Authors Notes: So sorry for the long absence. I moved half way across the country and work has been exceptionally time consuming, but I am trying to continue this fic. I really don't like leaving ANY fic undone and I've done too much of that in the past. I'll endeavor to not take as long with the next update. ;

Also, for those that were wondering about the ANBU mask names, I have chosen them based off of the zodiac and am calling them by their japanese names. Here is a little glossary of them and who we've met who wears the mask (in no order):

Hebi - snake, Saru - monkey (Ino), Tori - rooster/bird, Tatsu - dragon (Neji), Nezumi - rat (Mimura Hamase), Ushi - ox (SarugakuTsuzumi), Tora - tiger (Yuugao & ANBU Captain), Usagi - rabbit, Uma - horse, Hitsuji - goat, Inu - dog (Tatami Iwashi), Inoshishi - boar (NOT Ino! )

Elsewhere in Konoha...

Ino tucked one long leg up underneath her chin as she sat on Raidou's faded old sprung couch and waited for him to finish showering. The sun had long since disappeared behind big thunderheads that had been piling up to the west all afternoon, and Ino could smell the coming rain on the breeze. She kept her eyes stubbornly off the clock above the door that told her that time was slipping away from her. Especially if she expected to have any hope of running back to her own apartment first to clean up for her date. A glance in the mirror Raidou had hung on the coat closet door told her that she wasn't looking all that exceptionally feminine and appealing at the moment in her bulky chuunin vest, loose pants, and limp hair. She could ditch the vest and instantly look better --because after all really, who did that thing flatter? It even made skinny Shikamaru look wide-- but her hair was just hopeless. The increasing humidity wasn't helping it any either.

She sighed and rested her chin on her knee. It was just total luck that it'd been Raidou that she'd caught sight of from the restaurant as he was heading back in from a mission. As Genma's best friend and Yuugao's boyfriend he seemed the most logical choice to ask for directions to Genma's. Her luck had been tempered unfortunately, because she hadn't noticed until she'd caught up to him that he was with Yamashiro Aoba, a total big mouth if she'd ever met one. Aoba was a nice guy, but he had all the tact of a sledgehammer, and while Ino liked gossip, she didn't like being the object of it. So once again she was more or less forced into tagging along while Raidou and Aoba waited to file their mission report, hoping for the chance to get to speak with Raidou alone. Aoba had proven harder to shake than she'd originally thought however, and in the end she'd been so desperate that she'd followed Raidou home like a puppy.

She just hoped Genma was going to appreciate the efforts she was going to just to keep their date.

"Much better! Sorry to have kept you waiting, Ino-chan, but I just don't feel like myself until I can wash the mission grime off of me," Raidou said as he walked through his living area and into the kitchen. He wore a pair of old faded ninja blacks and was tugging a dark gray t-shirt down over his scarred chest. His hair was still wet and partially covered by a small white towel that hung precariously off of his head. "Beer or Soda?" he offered, surveying the contents of his icebox.

"Soda would be fine, thank you," Ino replied politely.

"All I have left is Pineapple...sorry," Raidou apologized, handing her a yellow can as he crossed in front of her to sit at the other end of the couch with his beer. Ino made a small face. "Genma's the only one that'll drink that crap," Raidou shuddered, propping his feet on the low table in front of the couch.

"Really?" Ino asked dubiously. Opening her can and taking a sip of the super-sweet soda she grimaced. "Ugh! He likes this stuff?"

"He has strange tastes," Raidou sighed enigmatically into his beer. Ino was pondering just what exactly those tastes might be when Raidou spoke again. "So, what can I do for you, Ino-chan? Or did Yuu-chan send you by to check up on me?" he winked.

Ino searched in vain for a coaster to set her soda can down on, three sips of the overly sweet drink being her limit. "What? No, no she didn't...why? Do you need checking up on?" Ino questioned narrowly. Raidou laughed, rubbing at his wet hair with the towel.

"I was kidding. Am curious as to why you're here, though. Not that you aren't welcome."

