Ricochet
The hand signal from her team leader had Ino cutting her leap short and stilling around a wooden trunk, concentrated chakra in her hands and feet both keeping her in place and preventing the long column from swaying. Though she couldn't see it, it was a long, long way down to the forest floor and out of precaution she gripped the smooth surface tighter than necessary. Stupid bamboo. Out of all places, why had their targets chosen to take refuge in a bamboo forest? Because it was difficult to navigate. Because it was fairly easy to detect an attack or someone following you. Because it perfectly concealed any traps surrounding their stronghold. Because in the middle of the night, all of these qualities were multiplied.
On two bamboo poles ahead of her, her teammates surveyed the scene though only one of them could clearly monitor all that was present.
"There are thirty-five. Six in each of the side tents, five in the one due north. Rogue shinobi, from the looks of their chakra."
His voice was a whisper in the dead winds, barely reaching her ears just three feet from his back.
"There are no genjutsu traps."
Her other teammate trailed his eyes from the camp below to their leader.
"Any barriers that need disarmin' ?"
The Hyuuga shook his head, a discreet movement almost lost entirely in the blanket of nightfall surrounding them.
"No. And at this hour, all of them should be present now. Fujiwara, start setting up the perimeter. Yamanaka,"
He paused, and Ino listened attentively. Their mission scroll had been vague in their objective, summarized in only three words: trap, extract, and destroy. The details of the situation were equally scant, only mentioning that there was a possible uprising being planned in Rice Country by insurgents. They hadn't even been given an exact location on the targets' whereabouts and had spent two days tracking one of the members until he had finally led them to the hideout deep in an emerald forest of bamboo stalks high as sycamore trees. Ultimately, the task of coming up with a plan to handle the situation fell squarely on the shoulders of Hyuuga Neji and as expected, he didn't disappoint. She had expected things to be strange between them after she'd inadvertently enraged Tenten during her training, but Neji had been as impassive and professional as always. If that little fiasco had left any bad impressions on him, he wasn't showing it.
"Stay here and keep surveillance. Once the barrier is up, Fujiwara and I will detain the suspected leader. I want you watching every movement of the remaining thirty-four. If anything looks abnormal, let us know immediately, but maintain your position. If we have any trouble getting information out of him, we'll bring him to you."
Ino nodded. Once upon a time, years ago - actually, even just one year ago - Ino would have been supremely outraged about being sidelined. Now, however, after twenty-some odd missions with the prodigy, she actually trusted his decision.
"Measurements?" , came the question from Fujiwara Shingo, Konoha's top kekkai jutsu specialist.
"A hundred and twenty feet by one eighty."
"Got it."
Fujiwara smiled, content with the game plan. It turned into a smirk as he inclined his head to look at Ino.
"See ya later, Sweetcheeks. Have fun sitting still and looking pretty."
Ino's jaw clenched and she shot Neji a look full of silent begging. He sent one back that clearly expressed No, you may not attack him. and she swallowed her anger. The third member of their team had been getting on her nerves right from the beginning with his sexist remarks and her patience was wearing thin. She couldn't stand him, and if he said one more thing about women being inferior, Ino was going to Shintenshin his butt to the edge of the nearest cliff. Sometimes being reminded that she lived and worked in a field dominated by men was a really rude awakening.
Neji and Shingo slid down the bamboo stalks and sprang onto the ground noiselessly. Ino watched as Shingo crouched down and fixed his hands into a seal, casting his chakra barrier around the entire site. If worst came to worst, nobody would be able to come rushing in, and nobody would be able to run out. As soon as he finished, Neji motioned for him to follow close behind and they ran into a tent on the right. Ino kept her gaze on the other tents.
Everything looks fine. Do you have the ring leader?
No. Neji's voice rang in her head. It doesn't look as if he's among these. We're moving on to the next tent.
The pair came out and quickly ran into the next one. Neji seemed to be following a particular pathway between tents, and Ino noticed that Shingo was careful to step only in his footsteps. Ino's thigh muscles started to burn from being clamped around the bamboo so tightly, but she simply tightened her grip with her hands and tried to ignore it. This would only take a few more mintues, all she had to do was hold on. She listened, muffled sounds of struggle leaking out of the tent not quite loud enough to wake the sleeping. She heard a loud grunt, then nothing for several minutes. Then Shingo's voice played in her brain.
