Author's Note: Thank you to all who have reviewed, followed my story, or favorited my story. I also want to thank Varmint because you are the best! I don't own Naruto or really anything but the plotline of this story.

Also, if you don't like my story; don't read it. If you don't like a part of my story; let me know. But do not flame my story; and do not tell me to go kill myself.

'…' Thought

"…" Speaking

Mind transfer/reading

Location

Training Grounds

It was a beautiful day in Konoha as Team 3 met up on their training field. The birds were out, the sun was bright, and all seemed peaceful.

It was a beautiful day for the kind of hard work that would end up with at least three genin annoyed and dead tired.

Genma couldn't wait to begin.

"Alright little hell spawns, I want to see all of your clan techniques. Mister-coat-in-the-middle-of-summer you're up first." Genma jibed slightly, but soon a grin found its way to his face.

He was happy that he could now force the little spawns to showcase their clan techniques. He almost felt giddy about it.

It took him a good ounce of control to keep himself from cackling wildly when he began to think of all the ways he could combines all the signature clan moves with one another.

Yakiniku Q

The leaders of the Nara, Yamanaka, and Aburame clans all sat around a small table in the back of a small and barely inhabited restaurant. They had finally found the time to meet and brainstorm as to why their children had been placed on a team together.

"So Inoichi..." Shibi began, his voice monotonous and hiding rather well the amusement in its depths, "You taught Ino how to poison someone?"

Shikaku let out a loud bark of laughter at the serious man's question. There wouldn't be a time when Ino poisoning her sensei wouldn't be hilarious.

"To be fair, he did sneak up behind her." Inoichi defended immediately, "And that was after she told him she was good with poisons. So really it was all his fault." The blonde finished with a cross of his arms, glaring slightly at the two men before him.

"Alright, alright. Let's get down to business." Shikaku interjected softly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture to get the attention of the other two. "Shikamaru said that they are the new infiltration either of you have any possible reason as to why they would use Shiranui as their sensei, though?"

"Well, I have heard he is as perfect as it gets at infiltrating. He can get in and out without anyone remembering what he looks like..." Inoichi informed his fellow parents, knowing this because of various conversations he'd had in the Intelligence Division. After a second, though, he hummed slightly, "Though it is odd that it's the personal bodyguard of the Hokage, do you not agree?"

"Yes... It is very odd. And this worries me. I would like to know just what the Hokage is planning with my son." The Aburame informed the men, voice laced with expertly contained anger and worry.

"Well then..." Shikaku breathed out for a moment in thought, then waved his hand dismissively, "The only way to find out what the Hokage is thinking is to have him tell us." His mind was already racing to put pieces of the puzzle together, although he was aware that he was missing a few. But he knew that that missing piece would be found with the Hokage himself.

"Then we have decided." Inoichi spoke up with a glance at his old teammate, "We shall ask for audience with the Hokage."

Shibi nodded tersely and quietly at the man's final words, all the while Shikaku merely closed his eyes and grunted softly. Inoichi knew the Hokage was a busy man. But seeing how three important clan heads of the village were asking to meet with him, he'd have to give them the time of day.

Mission Assignment Desk (One Month Later)

Genma was utterly bored and more than a little annoyed... He'd been here for hours. He had been summoned to be assigned a mission early in the morning and had yet to be given it. And, quite frankly, he was itching to get back to his little chickadees so he could start them on some new training exercises. He tapped his foot against the ground in annoyance as he thought about all the explosions that they would run across in the exercise... He was sure they were going to love what he had prepared for them.

…Well he definitely would.

Though come to think of it, they didn't seem to get fazed by many things he did anymore now that he thought about it... Huh... He would have to try harder to get them to let loose all those amazing screams of horror at what he brought to the table.

"Shiranui." The Third Hokage called out, bringing Genma out of his musings.

The senbon user stepped forward and stood at attention before the Hokage, prompting the older man to begin to explain the mission.

