Mission Oruma
Chapter 2: New Mission
The white clouds drifted by the village of Konoha, and one ninja was lounging on the hill, lying on the lush green grass and napping. The sun shone brightly, but he lay in the shade of a tree which shielded him from the bright rays. The sound of grass forcefully moved was heard, and he opened a lazy eye to see his former team-mate Yamanaka Ino hovering over him and smiling.
She spun and plopped down into the spot beside him, her eyes still looking into his lazy one.
"Hi Shika!" She exclaimed. Shikamaru grunted in greeting, before closing his eye. She giggled. "Napping?" There was a small noise of affirmation, and she sighed, shaking her head. "Lazy bum." She teased. His eye opened again, peeking at her and he grinned.
"Troublesome woman." He retorted. She mock-scowled at him, sticking her tongue out. She stretched like a cat, making a small satisfied noise, before falling back on the grass. Turning on her side to look at him, she smiled, poking his side with her finger.
"Up." She commanded. He made a noise of irritation. She poked him again. "Now." He sighed, turning his head to look at her.
"Why?" He muttered. Ino grinned.
"We've been asked to report to Hokage-sama for a mission briefing." She told him. He sighed again, sitting up lazily and rubbing his forehead.
"Mendokuse." He growled. Ino sat up as well, laughing and smacking his arm.
"Come on, or else we'll keep Hokage-sama waiting." She said. He grumbled curses under his breath before getting up, beginning to walk with an already-up Yamanaka Ino. The woman was more bubbly and cheerful then she usually was, and Shikamaru could understand that as he looked around at the half-complete buildings.
After the war with the Sound, which was two years ago, Konoha was in shambles, and the majority of the city needed to be rebuilt in the shortest time possible. With help from Suna, most of the high-level ninjas had to devote most of their time to helping fix up buildings. Konoha was almost done being rebuilt, but there were certain sectors of the city that needed to be fixed up (that included the Uchiha property which Sakura and Sasuke would be moving into soon).
Tenten was walking by, carrying a board of wood and she had a few nails in her mouth. She caught sight of the two and waved as they reciprocated the gesture. Tenten looked at the patch of empty space in the building, before smacking the wooden board onto it and nailing it down with a hammer.
Nearby, Naruto was painting a building red, doing his trademark spiral before covering it with more paint. Sasuke was a step below, helping. He yelled at Naruto for spilling a drop of paint onto his hair, and henceforth started a shouting match.
Sakura coincidentally walked by, as she had to patrol the areas in case medical attention was needed to the workers and ninjas. Her eyes narrowed, and she began to shout at the two boys, telling them to quit goofing off and start working. They quieted down and went straight back to painting, that is, until Hinata came along.
It was a hot day, and she had taken it upon herself to make some drinks for the workers. Holding a tray with two cups, she offered them to Naruto and Sasuke, and the two rivals jumped down to gulp the ice cold lemonade. Hinata smiled; glad she could help a little bit. Naruto pecked her on the lips before leaping back up to continue work. Sasuke's lips, however, lingered on Sakura's a little longer then they were supposed to, and Naruto had to insult him for the Uchiha to jump back up and continue working, shouting a remark back at the blonde ninja which resulted in another shouting match.
Neji and Lee were close by, nailing boards into buildings like Tenten was. Lee was working diligently, proclaiming that if he didn't finish nailing 100 boards by dinnertime, he would do 500 laps around Konoha. Neji kept ignoring the enthusiastic ninja and focusing on his work, while sneaking glances at the surname-less woman.
All three of the women saw Ino and Shikamaru walking by, and they ran up to her.
"Ino-pig!" Sakura called. Ino stuck her tongue out at her.
"Big Forehead Girl!" Ino mocked. They fake-glared at each other before bursting into giggles. "So what's up?" She asked. Tenten grinned.
"We're planning a party, to celebrate the rebuilding of Konoha." Ino looked puzzled.
"I thought we did that two years ago, the night after the war." Ino said. Hinata shook her head.
"This is to commemorate the completion of the rebuilding of Konoha. We know you and Shikamaru-san have been called on a mission, but when will you be back?" She asked. Ino shrugged.
"Shika-kun and I are going to Hokage-sama now." Ino answered. Sakura's face turned devilish.
"Shika-kun?" She asked. Hinata and Tenten giggled from beside her. Ino blushed, turning her head away.
"Yeah, Shika-kun. It's my personal nickname for him." Ino answered. Tenten grinned.
"So I can't call Shikamaru, Shika-kun?" Tenten asked. Ino glared at her.
"No. You can't." She growled. There was a giggle from Hinata.
"Possessive much, Ino-chan?" Hinata commented. Ino blushed. Before she was about to protest, there was some loud commotion coming from behind Ino, and the three girls looked back before their eyes widened.
"Ino. Don't look behind-," Sakura started, but Ino did anyways. What she saw sent something tightening in her chest. Temari of the Sand was talking with Shikamaru. He was smirking, she was smiling. Some of the younger workers were glaring at the Nara, wishing that the sultry woman of Suna was talking to them. One of them was distracted from doing his work properly, and the hammer he had in his hand slipped, flying off.
