Shifted
by Rylarei
Summary: Lying had always come easy to her, but she never thought she'd have to lie about this. Life sure has a way of making the unlikely happen. A new spin on the Team 7 dynamic. Ino-centric. Ocean Ripples rewrite. "You're like the wind, gentle and soft one moment, then harsh and cutting the next."
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter One
"Daddy," Ino said, her wide cerulean eyes gazing upon the scroll her father was poring over. "Who are those?"
Yamanaka Inoichi smiled at his child. She was his sunshine, the love of his life. He would do anything to protect her. And he did so the only way he knew how: by making sure she knew what the world was, and what her role in it would be. His wife had always said he was a hard teacher, but he truly believed that the only was to be safe was to be strong enough to protect oneself.
"It's a scroll of all the current active shinobi in Konoha," he said. Hiding things from Ino never got him anywhere. She would always find out one way or another, and he was oh so proud of her.
"Can I look?" she asked. She was so precious. Inoichi nodded, motioning for her to get on his lap.
"But only the genin and most important people for now," he acquiesced. It wouldn't be proper, he thought, to tell a five year old child the identity of all of their shinobi. Her mind was still not fully protected, there was still the risk of someone ransacking her memories, especially as the heiress of a clan like theirs.
"Hm…" she mused. "She looks like me!" she crooned, her chubby hand slapping down onto a picture of Senju Tsunade.
Inoichi smirked. "That's Tsunade-hime, one of the last of the Senju line."
Ino first met Shikamaru when their fathers were going out on a mission and her mother was too ill to look after her. He was a scrawny kid, gazing lazily at her behind his mother's legs. She grinned at him. He had very sharp eyes that took all of her in, as if he didn't want to miss a single detail. She knew right then that they would be great friends.
"Hi!" she chirped. "I'm Ino."
Nara Yoshino smiled sweetly at her. Ino thought that she looked like the type of woman that rarely smiled, much like her own mother. She nodded, she could work with that. She was used to handling strict, hard-to-please mothers.
"Shikamaru," Yoshino admonished. "You should greet our guest."
Ino turned her piercing gaze to the boy in question. He sighed. "I'm Shikamaru."
She beamed at him. "Nice to meet you, Shika!" Yoshino seemed amused at the nickname, especially when Shikamaru's eyes widened into saucers. "Let's be friends!"
"Get off me!" cried the poor boy. Ino had somehow woven her way through his mother's legs and was currently smothering him in a hug. They had just met, and this girl was already being so familiar! First the nickname, now this?
"But friends hug friends, right?" she asked, her head tilted to the side. He gaped at her before turning to his mother for help. To his surprise, she was laughing at the exchange. Somehow, this little blur of gold had already won over his mother. He knew then, that this would be the start of a very troublesome 'friendship.'
It happened during one of their break times. Ino was expertly weaving flowers through her hair when she heard Choji's surprised exclamation. She paused, her eyes instantly seeking him out. He was sprawled on the ground, as if he'd been pushed backwards. Her eyes narrowed at the three older boys in front of him. Her cheeks puffed red in her irritation. Her anger was so intense it scared even her. She'd never been this upset before.
"Watch where you're going, fatso," the one in the middle spat.
Ino was literally seeing red as she ran up to them and threw the flowers in her hair, stem first. She smirked as they cried out when the stalks buried themselves in their skin. The big red feeling inside her chest was still burning, urging her to do more to the bullies.
"What the hell?!" the brunette yelled at her.
"You'll get in trouble for this," the other boy growled, nursing his bleeding arm.
"I won't," she said confidently. They stared at her like she was an idiot. She rolled her eyes at them. "I know who you are," she goaded. "You're in Yamanaka-sensei's class!"
"So?" the one that had called Choji fatso said.
"So," she grinned at them, her eyes a set of glittering gems. "I'm the Yamanaka heiress," she explained patiently, as if she were talking to a child younger than even her. At that, the boys' eyes widened. Knowing she had thoroughly scared them, Ino crouched next to a tearful Choji. "Are you okay?" she asked.
He sniffled, nodding his head. "Thanks," he mumbled.
She beamed at him. "It's what friends do!"
