kiba/ino | naruto | T/pg-13
Title: Excelling
Author: muchenthusiasm
Rating: T
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Kiba/Ino
Summary: So what if she couldn't use Byakugan? So what if she wasn't a talented medic nin? So what if she wasn't a weapon specialist? She was Ino Yamanaka, goddammit, and she would find out what she excelled at and nothing would stop her.
Warning: Spoilers up to when Naruto comes back. Nothing much after that; Rookie Nine is 16.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto~
Notes: A short one-shot.
"I give up!" Ino shouted, throwing her hands in the air. She pushed the jigsaw puzzle off the table carelessly and nonchalantly walked out of her parent's house. Her father raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Women, he thought, a small smile on his face.
Ino was seething as she marched to her family's flower shop, dressed in her kunoichi clothing. Those closest to her in the street avoided making eye contact with her, sensing her anger. It was a gift for kunoichi to make it known when they were angry and none did it better than Sakura Haruno and her mentor, Tsunade. Ino couldn't even excel at getting angry!
And this all started because of Kiba Inuzuka. Ugh, how she despised him; he just had to bring up the fact that she was exceptional at anything except picking flowers, which anybody could do. For the past two days she'd been trying to figure out what she could do better than anybody with no avail. The jigsaw was the last straw, and she was going to the one place that could put an end to her foul mood.
"Hey, Blondie! Find anything yer great at yet?" Oh, great, just what she needed. She hadn't even entered the flower shop yet.
"Go away, you mangy mutt," Ino said, entering the flower shop. Her mother waved, then stopped when she saw Kiba enter after her. She rolled her eyes and went into the back to give them some sort of privacy.
"Two things," Kiba said. "One: it's a legit question. And two: call me that again and I'll put you in yer place."
"I'd like to see you try, mangy mutt," Ino said, sticking her tongue out at him. Akamaru growled at her. Kiba smirked and patted his head.
"Good boy," Kiba said. Ino glared at him. "So?"
"For your information," Ino paused. "No, I have not." She went over to a counter and began stuffing a vase with soil.
"Oh? C'mon, you have to be good at something." Kiba walked over to where she was and leaned over the counter. He, admittedly, was stealing glances at her body. He may not be fond of her, but she was hot; not to the point where he couldn't stop thinking about her, but to the point that every time they were together, he couldn't stop imagining her naked.
"Yeah, well, I haven't found it yet," Ino said. She knew she was good at her Mind Transfer jutsu, but she wasn't great at it.
"Have you tried being a stripper? You have such a nice body." Kiba taunted, licking his lips and laughing madly.
"Kiba Inuzuka!" Ino shouted, hitting him over the head with the vase. "God, sometimes, UGH!" She began to pummel him. She considered herself lucky that Akamaru wasn't concerned for his master's well-being; he was a huge dog now.
"Hey! Ow! Hey! Kidding! I was kidding!" Ino wasn't listening to him. Hitting him put her in a better mood. Then suddenly, she stopped, horrified. What if she wasn't good at anything? What if she was just mediocre at everything?
"No!" Ino shouted. Kiba just looked at her. "I'll ask Lee! He'll help me!" She ran out of the flower shop. Kiba watched her, then when she was out of sight, looked down at Akamaru.
"Hah, so much for being loyal to yer master," Kiba said, shaking his head. "Well, we better go after her. You know, to make sure Lee doesn't make her into an overly optimistic freak." Akamaru rolled his eyes. They both knew that wasn't the reason.
"Lee!" Ino called, spotting the younger version of Gai running down the street. "Lee, look, I'm glad I caught you. I need your help."
"What's wrong, Ino-chan?" Lee asked.
"I need to find out what I'm good at, but I don't know where to start," Ino said. "Please, I've tried doing it on my own and it didn't work. So, I figured-"
"That you needed youthful help!" Lee shouted cheerfully. "Do not worry, Ino-chan, I will help you! And if I fail, I will run 400 laps around Konoha with Choji on my back!"
"Thanks!" Ino said. Kiba, hiding behind some trash cans, shook his head.
"This girl needs to know a joke when she hears one," Kiba said to Akamaru. He barked in agreement.
Four hours later, Ino learned that she was not good at taijutsu, running for long periods of time, standing on her head for more than ten minutes, or playing Hide-and-Seek with Lee. Then again, she doubted anybody could be good at that game. Still, she felt even worse than she had four hours earlier.
"I am sorry, Ino-chan," Lee said. "I have failed you! I will never forgive myself!"
"No, Lee... I failed," Ino said, sighing. "Maybe Kiba was right. Maybe I'm not exceptional at anything... all I am is good at things, passable."
