Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto.
Rating: T, for language.
A/N: So I realized that most of my work centers around post-Academy graduation, and that few fics are relevant to their education in the Academy. I took it upon myself to write one such fic. Enjoy! =)
~ The Homework Assignment ~
"WHAT?" When Ino jolted out of her seat, she saw Master Iruka's eyebrows jump. "No way am I working with that slacker Inuzuka!"
In the back row, she heard a chair screech. "HEY!" shouted that same Inuzuka. "WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSTA MEAN?"
She whipped around and found Inuzuka's indignant glare, his mutt curled on his head. "Sit down, you." Her voice chilled. "Let the intelligent life-forms speak."
"Shuddup, Princess Pig! I don't wanna smell yer stink anymore'n I hafta!"
Oh, there were so many things wrong with his speech it was like an impediment. Ignoring Inuzuka's attempt at an insult, she turned to appeal to Master Iruka.
"Please, please, Master Iruka, anyone except Inuzuka." She put on her best puppy-dog eyes, the ones her father succumbed to without fail.
But Master Iruka kept his arms crossed. "Ino. Kiba." The calm way he said their names made her fidget. "It's one homework assignment and an easy one at that. Shinobi must adapt to diversity and accommodate for clashing personalities. My decision stands."
"But-!"
"It's final, Ino." His quiet tone remained firm. "Adapt."
"Yes, Master," Ino said, seeing that he was serious about his lesson.
From behind her, she heard loud snickering as Kiba mimicked her. She grit her teeth and sat down, the bitterness of defeat on her tongue. Stupid assignment. Master Iruka continued to pair up the rest of the class. At least Sakura got paired with Chouji and not Sasuke. Hah, take that Forehead!
Ino glanced at the page in front of her. This assignment was ridiculous. Like, discuss and answer the questions to include both partners' perspectives? Only one perspective mattered and that was the right one. Which would be hers, if she had to work with Inuzuka. She curled her lip.
Maybe she could avoid doing the assignment. How much was it worth?
She checked the points, saw the weight of it in the grade, and did a quick calculation. She'd been beating Sakura grades-wise for a while, but by something like two percentage points. If she got a hundred percent on this homework, she'd still be in the lead. But if she didn't…Sakura would pull ahead to get the number one spot.
That stupid Inuzuka better do his fair share so she wouldn't lose to that billboard-brow Sakura. She could probably coerce him into listening to her.
"Does everyone know who to pair up with?" Master Iruka called. He'd finished listing partners. Silence answered him. "The assignment is due first thing tomorrow. Class is dismissed!"
Echoing screeches as chairs scraped across the floor simultaneously. Murmurs as students picked up talking and crowded out of the double doors set at the back of the lecture hall. Ino glanced at the back row, not surprised to see violent red triangles absent.
She huffed, fixing a scowl on her face. That jerk! He must've escaped early without Master Iruka seeing it to avoid her. How childish! He knew she'd make him do the work.
"You know it's not a surprise," a voice said behind her, words kinda slow and drawn-out. Only one person she knew spoke that way. Shikamaru. "I'd get the heck out too if I was paired with you."
Ino waited until they'd shuffled into the bustling corridor to address him.
"Shut it, lazy-butt. I don't have time for your games. Didja see him leave? Where did he go?"
He slouched along beside her, hands in his pockets, not saying anything. Taking his time. And what really annoyed her was how he did just enough to pass without putting forth an effort. At least he had the brains to pass. How Inuzuka had avoided being held back dozens of times baffled her.
"I might've," Shikamaru said finally. "He mentioned slipping away when he thought I was napping."
After a long pause in which Ino waited for him to continue and then realized he wasn't going to, she sighed. "So where did he go?"
"Why're you asking me? I don't know!" And when Ino punched him, hard, in the shoulder, "OUCH!"
"You are absolutely no help at all," she called back to him.
As she exited the Academy, she saw Sakura, with Chouji standing next to her. Sakura's witchy voice carried across the grounds, punctuated with Chouji's chip-munching.
"INOOOO-PIIIIIG!" She waved a cheeky hand. "Good luck with Inuzuka, LOSER!"
That caught Ino's aggravation. "SHUT UP, FOREHEAD. YOU COULDN'T BEAT ME ON A BAD DAY!"
Sakura giggled, turning away. "I'll make number one with this assignment," Ino heard her say, "and when I am, Sasuke-dearest will be all mine. Ta-taaa!"
