Ricochet
Though their pillow talk is plentiful, it's not until the sixth time they wake tangled in each other that they speak of what they've done. Ino's eyes trace a half-healed gash on Neji's hip leftover from a battle the day before and she cringes when she thinks of how rough they were with each other last night.
"Did I hurt you?"
His hands are gently smothing her hair out of her face when he truthfully answers "No.".
It's as close to talking about it as they dare get. They make the rules as they go along, learning each other all over again.
It takes Neji little time to discover why it is that Ino never demands anything of him. Unlike his family, his old team, or even his wife, Ino is simply not the kind to receive. She asks nothing because she needs nothing, she is happy enough just to give. Friendship, respect, gratitude - anything gained in the process of giving is just a bonus to her. It astounds him, at times, how compassionate she can be. He has seen with his own eyes how she purposefully over-pays when they eat at struggling restaurants and how she takes the time, when she has it, to bury the corpses of her enemies. Like a veil has been lifted from his eyes, he all at once sees why its is that so many people sing her praises and he doesn't know what to do with that knowledge except hold on tightly to her because he knows he won't find this again.
Ino is no better. While she could easily compile a long list of the things she likes about herself, Ino knows that she isn't special. Not 'genius' special like Shikamaru and Neji, and not 'beloved' special like Asuka-chan. She is a cosmos flower, definitely, but cosmos grow in many places and she is sure there are others like her. She isn't unique enough to be treasured above other, rarer types and she knows this is one of her faults. She is used to the people she loves - Sasuke, Sakura, Asuma - leaving her in one way or another and she has learned over time that there is nothing she can do to make them stay. To her they are all special; to them she is reduced to once upon a time and used to be. But somehow Neji sees her differently, and she holds him tight at night because she knows they'll only have so many sunrises before the tides change and the tables turn. She can only hope it'll be a clean break when their time is up.
Ino felt like a mole burrowing further and further as she and Neji ran into the pitch blackness of a system of tunnels, silent as ghosts. Though she was typically comfortable invading villages under the cover of darkness, there was something disquieting about doing so underground with no moonlight to guide her; her partner's telepathic commands directing her down the path. In more ways than one they were going in blind. They had no blueprint; there hadn't been any rodents around for Ino to Shintenshin. The mission scroll had provided only the name of their assassination target, giving them no clues on the person's physical appearance or their exact whereabouts. Worst of all, with the lack of those important details, they couldn't form a stable plan. She and Neji would have to improvise as they went along.
Considering that they were currently in the subterranean portion of Iwagakure and surrounded in every direction by rocks and dirt, that did not sit well with Ino. Should their one and only chance fail, these tunnels would become their tomb.
Their footsteps stalled, both sensing the presence of other people nearby. A group of nine; shinobi as far as Ino could tell from their chakra patterns. Hoping she was wrong, she checked with the chakra master beside her.
Please don't tell me those are Iwagakure shinobi heading our way.
Their chakra levels far exceed that of civillians'.
Ino bit back a curse. At the rate the shinobi were approaching them, a fight was inevitable. They didn't know the layout well enough to find a hiding spot and fighting in the dark was not Ino's strong suit. Neji would be fine, sure, with his chakra vision he wouldn't miss much. But Ino? Screwed. So completely screwed. And her pride refused to let Neji do all of the work. She thought fast, thinking back on all the other times her opponent had the upper hand on her and trying to remember how she'd turned the tables on them - how she'd made their advantages her advantages. She couldn't say she'd won all of those battles by sheer skill alone as certainly some degree of luck was involved, but one particular instance of cleverness stuck out in her memory. In her practice with Tenten, when Ino could not match the skill of the brunette kunoichi, she'd simply read her movements and predicted her strategies. And while reading her opponents' body language was out of the question right now, Ino was confident she didn't need her eyes to read their minds. She'd just listen to their thoughts to help her evade their strikes until she could launch her own attack.