"You and your team are to go to the town of Miura in Fire Country. There have been reports of a local merchant involved in a child smuggling ring. The Fire Daimyō wants evidence to either support this allegation or against it. You and your team are to leave tomorrow as early as you can."

Genma took the folder with his eyes narrowed, then began to look over the papers as a slight frown pulled at his mouth. "This is a C bordering on B-Rank, Lord Hokage."

"I am aware."

The answer caused the senbon enthusiast to chance a glance at the Hokage, as if to make sure he wasn't just trying to pull Genma's leg. But seeing how the man was as serious as ever, the jōnin knew that this mission was real.

His team had just been given their first C-Rank.

He wasn't completely sure how to feel about it.

With a slight nod, Genma bowed to the man and headed out to meet with his team.

Once he was gone, Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief. He was happy his former bodyguard hadn't pitched a fit about the assignment.

"These kids will need to get their feet wet eventually, Genma." The man thought aloud, closing his eyes as he allowed himself a small moment of rest.

As he rejoiced in the calm, he began to think about the three children he had assigned to Genma. They were all intelligent and more than capable of protecting themselves. They were ready for a mission.

Unfortunately, his small moment of rest was broken when he realized he was going to have a meeting with the fathers of those very children later today.

Shibi Aburame wasn't all that bad. But Hiruzen would be lying if he didn't feel at least a little bit freaked out with the man's commanding aura.

Shikaku was mostly harmless... As long as something didn't interest him. But seeing how he had personally asked for this audience with him, Hiruzen knew that he couldn't count on the man's usual disinterest in these matters.

And Inoichi... He'd most probably be the most passionate of the three. It was his little girl after all.

... Couldn't someone choose to try and invade Konoha right about now? He was much more prepared to deal with something like that than with three worried and overprotective parents.

Training Grounds

Genma arrived at the training grounds and found all of the kids lounging at what had been dubbed 'The meeting spot'. This was really just a giant tree right before the forest, but it had become the chosen spot for meeting up. He could make out the purple outfit belonging to the sole female ninja on a low branch where she sat, while the Nara and Aburame sat on the ground beneath her, playing a game of shogi.

A quick whistle from him immediately caught their attention. Without any hesitation, the three scrambled to pick up the board and head over to him at their own pace. And this meant that Ino jumped over to Genma with wide and questioning eyes, followed by Shino strolling calmly behind her, all the while Shikamaru lagged behind with his eyes closed and hands shoved into his pockets. Once they were all in front of him, he tossed them each a file and gave them a minute to read over the mission before he explained it aloud.

"So kiddos, here's your first real mission. We have the fun of traveling to the town of Miura in Fire Country to gather evidence against a local merchant there." Genma told the group as he crossed his arms over his chest, fully prepared to continue speaking when Ino cut him off.

"Uh sensei, my family knows this man." Ino piped up while looking at a picture of the familiar man.

It was hard not to remember him. After all there was a picture of him and her father sitting proudly in their living room.

She fell into silence after speaking up, thinking hard about the man. It just couldn't be. This couldn't be the merchant they were supposed to find. There was no way her father would speak highly of someone that could possibly be evil!

Shikamaru clearing his throat caused Ino to break out of her inner monologue and look at the males around her.

Seeing the sharp looks her team was giving her, she realized they wanted an explanation. And so she gave them one.

"During the 3rd Shinobi War, there was a raiding party that took to attacking that town night after night, for about a week straight. A few of my fellow clans' men went to help to stop the attacks. They were injured in the fighting, so the man, Araki Daichi offered to let them stay in his home until they had healed."

She gave them a moment to absorb the information before she continued the story her father had told her many times with a bright twinkle in his eyes, "The town holds a small celebration on the anniversary of the fight. If I'm not mistaken, the party will be the day after tomorrow."

Genma nodded thoughtfully as the wheels in his mind began to turn. If what Ino was telling them was true, then they would have a possible in with the town that wouldn't seem suspicious. If the Yamanaka really were so important to the town, then... Although... he wasn't sure if he wanted to use the girl in such a way just yet. They were just beginning on missions. They hadn't even had experience with a simple infiltration yet.

