Chapter Text

After 16 D-rank missions, 8 C-rank missions, 1 surprise A-rank with a crabby bridge builder, dozens of shared secrets, hours and hours of training, and an unbreakable bond with her teammates, Ino found herself staring at a piece of paper. Naruto and Shikamaru stood to her side with identical sheets. 

“It’s your choice, but I recommended you three for the exam,” Asuma was explaining. “The chunin exams can be dangerous, very dangerous, and it’ll take a lot of effort.” He looked at Shikamaru meaningfully. 

“Troublesome,” Shikamaru muttered. 

“You don’t have to win. I won’t be mad or disappointed. You’re all rookies, it would be surprising if you made it to chunin this first time around, but it will be a good learning experience for you all.” 

“If we don’t die, you mean,” Ino snarked. “There’s never been a chunin exam in Konoha that didn’t have at least one death.” 

“You don’t have to do it. It’s your choice, guys. You either go as a team or not at all.” Asuma then stubbed out his cigarette on the wooden railing of the small bridge they were huddled together at. The railing was covered in burn marks from countless other times. “The exam is in four days. Registration is at noon on the 5th, let me know what you decide.” Then he put his hands together and disappeared in a swirl of overdramatic leaves and disrupted air. Ino rolled her eyes, honestly, Asuma had no room to say she was the drama queen of the group. 

She looked down at the paper in her hands, a blank registration form. Then she looked at her teammates. “What are you two thinking?” Ino asked. 

“This is awesome!” Naruto exclaimed with a fist pump and a bright smile. “Finally, something worth my time! We haven’t done anything cool since the Zabuza thing, I’m raring to go!” 

She felt more than saw the way Shikamaru slumped further into the railing beside her. “Troublesome. The chunin exams aren’t easy, Naruto. If we go in without caution then it could get us killed.” 

“We are rookies,” Ino added. Her father hadn’t even taken the exams as a rookie. The prospect of doing so and proving her worth to her family was tempting, but so was staying alive and in one piece. Shikamaru was right. 

“Oh, come on! We can do this, it’s no sweat!” 

“Naruto!” Shikamaru scolded. “Just think about it. What if I die because you were too eager?” Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. “Ino and I will be vulnerable in this sort of atmosphere, we’re not optimized at close range.”

“That’s what we have Naruto for,” Ino said. She couldn’t decide if that was a point toward taking the exam or a point toward her being as idiotic as Naruto. 

“I would never let anything happen to either of you!” Naruto stated. Whenever Naruto stated something it was always accompanied by a sort of growl to each word. Knowing of the chakra beast locked inside her friend, it made sense, but still sent a small shiver down her spine every time she heard it. 

Shikamaru just nodded and with a half smile replied, “I know, but shit happens, Nar.” 

“What’s the big deal?” Naruto asked. 

Ino paused. She was used to Naruto not knowing crucial information because no one had bothered to teach him until she and Shikamaru came along, but the chunin exams? Surely he’d heard of it in their classes. Had been to one in the huge arena. 

She bit her lip and realized that Naruto probably wouldn’t have been allowed entrance even if he had exhibited interest in it. Ino shared a look with Shikamaru and she gave a small shrug of her shoulders. Shikamaru lifted a brow but didn’t comment. 

Ino turned back to Naruto and used her teaching voice to make sure he was paying attention. “The chunin exams aren’t just exams. They test your physical and mental abilities.” 

“They’re built to be too hard, so only the best of the best can get through them,” Shikamaru said. 

“There are three parts of every exam though the details change each time.” 

“The only thing that doesn’t change is that any combat within the exams is no holds barred.” 

“No holds...barred?” Naruto asked. 

Shikamaru answered, “It means a fight to the death or incapacitation. This isn’t like training, it’s closer to a mission than anything.”

“Yeah, a mission with all the odds stacked against you,” Ino said. 

“Jokes on them then!” Naruto dismissed. “That’s when I do my best work!” 

Ino would have liked to mock him for the pronouncement, but it was true. Naruto was a tank of chakra and stamina, but he tended to struggle in situations short of life and death. Shikamaru had once told her he thought it was linked to the chakra beast, but Ino liked to just not think about it. Naruto was good in a pinch, that’s all she needed to know. 

“We’re good, Naruto, but are we ready to face off against everyone else?” she asked. 

“And not just leaf nin, but genin from all the lands,” Shikamaru added. 

“Look,” Naruto said seriously, “Asuma recommended us for a reason. I say we trust that reason and go for it! Believe it!” 

“This is such a drag,” Shikamaru complained. 

Ino hid her smile and cocked her head to the side and said faux thoughtfully, “It’s either this or we keep doing D-rank missions. Do we really want to continue catching that damn cat and cleaning farm equipment?” 

Shikamaru winced and admitted, “You have a point.” 

Naruto shouted in victory and ran in small circles, “Yes, yes, yes! Chunin exams, here we come!” 

“We should all take naps to shore up our strength for these stupid things,” Shikamaru said as he walked away. But he didn’t head toward town, his feet were taking him toward their favored training ground. Ino smiled and ran with Naruto ahead of their lazy teammate. Mind made up, Ino felt good. She’d make her family proud, and her team too. 

The day for registration came faster than Ino would have liked, but a shinobi had to roll with the punches, so roll she would. Naruto and Shikamaru were already waiting outside the building for registration when she walked up. Shikamaru was slouching and his head was tilted up to look at the sky. Naruto was doing jumping jacks and talking a mile a minute. Ino just smiled and flicked her long perfect ponytail over her shoulder and asked, “You ready to do this, boys?” 

Shikamaru just groaned but Naruto nearly bowled her over when he hugged her and shouted in her ear. “Alright, alright, Naruto, lemme go!” Ino complained and shoved him off. “Are you trying to deafen me before the exams?” 

Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly and replied, “Sorry, Ino.” 

Ino waved the apology aside and gestured for him to lead the way. Their entrance into the building was consequently hurried and spastic, but Ino just let herself enjoy the carefree moment.

Eventually Naruto found the staircase that would lead them up to the third floor and room 301. Naruto was already half a floor up by the time Ino had taken two steps. She could catch up to him if she wanted, but her instincts were buzzing around the edges. When she looked to her side she found Shikamaru gazing intently around them at the stairwell. When he met her eyes he made a small hand sign, genjutsu . 

Ino inhaled sharply and nodded. “Should we break it..?”

“Or see where it leads?” Shikamaru asked. 

Above them the sound of a door slamming open made them both startle in place. Looking up, Ino just caught a glimpse of the orange blur that was Naruto as he vaulted through the door and out of the stairwell. “Well, I guess our decision is made then,” she said dryly. 

Shikamaru scoffed but it was too soft to be genuinely upset. “Let’s go get him.” 

They exited the stairwell and followed Naruto’s chakra down the hallway and around the corner to find a small crowd standing outside a door. The placard next to the door read 301. 

Shikamaru made a small noise of interest and understanding. Ino scanned the crowd for Naruto to find him working his way up to the front. She darted forward and tugged lightly at the sleeve of Naruto’s jacket. It wasn’t a harsh pull, just enough to get his attention. He turned to her and Ino said, “Regroup.” 

Naruto immediately stood a little straighter and made a scan of the area around them. Regroup was the command Asuma gave them when things started to take a bad turn. 

Naruto and Ino quickly fell back to where Shikamaru was waiting and watching the crowd. “What’s wrong?” Naruto asked. 

“This isn’t the third floor, genius,” Shikamaru snarked. 

“It’s not?” 

“You didn’t feel it when you were going up the stairs?” Ino asked. 

“Feel what ?” Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing. 

“It’s a genjutsu, Nar,” she said. 

Naruto looked around them with wide blue eyes. “Really? Are you sure?” 

Shikamaru responded, “Of course we’re sure. Just because you’re terrible at sensing genjutsu doesn’t mean we are.” 

There were two individuals standing in front of the door and preventing anyone from entering. She looked just slightly to the left of where they were standing and focused like Asuma had taught her. ‘A shinobi’s instincts know the physical space around them even if the mind doesn’t’, he had told her. And the two boys standing at the door were taking up more physical space than their appearances would indicate. Most likely a simple genjutsu layer, though a henge would have been more successful. 

“Come on,” Shikamaru interrupted her thoughts. “Let’s check out the far stairwell. I’d rather avoid confrontation or difficulties of any kind.” 

“You’re just lazy,” Naruto accused.

“I am lazy, but it’s also common sense.” 

“Why’s there even a genjutsu on the stairs anyway? Seems kind of random doesn’t it?” 

“Oh, come on, Naruto,” Ino scolded. “It’s not just random, it’s part of the exams. Get it? Anyone who can’t find the registration room doesn’t get to advance to the first exam part.” 

Naruto made a wordless sound of dawning understanding and Ino rolled her eyes. How did this boy get so dumb? Why did she still love him so much? 

They were about to leave when Sasuke’s voice stopped her in her tracks. Where Sasuke went… Sakura followed. When she turned, the first thing her eyes stopped on was that pink hair she used to brush and pull back into braids. That felt like a lifetime ago. 

Sakura looked different. A little taller and her hair was longer. The young kunoichi was standing differently too, like someone had finally managed to teach her the importance of footwork and a stable standing position. She looked more confident and yet still so very small and afraid. 

Ino wasn’t paying attention to anything besides Sakura, so she startled a little when Shikamaru said, “Was Sasuke always this dramatic? Or is this a new trauma symptom we have to look forward to?” 

Ino looked over at Sasuke in confusion, just in time to see his kick get caught with ease by a lanky boy in green spandex. While that was a strange sight, her eyes were instead pulled to a different boy. Dark eyes and a long dark braid hanging down his back. “So that’s Team 7’s third member,” she mumbled to the boys next to her. 

“He looks kind of boring,” Naruto said. “Hey, why haven’t I seen him around the village before?” 

“He’s not from here,” Shikamaru replied. “I don’t know where he came from but it’s not here.” 

Glancing back at Sasuke it looked like the Uchiha was getting into an intense argument with the two disguised fellows guarding the door. Sakura was hemming and hawing behind him and looking like she was trying to distract him. Sasuke always did have a one track mind, though Ino was surprised that he hadn’t noticed the genjutsu. 

Sakura hadn’t either, which meant that Ino could steal Sasuke’s attention once again. It’d been a while since she could do that. Ino brought her hands together into the correct sign and then pushed her chakra out toward the area the genjutsu was affecting. It was a weak genjutsu, not anchored into the mind but rather in the physical space, which meant that at the touch of chakra it wavered and cracked away. 

The two, now visible, chunin that towered over the crowd looked in her direction and gave a slight nod. Several pairs of eyes followed the acknowledgement and Ino made sure to angle herself to her best side. Shikamaru huffed something sarcastic but Ino ignored it splendidly. “Alright, boys, let’s get outta here. No reason to stay around now that the testosterone levels have dropped back down to suitable levels,” she said. She didn’t look at Sakura, but it was hard.

She accepted Naruto’s loud and unnecessary compliments and treasured Shikamaru’s very quiet but sincere, “Unnecessary, but well done, Ino.” 

“That was splendid work you did! May I have your name?” someone shouted from right beside her. Ino turned warily to find two large eyebrows and a bull cut that were set atop a full green bodysuit. Ah, the kid who stopped Sasuke from fighting.

“Ino,” she replied. 

“Ino!” he shouted again. “A beautiful name for a beautiful kunoichi!” He then gave her a smile that flashed brightly and held out his hand to give her the most enthusiastic thumbs up she’d ever seen, and she was around Naruto daily. “Ino, please be my girlfriend!”

Shikamaru snorted in amusement and Ino couldn’t even find it in herself to glare at him. She was shocked into silence. 

“What?” Naruto asked for her. “Who even are you?”

“I am the handsome devil of Konoha, Rock Lee, and I vow to protect you with my life!” Lee exclaimed. Ino wondered if he always talked this loudly or if it was a nervous tick. 

She let her gaze drift over his leg warmers, up his legs and body, she paused at his hand wrappings and ended at his large round eyes. She chuckled. 

“With those eyebrows, no way!” Sakura interjected. “You’re such a weirdo.” 

Rock Lee’s hand fell a little bit and that bright smile dimmed. Ino rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “Baby boy, I would destroy you,” she said not unkindly. It was the truth. Lee’s eyes held nothing but earnestness. His expression was too open for her and his body language was easy to read. She could see the slight shake of the arm and the small step back his left foot made when he’d asked. 

“You are a strong shinobi, I have no doubt! Your awareness of the genjutsu is proof enough of that. But I also am a great ninja!” That smile was back in full light. 

Her lips twitched in amusement. Sakura butted in once again though, “She’s not interested in a weirdo like you! No girl would be!” 

Ino glared over Lee’s shoulder at her old ‘friend’. “Shut up, Sakura. If you hadn’t noticed, no one asked for your input.” 

Ino turned her attention back to those dark eager eyes. Oh no, she was not the girl for this angel of a boy. “Rock Lee, my name is Ino Yamanaka and I have an affinity for psycho-analysis and manipulation. You seem like the kind of guy that would work far too well on.” Lee looked confused and disappointed. He looked too much like Naruto at that moment and her heart gave a pang. When had she gone so soft?

Sakura scoffed and began whispering to Sasuke and her other teammate loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough to not be understandable. “You vow to protect me with your life, yes?” 

Lee’s attention snapped away from his feet and back to her so fast it startled her. “Yes, I swear on the youth of my spirit!” 

She could hear Shikamaru chuckling quietly and shushing a confused Naruto. “Then I vow to protect you from petty kunoichi and assholes, alright? It’s not the answer you were looking for, but I like you, Lee. You’re cute.” She paused and then added, “Don’t ask me again though.” 

Lee was smiling once again and exclaimed, “You are truly a passionate individual, Ino Yamanaka! I take your words to heart and will use your kindness to bolster my own spirit and strive to become stronger!” 

Ino didn’t even bother trying to parse that out. She just patted Lee’s shoulder and said, “Okay.” 

She turned to walk away again but Lee sped forward faster than she could see and extended his arm, “Let me walk you to the room, Ino!” He looked conflicted for a moment as he looked back at the people still gathered in the hall. 

“She can walk down a hallway by herself!” Naruto objected. 

“I did not mean to offend!” Lee shouted. He held up his hands in surrender and looked panicked. 

She patted his shoulder once again and said, “It’s okay, Lee. I’m not insulted, but it does look like you have something else you wanted to do.” His eyes flicked over to Sasuke. Ino made a mental note of it. “I’ll see you later, Lee.” 

Then she escaped to Shikamaru’s side and Naruto pulled them both around the nearest corner. He looked upset but Ino knew it would pass in a couple moments. “Come on, Nar, let’s find this room.” Just as she expected his expression smoothed out into eager excitement and he bounded away. Things were as they should be. 

“Only a few minutes in and you’ve already got a proposal,” Shikamaru teased as the two of them followed Naruto. “Ten year old you would have been so proud.”

“It wasn’t a proposal, you idiot.” 

“It was a spectacle, that’s for sure.” 

She pointed threateningly at Shikamaru and replied, “Remember, Shika, I vowed to protect him from assholes.” 

Shikamaru laughed for longer than she thought was necessary. They’d already reached the stairs by the time he stopped. “For such a troublesome task this is turning out to be amusing,” he managed to say when he’d caught his breath. 

Ino was saved from having to reply by Naruto grabbing her left arm and Shikamaru’s right arm. He dragged them up the stairs and around the corner to the real room 301. 

Ino looked at the double doors and had her first moment of panic. “Somehow, I doubt the rest of this will be so amusing.” 

Naruto pushed the doors open so hard they smacked into the walls inside with a resounding bang. Every head turned to look at them. 

Naruto walked past her and into the room with all the confidence he always had. She followed him with nimble steps and her head held high. 

“How’d you guys get here? They’ll really let anyone take these exams, huh?” mocked a familiar voice. 

Ino turned to see Kiba giving them a skeptical glare. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and, as always, his canine teeth glinted in the fluorescent light even with his mouth closed. Akamaru was laid on Kiba’s head with the hood pulled over him. For the most part, he was just as she remembered from the academy. Loud and brash, sharp teeth and small eyes, she would bet if she got close enough he would still smell of wet dog. 

“I didn’t know they let dogs take the exams, and oh look, Akamaru’s here too,” Ino said with a smile. 

Shikamaru sighed as he stepped up next to her. “Oh, what a drag.” 

Ino scanned the other two members of Team 8. Shino was just the same, nearly every bit of skin hidden away. Body language hard to read and eyes always behind dark glass. Creepy and unreadable. She didn’t like him. 

Hinata was a surprise though. The girl’s hair was longer and her jacket was open to show a mesh armor shirt underneath and a choker necklace with two beads on it just visible over her hitai-ate. The most surprising thing was the way she stood, slouched over like a carbon copy of Kiba’s posture. Hinata’s light eyes still avoided Ino’s but she also didn’t shrink away. Ino found herself duly impressed. Apparently getting away from her family had been a good thing for Hinata. 

“Hinata, Shino,” Ino greeted them with a nod each. 

“H-hi Ino, Shikamaru…” Hinata blushed and her eyes fell to the floor as she added breathily, “Naruto.” 

“Hey, mutt,” Ino said. 

Kiba looked up at her with his pointy teeth bared. “Hey, bitch.” 

Ino smiled in earnest and his own mouth twitched as if to do the same. “Did you know Sasuke and Sakura are downstairs? Looks like all us rookies made it this year.” 

Kiba’s eyes narrowed. “You messing with me, Ino?” 

Naruto interjected, “They’re here! And I finally saw their teammate! Quiet guy, long hair, very frowny.” 

“His name is Sumaru,” Shino said. 

Shikamaru asked, “What do we know about him?” 

“Not much, he was a transfer. Got private tutoring for the month before graduation and the genin team assignments.” 

“Only a month? That means he was shinobi trained before he got here. That certainly narrows down the geographic possibilities.” 

Naruto interrupted to ask, “Is it normal to get transfers then? I’ve never heard of it.” He shrugged dismissively. 

“You haven’t heard of most things, Naruto,” Kiba taunted. “But no, transfers usually only happen during emergencies. Maybe something happened to his home, who knows.” 

Shikamaru groaned. “Just what we need, the last Uchiha matched up with some other gloomy traumatized boy.” 

The doors opened behind him and Ino noted the way that the doors didn’t slam into the wall. Sasuke, Sumaru and Sakura trudged in. Sasuke looked a little scuffed up around the edges and that highly interested her. When she glanced at Sakura it was to find the other girl’s wide eyes fixed on Sasuke. 

When the three newcomers naturally gravitated towards the other rookies, she smiled. Human conditioning still counted when it came to overly dramatic downer boys, good to know. 

“Hn,” Sasuke greeted them. 

“I knew this was gonna be a drag,” Shikamaru said, “but I didn’t know it would be this lame.” 

“Well, what do you know, looks like the whole gang’s back together again,” Kiba said. 

Ino didn’t hesitate to drape herself over Sasuke’s back and croon, “I’m so glad you’re back, Sasuke-kun! I was hoping you would show up.” Naruto was yelling at Kiba but she tuned it out. “I’ve missed those brooding good looks of yours.” 

Shikamaru sighed so heavily that she could hear part of his soul die. She didn’t hide her smile at the noise but she did make it crooked and flirty as she leaned even more into the Uchiha. 

“Hey, Porker, back off! He’s mine!” Sakura shouted. 

“Looks like you’ve got a few more wrinkles on that billboard brow you call a forehead, Sakura.” 

“Leave my forehead out of it!” 

“But how could I, it takes up so much space?” 

“Wanna introduce us to your friend, Sasuke?” Shikamaru interrupted. 

Sumaru answered for himself, “Name’s Sumaru. Don’t bother introducing yourselves, I don’t bother engaging with people who waste my time.” 

Ino whipped around, probably hitting the side of Sasuke’s face with her ponytail as she slid off his back, and glared at Sumaru. It was Naruto that jumped on the comment though. He spun away from Kiba mid sentence, and gave the mystery rookie a once over. “What’s your problem?” he demanded. Within a second Naruto was skidding into his normal spot, between her and Shikamaru, and they stood as a team. “You been around Sasuke’s sulking too much or something?” 

Ino snorted accidentally as she tried to not laugh but no one noticed. Sumaru was yelling over the sound. “My problem is people who don’t take things seriously! And you, blondy, seem like just the guy who jokes about everything and wears bright colors as a see through attempt to get attention. It’s pathetic.” 

Shikamaru made a step forward and Ino shifted her own weight, ready to back him up. Naruto was already shouting again though and Shikamaru settled for scowling at Sumaru with all the effort he usually didn’t bother putting into anything. Ino shifted a little closer to Naruto as he shouted back, “I wear orange so people will know I’m coming for them! You’ll learn to fear it too!” Ino sighed and tugged at an orange sleeve as a reminder for Naruto to behave. She didn’t want to break up a fight right now. 

