Keeping Busy

Ino woke up extra early to track Lee down. He and Guy were racing around the village neck to neck. She decided to wait of them at their usual training spot. It wasn't long before she heard the thunderous pounding of their footsteps. Two green whirlwinds skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust.

"Tied! The fire of our rivalry never flickers!" Guy declared with a blinding smile.

"Yes Guy sensei!" Lee pumped his fist in the air. Over the past few years, Lee grew a lot taller. Narrow waist with broad shoulders. She never would have thought he would grow to have such a fantastic physique. However, the rest of his original appearance stayed the same. Same hair style, same big eyes and same thick caterpillar eyebrows. If only he wasn't such a chicken when it came to tweezers, he could stand to have a better chance with Sakura. She tried to help him out, but the little wuss squealed like a girl when she plucked one measly little hair. What was up with him? He could endure shattered bones and scarred knuckles but not eyebrow plucking?

"Oh, Ino." Guy and Lee both turned to her. "What can we do for you?"

She smiled sweetly. "Actually I wanted to ask Lee if he could spare a couple of hours to train with me."

"Of course." Lee bobbed his head and Ino beamed. Finally!

They moved to a smaller training ground, away from prying eyes.

"I need some taijutsu practice." She admitted when they reached a clearing. "Have any useful pointers?"

Lee grinned, popping into his good guy pose. "Plenty. Should we see what your strengths are?" He dropped into a ready position, arms out stretched, palm up. Ino copied his stance. "Come." He summoned her, folding his fingers up.

She swiftly moved, testing her reach. He blocked her punch like it was a bothersome insect. "Don't be predictable." Lee commanded. Ino nodded. She flicked a kick, sending him jumping back. A round kick, flipping into a cartwheel as he swung his leg. She dropped into a leg split. Placing her hands to the side of her, she lifted her body up, moving into a handstand and flipped backwards. Lee nailed her with a full foot kick to her stomach as she stood. Ino grunted, struggling for breath.

"You leave yourself open when you do that. I suggest a replacement jutsu. Hide the seal when you do your handstand." Ino nodded, holding her stomach. He dropped back into another stance. "Come." She did three flips forward as Lee stood still, just as she was about to land, she straightened her left leg and it hit the ground hard where Lee once stood. Tucking into a roll, she faced him in a crouch.

"When you get to your third flip, launch into the air."

"And do what?" She shot at him. He just shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll think of something. If you manage to get your opponent in the air with you, they will become confused and not know what to do, or how to attack. Remember the chunnin exams? Both Naruto and Sasuke utilized this method." He gave a good hearted smile of pride. Sakura told her that both of the boys learned that from Lee the fist time they met (and battled). "Come."

She moved fast—chakra infused fast, catching his chin and sending him up. Then she dropped to the floor, a two leg lick to his chest. He went flying and he began to fall she finished with a swirling kick with both legs. He was knocked to the side, landing on the ground with a loud thump a good distance away from her. Lee stood from his landing crouch.

"Good distancing move. Find more combo moves while in the air. The higher up your opponent is the more damage is done to them when they hit the bottom." He said with nod. Ino smiled her breathing a bit labored.

"Thanks." They walked back to the village chatting lightly. "Hungry?" Ino asked. Lee gave his famous good guy grin.

"Its fine—" She yanked his arm to the nearest food vender.

"It's a small thanks for helping me this morning." Lee's appetite almost rivaled Choji's, but it was the least she could do. Ino settled for lightly sugared oatmeal. When Lee left, she wanted to start practicing, but first she needed to talk to one more person.

Kurenai looked surprised when the opened the door.

"Ino! What brings you here?" She stepped aside to let her in. Kurenai's place was nice and peaceful. Little toys were strewn about and an open box of cereal was on the counter.

"Where's Kai?"

"Kurenai smiled. "With Shikamaru." Ino nodded. The two were pretty close. Kai looked a lot like Asuma but with Kurenai's red eyes. The five year old was full of energy. She babysat for him a couple of times and when he left, she was so grateful that she didn't have any little terrors. She loved the kid, but was glad when she gave him back to his mom. Because of Kai, Shikamaru wasn't as lazy as he once was. Note, she said not as lazy because Shikamaru was still pretty lazy.

