Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series. If I did, Tenten would be a recurring character more in the story and Ino would have a freakin awesome Picture Book for the actual manga and anime.
Introduction to Ino's PICTURE BOOK!
Hey, what's up, P.B.? Lol. Anyways, it's your creator Super Awesome Flower Girl/Super Cool Kunoichi! I decided that – since I was done and all with creating you – Sakura suggested needing to make a formal introduction on this first page! So here it is, Forehead:
Heya! This is Yamanaka Ino, age nineteen, writing December 31, the day this picture book was finally finished! What this Picture Book is really, is a collaboration of pictures I – and several friends of mine – took throughout the year with our cameras.
The inspiration of course, came from your one and only Nara Shikamaru. I know, weird right? It's not every day inspiration comes rolling off of Shikamaru and coming down at mwah herself. To put it frankly, it's just weird, okay?
Well, anyways, enjoy the pictures and the whacky stories that come with them!
Yours truly,
Yamanaka Ino
P.S. Ha! How you like that, Forehead Girl? Pretty classy piece of intro, right?
Introduction commented by Haruno Sakura on July 9: You know, Piggy, it would have been a lot more convincing if you never put that P.S. But whatever, you put it in ink, and it would just look messy if I tried to go over that with whiteout so I'm not going to waste my time with it.
Mwah's reply: HANDS. OFF. FOREHEAD. You see that name on the back of this book? You see that name? It says PROPERTY OF YAMANAKA INO, BISKATCHO.
Comment from Tenten on the same day: You guys are morons. And Ino, you can't say BISKATCHO when there might be little kids reading this. I mean, c'mon, they'll know it means "BIATCH". Remember? This Pic Book thing was to go in a place where anyone in Konoha could read it.
Ino the next day: You know what guys? New rule: NO TOUCHY THE PICTURE BOOK! Sakura's ruining it and Tenten's making me look dumb. From now on, MY HANDS ONLY or I'll kick your ass with that new jutsu Chouji taught me.
This Introduction Thingy is OVER! Now, go to the next page and check out the first picture put especially for this little baby!
SNAPSHOT! [A beautiful blonde lays her head against her pillow, and covers her body with a flimsy purple blanket. The grass tickles her feet, which are uncovered. Beside her, a young man has his white shirt covered with grass stains, and his hand is thrown over his forehead.]
Pic 1: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru
Ino laughed as she flipped through the pages, finding the first one interesting. "Oh, Shika, this was two years ago! Remember?"
Shikamaru sighed, rolled over on the grass and took a quick peek at what she was pointing at. "Right. Yeah, you're totally right."
Ino frowned, sighing irritably. "Shika, you weren't even listening to what I was saying, were you?"
Snore, snore. Snore.
Ino shrieked, bonking the young genius on the head repeatedly. "Grr! Wake – up – you – lazy – BASTARD!"
Chapter One.
What the Hell? Mr. Inspirational?
"What am I doing with my life?"
Shikamaru rolls onto his back in the grass, doesn't care that it's wet and he could get grass stains on his new beige shorts I bought for his birthday. And of course he doesn't bother to answer. Chh, such a surprise.
"…What do you mean?"
I smirk. I love it when I can bug him enough he'll answer. "Well. Look at us, Shika. We're just sitting here. Doing nothing."
"Pure bliss." He says.
"No," I argue, flipping my blonde hair away from my eyes. "Pure boring!"
"I didn't ask you to join me." He counters crisply.
"Just saying, you know. I wonder why you're not fat or anything."
He rolls his eyes. "Look, troublesome woman, if you seriously want to do something oh so amazing with your life, go do it somewhere else. And don't bother me."
"Oh so amazing…" I grumble. "God, I just want to do something. Shika! Remember all the incredible things we've done the last few years? The mission to bring Sasuke back? My parents giving me the flower shop? The diamond anklet I managed to buy on sale?"
He moans, throws his arms over his head. "Look, Ino, if you want to celebrate all that shit, why don't you just I don't know, have a diary?"
"Ew! A diary, seriously? That's nothing original at all. I could do so much better than that."
"A book, then. Write a book on your 'incredible' memories."
"Books are boring. No pictures at all."
He groans. "Fine, Ino. A picture book."
A picture book.
When he says it, something clicks in my head. And it makes sense. Total sense.
"Shikamaru!" I screech, jumping to my feet.
He panics and scrambles up. "What is your problem?"
"That's it! A picture book! Oh my gosh! C'mon!" I grab his hand and tug him with me towards the general store just a little ways down from the grassy hill.
::
"I'd like to buy these, please." I drop my items onto the cashier's table, beaming.
"Your total is twenty-nine forty." The cashier says, ringing them up quickly.
"Thanks!" I smile, take the bag, and head out, Shikamaru grumbling beside me.
"Seriously? I had to come because you wanted to buy cameras?"
"Yes, seriously." I stop in my tracks and swivel to face him. "But really, what the hell? Since when were you Mr. Inspirational?"
He eyebrows go up. "What?"
"The picture book idea, silly! I'm gonna do it."
"Uh. Okay?"
I frown and grab his hand. He knows I'm always serious when I hold his hand. "No, it's going to be amazing. I'll take pictures a lot from now on, and here –" I hand him a camera from inside my bag, "– this one's for you. Whenever you just have this… this moment. Snap a picture. There will be pictures that will make the final cut into the picture book, and there will be pictures that won't. It just depends on the memories."
"The memories?" he repeats skeptically.
"Yes. The memories." I smile. "And you know, it'll have like, stories that happened when the picture was taken. What was going on when it happened. So we can never forget."
"And who will write these stories exactly?"
"Us! Everyone. The whole Rookie Nine!" I exclaim. "We'll do this for one year!"
"You're going to blackmail everyone into this? God, Ino. I didn't actually mean for you to take what I said about doing this seriously."
"But I am taking it seriously," I press on. "Because I just have this feeling, Shika. That by this time next year, all our memories, our friends' memories, this thing will be amazing."