Come on down here, woman. He's giving us trouble, ain't tryna tell us nothin'.
Ino frowned, rolling her eyes even though he couldn't possibly see her look from inside the tent.
Negative. Goes against Hyuuga-taichou's orders. Bring him to me.
Goddamnit woman, we done all the work and you can't come down here to finish the job? Damn useless. Get your ass down here, now!
Negative. She cut her mental connection with him, switching instead to their leader. Neji, Fujiwara says he's not talking?
There was something like a mental sigh in response, and Ino wondered how he did that. He is unresponsive to our methods so far. We may need your assistance.
Do you want me to come down?
No. Stay, we'll bring him to you.
Ino bit back a shriek as a bat flew too close to her head, then watched as Neji, Shingo, and their captive emerged from the tent. They walked in a single file line: Shingo in front, Neji in the back, and the man struggling between them the entire time. Shingo glared up at her as they approached and Ino didn't need to read his mind to know he was cursing her out. Their hostage followed his gaze, spotting Ino. He opened his mouth, attempting to shout but managing only a muffled cry against the gag in his mouth. Frustrated, he looked to the ground and kicked at a rock smaller than the size of a fist. None of them thought anything of it until the rock landed some feet away, triggering spikes made from whittled bamboo to pop up in various spots around the camp and senbon flying in several directions.
Ino could only watch as Neji and Shingo dove to take cover and restrained the prisoner and bodies started to shuffle inside of the tents. In seconds, Shingo had set up a barrier around the person who had tripped the traps and he and Neji were fighting off the angry rebels. The chuunin and jonin were handling everything well, and Ino was almost relaxing when she had to dodge an arrow destined for her shoulder. Another followed soon after and Ino twisted awkwardly on the pole, fighting against the smoothness of it to hang on while deflecting away a third arrow with her tanto.
There's a sniper targeting me. I can't tell where his position is, but I'm having trouble dodging up here.
Maintain your position. We'll find him.
Can't even dodge some damn projectiles. You're a piece of work, woman.
You're pushing it, Fujiwara.
What're you going to do about it? Cry?
Ignore him, Yamanaka. That's an order.
Ino leaned out of the way of another arrow and before she could re-shift her weight, her thighs were sliding and she was falling away from her pole. Down, down, down, she could feel her slight body picking up speed and she reached out to try and get a good chakra-infused grip on another pole. She couldn't. It was too far, too smooth, and she was going too fast. There wasn't even anything close enough she could use to do a kawarimi no jutsu. Ino blocked yet another arrow launched at her and started mentally preparing herself for the impact and shifting her body to try and minimize the places that would be damaged on impact.
Seconds from the ground, he caught her.
Ino was about to mumble her gratitude when she realized that it was Fujiwara's arms around her. He smirked at her shocked face as he leapt over the spikes that sprung up in reaction to movement. Ino bristled out of reflex.
Fuck you.
"You promise?"
She glared and he chuckled at the fact that she could look so proud after needing to be rescued.
"Put me-"
Her back made contact with the ground before she could finish her request to be put down. She made a sound of irritation when his body followed hers, heavy and obstructive, pinning her to the ground. Ino flailed and shoved roughly at his shoulders.
"Get up! Are you stupid? There's - Hey! Hey?"
As she managed to roll him off of her with one good shove, Ino noticed three senbon: two in his arm, and one in his ribcage. He wasn't moving, and Ino hit his shoulder lightly.
"Seriously? Come on, they didn't even hit any vitals."
He didn't respond. She checked Fujiwara's eyes and found them still blinking and not-dialted. Still conscious. She pulled out the senbon and studied the skin around the puncture marks. No discoloration. No signs of poisoning whatsoever. She shook him.
"Fujiwara?"
He was just laying there, alive, but not moving despite lacking any serious injury or any blood poisoning. Ino put a hand under his nose, then laid her head on his chest to listen. He was breathing in slow, shallow breaths. She sat upright.
