"Focus, Ino." her father's voice is stern as he encourages her to weave through her hand signs, for the Earth Style Defense Wall technique.

She closes her eyes and attempts to preform the technique once again.

A mole hill appears before her.

Ino sits on the ground defeated; covered in dirt and sweat, her legs bruised from the walls hitting her shins and a few of her toenails ripped. She and her father had been at this for the past three hours.

"Why can't I do this!" she slams her fist on the ground.

"It takes time." her father replies gently. Although Ino can hear the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Daddy, I don't have time. The exams are a week away!"

Her father smiles fondly down at her before he takes his seat beside her. "Ino, I have been watching you train. You've gotten stronger-physically and mentally. You're Hypnosis and Mind Persuasion techniques are nearly flawless with your improving chakara control. Even if you loose, you have won in my eyes."

Ino looks up at her father and gives him a teary eyed smile. "Thanks dad." Inochi wraps his arm around her shoulders.

The two sit together in silence for a few moments, father and daughter. "Do you think mom would be proud?" she asks softly.

Inochi wraps his arm around his daughter's shoulders. "She would. She would be so impressed, she never heard the call to be a shinobi like you. She was proud to become a member of the clan and give birth to another Yamanaka. To provide the heir to this clan." He gently tips her chin up "To be your mother."

The tears began to fall now, and Ino cries as her dad hugs her.

"You need to make up with Shikamaru." Chouji says as he plops down in front of Ino at the restaurant.

"Wow. Good to see you too, Chouji. How are you, Ino? I'm great thanks. How's training going? It's going, the exams are close you know." Ino replies sarcastically, going through the imaginary conversation that she would have with her teammate.

"I'm serious, Ino!" Chouji answers.

"Did it occur to you that maybe he should apologize to me?" she snarls.

"Of course it did. It's just that Shikamaru isn't going to do it. He's too damn lazy and as you know he will literally lazy you out of existence."

"I think he should apologize." Ino answers glancing at her menu.

God is there anything here that isn't swimming in a sauce? She had read in one of her magazines that the sauces on most foods was where all of the sugar and hidden calories were.

"You both need to apologize." Chouji sets his menu down exasperated.

"The idea of him Lazying me out of existence don't sound too bad right now." Ino muses.

Chouji opens his mouth to speak.

"If you say the words Ino-Shika-Cho. I will stab you in the forehead with this plastic fork."

The boy's mouth closes and he slaps his menu shut a little too hard.

Ino thinks about saying something snarky in return- instead she focuses on counting calories. Let's see if the average human burns 100 calories per mile…I could eat 500 calories and go run 5 miles. Then add in the climbing and other training I am going to do. Don't forget dinner or a drink, well that could be water, and daddy said he was going to work late so I could just skip dinner completely.

"Ino!"

"What?"

"What are you going to order?"

"Just a water and Shabu Shabu please." Ino replies.

Chouji looks at Ino strangely. Ino always ordered the Drinkable Yogurt, saying that it was the best one in town.

"What? I'm trying to stay hydrated." Ino answers.

Chouji just rolls his eyes, muttering something about stupid diets.

Ino throws her straw wrapper at him.

Ino swears that she sees Sasuke training with Kakashi as she runs her 5th mile around the training grounds. She stops and looks, trying to decipher if it is him or someone else training with the silver-haired pervert.

She decides to continue her run, trying to get a little closer. When she is across from the training ground, she stops again. The black hair, the blue shirt, the arm warmers. He turns and she sees the Uchiha crest on the back of his shirt.

"Sasuke-kun!" she screams as she waves furiously.

Her former classmate turns towards her, rolls his eyes, then turns back to Kakashi. His jounin teacher gives her a closed eyed smile and a wave.

Ino groans inwardly, she is suddenly convinced that it is because of her stupid hair and her lack of normal clothes. Dressed in a pair of shorts (Sakura and her father would say too short) and a baggy tank top, she knows that it isn't her usual style. Her stupid hair is another thing. Anko had taught her how to style it-into the spiky hair ponytail that she wore.

It does keep it out of my face for training.

With a sigh, Ino turns and continues her run.

Two more miles later, Ino stops her run at training ground 4. She reaches down her right thigh to pull a kunai out of her holster, but feels nothing but skin and slightly prickly leg hair.