"Do not give up, Ino!" Lee said. "That is not the Ino Yamanaka I know! I believe in you!"
"Thanks, Lee," Ino said, smiling slightly. "See you around."
"Goodbye!" Lee said before running off into the sunset to do whatever it was that Lee did. Ino sighed and sat down on a bench, elbows on her thighs. She looked at the ground, wondering why she was so hung up on finding what she was great at. It never really bothered her before.
"Hey," Kiba said, sitting next to her. Akamaru kept his distance.
"What do you want, dog boy?" Ino asked, shooting him a glare. This was all his fault.
"I was only kidding about what I said," he said. Ino sat up straighter.
"What makes you think this is about what you said?" Ino asked, pride strong in her voice. Kiba smirked. He had to hand it to her; she was a master at keeping her pride intact.
"Stop kidding yerself," Kiba said. "Yer all hung up about what I said because you want to impress me. I get it, it's cool. You don't have -" Ino didn't let him finish. She punched him square in the jaw. He heard it crack but it still moved normally; he could get it looked at tomorrow.
"What was that for!?" Kiba shouted.
"You-you-UGH!" Ino punched him again, this time in the arm. "I never want to - UGH! You! Kiba Inuzuka are the most self-centered, disgusting boy I know!"
"Aw, but that's why you love me," Kiba said, batting his lashes at her. Ino rewarded him with another punch, but this time he caught it.
"Bastard!" Ino exclaimed, standing up and walking away. Kiba walked up behind her and smacked her on the ass. Ino turned red.
"C'mon, Ino, I was just kidding - flower picking is an exceptional skill." He couldn't run fast enough to escape her and after only two feet, she straddled him and began beating him with such speed and power that Kiba wasn't sure he'd be able to get up on his own. Akamaru was howling - literally - with laughter.
"You-" Hard punch to the face. "-miserable-" Throat punch this time. "-self-centered-" right cheek. "-excuse-" left cheek. "-for-" nose. "-a-" right cheek again. "-man!" She finished off with a strong punch to the nose, with just a little chakra infused.
"Hey!" Kiba shouted, holding her fists. His face was bloody and he was sure his nose was broken. "You forgot disgusting." He raised his eyebrows.
"UGH!" He wouldn't admit this to her face, but he was sure she excelled at being the most beautiful kunoichi in all of Konoha, possibly even the entire Fire Nation.
Author: muchenthusiasm
Rating: T
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Kiba/Ino
Summary: So what if she couldn't use Byakugan? So what if she wasn't a talented medic nin? So what if she wasn't a weapon specialist? She was Ino Yamanaka, goddammit, and she would find out what she excelled at and nothing would stop her.
Warning: Spoilers up to when Naruto comes back. Nothing much after that; Rookie Nine is 16.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto~
Notes: A short one-shot.
"I give up!" Ino shouted, throwing her hands in the air. She pushed the jigsaw puzzle off the table carelessly and nonchalantly walked out of her parent's house. Her father raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Women, he thought, a small smile on his face.
Ino was seething as she marched to her family's flower shop, dressed in her kunoichi clothing. Those closest to her in the street avoided making eye contact with her, sensing her anger. It was a gift for kunoichi to make it known when they were angry and none did it better than Sakura Haruno and her mentor, Tsunade. Ino couldn't even excel at getting angry!
And this all started because of Kiba Inuzuka. Ugh, how she despised him; he just had to bring up the fact that she was exceptional at anything except picking flowers, which anybody could do. For the past two days she'd been trying to figure out what she could do better than anybody with no avail. The jigsaw was the last straw, and she was going to the one place that could put an end to her foul mood.
"Hey, Blondie! Find anything yer great at yet?" Oh, great, just what she needed. She hadn't even entered the flower shop yet.
"Go away, you mangy mutt," Ino said, entering the flower shop. Her mother waved, then stopped when she saw Kiba enter after her. She rolled her eyes and went into the back to give them some sort of privacy.
"Two things," Kiba said. "One: it's a legit question. And two: call me that again and I'll put you in yer place."
"I'd like to see you try, mangy mutt," Ino said, sticking her tongue out at him. Akamaru growled at her. Kiba smirked and patted his head.
"Good boy," Kiba said. Ino glared at him. "So?"
"For your information," Ino paused. "No, I have not." She went over to a counter and began stuffing a vase with soil.
"Oh? C'mon, you have to be good at something." Kiba walked over to where she was and leaned over the counter. He, admittedly, was stealing glances at her body. He may not be fond of her, but she was hot; not to the point where he couldn't stop thinking about her, but to the point that every time they were together, he couldn't stop imagining her naked.
