Sky on Fire: Slow Burn - Chapter 5 Part 3
Title: Slow Burn
Chapter: 05 Revelations (Part II)
Author/Artist: Skylar Inari
Pairing: Yamanaka Ino/Nara Shikamaru
Theme: 10 - thunderstorm
Word Count: 14,610 in total (5503 in this post)
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 5 of ? Unbeta’d.
Ino came back from her early morning training and when she stumbled into her room found Sakura still sprawled out, dead to the world, on the futon Ino had dug out of a closet and set up for her last night.
Slipping into her room Ino grabbed a clean uniform, her hairbrush, and her towel then hurried off to shower. While Sakura had the day off - it was standard protocol after missions outside of the village - Ino didn’t and if she wanted to get answers to a few of her questions before heading off to meet up with Asuma-sensei then she’d have to make the time.
When she got out of the shower the clock read half past seven. Drying herself off quickly, she had to meet up with her team at nine and it would take her a good fifteen minutes to get to the training ground, Ino dressed and roughly toweled her hair dry. Then, while winding bandages around her fingers and up her arms to stop just before her elbows, she went to go and wake Sakura. After a few months of practise the motions came easily.
Finding Sakura still asleep - Ino had hoped that she’d have woken on her own - and showing no signs of waking anytime soon, Ino paused for a moment and wondered if she should just leave it until the evening.
Then she remembered that her parents didn’t even know Sakura was staying with them and that she’d have to tell them something, preferably before they came across Sakura on her own. With a sigh, Ino knelt down and gently shook Sakura awake.
When Sakura was blinking sleepily at her Ino started talking, “Hey, Forehead. I know you’re sleepy but there’s a few things we need to talk about right now.” And besides, Sakura could always go back to sleep afterwards.
With a moan, Sakura pushed herself up, hair sticking up all over the place and rubbing at her eyes. “What time is it?”
“You don’t want to know.” Ino told her, “Don’t think about it.”
“…it’s early, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Ino admitted freely, “but I need to know what’s going on with you before I talk to my parents about you staying here for a few days at least.”
“I wasn’t planning on - “
“I know.” Ino ran roughshod over Sakura’s objections, “But you are now. After the state you were in last night you aren’t going home until I say you can.”
The way that Sakura just gave in and sighed spoke volumes. None of it good. That wasn’t the Sakura she was used to dealing with. Ino bit her lip and sat down next to her. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Ino held still when Sakura’s head rested on her shoulder, “I know we haven’t had much time to talk lately,” and she was going to have to figure out a way to change that because obviously she’d missed something big, “but you know that you can tell me anything, right?”
“Yeah,” Sakura said quietly, “You know I’m a first generation shinobi. I think I told you back at the Academy…”
“I remember.” Ino shrugged lightly, careful not to dislodge Sakura’s head from its resting place. Sakura always had been slow to tell people that, almost as if she was ashamed of being the first of her line. “Suzume-sensei had partnered us up for a project on Council rulings.” Ino had spent most of the time explaining things like the Clan Confidential to Sakura and when she’d gotten frustrated about talking about things any shinobi aught to know Sakura had shyly confessed that no one in her family had ever been a ninja.
And just like that, what was going on fell into her lap, and Ino’s eyes softened, “You having a hard time at home with the civilians?”
“They want me to quit.” Sakura told her, “I told them that I can’t. That it’s in my blood, and now they’re talking as if the Academy abused me or something. I don’t know. That’s when I walked out - there was no way I could deal with it right then.”
“Abused?” Ino repeated incredulously, “What are they thinking?”
The smile Sakura gave her didn’t reach the eyes, “They just want me to be safe. In the light of Konoha’s recent… difficulties, they don’t want me to continue on.”
“Right.” Ino was so furious that it was hard work to keep it from showing in her face and voice, but she managed because Sakura didn’t need to hear what Ino was thinking about calling her best friend’s parents. “You go back to sleep. I’ll take care of my parents and we’ll talk more about yours later.”
Sakura was asleep within moments of her head touching the pillow again. Ino stared down at her best and oldest friend for a long minute before getting up and stalking out of her room. She was going to talk to her mother.
Ino had no doubts that she’d be able to get her to agree to let Sakura stay for a while. Yamanaka Mui had been a first generation shinobi back before she married and had been know only as Tanaka Mui. Ino had heard the stories about her mother’s break with her family from the time she’d been able to walk - she still hadn’t ever met her grandparents on her mother’s side. Perhaps her mother would be able to help Sakura.
Either way, Ino was going to make sure that the transition was as seamless as possible for Sakura. Ino wouldn’t let her friend down. That’s what friends were for. No matter what she did Ino knew that it would be a difficult thing for Sakura but it was up to her to make sure that it wasn’t as difficult for her as it had been for her mother.
Ino shot out of the house and headed for the shop. She’d be late for training, but Ino thought that it was a small cost to pay. Some things were more important than training.
--- ---
Shikamaru showed up the next day on Ino’s doorstep at quarter after six in the morning. He was fifteen minutes early and Yamanaka Mui gave him more than one puzzled and mildly surprised look as she let him in. He followed her down the hall to the kitchen.
“Ino will be down in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” He murmured as she pressed a glass of juice on him and leaned against the kitchen doorway. Rubbing at his eyes, they burned from lack of sleep, Shikamaru took an absent sip of the juice.
Ino, he had no doubt of this, had picked the time for the talk to be as inconvenient for him as possible. She was an early riser, whereas Shikamaru thought that getting up at nine was way too early. Unfortunately for her just lately Shikamaru had been getting used to waking up with the sun.
It was the only time of day that he knew he would be able to find his father so long as Shikaku wasn’t out on a mission. If he tried searching for him any later than that it would be like searching for a senbon in a haystack.
The books on nightmares, and his ancestor’s research into the topic had answered many of his questions, but for others he needed a closer perspective than the dry words of those long dead. His father was more than willing to at least attempt to answer his questions, and had taken to adding some further training with their Shadow Jutsu. As if in response to his thoughts, Shikamaru’s shadow twitched against the door frame. He frowned at it when Yamanaka Mui’s back was turned.
The training was useful, he knew that, but it would take a while before the good out-weighed the bad. At the moment the next level of Shadow Jutsu had the side effect of making his shadow more responsive to his thoughts. His father had said that it would get worse before it stabilized into something he could control more efficiently.
