Thanks for any support! I know it's hard to come by with this pairing!

This chapter is all Ino =D

Please leave me reviews! I came from an old school fanfiction where follows don't count!

Naruto is not mine!

-Chapter 1

-Ino-

Shortly after Ino had gained control over her weeping, an uncontrollable fear had entered her body. Kakashi, now the Hokage, had put together multiple teams to investigate and search Konoha for any clues concerning Hidan's escape, but they all came back with nothing. Konoha had sent a mass alert to all the villages to update their Bingo books and post up the wanted posters so the public too, could add to the search. It had been almost ten years and still nothing had been found on the silver haired Jashinist.

It felt like years before Ino could sleep through the night without nightmares. It took Shikamaru even longer, even with Temari helping him through it all. Chouji had seemed relatively stable about it all. After the first year of fruitlessly searching, they had gotten together at a restaurant for the anniversary of Asuma's passing. He had sat quietly the whole time while Shikamaru and Ino lamented back and forth. Shortly after the food came out he remained still, and finally Ino had taken notice. Good, bad, or indifferent, Chouji always ate. When she asked, he had turned a look on her that was as if he was seeing through her and it was so cold she had felt a shiver run down her spine. She still couldn't believe the words he had spoken while his eyes glared somewhere faraway.

"I don't know about the both of you, but when we walked out of that forest my only regret was that I couldn't blast him to pieces again – over and over again – because even if I did it a thousand times, it still wouldn't be enough payment for what he did to Asuma-sensei." He had stood and straightened to his full height, eyes suddenly regarding his teammates with a wildness they had never seen. "I'm almost glad he got out," Ino had gasped, Shikamaru had stiffened with eyes wide as saucers. "Because now we get to punish him again." He stormed out of the barbeque restaurant without touching any of his food.

Neither Shikamaru or Ino had ever fully realized Chouji's grief at the loss of Asuma. They had both been so busy wallowing in their own self pity that they were too busy relying on the Akimichi to help them that they hadn't seemed to much bother to help him. Ino had felt like selfish scum, and it had hit Shikamaru hard to know his friend had been suffering so much without his realizing it. That night, after Chouji had abandoned them to their cooling meal in a sticky vinyl booth, they had vowed to become stronger for their neglected friend's sake.

So now, at the age of 25, Ino had moved on, but never quite forgot about the silver haired missing-nin. She had continued her education in Botany, studying with Tsunade and Sakura until her apothecary skills were the greatest of the three, and then with a bit more work, she became the greatest in the world. Her ability to create medicines and identify plants was unmatched, she traveled the world and helped villages and hospitals with research and created new – better – medicine for the ailing public. She was finally proud of her work as a Shinobi, and knew that she had done Asuma proud.

She was kneeling on the floor in front of a half filled duffel bag. Ino was leaving on a mission in the morning and had only managed to pack about half-way as she scrutinized what kind of clothing and other miscellaneous things would be needed while in Takigakure. The Waterfall village had sent her a specimen of a plant they believed to be a new species. She had inspected the thing and ran every test imaginable before being able to claim that she was at a loss. Normally such an idea would frustrate her, but this was so exciting! They had been all too happy to pay the A-class mission fee, and had already sent compensation for any of her traveling expenses.

"How long will you be gone?" She smiled at the man suddenly crowding her bedroom doorway. He wasn't wearing anything but a pair of loose black sweat pants that seemed to barely cling to his narrow hip bones. In his hands he held two steaming mugs, and he pushed one toward her in offering.

"Probably about a week, at the most two." Ino lifted from her knees and went to him, accepting the coffee with a kiss to his stubbled jaw. Behind him, Akamaru was nudging insistently at his knees and whining for her attention. She knelt down and scratched the dog behind the ears.

She had been dating Kiba on and off again for the last three years. Even so, they had never really gotten more serious than Kiba sleeping over at her place when she was in town. He appreciated and understood that her position made it hard to settle down. She was only in Konoha maybe 150 days of the year, if not less. All he asked was companionship when she was home, and she gave it willingly. She wasn't too proud to admit that she had grown lonely without another warming her bed and gratefully accepted all of his affection, even if they both knew that she didn't love him.

"What about you?" she kissed Akamaru on the moist nose and turned back to her bags. She slid a coaster under her mug before setting it down on the bedside table before continuing to pack.

"I leave in 3 days. Estimated time out is a month," he frowned and sat his mug down beside hers on the table before plopping down on her bed to watch her fold her clothes. "Will I catch you when I come back?" He grinned sexily when she shot him a glare and whacked him with the coaster before sliding it under his mug.

She opened her mouth to respond and then furrowed her brow in thought. "It all depends how early you get back I guess? Two weeks in Waterfall, then I'll be here about two weeks and then I have that scheduled shipment to take to Suna."

Kiba nodded but didn't look happy. Ino tilted her head to the side as she inspected his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" was his quick response. Ino pursed her lips expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He broke under the scrutinizing gaze and his shoulders slumped. "It's just…" he pulled a hand through his short spikes and sighed, "I miss you, Ino."

Ino pinched her eyes shut and shook her head, "Kiba…"

"I know!I know!" he threw his hands up in surrender, "I'm not supposed too. We aren't supposed to be serious. I get it!" his head fell back onto the bedspread, and she was left staring eye-level at his knees.

Ino's shoulders slumped. This was the reason for their many "off-again" moments in their relationship. Kiba wanted more, and she wasn't ready or willing to give it to him. She was 25 years old and only getting older. She should be trying to settle down – she had even dreamed of it as a girl! Kiba was a wonderful man. He was kind, loyal, dedicated, reliable, funny, sexy, and fantastic in bed. He would be the perfect husband one day – she just wasn't sure if she would be his wife. She sighed and shook her head again even though he could not see her. She didn't want to fight about this now. She didn't want to go on a two week mission with her head clouded by her relationship problems, nor did she want it to cloud his. She placed her hands on his knees and lifted herself onto the bed.

He watched her curiously as she crawled on top of him, straddling his hips with a mischievous smile. She leaned down and kissed a bare tan pectoral before nibbling her way up to his lips. His hot kiss made her toes curl, his tongue was lazy and drugging and ignited a heat in her that was almost broken apart when his eyes searched hers, clouded with desire but still anxious and conflicted over their argument. She pecked him gently on the mouth once more and traced the red triangle on his face with a fingertip. "I'll think about it okay?" she whispered sincerely.

His eyes lit up at her words, "You will seriously think about it?"

"Yes, I promise," his grin made her giggle. "Now hurry up and give me a farewell I won't forget," she ground her hips into his to punctuate her words.

His grin turned lascivious as he grasped her hips and flipped her onto the bed to be on top. "I can do that."

The next day, Ino gave him a long kiss goodbye, he gave her a wink and a pat on the rear before she was off with her small research team and a handful of Takigakure shinobi escorts.

o

I do like KibaxIno. To be fair I like Ino with anyone. As long as it's Ino. If anyone wants the KibaxIno lemon let me know! I have it written but am not going to post because it's just yummy smut and doesn't affect the story. Do you think what I have written so far warrants an increase in rating?

Next chapter is all Hidan and Kakuzu!