Ino never realized that another child had been watching the entire exchange, a frown marring his features.
"Ino!" her mother called. Ino bolted up from the ground. She had been watching the ants carry the sugar she was leaving on the ground. Had her mother found out what she was doing? She gulped as she dragged her feet to the kitchen, where her mother was currently glaring at a letter. "What did you do?" she asked. Ino's brows scrunched up, not quite understanding what was being asked. "The school sent a letter," Yamanaka Mayori explained, her tone clipped. "They want to speak with me about your behavior."
Ino gasped. She was a model student! The best student, even! "It must be a good thing," she said, clearly unsure of herself. "I haven't done anything bad."
Mayori sniffed. "We'll see."
The walk to the Academy was a dreaded one. Ino didn't know why she was being called. She hadn't done anything wrong recently. The only thing interesting that had happened was when she stopped Choji from being bullied. She clenched her fists. Had they decided to tell on her? She kept her head down the entire time as they walked through the halls into Teoki-sensei's office.
"Yamanaka-san!" he greeted. He smiled kindly at her.
The adults were sharing small talk, something that never really interested her. If she was going to talk, she wanted it to be about something interesting, not about how Teoki-sensei's niece was doing. She frowned at her hands. What had she done?
"You must be wondering why I called you here," her sensei said. "Last week, a few boys reported that Ino had thrown flowers at them hard enough to pierce skin." Mayori glanced at her with a little bit of pride at that. "But we've investigated the situation and we've found that Ino was defending a fellow classmate in process of being bullied."
Ino jumped at that. "Yeah!" she exclaimed. "They pushed Choji," she mumbled with a pout.
Teoki-sensei smiled at her. "It's nice that you're loyal to your friends," he started. "But those are older boys and they might retaliate, even if you're a younger girl. You might get seriously hurt."
"Excuse me," her mother snapped. "Are you suggesting that my daughter just let her friend be bullied?" Teoki-sensei blanched at the Yamanaka matron's thunderous expression. "If she does get hurt defending her friend, then she should be proud of herself."
"O-of course, Yamanaka-san," sensei looked so scared. Ino had never seen him this scared before.
"Rather," her mother wasn't finished apparently. "We should all be proud of her for her strength of character. What we should be doing is wondering how bullying being bad enough that a child could end up hurt." Her stare looked like it was burning a hole through the man's skull. He certainly looked like he was melting, anyway.
"Mama," she murmured. Her mother could get carried away sometimes, so she was tasked with making sure the older woman didn't go off on another long rant.
Yamanaka Mayori harrumphed. "I'm reporting this to the council," she said. "To think an Academy teacher has the gall to admonish my child for defending her friend from bullying that said teacher should be preventing."
Ino felt bad for Teoki-sensei. He looked like his soul had left his body. She shook her head, her mother really could get carried away.
"Come, Ino!" snapped her mother.
"Coming!" she replied, casting one last pitying look at her sensei.
Ino was a simple child, she liked fun and hated mean people, especially children. So it came as no surprise when her blood boiled at seeing Ami picking on a scruffy looking pinkette building a sad excuse of a sandcastle.
"What's hidden under those bangs? I bet it's your huge, shiny forehead!" giggled Ami. Ino glared. She really hated stupid, petty children.
"Ami," she called. Said girl and her posse turned to stare at her. "You should leave." She said. Their stares turned incredulous. They didn't budge so she glared harder at them. "I said," she said louder this time. "I think you should leave. Now."
Ami huffed and tossed her hair. "Whatever," she mumbled as she stalked off with her little group. Ino watched them go before turning back to the crouching girl.
"And you!" she squealed at the pinkette who startled. "You need to learn to stand up for yourself!" The meek girl looked up at her, eyes shining with unshed tears. Ino sighed as she crouched and lifted the girl's bangs. "See? It's not even that big. You shouldn't hide it like that or others will tease you more for it." She grinned at the other girl.
"Thank you," the pinkette mumbled.
"I'm Ino by the way. Yamanaka Ino."
"Haruno… Sakura," the therefore named girl introduced herself.