"Shit." she groans to herself, both for forgetting her weapons for target practice and not shaving her legs.

"What's got you in a mood?" a lazy voice drawls.

"Fuck." she mutters to herself. "Nothing you need to concern yourself about, Shikamaru."

"Fine by me. Just look around before you disturb someone else."

"Someone else doing what? Laying on their backs?"

Shikamaru sighs and sits up to regard his teammate. "Actually Ino, if you look at the targets, you will known why I am here."

Ino looks at the targets sheepishly, each one of them has 10 kunai embedded within inches of the center eye.

"I am taking a break before Asuma comes back and makes me do it again." he sighs wistfully.

"Fine." Ino replies, she is out of excuses as to why she should be mad at Shikamaru, at least over this event.

"Besides what have you been bitching about?" Shikamaru asks.

Ino growls. "I forgot my weapons pouch."

Shikamaru lets out a chuckle. "Reason number 14 as to why you shouldn't compete in the exams- a good ninja should always be prepared."

"Are you two at it again?" Asuma demanded as he returns to the training grounds.

"Ino forgot her weapons pouch. I was reminding her about the importance of preparation."

"Oh get off it. If I had a dollar for every time you forgot something I'd be a rich woman."

Asuma runs his hand down his face tiredly.

"Can you just go? I'm training with Asuma sensai right now." Shikamaru sighs

A puzzled look crosses her features. "What do you mean? We don't have training today."

"You're scheduled to train tomorrow, Ino." Asuma points out.

"But Asuma, if there is anything that I need to do it's train with my teacher." Ino points out.

"You and Shikamaru have proven to me that neither of you can train together anymore. Unless you can both put this fued behind you, this is how it's going to be."

"So you're just shoving me off to the side, because Shikamaru is your favorite?" Ino demands.

"That's not what I am saying, Ino. You will have two more practice sessions with me, One tomorrow and another two days before the exam."

"So I only get two days, and Shikamaru gets" Ino pauses to count on her fingers.

Shikamaru sighs impatiently.

"Shut up, Shikamaru. He gets four." Ino points out. "How is that fair?"

"Because Ino, I have a chance of actually making it through the first round."

"Shikamaru!" Asuma scolds.

"It's not just Shikamaru anymore. It's you too, Asuma sensai. I don't want to be trained by you. Go ahead and train Shikamaru, I'll figure it out myself."

"Ino" Asuma attempts.

"Quit being an idiot." Shikamaru says.

"No. If my own teacher doesn't think I can do this then I don't want to waste his precious time, or interrupt his training time with his star student."

"You're being so stubborn." Shikamaru drawls crossing his arms.

"Thank you for your time, Asuma. I no longer need your assistance." Ino gives her shocked teacher a bow before leaving the training grounds.

"Ino did what?" Chouji exclaims as he and Shikamaru walk around the Nara Porperty, feeding the deer.

"You heard me, she says that she doesn't want Asuma as her teacher anymore and that she will figure it out on her own."

"Why the hell would she do that? Sure Ino is stubborn, but she's smart."

Shikamaru scoffs as he dumps a bucket of the deer feed into one of the trophs.

"It's true. You and Asuma must've really gotten under her skin."

"She threw a fit because I am training more days than she is." Shikamaru drawls.

"I mean, she is training for the chunnin exams just like you are. Actually I'm pretty sure she is training harder than you."

Shikamaru shoots him a repoachful look.

Chouji holds up his hands. "It's not that you aren't training or anything. It's just that with how hard Ino has been working, you'd think Asuma would've thought of another way to train the two of you."

"Well she shouldn't be training period. Maybe she'll realize that she shouldn't be in the exams."

"You are the stupidest smart person I know. With an IQ as high as yours, you'd think that you'd be able to at least read people." Chouji groans.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ino is as stubborn as they come. She's going to compete. Honestly, I think that you and Asuma should be giving her as much time as possible."

Shikamaru sighs.

"Who knows with Ino. She has gotten stronger, faster, better chakara control. She really might surprise you."

Shikamaru groans.

"It's true. Come to think of it, maybe it would make more sense for you to apologize first."

"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said."