Hey it's Elefria here! (:
This will be a long journey so please stay with me.
Sorry the first chapter might be a little choppy but it has a few time skips and a view change. Later chapters will be much better and when I complete the Fan Fic I will go through and re-write all the chapters to improve the story overall. This is my first Naruto fic ever so forgive me for any blatant mistakes. Comments are encouraged 100%. So please enjoy and leave your thoughts to me so that I might be able to improve your overall reading experience.
Oh and this is a NejiIno fic.
I do not own Naruto, however the plot line is mine.
Three shinobi raced through the glistening morning dew and pressed on past the leafy boughs surrounding them. One wrong step and the unlucky ninja would be found swinging from the un-clench-able jaws of steel traps. However their deft eyes were alert and kept them aloft and away from the dangerous cages.
"Wait!" The gruff voice called too late. The ninja in point position was impaled by several senbon coated in poison. Down he fell: straight to the grassy dirt packed earth where death licked his lips.
The two remaining shinobi crashed to a halt as the forest trembled about them. A crisp howl danced through the ninja's eardrums and the armed men looked about themselves in bewilderment. Suddenly the trees burst ahead splintering off in every direction to make way for the horizontal tornado headed directly towards the duo.
One man shoved his friend whom had called out earlier roughly from the path of destruction and took the full force of the hit. It was not really a tornado. In fact on closer inspection it appeared to be an enormous spinning drill. The man was torn completely in half and his blood rained down, sinking into the soil below.
The last man standing stood a midst the obliterated forest scenery and laid eyes on the demon itself. There it stood on massive white legs with two rearing heads filled with fangs, dribbling drool to the ground as it stared with hungering eyes: crimson as the blood of his fallen brothers. The beast was at such a height that the trees longed for it's majesty of the skies. The earth trembled beneath the monsters paws as it paced menacingly towards the man.
Birds scattered throughout the forest as agonizing death screams and growls shook the woods.
XxXxXx
I saw Kiba stare at the dead man ridden with bloody puncture wounds from close by. "That's what ya get fer rapin and killin that little girl." He growled as he spat on the man's corpse.
"Good job Dog Boy!" I said with a smirk as I sailed over a fallen tree into the newly formed clearing. "Oh and you too Akamaru" I cheered as I patted the large white dog. I always found it amusing to rile the dog-nin up because he never said the same thing twice: unlike a certain pinkett I knew.
"Hey! Quit callin me that already!" Kiba retorted at the blonde kunoichi.
"I-ino. Kib-ba. P-please stop fighting." Hinata begged softly as she edged around the dead man. She gave the corpse an unsure glance almost as if she expected it to jump back to life and attack her.
I laughed openly. "Alright sorry Hinata."
"B-but she started it!" He sputtered.
I leaned towards Kiba flicked his nose as if he were a dog. "Hinata said to stop."
Hinata and I watched Kiba's face turn a shade of anger dark enough to blend in with his clan markings. I could almost imagine smoke pouring from his ears and Hinata covered her ears looking timid.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" The Dog-nin roared.
I crossed her arms. "Your own good."
Before Kiba could retort Hinata cut in. "W-we should r-really g-get back. Tsunade n-needs us to report."
Sighing I fell into position behind Kiba all the while smiling in a silent victory for getting the last word. It was childish, but at the moment I could care less. The mission was a success which meant that the sooner they returned home: the sooner I could take a long hot bath.
XxXxXx
Several hours later the leaf ninjas found themselves back in Konoha. "Home. Finally home." I grumbled wearily. We had pulled a 34 hour shift without sleeping in order to catch their target and we felt like the walking dead.
After reporting to Tsunade and getting a verbal pat on the back, I made my way home. Upon arriving at the Yamanaka flower shop my eyes were greeted with the site of paint scrawled over the shop in offensive words and pictures. "Not again." I groaned and hatefully stared at the stupid pranks on the shop which would undoubtedly drive way business.
I had just repainted the shop last week after someone had painted the word slut in thick black paint on every single open space along the walls. I was seriously getting real sick and tired of whoever decided vandalizing Yamanaka Flowers was the next big thing. I cracked her knuckles. "Just wait until I figure out who you are. Ill teach you a real good lesson." No one messes with Yamanka Ino... unless they have a death wish.