Not like there was such a thing as a simple mission when it came to shinobi like them, but... With a shake of his head, Genma reminded himself he needed to send his kids off to pack so they were prepared for their mission.

"Alright my half-pints," The man clapped his hands together before pointing over in the direction of the village, "Go home and get a bag packed. We'll be out for at least 3 days, so plan for 4. We leave tomorrow morning at 8 am." He commanded, then finished with a bright smile, "Off you go."

With this he shooed them away with his hands, successfully dismissing the clan heirs.

Once they were all gone, the man sighed and shook his head, bringing his right hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. Ino clearly cared for the merchant they were to be investigating. And seeing how the man had been so kind to her clan, she would not want to even think of the possibility of him being the person committing these heinous crimes.

He could feel a headache coming on as he tried to think of ways to get past this new hiccup.

Yamanaka Compound

Ino came home while Inoichi was supposed to be at the Intelligence Division and Fū was working a shift with his Anbu team. When she walked into the living room, the young girl took a look at the photo of her father and Daichi Araki. She remembered asking her father about the man when she was younger. She had always heard good things about him and couldn't help but wonder who would accuse him of such a horrendous act. From what she had heard, he was too kind to even hurt a fly. Much less children.

Leaving the living room with a heavy sigh, she padded up the stairs and into her bedroom. The blonde went over to her vanity and grabbed her last birthday present from Fū, a set of jewel encrusted senbon. For a minute or so, she looked them over, entertaining the thought of bringing them with her. But for that, she'd want them to be ready for action...If she treated them now, they'd be dry in the morning and ready for use.

With a decisive nod, she set off to the greenhouse with the senbon in hand.

As she walked into the backroom where all of the harvested poisons were stored, the girl couldn't help but continue thinking about Daichi Araki. Her father considered him a great ally. And she knew it would hurt him immensely to find out he was capable of such evil.

Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts, the girl placed the weapons on the table. She couldn't focus on that now. She had to prepare for the mission now.

With her eyes narrowed in determination, she walked over the shelves and began skimming through the labels of the harvested poisons.

The blue eyed girl decided upon a jar with the words "Cicuta Maculata" on it. This poison came from the plant also known as Water Hemlock; with the poison in its roots, it was considered one of the most violently toxic plants. Symptoms of poisoning included painful convulsions, abdominal cramps, nausea and death. Though anyone unfortunate enough to survive this poison often ended suffering from amnesia and lasting tremors.

She placed the jar on the table, and grabbed a paint brush. Taking her kunai in one hand, she dipped the brush into the poison and began applying it to the blade. Following the same methodical procedure, she coated all of her kunais, shurikens, and senbons. Once the kunoichi was done, she placed the jar of Cicuta Maculata back into its spot, and took the brush over to the sink. Carefully, she washed the brush off before placing it in a jar of alcohol to kill the rest of poison and germs.

Leaving her weapons on the table to finish drying, the girl made her way back into the house to begin packing for the journey.

*-()-*

Inoichi and Fū sat at the dinner table listening to Ino regale them with tales of her day. "And then we got dismissed to come home and pack. I have my weapons out in the greenhouse right now. The poison should have finished drying by now, and yes dad I did make sure to pack the antidote." She answered her father's unasked question with a broad smile, looking at him with bright eyes.

"That's good princess." Her father chuckled with a slight shake of his head, then looked at them both curiously. "Say I have a question for the two of you." The leader of the Yamanaka said, and, once both were turned towards him, he continued; "How do you feel about me dating?"

"Is it that nice lady from the store?" Ino asked hopeful her dad had finally decided to move on.

"What's her name?" Fū asked, only ever having heard her called the "Nice lady from the store".

"Yes and her name is Yukina." Inoichi answered both questions with a smile. They were taking it better than he thought they would. Then again, Ino had been insistent about him dating again.