Ino bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. Suddenly it seemed somehow too rude and forward to say that the only reason she was there was to ask him for Genma's address. She also felt little awkward about visiting him without Yuugao or Genma present. She'd really only ever been around Raidou in the context of Yuugao's boyfriend. He and the other jounin were a circle of friends that while welcoming, Ino still didn't feel quite a part of. Raidou was friendly enough and she liked him quite a bit, but she really didn't know him that well. She was starting to wonder why she thought following Raidou home was such a good idea in the first place.

"Ino-chan?" he prompted when she hadn't replied, just tapped her steepled fingertips together nervously in a very Hinata-type fashion.

"I need a favor," she blurted suddenly, then blushed. "I know it's very presumptuous to ask, since I don't know you that well, but...I do trust you."

"Okay," Raidou said slowly, watching her as she fidgeted. "I'm honored you think well enough of me to ask."

Ino sighed gratefully at his words, seaming to deflate as she leaned back. "Really? Oh thank goodness," she exhaled. "You have no idea how this has been driving me crazy! All day! Who to ask? If I ask the wrong person then all kinds of rumors can get started up and nobody needs that kind of trouble, right? I don't know about Genma-san, but I know I certainly don't need more of that kind of talk going around about me. There's enough already! Like this whole stupid thing I keep hearing about me and Ibiki-sensei! It's enough to make me want to crack some skulls! I mean, can you imagine? I worked my butt off to get that squad assignment and even stupid Shikamaru had the balls to imply that there was some kind of...of...impropriety involved! That I got promoted because he wants to...you know! With me! Which is just... beyond ridiculous...right?" Ino paused in her breathless rant to give Raidou a somewhat bright expectant look as she waited for his agreement.

"Err..." Raidou scratched his head, confused. "You've lost me. What about Genma, Ibiki, and Shikamaru's balls?"

Ino blinked.

"What the--? Were you even listening?" she sputtered, one vein on her forehead bulging dangerously.

"I thought I was!" Raidou said defensively.

"Well obviously not!" she shot right back, scowling at him as she pushed her chin length hair out of her face with the back of her hand. Raidou folded his hands on his stomach, holding his beer and gave her a somewhat bemused and indulgent look.

"Maybe try it again slower? Use little words this time...I've had a long day." Raidou's teasing grin was completely lost on Ino, who looked as thundery as the weather outside.

She wasn't sure at this point if she wouldn't just have more luck wandering the streets of Konoha calling out Genma's name until she found him, or maybe she should just blow the whole thing off and go home and take a hot bath. Because this whole "find me" game of his was starting to be more trouble than it was worth.

"You need little words even on good days, Sweetie. Don't kid yourself," a voice from the doorway said with a light chuckle.

Ino turned in her seat toward the door as Raidou looked up at the intrusion, a wide smile splitting his scarred face. "That's cause I'm old, I keep telling you that, Yuu-chan."

Yuugao shook the heavy raindrops from her long violet hair as she kicked off her sandals, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's attempt at wit. "Ino-chan! This is a nice surprise," Yuugao greeted warmly as she took off her green jounin vest. "Checking up on my 'old man' for me?" she said, winking conspiratorially at her. The blonde smiled back at her gratefully, she'd never been so happy to see Yuugao in her life. Finally her mission would end in success!

"A-ha! I knew it!" Raidou cried dramatically from his place on the couch. "The kunoichi's are in league against me!" With that he tossed the towel he'd had resting over his shoulders to Yuugao so she could dry her hair.

Once her vest and weapons had been stripped off and deposited by the door, Yuugao joined them on the couch, dropping a brief kiss on her boyfriend's smirking mouth before plopping down next to him with a sigh.

Raidou slung his arm over her shoulders, pulling her in close to his side. "Want a beer?" he asked quietly. Yuugao shook her head and took his out of his hand.

"Got one, thanks," she replied, taking a sip. Raidou pressed a lingering kiss to her temple, Ino's presence forgotten until she cleared her throat.

"Did you have a sucessful mission today, Senpai?" Ino asked, working her way up to asking Yuugao for Genma's address as soon as politeness would allow so she could flee and leave the two lovebirds alone. She'd spent enough time with the two of them since she'd become friends with Yuugao to know that they were always disgustingly cute and loving together. Especially whenever either returned from a mission. Normally, Ino found it very sweet and romantic, but right now it just made her kind of impatient and scratchy.

