Ino gasped, changing her route by centimeters in order to avoid the kunai that flew towards her, scraping her cheek. Her breathing was thin and the simple deep inhalation of air made her body tremble in pain. She knew she must have several broken ribs and there was something very wrong with her windpipe, the metallic taste of blood on her tongue as the bile slid back down her throat. But what worried her most was the fucking sword in her belly.
She knew from experience in cases she had witnessed with Tsunade that removing the fucking blade from her body would be the worst case scenario now, but she couldn't see a positive outlook in which she would be able to extract it with the proper medical care, because that shit was going to clot and she could already feel her senses slowly fade as she hopped through the trees trying to keep her conscience alert.
Her sensory perception was confused, but from the kunais that whistled past her ear, there was a ninja on her back and she had no idea where the hell Uchiha was.
Sasuke is dead. A voice in her head whispered in a sadistic omen.
"Shut up," she snarled, gasping at the wave of pain.
"You can't run forever, princess." A malicious voice called from the rear.
Ino ignored him, an urgent look at the wound in her belly. She needed to deal with it urgently, get rid of the guy on her back and try to survive.
She didn't know if he was alone. Probably not, his ninja skills were superfluous, she could tell by his shameful aim at shooting kunais and losing even when Ino was walking in a straight line, but again, in her situation she barely managed to notice the presence of this guy if it weren't the chakra nonsense he was putting on when trying to increase his speed.
Ino was exhausted, she couldn't keep up with more than two men, and the risk of having the hell katana moved from her body would kill her before she could send everyone to fuck hard.
Slowly the forest opened, less trees until they were so far away that Ino was forced to use some chakra to boost her jumps and reach the branches between them. The light was getting stronger, and if Ino hadn't been in agony in pain in the omen of her certain death, she could almost have joked about being the damned light at the end of the tunnel.
But God had no favorites, and even if he did, she was certainly not on the priority list, because instead of the village she was hoping to see at the end of the fork - what would be her only possible lifeline - a gigantic cliff forced her stop.
Below, a quiet stream was snaked by sharp rocks in a fall of more than five thousand meters.
She was dead.
Literally, she could feel like she was going to pass out any second, and she had enough medical education to know that her body would burn up in no time, each breath becoming more difficult and rare, as she tried to avoid ... breathing, not to feel the mind-boggling pain.
It was literally the cross and the sword, and she was going to die anyway.
And yet, while preparing to die, she couldn't even think about her friends or her clan, not even about reuniting with her father, anything else, because in the end her thoughts kept going back to the Uchiha and what had happened with him.
Sakura was going to lose, and in that moment the 13-year-old Ino would be jumping, because if the Uchiha was really dead, she would spend more time with him than anyone else.
In hell.
Unfortunately, Ino now was feeling the pain that would have made her shit in her pants, if it weren't for the rest of the dignity she managed to maintain.
"Come on, kitty kitty."
Ino looked up, a red streak trembling in her vision and a loud ringing in her ears. Still, she managed to see the ninja, a tall, muscular man with a disturbing smile of happiness on the ugly face.
It had all started so well to end like this.
.
.
.
Ino smiled genuinely at Shikamaru's concerned face.
Usually, no one had done these melancholy goodbyes in years, since the time of gennin. When she left for a mission it was just a monotome goodbye to Jounnin guarding the gate, and a complacent look at the village.
But Shikamaru was there, Naruto too.
She knew that Sakura would tear her own skin if she knew she wasn't at the farewell club on a prominently perilous mission that included the love of her life and her - she was going to risk it here, because she didn't know if she had already been replaced - best friend.
But the mask she had lifted and rolled to the back of her head so that Shikamaru could see her face carried the weight of an elite ninja's anonymity.
"Be careful, troublesome." Shikamaru murmured, his face serious despite the intense eyes staring at her. Ino didn't need words to understand.
"Don't worry, I'm grown up now, Shika." She replied with a comforting pat on his shoulder.
"I mean it." Shikamaru moved a little, blocking her view of where Naruto was talking to Uchiha. "Ino, if you think things are going to the left ... give up. Give up on the mission, come back, don't complete it."
Ino frowned.
"I will not do it."
