Alright. Obviously all of you reading this (all four of us, myself included) saw the pairing and were either confused, disturbed, intrigued or thought I was kidding (I wasn't) let me just explain myself: Ino is my favorite female character and Suigetsu is my favorite male character…so it only made sense to creep out my fellow Naruto/Fan fiction-loving comrades by writing a romantic story about them…hence…this.

I'm not expecting fellow fans of this story…just hear me out…for at least half the chapter? (:


This day. This day was bright and sunny. This day was, typically, one of her favorite kinds of days. The kind of day where everyone was out and about. The birds were chirping and freely flying wherever the light breeze took them. The kind of day where she'd consider calling Sakura by her name rather than Billboard Brow or being a tad bit flirtier with Sai when she saw him.

But this wasn't one of those days. This was a day where everyone was confused about what they should be feeling. Everyone else saw it as bright, blue and beautiful. It was happy and contagious. But they were all wrong. This was a dark, solemn day. A day where no one should be out and about.

Maybe everyone was blinded by the sheer sunlight and couldn't see how awful of a day it truly was. Maybe only her, Shikamaru and Choji could fully understand the extent of what it signified. It signified a change - a shift in the universe where Team Ten was alone. They were together in this mess, but in completely different directions. They were feeling the same feelings and experiencing the same loss, but they weren't experiencing it the same way and they're weren't together. The was an effective tension keeping them from drawing back towards each other. There was a missing link binding them together.

Ino anchored her long hair into a ponytail, purposely leaving out just enough hair to cover half her face. She liked it that way. Maybe it made people see her as more mysterious. With a repressed sigh she stared blankly into the mirror, saddened to see a sad face staring back at her.

A sun beam stretched into her room and hit the side of her face, making her special earrings glimmer. This helped. Remembering her prize possession, the earrings Asuma-sensei had given her, she was able to mold a weak smile onto her face, despite it being an awful day.

"I'll be home soon," she mumbled a promise to her mother as she trekked out of the house and into the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

"Another mission?" she asked.

Ino stopped at the door, frowning.

"Yeah." Without waiting for a response, she silently slid out of the store and headed towards the main gates to meet Shikamaru and Choji.

"The mission will be in the Land of Water," Lady Tsunade had informed them the evening before. "It's a B-Rank mission, so I'm confident you three can manage it yourselves."

"What's it about?" Choji questioned, wincing along with his two teammates. It was unsettling to know there were only three of them now- Asuma-sensei would never be joining them on a mission again.

"Highly skilled assassins. Apparently on quite a few occasions, a small group of men have broken into mansions, stolen everything of value and assassinated anyone who saw them along the way. Currently this gang has killed a total of eighteen people: five of them being nobles and the rest being guards or relatives of the nobles."

"Do we have any leads?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "None whatsoever. A few rumors are going around about the whereabouts of their hideout. Most are pointing towards the Village Hidden in the Mist, but nothing is concrete. Don't limit your search to just one village."

"Ordinary robbers or skilled ninja?" Shikamaru pressed.

"Skilled robbers. There's also a rumor about there being approximately six of them. Obviously, since this gang kills everyone in their path, there aren't many witnesses to go by. But spend a day or so surveying that area and send a report back. If you find anything suspicious report back immediately and I will dispatch another squad if necessary. This mission could easily become an A or even S-Rank mission so remember not to be overly confident."

"Right," they responded in unison.

"You are to leave in the morning. Shikamaru, you'll be the team Captain."

Shikamaru grimaced. Leading was synonymous to putting in effort. Also known as: his pet peeve.

Ino dragged her feet the entire way to the main gate. Shikamaru and Choji were already standing there waiting for her. Lady Tsunade was with them.

She scanned the faces of her fellow comrades, seeing the exact expression on their faces as on the face in her mirror. None of them were happy with this set-up. But what could they do about it?

"Alright, the gang's all here," Tsunade began, her hands on her hips. Ino tried to straighten up and look ready for this mission. Her teammates followed her example.

Tsunade frowned. "This is your first mission alone, isn't it?" She asked, reveling in their unspoken tension.

"Since we fought those two Akatsuki members," Choji mumbled.

She sighed in response. "Listen you three, I know Asuma. And while I'm sure it's difficult to continue marching on in life, you must. How do you think he'd feel seeing you three so upset?" None of them responded, knowing the answer would be the opposite of their actions. "Asuma taught you all very well. You're exceptional ninja and I chose this team specifically for your abilities. So stand up straight and make your sensei proud. He wouldn't want you three to be so down."

