A/N: Sorry about the delay my Beta's laptop went crash & burn big time. And I got caught up in Holiday baking & office party madness. (No scandals occurred.)
Disclaimer: Kishimoto holds the rights to his Naruto characters and can do whatever he wants with them…I'm only waiting to see how deeply an 'Alternate Universe' story this will become…
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Glamorous Mission
The very next morning, Tsunade was waiting on the members of Team 10. She heard about the sudden change in what she had hoped would be a lasting relationship. That's what I get for even thinking about betting on a happy ending for those two. I wonder what happened at the Chuunin Tournament. Ryokou's father must have been in the entourage. She started running through the faces she remembered: Baki's not Ino's style. The guy with the two swords looks like his features were attractive before he got those scars…they're only a couple of years old…but no, Ryokou's got brown hair. The only brown-haired man in the guard was closer to Baki's age and he too was scarred. Besides, his basic features aren't attractive enough to have caught her interest.
With a sigh she turned back to the paperwork, At least Ino's going to love this mission. She looked up as she heard the door open watching as Shizune ushered the requested Team into the office.
They ended up arranged Ino-Shika-Cho, in fact Tsunade noticed that Shikamaru had steered Chouji to his left hand side as Ino had preceded them in. Playing it cautious, eh? She smiled in spite of her earlier concerns, At least their leader is looking out for the group. Although they claimed to act as equals, all indicators pointed to their highest ranking member as the leader of their group. I should probably bring the other two up for promotion again. Ino could make Tokebetsu Jounin for sure, and I'm sure we could get Chouji a Jounin position; he works well with youngsters, a genin team of his own would not be too far fetched. The two of them are solid but they really haven't gone out of their way to stand out…maybe they're still hung up on the Team 10 idea. I'll have to talk to Shikamaru after they get back.
"I guess you all want to know what kind of character assassination this is going to be."
"My gear's already packed, Godaime-sama," Ino replied, "even 'Junior'."
"That's all well and good, but you won't need it. I want all three of you to pack your best clothes. You're going off to a glamorous reception. In fact, Ino, if you have something with a lot of sex appeal, I would highly recommend you pack it." The Hokage opened the file with the mission information, "Your roles are pretty well defined in the request: Aspiring actress, manager and bodyguard." She pointed at each of them in turn from her left to right. "Your looks alone would have no trouble getting you in, but these two, well they have to fit in somehow." She closed the file and held it out to Shikamaru, "Your contact info is on top. I want you on the road within the hour."
"Yes, Godaime-sama," they all chorused.
She watched as they turned and filed out the door. With a sigh she thought, Some people think my job is the glamorous life. I know the Kazekage agrees what kind of work it really is: Non-stop. Hey, come to think of it, Kankurou has dark brown hair…and he did disappear for a little while. Things might be a little more interesting that I thought.
"And just what are you smiling about?" Shizune's voice brought her back to the here and now.
"Just contemplating the life of being a Kage."
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Ino held the purple dress with the turquoise and silver edging in her hands. On several occasions of her darker moods, she'd considered burning it and wishing it could be Kankurou she'd be destroying instead. Now she had a whole new list of grievances to air. Kazekage…and married…two sons…I'm not good enough…bastard. The best revenge would be to have some fun, I suppose. She gently folded the dress into a special packing to minimize wrinkles. It's still a very sexy dress…and it did fit the last time I tried it on. She had briefly considered the Junjiro dress but that was more elegant than this. Besides, that was a fairly recent occasion and Chouji…I can't do that to him, he probably has a fond memory of that evening in spite of how it ended. Better to take a chance on creating some new memories with this dress. She shuddered briefly as she remembered the old ones, That was my fault as well, I was so confident my looks and charm…and what I thought I meant to him. She sealed her pack and went back down to the shop where her mother was with Ryokou.
In the few days since the Chuunin Exams, the whole family had re-doubled its efforts to teach the little girl about the family business. She was picking up plant names rapidly and learning basic care. Ino smiled as she walked out of the back stairwell, and gave her daughter another big hug. "I know I said bye-bye earlier, but the Hokage surprised us with an extra special job. So Mama had to come home and re-pack her bag." She kissed her girl and started to get back up.