"I'm serious, Ino." Shikamaru grabbed her elbow, hazel eyes penetrating hers until she got a little dizzy at the staring game.
Usually Shikamaru was not that serious for no reason. The last time she saw the severe intonation was in the revenge they had set for the Akatsuki after Asuma-sensei's death.
But then again, the whole sentimental drama was one of the reasons why she avoided warm goodbyes before a mission.
"If it's too much, I will." She honestly agreed with a nod.
"Please trust me." He repeated, a significant squeeze on her arm.
"I will, I told you." Ino rolled her eyes and hugged him to end the matter, the aroma of tobacco and mint filling her nose with a comforting smell. Shikamaru would always be Shikamaru, even if everything changed between them, it was still their safe haven.
They parted with Nara's tense look on his face, a curious hesitation as it looked like he wanted to say something.
"Ino!" Naruto caught their attention and automatically Shikamaru moved away, far enough to give them some privacy. Ino was embarrassed by the thoughts that the friend might be having but fanned them for now.
"Hey." She greeted with a friendly smile, finding it cute the way the boy tripped a little on his feet when he stopped in front of her.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to do this, they didn't leave me. I feel... I didn't want you to go, but..." Naruto stammered, the words coming out faster than he could think.
"Naruto, it's okay. It is our duty, we are ninjas." She reassured him, surprised by the whirlwind of feelings that his blue eyes presented all at once. "Calm down."
It was funny how this Naruto was so different from the Naruto she had been watching during the war. That Naruto was scary, powerful, almost as if he could carry the world in both hands in his own way. This Naruto looked like a worried boy, full of feelings exploding like an expressive canvas. And there was still Naruto who appeared in the middle of her sheets, full of desire.
She had learned to appreciate all sides of Naruto.
"I trust Sasuke ... please trust him, nothing is going to happen to you." He finished gently, tucking Ino's hair behind her ear, in such an intimate affection that she stirred in discomfort.
I will ignore that you said that, I can take care of myself, Naruto. "She said crossing her arms, suddenly very aware of her hair. Usually on missions she would hold it in a heavy bun at the top of her head, without the characteristic strand covering it. It was more comfortable and easier to deal with in the undefined weather conditions she used to face, but she had left with her thoughts so clouded that she had barely put a care on her hair.
"I know ..." Naruto hesitated a little but sighed, timidly pulling her into a hug. "I know."
Naruto's body felt different, the hug touched her nerves other than Shikamaru. It took Ino a few seconds in surprise to wrap her arms around him too, returning the contact suddenly, her own body softening a little with the familiarity of the touch.
Naruto was like a nice place that she liked to be in, but her head didn't like the barriers that were being crossed here.
She would have to reorganize the signs when she returned, dealing with the feelings that Uzumaki seemed to be developing would not be easy.
"I gotta go." Ino murmured disconcerted, raising a thumb to appease the whole melancholy scene. "When I get back you pay me Ramen in Ichiraku."
Naruto smiled brightly, although the smile did not reach his eyes, and raised a thumb as well.
"I will introduce you to the best flavors in the Fire Country, Ino-chan!"
.
.
.
At first the silence was very pleasant, but after five hours it was unbearably maddening. Even Neji, in his mild stillness, spoke at least one decent sentence here and there, but Uchiha looked like a dumb puppet.
Ino loved introspective moments, but her thoughts were so messy that she could use a little distraction to not have to really deal with it, even if it was from Uchiha.
"Did you read the mission scrolls?" She tried, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
Uchiha nodded.
Ino pursed her lips. She felt like her 13-year-old self again, asking for his attention. She refused to play that role again.
Turning her eyes forward, Ino tried to calculate how long it would take them to deplete their energies before needing to force a stop to camp. Ino knew that the Uchiha probably had a bigger chakra reserve than hers, but she wasn't going to be worn out by pride, she knew better than that.
As she lost herself in random thoughts, Sasuke looked at her austerely. He never in his life thought he would be on a mission with Yamanaka Ino, much less in an inferior position. It was outrageous and totally inappropriate.
In fact, he had only recently recalled the existence of Yamanaka. The blonde's presence was not recurrent in everyday life, and he was not stupid not to notice that the woman avoided any event with his presence.