“Fear it?” Kiba asked. “Fear what? That you’ll make me laugh myself to death?” 

“I’m a genin just like you, Kiba.” Naruto pointed at the metal plate of his hitai-ate. “I passed just like you!” 

“Well, not just like me. I mean, I didn’t get tricked and nearly killed getting mine. I didn’t need to.” 

Naruto growled deep in his chest and Ino gave him a startled look. Why was he getting so worked up to the point of a sound like that? It was just Kiba being an ass, it was basically a game at this point. Naruto looked at the floor, his face hidden from view. She gave Shikamaru a glance but he seemed just as confused as she was. They both moved closer to their teammate and Ino glared at Sumaru some more, just in case. 

Naruto snapped his head up so fast that Ino was sure that if he’d hit someone with that block he called a head, they’d be unconscious on the ground right now. He pointed an angry shaking finger at Kiba. “I’m sick of you underestimating me.” Naruto spun on his heel and directed his finger to the room at large. “I came here to win and that’s what I’ll do! Anyone who gets in my way will regret it, believe it! I’ll beat everyone one of you!” 

Shikamaru sighed and leaned around Naruto’s quivering frame to share a suffering look with her. Her lips curled with affection as she looked at her friend. She’d fight to make sure that brightness never left her boy. But still. She smacked a flat hand to the back of his head and scolded, “Are you trying to get everyone to hate us?” 

Naruto gave her a wounded look and a small shrug. Shikamaru chuckled and asked, “Feel better?” 

The blond brightened and said happily, “Actually, I do!” 

“You’re just making my point,” Sumaru pointed out, but Naruto couldn’t hear him over his own voice as he chatted at Shikamaru. Ino left Naruto to Shikamaru and the others as she slipped away and moved to Sumaru’s side. She leaned over near his ear and said softly, “I’d watch your tongue, newbie.” Ino pulled back just enough to give him her best innocent smile. “You wouldn’t be the first to underestimate Nar here,” she gestured at Naruto who was now once again arguing loudly with Kiba. She didn’t sense any true malice there. “And you won’t be the first to regret it.” 

Sumaru gave her a flat look to counter her smile but she didn’t care. Naruto could stick up for himself in a fight, Sumaru would just learn. This way, he couldn’t say he hadn’t been given a warning.

Then Ibiki showed up and before she knew it they were all sitting at assigned spots and being watched by the chunin set up around the edges of the room. It was unnerving. She hummed softly under her breath as she thought. It was unnerving, but it was also complete overkill. Ibiki was watching them all as well, but he looked oddly expectant. He was good at keeping his muscles relaxed and loose, harder to read someone who was a blank slate, but she was a Yamanaka. The tips of his fingers kept running over the cloth of his coat surreptiously and he was rocking back and forth, just ever so slightly, on the balls of his feet. 

She glanced at Shikamaru who was already looking at her expectantly. She raised a brow that he just returned. Shikamaru had that patient smugness about him, the kind that he exhibited when he was waiting for her to catch up to him. 

She looked back at the chunins and frowned. They were attentive and still. She looked down at her test and noted once again how impossible the questions were. Her father wouldn’t understand half of it. Shikamaru’s father could probably do it, maybe. Depends on if learning this stuff had ever interested him in the past. She sighed and looked around again. As far as she could tell the Ibiki guy wanted them to cheat. 

She sat up straight and returned to her study of Ibiki. She knew that name. Her dad mentioned it here and there. What was it? Ibiki Morino. He worked at T&I, and everyone who worked at T&I ‘had a few bolts loose in the shed’, as her aunt would say. What it really meant though, was that they liked to play games. This test was a game. And the only game she could see being plausible here, was… cheating. He really did want them to cheat. Huh. 

She looked back over at Shikamaru who was giving her a lazy grin. He pointed at the guy in front of him who was clicking away with his pencil on the paper. She nodded and waited a few minutes until the man’s writing slowed down a bit. When the intense clacking of his writing became lighter she framed his figure in the square of her hands, gathered her soul up, and shoved it out through the window of her hands and into him. 

 She distantly felt her own body slump over, her head softly hitting the desk. She looked with her newly possessed eyes and saw several of the proctors look over at her and then away. It looked like she’d just given up and banged her head down in despair. She shrugged with shoulders that weren’t hers. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, but she’d take whatever she could get. 

Then she focused and memorized as many answers as she could. She only slipped back to her own body when she was confident of at least five of the questions. The moment she was back she picked up her pencil and set to work. 

Cheating in a room this carefully monitored was giving her an adrenaline rush similar to a physical fight. The numbers she copied down were a little messy thanks to the minute shaking of her arms and legs. 

When she finished writing she looked over to Shikamaru again with a weary expression. She wasn’t looking forward to using her jutsu back to back. It was exhausting. She didn’t just use chakra, she used her own life energy, and she was not looking forward to doing it twice more in the span of fifteen minutes. He gave her a grimace of understanding and she sighed. She formed the sign and pushed her soul out and into Shikamaru. 

Being in Shikamaru’s body was the closest she got to familiarity during a mind transfer. He was the one who had been a willing guinea pig for her when she was first learning. He was the one that she knew best, inside and out. So being in his body, while it didn’t feel right , felt the least wrong. She took a moment to breathe deeply and then set to work. Shikamaru had left cheeky notes in the margins of his paper for her and she wrote her own snarky answers back or scribbled angrily over them depending on her whim. 

When she returned to her body, her bones were subtly throbbing and she had a headache. The pain sat just behind her eyes and made her feel like she was staring into the sun at all times. Signs that she should slow down, let herself recuperate. She glanced at the clock and bit her lip. Then she formed the hand sign around Naruto’s distant figure, gathered her soul up into a small compacted ball, and slipped into his body. 

She shuddered the moment the jutsu settled. She hated transferring into Naruto because his chakra, which was already abrasive from outside his body, felt like open flames when she was inside his body. The energy crackled across her skin and her teeth gritted in anxiety, which just made her head twinge in pain.

And on top of that she could feel the residual panic that Naruto must have been stewing in moments before. It was so strong she actually choked on her first breath and sent herself into a coughing fit. The proctors glanced at her but then looked away. 

As the coughing tapered off, Hinata leaned over and asked, “Are you okay, Naruto?” Ino couldn’t hide her grimace at the words. She was very good at hiding emotions or fighting reactions in her own body, but someone else’s was much harder. Hinata’s voice was just so breathy . It felt like she was gasping each word out and it grated on Ino. Maybe hanging out with Kiba and Shino would eventually affect her voice box too. 

“If you want--you could-- Naruto, if-- you can look at my answers.” Hinata slid her paper a little to the side so part of it poked out from underneath her arm. Ino narrowed her eyes at Hinata and made a mental note to talk to Naruto about telling Hinata he wasn’t interested. 

“Naruto will be fine,” she hissed with Naruto’s mouth and her voice. Her irritation and the reverberation of too much chakra and panic made the words short and sharp, but she didn’t care if Hinata took offense. The Hyuuga may have loosened up a bit, but she had a lot of progress to go before Ino would find being around her bearable. 

Hinata jerked away from her and hid her face behind her hair. She didn’t look back in Ino’s direction once. Ino just got to work. 

The numbers she wrote on Naruto’s page were even messier than before. It didn’t matter, it was still better than Naruto’s normal handwriting anyway. She flipped the page over when she was done and left an encouraging note for Naruto. She signed it with a heart and a warning to not mess anything up. She looked around at the proctors in paranoia and caught a glimpse of Hinata’s necklace. The beads had something engraved in them with delicate gold detailing around the outside. Did her family give it to her? It didn’t look like a Hyuuga heirloom, nor did she think Hinata would be given anything. 

She filed it away as something to think about later and then let herself fade out of Naruto’s too hot and too intense body. As her soul settled back into her own skin, the first thing she felt was relief, like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest at the same time as a refreshing breeze blew over her. The second was the stabbing sensation behind her eyes. The third was the ache of her every bone and maybe even some that didn’t exist. 

She really hoped the rest of the exams weren’t like this one. She felt like she’d been beaten up by ANBU. She didn’t bother to move from the slumped position over her table. But she did turn her head a little to the side so that she could see Shikamaru. He was studying her already and she just blinked tiredly at him. He made the hand sign for Report and she feebly gave the okay sign back. He didn’t look convinced. 

She spent the next few minutes just resting with her eyes closed. When the tenth question came she knew it was a trick. Not because she could read Ibiki or the proctors or anyone, she didn’t even try to, just kept her pounding head pressed to the tabletop. She knew it was a trick because it was the only option that made sense. It was the sort of game that her father liked to play when training her and her cousins. A specific pressure exerted on an individual that made their confidence waiver, and without confidence a shinobi was nothing but dead meat. 

Then Naruto’s hand came up in the air and Ino’s breath caught. Her hands were instantly in the rectangle she’d need to direct her soul, though she knew she’d regret it. A glance at Shikamaru showed him doing the same for his own shadow possession. Naruto would be devastated if they were taken out of the running in the first stage. 

Naruto slammed his hand down onto the desk and shouted, “Don’t ever… Don’t EVER underestimate me! I don’t quit and I don’t run! That’s my nindo, my ninja way!” 

Ino gave herself a mental slap for expecting anything different. Naruto was too bull headed to give up now. That was enough like confidence. For most situations at least. She fell back into her chair and was reminded painfully of her terrible life choices when everything throbbed with the movement. 

When Ibiki explained that there was no tenth question and that the answers didn’t matter she was vaguely surprised. Not about the tenth question, but about the meaninglessness of the first nine. She felt a little silly for spending so much time memorizing them. She should have seen it coming, it made sense in the twisted way that everything at T&I made sense. Ibiki continued talking, explaining the reasoning behind his decisions and Ino went to sleep. He couldn’t tell her anything she hadn’t already figured out. 

When she was woken up by a worried Shikamaru she said, “Nap. Now.” 

He just nodded and picked her up from the chair. She wasn’t so bad off as to really need to be carried, but it felt nice so she just leaned into Shikamaru and went back to sleep. 

When she woke up, it was in a large soft bed that smelled like soil and ramen. She smiled and snuggled further into the blanket that she knew was bright orange. When she carefully opened one eye she was happy to find the sun wasn’t streaming through the window. The moon just winked merrily at her and gave her mercy. Her body still felt a little sore but her headache was gone. Her soul had recharged and now she was hungry. 

She rolled over a couple times to get to the edge of the bed. She and Shikamaru had managed to save up to get a much larger, much softer bed for Naruto’s apartment after a few too many accidental sleepovers. Ino had quickly gotten tired of sleeping squished into the wall or on the floor. 

A soft conversation brushed against her ears and she smiled up at the window. It was cracked open and she took a long inhale as a breeze blew softly through. She could smell wet dirt and healthy green plants. She rolled back across the bed and closer to the window, where she had started. She softly opened the window all the way and slipped out onto the orange tiled roof. There, just to the left lay a small garden that Ino had installed and cared for. It was full of different wild flowers in shades of bright pinks and oranges with a line of herbs off to the side. 

And sitting sprawled out next to the garden were her boys. Shikamaru was laid back on the tiles and looking up at the stars with one leg over the edge of the roof dangling and idly swinging. Naruto sat leaning back on his hands and looking out over the village. His shoes and jacket were missing and Ino was hit with how small he was. He was so loud and moved so much that it was easy to forget he was still a child. They all were. Children that could die in service to their village. Ino wasn’t as upset by it now as she was a year ago, not volatilely at least. It still kept her up at night, thinking of the way that she could break down an enemy’s mind before she finished puberty. The way Naruto was so swallowed up by the shinobi culture that he couldn’t see it for what it was. How Shikamaru’s laziness wouldn’t be seen as a character flaw in a civilian city, but merely a character trait. 

She felt it most keenly when she saw Naruto like this though, small and quiet and seemingly at peace. The burning of a disappointment in herself and everyone around her. A shame that was so ingrained that she struggled to find it but could feel it pressing down on her whenever she was given a moment to breath. And yet. Here she was, ready to fight for her home and her family. Looking forward to it in fact. How much of that was her and how much of it was the world she lived in? She didn’t know. 

She doubted she ever would. 

But she still had her team. She padded over and sat down gently between the two. She didn’t look at the stars or at the village, she just closed her eyes. She could be as loud as Naruto and far more opinionated, but just like Naruto, she could appreciate a moment of quiet and calm. She pushed her thoughts away with surprising success and listened to the sounds of the village and to Shikamaru’s long even breathes. 

After a few minutes she asked, “So what happened after the test?” 

Naruto launched into a dramatic explanation of Anko and wall breaking. 

“We don’t have a location yet though?” Ino asked. 

“Asuma said he’ll tell us in the morning,” Shikamaru said.
Ino scowled, “That’s not fair! I bet a bunch of the other senseis told their genin.” 

“But those genin weren’t us! We don’t need a hint or a sneak peek to crush all those other losers!” Naruto exclaimed, though softer than normal. 

“It’s going to be something about physical abilities,” Shikamaru said. “We’ve already had the mind test, the next is the body.” 

“How do you know? You said there were three stages?” Naruto asked. 

“The third is always the same. Knockout rounds at the arena,” Ino said. 

“Exactly,” Shikamaru nodded and he propped himself up a bit with his arms as he looked over at them. “So tomorrow is going to be about physical strength and other in-the-field shinobi skills.” 

“Like jutsus?” Naruto asked nervously. She remembered that Naruto’s graduation jutsu exam hadn’t gone well. 

“Not likely,” Shikamaru said. “At least, not directly. It’s more likely they’ll put us into a situation that makes us use our jutsus.” 

Naruto relaxed but Ino grew more tense. “I don’t like the sound of that.” 

“I don’t think you’re supposed to.” 

“I don’t think this is helping,” Naruto said. “I think what would help is if we went to Ichiraku’s for dinner. As preparation for tomorrow.” 

“And how would eating ramen help us?” Ino asked grumpily. “You’re the only here who can subsist on noodles and broth and those little swirly things that sound like your name.” 

“Hey, there’s pork in there too, and egg and--” 

“Yes, we’ve heard your glowing words on the nutritional value of ramen before. You’re still wrong though,” Shikamaru said. “Come on, I’ll cook something for us.” He stood up slowly and passed by Ino as he headed back to the window. 

Naruto scooted over next to Ino and laid his head on her shoulder. She took another deep calm breath and looked at the moon. They’d come a long way in a year. They’d become a real team. A team like Asuma talked about or Iruka tried to explain to them all. 

The chunin exams were about who was the best shinobi, and Iruka-sensei always said that the strongest weapon a shinobi had was teamwork. Well, they had that in spades. And they had Naruto, so really, should she be worried? 

She placed a soft kiss on Naruto’s head and wrinkled her nose when his rebellious hair tickled it. Then she none too gently shoved him off her and retreated through the window and into the apartment before he could retaliate. 

She walked into the kitchen where Shikamaru was standing in front of the fridge and staring into it. “What, did we forget to go grocery shopping with him? Is there just old mayonnaise and expired eggs again?” She peeked over his shoulder to see it was low stocked but not barren. 

He sighed and started grabbing the carton of eggs and the random vegetables Naruto had shoved to the back. “Omelettes it is,” he said. 

She chuckled and turned to put the kettle on the far burner so the water could heat as he cooked. Naruto was doing something out on the roof still, probably jumping jacks or running in circles. He usually just raced around the village streets, but Ino guessed he wanted to be close tonight. 

She leaned on the counter and watched Shikamaru cook. It was always strange to see him in a half apron, that she’d bought him for his birthday, and in the kitchen. The first time he’d pushed her and Naruto out of the kitchen she hadn’t known what to expect. Sure, nothing she or Naruto cooked was edible, but how much better would he be? 

Much better, was the answer. She’d asked him about it and he’d just muttered something about his mom being a terrifying woman in the kitchen. Ino didn’t really care why he was good at it, she was just glad he was motivated enough to actually cook. 

She hummed as she turned and opened the right most cupboard. On the shelves sat a few cups. One was a faded blue with a large crack down one side and it matched the tea kettle perfectly. Naruto had found them both in the trash when he was much younger and brought them home. They were the only tea cup and kettle he’d had until Ino and Shikamaru had barged into his life. Now there were three other cups, all mismatched and chosen with intense focus by herself. 

One was pale yellow and made of fragile thin china. It had a cherry blossom painted over the side, its branches reaching around the curve of the cup. She put her favorite tea mix at the bottom of that one and grabbed the next. This one was brown and textured to look like fur. When she’d first seen it she thought it was supposed to be from a bear or something but it reminded her so much of the deer at the Nara compound that she had to get it. She put Shikamaru’s gross bitter tea mix in that one. The last was orange, but not the vibrant orange Naruto surrounded himself with. It was a pale and gentle orange that turned a little darker on the inside of the cup. There were a couple chips on the rim that hadn’t been there when she’d bought it. She dropped a random tea mix in that one because Naruto could never tell the difference anyway. 

She took the cups a few feet to the right and placed them on the table in front of the chair each belonged in front of. Then she sat down and waited for Shikamaru to finish up and yell at Naruto to come inside. When the predicted shout did come from the kitchen, she quickly grabbed the kettle from the stove and filled their cups. 

She was surprised to turn and find Naruto already coming inside. It usually took a few yells. As soon as his butt hit the chair he was talking. “So I was thinking, just now, out there,” he pointed at the window. “That test we took, it really got me, I had no idea we were supposed to cheat like you guys did. And a lot of people were surprised when they realized they were supposed to cheat even though they did cheat, you know?” 

Ino nodded and Shikamaru grunted through a large mouthful of omelette. 

“But I couldn’t make myself cheat, I tried even, before Ino mind whammed me. It felt like I would either get someone else in trouble or it was, I don’t know, dishonest, you know?” 

“Cheating is dishonest,” Shikamaru pointed out. 

“Right, so why did so many people do it even though they didn’t know that was the point?” 

Ino paused. “Because they needed to pass.” 

“Yeah, so?” 

“It’s called using all the advantages you have,” Shikamaru said. “A shinobi is expected to turn even the worst situations to his favor.” 

“So ninjas are supposed to cheat then? Like, not just on tests?” 

“I think the cheating was more of a metaphor, you know? A difficult situation where the end result meant bending a few rules in the present.” Ino took a bite of her omelette, but when she swallowed it felt cold. 

“The end justifies the means, right?” Naruto asked. 

Ino’s skin chilled and goosebumps erupted up her arms. Shikamaru’s cup stopped halfway to his mouth. “Naruto, that’s not--” she didn’t know what to say. 

“But that’s kind of what happened to me, right?” Naruto asked again. He shoved some omelette in his mouth and chewed while he thought. Ino looked at Shikamaru but he gave an uncomfortable shrug. He made a hand signal for Take lead , then pointed at her. 

She shook her head adamantly and made a helpless face. 

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s very shinobi-y,” Naruto broke up the silent argument as his focus returned to his friends. “I don’t think I agree with that Ibiki guy, at least not fully. I mean, I’m all for changing things in our favor or whatever, but the means have to answer to the end, you know?” 

Ino smiled and nodded, “Yeah, I know.” 

“It’s funny, actually,” Shikamaru said after he took a drink. “You passed that test because of your nindo.” 

“I don’t quit and I don’t run,” Ino parrotted Naruto’s words back. 

“But that also goes along with what you’re saying. You wouldn’t take the easy or obvious way to fix a hard problem. That would be running. You wouldn’t let someone else deal with any of your problems either, that’d be quitting.” Shikamaru gave a short smile and ended with, “So if you stay true to your nindo, I think you’ll be okay.” 

Naruto was quiet for a moment as he digested those words. He scratched at his arms, bare without his jacket, and Ino stiffened. But the scratching was soft and left only slight white lines from the pressure. 

Naruto’s beaming smile once he caught up was priceless. “You’re right, Shika!” 

Ino watched in amusement as Shikamaru almost spilled his tea down his front when that smile focused its rays of sunshine directly at him. 

“I usually am,” Shikamaru responded as he used a second hand to steady his cup. 

Naruto’s grin softened and he replied, “Yeah. I’m really lucky to have you guys on my team.” 

Ino almost laughed. She and Shikamaru had gone through a lot of work to make sure they were on the same team, but the sentiment remained true. She was lucky she stood up for Naruto that day. She was lucky Shikamaru had put up with all her brattiness when they were young. 

“You’re not so bad yourself, short stuff,” Ino replied. “Now shut up and eat your omelette. Any further soul searching can be done tomorrow. Or in your sleep. Either one works.” 