Yuugao sighed, her violet brows coming together. "Not really. We got some intel about a group of unknown shinobi camped somewhere southwest of here. We spent half the day looking, and found nothing. Not ashes from a fire. Not even a bent twig."

"Is that unusual?" Ino asked, confused.

"Again?" Raidou questioned. Yuugao nodded tiredly.

"Three times now we've gone out on the same call. Unknown shinobi seen camping in the forest outside the Village. It's from a reliable source. So we go out to see what's what and they're gone. Like they were never there. It's like chasing ghosts." Yuugao explained for Ino's benefit. "It's like..." she started and then frowned harder.

"Like what?" Ino prompted, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Like they know we're coming or something," Yuugao said, then shook her head in dismissal as she chuckled. "Ridiculous, I know..."

"I'm really hungry," she said then, changing the subject as she turned to Raidou. "Maybe we can meet up with--"

'Fuck bad luck getting nabbed before I could meet up with--'

Ino's body went deathly still as Chigumo's mental voice suddenly replayed loudly in her mind, drowning out the violet haired kunoichi's voice. 'Meet up with--' Meet up with who? It made her wonder. Could these vanishing shinobi have something to do with her squad's prisoner? It was too big of a coincidence not to be. She should have paid closer attention in the report of the circumstances of Chigumo's capture. Again, Ino tried remembering anything from the Interrogation with the captured shinobi, but still the answers seemed to be just out of reach, like a word dancing on the tip of her tongue. Something vitally important, something she should remember, she felt it intuitively, but it just wouldn't come to her, like it was being blocked. It was frustrating. Like she was letting Ibiki and the whole squad down.

"Ino-chan? Ino!"

Ino snapped back to the present when she heard Yuugao calling her name. "Huh?"

"We lost you there for a minute. You okay?" Yuugao asked with a smile. Ino nodded quickly in the affirmative. "I was just telling Raidou that I'm absolutely famished. Would you like to join us for dinner?" Yuugao asked.

"No! No, thank you...I..." Ino began, looking from Yuugao to Raidou briefly as she waved her hands in front of her. "I have a date for dinner tonight, actually. That's uh...kinda why I'm here."

Raidou nodded. "That's right. You said you wanted to ask me a favor."

Ino chewed her lower lip. "Well, truthfully...I wanted to ask Yuugao-senpai the favor," she said apologetically.

Raidou rolled his eyes and got up from the couch. "Oh, I get it... Girl stuff. Fine, fine! Reject me. I'll just go make myself scarce then," he pouted. Then leaned over and kissed Yuugao on top of her damp head. He rumpled Ino's short hair playfully as he went by to show he was just teasing and gave her a wink before disappearing into the bedroom and shutting the door.

Ino may not have known Raidou as well as she did Yuugao, but she couldn't help liking him. Despite looking so serious all the time because of his scarred countenance, he really had quite the sense of humor, as evidenced on the night of Genma's birthday with the Icha Icha Paragon cover switcheroo. Ino was also privately of the opinion that the man must have been drop-dead gorgeous before his injuries, because he was still quite handsome now in spite of the scars. His personality only made him more so.

Ino shook her head, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to straighten it out from Raidou's mussing. "He's really something," she said to Yuugao, chuckling. "You're really lucky."

Yuugao smiled fondly at her younger friend. "Yes," she said wistfully. "I'm very lucky. I wouldn't trade him for...almost anything."

Ino tilted her head slightly, having caught the slight pause in the violet haired woman's answer. There was the tiniest hint of sadness in her dark eyes for a moment and then it was gone. "Senpai?" she murmured.

"A favor that has to do with dinner..." Yuugao grinned, deftly sidestepping Ino's concern as she tapped a red lacquered fingernail against her chin. She cocked her head at the younger woman playfully. "This has Genma-kun written allllll over it."

Ino blushed as Yuugao laughed at her. "Senpai!" The blonde complained. Oh, how she hated being embarrassed! Yuugao got up and went to the window by the front door and motioned Ino over.

