Room 219, Friday Evening
"Mr. Winkles...?"
Zack had a problem.
"Mr. Winkles!?"
It was, even though it was a small problem, also something of a serious one, so far as Zack was concerned.
"Where are you?!"
Because, if you were Zack Fair, misplacing your pet gerbil was seriously a horrible thing to have happen, indeed.
Ino
Her head hurt (practicing for hours with her mind did that) and once she'd gotten too antsy to want to focus, she'd gone searching for some food (happily obtained) and then some entertainment.
Of which, well, she hadn't really found.
Which lead to Ino wandering down the hall where Zack's room was to see if he'd want to practice with her--it was getting a bit warmer, maybe they could try the synchronizing they'd done before with her on the water and him on the beach again--when she heard him, well, spazzing.
She leaned in his doorway, one eyebrow quirked. "Something wrong, Zack?"
Unspoken went the 'can I help?' but she figured he'd get it anyway.
Zack
She would have to forgive him, somewhere down the road, for the attack of the puppyface that he was breaking out right now. It was completely involuntary, honest.
"My gerbil is missing," he whined explained whined. "I had him out in his ball for a bit, and the door was open, and now I can't find him anywhere."
Honestly, how far could a gerbil possibly get, rolling around in a little plastic sphere?
Ino
... It was totally unfair that use of puppyface.
Ino's eyebrow twitched. She could already guess where this was going to lead for her.
What? There was no way she could walk away from an expression like that.
"I didn't see him in the hall," Ino said, pushing away from the door. Glancing down the hall to confirm that--nope, no gerbil. "When did you see him last?"
Zack
Zack pointed at the empty space on the floor that was well and truly devoid of rodent.
"I think maybe he made his way out there somewhere. I mean he could have. He's a really active gerbil, you know? He could be anywhere now, and all I know is that he's not here."
Ino
Ino bit her tongue on the first response she came up with.
Do you know the difference between when and where?
Probably not a good thing to say to Zack right now even if it was just a gerbil he was upset over. Zack wasn't supposed to be upset in the first place.
"Really active," she said, sighing. "Well, why are you standing in here then? There's a whole building to search."
This was not how she'd wanted to spend her evening. Ino wasn't going to complain where he could notice even a smidgen of her dismay.
Zack
Distraught puppy did not know much, really! He just knew that his fuzzy rat was missing!
"Right! I'll take the common rooms, and-" He blinked, wide-eyed. "What if he rolled down the stairs? He could be anywhere from here down to the basement! Or he might have even rolled out the front door!"
Pardon him, Ino. Zack was in dire need of a good squeak-and-flail.
Ino
"There's snow outside," Ino pointed out logically, over his flailing. "If he went out in his ball then he wouldn't have gotten far. The snow would stop him, or he'd have to follow the path. That's easy enough to check."
She hoped.
"How 'bout I go check that, the first floor and then, if I haven't found him, I'll check the basement? You can check the other floors."
Ino doubted, severely, that Mr. Winkles had made it up the stairs but it was something to do. Surely that would work.
Zack
Zack nodded. It was one of those short, quick nods that went very well with the squeaking and the flailing and the worry.
How in the world had Zack managed to get himself so emotionally invested in a gerbil, anyhow?
"That- That sounds like a good idea," he replied, and then made his way out into the hallway. "Mr. Winkles!!"
Ino
How in the world indeed, Ino thought, as she stared down the stairs to the basement and sighed.
She'd checked outside: nothing.
She'd checked the first floor: nothing.
"You're so not worth this, Mr. Winkles," she muttered, stalking down the stairs. Zack, on the other hand, was. Even if she thought all the fuss was a bit much. Kusanagi never gave her problems like this.
Ino continued her muttering as she systematically worked her way through the storerooms--nice to know that they were using down here for something, she supposed--did a quick search of the pool.
