"What in the greatest heck."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ino look up from her book. She peered at me from around the vase of aromatic grasses on my bedside table.
"What?" Ino asked.
"So I'm reading this botany textbook, right? And I find this freaking entry. 'Peltandra osmunda, a plant found in the Land of Waves, the Land of Water, and swampy areas of the Land of Fire, blah blah blah, used as a clotting agent, blah blah, side effects include', and I quote, 'severe lapses in judgement under duress once introduced to the bloodstream'."
Ino blinked as I slammed the heavy book shut triumphantly. "That's nice, but how is that relevant?"
"Because I recognize the illustration for that plant!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. I pointed down at her triumphantly. "Haku used it while I was held prisoner to heal my wound!"
"So what you're basically saying," Ino said slowly, "is that your very stupid choices during your hostage time were under the influence of this plant?"
"Ish," I shrugged. "I'm saying that I was high as a kite and not realizing it, plus my judgement was severely skewed because of being high."
My sister raised an eyebrow.
"It means I wasn't being a complete moron during Wave. Only a partial moron."
"Whatever you want to tell yourself," she teased, going back to her book.
I threw one of my pillows at her, but nearly hit the vase. Ino dove forward and barely caught it before it fell to the ground. We stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter.
After last night's - this morning's? - talk with Dad, I had been feeling better emotionally. We finished up the cooking, both went to bed, and I had another talk with Ino.
I cried again. Which sucked.
But I could already feel that whatever strain I had unintentionally put on my family was healing.
Dad poked his head in the room. "Girls, have you completed your meditations?"
The Ino-Shika-Chō clans had a genin tradition involving the piercing of ears. We would go down to our clans' personal memorial stone and pledge ourselves to the clan and to Konoha or something; I wasn't super familiar with the details. I did know that while the Nara and Akimichi did their ceremonies right after graduation, the Yamanaka did theirs a month or so later. During that period, we were supposed to meditate and 'open our minds'.
Completing them despite the utter catastrophe that was Wave was… difficult, to say the least. 'Opening your mind' after a traumatic experience. Not fun.
While Konoha had memorial stones for all of its shinobi, the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi had their own stone, shared between the three of them. I had seen it a few times before, mostly visiting with one of my relatives or Dad. You could feel the age and weight of the names. The oldest names were mostly faded, the newer names still holding the edge of the rock. The Three were carved into the tops of the stones, solemn gaze bearing down on us.
I tried not to think about Dad's name on the stone as we made our way into the clearing. Tried not to think of the Three taking his soul and accompanying it to the Shinigami.
A chill ran up my spine. I could almost feel generations long since past watching us. Dad turned to face us both with a solemn look on his face.
"Under the gaze of the Three Gods, I, Yamanaka Inoichi, bring my children to take their oaths," he announces. The clearing feels silent, heavy with the weight of the oaths about to be uttered. "I pledge them unto the Three, as my father pledged me, and his father before him. I, the fifteenth head of the Yamanaka, pass my oath to my eldest, the sixteenth head, as my father the fourteenth head passed his oath to me, and his father the thirteenth head before him. This I swear by the Three."
Ino straightened, a firm look on her face. My sister often gave off a ditzy blonde air, but she was anything but. Her voice was clear, echoing around the clearing as she began to speak.
"I, Yamanaka Ino, hereby swear as the sixteenth head of the Yamanaka, I will entrust the oath entrusted to me by the fifteenth to the child that will become the seventeenth. In order to protect both the Akimichi and the Nara clans, and to protect Konoha, I, Yamanaka Ino, will open my mind to the universe. This I swear by the Three."
Not going to lie, that was a pretty badass oath. I was impressed and just a tad jealous. Because I was 'just' the second child, I would take the standard oath, unless something happened to my sister and I became the clan head. An unpleasant thought, that.
Wait. My turn with a significantly less badass oath.
"I, Yamanaka Inoko, do hereby swear that to protect my teammates, the clan, those allied with us and Konoha itself, I will open my mind to the universe. This I swear by the Three."
The words felt… final. More so than receiving my hitai-ate had felt. I was a shinobi, a tool that lived, breathed, and died for its village and kage. An oath sworn before our gods, binding until death.
I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
Turning my attention back to my family, I saw Dad's hands retreating from Ino's ear with an approving smile on his face. Ah. The earrings. Clan heads and heirs had their ears ritually pierced. Luckily for me, I was neither and didn't have to get holes stabbed in my ear lobes. Jewelry period was generally a bad idea for shinobi, as it tended to get grabbed and yanked. If said jewelry was attached to your body, like earrings… well. It would hurt. Plus sparkly things weren't generally a good idea when trying to be stealthy.