The storm had moved in with full dark, the whisper of the heavy rain audible through the closed window. Yuugao folded her arms over her breasts as she leaned against the cold glass, still smiling at Ino. "End of this street...see the lights of the park?" she asked Ino, tapping the glass with the back of a knuckle. Ino nodded. "Far side of the park facing the Hokage monument there are three green buildings. Third floor of the building closest to the cliff. The only apartment with a balcony. You can't miss it." Yuugao told her.

Ino nodded, memorizing the directions instantly. She didn't even bother wondering how Yuugao knew that directions were what she was after, she was just grateful she'd been spared the additional embarrassment of actually asking for them. Ino then glanced up at the clock over Raidou's door and winced.

7:47 pm.

So much for primping. But given the pouring rain...

Yuugao settled her hands on Ino's shoulders and turned her around to guide her over to the door. Opening it and propelling her out onto the covered walkway. Rainwater dripped from the overhang above, making puddles on the uneven concrete. Yuugao squeezed her shoulders gently as she faced Ino toward her destination and then leaned in until her ruby lips were almost against Ino's hair.

"Go get him, tiger!" she whispered, giving Ino a gentle shove. Ino gasped, mortified. "Gambatte yo!" Yuugao caroled sweetly and then shut the door before the flustered Ino could whirl around with another indignant cry of 'Senpai!' on her lips. She could hear Yuugao behind the door laughing merrily at her.

Ino made a face briefly, pondering payback, and then turned back toward the Park at the end of the street and squared her shoulders. Now that the time was at hand butterflies were starting to flutter around in her stomach, so she took a deep fortifying breath. After all...it was just dinner. With a friend. What was she so nervous about anyway?

"Well...here goes nothing," she murmured under her breath and ran out into the rain.

Somewhere in the darkness water dripped.

The monotonous sound drilled into Chigumo's tender brain, setting his teeth on edge. Since regaining consciousness the evening before his head had felt like someone was ramming two red-hot kunai in through his eye-sockets directly into his skull. Repeatedly. He'd been treated by a medic --the same sloe-eyed woman from the night he'd been captured--, but despite his repeated complaints about the pain, the medics said there was nothing physically wrong with him.

Chigumo gave a wry chuckle at the memory. Yes, there was nothing physically wrong with him whenever the Hokage's medic came to check. But there was plenty wrong with him whenever that scarred bastard finished with him and before he had his Nezumi masked ANBU heal the worst of his damage. They'd been interrogating him nearly constantly for the last nineteen hours, and in spite of it all, he'd given them nothing. Yet. Physical torture he could withstand. It was why he'd been chosen for this infiltration, but the mental fuckery that the scarred interrogator had been putting him through was another level of anguish completely. He wasn't sure how much more he could take before the mental blocks his mission partner had placed in him would crumble and he'd tell them everything.

The injured shinobi leaned forward, his lank hair covering his face as he tested the limits of his restraints. The Leaf ANBU knew what they were doing as the more he tested the ropes that bound him the more chakra they drained. Just a steady ebb to keep him weak. Coupled with that endless monotonous drip that made his head feel like it was going to crack open like an egg. It was maddening.

"Fuck this shit...I'd better get double pay for this," he muttered to himself.

The stealthy sound of a door softly opening had him on guard, but when he felt the familiar chakra signature he raised his head, straining to see anything through the heavy blindfold he wore. He could feel the air currents around him shift as the person knelt in front of him, and then the blindfold loosened to hang around his neck. He blinked, but the room was still nearly as black as pitch, the only illumination coming from the cracked open door. It was just enough light to make out the glow of the ANBU Hebi mask the man before him was wearing.

"'Bout fucking time," Chigumo grunted, keeping his voice low. "Where the hell've you been?"

The man held a finger to his mask's lips, casting a glance over his shoulder towards the door as he felt other chakra signatures begin to approach, and then move away. "I've been trying to keep from being caught, no thanks to you. What was your plan for this? Try and get captured? If so, brilliantly done." he murmured quietly, pushing the mask up to reveal a young and handsome face framed by longish hair.

"You little Bastard!" Chigumo hissed angrily. "I'd have thought twice if I knew it was gonna take you two fucking days to bail me out, Hitomaru!"