The first time she actually stayed for more than five minutes in the same place as he, was when Sasuke remembered that this was Yamanaka Ino, the scandalous girl who continually harassed him when he was younger.
He remembered that she used to follow him around Konoha, cooked cakes and sweets that he never ate, invited him to train at least four times a week - even when he continually rejected her over and over - and left bouquets of flowers at his house on his mother's birthday. And it was only because of the latter that he complacently waited a few minutes to wrench her off his back when she decided to squeeze him. Something she had always rubbed in Sakura's face.
He would have expected Yamanaka to become some average kunoichi due to misrepresented interests, but apparently she had grown up enough to join Anbu, and her personality no longer seemed as scandalous as he remembered.
"There is a stream here, we must fill the reservoir with water for when we pass through the desert." Sasuke said blandly, drawing Ino's attention.
For a second she thought how he could know this, but realized in time that Sasuke should have known many places in the years away from Konoha.
It was kind of weird to think about it. She couldn't imagine leaving Konoha for any reason but for a mission. Actually, Ino thought she had never been anywhere without an urgent reason to do so.
To think of Sasuke doing this without any connection to the village was kind of painful. As if the word renegade really made sense that time.
He had denied his entire life for a personal purpose. His friend's lifes.
Damn, she hated getting lost inside her own head.
"We must." She agreed, turning to where he had pointed, landing on the ground when she saw the clean water of the stream running. "Give me yours."
Ino held out her palm and Sasuke raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.
"Your bottle. We don't have all day." She spoke, arching her own eyebrow, even though neither of them could see each other's faces behind the masks.
Sasuke still took a few seconds before handing over his flask, watching carefully as she crouched on the bank of the stream, took her bottle from her waist and submerged it in the water against the current, doing the same thing with his after that. But in the end, instead of returning his water after filling it, Ino placed the two bottles on her belt.
"In missions of more than two days of travel the supplements stay with the leader." She explained as she doused her neck with the icy water of rapture, feeling Sasuke's eyes on her back.
"This is stupid." He spat.
"I don't make the rules, I just follow it." Ino shrugged, standing up.
She also didn't like the rule, the first time Neji did this to her, Ino almost bit his head off. But now she understood the pleasure of being on the other side of the character.
Sasuke didn't argue, but Ino could practically feel he closing himself back in his shell, much more closed than before. She almost felt bad, but Uchiha was not going to receive any personal treatment. If he wanted to be a Konoha Shinobi again, he should have known that there were much more difficult rules that he would need to follow.
"Come on." Ino murmured, walking past him.
"This is not the direction." Sasuke said in an angry growl, taking the opposite way, too fast for her to even contest.
Ino blinked in surprise, feeling her face heat up, checking some location points before accepting that the Uchiha was indeed right, accelerating her step to take the lead, a wave of humiliation making her body tense as she went shoulder to shoulder with him.
To tell the truth Ino had never led a mission before. She had not applied or been nominated for the promotion as Captain Anbu to lead any team, her duo missions were usually with Neji, or someone higher up than hers. Even back in team 10, although she proclaimed her absolute sovereignty as the team leader, it was undeniable that the head thinking had always been Shikamaru.
As much as she liked to portray an image of authoritarian leadership, the only thing Ino had led so far, had been her clan. And she was not handling it very well.
Sasuke never looked at her again, always looking at the trees ahead, a thick fog of discomfort and aggression that only dissipated hours later when miles had passed. Enough to push thoughts of water behind their heads.
She could have explained that supplements were important, and that moderate control was needed, but that this did not prevent him from being free to request water or food when he felt the need.
That the system only foresees a hardness of control so that in fact it would not be lacking until the moment when the objective was completed.
But she didn't like the Uchiha that much to offer a sensible explanation.
Even because she believed that ninjas didn't need to have food supervision, those who couldn't control their own water should be at home reading magazines, not on a mission.
But she wasn't going to say that to him. If she had suffered from it, he was going too.
Eventually Ino offered the bottle back, asking if he was thirsty. Uchiha just looked at her before hissing a dry, cold "no".
His voice cracked a little, but she pretended not to hear.
She was not one to kick the injured dog.
.
The next time Ino and Sasuke had exchanged any words was night, when Ino found a place that looked good enough to rest in the middle of the forest, close to huge plants.