Ino came down the stairs a few moments later, bright-eyed and with her hair still damp from her shower. Those awful pink glasses of hers were perched on top of her head. Her smile faltered for a second when she noticed him and Shikamaru shoved away his annoyance at that.
“We’re going, Mother!” Ino chirped brightly while looking at him significantly. “Isn’t that right, Shikamaru?”
Shikamaru tried not to look as if this was a surprise to him. They had decided that the talk would be held in Ino’s room the last he’d heard of it. He narrowed his eyes at her, if she was trying to get out of it again…
Ino shook her head minutely, her eyes pleading.
He sighed and pushed himself off the door frame. “Yeah, we’re going.” Shikamaru set his cup down in the sink and let Ino grab his arm and lead him out of the house. Once they were off the door step and out of sight of Mui, Ino let him go.
“What was that all about?” He demanded as she lead the way through the streets. “I thought we were talking in your room?”
“Only if you wanted an audience.” Ino replied curtly over her shoulder, “I thought it would be better to keep this private.”
Well, he couldn’t really argue with that. Shikamaru was guessing that this conversation would be irritating enough without having to deal with someone else listening in. There was one question he wanted to have answered though and he picked his pace up enough so that he was on level with Ino and gave her a side long glance, “Who would have been in the audience? Doesn’t your mother go and start setting up the shop around this time?”
“Not my mother.” Ino said quietly, “Sakura’s staying at my place for a few days - she’s having difficulties with her parents about being a shinobi.”
“Oh.” Shikamaru shut up on that topic. It really wasn’t any of his business then. Haruno was a clever enough girl, he supposed, if overly impressed by book smarts, and she’d managed to get taken on as Tsunade-sama’s apprentice so she had to have talent. He hadn’t realized though that she was first generation. He thought about the Oto invasion and how it would look to a civilian…
Shikamaru winced.
Yes, he could see why she’d be having problems. Konoha hadn’t exactly covered itself with glory in the last while. “What do her parents do for a living?” He hadn’t meant to ask the question, but found himself hoping Ino would answer anyway.
Ino’s lips twisted into a smile that wasn’t real, “They’re tailors. Kimono design specialists actually. They’ve been gaining popularity recently.”
Shikamaru shook his head. How had two clothing designers wound up with a ninja for a daughter? He was mildly surprised that Sakura hadn’t had any problems before now. “And it’s the first time that she’s had problems?” His voice was slightly incredulous.
Ino shrugged as they ducked on to one of the paths that dipped down and went for a ways alongside the river. “I asked and she said something about her father wishing that he’d been a ninja…” She flung herself on one of the carved stone benches and drew her knees up under her chin.
“Hmm.” Shikamaru took a seat next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments.
Then Ino said sharply, “You’re the one who wanted to talk. So talk.”
Shikamaru studied the grass that was poking up between the stones of the path before saying, “How long have you been studying medical jutsu?” His trips to the library hadn’t proved all that useful. There was so much that a medic-nin could do with the right training that to make up his mind on how to deal with a budding one on his team he needed more information.
Ino looked defiant, “Since the middle of September.”
Just over two months then. Shikamaru was pleased to find that she hadn’t been lying to him for longer than that. “Your father’s alright with you just ignoring your family jutsu?” She kicked him hard enough that he knew he was going to bruise. “Ow! Ino!”
“Shizune-sensei agreed to train me as a field medic.” Ino said furiously, “Nothing more than that. I am not letting my Clan down so you’d better take that back.”
Well, that was one of his questions answered. Shikamaru figured that the pain in his thigh was worth it. Rubbing his thigh, he sighed, “Look, I’m sorry - but what was I supposed to think? You haven’t told me anything.”
Ino had the grace to look sheepish at that. She looked down and fiddled with the ends of her bandages. “What did you want to know then?” If her voice was resentful, well, Shikamaru was going to let that slide.
Finally. That was what he’d wanted to have from the start. Taking a deep breath, he decided to start with the simplest question. It was the most practical of them, and one that he thought Ino would mind answering the least. “Your medic training… what can you do?”
She perked up and for a moment Shikamaru saw the girl he’d gone to the Academy with - the one that was always willing to brag about what she was able to do - before she started to speak with a clarity and conciseness that was entirely new.
As he listened to her speak Shikamaru studied her covertly. Her hair was slowly growing back, he was glad of that because she wasn’t quite Ino without a mass of blonde hair spilling down her back. There was a new confidence in her way of speaking. Not a confidence born of bravado but rather a deeper sort. A truer faith in her abilities. The wear on her sandals showed that she’d been doing more than just medical training and Shikamaru thought again of the fight with Team 8 where Ino had done better than any of his plans had thought to estimate.
“Shizune-sensei said she’ll be starting me on healing simple breaks and deeper wounds after the new year.” Ino was saying as she wound to a close, “Right now though we’re concentrating on minor wounds and common poisons.”
He nodded, what she’d given him was more than enough information to work with. “What else can you do?”
Ino stretched and draped her arms over the back of the bench. “I’ve been working heavily on taijutsu - my Father’s helping - and also working on learning a few more Clan techniques.”
“Any specifics?”
She looked only mildly apologetic, “Only one new Jutsu is far enough along to use in combat and Father said I can’t talk about it until he is satisfied with my performance.”
… how troublesome. Shikamaru thought about it, then said, “What was it that made Hinata so sick at the start of the spar?”
The faint blush on Ino’s cheeks was answer enough. “Anything else you wanted to know?” She asked him archly.
Shikamaru thought about his other questions and discarded most of them. They weren’t things Ino was going to answer right here and now if she wasn’t allowed to talk about some of her training. He weighed his last two questions carefully - Ino wasn’t likely to stick around long enough to answer the both of them.
Making his decision before she could get impatient, he said, “Why didn’t you tell Chouji and I about your training?” The other question was: What is your problem lately? But Shikamaru figured that she was more likely to answer the first one.
Ino looked uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Shikamaru shrugged it off, he wasn’t going to let her wiggle out of answer it. If they’d been out of the village for missions that sort of omission could have gotten them all killed.
“I told Asuma-sensei.” Ino objected half-heartedly. Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed at that. Asuma-sensei hadn’t told him that. What had his sensei been going on about then saying that it was up to him to make up the strategy for the team?
“Great,” Shikamaru said dryly, “now what can you tell me?”
Her eyes narrowed in true anger and he wondered if she would just stomp off without saying anything. Then she said, “You want to know why? Because I didn’t want to tell you. Simple as that.”
