Ocean Ripples
By Noriellie
Summary: Yamanaka Ino was carelessly tossed aside for a certain Uchiha boy. This was war. What if Ino was placed in Team 7? A lot would change of course, considering the fact that she didn't even like Sasuke, nor did she hate Naruto. In fact, if anyone made her maternal instincts go berserk, it was him. Undecided pairings.
Warnings: Slight AU, swearing, OOC-ness, character death, slight character bashing, violence, gore
Disclaimer: So much more Ino screen time
Chapter 4
A lone figure stood amidst a training field. Dummies and weapons littered the grass, an obvious sign of rigorous training. The figure's knuckles were bleeding and a few cuts and bruises were shown on her bare skin.
Ino immersed herself in training once again. She'd definitely catch up to the boys! She was already getting stronger and stronger each day, she could feel it! But she knew just getting physically stronger wouldn't be enough. Focus, chakra control, jutsu proficiency—all those things and more made up a good shinobi.
Inoichi had been helping her with her Mind Disturbance Jutsu as well as teaching her some genjutsu. She really wanted to work on her elemental jutsu but she knew she wouldn't be able to do that without knowing what her natural affinity was. She'd always assumed it was Earth but lately, she wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe she'd ask Kakashi when he trained with them again?
"Training so vigorously will only hurt you in the end," Sasuke commented. She ignored him with an indignant huff. "So too with stubbornness."
"Don't need your advice, oh wise one," she said sardonically. Throwing a kunai right at the centre of her target to prove her point. He gave no response, only watching her train.
The two continued like that for a while, the occasional battle cries and whimpers breaking the peace. The rhythmic thumping as weapons hit their target filled the silence. The sun began to set, casting an orange glow to the objects. Ino stopped to admire the light glinting off her kunai. She frowned. She needed a new one, she observed.
"You done now?" his voice broke through her thoughts. She glanced at him.
"No," she said.
She formed her seals and targeted a nearby animal. Animals were much easier to control and took a lot less chakra. Though she felt kind of guilty, she had no choice. No one would be able to call her weak if she trained. And to her, being called weak was not something she was very fond of.
The poor rabbit hopped around helplessly. She made it do a pirouette, a skip, a split and a very complicated dance before she released the poor thing. Scurrying away as quickly as it could, it disappeared from her sight.
"Now are you done?" Sasuke asked once again, irritation clear in his voice. She sighed.
"Alright, what do you want?" she asked.
"Naruto won't tell me what happened after I passed out," he shrugged. He had interrupted her training for that?
"There's not much to say," she replied. "Haku sacrificed himself for Zabusa and Kakashi-sensei was about to finish him off when Gatou came. You know what happened after that."
"I'm not stupid Ino," he growled. "I felt it too."
She froze. Sasuke had felt it in his unconscious state? Maybe he was a sensor too? Thinking about it, she discarded the idea. He was just sensitive.
"So?" she snapped. If he thought differently of Naruto because of such a thing…she didn't know what she'd do to him.
"What was that?" he sighed. So he didn't know yet? Ino pursed her lips. It was illegal for the adults to tell their generation but it wasn't illegal for her to tell her friends.
"Not here," she said. "I'll tell you later."
With a frustrated groan, Sasuke finally left her. She stared at the kunai in her hands. Would she be able to tell him? Heck, she didn't even know if Naruto himself knew what it was inside him. Resolve set, she focused on practicing her genjutsu for a while.
xxxxx
"We're what?" Ino screeched at her sensei. They were too young for the Chuunin exams, what was he thinking? He stared at her with a droopy eyes. She felt her own visible eye twitching in annoyance.
"It's either all three of you or none of you," Kakashi said. She gritted her teeth. She had no doubts her two teammates would want to enter. One look at Naruto's pleading eyes had her sighing in defeat. With a pout, she snatched the application form and stomped away.
Stupid, reckless morons! They could very well die from the Chuunin Exams. Who were they kidding? They had barely been able to come out alive when they fought Zabuza.
But she knew she'd forgive them easily.