"We are happy for you daddy. We only want what's best for you." Ino spoke up for both her cousin and herself.

"Does that include when you barged in here while she and I were having dinner, and proceeded to tell the both of us about how you poisoned your sensei?"

Ino flushed at that, she really hadn't known that the older woman was in the kitchen. She definitely would have been a lot more tactful about her presence, but she was in a rush and worried out of her mind at the time.

"Well how about when Ino gets home from her first mission, we go out for dinner. And you invite Yukina, so we can all formally meet." Fū suggested, smirking at thought of his cousin poisoning her teacher. Oh he was never going to let her live that down.

"Sounds good to me." Ino quickly agreed, hoping her father would also agree. At the nod of his head, Ino let out a whoop and punched the air. She was excited to finally have a conversation with Yukina.

As the conversation continued between the younger generation of Yamanakas, Inoichi's thoughts turned dark. 'Daichi what the hell did you do?' The man wondered. He had never sensed any sort of ill will from the man. Surely it had to be a mistake... There was no way these allegations were true. They just couldn't be.

Shushuya

"And these two actually fell for it!" Genma exclaimed as he fell into a round of cackles, all the while motioning towards Kakashi and Tenzō.

He still thought it was hilarious that his little hellions had tricked them so easily. Hell, even Shino and Shikamaru admitted that they had not thought such a 'rudimentary'- as described by Shady himself- would have worked against two more than capable jōnin.

"Well at least we weren't the ones to get poisoned by our own team." Kakashi grouched back softly, eye still firmly planted on the book he had been reading all night.

Even though he was trying to play off Genma's amusement, the older man could tell it irked the younger to have been taken out by three genin.

Genma just laughed about the poisoning. He knew he had been at fault for that one. The rest of the jōnin and chūnin around the table joined in with his laughter, more than amused with the idea of one of Genma's brats actually poisoning him.

Once their laughter had died down, Kurenai leaned forward on the table with a soft smirk, "So... Now that you've had your team for a month, who's your favorite?" She questioned curiously, red eyes focused on the senbon enthusiast.

"I don't have a favorite." Genma answered back as he blinked, perplexed as to why he would have a favorite in the first place.

"Oh come on man, we all have favorites." Asuma breathed out around the ever present cigarette, which made Genma turn to him with a questioning look on his face. The man, after noticing his confusion, elaborated, "Kurenai's favorite is the Hyūga girl. Mine is the Inuzuka boy." He assured, then smirked, "So who is yours?"

Truth be told, Genma was surprised to be hearing this. Sure, he had never wanted to be a teacher... But he found it slightly odd and just a bit selfish to be picking favorites on a team. Weren't they supposed to be there for all of their students? To guide and to teach? Not to just find amusement in watching the kids blunder around?

... Nah... Neither Asuma nor Kurenai were malicious enough to leave two kids behind just to get their supposed favorite ahead. Maybe they had one they liked a bit more... But he was sure they'd never let preference blind them.

"No, I seriously don't have a favorite." Genma shook his head, then couldn't help but smirk, trying to brighten his mood once more, "I didn't even want this team!" He exclaimed, only to receive snorts and eye rolls from the various people around the table.

Clearly, they didn't believe him... But at least they were going to drop it.

A few minutes of amused and content silence passed between the group of shinobi and Genma couldn't help but begin to think again on the whole 'favorite' issue. It's not like he could pick a minion he liked more than another. They were all great in their own individuals' strengths. And when those were combined... Well... He was kind of starting to like calling them 'his' minions.

Too bad his content musings were interrupted by a loud, familiar, and very much unwelcome female voice.

"Hey! Genma! Sweet Lips! Buddy Boy! Love of my life!"

With a groan, Genma allowed his head to fall onto the table in a pitiful attempt to hide. He really didn't want to deal with Anko right now.

Oh... He could just see the smirk the woman would be wearing... Really, why was he even trying? No one could hide from her when she put her mind to it.