Except it wasn’t that simple and both of them knew it. “Why didn’t you want to tell me then?”
She took a deep breath and he was discomfited to realize that there were tears in her eyes. Ino didn’t let them fall though, “Because I wanted to be treated the way I used to be. An equal member of Team 10. Not like some doll.”
Just like everyone had been telling him. Shikamaru winced as she wiped away a few tears. He knew what he had to tell her to make it right. Even if he wanted to keep her away from the dangers that he’d encountered. That would be something then he’d deal with when the time came. Shikamaru could feel his stomach clenching as Ino’s shoulders shook. She’s not supposed to cry… “I’ll try,” he said quietly, finally, “to remember that from now on.”
Ino nearly knocked him over with the hug she gave him. Shikamaru flushed at the spectacle they must be making and was glad that this early in the morning there weren’t many people down by the river paths. Awkwardly he patted her shoulders.
She calmed quickly, for which he was grateful even if his shirt was a bit damp, and pulled away from him. He watched silently as she went to wash her face in the river to ease the effects of her crying spree.
The smile he got from her trembled slightly when she came back, but it was genuine. “Sorry.”
He had to ask, with girls he was never sure of how things stood. “We alright?”
Ino gave him a searching glance, he didn’t know what she was looking for, but at length she said, “Not yet, but we’re getting there.”
It was better than they’d been for months. Shikamaru could live with it for now. “Want to head out and grab something to eat before training?”
“Sure.” She turned to go, took two steps then whipped around to face him so quickly that he nearly crashed into her. Her glasses stayed steady while her hair was a movement behind. One hand crept up to touch them.
“I finished the Jutsu.” Ino told him.
“That’s good.” Shikamaru said, “They were a liability before.” They still were, but it was mildly less annoying to have to deal with now that there wasn’t the chance of them falling off at the worse possible moment.
She fidgeted then said, all in a rush, “Thank you for helping me. It would have taken so much longer if you hadn’t helped.” Then, before he could really register that Ino had thanked him, sincerely, for his help, she pressed her lips to his cheek.
He had a split second to realize what had just happened and then Ino was dancing away from him, only a faint flush on her face betraying the fact that she’d done anything out of the ordinary. “Hurry up, Shikamaru!”
“I’m coming!” He told her, one hand brushing his cheek as he hurried after her, “What are you in such a rush for?”
She ignored that and merely called back, “It’s your treat, right?”
--- ---
Tsunade frowned at the messenger bird, her fingers itching for a kunai. Unconcerned, the bird preened its feathers, the clouds on its identity tag speaking louder than words where it was from. With a final distrustful glance at the bird she broke open the scroll and wondered what the Raikage had to say to her.
Konoha and Kumo hadn't been on speaking terms in years. She could only suspect that it was the death of the Sandaime that prompted this missive. Perhaps they thought that she would be an easier mark? Tsunade snorted at the idea.
Reading the scroll, then reading it again, had her frowning, deep in thought. She still thought that the Raikage likely had something up his sleeve... but his idea still had merit. And it would give her younger shinobi a chance to get acquainted with the terrain - just in case. Tapping the scroll against her cheek and shooing the bird away, Tsunade considered the time frame she would have to arrange for. It was early November now and she had to the end of December to get all of the paperwork done.
Realizing that she’d actually have to work at it Tsunade sighed heavily, looked mournfully at the clock - she had wanted to get out of the office by noon and head over to the hospital to give Sakura some more hands on training - and pulled out the first set of forms she’d have to fill out. There were the heads of the Clans to be notified, then the Jounin sensei…
And she still had that meeting with Morino at eleven.
She knew what he wanted though, so Tsunade didn’t think that it would take long. Hmm… she’d have to start setting Sakura more book work for the days and have her lessons at night, that would work for a while even if it wasn’t optimal.
Jotting down a quick note to the Suna Council - which was acting as head of the village until a new Kazekage was chosen - she straightened her shoulders and with a will that would have surprised Shizune Tsunade started filling out all of the paperwork that would have to be done in time for this… unexpected… offer to go into effect for January.
The Godaime Hokage was so intent on her paperwork that she was surprised when there was a discreet knock on her door and one of her ANBU informed her that Morino had arrived. After a quick glance at the clock, where had the time gone?, she called for him to come in. There was no point in hiding the paperwork from him even if she didn’t want this spread all over the village yet.
The scarred Special Jounin entered the room and bowed until she waved for him to take a seat. Leaning back in her own chair Tsunade waited for him to speak, no point in letting him out right know how eager she wasn’t about this.
"It has been a month, Hokage-sama." Morino Ibiki's voice was politely deferential after a few moments of silence. “What is your decision?”
“What are your opinions of her?” Tsunade countered. She’d been working the past month on getting to know all of her permanently stationed staff and Morino was one of those that seldom left Konoha. It was easy to predict that he’d had Yamanaka Ino under his own surveillance for the last while.
The pleased grin she got from the tall, bear-like man was confirmation enough that she’d been right to peg him as having the girl watched. “Kid’s not bad,” he said slowly, “Huge difference from the last Chuunin Exam, she managed to hold her own well enough in a straight taijutsu fight against Inuzuka Kiba long enough that in a real combat situation her teammates would have been able to back her up.”
“Inuzuka? That’s surprising.” The Inuzuka Clan was known for being handy with taijutsu - most of their Clan secrets being based around it in some way or another. “What else?” Taijutsu was wasn’t everything after all.
“She’s pretty solid at the moment for a Genin.” Ibiki said firmly after a pause to think, “She’ll be one of the more likely contenders to make Chuunin in the next Exam or two, unless there’s a glut of genius again. Yamanaka’s a clever girl, and better, knows how to think - though her impulse control needs a bit more work. My money’s on the next exam frankly, she’s improved that much.”
Tsunade nodded her head, everything he’d said correlated well with her own research coupled with Shizune’s observations. “I’ll want to see any surveillance tapes you’ve got on her before making my final decision.”
“Of course, Hokage-sama. We have a room already prepared on the second floor.”
Tucking her paperwork away under a minor, but tricky to break, genjutsu Tsunade followed Morino out of her office stopping to have a quick word with the ANBU that materialized at her shoulders.
Reaching one of the video rooms, one normally used for medical lectures and large mission debriefings, she wasn’t surprised to find another person already there given Ibiki’s wording. Nor was she surprised to see the scarlet spiral tattooed on the other’s arm.