It wasn't an award-winning plan, which she could clearly imagine Shikamaru telling her. There were too many variables unaccounted for. Sure, Ino had used her telepathy during fights before to communicate with her teammates, but she couldn't say she'd ever tried listening to the thoughts of several shinobi at once and tried to fight at the same time. The amount of concentration she'd need to pull it off was daunting, nevermind the migraine that was sure to follow.
Fall back, I can handle this many. Neji's voice whispered in her mind. Ino frowned.
No, you don't know any more about these guys than I do. They could be Iwagakure Hunter Nins for all we know.
You intend to fight blind? Are you sure that's wise?
No, but I'm prepared to. Can't let you do it all by yourself.
The shinobi drew closer and Ino palmed her kunai and steadied her breathing. Beside her she knew Neji was settling into his offensive stance.
The minute you feel overwhelmed, tell me. He said, all traces of his that-is-an-order tone absent from the words and Ino smiled.
No matter what the unpredictable variables were there was always one variable she could count on: Neji.
Tenten watched the youngest Hyuuga children outside mimicing their older cousins with poor coordination as they flailed and grappled and sent each other tumbling into the grass. They were barely of age to the enter the academy, but Tenten noticed one of them sported the telltale Caged Bird Seal on their forehead uncovered. She seemed proud of it, even.
"I know that my expectations are no small hurdle, dear, but you do need to consider those of your husband. When do you plan on giving Neji a son?"
Tenten cringed at the memory of her grandmother's words. She hadn't known the sex of the child, it had been too early to tell, but now the gears in her head turned. She had failed in her duties as a wife by losing their child, but would she have still failed if the child she bore Neji had been a daughter?
"Who better to produce the next Hyuuga heir than the clan prodigy and his wife?"
Would she have still failed had the child been born ordinary? Or worse, if the child had been below standard and flunked out of the academy?
"You have been married for two years now. If you do not conceive soon, they might start to suspect you as barren. You underestimate the political importance of having a child in a clan. To be childless is a hinderance, it undermines one's position and influence. A man with many children holds more sway than a man with talent and no offspring, for how can the clan continue without children?"
She shook away the memory with a shake of her head, unconsciously sweeping her bangs away from her face. The means of her failure didn't matter, she had still failed. Now was not the time to wallow in misery; she needed to do something about it before it affected her husband. She stood up.
The halls were quiet as usual save for muffled sound of floors being scrubbed, the clink of metal as weapons were cleaned, and the hushed voices of women in the kitchen as lunch was being prepared. Tenten made a right turn down a larger hallway, a few members of the main house nodding at her as she passed, their surprise at seeing her in this wing of the compound kept carefully concealed. The further she walked, the more the modern decor gave way to a more antiquated look as she entered the oldest portion of the compound. Even the color scheme of beige, brown and white furnishings that spanned the majority of the compound had faded away in favor of black lacquer, golden gilding, and white marble.
Tenten haulted in front of an old sliding door with faded depictions of migrating birds and sank to her knees. She rapped lightly on the door and, when prompted, identified herself. The voice behind it bade her to enter and Tenten did, carefully sliding the door shut behind her.
"What brings you here, Tenten?"
She gave a customary kowtow Hiashi acknowledged with a nod.
"Uncle, I have come to discuss my husband's future in the clan."
The clan patriarch's face remained impassive. "Proceed."
"Sir, I have full confidence that Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama know all they must about ruling the main house, however Neji has been focusing on his career as a shinobi for a long while now. I think he's proven himself more than capable in battle. Perhaps now is the time he should focus more on the clan and learn how his father headed the branch house?"
Tenten kept a calm countenance knowing the elder was watching her closely, but inside she trembled at her own boldness. To make suggestions about where Hiashi should put his attentions when she knew her opinion was worth less than nothing was going out on a very long, very narrow limb. Hiashi looked nothing short of imposing as he sat crosslegged before her, a wrist on each knee and his back as straight as a board. Now is the time, she reminded herself. The sooner Neji's position is secure, the better.
