|AU-The Fourth Shinobi War, OC| Since this is an AU, there will be certain things that will be changed. Also, I kind of wanted to focus a lot on the psychological affects of war on the main characters in this story, so if you're looking for a perfect, 100% true to heart portrayal of each of the characters, then this probably isn't for you. I definitely am still portraying each character as themselves, but War does things to people. It's hell on Earth. You see your friends die, you see strangers die. It changes people. Especially to people so young. So I want to show that. And I kind of picked a random crew to write about, Shino, Ino, and Kiba. But I like all of the character individually, and I feel like since they were in the same Division, they would spend time together. When things like War happen, you tend to gravitate towards the people you know.

Pulling Tides

Chapter One

Mess

The tents were small, only able to fit two people in each. But this was the fifth division, we had to break down fast and move fast. It was why the tents were made simply, strong, and easily deconstructed. Each tent had a scroll, one that would seal it inside with little issue. We were the backup-meant to be strong, to be fast, and to come at a seconds call. I think my mother almost died of a heart attack when I told her I was being stationed here.

I didn't have the heart to tell her why; she was a civilian. She didn't quite understand what shinobi could be forced to do. In her eyes I was her baby. Not a killer. Not a soldier.

She cried when I left. I think a part of her resented the fact that I could be so calm under these types of situations. But she did give me her scarf-black, easily hidden but warm under my flak jacket. Hitomi had given me gloves, thick and made of hyde. They were deep in my bag, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself by pulling everything out to find them

I'd have to thank them for the gifts the next time I saw them. Better yet, I should write them. Hitomi begged me to write her. And how couldn't I? But there was a reality that I did have to face.

This was war.

There was no guarantee I was going home.

The Land of Iron was cold this time of year, snow covered and frigid. There was already snow piling outside of each tent, footprints leading away to and from the pathway in the middle of the tents and to the tent flaps. The tents looked like they were made of thick material-and I begged that it kept in heat.

The largest tent was the mess hall, near which I was meant to find my bunk mate-Ino Yamanaka.

I'd seen her around Konoha, back when I was a genin and before the war. Talkative, vicious, and gossip hungry, she was also known as a strong fighter. She was also a medical-nin with a talent for sensing. I just hoped that it made things less awkward, coming from the same village. No one from my graduating class was in the Fifth division, and less than half had been promoted to Chunin. Though, we were promoted through field promotions. With a war, there wasn't really time to host Chunin exams.

The last mission Tadashi, Sho and I went on together as genin was messy. Evacuation of a town-and they both nearly got killed.

I saved them, but well, it was war. It was never easy to get over.

I walked past the loud clambering mess hall, winding through the pathways according to the map I was given before I stopped briefly in front of a tent that smelt remarkably like jasmine-and then I remembered that Ino's family owned a flower shop.

Hesitantly knocking on the metal structure holding the frame up, I entered.

Ino Yamanaka looked up from her perch on her cot, eyebrows raised. Her long blonde hair was pulled away from her face, and her hair was cut shorter than it was before. She was wearing her standard uniform, but without the flak jacket. Her clear blue eyes looked blank for a second.

"Yamanaka-san, I'm Momo Kaga and I've been assigned to bunk with you." I said politely, trying not to be too awkward.

She looked me up and down for a second, trying to place me.

"You're from Konoha?" She asked, looking at the headband sticking out of my bag.

I looked down and up again, nodding. "Yes, I graduated two years after you."

"And you're a chunin? I don't remember you being promoted with me?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

"I got a field promotion." I explained.

She nodded, and shrugged. Standing up, she extended a hand, which I took gently.

"We move in and out a lot, but depending on your orders we may never even be in the field together. I'm primarily a field medic. Unless you're a medic?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No, I'm not. I primarily work with Genjutsu and Taijutsu." She nodded and shrugged.

"Well, I'm gonna go out to eat with Kiba and Shino, once you've got your cot settled, wanna come with? You should probably put on gloves too. The box in the corner is where your cot is, unroll it and it has bedding in it."

She was inspecting me up and down. She looked like she was categorizing something. I was easily three inches shorter, and thinner. I didn't have much of a shape, well, not like her anyways. I'd always been slim and kind of...well narrow.

My hands were bright red from the cold, and my ears were too.

"To be honest, when they told me that it was cold here, I didn't quite expect it to be this cold." She snorted.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I mean, it's bad enough that they make us wear this boring uniform, but then to put us in one of the coldest camps? As if the war wasn't sucky enough." She rolled her eyes and sat back down on her cot, grabbing a magazine.

"Take your time, Kiba and Shino usually spar almost until sundown." I nodded.

"Thank you, Yamanaka-san." I said quietly and she groaned.

"Ino, please. That's what they call my dad. Ugh."

I looked back at her. "Sorry, Ino." She shrugged.

"You're kind of...meek, aren't you?" She tilted her head watching closely.

I swallowed. "Well, I don't really know anyone here. My teammates were all placed in different divisions, and well, there weren't many of us in my graduating class that were given field promotions." I explained. "I'm just kind of nervous." She shrugged.

"Don't be. I don't bite. I may talk shit but so long as you don't talk about me, I won't talk about you, deal?" A startled laugh escaped me, and I nodded.

"Deal, Ino."

"So, Momo? Got a boyfriend back home?" She asked as I pulled the cot into the opposite side of her. I looked back, eyebrows up.

"No. I don't." I replied honestly. Pulling it apart, the bedding was rolled tightly. I put it aside to set up the cot and locked it in place before pulling apart the bedding. I put the thick wool sheets on first, following with the second set of sheets. These ones weren't as thick, but still warm presumably used to make the sheet below it more comfortable. I put the pillow on the sheets and then I placed the comforter over it.