“Watanabe Kotone, Jounin. Intelligence.” The dark haired woman said simply naming herself, rank, and official affiliation within ANBU, before bowing formally, “I am pleased to be of service, Hokage-sama.”
“At ease.” Tsunade said, taking a good look at the Jounin in front of her, who was wearing the traditional ANBU uniform, sans cape, with the mask of a dog perched on her head, “I take it that if I give the go ahead you’ll be Yamanaka’s main observer?”
Watanabe smiled, raising one finger to her lips, “Of course, Hokage-sama. The girl will never realize.”
“I should hope not.” Tsunade said dryly, as Morino headed to the front of the room and began fiddling with the wires of the television, “The whole point of this is to do it without her knowing about it.”
Taking a seat where she’d best be able to watch the screen, Tsunade waited for the video to start. Only then would she make her final decision… though it was looking more and more likely that she’d be telling Shizune the news soon enough.
Too many people were in on it already to make putting a stop to it easy. Watanabe’s assured presence said that much, no doubt they already had a plan in place waiting to be executed at a moment’s notice.
Tsunade couldn’t help but be proud, a bit, of her shinobi for being so clever. Even if they were manipulating her.
Huh, maybe she was getting used to this whole Hokage thing.
--- ---
Her body ached. It wasn't a new occurrence ever since she'd started training harder, but that didn't mean Ino had to be happy with it. Her father didn't go easy on her when they had their training sessions. Neither did Tenten when they managed to get together long enough to do more than catch up on each other’s news.
Ino was walking back to her house after her latest lesson with her father. He'd stayed behind, saying something about seeing if he could drag Shikaku out for a spar. Fiddling with the bandages on her hands - they'd become slightly loose during her training - Ino took to the roof-tops.
A quick glance at the position of the sun told her that she had a little over an hour before she had to meet up with her team for their latest mission. Time enough then for her to get home and have a quick shower before heading out again.
Even on the rooftops at this time of the day there was a fair bit of traffic, mostly shinobi heading off to their various missions and duty’s for the day. Ino briefly wished that her training had ended earlier thereby allowing her to miss the throng of people who would see her in this disheveled state. Ino took pride in her appearance, and her filthy uniform and messy hair was wounding to her image.
On the other hand, she thought, as she waved to a Chuunin she’d met while working at the Academy, no one was going to blink at the fact that she’d been out training. The Chuunin, in fact, looked at her appearance approvingly. Ino comforted herself with that. The dirt would wash off after all (though the bruises would hurt for a while yet). Shizune-sensei had forbidden her to practise healing her own training bruises without supervision so she’d have to wait until her lesson in the late afternoon.
Slipping in through her window - it was safe right now to do with no one home. Her father would scold her if he knew though, and her mother would have simply sighed and asked her if she couldn't just go through the door like everyone else did. But her mother was at the shop right now.
What they don't know, she thought virtuously, won't hurt them.
Besides, the window was faster and more convenient. Making sure that it was latched behind her was the work of seconds. Setting up the traps she used to secure it took a few minutes. Her father insisted on the traps.
“Geez, isn’t that a bit paranoid?” Sakura asked from behind her. Ino yelped, spinning on her heels to turn and face her.
“Forehead! Try knocking next time!” Ino scolded to cover her racing heartbeat as Sakura smirked at her from the door. “What are you doing home at this time of the day? And besides, trapping your windows and doors in common sense in a shinobi village, my father taught me this.”
“Tsunade-sama had some important work come up, so she’s assigned me a ton of reading to do and switched my hands on lessons to nights.” Sakura made a face at that, “She also told me to start practising my Taijutsu in my free time.”
Ino laughed even as she grabbed her towel from the foot of her bed and started stripping down, starting with her sandals. “Free time? What free time?”
“Exactly.”
“Madness.”
Running a brush through her hair, Ino headed off to the showers. A quick wash later - she’d have a bath before bed - Ino dressed in a clean outfit, putting her hair back in twin pigtails and winding the bandages around her arms then headed downstairs following the smell of bacon.
She found Sakura humming over the stove-top.
"You being domestic now?" Ino asked as Sakura gestured for her to sit down. Ino grabbed a glass of orange juice before complying.
"You're letting me stay with you for a few days." Came the simple answer. "It's the least I can do - and your mother won't let me do it for her."
Ino let the matter drop. It would only make Sakura uncomfortable if she went on badgering her about it. Ino had more tact than that though and was planning to have a few words with Shizune-sensei about the situation before doing anything.
"Stay as long as you like." She said as Sakura set a plate down in front of her. "My parents don't mind." Her father had been dubious at first, but after seeing how little upkeep Sakura required had relented. And they weren’t seeing enough of each other to get on each other’s nerves.
Sakura looked unconvinced and Ino abandoned that topic in favor of eating. After several hours of training her first breakfast was long gone and food, especially warm food, was more than welcome. Normally Ino just grabbed a few granola bars and flung herself out the door. It helped that Sakura was a decent cook, even if she was totally helpless when it came to baking.
“What’s your plans for the day?” Sakura asked her, sitting down across the table with a soft thump.
Ino swallowed and said, “Asuma-sensei said we’ll have a mission, then I’ve got training with Shizune-sensei after it. Want to do some review tonight?”
“That’d be great.” Sakura smiled, “I’m heading out after I do the dishes. There’s a few things I need to pick up for my lessons.”
Finishing her meal and downing her juice, Ino raced upstairs to brush her teeth. Then, with a cheerful thanks and a promise to talk more later, Ino headed out. The streets were busy, but not too crowded, and Ino stayed on the ground weaving her way through with well trained ease.
Turning down onto a quieter street after a bit, she picked up the pace. Even if she walked there was no way that she’d be late for the mission briefing but Ino wanted to make sure that she’d have time to stretch.
As she jogged, glasses staying firmly in place thanks to Hair Tie no Jutsu, Ino thought about her lessons. Shizune-sensei had wanted to start covering chakra-enhanced healing of broken bones soon, and had said something about an official test to check that her work was up to the required standards.
She was concentrating so hard that she nearly tripped with surprise when the dark form of an ANBU agent appeared in front of her with a burst of white smoke. As the smoke cleared, Ino could see that the agent was a woman - the skin tight uniform left no doubt of that! - with the mask of a dog.
“Yamanaka Ino,” the ANBU said in a monotonous voice, “Hokage-sama wishes to see you.”