"Oh, yeah?" Ino said to her retreating back, "Don't blind him with the glare off your forehead, brat!"
The nerve of that billboard-brow! She'd show her, just as soon as she got her hands on that stupid Inuzuka and his lame mutt. But where could he be?
Ino went through a mental list of places she'd have to check: training grounds, park, home, ramen stand, and just in case he wanted to be sneaky, the library. Though, she thought after a moment, that was probably giving him too much credit.
She bet he made her chase after him because it frustrated her and he wanted to see her sweat. Or. Or he wanted her to give up and leave him alone. But she'd find him, dammit, and force him into submission. He had another thing coming if he thought she wasn't going to do just that. The closest place to the Academy was the local park, so she headed that way, and finding it abandoned, went to the ramen stand.
"Oh, yes," said one of the assistants. "I remember a student with triangle markings. He left maybe ten minutes ago."
"Thank you. Which direction?"
The assistant pointed toward the training grounds. Ino thanked the man, convinced she was hot on Kiba's tail. The training grounds were out of the way, and when she finally got there the afternoon was getting late. She'd wanted to finish the assignment early so she could, you know, do something else with her day. Even if she found Inuzuka here, there was plenty of time to complete the assignment for the night.
However, her frustration amounted when she scoured the training grounds and could not find him. Ino could feel the veins in her forehead bulge with her rapid blood pressure. He was making this more difficult than it needed to be! Ino decided to try the library, since it'd be closed soon.
She got there just as the head librarian was shooing out some of the other students in class.
"Hey! Excuse me," Ino said, catching the door before the crone closed it. "May I ask you a question?"
The librarian looked over her glasses at Ino. Adjusted them. Glanced at the clock. "Hmm, I suppose you do have a minute, dear. What is it?"
"I was wondering if you'd seen a kid with red triangles on his face. He has a white dog, too."
"No, dear, I'm afraid not. There are no pets allowed in the library. Goodnight."
Ino recognized the dismissal and accepted the temporary defeat. "Thank you. Goodnight."
The last place was the Inuzuka residence, which was, of course, nearly on the other side of Konoha. She checked her watch and clenched her hands. It was dinner-time already! And the sun had set. That stupid Inuzuka was gonna pay for wasting her time!
"When I find him," she muttered, knowing she was acting like some crazy cat lady, "I will pummel him. Then chain him down and make him do the homework. I swear on the Hero Stone, I will make. Him. Suffer."
As she stalked down the roads, she considered the different combinations she could use to maim him. Two upper-cuts and a left hook. A serious Chuck Norris round-house kick. Maybe a straight punch to the nose as hard as she could. Inuzuka walking around with a bloody nose and a black eye pleased her. Maybe she'd break a few of his fingers, too, just to show how serious she was.
At last she came to the Inuzuka compound. She opened the gate and went straight to the front door, knocking on it with authority and the boldness born of hours wasted tromping around the village.
The door opened. Kiba's mother glared down at her, making her feel a little like running away. They stood in silence for a long moment.
"Well? What do you want?" Tsume said.
Ino refused to wilt under the intense gaze. "Your son, ma'am."
"Kiba?" Her eyes narrowed. "What for?"
"We were partnered up to do a homework assignment. I've been looking for him so we can start."
"Is that so? I haven't seen him since this morning. He didn't even come home for dinner." Tsume shifted back, relaxing. "Have you checked the training grounds?"
"Yes. I have." Ino began ticking off fingers. "And the park near the Academy. And the ramen stand. And the library."
Tsume laughed. "The library?" She continued cackling. "Oh, young'un, you wasted yer time there."
"Yes, I know." All Inuzukas were the same, she swore. "Can you please help me find him so I can get this stupid assignment finished?"
Tsume's humor faded. "Hm, sorry, kid. My son sinks or swims on his own."
And before Ino could sputter out an indignant protest, Tsume shut the door in her face. AUGH! That was it! She'd had enough of this. She'd do the assignment by herself, and do it right, and that stupid Kiba could take the failing grade. Spinning on her heel, Ino marched down the steps and made her righteous way home.
Her parents got out of her warpath when they saw her mood, and Ino went straight upstairs without stopping to talk to them. She was almost too angry to answer the questions, but she managed them all, and stayed up after her bedtime to finish it.
