Chapter VIII

When dawn came, Ino (now dressed in considerably warmer garb) had already decided upon her activities for the day. By mid morning, she had scrapped her plans and chosen to improvise. Unintentionally, she had overheard a discussion on a potentially interesting topic, and realized that there was far more to gain by pursuing information than by sitting back and waiting for it to come to her.

She had been standing at the flower shop again, engaged in a lively conversation with the shopkeeper. Ino had decided that building a new cover as a trader of some sort might be beneficial, and, given her area of expertise, fairly simple. Enjoyable as well, she found, since she took great pleasure in admiring flowers and discussing arrangements.

So when a pair of shinobi had walked by, quietly discussing matters of fairly great importance, they did not spare the girl more than a quick glance. Momentarily distracted from her conversation, Ino had overheard the words "council meeting" and "dangerous," and quickly come to the conclusion that she had more important things to do today than wander around the village.

Shortly after noon, she strolled through the central sections of the village, grateful for both her bird's eye reconnaissance and the small amount of information she had been able to get out of Deidara concerning the layout of the town. After that, it did not take her long to pinpoint the exact building in which this important meeting would take place. As soon as half a dozen different shinobi independently entered it, each looking somewhat less than casually interested, she was certain that she was correct.

Retrospectively, it was probably not the best plan. In her defence, however, she had not had much time to think about it, and wasn't quite accustomed to this sort of thing in general.

Sitting under the shade of a tree a decent distance from the building itself, Ino shut her eyes and made herself comfortable. Not for the first time, she wished that she had not been sent alone. She even regretted not having been able to find Deidara before trying this. She didn't quite trust him, but when it came to Kumogakure, she believed him to be a neutral party, and didn't really expect him to betray her to the Cloud nin.

When she heard approaching footsteps, Ino knew that her time for regret was long past. She opened her eyes and quickly picked out her victim—a young man, alone, undoubtedly making his way towards the council meeting. She understood that it was a bad idea—a terrible idea—to speak with a person before using a mind controlling jutsu on him, but she had absolutely no choice, and could only hope that he would not remember her afterwards.

"Onii-san!" she cried out, standing up and waving at the man. "I'm a bit lost. Could you show me where the nearest café or diner is?"

The man turned towards her, looking a bit startled. With a somewhat sheepish grin that she decided didn't belong anywhere near the face of a shinobi, he replied, "Um… I don't really have the time right now."

Ino pouted prettily, "That's too bad." Only years of practice kept even a trace of a smile off her face as she watched his face turn bright red. "Could you at least give me directions?"

"I'm afraid not," he stammered. "I'm not from around here."

"Really?" Ino didn't have to hide her disappointment. She needed a shinobi, someone who would be accepted and expected at the meeting. "What are you doing here, then?" she asked, her curiosity unfeigned.

The man shrugged, "The village elders requested my presence. I… can't really say more," he added, looking more than a bit embarrassed.

"Well, thanks anyway," Ino replied courteously, sitting back down in the shade of the tree, giving herself three seconds to think through her options. On one hand, this could be the best opportunity for getting away with this type of trick. However, as she wasn't sure what sort of information they were expecting from the man…

Well, I'm certain I can stammer my way through it as well as he can, she decided, and without a second thought, performed the mind transferring jutsu.

Glancing at her own body, resting easily under the tree in a semblance of sleep, Ino wished she could spare a few moments to hide herself. However, she knew that she couldn't maintain the transference for a long period of time, and wasn't even sure when the meeting would start. Sifting through the contents of her stolen body's pockets, Ino continued forward.

It did not take more than a moment for her to find what she had been seeking: an identification card. Nagori Konomi from the Land of Earth, she read, and wished that she had had time to learn more about the various ninja in the village, because there was absolutely no way this was actually going to go off smoothly.

She entered the building, trying to decide between looking confident and scared out of her mind. Considering the demeanour of the man whose body she now inhabited, Ino figured that some bizarre mix of the two would not be too far out of character. Walking through a hallway, not at all certain where she was going, Ino sighed with relief when she came across a shinobi lounging by a doorway.

