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What was going on? This was crazy. This was impossible.

Her reflection stared back at her, looking freaked out. She had long hair that was tied back with a ponytail, and bangs. She was wearing the same purple outfit and white leggings she wore as a genin. Her face looked childlike and innocent, without a whip of makeup.

She swallowed. What was this? A dream? She pinched herself. Wow, okay, not a dream. That pain was real.

A genjutsu? Yeah, that had to be it. Sasuke had trapped her in a genjutsu. She calmed herself down, and confidently formed a hand seal, focusing her chakra.

Release.

She expected to find herself on the cold, harsh, battlefield. She started to panic. She was still her in her room, with purple walls and purple, silk, curtains.

Okay, okay, calm down Ino.

If Sasuke created this illusion with his sharingan, it would need more than a simple genjutsu release in order to break.

Unfortunately, her 12-year old self knew only the basics, so all she could do was play along, put on an act, and hope the illusion would break when he got tired and ran out of chakra.

Or simply got bored. That jerk; he was probably watching her right now and laughing.

With a heavy heart, she headed downstairs.

Her mother and father were waiting for her with hearty grins.

"Morning." She grumbled, sitting down. This was the weirdest experience ever. Her father was supposed to be dead.

Her mom and dad chatted as they ate breakfast, about how this was going to be a great experience for her.

"Now listen." Ino's mom said seriously. "Being a ninja is not a joke. You have to be responsible about it." Then she hugged her tightly. "Just don't put yourself in danger, alright?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "I won't, mom."

When she pulled away, her dad put a hand on her shoulder. "You were the top of your class. You're going to make the Yamanaka clan proud. I believe in you."

Ino' s eyes got misty. "Yeah. Thanks, dad."

It was time to go. And Ino was glad, her parents were suffocating her.

When she was at the door, her mom nervously lectured her. "Don't talk to strangers. Don't be mean to your teammates. Listen to your sensei." She hugged her goodbye.

"We love you." Her dad told her.

Ino forced a smile and waved. "I'll be fine. And thanks. I love you too."

She walked to the academy. The fact that she had once been so worried about going to the Academy and becoming a real ninja seemed laughable now.

In front of her, she saw a flash of pink.

"Sakura!" Ino called. "Wait up!"

Sakura gave her a look of disgust. "Ino pig."

Ino frowned. She had temporarily forgotten. This wasn't real. This was all a sick, twisted, illusion.

But maybe Sakura would believe her if she told her the truth. When she tried to tell her parents this was all an illusion, they had simply dismissed it, thinking she was rambling because she was nervous.

"Sakura! This is all fake. You hear me? This is an illusion." Ino put her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "Look, I know we've had our problems in the past, but you have to believe me. Sasuke killed you and Naruto and put me in this illusion so I couldn't tell anyone. The only way your soul can go to heaven is if we break this genjutsu."

Green eyes stared back at her in shock. "Ino." She mumbled. Her eyes looked dazed. "I- remember."

Ino's heard jumped with joy. "You do?"

Sakura barked out a laugh. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you. You couldn't possibly stoop so low. Are you just jealous?"

Ino blinked. Okay, maybe the last part was kind of farfetched. No one would believe that they were actually dead and just walking around in an illusion.

Sakura laughed to herself. "Illusion. Yeah right Good one." And she walked away.

Feeling stupid, she sat down on a bench. Maybe this wasn't an illusion. Maybe those three years were just a dream.

"Excuse me, little girl." An elderly women said. She looked fragile and weak. "Do you mind pouring me a cup of tea?"

Ino was startled. "Of course, ma'm." She carefully poured it without making a mess.

The lady laughed. "Oh, pardon me, but that's not the right amount of sugar." She dumped it all out. "Do you mind doing it again?"

Irritated, Ino poured her another cup. This time there was too much sugar. The lady repeated this process, finding something wrong with each cup. Then Ino poured the remaining tea into the cup and handed it to her. To Ino's surprise, she drank it.

"Ah. You Yamanakas have always been patient."

'E-excuse me?" Ino asked.

"Another thing Yamanakas used to be good at…time travel."

Ino almost choked. "What are you talking about?"

The lady stared into her eyes. It seemed like she could see into her soul.

"I know." She said gravely.

"How?" Ino whispered back. The trees rustled in the background.

"Allow me to explain. In the future, you witnessed one of those worst tragedies that have ever occurred. After Naruto died, the village gave up. We were destroyed by Sasuke's forces and they soon turned to conquer the entire world, joining forces with the Akatskui and all the people they brought back to life. The world was consumed with darkness, without a trace of love."

Ino gasped. "No..that…can't be true!"

"It is." She nodded.

"Who are you? Ino asked. "How do I get out of here and back into my own time?"

"You can't." Her eyes flashed. "Just listen. I am a Yamanaka myself. Long ago, there were two branches of the Yamanakas. One controlled minds and excelled at techniques that involved it. The other controlled spirit. Mind and spirit together, that is the way of the Yamanaka."

"That's bull." Ino yelled. "This is insane! Where is that branch?"

"It's not. Listen to me. The branch that dealt with spirit was hunted to extinction!"

Ino's heart started pounding. This was too creepy.

"At first, nobody suspected them of a thing. Then, the truth was revealed. Those Yamanakas were special, they had the power to control time could bend it as they wished. The village saw them as a threat, because they could alter events. This power was too great, so they were murdered, much like the Uchiha clan."

