasn't stopped you from trying to help me. Help me in a way that wouldn't benefit you at all," she took a breath and let out a chuckle. "Suigetsu. I don't understand you at all," she smiled and looked at him, pulling her long bangs behind her ear. "But I want to try."

Suigetsu sighed in defeat and rolled his eyes. "You're a real dumb kid, you know that?" he muttered. "Listen, lady I'm not worth trying to understand. I don't know why I-" Ino pressed her lips onto his and shut him up. She stopped her medical jutsu and slipped her hand behind his head and leaned farther on top of him, careful not to harm his wounded chest. Suigetsu took his strong arm and wrapped it around her waist, clutching onto the hem of her skirt.

Ino broke away but kept her forehead close to his. She felt his breath of contentment and a smile graced her lips. The palm of her hand met his for a short moment until a beam of lightening grazed over Ino and hit the tree branch beside her. She quickly shot up and turned around, taking a protective stance in front of Suigetsu.

"Aw, how sweet. Young love," the leader mockingly cooed.

Ino grabbed a kunai from her pouch and gripped tightly to it.

"I haven't forgotten about you for even a second, bastard."

DUN,DUN,DUN :D

There is totally a kickass Ino battle coming up. And hey, maybe even Shika and Cho will get in on the action too :D

Again, sorry for the EXTREMELY late update. Summer is well, summer :p If (and when) I do continue to write more SuiIno stories (probably during the school year), I'll be able to upload more...well, maybe. It's senior year so I might be busy. But anyway, yes! There will definately be more SuiIno!

(:

P.s - is this short? Sorry if it is! ^^;