Chapter 1
It's a mad, mad world
Gonna make an escape
It's a perfect world
When you go all the way
Hit the lights
Let the music move you
Lose yourself tonight
-Selena Gomez and The Scene
"It's not a matter of can or can't, I'm doing it. I am gonna take the world by storm!" Said Ino Yamanaka with determination while looking at the mirror.
She put on the brandy new flight attendant uniform attire: the navy-blue jacket and skirt, the white shirt, the gloves, the scarf, the prada high heels and a cute hat that had a handmade logo on the front: Hatake Enterprise.
It was expected that flight attendants were to stand out in the crowd, but for Ino, she felt as if she was going to a catwalk show in Monte Carlo.
This fucking outfit she wore gave her an air of elegance of a first-class lady, instead of a simple homely girl from Alaska.
Ino's childhood and teenage years were spent in a frozen wasteland. Her parents moved to a place that time forgot while she was still a baby.
A-L-A-S-K-A
Daddy Yamanaka opened a flower shop next to a Sushi Bar.
The only flower shop in town.
The Yamanaka flower shop.
Even though it was the end of the world in a place God forgot, she had fond and warm memories from her childhood's years living in Alaska.
Choji and Shikamaru, her classmates, were her companions. They were like brothers and sisters.
They were practically a big happy family.
But between the three friends, Shikamaru Nara was a rich-ass kid, he practically pooped money from his dark-haired ass.
Born into a family that owned since the Confederacy War, a National Park of 825000 acres in Alaska.
The Nara family's lands were so important that the Government even established their domain as a national jewel for its rare species of deer that dwelled deep in the forest.
Only a Nara was worthy enough to see the magnificent creatures as they walked the fields of white. But still, the Nara boy didn't care about it. He felt he had too many responsibilities thrown over his shoulder for him to cope with.
After years spent playing on snow, skating on frozen lakes, and pretty much only seeing wintry landscapes, the three friends applied, after High school, to Konoha University in Oklahoma and they got fucking accepted at the same fucking time.
Choji, applied for Gastronomy and Professional Wrestling while Shikamaru chose Business Administration and International Relations and Ino, Psychology and Biology.
They were so close-knit that they even shared an apartment in Kohona Campus.
Back at the first year of college, Ino dated celebrity guys like the eccentric superstar, Sasuke of the fucking Uchiha clan. He had the face and body of an Olympus Greek God. He and Ino dated three months before the jackass dumped her for the pinky ass tramp of a gal, Sakura fucking Haruno, a headstrong and talented student majoring in Medicine. They eventually got married out of the blue.
A guy she ALMOST dated was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. But thank God she didn't.
Naruto was a golden boy and heir to the Namikaze-Uzumaki Shipping Company. He gained international fame for being the poster boy of the Konoha student movement, The Will of Fire, a pro-peace activism that advocates for World Peace. This group was founded by the socialite, Lady Tsunade Senju and by her father, the old lion of the Senju, Hashimara. In his prime days, he was an ardent activist and a politician who aimed to end War and Violence Worldwide. However, he was assassinated by the same people he was trying to convince to give up violence and guns. Sad story for a Worldpeace fighter.
Later in the second year of college, Ino had a fling for an autism boy. It was love at first sight. His name was Sai, and he was majoring in digital art and architecture. The first thing that caught her attention was how similar he resembled her old flame. After six months of dating, Sai dumped her because his dream came true after he was called upon to join the special police unit led by Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju's GodSend brother.
The younger Senju was the embodiment of the perfect knight, a modern-day Galahad on a quest to find the holy grail.
Ino was quite disappointed about her love life.
Who wasn't?
She was like a blade in the dark in that department.
Fuck. You. Sasuke. For. Being. A. total. Jerk. And. Fuck. You. Sai. For. Dumping. Me. For. you. Dream. Career. And. For. Resembling. That. Uchiha. Bastard. - thought Ino.
May you both burn in eternal flames of Hell. Now, Damn it Ino!! When you think you found love…BANG BANG. it is over!!! Your love life goes down a hill. Why do I keep falling for guys that one day, they say they love me, the next, they dump you either for another girl or for a dream career? A person can have both, right? An epic love story and a badass career? Ahh! Perhaps I am an unsolved case, even group therapy did not help me. - Ino kept cursing herself for these unfortunate situations….
Fully prepared for her summer vacation job at Hatake Airport.
She got the job through a letter of recommendation from her university professor, Asuma Sarutobi. Her professor was close friends with Mr. Kakashi Hatake, the Copycat of Wall Street and the owner of the Hatake Airlines and the heir of the Hatake Airlines.
It has been a tough year for the Yamanaka family. Money was scarce these days for them. Mama Yamanaka was sick. Her father just retired from the Konoha University where he taught Psychology History. She was so proud of her daddy for he had been the number one on the ranking list as the most sought clinical psychologist in the country in the old days. But this distinguished title did not stop bills and taxes from coming. So daddy Yamanaka worked his butt off to pay for the bills, the taxes and for his sickly wife's medical expenses as well as his only daughter's education. What father wouldn't, right? Right?