"Does it hurt?" I asked as Ino gingerly touched her ears. They were just a pair of dull gray studs, but they looked good on her. I couldn't help but smile. My sister was absolutely lovely.
"A little," she said with a grimace.
"Haha," I teased. She smacked me in the arm.
"It's just… I feel different now, you know? It's always been kind of a game, really, but now it isn't." My sister had a distant look in her eye as she looked anywhere but me. "We could die."
Dad rested his hands on our shoulders and gave a comforting squeeze.
"Don't worry, girls," he said softly. "That's why genin squads are assigned a jōnin. Your sensei aren't going to let that happen. I'm not going to let that happen."
Part of me wanted to point out that it would be hard to prevent our deaths if we were several days journey away, but I didn't want to ruin the mood Dad had going on.
"That reminds me," Dad said, reaching into his pocket. "I know it's generally only the heir who gets the earrings, but I had these made for you."
Ino beamed at me. I squinted at her. She knew exactly what I was getting - knowing her, there was a good chance she was the one who inspired the idea in the first place.
Dad pulled his hand out of his pocket and crouched in front of me. "You are my precious moonflower, Inoko, and a true Yamanaka. No matter what anyone else says." He opened his hand, and I inhaled sharply.
Yeah, screw what I said earlier about earrings, though it was true. These were beautiful. Hanafuda earrings, delicately painted as the tane and tanzaku cards of the July suit. The colors were deep and vibrant, and the boar almost looked alive.
I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't.
"And don't even begin to ask about where mine are," Ino declared. "I'm getting a family heirloom forged when the clans renewed their alliance, so you just keep your earrings and put them on and don't worry about it!"
I rubbed my face. "Thank you, Daddy. And thank you too, Ino; I know you had something to do with this." She just smirked at me.
It didn't hurt too badly when Dad threaded my ears, and the slight weight of the wood was comforting. The way the hooks were curved, it would take a lot for them to fall out, even if I was doing flips all over the place.
"They won't tangle either," Dad said, ruffling my hair. "They're practically shinobi proof."
"You're going to make me cry again," I threatened.
"Boohoo, you big baby," Ino laughed, squeezing me tightly.
I hugged her back before wriggling out from Dad's hand, which still wasn't done messing up my hair. "I'm predicting boring clan stuff in the very near future, so I'm going to go find Chōji," I said, kissing Dad on the cheek. "It's been a while since we've last hung out and I for one fully intend to fix that. Bye! Thank you, Daddy! I love you!"
I ran down the path, grinning to myself. I really was looking forward to this. It would be good for me.
My mood instantly soured the moment I saw Akio. I could tell the moment he saw me too, because his neutral expression turned into abject dislike. And that turned into a full on scowl once he saw my earrings.
I lifted my chin and dared him to say something.
"Ryoka-sama would be rolling over in her grave if she saw you now," he hissed as I passed him. My jaw clenched. I pointedly did not touch my kunai pouch. "You shouldn't have come back from Wave, little beast."
"And you shouldn't have come back from the war, coward," I snarled back. A low blow, but it made him flinch away out of my personal space. I glared at him. "It's a good thing Inoichi-sama doesn't need your opinion to give his daughter a pair of Three-damned earrings."
I walked away before I said something else I'd regret. Or worse, stab him. Elder stabbing was rather frowned upon.
Chōji was only a little surprised when Inoko showed up at his home. Not about the earrings; Ino had been gushing about those and excitedly waiting to surprise her twin for weeks now. He had heard from his teammates that she was… stressed. He worried about her. Inoko had always been one to take risks with her mind and soul. She once missed two weeks of classes because she accidentally put herself in a coma experimenting with a jutsu.
As of right now, she seemed ok. She had a twinkle in her eye as she approached, which was generally a good sign.
"Chōji, friend, buddy ol' pal! How've you been?"
And then he was forced to reassess his observation. Maybe she wasn't as 'okay' as she pretended to be. The shadows under her eyes were just a bit darker than usual; that usually meant she was even more stressed out than usual. And usual was already pretty alarming.
"I'm good," he said instead, "you? I like your earrings. They look nice."
"Eh, can't complain. Dad and Ino are being boring so I came over here instead. And thanks! I like them a lot!"
He nodded in a quiet consolatory manner. "Chip?"
"Woo! Thanks!"
Well, he was sure she'd tell him if he could do anything to help. Until then, he'd be there for her. He wasn't smart like Shikamaru or good with people like Ino, but he was good at being someone's friend. Something told him that she needed that more than anything right now.