Sidling up to the booth, the purple haired woman slid in until her hip was pressed to Genma's. "So what's this I hear about you taking on a new genin team?" She asked her compatriot, curious as to how he got a team in the first place.

"Well you weren't here." Genma told the woman, knowing he'd instantly spark her interest.

"Elaborate on that one." She told the man as she stole his drink. It was only fair in her mind. In Genma's... Not so much.

"They wanted an infiltration team, and since you were out on a mission, they gave it to me." Genma explained, as he rolled the senbon in his mouth.

"So lemme get this straight, that team would have been mine had I not been on a mission?" She asked sharply, glaring at the brunet.

Smiling back at her, "Yep. The Hokage said 'You're the best at infiltration other than Anko, and she's away right now.' So you would have had it, if you had been in Konoha at the time."

The T&I specialist disappeared into a cloud of smoke, and everyone else at the table looked at Genma with varying levels of astonishment.

"You are fucking evil." Asuma shook his head with gravity, all the while he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

Not even he would have sent Anko after his father like that.

Genma just shrugged his shoulders. The third Hokage was supposed to be the best ninja in Konoha, so surely he could deal with her. If not... Well the senbon user was leaving in the morning anyway.

Front Gate

Genma was already waiting at the front gate when his little munchkins showed up. He really wanted to get this show on the road, especially since he had sent Anko after the Hokage like that. The brunette did not need to be here any longer than necessary if he wanted to steer clear from any possible repercussions.

"Blondie, send this Araki guy a message. Let him know that you are travelling in his direction and ask if he can put you up for the night." Genma ordered the girl, still uneasy about using her in such a way.

"I already did sensei. He believes I am travelling with two friends and an escort since my father wasn't coming with me." Ino informed the team.

She didn't believe the accusations against the man. Hopefully this mission would set the record straight; someone shouldn't have their life ruined because someone else accused them of a heinous crime.

Nodding his head at her, Genma knew that, sooner or later, he would have to break them all of the habit of looking at the world with rose-tinted glasses. "Alright then my little squishies, let's go. We'll reach the town by tonight."

They all bounded into the trees and left the village. Genma was happy that they didn't have to make the journey on foot, and that his hobbits had picked up the tree branch jumping skills pretty fast…. Well after he stopped scaring and throwing random things at them.

Ah... Those had been the good days... Especially whenever Shikamaru tried to hide from Genma's expert aim and only ended up being knocked onto the cold and unrepentant ground, followed by the cackles of his teacher.

Miura

Hours later, the team dropped down from the trees 50 feet away from the entrance to the town. Genma had set an almost punishing pace for the team. The senbon enthusiast did have to give the spawns credit, they didn't complain. Though it might have been because he had threatened them with a day of training with his old teammate; Might Guy.

They had learned on the tenth day of training just what a day with his old teammate could be like. Though Genma had to admit, even he had shuddered when Guy had presented his munchkins with green spandex monstrosities at the end of the day. His mongrels in Might Guy clothes... That was a mental image he had never needed.

Shino could feel his bugs buzzing in anticipation, and he couldn't blame them. He wondered what infiltration missions were like and how well he would be at them.

While Shikamaru had an almost bored look on his face, effectively making it seem as if he didn't care much, his brain was racing with the hundreds of scenarios of success and failure it created.

And Ino was determined to set the record straight; there was no way in hell that Daichi Araki could have done this! Her family was the best in the business at what they did; there was no way they could have missed such a thing!… Right?

"Sensei, there is Daichi Araki." Ino spoke up, eyes ahead on the figure standing in the middle of the road. He was flanked by a person on either side of him. One was a woman, and the other a young boy, no more than 4 years old.

"Okay little minions, remember to play nice. He doesn't know what we are here for, and we don't need to tip him off." Genma told the group; he knew they were smarter than that. But cautioning them couldn't hurt. Especially seeing how this was their first mission.

