chuunin_archive | Anatomy (of a Butterfly)

Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Chouji/Ino
Prompt: Wings (Sacrifice)
Word Count: 500
Rating: K+
Warnings: dark themes
Summary: Bitterness slid down Chouji's throat as he looked back at Ino, the red pill getting stuck on her tears.

He held her hand, while his other gripped a hidden pocket inside his kimono, and the couple ran. The temporary retreat was a necessity. They had been ambushed on their way home from a much-needed holiday and were not expecting to go on an offensive. That was not to say they were unprepared; a ninja is always at the ready. But strategy had to be accounted for.

The blonde, his wife of three years and counting, was ailing at the moment, sluggish despite her usually nimble feet and unable to steady her chakra. Tsunade had given a prescription of rest, administered with a smile, and taken Ino off the active duty roster. Chouji was not yet privy to the details of the examination, but he was assured that everything was fine. That reassurance did little to comfort him in their current situation.

Their assailant was in Chouji's bingo book, a rogue-nin known for his genetic experiments on kunoichi of child-bearing age. The perversions he afflicted were enough that even the Bloody Mist was ashamed to call him its own. The shinobi had yet to speak a word, but Chouji knew that Ino was his mark. Pressure gnawed at his husband-heart.

Three pills.

Chouji had never used them in her presence before. He knew that she feared them, afraid that they would be the cause of him slipping through this life and into the next without her. Conversely, though he did want to save her that anguish, the thought of using them before her brought up old insecurities for Chouji.

What if she preferred this form instead?

With no other options, Chouji turned to fight. His wife looked on, her horror shown in the slight widening of her eyes, as he swallowed the small sphere of green. It wasn't nearly enough. His opponent had taijutsu to rival that of Lee, or even Gai, and targeted Ino often, forcing Chouji to sacrifice his body to protect hers.

Two pills.

The yellow one went down more easily than the first and the change in Chouji's ability took the other by surprise. With every blow landed, Ino's face lit up with more hope. The rout was nearly complete before the rogue-nin finally played his last card and turned the tides again.

One pill.

Bitterness slid down Chouji's throat as he looked back at Ino, the red pill getting stuck on her tears. The man had no time to fathom the husband's newly found speed or strength; the deviant's head was crushed in the next instant. The emaciated man gently lifted his wife and sped through the forest on the last of his chakra.

He got them within sensing range of Konoha and Ino, with much strain, sent a mental plea to her father, but Chouji was already floating away. The blonde grabbed his too-thin hand and covered her belly with it, whispering frantically into his ear. Her words grounded him and made him soar all at once.

You're going to be a father.