She fell face-first into her pillow, and almost immediately after, the alarm buzzed. It wasn't possible for night to be over so soon! But when Ino tilted her face to the clock, she saw that, yes, morning had come and she needed to get around. She showered, dressed, and checked the homework as she ate breakfast. As always, there were no mistakes.
"Ah, there's my sunflower," Dad said, taking a seat next to her with a cup of coffee. "Your mother and I missed you last night."
"Yeah, well, I spent my time looking for that mangy mutt Kiba but he was too clever for me. I couldn't find him."
"An Inuzuka too clever for a Yamanaka?" Dad sounded affronted, but when she glanced at him, he had an amused smile. "That's a day I never thought I'd see."
She sighed and picked at her breakfast rice. "I did the homework myself, so I know it'll get a perfect score. But still," she slapped down the chopsticks, agitated, "he should have helped."
"Hm-hm. I have to open the flower shop, so I'm off." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, sweetie. Have a good day at school."
"Yeah. Love you, too, Dad."
She slipped the homework in her pretty purple folder, packed the folder into her book bag and went to school. When she opened the doors to the lecture hall, she noticed that she was, as usual, one of the first ones there. And so was Sakura. Her rival bobbed her head, narrowing green eyes.
"Hello, Ino-pig." Sakura's tone incurred a sneer from Ino's lips. "How'd your date with Inuzuka go?"
Ino refused to admit that she had to do the assignment herself. "It was fine, Forehead. I only wish I'd partnered with Inuzuka sooner. You know he's pretty smart, for someone who cuts class all the time."
"Is that so?" Sakura fluffed her pink hair. "I hope that's the case 'cause you know we have another assignment to do with the same partners."
"Hmph. If we do," Ino walked down the stairs to the front, feigning nonchalance, "I'll beat you at it again."
But as Ino waited for class to start, she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach that maybe Sakura really had beat her for the top position in the class. Master Iruka had, like, forty students he had to grade for, so she hoped he wouldn't examine her work too closely, or Inuzuka's. If, that is, he even did it.
Speaking of which…she glanced over her shoulder to the back row, to the seats nearest the door. There he was. Fur-lined hood. Red triangles. The nerve of that little jerk showing up now! He had a stupid grin plastered on his face that seemed oddly out of place.
She stared at him; he waved back, mouthing, 'You're going down.'
What? What was he-
A horrible realization dawned on her. Oh, oh, no, he didn't.
He winked at her.
He totally did. That son of a bitch! He'd avoided her not to get out of the work, but to exact revenge on her! She twisted in her seat, heart fluttering in panic. He'd purposely failed so she'd fail, too! What should she do?
Her first inclination was to go back there and beat the ever-living stuffing outta him. Teach him to mess with her. She hit her fist in the palm of the other hand. The smack satisfied her. Beating him up sounded like a good idea. But then everyone would see that she hadn't gotten Kiba under her control. Subsequently she would lose power over everyone else and that was out of the question.
Maybe she could rat him out to Master Iruka. Surely he'd have a sense of justice. He was the teacher, right? So he had to be fair, right? But that fairness was a double-edged sword. Master Iruka wouldn't be fair just to her, he'd be fair to Kiba too. They both would end up punished or failing the assignment for not cooperating with the other.
So what could she do?
During her ruminations, Master Iruka had entered the hall and had taken up his stance at the front of the classroom. All the rustling and murmuring quieted.
"Good morning, class," he started, "I hope you all have completed yesterday's assignment. I want you to pass it to the ends of the rows for collection."
Crap, crap, crap, crap! Ino took out the page. Neat. Unwrinkled. Decorated with her fancy handwriting. There was nothing she could do now except turn in the assignment and talk to Master Iruka after class to stall him from grading it. Then she would kick the crap out of Inuzuka. That much, she swore.
"Are you gonna hand that over, or what?" asked a kid beside her. His hand was out for her paper.
Ino glared death-intent. "I will when I'm ready," she snapped, keeping her voice down.
"Ok-k-kay. S-s-sorry!"
After spending half a second deciding what she would do, she huffed through her nostrils and passed along the homework assignment. She'd have to make her plans during class and execute them afterwards.
Master Iruka started the day's lesson. Normally she'd pay attention, but she found her mind wandering, imagining different scenarios for getting back at Inuzuka. She couldn't help it. And she couldn't help wondering why. Why did he do that to her?
