The Headquarters for the Black Order is…well, Ino was not impressed. It's a large building, more of a tower really, set high up on a cliff and nearly blending in with the storm clouds behind it. The wind whipped her hair around, effectively turning it into a bird's nest and lightning flashed every so often, illuminating the building. Ino wouldn't be surprised if the CROWS planned it that way on purpose. She could tell they were watching her carefully for her reaction, even if their faces weren't giving anything away. There was an air of expectancy around them and Ino wondered how many others they've used this trick on. Probably all of them. They don't seem like very imaginative people. Ino is probably supposed to be intimidated by the towering building with a stormy backdrop.
She's not.
Between apprehension at being called to the Hokage Tower for missions and going through some of Orochimaru's old lairs, Ino has seen far worse than this.
"Is this it?" She asked, looking down at her nails instead and examining them. They've entered a tunnel and the torches mounted on the wall allow her to see the nail polish on her left hand is chipping and she'll need to go over it soon.
"This," the one in the front said, and Ino didn't even try and hide her smile at the offense in his tone. "Is the European Headquarters for the Black Order."
"Mm," Ino hummed noncommittally, tossing her hair from her face. Luckily they made it into the tunnel before the storm broke, so Ino's not soaked on top of windblown. It's not really how she would've wanted to make a first impression.
There was a humming in her pocket, thrumming lightly against her thigh. It's the reason Ino is even here in the first place. When the monsters (Akuma) had attacked her squad on their way back from an escort mission to the capitol, the amethyst Ino had picked up for her mother had come to life with no help from Ino and it was all she could do to keep up while it took the monsters out. The monsters were defeated, the CROWS came out of nowhere and when they tried to force Ino to go with them, they got hauled back to Konoha for their trouble.
Ino was led to believe that before they appeared before Tsunade and were permitted to explain, their time in T&I had been unpleasant. Inoichi didn't take kindly to people attempting to kidnap his only child.
When the boat finally reached the underground harbor, Ino jumped out before any of them have time to even think about shifting position. She's tired of sitting still, she's played nice this entire trip and humored their ridiculous measures to make sure she "didn't run", as if they could keep her if she didn't want to be there. She wants to see the inside of these headquarters.
She magnanimously let them lead the way up the stairs, partially to because she didn't know her way around yet and mostly to let them trigger any traps there might be, and follows. She nearly balked at the small elevator, not liking the idea of being confined in a small area, the possibility of getting trapped higher, but followed when she realized they're watching for any sign of weakness, for anything they can use against her.
The elevator creaked ominously as they rise and Ino's spotted at least two weakened sections she can blast out in case the cable snaps. The CROWs were silent. Ino silently entertained herself with thoughts of letting them loose in a room with Naruto.
And then finally, finally the elevator stopped and Ino stepped out of the dimly lit compartment into a large brightly lit hall and blessed, blessed warmth. She sighed in relief and reached up to unclasp her cloak and drape it over her arm. Behind her one of the CROWs let out a sharp hiss and Ino turned sharply, hand reaching towards a kunai, before she realized none of them were actually making any aggressive moves towards her. Ino didn't relax. With her squad, Ino had handled the CROWs with no problem. By herself would be a little more difficult, especially with their seals, but she could still do it. And after T&I they had no reason to like her or her village.
"What." Ino didn't even try to keep her tone polite. Tsunade had given permission for Ino to be here, a long term mission of sorts, and had stoutly overridden the CROWs demands that Ino sever all contact with her village, but these people are not allies and Ino doesn't trust them. Their time on the road hadn't changed that and if the people here are like the CROWs, Ino will be sleeping with one eye open the entire time she's here. Besides all that, Ino was tired, cold and hungry and sick of traveling. She'd like to sit down at some point.
"Your outfit," the leader said. "It's improper." Frowning, Ino turned to survey her outfit. It was her usual outfit, but her skirt was a bit longer and she was wearing arm warmers in response to the colder weather.
"It's the same outfit we met in," Ino told him, reaching up to fiddle with her hair and attempt to neaten it.
"You look like a harlot," he snapped. Ino regarded him coolly, still trying to tame her hair. She met his eyes evenly and felt a curl of satisfaction when he fidgeted so minutely Ino might've missed it if she hadn't been trained to see everything.