They all silently nodded in response. Ino knew she was right. Asuma-sensei would never have wanted them to be this down. But staying in a lighter mood was easier said than done. She looked at her teammates, whose eyes read sameness. They were thinking the same way as her. Ino looked heartedly at Tsunade. "You're right, Tsunade-sama. We will try to be more spirited." Tsunade smiled approvingly and saw them off.


Suigetsu woke up, disgruntled. The sun was flooding onto his face, hurting his eyes. He groaned lightly.

"I hate this kind of day," he mumbled to himself. The kind of day where people are all so cheery, even to strangers. Don't they know how awful today is? Suigetsu had suffered a loss and everyone everywhere acted as if nothing had been taken from anyone.

Suigetsu shifted his eyes to where he last saw his beloved sword fall, just as he had fallen. He, although generally not one to play the innocent card, he was clearly not in the wrong last night. How could he help what his eyes had seen? It's not like he cared or even tried to put in effort to save that renowned politician from the hands of the bandits. All he did was show up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And while he was lucky to still be alive, he was once again ripped apart from his sword.

The night before Suigetsu had been nonchalantly walking back to his hotel room when he heard a rustle in the forest on the outskirts of the town. Curious that maybe something that would spark an interest was happening, he headed towards the noise. Six men who all wore bandages on their foreheads were surrounding a noteworthy and rich man of the village. Hell, even Suigetsu recognized him, and he rarely bothered paying attention to small details. The six bandits all had sacks strapped to their backs and stuffed to the brim with fine jewelry and money.

"These must be those robbers I've heard rumors about," he murmured to himself, overlooking the scene from a tree. He watched silently as the robbers killed the nobleman and left his body. They all exchanged compliments on their fighting techniques. Suigetsu scoffed; with that execution, they were clearly no ninja. Suigetsu had half a mind to give them pointers.

But that was his first - and last - mistake: underestimating them. Because the moment he leapt down from the tall tree to return back to the village, he was heard.

"What do you think you're doing there, punk?" One asked him sternly. Clearly he wasn't looking for an actual answer so Suigetsu reluctantly swallowed his wiseass remark. "You're not getting away! You've seen too much!" Three charged him. Suigetsu rolled his eyes as he pulled the sword off his back and prepared for defense.

"Like I care? I don't even follow politics." Suigetsu lifted his sword in front of his face, ready for the brunt of his opponents attack. While he was ninja and clearly had a bigger and stronger weapon than his opponent, he lacked in musculature.

The man came towards him swinging and Suigetsu was already planning the man's death in his head.

"Don't let you guard down!" Suigetsu whipped around to find another charging him from behind. How could he have been so careless? Leaving his back open like that! Letting his guard down!

And that was it. The next thing he remembered was hitting on the ground hard, his vision blurring and his head pounding. He could feel his body slipping back into a liquidated state, but he was more concerned with the prick eyeing his sword as if it were another rich politician. He could feel two men from behind him trying to beat him, but his body refused to accept any physical attacks as it melted into a puddle of water.

"He isn't dying! " He heard one man say, his voice echoing in his ears and making his head pound harder. Suigetsu began to wonder if his heart had somehow fallen into his head and that's why the pounding was so loud. Maybe his heart had misplaced itself. Maybe it wasn't all that bad of a situation. Maybe the leader of the gang wasn't really picking up his Executioner's blade and walking away with it with a devilish smile on his face.

The last thing he heard him say was, "Leave him then. He's useless anyway."

Suigetsu sneered at the reflection of himself in the river.

"Fool," he scolded himself. With horrible battle tactics like the ones he used last night, how would anyone ever accept him as the leader of the reformed Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? They wouldn't. They just wouldn't. A leader must be cunning and stealthy. He couldn't have even escaped! And while it was only a sword that was taken from him, what kind of leader allows a comrade to be captured? Not a good one.

Suigetsu dunked his feet into the water and fell backwards, his face soaking in the sunlight.

"I hate you," he told the sun.


The fire crackled loudly and painted an orange glow on Ino's face as Choji and Shikamaru recapped on the plan. She wasn't sure why they continued to talk about it; they had gone over it as a group about forty times…or at least it felt that way.