And yes, she'd checked to make sure Mr. Winkles hadn't managed to drown himself. Ino wouldn't have wanted to be the one to tell Zack that but luckily he wasn't in the pool at all. Thank goodness.
She crossed her arms and eyed the ajar door to the boiler room in the very back of the basement. "Seriously?"
Ugh. Stupid idiot boys and their idiot pets and how unfair was it that she had to do everything--and yet, she hadn't said this to Zack and wouldn't because it was Zack and so she was going to do it--and how Zack had better appreciate this because Mr. Winkles wasn't going to...
She gingerly began poking her way through the boiler room. It was hot. It was dark.
How was she supposed to find anything in here?
Mr. Winkles
From somewhere up above, in the dark, dank recesses of the boiler room, a tiny-yet-imposing figure in a protective sphere was lurking. Waiting. Watching.
Try to send him back to his imprisonment? No. No, he would never tolerate such a thing.
That was why he was scrabbling inside of his little ball for all that he was worth. That was why at precisely the moment that Ino passed by underneath him, the loose brick that he was fighting with toppled down into the darkness of the boiler room below.
A mere human, take away the freedom of the mighty Mr. Winkles?
NEVER.
Ino
In the dark, she could make out shapes. Make out outlines.
With the noise, Ino could hear hardly anything. Not over the roaring of the boiler. She missed the scrabbling of little paws. Missed the scrape of brick on brick.
The dark, the noise, the stifling heat that made her thoughts syrupy and slow conspired against her, leaving her unaware of the brick coming for her head.
Years of training and ninja reflexes and pure unadulterated instinct were what saved her from being killed. Just barely. Getting her an inch to the side, just in time.
The brick cracked her, not dead on, but grazing her temple instead with a hollow twack.
Ino tumbled into empty darkness as consciousness fled, her body crumpling to the floor.
She'd be out for awhile.
[Establishypants! Preplayed with the lovely flowering_mind, who also coded this sucker up for me. Open if anyone wants to run into Zack in the hallway, certainly, but it is probably best to leave sleeping Inos be.]
Zack had a problem.
"Mr. Winkles!?"
It was, even though it was a small problem, also something of a serious one, so far as Zack was concerned.
"Where are you?!"
Because, if you were Zack Fair, misplacing your pet gerbil was seriously a horrible thing to have happen, indeed.
Ino
Her head hurt (practicing for hours with her mind did that) and once she'd gotten too antsy to want to focus, she'd gone searching for some food (happily obtained) and then some entertainment.
Of which, well, she hadn't really found.
Which lead to Ino wandering down the hall where Zack's room was to see if he'd want to practice with her--it was getting a bit warmer, maybe they could try the synchronizing they'd done before with her on the water and him on the beach again--when she heard him, well, spazzing.
She leaned in his doorway, one eyebrow quirked. "Something wrong, Zack?"
Unspoken went the 'can I help?' but she figured he'd get it anyway.
Zack
She would have to forgive him, somewhere down the road, for the attack of the puppyface that he was breaking out right now. It was completely involuntary, honest.
"My gerbil is missing," he whined explained whined. "I had him out in his ball for a bit, and the door was open, and now I can't find him anywhere."
Honestly, how far could a gerbil possibly get, rolling around in a little plastic sphere?
Ino
... It was totally unfair that use of puppyface.
Ino's eyebrow twitched. She could already guess where this was going to lead for her.
What? There was no way she could walk away from an expression like that.
"I didn't see him in the hall," Ino said, pushing away from the door. Glancing down the hall to confirm that--nope, no gerbil. "When did you see him last?"
Zack
Zack pointed at the empty space on the floor that was well and truly devoid of rodent.
"I think maybe he made his way out there somewhere. I mean he could have. He's a really active gerbil, you know? He could be anywhere now, and all I know is that he's not here."
Ino
Ino bit her tongue on the first response she came up with.
Do you know the difference between when and where?
Probably not a good thing to say to Zack right now even if it was just a gerbil he was upset over. Zack wasn't supposed to be upset in the first place.
