Room 504, Friday Evening

[intraspective]

After talking to Hurley, Ino was glad to wander back to the room she shared with Zack—that was still weird to her, that she couldn’t say it was just her room anymore—and collapse on her bed.

Yay. A week gone by and she hadn’t—been weird and issuey at people other than... well, Bod had gotten a bit, but he hadn’t seemed to care and Ino just... wasn’t going to push that. All right, fine, and so on. She was fine.

Repression was probably bad, yes. Ino closed her eyes briefly, then sat up and stared at the open door. She should shut it. But that seemed like far too much work and instead she fumbled for one of her notebooks. A pen.

If she was thinking, she didn’t have to think.

It made sense to her.

[Open door, open post.]

Comments

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela couldn't help but smile at that hint of color in Ino's cheeks. "You're happy."

That wasn't a question. But it was clearly something Triela approved of.

[intraspective]

Something, an unnamed quality, leeched out of her face.

"He's the best part of my life right now," she said quietly. "He makes me happy."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

That subtle shift in expression drew a frown from Triela.

"So... what else is up?" And did Ino want to talk about it?

[intraspective]

"Bad trip back home," she said flatly. But she was talking, see? And gesturing for Triela to come and sit down if she wanted.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela nodded. She... yeah. She got that.

She moved over closer to Ino and sat down. Then she turned her attention to Ino. They could talk about that trip, or something else, or not at all. Triela was there for whatever Ino needed.

[intraspective]

Triela was... Triela. They had their major differences but they also got each other in some very important ways.

"I don't have a team anymore," she said, still in that same flat carefully controlled voice. "Because I chose keeping them alive over supporting their plans for revenge."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

That was... not good. From what Triela knew about Ino's team, and how much it meant to her...

"You officially don't have a team, or..." Official was better. Because it was hard to stop a group from meeting if they wanted to. But when decided they were through with you...

That was different. And way worse.

[intraspective]

"Unofficially."

It hurt. It burned. Ino fiddled with her notebook.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Oh."

What did you say to that?

"That sucks."

Apparently, if you were Triela, you stated the obvious.

[intraspective]

"Yeah," she said softly. "It does. I--I'm waiting reassignment. Hokage-sama knows about the break."

And wouldn't force a team that broken to try and accomplish a mission. That would be a death sentence for the team.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

At least Triela knew not to ask if there was anything she could do.

"You kept them alive, though?" she asked. Not that Ino had been unclear on that point, or anything, but it was a way to remind her.

[intraspective]

"I did." Ino looked up at Triela. "I'd do it again if it meant that. But it's still--it--they called me traitor."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"And are you?" Somehow Triela doubted that Ino could even contemplate treachery. It just... well, it wasn't Ino.

[intraspective]

"My sensei's last order was for me to look after them. I did."

She shook her head.

"I'm--not a traitor. Not by my village. But by them..."

Maybe she was.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela lifted an eyebrow. "Would going over the details help, or..."

She rather suspected that Ino's teammates, well, former teammates, were just being idiots about whatever was going on. Ino didn't betray people she cared about.

At least not without an extremely compelling reason like orders from higher-up.

[intraspective]

"We were sent out after two extremely dangerous targets," she recited. "Asuma-sensei was on one squad, with one of my teammates, I and another were on a different squad. Asuma-sensei's team found the targets, called for back up and engaged. We got there too late. I--I couldn't heal him."

"They wanted revenge. I said I was in." Ino's eyes were steady. "And then I took the whole plan to Hokage-sama and ratted them out to keep them alive."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Did the plan have any chance of success?" Triela asked. Not that that would justify things, she knew. If they got shut down, it was almost certainly because the people in charge didn't think that whatever might be gained was worth risking three operatives.

[intraspective]

"A slim chance," she admitted. "But much like... like a snowball's chance in hell."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"And chances of surviving the attempt?"

[intraspective]

"Worse than that, in my estimation," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Not impossible but not really--possible, either."

Two Chuunin and one Genin? Against two S-Class criminals?

... Yeah.

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Well, then." Triela nodded as she went over that information in her head.

"You kept them alive," she repeated herself. But this time there was no mistaking the approval in her tone. Triela, at least, thought Ino had done precisely the right thing.

[intraspective]

Her lips twisted.

"Have you ever felt like doing the right thing was a betrayal anyway?"

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

Triela considered that, then shook her head.

"No. Sorry. The Conditioning..." Well, it made a lot of things easier. At least... it did when it came time to live with the decisions you made. Even if the consequences of those decisions were less than optimal.

[intraspective]

Ino nodded, holding back a sigh.

"I know," she said. "But that's what I feel like. There's no solution."

[sorella-vecchia.livejournal.com]

"Emotions are difficult to deal with." Triela remembered that week where her hormones had been running rampant and suppressed a shudder. "The Conditioning makes things so much easier."

Freedom was such a small price to pay for clear purpose and peace of mind, wasn't it?