"Nagori Konomi?" he asked, looking halfway between interested and bored out of his mind.

Ino nodded. "I was told I was expected…?"

"Yeah," the shinobi said, gesturing at the doorway behind you, "They've already begun, though most of it has no bearing on you."

Ino nodded and walked forward, picking up on the last few words of whatever conversation had been ongoing: "…do something about that demon, rather than…" Seeing her entrance, the speaker, a middle-aged woman standing besides a younger man wearing the clothing of a kage, abruptly stopped speaking. The woman frowned slightly and took her seat, her gaze shifting from Ino to the kage.

There were little more than a dozen people in the chamber, all of whom wore the trappings of a shinobi. Probably all were the equivalents of jounin, though it was impossible to be certain. Each glanced thoughtfully at Ino before turning their attention towards the kage, a dark haired, calm looking man who was easily the youngest person present (barring Ino herself).

"Nagori Konomi?" the Raikage queried, his dark eyes boring thoughtfully into her. For an uncomfortable moment, Ino wondered if someone so powerful might be able to see through her jutsu.

There was little she could do to hide her discomfort, though she imagined that the man she was impersonating would have shared it. "Yes, sir?" she asked, grateful that her voice was somewhat calmer than she was.

The Raikage smiled slightly, "We seem to have a bit of a situation, and I'd like to have some information concerning the Land of Earth verified. Sorako, would you care to explain?" he asked, glancing towards the woman beside him.

With a tight nod, she began, "Rumours of a… particular organization have come to our ears. The details are unimportant at the moment, but we have seen the need to closely monitor any visitors to the village." She hesitated for an instant, possibly remembering that Nagori Konomi himself must have been such a visitor. Ino frowned slightly, realizing that this was probably the reason why her room had been searched soon after she had arrived.

"A man who arrived recently has been of particular interest, though until now, we saw no evidence to connect him to this information. However, things have changed." Sorako fell silent, glancing at the kage again.

"How familiar are you with renegades from your country?" the Raikage asked after a moment. When Ino only stared at him blankly, he sighed and continued, "I do not trust official reports from foreign ninja villages, but the existence of such a dangerous criminal would certainly be brought to the attention of the feudal lords of a country, and those related to them."

Feudal lord? Ino had a hard time accepting that the timid man she had possessed was actually kin to a lord of his country, but it would explain why the Raikage of Kumogakure wanted to speak to him.

"Tell me," the Raikage ordered, the pleasantness in his voice suddenly tempered by the force and power of a kage, "is there a criminal from the Land of Earth who prefers the use of explosives to more traditional means of attack?"

No amount of training helped Ino keep her eyes from going wide, or her face from paling. No… he's an artist… he can't possibly… Seeing her expression, the Raikage smiled again. "So I see. I'm going to ask that you repeat everything you may have heard about him. The smallest detail may be helpful in learning more about Akatsuki."

Ino stared at him for another moment, trying to force her mouth to start working. "Deidara…" she finally managed, her stolen voice little more than a squeak. "He's… an artist…"

She saw the Raikage's eyes narrow briefly, and then the world spun. She pressed her hand to her head, squeezed her eyes shut…

And when she opened them again, she was in her own body, laying under a tree, one arm twisted under her, and a stranger staring down at her. Seeing her awake, he frowned, "You're not supposed to be here."

"Sorry, sorry! I don't know what happened…" Which was true, since the jutsu should have lasted at least a bit longer than that. Perhaps her own shock had jerked her out of it. "I'm sorry," she said again, jumping to her feet and absently rubbing her arm. Her mind was a thousand worlds away from the man in front of her. Criminal? Akatsuki? I'm not sure what's going on, but there's got to be some sort of mistake.

Waving at the man, she sped off, hoping he wasn't planning on following her. She rolled the word over in her mind, feeling like it was something she ought to have recognized but didn't. Akatsuki. That means "dawn," doesn't it? Weird name for a criminal organization, if that's really what it's about as well.

