Valerian flower - comes from the word 'Valere', meaning to be strong or to be healthy.

Also, this story fits in after the The Last Movie and before Sakura Hiden.

"Hah!"

On a forest clearing near the outskirts of Konoha, a lone kunoichi was seen practicing fervently. She swung the wooden pole at hand with expert precision, which she combined with flawless footwork to deliver move after move of powerful slashes, striking at no one in particular. Satisfied, she exhaled deeply and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"I knew I'd find you here, Tenten."

She tensed for a moment, relaxing only when her brown eyes met blue, clear ones. "Ino!"

The blonde walked towards the center of the clearing, eyeing the various weapons strewn and scattered about. "Deep in training, I see."

"Yep. Even if the war is over, it's good to now and then sharpen my skills," Tenten grabbed a towel from her pack and wiped away the sweat and dirt from her face. It's true that they were now in an era of peace, but soldiers such as they should be ready for combat at anytime. "How did you find me here?" She queried.

Ino flashed her usual cheeky smile. "I knew that Team Gai always practiced somewhere around here, so I scanned the area and looked for your chakra."

Tenten blinked at her. "You were looking for me?"

"Yeah," there was a tinge of uneasiness in Ino's voice, "I wanted to…ask for a favor."

"What is it?"

The blonde then gave her a determined look. "Could you train me in taijutsu? I can be your sparring partner or something."

The other kunoichi raised an eyebrow at this. "Eh? What's this, all of a sudden?"

"It's because my current skillset either gives support or needs it that when I'm in a pinch, I get in trouble." Ino explained in a factly manner, which honestly surprised Tenten. "The Shintenshin no Jutsu, for example, requires support from others and has to be used tactically. It's something that can't be used on the frontlines. The same goes with healing, of course."

Tenten blinked a few times more before rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, as if embarrassed by something. "Well, I'm flattered that you'd come to me for training, but why not Hinata? Or even Sakura?"

"Hinata is…well, busy nowadays," with Naruto, Ino added mentally, "and while Forehead is good with taijutsu, I think a lot of it comes from the chakra control that Tsunade-sama specifically taught her. When it comes to taijutsu techniques, I think you're a better candidate. After all, you're the one who's teamed up with other ridiculously strong taijutsu fighters," She finished with a wink.

It was a fair point, Tenten thought, but Ino's well-thought answer surprised and bewildered her all the same. She half-expected the answer to be because she doesn't want to learn anything from Sakura, or something else, but Ino's explanation made it clear that she had thought about this, and that she wants this.

"How about Rock Lee then?"

"I don't want to die, thank you."

The brunette laughed a little. "Wow, so you really are serious about this."

"Of course! When was I ever not serious about something?"

The weapon-master rolled her eyes and sighed. "Right, right. Well, if we're going to do this, then I'll be asking a favor in return…"

The blonde's eyes widened when she heard the other kunoichi's request.

"That's it? You know, I would've done that even if you'd just ask me to."

Tenten grinned at this. "Well, a deal's a deal," she stretched out a little before walking off and assuming her regular fighting stance. "So, do you want to start with lesson one today?"

The sun was already setting when they decided to end their first session. "Man, that was rough!" Ino grunted, the green sheen that came from her hand wavered slightly. "Are you sure I didn't make you angry in the past? Sure looks like you took it out on me."

Tenten had her eyes closed as she relaxed under Ino's healing. "Hey, you're the one wanted to be my sparring partner." Hearing Ino's 'hmph' in defeat, Tenten continued, "You're not bad, Ino, you just need more practice. Also, you need to work on your reactive skill—you need to not double-guess your next move and just react."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." The blonde said it in such a serious tone that the weapon-master opened her eyes and looked at the former with piqued interest.

"So…what brought this on? Why the sudden interest in honing your taijutsu?"

"I told you, it's because my current skillset—"

"—is largely support-oriented, I know," Tenten interrupted, "but before, it didn't matter to you. You barreled through the war without a thought on it. After all, you got your team—"

Ah, suddenly it clicks on Tenten. So that's it.

Ino sensed this, but decided to finish whatever thought came from Tenten, "Before, I got my team, right? Well, Shikamaru has been assigned to a post in the Shinobi Alliance, so he's got duties of his own. Choji has his own share of missions as well," She recounted, a fond smile forming on her lips at the thought of her childhood friends climbing up and taking more responsibilities in the Shinobi world. "I'm swamped with hospital duty and Intelligence work as well, so I…don't really have the two of them watching my back anymore."

Underneath those words, however, was a strong, unspoken sentiment. I have to stand on my own now.

Tenten caught this and smiled all the same, for the sentiment was shared. Though the teams are still there and ready whenever the Village needs them to, each of them has embraced their separate duties and is now forging their own paths. "We've all grown up after the war," she mused out loud, and suddenly it felt like the war has ended long ago, but in fact it's only been about two years since then.

Ino returned the smile, but said nothing. Just then, the healing light from her hands vanished.

"About the favor you asked me," Ino said, tilting her head in a questioning manner, "what type of flowers did Neji-san prefer?"

"Uh-oh. I never thought of that," Tenten had her hand in her chin, seemingly deep in thought. "Hmm. Sunflowers would be nice, I guess."

"Roger that. I'll bring a basket of it tomorrow morning. Sounds good?"

"Yes," the brunette said, followed by a watery laugh. "Thank you."

Morning has barely broken over the sleeping village when the Yamanaka heiress traveled to the outskirts to visit an already familiar place—the Konoha cemetery. She carefully threaded through rows upon rows of gravestones, noting not for the first time that the cemetery has largely expanded right after the war—too large.

After placing a bouquet on her father's grave, as well as on Asuma-sensei's and on Shikaku Nara's, Ino made her way towards the grave of a person she considered a comrade, placing in front of it a basket of Sunflowers as agreed upon.

Tenten's favor in return.

"Neji-san," She whispered, careful not to have her voice disturb the peace that enveloped the place, "We're all busy growing up. So watch over us, okay?"

I got this idea in Sakura Hiden, specifically the part when Ino supports the team using her taijutsu. The databook says she's not really keen on her taijutsu, so I guess she must have had honed her skills.