If there is one thing Ino hates, it's meditation.
And yet here she was, sitting with her father, Santa, and other members of the Yamanaka clan meditating.
She cracks an eye open to see her clan members all sitting with their legs crossed and their hands flat on their knees. Everyone looks so at peace, so relaxed and in control. She closes her eyes again and attempts to focus on her breathing.
Her nose suddenly itches, she scratches it. A loose strand of her stupid short hair falls into her face, she moves it. Her right foot is falling asleep, she switches positions.
This sucks. She thinks to herself as she inhales and exhales slowly.
According to her father and Santa this was going to be the most affective way for her to gain more chakara control and become a better sensory kunochi.
"Maybe it will help to cool down that hot head of yours." her father had teased.
There are so many more productive things that I could be doing right now. I could be reading, training, screwing with forehead. Hell I would rather work a double shift at the flower shop than do this. Her mind is racing and once again she has to focus on her breathing. Try to focus on nothing and clear her mind.
How the hell is a Yamanaka supposed to clear their mind? We are mind-walkers after all, shouldn't my mind always be active? She hates this.
She clenches her eyes shut, refusing to open them a fourth time. Looking at the clock had become torture, instead she just pretending the each breath was one breath closer to this hour of pure hell to end.
She wakes up with a jump when her father is lightly shaking her shoulder. "You fell asleep again, Ino." he says softly.
"I hate meditation." she groans, trying to remove a crick in her neck.
"That's exactly why you need to do it." her father teases as he tweaks her nose.
She wrinkles her nose in response and allows him to pull her to her feet.
"I don't understand how Hinata manages to do it. Or anyone for that matter."
Her father sighs. "Ino, meditation is going to be the only way that you can organize your mind. As your strength in clan techniques grow, your mind will become more and more cluttered. Yamanakas learn and witness so much through their jutsu that you must be able to store away and recall memories. Some of those memories or intel that you gather could be vital to the safety of your team, the village, and even the difference between life and death."
Ino thinks back to the time that her father's generation of Ino-Shika-Cho went behind enemy lines to gather information during the war; rumor had it that her father had entered the minds of over 50 enemy shinobi to gain the knowledge of the planned attacks on the Land of Fire. He says that it was his ability to compartmentalize his thoughts and memories that allowed him to successfully pass on the information to the Hokage.
Her father smiles down at her, "This is why you need to practice. You are the protege of the Yamanaka Clan, Ino. To become Clan Head, you must be the best that you can be, that includes meditation." he wraps his arm around his daughter's shoulders and begins to lead her out of the massive room that the Yamanakas meditate in.
"Are you eating enough?" he asks her, his large hands squeezing her slender shoulders.
Ino rolls her eyes "Yes, dad. Just been training a lot more"
They enter their home and her father goes to the kitchen to make supper. Ino pulls out the training scrolls, and continues to read and memorize the shape of the human brain.
Her concentration is broken when her father places a plate of rice and vegetables in front of her. She smiles and closes her scrolls as the two begin to eat together.
"Ino, can you watch the shop tomorrow?" he father asks.
"Are you going on a mission? I thought tomorrow was your day off."
"I know. I need to go into T&I. Ibiki is having trouble with an enemy nin, and they need me to come and…help out"
Ino sighs, she knows what the term help out means when a Yamanaka is called into the Torture and Investigation Unit. Her father was going to break this enemy ninja from the inside out.
"Of course, dad."
Ino lets out a loud moan as she stretches at the counter of the flower shop. It is raining outside, which meant that no one in Konoha wants to go to the flower shop to buy flowers. Since opening the shop; Ino has set the flowers on display, planted new bulbs, watered all the plants, and even made some arrangements for customers.
That entertained her for about four hours.
Now she is reading about a new clan jutsu that she wants to try. It a psychological genjutsu that would allow her to enter an enemy's mind and force them to see whatever it is that Ino plants in it, almost like a hallucination.
"This is like making someone schizophrenic." she mutters to herself as she reads over the hand signs for the technique.
If I can master this, the Mind Persuasion, and the Earth style technique, I might just have a shot Ino thinks as she begins to study.
The ringing of the bells over the door of the flower shop break her concentration. "Welcome" she calls out, not bothering to look up.
There is silence and Ino can feel cold eyes land on her. She looks up to see the boy from Suna, the one with red hair and the terrifying aura behind him. Though she knows she needs to fine tune her sensory skills, she can easily see the blue aura surrounding him.
She swallows and quickly puts her notes beneath the counter. "Can I help you?" she asks, proud of herself for not stuttering. Hoping that she kept the fear out of her voice.
The boy looks at her though minty green eyes and begins to walk through the aisles of the flower shop. Ino stays rooted to her spot behind the counter, watching the gourd and the boy carrying it wearily. Her eyes are wide and she wonders if he can feel the fear radiating off of her.
The door to the flower shop all but slams open, the bells ringing violently as the red haired boy's siblings rush into the shop. "Gaara!" the sandy blonde haired girl cries out.
That's his name. Ino recalls.
The boy pauses his exploration of the aisles. "What?" he demands.
"We-we just lost sight of you is all." The other boy, the one with kabuki face paint and obviously the third of the Sand Siblings explains.
"Don't worry." Gaara says as he continues his survey of the flower shop.
The female member of the team releases a sigh of relief, then turns her attention to Ino.
"You fought in the chunnin exams with us" she says as recognition flashes across her face.
"Yes. You are Temari, you are going to fight my teammate, Shikamaru." Ino says.
Temari smiles wickedly "Any tips?" she asks as she walks towards the counter "Just between us girls."
The other boy follows his sister, his smile even more intimidating outlined in purple face paint. "Come on Temari, you know she isn't going to share that information."
"I don't know, Kankuro. With the right persuasion, she might." Temari smirks as she leans against the counter with her arms crossed.
"She's made it to the final round too, if you remember." Kankuro replies as he follows his sister's lead.
"Not the most impressive of all fights I must say." Temari says.
Ino bristles at the response. "Last time I checked, I qualified. That is all that matters." She stands up and places on hands on the counter.
"You almost lost, not much of an impressive match. Almost ended in a double knockout" Kankuro points out.
"Not that your fight was all that interesting either." Ino snaps placing her weight on her hands as she leans across the counter.
Kankuro narrows his eyes at her.
"We could kill her." Gaara says suddenly. He his holding a white hydrangea in his hand "Imagine how pretty this would be in red."
Ino gasps as she sees the massive gourd that is strapped to Gaara's back begin to shake.
"We could." Temari says licking her lips ever so slightly, Ino can tell that she girl is lying, but Gaara certainly isn't.
Kankuro rolls his eyes "I think we've scared her enough, you can kill her at the finals, unless someone else kills her first."
"She really isn't worth the effort." Temari points out.
Gaara approaches slowly.
"Seriously, Gaara. Come on." Kankuro says again.
The door to the flower shop opens again and this time it is the jounin teacher of the Sand Siblings. "Gaara! Kankuro! Temari!" he barks
The three siblings turn towards their teacher.
"What are you three doing here?" he demands.
Gaara makes the first move and turns to walk towards the door. "Too weak." he mutters.
"Nothing, sensai." Temari quickly says as she follows.
Kankuro gives Ino a wink. "Just scoping out the competition."
When the door closes, Ino sits back down on the stool behind the counter and can feel her entire body shaking. She closes her eyes to focus on her breathing, but all she can hear is her own ragged breaths and her heart beating. After a few moments she manages to regain control. She opens her eyes to see the hydrangea that was in Gaara's hand laying on the floor in front of the counter.
On still trembling legs, she walks to the flower, picks it up, and throws it in the trash.