One thing was for certain: the elders of Kumogakure believed that this was what Deidara was, and whether or not they were accurate, she couldn't allow them to do something about it before she herself discovered the truth. No, she corrected herself. They can't be right. Sure, there are things about him that don't fit together well, but there has to be another way to make it work. This is just ridiculous.

Criminals don't sit down and talk civilly with you. They don't joke around, or lick you with tongues that they shouldn't have at all. They don't complain about village politics, passionately discuss art with you, or act so unconcerned about everything. They don't give you tips on how to keep your own cover, they don't smile like that, and they certainly don't kiss you.

No, criminals abandon their villages for whatever reasons they may have, and never look back. They hurt their friends along with their enemies, and the stigma of it hangs over them like a curse. They don't act normal because, now outside of the order of things, they can't act normal. They're obvious at a glance, even when they're trying to blend in, because they're so eaten by something—probably they're own malice—that it's impossible to hide it.

No, Ino decided. The Raikage couldn't possibly be correct in his assessment. If Kumogakure had become so paranoid that they would monitor and suspect everyone who was a stranger, surely they would jump to conclusions that didn't quite fit. Whatever disagreements Deidara might have had with his country, they couldn't have played out like that.

Almost without realizing what she was doing, Ino walked towards the Ginkawa Inn, where she remembered Deidara was staying. She knew that she shouldn't be doing this—that she had her own mission to accomplish, and at the very least should probably learn more about this Akatsuki that the Cloud nin mistakenly believed Deidara was a part of… but she couldn't stop herself. Some things transcend the needs of the village, Ino decided as soon as she found herself standing outside the door.

Remembering what room Deidara was staying in, Ino quickly made her way through the inn. It took only a few moments to reach the room, and she only paused when she realized the door was already open. It's not like him to leave his room open like that, she thought, edging cautiously closer.

"…well, he's not here," she heard a male voice say from inside.

"Obviously not," another, female this time, replied dryly. "We'll just have to wait for him to come back."

The first speaker sniffed slightly before calling out, "Hey, Eisaki, are you finding anything over there?"

"Not yet," a third voice said, distractedly. "I've got to give it to him, the bastard's careful. I doubt we're going to find anything incriminating in here."

"That reminds me," the woman said, "what about the girl? The one apparently from Konoha? Is anything to be done about her?"

"How should I know?" Eisaki complained. "Do I look like the Raikage?"

"Stop complaining like third-rate chuunin," a fourth voice suddenly chimed in. "You're supposed to be the village's elites."

"Yes, sir," three voices replied immediately, and Ino had heard enough. Not bothering to wonder what exactly they expected to be done about her, she quickly decided that she had better leave Kumogakure as quickly as possible. If these people could come to the conclusion that Deidara was a criminal based on what seemed to be no evidence whatsoever, what would they make of her?

Certainly they would think that she was either a spy or a renegade, and Ino wasn't sure which possibility was worse. She backed away, ready to abandon all her possessions in her room if necessary.

"This isn't exactly who we expected to show up," someone behind her noted, and Ino jumped, nearly crashing into the wall. "But if you're also connected with them, the Raikage will want to speak with you as well."

By the time the speaker, a smirking man wielding a katana and radiating power, had finished talking, the four ninja who were in the room had joined them in the hallway. Ino, her hand surreptitiously edging for the kunai she had brought with her, knew that in a fight this lopsided, she didn't stand a chance.

A/N: And it only took what… five months? My apologies. Since I'm getting as tired of the slow updates as you must be, I'm going to attempt to get this done more quickly. And now that school's over, I'll have more time (in theory, at least, since I need to find a job ASAP. Something I should have done before graduation, but whatever). I'm actually hoping to have the next chapter done by the end of the week, though no promises.

So Ino's in denial. Understandable, since I imagine the world she's painted for herself is more than a bit black and white. If you caught mild allusions to Sasuke in her ideas about criminals and missing nin, you're on the right track, since I don't think anyone in Konoha is getting over that one anytime soon.