"Ha! Ino-pig! You're the only one of us that isn't a chunin. Do you like my vest? Wonder what it would look like on you?" Sakura laughed, happy to finally have the upper hand over her long time rival.
"Awwww! How cute, you're out here thinking of me… meanwhile I don't think about you at all." The blonde replied with a sickeningly sweet tone as she rolled her eyes and flicked her hair.
Sakura scoffed. Scowling, she ignored the pain, hating how even now, it still seemed as if Ino always knew how to hit her where it hurst most. "Whatever you say, genin." Sakura replied, walking past the blonde, coffee in hand.
Ino breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god she's gone…" Contrary to popular belief, she did think about Sakura a lot. It was all she could think about the past 3 months. The pink haired girl was going from strength to strength, completing mission after mission.
There's murmurs going around the village, that she really is going to be the second coming of the Hokage…
How it erked her.
That should be me! Frustratingly, Ino flicked her hair out of her face, annoyed that they weren't talking about her like that.
I am the clan heir!
It should be me!
"She just got lucky… if she didn't get the Hokage as a sensei then she would be in the same position as me, or worse!"
The look she got from the barista broke her out of her own trance. Sending a scowling look as he grabbed her iced latte, Ino walked out of the store but not before taking a sip of her coffee.
More espresso, less depresso!
Using the body flicker across the village, the Yamanaka clan heiress found herself at the training ground she called home over the past 3 months. "Fuck me… can this just hurry up." She voiced out loud, not caring if anyone heard.
Two people did in fact hear.
Asana Hakagawa.
Haruya Inuzuka.
God the only saving grace being on this team is the puppy. Ino thought to herself.
Did they deserve her looking down on them?
No.
Was she going to stop?
Not one bit.
Looking over at her team, she sighed, hating the fact that she recognized these faces. It's not their fault… She thought to herself, dragging her hand through her blonde hair, pulling it back behind her ears, now that it was verging on mid shoulder length.
It was just that seeing these people, having a sensei that wasn't Asuma who was too busy out on missions only served to remind her of the position she was in. Of her mistakes that led her here, that she was going to be someone who had to go to the exams three times.
The only saving grace to all of this was that Ino was confident, without a shadow of a doubt, that her next chunin exams was going to be her last.
She had put in too much work over the past 3 months for it to not be the case.
The second she got the nod of approval from her sensei, Ino was off with another body flicker.
For the first time in a while, she was excited for an outing. Heading back into the centre of the village, Ino jumped along the rooftops at a speed only seasoned ninjas used.
Dropping down to her location, Ino smiled, even it was slightly forced. If she had any hair available, she'd be tucking it in behind her ear. Too bad I put it all in a tight pony tail…
Then, a calming sensation filled her frame when she saw who she was meeting. What was I thinking, getting nervous over a catchup over lunch?
"Choji!" Ino called out, jumping into the arms of her brother in all but blood. Taken aback by surprise, the brunette quickly wrapped his arm around his friend as a look of confusion came over.
"It's good to see you too Ino. It's been a little while."
Breaking the hug, she took a step back and nodded slowly, shifting her body positioning so that they were on a 45 degree angle. "Yeah… I needed some time to focus on myself but I am back to my usual self." She grinned, hoping that the Akimichi saw that.
"I'm glad. It's not the same without you being a drill Sargent." He admitted all whilst chuckling. Heart strings were pulled as Ino swallowed the lump in her throat. It was unfair to compare her current team with her previous team but she couldn't help it. Nothing could compare to Shikamaru and Choji.
"Guess I better make up for lost time when we next go on a mission then huh" She smirked although there was no malice behind the words. Looking over the guy, Ino took stock. "You've grown a lot. You're so much taller now!" She said, appraising him, giving him the once over with a nod.
A light blush traced his cheeks. "Thanks Ino." He coughed, not used to the compliment. "You look nice too although I don't think I've seen you wear a jumper since you were little." Once again, there was a look of confusion marring the face of the chunin. There was something about Ino that he couldn't quite place.
"Why thank you." She smiled a sultry smirk for the briefest of moments locking eyes and placing her hand on his shoulder causing that blush to return. Nice she thought to herself, removing her hand. "I'm like a butterfly going through its cocoon phase. Can't show off the goods until I'm ready to fly haha!"
Shaking his head, Choji chuckled, happy to see the exuberant girl again. "So what's this about an all you can eat challenge? I couldn't believe my ears when mum told me you were offering."