"Really active," she said, sighing. "Well, why are you standing in here then? There's a whole building to search."
This was not how she'd wanted to spend her evening. Ino wasn't going to complain where he could notice even a smidgen of her dismay.
Zack
Distraught puppy did not know much, really! He just knew that his fuzzy rat was missing!
"Right! I'll take the common rooms, and-" He blinked, wide-eyed. "What if he rolled down the stairs? He could be anywhere from here down to the basement! Or he might have even rolled out the front door!"
Pardon him, Ino. Zack was in dire need of a good squeak-and-flail.
Ino
"There's snow outside," Ino pointed out logically, over his flailing. "If he went out in his ball then he wouldn't have gotten far. The snow would stop him, or he'd have to follow the path. That's easy enough to check."
She hoped.
"How 'bout I go check that, the first floor and then, if I haven't found him, I'll check the basement? You can check the other floors."
Ino doubted, severely, that Mr. Winkles had made it up the stairs but it was something to do. Surely that would work.
Zack
Zack nodded. It was one of those short, quick nods that went very well with the squeaking and the flailing and the worry.
How in the world had Zack managed to get himself so emotionally invested in a gerbil, anyhow?
"That- That sounds like a good idea," he replied, and then made his way out into the hallway. "Mr. Winkles!!"
Ino
How in the world indeed, Ino thought, as she stared down the stairs to the basement and sighed.
She'd checked outside: nothing.
She'd checked the first floor: nothing.
"You're so not worth this, Mr. Winkles," she muttered, stalking down the stairs. Zack, on the other hand, was. Even if she thought all the fuss was a bit much. Kusanagi never gave her problems like this.
Ino continued her muttering as she systematically worked her way through the storerooms--nice to know that they were using down here for something, she supposed--did a quick search of the pool.
And yes, she'd checked to make sure Mr. Winkles hadn't managed to drown himself. Ino wouldn't have wanted to be the one to tell Zack that but luckily he wasn't in the pool at all. Thank goodness.
She crossed her arms and eyed the ajar door to the boiler room in the very back of the basement. "Seriously?"
Ugh. Stupid idiot boys and their idiot pets and how unfair was it that she had to do everything--and yet, she hadn't said this to Zack and wouldn't because it was Zack and so she was going to do it--and how Zack had better appreciate this because Mr. Winkles wasn't going to...
She gingerly began poking her way through the boiler room. It was hot. It was dark.
How was she supposed to find anything in here?
Mr. Winkles
From somewhere up above, in the dark, dank recesses of the boiler room, a tiny-yet-imposing figure in a protective sphere was lurking. Waiting. Watching.
Try to send him back to his imprisonment? No. No, he would never tolerate such a thing.
That was why he was scrabbling inside of his little ball for all that he was worth. That was why at precisely the moment that Ino passed by underneath him, the loose brick that he was fighting with toppled down into the darkness of the boiler room below.
A mere human, take away the freedom of the mighty Mr. Winkles?
NEVER.
Ino
In the dark, she could make out shapes. Make out outlines.
With the noise, Ino could hear hardly anything. Not over the roaring of the boiler. She missed the scrabbling of little paws. Missed the scrape of brick on brick.
The dark, the noise, the stifling heat that made her thoughts syrupy and slow conspired against her, leaving her unaware of the brick coming for her head.
Years of training and ninja reflexes and pure unadulterated instinct were what saved her from being killed. Just barely. Getting her an inch to the side, just in time.
The brick cracked her, not dead on, but grazing her temple instead with a hollow twack.
Ino tumbled into empty darkness as consciousness fled, her body crumpling to the floor.
She'd be out for awhile.
[Establishypants! Preplayed with the lovely flowering_mind, who also coded this sucker up for me. Open if anyone wants to run into Zack in the hallway, certainly, but it is probably best to leave sleeping Inos be.]