"They are Komodasias, the leaves are so thick that they are almost soundproofed. We are able to hear who is approaching, but it will be more difficult if any ninja passes through the trees to hear us." She spoke softly looking admiringly at the plants, running her fingers over the yellowed leaves. "I've only seen this in books before"
Sasuke didn't say anything, but he looked at the plants too.
It was dark, late in night when Ino finally had time for herself, the noise of small animals was almost a relaxing melody in her ears, it would be nice if it weren't for the horrible heat, as if they were in Suna, even though they hadn't yet passed through the village.
Ino took off her mask, feeling the accumulation of sweat on her face becoming impregnated in the porcelain. It was disgusting and she would have to clean that up before putting it back. Felt nice to finally be able to breathe without the accessory.
Her body was soaked in sweat, her hair stuck to the top of her head would be a damp disaster when she decided to drop the bun, and the Anbu armor looked like a torture chamber surrounding her body.
Unoing the metal supports, Ino got rid of all the heavy clothing, allowing herself to keep only the black tank and the high-waisted lycra shorts she wore under the uniform pants. And yet it seemed too much.
She rolled her shirt up just below her breasts and lowered the waistband of her shorts to her hips, sighing in relief when she felt some wind hit her exposed skin, visible signs of sunstroke finding refreshment in the breeze.
When Sasuke returned to the camp after collecting some low branches to make a fire, his eyes instinctively darted to the half naked Yamanaka leaning with her ass in his direction as she unrolled a sleeping bag on the floor.
It was the most strangely erotic image he had seen in a long time, since Karin surprised the Uchiha on a drunken night years ago wearing nothing but a tiny loincloth.
He would be happy with the sight if it wasn't Yamanaka Ino, who made as much effort as possible to demonstrate her dissatisfaction with his presence, and to whom he had no appreciation other than pure disgust since she had inadvertently stole his water bottle on a ridiculous pretext.
Still, he couldn't ignore the round piece of meat in front of him.
Sasuke cleared his throat, regretting the action in the same second that Yamanaka stood up and turned in his direction, the sight of her ass being replaced by meters of tanned skin on a flat stomach gleaming with sweat and the volume barely masked of breasts that seemed to want to get rid of the piece of clothe, as some fat protruded under the rim.
"Eyes up here." Ino said in a hard voice, immediately lowering the shirt and erasing the image in front of him.
Sasuke didn't respond, but walked over to her and dropped the dry branches, finding some fascinating satisfaction in how Ino's gaze didn't even deviate for a second from his, even though he noticed the hard line in her jaw in tension.
"We are not on a seduction mission, Yamanaka." He said looking at her openly from feet to head.
Ino narrowed her eyes, refusing to show any reaction in front of the Uchiha as the black orbs raced through her body, almost as if mocking. She had in fact gone on enough seduction missions to know how not to shiver while a man looked at her like that.
That was her game, and in it, Uchiha was not even a spectator.
With a scornful smile, Ino closed the distance between the two, ensuring that her breasts were close enough to Sasuke's hard chest, but without touching it.
"I see ... don't flatter yourself too much, Sasuke-kun ..." She trailed off, approaching his ear, smacking her tongue as she whispered. "If my mission was to seduce you ... I would have already committed Seppuku."
"Don't start something that you can't finish, Yamanaka." He murmured, forcing an approach, his voice hoarse from lack of use, noses touching, his hard expression looking dead in her eyes.
"Sasuke-kun, I can finish this ..." She wet her tongue, moving her head a little, a sigh escaping her parted lips, blue eyes shining. But then suddenly, she laughed, waving her hand in front of her face. "I just don't want to."
Sasuke looked with disgust at where Yamanaka moved away, moving her hips more than necessary, returning to the job of unfolding the sleeping bag, although this time she was careful to kneel discreetly to do it.
He didn't think Yamanaka was really in the game. Sasuke was not one for perverted games of seduction, but seeing the teasing explicit in the woman's way, he was curious to see how she could take it.
Sasuke was not new to the Kunoichi 's special abilities, he had already seen one or two in action, but he could not tell if Yamanaka was really into this type of thing or was it just her petulant way.