Rather than scrubbing myself clean of blood and grime I found myself repainting the flower shop walls for the second time that month. As I rolled the fresh paint over a very graphic panting of a severed head my mind wandered to the possible help I might be able to enlist. Someone had to keep an eye on the shop and catch the little shit responsible for this distasteful mess. Who did I piss of this badly anyways? So I made a mental list of everyone I remembered talking to in the past month.
Tsunade- I can't even think of a reason why she would vandalize the shop.
Kiba- He was with me just now on a mission so no. He would be a great suspect though. He's lucky that he's safe.
Hinata- She would faint if she saw the wall and she was also with me when it happened.
Shino- He might look sort of like a terrorist but I highly doubt it was him. Besides I think he's on a mission in the Land of Tea with Choji right now. (What is he even hiding behind that jacket and those glasses of his? What if he's handsome? Maybe he's hiding from fangirls and keeping them away with his covered up appearance).
Lee- This type of thing is too "un-youthful" for him and he trains like every minute of the day.
Tenten- She's too mature to paint penis's and decapitated heads on a wall so Tenten is definately out of the question. Besides I think she has a think for Kankuro. (He's actually kind of attractive when he takes off all of his makeup and pulls of that hood of his.)
Neji- I only saw him once this month and that was also the time I found out that he and Shikamaru play shogi together. I can't believe that arrogant jerk takes time to play board games with my best friend. I mean how could he have resisted my charms in the Forest of Death? I'm irresistable right? Right?
Choji- No, he was too nice and one of my closest friends.
Shikamaru- No way. He is to lazy and his girlfriend Temari is visiting Konoha with her brothers. Besides Shika is my best friend and on top that his mother would probably beat him for something this offensive.
Temari- Nah, she's to concerned about spending every minute with the lazy bum.
Kankuro- We don't hate each other. Sure we sling insults back and forth, but he's to much of a flirt and thinks hes too cool to do something like this. The jerk would find it funny though and probably give the bastard a high five if he figured out who did it.
Gaara- I wasn't even sure he knew what half of the messages on the wall meant and on top of that vandalizing a flower shop seemed beneath him.
Naruto- He has vandalized the hokage statues before, but I've never personally done anything mean to Naruto so doubt that it was him. Besides he's sort of grown out of those kinds of pranks. Unless... Sakura put him up to it.
Sakura- As much as I want her to be the culprit our old friendship would probably prevent her from doing this...unless Sasuke thought it was a good idea.
Sasuke- First of all that seems like it would be a stupid idea to him and secondly he doesn't even live here. He's still with Orochimaru I think.
Thinking of Sasuke was depressing. I mean I wasn't as bad off as Sakura: she still cries herself to sleep. I on the other hand have moved on. I'm not sure I even ever liked Sasuke beyond a crush. Part of me believes that I did in fact love him and would glomp him- not just to rile Sakura up, but to sooth him. He always looked so lonely and some sort silent pain. Not to mention how attractive he is. A girl would have to be blind to not fall for his killer looks. However the other part of me knows that I used Sasuke to get back at Sakura for throwing our friendship away over a boy who didn't like her...or me. Starting fights with Sakura over him was a way to get her to acknowledge my existence, to remind her that I was still here and to put on a bluff that I didn't need her as my best friend: that I could do better.
I wasn't jealous that Sakura tried to keep Sasuke from me.
I was jealous that Sakura tried to replace me with Sasuke.
To get back on topic I'm clueless on who could have tagged the shop. Everyone else I've come cross was either customers or vendors and I go out of my way to respect both.
So who could it be?
I finally finished covering up the word hoebag and sighed in relief. I was done and it only took about 2 and a half hours to make the shop walls presentable to public.
I grabbed the lid and sealed the paint bucket before rinsing off the paintbrush and paint roller with the outside water hose. I grimaced at the feeling of icy water splashing over my hands and legs as I shook the paint brush dry. Slowly I made my way back to the paint can and lifted it up and made my way to the front door of the shop.
