A couple of days had passed since the first dinner, and Sai had been over several more times. Now it was time for the 'Save Asuma and don't let him die mission'. Sai was hugging Ino, and to others, it just looked like a couple who were showing careless affection, but to them it was more.

'Be careful? I don't want you or our child to be hurt. Protect yourself. I know you want to save Asuma-san, but if it means sacrificing our baby, don't.'

'I'll try, but Sai, he was and is my sensei. I can't just stand by and-'

'I know. Trust me. But you mean more than a man I hardly know, and the fact that you are pregnant...'

They pulled apart, and Sai kissed her gently, with a hint of urgency. She pulled away, hands slipping out of his. She vanished, reappearing between her teammates, who stared at the raven with narrow eyes. They hadn't known Ino had a boyfriend. They would need to 'talk' with him when they got back.

Sai watched as Ino and her team shot off into the woods, eyes sharpening as they began their mission. He stood alone in the street. Waiting until the Mental bond was stretched , and shot after them. If he was seen, he was dead. He needed to do this silently, like a true ninja. Like ROOT.

Ino felt like something was off, and had an inkling as to why. Yet it was only an inkling, because she couldn't sense anything! That, and her mental bond was stretched far enough to where she couldn't contact Sai without experiencing a huge mental drain, and she couldn't afford that right now.

It was extremely trying for Sai to keep an exact distance. If he got even a step closer, Ino would sense him. If he got too far away, the connection that he was using to track her would stretch too far and he wouldn't be able to contact her without using up most of his chakra. So he kept all of his concentration on maintaining a certain distance. Hopefully, Ino would be distracted when the fighting began so he could get close.

Ino sighed. The feeling of being followed was still there and she still couldn't sense anything. They had already gone through the near destroyed Fire temple and were now on their way to the Bounty Collectors. It should go better this time, as she had knocked most of the laziness out of Shikamaru, and Choji was a bit more fierce, and definitely more protective. Asuma... he hasn't changed much, besides becoming a bit less lazy, a bit more alert, like he was when he was a guardian of the Daimiyo. She was proud, and confident that they would win this time, with no casualties.

Sai cursed as he felt Ino's chakra flicker desperately. He sped up, shooting through the greenery, jerking to a stop as he neared the battle. One of the chunin were on the ground, blood pooling around him, while the other was attacking Kakazu in a rage induced blur. Ino had a cut on her cheek, and Shikamaru was sweating heavily as his thoughts raced miles a second, the shadows chasing Hidan, who was trying to get back inside his sacrificial diagram.

Sai watched anxiously. Ino was struggling, unable to decide who to help. finally , she decided to go heal the chunin who was drowning in his blood. She decided to concentrate wholly on healing, as his wound was grievous. She trusted her teammates to watch her back, and could distantly hear them doing so. She was almost done, when she heard a shout. She spun around, and her eyes widened as she watched the three bladed scythe heading straight for her. And at the height it was currently spinning towards her, her stomach would be shredded.

The sound of flesh tearing and a pained scream that was ripped from clenched teeth. Black hair drifted in front of her face,

.

.

.

"S-Sai? SAI!"

He smiled, the mental connection was wavering, as his chakra flickered dangerously. Blood trailed down his chin as he coughed, holding back a scream at the pain. The scythe had torn through him, nearly cutting him in half, and his lower half was beginning to numb. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he folded over, blood pooling around him.

Ino screamed, pain and horror and guilt lacing her voice. It was shrill, and she collapsed, sobbing. Rage filled her, as she realized Sai, her Sai, was murdered by the two Akatsuki. Her eyes began to glow, an eerie Iridescent sapphire blue shining from her shadowed face, she threw her head back and a beam of light shot down, enveloping her and Sai. bolts of the energy rushed to her comrades, healing any injuries.

One could see her silhouette in the center of the beam as she stood, slowly. She walked out, and everyone was shocked by what was standing in front of them. Ino's eyes were that eerie blue, glowing strongly, her blond hair had fallen from its high tail, and whipped around her, blond strands glowing with a golden aura, like the wings of a phoenix. A golden tattoo, outlined in an Egyptian blue swirled from her right eye, to her chin. (the eye with her hair covering it.)

She radiated with energy, and she stared at Hidan. A calm fury burned in her eyes, as she pointed at hi, her eyes glowing brighter.

"The Shinigami wants your soul. I want you dead. I am Yamanaka Ino, Kami's Vessel. Die."

Her chakra levels skyrocketed, and she made the ram seal. "Kami's Judgement! Unholy Binding of the Soul!"

Hidan screamed as a pain worse than he could ever have inflicted upon himself filled him. He felt as though his chakra was burning him from the inside out, melting his organs and breaking his bones. He felt like he was being torn apart, times a million. He felt his life force being ripped from him, and his body shutting down. His conscious began to fade, and his last thought was, "I shouldn't have crossed the fucking blond bitch."

