The forest floor was soggy, darkness covered every nook and cranny, and the wolves' eery howl echoed throughout the forest floor. Long, straight, platinum blonde hair wildly swayed behind a thin, pale figure. Ino ran through the isolated forrest outside of Konoha's borders. She ran at top speed, hoping to get as far as possible from the very place that brought her a life long accumulation of pain and sorrow. Dodging low branches and jagged bark, Ino started hyperventilating. Her muscles were starting to ache from the force and speed she built in her legs. Her lungs started to painfully contract and squeeze in the cold, stiff air. Once she couldn't bear it Ino let her legs collapse underneath her. Sitting on her throbbing legs, she gasped for air and let warm tears trickled down her face. Ino kept gasping in the now silent forest.
Ino had enough of Konoha. She had to bear losing her best friend over a boy. She then had to feel the pain of losing that boy to the calling of power and revenge. Then she felt the unbearable pain of losing her teacher and mentor. She and her team mates where there in his final moments. Ino still sees him laying on the dirt grey ground, mouth oozing with dark red liquid. She recalls the feeling of being useless and a failure when she could not even heal him. She remembered the parting words her left her with. "Ino, you are strong willed, and dependable. Chōji and Shikamaru, they are total goof-offs. Keep them in line. And, don't let Sakura beat you. In ninjutsu, or romance." She remembered the way the smoke from his last cigarette burned in her eyes, it was stronger than it ever was in that final moment. She remembered how she screamed loudly, in grief. She then had to witness an invasion on her village, see her comrades fall and die to mer dead men themselves. She remembered holding onto the dead, lip body of her fellow apprentice under the Hokage and the Hokage's Attendant. And then witnessing the whole village tremble and fall to ashes. The relief of seeing everyone revived and then the shame of not being able to help in any way. Ino remembered crying over the boy who had left when he had been declared an international criminal. The embarrassment of being seen crying by her comrades. The unbearable shame to have been yelled at for crying. She never felt so weak and insignificant.
Ino looked back, in the direction of Konoha. Right now all the children in her neighborhood would be running into their family houses, just like she did when she was their age. Greeting mom with that mirthful grin. She'd scurry to the sink to wash her hands and while singing the ABC's, lathering her tiny hands with soap, the water ran warm and dad would walk in, loudly closing the door behind him. Before she could get her hands dry she's hurry to the doorway and squeeze the life out of her dad, or so she thought, with those thin fragile arms. Once dad managed to get her off he'd scoop her up and carry her to the dinner table. Mom always had everything ready, warm, mouthwatering, by the time dad arrived. They'd all sit together, eating dinner, laughing and joking, loving life. That's when things were simple. Right now Ino imagined the children getting into the sand colored tents. Their mothers smiling at them with false assurance, wrapping them in the warmest blankets they could find. Their fathers would slump into the tent with a sigh. Food is scarce so Ino could imagine the mothers passing out slices of a loaf of bread or even undercooked ramen noodles from a cup. The children of the village would have these memories of hard times while Ino's childhood memories were tender, that scorned her.
Ino kept sitting there on the cold forest floor, her overheated body tingling from the mixture of heat radiating off her and the bitter winter air slamming on her. Ino's fingers instantly went numb, she started fiddling with them as her thoughts rattled in her head. Each thought lead to another thought that just lead to another. After a while of clearing out her head more shame dawned on her. Not only did she feel weak to begin with but now that she ran away from her age group to cry franticly in the forest she couldn't help but hate herself. "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot." She smacked her forehead every time the insult came out of her mouth. "Why can't you be stronger like Tenten or Sakura? Even like Hinata." Ino sighed, loudly. As the air managed to escape her shaking lungs Ino heard a low thud, like if someone landed on tree's branch. It was a few feet off. Without a second thought Ino used her arms to swiftly push her body off her legs. She remained still in a crouching stance, listening for more movement. Her suspicions were confirmed when she head shifting in the direction of the thud. Instinctually, Ino shifted all her weight to her feet and made a run for it. After a few seconds she heard a thud and then she knew someone was running after her. Ino could tell by the sound of her pursuer's footsteps that they weighed more than 110 pounds, meaning that a person following her was not only heavier than her