Sky on Fire: Slow Burn - Chapter 4 Part 1
Title: Slow Burn
Chapter: 04 Reformation
Author/Artist: Skylar Inari
Pairing: Yamanaka Ino/Nara Shikamaru
Theme: 46 - brick wall
Word Count: 8051
Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. It's Kishimoto's and I just play with it. AU immediately after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Part 4 of ? Unbeta’d.
In the end, she sought out Tenten. Having worked with the older kunoichi for a few weeks had given the both of them more than enough time to get to know each other. With this knowledge Ino wasn’t surprised to find Tenten out training so early in the morning. She had considered going and seeing if Sakura would be up and willing to train before remembering that her friend had mentioned having to be at the hospital by four during the next few weeks because Hokage-sama had upped her training. Ino had attempted to work on her taijutsu, but her concentration had been so scattered that she’d quickly given it up as a lost cause.
Her mind kept straying back to the fact that Team 10 was reforming tomorrow and that her primary emotion was dread.
“Hey,” Ino called to Tenten after a few moments of watching the other girl fling kunai with frightening precision at targets on the other end of the field. It was a larger training area than the one that Team 10 used - but that made sense considering Maito-san’s specialty, and the fact that all three of his Genin were better suited to all out warfare. Tenten with her weapons, Neji with his Kaiten, and Lee’s advanced taijutsu. “Almost finished warming up?”
“Give me a few minutes!” Tenten called back as the older girl flipped into the air and let loose with a barrage of kunai.
Ino was more than happy to let her friend finish up. It gave her time to go through a few more stretches, knowing that if she didn't then she’d be in a great deal of pain. Tenten was capable of far more than she was doing right then and there.
“What’s up?” Tenten asked once she was done. Ino helped her pick up the scattered weapons, wondering all the while how the older girl managed to fit them all in her clothes.
“You were doing pretty good.” Ino drawled with a challenging glint in her eyes, as she brought an armful of kunai over to Tenten, “But it is hard to miss a stationary target, after all. Care for a more interesting one?”
Tenten looked her up and down, a speculative glint in her eyes, “You offering?”
“Surely I’m a bit more challenging than a bunch of wooden targets. I won’t even use ninjutsu.” Ino said with a shrug of her shoulders, “Just don’t hit my face, okay?” Kunai to the face weren’t Ino’s idea of a good time.
Tenten laughed, “Vain to a fault, little sparrow? I’ll try not to hit your precious face. How long?”
“An hour.” Ino said firmly, knowing that she’d be exhausted by the end of it. Tenten’s answering nod was respectful - after all, an hour was no small bit of time. The two girls leapt apart.
The first kunai came after that, quickly and without warning.
Ino flung herself to the side and found that she wasn’t even given the chance to make sure her footing was secure before she had to move again. Narrowly dodging a kunai aimed at her torso, Ino went down into a roll to try and put some distance between the two of them while making herself as small a target as possible. Kawarimi no Jutsu would have been easier but she’d never get better at dodging if she didn’t work on it.
Then there wasn’t time to think as Tenten launched three kunai at her and Ino was forced to jump over them, only to have to twist her body to escape a second volley. She landed badly and scrambling to regain her balance flung herself backwards, without dignity, to avoid the projectiles. One managed to cut her arm. Wincing at the sudden sting, Ino was well aware that all it would take was one miscalculation, however small, and she could wind up in the hospital.
The hour passed and by the end of it Ino was sore and bloody. Her arms and legs were streaked with blood from the numerous cuts and scratches Tenten had inflicted on her. Ino touched a particularly nasty one on her cheek - Tenten had been aiming for her neck and Ino had dodged the wrong way - and sank to her knees.
“You alright?” Tenten asked Ino as the other girl started gathering up her weapons. Tenten waved her off when Ino made a move to get up and help. “Stay there.”
“I’m fine.” Ino said after a brief moment of taking stock of her wounds. “The deepest one is on my cheek - though I’ll need some help bandaging all of them.”
None of the wounds were serious, and Ino had enough antibacterial lotion at home to kill any infection that tried to show its head, but she didn’t think walking around Konoha looking like she’d just come out of a battle would do anyone good. She wouldn’t be able to do anything about the blood that had stained her outfit, but at least bandaging the injuries would (hopefully) keep it from looking quite so bad. It had only been training after all, and she didn’t want to alarm anyone just because she was too slow while dodging.
“You didn’t do that badly,” Tenten told her a while later as they sat on a fallen log and worked on cleaning the grit out of the cuts, “Not bad at all for a first try.”
“I didn’t even have the time to think about attacking you directly.” Ino said ruefully, wincing at bit at the sting of the antiseptic, “It was all ‘run, run, run’.”
“Well, Neji’s got an unfair advantage with his eyes - and few of us could hit Lee’s speed. I wasn’t going easy on you.” Tenten said seriously as she wound a length of clean cloth around Ino’s right leg. “By the end of it I was getting pretty tired as well - it’s not that often that I get a chance to work on my endurance that way.”
Ino had to admit that that made her feel better about the amount of minor injuries that she’d sustained. “Then it was good training for the both of us.” Tying off a bandage on her upper arm, Ino laughed, “Though it’s a bit embarrassing how bad I am at dodging.”
“We can do it again,” Tenten offered, working on the other leg while Ino dealt with the cut on her face. “Not right now of course - but later. So long as you don’t mind the continued threat to your face.”
Ino rolled her eyes, then winced as the wet cloth she was using came away scarlet. “You did great - not your fault that I dodged the way I did.”
“That’s good.” Tenten handed her another cloth, “I wasn’t looking forward to explaining to your team why I was flinging kunai at you in the first place if you'd wound up in the hospital. Sorry about your face though. I did try, little sparrow.”
“It’s not that bad, and it won’t scar.” Ino had no intentions of letting it go unhealed long enough for that to happen - she knew that Shizune-sensei would be willing to heal it for her. A kunoichi’s face was a deadly weapon in the right circumstances and all that.
“Now,” Tenten said as they finished the rest of the cuts, “Why on earth are you out here so I can fling kunai at you? Not your usual routine, though I don’t mind the company with Lee and Gai-sensei off on a training mission to get Lee back up to speed.”
Ino stared at her hands, wiping at the dried blood on them with one of the cloths, “I got my notice of Reformation.” She said flatly.
To her surprise, Tenten nodded understandingly, “You’ve been fine on your own and now you don’t want to go back to them, right?”
“It isn’t that I don’t want to see them - or work with them - but I’ve just come so far on my own and with Shikamaru on my team… “ Ino didn’t have to elaborate further. Tenten had gotten more than one earful of Ino’s complaints about Shikamaru while they’d been together at the Academy.
“Well,” the older kunoichi said with a displeased twist of her lips, “If you’ve gotten your notice then I assume I’ll be getting one soon enough. Won’t that be a wonderful thing?”
Ino winced. She wasn’t the only one that was going to have a few troubles getting along with her team - it was good to be reminded of that. “What’s with you and Neji anyway?” She asked the question hesitantly, not sure if it was her place to ask. After all, from what she’d seen, it was primarily a Clan affair.
“He’s one of the prime candidates for Hinata’s marriage.” Tenten kicked at a rock, sending it flying, “I know he doesn’t want to marry her - but he won’t say anything about it because ‘it for the good of the Clan’ and it’s driving me mad.”
“I thought that their fathers were brothers though? Isn’t that cutting it a bit fine?” Genetics weren’t her strong point but that didn’t sound like it would be healthy.
“Apparently what matters most is skill,” Tenten shook her head and sighed, “I really like him, you know, but…”
“But what?” Ino asked sympathetically. Neji was easy on the eyes - it wasn’t hard to see where a crush might have come from and Ino had to admit to having entertained a few thoughts of him during the Chuunin Exam, before he’d nearly killed Hinata.
“It’s like he doesn’t care enough to stand up and object when he doesn’t want to do something. I know that he’s the most likely candidate - no one else can match his talent after all - but he doesn’t see that's just going to happen unless he takes a stand. And it’s killing Hinata, you know how she’s like. She’d never stand up to her father.”
There wasn’t much that Ino could say to that. “Who is the boy she likes?” Ino asked suddenly, “Could he do anything about this? Get her to stand up for herself?”
Tenten laughed, “Unleashing Naruto in this mess would only make things worse.”
“Naruto?” Ino squeaked, “That’s who Hinata likes?”
“She’s liked him for years.” Tenten confirmed, taking a sip of a nearly empty canteen, “It took me hours to pry it out of her beyond descriptions of how he’s ‘strong’, and ‘brave’ and ‘kind’.”
Ino had to admit that in the Academy both of them had been below her attention - Hinata had been nice enough, but was so shy and Naruto had been the class idiot and a boy to boot. Neither of them had been in Ino’s social circle. Though Ino hadn’t thought that Hinata would go for a boy like Naruto. She’d been thinking of someone with… well, more class. Naruto was a good guy, she was willing to admit, but he didn’t have that much going for him.
“I’ll give him strong.” Ino conceded, “Brave too if it’s the same as ‘stupid’ and ‘reckless’. Where does she get kind from though?”
“He’s always been patient with her.” Tenten said softly, “It’s kind of sweet to watch them try to talk to each other.”
Ino considered that thoughtfully, “How long is this marriage stuff supposed to take?”
“Years.” Tenten took a sip from her canteen, “They just start negotiations early in the Hyuuga Clan.”
“Think Naruto would be good for Hinata?” Ino asked casually, a plan starting to form in the back of her head. She’d need to get Sakura to do most of the talking to Naruto though. Ino didn’t know him well enough.