Shikamaru will take the east and search the villages for any signs of the robbers. Choji would take the north and ask for any rumor confirmations. Ino would stay in the village they currently resided near. There was a prestigious man with a bank account to prove it living in that town and he seemed like not only an obvious target, but an easy one. Ino would survey the area throughout the day and make sure nothing seemed fishy. They agreed to meet back at this spot- at the mouth of the river- at six in the evening. That is, if nothing ensued before then.

"Ino, you got it, right?"

"Yes," she exhaled. She tried her hardest not to be sarcastic with them, but when they asked stupid questions and infantilized her it was difficult to restrain herself. In addition to that, what happened to their distress? All of the sudden they forgot all about the death of Asuma-sensei? Why was she suddenly the only one noticing his absence?

This was wrong. All wrong. Ino should be going north for questions, Choji should be going east to search, Shikamaru should be heading south to inspect and Asuma-sensei should be the one protecting the wealthy man in the village. Didn't anyone realize how awful the day was? It was like the instant Tsunade gave them a pep talk they became cheerful and forgot all about their loss. How can a small pep talk dignify the death of a beloved teacher? That's why Ino was convinced they were all in standing in different directions. They were all on the same boat, but Ino seemed to be the only one facing the storm.

Maybe defeating Hidan was enough for Shikamaru. Maybe Choji was just too forgiving. All of the sudden, her best friends' best qualities were becoming her worst nightmares. Funny how quick that can happen.

"Ino," Shikamaru stated. Ino popped out of her thoughts and looked over her shoulder at her comrades.

"Sorry, what?"

"You alright?"

She blinked. Stupid questions. Again. "Yes," she sang breathily, trying her hardest not to be rude. "I just think that-" She stopped short, hearing a nearly soundless crunch of leaves over the crackle of the fire.

"What?" Choji asked. Ino whipped a finger to her mouth, signaling his silence. She mouthed, 'someone's coming' to them and their eyes widened. In unison, the three shot up from where they were sitting. A man casually stepped out of the thicket with an evil grin on his face. He was chuckling and looking beyond his shoulder, as if he were talking to someone. He turned to face Team Ten and the smile became a grimace. Five other men stepped out of the bushes behind him, all wearing frowns. They were all wearing matching bandages around their forehead with heavy-looking sacks strapped to their backs. One was carrying the biggest sword Ino had ever seen. It was just as tall as the man carrying it.

"The robbers," Shikamaru whispered as the group subconsciously got into 'Ino-Shika-Cho' formation.

"What are you three punks looking at?" The leader asked.

"We'll be asking the questions here, boys," Shikamaru took command. "You six look like you just ran into some hefty cash."

The gang smirked. "Sure did," one replied.

"So then, you're the gang of robbers and assassins?" Ino clarified.

"That's right, sweetie," one grinned perversely at her. She sneered in response. "If you want, you and your two friends can join the list."

"List?" they asked simultaneously.

"Sure. List of people we've killed."

Within a blink of an eye, the six men had scattered. The leader appeared first, his backpack of stolen goods gone from sight. He raced towards Shikamaru with sheer blood thirst. Choji and Ino watched as Shikamaru met him in the middle of the forest, three kunai circling around his fingers. Next, three large men jumped in front of Ino.

"Hey pretty lady," one gushed.

"Get away from her!" Choji began forming hand signs as quickly as possible. "Ino, they're missing their backpacks just like their leader. They must have taken them off somewhere so they wouldn't hinder them in battle! You need to go find where they are, I'll hold these guys off!"

Ino nodded in agreement and sprinted farther and farther into the forest, reassuring herself that Choji can handle those three guys. After all, Choji was a ninja and those guys were just robbers. They had nothing on Choji. Then again, they had something Choji didn't: stamina and musculature. Ino swallowed, deciding to trust in her comrade and avert her full attention into finding the stolen goods.

"Hey, princess," she heard a smooth voice call to her as she leapt onto a tree branch. She stopped short before pressing onward. The man with the large sword was staring at her with a pleased grin. "Where do you think you're going?" He took two steps forward as Ino leapt onto a higher-up branch. She whipped out a kunai, prepared for a fight. "No use in fighting me with that. At least, not when I've got this," he pulled the large sword off his back. "I'd heard it's one of the Seven Great Swords of the Mist. And it is rather great, is it not?" he asked her rhetorically. "Leader found it, gave it to me as a prize for knocking some delinquent out last night. Pretty neat, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're asking me if I think it's cool you attacked an innocent 'delinquent'?" She air quoted. "No. I actually don't."