but taller,they probably ran slower than her and would have a hard time squeezing into a spot tight enough for her to force her way into. Ino picked up speed, searching for a good hiding place. She ran between trees, making it easier for her pursuer to get to her, having mastered dodging and weaving in Konoha market's busy streets. She could hear the footsteps, harder on the soggy soil. Ino's nerves became uneasy as she head the brook's water splashing. Before reaching the water Ino reached into her medical pouch and pulled out a tag, swiftly she forms signs and then throws the tag on the floor. Easily, Ino maneuvers herself over the rocks, cemented deep into the brook. Once she jumps onto the other end she sees a flash. Her tag had been stepped on. Her Ninja Wolfsbane had been activated, simultaneously dozens of poisonous Aconitum flowers would fly out, stunning the enemy. Ino felt her heart bang as the sound of splashing rang in her ears. The enemy was swift enough to evade the wolfsbane. Cursing under her breath, Ino sent chakra to her feet. Then she saw it. The perfect escape. A multiple amount of trees had grown, tightly snug, around a middle aged oak tree. The fit between them was tight. Real tight. But Ino could manage it. Once she'd find a tightly concealed hiding place between the trees she'd look of a way back to Konoha without drawing the pursuer's attention. Ino scurried to the trees, right between the oak tree and the smaller trees. The bark scrapped her arms and legs but she managed to fit. Ino looked back and saw a dark figure fast approaching. She hurried along, maneuvering between the trees. How the trees managed to grow like this she didn't understand but she was thankful they did. A slam made her turn, her heart almost jumping out of her chest. The person had slammed into the trees, clawing at them. Ino was to far in between the trees to make out a face, all she saw were large hands clawing between the trees. She could confirm that her pursuer was a male, that much she could. Ino had to time to look for a face, she turned and kept squeezing through the trees. For once in a long time, she was thankful to have been so diet crazed. After a few minutes of struggling with mother nature's thin bark covered miracle children Ino found herself facing a meadow. This is just weird. her mouth dropped open at the mysterious and unlikely appearance of this meadow. Ino slowed down now that she felt no danger, walking into the hurdle of wild flowers. They called to her, asking her to lay down with them. They told her they would cover her and keep her safe, from who ever was after her and from Konoha and from the burden of being a ninja. Ino smiled, she wanted to believe that the flowers could do that, so she gave in. She dropped to her shaking knees, touching a Cornflower, a Sweet William, a Showy Baby's-breath, a Lady's Glove, and then a Calliopsis. The flowers were smelled sweet and they softly caressed her skin. Ino slowly shifted her body on to the damp grass and curled herself, feeling safe. It didn't take much time for Ino to fall asleep. Her heavy eyelids shut and she instantly found herself in the dream realm.
Ino sat up, still in the meadow. The morning sun had greeted her, smiling at her. Ino's eyes widened, the sun was alive. She shifted, uncomfortable, bumping into a Sweet William.
"Hey!" the pale pink flower yelled, opening lilac eyes. "Watch out, will ya?" Ino's jaw dropped open. The flower was alive to? "What?" It smacked it's lips, "Never seen a flower talk before?"
Ino managed to get a simple 'No' out.
The flower rolled it's eyes. "Humans are so dumb." Ino was about to scold the tiny flower but then a voice interrupted her. "Don't mind Bill, dear. He's just mad because no one will pollinate with him."
Ino turned around, a Lady's Glove was smiling at her with it's magenta lips. "Isn't that right girls?" A few flowers opened their eyes and nodded. "Oh yes, that Bill is a cranky one." said a Calliopis
"It's quite sad actually." a Showy Baby's-breath said.
"It is. His nectar is so sweet!" A blue Cornflower giggled.
"No one asked any of you!" Bill mumbled.
The one Lady's Glove that called out to Ino first tapped her shoulder, "What's your name, dear?"
"Ino"
"Oh, how lovely!" She mused. "Like the white goddess?"
"No" Ino sighed, " like inoshishi."
Will laughed outrageously. Ino scowled at the tiny flower.
"But you don't look like a boar!" the Cornflower cried.
"No!" The Lady's Glove agreed, "You look more like a goddess." Ino smiled. She'd never been compared to a Greek goddess. "I'm Lady, by the way" The Lady's Glove smiled warmly. She pointed at the yellow Calliopis, "That's Sunshine." Then the Cornflower "Cyani." and then the white Baby's-breath," And this is Babe." Ino smiled genuinely at the flowers, feeling a little crazy. "Nice to meet you all."
Cyani shook, "We promised to protect you, Ino!"
"Oh, yes!" Lady cried. "We want to keep you save."
"From all those stupid ninjas." Bill cut in.
"Will you stay with is, goddess?" Babe smiled.
Ino was about to open her mouth when she felt something heavy slam into her.