Once the group was within twenty feet of the welcoming party the older man smiled broadly and greeted them. "Hello, Yamanaka-chan. It is wonderful to see you again, though I do wish your father could have joined you in tomorrow's festivities. Who might your friends be?"

"Hello again Araki-san. My father does send regards; he wishes he could have been here. My friends are Nara, Shikamaru and Aburame, Shino. This is our escort; Shiranui, Genma." Ino answered with a bright smile of her own, all the while pointing at each male she introduced.

"It is a pleasure meeting all of you; this is my wife, Karou, and my son Takao." Daichi motioned to either person with a kind demeanor, then said, "We already have rooms ready for each of you. If you would please follow us; we will escort you to our home so you can freshen up and then join our family for dinner." His demeanor remained cheerful, keeping his body language open and inviting.

Once the group had reached the home, Karou had led the team to their rooms. Ino had her own room, while the boys and Genma shared a room across the hall. After Team 3 freshened up and changed their clothes, they all met with the family to have dinner.

Conversations flowed smoothly and Daichi even regaled the team with some of the stories of the town. As Ino listened to the stories, she began to feel an irrational anger towards whoever had accused this lovely man of such an atrocity. Then she felt guilt and apprehension; but they weren't her own emotions. They were hanging in the air, stifling to the girl.

Shikamaru noticed Ino's furrowed brow and gently squeezed her hand under the table to get her attention. He raised an eyebrow at her, a silent question: Are you okay? She just smiled back, her answer: We'll talk later. It was their own language, having been developed since their father's introduced them all those years ago to be prepared to be the next Ino-Shika-Cho.

Shino felt out of place as he watched his two teammates having a silent conversation. He understood that they had known each other for the longest time, but he had a feeling that didn't even begin to describe their relationship. Suddenly he was hit with a pang of jealousy, and realized that he wanted that. He wanted to have someone care about him like that and have a silent conversation with him.

Ino could feel the sudden onslaught of jealousy, though she wasn't sure from who. Just as soon as it came, it left, to be buried down again. She had always been called the prodigy of the Yamanaka clan. The child capable of surpassing her own father. The blue eyed girl never understood why everyone seemed to think she would be better than her father, until six months ago. That was when she started being able to pick up on the emotions of others, more specifically the strong ones.

Genma kept his attention divided between the stories being told and his team. He watched as Shikamaru and Ino had their conversation, as jealousy flitted across Shino's face only to disappear again. He needed to teach them to not wear their emotions out in the open like that; it would get them killed.

All of sudden laughter broke out across the table from the story of how Daichi had been chasing Takao around the garden and fell into the pond. Genma did have to give it to the kids, they at least knew when to make the appropriate noises.

*-()-*

Ino quietly slipped into the boys' room after everyone else had went to bed. As soon as she closed the door, Genma made a few hand signs and effectively sound proofed the room.

"Ino what was going on earlier?" Shikamaru inquired, referring to the incident at the table. He knew that everyone else on their team had noticed as well.

"I think it was Araki-san's wife who made the original complaint." She mused to the group, causing them all to wonder why she would think so.

"How'd you come to that conclusion, buttercup?" The senbon enthusiast wondered. It was probably a good thing that he put up the seal on the room.

If anybody heard this...

"I can feel the emotions of others, but only the really strong ones. And when we were having dinner earlier, I could feel guilt and apprehension. Also I noticed her body language was tense all through dinner, so I think the emotions were coming from her." Ino explained her logic.

"First: It's not what you know, it's what you can prove. We need evidence. Second: You all need to go to bed." Genma told them, anticipating the fight.

They didn't disappoint him. The chorus of groans, accompanied all of them trying to talk at once. Thankfully he understood the general gist of what they were saying: They were ninjas. They didn't need sleep. It's not fair. Blah, blah, blah. Which is why he was slightly surprised when he raised his hands and they all shut up.

"Who's the teacher here?"

The glares sent his way all had their own varying degrees of annoyance and irritation.

"But Genma Se-" Ino tried to argue, only to have him shush her.