"Wait Mama," Ryokou said.
Ino crouched back down to her daughter's level, "What do you need, sweetie?"
Ryokou wrapped her arms about her mother and gave her one more hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. As she let go she said, "Give that to Uncle Chouji for me."
Ino blushed, "Sure baby, as soon as I meet up with him."
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Chouji was repacking as well. Suit, okay…bodyguards wear sunglasses… He dug through the top drawer of his dresser and found two pairs. Which one hides more, I need to be non-descript…oh yeah. He dug into his bag to be sure he had the two-step concealer he used to cover the swirls on his cheeks so he wouldn't have to use a disguise jutsu. Yep, right where it should be. He continued to load his pack.
Then his thoughts drifted to another matter, I really hope I can get Ino to open up to me again. She's been avoiding me since the Kazekage was in town.
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Somehow Ino made it to the gates first. Her teammates arrived together about five minutes later. "Hey," she smiled, "Ryokou had good luck gifts for both of you." This way I can play it safe. In turn, she gave them both a hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek.
"Needless to say, the boys didn't think of you at all," Shika muttered.
"I wouldn't have wanted a kiss from them anyways," Chouji chuckled.
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Three and a half days later, they found themselves in the lands beyond Kuma no Kuni, easily bypassing Hoshigakure. The major city they sought was affectionately referred to as the Heart of Light, center of the film industry. Here they met up with Kaneyasu Baku and his wife Momoko, a distinguished looking couple in their fifties. These two had been the ones who request their services. The moment they saw Ino, they were delighted. "You'll do very well, my dear," said Momoko as she studied Ino's cheekbones, her height and figure.
"Yes, perfect," the husband nodded in agreement; he showed no disappointment in the other members of the team. A moment later he announced simply, "We're the parents of Kanda Tamaki."
Ino let out a slight gasp.
The woman smiled, "I guess then that you'll have no problem identifying him or his fiancée." The tone of her voice darkened as she said fiancée. "She's the reason we need your services. My husband and I are convinced that Hikida Sumiko is trying to advance her career as well as her bank account by latching onto our son."
Baku continued, "In two days, there will be a party celebrating the release of Tamaki's latest picture, 'Tengoku no Meiru',"
Ino noted that this was also a film that starred the fiancée in her first leading role. The trade mags had a lot of hype of how they'd met when Sumiko had been a secondary character in his previous film. All reports seemed to indicate they were a perfect couple. If what his parents contend is the truth, she must be a really good actress.
Throughout the meeting Ino also notice that Shikamaru maintained his usual bored demeanor and Chouji appeared to be trying his best to imitate it. The thought of 'tried' was because she caught the occasional flicker of his eyes to their clients. Maybe you should just practice wearing your sunglasses indoors, instead.
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They settled into their room for a brainstorming session, but there really wasn't much to plan. It was almost too straightforward based on the scenario they were given. "She has to be humiliated, and it should be by his actions. If she is bettering herself through him, she won't take it lying down," Shikamaru muttered. "The way I see it is the biggest problems we'll face are: one, the photographers, and two, the fact that we can't use disguise jutsu. These functions tend to have specialists on detecting just such illusions."
"So we really have to go all out to change our looks in case the camera catches us, especially you, Ino." Chouji gazed at her, with maybe just a hint of wishful thinking in his mind. "I already have the concealer for my cheeks, as well as the sunglasses. Other than that, who's going to pay attention to me?"
"Leave it to me. I can do wonders on limited budget makeovers. Not that I'd normally consider one for myself." She shrugged at her teammates.
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Nakamichi Eiko walked up to the VIP entrance, her long copper tresses and hips swaying in a sexy rhythm that said, 'Check me out, I'll own this town before you know it.' At her right walked her manager, Naratobi Shitaro, a man of ordinary looks with shoulder length black hair and amber colored eyes. Following them was a large, vigilant seeming bodyguard with dark brown hair pulled back in a black leather wrapped tail. He went by the name of Akiyama Koji. As they reached the man in charge of the guest list, Shitaro spoke their names and the man checked them off the list. Eiko gave a flirty wink as they moved past him to enter the premier.