Tenten considered it, “I don’t know the boy that well - but from what I’ve heard he’s a good guy, and if Hinata likes him I’m willing to believe that. What do you have in mind?”
Ino leaned closer, her dread about her team giving way to enthusiasm as she explained her plan. “Well, first part goes to Sakura - Naruto knows her the best so he’s most likely to do what she says - and then you’ll be the one to talk to Hinata when… ”
---
There were times when being the Hokage was alright. Most of the time though, Tsunade found herself longing for the day that she could turn the whole job over to Naruto and then point and laugh when he foundered under the pressure. Today was definitely one of those days. She leveled a flat look at Special Jounin Morino Ibiki and then turned to frown at his companion, Chuunin Namida Suzume.
On her desk was the thin dossier containing the mission history of a young Genin. A pretty Genin - one whom she’d talked to personally. One that Sakura and Shizune were rather attached to. “What on earth do you want with Yamanaka Ino? She’s not qualified to even think about becoming ANBU.”
“The Commander wants to give her a test.” Ibiki said calmly, looking unruffled. “The chit’s stirred his curiosity.”
Hyuuga Hiromasa was the current head of ANBU, it had been something of a scandal after the Kyuubi when he’d up and left the Hyuuga Compound and entered ANBU. There were rumors that it had been over a child, but Tsunade had never bothered to find out the truth about that or not. He was a good commander from all accounts, and she had liked what she’d seen of him.
“Why isn’t he here then?”
“Busy.” Was the short reply, “You know how it is, Hokage-sama.”
Tsunade had to admit to that. “What sort of test did he have in mind? She’s hardly exceptional.”
Yamanaka Ino was a girl with a great deal going for her - especially if she kept up the hard work she’d been exhibiting lately - but that didn’t make her any better than many other Genin close to her age. She was no genius, no prodigy. Highest marks for kunoichi training in eleven years was a mark in her favor but every Genin had a talent.
“Yet she managed to obtain a written commendation from Suzume-san - who, I’ll remind you, used to be one of ANBU’s squad Captains.” Ibiki said seriously.
Tsunade didn’t blink - though she was startled. So long away from Konoha meant that little surprises like that kept springing up on her. She gave the woman sitting demurely next to Ibiki another long glance. Namida Suzume didn’t look like she’d ever done anything like ANBU… which meant that she’d most likely been very, very good at the job.
“It’s not easy to get a commendation like that, and for Yamanaka Ino to get it so young… the Commander wants to see what she can do.” Ibiki continued on.
“I refuse to send her out on a mission she can’t handle.” Tsunade said firmly - on this she wasn’t going to budge, “ANBU’s missions are way out of her league.”
“We aren’t looking to recruit her.” Tsunade heard the unspoken ‘yet’ on the end of that sentence. Ibiki wasn’t finished though and didn’t give her time to speak, “Even though it’s common knowledge that ANBU is where the Yamanaka Clan makes their mark… this is just to give us an idea of what she can do.”
“Her profile isn’t enough?” Tsunade said dryly.
“Hokage-sama, profiles are so seldom useful when it comes to telling what a shinobi can do.” The third member of their little group spoke up, “I understand that you wish to protect Ino-kun, but ANBU requires data - who are we to refuse their good request?”
“You taught her,” Tsunade turned her attention on to Suzume, “do you approve of this Suzume-san?”
The meek looking kunoichi colored so masterfully that Tsunade couldn’t tell if it was real or by artifice. There wasn't the small spike of chakra that was usually required to do something like that, but Suzume’s body language wasn’t anything but confident. When she spoke her voice was precise, “Ino-kun, while being little more than above average in many departments could take the Special Jounin exam for Kunoichi Arts right this moment - and pass it with flying colors. That is only my opinion of course, but think on this, my students are nearly two months ahead of where they should be.”
“I didn’t know that they were that far ahead.” Tsunade said with faint surprise, “And they’ve learned what they need to?”
“More than that, Hokage-sama.” Suzume looked over her glasses and Tsunade found herself meeting a pair of deadly serious grey eyes, “Ino-kun is not ready, I agree, for ANBU. But her skill in that one area is exceptional. We should always acknowledge that which is special.”
Ibiki picked up the conversation without missing a beat, “The mission we’ve picked for her test relies heavily on that of course,” He leaned forward and handed her a mission scroll, “If anything does go pear shaped however, there will be ANBU operatives on the scene to get her out safely.”
Tsunade waved him to silence as she broke open the scroll and read the mission outline. It was an investigation into reports that one of Fire Country’s daimyo was passing information over to Iwa. Tsunade's eyes hardened and when she looked up from the scroll, both of the shinobi seated in front of her desk were sitting up straighter. “You want to send a Genin,” she empathized the word, “On this?”
“With a team of ANBU watching her every move - both for protection and to gather information,” Ibiki said serenely, “It’s highly unlikely that it that Yamanaka’d run into any trouble if she plays her part the way Suzume-san has assured us she can.”
Tsunade flipped through Yamanaka Ino’s profile again, even though she already knew what was written down. Average mission history, excellent grades… in the end it came down to the fact that Tsunade didn’t know her personally. “How well do you think Ino-kun would perform on this mission?” She asked Suzume.
“So long as we have nothing but confidence in her, it should be no trouble. Ino-kun is a prideful girl - if you give her this mission she’ll nearly kill herself to get it right.” Suzume’s mouth quirked slightly, “I would let her try it.”
Tsunade nodded her head in thought. She ignored the small voice that said Shizune would be most unhappy with this latest turn of events. “Team 10, Yamanaka’s team, under Sarutobi Asuma are to reform tomorrow. How would you swing that?”
“Her team can come.” Ibiki said with a shrug, “Have them act as additional surveillance - a different sort of mission for them. If anyone asks it’s because the Nara kid’s a Chuunin. Officially this mission could be ranked as a B class mission.”
“And unofficially?”
“A class.” Suzume said in her soft voice, “The daimyo in question has hired several Iwa Chuunin and they could cause a bit of trouble if Ino-kun is found out.”
Tsunade refrained from pointing out that if a Genin were cornered by a group of Chuunin that she’d call it rather more than a ‘bit of trouble’. “Time frame?” She asked while rereading the mission scroll.
“It can wait.” Ibiki said, “The daimyo doesn’t know enough to pose a serious threat to security and we’ve got ANBU watching him already.”
“Wait a few weeks.” Tsunade ordered, her voice brooking no disagreement, “I want to see how her team is holding together - then I’ll make my decision.”
“Of course, Hokage-sama.” Suzume bowed her head.
“I’ll inform the Commander - with your permission to leave Hokage-sama?”
“Granted.”
Then she was alone in her office. Tsunade reached under her desk and pulled out a flask of sake. Taking a swig straight from the bottle and knowing that Shizune was going to kill her, Tsunade wondered if she’d ever get used to making difficult decisions. And what she'd tell Sakura if her friend got killed while on a mission that she shouldn't have been on.
---
Chouji chewed thoughtfully on a piece of bacon and stared down at the letter in his hands. Pushing his plate away, Chouji excused himself from the table. His parents watched him go. He could guess what the letter said well enough - after all, how many letters this official did a regular Genin get? But he wanted to read it and make sure.
It was the matter of a few seconds for him to go down the hallway and slip into his bedroom, being careful to sneak quietly past Choumaru’s room. His little brother was just five and fighting a cold - he didn't want to wake him. Chouji had awoken later than normal for him, it being just past ten in the morning, but he hadn’t been able to sleep well after the night before. Sitting on the edge of his bed Chouji opened his letter.
Akimichi Chouji
Ninja Registration No: 012625
Notification of Reformation:
As of October 26th, Team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma (Ninja Registration No: 010829 ) is called back to regular duty. Nara Shikamaru (Ninja Registration No: 012611 ) and Yamanaka Ino (Ninja Registration No: 012604 ) have received notice as well.
Shinobi Administration Bureau
Asuma-sensei had added a postscript:
We’re back in action, kids (and about time!) - meet me at the training ground at 0700.
Chouji frowned and folded the letter up, sticking it on his desk. You didn’t throw out official correspondence, unless it was confidential. He couldn’t help but think though that the Administration Bureau had some really sucky timing. After what both of his teammates had said to each other the night before he doubted that their team would be more than partially functional.
Chouji pushed away his anger at what had happened. It was in the past and he’d just have to work with it. What Shikamaru had said was unforgivable - Ino was well known for being skilled for her age, and it was obvious that she’d been working hard lately. But what Ino had said was even worse. He was probably the only one that knew Shikamaru had been having nightmares of that mission.
Nightmares that included Ino being along with them and not coming back.
The only reason that Shikamaru had even told him was because while he’d been in the hospital Chouji had woken up one night to find his friend half asleep in the chair beside his bed. Long after visiting hours were over. Even then it had taken a good bit of careful prying to drag the truth out of Shikamaru. Ino’s taunts the night before had cut a bit too close to the bone.
He knew that if he told Ino about Shikamaru’s nightmares that she’d feel awful about what had happened, but Chouji wasn’t going to break the confidence of his best friend just for that. He’d find a different way to get them to work together again. If he was lucky tomorrow would serve as a painful enough reminder for them to get their acts together - but Chouji didn’t think that he’d be that lucky.
Shikamaru and Ino were two of the most stubborn people he’d ever met.
The letter though, and the subsequent reformation, did give him one edge though. Both of them had been putting him off for the last two months with ‘it wasn’t his business’. Shikamaru had grown increasingly surly when he’d attempted to get to the bottom of it, and Ino had avoided him for three days (not that it was a hard feat when he’d been stuck in the hospital) the last time he’d really pushed for information from her. It was like getting information from a brick wall.
