Otaku's Note: I know I'm moving kinda fast with Ino's training; but it's just because I wanna get down to the main plot quickly. If you're a Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha fan- and you're still here reading this... I suggest you leave now.
The bashing will only get more hellbent further on. And yes, dudes. I love Ino too~ Good to know that there are so many other Ino fans out there.
I really appreciate your reviews, and do keep on reviewing further on, they give me a lot of encouragement.
PS: I'M SO SORRY THIS IS LATE! FORGIVE ME!
Akai opened the doors to her shop, struggling with a few bags of groceries. Ino leapt off the counter immediately and helped her Sensei with the bags, babbling excitedly as she did so. It had been a few days since she last saw her teacher, and was eager to report all her plans to the red-haired Jounin.
"Whoa, slow down, Ino! Lemme get these things in the fridge first." Akai chastised, tossing her huge overcoat to Torris, who grunted as the brown piece of clothing covered his whole head.
The platinum blonde then got a glass of iced tea for Akai, and sat down next to the older woman as they got warm by the electrical fireplace. Akai's shop was very modern and roomy- and Akai herself lived on the fifth level of the building. There was a garden on the rooftop, and the remaining floors were occupied by facilities such as an indoor gym, a mini-library and of course, the third level where Torris lived.
How much did Jounin earn? ... Well, with the number of S-Ranked missions Akai had done (The redhead had shown Ino her past records), the amount of money she earned wasn't really surprising.
Ino enjoyed hanging out there; and helping Akai with the shop. She had gotten familiar with the rowdy customers as they came by; and they weren't as bad as she thought- just misunderstood.
"I presume you'll be getting a team, then? Am I in it?" The redhead joked. Ino nodded furiously. "Yeah! The remaining two members will be Sai and Anko."
"Well then, you'd better get going~ I heard that Sakura and Naruto are on a mission now- Sai's probably alone. This is the perfect time to talk to him."
"Alright then- see ya!"
Ino left the shop, racing towards where she last saw Sai.
Sai was bored. He had been getting really bored without Naruto and Sakura around.
The blonde and the pinkette were off on solo-missions each, leaving him in the village by himself. They probably wouldn't be back until a few weeks or so. Although Captain Yamato was in the village... Sai didn't particularly feel like hanging out with him.
The trip to the hot springs and that- that creeper expression just made him uncomfortable.
Snapping shut the lid to his ink well, Sai kept his brushes and drawing materials, stowing them away in his pouch. It was almost lunchtime anyway; he could go back to that ramen stand that Naruto had recommended him to for a meal.
On his way there, a flash of bright blonde came into view.
It was the Yamanaka girl.
He had been hearing rumors about her lately- how much she had changed and the company she was keeping with Akai. The ANBU were extremely weary of Akai, as once before... Akai had almost brought total destruction to the village.
Better not think about that, he thought, shaking his head and clearing his mind of all thought. Sai then turned his attention to Ino, who was approaching him swiftly.
"Hello, Sai." Ino greeted. Sai smiled wryly in reply.
"Good morning, gorgeous." The ANBU Root member said, remembering how Ino had flushed when he had complimented her with that word a few months ago. But now, Ino just raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Just calling me 'Ino' is fine."
The rumors were right. Ino really had changed.
"Okay then, Ino-chan. Can I help you?" Sai questioned. Ino nodded. "I presume you've heard of the upcoming Jounin exams?"
"Yes. Sakura-chan has been talking about them. She is planning to enter. And you?"
"Yeah, I'm planning to enter as well. But c'mon, let's go sit down somewhere to talk about this." Ino beckoned Sai to follow her. The duo made their way over to the popular Dango shop on the touristy side of town.
Taking her seat, Ino gave her orders to a nervous looking waitress. Sai did the same, and the two young Konoha Shinobi turned to face each other, somewhat awkwardly.
"You wanted to talk?" Sai began.
Ino nodded. "I'm planning to form a team; to go on an S-Ranked mission. It's - as I mentioned earlier - for the Jounin exams. I've already made sure that Akai will be joining- there's only you and Anko left to ask."
