intraspective | A Secluded Area of the Preserve, Thursday Noonish

Two days of fretting and freaking out internally and feeling like things were going to fall down on her head meant that, when Thursday dawned utterly gorgeous (and neither of them having noticed anything odd about the island), she set about planning. She needed a distraction.

Zack's participation in this idea was secured with some kisses and, honestly, just asking him if he wanted to hang out on a date with her. Ino was straightforward like that, when it suited her to be.

So: picnic. In the preserve! She had food and drinks and even a dorky blanket (it had glossy stars on it!) for them to lounge out on.

Ino also had a Frisbee. The obvious difficulty of using a Frisbee in the preserve hadn't yet occurred to her, as she?

She was busy holding Zack's free hand (he carried the basket, even though as it had been her idea, and Ino still felt like she ought to be the one doing the carrying—but he'd won that discussion before they'd ever left their room) and smiling.

And asking questions. Very important, earth-shaking questions:

"What do you want for your birthday?"

[For the one she's smiling for!]

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And she was just going to dissolve into giggles while making a reach for the Frisbee.

"No playin' 'til after we eat," she informed him, leaning over to try and steal another kiss.

Which totally counted as playing, Zack decided. And so he was going to grope around behind him for the basket, sticking his hand in and pulling out... a sandwich. While kissing! It was an amazing feat of skill and coordination.

That there'd been a large insect trying to get into the basket until he unwittingly chased it away with his hand, he'd never know.

"So," he laughed, once they were done that particular round of kisses, "take a bite! It's not like the Frisbee is going to get very far here in the woods, anyhow."

She frowned at him, sticking her lower lip out in a pout that did nothing to hide the amusement in her eyes.

"You sayin' you can't play Frisbee in the woods? You totally can," she insisted, and making grabby hands for the sandwich. Yes, there were more, but then she'd have to get up and where was the fun in that? "It's fun."

You really couldn't, Ino, just admit that you made a mistake in bringing it.

"Woods-Frisbee? Really? It kind of sounds more like pinball, to me," Zack decided, grinning and taking a bite of the sandwich with a wink before surrendering it. "You're going to have to prove it, I think."

Food! She was going to take a bite of that sandwich before giving into the urge to look superior.

"Is that a challenge?"

Mmm sandwich! Nom nom nom!

"You know," Zack leaned his head back, looking thoughtful. "I'm pretty certain that it is."

And then he was looking her way again, grinning. It was totally a challenge, yes.

And that meant she was going hand that sandwich back to him, after taking one more bite, and grab the Frisbee to twirl around on one finger as she stood up.

"I'll make you sorry for doubting me," she warned, laughing. "Get up!"

And she was going to dart back, to put distance enough between them to throw it his way.

How Zack managed to actually laugh after cramming what was left of the sandwich into his mouth was anybody's best guess, really. Either way, he was on his feet, giving his hands a clap as he bounced backwards to put enough space between himself and Ino to at least get enough distance for the Frisbee to go somewhere.

Sandwich now chewed and swallowed, he gave her a grin and a nod.

"Alright, let's see what you've got, then!"

There were a few trees in her way, of course, but she could still see him easily. Which meant that, surely, she could get the Frisbee there.

... Right?

Well, she was going to try. And there went the Frisbee! It got around the first tree and then Ino wasn’t sure if it was going to make it to where Zack was and so, well, she was going to be utterly mature and squeeze her eyes shut.

It would suck to be wrong! Even if she was having a hard time keeping from giggling.

It totally made it around the first tree! That was sort of like a quasi-victory in its own right, right?

It grazed the second tree, unfortunately, and saw Zack diving forward to get it before it could ricochet against the third and fly away forever into the woods. He was laughing shortly after, waving the disc in the air for a moment.

"Okay, that wasn't too bad! Heads-up, then!"

And off it went again, back in Ino's direction. With entirely too much force behind it, way too many trees in the way, and a bit of a wobble.

Well, that couldn't end well.

It really couldn’t. Not at all.

Ino was still laughing as she watched with wide eyes as the Frisbee spectacularly ricochet off first one tree, and then another, and then a third and a fourth before flying off into the woods.

Being Ino, she had to go after it. “I’ve got it!” she carolled, flinging herself after it, and out of sight of Zack but it wasn’t like he couldn’t hear her and—

And Ino never even spotted the black gap that had opened up, too busy with their game.

Her laughter cut off abruptly and the Frisbee landed, innocently, some feet from where she’d been and now was not.

... Well. That was a sudden and foreboding silence.

"Ino?"

Zack waited for a moment, listening. She had to totally just be messing with him, right? Only... That was not the sudden complete halt in laughter that came from good-natured teasing.

"Ino?"

He hit the woods at a run. But by the time he finally found the Frisbee, all that was left was a shifting crackle in the air around him, and a giggling, flitting shadow out of the corner of his eye. Ino was just... Gone.

A Secluded Area of the Preserve, Thursday Noonish

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