Change of Scenery

Chapter One - The Danger Approaches

The two ninja made good time that day. They crossed the border of Fire Country around noon and when halting to rest for the night, they were only a few miles away from the edge of Lightning Country.

Naruto slumped against a tree trunk on the edge of their camping site, yawning noisily and quite visibly.

"Put your hand in front of your mouth when you do that, Naruto!" Ino marked, spreading out her blanket to sit on before settling down and making herself as comfortable as one can get on the bare ground. Naruto wisely chose to ignore her, already accustomed to her obsession concerning manners and what she called 'proper behaviour'.

When he had returned from almost two years of training with the old pervert, Jiraiya, the air between former rivals Sakura and Ino had cleared miraculously. Naruto figured that without Sasuke around, they had nothing left to bicker about. If you asked him, it had been a useless fight anyway.

With the bonding the two girls had done in his absence, it was inevitable that Sakura began to invite her girl friend to their training sessions, so that the two girls could spar together while he took on Kakashi. This habit resulted in arbitrary ramen trips with himself eating all the ramen he could lay hands on, Ino scolding him for it and Sakura trying to keep the peace. She was both pleased and thankful that she had her two childhood friends back, and would have done anything to keep them from arguing. Her efforts were usually futile and the two blonds exchanged many harsh words on these endeavours. Both parties never seriously meant any harm with it, of course.

'Those were really fun trips! It's too bad we haven't got any time off these days.' A frown creased Naruto's brow and he voiced the question he had been meaning to ask the blonde-haired girl beside him all day.

"Hey, Ino-chan... Why do you think Baa-chan's been so hard on us lately? We don't even get to rest in between missions!"

Ino lifted her head from her knees to look at him in disbelief, heaving a deep sigh. "Are you serious? It's rather obvious, Naruto." The clueless expression Naruto wore indicated that he had no idea of the problem's cause.

"Okay. You know about the past war with Lightning, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Neji told me the tale of his father's death during our match at the first Chuunin exam we took... That was because of the war."

"Exactly," She nodded. Ino lifted a finger pointedly as if she were remembering something they had been taught back in the academy, a quirk of Sakura's she had copied unconsciously. "I think it was about two years after you and the toad Sannin returned; a treaty with the Lightning was formed, with signed contracts, joint missions, Kage visits throughout the countries, everything. Sakura must've told you, she was message-delivering her ass off during that time."

She took the affirmative nod from her intently listening spectator as a positive sign. Ino could not help but mark the look on his face as adorable, while he sucked in all the information he could give her. It was times like these that Ino desired to hit him over the head a couple of times. The boy had a good brain underneath that thick skull of his, but he did not use it all that often.

"Now, the reason the Chuunin exams this year are hosted over there is because though the air has been cleared between Konoha, Cloud, and Suna as well because of it's alliances to our home, most of the other ninja villages still aren't on good terms with Lightning Country. This exam is like a public display of generosity and kindness from Cloud to the rest of the shinobi world, to back up old alliances and engage in new ones. That's why there have been so many missions lately - both Konoha and Suna, Cloud's greatest allies nowadays, are trying to make sure that nothing bad happens during these exams. If any representative from another village gets killed during their stay in the Country of Lightning, a new war situation is almost certain to develop."

Ino left out the fact that she hadn't understood either until she had asked Shikamaru a while ago when she ran into him in the Hokage's hallways, him on his way to file a mission report and she busy stacking paperwork ready to sign.

Naruto's eyes lit up with understanding - This whole thing actually made a lot of sense!

"So that's reason Sakura-chan's been stationed in Kumo for the time being, to prevent a war..."

Ino nodded silently. "Yeah. They sent Shikamaru up there as well, two or three days ago. There's probably a group of sand nin present as well."

Naruto's brow furrowed again. "That probably means that as soon as we cross this border, those missing ninja Baa-chan mentioned may try to attack us, knowing we're from Konoha and knowing we're here to prevent them from messing up the exam! They could be after this scroll too," He frowned upon the realization, placing a hand over the pocket of his vest, which held the valuable item.

"We're probably in a whole lot more danger than Tsunade-sama told us..." Ino trailed off, casting a few suspicious glances into the surrounding shrubs and tall trees. Naruto lifted himself from the ground suddenly, snatching a kunai from some hidden pouch. The worried expression on his face said it all:

'I am not sleeping here until there's a decent trapping system 360 degrees around us.'

She gave a nod of recognition and settled herself against the tree trunk he had previously occupied, her hand twitching near the kunai pouch on her thigh. Ino knew she would not be able to relax until Naruto's skilfully built traps surrounded them. He had indeed improved a lot over the last five years. She hadn't actually known him before his departure to unknown lands alongside the Hokage's old team mate, but due to the improving friendship with Sakura after he returned, the three of them could often be seen hanging around town. That is, if there were no mission requests flooding the Hokage's office.

She found the blond young man was a refreshing change.

He didn't take long. After a little under ten minutes, Naruto returned, undoubtedly with a whole less wires and kunai on his body. By the way he yawned loudly, (she was just about to scold him, but refrained from it) and stretched profusely before lying down next to their tree comfortably, she figured it was all right for now.

"Who takes the first guard?"

His smile assured her further. "I left three Kage Bunshin around our site. We're safe, at least for tonight, so don't worry. No one will get through that without us noticing!" Ino felt a scowl form on her visage.

"Don't get cocky, idiot!" Ino knew better than to question his judgement, but could not stop the wave of familiar security from enveloping her as she slipped a silent kunai into her hand. You can never be too sure. The cold metal against her skin put her more at ease than anything could.

'You just try and sneak up on us, bastards...'

Naruto grinned, stifling another yawn under his breath. "See you in the morning, Ino-chan!" Rolling over, he turned his back to her and she was left to stare in wonder at the ease with which he could make himself comfortable. A loud snoring sound reached her ears and she snickered softly at the site before her; Naruto sprawled out on the ground, chest rising and falling as he snoozed loudly. A soft smile played around Ino's lips, and before she knew it, a light and blissful sleep enveloped her.

What awoke her two hours later was the sound of whizzing kunai.

A/N: I am so sorry. So far, this is the worst chapter I've written. Let's leave the fact that it's only the second one ever out of the question, alright? The structure of it seems off to me but I can't figure out what is so wrong about it. If you see anything that needs improvement (because there is a lot that does), tell me so in a review. Constructive criticism is very much welcome.

The next chapter will be published next weekend and is fully packed with action!

-xx- Nika-chan