Placing her hand on her hip, she shifted her weight to the side and gave a pointed stare as her brow furred. "What, are you saying I don't care about my team, my family?" She said outraged, taking mock offence.
It was Choji who rolled his eyes this time. "No." he replied dryly, taking a page out of Shikamaru book. "It was when mum said you'd be participating in the challenge. Who are you?" he gave her a pointed stare in return although Ino couldn't see something else in his eyes. Respect.
"This is the new and improved Ino, so get used to it. I just thought, what would you value the most and I locked it in."
Touched, Choji didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to hug the girl or let out a tear. Caught in two minds, he was still nervous around girls. "Thank you Ino. It means a lot."
Locking eyes, she nodded, not saying anything more. She didn't need to. Instead, she grabbed his hand and walked through the door to Choji's favourite restaurant.
Feeling at home the second the several different cuts of meat appeared in front of them, Choji's alter ego took control of the situation.
Any hint of nerves, having not seen him in over 3 months went away as the Akimichi started getting excited to talk about food. It was his passion.
I've missed this.
As the sound of meat sizzling over the coals filled the air, conversation settled, with Choji filling the Yamanaka on all the boring bits of life as a chunin. She knew he was trying to make it sound like it wasn't that fun or that she wasn't missing out. It was his way of trying to show that he cared.
He sees me as the kid that he needs to protect.
Despite understanding where it was coming from, it left a bitter taste in her mouth. That she needed protection but it fit. The entire time they were on a team together, it was either Choji or usually Shikamaru bailing the blonde out.
How she desperately wanted the tides to change where it was she who was the one saving the day.
"So how has your training been going? Do you think you'll pass the upcoming chunin exams?" Yet again, Ino had to school herself, before lashing out with the first thing that came to her mind.
He doesn't know any different. He doesn't know how much I have changed.
In that split second, part of her wanted to take it upon herself to brag to the world, how much she had changed. How she now deserved her place at the top.
Taking a breath, she composed herself. The greater the delay, the sweeter the payout. She told herself, knowing the looks on everyone's faces would be worth it.
"Oh you know, I've been training where I can and I'm confident I can pass the exams this time round. It's just hard trying to balance it with the new team and dad needing me in the shop." She averted eye contact as she purposefully took the tongs from the table, dishing out the pork belly.
So focused on the food, Choji took the answer at face value and let his stomach guide him.
"That's good! Learnt anything new?"
"Not too much been learning more about genjutsu so that I can incapacitate people on my own. Don't have you and Shika around now do I?" she grinned, taking a bite of the pork.
Choji nodded. "I like that. You'd be really good at it. Anything else?" this time he asked, giving her his full attention.
"Can't reveal everything ya know! You'll have to wait until after the stories come out of the exams!" The Akimichi just looked on as she wiped the marinade off her lips and averting her gaze.
He grinned causing Ino to return a confused look. "What?"
"You've changed. You're different, in a good way that is." He clarified.
This time she avoided the eye contact not by choice but by subconscious. "Oh you know, just don't want to get left behind you and Shika. Talking to any girls, you know those civilian girls love clan boys."
Blood rushed to his face, causing him to stammer and choke on his food. There very much was a stereotype around Konoha and the elemental nations for that fact where civilians loved ninjas in a clan. It provided a sense of security which was very much hard to come by in this world.
"None of the sort. Been too busy focused on missions." He coughed loudly, swallowing the food as tears started to form, followed by a shortness of breath.
Regaining his wits, Choji brought back the conversation that he felt more comfortable around. "So the upcoming chunin exams are happening in the Land of Iron are coming up in 2 months. How do you feel about them"
"Shit to be honest." Ino looked out the window of the store but not before catching the surprised look from her meal partner. The thoughts of where she stood in the shinobi world plaguing her mind. "I'm not confident that the new sensei will even register us."
"Why's that? Surely you could carry the team to victory?" Choji pondered, holding his hand to his chin. The spare ribs left on the table, indicating how important this was to him.
"I could…" Ino knew where he was going with the comment, sounding it out on her tongue but it didn't fit. Shaking her head, it didn't sit right with her. "I hate this team. Not because of anything they have done. They're just shit. They're going to be irrelevant in the future. They are at the same skill level as I was leaving the academy without any clan jutsus or teamwork to fall back on."