"What was one of the first things I ever told you kids?" He questioned, looking them all over with a slight frown.

"Never look Anko Sensei in the eye for she will see that as a direct challenge to her dominance."

Quite frankly, he had been expecting the smart ass retort from either Ino or Shikamaru. But apparently those two had already corrupted Shades with their smart mouths.

With a glare in the Aburame's direction, Genma scoffed. "I did say that, but that's besides the point." Then he pointed all three of them, "You are all genin. I am your teacher. You do what I say when I say it and you don't give me any smart ass answers."

"That's so unfair! This is our mission too!" Ino protested immediately, "And I want to gather the evidence to prove that Daichi is innocent!"

She really believed the man was innocent... With a sigh, Genma shook his head. "And you will do that. Tomorrow. After you've had a good night of sleep and I've been able to think of the best plan of action."

The girl's face reddened in anger all the while both Shino and Shikamaru bristled at the idea of Genma not allowing them to be part of the plan making, but the man merely rolled his eyes at their theatrics.

"Bed. Now."

Shino and Ino glared back at the man, although Shikamaru breathed out. "This is too troublesome... See you."

At least Genma could always count on the Nara wanting to avoid any troublesome situations. That made wrangling the kids into bed much easier.

"Shikamaru!" Ino seethed after the boy, only to receive a wave as his answer.

"We are capable of finding information without alerting them of our true intentions." Shino told Genma as Shikamaru made his way to the bed, "We can do this, Genma Sensei."

He hadn't expected Shino to put much of a fight. He had always thought the Aburame were a passive and understanding bunch... Maybe he had been wrong...

"Trust us, Genma Sensei!" Ino huffed out, "We can do this!"

Genma looked over both kids for a moment, noticing their determined stances, and shook his head. Without a single word he moved behind Shino and pushed him into his assigned bed, "Stay there unless you want me to knock you out."

Then, once the Aburame remained still, Genma walked over to Ino, studied her annoyed features for a second, then shrugged and jabbed her in the neck, promptly knocking her out.

Shino would listen to the threat. But Ino would scratch and claw him if he tried to move her awake.

"I'll be back in a little while." Genma informed both boys as he unsealed the room and opened the door, then began to make his way in the direction of the girl's room.

Couldn't these kids just listen to reason without arguing for once?

*-()-*

Shikamaru was getting impatient. He just wanted to get this party over with, so hopefully they could find evidence and go home. It wasn't helping that his haori was itching. The Nara heir was wearing a traditional kimono in green and black, with his hair back in his signature ponytail. He had always hated getting dressed up and this was no different. It wasn't helping matters that all of the guys were ready to go, they were just waiting on Ino.

Shino looked calm and collected on the outside; dressed in a traditional blue kimono. Though he was just as irritated as the boy next to him. He had never been for crowds, or mingling, or people. They always seemed weirded out by him and the bugs. He supposed the phrase "grin and bear it" would be on his mind a lot tonight. The only saving grace for him was the fact that he was still able to wear his sunglasses.

Genma almost laughed at the two clearly frustrated boys. Thankfully he had managed to get away with wearing his normal Jōnin uniform so he wouldn't have to suffer through wearing those stifling clothes. He could tell just how uncomfortable they were in their traditional kimonos; it was another habit he was going to have to break them out of. They needed to be able to go into any situation and look like they belonged there. Tonight they were going to stick out like sore thumbs.

When the door to Ino's room finally opened, the three males turned to it with a collective exhale. They would finally be leaving!

Shikamaru and Shino had both been prepared to see their female teammate as always. They weren't prepared for what they were greeted by.

The blonde was dressed in a traditional kimono that looked like it was tailor made specifically for her. It was the color of eminence with silver flower design that started at the bottom and spiraled up to her shoulder, and a silver obi to tie it. Her hair was half-up half-down in a bun that was held together by her jewel encrusted senbons.

She looked... Amazing.

"Alright the gang's all here. Let's get this shindig over with!" Genma said with a clap of his hands to knock the boys out of the trance their female teammate had unknowingly just put them in.