"Pssst." Ino heard the quiet noise from behind her. "Pssst, Ino."
She waited for Master Iruka to turn to the board before she swiveled in her seat and whispered, "What?"
The pigtailed girl behind her handed her a square of folded paper. Baffled, Ino took it and turned forward just as Master Iruka faced the class again. There was no way she could read it with being in the front row, so she raised her hand.
Master Iruka interrupted his lecture. "Ino?"
"The bathroom, please."
He nodded and continued on with his explanation as Ino wove past her slouching classmates and hurried up the stairs to the privacy of the hallway, outright ignoring Inuzuka's pinning gaze. Once safe, she examined the note. It had her name inscribed on the front, in nearly illegible letters. Hm. Who did she know with that handwriting? Interested, Ino unfolded the note.
How do you like walking among commoners, princess?
Under that simple message, were two triangles, filled in sloppily. The Inuzuka clan markings. What, he couldn't even print his own name?
But her disgust was thin, at best. The message made sure of that. How do you like walking among commoners. Like, he'd wanted to drag her through the mud for some reason. Why? Was it because she was smarter than he was? Was it because she could win an argument with him? Was there another reason?
She was half tempted to yank Inuzuka out of his seat and confront him right there in class, but that would gain too much attention. If she waited, she might not find him afterwards. He'd effectively cornered her.
When did he get so clever?
Okay, think, Ino, think. He obviously wanted to draw her out in the note. He wanted her to be bothered by his game. He wanted her to play along so he could…what? Gloat with victory over her? Actually, that sounded like something he'd do.
Well, he needed her to care enough about his little game to play it, and she refused to throw the ball back to him. Yanking out the pen through the base of her ponytail, she wrote out a scathing reply.
Die in a hole, mutt. Stop bothering me with your childishness.
And she signed her purple message with a flower, relishing the fact that she could end her withering statement with another tease. After refolding the note carefully, she reentered the lecture hall and slid the note on the corner of the desk where Kiba sat, all without breaking her stride.
She took her seat, and feeling better, actually listened to Master Iruka's lesson. But she was abruptly distracted when something furry brushed up against her leg. Keeping her composure, she looked under the desk. Akamaru. He had the note in his mouth. His wagging tail whapped against her calf.
Ino 'accidentally' knocked her pen on the floor. She took the note from Akamaru's teeth, unfolded it and read it. The message was longer than before.
You'd have to bury me, princess, and still get dirt under those pretty nails of yours. You know that Master Iruka's not gonna let you sweet talk him out of that failing grade. Squeal, little piggie, squeal, the last 'squeal' written in faux-horror letters.
His message ticked her off so much she crumpled the paper into a wad in her hand. Who did that cur think he was? Hunh? Akamaru backed off, whimpering. She would show him what she was capable of, and she wouldn't indulge him with a reply answer.
"Get out of here, shoo," she whispered to Akamaru. "Tell him to kiss my butt."
Then she righted herself, bumping her head on the desk. She rubbed the spot, hissing a curse, and counted down the minutes until the end of class. When Master Iruka dismissed class (two minutes early, what a surprise), she waited for all her classmates to file out, with the sneaking suspicion that Inuzuka hung around the double doors to hear what she would do.
"Master Iruka?" she called, stepping down to the well. "Can I speak with you?"
Master Iruka looked up from shuffling the papers into a leather case. "Ino, yes, of course. What is it?"
"It's about yesterday's assignment." She hesitated under Master Iruka's patient gaze. "I have reason to believe that mu- -err, that Kiba has purposely sabotaged my- -I mean, our work."
"What's the reason?" he asked, folding his arms. "And why would he sabotage you?"
Hoo, boy. She'd have to be careful here. "Yesterday, when I wanted to start the assignment, he avoided me. I looked all over Konoha for him and even visited his house. I couldn't find him."
"I saw you turn in your work, Ino. Hold on." Industrious Master Iruka had already alphabetized the papers, and pulled hers out of the stack. "Here it is."
He read over her page right then, and she watched as his brow furrowed. Then he turned back to the stack and shuffled through the papers, mouth forming the letters of the alphabet until he came to 'I'.
"Kiba's paper isn't here." Again, he gazed at Ino. "If you did the assignment, his should be done as well."
Crap. She floundered. "Master Iruka it's because-"
"I didn't do it," interrupted Kiba from behind them.