She paused taking in the small breath she needed before continuing on. "It's humiliating." The Yamanaka averted her gaze, looking down at her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. "That I was once the kunoichi of the year and now I am here… I mean… everyone from our class is now a chunin!" She lamented looking upwards whilst shutting her eye lids and aggressively breathing out her nose.
The Akimichi shook his head from side to side, garnering her attention. "Not everyone Ino. Naruto is still a genin and won't making chunin for at least 2 more years."
A smile did come to her face, a bit of colour returned and it wasn't from the heat of the coals. "I know you're trying to make me feel better and I do appreciate it but you know what I mean…" She paused, wondering if Naruto felt the same way. Probably too focused on Sasuke.
"It'd be easy to take the exams with Naruto you know… he's dumb and really strong. We'd trounce the exams. If he only he was here…" She visibly moaned, lamenting the situation she was in.
Choji stopped for a moment, taking in the state of one of his best friends, seeing how distraught she was. The gears in his brain turned, trying to think of a way to help her. "If he won't be here, go to him." Like a swivel, her head turned around on axis and gave him her full attention, urging him to continue speaking.
Before he even could though, her lips started moving before her brain had a chance to catch up. "Oh yeah…" She snorted derisively. A sneer appeared on her face. "As if I could just go and figure out where Naruto and more importantly… one of the Sannin are and just go, you know what… let's go and join the fucking chunin exams! All of this, whilst getting the blessing of the my new jonin sensei and most importantly, Lady freaking Hokage!" Hand waving followed, gesturing wildly as she spoke although her eyes were moving like mad.
Nahhhhh, it couldn't possibly work, right?
"Ino." The Akimichi commented, unfazed by what had just transpired. He was all too familiar to the display of theatrical emotions that happened to be going on right now.
"You're Drama's heir. You've always had a flair for the dramatic. The only time you've ever been subtle is when you're tearing other women down during the academy. If there is one person that would be able to make this work, it's you."
Eyes widened and nostrils flared, her teeth starting to bare due to the ear to ear grin forming all over her face. In that moment right there, the world slowed down for Ino. Her brain was moving mountains, thinking about all the possibilities.
Pointing her index finger at Choji, she started shaking it whilst her gazed shifted right, so deep in thought, she needed to focus. "I love you." So entranced in her own musings, she didn't notice the blush on his face. "Second. I am totally stealing the phrase Drama's heir. I freaking love that. When my blade is out there making a name out there for itself, that's how'll people will remember me by." The Yamanaka tapped her fingers along the wooden bench they were seated up, trying to keep up with the way her brain was moving.
"Third. You're motherfucking right! If there is anyone who is going to be able to do that… IT'S ME!" a loud ruckus occurred, causing all sorts of commotion as Ino aggressively stood up from the table all whilst slamming her hands down on the wood, forcing everyone in the room to turn their attention to the blonde. Her voice rose as she found more and more confidence in the idea, causing her excitement levels to exponentially rise.
Seeing the look of shock on the face of Choji, she couldn't help but realise what exactly she had done. Pupils scanned the room, noticing the look on everyone's faces in the establishment. She had the grace to blush ever so slightly, but she didn't really care. She was only doing it for appearance's sake.
"Thank you! I've gotta go! Here take this." The blonde reached into the front pocket of her hoodie, grabbing enough cash out of her wallet to cover the bill.
Choji gazed around the room and noticed that all the eyes that were previously on Ino were now on him. Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the chopsticks once more to pick the now ready food off the grill.
More for me!
x-X-x
"Now would do I present my case." She asked herself, pondering the question with pen and paper in hand. For the first time in 3 months, the clan heiress took time out of her day to no longer do a twice a day training session.
It had better be worth it for the Yamanaka to ruin her so well established routine.
"So who's my audience?" she once again asked herself, allowing the rear end of the pen to perch itself upon her lips. The names of the two remaining loyal soon found themselves on the page.
"If this is gonna work, I need to pull at an emotion." Scratching her forehead, the girl wondered what emotion she could pull at to get buy in.
It didn't take her long to conclude what the needed emotion she needed to target was.
Nostalgia.
Racing towards her closet, she pulled out a short kimono dress that had a split down either side. Using the thin end of a chopstick which she had been using to play around with hair styles, Ino reached into her hair, pulling out the fringe from her tight pony tail.