Can you move?
No. Does it look like I'm moving? Fuck. Body's heavy, numb. Can't even move my lips.
The answer hit Ino like a ton of bricks: sedatives.
Neji, don't let any of the enemies' weapons hit you, not even a scratch. They've laced their weapons with some kind of high powered sedative and they've already hit Fujiwara.
Understood, conceal yourselves. Tend to him and stay out of battle.
She put one hand over Fujiwara's middle, using her chakra to run diagnostics. From what she could tell, the effects weren't going to wear off anytime soon. Fujiwara started to hyperventilate.
What's wrong? What's happening?
I can't breathe! Not enough air comin' in.
The mindwalker grit her teeth produced a yellow pill from her weapons pouch, pushing it past his lips and coaxing it down his throat. The sedative was a stronger variant of muscle relaxant than she'd thought if it was starting to paralyze his lungs already, next would be his heart. The adrenaline pill would buy her some time, keep his heartrate up and hopefully increase his oxygen intake while she prepared to do the only think she could think of.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu."
Neji growled and parried off another attack from a foe. They were better trained than he'd been expecting and had the advantage of knowing the landscape, choosing to attack in waves instead of all together. So far he'd taken out a little less than half, and the remaining ones were smart enough to not get close enough to have their tenketsu closed. As he fought, he tried to keep his eyes open for where his teammates were taking cover, but he couldn't catch a single second of peace to get a good look for their chakra. He couldn't shake the wave of concern creeping up his spine.
There were reasons he didn't want Ino on the ground. For one, she lacked both the Byakugan and the ability to create chakra barriers to protect herself. She was also the team medic, and the rule books clearly stated that the medic was to be kept out of harm's way if they were going to be of any use to the team. It didn't help to add to that that nearly all of the Yamanaka techniques were more supplementary in nature than straight out offensive or defensive. And that her jutsu tended to have a waiting period between casting and completion; anytime she used her jutsu there needed to be someone available to guard her body. Neji felt...vexed.
She is like a child.
He'd told her to stay in the bamboo and she fell out of it. He'd told her to hide and she hid herself too well, out of his sight. He'd told her to stay out of battle. If he saw her fighting, Neji wasn't sure what he was going to do. Air Palm her clear across Rice Country, maybe. Why couldn't she just stay out of trouble? Why did she have to make him worry? Even Lee, talentless, impulsive chuunin that he was never made Neji worry. Not Lee, not Tenten, not anyone, really. Why did he have this stupid urge to assure her safety?
Neji smashed his knuckles into the face of a nin with a little more force than usual.
Like a capricious child.
Ino plunged into the depths of Shingo's mind feeling momentarily disoriented and bewildered. Taking a dive into someone's mind was much like being dropped in the middle of the ocean - there were currents, varying depths, and you could never be entirely sure of where you were. You couldn't even keep track of time because it felt like everything, everywhere, infinitely. Time was relative, and inside someone's mind, time didn't exist. On the positive side, being inside someone's head was the best way to get to know someone quickly, though deeply personal. (Shikamaru had never let her inside of his head, and she isn't sure if that's to protect himself or her)
Who the hell is 'Shikamaru'? Don't think about other men in my head.
Shut up, Fujiwara. I'm risking my life for you.
By fantasizing?
You do realize that if you fall unconscious, the both of us could die?
She'd been trying not to think about that fact when she decided to Shintenshin him. One of the very first things her father had taught her about the Yamanaka clan's jutsu was that it was highly dangerous to perform it on an unconscious target, especially without speciallized training for that specific circumstance.
Ino had not yet been trained for that. For this.