"I look like I came from Konoha," she said, breaking the silence only when she was satisfied she'd done all she could with her hair without a mirror and comb. The man puffed himself up.
"An offense to God," he hissed. Ino turned to walk away, no longer caring she didn't know where she was going. She'd get there without their help.
"Not my God," she tossed over her shoulder and sashayed away.
/
Ino's first impression of Komui was favorable. Someone who identified themselves as a 'Finder' had finally asked her if she needed help and then helpfully led her to Komui's office, pointing out different rooms and common areas along the way. Ino couldn't but marvel over the lack of security. The CROWs were already there waiting, facing a dark-haired man with glasses seated behind a large desk covered in paperwork and doing an admirable job ignoring them. When she'd seen them, she'd turned to the finder, a woman shorter than Ino with hair pulled back in a tight braid, and bowed.
"Thank you for the tour, Theresa," Ino told her cheerfully. Theresa looked confused for a moment before she saw the CROWs.
"You're very welcome, Miss Yamanaka," she said cheerfully, winking. That made Ino feel better. At least she wasn't the only one who didn't like them. She nodded at the man behind the desk. "Chief Komui." The man, Komui, waved a hand briefly in acknowledgement, not lifting his eyes from the paper he was reading, but Ino had no doubt he was fully aware everything going on in the room. The large door shut behind Theresa and he finally looked up at Ino, his face unreadable.
"Thank you," he told the CROWs. "As you can see, Miss Yamanaka has made it here in one piece." It was obviously a dismissal and Ino stepped to the side so the CROWs could file out, albeit unhappily. The door shut loudly behind them and Ino took the opportunity to look around the office in the ensuing silence. The ceiling was high and vaulted and the walls were built in bookshelves. Papers literally created small mountains. Ino wondered briefly how he organized them and then decided it was better not to ask.
"Please have a seat." Komui gestured to the couch in front of his desk. Ino approached cautiously. She couldn't sense anyone else in the room, but that was no reason to let her guard down. She settled on the couch and there was silence again as Komui shuffled some papers to the side. Finally, he gave her his undivided attention.
"I'm Chief Komui Lee," he introduced himself. His gaze broke into something slightly warmer than the one he'd used when the CROWs were present. "This the European Branch of the Black Order." So far he hadn't told her anything she didn't already know. Ino cocked a brow. Komui seemed to pick up on her train of thought and he seemed amused. "Of course, you'll already have been told that. Can you tell me what else you know?"
"I know what Akuma are," Ino told him. "And they're created by the Millennium Earl. Innocence is believed to be the only thing that can destroy them. Your organization fights them." Komui nodded.
"Innocence has been the only substance to effectively destroy Akuma," Komui agreed. "The Black Order was founded a hundred years ago to fight the Earl, but the fight has been going on for much longer than that. You're here because you're an accommodator, meaning you're capable of synchronizing with Innocence. Accommodators who actively use their Innocence to fight are called Exorcists. Innocence is very selective, so there aren't a whole lot of you."
"How many?" Ino asked.
"Ten," Komui answered. "Eleven, counting you." Ino felt her brow crawling higher up her forehead. They were fighting a war with eleven soldiers? "In addition, there are four generals. Generals have achieved the highest rate of synchronization with their Innocence."
"How do you measure synchronization rates?" Ino asked. Komui stood.
"I'll show you," he told her. "Follow me." With that he swept from the room. Ino hurried to follow him. Komui continued speaking as they walked. "Hevlaska is in charge of safeguarding the Innocence we've collected until we can find accommodators. She also measures the synchro rate of our Exorcists." He led her to another platform that was just…floating in the middle of the tower. Ino looked for something to hold it up. There was nothing. And Komui was expecting her to follow him on there.
"Our science section is very effective," he told her. "It's quite safe." His face was open and Ino couldn't find any reason to not believe him. She peered over the edge of the railing.
It was a long drop.
/
After meeting Hevlaska, Ino revised her opinion of Komui. In his office, he seemed level-headed, intelligent and calm. He very clearly wasn't a soldier, but Ino didn't think he lacked understanding of what happened on the battlefield.
