Hi!
So, this is my first story. Please tell me if you see any errors in the grammar or spelling. I would really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own this story.
Ino
"Oh, *Kami!" I screamed. "Kakashi-sensei!"
I had just watched Kakashi get chopped into little pieces by a rogue ninja's blade. Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki looked like deer in a spotlight (A/N: headlights don't
exist yet) next to me. The second rogue ninja made his way towards Tazuna, the bridge builder we were escorting for a mission to the Land of Waves. I recovered and jumped
in front of him, putting up my hands for my clan's signature jutsu: Mind Transfer Jutsu. Before I had a chance to activate it, though, Sasuke-kun had engaged the ninja in
combat with kunai, shurikens, and, once, a fireball. Naruto, the idiot, appeared, still frozen in place and the other rogue was about to hit him when Sasuke-kun roughly
shoved him out of the way. Naruto suffered a slight scratch from the weapon, but was knocked out of his stupor. We - or rather the boys - were losing ground fast when
Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and finished off the two rogues easily.
"Kakashi-sensei!" the three of us choroused in relief.
He gave us a lazy wave and we soon pestered him with questions about his "death." According to him, he just switched his body with a log, and did so because he wanted
to see how we would work under pressure. He commended Sasuke-kun and I on our bravery and quick-thinking. Naruto received no praise and Sasuke-kun decided to rub it
in:
"Why'd you freeze up there, scaredy cat?" he asked mockingly.
Naruto snapped back immediately, "Shut up, jerk."
"You needed me to protect you, and you didn't even do anything useful, like save the client," the dark-haired boy continued.
"I said SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled and plunged a kunai into the scratch on his hand.
Kakashi told Naruto that there had been poison on the weapons. While it was good for Naruto to get rid of it, he could have done so in a less dangerous way. Naruto got a
bit of a talking-to about his rashness from Kakashi. Then, the one-eyed man took the two rogues - the Demon Brothers - away to interrogate them for information on their
boss.
Tazuna looked very nervous the entire time Kakashi was gone. When the jonin got back, Tazuna jumped. Kakashi told the old drunk that those were high-level shinobi and
that they were after the bridge-builder. His suspicions from the beginning of the attack had been later confirmed when they tried to take out Tazuna instead of a wide open
Naruto. Suddenly, Tazuna broke down and told us everything - about the Land of Waves, Gato and his shipping company, and the bridge being a symbol of hope for most.
Then, we came to a crossroads: Do we continue our mission, knowing that it has a much higher rank, or do we abandon Tazuna and leave him to deal with assassins until
we can get back up? The vote was unanimous - I was excited and I could brag to Forehead when I got back, Naruto was up for anything and desperate to prove himself after
Sasuke-kun's words, Sasuke-kun himself wanted a chance to test his strength and he was going crazy walking dogs, and, finally, Kakashi, who knew he would never hear the
end of it from us if he took us back.
So, we traveled for a few more days in the forest before taking a boat to the island. There was a misty and depressing vibe all around. Houses looked run down and people
were trying to avoid eye contact with each other. We stood out a lot, due to my purple outfit, light blonde hair, Naruto's orange outfit, his yellow-blonde hair, and Kakashi's
shock of white hair. Naruto looked on edge for a reason unknown to me.
Suddenly, he drew a kunai and flung it at a tree. I went to look and saw a white bunny, looking scared. That damn idiot! I was about to give him a piece of my mind when
a giant sword lodged itself into the tree trunk above my head. I froze and Kakashi yanked me away in the blink of an eye. I looked back at the sword when I was out of
danger and was surprised to see a man standing on top of it. He had bandages covering the lower half of his face and a crooked shinobi headband with the Hidden Mist
symbol crossed out! Oh, shit, we were definitely in trouble now, especially since his killing intent was palpable.
The boys and I were not moving a muscle as Kakashi explained that he would protect us with his life, if necessary. Then, he moved his lopsided headband up, revealing a
red eye with black dots. I've heard of kekkei genkai that change the eye's appearance, the most prevalent being the Hyugas'. They had light lavender, pupiless eyes and the
veins around them were very obvious when they activated the Byakugan. Beside me, I saw Sasuke-kun tense up out of the corner of my eye. What was that about? A fog
enveloped us and I couldn't see anything. I heard the sound of a kunai sinking into flesh and then a splash sound. The mist abruptly cleared away. I turned my full focus onto
the battle now taking place on top of the water.
The two men were using the exact same jutsu and the rogue was yelling things at Kakashi. The rogue shinobi rushed at Kakashi, who wasn't expecting it, and trapped our
sensei in a globe of water. The sword-wielding shinobi formed hand seals, and summoned a water clone to fight us. He wiped the floor with Naruto and Sasuke-kun, sending
them flying behind Tazuna and appeared to be over for the two of us as the man advanced.
