A/N: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last Airbender.
The world spun at her feet as everything and every surrounding object disappeared, the fog mixing into the air and in a mysterious way, into her body. If she hadn't known better it seemed as if the fog was alive, alive and beckoning her somewhere. The silky wind blew against her skin as the spinning ceased, and all at once, the fog did so as well, leaving only the beach again. The waves parted up and down, crashing on her feet, her hair blowing in the wind, and her mind spinning, she looked to her left to see Shikamaru running towards her. It seemed she was falling. Back arched gracefully, and arms held down to her side, it was like a ballerina's decent into madness. Her eyes unfocused as Shikamaru got closer, His hair seeming shorter, and his clothes off colored. "Shikamaru-kun…Blue isn't a very good color on you…" It was then her mind and body gave out, collapsing into his hands, warm, comfortable, and different.
Shikamaru couldn't believe what he had just witnessed, Ino, his long time friend and team mate, had disappeared in an array of smoke, right before his very eyes. Chouji and Asuma both appeared at his side, and all three ran towards the spot where Ino once was. Remnants of the fog Ino spoke about was visible, but all at once disappeared once they reached their destination. Her hairband had fallen off, but besides this, nothing remained of the once proud female Kunoichi. "Asuma-sensei…." Chouji's voice reverberated throughout the empty beach, filled only with the setting pain of three strong men. "Asuma-sensei….We have to find her." Chouji's voice broke into a spludder, but recovered once more, and looked at Asuma with big eyes.
"Chouji, our mission was to deliver a scroll to a foreign city. We were fooled, ambushed, and now the man who sent us on the mission is a possible threat to the village. We have no messenger bird to send a report. We must all head back to Konoha, report in, and we can only hope Tsunade-sama can send a team of Black Ops to search for Ino…" Shikamaru expected this much from his sensei. He knew it would be pointless to argue over staying to find Ino, yet, even through all the troublesome moments, Ino was his comrade. A shinobi of the Leaf…He could not abandon a comrade. And he could not abandon a friend. "Asuma-sensei, I think Chouji might have a point. Ino isn't strong enough to protect herself wherever she may be. We have to find her…Tch, she's our friend.." Chouji smiled and agreed with Shikamaru's words, and they both approached Asuma.
"I repeat…Our only mission was to deliver the scroll. The scroll is now in Ino's possession somewhere else. We have no information where she may be, and for all we know, ambush reinforcements may come back with stronger shinobi. Our objective now is to head back to Konoha and report in. Do I make myself clear?" His words were swift and decisive, breaking the reverie of both Shikamaru and Chouji. Shikamaru swore under his breath and turned away. He knew it was pointless. He tried, but anyway he looked at it, there was no changing Asuma's mind. There was---
A punch echoed in the air, and Asuma was sent tumbling into the sand, as Chouji's activated Partial Size Jutsu de-activated. "How dare you. She was our teammate! Your STUDENT! She may have called me fat…But she is one of the few people who understands me. She is one of my important people. I will not let you abandon her!" Chouji's shouts echoed, and Asuma raised himself off the g round, brushing off the dust from his jacket. "Chouji…I'm sorry." Asuma's words felt real this time, and it seemed like what he said, was what he meant. "If I could, I would have us scour the Earth itself…But our orders cannot be compromised. We as shinobi, are trained to have no feeling, and if a comrade disappears in battle, we assume the worst… As far we know, Ino is now presumed MIA. We must report this, to have Tsunade-sama send a team out immediately. And when she does, we will be the first to go out. I promise you that." Chouji brimmed with appreciation for his sensei agreed, and all three headed back to Konoha, Asuma's words sent chills down Shikamaru's spine, he knew that Asuma was one for the rules, and when he said something this drastic, he meant it. Maybe he might just let him win a game of Shougi…
"We've got to do something about her…" came a male voice nearby Ino. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, and she felt somewhere mixed between a dream and reality. Another voice chirped in, a female voice, "What are you recommending? We leave her here?" The girl had a tone of sarcasm in her voice, but Ino could hear a deep bond between the two voices. "No, I mean, we should take her with us. It's not safe around here. She'll be safer if we care for her." Another female voice butted in, this time a younger one. " Well, I bet you're only saying that because you like her. If it were some old man, you'd probably say we couldn't trust him. What's not to say we cant trust her?" Ino felt a surge of dislike towards the girl but pushed it away. 