"I have had such thoughts. I spoke with Neji some months ago with such intentions and it seems that my nephew has a penchant for exceeding expectations."
Hiashi offered a ghost of a smile and Tenten felt herself unwind just a little.
"Like my brother, Neji has always been an astute learner. He observes well and can figure out most things for himself. As with his training in the past, I found that Neji already contains the knowledge of what leading the branch house entails. At most, all he may need from me is some refinement."
"I see, Hiashi-sama."
"How pragmatic of you to worry over your husband's future. My nephew made a wise choice in taking you for his bride."
"Thank you, Hiashi-sama." Tenten bowed again, unsure of whether to be relieved her husband's social standing was safe or disappointed that once again she could do nothing for him. "I'll take my leave now."
Tenten turned and slid open the door. Hiashi watched her.
"I do agree that he should focus on the clan more. I would very much like a great-nephew someday."
Tenten winced.
She breathed in deeply. The air smelled thickly of brine, the gentle breeze almost scratchy with flecks of sand as it blew across Ino's skin. In the near distance she could hear the ocean lapping at the shore and birds chirping. Moon Country was no Konoha, it's dry heat and salt no competition for Konoha's oak and pine scent, but it was pleasent and lovely in it's own way. After all, Moon Country did have flowers and that automatically made it cool in her opinion. Buds of Jasmine were scattered throughout the terrain and though they were tightly closed now, Ino knew they would bloom in their full splendor come nightfall. The scarce vegetation provided her little shade but the few trees the island sported were admirable. Slender Dogwood trees ripe with white blossoms home to nectar-loving birds and greedy bumblebees.
On the other side of the island was higher ground and cliffs and towards the south lay Getsugakure and her mission. Their mission.
Somewhere on the island was a squad of Konoha chuunins well overdue to report home. At best they would find them, free them, and hatch an escape plan. At worst they would find bodies.
But first they would need rest. The sun was sinking from the sky quick as a ship with a hole in it's hull and two tired shinobi fumbling around in the night didn't make for much of a rescue team. Moon Country hadn't exactly been easy to access, miles and miles of running across the oceans waves had cost them a substantial amount of energy. It still irritated Ino that it's citizens lacked so much as a mere fishing boat or ferry for them to stowaway in. Time was a fleeting commodity, irreplaceable in value, but for now their comrades would have to hold on. Tonight they would secure a stronghold and come the first rays of morning light their search would begin.
Ino trekked closer to the beachside, spying a structure that looked vaguely like a cottage on stilts. It was worse for wear, the color of the woodgrain varying in so many places that Ino could tell it was old, but it was shelter and high ground and that was good enough for the night. Not trusting the dry rot-looking stairs Ino leapt onto the banister of the balcony and eased down on the wooden planks. The lock on the door was rusted shut and with a swift kick she let herself in.
The Yamanaka heiress took a thorough tour of the cottage, checking every nook and cranny for any sign of a trap. When she was satisfied the place was safe, Ino did some minor cleaning. The idea of sleeping nestled in thick cobwebs and an inch of dust held zero appeal to her. The belongings in the cottage told stories about the people it'd belonged to and Ino found herself mildly curious as to what had happened to them. When she finished she stood on the balcony admiring the how humongous the moon looked and watched as the tide smashed more violently against the sand. The wind, perfumed with the scent of Jasmine, whipped her ponytail playfully and Ino sensed a familiar presence approaching. She didn't bat an eye at the muted sound of sandals on wood.
"I think this might be my favorite place outside of Konoha." she said in a hushed tone, almost as if thinking out loud.
"Hn." He watched her stare out at the water, the look on her face something he couldn't quite identify. His hand circled around her wrist and tugged lightly. "Come, it's late."
The dawning sun snuck up on the pair, finding them curled into one another on the cottage floor. And though the old blanket beneath them was lumpy and threadbare, Ino could not imagine being more comfortable. With the sunlight warming the side of her face and Neji warming the rest of her, a civil war could have been raging outside of their cabin and she would not move an inch. Aside from the slight tickle near her elbow, which she assumed was due to either Neji's hair or her own, she was perfectly content to spend the rest of the mission like this. Well, that and the slight itch between her shoulder blades. And the sensation of something moving across her neck...
