Ino ran a thumb over the jagged end of a fingernail, knowing that her brow was furrowed in annoyance as her team took a seat on the patio of the BBQ place they almost always ate lunch at.
Shikamaru was ignoring her after she'd treated her team to a particularly acerbic rant about his lazy habits, Chouji's eating habits, and Asuma's disgusting smoking habits. Seriously, why did she have to get stuck with this team. And why did they have to keep taking these dirty, ridiculous missions?
She huffed and held up the hand with the nail she'd broken weeding the garden, wondering if her father would pay for another manicure that week. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shikamaru roll his eyes at her from where he was slumped, and immediately turned to him.
"You have something you want to say?" she gritted out, and he sighed.
"Troublesome. No," he grumbled, and she sniffed.
"That's what I -" she frowned as his attention was pulled to something on the other side of her. His expression sharpened from annoyed boredom to interest, and he straightened just a bit. Ino whipped around, having been around enough Naras in her lifetime, and this one in particular, to know that he'd just seen something interesting.
Ino gasped quietly, and knew her jaw had dropped open when she saw what had drawn his attention. Walking down the mostly-deserted street - well, half-limping, half-stomping, was Team Eight.
Ino hadn't seen them in weeks, but had assumed it was just a matter of missing each other at the missions office. Now, however, she wondered if it was something else as they drew up next to the BBQ place and paused about five feet away.
Ino could only gape at their roughshod appearance. They looked like they had literally been through hell. Kiba's usual coat was gone, leaving him in only his mesh short-sleeved undershirt and what had probably been tan pants.
They were now so torn and dirty that she couldn't be sure of their original color. His face and exposed arms had fared no better in the cleanliness department, and were also covered in scratches and dried blood, bandages and what looked like red cloth tied around various parts.
Gaara stood next to him, still wearing his usual red tunic, though it was also so dirty and ripped it barely resembled the original cloth and style. He looked a little less beat up than Kiba, though his face was even paler than usual and his red hair was matted against his skull. In his arms was a limp and dirty Akamaru, who whined a little but didn't move when Gaara ran a hand over his dirty fur.
It was Sakura, however, that really had her doing the double take. Despite her limp, she was standing with the sort of confidence that Ino had never associated with her friend before. The girl really didn't have much to be confident about at the moment, if her beat up appearance was any indication.
She was wearing her green shorts, as usual, though they were in no better shape than Kiba's pants. Her lower legs were covered in scratches, and there was a dirty bandage wrapped around one calf. The other had more of the red fabric wrapped just under her knee.
Where the fabric came from was clear, as Sakura was in nothing but a black sports bra up top. Her stomach was covered in streaks of mud and what looked like dried blood, and her arms were sporting bandages and more who-knows-what as well. Her face had streaks of dirt across it, and her hair...
Ino bit her lip, because if there was one thing Sakura loved about herself, it was her hair. Right now it was just as matted and dirty as her brother's, the usually lovely, healthy pink color was now dulled by dirt, and it was pulled back into a scraggly ponytail.
Usually the tail would reach all the way down to swing at her lower back, but now it ended just at shoulder length. The ends were ragged and brown, and it looked like it had been burned off.
Despite all of that, Sakura stood completely unashamed in the middle of the street, arms crossed over her torso, tapping her foot and glaring. She looked like she hadn't had a good meal in weeks, though...were those muscles beneath all of that grime?
"Where is that overgrown peacock!" Sakura growled, making Ino jump. "You sure you smelled him here, Kiba?" She asked, turning her head to look at her teammate. Ino expected him to get worked up at the perceived insult to his skills, but he surprised her when he just shrugged tiredly.
"Yeah, he's around here somewhere. Just being a sneaky bastard, as always."
A woosh of air, and then an ANBU with a red mask with avian features painted onto it appeared in the street in front of Team Eight. Next to her, Asuma stiffened.
"What -" her sensei started to say, but was cut off.
"Rooster-sensei!" Sakura yelled, and stomped up to the black-clad, silent figure. "You said you'd be back for us in ten days. Ten days! Do you have any idea how long we were out there for?" she shrieked, and Ino almost relaxed at the more familiar side of Sakura, except she was yelling at an ANBU member.
Sakura was going to die, right in front of her. She didn't wait for the masked man to answer, instead rolling right over him. "It's been fifteen days! Fifteen! I'm pretty sure they teach you how to read calendars in ANBU!"
"Has it really?" the man said mildly, seeming completely unperturbed by the yelling, dirty girl causing a scene in the street. "So it has. Well, look at that, you survived. Good job."
Sakura's mouth worked for a moment, and Ino winced, knowing an eruption was imminent. "Good - good job? You are," she said through clenched teeth, "A monster! Do you have any idea what roasted centipede tastes like? No? Well, it's disgusting! You - you!"
Kiba and Gaara both stepped forward and put their hands on her shoulders, and she visibly deflated. "Team Eight reporting in, Rooster-sensei," she mumbled grudgingly, and though he didn't move Ino got the feeling that the man was laughing at them.
"Good. See a doctor, eat, and sleep. We'll talk to tomorrow." Before he could leave, however, Sakura cleared her throat and held out her hand expectantly. Rooster just stood there, staring at her, head cocked to the side, and after a moment Sakura sighed explosively and stomped her foot.
"My bokken! I want it back. We completed your stupid survival training." she snapped. A moment later a long bokken appeared in the ANBU's hand, and she snatched it from him, immediately strapping it to her back by the harness attached to it, apparently unconcerned with the bruises and cuts it undoubtedly rubbed against.
This time, Rooster really did disappear, and all three of Team Eight seemed to sag a little. "Ugh, he's the worst," Sakura mumbled, and both of her teammates nodded. "I suppose we should go to the hospital..." she trailed off, and it was obvious that it was the last place she wanted to go.
"Or we could go to my family's clinic. Then they can treat Akamaru at the same time," Kiba offered, and Gaara immediately perked up.
"Really? I'd heard only Inuzuka were allowed there," he said a little eagerly, and Kiba grinned at him, then reached out and ruffled his hair, ignoring the boy's pout at the action.
"Nah, you're my teammates, so you're an exception. I think Hana should be working, too, long as she isn't on a mission. It is Wednesday, right?" he asked, and all three of them looked a little unsure.
"It is," Shikamaru drawled from next to Ino, causing them all to jump about a foot in the air and spin around to face them. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at their defensive postures, and after a moment Sakura straightened sheepishly. Kiba and Gaara only relaxed once she had, and from Shikamaru's calculating expression, he noticed it too.
"Oh, hi guys. That's good. That it's Wednesday I mean," Kiba said.
"What happened to you?" Asuma finally asked, looking honestly concerned.
Sakura's gaze flickered over them almost dismissively before offering a small shrug. "Survival training. Well, we better getting going - we need to get to a doctor. See you later, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ino, Asuma-sensei."
They turned and started to walk down the street, Sakura accepting Kiba's whispered offer of support, letting him put her arm over his shoulders to take weight off of the leg she was obviously favoring.
He leaned down and said something in a low voice next to her ear, and Ino waited for the fireworks. No way Sakura wouldn't punch him into next week for being so familiar.
Instead, she tilted her head towards him, and Ino heard bright laughter before Sakura gave him a light tap on the back of the head, and he snickered.
Gaara was shaking his head at both of them, and Ino could only watch, broken nail completely forgotten, as she tried to figure out what exactly had happened in the past two months to change her insecure, slightly vain ex-best friend into somebody who held her head high while covered in blood and grime, and wore a sword strapped to her back.
Next chapter: Team Eight gets their first real C-Rank mission!