Ino walked down the streets of Konoha with a defeated air about her. She spotted children playing in the park, faces alight with joy and childish innocence. The gentle breeze caressed her cheeks as she thought of the less stressful days. She was feeling nostalgic now. Perhaps she'd play with the children today?
Platinum blonde hair swayed behind her as she made her way to the little kids. The ground scrunched underneath her feet. She always did love children. They were pure and adorable; who didn't love them? She snickered, alright, maybe not all of them were angels but still!
"Can you play with us, nee-chan?" a kid with brown hair and olive eyes pleaded. She grinned at them all and nodded.
Ino lost herself in the resulting happiness that usually came with dealing with the village children. The cool air hugging them and the afternoon sun watching over them, she felt herself relax.
xxxxx
Lee and Guy were weird, to say the least. That's not what surprised her the most though. Sasuke had activated his Sharingan. When had that happened?
"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed. Woah indeed. The room was packed with Genin.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura practically purred at the Uchiha. Ino nearly threw her out the class.
"Get away from my Sasuke, Forehead girl!" she screamed, back to her fangirl mode.
"Just because he's your teammate doesn't mean he's yours, Ino-pig!" Sakura retaliated. "And, if you must know, Sasuke-kun even went out of his way just to save me from a bunch of Sand-nin!"
"Leave it, Ino," Shikamaru intervened. She huffed at her childhood friend.
"Didn't know you were entering too," Chouji stated, his ever present bag of chips handy. She grinned at him.
"Of course we are!" Naruto gave them a thumbs-up.
"We've been training for this, we definitely won't lose," Kiba announced. She raised a brow. So the whole of Rookie Nine were here.
"We won't lose either!" Sakura said. A fire ignited within her.
Ino was about to respond but she froze when she felt the sinister chakra nearing them. She turned and saw the culprit. It was the same bespectacled guy from last time.
"You're the rookies that just came out of the academy, right?" he grumbled. "Squealing like a bunch of school girls, geez."
He told them to look around. Sure enough, everyone's eyes were on them. Ino glared at each and every one of them too. She wouldn't be intimidated by a bunch of guys! She agreed that they were young but she wouldn't back down now that she was finally here. Yamanaka Ino would not be seen as a pathetic little girl!
She watched as Kabuto befriended her friends. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't trust him," she whispered to Sasuke. He nodded, eyeing the white haired ninja. He could also feel the weird aura the guy seemed to emit.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I won't lose to you losers," Naruto yelled. His outburst was met with killer glares. She promptly smacked the back of his head. What an idiot!
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" she screamed. Now they had everyone as enemies!
She proceeded to scold the blonde, failing to notice the chakra signatures rapidly approaching them. The next thing she knew, Kabuto had thrown up on the floor. Her mind working at a thousand miles per minute, she assessed the Sound nin. They looked really dangerous.
"Settle down, you brats!" Morino Ibiki, top interrogator and torturer of Leaf appeared in a puff of smoke. Behind him were the other examiners.
Ino ground her teeth as she took her seat. Naruto was a few seats away. She sighed. Just their luck that the first part was a written exam. She stared intently at her paper. She had no doubts that Sakura would have no problems answering the questions. Her concern lay with a certain loudmouthed blonde.
"Listen carefully to these rules," Ibiki announced. Ino immediately jumped to attention. The more she heard, the more her grin grew. They were allowed to cheat then. "Begin!"
Ino waited for Sakura to finish her furious scribbling. She didn't even glance at the problems. Ah, the joys of mind jutsu. She could just pop into anyone's mind and go out whenever she wanted. She hid a smirk. All she had to do was to make sure she didn't get caught cheating.
Glancing over at Sasuke's face, she could tell he was having a hard time answering the questions. Curiosity getting the best of her, she read the questions…What the hell was this? She doubted half the people in this room could answer these!
She jumped as a kunai whizzed past Naruto's head. Someone had failed. She couldn't help but feel sorry for them. With a sigh, she stared at a certain kunoichi's head. The girl sure was taking her sweet time.
She felt Sasuke's chakra shift. Snapping her head to him, she saw his red pupils. He'd finally caught on? Really, she expected more from him. She swiveled her head back and resumed her staring.