Hitomaru cocked his head to the side, seemingly unplussed by the scarred shinobi's vicious expression. "Couldn't move in without a disguise, Chigumo-baaaka," he drawled. Poking the older man in the nose, and none too gently either. "Took me a day and a half just to find the right ANBU and take his place. They are a rather paranoid bunch...very hard to surprise, especially when they think somethings going on. Suffice to say, our Leader is not pleased with the delays."

"So he sent you?" Chigumo asked warily, unease settling in his gut at the thought of their unseen Leader. The young man before him rolled his eyes.

"Of course! He wants to know what's taking you so long. Have you met with you know who or not? You'd best hope you have for your sake, Chigumo-baka...you know how Leader-sama gets when things don't go according to his schedule," he chided, wagging a gloved finger before the scarred shinobi's face in a reproachful manner. Chigumo winced at the thought as the handsome young man grinned cheekily at him, his perfect teeth flashing in the low light.

"Th-the mission is a failure. Now untie me and let's get out of here!" Chigumo said evasively, pulling futilely at the chakra draining restraints.

"Really?" Hitomaru questioned, tilting his head as he gazed sharply into Chigumo's bloodshot eyes. "Show me..."

Chigumo swallowed uneasily as the younger man's strange eyes bored into his. His head, which up until then had been a fog of pain and confusion miraculously cleared. He swallowed again as he felt Hitomaru flicker over his memories of the events that had taken place since his capture as easily as reading a book; the initial torture at the hands of the Torture Master, Morino Ibiki, his foiled attempt on his own life, his second interrogation in the presence of hot young blonde kunoichi. Hitomaru frowned at Chigumo's memory of her quick hand-seals and easy intrusion into his mind.

"A true Mind-ninjutsu user...that's interesting," he murmured to himself thoughtfully.

Hitomaru shook his head sadly then at the bound shinobi, his handsome boyish face almost a comic mask of despair as he clucked his tongue. "It's a shame, Chigumo-baka, that's bad news for you," he said softly. The next instant his gloved hand had grabbed Chigumo's jaw, his strong fingers digging into his flesh as he pried the scarred shinobi's mouth open. Chigumo's eyes widened in alarm as he watched Hitomaru's other hand come up, the short curved dagger that was his signature glinting in the low light.

Chigumo tried to thrash his head from side to side and get away, but the handsome young shinobi was stronger than his slight build let on and his fingers just dug deeper into his flesh. "No! Hito! It wasn't like that! Give me another chance! I can make contact! I'll tear this Village apart until I do! Please!" Chigumo hated hearing the weak, pleading tone in his voice as Hitomaru brought the knife closer to his face while shaking his head slightly.

"You know his rules, Chigumo-baka," he said mildly, before reaching in and cutting the other's tongue out in one quick stroke of the blade. Chigumo's eyes rolled up into his head and he screamed, Hitomaru kept his hand clamped over the other shinobi's mouth to muffle the noise, Chigumo's blood soaking profusely into the black ANBU gloves he wore. The noise subsided quickly enough as Chigumo started gagging on his own blood. Hitomaru let go of his head to wipe the blade clean on Chigumo's dirty uniform pants before re-concealing his favorite weapon. He hummed softly to himself as he rummaged through the weapons pouch of his stolen ANBU uniform. Chigumo grunted and gurgled softly, trying to speak with no tongue and he spattered a fine mist of blood on the younger man's face with the attempt. Hitomaru glanced up and held up a finger of his hand to his full lips in a shushing gesture, leaving a daub of blood behind from the soiled glove like some kind of macabre lipstick. "Quiet now, or I'll take your balls next," Hitomaru said mildly, "Ah! Here we are!" He crowed softly as he pulled a small cache of exploding tags from the pouch.

Chigumo's eyes almost fell out of the sockets they widened so much at the sight. He knew of Hitomaru's practices, he just never thought to be the unfortunate on the receiving end. It was making him regret not telling the Leaf shinobi everything and begging for asylum. If he'd known this would be his fate...he might have. He probably should have guessed, being partnered with Hitomaru in the first place. He struggled futilely against his bonds again as the younger man pulled out the smallest of the tags --no larger than his index finger-- and reached for Chigumo's head.