Ino felt so strong, and she turned to Kakazu, Smirking. She blurred, and Kakazu staggered drunkenly. The world was spinning, he knew this was a mind technique, but he had never experienced one so real. He cursed as pain began blooming in random places before each of his hearts were ripped out. He watched, and finally accepted his death by the hands of this blond. He waited for his last heart to be ripped out, only to find himself staring into Ino's glowing eyes. Then he realized all of his wounds were healed, and she had held out her hand.

"Kami wants your soul, but you could be of use to me. It's your choice. You can Either Face Kami, or aid me in my goal, do some good and have better chances against Kami when you do pass on."

Kakazu was surprised. He knew he didn't have much time, as the look on Ino's face was bordering on impatient, so he decided to try.

"I'll go with you."

Ino smiled ferally. "I need you to stay in the Akatsuki for now, find out why the other members joined. Try to get close to Itachi, and when alone give him this scroll." she handed him a scroll, before giving him a phial. It was a blood phial, meant for blood ink. He slashed his palm and watched the blood pour in until it was full. He cupped his hand together, allowing the blood to pool. Ino slashed her hand, and did the same. When enough blood gathered, they dipped their fingers in the others blood, before making strange marks on their skin. When they were finished, Ino walked to her teammates, the glow around her beginning to abate. She stopped in front of them, and collapsed. They quickly picked her up and fled, Izumo carting the healed, but still unconscious Kotetsu alongside them. Kakazu sighed, briefly wondering what he had gotten himself into before taking Hidans body into the bounty office. After all, he had a rather large bounty on his head, and now that he was dead... he chuckled.

Ino woke to the sharp smell of the Konoha hospital, and sat up. Her head was pounding, and she felt more energized than ever. Assessing her chakra reserves, she concluded that the reason was because somehow, her chakra had tripled in size. She tried to remember what happened, and how she landed herself in the hospital. Images began sliding through her mind. The Save Asuma mission, The feeling of being followed, It went wrong? Suddenly she saw the image of Sai, nearly cut in half. She leapt up, in search of his chakra, as the memories came rushing back. He couldn't be dead. He wasn't!

She ripped the IV drip from her arm, barely noticing how it almost instantly healed. She ran through the hospital, soon finding Sai's room and opening the door. She collasped in the doorway when she saw that he was whole. He wasn't hurt. The blond found herself sobbing in relief.

She felt a hand land on her shoulder. There was the signature smell of smoke, and she sobbed harder.

"He will be okay Ino. He'll have a huge ass scar, but he will be okay. And it's thanks to you. Also, I want to thank you and Sai. If Sai hadn't shown up, and you used that power, I would have likely died and never learned of Kurenai being pregnant."

Ino smiled up at him as she picked herself up off the floor. She walked over the Sai and pulled up his hospital shirt, examining the scars. They were faint, as if they had been there for years, but they were large, and ran diagonally across his stomach. She smiled. She knew he wouldn't stop wearing those crop tops, and now he had a scar to show off when he got out of here.

She dragged the bedside chair over to him, and sat, promising not to leave his side until he woke up.

Sai groaned softly as he woke up. There was a familiar weight on his chest, and for a moment he thought he was in bed with his beautiful wife, until the familiar smell of hospital equipment entered his nose. The memories rushed back to him. He knew he should be dead, so why wasn't he? The Raven sat up slowly, expecting to feel pain, and was surprised to feel nothing. He gently lifted the sleeping blonds head and sat up, leaning against the uncomfortable bedframe. He gently laid her back down, and she sighed. Her hair shifted, and he noticed a strange mark. It was gold, yet outlined in an almost royal blue. It almost looked like one of those fake tattoos. Her eyes slid open, and he noticed the pale blue had changed to a intense sapphire. Something else must have happened on that mission.

She saw that he was awake and sat up, hugging him. She was obviously crying, her entire frame shaking. She pulled back, and anger burned in her blue orbs.

"You shouldn't have followed us! You shouldn't have been ripped open by that damned scythe! But if you hadn't, I would be dead, Asuma would be dead, and I wouldn't have gained a spy in the Akatsuki." her head landed on his chest with a thump.

Sai lifted her head and kissed her. "You're welcome beautiful. And I would do it again if it would save you. Now want to tell me why you gt more beautiful?"

Ino stared at him confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. Sai grabbed the nearest thing that had a reflective surface. Ino stared at her reflection in the surgical tray. She ran her fingers across the mark on her face, and felt it heat up slightly, as if acknowledging her. A voice in her mind seemed to whisper 'Not yet.' she could admit that she liked her eyes more, they were more Intense, filled with a certain pressure. It would be good for interrogation.

"This must have happened after I thought you had died. I had gotten angry, and then I unlocked this power. It was overwhelming. Everything was blue, and then I literally ripped out Hidan's soul and gave it to Kami. then it wore off and I passed out."

Sai sighed. His beautiful was nearly as unpredictable as Hok- Naruto.