Now though, the moment that they let the fight spill over onto their teamwork, Chouji had every right to poke his nose into it. A team had three after all. Any issue that affected two of them was going to reflect on the third as well. Chouji was sure that he’d have to remind them of that. And stand firm.
Chouji had no intentions of letting either of them brush him off.
Too often they’d been doing that lately, though Ino was more obvious about it, Shikamaru was just as bad when it came down to it. Chouji wasn’t stupid. Not in the slightest, even if it did take him a bit longer than both his teammates to learn new jutsu or understand Shikamaru’s latest plan. He didn't like it when his friends treated him like he was. At least in this case, Chouji knew that the both of them probably didn’t even realize that they were doing it. Different than, far different than, from how he’d been treated in the Academy. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
He’d had plenty of practise in getting over slights though and it helped that Shikamaru’s lack of sleep was easy to see and Ino was working herself to the bone. Neither of them were at their best - and in a way both of them were right in this case. Because he was out of the loop Chouji was far less use than he could be. In a sense then he was stupid on this topic. Chouji grinned. He knew that both of his teammates would loudly object to that. After working together for nearly a year it was easy to predict how they'd react to some things.
That two of them weren’t talking to each other was wrong. Chouji knew that it would take more than him telling them that to make Ino and Shikamaru see sense. He wondered if Shikamaru’s dad would be able to tell him anything - or one of his uncles. Perhaps not being as prestigious as say, Hyuuga, or Uchiha had been, helped people forget that the Nara Clan was one of the largest Clans. That’d give him more people to ask their impressions of Shikamaru lately. Which, as far as Chouji was concerned was all for the better. Ino wouldn’t be nearly as hard. He’d just have to corner her. Ino liked to talk when push came to shove.
He was going to help them fix this even if they protested every inch of the way.
Watching the sun rise for a while longer, Chouji went to get his pack to make sure he had everything that he’d need in the field.
---
"You're really leaving, huh?"
Sakura had managed to track Naruto down at his apartment and found her teammate staring helplessly at his bedroom with a broom in one hand and a garbage bag in the other. Jiraiya-sama had been talking to Tsunade-sama about his plans and she'd gotten leave to go and talk to Naruto.
"After all," Tsunade-sama had said, "You won't get many chances to for the next few years."
She was glad for the chance to talk to him - both because she wanted to say good bye and because there was a piece of paper that was practically burning a hole in her pocket. Sakura didn't know what it was exactly that Hinata saw in Naruto, but she wasn't going to stand in the way of love.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto spun and nearly tripped on a pair of pants that had been on the floor, "I didn't hear you come in!"
She fidgeted, "I let myself in - was that alright?"
True to form, Naruto beamed at her, "My house is yours Sakura-chan, come in whenever you want." He paused, scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor about that."
"Oh?" Sakura gingerly made her way over to him, stepping around piles of dirty laundry.
He gave her a sheepish smile, "Do you think you could water the plants while I'm gone?"
She hit him lightly in the arm, "That's hardly a problem - do you have another key or do you want me to resort to 'ninja-ing' my way in?"
Locks were mostly a formality in a Hidden Village - it would be a poor student that couldn't break in and out of most civilian places after their third year of schooling and Sakura had never been anything but an excellent student.
Her question got her a half smile that was almost shy, "You wouldn't want to do that, Sakura-chan. I've got everything pranked."
Sakura winced. Having seen on more than one occasion just what sort of pranks that Naruto was capable of was more than enough for her to think twice about breaking into his place. She had no wish to be caught up in what would no doubt be some of his nastier works of art - Sakura wasn't foolhardy enough to think that she would spot all of them. In the Academy, Naruto had, several times, pulled successful pranks on Jounin. Before she could say anything further he was digging into his pockets.
"What are you doing?" She asked Naruto as he scowled while picking through the lint and garbage he'd pulled out.
"Here." Naruto handed over a bent little key, his blue eyes wide and innocently serious, "Take it - I won't need it while I'm gone with Ero-sennin."
Sakura clasped the key to her chest like it was an important treasure. From the look on his face she guessed that it was, "N - Naruto? Is this your only key?"
He turned away from her and shrugged, "Yeah, but I won't be around to use it - so it's best that you take it." She could almost feel him smile at her, "I know I can trust you, Sakura-chan."
For some reason the way that he said that, with such simple frankness, made her blush, "I'll do my best." Sakura promised him, "And it'll be here for you when you get back."
He laughed and they moved past the awkward moment.
It was surprisingly comfortable hanging around with Naruto, as she helped him clean up the mess of his kitchen - "Ero-sennin says I got to because I'm leaving for so long! Something about expiry dates..." - and made him do his laundry and dusting. They talked about everything and nothing at all.
And both of them were careful not to mention their missing member. At times Naruto would trail off in the middle of an anecdote and then abruptly switch topic. Or Sakura would talk about her dreams for the future and have to stop and blink back tears. Washing dishes that looked like they had never been cleaned before - "Tell me you don't eat off of these, Naruto." - Sakura wondered if they would always feel this way. Like there was a hole that couldn't be filled by anyone else. Sasuke wasn't their problem, Kiba had told her - and Chouji had repeated that when she'd mentioned it, but Sakura couldn't help but mourn.
She wondered, even if they got him back, if things would go back the way that they had been before. Sakura had been thinking about that a lot lately, whenever she had a quiet moment.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan." Naruto said abruptly looking at her seriously, "We'll get him back."
No need to say who he was. Sakura tried to smile at Naruto but had a feeling that she wasn't quite able to manage it. "I know we will." She said firmly, unsure if she was trying to tell it to Naruto or herself. Perhaps both?
A while later she remembered the address that she'd gotten from Ino and sat up from where she'd been resting after they had managed to clean his walls - it was amazing how much bigger the place looked once they had done that. "Naruto," she asked not really wanting to know the answer, "when are you leaving?"
"Soon." Naruto grimaced a little, "Ero-sennin won't tell me anything more than that for 'security issues' he said."
Sakura fidgeted, then blurted out, "I promised to water your plants - will you promise to do something for me?"
He looked at her curiously for a moment, and then said slightly incredulously, "You want me to help you with something, Sakura-chan?"
"Well," she temporized, "it's not really for me - but I'd really like it if you would..."
Here Sakura hesitated for so long on how to say it that Naruto nudged her with his foot. "If I would, what?" There was a peculiar look on his face, "Is it that difficult to ask me for help?"
With a sigh for her dignity - but she could spare her dignity in the face of hurting Naruto's feelings - Sakura dug out the address and held it out to Naruto. "It's Hinata-chan's address," she told him as he took the paper and looked at it curiously.
"O - okay?"
"I was wondering if you'd write to her while you were away." Sakura said quickly, knowing that she wasn't the right person to be doing something like this - Ino had always had a flair for arranging things. Not her.
Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, "Why would I do that? I mean, Hinata's nice and all but I don't really know her or anything - and I wouldn't know what to say..."
"Naruto," Sakura interrupted him, "Just be yourself - I'm sure that it would make her happy."
Seeing his look of blank curiosity she elaborated but only slightly, knowing that if she mentioned anything about marriage to her teammate that he'd never write to her. "She's been having a bit of a rough time lately and I thought that you'd be the best to cheer her up."
"Why would I be the - "
"Just write the letter, Naruto." She said with a slow smile, "It won't hurt anything, and you'll be making her feel better."
"I, well, I suppose." He still sounded dubious, but Sakura inwardly exulted because she knew that he'd at least write one letter - after that it would be up to Hinata to do the rest.
---
The paper glared at him. Naruto, never being the sort to turn down any challenge, glared right back. What on earth was he supposed to write? He chewed thoughtfully on his pen. Sakura-chan had said it was a good idea but Naruto couldn't see how.
What was he supposed to say to Hinata? He hadn't talked to her since right before the finals... he counted up the days on his calendar and was surprised to realize that nearly two months had passed since then. Wouldn't it be weird if he started talking about that? Though Sakura-chan had said that Hinata had been having a bit of a rough time lately... he scowled. If Neji was giving her trouble then Naruto was going to have Words with the older boy. Hinata didn't deserve that when she was so nice.
He supposed that he could talk about that - Sakura-chan always was nicer to him for a bit when he complimented her… though then he always managed to say the wrong thing and have her wind up hitting him anyway. What did you say to a girl you hardly knew?
Was he supposed to be polite? He knew that Hinata came from a really prestigious Clan and that she might take offence if he was anything less than… civilized. Naruto let out a groan of dismay. He wished that Sakura-chan had told him why this was supposed to be a good idea. When he’d pressed her for details, she’d merely smiled with a devious glint in her eyes.
Naruto decided to hell with it. He’d write the stupid letter - and if he wanted to talk about the weather then he would.
Hey, Hinata-chan!
The weather’s nice today, mostly. A bit chilly and the sky’s got that steel color thing going on that means it is probably going to storm later… so I guess the weather isn’t all that great…
Naruto groaned and flung his pen across the room. This was more than hopeless! He’d only make her laugh at him and then he’d lose one of the few people he could maybe call a friend.
“What are you doing, squirt? Didn’t I tell you to get cleaning?”
“Ero-sennin!” Naruto spun around and scowled, “What are you doing in here?”
“I let myself in.” His sensei told him calmly, “It’s quite a collection of traps you’ve got plastered around this place. Some of them clever, even.”
“Try knocking next time!” Naruto said grumpily. It was one thing if Sakura-chan did it - she came in the door at least and was his teammate.
His sensei gave him a long look, “Where’s the fun in that?”
“I don’t care if it isn’t fun - the door is there for a reason.”