"Why me and... Anko?"
"That's because the both of you are probably the only ninja who're... professional enough not to judge me for my appearance. None of that matters anyway- it's the mission that matters. And I want to get the mission done as soon and as swiftly as possible, without any inner feuds."
Somewhat flattered by Ino's opinion of him, Sai momentarily turned to thank the waitress for passing them their food (Ino said nothing).
He had to consider this.
Danzo had told him that he should wait a little while before becoming Jounin. Danzo felt as though he wasn't ready; even if Sai had protested.
Maybe he could accept this mission, and from the Lady Hokage herself... Danzo wouldn't be able to do anything, then. That would shut the old geezer up.
"Alright then, Ino-chan. I'll assist you... but only if you don't tell Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun. I don't need them thinking I'm actually friends with you." Sai said, smiling falsely.
... If he wasn't crucial for Ino's mission, she would have beat the living daylights out of him right then and there- or at least destroyed all his art material.
And she could. She could kick his ass from the north to south side of Konoha now if she wanted to, thanks to Akai's training.
"Deal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to be on my way." Ino smiled tightly and left the money on the table for the waitress to collect.
Sai noticed she hadn't left a tip.
"What a bitch."
Dango...
... Were the best things since Kunai were created, Anko thought to herself as she strutted through the gambling district of New Konoha, chowing down on her newly bought snack.
It was night, and Anko was up to no good as usual, hunting down people to pick fights with and gambling her weekly salary bonuses away on games and booze.
Lady Tsunade's favourite gambling den did live up to it's name- there were all kinds there. People who had plenty of money to spare and gambled heavily on card games and also spending it on their plump wives and mistresses, smoking cigars as they did so.
People who owed heavy debts to the loan sharks and trying to earn money quickly- there were the lucky and... unlucky ones.
And then, there were the people like her.
People who weren't accepted in normal, safe stores, and were on their own to venture into the rowdier places amongst the rejects like themselves. Anko wasn't complaining though. She'd take the tough crowd over those pampered sissies bringing out their children for ice-cream or mushy couples on immature dates.
Shuddering at the thought of her being a normal citizen, Anko flicked the dango stick towards the direction of the rubbish bin. It managed to hit the bin's opening directly, and swiftly fell into the chute.
"Anko-san? Could I have a word with you?"
A voice came from behind the Jounin. Startled ever so slightly - she had notice a faint chakra following her, but had thought nothing of it, I mean, who could possibly mug her? She was the Anko Mitarashi - Anko turned around.
A punk-looking platinum blonde was facing her, icy blue eyes focused directly on her own set of mysterious purple ones.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be? Better make it quick, missy." Anko threated, her trade-mark smirk evident on her well-featured face.
Ino calmly gave a respectful bow. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, Anko-san. And I request that you join me in an S-Ranked mission, along with Akai Gekido and Sai." Ino said humbly. She knew that she couldn't afford to offend the purple haired Kunouichi.
After all, it didn't really bother Ino about respecting the older woman- Anko was very well known for the same reasons as Akai was.
Almost destroying the village, betraying it... and being rejected and deemed a social outcast by the rest of the villagers, in fear that they would be betrayed once more.
The three of them were pretty much in the same situation, really. Though Ino wasn't as deep as they were... yet.
Anko was silent for a moment.
Then, she chuckled.
"So... you're Akai's apprentice? Figured you'd come to me for help. I'll gladly join you- provided I get to kill people. It's been a long time since I've smelled the stench of human blood." The Jounin said, somewhat ominously.
Ino felt herself repressing a shudder at her senpai's dark tone. "You... know Akai?" The Chunin managed to squeak out.
The older woman laughed, approaching Ino and slinging an arm around the platinum blonde's stiff shoulders. "Yeah, 'course! How could we not know each other? Where d'you think I got my piercings from, eh?" Anko chuckled. "And I've heard about you from Akai too. You got guts, princess. I'll give you that."
