Ino Yamanaka jolted awake.
She found herself regarding her room's terraced ceiling in a sullen trance, with its creamy whites and lavender purples, seemingly oblivious to the cacophony next to her ear.
When the 12-year-old girl finally rolled to her side, she squinted at the hands of her alarm clock through the dim light of her room: 7:30 a.m.
She feebly reached out and fumbled with the blaring timepiece before silently declaring it a lost cause and pulling her pillow over her face to block out the insulting din.
Just five more minutes, the young girl pleaded. I was having such a wonderful dream about Sasuke-kun. Maybe if I go back to sleep, I can feel the soft sensation of those lips of his against my skin. That sounds so fantastic right about now…
Five minutes for Ino was actually 20 minutes. The sound of footsteps grew louder and louder as a figure stomped their way up her staircase until Ino heard a familiar voice directly outside her door.
"Ino!" her mother shouted from the other side of the door. "I hope you remember you have to meet your new team at the Academy at 8:00! Don't blame me if you're late!"
Ino pretended to ignore the woman's calls and remained silent. If I just ignore it, it'll go away, she reassured herself.
Ino then heard a sharp knocking. "If you have Sasuke on your team, I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate having a late and irresponsible teammate!"
Ino's eyes bulged at that statement, and in a flurry of sheets, blankets and clothes, the young girl was throwing on her blouse and yanking the door open before her mother had even reached the bottom step.
Ino half ran/half jumped down the stairs and into the family kitchen, where she took a second to regard her parents. Her father, Inoichi, sat at the family dining room table, calm and collected as always, quietly sipping his cup of coffee as he conversed with her mother, who had just eased into her chair across from him when Ino had entered the room.
Her eyes went from the table to the clock that was attached by nail above the doorway lintel: 7:55. She was breezing by her parents on the way out the door before they even realized she was there.
"Honey, what about your breakfast?" she heard her father shout to her, but Ino didn't have the time and simply chose to ignore him.
Had she bothered to turn and gaze back into the dining room, she would've seen her father and mother turn and share a knowing smile with one another.
Ino made it to class just as the clock hit eight.
Stepping into the clangorous classroom, Ino noted right away that a good quarter of the class hadn't passed the graduation exam. However, besides some out-of-left-field surprises like Naruto, all of the kids of Konoha's major clans seemed to have passed.
While she looked for her friends, Ino took in the room. The classroom desks were rectangular blocks of white oak, arranged in four sets in rows of three, each having space enough for three students. Ino's classmates were sprawled around the desks, some sitting on top, others standing huddled together in groups. A few students turned to regard her when the door slid open, but she heeded them no mind.
Her eyes focused in on her childhood friends Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi in the back corner of the room, the former slouching down into his seat and staring up at the ceiling with a bored look and the latter stuffing some potato chips into that giant maw he called a mouth. Ino gave a furtive smile at the image before continuing her scan.
A developing situation between Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki grabbed her attention, the former attempting to yank the blonde headed prankster from his seat next to Sasuke.
Ino felt a flash of irritation at the sight. She was having none of it. Sasuke-kun was hers for the keeping, not Forehead Girl's.
"Hey Forehead Girl!" Ino bellowed across the room at a surprised Sakura. "Get away from Sasuke-kun! It's obvious he's not into someone as shallow as you!"
Sakura's expression shifted from surprise to fury in a snap, her eyes narrowing to slits as they zeroed in on Ino at the front of the classroom. "Ha!" she scoffed. "At least I know how to dress properly! Take a good look in the mirror. You look like you just rolled out of bed!"
Ino bristled at the insult, knowing full well she hadn't had time to check her appearance before she had rushed from her home in the morning.
Naruto looked distinctly uncomfortable as the two girls snipped at one another. Sasuke simply turned away from the two girls without a word. The rest of the class watched on with growing amusement.
It wasn't always so. As she and Sakura volleyed insults, she recalled a time when the two were the best of friends. They had always done everything together, playing at each other's houses, trying on their mother's makeup, and spending time hanging out together at their neighborhood playground.