"I came to ask for some pointers in genjutsus." Ino took the offered seat. Kurenai busied herself pouring tea.

"Oh, what do you want to know?"

"Is there anyway to use the molded chakra from my family's jutsus and apply it to a new genjutsu?" A delicate tea cup was placed in front of her. Kurenai smiled and Ino was instantly wary.

"I'll give you some pointers if you agree to watch Kai this weekend."

"Ino's mouth dropped open. "Shika—"

"Has a mission. He leaves tonight."

"Cho—"

"Is helping with the genin survival training." Kurenai raised her brows. "Deal?" Ino moodily sighed. Asuma's dealing and wheeling seemed to have rubbed off onto Kurenai.

"Fine."

"Good. Now, to answer your question, Lets see…your mind-body-disturbance jutsu gives you a great handle on learning and creating new genjutsus. Both create chakra imbalances in the mind only you mind-body-disturbance is a ninjutsu. I bet, if you tried, you can use the chakra you mold with your ninjutsu. It could be like adding another seal to your ninjutsu. Find a way to build a genjutsu off of the chakra you already molded with a slight tweak." At Ino's blank expression, Kurenai stood and grabbed something from Kai' toy box. It was three long wooden blocks. She sat two of them down on the table, a red one and a blue one.

"Part of a genjutsu has to do with messing with people's brains. Your chakra takes control of the mind by affecting the five senses." She pointed to the blue block. "This represents the chakra you use to do that. It's very similar to the chakra you use in you mind-body-disturbance. Got it?" Ino nodded. Kurenai pointed to the red block. "This part represents the other chakra of you mind-body-disturbance jutsu. This chakra is what makes it a ninjutsu. All you have to do is change this part," She replaces the red block with a green block, "to make it a genjutsu."

The light bulb in Ino's head turned on. Ohhhhh I get it now. I never did genjutsus before but when my dad taught me the mind-body-disturbance ninjutsu I actually already learned half of what makes a genjutsu. I can use the same amount of chakra and have a brand new genjutsu!

"Thank you!" Ino shook her head with a smile and stood up. She was making her training schedule mentally when Kurenai stopped her.

"I'll drop him off Friday morning." Ino's smile faded. "I'll be back on Monday." She grinned and Ino couldn't help but sulk a little.

"Troublesome." She muttered and left. She needed to stock up on groceries before Friday.

XOXO

Just because the Hokage granted her relief from missions didn't mean that Ino did nothing but train. Although that would have been great, she was a medical nin and she had to work in the hospital. Half the day she was at the hospital or making house calls, the other half she was training alone.

It took a lot out of her but she didn't complain. Her chakra endurance was steadily increasing. She felt it every time she worked on her budding genjutsu…her ultimate surprise. With a grin, Ino opened the next door and stopped dead in her tracks.

"What the hell are you two doing?" She demanded. Two young genin both hand hands around each others throat. The room was a total mess. Blankets pulled off the beds, curtains hanging lopsided on the rings. Food splotching the walls and floors.

"He started it!" The shorter of the two boys pushed the other boy. The taller one skidded back, glaring at the other.

"I don't care what you were arguing about." She snapped and put a hand to her hip. "Before you're discharged, both of you are going to clean this mess! Got it?" She succeeded in frightening them. The boys nodded frantically. "Good. Get working." She slammed the door with a smile.

"God you're scary." A squat nurse with a head of curly hair was clutching her clipboard to her chest." Yeah, that was right…kids.

The next rounds were nothing special. A man who cut himself while doing some home repairs, a young girl who had a head cold, three people who suffered mild chakra exhaustion. Finally, she ended her shift with an old lady who had three teeth and a heart condition.

"Good afternoon." She greeted her with a friendly smile and motioned her to sit up.

"How have you been?" The older woman gave a wrinkled eye smile as she held out her hand for Ino to take her pulse.

"Been better. How about you? Your brother finally send you some help?" She took the frail wrist into her hands. Ino's chakra emitted a faint green hue as she mentally counted.