'It's only natural to be hesitant. Every shinobi knows that.' Ino decided she had better wake up, knowing that the longer she feigned sleep, the easier it would be to tell. "By the way, I can feel the girl's heartbeat, and she's awake." Ino's eyes flew open, and the three kids eyes centered in on her. The one she had mistaken for Shikamaru was now seen in clear view, and the differences were everywhere, besides the pineapple shaped hair. The girl next to him was wearing almost identical clothes, with a sparking blue necklace that reminded her of her own, and she quickly grasped hers, making sure it was still there. The final girl sent a gasp through her body. "You're a Hyuuga?" Ino looked the young girl up and down, she was wearing a green attire, and her eyes were a milky color, almost the same as Hinata's and Neji's. "Hyuyuyu-awhat? My name is Toph. I'm an earthbender." She said it matter of factly as if Ino knew what in the name an earthbender was. Before she could dwell on it, the other two introduced themselves, First the girl, who smiled and extended her hand. Ino grasped it and the girl introduced herself. "I'm Katara. A waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe." She beamed at herself, and Ino let out another utter of confusion before the boy introduced himself with a blush, and an open hand. Ino shook his as well, while he said, "Heya! My name's Sopha! Wait… I mean Sokka… I got confused… Not that I forget my name or anything, just that I was a little nervous….Not saying that you make me nervous of course! Why would I be nervous around you? WAIT! I don't mean it like that! What I meant was---" Ino let out a small laugh, and the two girls known as Katara and Toph joined in. "Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka, shinobi of the Hidden Village of Konoha." Everyone stopped to look at her in confusion, each head turning towards her again. It was Sokka who spoke again, trying to redeem himself from his earlier mistake. "Oh yeah that place! Man, I remember when me and Aang went there. Crazy place! Lots of trees and leaves!" He blushed, and the two girls sent out a rambunctious laugh, getting a glare from Sokka. "So you've been there?! Are you related to Shikamaru? You guy's look a lot alike!" Ino's feelings went from surprised and confused to anxious. If the boy actually knew where Konoha was they could head back together! They could… Ino was suddenly aware of her surrounds. She was no longer on the beach, but on a furry white blanket, and somewhere behind Sokka, she saw clouds rolling by, and a distant figure approaching…Flying?
Sokka, Katara, and Toph all looked towards Ino's gaze, and got up to wave. "Aang!" "Hey she's awake!" "Any luck finding food?" The shouts rang out as Ino's mind went through a fuzz. She remembered being on a beach…An ambush…She reached in her pack and found the scroll still safely wound up. Maybe when she gets settled in with these people, she could find a way to bring up the topic of where she was…By the looks of the Sokka boy, he was trying to impress her about knowing Konoha. And what in The Hokage's name was an earth and water bender? And if those were there, then there was probably an air and fire one as well…Was she even at home? Her thoughts swam in her brain before a hand painted with a blue arrow reached in front of her. "HI! I'm Aang! An Airbender!" Sokka stepped in front of him, and with a look of dignity also added his imput. "He's a good friend of mine, and he's the avatar!" If Ino could look anymore confused, she wasn't able to tell. 'avatar? Element benders? Where am I?' Her thoughts were interrupted again as Aang brought his hand back out. "Hello?" Ino looked up out of her own reverie. She yanked his arm and shook vigourously, knocking the boy around, as his eyes grew white, and his face green. "I'm Ino Yamanaka!" If she had to be around these people that saved her, whoever they were, she would need to make friends. All five sat on the white fluffy cushion, staring each other as the seconds crawled by. "So…Ino was it?" Katara's voice rose, along with the tone of suspicion. "What were you doing in Fire Nation beaches?" Ino gave her a confused look, and decided she had to do something. Say something. "Sorry to be blunt and all, but to be honest, I have no freaking clue what any of this is. Element Benders? Avatars? Flying white cushions?" She sat down with a huff as all eyes stared at her sudden short outburst. Katara sat down again, and decided to make a move as well, signaling to her friends, and the real conversation began.
"So you're saying, An elemental bender can only bend one element, except the avatar," she pointed to Aang, "You, can control all four. The fire nation is a nation that declared war on the others. They wiped out the entire Air bender tribe, besides Aang, and tried to destroy both the Water and Earth. The avatar,you, sent in an invasion force, lost, found me on a reconnaissance mission, and we're now heading back to inform the other people in your group of my identity, and how I can help you guys, and how you can help me?" Ino gasped for breath, because of her constant talking, she barely got the whole paragraph out of her mouth. "In a nutshell yeah!" Katara stated simply with a smile. In the few short hours they had spent flying, all five spent their time telling the other mysterious one(s) their story, and who they were. Toph, Katara, Sokka, and Aang are all part of a resistance to fight against the Fire nation. She was a hidden leaf Shinobi who was teleported hear by an unknown jutsu, and is a primary illusion and bloodline jutsu caster. She also noted her own Chakra system, was very similar to description of their Chi reserves. "This is so confusing…" Ino let out a sigh, and the other 4 laughed, and soon enough Ino joined in as well. 'At least I'm not alone right now..' Ino smiled and continued her own story. What a long day this was going to be.
A/N: Well theres the 2nd chapter, R and R, and tell me what you think! I know the story is choppy now, but the intense parts will be soon, hopefully either next chapter, or the one after that. Who do you think Ino should pair with if anyone?
Aang? Sokka? Zuko?! Review me your opinions!