My keys jingled as I unlocked the door and stepped inside. At least after this I could sleep and relax in a nice hot bath. I prayed that we still had some bubble bath. Pushing my thoughts aside I shut the shop door and re-locked it. I maneuvered the dim shop to the storage room where I left the paint supplies. Finally I walked upstairs to me and my Fathers home.
My father greeted me with a huge smile as I stumbled into the living room. "Welcome back Princess."
"Hey Daddy." I smiled back softly at his nickname for me. Most girls would fuss over their Dad calling them something so cutsie as Princess at my age. But not me. No to me it is a sign of close affection and his thoughts of high value towards me.
"How did your mission go?" He questioned me.
"It went fine. Perfect actually. The only problem is that Kiba hogged all the glory, but I gotta hand it to him. The Inuzuka clan is quite impressive." I paused for a moment and pondered whether or not to tell him about the vandalism. I decided against it. My father has enough problems to stress over. Ill find the culprit for him.
"That they are my dear. So is the Inuzuka boy the new Sasuke?" Inoichi asked with a sly grin.
"DAD!" I couldn't believe he just asked that. "No way. Kiba is nothing like Sasuke." I'm never complimenting a boy in his presence ever again.
He chuckled at my flustered appearance. "We're having dinner at the Nara's tonight so I suggest you clean up and get some rest."
So much for a long relaxing bubble bath to wash away my stress.
I just nodded grudgingly and looked at the clock as I walked to my room. It was almost 3 in the afternoon which meant that I had at least a few hours to sleep after a quick shower.
As I scrubbed myself clean and washed my hair my thoughts were drawn back to the shop vandalism. Thank kami it's only paint. It could be way worse for example the jerk could have burned the shop to the ground. I smirked to myself. I doubt someone as pathetic as the person who painted a penis on the shop was smart or dangerous enough to do something so extreme.
There was a knot of worry tangled in my stomach. Somehow I felt that it was only going to get worse.
I grabbed a towel and stepped out of the shower convincing myself that it was just a academy student playing a dumb prank. The only flaw in that logic was the stunning amount of detail and accuracy the painter had was beyond someone so young.
Shaking my head to clear the bothersome thoughts I grabbed my brush and my hair dryer. As soon as my hair was dry enough I turned of my hair dryer and crawled into bed exhausted.
XxXxXx
The screeching of my alarm had me shooting out of bed ready to kill anything in sight. I angrily shut off my alarm deciding that it wasn't worth throwing out the window.
I yawned and rubbed my eyes before getting out of bed and stumbling to my dresser. It was just dinner at Shikamaru's so I didn't have to be to fancy. So I went with simple. A black mid-thigh length skirt, a white blouse and black sandals.
"Hurry up sweetie!" Inoichi called.
"Alright." I responded while applying a coat of mascara to my eyelashes and a shine of lip gloss. I quickly pulled my brush through my hair to get rid of any tangles.
My father opened my door just as I left my bathroom holding a swan shaped glass vase filled with dark pink roses. The symbolic meaning of these flowers is thankfulness. They must be for Yoshino and her family.
I smiled and took the vase from my father. "I'm ready."
He nodded in a appreciation and we walked side-by-side to the Nara's talking about anything that came to mind. Before my foot even touched the second step on the porch Shikaku threw the front door open with a wide slanted smile and greeted us with a loud voice. Yoshino appeared behind his shoulder and warned him to lower his voice because it was "uncivilized to shout at our dinner guests".
I presented the vase to Shika's mom and she smiled brightly as she took the vase with her into the house after expressing her thanks and welcoming us in.
"Nag nag nag. That's all the woman does these days." It would have sounded rude if Shikaku hadn't been smiling fondly the entire time he said it.
A sharp "I heard that!" had all three of us dissolved into laughter.
Shikaku invited us inside and led my father into the living room undoubtedly for a drink leaving me with Yoshino. She fussed over me for several minutes. "You've grown into such a beautiful young woman Ino. Your Father must be chasing boys away left and right."
We shared a laugh. "Thank you, but no he doesn't really have to worry about guys chasing me. Between you and me, I think I scare them off myself" I meant it mostly as a joke, but now that I thought about it; maybe I did chase them off with my loud voice and brash personality. Deep down I really was a nice person, but a lot of people rubbed me the wrong way.