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Chapter: 05 Revelations (Part II)
Author/Artist: Skylar Inari
Pairing: Yamanaka Ino/Nara Shikamaru
Theme: 10 - thunderstorm
Word Count: 14,610 in total (5503 in this post)
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 5 of ? Unbeta’d.
Ino came back from her early morning training and when she stumbled into her room found Sakura still sprawled out, dead to the world, on the futon Ino had dug out of a closet and set up for her last night.
Slipping into her room Ino grabbed a clean uniform, her hairbrush, and her towel then hurried off to shower. While Sakura had the day off - it was standard protocol after missions outside of the village - Ino didn’t and if she wanted to get answers to a few of her questions before heading off to meet up with Asuma-sensei then she’d have to make the time.
When she got out of the shower the clock read half past seven. Drying herself off quickly, she had to meet up with her team at nine and it would take her a good fifteen minutes to get to the training ground, Ino dressed and roughly toweled her hair dry. Then, while winding bandages around her fingers and up her arms to stop just before her elbows, she went to go and wake Sakura. After a few months of practise the motions came easily.
Finding Sakura still asleep - Ino had hoped that she’d have woken on her own - and showing no signs of waking anytime soon, Ino paused for a moment and wondered if she should just leave it until the evening.
Then she remembered that her parents didn’t even know Sakura was staying with them and that she’d have to tell them something, preferably before they came across Sakura on her own. With a sigh, Ino knelt down and gently shook Sakura awake.
When Sakura was blinking sleepily at her Ino started talking, “Hey, Forehead. I know you’re sleepy but there’s a few things we need to talk about right now.” And besides, Sakura could always go back to sleep afterwards.
With a moan, Sakura pushed herself up, hair sticking up all over the place and rubbing at her eyes. “What time is it?”
“You don’t want to know.” Ino told her, “Don’t think about it.”
“…it’s early, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Ino admitted freely, “but I need to know what’s going on with you before I talk to my parents about you staying here for a few days at least.”
“I wasn’t planning on - “
“I know.” Ino ran roughshod over Sakura’s objections, “But you are now. After the state you were in last night you aren’t going home until I say you can.”
The way that Sakura just gave in and sighed spoke volumes. None of it good. That wasn’t the Sakura she was used to dealing with. Ino bit her lip and sat down next to her. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Ino held still when Sakura’s head rested on her shoulder, “I know we haven’t had much time to talk lately,” and she was going to have to figure out a way to change that because obviously she’d missed something big, “but you know that you can tell me anything, right?”
“Yeah,” Sakura said quietly, “You know I’m a first generation shinobi. I think I told you back at the Academy…”
“I remember.” Ino shrugged lightly, careful not to dislodge Sakura’s head from its resting place. Sakura always had been slow to tell people that, almost as if she was ashamed of being the first of her line. “Suzume-sensei had partnered us up for a project on Council rulings.” Ino had spent most of the time explaining things like the Clan Confidential to Sakura and when she’d gotten frustrated about talking about things any shinobi aught to know Sakura had shyly confessed that no one in her family had ever been a ninja.
And just like that, what was going on fell into her lap, and Ino’s eyes softened, “You having a hard time at home with the civilians?”
“They want me to quit.” Sakura told her, “I told them that I can’t. That it’s in my blood, and now they’re talking as if the Academy abused me or something. I don’t know. That’s when I walked out - there was no way I could deal with it right then.”
“Abused?” Ino repeated incredulously, “What are they thinking?”
The smile Sakura gave her didn’t reach the eyes, “They just want me to be safe. In the light of Konoha’s recent… difficulties, they don’t want me to continue on.”
“Right.” Ino was so furious that it was hard work to keep it from showing in her face and voice, but she managed because Sakura didn’t need to hear what Ino was thinking about calling her best friend’s parents. “You go back to sleep. I’ll take care of my parents and we’ll talk more about yours later.”
Sakura was asleep within moments of her head touching the pillow again. Ino stared down at her best and oldest friend for a long minute before getting up and stalking out of her room. She was going to talk to her mother.
Ino had no doubts that she’d be able to get her to agree to let Sakura stay for a while. Yamanaka Mui had been a first generation shinobi back before she married and had been know only as Tanaka Mui. Ino had heard the stories about her mother’s break with her family from the time she’d been able to walk - she still hadn’t ever met her grandparents on her mother’s side. Perhaps her mother would be able to help Sakura.
Either way, Ino was going to make sure that the transition was as seamless as possible for Sakura. Ino wouldn’t let her friend down. That’s what friends were for. No matter what she did Ino knew that it would be a difficult thing for Sakura but it was up to her to make sure that it wasn’t as difficult for her as it had been for her mother.
Ino shot out of the house and headed for the shop. She’d be late for training, but Ino thought that it was a small cost to pay. Some things were more important than training.
--- ---
Shikamaru showed up the next day on Ino’s doorstep at quarter after six in the morning. He was fifteen minutes early and Yamanaka Mui gave him more than one puzzled and mildly surprised look as she let him in. He followed her down the hall to the kitchen.
“Ino will be down in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” He murmured as she pressed a glass of juice on him and leaned against the kitchen doorway. Rubbing at his eyes, they burned from lack of sleep, Shikamaru took an absent sip of the juice.
Ino, he had no doubt of this, had picked the time for the talk to be as inconvenient for him as possible. She was an early riser, whereas Shikamaru thought that getting up at nine was way too early. Unfortunately for her just lately Shikamaru had been getting used to waking up with the sun.
It was the only time of day that he knew he would be able to find his father so long as Shikaku wasn’t out on a mission. If he tried searching for him any later than that it would be like searching for a senbon in a haystack.
The books on nightmares, and his ancestor’s research into the topic had answered many of his questions, but for others he needed a closer perspective than the dry words of those long dead. His father was more than willing to at least attempt to answer his questions, and had taken to adding some further training with their Shadow Jutsu. As if in response to his thoughts, Shikamaru’s shadow twitched against the door frame. He frowned at it when Yamanaka Mui’s back was turned.
The training was useful, he knew that, but it would take a while before the good out-weighed the bad. At the moment the next level of Shadow Jutsu had the side effect of making his shadow more responsive to his thoughts. His father had said that it would get worse before it stabilized into something he could control more efficiently.