The reality was Komui was a troll with a death wish. Ino hadn't reacted well when Hevlaska had picked her up out of nowhere and Komui's cheerful voice while she was stuck in the clutches of the big white…thing had done nothing to help calm Ino. And he seemed largely unconcerned by the kunai she held to his throat in response.
"It's a rite of passage, really," he told her cheerfully. "All the Exorcists go through it when they first arrive. It gives you something to bond over. And fifty-five percent is a pretty decent synchro rate for someone who just activated their Innocence for the first time a few weeks ago."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ino growled. She wished he'd break even a little sweat at the obvious threat on his life, but Komui barely even acknowledged it as he gently pushed her hand away from his throat and straightened.
"It should," he told her seriously, cheerfulness gone. "Once the science division crafts your Innocence into a weapon, your synchro rate will climb at least five percent higher, perhaps more given your rather unusual background." He fiddled with one of the levers and the platform began rising. "We'll need to get you to Johnny as well so he can take measurements for your uniform. Any requests you have, just let him know and he'll work into the design." Ino was frowning at him, registering what he was saying, but more focused on the fact he ignored a knife to the throat.
"Most of the Exorcists are out on missions right now," he said. "But you'll meet them soon enough. I believe Allen and Miranda should be returning today. Krory should be coming in later –"
"Did you not notice the knife?" Ino interrupted. Komui blinked, surprised, and turned to regard her more fully.
"You mean down there?" He asked and Ino nodded, frustrated. He laughed. "Of course I noticed it. But I've known Kanda since he was a child. You get used to it after a while."
/
Ino's first meeting with Kanda was in one of the training rooms and involved a minor explosion.
/
Her first meeting with one of Central's agents involved him groping her and getting thrown through a window as a result. Luckily Lenalee was there to leap out after him and catch him before he could fall too far.
A pity, in Ino's opinion. Nobody tried touching her after that, though.
/
Johnny had done a fantastic job on her uniform. He had incorporated purple accents and it was reminiscent of her usual outfit in Konoha. When he presented it to her, he'd taken care to do it out of sight of everyone else and had shown her hidden pockets she could use for her weapons. He apologetically explained he couldn't incorporate a vest without it weighing the outfit down unnecessarily, but he had reinforced the fabric the best he could so provide her with extra protection. It wouldn't do much against an attack from an Akuma or a Noah, but it would help protect her against falls and shrapnel.
"I know it's probably not quite what you're used to," he said, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. "But it has layers for you to adjust according to whatever climate you're in and I had to stick with the standard black and scarlet, mostly, but there are small accents in and around the crest and the trim on the hood is purple as well."
"I can see that," Ino smiled. Johnny was sweet, she decided. One of those people who were always genuinely open. She sincerely hoped he never had to see the battlefield. "I'll try it on and let you know how it fits."
"Yeah, absolutely!" He jumped up, grinning excitedly and heading for the door so she could change. "And let me know how those pockets work out. I wasn't sure how many weapons you had, so there might be more than you need, but at least you've got options!"
Ino knows the people at the Order aren't used to seeing women expose so much skin on a regular basis. Lenalee's outfit was different because it served a practical purpose, namely ensuring her legs were free to move. Ino's was just because she liked the style, but to Johnny's credit, he'd taken her requests in stride and when she emerged, he eyed her outfit critically for any design flaws he couldn't see while sewing it and not because he thought she was being indecent for wearing it.
"How does it feel?" He asked once he was satisfied with his scrutiny. Ino shrugged.
"Fine," she answered. "It's loose enough to allow comfortable movement and range of motion but tight enough it won't get in the way. And the pockets are really well hidden." Ino had been surprised when she'd looked in the mirror and could see no trace of her weapons anywhere. Johnny hummed thoughtfully.
"Can you go through one of your katas for me?" He asked. She looked at him sharply and he grinned, holding up his hands in a placating manner. "I can see you through the windows on the way to the science division in the morning. I promise I'm not spying. But I do want to see how it works with a full range of motion and how you feel. What feels alright now may not feel good when you're actually fighting." Ino huffed and turned away from him, but she was smiling as she started her morning routine.
