Konohagakure no Sato, Saturday Afternoon (Fandom Time) / Feb. 15th (Konoha Time)

[intraspective]

Really, it had been a month and a half now and Ino had to admit that she was—feeling better. Between her father teaching Zack (and water walking had proved to be quite a hilarious thing to watch) and her father teaching her, she was feeling useful and busy without it being anything too taxing.

She hadn’t seen either of her previous teammates, which stung, but Ino stomped down firmly on that as she disentangled her mind from her father’s and ignored his look. It wasn’t the first time she’d avoided… whatever it was he’d wanted to talk about.

And she doubted it would be the last.

“That’s enough for now,” he said, after a moment. “How about you go and get some air?”

It was phrased as a suggestion, but Ino was well used to her father’s orders. With a quick kiss to his cheek, she left the room, went down the long, dark hall and out into the sunshine. It was a lovely day—February, already, which made her head hurt if she thought too hard about the days and how they related to Fandom—but, Ino thought, as she leaned against the balcony and pulled out her phone, hitting speed dial, maybe all that time had been what she’d needed.

And, across universes, her phone call reached…

[For ze raspberried one. Mwahaha. NFB.]

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[intraspective]

Days later and Ino was exhausted as she leaned back against a tree, slumping down and closing her eyes. There wasn't anything to be done and yet there was so much to do.

So many people dead.

She was dreadfully, frightfully, lucky that her mother wasn't amongst them. That the civilians who'd made it to shelter had lived. But those who hadn't and the shinobi of the village...

Ino blinked hard. She was tired, that was all. Just... needed a little peace before she got up and found someone else to heal, again. Her potions were long gone and it was just her and her chakra, her magic, to help.

A glance around, the destruction of the village scarcely hidden by the tattered foliage, and Ino bit her lip. She wanted to go home.

[puppy_fair]

After running from the Kyuubi, Zack had turned down any more potions on principle, once he'd seen how many people were so much worse off than he was. His Curaga Materia had been getting one hell of a workout, and his collection of Ethers was nearing rock-bottom, as well.

It was tiring work, surviving.

"Hey," he murmured, making his way to Ino with a tired smile that didn't come near to reaching his eyes. "How are you holding up?"

There was still a slight catch in his step. He'd managed in hurting himself even more in the run, but he'd heal neatly enough without any help. SOLDIER was made for durability, and he had wasted no breath informing any and all healers of that fact when they'd approached him over the last couple of days. There were people who needed it more. Go poke at them.

[intraspective]

Her smile was equally as tired.

"I can't complain," she said, reaching for him. Did he want to sit with her? "But I'm pretty--empty."

In all senses of the word, truly.

[puppy_fair]

"Sitting actually sounds like a pretty awesome idea," Zack admitted, carefully crouching down beside her, sitting, and then wrapping his arms around her. "Empty, not so great. I've got... four Ethers left, I think. Can you make use of them, at all?"

They didn't take care of the worst of the emptiness, but at least they helped with that hollow 'out of magic' feeling that always kind of left him feeling nauseous.

[intraspective]

She closed her eyes, leaning in to him and just breathing for a moment.

"No," Ino said slowly. "I don't think that's going to help, those. Not with... everything."

Everything was a good word for it.

[puppy_fair]

"You're right," Zack agreed, sighing and pulling her a little closer, favouring one arm. "There's just been... way too much."

At least the people that he'd gotten to the underground were still alive. That was... something, in the face of all of the other ways he'd been utterly useless, these past few days.

"It's kind of getting hard to breathe."

Figuratively, mostly. Though he had some broken ribs and a lot of bruising to contend with, which wasn't helping.

[intraspective]

"I want to go home," she admitted, in a tiny voice, her fingertips glowing a soft green as she pressed them to his side. She didn't have the energy to heal, not really, but she could soothe some of his aches and dull the pain still. "And then I... I feel worse."

Because this wasn't her home.

But it was supposed to be.

[puppy_fair]

Zack closed his eyes, nuzzling in and shaking his head a little.

"There's been a lot going on," he murmured, relishing that short reprieve from the pain. He had Elixirs to his name, but those were back on the island, in his room. The one time he figured he wouldn't have any need for them, that was when he'd spent the most amount of time in desperate need of them. "I'm about ready to go back to the island, too."

People were less... dead, there, generally.