It was during one of those playground sessions, in fact, when she gifted Sakura the red ribbon that the other girl had fallen in love with.
Then Sakura fell in love with Sasuke. And everything changed.
Ino was brought back to their argument when she heard a couple of 'Troublesomes' from Shikamaru while Chouji reached his hand into a new bag of potato chips for the second round of his feeding frenzy.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, maybe you two shouldn't fight right n—" Naruto was interrupted as Sakura grabbed the young blonde's orange jumpsuit.
"Naruto! You idiot! Shut up and stay out of this! Nobody should be listening to you anyways!"
As Sakura relaxed her hold on the young boy, Naruto slipped and fell face forward towards Sasuke, who sat next to him. Sasuke, who had turned his head to check out the commotion, had no time to react as lips from Konoha's resident prankster crashed into his.
The whole class froze. Sakura and Ino froze in the middle of their altercation. Naruto and Sasuke grimaced as they locked lips and both boys looked as if they were going to vomit.
Pandemonium ensued.
Once Ino and Sakura were done with him, Naruto's face was one giant bruise. Both girls then immediately jumped to Sasuke to ask him about his condition, who looked more irritated at the girls' attention than anything else.
At that moment, Iruka Umino walked into the classroom, looked at the situation that had unfolded only moments before, and couldn't help but sigh. "All right class, settle down. I'd appreciate it if everyone took their seats. It's time to assign the Genin teams."
Naruto dejectedly rubbed his sore cheeks in his seat next to Sasuke, and the Uchiha fought to keep the embarrassed flush from showing by inspecting the chalkboard at the front of the classroom.
The class settled as murmurs stirred at the announcement while Sakura conspicuously dragged Naruto from his seat and onto the floor. Naruto grimaced when he landed awkwardly on one of the classroom steps and as he rubbed his lower back, Ino noticed how he shot wounded glances up at Sakura fawning over Sasuke. Naruto deflated a little as he took the seat next to Sakura. Ino, who had conceded to sitting next to Chouji and Shikamaru directly behind the trio, drilled contemptuous glares into the back of Sakura's head.
What Ino didn't realize, however, was the gaze aimed in her direction coming from Iruka-sensei who, from his position at the front of the room, had noted Sakura's treatment of Naruto and the brief flash of concern she herself had furtively directed at the young prankster. When she turned to her sensei, she saw him abruptly look away, an impish smile plastered onto his face.
As Iruka-sensei rattled off the Genin teams, Ino tuned him out. No doubt she would be stuck on Shikamaru and Chouji's team, put together to continue the inexorable tradition of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio that had been ongoing for decades. It still didn't stop the young Yamanaka from dreaming of being on Sasuke's team. She could dream, couldn't she?
"Team 7: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka announced to the class. A collective groan could be heard from Sasuke's admirers that was only drowned out by the triumphant roar coming from Sakura, who was standing from her seat, fist raised and gleaming eyes locked onto the Uchiha next to her.
Ino sighed despairingly at the announcement and found her forehead meeting her knotted desk. There goes that dream.
"Hell yeah!" a loud voice interrupted Ino's thoughts when she saw Naruto stand from his seat. "With this, this is my first step in becoming Hokage!"
Ino wore a bemused smile, but she heard derisive sniggers from around the classroom, and Sakura pulled the boy down into his seat. "You idiot!" Ino heard Sakura whisper viciously to Naruto. "You're embarrassing Sasuke-kun and me! For once, can you just stop talking?" Ino peeked over at Sasuke, who appeared not to hear the commotion as he stared out the classroom window.
Shikamaru, who still lounged back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, glanced over at Ino with the same bored expression and said, "Did you really want to be on the same team as a guy that not only has a pole up his ass, but also suffers from a superiority complex?" The Nara's lazy side-glance briefly hardened as Ino returned his gaze.
Ino's brows furrowed and she felt her eyes narrow at Shikamaru, but she didn't dispute his claims. "I'm not even going to honor that with a response, Shika, but as a girl, I like who I like. And I like Sasuke Uchiha. So I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your callous remarks to yourself."