Ino came down the stairs a few moments later, bright-eyed and with her hair still damp from her shower. Those awful pink glasses of hers were perched on top of her head. Her smile faltered for a second when she noticed him and Shikamaru shoved away his annoyance at that.
“We’re going, Mother!” Ino chirped brightly while looking at him significantly. “Isn’t that right, Shikamaru?”
Shikamaru tried not to look as if this was a surprise to him. They had decided that the talk would be held in Ino’s room the last he’d heard of it. He narrowed his eyes at her, if she was trying to get out of it again…
Ino shook her head minutely, her eyes pleading.
He sighed and pushed himself off the door frame. “Yeah, we’re going.” Shikamaru set his cup down in the sink and let Ino grab his arm and lead him out of the house. Once they were off the door step and out of sight of Mui, Ino let him go.
“What was that all about?” He demanded as she lead the way through the streets. “I thought we were talking in your room?”
“Only if you wanted an audience.” Ino replied curtly over her shoulder, “I thought it would be better to keep this private.”
Well, he couldn’t really argue with that. Shikamaru was guessing that this conversation would be irritating enough without having to deal with someone else listening in. There was one question he wanted to have answered though and he picked his pace up enough so that he was on level with Ino and gave her a side long glance, “Who would have been in the audience? Doesn’t your mother go and start setting up the shop around this time?”
“Not my mother.” Ino said quietly, “Sakura’s staying at my place for a few days - she’s having difficulties with her parents about being a shinobi.”
“Oh.” Shikamaru shut up on that topic. It really wasn’t any of his business then. Haruno was a clever enough girl, he supposed, if overly impressed by book smarts, and she’d managed to get taken on as Tsunade-sama’s apprentice so she had to have talent. He hadn’t realized though that she was first generation. He thought about the Oto invasion and how it would look to a civilian…
Shikamaru winced.
Yes, he could see why she’d be having problems. Konoha hadn’t exactly covered itself with glory in the last while. “What do her parents do for a living?” He hadn’t meant to ask the question, but found himself hoping Ino would answer anyway.
Ino’s lips twisted into a smile that wasn’t real, “They’re tailors. Kimono design specialists actually. They’ve been gaining popularity recently.”
Shikamaru shook his head. How had two clothing designers wound up with a ninja for a daughter? He was mildly surprised that Sakura hadn’t had any problems before now. “And it’s the first time that she’s had problems?” His voice was slightly incredulous.
Ino shrugged as they ducked on to one of the paths that dipped down and went for a ways alongside the river. “I asked and she said something about her father wishing that he’d been a ninja…” She flung herself on one of the carved stone benches and drew her knees up under her chin.
“Hmm.” Shikamaru took a seat next to her. They sat in silence for a few moments.
Then Ino said sharply, “You’re the one who wanted to talk. So talk.”
Shikamaru studied the grass that was poking up between the stones of the path before saying, “How long have you been studying medical jutsu?” His trips to the library hadn’t proved all that useful. There was so much that a medic-nin could do with the right training that to make up his mind on how to deal with a budding one on his team he needed more information.
Ino looked defiant, “Since the middle of September.”
Just over two months then. Shikamaru was pleased to find that she hadn’t been lying to him for longer than that. “Your father’s alright with you just ignoring your family jutsu?” She kicked him hard enough that he knew he was going to bruise. “Ow! Ino!”
“Shizune-sensei agreed to train me as a field medic.” Ino said furiously, “Nothing more than that. I am not letting my Clan down so you’d better take that back.”
Well, that was one of his questions answered. Shikamaru figured that the pain in his thigh was worth it. Rubbing his thigh, he sighed, “Look, I’m sorry - but what was I supposed to think? You haven’t told me anything.”
Ino had the grace to look sheepish at that. She looked down and fiddled with the ends of her bandages. “What did you want to know then?” If her voice was resentful, well, Shikamaru was going to let that slide.
Finally. That was what he’d wanted to have from the start. Taking a deep breath, he decided to start with the simplest question. It was the most practical of them, and one that he thought Ino would mind answering the least. “Your medic training… what can you do?”
She perked up and for a moment Shikamaru saw the girl he’d gone to the Academy with - the one that was always willing to brag about what she was able to do - before she started to speak with a clarity and conciseness that was entirely new.
As he listened to her speak Shikamaru studied her covertly. Her hair was slowly growing back, he was glad of that because she wasn’t quite Ino without a mass of blonde hair spilling down her back. There was a new confidence in her way of speaking. Not a confidence born of bravado but rather a deeper sort. A truer faith in her abilities. The wear on her sandals showed that she’d been doing more than just medical training and Shikamaru thought again of the fight with Team 8 where Ino had done better than any of his plans had thought to estimate.
“Shizune-sensei said she’ll be starting me on healing simple breaks and deeper wounds after the new year.” Ino was saying as she wound to a close, “Right now though we’re concentrating on minor wounds and common poisons.”
He nodded, what she’d given him was more than enough information to work with. “What else can you do?”
Ino stretched and draped her arms over the back of the bench. “I’ve been working heavily on taijutsu - my Father’s helping - and also working on learning a few more Clan techniques.”
“Any specifics?”
She looked only mildly apologetic, “Only one new Jutsu is far enough along to use in combat and Father said I can’t talk about it until he is satisfied with my performance.”
… how troublesome. Shikamaru thought about it, then said, “What was it that made Hinata so sick at the start of the spar?”
The faint blush on Ino’s cheeks was answer enough. “Anything else you wanted to know?” She asked him archly.
Shikamaru thought about his other questions and discarded most of them. They weren’t things Ino was going to answer right here and now if she wasn’t allowed to talk about some of her training. He weighed his last two questions carefully - Ino wasn’t likely to stick around long enough to answer the both of them.
Making his decision before she could get impatient, he said, “Why didn’t you tell Chouji and I about your training?” The other question was: What is your problem lately? But Shikamaru figured that she was more likely to answer the first one.
Ino looked uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Shikamaru shrugged it off, he wasn’t going to let her wiggle out of answer it. If they’d been out of the village for missions that sort of omission could have gotten them all killed.
“I told Asuma-sensei.” Ino objected half-heartedly. Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed at that. Asuma-sensei hadn’t told him that. What had his sensei been going on about then saying that it was up to him to make up the strategy for the team?
“Great,” Shikamaru said dryly, “now what can you tell me?”
Her eyes narrowed in true anger and he wondered if she would just stomp off without saying anything. Then she said, “You want to know why? Because I didn’t want to tell you. Simple as that.”