“There’s a joke in there somewhere,” Shikamaru said. “About Yamanakas soul searching.”

Ino just chuckled and finished her dinner. It went down easier now, delicious and warm. She thought it might taste better for the company, but she refused to think of anything that sappy.

Chapter Text

Ino signed the waiver that Anko had passed out to everyone and stared at the forest of death. She had mixed feelings about this test. She and Shikamaru’s jutsus were actually a good matchup for this, if they could catch anyone. The real problem was the survival part of the whole thing. Naruto was a village boy, could barely live without instant food and couldn’t tell North from South. Shikamaru would have some schema about survival 101 but it was just the basics they were taught at the academy. She could identify a lot of poisonous and safely edible plants, but who knew what kind of ecosystem was maintained inside those trees. 

She sighed and looked at her waiver. So far their capability was high but their survivability was low. And frankly, the second seemed more important in the long run. 

“We’ll need to move quickly,” Shikamaru said. 

Ino nodded, “As much of the surviving part of this test we can avoid the better.” 

“We’re great at surviving!” Naruto argued. 

“We’re great at surviving missions, Nar, we aren’t great at survival.” 

“So we find someone fast, neutralize them, take the scroll, and beat it to the tower,” Shikamaru summarized. 

“That’s the whole point of the test, congrats,” Ino drawled. 

“Yes, but a lot of these teams will settle in for the long haul. Tactic wise, it’s smarter to wait for your target to get tired and let down their guard. We won’t have that luxury here. We have to get a scroll soon or our chances at getting another scroll, and even coming out of this in one piece, drastically drops.” 

“Still not much of a plan.”
Shikamaru shot her an annoyed glare but gave a nod, “It’s what we got for now.” 

“Then let’s get going!” Naruto broke in and pulled them toward the line for turning in their waivers. When they grabbed their scroll Shikamaru immediately handed it to Naruto and Ino couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on the blond’s face. 

“You’re our heavy hitter, Naruto,” Shikamaru said. “Which means you’ll be the hardest for someone to take the scroll from.” 

Naruto grinned and stuffed the small earth scroll into his pack. “Sure thing, Shika. I won’t let you down, believe it!” Shikamaru rubbed at the back of his neck and looked away from both Naruto and Ino, which made her chuckle some more. 

“Alright, boys, let’s get going,” she said and steered them out of the small tent and toward the next checkpoint where a chunin was standing ready to give them their gate assignment. As they walked along the perimeter of the forest of death to find their assigned gate #20, she realized just how large the place was. And also how small. 

It felt big as they walked past gate after gate. Some of them already had teams standing impatiently by. But the idea of having so many shinobi she didn’t have any real information on in those trees with her...it didn’t feel nearly large enough. 

Naruto was transfixed by the trees and Ino wondered what it was he was looking for. He nearly tripped over a root because of his focus. Ino shoved him off of her after he used her to break his fall and snapped, “At least try to look like a proper shinobi, Naruto.” 

“I am a proper shinobi!” Naruto retaliated. Ino just gestured back at the root that had tripped him up. “It’s not like this is a life or death situation right now!” 

“It will be if you keep pushing me!” 

“What a drag,” Shikamaru complained as he dropped back behind the two to let them argue. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, they reached their gate a couple steps forward and were met by a chunin attendant. 

“You understand the rules, yes?” the chunin asked.

“I thought there were no rules?” Ino asked snidely. 

“You have five days. You need two scrolls to pass, one earth, one heaven. Don’t open the scrolls. Get to the tower. Got it? Good.” Then the chunin left without another glance at them.

“Well, he was a bucket of fun,” Ino complained. 

“How are we supposed to know when it starts?” Naruto yelled after the chunin. 

“I assume there will be an announcement,” Shikamaru replied. 

“What if the other teams are all already in there though?” Naruto asked. 

“We just saw a bunch of teams standing in front of their gates as we walked here,” Ino pointed out. 

“That doesn’t mean they’re still there.” 

“You’re like a dog, Naruto. No object permanence.” 

“Well, if he had no object permanence he wouldn’t remember them at all,” Shikamaru interjected. 

“Stop taking his side, Shikamaru!” 

“I’m not taking his side, I’m just pointing out the flaw in your argument, Ino!” 

“Yeah, cause you’re so good at pointing out flaws, you lazy ass!” 

A screech of metal and all three of them looked over to find their gate swinging open. The exam had begun. Apparently. 

Ino looked left and right but the gates were too far apart to tell if the other teams were still in place or not. She shrugged and said, “Think that’s our cue.” 

Shikamaru kicked a rock through the gate and muttered, “What a drag.” 

“Let’s go!” Naruto charged through and into the trees beyond. Ino sped after him in an effort to not lose her teammate a minute into the exams, and she could hear Shikamaru following her. 

“Where are you going?” Ino shouted at Naruto after a few minutes of break neck running. 

“He won’t know,” Shikamaru said. 

“I don’t know!” Naruto shouted back. 

Well, they weren’t going with the stealth approach. Ino put on a burst of speed so she could catch up with Naruto, and then grabbed his arm forcefully to pull him to a stop. It took a couple moments of her heels dragging through the dirt, but they stopped. 

“We need a plan,” Shikamaru said as soon as they were stationary. 

“I thought we had a plan?” Naruto replied. “Move fast and hit early.” 

“I meant to move fast toward another team.”
“But we don’t know where they are.” Naruto was vibrating with frantic energy and his chakra was flashing out in random directions. Ino wasn’t concerned, but it was distracting, and she wondered if anyone else could feel it too. She double checked the area around them with a quick visual sweep. 

“It’s better to keep moving then stand still," Naruto insisted. 

“Not necessarily,” Shikamaru countered. “Especially when what you’re trying to find is also moving.” 

“So what, you want us to sit here and do nothing?!” 

“I want us to take a moment and think things through. We could start a grid search or a spiral search, both would be more effective than running without a target.” 

“I have a target!” 

“A known target!” 

Naruto scowled and ran his hands through his hair. “Fine!” He kicked the ground and pouted. “I’m going to do a quick perimeter check though,” he added. 

Shikamaru paused but then nodded his assent. Naruto always did the perimeter checks because he had surprisingly good eyes and better instincts. Plus he was never low on energy like she and Shikamaru. Naruto disappeared in a flash. 

“He hasn’t been this wound up for months,” Shikamaru complained. 

“The chunin exams are a big deal,” Ino replied. “And you know how he is when he wants to prove himself.” 

“He doesn’t need to prove anything.” 

“ We know that.” 

“But he doesn’t.” 

“So let’s focus on this plan of yours,” Ino prompted. Shikamaru sat at the base of the nearest tree and brought his hands together in a small circle, thumb to thumb and fingers to fingers. Ino settled in to wait. She paced in a small square around Shikamaru and kept her ears primed for any foreign sounds. It was hard though, because everything was foreign in here. Even the leaves rustling felt different. 

She was just starting to worry about her missing teammate when Naruto came bursting through the bushes with a shout, “I found another team!” He beamed and panted at Ino and it almost made her smile back. “Come on!” He made a broad gesture at Ino that conveyed both excitement and his desire for her to follow. 

It looked like Naruto, but she knew Naruto. The boy in front of her was bursting with energy just like he should be, but it was too focused. Naruto would be scanning the area, trying to talk, walk, and run at the same time. Not standing still and looking at her like that. She stared for another long moment. There were no aborted attempts at scratching, no jostling of muscles. But that wasn’t what made her skin crawl. No, this person could have passed for Naruto except for one thing. 

“You’ve got the wrong chakra, but nice try,” Shikamaru said from his new position by her side. “You’re not Naruto, so what do you want?” 

“What are you talking about?” Naruto asked as he stepped closer. “Come on, guys! We’ll miss them!” 

“If you can replicate him this well, then that means you’ve been pretty close to him at some point,” Ino said. “Which means you’ve felt his chakra yourself. You may be able to mimic other ninja’s energies, but not Naruto.” 

The fake Naruto’s chakra was flaring wildly but it didn’t burn and crackle like it should. It was abrasive but not like what she’d gotten used to. It was a good try, it was an expert try, but whoever it was picked the wrong target. Ino looked at the trees surrounding them but couldn’t see anything of concern. “Where’s the rest of your team?” she asked. 

“Dealing with your pathetic teammate,” they replied. Naruto’s orange clothes and blond hair were fading away to show sickly pale skin and a large straw hat. An impossibly long pink tongue wetted parted lips. “I was sent ahead to deal with you two. This test has been just too easy, really. What a disappointment.” 

“You’re a grass nin,” Shikamaru said. “Your specialty is most likely genjutsu.” 

Ino relaxed a bit, genjutsu they could handle. She was an expert at dispelling those types of energies not to mention instinctively observant enough to notice one almost immediately. “You picked the wrong team to mess with then,” Ino said with a cocky smile she didn’t quite feel. 

The grass ninja laughed and she replied, “Oh, such confidence. Tell me, have either of you been to the village hidden in the grass?” 

Ino felt chakra seep into their surroundings. She kept tabs on where it moved and made checkpoints for physical landmarks. “Can’t say I’ve ever had reason to go. Nothing of interest,” Ino replied. 

“Then let me show you what you’re missing.” 

Then the world around Ino went grey. She wasn’t standing anymore, she was on her knees, struggling to not fall all the way to the ground. Her hands hit the dirt and her arms shook as she forced herself to fall no further. When she looked down, there was blood on her knuckles. A chilling laugh made her eyes snap up to see the grass ninja who was standing in front of her. A look to her right showed Shikamaru in nearly the same position as herself. His eyes were on the ground though and his entire body was shaking. His eyes kept switching between wide open and clenched shut. 

Ino gathered her chakra and pushed it out, aimed at her surroundings. She needed to break the genjutsu before the grass ninja struck. But her chakra just lapped weakly at grey nothing. “What is this?” she gasped out. 

There was an unnameable terror building up in her chest and trickling down into her every muscle. She started to shake harder and struggled to keep a line of thought going. She tried to sit back and bring her hands together in a hand sign but she couldn’t move. Even her head, which she had been able to move just a moment ago, was paralyzed. 

This wasn’t a genjutsu it was… she didn’t know. “What is this?!” she asked again. There was a tickle at the back of her throat like a caught scream. 

“A genjutsu, you stupid child,” the grass ninja crooned. Ino couldn’t see them but the voice was closer. 

The sound of a kunai slipping from a pack made her gulp. Her eyes closed as she was hit with a vision that felt more real than the grey that lay around them. Behind closed eyes she was still stuck in the same position, weak and unmoving. She watched the grass ninja stroll by her. They stopped at her back. A gentle hand pulled her chin up and she looked at the leaves above. From that perspective the forest didn’t look too different from the ones she’d grown up in. The ones she would apparently die in. The press of cold metal to her neck made her thoughts scatter. All she could focus on was the slow tearing pain of the kunai edge pressing deeper and deeper, until she felt blood rushing down her front and the leaves above her faded into black and agony. 

Ino gasped and her eyes flew open to see her bloody knuckles once again. “What?” she sobbed out. 

The grass ninja’s laugh scittered down her spine like a spider. A quiet step forward made her shaking stop for a moment in panic. Another step and Ino knew what was coming. She’d just seen it, hadn’t she? 

This was a genjutsu though. A genjutsu she could break. Unless… 

“There are three types of genjutsu,” Asuma had told her. “The difference is in what they are anchored in. A physical genjutsu isn’t anchored on the victim but rather their environment. It’s an easier genjutsu to craft and the easiest to break. 

“The second is anchored in the mind of the victim. Causes them to see things that aren’t there, it’s a self contained jutsu, only visible to those who are affected. Those are harder to break, but not impossible. 

The third is the most dangerous. A kind I’ve only seen once. It’s anchored in the soul. Much like a Yamanaka they can reach a victim’s life energies, but they use chakra instead of their own soul like you. They slip a part of their chakra into a victim’s soul, just enough to anchor an emotion or a vision or, for the very very powerful, an entire environment.” 

“Who can do that?” she asked. 

“I’m not sure, but I once knew a young Uchiha who could do something like it. That was years ago though. No one in this village is capable of such control.” 

“So how do I break it?” 

“You can’t.” Asuma gave her a very serious look. “But sometimes you can survive it.” 

No. Asuma was wrong. She had to break it, everything was breakable, everything had a flaw. Her eyes flicked to the side but she could barely make out the edges of Shikamaru’s fingers. She needed him right now. But he was gone, lost in a vision she had no doubt. Of his own death, perhaps repeated over and over again. He needed her more.

But why wasn’t she still lost in that vision like him? “Your genjutsu is impressive,” Ino said though she almost didn’t manage it, she had so little air in her lungs. 

The approaching footsteps paused. Ino wished she could see the other’s expression. The body, anything beyond her own fingers. She couldn’t read what she couldn’t see. 

“As is your tenacity. Most would still be lost, like your friend there.” 

What would her friend do? What would Shikamaru say? He’d once broken out of an enemy genjutsu by breaking his own finger. The pain snapped him back to reality. But she couldn’t move. She pressed her tongue to the back of her front teeth and wondered if she could bite it hard enough to shock her. It wouldn't work though, she was sure of it. She was already aware of the genjutsu, she needed to shock her soul somehow. 

Ino felt for her soul, that life energy that hummed just underneath the skin and mingled with her chakra. She was intimately familiar with it. She was a Yamanaka after all. She began to gather it further into her chest. An easy exercise even when her body was paralyzed. The more she gathered the less terrified she felt. 

She smirked, the expression hidden by her position. Those footsteps were still slow but moving closer. She pulled her soul in and balled it up in her chest. Usually she would make the window with her fingers and push her life energy from her chest, through the window, and into her victim. 

This time she balled it up and focused her chakra on it. The grey around her had already started to fade as she pulled her soul into itself. She was breaking the anchor there, pulling her soul out of the enemy chakra, but still it persisted. Like greedy thin fingers grasping at the edges of a sleeve. She focused her own chakra into a tight line and with a heavy exhale she smashed it into where she could feel that cold slimy chakra pulling at her soul. 

The invading chakra quivered but held. Ino gasped in some more air and tried again. The footsteps had stopped behind her. Any moment now she’d feel cold fingers on her chin. Then shortly after Shikamaru would suffer the same fate. She closed her eyes and gathered her chakra again. This time she gave it a sharp edge and she imagined it cutting through the chakra binding her. She pushed with all the fear she was drowning in. Fear of dying, fear over losing her best friend, the fear of leaving Naruto behind. 

At the touch of her honed chakra the slimy invading chakra burst into pieces and melted away. She released her soul and felt it slam back into place. Her bones hummed with soreness but her body finally stopped shaking. She heard a sound of surprise from behind her but she was already moving. She threw herself toward Shikamaru, slipped her arms under his lanky frame, and ran up the nearest tree. She kept running, bounding from branch to branch for long breathless moments before she had to stop. 

She propped Shikamaru up against the trunk as she settled the two down on a wide branch. She focused on getting her breathing under control and listening for any followers. She couldn’t hear anything over her own gasping though. Her lungs burned with each inhale. 

Shikamaru stirred and groaned beside her. She looked over at him to find him blinking groggily and taking shaking breaths similar to her own. “What happened?” he asked. 

“I was brilliant, is what happened.” She could finally hear beyond her panting. All she heard was the rustling of leaves. “I broke a soul genjutsu, that’s what happened.” 

“You what?” Shikamaru asked. She gave him a shaky smile and a wink that felt more like a very tired blink. 

“It’s a stupid idea to try and trap a soul of a Yamanaka, don’t you think?” 

After a long moment where he stared with wide eyes, he chuckled and ran a hand over his face. “Of course. That makes sense. That was clever, Ino.” 

“You can be impressed, I won’t hold it against you later. At least, not a lot.” 

Shikamaru smothered a laugh and asked, “And now? Report.” 

“Not much to report. I broke the genjutsu right before the grass ninja slit my throat, I grabbed you, and I ran.” 

“No eyes on Naruto?” 

She shook her head. “No, but right now I’m counting that as a blessing. I don’t think I could have carried both of you.” 

Shikamaru stiffened next to her and she turned to check on him. He was staring over her shoulder intently. The soft sound of movement behind her made her freeze. A chill worked its way into her body, leaving her arms covered in goosebumps. She slowly moved her head to look and found two identical looking hunched figures. They were crouched and balanced on their toes, their straw hats blocking their faces, two small plates of metal flashed on the brims. They were perched on different branches not too far away and facing their direction. 

She took a deep breath and stood up. “Where’s Naruto?!” she demanded. 

The figure on the left shifted minutely. 

“If you’ve done something to him, you’ll regret it!” she shouted. 

“Regret is such a silly emotion, don’t you think?” a silky voice said from behind. Ino felt the shadow-memory of a kunai on her neck as she turned and stared at the grass ninja that had nearly killed them. She took a strong grasp of her soul and sunk into a defensive stance. 

Shikamaru propped himself into a crouch but didn’t stand. He faced the two at Ino’s back and she trusted him to do it. They were a team. They were a member short, but still a team. 

“I thought these exams were going to be boring. I’d hoped otherwise, but had no real expectation. But you, child, you’re quite interesting. Breaking a soul genjutsu like that, it shouldn’t be possible. How did you do it?” 

Ino curled her lip up and sneered as best she could. “I’m a Yamanaka, you dumb bitch.” 

“Yamanaka? I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with that term. Is it a title? A name?” 

“I’ll tell you if you give me your scroll.” 

“How inspired, but unfortunately I can’t do that. I can’t return to my village without a victory in  my hands.” They pulled out a scroll, a heaven scroll, and shoved it into their mouth. Ino watched in horror as the ninja’s jaw distended and a heavy tongue curled around the scroll aiding them as they shoved it further in. A loud swallow and the scroll disappeared from sight though Ino could see its shape moving down the other’s throat. 

Ino’s face scrunched up as she watched. “Ew!” 

The ninja chuckled and said, “I will give you a similar offer, child. Give me your scroll and I will let you go. I dislike punishing true talent.” 

“And I dislike being underestimated.” Ino pulled a kunai from her pack and spread her feet apart. 

“I’m sure you do.” 

Ino felt the two grass ninjas behind her move, but she didn’t turn. Shikamaru shifted behind her and then there were twin exclamations of confusion. She didn’t risk looking away from the shinobi in front of her but she listened amusedly to the sound of two people straining to move bodies that were trapped in shadows. It was a sound she’d heard many times before. 

“Interesting,” the main grass ninja muttered. “I’ve never heard of this jutsu either. How did you do it?” 

Shikamaru grunted out, “I’m a Nara, you stupid bitch.” 

“This tires me.” They brought a pale hand up to their mouth and bit the pad of the thumb just hard enough for blood to bead heavily above the skin. Then with a harsh movement they slammed their hand into the branch they were standing on and shouted, “Summoning jutsu!” 

The branch snapped in half, along with the sound of dozens of others doing the same, as a giant snake appeared under the ninja’s hand. Ino looked in disbelief at the monstrous creature. “Why can’t we do stuff like that?” she complained. Then she put her kunai between her teeth and began to run up the trunk of the tree she was standing on. She needed to create distance between this new attack and Shikamaru’s vulnerable position. She jumped to the next tree and the next and the next as the snake moved to catch up. It was bigger than her and faster than her. 

She moved her hands through the necessary signs and took a deep breath in. She paused, standing on a wide branch, and then with a heavy exhale she blew out a billowing cloud of black smoke directly in front of her, between herself and the approaching snake. As the snake drew nearer, plunging into the billowing cloud of smoke with a hiss, Ino smirked. A little chakra to her teeth and she gave the final hand sign of her jutsu. Then she snapped her teeth together sharply. From the impact of her teeth connecting a few sparks formed and whirled through the air. With a gentleness that was almost comical, the sparks drifted into the smoke where they ignited the smoke in a violent fiery explosion. 

The snake made a harsh screeching sound but Ino didn’t wait around to see what happened. She took a step back to the edge of the branch and then let herself fall backward, her feet sliding around to the underside of the branch as chakra kept her hanging there like a bat. Then she let go of the chakra grip and fell to the next branch where she landed with a neat handspring back to her feet. Then she ran again. 

Jumping from tree to tree, she made a small circle back to Shikamaru. She glanced over to see the other two grass ninjas crouched in place, only this time it was a direct mimic of Shikamaru’s stance. Their straw hats weren’t on their heads anymore but rather several feet away, each snagged by a different branch. The hitai-ate sewn into the brims of the hats glinted at Ino. 

The grass ninja on the left was wearing a shrivelled mask that reminded her of the head hunters one of her cousins had told her about a couple years ago. Looking where the eyes should be only showed two small indentations, like a resting face. She couldn’t tell if the mask was made from leather or wood or something much worse. What was up with these grass nins’ creep factor? Each of them made Ino’s skin crawl. 