He hated that the warm breath in his ear had actually reached some point in his body, hated how familiar his name sounded in Yamanaka's voice even though he hadn't heard it in years, and hated it even more that he had remembered it when he couldn't even remember of her at all a week ago.
God, he was a man, and Yamanaka although was annoying as hell, was hot as the devil too, he needed to give it to her. He hadn't noticed with all the heavy uniform that the girl's body had developed and passed through times of absurd thinness to abundant curves.
" I'm going to take the first round, you sleep in the meantime." Ino said simply, looking at him before walking away through the trees.
Sasuke observed with some strangeness that she had indeed extended her sleeping bag to him. It's not like he was actually going to sleep, he didn't trust Yamanaka enough to let his guard down.
Not that the girl was threatening, but there could be well-trained ninjas who would love to find a sleeping Uchiha there.
Looking at the dry branches lying on the ground, Sasuke shook his head thinking of the uselessness of collecting this when the temperature was stupidly hot.
When he walked away, a bottle of water freshly stolen carefully from Yamanaka's hip, he had no decent idea to justify his withdrawal. After finishing with the water in a few sips, the dry branches seemed like a good enough excuse.
Taking off the top of his uniform, he sat down near a tree, where the grass seemed cooler, and closed his eyes, frowning at the noise of birds and the weird peace of being on a mission after years.
.
.
.
Ino looked at Karatsukoya.
"Something?" She eagerly asked
"Nothing." The bird hooted with a little flapping of its wings.
"I'm fucking doing exactly as it says!"
Ino moaned and fell on her ass, her back falling miserably against the trunk of a tree, the thick bark making her spine hurt, although she was too tired to care.
"Maybe I'm too smart to be your test animal." Kara said.
Ino just looked, sighing.
"I need to change the shift with Uchiha in a few minutes. I wanted to be able to progress on that today." She grunted, running her hand over her forehead to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen, wet with sweat.
She had been at it for almost three hours. The hand signals were perfect, her mind was clear. Well, in the first ten attempts she couldn't clear the strangeness of the scene with Sasuke earlier, trying to forget how the hell she had put herself in that situation.
Ino thought it would be fun to wash the arrogance out of the bastard's voice. She was melting from the heat, for God's sake. As if she would willingly want to seduce an idiot. And even if it were, she wouldn't have to show an inch of skin for that.
She didn't expect the Uchiha to actually participate in the thing, much less that he would react so comfortably to her body's attacks.
Anyway, in the first few times there might have been a reason for it not to work, but in the other seventy it should have worked perfectly.
Kara had no great objections, so she couldn't be the problem.
"I must be missing something, I don't understand!"
"If you don't understand, you must be missing something."
"I'm not kidding Karatsukyu." She sulked.
"Geez, calm down."
She was frustrated. The commands were clear, and she was following everything properly, as the manual indicated. Furthermore, if she did not follow the schedule she had prepared, she would have inconceivable delays until the elders' deadline.
Why the hell was she unable to do that?
"Yamanaka, what are you doing?"
Ino froze, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Sasuke looked puzzled, the peculiar note in his thick voice leaving him more threatening than usual.
"Oh Damn, the Konoha ninjas definitely have a difference." Kara ... whistled?
Ino looked confused, turning to the crow and then back to Sasuke, noticing the bare chest and built abdomen exposed.
Arching an eyebrow, she stood up, feeling her back creak in painful protest.
"I was going to call you." She said through clenched teeth, picking up her bag on the floor, quickly checking that the scrolls were safe.
Sasuke followed with black eyes, not losing the way her spine bent at an odd angle.
"Come here." He ordered, absorbing his own words a little too late.
Ino just frowned. His pale skin looked like a bright spot in the darkness, although his hair and eyes were lost in the landscape almost like a camouflage. Ino had to prevent her thoughts from falling too far to the left.
"Why? You come if you want something." Ino spoke, cursing mentally in the double sense of the words.
Sasuke didn't argue, but approached with slow steps, as if it were a lion cornering its prey, turning around Ino's body which perceptibly recoiled, her face confused.
Was it a sick joke about the little game earlier? A rematch? What a bad loser.