Ino cranked her head to the side. His features were dark, angry, and Akamaru peeked his head out of the grey jacket.
"You know what that means," Master Iruka told Ino. "You both receive a zero."
"What? Why? He ran away from me, Master." She gestured wildly at Inuzuka. "How could I possibly do work with a partner when he didn't even show up?"
"Both of you missed the point of-" Master Iruka started, but Ino's fury suddenly reared up, ugly and aching.
"That's not fair!" she shouted, finding herself on the verge of tears. Why couldn't he understand? "That's not fair that I have to be punished because HE'S a slacker!"
"It is fair," Kiba said in the silence that followed, more calmly than she thought he'd be capable of, "it's fair 'cause you didn't even give me a stinkin' chance."
"WHAT? What are you talking about?"
He scratched behind his ear in a way that infuriated her. "You think yer so smart and everything, and you immediately assumed I wouldn't be a good partner. You didn't even try to be nice."
"So that's what it's about? Me calling you out on your crap yesterday?" She mocked-laughed, feeling the scalding tears race over her cheeks. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kiba. I'm sorry that I thought you were a slacker 'cause you cut class and get terrible grades and don't care about your education and anyone else's goals."
She stopped only to catch her breath, coming in great heaves, and to wipe the tears that continued to flow hotly. "What did you expect me to think when you give that impression? How could you be so cruel as to…blame me for your own…your own…"
The word wouldn't come to her, so she left it unsaid, charging by Inuzuka, up the stairs and through the doors. They slammed behind her, but she didn't care, she had to get out of there, to heck with Master Iruka and that…that…bastard. She would just have to…have to…accept the failing grade and…lose to…Sakura. How humiliating.
The swing sets on the playground were empty, so she sat on one, and put her face in her hands to bawl. Her hands did nothing to stifle her sobs. Her eyes burned, and her chest felt so constricted. The thought of losing made her sick.
Why did a stupid grade hurt so much? She had to give that Inuzuka credit, albeit grudgingly. He had attacked her grades because he'd seen the importance of winning against Sakura. He had forced her to lose, all because he had some personal vendetta against her.
That stupid Inuzuka had turned her into a sobbing mess when no one else had the guts or brains to do it.
"Ino?"
Kiba's voice froze her. She could tell he was very near, maybe within arm's reach. She decided she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her face.
"Wh-what do you want?"
The tears broke her speech, and she hated it. She hated him for coming out here and for making her like this.
"I'm sorry."
His apology bolted her to her feet, and against her decision seconds prior, she faced him. Her fist swung of its own accord. Smack! Her punch left a bruise spreading under his clan mark. He'd stepped back from the force of the blow.
"Don't. You. Dare," she spat, anger spilling more tears, "Don't you dare presume that you deserve forgiveness."
His head hung, shoulders sagging. Akamaru whimpered and licked Kiba's face. Out of breath, out of energy, Ino brushed by him to go back into the Academy for her things. She couldn't…couldn't deal with this anymore. His hand on her wrist stopped her cold.
"You don't have to forgive me," he said. She stared hard at the ground, wanting for it to swallow her up. "But Master Iruka says we can make up the grade. If you want."
Ino wanted to be unreasonable, a side of her wanting so badly to rip her arm from his fingers and ignore him coldly for eternity. But the part of her wanting to win, wanting to be better than Sakura, wouldn't allow it. She looked over to Kiba, finding him watching her. He didn't blink, didn't drop her wrist.
"Yeah, okay." She snuffled a couple times. "I want to."
When he reached up and wiped at a few stray tears with the cuff of his jacket, she didn't move. Wasn't even sure what to think. The gesture was so strangely gentle, coming from someone all rough and uneven around the edges.
"There," he said. Then tugging her, "C'mon. Master Iruka's waiting for us."
They walked together a few steps before she got up the courage to speak her mind. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"That's okay," he replied. He touched his cheek. "I think we both learned our lesson today."
"I guess that was the point of the homework assignment, right?"
He laughed at the joke, teeth sharp and white under the lights of the school, and Ino felt a little wiser, a little glad, and a little thrilled for having been partnered with Kiba.
A/N: Such drama, but I love it with these two. Let me know your thoughts, concerns, and general comments. Thanks for reading. =)
Light editing 12/20/15- -decreased the italics, removed curse words to bring rating more firmly into "T" zone.