The grass ninja with a visible face was staring at her with heavy contemplation and judgement. They were preternaturally still and not just from the shadow possession paralysis. Both of them looked like they weren’t breathing. With each of her own breaths she expected them to break through the shadows and jump at her with grabbing hands and cruel smiles. Ino pulled at her ponytail nervously and forced herself not to take a step back. 

Ino looked back the way she had come from and saw a lot of smoke. The snake was jerking its head back and forth and hissing loudly as it reeled back from where Ino’s fire had been. It made some rough coughing and gagging noises. Ino was satisfyingly amused to see the grass ninja struggling to stay upright and balanced on the snake’s head. 

“We need a plan,” Shikamaru said. 

“We should get out of here, we can’t get the scroll from them anyway, the creepy snake ninja swallowed it.” 

Shikamaru made a strange noise at that and then added, “If we run, they’ll follow.” 

“If we don’t, we’ll die.” 

“They’re not great choices, I’ll admit.” 

Ino laughed. The snake was calming down and the grass ninja atop its head was speaking to it in low tones. “I have a plan. But it’s a stupid one.” 

“All your plans are stupid, that’s why you have me.” 

“Yeah, well you’re not doing much for the plan right now, so we’ll go with mine.” 

Shikamaru chuckled and Ino noted the strain behind it. “I’m good for another minute or so and then I’m done.” She looked once again at the two vulture like enemies and she knew without a doubt they would attack the second Shikamaru weakened. They were just as much of a threat as their snakey friend.

“Okay, just be ready to jump out of the way of a giant snake if it comes this way.” 

“Like I wasn’t already?” 

Ino ran up the tree trunk and perched on a higher branch. The snake had finally stopped hacking up a lung and was now apparently listening to the ninja atop its head. “I knew someone from a grass village would be vulnerable to fire ,” she shouted with her best mocking tone. “Hope I didn’t toast you too badly, wouldn’t want the scroll getting cooked.” 

The grass ninja said something but Ino couldn’t hear it very well over the snake’s hissing. She jumped one tree closer and said, “What are you, like thirty? Out here getting beat by thirteen year olds? What a pride of your village!” 

Ino jumped a couple trees over and closer to the snake. 

“You insolent brat!” the grass ninja shouted. Their clothes were singed around the edges and a large burn ran up one arm. The snake's eyes were bloodshot and watery and tracking her every move. 

She took a steadying breath and jumped through the trees so Shikamaru was out of the blast zone. The snake was beginning to move now and she smiled when it charged for her. She had half an idea for a crazy plan and she was just crazy and desperate enough to actually try it. She pulled a length of wire from her pack and threw it up above her to wrap around a high branch. 

The snake was approaching at a speed that Ino had difficulty tracking but she let go of her constant analytical thoughts and let instinct take over. She gave a terrified laugh as the monster in front of her came close enough to smell, smoke and something soil-like that she was unfamiliar with. A moment before the snake’s impact into her tiny form she gave a harsh push against the branch underneath her and pulled harshly on the wire at the same time. 

She went flying up and over the snake’s head as it slammed into the tree. The cracking sound of all that wood fracturing into pieces was deafening and rather akin to lightning. Ino let go of the wire the moment she was airborne. She tucked her hands to her chest and her arms to her side as she spun with the momentum of her jump.  For a breathless moment she couldn’t see anything, she was twirling too fast to focus on anything but the blur of green of the trees around her. Her ears hurt from the volume of the impact and the snake’s angry hissing. Then her mind snapped back into high gear and the adrenaline fell to the back burner. 

She raised her head so she was looking down rather than out, and she finally found her target. The pale ninja was just below her and already unsteady from the impact. Ino kicked off a thin branch, just enough to alter her course down, and went plummeting toward the enemy nin. Her hands at her chest came together into an instinctual rectangle, her soul quivering as it compacted into itself. She’d have to be close, her jutsu couldn’t turn and stalk its prey like Shikamaru’s. Hers was a one shot. 

The moment she felt rough cloth and cold skin she slammed her soul through the window and into the body under her. She felt the moment her soul anchored in the grass ninja’s body but the disorientation of it all was jarring. She was falling backwards from the impact of her own body in the body she’d stolen. She was traveling in the same direction she had been a moment before but it was suddenly backwards and not down. 

Her new left foot slid back to steady herself only to slide along the smooth scales of the snake. Muttering a curse she attempted to anchor herself to the scales with chakra and managed to slow her descent. Just enough for her to find and reach for her own small purple clad body as it fell toward the ground. Catching the edge of the wide rolled collar of her purple top, she yanked back toward herself. 

As her feet finally lost the remaining traction she’d managed to find, all she could see was blonde hair and that stupid orange hairtie she’d put in that morning. She hugged her small body, it momentarily startled her how much smaller she was than the grass ninja, and rolled down the snake’s long body. With a shaking hand she took a kunai from her body’s pouch and struck out into the air, hoping to find something to anchor herself on and stop the fall. 

A wet tearing noise burrowed into her ears and she winced. Hot blood speckled her hand and she watched with a detached sensation as blonde hair was dusted with red as well. The snake let out an unearthly screech that made her hands twitch in an aborted attempt to cover her ears. She dug the kunai deeper and looked around herself as her momentum slowed. She released the kunai and pushed off the side of the snake and toward a nearby branch. She missed and fell painfully to the next lower one. 

She looked back at the snake to find it thrashing in pain and what Ino assumed to be frustration. She had very little schema on what giant crazy snakes usually looked like, but she imagined it would be annoyed. A long shallow but copiously bleeding slice ran three meters down its side and Ino’s kunai was left sticking out at the bottom of the tear. 

Ino threw her slumped physical body over her shoulder and sprinted through the trees like only leaf shinobi could. She stumbled to a stop in the tree next to Shikamaru. When he looked over at her, the two grass ninjas perched above her did as well. Shikamaru’s eyes widened as he took in the situation, but then his expression turned thoughtful. 

“Three grass ninjas in hand are better than three in the bush,” Ino gasped out with a voice that wasn’t nearly as smooth as she thought it would be. As it had been when she’d heard it before. “That’s how the saying goes, right?” 

“I think you’re a bit off there,” Shikamaru responded. “But I’ll overlook it because of your really rather impressive results.” 

“So what’s the plan?” she asked. 

“Our first priority is putting some serious distance between us and these creeps. Our second is finding Naruto.” 

“You want me to knock them out?” she asked as she set her small body down and leaned it carefully against the trunk of the tree. Seeing her body like this was always strange. It wasn’t like seeing a reflection, in a mirror everything was flipped, so seeing her face like this always looked off. And so very young. There were identical scratches and bloody gashes on her arms as the ones littering the grass ninja’s arms as a result of the earlier tumble. Ino grimaced as she stood. 

She looked down at her borrowed body and located the ninja’s pack. She slipped a hand in and slid out a kunai. Turning to face Shikamaru she realized they had bigger problems. How had she forgotten the snake? 

It’s watering red eyes were fixed on their small group. Its tongue was lashing violently at the air between them and its body was almost pulsating with its heavy breaths. For some reason she’d expected it to disappear once she’d slipped into the grass ninja’s body. “How do I make it go away?!” she asked Shikamaru. 

“I don’t know, we never learned about summons.” 

“Surely you’ve read something about it!” 

“I could say the same for you.” 

The snake was slithering forward now. It looked cautious but she couldn’t read anything further than that. She wasn’t sure if it would attack her when she was wearing its master’s skin. “Stand down,” she demanded. The snake didn’t pause its slow forward progress. 

“Bad boy, snakey!” she scolded. Shikamaru scoffed at her and she kicked absently in his direction though he was still a tree away from her. “Stop! Go away! Cease and desist!” she shouted in rapid succession. The snake was picking up speed now. 

“Shikamaru, what do I do?” she asked. 

“You have to disrupt the summons.” 

“Well, how do I do that?” She paused. “Do you think I can mind-wham the snake?” 

“Interesting idea, but that would release the creepy snake ninja. I can’t hold three, I can barely hold these two.” 

She glanced at the two paralyzed ninja and saw with dread that they were starting to twitch in the fingers and arms. Shikamaru was sweating and gasping quietly. She took a step forward on the branch and closer to the snake. She was at eye level with it and the thing really was just huge. It’s body was as thick as the trees around it and she couldn’t see its tail, it was so long. “Your presence is no longer required,” she said confidently. “You’re dismissed.” 

She whirled on the spot as she heard shuffling movement. One of the grass ninjas was now much closer to her unconscious body and Shikamaru’s shadows were visibly shrinking. “Got him,” Shikamaru said. “But not for long.” 

Ino bit a stranger’s lip and turned to look once again at the snake. “We should run.” 

“We can’t.” 

“I know that!” She reached for her ponytail but found only open air. Curling her fingers into fists she glared at the snake. It was only twenty meters away now. “If you attack me in this body, you will kill your master.” 

The snake paused. Its head lowered a little as it stared at her. She heard more rustling from behind her and then a curse from Shikamaru. She glanced back to find the ninja even closer, fingers twitching violently. 

When she looked back at the snake she felt a jolt of fear. It was no longer looking at her. Then it sped forward, faster than Naruto could run, its mouth open and long teeth glinting with moisture, and aimed right for Shikamaru’s back. 

“Shika!” she screamed. 

Shikamaru whipped around to look behind him and Ino noted in a far off section of her mind that the grass ninjas’ heads didn’t turn. The shadows at their feet were little more than strings. Both of them were turned to her. 

They were stuck. Shikamaru couldn’t let go or Ino’s body, and resultantly Ino’s soul, would die. She couldn’t let her victim go or they’d both be dead in moments. And everything was moving so fast. 

She built chakra in her legs, ready to jump and try to intercept the snake on its way to her friend, half a plan forming but overwhelmed by desperation. She wasn’t going to be fast enough. She knew it and she could feel it down to every atom and molecule of the moment she was watching in terror. She could do the math. They were dead. 

She wanted to turn away from the sight of Shikamaru’s shoulders slumping in realization and resignation. She swallowed roughly when the shadows thickened and grasped their victims unforgivingly. He’d made his choice and Ino loved him for it as much as she hated it. Her eyelids were fighting to close and block her sight but she stubbornly kept them open. Shikamaru looked to her with a half smile she’d seen on cloudy days for so many years. The muscles in her legs bunched in the moment before her leap. Her eyes wide open, strayed from Shikamaru’s as they snagged on rapid movement behind him. 

Hope surged through her body like adrenaline and she would have let out a sob if the world around her wasn’t moving so fast. The snake’s massive head came between her and her vision of Shikamaru and the approaching orange figure. And then the snake stopped. Its head was the size of one of the hokages’ carved into the cliff side, and she couldn’t see what was happening. 

She leaped forward onto its head and scrambled up so she could look down at… Naruto. A kunai gripped in each fist and protruding from the snake’s skin. His back to its mouth and panting as he looked down at Shikamaru. She couldn’t see Naruto’s face but she could see Shikamaru’s. There was an expression there she’d never seen before. A mixture of surprise and awe and something darker she couldn’t quite place. Naruto’s chakra washed over her like flames and her muscles relaxed at the feel of it. 

Then the snake gave a shudder underneath her and it reared its head back and away from Naruto. Ino yelped as she was torn away from her team and she dug fingernails into a dip between scales and held on as the monster shook its head. She could still see her boys and a belated sense of relief tickled at her mind. Naruto was okay. 

Then Naruto turned and Ino’s breath caught. His eyes were the red of the fox’s, his whiskers more pronounced. Sharp teeth showed when Naruto smiled with a savageness she knew he didn’t have in him. It was just like Zabuza all over again. But this time… this time Naruto wasn’t just using the orange chakra he dreamed of at night, this time he was using the fox. 

Shikamaru collapsed at Naruto’s feet and those red eyes looked away from the snake she was currently clinging to and back to Shikamaru. Naruto growled in the same moment as the two previously paralyzed ninjas pounced at Shikamaru’s collapsed form. Naruto leaped at them, meeting them halfway with a vicious spinning kick that sent them in two opposite directions. They slammed into trees and slid down out of her sight. She felt a spike in the wild chakra at the impact and she knew those two weren’t getting up any time soon. 

The snake steadied underneath her and she stood with shaking legs. Naruto turned to face them and those red slit pupiled eyes glanced over her with no recognition. It made her legs shake even harder. 

Naruto jumped and before Ino could blink he was standing at the snake’s nose, glaring at it. It looked ridiculous except for the part where Naruto was oozing power that made her want to collapse. “I don’t know what’s happening,” Naruto shouted at the snake, at the situation, she wasn’t sure, “but Shikamaru and Ino are my team! I won’t let anything happen to them! You hear me, you lousy beast?!” Ino sunk down to her knees and gave into the chakra that was pulling at her skin like physical fingers. She felt her being mesh with that chakra around the edges and instead of burning it felt like electricity dancing lightly across her skin. “I’ll skin you and wear you as shoes before I let you hurt them, believe it! I’ll split you open like the snake that ate me earlier! I showed it and I’ll show you!” Naruto pulled his fist back and chakra visibly gathered around it. Naruto’s jacket and pants were flapping in an invisible wind and she could actually hear the sound of the chakra humming, or perhaps it was Naruto growling. 

The snake made a strangled noise that Ino didn’t understand and didn’t know how to explain and then it poofed out of sight with a large cloud of light smoke. She felt relief and satisfaction and pride before the physical effects of falling sliced through her body and flipped her stomach in on itself. She tried to curl her body and grab a branch but the body was unfamiliar and her limbs were too long, she couldn’t make it obey her panicked flailing. Her soul quivered as it tried to disengage from the body but it was moving as spastically as her body, clinging to pieces in a poorly placed panic. 

“NARUTO!” she screamed, one pale and unfamiliar hand reaching for the orange she’d learned to associate with safety. A strong hand with short stubby fingers curled around her wrist and she felt violent chakra encasing her as Naruto’s body curled around her. She closed her eyes and pushed her face into Naruto’s jacket, part of her wondering how Naruto was holding a body so much larger than his own. 

When she opened them again she was sitting on a branch and Shikamaru was sitting across from her. Naruto stood between them, his chest heaving with breaths that had the edge of a growl on each exhale. She looked at Shikamaru and gave the hand signal for report . He just shook his head and returned the hand signal for regroup . 

She didn’t know what he meant so she just returned her attention to Naruto. She reached out a tentative hand toward him and slipped her fingers through his. Her hand dwarfed his and she wanted nothing more than to be back in her own body so she could properly feel his too hot skin. He turned to look at her and she was happy to look into blue blue eyes. “Naruto,” she said. It sounded breathy to her own ears and she mentally winced. She cleared her throat and added, “Where the hell were you?!” 

Naruto snorted and pulled her up into a standing position. She ended up looking down at his face as he answered, “I got eaten by a snake!” He smiled as if it was an ordinary inconvenience. “And now,” he added, “I realize that it wasn’t just a random giant murderous snake that swallowed me.” 

Shikamaru snorted and fell back to lay on the branch and look up. “You’re just now realizing that?” 

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms with a pout that Ino found adorable and annoying in equal measures. “I had other things on my mind!” Naruto scowled and scuffed his foot over the bark. Then he gave a wild smile and asked, “Does this mean we got the scroll?! Did we win?” 

“If you want to reach your hand down this body’s throat and pull it out, be my guest. Just wait until I’m not in it,” Ino said. 

Naruto’s face slipped back into confusion. “Did you eat it? Why’d you eat it? How’d you eat it?” He looked her up and down with wide eyes. 

“I didn’t do it!” 

“The scroll was swallowed before Ino slammed her soul into the body, Nar.” Shikamaru propped himself up on his elbows. “Speaking of, we should get her back to her own body.” 

“Operation knockout?” Naruto asked with a grin. 

“I told you we’re not calling it that,” Shikamaru protested but he was grinning. It was shaky around the edges but it was genuine. Then he brought his hands together in the sign of his clan and shadows stretched out and caught Ino in its grip. She never got used to the feeling of the shadow paralysis. The sudden inability to move her body was hard enough, but the shadows also brought with it a chilling feeling that seeped into her skin. Sort of like being suddenly submerged in cool water but with less pressure and more viscosity. She shuddered and then gratefully let her soul slip away from the body and slingshot back into her own. 

She sat up from against the tree trunk and groaned as her bones throbbed and her head ached. She brought a hand up to her forehead and gave a long exhausted sigh.

“You brats!” the grass ninja’s voice screamed. Ino winced and rubbed at her temple. “I’ll kill you, let go of me!” 

 “You okay, Ino?” Naruto asked. She opened her eyes and looked over as Naruto and Shikamaru shared a nod. Shikamaru let his shadows slide away the moment that Naruto hurled a chakra dusted punch into the grass ninja’s head, right into the spot that Ino had just been rubbing on her own head. 

The moment his knuckles touched their temple the grass ninja crumpled down into a puddle of limbs on the branch. Ino thought about going over and kicking them over the edge, to watch as they plummeted twenty meters down to the ground and never get back up again. The moment she finished the thought a wave of nausea passed through her. Disgust bubbled in the edges of the queasiness and she shut her eyes. Where had that thought even come from? 

“You okay, Ino?” Naruto asked again, but this time his voice came from right in front of her. She let her eyes open, only halfway, and gave the boy a tired smile. “I’m fine, Naruto, but let’s bring the volume down, yeah?” 

Naruto grimaced and then whispered loudly, “Are there any more snakes we need to worry about?” 

Shikamaru crouched down beside Naruto to join him in looking at Ino. He said, “Not that I know of, but we should get out of the area and fast.” 

“We don’t want to be here when they wake up,” Ino agreed. 

“This isn’t the most auspicious start to our exam, is it?” 

“I don’t know what that means,” Naruto said with a tilt of his head. “But what are you talking about? We beat up a giant snake!” 

Ino thought that wasn’t particularly fair to say. That snake had kicked her butt and then Naruto had growled it out of this dimension. 

Naruto gave her a big smile and added, “We’re doing great, we won!” 

She closed her eyes at the last word. Remembered seeing her own death in a vision and then seeing it approach her while she could do nothing. Thought of the way Shikamaru had shook and panted as his shadows failed. Didn’t feel much like winning. “Yeah, Naruto, we won. Now let’s get out of here.” 

Chapter Text

Ino pulled her hair tie out when they finally stopped to catch their breath and gather their barings. Her headache was already fading away but the adrenaline crash was proving to be a menace. She felt weak all over and she couldn’t breathe deep enough to get adequate air. 

“You okay, Ino?” Naruto asked, his concerned face swooping into her vision as he crowded up close to her. 

She should scold him, but she liked having him close as a reminder he was still alive. Her eyes searched out her other teammate and Shikamaru gave her a small smile. Something in her shoulders relaxed and released with it some of the general pain in her body. “I’m okay. We’re okay,” she said. 

“Those grass ninja won’t be waking up anytime soon, and by then we’ll already have a scroll!” Naruto replied. “Besides, we’ll all be there next time, together like a team.” 

“Yeah, how did you even get eaten by a snake, anyway?” Ino asked. 

“And how’d you get out?” Shikamaru asked. 

“I got eaten because it swallowed me,” Naruto explained and Ino rolled her eyes. That explanation probably made perfect sense to him. “And I used shadow clones to like break out.” 

“You made shadow clones? How many?” Shikamaru asked. 

“I don’t know. A lot. Enough to bust out of a snake’s stomach, and he wasn’t some small snake. Though it wasn’t as big as yours.” Naruto looked upset by that fact and Ino refrained from reminding him that he was the one that stopped both snakes. He didn’t need that confidence boost right now. 

Shikamaru scoffed out a laugh and the sound made Ino smile once again. She cleared her throat and started to pull her hair back into a tight ponytail. “We should get back to the goal at hand, boys. We still need a heaven scroll.” 

Naruto pulled out their earth scroll and studied it like it had some answers. Ino somehow doubted that, but Naruto was just weird like that sometimes. She looked around them and up to the sun to try and make an approximation of where they were.

“We need to stay away from the grass ninja too. We should keep moving,” Shikamaru said. 

“We should keep moving regardless,” Ino replied. 

“We should start the search grid. I’m thinking a spiral search would work better than a straight line since we don’t know the area well enough for--” he broke off suddenly. 

Ino looked away from the sky, that she could barely see through all the trees, to give Shikamaru a questioning glance. His eyes were focused on something behind her and her heart started pounding at the deja vu of the moment. She spun around, still half expecting to find those grass ninja, or feel the cold strong grip of chakra at her soul, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. A few bugs, lots of trees, and the same foreboding feeling as before. 

“Team 8 is nearby,” Shikamaru said. 