Giving herself the once over in the mirror after putting on the dress, she smirked, pursing her upper lip. "You got it girl! You look hot! I'd fuck me." She affirmed, twirling so as to get the full picture of the vibe she was going for.
Like all young girls growing up, Ino Yamanaka had much in common with them. The source of her inspiration hung calmly on her wall.
Looks kinda tacky now that I think about it. Walking over to the wall on the opposite side of the room, Ino pulled down the poster hanging by blue tac, inspecting it a final time before putting it in the bin.
The blonde's eyes lingered, pulling in the image of her fellow blonde. Her simmering gaze held back the feelings of envy as a silent sigh escaped her lips. Ino was not mad at the picture of Tsunade Senju in her hands. Far from it, the opposite in fact. It was what the poster represented.
Here she was, the closest thing you could consider an heir to the position Tsunade had growing up as the heiress of the Senju clan, Konoha's Princess She fondly remembered the title and how she vied for it with Hinata, not believing the girl was worthy of it.
It was easy for the Yamanaka to Idolize the Konoha's Princess. They had the same hair colour and Ino liked to think they came from the same stature, or at least the closest alternative as the Yamanaka clan were held in high esteem. They were both clan heirs, the responsibility weighing heavily on their shoulders.
Young girls in the elemental nations struggled for female role models in the shinobi world at the same level as men. There weren't exactly a tonne of them and having one so close to home, where her father could provide first hand stories, well it was a no brainer for the blonde.
And yet, when she came back to the village, willing to take on an apprentice despite the duties of the Hokage, Lady Tsunade chose fucking forehead.
"Ugh." Creased started showing themselves on her forehead as her ministrations keeping her mind drifting back to her failure through inaction.
It's not that forehead doesn't deserve it. She's been killing it! I am genuinely happy for her as much as it may not look like it... She genuinely did mean it. Despite surface level appearances, Ino deeply cared for the pink haired girl, just like she cared for everyone close in her life.
It should be me! Using that monstrous strength, being an absolute baddie, slaying the game of life.
Her posture straightened up with a surge of unseen energy. "THAT'S IT! AHHH" Suddenly, as if the clouds in her mind parted, illuminated by an unseen light, Ino Yamanaka's widened. A spark of understanding consumed her pale body, insight into her current predicament alleviating her fears.
Practically bouncing off the walls with all links her brain was making, the vast sea of circulating thoughts parted ways, leaving an idea so strong, the blonde would be a knuckle dragging mouth breather if she didn't pursue it.
Knowing herself, she gripped the pen harder than she ever had before and put pen to paper, fleshing out the idea in her head in fear of getting derailed. "Ooops. Hehe" Ino chuckled to herself, dropping the pen for a second to use both hands, pulling her side part fringe as she noticed a hole in the page from how hard she pushed into the medium, causing there to be a tiny hole.
As if willing the page to look back at her with the intensity of her own gaze, the genin tapped both of her feet on the ground at a rapid pace. With the air feeling so still in the moment and unbridled energy flowing through her veins thanks to her discovery, she couldn't help but think to herself.
I need to do something about this.
Making sure to take the writing tools along with her, she got up and made her way over to the private training ground of the Yamanaka clan. Reserved by booking unless you were the clan head or clan heir, blue eyes had a dream and a vision and this would be the way forward. She just needed to keep it a surprise.
x-X-x
dreary eyes staggered back from the from the dining table, having depleted so much of her energy and chakra working on a new technique that she wouldn't let anyone know, not even her biggest supporters.
Bed is calling. Simple thoughts guided her, collapsing with no care for how she landed. Deep inhalation followed a couple of seconds later as she lifted her head from one of the four pillows on the bed. A grunt filled the empty room as she rolled over, still clutching onto her notebook, making sure to keep it safe.
"Come on!" She called out to the paper, knowing full well that it wouldn't reply back. How she wished it would magically translate the thoughts occupying space in her brain to the paper. It would make reflection that much easier.
Sighing and with a great deal of energy she didn't have, the blue eyed girl perched her hands on the bed, shifting herself upwards, allowing her to sit on the bed with the notepad resting on her thighs.
How did Tsunade come back?
Racking her brain of what transpired near a year ago, Ino did her best to piece the clues together, hoping to find any links she could make the most of. Well Lord Jiraiya brought her back.. but how?