"Let's have some fun with them, what do you say, Chigumo-baka? Repaint this dreary room a whole new color?" he chuckled softly as he swiftly applied and concealed the exploding tags all over Chigumo's protesting body. When he was finished he stood with arms akimbo over the half-conscious shinobi who had been his partner, admiring his handiwork. Chigumo's eyes rolled up toward his again as he made a pathetic pleading noise, his chakra nearly drained from his struggling against his bonds.

"Poor Chigumo-baka..." he murmured, then leaned over the injured shinobi again, placing his hand comfortingly on the top of his head, the only 'safe' place to touch him now. "You got a bum rap, my friend. I suppose it doesn't hurt to tell you now, but...you were just bait. The real mission starts now." Hitomaru pulled a small vial from his vest and uncorked it, pouring the contents over the scarred shinobi's head to run down his face and mix with his blood. Chigumo's eyes sprung wide again at the distinctive smell and he shouted wordlessly the best he could, his meaning perfectly clear to the handsome young killer before him. Hitomaru held the piece of flesh he'd cut out of the other shinobi up for him to see. "I'll just keep this as a little souvenir, okay?" he grinned and then tucked the severed muscle into his pouch. "Give my regards to your ANBU hosts," he said amicably and replaced the blindfold over the grunting and noisy shinobi before him.

Hitomaru lowered his mask and slipped out the door, just as the ANBU --alerted by all the noise Chigumo was making-- rounded the corner. Morino Ibiki himself in the lead, just two running steps ahead of another ANBU wearing a Tora mask, his bearing more than anything else marking him as a Captain.

"You! Hebi-san! Report!" Ibiki barked. Hitomaru held the hand dripping with Chigumo's blood to his chest, letting it stain his white vest and making him look injured. "What's going on here?"

"I heard shouting. Taicho, the Prisoner was threatening to kill himself. I went in to stop it, but it was too late. He'd bitten his own tongue off and swallowed it. He was choking on it...I tried clearing the passage, but he bit me too, Sir," Hitomaru said respectfully, gesturing toward his hand. Hoping he sounded enough like the Hebi-masked ANBU he was replacing. He hadn't had that long to watch the man and adopt his mannerisms perfectly. "We need medics for him immediately!"

"Fuck!" Ibiki snarled and all but shoved Hitomaru out of the way as he reached for the door. Three masked ANBU right on his heels. "Neji! Watch this door! Hamase! Get the medics!" he barked as he threw the door open. The Tora-masked Captain favored Hitomaru with a speculative look, even as he was moving to follow Ibiki into the Interrogation Chamber.

"Get yourself over to the hospital for now. I'll want a full report later, is that understood?" he ordered sharply. The lights clicking on in the room behind him as Ibiki approached the grunting and straining Chigumo.

Hitomaru grinned wildly behind his mask as he backed away swiftly, the Captain already dismissing him. The other ANBU, including the Tatsu-masked one Morino had addressed as Neji barely sparing him a glance as they stared into the blood splattered chamber.

Calmly he walked out of the ANBU headquarters as the medics on duty ran past him, busting ass to answer Morino Ibiki's summons. An attractive woman with sloe-dark eyes and carrying a pig of all things was shouting orders as she hurried along behind. Hitomaru clasped his hands behind his back and started humming to himself again as he blended into the increasing rain and disappeared into the heart of the Village.

Shame he couldn't stick around for the fireworks. It was sure to be a blast.

Ordinarily, whenever Ino went out on a date --even if it was one she wasn't all that enthusiastic about-- she always put effort into her appearance. And while she wasn't as vain and obsessed with her looks as she'd been when she was younger, Ino still liked looking good. She liked dressing in clothes that identified her as a beautiful woman, rather than just a shinobi, even if a stiletto heel could be as deadly in her possession as a kunai. The point was that she liked being well groomed. She liked her make-up perfect, her perfume alluring. She liked feeling desirable. She enjoyed the lingering and admiring looks from whatever male she'd deemed worthy of her company for the evening.