Naruto started and shoved the scroll back into his pack. “What do you mean, how can you know?”

Ino scanned the area once again but saw no sign of Kiba or the others. A small shroud of insects buzzed by a few feet away and her eyes narrowed. “The beetles.” 

“Exactly,” Shikamaru said. “Everything in here is at least three times their regular size. Everything but those beetles.” 

“Shino.” Ino frowned at the realization. 

“Those bugs will lead us right to them.” 

Her frown deepened. Team 8 wasn’t exactly a pushover team. Hinata, she knew they could handle. She didn’t know her skill levels very well, but she was certain the girl would do nothing that would harm or upset Naruto too badly. Kiba would be a problem, but a manageable one. It was Shino she was unsure of. His chakra eating beetles would make a bad match for her and Shikamaru. They were both medium range attackers, so the beetles would be a real threat, and the team would be crippled if their jutsus were taken away. Naruto would probably push through it all, but she couldn’t count on that. 

“We don’t have to fight them, necessarily,” Shikamaru said. When she looked up he was looking at her with a grim knowing expression. They both knew their team would need a surprise attack to take on Team 8, but that wasn’t likely with those beetles and Kiba’s senses. “For starters, there’s only a 50-50 chance of them having the scroll we need.”

“Good,” Ino replied with a decisive nod. 

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “What? We could totally beat those losers!” 

“Maybe,” Ino said. “But it wouldn’t be easy.”
“Of course not! That’s the whole point of being a shinobi!” 

Ino glared at him. “You know that’s not true.” She looked again at the beetles, they would disappear soon. She’d almost rather go back and deal with the grass genjutsu than have to fight all those creepy crawlies. But at least she’d know what to expect from Team 8, and she expected them to not outright kill her or her teammates. “Let’s go.” 

Shikamaru nodded and quickly took off after the small buzzing cloud. Naruto whooped loudly as he followed. Ino tightened her ponytail and smoothed down her outfit before she took her place in the back. 

Turned out the other team wasn’t far away. They found the three of them standing in the middle of the clearing and talking loudly. Well, Kiba was talking loudly, the other two were speaking at perfectly normal volumes. 

Ino didn’t catch all the words but it was something about man killing leeches and trees. She noted the way the beetle cloud rejoined Shino and how his shoulders angled a little toward them a moment later. Akamaru’s head came up to look in their direction and Kiba turned to do the same. His arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the leaves she knew were hiding them. 

He sniffed the air and yelled, “What are you idiots doing here?!”

Ino looked to Shikamaru with a silent question of what to do. He flashed the hand signal for follow . She and Naruto both nodded and the Nara turned his head back toward Team 8. 

“It’s a pretty good plan,” Shikamaru said loudly. “Except for one thing.” 

“Oh yeah?” Kiba sneered. “And what would that be?” 

“You need your target to approach from a very specific direction.” Shikamaru gestured at the leech trees and then shrugged. “It’s statistically more likely that they won’t. Most of the surrounding area isn’t filled with those things.” 

Naruto let out a sigh of relief and said, “Good!” 

“And why are you pointing this out?” Shino asked. 

“Because I think we can help.” 

Ino looked at Shikamaru and then back down at Shino. “How so?” she asked. 

“It’s simple, really,” Shikamaru said. “You three,” he gestured at Team 8, “lay the trap. Naruto and I will lure someone into it.” 

“We don’t need you to butt in on our plan!” Kiba exclaimed. “We could just take your scroll and be done with it!” Akamaru gave a yip of agreement. 

“You could certainly try!” Naruto shouted. He jumped down to the ground in front of Kiba. Ino jumped down too and she could hear Shikamaru following. She landed in a crouch to Naruto’s right, and Shikamaru appeared at his left. 

“I think you’ll find it a harder fight than you’d expect,” Shikamaru said. Ino straightened up and smoothed her ponytail out. She’d landed in front of the Hyuga and gave her a look over. Not distracted by the written exam or a splitting headache, Ino catalogued all the details she couldn’t see before. 

Hinata had lost the jacket she’d been slouching in at registration, the one she wore through the academy with the Hyuga clan flame symbol on the shoulder. Instead she was wearing a long sleeveless vest. It was fuzzy and the hood pulled over her head was lined with dark fur, just like the Inuzukas always wore. A glance at Kiba confirmed his jacket to be a dead ringer for Hinata’s. She bet if she got closer to the girl, she would smell faintly of dog as well. 

Hinata gave a sheepish wave at Ino’s team and there was a dark spiraling loop that started at the girl’s bicep and went down to her elbow. Since when did the Hyuga have a tattoo? 

“I doubt it,” Kiba snorted. “My sister said that you three were grouped together because no one else would have you.” 

“Hey, give credit where it’s due,” Ino scolded. “Shikamaru and I worked hard to make sure Naruto ended up with us.” 

Naruto jumped and spun in place. “Are you serious?!” 

Shikamaru dropped his head into his palm and replied, “Yes, Naruto. We’re serious.” 

Naruto beamed and then spun just as enthusiastically back to Kiba. “Hear that?!” 

“Look,” Ino interrupted before Naruto could pull Kiba into some sort of argument. “You don’t want to fight us, I guarantee it.” 

Shino’s head tilted a little to the side but his eyes remained as hidden as ever. “We don’t even know if we have matching scrolls or not,” he said with his surprisingly deep voice. 

“Does it matter?!” Kiba growled out. 

“We have an earth scroll!” Naruto said. 

Shino gave a nod and replied, “Heaven.” 

“So we can take yours and forget about the trap altogether!” Kiba said. “You three shouldn’t even be in this exam.” 

“That’s debatable,” Shikamaru said. “Our team is a strong unit.” 

Ino cocked her hip out and smiled. “I’m the heart, Shika’s the brains, and Naruto here, he’s basically indestructible.”  She tilted her head in the same direction as Shino had. “And Shino’s crawley bugs won’t do much to him.” It was pure conjecture on her part but they didn’t need to know that.

“So we use the trap to catch someone and take their scroll,” Shikamaru explained. “The team who needs that scroll will take it and the other will keep looking. It’s safer to try it with our help.” 

“You expect us not to attack you out of the goodness of our hearts then?” Kiba asked and then scoffed. “This isn't the time for friendships, it’s every team for themselves in here!” 

“No, we expect you to work with us because, like I said before, you don’t want to fight us,” Ino snarked.  

“And how can we know you won’t attack us if the scroll isn’t the one you need?” Shino asked.

“Frankly, it wouldn’t be worth it,” Shikamaru said.  

“Come on, boys, think about it,” Ino interjected. “We all have to live with each other outside of these ugly trees. Do you really think we would want to be reminded of a betrayal every time we had to work together later? It’s our first day, hell, first couple of hours in here, whoever doesn’t get the scroll will have plenty of time to find another one.” 

“Iruka always said ‘undermining a potential ally brings more risk than reward',” Naruto said with a knowing nod. The kind he used when he didn’t know what was going on.  

“Fine,” Shino said. Kiba whirled on his teammate but Shino just held up one hand and Kiba huffed but kept his mouth shut. “You’ll regret it if you’re lying to us. Why? Because none of us are particularly forgiving and we won’t forget your actions.” 

Kiba mumbled something indecipherable with an aggressive tone. 

Shikamaru gave a tight smile and a nod of agreement. 

“You have our word!” Naruto said with a thumbs up at Kiba. 

Kiba rolled his eyes but turned and stomped away toward the trees where the supposed leeches lay in wait. Ino didn’t fail to notice Kiba’s apparent willingness to put his vulnerable back to them. Hinata followed behind him slowly, throwing several glances back at Naruto as she did. She pulled a long tight coil of thin rope from the inside of her jacket and she and Kiba quickly descended into an earnest conversation about knot types. 

Ino was happy to see the way Hinata smacked Kiba’s hands away from her knots as he tried to help. Perhaps there was hope for her after all. 

“Send us a signal when you’re ready, we’ll go get into position,” Shikamaru said. He slouched away, pulling Naruto with him. 

Ino took a couple steps closer to Shino. He turned his head to look at her with what was probably an expectant look, but Ino could never tell. So close to him she could hear a soft droning sound. Barely a whisper against her ears but still obvious. The buzz of small wings and the rubbing of many legs against each other. Ino valiantly didn’t scrunch her nose up in distaste at the realization of hearing Shino’s beetles, but she doubted he would care even if she had. “You should be careful with your beetles in here,” Ino said. Shino’s sunglasses glinted in the sun and she caught a glimpse of a small black spot crawl out from behind his glasses and disappear once again into his ear. She couldn’t stop the shiver of disgust that time. 

He gave a shallow nod and replied, “They led you to us, yes? Your team must have sharp eyes.” His voice was as monotone as ever, but Ino could hear just the hint of a question. 

She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a sideways look. “The only other team that would know to look for them is Sakura’s.”

Shino gave a huff of what Ino assumed was laughter, it distorted the buzzing coming from him unpleasantly. “I’m not worried about them. Truth be told I wasn’t worried about you guys either, but I’m starting to get the feeling I was wrong there.” 

Ino turned to look at him fully. “Not a very Aburame thing to confess.”

Shino didn’t reply or even shift in place. After a short but dragging silence Ino sighed and turned back to Kiba and Hinata’s work. There was a complicated mess of trip wires on the ground now. She could see where Hinata had tried to make a grid, neat and clean, and where Kiba hadn’t cared at all. The finished product was probably better than if either of them had done it alone. 

Naruto was standing just to the side of Kiba now, though Ino doubted very much that it was the real Naruto. “Are you guys ready yet? Shikamaru said he’s found some signs of a nearby team.” 

Hinata blushed and fiddled with the small pieces of rope still in her hands. “Uhm, yes, I think so.” 

Kiba glared at Naruto and put a hand on Hinata’s shoulder to draw her back and away from Ino’s teammate. Ino frowned. 

“Yes!” Naruto swiftly ran up the nearest tree with a smile and a shouted, “Time to get a move on, then!” 

Hinata called out, “Naruto, wait!” 

Ino shared a glance with Kiba and they both winced at the sound of Naruto’s following shout of alarm. Several leeches fell from the air and landed with a disgusting squelching sound on the ground, surrounded by the smoking remains of Naruto’s clone. 

Kiba groaned and Ino face-palmed. “Well, the message got to him, anyway. So now it’s time to wait, I guess,” she said. 

She looked around herself searching for an orange stalker and soon found three. She smiled to herself and relaxed slightly. Naruto and Shikamaru wouldn’t leave her behind entirely. She didn’t think Shino and the others would attack her, she didn’t even have the scroll, but a shinobi couldn’t throw out the possibility all together. 

She gave a swift sign to the three clones high up in the trees when Team 8 wasn’t looking. All three orange jacketed chakra constructs faded away from view as they settled in to wait. Ino gave the area another look over but found nothing suspicious as of yet. She was still unsure how big the forested area around them was, but she had no doubt that some rival teams were closer to them than she would like. 

“I’ll watch the East flank,” Ino said curtly and she didn’t wait for a response. She scaled a tree on the opposite side of the clearing as the leeches and started a simple recon pattern. Twisting around through the trees and doubling back at random times. She found no signs of other teams or any potentially harmful animals or beasts. She passed several centipedes as large as herself, but she steered well clear of them. She could hear the occasional snap of twigs and the scrape of sandals on bark, but she knew them well. Naruto was still with her and she made a mental note to work with him on his stealth skills. Her own leaps and steps were soundless and precise. 

Asuma, relatively early on in their training with him, had sent her to work with a friend for a couple weeks, a very small woman who barely talked. Just clipped orders for Ino and sighs of frustration when Ino failed. But she knew how to move silently and Ino watched and learned because she knew she’d need it. She wasn’t strong in direct combat and her jutsu was made for stealth and infiltration. She could leave the punch fests to Naruto, unlike him she would need to be able to go about unseen. Now, in the forest of death and surrounded by potential enemies, she was glad for the lessons. She used small amounts of chakra to soften the impact her sandals had on the branches she leaped to and from. There was a certain stiffness in her upper body and looseness in her legs that took her a month to perfect, but allowed for her to minimize any shuffling noises or common miscalculations. She allowed her awareness of everything around her to settle into the back of her mind, as Iruka had taught them, so that her every sense could fall back onto the instincts she’d been training since she was seven. 

She paused high up on a branch when a glimmer of something in the leaves far below caught her eye. After a few tense moments of waiting and watching, she slipped down the side of the tree trunk and down to the ground. A double sided kunai was struck into the dirt and sticking out of the leaves at her feet. She pressed her back against the tree and held her breath as she listened hard. But she found nothing. Her eyes returned to the weapon and its pristine shiny condition. She couldn’t wave it off as a kunai forgotten or left behind by leaf shinobi during training. It was both a new kunai and of a style rare for the leaf village. 

She checked the ground for signs of disruption, footsteps, or blood. The leaves appeared unchanged and the mud around the area was too broken up and chaotic for her to find any tracks. She pursed her lips in annoyance and slowly walked her way back up the tree and to the branch she was on a moment before. Another team must have passed by, but she had no idea how long ago it had been. It could be nothing. She crossed her arms and pouted. Shikamaru wasn’t around to mock her for it, which unfortunately also meant he wasn’t around to ask about the kunai. 

She sighed and turned her back on the scene and began running back to the clearing where Team 8 waited. She’d tell Shino and he could send some more beetles out to check. A body fell into step beside her and she inhaled the spice smell that followed Naruto around. “What was that?” he asked. 

“I don’t know. But keep your eyes open, this area isn’t new to visitors for this exam,” Ino replied. 

“Well, the forest can’t be that large, right?” 

“Exactly.” 

Naruto frowned and she could feel his confusion like a familiar blanket. She paused to look at him and he stopped in unison with her. She said, “Have one of your clones on watch all the time, this side of the forest. The other two can stay on me, but I feel like we’re not going to be alone with Team 8 for much longer, okay?” 

Naruto still looked confused but he nodded firmly. “Got it.” 

She made to keep moving when another glimmer in the leaves caught her eye . She didn’t need to go down to know it was another kunai. Why was someone leaving their weapons sticking out of the ground? Her senses sharpened in response to her heart increase but she still found no sign of others in the trees around them. She suspected that she never would, but the longer she went without seeing traces beyond the kunais, the more suspicious she became. “Just stay on it, okay?” 

Naruto sent her a contemplative look, which was one she didn’t see overly often, but he just gave her a thumbs up and said, “Of course!” Then he turned and began running back the way they had come. A surge of concern made its way through her body but she waved it away. That wasn’t the real Naruto, even if something were to happen, it wouldn’t overly affect her friend. 

She resumed her journey back to Team 8 as she thought. She spotted one more kunai on her way and her suspicions moved into the realm of certainty. When she dropped down from the last tree and landed next to Shino, she swore she saw him flinch slightly. 

Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were all standing in the middle of the clearing, making no effort at staying hidden.

“Could you smell me coming, Kiba?” she asked immediately. 

He shrugged, “Sort of. That direction is upwind of me, so everything is a little distorted, but I’m familiar with your smell.” 

Ino slumped a little in place. “And what about you, Shino? How much can your beetles sense and communicate to you?” 

“Why?” he asked. 

“I think there’s someone here with us. But I can’t find them.” 

“So why do you think they’re here then?” Kiba asked. 

“Just take my word for it, dog breath.” 

Kiba scowled and Akamaru gave a half hearted growl from inside Kiba’s jacket. “Well, if there is someone out there, someone I and Akamaru can’t smell or hear, then they’re using some sort of jutsu.” 

Ino fidgeted in place and bit her lip. The more time passed the more nervous she got. “Think you could go do a scout loop? See if you can smell anything?” 

Shino shook his head, “No. He needs to stay here. If there is someone, or if Shikamaru and Naruto return with a group, Kiba needs to be here to warn us.” 

Kiba gave a smile that showed off his canines and said, “Good thing there’s two of us then, huh?” He unzipped his sweatshirt enough for Akamaru to comfortably jump out and into his arms. “You hear that, buddy? Go see what you can sniff out, okay?” Akamaru gave a short yip and then leaped onto the ground. 

Ino eyed the small dog uncertainly. She could step on him and do some serious damage. “Are you sure?” she asked. 

Akamaru and Kiba both gave identical growls and she held up her hands in surrender. “Alright, whatever. Send your dog, just keep your own eyes open.” 

Shino jumped in, “Hinata, do a visual sweep, at least a full kilometer for distance.” Akamaru sat down and looked at the girl instead of running off. 

Ino looked as well and with growing interest as Hinata gave a strong nod. Hinata closed her eyes and when they opened after a few seconds they were… Ino didn’t know. She’d heard of the byakugan, just as she’d heard of the Uchiha sharingan, but she’d never seen it. The veins around Hinata’s eyes looked like they were fit to burst at any moment, and those normally blank and creepy white eyes were suddenly defined with pupils and irises and shone with nearly white chakra. 

She slowly spun around and stared into the trees around them all. Ino took a step back when Hinata’s gaze cut through her and beyond. She had no idea what the young Hyuga could see, but she just hoped Hinata never looked at her like that again. 

Hinata’s eyes slowly faded back to their normal glassy white and she said with a sad tuck of her shoulders, “I don’t see anything. There’s no one around or in the trees.” 

Ino snapped back away from her thoughts and frowned harshly. “You’re sure?”

“She wouldn’t have said it if she wasn’t sure,” Shino cut in. 

Ino huffed and placed a hand on her hip. “There are kunai stabbed into the earth in multiple places around this area. All of them the same, all of them placed in the same way.” 

“That’s why you’re so sure someone is around?” Kiba asked.

“Well, yeah.” She gestured uselessly toward the trees she’d just run through and continued, “They were new kunai. Clearly haven’t been there long, who else would have put them there?” 

“I think you’re right, to an extent,” Shino said. “The kunais are most likely from one of the teams in the exam, like us, but I think they’re more likely to be markers.” 

“Markers?” Hinata asked. 

“To keep track of where they’ve been.”
“Which means they’re not here right now,” Kiba concluded. 

“Shouldn’t you have still been able to smell them?” Ino asked. 

Kiba scowled and replied harshly, “You have no idea how it works! If they didn’t spend much time here then the scent would be very faint, and they’re unfamiliar individuals. I can’t track something if I can’t identify it first.” 

“So you’re useless to me.” 

Kiba growled and took a step closer to her but Hinata’s hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks. He still spat out, “I don’t see you doing anything! Shikamaru and Naruto are at least sort of helping!” 

Ino flicked her ponytail over her shoulder and affected her most uninterested expression and body language. Internally she was still running through Shino’s words. He was right, just because someone had been here at some point, didn’t mean they were still hanging around. Just waiting in a random spot would be a strange way to ambush someone anyway. Though perhaps not what with the parameters of the exam. “I’m saving my energy. Those boys need a lot of saving you know.” 

“Oh, I’m sure, the laziest ass in Konoha and the fool of the village. What’s it say about you that you’re stuck with those two?” 

Ino felt a spark flare up in her chest and she crossed her arms as she glared at the dog boy. “How many times do I have to tell you?! We’re far stronger than you think we are!” 

“And yet you’re panicking over whether some imaginary team is following us around. Are you really so scared to fight?” 

“I’ve already fought! And it wasn’t a pushover team like yours either!” 

“What did you say?!”

“I said--” 

“INCOMING!” 

Ino jerked her head around to look toward the sound of her teammate. Naruto was racing toward them with a giant grin on his face, and tearing after him were three unfamiliar ninja. Ino couldn’t help the small smile that curled her lips up at the corners as she watched Naruto’s manic expression. He pivoted on the spot to run straight for the tree line where the leeches lay in wait. 

She snorted as the boy ‘tripped’ over nothing, conveniently giving the three chasers enough time to catch up to him, just as all four of them stepped into the perfect spot. Naruto froze on the branch and turned around with his hands up in the gesture for surrender. “Alright, you got me.” 

The foreign ninja team stopped as well as they belatedly noticed the audience and looked into the clearing where she, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were waiting. “What?” one of them said. “Does that genin team have four members?” 

The first leech, ironically, fell on Naruto. She couldn’t see his face but his sudden thrashing was enough to make Ino chuckle. The clone poofed out of existence a moment later and the clueless ninjas looked spooked. A second later dozens of leeches suddenly fell from the tree tops and landed on exposed arms and burrowed under clothing. The screaming started soon after. 

At first, they tried to pry the insects off, then slash them off, then they foolishly tried to throw shuriken at each other’s leeches. Ino made a noise somewhere between a snort and a scoff as they flailed in place and made a racket. She almost felt bad, except for the fact that they were clearly useless ninja. She’d expected the leeches would slow them down, but not take them out all together. She’d expected some sort of a fight. 