/
Ino honestly wished she was more surprised when at least four messenger hawks showed up at headquarters. She hadn't been out on any missions yet; the science division had yet to fully craft her Innocence into a workable weapon. For some reason it was giving them trouble. But Reever, oddly enough, didn't seem upset by these turn of events. Apparently it gave the science section an excuse to ignore any projects Central had for them since Exorcists took priority and it kept Komui from experimenting. It was an all-around win for everyone.
Except for Ino. And Central. But the only people who really cared about them were the revolving door scientists who came in for brief stints, such as consultations or to drop off material for projects.
But the point was, Ino had four messenger hawks flapping around her window and she groaned, rolling out of bed and undoing the traps she'd set so they could get in. The hawks must've been young hawks because instead of settling down on the available perches in the room like the older, better trained ones, they flapped around, shrieking indignantly whenever she made a grab for one and losing feathers everywhere.
She hoped they woke Kanda up.
The first one she managed to wrestle down, careful to keep her face away from the talons and beak, had a message from her father. Ino swiftly untied the string and it was like a switch had flipped. The bird stopped struggling and when she cautiously let it up, the stupid animal hopped docilely to her bedpost and settled down, apparently quite content to watch her struggle with the other three. Ino swore it was laughing at her.
The other three, once she managed to get them untied (and every single one of them, as soon as she had the message detached from their leg, had settled down), were from Tsunade, Sakura and apparently the rest of them had consolidated their letters into one sealed scroll. Ino scanned the ones from Tsunade and her father first and resolved to write a response to both as soon as possible. Sakura's was her giving an update on the happenings at the hospital and the ongoing search for Sasuke.
Choji had written a decent length letter, Ino noted, and Shikamaru had scribbled something barely legible at the end of his letter. Lazy. She was a bit surprised to see something from Hinata and Ten-Ten in there, but it was nice. Even Naruto had thrown in a brief note. She was glad they'd thought to consolidate their letters into one scroll. She'd hate to have to deal with eight separate hawks.
It made Ino miss home more than she thought possible.
At least Ino had a home though. She doesn't know all the Exorcists' stories, but from what she can tell most of them don't have a family to go back. She's not sure how Lenalee got here, but she does know Komui is her last living relative. Lavi doesn't remember his life before becoming Bookman's apprentice and Bookman won't talk about how he found Lavi. Nobody knows anything about Kanda, except maybe Marie. Timothy's dad was a criminal who forced his own son to swallow a rock. Even by shinobi standards that's...messed up.
Allen is open with his story and he reminds Ino painfully of Naruto when she learned he'd been thrown out on the streets because of something he couldn't help. Maybe Allen is what Naruto could've been if someone had taken him in when he was younger like this Mana had. There's something in his eyes similar to Naruto, like he can't quite believe these people like him and they want to be around him. There's something familiar in the way he carefully holds his food, as if he's worried it'll be snatched away. She doesn't think the others notice it, but Ino takes care to keep a respectful distance away from Allen's plates at meal times. The memory of Ino's younger days of making fun of Naruto make her burn hot with shame when she looked at Allen.
In hindsight, Ino thought, with all the tragedy going on around here, Kakashi-sensei would probably feel right at home.
/
After Ino and Kanda's first disastrous meeting, Ino was thoroughly surprised when Kanda sought her out to spar, but she accepted readily. She hasn't gotten a decent match since she arrived at the Order and shadow fighting and target practice isn't really cutting it. Komui saw them walking together and promptly threw them out of the tower, citing concern for the structural integrity of the building. Word spread fast because by the time Ino and Kanda made it to a training ground, there was a small crowd and Ino could see money changing hands.
"Scared?" Ino taunted, as they squared off. Kanda scoffed and didn't answer, instead drawing Mugen. Ino doesn't have her Innocence yet but Kanda promised not to invoke during the match. Ino was a little disappointed. She hadn't seen any of the other Exorcists' Innocences except Lenalee's activated and she was kind of curious to see what they looked like. But apparently it was considered fighting dirty if one person couldn't invoke during a spar.