"You should secure your comforter to your cot, trust me, it gets cold during dawn when the fire loses heat. We're only rationed a certain amount of wood a week.. And pity, what, don't like dating?" She asked, and I did as she instructed.

"To be honest? I never really was close to most of the guys I was around." I answered quietly, grabbing my bag and pulling it apart. I re-folded my second set of clothes and placed them on my bed, and then pulled out two scrolls; one had weapons sealed in it, back up if I should ever need it. The second scroll had my animal summons on it, just in case. I placed everything I didn't need back in my bag and put on my gloves.

"What, not cute enough?" She teased.

"I don't know, they were all mostly so focused on proving themselves that they acted like kunoichi couldn't be shinobi. And I...I'm not really into that." I finished quietly, using the strips that were rolled into the comforter to strap around the cot.

She snorted. "It's so annoying, right? When I was younger, I thought it was cute, watching other teammates do that to kunoichis, but then I realized, why? I'm so glad that my team didn't do that. Although, Shika is lazy as hell. And Choji could focus less on food more. But they never tried to protect me so much that I couldn't be a shinobi."

"You're lucky. About the time my teammates realized that I wasn't into being treated like a princess, they dropped the 'nice guy' act."

She snorted.

"Of course. Your parents shinobi?"

I shook my head, and then hesitated. "Moms a civilian and so is her whole family. But...my biological father is a shinobi. Or was. Atleast."

Her eyes narrowed, and I could feel her begging to ask more questions, so I elaborated. Kind of.

"Dad met mom, mom fell in love. Dad was a dick, got her pregnant twice, left her to marry someone else in his clan and never bothered to see any of us again." I said, rather shortly.

"Become a better shinobi than him, then rub it in his dick-headed face." Ino said, smirking.

I laughed.

"You're not what I expected." I said quietly.

She shrugged. "I grew up a lot. War does that."

It was interesting, that she admitted that she grew up. I smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I guess it does."

The mess hall was loud. Ino called it the entertainment center; gossip, buffoonery, and well, the only entertainment anyone could get. Every friday night they played movies, too. Things were hard-but keeping things light kept everyone together. Bonding experiences, in theory I guess.

We sat down at an empty table, across from each other as she asked questions about back home, absentmindedly.

Part of me was surprised that I wasn't as quiet as I thought I would be, but then again, Ino Yamanaka was a talker. But to be honest, she didn't seem quite interested. She was...kind of withdrawn. Like she was trying to put up a mask but didn't quite have the energy anymore.

"So, you're telling me that they actually decided to go with a new style of building, for what exactly?" She asked, picking at the soup in front of her. She sounded agitated.

"Apparently it's to make more room. According to the elders, when Konoha was build they had no idea how large it would grow to be, so they're managing space. Of course, the Clans still get their land, but they're expanding their borders by a few more miles."

She snorted. "So it won't even look the same."

I nodded. "No, it won't."

She glared, but easily moved off into a different conversation before someone placed a tray next to me. Looking up, I realized that it was Shino Aburame. I moved my tray to make room. He moved around the chair to sit.

He had a hood on-like back in the village. He was covered up like an Aburame, that's for sure. He was even wearing sunglasses, in the dark. I never quite understood that.

Noisily, next to Ino, Kiba Inuzuka sat down, grinning viciously. His hair was wild and he grinned viciously.

"Kiba, Shino, meet Momo Kaga. She graduated two years behind us and is now bunking with me. And yes Kiba, she's too young for you." She announced.

Slightly alarmed, I did a double take.

"Hey Momo-chan! Don't listen to Ino! She's got her panties in a knot!" I swallowed and smiled at Kiba hesitantly. Ino flicked his temple.

"Hello." Shino Aburame said evenly, sitting down.

"Hi." I said quietly.

"So, we're taking in Genin now?" Kiba asked, though not unkindly.

"She got a field promotion. She's a Chunin." Kiba's eye twitched.

"Not fair." He muttered.

"Field promotions are necessary in a time of War. How else would we gain soldiers?" Shino said evenly, moving to eat from his tray. Kiba growled, but then shrugged.

I noticed the ninken move around the table and sit next to me, watching me easily. I didn't move as he inspected me. I stayed unmoving as he decided that I wasn't an enemy.

I looked at Kiba.

"May I pet him?" I asked. He grinned.

"If he didn't want you to, he wouldn't be around you." I turned back and smiled slightly, reaching out and scratching his ear easily. He licked my hand in some sort of friendship making and rubbed his head against my shoulder. Then went back to his partner.

"So! Where were you stationed before?" Kiba asked easily, shoving food in his mouth.

I swallowed. "My team's job was evacuating towns and villages to Kohona. I moved around a lot, but I didn't really leave the Land of Fire until I was stationed here."

"What's it like back home?" He asked.

It was a recurring question, I realized. Ino had asked twice-like she wanted to be reminded of home.

They'd been here a year. It was understandable.

"Different...they've expanded the borders. Most of the land is under construction, in the center, it's mostly a huge camp, bigger than this one. Refugees from all over Fire are travelling there."

Shino looked at me.

"Different?" He asked.

"They're changing everything." Ino said, sipping from her cup. She was staring out into space.

"Why?" Kiba asked.

I shrugged. "To fit more people. To build a larger city. They said when Konoha was build they never imagined such a large crowd. So they're building 'smarter'. The Clan lands still belong to the Clans, though." I added as an afterthought.

The silence that followed was unnerving.

I didn't like it either-the change. But then again, here they were. Fighting against a number of people, the Akatsuki. The White Zetsu. And their former classmate-Uchiha. Their home had been destroyed-levelled. They lost people. And now, they were losing their home once again.

War. It changes things. It changes you. My mother told me.

I really should listen to her more often.