Inochi sighs as he sits across the kitchen table from his daughter. After a couple rounds of sake with Shikaku and Choza, it had been revealed that Ino and Shikamaru were at each other's throats, again. According to Asuma, who had tracked the former Ino-Shika-Cho team down, it seemed like it was more serious than usual.
"Ino-" he begins.
"Why are you making me meditate?" she groans. "I doubt Shikaku is punishing Shikamaru."
"Shikaku is disciplining his child in his own way."
"By what? Making him walk the Nara property and feed the stupid deer?"
Inochi rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, odds are that was exactly what Shikaku was going to make his son do.
The walk and talk thing that fathers and sons do. He wonders what it's like to have that ability. Ino is a girl, and not just a girl, a hotheaded kunochi. A beautiful, self-conscious, easily embarrassed and slightly emotional teenage girl.
He has no idea what he is doing.
"You are Ino-Shika-Cho"
"And? What does it matter when we become chunnin and jounin we will be split up into different teams. It's not like we will be stuck together forever!" his daughter snaps.
"Ino-"
"No! If Ino-Shika-Cho is such a big deal, maybe I don't want to be Ino-Shika-Cho, maybe I want to be just Ino!" she jumps to her feet and begins to walk towards the door.
"Ino, where are you going?" Inochi asks jumping to his feet.
"I'm going for a walk before more of this Ino-Shika-Cho nonsense is shoved down my throat."
She makes a point to slam the door behind her.
Inochi sighs and sits back at the table, resting his head in his palms. "Gods, I wish my wife were still here."
Through her rage, Ino finds herself at the top of the Hokage Mountain. "Stupid Shikamaru. Stupid team." she mutters angrily
"I hate being part of Ino-Shika-Cho. I hate these exams."
A gust of wind blows her short hair across her face. "I hate my hair!"
She reaches into her holster and grabs a kunai. She grabs a fist full of hair, ready to hack off the entire chunk.
"You know that cutting it off will only prolong the regrowing process, right?"
"Ugh! You are the last fucking person I want to see right now, Hyuuga!" she drops the handful of hair and turns towards him,
"Yamanaka, do not take your rage out on me." Neji replies crossing his arms.
"Why are you here?"
"I have been here the whole time."
A blush immediately crosses her features and she is suddenly flustered about the temper tantrum that she is convinced that he just saw.
"It's just that Shikamaru is such a prick and he's just, agh!" she screams again turning away from the edge of the monument.
"I'm not interested in the drama between you and your teammates."
"Then why the hell are you talking to me?" she demands. Obviously he is talking to you because you interrupted his 'Neji time'
"You disturbed me."
"And?" Bad move.
Neji's eyes narrow. "I repeat. Don't take your emotions out on me."
If I push him off a cliff and pretend he is Shikamaru would I feel better? She shivers, already feeling the hostility.
Nevermind.
"Do you mind, Yamanaka? I would prefer to get back to my meditation. If I wanted to be disturbed I would have stayed where my teammates would find me."
"So you can't stand your teammates either?" Ino asks hopefully, all fear of Neji's wrath forgotten.
"The dynamics of my team are none of your business."
"You just said you were hiding from your team. Is it Tenten? She is such a badass and so pretty! Are you a couple? Because you would be a really sexy couple, not to mention I think that she has a crush on you. But I mean, you two would be a power couple-"
"Yamanaka." there is a warning tone to his voice, and Ino chooses to ignore it, waving away his threat as she continues to speak.
"I mean I could see you running away and hiding from Lee. Wait is he out of the hospital yet? I think Sakura mentioned that he checked himself out a couple of days ago. Or are you hiding from Gai? He can be-" she pauses for a breath, finger on her lip trying to think of the right word.
"Yamanaka, stop talking." Neji speaks again, this time there is no sound of a warning only a promise. He has closed the distance between them and grabs her wrist in a vice-like grip.
You and your big fucking mouth.
"Let go." she manages to growl out, trying her best to shove the emotions of fear and anxiety aside.
Neji doesn't immediately let go, instead his byukagan activates.
Ino feels her fear transform into anger Who the fuck does this guy think he is? I've had enough of this sexist, holier than thou, straight up rudeness in the past 24 hours.