*-()-*

Everyone in the town had made it out to the party. The house and backyard were overflowing with guests. Genma was having a hard time keeping track of where his minions were because of the sheer number of people. But he could see that Shino was keeping to himself in a corner and Shikamaru had found a shogi board and was playing against one of the elders of the village even though there was difficulty of spotting them with this large crowd. But this was only because they had barely moved from their spots.

Ino, on the other hand, was being escorted by Daichi and Genma was having a rather tough time of find them. And there was an uncomfortable pit forming in his stomach because of this.

Slipping through the crowds, the brunette jōnin made his way over to Shino and asked, "Have you seen the princess?"

The boy in dark sunglasses nodded his head in the general direction as to where his female teammate had disappeared to.

In the meantime, Ino was immensely grateful to Fū for showing her how to pretend to pay attention to people. It was an invaluable skill to have at this point in time; as she was listening to one of the village elders talk about their grandchild, with subtle hints as to him being a good match for her.

She felt a hand on the small of her back, as she was excused from the old woman and moved into another group of adults. Smiling, the girl accepted the glass of water given to her from Daichi. He must have noticed her licking her slightly chapped lips and taken some pity on her.

After taking a few sips of water; she bowed to the next set of adults she was introduced to. As she made small talk with them she had to stifle a yawn. Odd, she hadn't been feeling tired a few minutes ago.

Taking a few more sips of water, she tried to wake herself up. It was terribly improper for her to be tired at such a time.

She tried to remain awake. She really did. But then she began to feel dizzy and any thoughts of probably being tired were dashed away with something worse...

Daichi had drugged her.

The blonde haired girl looked at the man in confusion. She didn't want to believe the rumors, but... Why would he do this?

She felt almost as if she was underwater; barely able to hear anything, or see who was in front of her. As she tried to open her mouth to say something, her tongue seemed to rebel against her. She couldn't form a sentence. Not even a word.

"Oh it seems my guest is worn out." Daichi chuckled softly as Ino began to sway, her eyes drooping heavily. "Please excuse us, while I escort her back to her room. I want to make sure she doesn't fall asleep in the hall." Daichi easily explained with a small laugh.

Once the group had dispersed, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and moved her down the hall that they had been standing next to.

By the time he had gotten to the stairs, she was unconscious. He hefted her up and over his shoulder, then began to make his way up the stairs. A quick walk and a turn, then the man was standing in front of a fake wall panel.

Moving a small cut away portion to the side, the man looked from left to right to make sure no one was around. Then, once he was sure he was safe, he slipped the key into the lock and opened door. Once he was inside, he shut the door to prevent any other entry.

Setting the girl on the ground, he walked over to the cupboard in the room to grab the supplies he would need.

Once he grabbed those; he went to work on tying the girl up. Putting her arms behind her back, he tied up her hands. Then he moved on to tying up her feet; once he was done, he connected her hands and feet with a short piece of rope to make it even harder for her to move. Then he pried her jaw open, to place the middle of the rolled up handkerchief inside her mouth before tying the ends together behind her head.

"You're getting better at doing that." The voice slithered and filled up the room with an ominous presence.

Genma was starting to sweat. He had been all over the house, through the backyard and had even jumped into the middle of two different large crowds. But he had yet to find the girl. He was on his fourth sweep of the house when one group of men talking had said something that caught his attention.

"Too bad that girl got tired in front of Daichi. I would have loved to taken her back to her room; if you know what I mean." The man leered with his friends.

Making a mental note of who had said something as disrespectful as that, especially towards his little princess, Genma stomped down the murderous rage he felt rise up in him. And once he had managed to do that, he made his way towards where their rooms were. His first priority would be the safety of his team, once he made sure she was safe; he could take care of the other problem.

He almost wretched the door to her room out, and realized with a horror she wasn't there. She wasn't in the house. She hadn't been out in the backyard.

His little blondie had been kidnapped.

Fuck.