Except it wasn’t that simple and both of them knew it. “Why didn’t you want to tell me then?”
She took a deep breath and he was discomfited to realize that there were tears in her eyes. Ino didn’t let them fall though, “Because I wanted to be treated the way I used to be. An equal member of Team 10. Not like some doll.”
Just like everyone had been telling him. Shikamaru winced as she wiped away a few tears. He knew what he had to tell her to make it right. Even if he wanted to keep her away from the dangers that he’d encountered. That would be something then he’d deal with when the time came. Shikamaru could feel his stomach clenching as Ino’s shoulders shook. She’s not supposed to cry… “I’ll try,” he said quietly, finally, “to remember that from now on.”
Ino nearly knocked him over with the hug she gave him. Shikamaru flushed at the spectacle they must be making and was glad that this early in the morning there weren’t many people down by the river paths. Awkwardly he patted her shoulders.
She calmed quickly, for which he was grateful even if his shirt was a bit damp, and pulled away from him. He watched silently as she went to wash her face in the river to ease the effects of her crying spree.
The smile he got from her trembled slightly when she came back, but it was genuine. “Sorry.”
He had to ask, with girls he was never sure of how things stood. “We alright?”
Ino gave him a searching glance, he didn’t know what she was looking for, but at length she said, “Not yet, but we’re getting there.”
It was better than they’d been for months. Shikamaru could live with it for now. “Want to head out and grab something to eat before training?”
“Sure.” She turned to go, took two steps then whipped around to face him so quickly that he nearly crashed into her. Her glasses stayed steady while her hair was a movement behind. One hand crept up to touch them.
“I finished the Jutsu.” Ino told him.
“That’s good.” Shikamaru said, “They were a liability before.” They still were, but it was mildly less annoying to have to deal with now that there wasn’t the chance of them falling off at the worse possible moment.
She fidgeted then said, all in a rush, “Thank you for helping me. It would have taken so much longer if you hadn’t helped.” Then, before he could really register that Ino had thanked him, sincerely, for his help, she pressed her lips to his cheek.
He had a split second to realize what had just happened and then Ino was dancing away from him, only a faint flush on her face betraying the fact that she’d done anything out of the ordinary. “Hurry up, Shikamaru!”
“I’m coming!” He told her, one hand brushing his cheek as he hurried after her, “What are you in such a rush for?”
She ignored that and merely called back, “It’s your treat, right?”
--- ---
Tsunade frowned at the messenger bird, her fingers itching for a kunai. Unconcerned, the bird preened its feathers, the clouds on its identity tag speaking louder than words where it was from. With a final distrustful glance at the bird she broke open the scroll and wondered what the Raikage had to say to her.
Konoha and Kumo hadn't been on speaking terms in years. She could only suspect that it was the death of the Sandaime that prompted this missive. Perhaps they thought that she would be an easier mark? Tsunade snorted at the idea.
Reading the scroll, then reading it again, had her frowning, deep in thought. She still thought that the Raikage likely had something up his sleeve... but his idea still had merit. And it would give her younger shinobi a chance to get acquainted with the terrain - just in case. Tapping the scroll against her cheek and shooing the bird away, Tsunade considered the time frame she would have to arrange for. It was early November now and she had to the end of December to get all of the paperwork done.
Realizing that she’d actually have to work at it Tsunade sighed heavily, looked mournfully at the clock - she had wanted to get out of the office by noon and head over to the hospital to give Sakura some more hands on training - and pulled out the first set of forms she’d have to fill out. There were the heads of the Clans to be notified, then the Jounin sensei…
And she still had that meeting with Morino at eleven.
She knew what he wanted though, so Tsunade didn’t think that it would take long. Hmm… she’d have to start setting Sakura more book work for the days and have her lessons at night, that would work for a while even if it wasn’t optimal.
Jotting down a quick note to the Suna Council - which was acting as head of the village until a new Kazekage was chosen - she straightened her shoulders and with a will that would have surprised Shizune Tsunade started filling out all of the paperwork that would have to be done in time for this… unexpected… offer to go into effect for January.
The Godaime Hokage was so intent on her paperwork that she was surprised when there was a discreet knock on her door and one of her ANBU informed her that Morino had arrived. After a quick glance at the clock, where had the time gone?, she called for him to come in. There was no point in hiding the paperwork from him even if she didn’t want this spread all over the village yet.
The scarred Special Jounin entered the room and bowed until she waved for him to take a seat. Leaning back in her own chair Tsunade waited for him to speak, no point in letting him out right know how eager she wasn’t about this.
"It has been a month, Hokage-sama." Morino Ibiki's voice was politely deferential after a few moments of silence. “What is your decision?”
“What are your opinions of her?” Tsunade countered. She’d been working the past month on getting to know all of her permanently stationed staff and Morino was one of those that seldom left Konoha. It was easy to predict that he’d had Yamanaka Ino under his own surveillance for the last while.
The pleased grin she got from the tall, bear-like man was confirmation enough that she’d been right to peg him as having the girl watched. “Kid’s not bad,” he said slowly, “Huge difference from the last Chuunin Exam, she managed to hold her own well enough in a straight taijutsu fight against Inuzuka Kiba long enough that in a real combat situation her teammates would have been able to back her up.”
“Inuzuka? That’s surprising.” The Inuzuka Clan was known for being handy with taijutsu - most of their Clan secrets being based around it in some way or another. “What else?” Taijutsu was wasn’t everything after all.
“She’s pretty solid at the moment for a Genin.” Ibiki said firmly after a pause to think, “She’ll be one of the more likely contenders to make Chuunin in the next Exam or two, unless there’s a glut of genius again. Yamanaka’s a clever girl, and better, knows how to think - though her impulse control needs a bit more work. My money’s on the next exam frankly, she’s improved that much.”
Tsunade nodded her head, everything he’d said correlated well with her own research coupled with Shizune’s observations. “I’ll want to see any surveillance tapes you’ve got on her before making my final decision.”
“Of course, Hokage-sama. We have a room already prepared on the second floor.”
Tucking her paperwork away under a minor, but tricky to break, genjutsu Tsunade followed Morino out of her office stopping to have a quick word with the ANBU that materialized at her shoulders.
Reaching one of the video rooms, one normally used for medical lectures and large mission debriefings, she wasn’t surprised to find another person already there given Ibiki’s wording. Nor was she surprised to see the scarlet spiral tattooed on the other’s arm.