"Oh, I try not to be a bother. He has a close family and I don't want to take any of his children away." She said kindly as Ino placed the woman's hand back on her lap.

"I think your pride is the reason." She murmured as she shook back her hair and wrote a couple of things down on her clipboard.

"Humph. You're one to talk. How old are you and you're not married?" Her dark eyes were glittering with amusement. Ino smirked and then placed her hand on the woman's chest, above her heart. Her chakra sent rhythms of the woman's heart back to her. Huh, still the same. This old coot still has some kick left in her. How old was she? Seventy-three? She glanced at her clipboard. Seventy-five.

"When you're a ninja, marriage is the last thing on your mind."

The woman snorted. "Don't give me that. I was a ninja and I was married.

Don't you want a family someday?"

Ino sighed. "I still have plenty of time." She grumbled.

"Don't you have an eye on someone? You can tell me." She gave Ino a little nudge with her soft withered hand. Ino gave into a laugh. The old lady was so silly, fawning over boys like she was a teenager again. Grinning, she caught the old lady's gaze.

"No." She scribbled something down before tucking her pen behind her ear and leaning against the wall.

"There are plenty of good looking men around here. Why not?"

"There's no time for guys right now. My ninja career is all the matters at the moment." She said with an amused smile playing at her lips. Yes, after this, it was back to training. She needed to go to the weapons store and gather some things before escaping to her private training grounds.

"Your priorities will change sooner than you think." Ino was walking out the door when the old lady said that. She shivered and turned back. "You'll see." The woman smiled, showing all three of her teeth. Ridiculous, Ino thought to herself before submitting her patient files to the chief resident. Creepy lady doesn't know what she's talking about.

XOXO

The weapon shop she chose was a small structure that smelled like oil and leather. It was a dark place with rows and rows of glass cases that proudly showed off the shiny deadly things. She trailed her fingers on the warm glass surface, eyes taking in each weapon. Then she saw it, the Snow Star. A strangely crafted weapon that had two balls that flipped open into a shuriken-like-blades with four razor sharp sides. The twin balls were linked to a chain, one on each end. Ino didn't know why she liked that weapon. It looked difficult to handle, but she had to have it. She had to master every aspect of it.

"Snow Star." Ino jerked her greedy eyes up to see her tall slender friend Tenten. "You like it don't you?"

Ino smiled. "I came to buy it. You think I can handle it?" Tenten shrugged and motioned the weapon shopkeeper to them. He took out the weapon and placed it gently on the glass countertop. Tenten picked up one of the metal balls and held it up to her face. Her brown eyes expertly scanned it before she grasped the white chain and began spinning one of the balls.

"You have to run your chakra through the chain to get the balls to split open into a sharp and deadly star." Her eyes darkened as the ball swished open. Ino blinked from her surprise as the dull lights from the store flashed wickedly on the blades. "You can make the chain stiffen as well, like so." The limp chain straightened like snake taking the offensive. Tenten's chakra flashed blue as she let the chain grow limp once again. The star retracted into a ball once more. "I think you can handle it if you work hard." She gave the Snow Star to Ino. Ooff, it was heavier than she thought. After her purchase, Ino and Tenten walked a little ways together.

"Lee told me that you came to him for a few pointers and now you're buying you very first weapon. I've never seen you this into training before." Ino shrugged.

"The jonin exams are coming up and I have to give my best." She said slinging the chain over her shoulder. The balls hit her in her thigh and lower back as she walked.

"I guess." Tenten gave her a curious look before Ino laughed.

"What?"

"It's just…" Tenten frowned. "Never mind. If you need help, come and find me." With that, she left.

Alone, Ino began walking to her training place. She was just keeping busy, she thought moodily. People change ever so often. Besides, she was doing this for a reason.

Her training area rested in a wild array of drooping trees and untamed brambles. The ground which was one a spread of thick emerald grass had new splotched of fine sand and soil. Nailed to three surrounding trees were expertly placed target pieces and off to the right was a training dummy. She took a piece of paper from her worn bagpack and placed the animation seal on the dummy's forehead. It shook awake, flexing its limbs in a low clatter, eyes glowing mustard yellow.