Ino's body jerked as she awoke fully to the realization that something was crawling on her. Several somethings. Unceremoniously breaking Neji's sleep, Ino disentangled herself from him and scrambled to her feet. The look of horror plastered on her face bade Neji to look around as well. It took everything in Ino not to scream at the sight of an army of insects crawling around, covering every single surface in the cabin.
"They're everywhere! I - I..!"
She didn't have the words. How? Why? But more importantly, how? She'd tediously checked every decrepit little nook and cranny for bugs herself!
Neji, being the more level headed one at the time, picked a beetle up from the blanket to inspect. Activating his Byakugan, he made a crucial discovery.
"These are from the Aburame clan."
After a minor meltdown, terrifying thoughts of how can I ever drink from my canteen again when those THINGS have been on it and a discussion with her partner, the two of them agreed to split up in order to cover more ground. Neji would check Getsugakure village itself, using his kekkei genkai to see if the trio was being held hostage anywhere. Ino would use her clan abilities to look for clues on the rest of the island.
And so it was that Yamanaka Ino stood at the bank of the ocean, braiding her hair into one long plait to prevent the tangles that came whenever water was concerned. She'd scouted the island already with the help of several colorful little birds but hadn't found anything. The same was true with the island lizards, and since she'd found nothing on land, it was time to check things offshore. Ino stripped off her outer layers, leaving herself clad in her mesh shorts and chest wraps and waded into the water. When the rolling water was up to her ribs, she plunged beneath the surface.
She spent the next hour diving and resurfacing, meticulously inspecting the shoreline for any anomalies that might signal genjutsu or traps the missing team might be ensnared in. She found nothing.
Ino emerged from the water refreshed, but sopping wet nonetheless. Fingers pruned and eyes still burning for the saltwater, she found she'd drifted further downshore than her original starting point. In front of her lay the imposing sight of the cliffs. Her clothes were several hundred feet upshore. Groaning, Ino started her march towards her things, her path veering out of the wet sand and closer to the cliffs where it was drier. Her senses prickled and she paused, unsure if she'd just felt something or not. Concentrating her skills and reaching out again, she searched for the sensation of human brain activity nearby. Honing in, she pinpointed it to be coming from the cliffs.
A secret stronghold?
Her feet padded across the sand to bring her at the base of the cliffs. The rocks were large and sharp, but just standing closer to them she could feel her sensory perceptions sharpen. Humans were definitely here, though much higher up from the base than Ino would have liked. Stepping back again to guage the distance, Ino estimated it would take her around fifteen minutes to scale it. The uneven surface would cost her more chakra than if she were to walk up a flat surface. Although if she did it the old fashioned way...
Kunai. If I embed some kunai into the cliffside, I can use them for footholds and hand grips.
Pleased with her solution, Ino reached for her kunai pouch -
and remembered it was with her clothing. Casting a look at the purple pile of her things in the distance, Ino sighed.
First things first.
The sea salt had dried on her skin by the time she reached her clothes. Her hair too had dried out and was stiff with salt, a fact Ino ignored for the time being as she slipped on her garments and re-eqipped herself. Sauntering back over to the cliffs, Ino wrapped her hands in bandages and threw twelve kunai into the steep rocks. Seventeen minutes of climbing later, she reached the small opening of a cave. She rested a few moments before easing in, her body low to the ground and close to the cave wall to use the shadows to her advantage.