"Don't you just love contacts?" Ino smiled at Shikamaru, "They give you that 'something extra'. I bet the missus would find your new eye color hot." She spoke the last word in a breath gasp.
"Just like I find your pupils creepy," Shikamaru muttered as a commentary on the lenses she wore. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen her with them in before; they'd been a part of her equipment for a number of missions in the past. Yamanaka eyes, like Hyuuga eyes, were too distinct for covert operations. "I don't know how you stand these things. I can't wait to get done so I can take them out again."
"Just keep using the eye drops, it helps," she replied, then turned her attention to Chouji, "Too bad you're stuck with sunglasses," she smiled sweetly, "I would have loved to play with your look a little more."
"Darkening my hair and binding it like this was more than enough, thank you," The burly man replied. Then briefly he tilted his head toward the archway that led to the main chamber, "We'd better move on…mingling and all."
"You just want to see if there are any hors d'oeuvres," Ino teased.
"If there are any perks on this mission, I am not one to pass them up." He smiled contentedly.
Ino thought, Though endearing, his smile just isn't the same without the swirls on his cheeks.
"No, but will be nice if you show a little restraint," Shikamaru reminded him as he led them into the main room.
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The evening turned into an evening of introductions. Since Shitaro was supposed to be a talent agent, he spent the evening introducing Eiko around and handing out business cards. The information was falsified of course, and provided through their clients resources. They had also been given a dossier of names and faces that he had managed to memorize. Although he really didn't need to worry about the actors; Eiko seemed to know her celebrities, as well as at least two pleasant facts about each one. The social butterfly is in her element tonight. She went into conversations with breezy eloquence, and was easily accepted as a natural part of the gathering.
The worst part was knowing that they would have to wait until after the screening to make their move. They had come up with three possible ways to create the appropriate scene, all of which involved Ino possessing Tamaki. Bodyguards weren't an issue at this point; among the stars they hung off to one side of things, only keeping half an eye on their partying charges.
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It turned out the opportunity came far more easily than they expected. About an hour after the screening Ino had taken a little side trip to 'freshen-up' and was waylaid by Tamaki as she headed back to the reception.
"Heeey shexy," his voice slurred. Obviously he'd been indulging quite happily in the free flowing drinks.
Ino had allowed herself only one and had been faking ever since with other liquids. From other experiences she had a pretty good guess what the dark side of these soirees could be like. She put on a realistic enough hesitation in her movements that the casual observer would think she was tipsy. "Heeey Yersellf," she smiled leaning her face toward him. I can't do this here. My body lying in this corridor might attract some unwelcome attention. I can just see Shika, but where would he move me to?
"I know a place where we can be alone."
His words sent a chill through her spine…but her trained responses was to give him a smile that said, 'What a perfect idea.' And promised even more…
"Com'on." He grabbed her hand and lead her further down the corridor, away from the party. "There's a back office around here somewhere." He tried a door handle; it was unlocked, opening easily with his touch.
"Wadda 'bout yer fee- fiancée?" she asked as she leaned against him, stumbling into the room after him.
"What she doesn't know..." he chuckled as he took in the room. His blue eyes met her own, "ever do it on a desk with a big star?" He did one of those 'after you' gestures and she obliged him but hopping onto the desk, pushing a few things off of it as she leaned back…
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To anyone watching, it appeared that Tamaki practically stumbled into Shitaro as he came out of the back corridor. What people didn't catch was that he whispered four words as he did so: "Left room - hall end."
Shitaro, however, politely (and audibly) said, "I beg you pardon." (That was code for 'I'm on it.' verses the rude 'Excuse me.' he would have used if he hadn't caught the message.) He promptly walked over to deliver the message to Eiko's bodyguard.