Inwardly, Ino felt a swell of pride. Did this mean that Anko held a certain amount - no matter how small - of respect for her? It felt amazing.
"T-Thank you... Anko-san." Ino said, managing a small smile.
"Sure, kid. I dun really care about who I'm helping much... as long as it's not with some sissy pansy and I get to kill some people." Anko shrugged, and began to walk away. "Now go tell Lady Hokage. I'm not gonna be following you when you persuade her though- I'm still in her bad books from last week... nearly decked her stupid niece over the head when I got drunk."
And with one final, chilling laugh, Anko's figure disappeared into the crowd.
Ino could hardly care about her location - one of the nastier sides of town - because she had gotten all three members for her team!
She felt confident about this; two of the strongest female Kunouichi in the village and a somewhat strong Chunin like herself, who was part of the legendary Team 7 (no matter how much Ino hated to admit it, Team 7 was probably the best amongst all the Chunin teams) were going to be working with her on an S-Ranked mission.
Leaping slightly with triumph, Ino made her way back to her home, where her parents would surely be waiting up for her with a lecture prepared.
Who CARES? Nope, not her.
Morning had to come eventually... did it?
Ino crawled out of bed, still half-asleep, and quickly washed up, got dressed- this time in a simpler outfit; black T-Shirt and jeans, with her usual combat boots. She didn't need to be chased out of the Hokage building the moment she set foot in it.
Combing her hair into it's punk style, Ino fitted on her gloves and decided to stow her Scythe away in a scroll. She kept it in her back-pouch, whenever she wasn't using it.
Her parents greeted her rather stiffly- they were still upset over the fact that she had decided to return home at only midnight.
Feeling rather guilty, Ino promised them she would be home by at least eleven in the future. However stuffy and old-fashioned they might be, they were STILL her parents. They cared about her.
And she cared about them, if not slightly.
Thirty minutes later, after a quick breakfast and leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Ino found herself in front of the posh glass doors to the Hokage Building. Bracing herself for the looks she might get for her attire and newly gained reputation, Ino entered the building, her face fixed into her stoic expression once more.
...
To her surprise, the Hokage Building was extremely different from being on the streets.
People on the streets fixed her with raised-eyebrows, glares and alarmed glances. But it seemed as though the Hokage Building and its staff were much too important to care about a random teenage girl walking through their halls.
A couple of female clerks were discussing issues about their paperwork and the profits to doing business in Sunagakure. An important looking businessman was browsing through his documents and two of the security guards were surveying the lobby and the security monitors carefully.
The Kunouichi was impressed.
These people took their jobs very seriously.
Ino turned around the corner and went upstairs to the forth level- where the Hokage's office was.
She had to give her name and Identity Card to the secretary sitting by the front hallway, then was escorted directly to Tsunade's office. The escort knocked on the doors three times, until Lady Tsunade's voice gave him permission to open the door.
Huffing, Ino recalled of the stories Sakura had boasted about to her.
The pinkette had never been asked for Identification, nor did she need to got through such troublesome procedures every time she visited. It was probably because Sakura was the Hokage's pet, Ino thought bitterly.
"Lady Hokage will see you now. Please be respectful and answer appropriately." The escort said, and turned to leave, his nose high up in the air. Ino really wanted to burn or even obliterate something.
These stuck-up, higher positioned baboons needed to be taken down. She could see why Akai spoke of them with such disdain.
"Good morning, Tsunade-sama." Ino said, bowing to the blonde woman seated at the oak desk.
Unlike the experience with Anko, Ino held absolutely no respect for the Hokage. She was a drunk, a gambler and probably would've ditched the village the moment it was in deep shit.
But maybe... she was just jealous that Lady Tsunade had chosen Sakura over her to be an apprentice.
She'd have to think over her opinion carefully, Ino decided.
"So, Ino Yamanaka. What is it? Is it about another issue with Kurenai?" Ino flinched as Lady Tsunade mentioned Kurenai's name.
