Nostalgia

There's something to be said about the inconsistencies in a person's character, and to Ino's recollection, her father had always been a mystery; whenever she thought she had him figured it out, he retaliates by changing his entire demeanor. She entered his office with a frown and hard steps as to portray confidence she lacked, but there was no need to argue: he signed her petition without much questioning.

She hadn't asked his reasons, quickly grabbing the scroll and scampering away not to push her luck or to risk a change of mind, but now that she secured her participation, she allowed her mind to wander around the topic. Inoichi never actually told her anything of significance about his personal life –everything she knew, she knew by watching, and more often than not their most common topic of conversation was the clan and what she would have to do when she was crowned their leader. Inoichi never doubted her coronation despite Ino's own doubts on the matter, the Council was always quick to send a poisonous comment in her direction about the pacing of her career; particularly when compared to Shikamaru's quick escalation in the ranks, who was now regarded as the best member of the new Ino-Shika-Chö. Himari was the most venomous one, not kind enough to hide the displeasure that her own offspring provoked.

Ino gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes, bringing a hand to cover her gaze from the harsh sunlight; perhaps that was the reason Inoichi had allowed her this mission: to prove her worth to the Council. She'll show them she wasn't incompetent when alone.

The eclipsing shadow of Shikamaru would hang above her no more. It wasn't exactly fair to her comrade, but she couldn't help to still resent him to this day –her frustration would be better placed if directed at Asuma, who made little effort to conceal his tastes, but with the history both Shikamaru and her shared, Ino couldn't help her negative feelings to tint all of Team 10's interactions.

Right at the end of the village's doors, she stood, not quite taking the step as to start her journey, safely guarded in between her hometown limits. Inoichi had not come to see her departure –Shikamaru had just left for his mission with Asuma, and Chöji was sent to patrol duty at the other side of Konoha. She was an adult now, so no goodbye party was to be expected, but the quickness in which she was forced to grow after her decision to become a field-medic was harsh to swallow still. Her breath came out shallow, was it stupid to elevate such a trivial moment? This wasn't the first time she left the village –although it was the first one she will do so by herself, Ino absently mindedly wondered if Sakura performed the same behavior before leaving Konoha in her first solo mission.

Convincing herself that Sakura hadn't, Ino strengthened her posture and started walking, not once glancing back. The guards at the door didn't even try to hide their boredom at her demeanor.

Jumping in between branches was an easy task for her –not a single shinobi was able to move from the cadet rank to the gënin one without being able to move in between trees as easy as breathing. Ino jumped down and landed on her feet easily, walking calmly a short distance towards a small stream of river, she gently touched the water with the pads of her fingers, it was cold enough to make her purse her lips, but she pushed past the discomfort and sank her entire hand, quickly collecting some of it on her palms to wash her face.

She had moved quickly, covering more ground than expected for almost a day of travel –Ino smirked and knelt in the dirt, watching the water move, it had been a while since she was anywhere near to Kaze no Kuni, the last time being when she took the chünin exams for the second time –almost two years ago. There had been a time, Ino remembered, when she took this same path with a newly formed Team 10, she could almost feel the weight of the backpack full of rocks that Asuma had forced them to carry. Ino chuckled lightly, suddenly missing her old self.

She sank her hand in the water again, wanting to wash her face a little bit more, but a low sound made her go alert in a quick second. She jumped up and turned, her hand quickly grabbing a kunai while moving her body to stand in a defensive position. She glanced from one side to the other while kneading chakra and throwing her net –but the only thing she was able to sense were the animals around, mostly birds who were perched in branches. Ino swallowed and forced her body to relax just slightly, not dissipating her chakra yet as to keep sensing the terrain around her, one of the birds moved slightly from one side to the other and then took off flying, and she was as alone as she was before.

Ino bit with her molars and swallowed, her lips stretching shakily and forming a nervous smile. She walked to one of the thickest trees she was able to see and jumped up –the sun will be setting soon enough and it wasn't a good idea to set camp in the ground, a restless night was quick to be put under her belt.

She woke up to a strong wind that almost throws her off the branch she rested on, forcing her to channel chakra to her hand in order to glue herself to the thick wood and not collide on the floor. It wasn't gracefully that she landed, being forced to reach the ground by Mother Nature's harshness, and the only comfort she got was to think that she was the only one who witnessed such a downgrading situation.

