Thawing an Icy Heart

Deep Dive.

To say there was an awkward tension between Taka and Ino, was a gross understatement. They sat opposite each other, in total silence as they sipped on their hot drinks. Neither of them wanted to look the other in the eye at this point, each of them for different reasons. Taka because he felt guilty, about calling her a Fan Girl, especially considering she blew up in his face about it. Ino because well....she found him attractive, and she had no idea what to do or what to say to him. Eventually the silence was broken as Taka began taking in the surroundings of his location, all in all.....it was actually a nice looking place. "Your place definitely beats mine." He said finally, as he looked across at Ino. "My place, is no where near as nice as this one. You Yamanaka's have done one hell of a job with it I've got to say."

Ino looked at him quizzically, her place wasn't all that great. She thought to herself, but then she had an idea. "I mean, it's not that great. It was ok growing up, but it wasn't anything special. Actually I bet where you grew up was better than this place!" Taka couldn't help but flinch at the memory of where he grew up, or rather where he didn't grow up. His eyes darted away from Ino's now, and refused to look back at her. "I didn't....I didn't really have a place like this to grow up, Me, Haku and Zabuza were always on the move, because of the bounty on Zabuza's head. So we never settled at all, and we just went from place to place. Job to job. Learning how to survive, and use any techniques we were taught by Zabuza to get by." Ino's face flushed a crimson hue, as she realised she had just touched a very sore subject with Taka. Which made her ache even more, when she saw the look on his face as he described his childhood. However vague it was, it still broke her heart listening to it.

"I'm back!" Inoichi soon entered the room, and could feel the negative atmosphere surrounding the pair of them. "Everything alright?" He looked from Ino to Taka and back to Ino again, trying to see what exactly had happened. Taka was the one to break the tension, turning to face Inoichi before speaking. "Everything is fine Sir, just remembering something from my past. Just upset me a little bit is all." With that Taka rose to his feet, and made his approach to Inoichi, with Ino watching on. She couldn't help but wonder what other traumatic things has Taka been through in his life. "You know why we're here Inoichi, I don't like it and I know you don't either. So let's get this done, and then I can get back to helping the village. Now, tell me where to go." Straight to the point....I can appreciate that. Inoichi thought to himself, before motioning Taka to sit himself down. Taka obliged at took his seat, with Inoichi now standing behind him. "Relax. I need you to open your mind up for me, so that I can access your memories easier, and so that I don't need to force my way in either. You're right though, we both know this is Danzo's doing. But we have to do as the Hokage wishes. Ok here we go. Are you ready Taka?"

Taka took a deep breath in, before exhaling out. Giving the Yamanaka Male a nod, before he felt his mind being invaded and everything went to black.