Ino soon found cover behind the irregular lump formations of rock and did a quick head count. One, two, three...only six? Insulting. What, did they honestly not think Konoha would send a backup squad? Or did they really think so little of what foreign shinobi could do? Either way it didn't matter much, their fate was sealed the moment she'd located them and being that they were holding her people captive, she would not show them mercy. Ino plucked some shuriken from her pouch and readjusted her position. Taking aim, she launched one into the base of one shinobi's spine and another towards another's juggular vein. The first connected but the second was deflected almost instantly and Ino sensed the exact moment the remaining four became collectively aware of her presence. They moved stealthily, trying to pinpoint her location and Ino knew they soon would. She waited for one to step within her range, and as soon as he did, she stole possesion of his body. From there Ino cut down two more of them easily - at the expense of the reamining pair's trust. Former comraderie gone, the last of the guards put up a valiant fight to eliminate her, working in tandem so as not to give her a second's reprieve.
Ino, of course, had expected this.
Having no reguard for the condition of her borrowed body, she dodged only the most fatal attacks they made and bore the brunt of the less serious hits in exchange for landing blows on the duo. To her annoyance, none of her own attacks had struck true either, but then again even though the body she was using had the muscle memory to wield the hook swords currently in her borrowed palms, she hadn't had enough time to sieve through the brain's memories to learn their proper use.
Her focus shifted. The last three hits she fended off came from the shinobi on her right, and though Ino hadn't had a chance to look in the opposite direction, she knew it meant that the second ninja was preparing something. Thinking quick, she wagered that the female was looking for her body. Ino disconnected from her host body, regaining consciousness in her own skin just soon enough to roll out of the way of the kunoichi's clawed brace-laden fist. She stood, still twisting out the way of a secondary strike when she caught a glimpse of her formerly borrowed body hitting the ground and the other nin charging towards her. Ino dipped low, jamming a kunai into her opponent's kneecap with an audiable crack. The Getsugakure-nin crumpled to the ground howling in pain. Shamed and unready to admit defeat, the blonde saw her pull a wad of explosive tags from her pocket. Ino grit her teeth and cast her jutsu. She caught her own body from behind, slight regret for what she was about to do overcoming her as she peered down at herself and knew she'd have one hell of a headache when she returned to her body. With little hesitation she turned her body around, grabbed herself by the waist, and heaved herself a good distance away as the explosive tags detonated. Waking in her body again, Ino found she'd been right; she had a nice little lump forming on the edge of her forehead and an impending concussion if she didn't fix that soon. Picking herself up, Ino braced her upper body against the wall of the cave and lifted her palm to her head. Glancing around as she healed herself, Ino breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the explosion wasn't quite enough to collapse the exit.
Five minutes later she stumbled across the trio of Konoha shinobi shackled to the wall, their chins lifting upward at the sound of her intentionally heavy footsteps. Recognition sparked across two of their faces.
"Ino!" the mustached one exclaimed in disbelief as Ino mentallly identified him as Adachi Juntaro, chuunin of eight years and ex-academy teacher.
"Yamanaka-taichou!" the one with the semi-mohawk cried out, who Ino vaguely recalled as being one of the members of the first team she'd ever headed. Tamaki Kouta.
The third Konoha-nin her eyes landed on sported goggles and a high-collared jacket and Ino made a guess he was the Aburame as she picked loose the heavy metal that restrained them.
"I knew Hokage-sama would send someone!" Juntaro stated as he rubbed at his raw wrists and slumped down to the floor to rest his legs. "But I was starting to think we wouldn't make it to see rescue."
"I'm glad she sent Yamanaka-taichou." Kouta chimed in, grunting as he tried to stretch his sore limbs out.
As she released the last of the chains on the Aburame, Ino noticed he wasn't in as poor shape as the other two. Curious, she pulled down his collar to place a hand on his neck, intending to run basic medical diagnostics, but at the emergence of several beetles from his ear Ino reeled back in disgust. Quickly fixing her expression so as not to offend him, Ino apologized for her reaction with a small bow.
"Sorry. You surprised me a little."
The Aburame - 'Shiniichi', as was written on the collar of his jacket - nodded. He was used to such reactions. He probably should have told her that his healing insects tended to come out whenever foreign chakra entered his system. They also tended to analyze the invading chakra.
"Your name...is Ino?" his voice, hoarse from dissuse, reached Ino's ears.