It was early in the morning, the sun hadn't risen just yet, but few of his rays could be seen in the distance, the mist ascended slowly and awoke goosebumps on her skin, her teeth rattled in response to the harsh weather. She collected her wits enough to move alongside the rising sun, taking the shining star as her sole companion in this journey –a rocky start didn't mean bad omens, and Ino refused to tie her future to trivial beliefs and childish mistakes. She threw the faintest of nets as to feel it all that was around her –it wasn't much terrain she could cover, but she wanted not to exhaust herself before reaching safety.

A bird flew towards her net and landed on the floor beneath it –there was still a delicate veil of mist that refused to leave until the sun hadn't settled, the black animal moved its wings and the smoky curtain flew around it and away, Ino missed a step when watching the mystifying movement –the crow cawed and jumped up into the distance until she was able to see it no more.

There weren't many nice things to say about Wind Country –the place wasn't Ino's favorite and never would be, she would be anywhere near Suna (that was nice to know, at least, she still couldn't see their Kazekage at eye level –she hadn't been able to shake off of her mind his bloodthirsty expression when he faced Sasuke before the invasion –she had killed a kunoichi he might have known, Ino wondered if the feeling of being watched and held responsible for family despair will ever leave her), nor the desert around it, but Wind looked as hostile as its hidden village.

Thinking of the invasion and Sasuke made Ino pause in her race, the sun rose to its fullest and watched her stay still –her eyes were focused on the ground beneath her, her sandals crushed the vegetation around her feet, it has been years since Sasuke left the village –she hadn't been able to see him go, a part of her resented Sakura for having had that privilege, and Ino unconsciously always looked around when on a mission. Sasuke left and with him, everything that remained of her; she wishes she could see him at least once more.

"Will you-" she whispered and looked at the sun, "-touch his skin with your usual warmth?" Of course, there was no answer from the deity –Ino wasn't sure what she was asking, she just wished for the boy she once (still?) loved to be safe; and with that, she pushed herself to move forward. From now on, nothing will distract her further –she had her own reputation, her own clan to think about, no physical weakness -no matter how tempting, how it made her heart jump, will overpower her will.

Two more mornings saw her rise to her feet and resume her trip, the more she advanced the more the scenery stripped itself from foliage –green grass turned yellow with each step she took, trees abandoned their welcoming figure and grew spikes in their trunks, embracing endurance before beauty. There probably was something to be said by her lack of vision to appreciate prettiness in the harshest of wildness –but Ino grew up in a place where beauty was tightly tied to delicacy and it was difficult for her to shake the roots of her standards.

The sunset threatened with its presence, sun turning yellow light into orange gloom, gently cooling her skin. Ino was walking when the group intercepted her –three-man with their katanas unsheathed, she paused and slowly moved her eyes to her greeters, their expressions were severe and unwelcoming, similar dark irises painted their eyes, and a light-blue haori over a gray hakama clung to their frame as a uniform. Nothing in the mission mentioned engaging in combat, so Ino forced her treacherous fingers to uncurl from the kunai at her hip, placing her hands on top of the pouches that concealed her chakra wires.

"A change of mind?" She asked, it wasn't uncommon for a client to backpedal in their request, often sending other people to speak for them should ninja dispute their decision –the mission was to be paid regardless, it was Ino's duty to fight for the money they ought.

"Merely escort duty," the guard on the right said, his voice was almost too high-pitched for the harshness of his face, a straight pink scar crossed the bridge of his nose.

"I need no escort."

"We do not care." The one in the middle replied, rolling his eyes when Ino gave him a harsh look, "boss orders."

"Isn't that kind of him-" she huffed, "-sending me escorts for the lasts couple of miles of a trip that took me three days?"

The man smirked, brown hair across his face, the haori slowly falling from his shoulder revealing the pale skin of his collarbone, "nothing but the best for the ninjas." He mocked, and waiting for nothing else turned and started to walk –the other two moved to put themselves behind her, but Ino tensed her legs and took a step backward, defiantly.

"I don't appreciate people on my back," she warned, the wires in her pouch buzzing with life when she channeled some of her energy through them, ready to jump at the slightest movement of her wrists.

The three of them paused, and the one in the front turned with the same smirk decorating his lips, he rested the edge of the katana in his naked shoulder, Ino noticed the small scars that crossed his collarbone. "Of course not." He said with a nod, and the other two swordsmen started to walk as well, leaving Ino to follow behind them.