“Alright, alright - hold up.” Ero-sennin held up his hands, “What’s got you acting like a puffer fish?”
Naruto thought, for a few seconds about not telling him, but then realized that his sensei might actually be able to help him out a bit. Ero-sennin knew all about girls, right? “Sakura-chan thought it’d be a good idea for me to write a letter to Hinata.” He showed what he had of the letter to Jiraiya. The man didn’t laugh, though his eyes went shiny with suppressed emotion. “That’s all I’ve got so far.”
“Do you know why Sakura would want you to write to another girl?” Jiraiya took a seat, uninvited, on his bed.
Naruto shrugged uncomfortably, “She said that Hinata’s been having a bit of a rough time lately and that it would cheer her up.”
“Who is Hinata anyway?” Jiraiya asked, “What do you know about her?”
“Well,” Naruto thought aloud, “She’s really shy - and for some reason whenever she talks to me she goes really red and has to sit down. She’s fainted a few times, actually. Hinata’s a Hyuuga, so she’s got those freaky eyes and short indigo hair. Um… oh! She’s also really cool! You should have seen her in the Chuunin exam, she just wouldn’t stay down no matter how many times she fell. And she had this medical cream that worked like crazy!” Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically, “She’s the type of girl I really like!”
“Hmm.”
Naruto glared at his teacher - he could tell that Ero-sennin was trying not to laugh at him. “What’s so funny? Do you know why Sakura-chan wants me to write to Hinata?”
“Why don’t you tell Hinata,” Here Jiraiya looked away from him, “what you think of her? All girls like to hear that someone likes them.”
“Sakura-chan hits me when I tell her.” Naruto said accusingly. Jiraiya laughed and Naruto flung a pillow at him. “It’s not funny.” Naruto sulked, “I don’t get it.”
“Well, why don’t you write to Hinata and see what she thinks?” Was his teacher’s suggestion, “If she hits you, you can call me a liar - but most girls like compliments. I’ll tell you what, you can even ask her to see us off when we leave.”
Naruto’s eyes widened, “Not even Sakura-chan knows when we’re going!”
“Consider it a gift.” Jiraiya winked at him and Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion, “Just tell the girl.”
Hey, Hinata-chan!
The weather’s nice today, mostly. A bit chilly and the sky’s got that steel color thing going on that means it is probably going to storm later… so I guess the weather isn’t all that great…
Sakura-chan said that you were having a bit of a hard time lately. Is there anything I can do to help? If Neji’s bothering you I’ll come beat him up again! Just say the word. Anyways, I know that the exam ended quite a while ago but I wanted to say that I thought you were awesome! Go Hinata!
Next time you’ll kick Neji’s ass for sure!
I don’t know if you’ve heard but I’m leaving on a training mission and so I’ll be gone for a few years. (So if you need my help, ask now!) It’s a bit of a secret but I got permission for you to come and see me off.
If, you know, you feel like it and don’t have anything better to do.
Anyway, Ero-sennin’s starting to look cranky, so I’ve got to wrap this up! Maybe I’ll see you around some time?
-- Naruto
P.S. I’m leaving on November 1st - at six in the morning! If you feel like it come see me at the eastern gate at quarter to.
Naruto stared nervously at the letter. It wasn’t the best, and it definitely wouldn’t win any formal prizes but it said what he’d wanted it to say. Now he just had to send it to her.
Would she bother to respond?
For some reason, when he asked Ero-sennin that his sensei burst into laughter. Naruto had a feeling that everyone knew more about what was going on than he did.
---
To say that Shikamaru was unhappy when he made his way to Team 10’s training area at five minutes after five and found that the only other one there was Asuma-sensei was a bit of an understatement. Frowning at his sensei, who merely lit up a cigarette, Shikamaru took another look at his letter.
It still said five o’clock.
“You’re late.” Asuma-sensei said with mild disapproval, “That’s not something I’d expect from a Chuunin.”
What kind of a hello was that? Shikamaru scowled openly and snapped, “At least I’m here before the others.” Which was weird, now that he thought about it. Ino had this thing about punctuality and Chouji wasn’t the sort to sleep in, not when it came to team activities - that was his job. Of the three of them Chouji took the team the most seriously, and then Ino. Where were they?
“And that,” his sensei said in a drawling voice, a smile quirking at his lips, “is because I, being a terribly kind and considerate sensei, said they don’t have to show up until seven.”
Shikamaru fought the urge to smile. His sensei was a moron at times, but it was too early in the morning for him to make the effort to humor him. Instead he asked, sardonically, “And I didn’t rate this consideration?” In truth, even if he was allowed to go back to sleep the chances of him being able to do so were slim. Once he was awake it was difficult to get back to sleep back at his place. Shikamaru was convinced his relatives had no sense of volume control. There was never a need to stomp down the stairs at quarter to five in the morning.
Asuma-sensei took a long drag of his cigarette and said, “I needed to talk to you. This was the least problematic way of going about it.”
Oh. Well. Shikamaru could certainly appreciate that. “What did you want to talk to me about?” He asked curiously, crossing his arms over his chest. After two months of work the vest didn’t feel quite so awkward now as it had when he’d first gotten it. He’d been just a surprised really when he’d learned that he was the only one to pass. Shikamaru had been convinced that the village would have promoted their last Uchiha just on the strength of his name alone. Politics were often a deciding factor in the promotion of new Chuunin.
“As a Chuunin,” Asuma-sensei said seriously, “You out-rank your teammates. This means that your responsibilities are different.”
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know that - he’d gotten the lecture from both Hokage-sama and his father. Then from his uncles and Aunt Miyako, who was an active Jounin despite her husband’s attempts to convince her to retire. He hadn’t thought though that he’d have to hear it yet again.
“Going by your expression though… I’ll spare you the rest of the speech.” Asuma-sensei’s eyes crinkled with suppressed amusement and Shikamaru snorted his disgust.
“It did happen two months ago.” Shikamaru pointed out, “I have had some experience acting as a Chuunin.” And he’d been right that it was more troublesome than just being a Genin - even though his mom had lightened up a bit about his bad habits. The increase in life threatening danger hardly made that a fair trade off in his opinion.
“You haven’t had this sort of experience.” Asuma-sensei promised him, “I’m giving you nominal command of Team 10.”
Shikamaru gaped and then spluttered, “Why would you do such an irritating thing?” He didn’t want command - especially not over the two of them. Chouji listened to him, but even before the exam Ino'd had the tendency to do things her own way, leaving Shikamaru to make her plans work out. He liked that. It had been a challenge.
“You need to learn to be comfortable as a commanding officer. It’s standard procedure, actually. You say you’ve worked as a Chuunin for the last while, but you haven’t really.” Asuma held up one hand to forestall Shikamaru’s protest, “Yes I know that the missions were harder - but you were still the most junior member on most of your teams, right?”
Shikamaru nodded. There wasn’t much that he could say to that - under war conditions there would have been more Chuunin his age, some Jounin even, but a decade of peace meant that most Genin didn’t hit Chuunin until fifteen, sixteen. “What’s that got to do with it?”
“You need the practise. Ino’s got a natural flair for leadership that you lack, even if her strategy often needs work, and Chouji’s even worse than you about just following the lead of someone else.” Asuma-sensei raised his eyebrows, “But both of them have more time to work on it than you do. As Chuunin, you’re expected to be able to take command. Even if it is just your teammates.”
Shikamaru swallowed hard. Ino was going to kill him. Standard procedure or not, he doubted that she’d thought about what that would mean to the dynamics of their team. He certainly hadn’t. “What about you?” Shikamaru asked suddenly, “It doesn’t mean that you’re leaving us, right?”
That got him a laugh. “I wouldn’t do that to you. No, you’re stuck with me a while longer - though it does mean that if there’s a mission Konoha needs me for that you’ll be in full command of Team 10 until I get back.”
Shikamaru’s mind shuddered away from having to deal with that situation. “Was that everything you wanted to talk about?”
“No.”
Surprised, Shikamaru looked up at his sensei with a frown, “What else did you want to discuss?” Hopefully it wouldn’t be anything near as irritating to deal with than contemplate the thought of Ino’s reaction when she was told that Team 10 was no longer her team to command.
Asuma-sensei frowned at the grass, then asked bluntly, “What’s going on between you and Ino?”
“At the party? We had a fight. That’s it.” Shikamaru tried not to let his distaste for the subject matter show even as he rocked back on his metaphorical heels.
The knowledgeable look Asuma-sensei gave him made Shikamaru scowl, “I heard what happened at the party - and both of you were way, way out of line. But that’s not what started it.”
Shikamaru refused to look at his sensei. This wasn’t anyone but his and Ino’s problem, so why couldn’t people just leave them alone to work it out in time? It was just a stupid fight.
When it became clear that he wasn’t going to answer, Asuma-sensei sighed and snubbed out his cigarette, “You made her cry.”
“I did, what?” He asked, startled, “When?”
“A few weeks ago.”
Then why was he bringing it up now?
“She came to my apartment and cried on my shoulder for over an hour.”
Shikamaru’s stomach twisted with guilt, his mind flashing back to the Ino in his dreams who was always sad. Ino wasn’t the type of girl to cry at the drop of a hat, she tended to get angry instead. He knew that from years of experience. Shikamaru didn’t think that their fight was worth that many tears.
“I’m not saying you don’t have some valid points, though at some point I’d like to hear them from your point of view instead of deciphering Ino’s incoherent explanations,” Asuma-sensei continued on, “but Ino seems convinced that you don’t trust her.”
Shikamaru’s jaw firmed. “I’m not talking about this.”
Trust, as far as he was concerned, had very little to do with it.