Shikamaru mulled on her response for a moment then returned his attention to the ceiling, but as he did, Ino heard an exasperated sigh escape the young man. "Troublesome women… I just don't understand…"
Ino shook her head, but she couldn't stop her lips from curling into a wry smile as she silently chuckled at her friend's attitude.
"Team 10: Chouji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka," Ino heard their sensei announce to the class.
Ino heard whispers from their classmates, an annoying buzz like that of a swarm of bees. She did her best to ignore them. "What does that make now? 15 generations?" One classmate asked another.
Yes, yes. We get it, Ino silently responded.
"No, I heard it's more like 20 generations," another pitched in.
Please just shut up.
"How would you know? Your family is all civilian."
"You moron, if you weren't going to listen to me, then why ask me in the first place?!"
"Who're you calling a moron, you shithead?!"
Ino, satisfied, watched while Iruka turned his attention to the group of sniggering boys and bored holes into the back of their heads. When they noticed the looks from the class, they stole glances at Iruka and dipped their faces, pink with embarrassment.
Iruka appeared satisfied before turning to the class and dismissing the students. "Now, if you're all done fooling around, your sensei will arrive and pick you up in 15 minutes."
Ino watched as the Academy instructor scanned the room, noting each of his students before cracking a warm smile. "I want to congratulate each and every one of you for graduating the academy. I know you'll work hard to not only make me proud, but your village as well. Thank you for your hard work and good luck in each of your prospective careers."
The instructor seemed to wait a moment before his departure, however. He paused half a heartbeat and winked at one of the back rows before sliding open the door at the front of the classroom and stepping through. Ino followed the chuunin's gaze down to Naruto in front of her and found the boy beaming brilliantly with a touch of pink on his cheeks as he modestly turned his head.
A warm feeling bloomed in her chest at the boy's expression.
Ino then turned to her best friends and now teammates with a ponderous expression. "So who do you think will be our Jounin sensei?"
Shikamaru simply shrugged. Chouji paused in mid bite. "Hmmm…. I don't know, but whoever they are, they have to be strong, right?"
Ino turned to look at the classroom entrance as Jounin sensei began arriving to pick up their newly formed teams.
One, however, stood out from the rest. The man stood over 6 feet and was leaning against the entryway to the classroom, puffing on a cigarette with an uninterested expression on his face. The man had brown eyes, short spiky hair and a thick beard. He wore the usual flak jacket that most Chuunin and Jounin wore, but he also wore a sash around his waist with the kanji for "fire."
I wonder what that sash signifies? Ino thought before the Jounin locked eyes with the trio and waved them over.
"Team 10?" The man's deep voice boomed across the emptying classroom as the trio approached him. "I'm your new sensei. Come with me."
The three Genin shared a glance before acquiescing to the request, following the man out onto the academy training grounds.
The man turned to face the trio as a wry smile graced his lips. "I'm Asuma Sarutobi, your new Jounin sensei. Why don't we go and get to know each other better over an early lunch?"
Ino and Shikamaru were indifferent to the request, but Chouji was practically salivating. "Yes, Asuma-sensei! That sounds like a perfect idea!"
Ino rubbed her temples and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. They had to have been thinking the exact same thing. What have we gotten ourselves into?
Ino found herself sitting on a green cushion around a short square table with a charcoal brazier built into the center. A sign hung from the entrance to the restaurant that read: "Yakiniku Q, home of the world famous salted beef tongue!"
Chouji inhaling said beef tongue in the seat cushion next to her snapped Ino's attention away from the front entrance and onto her new teammate. A particularly loud chomp made her grimace, and Ino noticed herself scooting away from the Akimichi.
I can never get used to this.
"Hey, Chouji!"
The rotund boy kept gulping down his food and didn't respond.
"Chouji! Helloooo?!"
The Akimichi stopped his feast and turned to Ino. "What is it Ino? Don't bother me. Can't you see I'm busy eating here?"