'About time,' she thought with a huff. Pretending to be sleeping, she aimed at Sakura's head. In an instant, she was in her body. Suppressing a triumphant squeal, she began memorizing the answers. Maybe she'd help Naruto after she answered it?
She returned back to her body and copied the answers down. A few more people were disqualified as she did so. She ground her teeth, hoping that Naruto wouldn't get himself caught.
She was about to possess Naruto when Ibiki spoke again. She stared at her teammate. Guilt engulfed her. If only she had used her jutsu earlier! In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if he did raise his hand. It was then that she came to a decision; she would save him from the embarrassment and do it herself. She was about to raise her own hand up when Naruto finally raised his hand.
Only to smack the table and shout out. "Don't underestimate me!" he bellowed. "I will not run!"
She shook her head. What incredible guts this kid had. "Good decision. I congratulate you on passing this test."
She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. They passed. They were one step closer to becoming Chuunin now.
xxxxx
Mitarashi Anko was another weird character. She was like a more sadistic version of Naruto. Ino shivered at the thought. No, it was best not to dwell on such things.
"Don't die on me," Shikamaru had warned. She'd responded with a smirk and a curt 'I should be saying that to you.'
The Forest of Death was a creepy place. Gaunt looking trees towered over them, casting shadows all over the forest floor. There was not a single ray of sunshine. Ino instantly disliked it.
Their team stopped for a rest near some trees and bushes to hide. She kicked Naruto away when he started unzipping right in front her. Really, where were his manners? Didn't he know how to be a gentleman? She hid a grimace. She really should have taught her teammates proper manners earlier.
"Man, that felt good," Naruto announced as he zipped his pants back up. She immediately noticed something. This chakra signature wasn't Naruto's. She was about to attack him when Sasuke beat her to it, pointing out the flaws of the henge. The enemy smirked and released the jutsu.
Ino immediately sprung to action. No way was she going to be useless in this fight! She searched for Naruto's familiar chakra and dashed off. Sasuke was trapped by the enemy nin. She threw a kunai in his direction, making the enemy jump away to dodge. Distraction successful! Too bad he got away.
Calming her nerves, she untied Naruto. How had he gotten caught so easily? Seriously! It was just one guy too. The trio went to hide underneath a tree's roots. It was as good a resting place as any, really. It was spacious too, not at all uncomfortable .
"Listen up guys," Sasuke began.
'Taking charge again?' Ino thought with a frown.
"We need a password."
Ino quickly caught on. She wasn't an idiot, she could feel the chakra coming from the bushes. There was no way Naruto would remember such a long thing, especially since it was only repeated once. She praised Sasuke's quick thinking in her mind. Maybe he wasn't that bad of a leader.
That plan was quickly put to the test when more enemy nin came. They got separated with Naruto again. If this Naruto could remember the song then he was a fake.
Sasuke's plan worked.
It was the ninja with the abnormally long tongue. She tried not to think of the repulsive sight she'd witnessed earlier on. She was met with an even more gruesome image when the nin swallowed the Earth scroll. She almost gagged right then and there.
"Let's begin the fight for the scrolls," he drawled. "With our lives."
They both stiffened. This was obviously not an enemy to be trifled with. Fear overwhelmed her senses, disabling her movements. She could barely breathe!
Sasuke shielded her with his body. She felt her eyes water. What was the point of getting himself injured? He shouldn't risk himself for her weakness. Ino jumped away with steely resolve. She was not going to be useless! She silently reached for a kunai and poised herself; ready to strike.
One kunai and the snake was dead. Sasuke stared at her with panicked eyes. He hadn't noticed the snake at all. She offered him a reassuring smile.
"You shouldn't relax so easily," the enemy said, coming out of the snake's skin. How much more disgusting was this going to be?
He climbed tree, his body growing longer, as if he were a real snake. They were sooooo screwed!
"Sorry Sasuke," Naruto said. The snake guy was pinned to the trunk. "I forgot the password."