Previous Chapter // Chapter List // Next Chapter
Chapter: 04 Reformation
Author/Artist: Skylar Inari
Pairing: Yamanaka Ino/Nara Shikamaru
Theme: 46 - brick wall
Word Count: 8051
Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me. It's Kishimoto's and I just play with it. AU immediately after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Part 4 of ? Unbeta’d.
In the end, she sought out Tenten. Having worked with the older kunoichi for a few weeks had given the both of them more than enough time to get to know each other. With this knowledge Ino wasn’t surprised to find Tenten out training so early in the morning. She had considered going and seeing if Sakura would be up and willing to train before remembering that her friend had mentioned having to be at the hospital by four during the next few weeks because Hokage-sama had upped her training. Ino had attempted to work on her taijutsu, but her concentration had been so scattered that she’d quickly given it up as a lost cause.
Her mind kept straying back to the fact that Team 10 was reforming tomorrow and that her primary emotion was dread.
“Hey,” Ino called to Tenten after a few moments of watching the other girl fling kunai with frightening precision at targets on the other end of the field. It was a larger training area than the one that Team 10 used - but that made sense considering Maito-san’s specialty, and the fact that all three of his Genin were better suited to all out warfare. Tenten with her weapons, Neji with his Kaiten, and Lee’s advanced taijutsu. “Almost finished warming up?”
“Give me a few minutes!” Tenten called back as the older girl flipped into the air and let loose with a barrage of kunai.
Ino was more than happy to let her friend finish up. It gave her time to go through a few more stretches, knowing that if she didn't then she’d be in a great deal of pain. Tenten was capable of far more than she was doing right then and there.
“What’s up?” Tenten asked once she was done. Ino helped her pick up the scattered weapons, wondering all the while how the older girl managed to fit them all in her clothes.
“You were doing pretty good.” Ino drawled with a challenging glint in her eyes, as she brought an armful of kunai over to Tenten, “But it is hard to miss a stationary target, after all. Care for a more interesting one?”
Tenten looked her up and down, a speculative glint in her eyes, “You offering?”
“Surely I’m a bit more challenging than a bunch of wooden targets. I won’t even use ninjutsu.” Ino said with a shrug of her shoulders, “Just don’t hit my face, okay?” Kunai to the face weren’t Ino’s idea of a good time.
Tenten laughed, “Vain to a fault, little sparrow? I’ll try not to hit your precious face. How long?”
“An hour.” Ino said firmly, knowing that she’d be exhausted by the end of it. Tenten’s answering nod was respectful - after all, an hour was no small bit of time. The two girls leapt apart.
The first kunai came after that, quickly and without warning.
Ino flung herself to the side and found that she wasn’t even given the chance to make sure her footing was secure before she had to move again. Narrowly dodging a kunai aimed at her torso, Ino went down into a roll to try and put some distance between the two of them while making herself as small a target as possible. Kawarimi no Jutsu would have been easier but she’d never get better at dodging if she didn’t work on it.
Then there wasn’t time to think as Tenten launched three kunai at her and Ino was forced to jump over them, only to have to twist her body to escape a second volley. She landed badly and scrambling to regain her balance flung herself backwards, without dignity, to avoid the projectiles. One managed to cut her arm. Wincing at the sudden sting, Ino was well aware that all it would take was one miscalculation, however small, and she could wind up in the hospital.
The hour passed and by the end of it Ino was sore and bloody. Her arms and legs were streaked with blood from the numerous cuts and scratches Tenten had inflicted on her. Ino touched a particularly nasty one on her cheek - Tenten had been aiming for her neck and Ino had dodged the wrong way - and sank to her knees.
“You alright?” Tenten asked Ino as the other girl started gathering up her weapons. Tenten waved her off when Ino made a move to get up and help. “Stay there.”
“I’m fine.” Ino said after a brief moment of taking stock of her wounds. “The deepest one is on my cheek - though I’ll need some help bandaging all of them.”
None of the wounds were serious, and Ino had enough antibacterial lotion at home to kill any infection that tried to show its head, but she didn’t think walking around Konoha looking like she’d just come out of a battle would do anyone good. She wouldn’t be able to do anything about the blood that had stained her outfit, but at least bandaging the injuries would (hopefully) keep it from looking quite so bad. It had only been training after all, and she didn’t want to alarm anyone just because she was too slow while dodging.
“You didn’t do that badly,” Tenten told her a while later as they sat on a fallen log and worked on cleaning the grit out of the cuts, “Not bad at all for a first try.”
“I didn’t even have the time to think about attacking you directly.” Ino said ruefully, wincing at bit at the sting of the antiseptic, “It was all ‘run, run, run’.”
“Well, Neji’s got an unfair advantage with his eyes - and few of us could hit Lee’s speed. I wasn’t going easy on you.” Tenten said seriously as she wound a length of clean cloth around Ino’s right leg. “By the end of it I was getting pretty tired as well - it’s not that often that I get a chance to work on my endurance that way.”
Ino had to admit that that made her feel better about the amount of minor injuries that she’d sustained. “Then it was good training for the both of us.” Tying off a bandage on her upper arm, Ino laughed, “Though it’s a bit embarrassing how bad I am at dodging.”
“We can do it again,” Tenten offered, working on the other leg while Ino dealt with the cut on her face. “Not right now of course - but later. So long as you don’t mind the continued threat to your face.”
Ino rolled her eyes, then winced as the wet cloth she was using came away scarlet. “You did great - not your fault that I dodged the way I did.”
“That’s good.” Tenten handed her another cloth, “I wasn’t looking forward to explaining to your team why I was flinging kunai at you in the first place if you'd wound up in the hospital. Sorry about your face though. I did try, little sparrow.”
“It’s not that bad, and it won’t scar.” Ino had no intentions of letting it go unhealed long enough for that to happen - she knew that Shizune-sensei would be willing to heal it for her. A kunoichi’s face was a deadly weapon in the right circumstances and all that.
“Now,” Tenten said as they finished the rest of the cuts, “Why on earth are you out here so I can fling kunai at you? Not your usual routine, though I don’t mind the company with Lee and Gai-sensei off on a training mission to get Lee back up to speed.”
Ino stared at her hands, wiping at the dried blood on them with one of the cloths, “I got my notice of Reformation.” She said flatly.
To her surprise, Tenten nodded understandingly, “You’ve been fine on your own and now you don’t want to go back to them, right?”
“It isn’t that I don’t want to see them - or work with them - but I’ve just come so far on my own and with Shikamaru on my team… “ Ino didn’t have to elaborate further. Tenten had gotten more than one earful of Ino’s complaints about Shikamaru while they’d been together at the Academy.
“Well,” the older kunoichi said with a displeased twist of her lips, “If you’ve gotten your notice then I assume I’ll be getting one soon enough. Won’t that be a wonderful thing?”
Ino winced. She wasn’t the only one that was going to have a few troubles getting along with her team - it was good to be reminded of that. “What’s with you and Neji anyway?” She asked the question hesitantly, not sure if it was her place to ask. After all, from what she’d seen, it was primarily a Clan affair.
“He’s one of the prime candidates for Hinata’s marriage.” Tenten kicked at a rock, sending it flying, “I know he doesn’t want to marry her - but he won’t say anything about it because ‘it for the good of the Clan’ and it’s driving me mad.”
“I thought that their fathers were brothers though? Isn’t that cutting it a bit fine?” Genetics weren’t her strong point but that didn’t sound like it would be healthy.
“Apparently what matters most is skill,” Tenten shook her head and sighed, “I really like him, you know, but…”
“But what?” Ino asked sympathetically. Neji was easy on the eyes - it wasn’t hard to see where a crush might have come from and Ino had to admit to having entertained a few thoughts of him during the Chuunin Exam, before he’d nearly killed Hinata.
“It’s like he doesn’t care enough to stand up and object when he doesn’t want to do something. I know that he’s the most likely candidate - no one else can match his talent after all - but he doesn’t see that's just going to happen unless he takes a stand. And it’s killing Hinata, you know how she’s like. She’d never stand up to her father.”
There wasn’t much that Ino could say to that. “Who is the boy she likes?” Ino asked suddenly, “Could he do anything about this? Get her to stand up for herself?”
Tenten laughed, “Unleashing Naruto in this mess would only make things worse.”
“Naruto?” Ino squeaked, “That’s who Hinata likes?”
“She’s liked him for years.” Tenten confirmed, taking a sip of a nearly empty canteen, “It took me hours to pry it out of her beyond descriptions of how he’s ‘strong’, and ‘brave’ and ‘kind’.”
Ino had to admit that in the Academy both of them had been below her attention - Hinata had been nice enough, but was so shy and Naruto had been the class idiot and a boy to boot. Neither of them had been in Ino’s social circle. Though Ino hadn’t thought that Hinata would go for a boy like Naruto. She’d been thinking of someone with… well, more class. Naruto was a good guy, she was willing to admit, but he didn’t have that much going for him.
“I’ll give him strong.” Ino conceded, “Brave too if it’s the same as ‘stupid’ and ‘reckless’. Where does she get kind from though?”
“He’s always been patient with her.” Tenten said softly, “It’s kind of sweet to watch them try to talk to each other.”
Ino considered that thoughtfully, “How long is this marriage stuff supposed to take?”
“Years.” Tenten took a sip from her canteen, “They just start negotiations early in the Hyuuga Clan.”
“Think Naruto would be good for Hinata?” Ino asked casually, a plan starting to form in the back of her head. She’d need to get Sakura to do most of the talking to Naruto though. Ino didn’t know him well enough.