Ino stared at her. "Then why didn't I know about this?"

"It was decided to be kept a secret, and anyone who spoke of it was to be charged with death. So the secret remained buried. Until now."

Ino was horrified.

"I, however, escaped, and grew up in a different land. Keeping my kekei genkai a secret. When I learned of what happened between Naruto and Sasuke, my only hope was to turn the hands of the clock back and transfer the world back 3 and a half years."

"Then why am I the only one who remembers that we went back in time?" Ino asked, a strange feeling washing over her. Was this all true?

"Because I enabled you too. Now I am giving you the responsibility. Protect Naruto and Sasuke. Keep them safe. Then maybe, the world will survive. But you only have one chance, because I cannot perform a jutsu this great again. To do this, I had to save chakra since I was a little girl."

"But why me?" Ino whispered. Nobody deserved to play the right of god. And to think there were people out there who could just change time as they pleased. She could feel herself getting angry. "Why not Sakura? Better yet, why don't you go back in time to when Sasuke's clan was killed and stop Itachi? Or to the moment when the Nine tails was sealed inside Naruto? So his parents wouldn't die?"

She scoffed. "I am not just doing this for the world. I am doing this for you. I am giving you a second chance, because I believe that if you are given the opportunity, you can achieve great things. So much potential…wasted…"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at you. What do you accomplish in the future? Nothing. You don't improve your skill as a ninja. You get tossed aside and remain easily the weakest of your peers. You let Sakura overshadow you, watching as she became the sannin's pupil. What did you do? Try to copy her and become a great medical ninja as well. But you failed. You never get to know Naruto, and Sasuke, the love of your life, wouldn't give you a second glance. Your sensei was killed and you couldn't do a thing. Your father was killed and you were too far away to help."

Ino's eyes stung with tears. "So I'm a failure, then?"

She pondered the question. "Somewhat. But be grateful. I am giving you a second chance at life. This time, you get to do it beautiful."

She was gone with the wind.

Ino tightened her fists. "This time…this time I'll do it right. And I'll protect them both."

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Ino sat at her desk in the academy, her legs shaking. How was this going to work? She felt so much more nervous than the first time this actually happened. To be honest, that time she was more concerned about getting on Sasuke's team. Man, she used to be so shallow.

"Would you stop…twitching? It's making my head explode." Shikamaru snapped.

Ino rolled her eyes.

"Are you nervous?" He asked.

"No, of course not, don't be silly."

"You're clearly nervous!" Sakura flipped her hair. "And you can forget being on Sasuke-kun's team. He's mine."

Ino didn't even bat an eye. The way her and Sakura used to behave was so…childish.

"What's so great about that guy?" Naruto grumbled.

"I don't get it either." Shikamaru shrugged.

Ino looked over at him. He looked so lonely; it made her feel bad for liking him for his looks before. Did anyone ever look past the good lookin' Uchiha genius and see the hurting kid inside? And now that she knew both of their clans were treated the same way, she felt like she understood him a little better. She vowed to herself that she would try to be his friend.

"You hardly know the guy." Ino said. "Has he even talked to you before?"

Sakura bristled. "Uh..."

"If you're only attracted to him for his looks, then you don't really like him. And instead of fawning all over him, have you ever tried to become his friend and get to know her better?" Some people might call her a hypocrite, because she did the same thing. But she had learned her lesson and Sakura should too.

Naruto stared at her in amazement. "Wow, that's deep."

Hinata sat down next to Ino. "Hi Ino. Um, hi…Naruto."

"Huh? Oh, hey." Naruto turned to Sakura. "How about going on a date with me?"

She ignored him and glared at Ino. "I do love him Ino, you're just a pig and you don't understand."

"Stalking him from a distance? Yeah. That's love."

Hinata looked wounded. "So what if he doesn't like her back? Maybe he'll fall for her later…someday…and realize that she's a great girl for him…" She looked at Naruto and blushed.

Sakura folded her arms, "Yeah, that's right."

Ino was beyond annoyed. They were acting silly. At this point, nobody really loved anyone. They were just silly crushes. They were only twelve.

"Would you guys shut up? You're annoying." Sasuke muttered, his voice sharp.

The entire room was hushed.

Ino felt her face turning red. "Um, excuse me, I can defend myself."

"You were doing a pretty crappy job." He said and looked away.

"By not acting immature and insulting them back?" She asked hotly.

"By letting them walk all over you." He replied.

Ino seethed. How dare he?

Iruka addressed the class. "Alright, settle down. Here are the final teams. Listen carefully."

"Team 8: Hinata Huyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."

Hinata looked like she was going to faint.

"Team 10: Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Sakura Haruno."

"Say what?" Sakura yelled, slamming her desk. "No way! This is so unfair! I have to be with those losers?"

"Who's going to be on Naruto's team?" Hinata mumbled.

"Yeah, who gets to be on Sasuke-kun's team?" Sakura demanded in a shrill voice.

Iruka sensei told them to quiet down. "Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Ino Yamanaka."

Pale white eyes and angry green ones turned to glare at her.

"Aw man." Naruto exclaimed. "Ino's cool, but I'd rather be with Sakura."

Sasuke didn't even comment. He looked at her and she looked away.

Exasperated, she blew her bangs. This whole 'protecting her friends' thing was going to be hard if they all hated her.

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Next chapter's coming soon :)