"Naruto you idiot, you coming here won't do anything!" Sasuke yelled. Ino frowned at his negativity but didn't comment on it. She was thinking along the same lines anyway. This guy was way too good. She didn't think that even Zabuza could match up to his killer intent. There was so much it made her sick.
She held her breath when Sasuke offered the scroll. Really, what choice did they have? There were plenty other chances to get scrolls. They had five days after all.
Of course Naruto wouldn't have any of it. "There's no way a coward like you is the Sasuke I know!" Ouch, that had to hurt.
Ino was shell shocked when Naruto ran headstrong at the weird snake guy. How reckless could he get? She moved to intercept him, to save him from his fate but she was too late. A large snake appeared and Naruto was hit. His chakra was already wavering. Then she felt it, the Nine-Tails' chakra. Her eyes widened as Naruto punched the snake.
The enemy blew some strange powder at Naruto. Was that poison?
"Sasuke!" she yelled. "Snap out of it!"
The snake dived at her unmoving teammate. She cried out; she was too far away from him now! As if by some miracle, Naruto had gotten up and was now preventing the snake from going any further. Tears of relief and anxiety pooled at her eyes.
"You alright…scaredy cat?" Naruto taunted.
The idiot was was raised by the enemy's tongue. This was bad, this was very bad. What the hell was he doing to Naruto's seal? She let out a battle cry, throwing her shuriken at him. He merely deflected those and threw Naruto away. As if…as if he were some kind of trash. Ino saw red. With speed she didn't know she possessed, she caught Naruto mid-fall and glared at the Uchiha.
"Man up and fight!" she growled. Seeing him still, she let out a grunt of frustration. If he wasn't going to fight, she would!
"Mind Disturbance Jutsu!" she cried. She relinquished the satisfying feeling of being able to be of some use. She made the enemy nin strangle himself. She knew how this had to end. It was either him or them. It seemed like it was going to be him until he had somehow regained control of his movements, shutting her out with brutal force. It was enough to have her seeing black spots. She grimaced at Sasuke.
The Uchiha came to life. She smiled as he fought the snake nin then collapsed to her knees, extremely worn.
"My name is Orochimaru. If you want to see me again, then survive and pass this exam."
xxxxx
"Oh, Sasuke," Ino whispered. She shuddered at the dark chakra emanating from the weird seal on his neck. Tears welled up in her eyes. Fatigue was beginning to kick in. She so desperately wanted to sleep. A soft groan escaped her lips. No, she couldn't do that. If she did then there was a good chance all three of them would never wake up again.
She wiped Sasuke's forehead. He was burning hot, almost unbearably so. Whatever that snake guy did, it looked really painful. She glanced at Naruto's sleeping form. What about him? The Nine-Tails' chakra receded when the snake guy touched his seal. Had he resealed it? Her forehead scrunched up in thought. There was so much she had yet to understand. It was frustrating!
"Up all night?" a voice asked. She turned around, dreading the what she saw. It was the three sound nin from earlier! Just her luck.
"Kill her," the leader commanded. She sprung to action. She managed to land a few hits before being bombarded with an ear piercing sound. Her legs gave way.
Just in time, Lee saved her. Ah, she hated this. She promised herself that she wouldn't be weak! She promised herself that she'd be useful! Frustration coursed through her whole body.
"I don't really understand the situation but I will help you," Lee announced, smiling at her. There should be more people like him. "For now, please stay out of my way."
She nodded and backed off. Sasuke's chakra was volatile, almost distracting her from the battle completely. She fought to ignore it and focus on the fight unfolding in front of her very eyes. The feeling of worthlessness was back. She'd been training herself to the bone but it still wasn't enough. Guys like Lee were way above her.
"Lee!" she called as he fell. His ear was bleeding. There was no way he could move after that attack!
She readied herself when the enemy came running towards her. She couldn't use that technique anymore; her chakra was low enough as it is. If she tried it again, she'd probably die from chakra exhaustion. The situation was a lot more dire than she'd originally expected.