Instantly her light blue eyes snapped open. Blind with fear she struggled to get who ever was on her off. "Get off!" she shrieked. He grabbed her wrists, submitting her into more fear. Ino pulls her hands back, bearly slipping his tight grip and pulls an arm back, rapidly she throws a few punches, managing to land a few good hits on his face. When she notices that he doesn't fight back but keeps his weight on her she panics, without a second thought Ino plants the sole of her feet into the creep's stomach. "I said get the fuck off!" She kicks her feet rapidly, sending him up in the air. She kicks her legs together one last time and lands on her feet. Instinctively Ino grabs her pursuers arm in the air, pulls him towards her, lands four good kicks in his stomach, then goes into a backflip twist, letting go of the guy before twisting her body. Ino hears him slam into a tree, groaning. Please with herself Ino looks over in his direction. She can't see his face but he's struggling to get up after the blow. Ino grins, tossing her hair she turns around, looking for a flower to poison him with. Just as she's about to turn to look at him again she's knocked down. This time blind with furry, Ino rolls violently to keep him from pinning her down. She kicks him one more time, with her flexible legs, this time in the face, and goes into a back handspring as he falls back. "Persistent little bastard aren't you?" Ino hisses, landing on her feet. He growls at her, a nerve goes off in her head. Ino goes into a basic cartwheel, once she feels her fist slamming into his gut she unlocks her limbs, landing a final front flip that sticks him right on the nose. He manages to keep from howling from the pain, inching towards Ino. Tired of this, Ino pulls out her tantō, thrusting it in front of her in a defensive stance. Ino's sight goes red and before she knows it she's pinned down one last time, looking into the mystery man's face, his lip trembling over his point canine teeth menacingly. "Kiba?" she gasps. His eyes are wild and frantic, a deep gash is oozing red from this cheek bone to this upper lip. "What the fuck Ino?" he growls loudly.
Ino's eyes start to water, "I didn't mean to!" she gasped, "I thought you were out to harm me! Someone was chasing me in the forest earlier. I thought you were him."
Kiba laughed, coldly. "That was me, you..." his voice trailed off, he must have known not to push it. He glared down into her frightened eyes. "I couldn't fight back, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know. You wouldn't purposely harm a comrade." Ino's voice was small.
Kiba sighed, shifting his weight off of Ino and sitting down on his rear end. "Yeah." He started messing with the red stream trickling down his face. "That and you were good back there. You almost poison me to death with those flowers by the brook, then you lose me when you slip past those trees, and then you kick my ass with those damn acrobatic physical attacks. But at least you didn't go fucking up my mind with them clan techniques of yours."
Ino looks at Kiba. Did he just complement me? Sort of? "I'm sorry, Kiba." she almost whispered. "I wouldn't have ran in the first place if I knew it was you and I was so frightened. I didn't think as to identify you."
"I know." he mumbled. Ino felt ashamed.
Shifting, she sat on her legs. "Let me see that gash." Kiba leaned forward instantly. Ino formed a ox and tiger seal and instantly green chakra covered Ino's hand. She guided the chakra onto the spot where her tantō cut onto Kiba's face. "You really got me good." He blushed, embarrassed, "I thought I could dodge it but you were to fast."
"Sorry."
"No. I'm sorry." Kiba whispered an apology this time. Ino looked into his eyes, he must have read her confusion. "For yelling at you earlier. I don't know what came over me."
"It's okay."
"Truth is, it hurt me, too. The thing about Sasuke. The whole retrieval team almost died and our efforts failed." Kiba trailed off, looking out into the meadow. "And then when you were crying a nerve inside me snapped. Why should we all suffer for one selfish prick?"
Ino looked at Kiba. "You know I was crying for the same reasons that hurt you?"
Kiba looked taken aback, "Not because you love him?"
Ino dropped her hands, Kiba's gash was closed. "Nope. I felt weak. I've never been able to do anything for the village. Sasuke being declared a criminal made me remember of how pathetic I was... am..." Ino looked down. Here come the water works. Dammit. "I'm worthless. I don't deserve to be a part of Konoha."
Kiba must have read her mind because he was instantly cooing at Ino. "No. No. You're not pathetic." he started, not sure of what to say. "Your clan's techniques are highly regarded throughout the village. You're smart, smarter than most of any of us in our age group, probably the smartest girl. Your jutsus are interesting, 'specially the one where you chuck flowers at people and then they explode! You're strong, quick, and the way to move like a gymnast is pretty damn sexy." Kiba got lost in his assuring thoughts, "and since we're on the subject, you have a great body, tone and slender, and you're beautiful. The whole village should be proud to call you a kunochi of the leaf."
Ino blushed, not sure of what to say. Kiba blushed too, "Ah, fuck. Am I creeping you out?"
Ino shook her head. "Do you really think that highly of me?"
"Yeah." He replied sincerely, almost too sincerely. Ino smiled at Kiba. He blushed deeper. "You're making me look like Hinata here." Ino giggled and gracefully picked herself up, offering a hand to Kiba. "Where you taking me?"
"Back to our village." Ino smiled brightly.
Kiba grinned, taking Ino's hand. Ino tightly held on to Kiba's hand as they looked for a way back to Konoha.
Thank you, Kiba.