One of the boys’ feet slid off the side of the branch and he fell, grabbing onto the coat of one of his teammates as he did. The two of them crashed into the trunk of the tree on the way down, hard enough to knock the third from his perch. Ino couldn’t imagine being so clumsy in trees, though perhaps she should give them a break considering they weren’t leaf nin. 

She winced when they hit the ground with a loud thump. The flailing continued on the ground for a second before the trap Hinata and Kiba laid out snapped around them and pulled them up into the air in a small net. A few leeches fell to the ground around the trap and Ino’s nose wrinkled at the unpleasant noise. Then she sighed and looked over at Kiba who returned her look of disbelief. That was pathetic. 

“Are we sure those were even ninja?” Kiba asked. 

Ino replied, “Well, they’re sure not leaf ninja. Can’t even properly stay in a tree.” 

When she looked back at the trap there was no longer any movement of any kind. “Are they dead?” she asked. 

“Well on their way,” Shino replied. 

“Those leeches can suck a human dry in just a couple of minutes,” Kiba added. 

She looked at the slowly swinging trap and its deathly still victims. She waited for some sort of viscerally disgusted reaction but nothing came. Some blood dripped onto the ground below the net and she watched it with detached fascination.

“They wouldn’t have survived anyway,” Shino said, somehow appearing directly at her side without her notice. “If that was how they reacted to a crisis, this was a relatively easy way for them to go. This forest is full of things that would tear them to pieces.” 

She felt very little at the statement. A small amount of pity perhaps. The lack of her own reaction however was troubling. Was she really so removed from the reality of death? She was used to funerals, all shinobi were, but she’d yet to see someone die, by her own hand. Or at least, by her own plan. She gave a mental shrug and turned her attention back to her surroundings. She’d think about it all later when she wasn’t in the middle of the forest of death.

Shaking away her introspection she looked around herself and the clearing. Then swallowed roughly as she realized something very important. She was surrounded. Penned in by team 8. Shino to her left, Kiba to her right, and Hinata standing in front of her. How had she not noticed? Shino backed up a couple steps to move her further into the triangle and she eyed all three of them distrustfully. She’d gotten too comfortable around them, returning to the dynamics from the academy and forgetting they were in a survival test. And with at least three genin dead, it wasn’t a place she could afford that kind of weakness. 

“Hinata, go get the scroll,” Kiba said. Hinata didn’t even pause, just gave a nod and turned on her heel to trot towards the trap. She pulled out a shuriken and threw it lazily. It flew straight through the rope holding the three dead opponents up, and the group fell to the ground. 

Ino felt the burst of chakra as Hinata activated her byakugan. Hinata daintily stepped forward and pulled a small chubby scroll from one of the packs and quickly stepped back out of range. She held it up as she started back toward the group and Ino sighed noisily through her nose as she saw the green casing.

“Aw, man!!” Ino’s entire body untensed at the sound of Naruto so near. She looked up and over to the branch where Shikamaru stood with his arms crossed over his chest and leaned against the trunk of the tree. Naruto was crouched just a couple feet to the side and looking down at the clearing with a clear pout. 

Her relief was short-lived as she clocked movement from both Kiba and Shino. They’d backed away from her slightly, and a couple steps closer to Hinata, but she was still in between them. 

She glanced at Shikamaru and she could tell he had already noticed the positioning. He gave her a soft glare and she gave a slight twitch of her bottom lip as a silent apology. He cleared his throat and said, “Alright, looks like we lost the game of chance.” 

Naruto jumped down to the ground and jabbed a finger in Kiba and Hinata’s general direction, “That’s not fair!!” 

Kiba snarled back, “Oh yeah? Are you going to do something about it then?” 

Naruto blinked in confusion and then replied, “Do what? Is there another team around that we can lure in again?” 

Kiba opened his mouth to snark something back but he was at an apparent loss for words. He shuffled his feet and looked at Ino who just smiled back. “We’re a team of our word, mutt.” She looked back up at Shikamaru and asked, “You see any other teams while you were out on your little field trip?” 

“Nope,” he said, popping the p loudly. “Must be further in.” 

Ino nodded her head and started to walk faux confidently away from her vulnerable position and toward Naruto. Her heart rate skipped a couple beats when Shino shifted, but he was just moving out of her way. She glanced back at Kiba to see him still sporting that same dumbfounded expression. 

“Wait, really? That’s it??” he exploded. 

“What’s what?” Naruto asked. 

“Close your mouth or you’ll catch flies,” Ino teased from her position by Naruto’s side, no longer surrounded she felt confident and more than ready to tease Kiba. He really did make it too easy.  

“Time to head out, guys,” Shikamaru said softly. He was still leaned against the branch looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Unless you’re going to go back on your word and try to take our scroll.” His eyes roamed over the other team in a dismissive manner and Ino admired how intimidating he could look while also not putting any effort into it. She couldn’t do that, not the way he did at least, with those half hooded eyes and the smirk like he knew something important that you’d missed. 

“What?” Hinata gasped. “Of course not!” 

“Troublesome,” Shikamaru murmured so softly Ino could barely hear it. 

“We’ll just be on our way then,” Shino said. 

“You do that,” Ino said, with a real attempt to mask any mocking tone in her voice. 

Shino turned and walked away, Kiba following reluctantly. Hinata blushed and waved a small hand as she stuttered out, “See you guys later. Thank you, Naruto.” 

Her blond idiot of a teammate looked confused by the special mention but he just rubbed at the back of his neck and gave a wave back, “Anytime, Hinata.” She sighed, she really needed to talk to him about Hinata. 

Hinata turned and jogged the few steps to catch up to her teammates. Ino moved to turn around and approach the tree Shikamaru was in, but halfway through the motion she changed course as she saw a flash of movement in the trees opposite the leech infested area. She was startled but not scared, because that blur was once again orange. She watched in bafflement as Naruto’s clone went dashing toward not her, but Team 8. 

Her hand snapped to her mouth to contain a gasp when Naruto ran full steam into Kiba’s side. The growl that Kiba and Akamaru let out in unison was loud and genuinely scary, perhaps because she was so used to seeing the puppy lolling about on Kiba’s desk while he gave the thing belly rubs during class. 

“I knew it!” Kiba shouted. Half way through his words, the Naruto clone burst and a previously unseen flying kunai sliced through the small gathering of clouds that used to be Naruto. The weapon missed Kiba by a couple inches at most and would have sliced his neck if Naruto hadn’t intervened.

Ino snapped her head toward the trees and echoed, “I knew it!” 

Naruto shouted, “They’re in the ground!” 

Ino didn’t have time to react before more kunai came tearing through the branches, but each of them had a paper wound around the handle. “Paper bombs!” she shouted. 

“Scatter,” Shino commanded. 

Ino jumped back and sprinted for the nearest trees. She watched the others out of the corner of her eye as they all did the same. She plunged into the foliage and immediately fell into the shadows. Her steps became silent as she wound her way around the trunks of trees, a kunai slipped into her right hand as she focused her energy on her senses. 

Naruto had said they were in the ground. She thought about taking to the branches high above but she needed to draw her enemy out. They couldn’t afford being followed later, so she remained on the ground though she took great care to keep her footfalls silent. She jumped in place when Naruto’s growling distant voice was echoed by Kiba’s. They were to her right, and by the sound of it, pretty far off. She turned and made her way toward the fading voices. 

Her only warning was the slight rumble of the dirt beneath her feet. It was barely there at all, but with her attention so finely honed down to her environment, it felt like a quake. She ducked into a roll and heard the sound of shuriken go over her head and slam into a tree trunk with dull thuds. 

She spun around as she got back to her feet and instantly spotted her opponent. His eyes were covered by thick dark lensed goggles and there was some sort of breathing apparatus over his mouth. When he chuckled it sounded tinny and entirely non human. More importantly, he was waist deep in the ground, only his chest, head, and left arm fully visible, the rest was out of sight buried in the dirt. He took a step forward and Ino’s eyes widened when the dirt around him moved like it was water, like there was no resistance to his efforts at all. 

“Good reflexes, but that won’t be enough.” Then he slipped into the ground and back out of sight, the ground he left behind looked untouched. Ino stared at the spot with incomprehension for a long moment. Then with a curse she turned and ran. She dodged and weaved between the trees with no real destination, she just knew she couldn’t stop moving or she’d be vulnerable to an attack from underneath. 

Eventually, after no attack came from behind, she jumped up onto a tree trunk and ascended to the lowest branch. Falling into a crouch she looked down at the ground and waited. As she waited she breathed deeply and evenly, attempting to get her heart rate under control, it was far too loud in her ears and was preventing her from hearing much beyond it. 

The distracting thu-thump thump was just starting to fade away when the same individual from before rose slowly from the ground near the base of the tree. He looked up at her with goggles that flashed in the sunlight reminding her of Shino. Only his feet remained buried and Ino saw he was lean and strong. In his hand hand he held a double sided kunai, the exact kind she’d seen stabbed into the ground before. “How long have you been watching us?” 

“Watching?” he rasped through his metal mask. “Not at all, we’ve merely been listening. You were very loud and I do believe you enjoy the sound of your own voice a little too much.” 

“Look who’s talking! What are you waiting for?” Ino pulled a few shuriken between her fingers in her left hand while never taking her eyes off her opponent. 

“For you to come down, of course.” 

She scoffed. “Fat chance, idiot.” 

He shrugged and the movement made dirt puff off his clothes and into the air. “Then I’ll have to make you come down, won’t I?” He brought his hands together and began a long line of hand signs. She turned and ran further up the tree as she wracked her brain for a plan. “Greater Rock Bomb Jutsu!” 

She turned to watch as a huge chunk of dirt and rock rose from the ground in front of the goggled ninja and then went flying toward the tree she was in. She flicked her left hand, the shuriken gliding from between her fingers straight for his face, and then she jumped, away from the tree, and toward the next one. The rock slammed into the tree trunk, close to the base and then with a concussive blast that she felt in her bones, it exploded. She pulled her arms in to cover her face and her legs up to protect her chest as splinters of wood were thrown in every direction. She could feel the sting of them as they slashed through her skin, but nothing major. She uncurled just before she hit the ground and rolled with the impact. 

Once on her feet again she looked around in amazement and horror. That jutsu hadn’t just blown up one tree, but the entire surrounding area was devastated. Wood and leaves trampled to the ground and rocks and dirt swirling through the air. The nearest upright tree was at least a dozen yards away from her. She was stunned that she’d managed to not get severely injured during the explosion. 

Stunned but very grateful. She ran for the edge of the blast zone, knowing she needed the higher ground to keep the advantage. She only made it a handful of yards before she slammed directly into the chest of her opponent as he abruptly rose from the ground in front of her. She jumped back and away from his wide kunai strike and raised her own. He was fast. 

“I think the change of scenery is an improvement for this damn forest, don’t you think?” He spun the kunai in his fingers expertly and Ino slid her feet further apart, falling into the fighting stance that had been drilled into her. “Far too many trees for my taste.” 

Her eye flickered up to the hitai ate tied around his forehead just above his goggles, as if the jutsu wasn’t answer enough. “That’s what I’d expect from a ninja of the stone village. No appreciation for living things.” 

“And leaf ninja, always thinking they’re the best of the best. But look at how easy it was to destroy your precious trees. And I expect nothing else from you!” He charged towards her and she blocked on instinct more than skill or awareness. His foot came out to sweep at her ankles and she jumped over it at the same time as she ducked down and made a jab for his ribs. He fell back and away from the attack as she pushed forward at a run. His hands came together for a split second to form signs she couldn’t see and then he shouted, “Rock prison!” 

A wall of rock slammed up in front of her and she could feel the dirt under her feet shifting as well as three more walls started rising around her. She didn’t pause, she just continued running forward and with effortless chakra channeled to her feet she ran up the side of the wall in front of her, clearing the top a mere breath before a slab of rock slammed over the small prison of stone and dirt that had formed. She let out a breath of exhilaration and then she jumped from the wall toward the rock ninja, who melted back into the earth causing her to fly past the spot. She continued running once her feet touched down. 

She was one good leap away from the nearest tree when a hand slid up from the ground and grabbed her ankle. She fell to the ground in a slump and despite the situation her face flushed in embarrassment. Her knees stung like when she skinned them as a child and she wasted precious time with that shameful recognition. A weight slammed into her back and her face was consequently smashed into the leaves on the ground. The sharp point of a kunai pressed into the back of her neck and she immediately stopped struggling. 

“To think you lost on your own ground,” he said with obvious glee. 

The kunai started pressing forward and Ino made a split second decision. She jerked to the left, the kunai leaving a deep gash at the base of her neck and to the side as she did so, and then she threw her elbow back, hoping for some kind of connection. 

She hit something, and by the pain it caused her she assumed it was the goggles. The minute slackening of his muscles at the shock and strike allowed her to push herself up with her arms and throw him off her to the ground. She spun around and kicked out blindly, hitting something she couldn’t properly see, and then she hastily retreated. When she looked again he was gone and that was getting supremely annoying. 

It was obvious she wasn’t going to be making it to the trees. It was equally obvious that he wasn’t going to let her attack from anywhere but close combat. Which wasn’t her forte in any sense. Fighting with fists and kunai was Naruto’s place, but she’d sparred with Naruto often enough to not feel completely out of her element. Just mostly out of it. 

“If you want a fight, come and fight!” she shouted. The blood dripping down her back was distracting and she could feel the distant throb of the pain, but it was barely noticeable over the adrenaline in her system. For that she was thankful. 

Her only answer was a sudden deluge of sharp rocks rising from the ground and flying towards her. She jumped to the left to dodge and watched with terrified fascination as her opponent rose from the ground exactly where she was about to land. In their right hand was one of those double ended kunai and on his face was a smirk. His arm moved with a speed paralleled by her own movement and she only barely managed to get a foot up between her and him to push the kunai off target as she slammed into his side. They both stumbled away from each other at the impact. 

She barely got her feet properly underneath her when the rock ninja attacked again. Speeding at her with a harsh punch followed by a kunai slice. A hand automatically came up to stop the punch and she pushed herself back with chakra so she slid several feet away from the blade. She successfully dodged the kunai attack but she didn’t get to keep the space she’d created. He was on her again, hacking and hitting at her, and her body responded on instinct and training. She’d be dead without those instincts and she knew it. 

But building instincts was all ninja did. She’d been throwing kunai since her fingers were able to grasp the handle. Fighting and surviving were sewn into her muscles and mind. She risked a quick glance around the area but found nothing of help. The trees were still too far away and she didn’t have the time for any hand signs to call on her fire. 

A strike almost sliced through her shoulder and she refocused on the fight. She turned her shrewd eyes to her attacker. Analyzing all the details she’d seen of his attacks, eyeing his body and the way it moved. He was heavy handed and strong, his speed was similar to her own, but Ino didn’t win fights with her muscles, she won them with her head. With her ability to see the details and take advantage of weaknesses. 

In the academy Iruka-sensei had taught them how to calculate the strength of a strike by using velocity and momentum. To find the angle necessary to hit a ninja at a distance by taking into account wind speed, friction, and the hypotenuse of the physical parameters. Ino had never understood a word of it, and she’d been jealous of Sakura when the girl had excelled with such things. 

That didn’t mean she couldn’t do it though. She just didn’t need the numbers that Sakura had always recited so perfectly. Ino understood the way things moved and the way to alter those movements like the way she knew how to smile without feeling it. 

His style was unfamiliar to her, it was less fluid than the leaf village was known for but it also held more strength behind each blow. Any attack could be redirected though, and the stronger the attack, the stronger the lashback. She smiled and met the next flurry of strikes from her opponent, eyes trained on the trajectory of the kunai, each new angle taken in and catalogued almost faster than the movements themselves. 

When she saw her opening, she didn’t hesitate, she didn’t have the time. Her own kunai lashed out, handle first to smash into the top point of the double sided kunai, redirecting the bottom blade a little further in, a little closer to him than her. Her hands dropped to the ground as she flipped in place, bringing her leg up and around to slam her foot into the arm holding the weapon. And she laughed as the blade stabbed straight down into the meat of the rock ninja’s thigh. 

She didn’t follow through, she knew better than to test her luck. She skidded back a few steps and watched as he ripped the weapon out of his leg in shock, his instinctual action making the wound ragged around the edges and bleed more heavily. He swore loudly and Ino took the time to try and listen for her teammates. She could feel Naruto’s chakra and it wasn’t too far away, but the quiet concerned her. 

Then the ninja melted into the ground again and Ino shouted, “That’s just not fair!” She dropped into a waiting crouch, itching to put her back to a tree, but knowing better than to try and run. In the next instant, the option was taken away from her entirely as the dirt spilled up around her ankles to cover her feet and cement them where they were. She pulled futilely at them, every cell in her body wanting to retreat but being unable to. She nearly fell over from the sudden unbalance but she merely found her new center of gravity and pulled her arms in close to her sides, ready to defend if necessary. 

She contemplated trying to hack the dirt away to free herself when she heard the ground behind her whisper and fall. The flash of the kunai over her shoulder coming directly at her back sent a spike of potent adrenaline and panic through her system. She couldn’t twist and block that blow, she couldn’t roll underneath it either. It was going to hit and it was going to hurt. 

She grimaced and turned as best she could, because she may not be able to avoid the hit, but she could damn well decide where it would land. And she’d rather have a kunai to the bicep then a kunai to the spine. Maneuvering her body where she wanted was easy, bracing herself mentally for the pain was less easy. She was scanning through her options as fast as she could, putting together a plan to force the ninja into a spot she could reach or distract him long enough to remove his jutsu. 

As the kunai closed in she inhaled with the pain-- only to blink when no pain actually came. The weapon stopped an inch from her skin and her eyes flicked up to a small hand with chubby fingers that was positioned almost comically gently at the rock ninja’s inner elbow. 

She sniffed and smelled dog. She blinked and saw dark blue hair move between the weapon and her and felt a rush of chakra directed away. “Four palms!” 

Ino fell to a crouch and began hacking at the dirt holding her in place with her kunai. “Eight palms! Sixteen palms!” Her left foot came free and she huffed in relief. “Thirty two palms!” Her right foot slid free and she was turning and standing in one fluid movement to place herself at Hinata’s side. “Sixty four palms!” 

The rock ninja’s eyes were bulging as his body vibrated with the rapid strikes of Hinata’s tiny hands. His feet and shins were sunk into the dirt, but the rest of him was painfully vulnerable to her attack and Ino was already striking forward with her own hand. Her fist connected with his solar plexus at the same time as Hinata’s final jab hit him in the chest. He fell backwards and landed in the dirt in a small cloud of dust, his feet still buried and ankles undoubtedly injured from the angle they were stuck at. Ino watched, half expecting him to disappear once again but he lay still. He looked dead except for the small rising and falling of his chest. She knew it wasn’t a real mercy though, leaving him where he was still breathing. He’d be dead soon after they left. 

She turned to Hinata but found no concern for the guy there. Those white eyes had already dropped the intensity of the byakugan and Hinata just looked at her with a nervous sort of expectation. “Thanks,” Ino said after a long moment. “I didn’t need it, but I appreciate the help, Hinata.” 

Hinata blushed and toyed with her fingers and didn’t glance twice at the body next to their feet. “Oh, no problem, Ino. No problem at all. I’m just happy I could help.” 

Ino looked at the rock ninja and once again searched for any real misgiving in her chest. But just like the rain team from before, all she felt was a discomfort over her own comfort. She didn’t feel great about feeling fine, and the whole thing was rather confusing. She didn’t wish them harm exactly, but she also wasn’t going to mourn them. With the grass ninja from before, when she’d had that knee jerk desire to push them off the tree and to the ground, she’d wanted to hurt them. Wanted to kick them and watch them break. 

That she wasn’t okay with, or at least, she didn’t want to be okay with it. But this? 

Hinata glanced at their feet as well and Ino saw the shadow of a shrug from the girl. “He doesn’t have the scroll for their team. We should meet up with the others.” 

Ino’s shoulders let go of some of the tension she was holding at Hinata’s own indifference. Maybe it was messed up but at least she wasn’t alone in it. She easily fell into step with the other girl as they made their way back to the clearing they were in before. She kept her eyes on the ground though, half expecting another ninja to pop out of the dirt and attack her. Her bicep brushed up against Hinata’s and Ino immediately recoiled when she felt something scitter across her skin. 

Ino rubbed at her arm and looked down to Hinata’s, to find that what she thought before was a tattoo spiraling around the bicep was actually a string of beetles calmly marching in a circuit. “What is that?!” Ino shrieked quietly. 