They started out with using just weapons. Kanda, with his sword, is a close range fighter. Ino, with her kunai and shuriken and various jutsu, was a long-range fighter, but she could hold her own in hand-to-hand if she needed to. That being said, close range fighting wasn't her specialty. But Kanda didn't have the advantage of chakra and as far as Ino knew, he didn't know how to seal.
Kanda...Kanda was faster than Ino gave him credit for. He made the first move, lunging at Ino, who swiftly ducked, unsheathing a kunai and throwing it, aiming to get distance between them. Kanda followed after her, blocking the kunai with his sword and Ino backed up faster. His sword came down and Ino brought up another kunai to block. There was a clang and then Kanda was putting more weight on his sword and Ino's arms were shaking under the effort of holding him off. She was dimly aware of the people on the side cheering, but whether it was for her or Kanda she couldn't tell.
Another breath and then she twisted the sword to the side, spinning around to the opposite side behind him. She jabbed an elbow into his kidney and felt a sense of triumph when she heard the air leave his body in a rush. He recovered quickly though and spun back towards her. Ino took the opportunity to lift her knee and jab it into his stomach, causing him to double over, before darting away. Kanda followed, raising his sword and Ino was performing the sequence for a replacement jutsu before she realized she was up in a tree and Kanda had just sliced a log in half.
A shocked silence fell over the group. Kanda was watching the clearing and the tree line carefully. Ino took a deep breath. She could use her mind technique but that wasn't a fair way to win the fight and she hadn't even intended on using her jutsu if she could help it.
She did know that if she could get past Kanda's sword, she'd have an advantage. Kanda relied almost solely on his sword. If he didn't have one, he might not fare so well in hand-to-hand combat. How much good that would actually do, she wasn't sure. Her strikes on his body should've slowed him down more than they had, but Kanda was barely even breathing hard. But it was better than throwing all her weapons at him and having to rely on her jutsu. Ino's eyes narrowed and then she pushed off the branch of the tree and was darting towards Kanda's back, low to the ground.
Kanda shouldn't have heard her, but he turned to meet her, raising his sword. Ino ducked under his arm, aiming a punch at his diaphragm. She aimed her other fist at his chin in an uppercut. He staggered backwards and Ino followed up with a kick aimed at his head. He dodged, now on the defensive, and she pressed her advantage, trying to strike his wrists in an effort to get him to lose his grip on his sword. He kicked out at her chest and Ino was thrown back. Kanda, though, backed up quickly.
"Hey," he said and Ino glanced up, wincing as she tried to catch her breath. "Can you do other things besides that switch out you did?"
"Yes…?" She asked, wondering where he was going with this. His answering grin was sharp and a little frightening. His fingers moved to the hilt of his blade and Ino was peripherally aware of the crowd scrambling to get out of the way of…something.
"Good," he said. "First Illusions: Netherworld Insects!" And Ino was confused for all of two seconds before oh…Oh. Kanda is not a close range fighter.
Shit.
They destroyed three training grounds, a record previously only held by Kanda and Allen, and called it a draw when Komui sent a Komurin to distract them and save the rest of the grounds.
"Next time use those," Kanda told her when they both landed on the smoking wreckage of the robot. "There's no point in not using any advantage you have and getting yourself killed. If you use it against us it'll give us more training against unusual abilities." Unusual abilities. Right. Like summoning insects from hell from his sword was completely normal. Ino only nodded though and turned to survey the carnage. The crowd had grown and Ino was pleased to see money changing hands again. Kanda scoffed beside her and she knew he'd seen it as well.
"Idiots," he muttered.
"They were all betting on you," she said cheerfully and if anything, his scowl deepened.
"Don't they have anything better to do?" Ino shrugged and began heading towards the entrance. She needed a shower.
"Probably," she agreed blithely. "But this was more interesting."
She counted it as a win when Kanda didn't say anything, but fell into step beside her.
/
Ino wasn't surprised when she got called into Komui's office later and Inspector Rouvelier from Central is there. There are questions, numerous questions, about how she performed her techniques during the sparring session and some of them Ino answered honestly, about chakra and forming the seals with her hands.
Others, she's entirely pleased to answer with 'classified' and watch Rouvelier turn red in face with anger and sputter with rage. Ino's certain that he's not used to get told 'no'. When he threatened to imprison her for treason Ino reminded him she was here on loan from Konoha and if they thought they could keep her here against her will they were mistaken.
"And anyway," she continued, smiling sweetly, "If I answered your questions, I'd have to kill everyone in this room." She stood, sent a wink Komui's direction, who hid his smile behind his coffee mug, and excused herself. The only ones she'd kill would be Rouvelier and his CROWs anyway. Reever and Komui were reasonable[MH1] enough.
/
Apparently watching her spar with Kanda helped the science section figure out how to weaponize her Innocence and three weeks after Ino arrived, she was finally presented with…
"A hair clip?" She asked. The science team, including Komui, was gathered around her, their faces expectant and some of them nearly bouncing with how excited they were. It was a fairly standard hair clip, with the plain metal. They'd carved a flower out of the amethyst, with tiny gold seams running through it and Ino could see the Innocence glowing faintly inside the flower. It was very pretty, granted, but a hair clip nonetheless. She ran her finger along the edge to test the sharpness. The metal, she noted, was dull, but the amethyst they'd used to craft the pendant was sharp enough to draw blood.
"It's not that big," she commented, frowning. "The Innocence I brought in wouldn't fit inside this."
"We ground part of it down to particles," Reever said, rolling forward on the balls of his feet and looking pleased, "And inlaid it in the seams. See here –" he pointed at the gold and Ino squinted. She couldn't see anything " – Is where we incorporated the rest."
"And it'll still work?" Ino winced at the dubiousness in her voice, but scientists either didn't notice or didn't care.
"'Course it will!" Johnny said enthusiastically. "We did the same thing with Daisya's Charity Bell and it didn't hurt it a bit!"
"Who?" Ino frowned. Johnny's face fell. "I haven't met – "
"The point is," Reever cut across her quickly, giving her a slightly forced grin. "We science guys do know what we're doing. How it takes form once you invoke is out of our control, but we know how to give it a boost."
"That'll be the tricky part," Komui spoke up now. "You managed to invoke when you were under duress, but you need to be able to invoke at will, as well." He smiled brilliantly. "I recommend asking the others for help."
"I – right" Ino said, still wondering who Daisya was, but opting not to press. Going by Johnny's face, she suspected Daisya was dead. She smiled quickly at the team. "Thank you! It's beautiful." They beamed at her.
"It's not that often we get to work with Innocence bonded with beautiful things," Russell said. "Usually they're already bonded with something like Lavi's hammer."
"And if they're not, we usually have to make it with more practical materials on hand," Reever continued. "It was a bit of a treat to get do yours."
"I see," Ino said. "And the gold?" Gold didn't strike her as a 'practical material'.
"Donated," Reever said. Ino decided not to ask.
"C'mon!" Johnny grabbed her elbow and it was a testament to how used to him Ino had gotten that she didn't immediately bend his fingers backwards. "Let's head to a training room so you can practice invoking it." Ino grasped the hair clip tightly in her hand and followed him, more than a little eager to try it out.
/
"Innocence…activate!"
Nothing. The metal gleamed in the torchlight but there wasn't any green glow, no bright flash of light, nothing. Not even a twitch. Ino frowned and shook it to see if that would do anything to help it along. The hair clip stubbornly remained a hair clip.
Invoking was harder than she thought it would be. She'd had her Innocence for three days and nothing happened. Nobody else seemed all that worried, but Ino was starting to privately wonder if that incident in the forest was just a fluke. Maybe she wasn't the accommodator, someone else in her squad was. A lot was happening when the Akuma attacked. It was entirely possible the CROWs saw the Innocence activating for the wrong person.
Ino had tried everything she could think of. She'd tried meditation, pushing her chakra into it, which resulting in it vibrating so hard she thought it would break apart, and throwing it in conjunction with her kunai. The hair clip, thankfully, was incredibly sturdy because Ino had thrown it against the wall more than once in sheer frustration.
"Are you still up?" Ino spun around, relaxing when she saw Allen standing in the doorway. He frowned at her, concerned. "It's nearly three, Ino. You should be asleep."
"If I should be asleep, then you definitely should," Ino retorted. She cocked her head to the side. "No Link?" Allen laughed nervously and stepped further into the room.
"No, he's sleeping," Allen said sheepishly. "I just wanted a few minutes to myself."
"Ah," Ino said. She smiled slightly. "I won't tell." Allen laughed.
"Thanks. What are you doing?" Allen asked, coming further into the room. Ino sighed, aggravated and thrust her hair clip out so Allen could see.
"Still having trouble?" He asked. He gave her a small sympathetic smile.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong!" Ino scowled. "I've tried everything but it won't work." She moved like she was going to throw again but Allen reached out and placed his hand over hers, keeping it in place.
"Throwing it won't help," he told her and Ino wanted to punch him. She knew that but it made her feel better and certainly nothing else had worked. "No, really it won't. Innocence isn't like a traditional weapon."
"What do you mean?" Ino asked suspiciously. Allen shrugged and sat down cross-legged on the floor. After a moment Ino sat next to him. He took the hair clip from her and turned it over in his hands, staring at it.
"A lot of us…well, all of us I suppose…have…relationships, I guess, with our Innocence," Allen began haltingly. Ino nodded. That made sense. You had to be comfortable with your weapons and you had to be familiar with them. It was part of the reason Asuma-sensei had had them spend so much time training even after becoming chunin. A shinobi who wasn't familiar and comfortable with their weapons was a dead shinobi.
"I'm not seeing how it's different from any other weapon," Ino told him honestly. "Everyone needs to be familiar with their weapons." Allen hummed thoughtfully.
"That's true," he agreed. "But it's more than being familiar. Does your Innocence feel like any other weapon you've had?"
Well, no, Ino thought. It didn't. She remembered the constant thrumming on the journey to the Order. The reluctance to hand it over the science section that couldn't be attributed to someone giving up protection in an unfamiliar environment and the way something in her chest had settled when Reever had given it back in its weaponized form. Even now, when she couldn't invoke, if Ino concentrated she could feel something ticking at the edges of her mind. And that should have made her panic, but in reality it felt…comfortable.
"You need to form a bond with your Innocence," Allen said. Ino listened raptly. "I got separated from mine for a time in China. It took me weeks to resynchronize with it. Lenalee couldn't synchronize with hers after our mission in Edo for a long time. We both made a promise to our Innocence. To fight by its side." He caught her gaze. Ino couldn't look away if she wanted to. "Every Exorcist has a bond with our Innocence. Whether it's good or bad, it's powerful and it lets us fight by its side." He passed the hair clip back over and stood. Ino looked up at him. "You said one time your people were raised something called a Will of Fire? A Shinobi Way?" Ino nodded. "It's a promise to your home and your people." It was a sacred and unbreakable bond every ninja should have.
"Yes," Ino said simply.
"Try creating a Shinobi Way with your Innocence," Allen suggested. He smiled. "I'd start with a name, though. They usually help." With that, he turned and headed for the door. "I need to go before Link catches me."
"And gives you more paperwork?" Ino teased. Allen grimaced.
"It's almost worse than Master's debts," he muttered and Ino laughed. "Good night, Ino. Good luck."
"Good night, Allen," she said and looked back down at the Innocence in her hands thoughtfully.
She didn't know how long she sat there thinking after Allen left but it was long enough for Lenalee to show up. There was a moment of silence as the two girls regarded each other. Ino and Lenalee hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time together due to uptick in mission frequency, but the other girl was nice enough and they got along fairly well when they did spend time together. Ino wouldn't call them friends exactly, but that held true for the rest of the Exorcists.
"Oh!" Lenalee blinked, surprised. "I didn't realize anyone would be up this early." Ino smiled wearily.
"I never went to bed, actually" Ino said. Lenalee frowned.
"Is everything alright?" She asked, concerned and moving a little further into the room.
"Just a little frustrated," Ino answered and Lenalee took that as an invitation to sit next to her, dropping into stretches. Ino used the clip to put her hair up and followed suit. They were silent for a few minutes.
"Still giving you trouble?" Lenalee didn't even ask what she frustrated about. "Have you tried –"
"Meditation?" Ino asked wryly. "Yes." Lenalee giggled. "Allen suggested giving it a name and trying to form a bond with it." Lenalee smiled.