"Watch out!"
BAM
Ino was sent flying to the ground, and blood splattered.
"Ino!"
The Yamanaka winced, sitting up slowly and clutching her wounded arm. She cursed.
"I get hurt even before I get the damn mission briefing." Ino growled sullenly. There were fast footsteps, and as she turned around she was looking into the concerned eyes of one Nara Shikamaru.
"Ino, are you alright?" Ino blinked, before nodding slowly.
"It's only a flesh wound, nothing much." She said, her brain not registering the pain. Shikamaru removed her arm from the wound before cursing loudly.
"Just a flesh wound? Damn it Ino I can see your bone!" He said, before her nerves finally reacted and Ino bit back a whimper. Sakura pushed the frantic genius aside, immediately setting to work on repairing her flesh. Temari stood behind the Nara, glancing worriedly at Ino.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Ino looked between the Sand woman and Shikamaru, her eyes narrowing as she looked away.
"I'm fine." She snapped. Temari blinked in mild shock, before nodding.
"Okay." She replied. Ino's eyes softened as she realized the sincerity in the woman's words and guilt began to weigh upon her. She shouldn't have snapped at Temari when all she was trying to do was find out if she was okay.
"There. It's better. But you have to rest it for a few days, or else I'm afraid something might go wrong. Your chakra path was damaged slightly at the impact, but it'll recover once you give it a few days." Sakura told her. Ino smiled.
"Thanks." She said. Standing up, Ino winced slightly as her arm stung. Hinata stepped forward, her byakugan activating before she used Jyuuken. Ino blinked as the pain went away. Hinata smiled.
"I numbed the pain for you. It'll wear off in a few hours, but you'll gradually get used to the pain as your chakra path clears." Hinata told her. Ino smiled.
"Thanks Hinata-chan." Hinata merely nodded. Tenten frowned.
"Everyone has something to contribute except me." Tenten muttered. Ino laughed, waving it off.
"It's okay." She said, before she winced again. Her back was hurting from when she fell on it. Tenten brightened, waving her over. Tenten fished out a senbon needle, twirling it in her fingers. Ino stared at her warily. "What are you planning to do with that?" She asked. Tenten smirked.
"Trust me." And she did. Tenten stuck the needle in a certain part of her back between her shoulder blades.
"Ow!" Ino exclaimed, but as Tenten started to gently spin the senbon needle in Ino's back, the Yamanaka relaxed. "That actually feels… good." She said. Tenten took the needle out, smiling.
"I've been learning acupuncture. It's a great way to relieve tight muscles and soreness." The weapon specialist said. "However, it can also be lethal when in a ninja's hands." Everyone blanched, reminding themselves to never get on her bad side.
"Right then. Ino, we have to go." Shikamaru said. The Yamanaka's eyes widened and she grabbed Shikamaru's hand and rushed off, not before saying goodbye to everyone.
"We're here now Hokage-sama!" Ino shouted, bursting into the room. Tsunade glanced up from her paper work, smiling.
"Oh good. Here, the mission file." She said, handing them a folder. Ino opened it up, looking at the picture of a man. "His name is Masuyo Takehiko. His father is Masuyo Ichiro, the daimyo of Ensu village. I need you, Ino, to become a concubine and retrieve information about Akatsuki from him. I'm giving you two months. Shikamaru will come as backup about 2 weeks after you arrive." Tsunade told her. Ino nodded.
"Hai."
"The rest of your missions details are in the file, so please go over them. There's also a map of Ensu in the file, so try to look that over. Come to the north gate at 8 in the morning. We have a carriage waiting for you. You'll be posing as the daughter of a noble family going on a trip but your carriage was attacked by rogue bandits."
Shizune handed Ino a box, and when the Yamanaka opened it up, it had a beautiful kimono lying in it. She gasped.
"Wear that when you come to the gate, and make sure you look like you've been running for your life. Understood?"
"Hai." The two ninja's chorused. Tsunade nodded in satisfaction.
"Dismissed."
A/N And here's the next chapter! I hope you like it, and please be patient! I have a writer's block on the third chapter, and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere. BUT FEAR NOT! I WILL OVERCOME IT WITH MY YOUTHFUL STRENGTH AND PASSION!! (laughs) Don't you just love spouting "youth" phrases like that? 'Tis why I love Lee and Gai!
Japanese Glossary
(Name)-sama: A suffix used to a person you hold in high regards, or someone with power.
Mendokuse: Troublesome
(Name)-san: A suffix used to address someone politely.
(Name)-kun: A suffix used to address a boy (usually in an affectionate way)
(Name)-chan: A suffix used to address someone younger then you, or used between very close female friends.
Daimyo: Duke, or Lord of a town (I think)
Hai: Yes
Name Meanings
Masuyo: 'to increase the world'
Takehiko: 'bamboo prince' or 'soldier prince'
Ichiro: 'first son'
