Who Am I?

Chapter 19: Fear

They reached the shop, Sai expertly pulling the vehicle up to the front. He held up a hand for Ino to wait, get out, and come around to her side before letting her out. They had to handle this carefully and gently; if there was any danger inside, Ino could not be the one at the front of the line. He had to be there in case there was any danger.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, reaching for his gun and holding it in front of him. He produced a flashlight in the other, ready to use it if necessary; the lights in the shop were on, but if there were other areas where lights weren't on, he might need it. He slowly led the way toward the shop's front door, pushing it open as someone had left it unlocked. They could hear the shop bell chime as the door was pushed open. At first glance, the shop appeared fine, but as they moved further in, there were plant pots knocked over and shattered on the ground near the counter. There were clear signs of a struggle, and behind the counter was a small pool of blood; someone had been injured in the struggle, it seemed. Sitting on the counter was the same floral arrangement Ino had received a photo of. Unlike in the photo, the pot and some of the leaves were smeared with blood.

Ino's eyes widened in shock at what she saw. She knew what it meant, but it was taking her a moment to process what was happening. Her mother always worked late, putting together arrangements and organizing orders so that she could be ready to prepare them. She sometimes had late-night deliveries that she'd attend to; whoever had been coming for her had to have known that she would be working late. They were likely the person who had put in the order for the flowers in the first place.

Sai signalled for Ino to be quiet and follow him, leading her around behind the counter and away from the mess they'd found. They checked the backroom carefully to ensure there was nobody else there, both staying silent until they knew it was just the two of them. Ino was barely holding herself together; she'd seen crime scenes like this, but never when it was someone she knew. Once they'd moved back to the front of the shop to survey the area, Ino could feel something coming on.

"I-- I need some air," she choked out before ducking outside, turning the corner into the alley and retching onto the ground. So much for her delicious breakfast. She felt sick to her stomach with what she'd seen in there; her mother was missing. It seemed that someone had come for her, prompting her mother to either send a message to her daughter or the person who'd kidnapped her had sent it. Ino assumed the latter, but how? There were supposed to be police watching her mother, keeping an eye on her, making sure nothing happened to her.

Sai, too, was baffled by the situation. He'd had officers assigned, but where had they been when this all happened? Looking around, he couldn't see a single squad car. There were supposed to be two cops patrolling the area; Chief Hatake had promised to make sure of that. It made him wonder who had been asked to look after things. He trusted Chief Hatake, but now he was beginning to wonder if Akatsuki's influence ran deeper within the system than he was anticipating.

Coming outside, he could see Ino just around the corner, along with hearing the familiar sound of retching and gagging. He gave her a moment to compose herself before approaching, handing her a tissue he had in his pocket and gently rubbing a hand on her back. Her hunch had been correct, and he'd almost been a fool and ignored it. How stupid of him. They might have been much further behind. The only problem now was that their investigation had to be kept under wraps, even from her best friend. The tighter their circle, the easier it would be.

"Listen, Ino," he said, chewing his lip. "This... we will determine what it was that happened." He couldn't help sounding almost callous; he didn't know the right words to say. "But I must inform you that our investigation must be kept under wraps. I know that you will want to reach out to her, but... this includes keeping details from Dr. Haruno." The last thing he wanted was to force Ino to keep secrets from her best friend, but it was a necessity. Until they knew where their information leak was or who was watching, they had to be extra careful.