"He's not wrong," she agreed. "Allen can be a little more insightful than we give him credit for and he's dealt with this before. Here, give me a hand." She reached out in front of her, trying to bend forward as much as possible.
"He also said you had trouble synchronizing after Edo," Ino continued, not even trying to be subtle about her prying. She moved behind the other girl and pushed on her back, helping her bend further in her stretch.
"Stop there," Lenalee said, her voice slightly strained and muffled due to her nose practically touching the floor. and Ino began counting. "I did. I pushed my Innocence past our synchronization rate during a fight and we both needed to recover."
"What changed?" Ino asked. Lenalee was breathing carefully as she tried to push past the slight strain of stretching further than she was comfortable with.
"The Level 4," Lenalee answered. "It was attacking my home and my brother was out there with it." She fell silent and Ino let her gather her thoughts. "I was stuck in the infirmary with other noncombatants." Her hands clenched into fists. "I'd never felt so helpless, not even in Edo when the others were fighting the Noah. I just knew if the Level 4 succeeded here my whole world would be gone." Komui would be gone, was what she didn't say.
"I hated my Innocence," Lenalee confessed quietly, face still pressed to the mat. Ino had reached ninety a long time ago, but she didn't move. Lenalee clearly had no desire to move from her prone position. "It took me away from my brother and it caused me so much pain. There were times on missions where I just didn't want to fight anymore. Just let the Akuma kill me and be done with this whole thing."
"Why didn't you?" Ino asked quietly. She thought she already knew the answer, but…
"Komui," Lenalee answered and finally sat up, turning to face Ino with a wry smile. "He worked so hard to find me in the Order, how could I repay him by giving up like that? But with the Level 4 I knew it was a real possibility I could fight my hardest and die anyway." She laughed bitterly. "It's one thing to consider assisted suicide. It's another to fight for something and die anyway. But if it kept my family safe I was alright with dying. And I told the Innocence…if it let me protect my brother and my family, I would follow it."
Ino wasn't sure what to say to that, so she stayed silent and let Lenalee nudge her into the same stretch she had just completed.
"So," Lenalee said cheerfully, switching the subject. "Have you thought of a name yet? It should probably be something important to you."
"I was thinking…Hagi," Ino said.
"Bush clover?" Lenalee asked and Ino nodded, now grateful her face was hidden. It sounded better in her head.
"It's my family's symbol," she explained. She tried to deflect Lenalee's attention. "I'm surprised you know what it means."
"Kanda taught me Japanese. Hagi…" Lenalee said slowly, trying it out. "I like it." She stood and helped Ino to her feet. She took a step back and Ino had a moment to be worried about the smile on Lenalee's face before her Innocence was activated. "There's nothing like a life-threatening situation to help build a bond. Don't use your jutsus!" Which was how Ino discovered Lenalee was just as psychotic as her brother, but was simply better at hiding it from everyone.
It proved effective, though, when Ino screamed for her Innocence to activate just as Lenalee's boot was aiming for her head and all the sudden she had a weapon strapped to her wrist the size of a Frisbee. It's very clearly the amethyst but it's grown and still inlaid with gold and made an effective shield against Lenalee's boot and now Ino could see the Innocence particles that were integrated into the seams. Ino was certain she was going to need wrap her wrist later though. Lenalee used it to kick off Ino and Ino twisted, already knowing instinctively the blade would slide to her hand so she could throw it after Lenalee. Lenalee dodged it, but yelped when it ricocheted after her. Ino watched for a moment. That was useful to know it could do but what she needed it back –
It was clasped to her wrist again and Ino blinked. Lenalee landed about twenty feet away, panting slightly and smiling widely.
"Deactivate it," she commanded. Ino eyed her suspiciously and Lenalee's smile widened. "I'm not going to go after you again. Deactivate it." Keeping an eye on her, Ino obeyed. Lenalee stayed put. "Now activate it again. Try calling its name when you do."
It took another three hours of Lenalee coming after her with her boots for Ino to be able to activate Hagi on command but when she did…
"Hagi, activate!"
Lenalee cheered from across the room, her own boots disappearing. Ino grinned widely and gave it an experimental throw and laughed delightedly when it returned easily to her grasp.
…Ino felt like she could take on the world.