The man rolled his eyes. "Smart-mouthed girls displease me, no matter how beautiful."

"Creep!" Ino jumped in the air and threw the kunai. He tilted the sword slightly and disregarded the kunai with ease. She glared at him, scolding herself for thinking it would be as simple as that. She knelt down, trying to strategize as quickly as possible how to get him to stay still long enough to use a mind jutsu on him. Knowing a well-trained ninja never lets their guard down, she quickly opened her eyes just to calculate their distance between each other. However, the instance she blinked he was gone, sword and all.

"He's fast!" she gasped.

"That's right, honey," he jumped out from behind her and grabbed her into a chokehold. "Now what, precious?" Ino struggled to break free from his strong grasp, but the more she wiggled the tighter he held her. She could feel her throat tightening up from the crush of his grip. She was loosing air now.

How stupid she felt. As if she had any chance against this guy? Even if he didn't have a gigantic sword with him he would still be out of her league- and he's not even a ninja!

As Ino lost more and more air and the tunnel vision began taking effect, Ino remembered: he was in the perfect position to use a mind disturbance technique. She smirked and slowly began weaving signs with her hand. As soon as she felt her chakra flowing perfectly, she whipped out of his grasp and, with her fingers circling over her heart, cast her jutsu. Her body hit the large branch as the jutsu began taking effect. She only had a few minutes, she knew.

"Ino!" Through the ears of her opponent, she heard Shikamaru and Choji's voices calling from both directions.

"Get away from her!" Choji yelled, weaving the hand signs for his expansion jutsu.

Ino widened the eyes of her former opponent and looked at her fallen body. From Choji's eyes, it must've looked bad; as if she were defeated. Ino took a quick glance in the direction of Shikamaru. He was carefully studying her spiritless body, cognizant that she was using a jutsu. Shikamaru's eyes widened even more and he looked towards Choji.

"Choji wait-" before Shikamaru could explain Choji was rumbling towards Ino, in full-on kill mode. Ino tried to move but the sword on her back was too heavy for her own stamina to carry. She turned away as Choji's jutsu hit her. The last thing she remembered was feeling her spirit getting knocked out of the opponents body and back into her own.


Suigetsu stared up at the stars, his hands behind his head and his mouth in a permanent frown. He hadn't moved all day, seeing as he had to stay close to water in order to regain complete composure.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "at least this awful day is ending soon." His eyes slowly shut, only to be reopened by the entire ground shaking. A dark, gray cloud mushroomed up on the other side of the river a little ways off. Suigetsu eyed it quizzically.

"-the hell?" He considered getting up to see what all the ruckus was, but it hardly seemed worth it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as loosing his precious sword, he figured.

Suigetsu's eyelids slowly shut into a sleep.


Shikamaru coughed from the rubble of the jutsu. Choji had perfected that jutsu almost too well, Shikamaru thought. Not only had he torn down all the trees within a radius of fifteen meters, he also lifted up a giant dust cloud that was suffocating and blinding. Perfect for confusing the enemy, but also the perfect cover for an enemy to escape.

Shikamaru stumbled around, his arms out in front of him, searching for something to grasp and hoping he'd find Ino or Choji before he found an enemy.

"Shikamaru?" he heard a cough and he leapt towards the direction. He saw a red and brown blur and recognized it as Choji.

"Choji!" Shikamaru raced over to him. "Choji, it was Ino in the enemy's body!"

Choji coughed more. "I- I know. I realized that after it was too late."

Shikamaru groaned and fell to the earth. "I don't know what's worse, the fact that I'm failing as a Captain on my first mission or the fact that not only did the robbers get away, but Ino's gone too." Choji pursed his lips, worry filling his eyes. Shikamaru looked up at him, confused. "What is it?" He questioned.

Choji looked around nervously. "You-you don't think they'd kill her do you?"

Shikamaru frowned. "No. No way," he refused to accept it. "We'll find those robbers and we'll save Ino."

Choji nodded in agreement. "Right!"


Meh. Too long of a first chapter?

Anyway Shikamaru and Choji don't play a huge role in this story…neither do the robbers. And just a hint: someone else finds Ino first. No, it's not Neji.

If there's ANYONE reading this...it'd be nice of you to review(: