Who Am I?

Chapter 20: Brooding

The more the days passed at the safe house, the more anxious Ino became. She paced over and over around the house, almost incapable of sitting still. She was nervous, worried and wanted more information on what had happened to her mother. She wanted to be able to tell her best friend, to confide in her, to look to her for support in a moment when she needed it.

She wasn't allowed to have any of those things. The lack of news was beginning to drive her crazy. She just wanted to talk to Sakura. Hell, even if it meant just listening to whatever her best friend wanted to gush about regarding her relationship, that would be better than nothing. She was beginning to go stir-crazy.

Sai was beginning to notice the changes in Ino's behaviour. She was restless, and he was wracking his brain for ideas. It was for that reason that he'd spent the morning looking through the cupboards in the kitchen, trying to find what he could. He did manage to find a small mortar and pestle, along with a fine sieve he could use. Once he had them out on the counter, he strode into the living room, catching Ino by the shoulders just as she turned around.

"Come," he commanded, smiling at her. "I believe there is something I could use your assistance with. But first, I must ask... do you have good hiking shoes?" The last thing he wanted was for her to be in poor shoes for what they were about to do.

"Hiking shoes?" Ino asked, momentarily confused. Why would she need hiking shoes? "I mean, I have a pair of runners I use to work out, but that's about it." She was too startled to realize his warm hands on her shoulders, distracted by mentally going through her shoe closet... and what assets she'd brought from said shoe closet. She'd managed to remember to bring her workout shoes, so that much was a blessing.

"Hmm... runners should be sufficient. Change into those and some comfortable clothes. We are going for a walk." Sai released the grip he had on her shoulders and made his way to his room, changing into some more comfortable clothes and shoes of his own. Ino followed suit, opting for some short yoga pants that were just past knee-length, a workout tank top and sweater, and her usual runners with socks. Surely he wouldn't be taking her too far, would he?

Once they were dressed, Sai led them out of the safe house and around the back, moving into a wooded area. They'd both taken her cell phones, though hers was turned off for safety reasons; she had no reason to worry if she was taking her out there. He'd also brought along a couple of small containers, handing one to Ino. It'd confused her at first, until a little bit along the trail, they stopped, finding a small wild blackberry bush that Sai pointed out, as well as a small wild rose bush that was a little bit behind it. He moved in the direction of the rose bush, carefully plucking several petals off it to add to his container. Ino followed suit, picking some of the blackberries that were there. Rose petals and blackberries... What could he possibly want with those?

"If we fill up that container, that should be enough. I am going to find a few more roses on these bushes," he said as he gestured to a few more. "There are a couple more blackberry bushes over there if you could pick from them as well." Ino did as instructed, still mildly curious as to why he would want these particular ingredients. After about half an hour of picking and sorting, they both had full containers and made their way back to the safe house, leaving Ino the opportunity to ask what it was that he wanted with them finally. They'd gone relatively far into the woods, and as they were on their way back, Ino squealed as she stepped wrong on a root, her ankle twisting strangely as she fell almost face-first into the dirt.

"Mi-- Ino?" Sai asked, hearing her squeal and rushing over to her. "Are you all right?" Concern spread over his features as he helped her into a seated position, looking down at her ankle.

"Yeah, I think I just twisted it a little," she said, taking a deep breath as she tried to stand on it. The pain caused her ankle to give underneath her, and she would have fallen again if not for Sai catching her. Talk about embarrassing!