She had been receiving complaints from the raven haired Sensei via the Office of Shinobi Conduct. But never in her life did she expect the Hokage herself to know of their squabbles (in Ino's case, dreadful, boring and one-sided arguments) over who had what training ground.
"... No, it's not," Ino continued after a momentary pause. "I'm here because I want to apply for a mission. An S-Ranked mission, to be precise." Ino finished all in one breath.
Tsunade raised her eyebrows. "Is this about the Jounin exams? Because it clearly states that without a Jounin's accommodation-"
"I've already got a Jounin Sensei who backs me up."
"... But Asuma's... not around." Tsunade said, not looking Ino in the eye.
Feeling sick at the mention of her former Sensei's name, Ino clenched her fists.
"No, it's not... Asuma-sensei," She managed to say his name without tearing up. "It's Akai Gekido. She has been training me for these past few weeks, and I'm really proud to have her recommend me."
The Hokage was slightly alarmed. Akai? Akai Gekido? That person meant trouble half the time her name was mentioned. And Ino... well, look at her. It was like seeing another Akai- only this time, blonde.
"Ino... although I'm impressed by your determination to join the Jounin exams... I have to say- I'm concerned about the rumors surrounding you lately; and about your new... Sensei, as well. Are you sure you're ready for an S-Ranked mission? There's always time to wait another six months. Other Kunouichi like yourself are preferring to take it slower, like TenTen and Hinata." Tsunade tried to advice the younger girl, but Ino refused vehemently.
"No, Tsunade-sama. I want to take up an S-Ranked mission and take the Jounin exams as soon as possible." Ino declared boldly.
The blonde Hokage detected no fear or arrogance behind those words. Just pure courage, determination and drive. She was impressed- even Sakura showed a slight amount of arrogance when telling Naruto of herself taking part in the exams.
Why could Ino filter through courage... and courage alone?
"... Alright then. Be back here later at noon sharp together with your team. I'll be giving you your mission brief, and you'll have the rest of the day to prepare your supplies. Then tomorrow, you'll set out on your mission." Tsunade instructed.
Ino bowed quickly and thanked the Hokage. She was terribly excited.
"Ah- Ino, before you leave... be sure not to brag about this to any of the other Jounins... especially Kurenai; since she's been having some issues with you lately. I don't want them harassing me again, got it?" The Godaime said, leaning back into her armchair.
Ino nodded.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Time Skip: Noon, Hokage's Office
"You are gathered here today to receive an S-Ranked mission. No information may be leaked, traded or even exchanged in casual conversation amongst fellow ninjas. This is top-secret information; if you are caught distributing details to this mission to anyone outside the people gathered here now, you will receive a heavy penalty issued by myself or the Office of Shinobi Conduct." Tsunade issued the warnings and general rules to the four Shinobi who were gathered in her private office.
"Noted, Tsunade-sama." The four of them chorused... well, except for Anko and Akai, who only nodded stiffly and grunted in acknowledgement.
Tsunade felt annoyed by this rude gesture, but knew better than to question them. They had been like this for years anyway... to the Hokage before her and everyone else as well.
"... This mission involves the Mineral Country. You are to act as bodyguards for the country's Daimiyo, as there have been rumors of an attack on him by the Rock Country. Taijiya Ken will be travelling to the Country of Tea for a festival. Ensure his safety, and do not, under any circumstances, provoke the man. Taijiya-san has been known to hold huge grudges out of the smallest things. We don't need trouble like that, now do we?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the group, mainly at Akai and Anko.
If they caused any trouble, Tsunade was going to punch the oblivion out of them both. This time for real.
"Are there any other relatives that will be travelling with him? Other possible targets?" Ino asked.
"Good question, Ino," The Hokage praised and Ino felt pride inwardly. "His daughter, Taijiya Satsumi, will be travelling alongside him as well. She is an important figure, but not as important as the Daimiyo himself. And you needn't worry about her- The Daimiyo has already hired Temari and Matsuri from Sunagakure to protect his daughter. So focus on protecting the Daimiyo himself and leave the remaining jobs to Temari and Matsuri."