"Well then, Sakura. Stick with me and I'll make you a beautiful blossom worthy of your name!" she exclaimed. "Here, wear this." Ino pulled out her favorite red ribbon from her pocket, tying the girl's bangs back. "See? You look great!"
Sakura stared dumbly at her before nodding and murmuring a soft thank you.
Months passed by as Ino watched Sakura blossom into a wonderful young woman. Gone were the days where said girl would cower after every insult. The girl had finally grown a backbone and obtained a lot of confidence. Although, Ino had to admit, that sometimes that confidence was starting to grate on even her nerves. And she loved confident people. But, she supposed, there were times when confidence became arrogance. Just like when that Sasuke kid would brag about how he was better than everyone and how his brother was better than everyone just because they were Uchiha. Talk about annoying. Sakura loved it, though. She hung onto every word he said just because he was good looking. Ugh.
"What's got you in such a bad mood?" Shikamaru asked.
She grinned at him. "Aw, Shika, I didn't know you cared!" she crooned. He gave her a disgusted look, silently asking her if she was stupid. "Heh. It's nothing, just thinking."
"Nothing good ever happen when you're 'just thinking,'" he grumbled. She chuckled slightly at that.
"Come on, I'm not that bad!" she insisted.
"Yes you are," he glared. "Last time, we ended up getting chased out of the clothes' store because of you."
She blushed. "That was one time!"
"And the time before that, when you got us in trouble with my mother because you insisted we try to invade Naruto's mind."
"Okay, you made your point!" she interrupted. Okay, maybe she had some 'weird' ideas sometimes but they were all in good fun! Who wouldn't want to know what was going on in Naruto's head? Maybe they'd even find out why the villagers hated him so much.
Choji arrived, sitting down next to them under the tree. "Chip?" he offered. She smiled at him, he was such a sweetheart. He was like a teddybear. A really fun teddybear! "What you guys talking about?"
"Ino's being troublesome again," Shikamaru squinted at her.
"Am not!" she screeched. Really, now! She really was just thinking. She harrumphed.
"Whatever, woman," Shikamaru said as he cleaned out his ear and returned to his cloud watching. She stared at him weirdly at that. She wasn't a woman yet, not by a long shot! Now, someone like Tsunade-hime, that was a woman! She smiled to herself. She'd definitely become a woman that everyone respected and feared.
She dusted herself as she stood. "Well, I got to go, guys. I promised Daddy I'd meet him after work today!" she called, already running towards the T&I department. They waved her goodbye as she sped off.
She hummed to herself, counting all the redheads she passed by. Redheads were fairly rare in Konoha, so it was a nice thing she used to pass her time and train her observation skills. Daddy had taught her that to be a good ninja, one had to be aware of his or her surroundings all the time. She grinned, she'd be a great ninja in no time!
In her distraction, she bumped into a boy not much older than her. She gulped. Hadn't she just said that a good ninja was always aware of their surroundings? The older boy smiled at her as he helped her up.
"Are you okay?" he asked. His smile was kind, and he gave off a sort-of princely aura. She blushed. But he looked familiar, as if she'd met him before.
"I'm fine," she answered. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." She grinned wryly at him.
He chuckled at her. "It's alright. Make sure you watch where you're going next time," he advised. She nodded at him.
That was her first encounter with the famed Uchiha Itachi.
Ino stared at the black haired boys in front of her. She was at Konoha's most famous dango shop with Shikamaru and Choji. She didn't realize her jaw was open until Shikamaru rolled his eyes and snapped it shut with one hand. She glared at him as she rubbed her jaw. Did he have to be so rough?
Who would have thought that the boy she ran into the other day was the Uchiha Itachi, prodigious heir to the Uchiha clan. She flushed a deep scarlet, embarrassed beyond belief. Her father had drilled the clans and their important members into her, emphasizing that she had to make a good impression. She never knew when she'd need a favor or two down the line, after all.
Their trio sat at the bar near the server. Ino kept her head down the entire time, trying to keep him from noticing her. Talk about embarrassing! How could she face the Uchiha heir? She sneaked a glance at him. He and his brother seemed engrossed in their food. In fact she'd never seen someone other than Naruto who looked that delighted to eat something. She shook her head, even prodigies had weird habits.