Hinata startled and looked at her arm before she smiled. “Oh, it’s just Shino’s way of keeping track of me.” Hinata blushed and looked back at the ground as they both came to a stop. “They’re both very protective.” Her small hand came up to fidget with the charms on her choker and Ino leaned closer to get a better look. The two different colored beads had a couple etchings in them that were filled with gold. The blue bead had a grouping of circles in the middle with three lines going out on each side. The red bead had two identical fangs that Ino immediately recognized as the Inuzuka clan symbol as they mirrored Kiba’s facial markings. She looked back at the first one and studied the six lines that must be the six legs of an insect, a beetle most likely. The Aburame clan. 

“What’s a Hyuga doing with those?” Ino asked. 

Hinata’s small frame tensed and her pale eyes sharpened, though Ino didn’t fully understand how she knew they did. They were the same blank whitish purple as they always had been, but it felt like Hinata was looking through her again; this time without the byakugan. 

“There you are!” Naruto’s voice interrupted. Ino looked up with relief to find both her boys walking toward her alongside Shino and Kiba. 

Shino and Shikamaru were talking quietly and she had to focus to hear the tail end of their conversation. “--should tell Kurenai-sensei that our jutsus, if you could call my abilities such, are a very good match up.” 

“An interesting combination, no doubt. Stalling tactics are a lot more effective when the target can be easily taken out by a cloud of beetles,” Shikamaru agreed. The two of them barely looked ruffled, but Shikamaru had a small cut across his cheek that was bleeding sluggishly. 

Her eyes drifted to Naruto to find the boy looked fine if not a little dirty and scuffed around the edges. “Ino, you should have seen us! Kiba and I slammed that dirt ninja into the ground!” Naruto explained. Kiba rolled his eyes but his grin was just as wide as Naruto’s. 

“It was a rock ninja, Naruto, not a dirt ninja,” Kiba corrected. 

“But he didn’t use any rocks! Just dirt!” 

“That’s not what that means… nevermind,” Kiba muttered. Akamaru and Kiba made a beeline for Hinata and began a cursory look over of their teammate. 

“Report,” Shino said. Hinata straightened up and replied, “I was briefly dazed by the paper bomb making my byakugan useless. Once I recovered I found Ino in combat with a rock ninja and stepped in. The two of us easily dispatched him.” Shino and Kiba quickly fell into a hushed conversation with their teammate that Ino didn’t bother trying to follow. She needed time with her own team. 

Ino sighed as she felt Shikamaru come up behind her and gently push her head forward. She heard Naruto’s sudden silence as Shikamaru hummed behind her. “What happened?” he demanded. 

She looked at Naruto’s sandals as the boy came to a stop directly ahead of her, his hands digging bandages out of his pack and handing them over to Shikamaru. She didn’t fight their efforts, the wound on the back of her neck was starting to sting badly and with the adrenaline fading from her system she knew it would only get worse. 

“He got a lucky hit in,” Ino replied. “He was a slippery bastard.” 

“Doesn’t look like a hit so much as a nearly fatal swipe,” Shikamaru said evenly. She sensed no reproach in his voice though. 

“How bad is it?” Naruto asked. She leaned forward a little toward him and he quickly got rid of the little distance between them and let her lean on his chest. She felt a calloused hand hold her hair away from the back of her neck as two softer hands began to wash the wound out and bandage it. 

They were nearly done before she thought to ask, “What kind of scroll did they have?” 

Shino answered her and she could see out of the corner of his eye that he was holding something up, but she couldn't make it out from her angle. “An earth scroll.” 

“Again?!” Naruto complained. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” 

Ino sighed and joined in, “ That’s our third team today and still no heaven scroll!” Shikamaru clicked his tongue in reproval and she ignored him. A little complaining was good for a person. “And I told you there was a team watching us!” she added with a point in the direction she thought Kiba was. 

“I still don’t get how we didn’t sense them. Me or Hinata,” Kiba said. 

“They were underground,” Shikamaru said. “Hinata probably didn’t look down. She looked up, because we’re leaf shinobi and we always think of the trees, but underneath us?” 

“At least when we fight in the trees we don’t run away for half the fight. My guy barely let us look at him before he was melting away again!” 

Ino nodded, or attempted to, and replied, “Don’t I know it.” Shikamaru stepped away from her and Naruto let her hair fall back down her back. She straightened slightly but didn’t make an effort to take her weight off of Naruto. “At least you guys got the scroll you needed though. Glad someone got something out of this.” 

Shino and Kiba were both holding the scrolls. Shino had the matched set of the earth and heaven, and Kiba was holding up the extra earth. Ino glared at the earth scrolls and pouted. She was tired and she deserved a scroll. 

Kiba gestured with the one in his hand and said stiltedly, “Do you guys want the extra? You should take it with you, maybe you can bargain with it later?” 

Shikamaru replied, “Troublesome. That’s a possibility but it’s more likely to turn us into a bigger target.” 

Ino was surprised at the offer. When Kiba glanced at her she smiled back with genuine gratefulness and added, “You guys take it to the tower with you, that’ll keep an extra team out of the running.” 

Kiba shuffled his feet and gave a nod. “Alright, well don’t take too long getting your scroll.” He shoved the one he was holding away in his pouch. “We’ll be sitting on our asses for four days in there, so hurry and catch up. Shino’ll kill me if I don’t have some sort of a distraction.” 

Shino didn’t deny it and just added, “Best of luck to you Team 10.” 

“Aww, Kiba, Shino!” Ino drawled. “You care!” 

“Don’t worry, guys, we’ll keep the rookies together!” Naruto said. 

“We’ll save you a spot, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru,” Hinata said with a nod to each of them. She blushed and looked away afterwards and Ino remembered how efficiently she’d destroyed the rock ninja just minutes before. Hinata was an interesting character. 

 Team 8 jumped up to the trees and were out of sight a few strides later. “Well, that was interesting,” Shikamaru said. 

“That was awesome! These chunin exams are a lot of fun.” Naruto spun in a circle as he looked up at the trees. Ino cursed his energy and sighed. 

“What next?” she asked, looking at Shikamaru and ignoring Naruto’s many unhelpful suggestions. 

Her oldest friend looked past her at the trees surrounding them and his brows furrowed. “For now, I guess we go deeper in.”

Chapter Text

Ino woke from a dead sleep when a burst of chakra made her skin crawl. Naruto, who had been chosen to keep watch for the night, instantly looked over to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked. He was crouched on a large branch and spinning a kunai between his fingers; he looked almost intimidating with the slivers of moonlight that stretched across his hair and face. 

“I don’t know,” she said. “I felt something…” 

“You felt it?” 

Another wash of chakra and her heart skipped a beat. It felt strange and bad. Unlike a normal chakra, more abrasive than the life energy usually was, even for someone like Naruto. She pushed a little chakra to her ears and motioned for Naruto to fall quiet. 

It took a moment to sort through the sounds around her. The rustling of hundreds of leaves, the scittering of something with many legs, and the slither of snakes in the ground. Then she heard a sound she’d been programmed to respond to. 

She was moving before she realized. Once she caught up to herself though she immediately forced her feet to a stop. Naruto was already beside her and she could hear another set of steps behind them. Shikamaru always did wake quickly when it counted. “What’s going on?” Shikamaru asked. His voice was alert but still groggy around the edges. 

“Sakura’s in trouble,” Ino replied. 

“Do I care?” he asked. 

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked. “Of course we care!” 

“This is a test of survival,” Shikamaru reminded them again. “Not everyone is going to get out of this in one piece. And putting ourselves in the line of fire just increases our own chances of not getting out.” 

“But Sakura is a leaf ninja! Sasuke too.” 

“Ino?” 

She didn’t know what to do. Sakura wasn’t her friend anymore which meant Ino was no longer responsible for her. She didn't want to be either and that lack of culpability was freeing.

“We do still need a scroll, and it becomes more and more unlikely to find weak teams to take out the longer we’re in here. Maybe this could work to our advantage? We should at least check it out,” she said unsteadily. Unsure. 

Shikamaru gave her a skeptical look, “We’re only on the second day.” 

“If leaf shinobi are in trouble, we have to help!” Naruto insisted. 

She and Shikamaru exchanged a look of resigned defeat. Stopping Naruto was a long and drawn out process that they didn’t have the time or energy for right now. And maybe Ino didn’t want Sakura to die just yet. 

Shikamaru sighed out, “Troublesome. Let me lead, I can use the shadows to give us more cover.” He leaped passed them and she felt a coolness descend around her. A grey tinge swam over her vision though she knew anyone looking in was far more handicapped. She kept easy pace with Shikamaru and exchanged several hand signals with Naruto who responded back with a grace she usually only saw in battle. She trusted him to watch their backs and spent her own energy straining to hear more. 

There were the distant sounds of combat that she could hear Sakura shouting in between. Shikamaru was headed in the exact right direction so she assumed he could hear it as well. The bursts of strange chakra had stopped after the first couple waves and Ino wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

It didn’t take them long to find a small clearing where six figures were easily visible. Two were slumped to the ground, Sasuke and Sumaru she realized, and the other four were in a standoff. Sakura was standing between her downed teammates and three other strangers. Her hair was shorn off and mangled pink locks clung to the girl’s clothes. 

For the first time in her life Ino thought the other girl looked fierce. Green eyes were narrowed and her small hands were clenched into angry fists so tight her skin stretched obscenely over her knuckles. “To get to them you’ll have to go through me!” Sakura shouted. 

“Gladly,” a crouched over man replied, on his back was what looked like a bundle of straw. “Zaku, deal with this pest.” 

The other man stepped forward and extended his hand, “One good blast oughtta do it, don’t you think, Dosu?” 

Dosu didn’t have time to respond before a powerful gust of wind blasted from Zaku’s arm and across the small clearing. It tore at the ground as it moved and Ino’s hair went flying into her face from the sudden gust. She was so busy getting the blond locks out of her eyes that she missed the moment of impact. “Wait-- what-- did she?” she mumbled as she scanned the clearing for a flash of pink. 

Shikamaru pointed up at one of the many trees around the edge and Ino spotted Sakura kneeling in one of the lower branches. Zaku chuckled and turned his focus and gaze to the two unconscious boys on the ground. “Looks like I can get a full team knock out in under a minute.” Ino strained to see the downed leaf ninjas, both of them looked roughed up around the edges, but nothing clearly fatal. So why were they out cold? 

“Well, what are you waiting for?!” the slender woman from the attacking team asked. She was glaring at the pink hair on the ground with an intensity that made Ino curious. 

Zaku huffed and braced his left arm with his right hand and took a deep breath. Ino’s eyes went to Sakura who moved at that instant. Pouncing down from the branch with a kunai gripped in one fist, body flying toward Zaku. Ino’s heart swelled with exhilaration. That was the Sakura that Ino had tried to pull out for so long, the one that had stayed stubbornly hidden, only showing in flashes of self righteousness. But now… Her project was a--

The kunai hit metal as Dosu appeared between her and Zaku, his right forearm coming up to block the attack. His other arm flashed out and backhanded Sakura hard enough to send her flying away and slamming into the ground near the impatient woman. 

“Grab her, Kin,” Dosu said. “She’s more resilient than we gave her credit for.” 

Kin did as she was told and pulled the much smaller girl into her chest by grabbing both Sakura’s wrists and twisting her arms behind her back. Sakura slumped and turned teary eyes to her teammates. 

Ino was stabbed with disappointment and she sighed. She’d expected more. What was Sakura doing with her training? Was that really all that she had? Ino had taught her better than this!

Kin twisted Sakura’s arms until she let out a sound of pain. “Please, don’t hurt them!” Sakura begged. Ino grimaced at the desperation in her voice. Why did she already sound like she was grieving? Why didn’t she continue to fight? It irked Ino that after so long studying and manipulating Sakura, she still didn’t understand the girl. Not when it came to things like this, at least. Perhaps the project had been doomed from the start. 

She closed her eyes briefly to feel her team’s chakras buzzing on either side of her. Naruto’s energy and body were vibrating with anger and she knew it was only a matter of time before he burst forward to be a hero. Because Sakura didn’t have it in her to defend her boys, that was obvious, and Naruto still struggled with knowing when to fight or when to hold back. She should have kept her mouth shut, but there was no going back now, she’d follow Naruto anywhere.

She aimed a glance sideways to Shikamaru who met her eyes and raised his eyebrows. His mouth was pulled into a tense line. Despite his expression his body was angled toward her and ready to move at any signal she gave. Naruto would do the same, and she was hit with a wave of love and adoration for her boys.

She raised a hand and made a well-used signal, cower , Naruto’s eyes flicked to it and Shikamaru put a hand on an orange clad shoulder. With a final nod at her the two boys sunk into shadow and disappeared. She turned back to the clearing and took a deep breath. If this attacking team didn't have the right scroll then she would take Sakura's as payment. 

Kin had grabbed another kunai when Ino had been distracted. The weapon was held at Sakura’s throat and Ino wondered if the chunin exams were usually this lethal. 

Naruto and Shikamaru would still be getting into position, which meant she had a little time. She weaved her fingers through a long series of hand signs and pushed her chakra slowly and carefully across the ground. It curled around the still forms of Sasuke and Sumaru and she sewed it into the grass around them. 

She didn’t have the chakra strength or the genjutsu sense to do something big, but she could do a simple trick. Make the unconscious genin seem like they were approximately three feet to the left of where they actually were. Even if she could pull off something bigger, something that could scare or confuse the enemy, she didn’t dare. She had no doubt that if she tried to push her luck with an illusion it would be noticed immediately.

But she didn’t need something big. She just wanted a bit of a safety margin, a little something to potentially work with later on. It was often the little things that saved or cut short a life. One too few kunai in a pouch, packing the wrong shoes for a mission, a smile that drew too much attention. 

She exhaled a long breath once the genjutsu settled in place. She stood up from her crouch and rolled her shoulders, bounced on her toes and got her heart beating a little faster. She pulled her hair into disarray and rubbed some extra dirt into her face. Time to cower. It wasn’t the most sophisticated plan in their repertoire, but it was tried and true.

She pushed one leg taut and limped forward as quickly as an injured ninja reasonably could. She made sure to make plenty of noise as she moved and gasped loudly with pain once she reached the clearing edge. 

She curled into herself like her ribs hurt. She knew exactly how badly cracked or broken ribs could hurt, and her stance was one that any ninja would recognize. Tears dripped from her eyes with a practiced restraint and she only raised her head enough to get the barest look at the field around her. She already knew where everything was, she didn’t need a visual confirmation. 

“Ino?!” Sakura gasped between tears. 

Perfect. “Sakura?. ..Sakura! We have to run. We have to get out of here!” Ino exclaimed. The inflection was panicked, her eyes still never lifted to look at any of them, and she put an artful voice crack on the final word. She stumbled forward a couple more steps and then stopped as if she could go no further. She swayed on the spot and took the time to locate Naruto’s chakra signature across the clearing, still behind the protection of the trees. It was dampened and heavy, so Shikamaru’s shadows were still holding both her teammates. 

“Where’s your team, little girl?” Kin mocked. 

Ino startled and pulled her arms further around her stomach, she finally raised her head to look at the three enemy nin with large eyes. “What? Who are you?” She fell backward a long step and then braced herself the way she would when taking a heavy blow. “You need to leave. My team… they….” 

“They what?” Dosu demanded. 

“They’re gone… they’re de-... they were right next to me and then… something came by, something big, and they were just… gone.” Ino looked over her shoulder and scrambled along the edge of the clearing. She wasn’t moving toward the group, but rather around them. She didn’t want to be attacked, she wanted to be watched. 

“There’s nothing out there but weak genin rats like you!” Zaku shouted. She didn’t turn to look, but she had little doubt that he was smirking at her. The bastard. 

She felt Shikamaru’s chakra shift, it turned a little sharper and brighter, but no one in the clearing besides her noticed. All eyes were on her. She moved a little further, she was pulling even with Kin, still at a careful distance. 

“It was massive,” Ino stuttered. “I saw it eat some poor kid whole.” She made a show of looking over her shoulder at the trees she'd emerged from.

“They just don’t make genin like they used to, huh? Good thing the sound village doesn’t settle for weak disappointments like you,” Zaku mocked. 

The sound village? A shift of her feet and she pivoted back toward the open space to peer at the headbands they wore. A single music note etched into metal. Where was the sound village? What were they known for? How would they fight? She was supposed to know things like this. Intelligence was her job. How had an entire village passed by her awareness?

A thick wisp of darkness unfurled from the trees opposite her, and behind the others. It snuck, curling around clumps of grass and over stones, slowly and carefully. Perfectly in control and moving at a sedate pace that reminded her of its owner. Dosu scoffed, “Get rid of her, along with the other one.” He moved to turn, but Ino sprang forward a couple of steps and he froze. “You don’t know these trees like I do,” she gestured at Sakura, “like we do! Let her go, let me leave, and maybe we can all live to see the end of the exams.” 

Sakura was still crying but she wasn’t paying attention to Ino. She was frowning at her teammates, her head cocking to the side a little as she did so. If Sakura broke her genjutsu Ino would never let her live it down. 

Ino persisted, “It’s not supposed to be here! It’s not part of the test! It’s got teeth as long as my leg and eyes as large as--” 

“Stop your crying, both of you, it’s pathetic,” Kin griped, her kunai dug into Sakura’s throat and Ino winced in sympathy, her hand coming up to rub at the wound on the back of her neck. 

The creeping shadow froze in place and Ino watched in interest as it wavered between going left toward the two men, or right toward Kin. It twitched between the two again in the next moment, more obviously. Ino tilted her head to the left and the shadow immediately continued its journey in that direction. 

“Enough of this!” Dosu said harshly. His voice didn’t rise to a shout but it was deep and hoarse and carried. Ino wondered if he ever shouted, if he ever needed to with a voice like that. “Give us your scroll and we’ll kill you quickly, girl.” The attention of the area turned back to Sakura and Ino rolled her eyes as she was easily dismissed as no threat. It was a pattern that was as irritating as it was helpful. 

The shadow was nearly where it needed to be and it slowed to a cautious stop. The sound team didn’t see or didn’t care that she hadn’t run off like she’d begged to just a moment ago. Idiots. Lack of awareness could get them killed. Ino straightened and rolled her shoulders back. She brought her hands up to her chest, fingers to thumbs to form a rectangle. “Mind transfer jutsu!” she exclaimed, rectangle framing Kin’s lean body.  

At the last moment she changed her target and her soul slammed into Sakura’s chest instead of Kin’s. When in doubt a Yamanaka should stick with what they were familiar with. And Sakura was very familiar. The thrown life energy saturated deep and curled around the girl’s mind with ease. “What the--” Kin shouted, the kunai pressed against a pale throat slid to the side, blood following its path as it cut skin. It took only a moment for Ino to anchor into Sakura’s body and settle into its usual spot. Then her new borrowed hand slammed up toward the kunai, smacking into Kin’s fist and pushing the blade away. Kin stumbled backwards in what was most likely shock. 

Ino kicked back with her left foot and connected with Kin’s shin. Her other foot slid forward through the grass and she leaned with the momentum that it gave her to roll forward onto her shoulders and then further forward to spring back to her feet. 

She blindly kicked out in case Kin had recovered faster than expected but her foot cleaved through the air without impact. She reached for a kunai in her pack and wasted a second in confusion when the kunai were on the wrong side of the divider. 

“You bitch!” Zaku shouted, and she saw his arm come up towards her, palm aimed directly at her chest. She’d seen what that arm could do. “Slicing sound wave--” The waiting shadow struck, it rapidly spiraled around Zaku’s leg, stretched across his chest, and snagged around the upheld arm. “What?” 

Ino didn’t have time to move, but the shadows squeezing at Zaku’s shoulder, arm, and wrist jerked sideways and his arm was forced off target. The blast of wind and chakra that exploded from his hand went wide and a second later Ino heard Kin cry out and then the unmistakable sound of a body slamming into a tree. Ino smiled. 

Naruto dropped from a tree and immediately sprinted at Dosu’s back. He had a kunai in each hand and one clamped between his teeth. Dosu spun and caught the first blow with his forearm, the strike sounded of metal on metal just like with Sakura, and Ino tucked that away for later contemplation. 

She twirled the kunai in her hand around and snagged it with the blade pointing along her forearm, and she sprinted at Zaku who was distracted by trying to force his arm and leg out of the shadows holding him in place. She aimed a punch toward his face with the side of her fist. As expected, he jerked to the side to avoid the hit, but a flick of her wrist had the kunai tearing across the skin just under his left eye. 

Naruto hit the ground several feet away from her as she passed by her opponent, but he was back on his feet and charging at Dosu before she could ask if he was okay. She circled around Zaku’s other side and aimed a kick for his chest. His left arm was straining against the darkness curled around it, but his right came up and pushed her foot off course which made her stumble into his hitting range. She ducked under his follow up punch and redirected her fall toward his leg. A quick slice of her kunai to the back of his knee, and his leg gave out immediately causing him to fall backwards and land on his ass. 