Ino was surprised- she didn't think the Kazekage would allow his sister on missions such as this. She didn't think Temari would be happy to take part in group missions, unless it was with Kankuro or Gaara.
Temari had been hanging around Shikamaru lots of times now, and so the two Kunouichi had gotten chances to chat really often.
Ino wasn't all that familiar with Matsuri, but that didn't really matter- she'd probably be okay with Temari around.
Shrugging, Anko adjusted her coat properly.
"This is kinda weird- assigning us to a bodyguard mission under these circumstances." The purple haired nin grunted.
"What's weird about it?" Ino asked.
Akai turned to her student. "Well, for bodyguard missions, usually they'd send ANBU. Not normal ninja. Because a bodyguard is supposed to be discreet and not noticed by others; something the ANBU is perfect for." The redhead explained.
"I couldn't agree with you more, Akai," Tsunade said. "But Taijiya-san wants his bodyguards to be showed off in broad daylight, so the rogues and bandits will think twice before attacking him."
"That doesn't really work. The rogues are far too stupid to analyse their advantages and disadvantages before attacking." Sai stated bluntly.
"True, true. But oh well- you might get the chance to practice your battle skills on them. I know you, Anko, will be liking that very much." Tsunade said, fingering the folder to their mission she held in her hands.
The purple haired Jounin grinned.
"You'll have the rest of today to plan out a strategy and get your supplies ready. Be sure to set off for the Country of Minerals tomorrow at 5am sharp; it'll take you about five hours to get there if you don't make any stops. The Daimiyo and his daughter will be ready to see you at noon."
With regards and final warnings, Tsunade allowed the team to leave and prepare for their next S-Ranked mission.
And for Ino and Sai, their first.
"No need for any books, Ino! I'm gonna be there as well- anything you're not sure of, just ask me. And pack light. You won't want to be lugging THAT-" Anko pointed to the rather over-sized campus bag Ino had prepared. "... around when you're fighting."
The platinum blonde flushed and took out a much smaller and suitable bag for the journey.
"Sorry... I'm kinda nervous about this." Ino confessed.
"Yeah, don't worry, kid. I had my moments too. And if your parents have got anything to pass to you while we're gone, they can just pass it over to Torris- he has no missions for the next few weeks, 'cause his teammate's still recovering in the hospital."
Nodding, Ino stuffed in a few more scrolls that summoned kunai into the bag, and also packed a few energy bars in case they couldn't find any food stands.
"Okay- now we're all packed. Let's go grab dinner- and then it's an early night; you can crash with me." Akai said. It was still five in the afternoon, but Ino understood what Akai was worried about.
The mission would be long and tiring. It would be best to get as much relaxation and sleep before they started their five-hour run the next morning.
oOo
Later on at a crowded ramen place, Ino, Akai, Anko and Sai were seated at a table, maps spread out before them and food balanced on their laps and edges of their tables and such. People around them started to stare- but stopped immediately after seeing Anko flick out a kunai and implant it onto her plate.
Anko chuckled darkly. And she was only trying to cut her meat, too.
"If we run past the forest of Kinoko over her," Sai pointed to a certain area of the map. "We'll be able to avoid rogues better- because usually bandits carry heavy artillery and ride horses- and the rocks and uneven ground would make it harder for them to catch us. And although we'd be able to take them down easily, we can't afford wasting time."
Marking down the points with a red marker, Akai thumped Sai on the back roughly. "Good call." She commented.
Ino stiffled a laugh as Sai choked slightly on his food after Akai's violent - but casual - gesture.
They continued to plan out strategies for the rest of the meal, and they left promptly at seven thirty. And as Akai suggested, Ino crashed over at her house- Sai and Anko joining them at the last minute.
Anko was convinced Sai was gay anyway, so she and Akai didn't mind Sai sleeping in the same room as they did. Ino had grumbled slightly, but then remembered the issue about getting enough sleep, and got into her sleeping bag soon enough.
Setting about five alarm clocks to go off at four the next morning, they each wished each other good night, and fell into the blissful land of dreams.