Then, I heard a whooshing noise and a large shadow passed next to me. I saw a demon wind shuriken hurtle past me. It headed straight for the rogue, who was keeping
Kakashi captive. Since the rogue's arm had to be in the water prison for it to be effective, he jumped to avoid it. He landed with a cocky smirk directed towards the boys.
There was a puff of white smoke, and Naruto appeared behind the rogue on the water. He launched a few shuriken and the rogue, not expecting it, had to pull his arm free
of the cage. Kakashi immediately began a jutsu, and a huge tidal wave slammed the rogue into a tree.
Before Kakashi could finish him, though, two needles hit the Mist ninja in the neck. A girl wearing a white mask that covered her entire face was standing on a tree branch.
Her mask was detailed, with thin lines of color and the Mist village symbol where her forehead would be.
"I can take it from here," she said. "Zabuza is a missing nin of the Mist and it is my duty to deal with his body."
Kakashi just nodded and stepped away. The girl was next to the rogue ninja, who was apparently named Zabuza, in a flash. I blinked, shocked that someone who looked to
be around our age had such skill. She grabbed Zabuza and vanished. Naruto was upset; it was obvious from the expression on his face.
"How is she that strong? We're like the same age!" the boy directed his question at Kakashi.
"Well, Naruto, in this world there are people younger than you and stronger than you because they have to be. If they aren't smart enough or fast enough, they may not
survive. We are ninja, after all," the jonin replied. "And that was a boy."
"What?!" I yelped and then felt embarrassed by my outburst in front of Sasuke-kun. Naruto had a similar reaction to mine, but Sasuke-kun just scoffed, "Some ninja y'all
are. Can't even determine the gender of an opponent. He wasn't even using a jutsu to disguise himself, either."
"Can it, jerk," Naruto replied.
There was a thud; Kakashi had passed out.
"C'mon. I'll take y'all to my house," Tazuna said into the silence.
- A few hours later -
"Hello! I'm Tsunami. You must be the ninjas assigned to protect my father while he builds that bridge. Come in, come in," Tazuna's daughter said kindly. "Take your sensei
up those stairs to the first empty room and then come back down for lunch."
We did as requested and were halfway through lunch when a little black-haired boy burst through the door and yelled: "You are all going to die! No one rebels and gets
away with it!"
He then rushed out of the room crying.
"Sorry about that," Tsunami said. "That's my son, Inari. He's lost hope in us ever being free from Gato's tyranny when Kaiza died. That man was like a father to Inari, and
he was one of the only people to ever stand up to Gato. He died by public execution."
"I'm sorry," I said softly.
"I'm going to prove him wrong!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Naruto!" I hissed. "Keep it down a little. She just talked about her kid losing his father figure! Read the room!"
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled.
We finished our food, checked on Kakashi, and went to bed. There's no hot water here for a nice shower, I complained in my head. I fell asleep fast, though and woke up
early the next morning.
A/N: The rest of this mission goes the same until Kakashi is about to stab Zabuza with the Chidori. Obviously, we're replacing Sakura with Ino. Here we go:
From my position protecting Tazuna, I saw the ice mirrors melt away a couple of minutes ago. There had been an explosion of red light and power around that time as
well.
To my other side, Kakashi had Zabuza pinned down by dogs. He appeared to be charging up a powerful attack. Suddenly, Naruto and his opponent came into view. The
mist had faded. They were closer to me than I had thought. I watched them talk, Haku's - Zabuza's companion's name - voice rising higher and higher. Many things happened
at once; Kakashi finished preparing his jutsu and charged Zabuza; Haku's head snapped towards the two men; Naruto looked at me, panic apparent in his expression, and
yelled,
"INO!"
I don't know how I knew what he wanted, but I raised my hands in a familiar position and entered Haku's mind. I straightened up once I was in the mindscape. This was
difficult; Haku had wanted to teleport in front of Zabuza as a shield more than anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tazuna shaking my body, trying to figure out
what had happened to me.
I struggled to hold on to Haku's mind until after Zabuza had been run through. Mere seconds after I had arrived, I was ejected. I gasped in air in my own body before
looking around. Zabuza was dead at the hands of Kakashi. Naruto was holding a sobbing Haku, both sitting on the icy bridge. Tazuna was fine. Sasuke-kun, whom I hadn't
noticed until now, was lying where the ice dome had been, needles sticking out of him like a porcupine.
"Sasuke-kun!" I screamed and raced towards him. I dropped to my knees beside him and began to cry. It can't be, it can't be. Sasuke-kun can't be dead!
"Would you get off of me?" Sasuke complained weakly.