Tenten considered it, “I don’t know the boy that well - but from what I’ve heard he’s a good guy, and if Hinata likes him I’m willing to believe that. What do you have in mind?”
Ino leaned closer, her dread about her team giving way to enthusiasm as she explained her plan. “Well, first part goes to Sakura - Naruto knows her the best so he’s most likely to do what she says - and then you’ll be the one to talk to Hinata when… ”
---
There were times when being the Hokage was alright. Most of the time though, Tsunade found herself longing for the day that she could turn the whole job over to Naruto and then point and laugh when he foundered under the pressure. Today was definitely one of those days. She leveled a flat look at Special Jounin Morino Ibiki and then turned to frown at his companion, Chuunin Namida Suzume.
On her desk was the thin dossier containing the mission history of a young Genin. A pretty Genin - one whom she’d talked to personally. One that Sakura and Shizune were rather attached to. “What on earth do you want with Yamanaka Ino? She’s not qualified to even think about becoming ANBU.”
“The Commander wants to give her a test.” Ibiki said calmly, looking unruffled. “The chit’s stirred his curiosity.”
Hyuuga Hiromasa was the current head of ANBU, it had been something of a scandal after the Kyuubi when he’d up and left the Hyuuga Compound and entered ANBU. There were rumors that it had been over a child, but Tsunade had never bothered to find out the truth about that or not. He was a good commander from all accounts, and she had liked what she’d seen of him.
“Why isn’t he here then?”
“Busy.” Was the short reply, “You know how it is, Hokage-sama.”
Tsunade had to admit to that. “What sort of test did he have in mind? She’s hardly exceptional.”
Yamanaka Ino was a girl with a great deal going for her - especially if she kept up the hard work she’d been exhibiting lately - but that didn’t make her any better than many other Genin close to her age. She was no genius, no prodigy. Highest marks for kunoichi training in eleven years was a mark in her favor but every Genin had a talent.
“Yet she managed to obtain a written commendation from Suzume-san - who, I’ll remind you, used to be one of ANBU’s squad Captains.” Ibiki said seriously.
Tsunade didn’t blink - though she was startled. So long away from Konoha meant that little surprises like that kept springing up on her. She gave the woman sitting demurely next to Ibiki another long glance. Namida Suzume didn’t look like she’d ever done anything like ANBU… which meant that she’d most likely been very, very good at the job.
“It’s not easy to get a commendation like that, and for Yamanaka Ino to get it so young… the Commander wants to see what she can do.” Ibiki continued on.
“I refuse to send her out on a mission she can’t handle.” Tsunade said firmly - on this she wasn’t going to budge, “ANBU’s missions are way out of her league.”
“We aren’t looking to recruit her.” Tsunade heard the unspoken ‘yet’ on the end of that sentence. Ibiki wasn’t finished though and didn’t give her time to speak, “Even though it’s common knowledge that ANBU is where the Yamanaka Clan makes their mark… this is just to give us an idea of what she can do.”
“Her profile isn’t enough?” Tsunade said dryly.
“Hokage-sama, profiles are so seldom useful when it comes to telling what a shinobi can do.” The third member of their little group spoke up, “I understand that you wish to protect Ino-kun, but ANBU requires data - who are we to refuse their good request?”
“You taught her,” Tsunade turned her attention on to Suzume, “do you approve of this Suzume-san?”
The meek looking kunoichi colored so masterfully that Tsunade couldn’t tell if it was real or by artifice. There wasn't the small spike of chakra that was usually required to do something like that, but Suzume’s body language wasn’t anything but confident. When she spoke her voice was precise, “Ino-kun, while being little more than above average in many departments could take the Special Jounin exam for Kunoichi Arts right this moment - and pass it with flying colors. That is only my opinion of course, but think on this, my students are nearly two months ahead of where they should be.”
“I didn’t know that they were that far ahead.” Tsunade said with faint surprise, “And they’ve learned what they need to?”
“More than that, Hokage-sama.” Suzume looked over her glasses and Tsunade found herself meeting a pair of deadly serious grey eyes, “Ino-kun is not ready, I agree, for ANBU. But her skill in that one area is exceptional. We should always acknowledge that which is special.”
Ibiki picked up the conversation without missing a beat, “The mission we’ve picked for her test relies heavily on that of course,” He leaned forward and handed her a mission scroll, “If anything does go pear shaped however, there will be ANBU operatives on the scene to get her out safely.”
Tsunade waved him to silence as she broke open the scroll and read the mission outline. It was an investigation into reports that one of Fire Country’s daimyo was passing information over to Iwa. Tsunade's eyes hardened and when she looked up from the scroll, both of the shinobi seated in front of her desk were sitting up straighter. “You want to send a Genin,” she empathized the word, “On this?”
“With a team of ANBU watching her every move - both for protection and to gather information,” Ibiki said serenely, “It’s highly unlikely that it that Yamanaka’d run into any trouble if she plays her part the way Suzume-san has assured us she can.”
Tsunade flipped through Yamanaka Ino’s profile again, even though she already knew what was written down. Average mission history, excellent grades… in the end it came down to the fact that Tsunade didn’t know her personally. “How well do you think Ino-kun would perform on this mission?” She asked Suzume.
“So long as we have nothing but confidence in her, it should be no trouble. Ino-kun is a prideful girl - if you give her this mission she’ll nearly kill herself to get it right.” Suzume’s mouth quirked slightly, “I would let her try it.”
Tsunade nodded her head in thought. She ignored the small voice that said Shizune would be most unhappy with this latest turn of events. “Team 10, Yamanaka’s team, under Sarutobi Asuma are to reform tomorrow. How would you swing that?”
“Her team can come.” Ibiki said with a shrug, “Have them act as additional surveillance - a different sort of mission for them. If anyone asks it’s because the Nara kid’s a Chuunin. Officially this mission could be ranked as a B class mission.”
“And unofficially?”
“A class.” Suzume said in her soft voice, “The daimyo in question has hired several Iwa Chuunin and they could cause a bit of trouble if Ino-kun is found out.”
Tsunade refrained from pointing out that if a Genin were cornered by a group of Chuunin that she’d call it rather more than a ‘bit of trouble’. “Time frame?” She asked while rereading the mission scroll.
“It can wait.” Ibiki said, “The daimyo doesn’t know enough to pose a serious threat to security and we’ve got ANBU watching him already.”
“Wait a few weeks.” Tsunade ordered, her voice brooking no disagreement, “I want to see how her team is holding together - then I’ll make my decision.”
“Of course, Hokage-sama.” Suzume bowed her head.
“I’ll inform the Commander - with your permission to leave Hokage-sama?”
“Granted.”
Then she was alone in her office. Tsunade reached under her desk and pulled out a flask of sake. Taking a swig straight from the bottle and knowing that Shizune was going to kill her, Tsunade wondered if she’d ever get used to making difficult decisions. And what she'd tell Sakura if her friend got killed while on a mission that she shouldn't have been on.
---
Chouji chewed thoughtfully on a piece of bacon and stared down at the letter in his hands. Pushing his plate away, Chouji excused himself from the table. His parents watched him go. He could guess what the letter said well enough - after all, how many letters this official did a regular Genin get? But he wanted to read it and make sure.
It was the matter of a few seconds for him to go down the hallway and slip into his bedroom, being careful to sneak quietly past Choumaru’s room. His little brother was just five and fighting a cold - he didn't want to wake him. Chouji had awoken later than normal for him, it being just past ten in the morning, but he hadn’t been able to sleep well after the night before. Sitting on the edge of his bed Chouji opened his letter.
Akimichi Chouji
Ninja Registration No: 012625
Notification of Reformation:
As of October 26th, Team 10 under Sarutobi Asuma (Ninja Registration No: 010829 ) is called back to regular duty. Nara Shikamaru (Ninja Registration No: 012611 ) and Yamanaka Ino (Ninja Registration No: 012604 ) have received notice as well.
Shinobi Administration Bureau
Asuma-sensei had added a postscript:
We’re back in action, kids (and about time!) - meet me at the training ground at 0700.
Chouji frowned and folded the letter up, sticking it on his desk. You didn’t throw out official correspondence, unless it was confidential. He couldn’t help but think though that the Administration Bureau had some really sucky timing. After what both of his teammates had said to each other the night before he doubted that their team would be more than partially functional.
Chouji pushed away his anger at what had happened. It was in the past and he’d just have to work with it. What Shikamaru had said was unforgivable - Ino was well known for being skilled for her age, and it was obvious that she’d been working hard lately. But what Ino had said was even worse. He was probably the only one that knew Shikamaru had been having nightmares of that mission.
Nightmares that included Ino being along with them and not coming back.
The only reason that Shikamaru had even told him was because while he’d been in the hospital Chouji had woken up one night to find his friend half asleep in the chair beside his bed. Long after visiting hours were over. Even then it had taken a good bit of careful prying to drag the truth out of Shikamaru. Ino’s taunts the night before had cut a bit too close to the bone.
He knew that if he told Ino about Shikamaru’s nightmares that she’d feel awful about what had happened, but Chouji wasn’t going to break the confidence of his best friend just for that. He’d find a different way to get them to work together again. If he was lucky tomorrow would serve as a painful enough reminder for them to get their acts together - but Chouji didn’t think that he’d be that lucky.
Shikamaru and Ino were two of the most stubborn people he’d ever met.
The letter though, and the subsequent reformation, did give him one edge though. Both of them had been putting him off for the last two months with ‘it wasn’t his business’. Shikamaru had grown increasingly surly when he’d attempted to get to the bottom of it, and Ino had avoided him for three days (not that it was a hard feat when he’d been stuck in the hospital) the last time he’d really pushed for information from her. It was like getting information from a brick wall.