Ino was unhappy with the feeling of being within he target's inebriated body, but at least it would make her job easier. The creep wanted a quickie in the back room. She had deliberately left his shirt in its partially pulled out state, and left his jacket in the room where he'd removed it. Anticipating the latest in a series of conquests no doubt. Although I did enjoy the curious expression on his face he saw me do my jutsu hand signs. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought it was something that was meant to 'enhance the experience'. Like my world would revolve around him…HAH. Suddenly she felt a dull ache in her drunken feeling psyche, Maybe that's how the rich and powerful really do think.
She gave a quick glance make to see that Shikamaru was in his back-up position, Showtime…thank you for making my job easier by drinking all that champagne. She moved in a stilted manner toward Hikida Sumiko. She's so beautiful and talented, I really hate to put her through this. "Heeey Honey," Tamaki's arm slid around his fiancée's shoulder, almost overbalancing her.
The reporters Sumiko had been talking to looked on inquisitively.
As the 'man of the hour' swayed awkwardly against the starlet, the sudden physical lurch resulted in the internal lurch Ino had been dreading. The kunoichi had warned the Kaneyasus that it wasn't going to be pretty and it certainly lived up to the warning.
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Late the next morning the members of Team 10 met up with their clients. Ino's hair, though now lighter, was still in the reddish range. She sat at the back of the room, still mulling over the events of the previous night and wondering why they affected her so deeply. Do all powerful people try to take what they want…and do they just assume that they can always find some one they can pull into their games?
"At least the press blamed our son's unfortunate accident on bad clams," Kaneyasu Baku said. "It would have been unfortunate if the alcohol had been blamed. 'Drunken star' would have been a detestable headline."
His wife looked at Ino, "It was a good thing Nakamichi Eiko was found to be ill in the back corridor as well."
"When Ino does her work, the contact between herself and her link can be pretty intense," Shikamaru spoke matter-of-factly.
"I'm just amazed how gracefully Sumiko took it." Momoko spoke again, "She must really care for my Tamaki." The woman dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, tears of joy for a happy outcome. "To see her more worried about his well-being, rather than the designer original she was wearing, was truly the greatest gift a mother could ask for."
"I'm glad everything turned out so well for you." The black haired shinobi regarded them, "now on to the question of payment."
"Oh yes," the husband handed over a small packet, "I believe this is the amount contracted."
Shikamaru opened it, did a fast count and nodded.
"And this is a bonus for helping us make that pleasant discovery about my future daughter-in-law," the wife handed over a slightly smaller packet.
"You don't have to," Shikamaru started to protest.
"I insist, if for no other reason than the unflattering photo of your teammates that appear on page 12." The woman pushed a celebrity rag across the table at them. It featured a two-page photo spread of the premiere.
Shika muttered, "Damn they're fast," as he looked at a ¾ view of Ino's back as she bent over a trash receptacle in the hall as Chouji was trying to hold her hair out of harm's way. "May I keep this?" he said softly.
"Of course," Momoko said, "I've got five more copies."
The black haired man handed it to Chouji, who in turn held it out to Ino. Without touching it she took one glance, made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a hiss. The brown haired man pulled it back, refolded it properly and placed it in his pack. He gazed forlornly at his teammate on last time, then turn his attention to their clients.
The Kaneyasus got up and politely took their leave.
Team 10 rose as well, although Ino still seemed to be distracted.
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It had been almost two weeks since her brother's Chuunin exam visit, and Temari walked through the market in blissful solitude. Shikamaru was out with his teammates on a mission, they'd probably be back in a couple more days.
"Temari?" came a voice from her left. She looked up from the fruit she was inspecting to see Inoichi with Misao and Ryokou.
"Hello," she smiled, wondering why today of all days she'd caught his attention.
"Aunt Temari," Ryokou beamed. She had Kitty hanging out over the top of the green jumper she was wearing. "Where are Haji and Zuki?"
"With their grandma," she crouched to hug Ryo and looked at her smiling, the way her hair was pulled up into two tails made her think of her brother's cat-eared cap. It was funny how now that she knew who Ryokou's father was she kept finding things about Ryo that reminded her of him. She stood up again to talk to Inoichi, "So what did you want?"
