Earrings
A/N: There was a small flashback in the manga (I forgot which chapter!) when Team 10 are reflecting back on their genin days. Asuma gave them a team present, which happened to be earrings – since all the members in their team have pierced ears. This is my first time writing anything remotely Team 10, so do understand if the dynamic is off.
Ino is a feminine girl, and some girls have this tendency to accumulate massive amounts of jewelry they don't wear be it through gifts, random purchases, coveted purchases… etc. etc. (You get the picture) I'd imagine that Ino would be well armed in the accessory department and would rotate her pieces fairly frequently.
Pairings: Implied NejiIno?
"Bahh! I can't believe this is happening!" Sakura giggled, long fingers darting and burrowing freakishly fast into the guts of Ino's jewelry box. "You. Hyuuga Neji. Date. My mind is blown. It shouldn't be possible, but it's happening for some reason."
Ino snorted before leaning closer to her vanity mirror, mascara posed at the ready and mouth absentmindedly agape, "why not? I think our respective track records prove that I'm more than capable of snagging some choice prizes – at least better than the ones you landed."
"Listen, pig, quality over quantity, alright?" sniped Sakura, concentrating on untangling the knotted chains she held in her fingers, "just because you've dated more boys than me doesn't mean they're necessarily better – I've been in long term relationships." Two separate necklaces now swung free in her hands and she laid them down on the vanity, "anyway, I think these will go great with your outfit – try them on and see."
Ino stepped back from the mirror, glancing at her roommate's choices before looking once more at her outfit. "I don't know…" the blonde stalled, "the neckline's kind of hectic to be wearing necklaces – I think I'll keep the neck bare tonight."
"Yeah, you're right, but you still need something," Sakura countered, "why don't you wear these?" She dangled a pair of chandelier earrings in front of Ino's face, "they're pretty bold without being too flashy." Ino stood in front of her with a disturbingly neutral face. "What? Don't tell me you're not into the flashy and slightly tacky anymore," Sakura giggled, "you want me to look for something else? You've got a shit ton of earrings in here that you never wear, if you're afraid of wearing something twice."
"No, it's not that," Ino replied, trying to distribute equal weight throughout her syllables. Her attempt at nonchalance failed however, as Sakura's green eyes locked her in their crosshairs, taking on a rather shrewd and scrutinizing gleam she had lacked back in their academy days. Fighting the flush she felt creeping up her face, she shrugged, "I don't really feel like changing my earrings. I like the ones I have on right now."
"What? They're just small hoops, Ino!" Sakura protested, "they're too plain to wear with your shirt!"
Ino shrugged again, "they're silver hoops, they go with everything. I'll just wear a blingtastic ring, alright?" The blonde's voice had taken on a quiet edge that Sakura had heard only once, and it was on one shameful day in reaction to Sakura's 11 year old self telling her that she didn't want to be friends anymore over a certain boy, because they were sworn rivals.
The pink haired kunoichi decided to drop it. Ino, sensing the withdrawal, immediately turned on her brightest smile, "I just can't be bothered with big earrings anymore – they're way too heavy and they catch on my hair. You know Billboard Forehead, you can take any of the earrings you like – I never wear them anymore. And you know, they might actually distract people from that huge forehead of yours!" Sakura scoffed, but played along, pretending not to notice the slight sheen in her friend's eyes as she bent down to fuss with her hem.
"Asuma-sensei! You're late today!" Ino bossed, hands on her hips, "Chouji's about to have a fainting fit of hunger!"
"Sorry… sorry," Asuma chuckled as he ducked under the entrance flaps, "I had to stop by somewhere before coming here first." Ino's sharp eyes noticed a flat, velvet box in his hands and her female intuition immediately recognized it.
"Is that a jewelry box?" she cried in delight, reaching for the soft gray case, "did you buy something for that red eyed sensei you're always hanging around with?" Asuma smiled, his cigarette still firmly in place. "No actually, these are for you guys."
Three sets of tiny silver hoops nestled in the black velvet, gleaming up at the genin team. Shikamaru's eyebrow quirked "we already have our own earrings," he panned, "and don't you buy jewelry for women?"
Asuma shrugged, "I bought them as a team present – I thought it'd be nice if we could have a sort of uniform." Ino wasted no time in plucking her studs out and exchanging them for the hoops – they felt heavy compared to her former pair, but it was a reassuring weight. Chouji was not far behind in switching his out, and after some nagging from Ino, Shikamaru gave in and made the change, grumbling about "womanly appearances" and how "troublesome" the whole thing was since they already knew they were a team. "Thank you, sensei!" Ino shouted, slinging her arms excitedly about her teammates, "they're awesome!"
"Just like Team 10." Asuma replied, tousling each of their heads, "now you can never say I never gave you guys anything." The earrings were quickly forgotten then, as the waitress staggered over to the table under the weight of the meat platter.
A/N: Sorry if that was horrid – not only is it really late at night (or early in the morning) but I'm rusty as all hell. –hangs head in shame- Maybe I'll run 500 laps around Konoha – on my hands – to atone for the atrocity. ;_;