"So Ino and I took our oaths today," Inoko said after a while as they sat on a bench together. She swung a leg in the air, her shoe making slight scuffing noises as it brushed the ground. Her new earrings danced in the gentle breeze. "I feel… different now. Like a shinobi for real, you know? I mean, I've already been a genin for a couple months now, but… I don't know. You know?"
Many people didn't understand Inoko's more vague comments, but one of the benefits of growing up with her meant that Chōji tended to know what she meant when she was being weirder than usual.
"Are you scared?" he asked. She leaned her head on his shoulder and hummed thoughtfully.
"Maybe a little." After a few moments of comfortable silence, Inoko straightened and shook herself a little. "Ugh, I'm thinking depressing things again. Let's go get some food. What do you want, barbeque, ice cream? Or maybe we could spar a little? Ooh, or maybe both!"
Now she was avoiding things. Chōji wasn't sure if he was hurt by the fact she was holding back or worried that she was.
They ended up getting some traditional Suna food - Inoko hated the spicy kind, so they made sure to get the mild stuff - before heading to a training ground. Sparring with Inoko was always interesting. She was sneakier than her twin.
"You ready, butterfly boy?" Inoko smirked.
Chōji stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed. He could see her relaxing, even from several meters away. It had been a while since they had sparred, just the two of them. Mostly because he kept beating her until she pulled out ninjutsu, and even then he usually still won.
Inoko had seemed a bit annoyed by that in the past, but Shikamaru would point out that Chōji was a heavy hitter by nature and Inoko… well, wasn't. She pretended to be insulted for about three minutes until she got distracted by Akamaru.
"Bring it," Chōji called, settling into an Akimichi taijutsu stance. Inoko rushed forward, bringing her leg up in a high kick. He blocked and threw a couple punches. Nothing serious for now, merely testing each other.
Just like old times. This was going to be fun.
"For the love of all that is salty, crunchy, and delicious, I do not need to go to the hospital!"
Sakura looked up from the book Iruka-sensei had loaned her about auditory genjutsu upon hearing her old friend's voice echoing from the street. Scrambling out of her bed, she opened her window, searching for the source. Chōji, with a long suffering look on his face, was carrying a vaguely struggling Inoko, who appeared to have given up on actually escaping from him.
"It's just a mild possible concussion," she groaned, dramatically draped over his shoulder. "I don't need to go to the hospital! Again."
"Hey!" Sakura shouted down, deciding that she probably should get involved at this point. Plus she was still really curious about why she'd had to go to the hospital the first time around. Inoko brightened and waved at her. Sakura briefly debated the merits of using the door like a civilian, but she didn't go to ninja school for nothing and ended up climbing out the window.
"So what's this I hear about a concussion?" Sakura asked. She put her hands on her (sadly non existent) hips and gave Inoko her best Mom look.
"Welllll," Inoko started, tugging on her bangs.
"She hit her head on a rock while we were training," Chōji cut in. Inoko tried to wiggle away, but it was no use. He had a pretty solid grip on her ankles. "She used her clan jutsu and fell. I'm pretty sure that she has a concussion now because she couldn't track my finger properly at first."
"Disorientation!"
Sakura gave her an incredulous stare. Inoko stared back, unamused.
"Did you ever go to the hospital for that thing you never told me about?" Sakura finally asked.
"What thing?" Inoko replied with a slightly uncomfortable grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Sakura's eye twitched.
"That's it, Chōji, bring her inside. I'm turning her over to Mom." It was almost comical to see how fast Inoko changed tactics.
"What?! Now, Sakura, let's be reasonable about this, no need for such drastic measures!"
Inoko began struggling for real against Chōji's gentle grip. It was no secret among their friend group that Haruno Mebuki was one of the few people Inoko feared, which was ironic considering that the woman was a civilian from a civilian family.
"Sakura? Who's out there?" the woman in question called out.
"Nobody!" Inoko squawked before covering her mouth in horror. What have I done, her face asked.
"It's Inoko and Chōji!" Sakura shouted back. She shot her friend an evil grin. This is what you get for keeping secrets.
"You're dead," Inoko mouthed, dragging her finger across her throat as Mebuki came out, dusting her hands off.
"Inoko-chan, Chōji-kun, what a surprise. What are you two doing here?"
"Inoko got a concussion while training," Sakura explained.
"It might be a concussion," Inoko grumbled, giving up on escaping her friends, "there's no need to jump to conclusions."
Mebuki gave Inoko a look identical to the one her daughter had given the blonde earlier. Inoko sighed heavily.
"This is the part where I come inside so you can mom me, right?"
"Exactly. Come in, Chōji-kun, would you like some snacks?"