"Do you have any idea what happened with Ino? She seemed so happy when she was going out with Chouji, then after the Chuunin Tournament day she was all out of sorts."
His wife put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to take Ryokou for a treat. You can catch up with us later."
He looked down at his granddaughter with a forced smile, and patted her on the head before letting her go off with her grandmother. It was very obvious that he did not feel like smiling at the moment. He waited until they were out of earshot before continuing, "Was Ryokou's father with the Suna entourage?"
"Yes," Temari immediately swore under her breath when she realized her mistake. "Ino asked me not to say anything, don't let her know I even said this much."
Inoichi glared, "Did he see Ryokou and realized she's his daughter? A lot of people mentioned how cute she was when she ran out into the street to give the Kazekage that damned day lily."
"Yes, he saw her." Temari bowed her head.
"Well, can't your brother do anything about it?"
"What?" Temari panicked, Has he figured it out? She was about to open her mouth to say 'But he's married' when Inoichi continued.
"He's the Kazekage, can't he just tell the guy to leave my daughter alone or…I don't know." He threw his arms into the air in frustration. "She seemed so happy in the weeks before this. I mean, Chouji may not be my ideal for a son-in-law, but Ino could do a hell of a lot worse. He's so good with my granddaughter and Ryokou just adores him. Then that jerk of a father shows up and Ino builds so many walls around herself that I have no idea what's going on in her head."
"I know, I was kind of hoping Ino and Chouji would finally get together too." She looked at him, relieved he hadn't made the connection. "Well, since they're out on a mission together maybe that will help them work things out."
"I hope so," Inoichi replied with a sympathetic half smile. "I'm sorry about spouting off like this, I just figured you or Shikamaru might know what the situation is." He sighed.
"I understand, you care so much about Ino and want her to be happy." She hugged him. "It only seems natural for a father to worry."
"Thank you Temari." He nodded, "I guess I'll see you around." He headed off in the direction his wife had gone.
I almost said too much, Temari berated herself.
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The second night of their return trip, Shikamaru finally took the opportunity to talk to Ino alone. "You've barely spoken to either of us since we completed the mission. What's wrong?"
"I need time to think." She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes flicked a glance toward Chouji's sleeping form, and her lips formed a tense line.
"About Chouji, Kankurou or the mission?" He studied her expression as he said each part. "I know something about this mission made your mood worse. Talk to me, he's in his deep sleep and you know it," His head tilted toward their husky teammate. After all, the years they'd traveled together they knew each other's sleeping patterns very well.
"Why do the famous and powerful always seem to get the best of both worlds?" She frowned, "Tamaki has a smart, attractive and talented fiancée, but he tried to hit on another woman at the party. Worse, he comes out as even more endeared in her eyes because she was seen taking care of him after he threw up all over her. Worse than that was how the spin-doctors blamed it on bad seafood instead him being so crocked he could barely stand. How can they get away with that!?" Her eyes looked slightly damp as she gazed at him, "Before you know it, he'll have a beautiful, perfect wife and a couple of kids…maybe all his past indiscretions will be long since swept under the rug or maybe he'll just be very good at hiding new ones."
"So you're paralleling him to Kankurou." Shikamaru sighed, Of course she would. The wound is raw again and she's just got to keep picking at it. "The Kazekage made a choice based on what was best for Sunagakure. Although I'm sure the council put a certain amount of pressure on him, the final decision was ultimately his. There may be circumstances we don't fully understand, but it can't be judged without all the information."
"I have all the information I need: She's the 'Goddess of Sex', but he still chose to hit on me. How can you possibly know what that feels like?" She closed her eyes, "To want someone you can't have so badly that any contact causes a powerful aching need." She wrapped her arms around herself, tears started to slide down her cheeks.
Shikamaru was judging whether or not to tell her straight out: 'I don't, but Chouji does.'
However, Ino continued: "Then the next moment, you hate them so much for throwing you away that you want to curse them with every horrible fate there is."
The black haired man bit back his thought and said, "No I can't say I've felt that way." I just wish there was something I could do to help her. He sat there, watching her for a moment longer. "Ino, do you remember what happened after your contact drunk at the party?"