A flash of irritation hit the girl then, a vein throbbing and stretching over her temple. Shikamaru sucked in a breath. Asuma tittered. "Now, kids, I don't think you should be— "
"WHAT WAS THAT? YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN?!" Imo roared at Chouji. The boy immediately paused his eating frenzy at the eruption, his hands trembling ever so slightly, his eyes turning to saucers and his face taking on a pallid color.
"N-no, Ino, you know I didn't mean anything—"
"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT!" The Yamanaka shouted. The restaurant stilled as its customers stared at her in bewilderment. If she didn't see the looks, she could feel them on the back of her head, and she blushed a deep magenta at the embarrassment as she attempted to calm herself. Ino took a deep breath before continuing in a gentler voice. "Look, I just wanted you to slow down, Chouji. Practically the entire restaurant could hear you chomping away over here."
Color injected itself into Chouji's face once more, his expression softening to a smile. "Yeah, sorry about that, Ino. I'll slow down."
The two teammates and friends smiled awkwardly at one another before returning to their meal. Shikamaru, on the other hand, released a pent up breath he didn't realize he was holding in. Asuma simply sat back and took note of the outburst, a vacant look on his face.
When Ino turned to regard him, however, she saw him relax his face and he smiled down at the three. She saw Asuma note Chouji, the incessant food mongrel, she, the kunoichi with a terrible temper, and Shikamaru, the Nara with his trademark laziness.
Before she could continue her analysis, however, she saw Shikamaru furtively peering at Asuma as though he were studying him. The lazy expression was gone and a hard glint danced across his eyes, noting everything they could about their new sensei. In a matter of seconds, Shikamaru had returned to his trademark slouch.
"You guys are quite an interesting group," Asuma said, garnering the attention of the three. But we sure can be scary when we want to be, Ino finished.
"I already have an idea of what the three of you are like, but I suppose it would only be fair of me to describe myself a little," the Jounin chuckled. Ino was giving Asuma her undivided attention, and she noticed Chouji and Shikamaru doing the same.
Asuma smiled awkwardly before continuing. "As you know, my name is Asuma Sarutobi, the son of the Sandaime and Jounin of Konohagakure. My hobbies…. Well, I'll keep those to myself, but I will say my life's goal is to continue the Will of Fire and pass it onto the next generation. I also…" Asuma paused and found the Genin peering at him. "I'm also seeking the Sandaime's acknowledgement, but as for what kind of acknowledgement, I think I'll keep that to myself."
The trio turned and looked at one another in surprise. That was the first time any of them had heard there was some sort of friction between the Sandaime and his oldest son. To anyone looking from the outside in, it would appear that everything was cordial with the two. Asuma's declaration obviously dispelled that thought.
Before the three could continue their thoughts, Asuma tossed some money onto the wooden table and stood up. "Since the three of you are future clan heads, I'm sure your folks already tipped you off ahead of time about the real test Genin face from their Jounin sensei, am I right?"
Ino and the two boys nodded.
"How fortunate for you all. The same can't be said for all of your classmates with civilian families."
"What do you mean, sensei?" Ino asked, oblivious to the eye roll coming from Shikamaru next to her.
Asuma appeared genuinely surprised at the question. "You mean you don't know?" When she shook her head, Asuma sighed, a wisp of smoke drifting from his mouth. "Those kids will be going in completely blind, with no idea about the test and unprepared for what is to come. I'll be surprised if even a third of your class will become true genin."
Ino shot her two teammates a wary look, and anxious looks were returned.
Asuma stepped away from the table and sauntered towards the exit. "I want you three to meet me at training ground 10 tomorrow morning at 9," he tossed over his shoulder. He didn't wait for a response, but Ino and the two boys nodded anyways.
"Oh." He paused at the open doorway and turned to regard them. "If not one of you can pass muster, the whole team fails. Just some information you should know." With that, the Jounin casually ducked underneath the entryway and out into the bustling street.
Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru followed shortly after. Unspoken, the three went their separate ways, each heading to their clan's compounds while Ino headed to her family's flower shop.
"You two better not make me fail!" Ino tossed over her shoulder as she walked away from her teammates. Shikamaru muttered a 'Troublesome' while Chouji returned to munching on some potato chips.
But that didn't phase Ino. Knowing the two since they were young children, she knew that when push came to shove, they would always have each other's backs.
With that bit of information stored away in the recesses of her mind, Ino smiled as she jogged to her family's flower shop, ready for the next day's challenges.
Hiruzen sat in his faded leather chair, his hands laying steepled on top of his gnarled desk. Stacks of parchment rose up on either side of the old man, closing in, suffocating, and making him appear even smaller than he was. On the other side of his desk, an array of some of his best Jounin were lined up in various states of readiness. Some, like Kakashi, simply weren't there.
The Hokage puffed from his pipe and let the smoke waft up and out the window behind him, keeping his growing headache at bay. The absence of the famous Jounin tried his patience at times, but these were the worst. He rubbed his temples.
"Setting aside Kakashi at the moment, how do you think this class of genin stacks up?" When no one spoke up, Hiruzen sighed. "Speak freely. This is important and I must know your honest thoughts on the matter."
"Lousy," a tenor voice spoke from the crowd. Hiruzen watched Jounin sensei Shinzen step forward.
"How so?"
"I can't speak for everyone else's teams, but mine seem woefully unprepared for the duties of being a shinobi."
A murmur of agreements came from many of the other Jounin, but no one else spoke up with a consenting opinion.
"I think mine show promise." Hiruzen's brows rose fractionally when Kurenai stepped forward. "They're rough around the edges, and they argued the whole time we were meeting, but I think the team could be a valuable asset to our surveillance."
"Even with that Hyuuga girl who's afraid of her own shadow?" a pointed question came from a Jounin in the crowd. Kurenai whirled to pin the question bearer with an irritated glare.
"We'll just have to see how capable they are during the test, won't we?" she smiled coyly.
"They seem so unconcerned and so … soft." A comment came from Hiruzen's pride and joy, one of the loves of his life who he just couldn't get along with. Asuma stepped forward. Kurenai looked at him incredulously.
"They're not even genin, Asuma. How are they supposed to be battle-hardened warriors?"
Asuma scratched his cheek as he tried to form the right words. "That's not what I meant. These kids don't have the cloud of war hanging over them like we did when we were their age. It's good they don't have to suffer under it, of course, but there is also a lack of motivation driving the team I saw today. Shikamaru is just as sharp as his father, but completely unmotivated and just coasting by. Chouji has the soft, gentle nature of his father, but also has nothing motivating him to improve himself. And Ino…" Asuma opened and closed his mouth before plunging forward. "Ino reminds me of a bit of a shrew who coasts by just like Shikamaru, doesn't truly understand what this line of work can lead to, and frets over her appearance and reputation as it relates to boys. I know. I've seen it all, more than just today, mind you." Asuma looked like he had swallowed a lemon as he stepped back into the crowd.
Hiruzen took that information in and stared out at the crowd of Jounin. The group didn't voice it, but he could tell from their eyes that they agreed with his son. A frown appeared on his face when he took the sight in. "So that's it, then?" The shinobi flinched at the ice in his voice. "We have a bunch of soft genin candidates and you all just can't work with them?" He stood from his chair and as he did so, the atmosphere became oppressive. "You are Jounin. You were promoted to your positions not just because you could throw a metal star really well, but also because you could think. Use those heads of yours and find a way to accurately test your teams. Do something different, do what you always do. I don't care. Figure it out." When he saw the cowed looks on the faces of the shinobi, he drew his hand across his face. "I don't have time for this… You're all dismissed."
The Jounin bowed, their faces stone, before they quickly filed out.
"Shinji." Hiruzen's attendant appeared. "Send word to Kakashi with a rundown of the meeting and tell him to not even bother showing up." A nod and the man disappeared.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes. I'm too old for this.