Unable to get her bearings, Ino took a moment to relax and adjust before allowing herself to drift below the level of Shingo's fading consciousness and delving deep down into his subconscious. She couldn't hear his thoughts anymore, could hear nothing but absolute stillness. But she could feel. Ino could feel the languid throb of his heartbeat gradually building from the adrenaline and the slow caress of oxygen flowing in and out of his airways. She focused in on both, synchronizing her own rhythym with his, trying to strengthen the connection as best she could. If this didn't work...well, it had better work. Ino had a theory: while it was exceedingly simpler to implant thoughts and suggestions into the conscious mind, the subconscious was still part of the brain too, and therefore she should hypothetically be able to implant commands there as well. There was already conclusive evidence from several studies (many of which conducted by Orochimaru, back in the day) that suggested that the human body could be forced into obedience by a working brain. Perhaps, if she had made a strong enough connection and used enough mental pressure, she could override Shingo's paralyzed muscles if she sent the right signals in his brain.
Ino concentrated hard, summoning as much chakra and strength as she could inside of Fujiwara's body and tried to blend it into his. In one moment, she pushed it all out in a rush.
Breathe.
His body arched off of the ground as his chest heaved in a large portion of air. Ino could feel the strength returning to him as he gradually regained sovereignty over his tendons and ligaments. Relieved, Ino cancelled the Shintenshin, expelling her from his mind.
A few minutes later, she awoke in her body with a jolt, Neji's voice booming in her mind.
Yamanaka!
If she hadn't been lying down, she would have toppled over just from his volume.
Wha-
Clear the area. Relocate, NOW.
Ino turned her head side to side, trying to see what was going on in the darkness. It was futile, all she could make out were vague shapes and a movement here and there.
Why?
...You have the audacity to ask why? Just get out of there!
Ino put a cautious hand on Shingo's body. He was breathing well now and looked fully alert, but was having touble trying to sit up. His muscles were starting to respond but he was still far from being able to run.
I can't. Fujiwara's alive, but he can't move. I can't just leave him here.
Do as I say.
No.
Neji swore and delivered a Jyuuken to a nin's face. There were eleven left plus the leader still trapped in Fujiwara's jutsu, but he hadn't confirmed all of the kills and couldn't be sure if one or two enemies could get up and attack again, perhaps choosing to go after Ino and Shingo. No shinobi was morally above attacking an injured opponent; rather quite the contrary and Neji had no plans of losing teammates on this mission. He performed a kaiten and used the seconds it bought him to put his Byakugan to use and locate his comrades.
There they were. A distance away, but still within earshot.
"Fujiwara! Barricade yourself and Yamanaka until further notice."
"Wait! No!"
"Yoroi Kekkai no Jutsu."
"Shinranshin no Jutsu!"
Neji's blood ran cold. Everything appeared to move in slow motion as he turned his head and prayed that Ino wasn't standing as close to him as she sounded.
She wasn't. The blonde was still relatively far away, stuck in a rectangular chakra barrier with Fujiwara.
It would be many days later before it occurred to him how horrified he'd been when he thought she was right behind him.
Around him, the possessed shinobi were fighting each other. For now, his relief mutated into fury and he glared at the mindwalker with all the rage he could muster. Didn't he explicitly tell her not to get involved with the fight? His voice boomed across the area.
"I gave you a direct order, Yamanaka!"
Ino didn't even flinch.
"And this is me not giving a damn, Hyuuga. You'd be harmless as a spoon if it weren't for me right now. The one on your right was aiming for your blindspot."
The Hyuuga kept his glare for another second before quickly disposing of the last few enemies with his kunai. The danger now resolved, Shingo released the barrier holding the prisoner and the one around himself and Neji walked their captive over to his teammates. He said nothing as he shoved the man down to his knees for Ino to interrogate, but when Ino caught his eyes, she heard the thought he projected.
Never do that again.
After getting the information they'd needed, the team set out on their way to Konoha, moving quickly through the bamboo again to avoid the remaining traps in the forest. It was a few hours from daybreak but the sky didn't seem to be getting any lighter and all three of them could feel the precipitation building in the air. It would rain soon.
Ino winced as she flew past columns of emerald and touched two fingers to her temple again, applying soothing chakra. Again, it did nothing to placate the monstrous headache ravaging her brain and she almost groaned from a mixture of frustration and pain. This was the cost of using Shinranshin and Shintenshin twice only minutes apart of each other, and Ino was feeling the full effect. Noticing Fujiwara starting to slow beside her, Ino decided it was a good time to declare that a break was needed. She voiced her medical opinion that Shingo needed rest due to the excessive stress placed on his body from earlier and Neji relented, picking out an area for them to make camp in close to Rice Country's borders.