She wiped at her eyes as she tried to focus her attention on him, "We left, got back to the room, I rinsed my mouth, then I guess I blacked out. The next thing I remember was waking up on the couch."
"So what do you think happened in between?"
"I assumed I got cleaned up without remembering any of it."
"No, he did everything. You completely passed out, Ino," Shikamaru replied. "Chouji washed your face and put your hairclips and jewelry away. He brushed and braided your hair, without hesitation, because he knew it would make you feel so much better come the next morning. Don't let him know I told you; He just felt it was important to take care of you when you were in no state to do it yourself."
"He's too good to me…I…" her eyes welled up with tears again, "I don't want to hurt him…I always hurt him…I want his friendship…I should never have allowed it to be anything more." Her hands moved to cover her face. "I'm so stupid, why do I keep making the same mistakes?"
"Are you sure it is the same one?" Or that it was a mistake? Shika leaned in to put a hand on her shoulder. She took it as permission to continue crying as she leaned into his chest.
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Ino maintained her reserved nature for the rest of the journey home, during which time both she and Chouji had managed to get the rest of the color wash out of their hair. So when they walked into the Hokage's office she looked upon pretty much the same three people who she'd sent out.
She sat behind the desk with a very bemused smile as she regarded them. "So you're recovered after the 'bad clams'."
Ino frowned, "Don't you just love the spin they put on things? It wasn't seafood; the jerk was drunk off his ass and the contact high knocked me off mine too."
"So anyways," Shikamaru interrupted before Ino got into a full blown tirade. "Here's the fee," he turned the packet over to the Hokage, who in turn handed it off to Shizune. "They also gave us a bonus." He pulled the addition packet out.
"No, that's yours," Tsunade put her hand up, "you earned it, especially with all the extras you had to do. You'll also get your regular pay as well." She handed them slips that were to be turned in and tracked through the payroll office. "Team 10 is hereby dismissed."
"Thank you Godaime-sama." They chorused. As Shikamaru and Chouji started for the door they heard Ino say: "If I may have a word in private please, Tsunade-sama?
The Hokage gestured for the men to leave as she said, "Very well Ino, Please take a seat." Then she looked at Shizune.
"No, she can stay," Ino replied softly.
"Well then, what seems to be the problem Ino?" The Hokage's brow furrowed.
Ino bit her lip for a moment; I've been looking for an excuse to put a safe distance between Chouji and me for the whole trip home. Just for now, until I get my head on straight. I didn't think it would be this hard…seeing Kankurou again. I knew it had to happen sometime. She sighed.
"Ino, I don't have all day."
Here goes. "I have been remiss in my training as a healer." Her voice lacked its usual confidence. "I was wondering if I could be removed from mission duty and be placed on medical duty instead."
"That should be fine." Tsunade studied her, "Any particular reason for your sudden request?"
"Nothing in particular." The blonde kunoichi looked toward her feet. She knew she wouldn't hold up under the Hokage's scrutiny.
Something's wrong, but she doesn't seem to want to talk about it. Amber eyes studied the younger woman's body language searching for additional clues. "Ino, I hope you aren't counting the character assassinations as part of the mission reassignment? Those are your specialty, and I don't think I could find another among the Yamanaka who could pull them off with your flair."
"I understand, Godaime-sama," Ino replied flatly.
"I'll have Shizune arrange a schedule for you." She raised her gaze to her assistant, "You should expect to receive it sometime tomorrow morning."
The dark haired woman's expression echoed the Hokage's concern about the woman who sat before them, but her head nodded an acknowledgement of the request.
"Thank you." The blonde's head remained bowed.
"However, I have something I need you to sign before I can honor your request."
"Of course," the blue eyed woman rose from her seat and approached the desk. Her hand reflexively pulled out her favorite purple pen.
The Hokage slid a folder across the desk to her.
Ino flipped it open and visibly flinched; she raised her eyes to meet Tsunade's, "You can't be serious."