"Oh nonsense. You're beautiful and talented. Those boys would have to be blind to not see that." Yoshino said with huge smile as she stirred the rice.
"Thanks again Yoshino." This woman was great for my moral. I looked up to her like a mother even.
She nodded. "Shikamaru's out on the back deck playing shogi." That was her subtle way off saying "get out of my hair so I can finish making dinner."
I smiled and walked past the living room filled with booming laughter.
Out on the deck I saw him playing shogi with Shikamaru. He was one of the last people I wanted to come into contact with. I loved his cousin. But him not so much.
Neji.
"Hey Ino." Shika said as he moved one of the game pieces.
Neji looked over his shoulder at me making brief eye contact with me before turning back to the game board.
What the hell was that? Am I not good enough for you to acknowledge my existence? Jerk. Two can play that game.
"Hey Shika. How are you today?" I asked with a smile as I walked over to the duo.
"Ehh. Nothing much. Just playing shogi with Neji." He said it as if it were an everyday occurrence.
"Oh. Let me guess your winning." I said as I sat down between the two boys. I felt Neji's gaze on the side of my face.
"It is at a tie Yamanaka-san." Hyuga's cold voice corrected me.
I looked at Neji in shock. For starters no one ever beats Shikamaru at strategy games or even comes close. Secondly he spoke to me. I wasn't quite sure how to respond. "Ino."
"Pardon?" He looked at me quizzically.
"Call me by my first name not my last." The more I looked at him the more I noticed how much he had changed since the Forest of Death. In fact he was quite handsome.
My mind reeled how could I think that about my enemy? I'm losing my touch.
"My apologies Ino-san." Neji's focus drifted from me back to the game board as he made his next move.
"So how long are you staying Neji-san?" I asked as Shika removed one of Neji's game pieces.
Neji returned the favor by taking one of Shikamaru's pieces. "Until after dinner."
He was staying for dinner. Great the gods must hate me. "Oh." I paused not sure how to respond because I was not thrilled. "When is Choji going to get here?"
Shikamaru sighed quietly. "When he gets her I suppose."
I gave him a dirty look. "Fine."
I watched the game in silence mentally cheering Shika on. Normally I would spill every minute of my day to my best friend, but I was reluctant to do so in Neji's presence. No need to give him another reason to judge me aside from my failed seduction attempt.
"So how did your mission go?" Shikamaru asked after noting the suspicious length of time I had been quiet.
"It was a partial success." I sighed. "We caught the three bastards that molested and killed that little girl. She was so young and defenseless." I paused to collect my thoughts and keep my emotions in check. For gods sake the girl was barley 6 years old. "Our mission was to rescue her and bring her back alive, but it was failure. We found her torn and bleeding from places children should never have to experience. I tried to save her. I tried, but it was like with Asuma. Even though I did everything right there was nothing that could have saved her." Those shinobi had no honor or respect so we showed none in return when taking their lives.
Shikamaru sighed heavily. "That's a damn shame."
I'm not sure how long we sat enveloped in silence before a welcome distraction appeared.
"Hey guys." Choji greeted us with a smile and lifted me up into a bear hug. I laughed and sweetly threatened him to put me down. Hopefully Neji couldn't see up my skirt. Tch it either wouldn't phase him or he would turn darker than Gaara's hair since he's from such a refined clan.
"What'cha been up too?" Choji asked as he set me back down on my own feet.
"Oh nothing really. I've just been watching these guys play their stupid board game." I herd Shikamaru grunt in disapproval at my words.
Choji gasped. "It's not stupid Ino. It's really useful. How do you think Shikamaru get's us out of all of our sticky situations?" Leave it to Choji to defend his best friend and make me sound bad. I wasn't mad though. He wasn't intentionally trying to make me sound like a bitch in front of the Ice Block. Plus he had a point. Shikamaru is the one that gets us out of tough situations.
"I guess."
Choji smiled at me. "Oh I almost forgot. Dinners ready!"
We followed Choji into the dinning room and I noticed that each seating place was labeled with a name on a small white card in fancy black lettering.
I found my seat and looked to the card on my left.
Hyuga Neji
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