Ino's eyes moved from one side of the route to the other, glancing back and forth in between the group of men who had still to save their weapons, the sound of dirt against their sandals was everything that resounded in between them. She watched them walk, noticing the way their katanas bumped into their hakama –she frowned when noticing the relaxation in their postures (not only were they incredibly bad at their job, they were also incredibly rude). One of them had a bun of almost black hair, his sockets were stained with dirt, the middle one whore his hair down and used a gold earring in his ear –it was a strange thing for someone who was specialized in close-combat to wear, but Ino thought she could take advantage of it should the situation arise; the third one was bald and black ink in the form of a leaf picked through the collar of his haori.

The one in the middle paused and so did the other two, he turned again and looked at her up and down –Ino felt her face heat at his inspection. "At ease soldier, you're missing the view." And then turned again with a laugh, Ino set her jaw indignantly.

She did glance around, however, not because he had told her to –but because she couldn't afford to know her surroundings; where she expected a hostile environment (yellow grass and trunks with spikes), there was nothing but welcoming nature –green, perfectly cut pastures, flowers of different colors around the dirt-route, a pond with ducks. It was a hard contrast against everything she had seen in Kaze no Kuni, and when she moved her head to glance at the group again, her eyes stumbled upon the biggest house she had ever seen. It was a mansion of the likes of which she had never even dreamed existed, of an elegance she had never expected from Kaze no Kuni nor the rest of the world, Ino felt as if there was a universe she wasn't expected to see far beyond the shinobi realm. She suddenly felt small, unwelcomed, there was a reality to which she did not belong, and it looked mesmerizing.

Massive wooden doors opened when she stepped into the shinning marble, it was such a shame to see such precious material get stained with the dirt in her sandals, Ino had to force her eyes to go back up again when they danced in between her toes. "Told you Botan," the voice came from someone behind a guard, the man approached her with his arms wide open, a small smile stretching his lips –white short hair and a white short goatee beard, eyes pale blue, Ino twisted her head in something close to familiarity, something about the man flared her alarms. "She will be here on time, didn't I tell you?"

The man, Botan, grunted and crossed his arms with a frown, Ino glanced at them both before speaking, "I-"

"I did expect someone older," the client interrupted, eyeing her up and down, "no offense my love –you look stunning, candy for the eyes, but I need someone with more… experience."

"Excuse me?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"How good are you with your gifts?"

"My gifts?" Ino narrowed her eyes at the man, who smiled widely and scratched his chin with a chuckle, "candy? I'm sorry but the mission said-"

"I know what the mission said," the client dismissed, his smile slowly disappearing. "I requested it –remember? And I'll be paying a lot for it, so tell me, how good are you?"

Ino couldn't help the way her jaw settled, nor the way her nails dug in her palms, the men that had been escorting her glanced at her sideways, their katanas still tightly grasped in their hands –threateningly, "I'm the best." She said with as much conviction as she could.

The man, however, stripped himself from any remaining grin, his expression relaxing weirdly. "Are you now?" He cocked his head to the side, "because while some clients might appreciate the view –but I would like expertise. You do realize that under civilian laws, what we will be doing could be considered illegal, don't you? There's no room for missteps."

"There won't be any."

"I don't want promises I want results," there was harshness in his tone despite the body language, his hands were clasped behind his back nonchalantly as if speaking of something other than illegal activities, "should you fry someone's brain –not only that would mean a bureaucratic problem, it would also mean a failed negotiation. Your job is to softly influence their decisions and read their thoughts to give me leverage, I won't pay for half-attempts."

"Sir, like I said-"

"I wouldn't interrupt me if I were you-" he continued, "your clan is fairly known in the business world as one to look out for, so no one can see you when working, furthermore, hide your identity as well, I don't want people knowing you're a shinobi. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Great!" The man beamed, dusting his white kimono, "let us hope we become great acquaintances, I've heard rumors that Gato worked really close with Yamanaka members –and he built an empire, well, before his murder –poor bastard."

Ino pursed her lips and replied nothing, the client sighed and a small smirk reached his lips with the remembrance of the fellow entrepreneur, he crossed his arms and the skin of his forearms became visible against the shinning material of his clothing.

"Might I know," she spoke in a soft whisper, cocking her hip to the side, "why did you ask for me if I am not of your tastes?"

The man's eyes widened, his jaw relaxed and his lips parted slightly, "I take impulsive decisions quite often," he said, his voice wavering just slightly, "besides, I'm nostalgic." Ino furrowed her eyebrows while the man walked towards her with his hand stretched for her to take, "call me Howard."

A/N: Most of the upcoming chapters are from Ino's POV (there will be others as well, but hers will be the main one), I think telling the future events from her perspective will be far more interesting and shocking, as I want you guys to feel/be as surprised as Ino will be.