Sitting on that thought, she paused, letting it germinate. Shaking her head, her lips moved. Some may say she was crazy for speaking to herself. She'd say she was crazy in general. "That's too simple of an answer…"
"Naruto was there…" her vision, previously lackadaisical, narrowed. Why did Lord Jiraiya take Naruto of all people. What's so special that one of the Sanin chose the dead last.
He wasn't all that strong before they met, having only defeated Kiba with a fart.
Doesn't come from any special family… Slipping through her memory in the moment, was Naruto's heritage and the part they played in founding the village. Gone to the winds, proof that history was written by the victors.
He had nothing and still managed to get the attention of Konoha's second best ninja.
What does that leave him with…
The blonde paused, thinking about her fellow blonde genin, allowing him more real estate in her overactive mind than she ever did before.
"He's dumb." Eye's twitched the second the her lips felt the cool breeze of the open air. Her own intuition telling her what just came out of her mouth wasn't quite right.
Faced with a problem, going back through the archives, she recollected all she could about the Uzumaki, trying to prove her previous statement wrong.
The planning that it would have required to pull off all those pranks…
A giggle escaped her lips, bringing her fingers to hide the smirk. "I'd rather lose than win by a fart. How humiliating." She murmured to herself, knowing full well that if presented with the same dilemma now, she would take the win, however necessary. "Still… to win by a mere fart alone shows ingenuity."
Trying her best to connect the dots on what made Naruto special, she pulled at what she said mere moments ago, not feeling confident by it.
"That's not what makes him special."
…
Curtains lightly fluttering in the summer breeze happened to be the only noise in the room. Shifting her gaze out the window, she tried her best to picture his personality. "Why couldn't this be about Shikamaru… He's a switched on mega nerd!"
"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…" Ino muttered, annoyed at herself that the details she needed weren't appearing immediately.
"Hinata likes him. What does she see. What doesn't she have that he does."
Confidence!
In spite of everything, Naruto never loses sight of his vision! Tapping her fingers and nodding her head, she felt a spike of adrenaline. I'm onto something here!
Cascading down from first warm signal, she thought about the adverse barriers that most people would crumble at. Front and centre in her mind were Neji and Gaara.
The strength you would need… Neji alone, nevermind Gaara during the chunin exams were scary good. Especially coming from the position where Naruto was.
Initially noncommittal, Ino found herself getting more invested, thinking about the parts of Naruto which made him tick. The undercurrent of her perception of Naruto changing, ever so slightly.
And what happened?
He won.
Eagerly, her mind danced through each link, intuitively feeling like she was getting to the root of what made Naruto special. A sudden alertness filled her hunched over frame, straightening her back as if an electric current ran though. Every moment, from her fingers mimicking a piano on the page to her eyes darting around the room, everything moved faster despite time slowing down.
Hair fibres radiated as she knew she was onto something.
"He provides hope." physically drawn to the culmination of her thoughts, the internal dance of excitement, emphasised by rapid head nodding, Ino knew she figured it all out. Squeezing the life out of the pen, verging on cracking the plastic shell, she rapidly started writing it all down.
He changed Neji.
He changed Gaara.
From what Sakura told me about their wave mission, he changed the entire city.
Its why he tries so hard to change Sasuke.
So quickly did she piece together the remaining pieces, proud of her deduction and troubleshooting, a dawning smile of triumph crossed her mouth. Calm certainty inspired Ino to come out with clarity.
"That's what he did with Lord Jiraiya. He gave him hope. Same with Lady Tsunade!" Whilst she didn't know exactly the backstory to the male Sannin, she knew the tragedies that had plagued her venerable leader.
What seemed so insignificant in the past, replaying her interactions with him told a completely different story. It was as if they were two different people. The Naruto she remembered and the Naruto that was presented in front of her with facts. Not entirely sure what it was that allowed her fellow blonde the ability to inspire hope, Ino Yamanaka could not ignore the evidence as a sign of significant emotional intelligence that she hadn't credited him with before.
Her mind replayed instances of Naruto's interactions, his ability to connect with others, to understand and respond to their feelings, often putting their needs above his own. Instances flooded her mind where he put himself last, believing in people far beyond what was required.
"Okay boo." Ino smirked "I see you."
Ino hated being proved wrong. It was an offence to her judgement skills.
What she loved though? Having a new muse to sink her teeth into, to play with.
And the best part?
Dragging his attention away from forehead.
"Blondes have more fun, am I right Naruto?" She purred, looking down at the name on the page. A new game had fallen into her lap and she was here for it.