"You should be watching, not training. Your situation is going to delay us in the morning." He spoke coolly, placing one hand on her right shoulder and the other in the middle of her back, feeling the fabric of the T-shirt wet on his skin.
Ino winced at the heavy weight on her body, Sasuke was not being gentle using his abrupt strength. Opening her mouth to protest, her tongue quickly curled into a strangled groan as pressure made her body lean close, returning to the normal position before she could even scream in pain or surprise,
"What the hell was that?!"
Sasuke spared one last look before turning around.
"I have medical training, I could do this better." Ino spoke loudly on his back, her chin tilted in an offended position.
"Then you should have." He said, his husky voice too low to be heard as he disappeared from his sight of her.
"I don't know if it was scary or sexy, but please honey, keep calling me. I love it." Kara was perched on a low branch, feathers ruffled as he silently scoffed.
At least her back felt better, although the ghost of Uchiha's hands continued to bring painful chills down her spine.
part II to be continued...
And here we go.
So that was the first part of that chapter. I don't know what you guys think. I tried to put a little bit of interaction in this chapter, in order to be able to advance in both and still focus more on the mission in the next.
I really had a hard time adequately shaping Sasuke's personality. Ino is easier for me, even when she is darker than normal.
Give me feedback on what you thought was kind of out with Sasuke and what was good, so I can improve in the next chapter.
Despite that, I like how their relationship is shaping up. Ino doesn't really like Sasuke much, she can't easily get over what he did, and his presence is a constant reminder of the sins that the man committed.
Sasuke didn't even remember Ino until he really paid attention to her. I tried to be realistic about it, I think it's not as if Sasuke would really put a thought in Ino with all the things that happened, especially if she is not the same as he remembered when they were children.
Still, I love the realization that Sasuke NEVER pushed Ino when she was on his back, although Sakura was always kicked immediately when she tried to grab hold of his arm. I think there must be reasons behind it, although it went unnoticed by Kishimoto.
I think Sasuke would be curious about Ino having changed so much, especially when Sakura, who was similar, hasn't changed at all. We know that our Uchiha has a giant ego and that can bother him a little.
megan: Yes! I love how tense Neji is too. He's an ice cube with feelings! :( In addition, the two went through great missions together, and with the difficulty of approaching the people that a Hyuuga has, surely those around should be preserved.
LeahMfkn'Clearwater: My dear! Glad you like. I decided to break the chapter into two parts, because a lot is going to happen, but I hope I won't disappoint. How is it going?
BJJF691: OMG what u mean?
HadeCharon93: Don't even tell me! I get so mad at the rough development with all the anime's kunoichis. Even Sakura who had a more advanced scenario is painted as useless. And the worst thing is that I fall for it, and I have a bitter heart for the pink lol, it is certainly not my favorite. But I love how Ino is unique and full of potential. I loved the comment, and I'm glad you liked it. I hope you continue to follow!
Guest1: You're welcome, dear! I only update because of the incredible comments you leave for me. I am nothing without readers!
Acronym: Neji has no social skills whatsoever, he is very tough. But I love him so much! Yes, Ino is very buried in the mud, but I think that these are obvious things that would happen in the anime if she had her own development. She is a Yamanaka heiress after all, a legacy from the T & i department, and ultimately, her skills are too perfect for Anbu to be ignored. I just put it all together! Hahaaha I love your comments dear friend, they always make me happy.
Guest2: Thank uuuu
HoneydeCM: I'm glad you liked it :)
Aya Kazuki: Thank you for your support ! :)
Mimi: I am grateful for the kindness of the comment dear: D
KuchiRuki: I'm happy, I like to write Ino as I would like her to follow during the anime.
Blacklivesmatter: I'm here! And yes, BLACK LIVES MATTER !
MinakoTrickster: I'm almost crying with your comment. Thank you very much, from the heart. I am very sad how Ino is portrayed as if she would simply outdo her father. They were so close, I think this would be a pain that she would never erase. In addition, I hate how they make it look like only the main characters have had big losses. In my view, Ino had only two important figures that she admired and stood out in life - and that really took care of her back - and both died. This is devastating. But I hope you enjoy the next chapters!
erikalu53006: hey u
blacksamuraigogo: OMGOMGOMG IM HEREEE DONT YELLLLLLL ! HAHA HA