There was a photograph from the premier party of Ino (as Nakamichi Eiko) from much earlier in the evening when she was still in all her glory. Standing next to her in the picture was Kanda Tamaki, and more surprising was that the picture was already autographed by him.
"Might be worth something someday," the Hokage grinned. Then she placed her finger to nudge it over revealing two more identical signed pictures beneath. "One for you and one for Shizune," Tsunade leaned closer to Ino. "She's a big fan, sees all his films."
"Tsunade-sama," her assistant squeaked in an uncharacteristic fashion, blushing as she did so.
Ino finally cracked a smile. "Fangirl," she said as she signed her alias on two of three of the pictures. She picked up the third. "So I'll expect a schedule tomorrow." She repeated the information she'd been give earlier.
"I'll probably put you with Sakura." Shizune said, "You've been a medic long enough, just because you'll be working in the center don't think either of us will go easy on you."
"Would never have expected it," Ino smiled, "I think a new challenge is just what I need. Although, how my father will survive without me at the shop…" Her smile took a wicked turn, "You don't suppose you could make it seem like this was all your idea?"
"Certainly." Tsunade smiled as well, Welcome back, Ino.
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While the mission was successful as far as its assigned objective went, it was a failure as far as Chouji was concerned. He was hoping that Ino would open up to him again. It was frustrating that they'd gotten so close over the last few months and now it was back to square one. Some part of him wondered if things might have turned out differently if he'd given in to her desire for sex…or if he hadn't gotten sick on the night of the opera...or maybe… The list of his regrets could go on and on.
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The Kazekage was heading out of his office at the end of a busy day. His assistant was finishing off some papers at a frantic pace. Great, more stuff to plod through tomorrow.
He glanced over to see Mio sitting in a chair next to Haijun's station reading a badly folded newspaper full of bright, almost garishly colored photographs.
She looked over the top of it at him. "Onii-chan," she smiled, "I have need of a favor." She stood as did Ni-Nyanko.
For some reason, his mind almost shut is 'kitty-sister' out. On the page before him, he saw a dress he remembered from his past. There can't be another one of those out there. He tried to get a better look without appearing to be too interested in the entertainment paper. And certainly not a body that fills it out like that. A slight tilt of his head, What did she do to her hair?
Suddenly, the paper turned. Mio looked from it to him then back again. "Onii-chan," she seemed puzzled, "I thought you didn't like such trivial things as celebrity news."
He embarrassedly clear his throat, and mumbled, "A pretty girl is …well, a pretty girl."
"Yeah, I like Hikida Sumiko, I think she'll go far." The Kageneko grinned, "I can't wait to see this movie…now where were we?"
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Twelve days later, Ino dragged her weary body up the stairs to home. I think Sakura's really enjoying being my boss. I swear she works me harder than anyone else on our shift. I'm going to take a nice long soak after dinner is over.
As soon as her hand hit the door, she heard a very cheerful voice. "Welcome home Mama!" Ryokou smiled as she walked in, "I helped grandma with dinner."
"That's wonderful, sweetie." She kissed her daughter on the forehead, then continued in and flopped down limply on the couch.
The girl stood there looking her mother.
Ino regarded her back and after a moment asked, "Is there something you want?"
"Can we have Uncle Chouji over for dinner soon, so I can show him what I learned?" A rare pout settled on the girl's lips, "I miss him."
The kunoichi shut her eyes for a moment; it had been a month since the Chuunin exams. Of course she'd notice the change in our situation. I should have expected this. She sighed, trying to decide what to do next.
Fortunately, Misao chose that minute to come out of the kitchen. "Ryokou, would you run downstairs and tell your grandfather that dinner is ready."
"Okay!" the child took off down the stairs.
"I'm guessing you're pretty beat." Ino's mother gazed down at her over the back of the couch. "You'll probably want to take a bath then go straight to bed. It seems a shame, you really should go out and have some fun with your friends."
"Maybe tomorrow," Ino muttered as she sat up.
What happened to my fun-loving girl? Misao turned back to get things from the kitchen.
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A/N: Kankurou got the lamest line evah! Maybe for some reason his kitty-sister messes with his head…
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