Ino took a seat on the dirt, leaning her back against a tree and inclining her head, trying to alleviate pain. She was about to try a third attempt to erase the headache when she felt two cool fingertips on her forehead. Opening her eyes, she saw Neji staring placidly back at her.
"This is distracting you."
With a start, she realized her migraine was retreating. How did he do that? Distantly, thunder rumbled a warning and a tepid breeze swept by.
"You know medical jutsu?"
He shook his head, retracting his fingers.
"That wasn't part of a medic's skillset. I didn't heal you, I shut off your localized pain receptors."
"...oh. Thanks."
He nodded and took a seat near her. Fujiwara stretched out belly to the ground, using his arms for pillows. The first drops of rain kissed their skin.
Neji had easily agreed to Ino's request for a break, sensing his teammates were in need of one but mildly irritated that Ino was using Shingo as a scapegoat when she was obviously the one who was worse off. Why couldn't she just tell him that she needed to rest? Did she really think he would deny her something that was absolutely practical? Did he really come off as that uncompromising? And then he'd looked over at her and there she was, sitting there in silent agony, knuckles almost going white on the hands kept tensely at her sides. So he'd had to come over and do something because obviously she was never going to say anything. And then he'd looked at her face.
Really, carefully, looked at her.
Puzzling little woman that she was with all of her childlike qualities, up close Ino looked nothing like a child and very much like a woman. His earlier conclusion about her was utterly wrong and he was thrown right back to the question he'd started with.
Why did he feel so protective of her?
Ino snuck glances at the Hyuuga as he meditated, the rain coming down more steadily and making mud out of the dirt they lounged in. It amazed her, how his near-blank expression actually held so many nuances that were easily missed. And how Neji's eyes looked pearly white in broad daylight, lavender in dim lighting, and resembled small silvery moons at night. Caught in her contemplation, every so often she'd stare too long and his eyes would slip open, making her avert her gaze on reflex. But inevitably she'd find her eyes being drawn right back to him, admiring his quiet grace and beauty. As the light rain turned into a downpour and began soaking the three of them to the bone, Ino was forced to come to terms with the fact that the way she was looking at Neji was not entirely platonic.
It's attraction. It's a fact that Neji's gorgeous. It's only attraction.
Her inner voice quickly affixed a label to the situation, but in the corners of her mind she already knew that life was screwing her over because it was a lie, it was more than simple attraction and had been for a while. She'd finally grown up, patched her friendship with Sakura and gotten over Sasuke and now the Powers That Be were showing her another amazing guy that she couldn't have.
Ino prayed for the day when she'd become a good enough kunoichi to believe her own lies.
Longwinded A / N : I know, some of you are probably going WTF again at Ino seeming weak (again). There's an explaination for this, though I can't promise you'll like it. It's a matter of what Ino's strongest qualities are, and I don't think her strengths are brute force like Sakura or exceptional intellect like Shikamaru. For me, Ino's strengths lie in stealth, interrogation, and deception, so that's how I'm portraying her. I don't think a ninja has to be ridiculously (physically) strong to be considered tough or extrordinary. (And trust me, it was hard to NOT make this a Power!Ino fic) There are different kinds of ninjas in the Narutoverse and many of them are quite powerful without being AnBu or anything, so please don't be upset. Also, no, she won't be getting owned in every single mission she goes on nor will she always be 'doing nothing'. It just seems to happen that way when she's on missions with Neji, you'll see later that she kicks butt when nobody's trying to protect her. And finally, yeah, Neji is chivalrous, I know.
Edit: I have single-handedly effed up my own story. Gods. In uploading this chapter, I messed up chapter 5 and its showing ch6 twice. And i don't have any backup on my harddrive =o No copies anywhere. So if any of you are the kind of fans who like to print out stories or screenshot or have any cached versions, for the love of Naruto please send them to me T_T