"Yeah, well, I haven't found it yet," Ino said. She knew she was good at her Mind Transfer jutsu, but she wasn't great at it.
"Have you tried being a stripper? You have such a nice body." Kiba taunted, licking his lips and laughing madly.
"Kiba Inuzuka!" Ino shouted, hitting him over the head with the vase. "God, sometimes, UGH!" She began to pummel him. She considered herself lucky that Akamaru wasn't concerned for his master's well-being; he was a huge dog now.
"Hey! Ow! Hey! Kidding! I was kidding!" Ino wasn't listening to him. Hitting him put her in a better mood. Then suddenly, she stopped, horrified. What if she wasn't good at anything? What if she was just mediocre at everything?
"No!" Ino shouted. Kiba just looked at her. "I'll ask Lee! He'll help me!" She ran out of the flower shop. Kiba watched her, then when she was out of sight, looked down at Akamaru.
"Hah, so much for being loyal to yer master," Kiba said, shaking his head. "Well, we better go after her. You know, to make sure Lee doesn't make her into an overly optimistic freak." Akamaru rolled his eyes. They both knew that wasn't the reason.
"Lee!" Ino called, spotting the younger version of Gai running down the street. "Lee, look, I'm glad I caught you. I need your help."
"What's wrong, Ino-chan?" Lee asked.
"I need to find out what I'm good at, but I don't know where to start," Ino said. "Please, I've tried doing it on my own and it didn't work. So, I figured-"
"That you needed youthful help!" Lee shouted cheerfully. "Do not worry, Ino-chan, I will help you! And if I fail, I will run 400 laps around Konoha with Choji on my back!"
"Thanks!" Ino said. Kiba, hiding behind some trash cans, shook his head.
"This girl needs to know a joke when she hears one," Kiba said to Akamaru. He barked in agreement.
Four hours later, Ino learned that she was not good at taijutsu, running for long periods of time, standing on her head for more than ten minutes, or playing Hide-and-Seek with Lee. Then again, she doubted anybody could be good at that game. Still, she felt even worse than she had four hours earlier.
"I am sorry, Ino-chan," Lee said. "I have failed you! I will never forgive myself!"
"No, Lee... I failed," Ino said, sighing. "Maybe Kiba was right. Maybe I'm not exceptional at anything... all I am is good at things, passable."
"Do not give up, Ino!" Lee said. "That is not the Ino Yamanaka I know! I believe in you!"
"Thanks, Lee," Ino said, smiling slightly. "See you around."
"Goodbye!" Lee said before running off into the sunset to do whatever it was that Lee did. Ino sighed and sat down on a bench, elbows on her thighs. She looked at the ground, wondering why she was so hung up on finding what she was great at. It never really bothered her before.
"Hey," Kiba said, sitting next to her. Akamaru kept his distance.
"What do you want, dog boy?" Ino asked, shooting him a glare. This was all his fault.
"I was only kidding about what I said," he said. Ino sat up straighter.
"What makes you think this is about what you said?" Ino asked, pride strong in her voice. Kiba smirked. He had to hand it to her; she was a master at keeping her pride intact.
"Stop kidding yerself," Kiba said. "Yer all hung up about what I said because you want to impress me. I get it, it's cool. You don't have -" Ino didn't let him finish. She punched him square in the jaw. He heard it crack but it still moved normally; he could get it looked at tomorrow.
"What was that for!?" Kiba shouted.
"You-you-UGH!" Ino punched him again, this time in the arm. "I never want to - UGH! You! Kiba Inuzuka are the most self-centered, disgusting boy I know!"
"Aw, but that's why you love me," Kiba said, batting his lashes at her. Ino rewarded him with another punch, but this time he caught it.
"Bastard!" Ino exclaimed, standing up and walking away. Kiba walked up behind her and smacked her on the ass. Ino turned red.
"C'mon, Ino, I was just kidding - flower picking is an exceptional skill." He couldn't run fast enough to escape her and after only two feet, she straddled him and began beating him with such speed and power that Kiba wasn't sure he'd be able to get up on his own. Akamaru was howling - literally - with laughter.
"You-" Hard punch to the face. "-miserable-" Throat punch this time. "-self-centered-" right cheek. "-excuse-" left cheek. "-for-" nose. "-a-" right cheek again. "-man!" She finished off with a strong punch to the nose, with just a little chakra infused.
"Hey!" Kiba shouted, holding her fists. His face was bloody and he was sure his nose was broken. "You forgot disgusting." He raised his eyebrows.
"UGH!" He wouldn't admit this to her face, but he was sure she excelled at being the most beautiful kunoichi in all of Konoha, possibly even the entire Fire Nation.