Chapter 1
Konohagakure was one of the most powerful amongst the five shinobi village. Its location was deeply hidden within the dense forests of the fire country. Because of this Konohagakure, or Konoha for short, was also known as the village hidden among leaves. It contained a ninja population greater than any of the other shinobi villages, giving them more military power and influence compared to the other ninja villages. Like all of the ninja villages, it was ruled by a wise leader known as The Hokage.
x
Tsunade read Sunagakure's, the hidden village of sand, plea for help with a small frown. Her doe brown eyes, quickly scanning the sheet of paper. It was simple enough, because of the ongoing war against Otogakure (The hidden village of sound), Sunagakure needed military aid from her allies to help protect her borders.
There was a knock on the door and a tall young man, about the age of eighteen, quietly stepped into the room, he was closely followed by a young blond woman a few inches shorter than him. He wore the usual jounin attire, a dark green vest and underneath it he wore a black long sleeved tunic with the Konoha forehead protector stitched on its left sleeve. His pants were black in color and it stopped a few inches above his ankles, his sandals were made out of dark black leather and his long ebony hair was messily tied back in a ponytail. His name was Nara Shikamaru, one of the few elite jounins in Konoha.
A young woman with a huge fan strapped across her back, closed the door behind them. She had dirty blond hair that was untidily tied back in four different ponytails, a pair at the top of the back of her head and another pair at the bottom. She had chocolate brown eyes and a fair complexion. She wore a simple black dress that bore a slight resemblance to a kimono and a pair of midnight colored gloves. Her forehead protector was firmly strapped on her head and she wore a pair of black sandals on her feet. Her name was Nara Temari she was the wife of Shikamaru and a former shinobi from Sunagakure. Like her husband, she was also an elite jounin. Because her brother was the Kazekage of Sunagakure, her marriage to Shikamaru helped to strengthen the alliance between Konohagakure and Sunagakure.
"Shikamaru, Temari, just the people I wanted to see" Tsunade greeted with a smile. Both jounins acknowledged her greeting with a small nod.
"We're here to report about the success of the assassination mission of the rogue medic nin" Shikamaru reported "During the mission, one of our members received an injury, our team medic Yamanaka Ino"
"Somehow, the rouge nin used a type of forbidden medical jutsu that tore apart Ino's tendons and it slowly began to eat away the surrounding muscles. We tried to do as much as we can but because of the complexity of the jutsu, even Ino's medical knowledge was of no use. We did manage to stop the spread of the jutsu" Temari said.
"Shizune-san is currently taking care of Ino right now" Shikamaru finished with a slight sigh.
"Wonderful, here is your next mission," Tsunade said, handing Shikamaru a piece of paper that contained Sunagakure's plea for help, "I want you and Temari-chan to assemble a team of jounins before the sun sets. Once done, you and your team will leave for Sunagakure immediately" Tsunade ordered. Shikamaru let out another sigh, his dark brown eyes quickly scanning the piece of paper.
"Tsunade-sama, there will be problems if we accept this mission" Shikamaru drawled with a frown on his face. Temari gave his husband a look of pure surprise, "This mission will take days, probably weeks to complete. During that time period while were gone, who'll take care of my children?" He asked.
Tsunade frowned; it was a problem that she did not anticipate. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of a solution to solve the problem.
"What about Akimitchi Choji?" Tsunade asked. Shikamaru shook his head in reply.
"He will be part of my team for the mission" Shikamaru replied with a frown "As well as Sakura. Hinata is away on a mission training her genin team. Most of the Nara's are currently involved in discovering a new type of medicine. If I can't find a dependable person to leave my children with, then I'm sorry but I'll have to refuse the mission"
'If I refuse to give Sunagakure any military aid, Konoha would lose a precious ally' Tsunade thought with a frown.
She held her hands together and closed her eyes, thinking of a jounin, or chuunin that Shikamaru would trust to leave his children with. Iruka, Asuma and Kurenai were away on missions, as well as Kakashi. Gai was the only jounin available but Tsunade knew that Shikamaru would instantly refuse to let a crazed man wearing tight green leotards to take care of his precious children. The only jounin left was the injured Yamanaka Ino.
"What about Yamanaka Ino?" Tsunade suggested.
"But she's injured. Taking care of the children would be an additional strain" Shikamaru replied.
"Not to worry" Tsunade answered with a grin "I will personally treat her injuries to make sure that she will be in perfect condition to take care of your children"
Both Shikamaru and Temari wordlessly agreed with the Hokage's decision and together, they silently left the room.
'How hard can taking care of a toddler and an infant be?' Tsunade thought, exiting her office and heading towards the direction of the hospital to heal a certain blond konichi.
x
Ino closed her azure blue eyes with a content sigh, her long blond hair spilling over the pillows like the golden rays of an early morning sun. This was the life. Ino thought with a slight grin. Despite the tremors of pain that occasionally disturbed her, staying in a hospital seemed like paradise. The air was nice and cool, the pillows were soft and fluffy and the bed was comfortable to lie in. Ino stretched her arms with a yawn, the drugs that Shizune gave her to numb the pain was slowly taking over her senses.
The young woman was about to fall asleep when the door to her room silently opened. She opened one of her eyes and saw that it was none other than the Hokage, Tusnade-sama. She instantly sat up in her bed, despite the tremor of pain that coursed throughout her body because of the sudden movement.
"Tsunade-sama" She greeted with a smile.
"Ino-chan" Tsunade warmly replied "How is your injury?"
"It's fine, It hurts a bit when a move too quickly or suddenly" Ino explained "But apart from that, I'm fine"
"From what I've heard, for your injury to fully heal you need one week of rest. During that time I will be giving you a mission"
"But Tsunade-sama, in my state, I won't be able to handle any missions. I can barely even walk" Ino cried. Tsunade ignored her cries and gave her a piece of paper containing her mission.
"While you're recovering, I'll expect you to take care of Shikamaru and Temari's children. They're sweet adorable angels; they won't be giving you any trouble at all" Tsunade finished and quickly left the room before Ino could have the chance of refusing the mission.
Ino blankly stared at the piece of paper she held in her hand, slightly annoyed at the fact that she had to look after two children during her leave. She crumpled the paper and tossed it at the paper basket. With a yawn she laid back her head on the pillow and closed her eyes.
'How hard can taking care of my niece and nephew be?' Ino thought sleepily before she drifted off to sleep. She was, after all, one of the best shinobi's in Konoha. Taking care of two children would be easy complared to her missions. With a yawn, she drifted off to sleep but little did she know that her hell was just about to begin; in the form of two angelic and adorable children.