Now though, the moment that they let the fight spill over onto their teamwork, Chouji had every right to poke his nose into it. A team had three after all. Any issue that affected two of them was going to reflect on the third as well. Chouji was sure that he’d have to remind them of that. And stand firm.
Chouji had no intentions of letting either of them brush him off.
Too often they’d been doing that lately, though Ino was more obvious about it, Shikamaru was just as bad when it came down to it. Chouji wasn’t stupid. Not in the slightest, even if it did take him a bit longer than both his teammates to learn new jutsu or understand Shikamaru’s latest plan. He didn't like it when his friends treated him like he was. At least in this case, Chouji knew that the both of them probably didn’t even realize that they were doing it. Different than, far different than, from how he’d been treated in the Academy. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
He’d had plenty of practise in getting over slights though and it helped that Shikamaru’s lack of sleep was easy to see and Ino was working herself to the bone. Neither of them were at their best - and in a way both of them were right in this case. Because he was out of the loop Chouji was far less use than he could be. In a sense then he was stupid on this topic. Chouji grinned. He knew that both of his teammates would loudly object to that. After working together for nearly a year it was easy to predict how they'd react to some things.
That two of them weren’t talking to each other was wrong. Chouji knew that it would take more than him telling them that to make Ino and Shikamaru see sense. He wondered if Shikamaru’s dad would be able to tell him anything - or one of his uncles. Perhaps not being as prestigious as say, Hyuuga, or Uchiha had been, helped people forget that the Nara Clan was one of the largest Clans. That’d give him more people to ask their impressions of Shikamaru lately. Which, as far as Chouji was concerned was all for the better. Ino wouldn’t be nearly as hard. He’d just have to corner her. Ino liked to talk when push came to shove.
He was going to help them fix this even if they protested every inch of the way.
Watching the sun rise for a while longer, Chouji went to get his pack to make sure he had everything that he’d need in the field.
---
"You're really leaving, huh?"
Sakura had managed to track Naruto down at his apartment and found her teammate staring helplessly at his bedroom with a broom in one hand and a garbage bag in the other. Jiraiya-sama had been talking to Tsunade-sama about his plans and she'd gotten leave to go and talk to Naruto.
"After all," Tsunade-sama had said, "You won't get many chances to for the next few years."
She was glad for the chance to talk to him - both because she wanted to say good bye and because there was a piece of paper that was practically burning a hole in her pocket. Sakura didn't know what it was exactly that Hinata saw in Naruto, but she wasn't going to stand in the way of love.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto spun and nearly tripped on a pair of pants that had been on the floor, "I didn't hear you come in!"
She fidgeted, "I let myself in - was that alright?"
True to form, Naruto beamed at her, "My house is yours Sakura-chan, come in whenever you want." He paused, scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor about that."
"Oh?" Sakura gingerly made her way over to him, stepping around piles of dirty laundry.
He gave her a sheepish smile, "Do you think you could water the plants while I'm gone?"
She hit him lightly in the arm, "That's hardly a problem - do you have another key or do you want me to resort to 'ninja-ing' my way in?"
Locks were mostly a formality in a Hidden Village - it would be a poor student that couldn't break in and out of most civilian places after their third year of schooling and Sakura had never been anything but an excellent student.
Her question got her a half smile that was almost shy, "You wouldn't want to do that, Sakura-chan. I've got everything pranked."
Sakura winced. Having seen on more than one occasion just what sort of pranks that Naruto was capable of was more than enough for her to think twice about breaking into his place. She had no wish to be caught up in what would no doubt be some of his nastier works of art - Sakura wasn't foolhardy enough to think that she would spot all of them. In the Academy, Naruto had, several times, pulled successful pranks on Jounin. Before she could say anything further he was digging into his pockets.
"What are you doing?" She asked Naruto as he scowled while picking through the lint and garbage he'd pulled out.
"Here." Naruto handed over a bent little key, his blue eyes wide and innocently serious, "Take it - I won't need it while I'm gone with Ero-sennin."
Sakura clasped the key to her chest like it was an important treasure. From the look on his face she guessed that it was, "N - Naruto? Is this your only key?"
He turned away from her and shrugged, "Yeah, but I won't be around to use it - so it's best that you take it." She could almost feel him smile at her, "I know I can trust you, Sakura-chan."
For some reason the way that he said that, with such simple frankness, made her blush, "I'll do my best." Sakura promised him, "And it'll be here for you when you get back."
He laughed and they moved past the awkward moment.
It was surprisingly comfortable hanging around with Naruto, as she helped him clean up the mess of his kitchen - "Ero-sennin says I got to because I'm leaving for so long! Something about expiry dates..." - and made him do his laundry and dusting. They talked about everything and nothing at all.
And both of them were careful not to mention their missing member. At times Naruto would trail off in the middle of an anecdote and then abruptly switch topic. Or Sakura would talk about her dreams for the future and have to stop and blink back tears. Washing dishes that looked like they had never been cleaned before - "Tell me you don't eat off of these, Naruto." - Sakura wondered if they would always feel this way. Like there was a hole that couldn't be filled by anyone else. Sasuke wasn't their problem, Kiba had told her - and Chouji had repeated that when she'd mentioned it, but Sakura couldn't help but mourn.
She wondered, even if they got him back, if things would go back the way that they had been before. Sakura had been thinking about that a lot lately, whenever she had a quiet moment.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan." Naruto said abruptly looking at her seriously, "We'll get him back."
No need to say who he was. Sakura tried to smile at Naruto but had a feeling that she wasn't quite able to manage it. "I know we will." She said firmly, unsure if she was trying to tell it to Naruto or herself. Perhaps both?
A while later she remembered the address that she'd gotten from Ino and sat up from where she'd been resting after they had managed to clean his walls - it was amazing how much bigger the place looked once they had done that. "Naruto," she asked not really wanting to know the answer, "when are you leaving?"
"Soon." Naruto grimaced a little, "Ero-sennin won't tell me anything more than that for 'security issues' he said."
Sakura fidgeted, then blurted out, "I promised to water your plants - will you promise to do something for me?"
He looked at her curiously for a moment, and then said slightly incredulously, "You want me to help you with something, Sakura-chan?"
"Well," she temporized, "it's not really for me - but I'd really like it if you would..."
Here Sakura hesitated for so long on how to say it that Naruto nudged her with his foot. "If I would, what?" There was a peculiar look on his face, "Is it that difficult to ask me for help?"
With a sigh for her dignity - but she could spare her dignity in the face of hurting Naruto's feelings - Sakura dug out the address and held it out to Naruto. "It's Hinata-chan's address," she told him as he took the paper and looked at it curiously.
"O - okay?"
"I was wondering if you'd write to her while you were away." Sakura said quickly, knowing that she wasn't the right person to be doing something like this - Ino had always had a flair for arranging things. Not her.
Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, "Why would I do that? I mean, Hinata's nice and all but I don't really know her or anything - and I wouldn't know what to say..."
"Naruto," Sakura interrupted him, "Just be yourself - I'm sure that it would make her happy."
Seeing his look of blank curiosity she elaborated but only slightly, knowing that if she mentioned anything about marriage to her teammate that he'd never write to her. "She's been having a bit of a rough time lately and I thought that you'd be the best to cheer her up."
"Why would I be the - "
"Just write the letter, Naruto." She said with a slow smile, "It won't hurt anything, and you'll be making her feel better."
"I, well, I suppose." He still sounded dubious, but Sakura inwardly exulted because she knew that he'd at least write one letter - after that it would be up to Hinata to do the rest.
---
The paper glared at him. Naruto, never being the sort to turn down any challenge, glared right back. What on earth was he supposed to write? He chewed thoughtfully on his pen. Sakura-chan had said it was a good idea but Naruto couldn't see how.
What was he supposed to say to Hinata? He hadn't talked to her since right before the finals... he counted up the days on his calendar and was surprised to realize that nearly two months had passed since then. Wouldn't it be weird if he started talking about that? Though Sakura-chan had said that Hinata had been having a bit of a rough time lately... he scowled. If Neji was giving her trouble then Naruto was going to have Words with the older boy. Hinata didn't deserve that when she was so nice.
He supposed that he could talk about that - Sakura-chan always was nicer to him for a bit when he complimented her… though then he always managed to say the wrong thing and have her wind up hitting him anyway. What did you say to a girl you hardly knew?
Was he supposed to be polite? He knew that Hinata came from a really prestigious Clan and that she might take offence if he was anything less than… civilized. Naruto let out a groan of dismay. He wished that Sakura-chan had told him why this was supposed to be a good idea. When he’d pressed her for details, she’d merely smiled with a devious glint in her eyes.
Naruto decided to hell with it. He’d write the stupid letter - and if he wanted to talk about the weather then he would.
Hey, Hinata-chan!
The weather’s nice today, mostly. A bit chilly and the sky’s got that steel color thing going on that means it is probably going to storm later… so I guess the weather isn’t all that great…
Naruto groaned and flung his pen across the room. This was more than hopeless! He’d only make her laugh at him and then he’d lose one of the few people he could maybe call a friend.
“What are you doing, squirt? Didn’t I tell you to get cleaning?”
“Ero-sennin!” Naruto spun around and scowled, “What are you doing in here?”
“I let myself in.” His sensei told him calmly, “It’s quite a collection of traps you’ve got plastered around this place. Some of them clever, even.”
“Try knocking next time!” Naruto said grumpily. It was one thing if Sakura-chan did it - she came in the door at least and was his teammate.
His sensei gave him a long look, “Where’s the fun in that?”
“I don’t care if it isn’t fun - the door is there for a reason.”