“Watanabe Kotone, Jounin. Intelligence.” The dark haired woman said simply naming herself, rank, and official affiliation within ANBU, before bowing formally, “I am pleased to be of service, Hokage-sama.”
“At ease.” Tsunade said, taking a good look at the Jounin in front of her, who was wearing the traditional ANBU uniform, sans cape, with the mask of a dog perched on her head, “I take it that if I give the go ahead you’ll be Yamanaka’s main observer?”
Watanabe smiled, raising one finger to her lips, “Of course, Hokage-sama. The girl will never realize.”
“I should hope not.” Tsunade said dryly, as Morino headed to the front of the room and began fiddling with the wires of the television, “The whole point of this is to do it without her knowing about it.”
Taking a seat where she’d best be able to watch the screen, Tsunade waited for the video to start. Only then would she make her final decision… though it was looking more and more likely that she’d be telling Shizune the news soon enough.
Too many people were in on it already to make putting a stop to it easy. Watanabe’s assured presence said that much, no doubt they already had a plan in place waiting to be executed at a moment’s notice.
Tsunade couldn’t help but be proud, a bit, of her shinobi for being so clever. Even if they were manipulating her.
Huh, maybe she was getting used to this whole Hokage thing.
--- ---
Her body ached. It wasn't a new occurrence ever since she'd started training harder, but that didn't mean Ino had to be happy with it. Her father didn't go easy on her when they had their training sessions. Neither did Tenten when they managed to get together long enough to do more than catch up on each other’s news.
Ino was walking back to her house after her latest lesson with her father. He'd stayed behind, saying something about seeing if he could drag Shikaku out for a spar. Fiddling with the bandages on her hands - they'd become slightly loose during her training - Ino took to the roof-tops.
A quick glance at the position of the sun told her that she had a little over an hour before she had to meet up with her team for their latest mission. Time enough then for her to get home and have a quick shower before heading out again.
Even on the rooftops at this time of the day there was a fair bit of traffic, mostly shinobi heading off to their various missions and duty’s for the day. Ino briefly wished that her training had ended earlier thereby allowing her to miss the throng of people who would see her in this disheveled state. Ino took pride in her appearance, and her filthy uniform and messy hair was wounding to her image.
On the other hand, she thought, as she waved to a Chuunin she’d met while working at the Academy, no one was going to blink at the fact that she’d been out training. The Chuunin, in fact, looked at her appearance approvingly. Ino comforted herself with that. The dirt would wash off after all (though the bruises would hurt for a while yet). Shizune-sensei had forbidden her to practise healing her own training bruises without supervision so she’d have to wait until her lesson in the late afternoon.
Slipping in through her window - it was safe right now to do with no one home. Her father would scold her if he knew though, and her mother would have simply sighed and asked her if she couldn't just go through the door like everyone else did. But her mother was at the shop right now.
What they don't know, she thought virtuously, won't hurt them.
Besides, the window was faster and more convenient. Making sure that it was latched behind her was the work of seconds. Setting up the traps she used to secure it took a few minutes. Her father insisted on the traps.
“Geez, isn’t that a bit paranoid?” Sakura asked from behind her. Ino yelped, spinning on her heels to turn and face her.
“Forehead! Try knocking next time!” Ino scolded to cover her racing heartbeat as Sakura smirked at her from the door. “What are you doing home at this time of the day? And besides, trapping your windows and doors in common sense in a shinobi village, my father taught me this.”
“Tsunade-sama had some important work come up, so she’s assigned me a ton of reading to do and switched my hands on lessons to nights.” Sakura made a face at that, “She also told me to start practising my Taijutsu in my free time.”
Ino laughed even as she grabbed her towel from the foot of her bed and started stripping down, starting with her sandals. “Free time? What free time?”
“Exactly.”
“Madness.”
Running a brush through her hair, Ino headed off to the showers. A quick wash later - she’d have a bath before bed - Ino dressed in a clean outfit, putting her hair back in twin pigtails and winding the bandages around her arms then headed downstairs following the smell of bacon.
She found Sakura humming over the stove-top.
"You being domestic now?" Ino asked as Sakura gestured for her to sit down. Ino grabbed a glass of orange juice before complying.
"You're letting me stay with you for a few days." Came the simple answer. "It's the least I can do - and your mother won't let me do it for her."
Ino let the matter drop. It would only make Sakura uncomfortable if she went on badgering her about it. Ino had more tact than that though and was planning to have a few words with Shizune-sensei about the situation before doing anything.
"Stay as long as you like." She said as Sakura set a plate down in front of her. "My parents don't mind." Her father had been dubious at first, but after seeing how little upkeep Sakura required had relented. And they weren’t seeing enough of each other to get on each other’s nerves.
Sakura looked unconvinced and Ino abandoned that topic in favor of eating. After several hours of training her first breakfast was long gone and food, especially warm food, was more than welcome. Normally Ino just grabbed a few granola bars and flung herself out the door. It helped that Sakura was a decent cook, even if she was totally helpless when it came to baking.
“What’s your plans for the day?” Sakura asked her, sitting down across the table with a soft thump.
Ino swallowed and said, “Asuma-sensei said we’ll have a mission, then I’ve got training with Shizune-sensei after it. Want to do some review tonight?”
“That’d be great.” Sakura smiled, “I’m heading out after I do the dishes. There’s a few things I need to pick up for my lessons.”
Finishing her meal and downing her juice, Ino raced upstairs to brush her teeth. Then, with a cheerful thanks and a promise to talk more later, Ino headed out. The streets were busy, but not too crowded, and Ino stayed on the ground weaving her way through with well trained ease.
Turning down onto a quieter street after a bit, she picked up the pace. Even if she walked there was no way that she’d be late for the mission briefing but Ino wanted to make sure that she’d have time to stretch.
As she jogged, glasses staying firmly in place thanks to Hair Tie no Jutsu, Ino thought about her lessons. Shizune-sensei had wanted to start covering chakra-enhanced healing of broken bones soon, and had said something about an official test to check that her work was up to the required standards.
She was concentrating so hard that she nearly tripped with surprise when the dark form of an ANBU agent appeared in front of her with a burst of white smoke. As the smoke cleared, Ino could see that the agent was a woman - the skin tight uniform left no doubt of that! - with the mask of a dog.
“Yamanaka Ino,” the ANBU said in a monotonous voice, “Hokage-sama wishes to see you.”
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