Lee blocked the attack intended for her. He was quickly knocked down though. Her heart went out to the poor boy. She clenched her jaw and stopped them from finishing him off. Like hell they'd kill him! She would kill them first. Unmistakable killer intent rolled off of her in waves. She wasn't going to be some useless little damsel in distress! She was Yamanaka Ino for Kami's sake!
Vibrations and air pressure—those were the enemy attacks. How was she supposed to fight against that? She could try to use genjutsu to distract them but that wouldn't last long and she knew it.
She prepared some seals but was stopped dead in her tracks when the female sound nin knocked her over and held a kunai to her throat. She cursed herself for getting caught.
"You have really nice hair and skin," the girl commented. "If you have time to look pretty then train, female swine." That struck a nerve. "Kill thick eyebrows in front of this little bitch." Two nerves, actually. How dare her!
Ino activated the genjutsu. They were trapped in a place with no sound. She smirked at the female sound nin. A simple kunai to the throat wouldn't hurt…
The genjutsu was cancelled as she escaped the girl's grasp. Another successful distraction. She covered a laugh with coughing.
"How dare you mock us!" they snarled at her. Her eyes widened in fear. Oops, perhaps that was a bit stupid.
"Kill her," the leader demanded. The other two grinned at her. Fighting the fear, she took out her kunai. She wasn't going to go down without a fight!
She prepared for another genjutsu, knowing it was her best shot at the moment. Her Mind Body Switch took too much chakra and wasn't going to help her any. Taijutsu wasn't much of a choice either. Activating the illusion, she made them see their own death by her hands. A few seconds, a few seconds had passed yet she was already tired. Where was her stamina when she needed it?
The jutsu broke.
The other two stood, in shock still. Mind tricks always were her favourites. The leader took matters into his own hands and went after her. She prepared another genjutsu. She didn't know how long she could keep this up, her chakra was already dangerously low.
Her genjutsu failed. Her chakra control had chosen that time to fail. Luck really wasn't on her side. She screamed in agony as her eardrum was pierced apart. She willed herself to move. No way in hell would they touch her team. Over her dead body!
Ino stood up and attacked. It was a desperate struggle, one she was losing but she wouldn't give up. She'd rather die than give up! She was mercilessly beaten and thrown against the bark. Her right shoulder was definitely dislocated. With misty eyes, she got back up. She would die before she stopped getting up.
A battle cry escaped her lips as she charged again. She was blown back and cut by an attack. Her vision was riddled with black spots. She was near her limit. The next attack could likely finish her off.
Her salvation came in the form of Team 10. She'd never felt so relieved to see that team in her life.
"I already said I won't lose to you," said Sakura. Ino could only nod.
"You can run away, fatass," the sound nin had already snapped out of it. She grinned as Chouji snapped. Calling him fat was never a good idea. Especially if you said it twice.
Ino flinched. The dark chakra was way too obvious now. She clenched her jaw and scurried over to her team. She trusted the other team to keep them safe. Sasuke was sweating profusely. What was this seal doing to him? It killed her, seeing him like this and knowing she could do nothing about it.
She screamed when a hand clasped her throat so tight she was sure it was bruising. What happened to Team 10? They hadn't died, right? She would forgive them if they ran away, just please, please, please let them be alive.
"You and your idiot friends will die soon," the gruff voice told her. It was all so sickening.
Sasuke's hand shot out, cracking the leader's hand. Ino froze. His arm and half of his face was covered in odd symbols. Just what was that seal?
"Ino…" he said. "Who did that to you?" His eyes slid over to the sound nin. "I'll kill them."
She was barely aware of the wind whipping her face. She was too focused on the growing marks on Sasuke's body. The dark chakra was getting stronger and stronger, nearly crushing her with its intensity. He moved so fast! How was he so much more powerful now?
A sickening snap brought her back to reality. Sasuke had just snapped the enemy's arms. The chakra was becoming too much to bear. She couldn't handle it anymore, she had to make him stop!
"Sto-op!" she rasped. Her throat felt raw. He didn't seem to hear her. Trying to call out to him would be no use. She forced herself to stand, to walk, to touch his shoulders. "Chakra…stop…"
The chakra was too strong, especially from this close. She fainted.
EDIT: 13/4/13