Initially I seriously wasn't interested in this ship at all (Although I do like both characters a lot on their own.) but I thought their interactions in Shikamaru Hiden were quite sweet. Somehow, I was just struck by the mood to write fic about them. I don't know if I quite have a good grasp of some things here yet, but, lol, I tried. I think Ino would be more prone to losing her patience, but I know she definitely loves her family a lot and would want to be a good parent and would work at it?

Sort of set just post-700 - I'm sorry if there are any inaccuracies!

Ino pressed her head against the cool surface of the kitchen table. Sai hovered quietly in the background at the stove, cooking the eel for their dinner. (Eel over rice tonight, apparently.)

Although her husband had his awkward moments and social mishaps, due to his mental conditioning, he also had moments of keen sensibility and usually knew when to give people space when they needed it.

She'd argued with Karui again. She hadn't really intended to. She also supposed she should have planned out the joint Yamanaka-Nara-Akimichi training sessions better… . Shikamaru was attending the kage summit with Naruto and Temari had been busy meeting with the Kazekage. Shikadai hadn't bothered to show up at all and was likely lazing off somewhere with video games. Not much different from his father.

Karui and Chouji, though they had taken the time to attend, seemed reluctant to be there and Chouchou was nowhere in sight. Eventually, after a long wait, and Ino clearly growing more and more impatient, Karui made a point that had dug under her skin for reasons she couldn't quite discern yet. That Ino's expectations were outdated and that her daughter simply wasn't interested. With an ending jab of "Maybe you should re-think your priorities." They didn't stick around for very long after that.

Inojin slowly made his way across the training grounds an hour later, hands in his pockets, unable to meet Ino's eyes.

"Since it's just us today," Ino gritted out, her mouth set in a thin line, "We'll move on from coercion techniques to the Shintenshin. Today you'll try it on me."

Inojin blinked, his eyes growing wide. "A-are you sure?" He'd only ever practiced it, briefly, on small animals before. (Including their cat.)

Sai shifted uneasily nearby, "Ino… He doesn't seem quite ready for that, yet."

"Of course he's ready." Ino snapped. "Now, take your position, Inojin."

Inojin wavered a few times, but then stretched out his arms, fingers meeting in a seal. "Shin… Shintenshin!"

He slumped to his knees.

A small, shaky presence appeared in her mind and Ino was immediately drawn back to the first time that she'd used it, training with her father. She'd been so eager and excited that she'd broken concentration a few times and had nearly walked her father into a tree. Ino had wanted to show it off to her teammates and to her friends (well, to compete with Sakura, too) and she'd worked hard at it for weeks on end. She enjoyed the thrill of it and the satisfaction after improving with training.

But Inojin…

I don't like this. Her son's voice sounded in her mind, along with a flood of emotions tinged with fear and doubt. I really don't want to do this… I'm scared.

He immediately withdrew, though Ino still stood, frozen, wondering how things could be so different.

Inojin, now conscious, stood, brushing the dirt from his knees. He sniffed, his lower lip quivering, and then began crying.

Sai got to him before she did, lifting him up into his arms. Inojin sobbed into his father's shoulder, clinging to his jacket.

"It's okay. Take it easy." Sai soothed.

"Are you alright, Inojin?" Ino asked quietly, guilt and worry heavily weighing her down. "We'll stop here for today, okay?"

The boy nodded, but said nothing more.

And, so, Ino found herself in the kitchen, pressing her face into the table.

"Ugh, I'm such an idiot." She mumbled.

Sai only "Hmm"-ed in reply. Ino wasn't sure if it was in agreement or if he was offering sympathy.

She ignored it and plucked a withered bit from the arrangement of zinnias in a vase upon the table. "For someone who uses a mind jutsu, I'm not really careful about my emotions. Being overbearing toward others with my enthusiasm or anger… Karui was right. Our children are different people with different plans and to push them to conform to old traditions is old-fashioned and cruel. I can't do that to our son. He's only eight, too. It's just…" Ino raised her head from the table, resting her chin in her arms, "These traditions are the ways I remember my dad. The history of my family… the struggles of my friends. All of the history I carry in what I learned from them…" She felt her eyes grow wet and she angrily scrubbed at them with a hand.

Sai returned his gaze to her from his cooking, a smile spreading across his face and a laugh escaping from his mouth.

Ino bristled, "What's so amusing about this situation?"

"Sorry." Sai said. "It's just… Don't you think both things are important? Inojin should have the opportunity to follow his own path, but he probably needs these connections to his family as well. Of course, it can't be pushed on him, and we can't expect him to follow custom to the letter. All we can do is talk about it with him and provide him with as many options and as much support as we can - and he'll choose his own way. I think."

"Sometimes, I wish I had your patience." Ino smiled up at him. "I agree with you. I want Inojin to have good memories and positive experiences from this. But he'll be happier when I let go of the reins and let him discover on his own what he's best at and what he wants to do. And, yeah. It's a little unconventional, compared to what we were raised with and the many things that were expected of all of us. But… the world is definitely changing quickly."

Sai wordlessly leaned forward to place a warm hand over her own.

When their son made his way down for dinner and sat at the table, Ino brushed his bangs from his eyes, kissing his forehead. "I'm sorry, Inojin. We need to talk about this more, don't we? So…" Ino said, sharing a look with Sai, "What do you say to getting some ice cream after dinner?"

A smile spread across Inojin's face and he nodded. "Okay."