She continues to glare at Neji, and channels her chakara, pressing deep into his subconscious for him to back down. She doesn't bother trying to fight against the bayakugan, instead she focuses on his grip on her wrist, hoping that he is focused enough on his own kekkei genkai as well as his frustration with her to notice.
She can feel Neji's grip loosen slightly; she presses harder, she can almost see her chakara flow through Neji's mind-
Let go.
Neji's hand drops and Ino quickly leaps out of reach, landing in a fighting stance.
"What did you do?" Neji demands, his byakugan still activated.
"Don't underestimate me, Hyuuga." she growls.
"Do us both a favor and go home. Despite your little mind games, remember I can kill you. And I won't hesitate to do it."
You idiot. Just walk away. Ino's mind screams at her. She winces, that voice sounds just like Shikamaru's.
"Well?" Neji demands.
Ino ignores the common sense of the voice, instead she stands her ground. "I'm not afraid of you." she snarls the kunai she was about to cut of her hair with still grasped in her hand
He is one her in a flash- she misses his entire movement until she feels a sharp pain in her left arm, a cry of pain escapes her lips as the weapon in her hand drops to the ground. She attempts to move her arm, but it hangs limply at her side.
"That is only a taste of what I can do you, Yamanaka."
Fuck. Go home, Ino.
She only glares at Neji, but despite her pigheadedness, Ino knows she cannot win this fight.
"Now leave before I disable your other arm."
Ino sighs, and despite the tough demeanor that she hopes she is showing-grasps her arm and walks away with her tail between her legs.
Her arm is still sore as she walks back home- to her relief the sharp tingle of feeling is beginning to return. About thirty minutes she thinks to herself, plenty of time for Neji, probably even the weakest of the Hyuuga to kill her.
"Well if it isn't my little flower girl." Dosu drops from the roof of a building in front of her.
Ino freezes. With one arm, her only hope is a kekkei genkai. She wonders if she has enough chakara to preform her hypnosis jutsu again. She'd wasted a lot of chakara on Neji, although she was proud of herself for pulling it off.
Focus, stupid.
"I've been looking for you." he says as he begins to close the distance between them.
Ino hesitates; she wants to stand her ground, but with only one useful arm, she is unsure and weary of the man before her. "I've been around."
"Obviously. So why don't we finish where we left off?"
"What part? The part where you want to kill me or the part where you keep reminding me that I am standing in the way of you and Sasuke?"
"Maybe a little bit of both. I plan to kill the Uchiha personally, call it a vendetta against someone."
Ino narrows her eyes. "What do you mean?" she wonders if she can keep him talking long enough for someone, well anyone to appear. Hell, I'd even settle for terrifying Gaara.
"Don't worry about it, Yamanaka. You'll be dead before the match even begins." He raises his right arm, the amplifier pointed directly at her.
Ino prepares herself for the worst.
"Yamanaka, Kinuta! Save it for the exams." Kuranai commands. she is standing behind Ino, there is a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
I wonder if Asuma gave her those. Fuck, focus!
Dosu lets out a sigh of defeat, but his glare never leaves Ino. "Yes, ma'am. I am sorry, I am just eager for these exams." his tone is curteous, as if it their interaction was friendly banter and not a death threat.
Kurenai looks between the two suspiciously "Go home, Ino. Kinuta, you are a guest here in Konoha. I expect you to act like one and follow the rules in place."
Dosu bows his head "I apologize, it is not my intent to be disrespectful."
My opponent has a fucking silver tongue.
Dosu turns and walks away. The look in his eyes telling Ino that this isn't over.
"Thanks Kurenai-sensai" Ino says with a smile.
"Don't mention it, has he been bothering you?" Kurenai asks, switching the bouquet of flowers from one arm to another.
"No. He's just trying to intimidate me, nothing but the usual overly competitive boy" Ino lies.
"Ino, tell me if he is giving you trouble." Kurena says seriously.
"I will" Not.
"Now run along home."
Ino smiles and waves at her teacher's lover and jogs home.
I got damn lucky. I hope my luck doesn't run out.