Ino was desperate to help her daddy and as a good daughter she always been, she took part-time jobs to bring more income to help her parents. While she was coursing her third year of college the Yamanaka girl even worked for Shikamaru's family business as a secretary in the office. But in the fourth year of college, she chose to work as a flight attendant in the summer break because of the money she would receive in her paycheck account. However, she would give the mega bucks to her daddy and her mama.
In her wildest dreams, Ino just wanted to finish her major in Psychology and Biology Majors so that she could work along with the most distinguished psychoanalysis interrogator of Konoha University: Ibiki Morino.
The man was a legend himself. A living legend. He was such a badass that he even had a whole building constructed just for him and for for his team, as students would call them, the Unofficial Torture and Interrogation Chamber of Konoha University.
She remembered her professor of psychological phenomena, Genma Shiranui saying:
"Only a few will be selected to join Professor Ibiki 's exaptational team. There will be no exam, no interview, and no internship. Professor Ibiki himself will recruit the students. So stay alert, we don't know what the future holds."
"How will we be able to know if we got accepted?" asked Ino.
" Now that is the heart and soul of the recruitment. As and when aren't the questions one should be asking, miss Yamanaka."
"Damn!! That is so unfair." Replied Ino, annoyed as hell.
" No ifs and buts. One either make the grade or one doesn't. Those who make it are the real deal because they ought to be the brightest of the students to be selected."
"My dear?" "Knocked her father on the door.
"Huh? "
" Shikamaru arrived. "
"Uh-huh. "Nodded Ino with a gloomy smile.
"You don't need to go if you don't want to."
"Oh Dad, of course I want to. Besides, we need the money, don't we? And about that, well, I was just thinking about something else, you know, like grades and school credits."
" My darling, we already talked about that, you don't need to work on summer vacation to help mom and me. I saved enough money for your mother and for you."
" Daddy, I want to help, I really do. Besides, you and mom can go on a date now, you know, I will not be in the house…so, you and ma can have a couple's night out or something."
Her father laughed at her remark.
" Ino, what did I do in a past life to deserve such a hardworking and compassionate daughter?"
" Dad, stop it. I just want to earn the big bucks so that we can be able to pay mama's medications and….…the bills."
Her father chuckled; " You are one a kind, my baby girl. We just want you to be happy and to marry a loving, honest, respected hardworking man."
Ino smile in cheerfulness, like a ray of sunshine. " I am going to make you proud, daddy. But on the marriage part, I might as well skip it for now." WHERE WILL I FIND THIS MAN, DAD? WILL I NEED TO SING HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO FOR HIM TO APPEAR?
Before getting to the car, she lovingly hugged and kissed Mama Yamanaka who was in bed recovering from illness. Ino promised to buy her beautiful presents and expensive perfumes. She looked one more time at her mama and daddy, almost shedding tears, before leaving the house.
Not knowing she would not come back…..
" Giz, woman. What took you so long? We are going to be late. Why must women be so complicated? Shut the door, will you? It is freezing outside. It is like a road to Hell." Said the Nara boy in a I-don't-care-type-of-voice.
" Stop complaining, Shikamaru. I am doing your mother a favor in getting your ass on track."
" Where are you staying when you land in Vegas? "
" Kazekage Hotel."
" In all of the Hotels in Las Vegas, you pick this one? "
" It was the company that booked me at the Hotel, Shikamaru. And don't start with: " I broke up with Temari cause she is a bitchy troublesome lady that bothers the hell out of me. And you can't stay there because she will probably be there bla bla bla bla ."
Temari. This name makes Shikamaru tremble like a little kid.
Daughter of a King. Sister of a King. The girl's got high-class.
That highborn society girl mood that every woman desires to embody and what a man desires in a wife.
Born overseas, has an imperious attitude, has an excellent sense of fashion and sophistication that makes her stay on top of the food chain of Vogue Magazine. To make things better, her family owns half of Las Vegas. They own five-stars Hotels, Casinos, Nightclubs, Resorts, Hospitals and Schools. All with the same name. Kazekage. Their family name. K-A-Z-E-K-A-G-E.
"P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S to you. Princess Temari." Howled Shikamaru.
" You are a fool, you know that right? You shouldn't have ended the relationship with King Gaara's sister. She really liked you."
" East is East and West is West. Never the twain shall meet." Responded Shikamaru casting a sad glance at the snowy landscape. He felt as if he had lost the Holy Grail. The most important treasure he had.
" A girl's advice strong a woman like lady Temari who clearly adores you is hard to find. You messed it up hard."
Shikamaru didn't say a thing. He started the engine and drove to Ino's destination: Hatake Airlines