Huggable Kitten B3, Friday Late Afternoon

[intraspective]

Friday afternoon and Ino was sprawled out on her bed with an anatomy text. Talk about boring. This was better than brooding about Cal, or giving into the urge to go and strangle Ichigo though, so whatever. The text, at the moment, was closed and she was testing how well she'd managed to retain what she'd studied.

Ino wondered, really, if she'd ever feel like she knew enough to actually feel confident in her abilities while working at the clinic. What had she been thinking, seriously? She didn't know anything about healing.

Bruises and cuts were only the tiniest tip of the knowledge she needed to know. She sighed, and focused again on her studying.

[For Hinata, then open afterwards.]

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[intraspective]

Coherency was apparently not happening today from him. She got the general idea of it this time though.

Ino swung her legs over the edge of her bed and looked up at him.

"You're hard not to," she said, smiling. "What's he like?"

Fathers were, like, the last thing Ino wanted to talk about right now. But this was Liir, and this was his father, and...

She was just going to grin and bear it. No ruining his happiness.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He swept her up into a hug, spinning once before letting them both flop onto her bed.

"I don't know. He's... he's proud. Not too proud. And he laughs. And he smiles. And he didn't mind me being me. And we're both a bit awkward. He's rather confused about everything here but he seemed happy to see me."

And that was the bit that kept making him smile. He was happy to see him. His father wanted him.

"He recognized me. He called me his son. I think he might even be proud of me, even if he was confused."

He grinned again.

"And he's covered in blue diamonds, just as I was that once. Do you remember?"

He reached a hand up and patted his own nose.

"We share this. He said I could use it as proof if anyone doubted me."

[intraspective]

The hug had gotten a squeak, the spinning had her clinging to him--because, hello, unexpected--and the flopping was much more her speed.

"Dork," she said, grinning at him. "Of course he'd be proud of you."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I still have to bring him dinner," he said. "He's staying at the playhouse for the moment, since he's come without any money and the theatre director's letting him stay. He came in for a play. Well, he said a book but the cover said it was a play and I figured it out from there."

He was breathing rather fast and still sort of bouncing.

"He's like the memories. From the stones. He's warm and kind and a little confused but he only came here yesterday. I gave him some books to help with that."

He didn't even have to say anything. Ino had to know how happy he was.

[intraspective]

She just smiled. It was obvious how happy he was.

"Your father's here, and you come running to tell me?" she teased him. "You should be glued to his side, I'd think."

It did, though, make her extremely happy to know that he'd rushed to tell her when he didn't have to.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I told him to explore a little so he'd get used to things," he admitted. "After all I want him comfortable here. I want him to stay. I don't want him to leave, after all. I gave him a little money and some books, like I said, and the summer ice I had in my bag."

Then he looked at her.

"Of course I had to come tell you.

[intraspective]

She glanced down, smiling but not wanting to meet his eyes. It wasn't like she'd known for sure that he'd come and tell her, him saying that she was his most important person or not.

Especially, now...

"I'm glad you did," and she was, really truly was. "I hope he stays."

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“T-That rather than a-avoiding writing h-home, maybe y-you should do it m-more often,” Hinata said quietly.

[intraspective]

Ino glanced sideways at her. “So I can get lectured by him?”

Um. Not really into that, thanks.

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“S-So if a m-mission goes w-wrong, y-you won’t regret n-not writing.”

It happened. Frequently.

[intraspective]

“My Dad is not going to die.”

A child’s stubbornness. She knew it was easily possible.

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“A-And if it does?”

[intraspective]

“He’s not,” Ino said flatly, warning in her voice. “He’s not.”

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

Hinata just tilted her head at Ino-san and waited patiently.

[intraspective]

“He’s not,” she insisted.

Logic? What logic?

“I wouldn’t regret anything.”

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“Y-You don’t mean that,” Hinata said serenely. “Y-You’re lying, Ino-san.”

[intraspective]

“I’m allowed,” she said petulantly. “It’s just a birthday, geez.”

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“Y-You should s-still go,” she said gently. “E-Even if he’ll y-yell at you.”

[intraspective]

“Don’t ever try for inspirational speaker, Hinata-chan,” Ino said. “Because, seriously, not helping.”

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“I-If he can yell at y-you, then y-you’d be a-able to yell b-back.”

[intraspective]

That… was a good point.

She mulled over that one. “He hasn’t really done anything to deserve it.”

Not, mind, that that had stopped her before.

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“Y-You’d enjoy it anyway,” Hinata pointed out.

[intraspective]

“I would, yeah,” Ino had to admit to that.

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

“W-Why not g-go then?”

[intraspective]

“Because...” of Kabuto, really. And she was a crappy liar. Ino knew this.