Her workout and training always started out the same. Some hand to hand combat, then target practice, followed by chakra control exercises, ending with practicing her new genjutsu. She ran through them quickly, eager to try out her new plaything. She did some test swings, getting use to the pull of the bottom weights of the balls. Her hands began to rub raw and she put the Snow Star down, healing herself and digging into her bag for her gloves. She wrapped her bare hands in soft bandages before putting on her fingerless purple gloves. The last thing she needed was calloused skin. Flexing her fingers, she picked up the chain again and began swinging it, running her chakra through the chain. It went stiff for a second before turning limp and slamming her side. Wincing she quickly healed her wound before starting again.

Her arms ached three hours later as she dropped the chain. Taking deep breaths, she rolled her neck and rotated her shoulders to ease the tension. She was sporting a few bruises and nasty cuts all over her body.

I think I got the hang of the weight; she thought looking at the Snow Star that crushed the grass. I still need a lot of work though. She grimaced as she picked up her bag and weapon.

It was close to midnight when she got back to the village. By then she was cooled down and was in a reflecting mood. A good training session burned a lot of calories and by the time she had a good hand on the Snow Star, her arms would be toned. She had to be careful though, she didn't want to be butch.

"Late night?" She grinned at Sakura who was passing her.

"The best. You're just getting off?" They began walking together.

"I had to brief the morning nurses about Tsunade's new rule. No submitting finished patient files unless there are two signatures of okay.

Ino groaned. "No way! That's going to be a pain in the ass. The only ones who can sign off on charts are me, you and that bitchy head nurse."

Sakura laughed, stretching her hands to the night sky. "That means we're going to have to come in more often."

"More hours? Until when?" Ino demanded with a hand on her hip.

"Until Yuki and Niko are promoted. They only have three more classes and then we're off the hook for a while."

Ino snorted. "It cuts into my training." She grumbled.

"You're working really hard aren't you?" Sakura said softly, but Ino caught the hint of an undertone.

"I want to give it my all." She defended instantly, slowing her pace.

"If I didn't know you any better I would say you're keeping busy for a reason. And not just because of the exam." Ino stiffened. Was she that noticeable? Tenten said something similar to her when they left the weapon place.

"What do you mean?" She tried to sound casual. Sakura always read her like a book.

"Well, you've never trained as hard as you are now. When you came back from your mission, you just jumped into the jonin exam. Even when you were training for the chunnin exams, you never worked as hard as you're doing right now. I'd say you're keeping busy to keep your mind off of something." She gave her a mysterious sideways look. Ino swallowed the lump in her throat.

"It's nothing like that." She said in a smooth tone and gave Sakura a little smile that barely tugged the corners of her lips. It was hard keeping eye contact with her when she was telling half of a lie. "I almost failed my last mission because I couldn't keep someone alive. Three robbers should have been a piece of cake, but the guy I was supposed to bring back ended up dead."

"He died?"

Ino nodded. "I'm a ninja, graduated at the top of our class. I should have been more prepared." And if it wasn't for that stupid scroll thief, I would have not done the thing I did. I would be more open to Sakura and not feel like gutter trash.

"Everyone makes mistakes Ino pig. It's not like you to get all depressed like you are now. Did something else happen?" Sakura was getting too close. She was too perceptive, especially when it comes to me. She's making me want to cry! Why does she have to look at me with those bright, innocent eyes?

"Nothing important." She finally said. They were a few blocks from her apartment. "See you later billboard brow." She waved her off.

After a scalding hot shower, Ino dropped to her bed. She was working hard because she needed to conquer her weaknesses. If she just concentrated on her training she could get over one big distracting weakness and that was thinking about her mistake in Fire Thistle.

XOXO

"I got your message. Finally ready?" He stood upside down on a tree branch.

"Yes."

The first looked around their surroundings. "Where are the others? Is it just you?" The second person shrugged carelessly.

"I told them of my plans. It's up to them is they wish to join me or not."

"I see. Then let's go…Sasuke."