“Alright, alright - hold up.” Ero-sennin held up his hands, “What’s got you acting like a puffer fish?”
Naruto thought, for a few seconds about not telling him, but then realized that his sensei might actually be able to help him out a bit. Ero-sennin knew all about girls, right? “Sakura-chan thought it’d be a good idea for me to write a letter to Hinata.” He showed what he had of the letter to Jiraiya. The man didn’t laugh, though his eyes went shiny with suppressed emotion. “That’s all I’ve got so far.”
“Do you know why Sakura would want you to write to another girl?” Jiraiya took a seat, uninvited, on his bed.
Naruto shrugged uncomfortably, “She said that Hinata’s been having a bit of a rough time lately and that it would cheer her up.”
“Who is Hinata anyway?” Jiraiya asked, “What do you know about her?”
“Well,” Naruto thought aloud, “She’s really shy - and for some reason whenever she talks to me she goes really red and has to sit down. She’s fainted a few times, actually. Hinata’s a Hyuuga, so she’s got those freaky eyes and short indigo hair. Um… oh! She’s also really cool! You should have seen her in the Chuunin exam, she just wouldn’t stay down no matter how many times she fell. And she had this medical cream that worked like crazy!” Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically, “She’s the type of girl I really like!”
“Hmm.”
Naruto glared at his teacher - he could tell that Ero-sennin was trying not to laugh at him. “What’s so funny? Do you know why Sakura-chan wants me to write to Hinata?”
“Why don’t you tell Hinata,” Here Jiraiya looked away from him, “what you think of her? All girls like to hear that someone likes them.”
“Sakura-chan hits me when I tell her.” Naruto said accusingly. Jiraiya laughed and Naruto flung a pillow at him. “It’s not funny.” Naruto sulked, “I don’t get it.”
“Well, why don’t you write to Hinata and see what she thinks?” Was his teacher’s suggestion, “If she hits you, you can call me a liar - but most girls like compliments. I’ll tell you what, you can even ask her to see us off when we leave.”
Naruto’s eyes widened, “Not even Sakura-chan knows when we’re going!”
“Consider it a gift.” Jiraiya winked at him and Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion, “Just tell the girl.”
Hey, Hinata-chan!
The weather’s nice today, mostly. A bit chilly and the sky’s got that steel color thing going on that means it is probably going to storm later… so I guess the weather isn’t all that great…
Sakura-chan said that you were having a bit of a hard time lately. Is there anything I can do to help? If Neji’s bothering you I’ll come beat him up again! Just say the word. Anyways, I know that the exam ended quite a while ago but I wanted to say that I thought you were awesome! Go Hinata!
Next time you’ll kick Neji’s ass for sure!
I don’t know if you’ve heard but I’m leaving on a training mission and so I’ll be gone for a few years. (So if you need my help, ask now!) It’s a bit of a secret but I got permission for you to come and see me off.
If, you know, you feel like it and don’t have anything better to do.
Anyway, Ero-sennin’s starting to look cranky, so I’ve got to wrap this up! Maybe I’ll see you around some time?
-- Naruto
P.S. I’m leaving on November 1st - at six in the morning! If you feel like it come see me at the eastern gate at quarter to.
Naruto stared nervously at the letter. It wasn’t the best, and it definitely wouldn’t win any formal prizes but it said what he’d wanted it to say. Now he just had to send it to her.
Would she bother to respond?
For some reason, when he asked Ero-sennin that his sensei burst into laughter. Naruto had a feeling that everyone knew more about what was going on than he did.
---
To say that Shikamaru was unhappy when he made his way to Team 10’s training area at five minutes after five and found that the only other one there was Asuma-sensei was a bit of an understatement. Frowning at his sensei, who merely lit up a cigarette, Shikamaru took another look at his letter.
It still said five o’clock.
“You’re late.” Asuma-sensei said with mild disapproval, “That’s not something I’d expect from a Chuunin.”
What kind of a hello was that? Shikamaru scowled openly and snapped, “At least I’m here before the others.” Which was weird, now that he thought about it. Ino had this thing about punctuality and Chouji wasn’t the sort to sleep in, not when it came to team activities - that was his job. Of the three of them Chouji took the team the most seriously, and then Ino. Where were they?
“And that,” his sensei said in a drawling voice, a smile quirking at his lips, “is because I, being a terribly kind and considerate sensei, said they don’t have to show up until seven.”
Shikamaru fought the urge to smile. His sensei was a moron at times, but it was too early in the morning for him to make the effort to humor him. Instead he asked, sardonically, “And I didn’t rate this consideration?” In truth, even if he was allowed to go back to sleep the chances of him being able to do so were slim. Once he was awake it was difficult to get back to sleep back at his place. Shikamaru was convinced his relatives had no sense of volume control. There was never a need to stomp down the stairs at quarter to five in the morning.
Asuma-sensei took a long drag of his cigarette and said, “I needed to talk to you. This was the least problematic way of going about it.”
Oh. Well. Shikamaru could certainly appreciate that. “What did you want to talk to me about?” He asked curiously, crossing his arms over his chest. After two months of work the vest didn’t feel quite so awkward now as it had when he’d first gotten it. He’d been just a surprised really when he’d learned that he was the only one to pass. Shikamaru had been convinced that the village would have promoted their last Uchiha just on the strength of his name alone. Politics were often a deciding factor in the promotion of new Chuunin.
“As a Chuunin,” Asuma-sensei said seriously, “You out-rank your teammates. This means that your responsibilities are different.”
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know that - he’d gotten the lecture from both Hokage-sama and his father. Then from his uncles and Aunt Miyako, who was an active Jounin despite her husband’s attempts to convince her to retire. He hadn’t thought though that he’d have to hear it yet again.
“Going by your expression though… I’ll spare you the rest of the speech.” Asuma-sensei’s eyes crinkled with suppressed amusement and Shikamaru snorted his disgust.
“It did happen two months ago.” Shikamaru pointed out, “I have had some experience acting as a Chuunin.” And he’d been right that it was more troublesome than just being a Genin - even though his mom had lightened up a bit about his bad habits. The increase in life threatening danger hardly made that a fair trade off in his opinion.
“You haven’t had this sort of experience.” Asuma-sensei promised him, “I’m giving you nominal command of Team 10.”
Shikamaru gaped and then spluttered, “Why would you do such an irritating thing?” He didn’t want command - especially not over the two of them. Chouji listened to him, but even before the exam Ino'd had the tendency to do things her own way, leaving Shikamaru to make her plans work out. He liked that. It had been a challenge.
“You need to learn to be comfortable as a commanding officer. It’s standard procedure, actually. You say you’ve worked as a Chuunin for the last while, but you haven’t really.” Asuma held up one hand to forestall Shikamaru’s protest, “Yes I know that the missions were harder - but you were still the most junior member on most of your teams, right?”
Shikamaru nodded. There wasn’t much that he could say to that - under war conditions there would have been more Chuunin his age, some Jounin even, but a decade of peace meant that most Genin didn’t hit Chuunin until fifteen, sixteen. “What’s that got to do with it?”
“You need the practise. Ino’s got a natural flair for leadership that you lack, even if her strategy often needs work, and Chouji’s even worse than you about just following the lead of someone else.” Asuma-sensei raised his eyebrows, “But both of them have more time to work on it than you do. As Chuunin, you’re expected to be able to take command. Even if it is just your teammates.”
Shikamaru swallowed hard. Ino was going to kill him. Standard procedure or not, he doubted that she’d thought about what that would mean to the dynamics of their team. He certainly hadn’t. “What about you?” Shikamaru asked suddenly, “It doesn’t mean that you’re leaving us, right?”
That got him a laugh. “I wouldn’t do that to you. No, you’re stuck with me a while longer - though it does mean that if there’s a mission Konoha needs me for that you’ll be in full command of Team 10 until I get back.”
Shikamaru’s mind shuddered away from having to deal with that situation. “Was that everything you wanted to talk about?”
“No.”
Surprised, Shikamaru looked up at his sensei with a frown, “What else did you want to discuss?” Hopefully it wouldn’t be anything near as irritating to deal with than contemplate the thought of Ino’s reaction when she was told that Team 10 was no longer her team to command.
Asuma-sensei frowned at the grass, then asked bluntly, “What’s going on between you and Ino?”
“At the party? We had a fight. That’s it.” Shikamaru tried not to let his distaste for the subject matter show even as he rocked back on his metaphorical heels.
The knowledgeable look Asuma-sensei gave him made Shikamaru scowl, “I heard what happened at the party - and both of you were way, way out of line. But that’s not what started it.”
Shikamaru refused to look at his sensei. This wasn’t anyone but his and Ino’s problem, so why couldn’t people just leave them alone to work it out in time? It was just a stupid fight.
When it became clear that he wasn’t going to answer, Asuma-sensei sighed and snubbed out his cigarette, “You made her cry.”
“I did, what?” He asked, startled, “When?”
“A few weeks ago.”
Then why was he bringing it up now?
“She came to my apartment and cried on my shoulder for over an hour.”
Shikamaru’s stomach twisted with guilt, his mind flashing back to the Ino in his dreams who was always sad. Ino wasn’t the type of girl to cry at the drop of a hat, she tended to get angry instead. He knew that from years of experience. Shikamaru didn’t think that their fight was worth that many tears.
“I’m not saying you don’t have some valid points, though at some point I’d like to hear them from your point of view instead of deciphering Ino’s incoherent explanations,” Asuma-sensei continued on, “but Ino seems convinced that you don’t trust her.”
Shikamaru’s jaw firmed. “I’m not talking about this.”
Trust, as far as he was concerned, had very little to do with it.
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