She nodded and gave a friendly smile. "Yup! Nice to meet you, Aburame-san."
He bowed in response, his mind trying to make sense of the situation as she walked back over to his teammates. In the background he heard the blonde making conversation, but in his body he had a conversation of his own going on. His teammates had confirmed Ino as being from the Yamanaka clan, but his beetles whispered to him She is Hyuuga Neji's mate. And while he only knew any of the Hyuugas in passing, as far as he had known...wasn't Hyuuga Neji's mate named Tenten?
Inoichi is something of a legend in his own right. There are rumors, compliments of Chouza and Shikaku, that he can completely overhaul a person's personality in under a minute and implant false memories in a heartbeat. Some even speak of a missions where he used the Shinranshin on an entire village or where he recovered vital information from the rapidly decaying brains of fresh corpses. But again, all of these tales are known purely as speculation. Just splashes of color on an already masterfully crafted reputation.
Only Ino, Shikaku, and Chouza know them to be true.
It is unsurprising to her then when she and Neji return from a mission one day and hear that Morino Ibiki has died in battle and that Yamanaka Inoichi is now head of Konoha's Torture and Investigation department. The information is given to her several times by several different people by the time Ino gets to the village center, and each person tells her so with something of a congratulatory look in their eyes. Ino knows all of them by name, most of them she's met in the T & I building at some point, but some of them are even older than her father and Ino knows it's an honor just to hear them speak to her. It is the last person, Yamashiro Aoba as luck would have it, who tells her that her father wants to see her. Now.
He was waiting for her in Ibiki's office when she arrived.
"Yes, Dad?"
She called from the doorway because it is well known that one does not simply waltz into Morino Ibiki's office. She had a hard time reconciling that it would be her father's office from now on. He waved her in and she obliged, coming to stand within inches of the desk. Inoichi stared at her for one long moment, then spoke.
"You're a damn good kunoichi. More than that, you're a damn good shinobi. Better than I was at your age."
He grinned at her, crow's feet at the corners of his eyes intensifying, and Ino felt a surge of pride. His next choice of words knocked that pride right out of her.
"But you're holding back, aren't you?"
Pressing her lips firmly closed, she avoided his eyes and gave a shallow nod.
"You can't do that forever, Ino. The world's changed since the days when my generation reigned, this position isn't meant for me. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm becoming an old man. And look around, who's the next qualified person to head this department? You are. You have the skills, you have the mind for it, and the men respect you. You have a responsibility to be the leader that these men need or else someone less qualified will take the job and there will be deaths that could have been avoided. Do you understand?"
She did. This was her wakeup call. She's been coasting; allowing her skills to plateau at jounin level instead of striving to be something more, striving to be all she was meant for. It was time she came to terms with the fact that she'd held back for so long out of fear. Being responsible for a team is one thing, but ruling a clan and running a department were much bigger roles to fill. Yamanaka Ino is not afraid to lead, she's afraid to fail. Failure equals death and she can't fail if she doesn't try. It's not the death, the dying part that bothers her. She's died a thousand deaths - in other people's bodies, mostly - and dealing death is as normal to her as breathing. It's the seperation, the parting with loved ones that kills her. The number one thing Yamanaka Ino is not good at is letting go.
But her father was right, Ino had a birthright to live up to as the only child of the Yamanaka clan head and a legacy to continue in the Torture and Interrogations department. The time for coasting in mediocrity was over and the time to genuinely be brave, to stare her biggest fear in the face and resolutely carry out her duties, was just beginning.
"Yes, father."
A / N : This is the 'extra' chapter; I decided not to combine it with the original ch19 after all. Not bad for pulling something outta nothing. And while this was needed for pacing reasons, remind me to never sporadically add a chapter because I can see quite clearly now that at the rate I'm going, I won't finish Ricochet by the two year anniversary like I planned. It's looking like December for now. Did you notice Ino didn't really need Neji's help on the last mission? Also, parallelisms running rampant~