[intraspective]

"Can we?" she asked, a hitch in her voice. "Just... walk away?"

Did it make her an awful person for not wanting to be here?

[puppy_fair]

It took a deep breath for Zack to be able to find the words. But...

He looked up for a moment, at what was left around them.

"I think we've done everything that we can do," he offered, gently. He hated admitting it as much as he imagined she wouldn't like hearing it. But the longer he spent here, the more he just felt as though he was in the way. And this whole place... it was just hollowing Ino out. They couldn't stay.

[intraspective]

She shook her head, whole body trembling. "It's not right," Ino whispered. "No one else can just leave."

[puppy_fair]

"No one else has anywhere to leave to," Zack pointed out, frowning. He didn't like it, either. But, all the same... "Do you think they would, if they were given the choice?"

[intraspective]

She shook her head, burying it against his side as a few traitorous tears slipped out.

"No," Ino's response was muffled but comprehensible. "Because this is their home."

[raspberryturk]

Ino's phone was ringing. Not the one that had been stepped on, no. The other one. The one with the ShinRa logo on it, that Reno himself had given to her.

He had spent a few hours freaking the hell out, with no word, no call, his head spinning too much to let him hit any button beyond 'redial.' All attempts to contact Portalocity for a quick trip to Konoha had been met with apologies, they couldn't book a trip like that on such short notice on Christmas. Fucking Earth holidays.

So, after hours spent yelling and throwing things across the room and blacklisting himself with several Portalocity outlets across the Eastern Seaboard, Reno had decided to do the next best thing. Try the other phone. Now that he'd remembered it was there at all.

[intraspective]

It was a stupid, silly little ringtone that filled the air and Ino blinked as it took a few moments, seconds, for the noise to sink in.

That it was coming from her... phone?

Why would her phone be ringing?

... It had been a very very long few days, yes.

"Ino."

And she wasn't supposed to sound that empty, but at least she'd answered it?

[raspberryturk]

"Oh, thank fuck," Reno exhaled, as charming as ever. Who needed proper greetings on the telephone when you could just drop an f-bomb in the ear of the person you were calling. "I was beginnin' to worry I'd lost you, Rookie."

And that came out sounding... very carefully flat. Because if it didn't, then he'd sound exactly the way he felt, which was half-panicked and worried sick.

[intraspective]

Her lips trembled at the sound of his voice. It was stupid, right, how she wanted to cry now?

"N-Not me," she said, unable to keep an entirely steady voice. "Can't... Can't keep me down."

She should have--called? Beforehand? Ino shook her head.

[raspberryturk]

"That's my Rookie," he replied, his tone... something edging on gentle. He didn't know what the hell had happened, but he could hazard a guess as to how unpleasant it had been. "You need anything?"

Anything at all. He'd tell the Turks to fuck off for another week if he could just find a Portalocity terminal that would stick him into an emergency portal to get him there.

[intraspective]

She shook her head before remembering that he wouldn't be able to see it.

"I'm not hurt," she told him, which wasn't entirely a lie, but bruises and scrapes were nothing. "I'm okay."

No, no she wasn't.

[raspberryturk]

Reno could tell.

"What happened?"

Besides 'explosions and then yelling and then a dead phone line,' preferably.

[intraspective]

"There--" Ino struggled for a long, long moment to find words, before saying, very flatly. "Konoha don't exist no more."

Just a hole in the ground and struggling survivors.

[raspberryturk]

Reno didn't mean to fall silent like that. He didn't. It was just... a few hours ago, they had been talking about the end of the world...

"Shit, Rookie... I..."

... Had no idea what to say when Midgar had come down. Had no idea what to say now.

"You gonna be there a while, yet?"

[intraspective]

"N-No," she said, that damnable waver in her voice again. "Zack said we're leaving."

And she was so very grateful for it.

[raspberryturk]

Thank Ramuh.

"Comin' back to the island, then?" He was biting his lip, looking at the little bit of packing that he'd managed to do before his almighty freakout. "Still quiet around here. Everyone's still gone for Christmas."

Stupid Christmas.

He was fumbling for his cigarettes without actually being aware of that fact. He needed to do something, and drinking was right out, during a conversation like this one.

[intraspective]

"I don't know," she said, in a lost voice. "I don't want to go back where people might... "

Ask questions. Care. Ino didn't know if she was up to dealing with people, full stop, quite yet. She needed a vacation from her vacation.