She looked up as Shikamaru nudged her. He sent her a questioning look as he glanced at the Uchiha brothers. She smiled at him. "It's nothing," she said. He shrugged, likely thinking it was too troublesome to ask for more. That made her smile bigger. Shikamaru, while lazy, was a good friend. He noticed things people normally wouldn't. He even noticed things that her own father didn't. He really wasn't so bad.
"Are you guys ready to start clan training?" Choji asked. Ino turned towards him. Clan training? But they weren't supposed to start until after graduation, right?
Shikamaru glanced sideways at her. "When are you starting?" he asked Choji.
"Tomorrow!" said the other boy proudly. Ino frowned. Why was Choji allowed to start on his clan training already? This was so unfair. She huffed as she tuned out the conversation. She looked around the dainty shop, looking for something to distract her.
The place was packed, as expected of the most famous dango shop. The owner was friends with Choji's mother, so they always got a seat ahead of everyone else. Call it privilege or whatever, Ino didn't care. You had to make use of what you were given, or you'd never achieve anything in life. There were several ninja here, most of whom looked to be Chuunins. Some of them noticed her gaze and raised a questioning brow. She replied with a cheeky grin to each one before moving on, getting a few chuckles and shaken heads.
Finally, her eyes landed on the Uchiha siblings. They really made quite a sight. Honestly, you'd think Itachi hadn't eaten in weeks with the way he was eyeing those dango. She hummed. Maybe he wasn't normally allowed to eat sweets? She tilted her head as she studied him. He was young and very innocent looking. You wouldn't think that a gentle child like him could be your end. As if on cue, he seemed to notice her staring as he froze and raised his head to stare back at her.
Their staring contest was broken when Choji's father, Chouza, came in looking for them. "There you kids are! Your mothers are looking for you," he said. He waved to a few people in the shop before ushering them out. "Let's go now, before they have our heads." He paid the shopkeeper then carried them all on his shoulders, with Ino in the middle. She clutched his hair as she prepared for him to take off.
She cast one last look over her shoulder at Uchiha Itachi. Said boy smiled and waved at her. If Chouza hadn't taken off at that exact moment, she'd have noticed Itachi's eyes turn red as she returned his wave.
All things considered, it was a wonderful day. The sun was pleasant, and the winds were cool and refreshing. Her parents weren't fighting that morning, and even Shikamaru seemed to be in a chipper mood. But there was only one problem, and it was standing right in front of her with an arm outstretched.
Sakura's eyes were steely with resolve as she held out Ino's favorite red ribbon that she had given the girl all those years ago. It was Ino's turn to stare dumbly this time, not quite processing what was happening. What did her best friend just say?
"I'm sorry," she said. "Could you repeat that?"
Sakura sighed. "I said we're done. We're rivals now!" Ino felt her ire rising. She got that. But what she didn't get was the fact that Sakura was doing this for something as stupid as a stupid, stupid boy! Who cared about Sasuke if it meant she'd lose her best friend? No boy was worth that!
Ino's mouth gaped like a fish out of water. She couldn't speak, hell she could barely even believe Sakura would call off their friendship over a mere boy. In her anger, she flushed as she shouted, "Fine! Whatever! I don't care! Good luck getting him to even notice you!" Sakura shook her head and stalked off the hill.
Ino glared at the tree in front of her. What the hell had just happened? What the hell had just happened? She collapsed onto her knees, still in shock. Who would've thought that the friendship that she treasured so much would break down over Sasuke? She couldn't help it as tears freely ran down her cheeks. Her heart that so easily trusted and loved all her friends broke into pieces. How could this happen to her?
"I'll show you," she whispered to the red ribbon in her hand. "You want a rival? I'll give you one, billboard brow."
That was the day that innocent Ino, who loved everything and everyone (except mean people), sealed her heart off.
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! This is a rewrite of Ocean's Ripple because frankly, I hated how I wrote it. It was too chopped up (yes, even more than this one!) and confusing. I didn't like how I portrayed Ino, and the pacing is way too slow now that I read back on it. Nevertheless, I'll be leaving it up for you guys. And no, this won't be an exact rewrite. I'll be changing a few things as I build this story's world up, especially Ino's relationships with people.