So it went without saying that she wasn't enjoying this one little bit.

Genma leaned casually in the doorway of his apartment in a loose t-shirt and an old faded pair of ninja blacks. The at home attire du jour for jounin just back from missions it seemed, Ino observed sourly. His hair was damp and the scent of soap wafted enticingly around him, along with the more savory aromas of miso and curry coming from inside. He looked good enough to eat with his hair loose and free of the reverse hitai-ate.

Ino on the other hand, --thanks to the increasing storm and Yuugao's vague directions-- couldn't have been wetter if she'd purposefully jumped fully clothed into the river. She was cold. She was miserable. She was about as far from 'date presentable" as it was possible to get without actually resorting to sabotaging herself. And rather than lingering looks of admiration...he was laughing at her.

She wanted to punch him square in his handsome face.

"You remind me of that kitten who fell in the koi pond trying to catch his reflection," Genma chuckled and folded his arms over his broad chest. "But I'll bet you look more pissed off."

The glare Ino gave him could have peeled paint and sent Shikamaru and Chouji screaming for the hills, but Genma seemed pretty much unfazed by it. There was a spreading puddle of rainwater at her feet as she dripped unhappily. She opened her mouth to give him an appropriately scathing set down --followed by a dramatic and probably triumphant exit -- but before she could give him hell her stomach spoke up for her. Growling loudly and reminding her that thanks to her double shift at the gate, all she'd had to eat that day were a couple of measly onigiri that Mozuku had been kind enough to share from his bento. Ino folded her hands over her traitorous middle and shut her mouth with an audible snap.

Genma grinned knowingly and jerked his head toward the inside of his apartment. "There're towels in the bathroom. I'll get you something to wear while those dry," he told her, the tip of the senbon between his teeth catching the hallway light and reflecting it back as he spoke. "Just dump the wet stuff in the tub."

Knowing when to give in being the better point of valor in this situation, Ino held her head up stiffly and marched past Genma into his apartment. Nothing about the day was going right so far, but Ino was determined to try and not let it get to her. She was finally here and she would make the best of it, even if she did resemble a half drowned kitten according to Genma.

Soaked to the skin, she peeled her clothes off to wring out the excess rainwater into Genma's bathtub, setting her weapons pouch and kunai holster aside next to his. His bandana hitai-ate and jounin vest were both hanging up over the shower rod since they couldn't go in the clothes dryer so Ino followed suit. Hanging her smaller vest next to his. Genma knocked and then opened the door a crack, just sticking his arm in with some dry clothes. Ino dove behind the door with a squeak of surprise.

"Here ya go, these are the smallest I have."

"Thanks," she said, taking the bundle from him.

"No problem. Take your time, dinner's still not ready. I got back late," he told her and shut the bathroom door. Ino smiled secretly to herself. Strangely flattered that despite the horrid weather and his late return he was still keeping their date.

The soft old blue t-shirt and frayed drawstring shorts he loaned her smelled like him and completely swallowed her up. With the tee falling to her upper thighs and the shorts to the tops of her calves she was about as shapeless as a twelve year old boy and she sighed at her reflection in the mirror. Fingercombing her towel dried hair the best she could.

Genma was busy in his kitchen when she emerged from the bathroom, so she took a moment to look around the living area of his small apartment. Like most single male shinobi his age there wasn't all that much to look at. Ratty old furniture that was more about comfort than looks she hoped as she eyed his couch warily. It looked older than she was, possibly even older than he was. There were weapons scattered about, a pile of dull shuriken in need of maintenance, and on a side table rows upon rows of senbon needles carefully laid out in groups of ten or more. Typical for a shinobi recently returned from a mission.

Having caught her attention, Ino leaned over the senbon curiously, fascinated by the way the light caught them. She'd never been that big a fan of using senbon, she preferred the heft of a kunai in her hand if she had to fight hand to hand, so the last time she'd ever handled them was during weapons training at the Academy. She hadn't been very skilled with them, which was probably why she avoided using them. A wooden target hung on the wall above her, marked with thousands and thousands of tiny holes and bristling with senbon, all neatly grouped in the very center. Ino peered closely at it, impressed with the accuracy as each needle was nearly touching the next.