I sprung to my feet, eyes wide with shock, tears still dripping down my face. Before I could do anything more than feel relieved, I heard shouting. I turned my head to see
an entire army of Gato's men with various weapons. "Oh, shit…," I muttered. There was a roar from the opposite side of the bridge. I turned to see Inari leading the rest of
the villagers in a charge. Some of the defeat I had been feeling was lifted. Naruto picked up a crumpled Haku and carried him out of harm's way. I moved Sasuke-kun with
some help from Tazuna and some grumbling from the raven-haired boy. Kakashi had his ninja hounds drag Zabuza's body away as well.
I began to carefully pull the needles from Sasuke-kun, but stopped to look up occasionally at the battle. The villagers were, shockingly, winning. At least, I thought it was
shocking until I saw Kakashi mowing down mercenaries with a kunai.
I had finished my task and Sasuke-kun had passed out again. I was still sitting to the side, but Tazuna had found a weapon and was fighting. I had located Inari. He was
short, so he was helping out villagers with their battles instead of getting into one of his own. He mainly slashed ankles to avoid landing killing strikes, whilst still stopping the
enemies from walking. I watched him, feeling a little bit happy for Naruto. The loudmouth managed to turn this boy's life around for the better with some inspirational words
and empathy. Inari looked up to him, and Naruto was probably pretty proud of Inari's growth.
All of the sudden, I saw a flash of movement behind the boy.
A stream of red shot through the air. One moment Inari was on his feet, fighting and the next he was on the ground. I didn't spare a glance for Sasuke-kun as I raced
towards the fallen child.
In an instant I was by his side, lifting him up gingerly, trying to avoid touching the injury on his chest, and calling for Kakashi, Tsunami, and Tazuna incessantly. I finally
spotted the silver-haired man as I was turning in a panic. He saw me, and immediately appeared by my side. In the next 30 seconds, the battle ended, Kakashi applied
pressure to the boy's stab wound, deduced that he had no way to save Inari, and Tsunami and Tazuna showed up. I backed away awkwardly and watched.
"My b-b-baby," Tsunami sobbed while cradling Inari's lifeless form to her chest. She turned to Kakashi desperately, "C-c-can you h-h-heal him, p-please?"
The jonin bowed saying, "I do not have the ability to heal. I'm very sorry for your loss."
Tsunami gasped, new tears streaming down her face as she checked his pulse and found nothing. Tazuna looked like he was in shock.
All of a sudden, Tsunami turned towards Naruto, who had arrived with Haku. She was screaming at him for being the reason her son was in the fight and the reason he
wanted to fight. Naruto was just standing there, shooting a saddened glance Inari's way, taking the insults from the enraged woman.
I was willing to let Naruto do whatever he wanted in this situation, up until Tsunami said, "You either don't care for your friends, or you're not strong enough to protect
them! Did you even consider Inari a friend? Or was he more like cannon fodder to you?!"
That did it, though, and, soon, I had to be restrained by Kakashi to keep me from lunging at the grieving woman. He wouldn't let me scream at her, either, having his hand
over my mouth.
Usually, I don't give a damn what happens to Naruto or what people say about and to him. I was a little confused about my instincts to save my teammate
from Tsunami, but I didn't regard them as a bad thing. I mean, teamwork and strengthening bonds and all of that. It could save us one day. Kakashi pushed me in the
direction that I had left Sasuke-kun in, following close behind.
Tazuna had snapped out of it and was feebly trying to get Tsunami to calm down. I felt slightly guilty that I had forgotten about Sasuke-kun and his injuries for the past
few minutes. I shouldn't have left him unguarded, weak from blood loss as he was. I began to tend to the rest of his wounds, him unconscious throughout it all. I didn't know
medical ninjutsu, so all I had were bandages and a cloth to wipe away the blood as best I could.
Kakashi didn't help me, instead opting to ensure I wasn't going to bolt and attack Tsunami. As I finished wrapping the last major injury, the yelling stopped. Kakashi picked
up Sasuke-kun and we headed over to Naruto. When we reached them, Tazuna was leading Tsunami back to their house, Inari's body in her arms. Haku was still curled up.
"What do we do now?" I wondered aloud.
"We pick up our things from Tazuna's house and go back home," Kakashi responded.
Naruto spoke up, "Can we bring Haku? He's really not that bad. Zabuza had a bad influence on him."
"He almost killed Sasuke-kun and you!" I yelled indignantly. "He's the enemy."
"That would be up to the village counsel to decide," Kakashi said, diffusing the argument. "We're going to bring him back, and then Lord 3rd and the elders can take it from there."
I huffed, a little annoyed and Naruto picked up Haku.
An hour later, we were on our way home.
* Kami means "God"
So, that's it for chapter 1. See you next time!