Given her acuity with kunai, she was curious to see if she'd be any better with a senbon after all these years and she reached down to pluck up a few for target practice while she waited for Genma to rejoin her. Ino's hand was almost on the metal needles when Genma's larger one suddenly wrapped around her wrist, stopping her. She jumped slightly, not having heard him or sensed his presence before he was just there. He pulled her arm up and away from the needles, as his hand on her hip pulled her back to him, fluid as a dance step.

"Careful," he murmured. "Those are treated ones."

Blood rushed to Ino's face and she twisted her head back to look up at him. "Treated? You mean...poisoned?"

He nodded. "More effective," Genma told her.

"Are they that potent?" She questioned, turning her gaze back to the innocent looking needles. It helped her ignore the fact that he hadn't let go of her yet. She could feel his heat behind her, just that close to her being pressed fully against him. "That just a touch can be so dangerous?"

"Until the poison has cured fully they can be a bit temperamental. Any moisture or small cuts on your hands and it can be absorbed. I've built up a tolerance, so it doesn't affect me to handle them," he answered her questioning gaze. "But, better to be safe than puking your guts out for about three days." Ino wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"That's lovely. Well, I'll try to remember to just look with my eyes around your stuff then," Ino teased, "and not with my hands."

The tip of Genma's senbon wagged up and down slightly in her peripheral vision as he leaned close to her, his breath stirring the hair at her temple. "Just the senbon, darlin'..." his voice purred in her ear. "Everything else is fair game."

Ino's breath caught in her throat as her pulse sped up. Again with the innuendo. How was she expected to respond? "Genma-k-ku..." she breathed. The more familiar form of address locking in her throat. He turned his head slightly and spit the long senbon between his lips casually toward the wooden target above her head, nailing the absolute center flawlessly. "Nice shot," she managed.

"I never miss what I aim for," he told her, his hand sliding farther around her waist.

"Oh. Ahem...well. Of course," Ino mumbled, hoping she didn't sound like the idiot she felt. It wasn't like she was a stranger to the dating game. Or the dance of attraction with a potential partner, she was no virgin, but the constant ambiguity about his intentions coupled with the way Genma teased and flirted with her just threw her relationship radar for a loop. Ino did best when she understood the rules of engagement. When she had a modicum of control over the outcome. This --as his arm tightened around her middle subtly, a flex of muscle that drew her ever so slightly closer-- was about as far from control or first date protocol as Yamanaka Ino ever got. Yet she was finding that really she wasn't all that upset about it.

Genma's other hand let go of her wrist to smooth her damp hair away from her face, and she leaned into the caress. "Tell me something I've wondered about," he said. His voice a deep rumble near her ear as his fingers gently combed through her short hair.

"Hmmm?" she purred, turning her head toward his as her eyes slipped closed. Enjoying the petting like the little kitten he'd called her.

"Why did you cut your hair off a while back?" he asked. Tucking a lock of pale hair behind her ear and withdrawing to turn her around and see her face, his hands resting on her narrow shoulders. Ino's eyes cracked open to find him looking at her expectantly, and her brow furrowed slightly that he'd pulled back. Yet another mixed message. Her fingers drifted up to tug at a chin length lock absently.

"There was this mission..." she started, then made a face at the memory. "Short version; some Rock-ninja moron grabbed me by the pony-tail and proceeded to use it to throw me against a tree. Repeatedly. Ergo, function won over vanity and style and the sacrifice was made. Chop, chop!" she illustrated, using her fingers to mimic scissors.

Genma chuckled softly, mostly at Ino's sour expression. His hands slid up from her shoulders to cradle her head in his palms. Soft hair sliding silkily over rough calloused fingers. "Well, I like it. It suits you," he murmured. Leaning in to place a lingering, but chaste kiss on the top of her head, before letting her go to return to the kitchen.

"Let's eat," he called.

More confused than ever, Ino followed.

Author's Note: Yes...I'm leaving you hanging there. Sorry about that, but! I am already at work on the next part.

Reviews are wonderful feedback and very welcome, but I would appreciate not being chastised for the long absence and keep them about the story. Please?

Til next time!