Shikamaru’s shadow broke into thinner strands and circled Zaku like a rope. The darkness pulled him down further and further until he was laid out on the grass and pinned there like he’d been caught in a net trap. He struggled against it and shouted out curses and insults but he made no progress toward escape. So she turned her back on him and checked on Naruto’s fight. Only one more member of the team to go, they could do this! 

There were six Narutos, five of them were attacking Dosu with kunai and the sixth was hanging back. It was a normal sight except for the way that the sixth was swaying in place and struggling to stay upright. 

“Naruto!” she shouted, but he didn’t turn to her. Didn’t seem to hear her at all. Naruto fell to his knees and his hands came up to cover his ears as he stared at nothing. His kunai thumped onto the grass in front of him and Ino didn’t know what was going on. 

She felt a surge of chakra from Dosu and the five clones harassing him popped into smoke. She crouched and warily watched Dosu as he glowered at her and Naruto. His sleeve was ripped half off and there was a large metal cast around his forearm. It had holes riddled in it and she knew it was what he’d blocked that kunai strike with. But what was it? 

“You annoying brats!” Dosu hissed out. He braced his metal casted arm with his other hand, an action highly reminiscent of his teammate, and sneered at her. “What do you think you’re doing?” Then he was charging at her and she jumped back and out of his way. She couldn't afford to get close until she knew what she was dealing with. 

Zaku cursed loudly and she heard the rustling of real movement from him. She turned to look and saw that he’d managed to get one of his arms free. He looked at her with wide eyes and smiled, "Are they friends of yours?" With a shout he brought his palm to face Sasuke and Sumaru and released another sound wave. 

Ino watched in satisfied interest as the attack blew past their prone and vulnerable bodies, three feet to the side of them to be more precise. Sasuke's hair fluttered in the wind. Zaku looked confused but then he turned his attention to something behind her. Shikamaru’s voice shouted, “Ino!” 

She stalled in her confusion, he wasn’t even aiming at her. She turned to try and find the target. Her stomach dropped to her toes and her head went a little floaty, because right in Zaku’s line of sight was her own prone and vulnerable body. Completely defenseless. Not even a half assed genjutsu to cover it. 

The blast of power she’d rapidly grown used to blew past her side and toward her body. Asuma had warned her time and time again to never use her jutsu if she didn’t have a comrade to protect her physical form. Her father had made her promise to never be reckless with her own physicality, said that so many Yamanakas of history had ended up in the ground because of that sort of short sightedness. 

She was about to die wearing Sakura’s skin. This would break her teammates, especially Naruto who would be left with only one of the two people he truly trusted. Was this her fault? Was it karma for not caring about the others she’d killed or left for dead in the exams already? 

“No!” Naruto shouted, and it was full of the same sort of grief as she’d heard from Sakura. He was more than just a witness though, he’d give more than tears.

Boiling chakra exploded over the clearing and Naruto stood up on steady legs like he hadn’t just been curled up and senseless. She didn’t see what happened next, but she felt it. Zaku’s sound wave was… slowing down? Naruto’s chakra was pressing up against it and it should have been impossible. 

It should have been, but it wasn’t, but it also wasn’t enough. The wave continued on its way with little more than a hiccup. And when the dust settled the only thing left behind was a trench of broken ground and torn grass. The trees beyond were broken and cracked as well. 

Naruto was gone. Her ankle throbbed and she shifted her weight to the side, eyes locked ahead. Was that… was Naruto… She rubbed at her bleeding arm and forced tears back. 

Viscous coolness wrapped around her legs and she was moving without her consent. A kunai sliced through the end of her ponytail and she swallowed roughly as her body curled forward to avoid the next strike at her back. The shadows retreated after they'd done their job of protecting her during her distraction. She used chakra to push against the ground and slide back several feet away from whoever was attacking her. 

Shikamaru was next to her in the next instant and it was almost jarring to see him out in the light and the middle of a battle. He parried a thrown kunai from Dosu and then he kicked out at Zaku to keep him at a distance from them. 

“You’re still alive, you idiot!” Shikamaru snarled at her. “Give him a little more faith, Ino. You said it yourself, he’s basically indestructible!” 

She was alive. Her body was okay. She looked at her shoulder where she could feel blood dripping but found nothing but bruised pale skin. She winced as the pain in her ankle caught up to her frenzied mind, though Sakura’s body showed no sign of the injury. Her body was mostly okay then. 

Shikamaru stepped into her space and she automatically adjusted her stance to allow him free movement. When he leaned a little too far back to avoid another kunai, she pressed a firm hand to the small of his back and held him up, pushing just enough for him to stabilize his position. 

“Slicing sound wave!” Ino slid her hand along his side to his waist and curled her other arm around his back. With a push of chakra out through the soles of her feet she boosted the both of them into the air. The force of the wave clipped her in the side on the way up and sent them both spinning wildly. 

She landed heavily on her feet a few meters away, Shikamaru touching down half a second later, still in the circle of her embrace. She hissed a breath in through her teeth when her ankle rolled to the side and she nearly bit her tongue at the shock and pain. 

Shikamaru slid his own leg forward to press his shin on the inside of her weak ankle and steadied her without a word. She plucked a handful of shuriken from his pouch and sent them over his shoulder toward Zaku. “Can that guy do anything besides that stupid sound wave?” Ino griped. 

Shikamaru untangled himself from her and shifted to stand at her side. “All evidence points to no,” he replied. 

“And what’s up with that other guy, you get a good look at his arm?” She pushed pink hair behind her ears in irritation.

“Don’t know, but it hit Nar hard. Like went down like a bag of bricks within a few seconds hard. That doesn’t happen easily.” 

Dosu called out, “This bores me. You’re stubborn and wily, I’ll give you that much, but it’s time we stop playing around.” 

She looked at Shikamaru. He reached into his pouch and instead of pulling another kunai he retrieved two small trench knives, a bribe from Asuma to get him to train in hand to hand. She’d never seen him use them outside of a training ground. His fingers laced through the holes and he brushed his knuckles against her arm softly. “Let’s go.” 

He went left at the same time that she sprinted forward. The pain in her ankle was distracting but she was no stranger to pain. She didn’t pull back on her speed until she was right in Zaku’s space and then she kicked out at the knee she’d injured earlier and smacked an open palm to his left arm, pushing it to the side to get the space in front of his chest open. She smashed her elbow into the inside of his other arm at the same time that she pulled a kunai with her left hand. 

She bared her teeth as his chest was finally within reach. Arms out, legs unsteady, it was the perfect picture of vulnerability. She struck out toward his left side, near his armpit. She could hit a soft spot and then tear him open. He wouldn’t be a threat to her team any longer. 

Her kunai came to a stop one inch away from his skin. She pressed harder against an invisible force but Zaku was already retreating. His eyes were wide and scared and she revelled in it. Her kunai gave a violent tug backwards and like a fool she held on tighter instead of letting go. She stumbled backwards and finally caught the glint of light on wire. Wire that was wrapped around the back end of her weapon. 

She followed the wire to its source and ended up staring at a very beat up looking Kin. The woman smiled at her, there was blood at the corner of her mouth and she was hunched over much the same way that Ino had faked earlier. “You lose,” Kin grated out, more blood bubbling up in the crack of her lips. She tugged at the wire again and a jingle of bells made Ino’s vision swim. She let the kunai go and stumbled as the world shifted violently to and fro. 

“What’s happening?” Ino asked. 

“The soundwaves from my bells have gotten into your brain and it’s disrupting your brain waves, making you disoriented and off balance. You’ll get dizzy, you’ll see double, and eventually I'll put you out of your misery and kill you.” 

“All that from some bells?” Ino said softly. She grunted as her knees hit the ground, she hadn’t even known she was falling. She tried to squint and see what was around her, but it was a blur of green and brown. The sound around her was echoing loudly and painfully in her head interspersed with the gentle enchanting sound of bells. 

She couldn’t see, she couldn’t move. She threw her senses out and a wave of nausea swept through her at the instant overstimulation. She took a deep breath and forced herself not to vomit. The bells tinkled in her ear and she scowled. She loosened her hold on Sakura and considered her options. She could return to her body but she had no idea what condition it would be in or even if jumping ship would free her from the sound jutsu. Or… 

She didn’t have many other options, did she? 

Her ribs suddenly screamed in pain and her hand came down to push away the attack. Her fingers latched around a thin ankle. She’d been kicked, how insulting! She tried to push at the offending limb but Kin’s laughter was the only response.

She’d had about enough of Kin. She drew back from Sakura’s mind and let her soul drop into limbo. There was a brief sensation of free falling and then she gasped and opened her eyes in her own body. Her head pounded and her bones ached in a familiar way. She rolled to the side and groaned at the un familiar scraping pain on her arm. A quick look showed the blood that she'd felt before. The skin of her arm was pitted and inflamed from her shoulder down to her elbow, it reminded her of road rash on top of second degree burns.  There was a stinging shallow wound above her collarbone from Kin's kunai at Sakura's throat. Forming bruises over her ribs from the kick.

A shift at her side and she scrambled to her knees, ignoring the ankle and the blood and the double vision that was just beginning to fade. Naruto was laid out next to her and she gagged when she took in the image he created. 

He was covered in physically bubbling orangish red chakra and he was… broken. There was a jagged bone sticking out of his left leg and through his pants, and his arm was twisted behind him in a very unnatural way. His face was covered in blood and mud and his eyes were pinched shut in pained unconsciousness. But he was breathing and when she listened very carefully she could hear… popping. Quiet but distinct popping. 

What? She reached a hand toward him, desperate to touch and help, but the chakra burnt her fingers and she snatched it back to her chest. 

Pop, crackle. Snap . 

She leaned as close as she dared and swallowed harshly when she saw a knuckle in his closest hand ‘pop’ back into place. A louder snap and his leg jolted. Something was moving under the skin of his thigh but it was hard to see specifics through the orange sweatpants. 

His head thrashed away from his twisted shoulder and his body arched violently as the arm behind his back began to crunch and squirm and ineffectively attempt to dig itself out from underneath him. 

The skin on half his face had been scraped off, just like her arm. The blood had hidden it during her cursory scan, but she watched the blood bubble along with the chakra and winced at the wet sound of his skin stretching slowly back out to cover the deep abrasions. She thought that maybe she could see a bit of molars through where his cheek should have been. 

Her own body was barely touched compared to… whatever she was looking at. It was sickening and terrifying and she was so glad it was Naruto because he was the only person alive who could have possibly survived that. 

Her head snapped to the side when she heard Shikamaru curse loudly followed by a laugh from Zaku. She needed to get back to the fight. Shikamaru was all alone, against three improbably skilled genin. She needed Naruto though. 

She studied the tips of her fingers where they still tingled from the burn of chakra. There was no visible burns though. They weren’t even tinged pink. Just long healthy fingers and dirt under her nails. 

She reached for Naruto again and didn’t stop when the chakra hissed and burned. She gulped and brought her other hand forward as well. She grabbed Naruto’s leg, the one with the bone still sticking out, and she straightened it out. Blood dripped down her chin from where she was biting through her bottom lip. Inconsequential.

She shuffled closer and gently pushed the bone back through the hole in his skin. It made a wet sucking sound and Ino could feel the muscles of his calf tensing and untensing as if they were actively trying to help her regain the bone. It was disgusting and it hurt, both to watch and to bear the burning. 

She drew back once the bone started to move on its own, shuddering and popping as muscle enveloped it and started to snap back together. She took a deep breath and shook out her stinging hands. Still no marks. 

Next she helped move his arm to where it should be, and then let it heal on its own. A grip on his ankle and a firm push and the joint clicked back in place. A prod at his kneecap and it traveled up the few inches it had dropped. She continued on like that, poking, prodding and guiding body parts back to their respective homes.

When the main injuries had been forced back in place she stood up. She propped Naruto up enough so she could slip behind his back, hook her arms around his chest, and drag him with her. She stumbled and swore and stumbled some more as she walked backwards toward Shikamaru’s far off voice. Naruto’s ankle caught on a rock and when she tugged him harder the bone snapped so loudly she flinched. But it slid past the rock and Ino continued to drag while the ankle cracked and popped back into place. 

The pain brushing across her arms and burying itself into her chest from the chakra was nearly unbearable. Then she’d hear the sound of fighting behind her and it would be pushed forcefully back. She couldn’t stop now. 

Eventually, after a long minute or two, she dropped Naruto on the edge of the clearing. She shook him but got no response. She called his name but his eyes didn’t so much as flicker open. 

She turned and finally laid her eyes on Shikamaru and the scene unfolding around him. Kin was leaning over Sakura’s prone body with obvious confusion. Bells and wire were forgotten and held limply in her hand. 

Dosu and Zaku were both focused on Shikamaru, who… 

When things got bad Naruto would fight like a beast, absolutely feral. When Shikamaru got desperate he would fight like he was possessed . By three different people at once. 

Shikamaru was dancing between his two opponents, trench knives blocking strikes and weapons and slicing through the air in warning. The shadows at his feet roiled and lashed out to anchor Zaku’s feet or pull at Dosu’s arm. She watched in utter amazement as Dosu threw a kunai at Shikamaru’s side. Instead of dodging, Shikamaru used shadow possession to make Zaku mimic him and throw his own kunai, which flew right by Shikamaru’s cheek to hit Dosu’s weapon, which was deflected back at Dosu himself. 

Shikamaru flipped his trench knife into the air, pulled a single shuriken out and threw it at the still flying kunai. He caught the trench knife with a flick of his wrist at the same time that the shuriken hit the very edge of the kunai’s handle, redirecting its flight at Dosu’s back. All of it happening within fractions of seconds. 

Shadows latched onto Zaku’s arm and forced a half hearted sound wave to plow into dirt, and Shikamaru wasn’t even looking at him. He was darting forward toward Dosu, dancing just out of reach, but forcing the man back with the threat of being sliced apart by his knives. 

The level of detail and focus and awareness that Shikamaru exhibited was… unparalleled. He threw a few more shuriken at a steep turn and they cut shallowly through Zaku’s side, staying perfectly in the man’s blind spot right up until the moment of impact. Ino didn’t even see Shikamaru pull any shuriken out. Never saw his hands leave the trench knives. 

He dropped to one knee, stabbed one of knives into the grass, and used it as an anchor as he spun around and then shot forward to the side, just avoiding Dosu’s sudden charge. 

Perhaps the scariest part of it all was that Shikamaru’s expression was unerringly blank. His eyes were darting every which way and his brows were every so slightly furrowed, but other than that there was nothing. No reactions to close calls, no smirks of triumph, no emotion whatsoever. She’d hypothesized in the past that it was a result of his intense focus. No energy or awareness leftover for emoting, but she’d never actually asked. It could very well be intentional, she wouldn’t put it past him. 

She tore herself away from her awe and distraction to once again shake Naruto. She was momentarily confused when she saw her own fingers. She’d forgotten she wasn’t inside Sakura anymore. Then she started to doubt herself, were those her fingers? She glanced at the pink spot in the grass that was Sakura and shook her head violently to try and clear it up. The feel of long heavy hair on her back helped to anchor her.

“Naruto!” she exclaimed. It sounded flat to her own ears. His face was fully healed but still covered in blood. His arms and legs were no longer bent in any wrong places and no bits of bone were visible. But he still wasn’t waking up. 

Shikamaru gasped and her entire attention turned to him once again. He was slowing down. By the looks of it he’d gotten a little too close to Dosu, he was stumbling and confused looking. He still ducked out of Zaku’s way and kicked him in the side but it lacked the grace he’d been showing just moments before. 

Dosu smirked from behind Shikamaru, and Ino’s body tensed as the back of her mind screamed in warning. Instinct drove her forward but she was fueled by desperation. She left Naruto on the ground and sprinted as fast as she could to her other teammate. 

Zaku feinted an attack and Shikamaru reacted. He should have seen it as it was, but something was wrong with him. His eyes were unfocused. 

Dosu was getting too close and the man’s casted arm rose in preparation for an attack. Ino could get there in time, and she would, but she knew there’d be a price to pay for it. She was all too aware that Dosu’s weapon was strapped to that arm. 

She slid in behind Shikamaru, her back brushing against his, and she raised both her arms in a bracing defense. Dosu’s arm smashed into hers and she held firm against it, taken aback by how little strength was in the blow. Then vibrations shuddered through the metal and into her arm. It felt like stinging nettles all through her nerves and then her legs buckled. Shikamaru’s hand touched her hip and she regained her footing. 

Dosu laughed and lifted his arm again. Ino didn’t have time to do anything other than brace once again. The second onslaught of soundless vibrations made her collapse. Shikamaru followed behind her. A moment of blackness and when she came back to herself she was laid out flat on the ground. Her head lolled to the side and she saw Shikamaru in the same position. 

“Got any plans?” Ino whispered nearly unintelligibly. 

“Fresh out of ideas here,” he answered just as quietly and mumbled. 

Her body wasn’t reacting to her at all. Her vision was fading away completely. The last of her strength was used to turn her face back to the sky. It was like she was stuck in that soul genjutsu again, but this time she didn’t feel a way out. 

Dosu laughed again and then taunted, “Just like Kin, I manipulate sound waves, but my jutsu is not quite so forgiving. Where hers is like a poison, mine is like a hammer.” She could only see black. Could only feel the faintest hum echoing and forcing its way through her muscles and nerves. 

She choked on her own saliva and couldn’t even cough to clear her throat. Her eyes rolled back in her head. It felt similar to being soulless and empty, like she was for the moment before her life energy burrowed into another mind. Everything was numb and distant. Then pain started filtering in. Like a stretching ache, like her body was trying to tear itself apart. Or maybe it was just her head that was being tugged in so many directions. 

“You’ll die here, you brats, all of you. The leaf village’s time is up and it starts here with you. The first blood, drawn by me.” Something wet dripped from her ear. She smelled rust. 

“Naruto,” Shikamaru gasped out and Ino had no idea how he was able to talk. She couldn’t even feel her tongue. “Where...where?” 

“Did you guys really think you could burst in and fight us? Mere genin against the best of the sound village?” 

But they were all genin, weren’t they? It was the chunin exams… Ino couldn’t hold onto the thought, she couldn’t really do anything. 

“Stop playing,” Kin scolded. “Let’s get this done with, my back is killing me.” 

“Very well.” 

Ino was distantly glad that she was no longer hearing bells at least. 

“LEAF HURRICANE!” 

She flickered in and out of a deep darkness. It was cold and she wanted to be warm, but she couldn’t remember why. Her ears were picking up the sounds of a fight but it was faded and hard to follow. She swallowed down some bile that had creeped up the back of her throat and wished that she could cough. 

“I vowed to protect her with my life!” 

Who was that? 

“You’ll end up just like them, you fool!” 

Like who? 

“Where are all these genin coming from? They’re popping up like weeds!” 

There was a joke in there somewhere, about leaf nin and weeds. She was sure of it. 

“Leaf hurri--” 

“Stay down.” 

Her heart gave a lurch and she frowned. Or, she felt like she should be frowning, maybe she wasn’t actually doing so. There was a slippery feeling in her chest. Like something important had happened that demanded her to act. I vowed to protect her with my life . 

“Zaku, get rid of them all.” 

A flare of chakra rolled over her and stung at her senses, and it was the best most welcome feeling she’d had in her life. Her eyes opened without her conscious effort. She stared at the blue sky. 

“Touch them and I’ll kill you.” 

Naruto. Naruto. Naruto… 

More chakra and she tasted coal on her tongue. She thought of the color orange. She thought of… Naruto. She focused on it, pulled on the chakra that was lapping at her own and she focused on the memory of Naruto’s blue eyes. 

A small quiet corner of her mind remembered a different chakra, the one that had woken her up from a dead sleep. Where was that? She hadn’t felt it again, and with Naruto’s coarse chakra rubbing at her own, it became all the more clear how wrong it had felt. Even Naruto’s monstrous chakra felt more natural. 

She squinted at the clouds and thought a bit hysterically that it was a terrible time for cloud watching. Shikamaru was a bad influence on her. Her injured ankle twitched and the pain that followed and climbed up her leg to her stomach helped shake her out of the numbing blanket that had covered her. She panted and strained and after a long few seconds she managed to move. She pushed harder and she rolled to her side. 

She looked up and for some reason the first thing she noticed was the kid standing on a tree branch and looking down at Naruto. He was wearing white and he looked vaguely familiar. Then her eyes snagged on the color green; Lee was collapsed right in front of her. And then orange, where Naruto was standing and panting and facing down all three sound nin. 

They weren’t moving, none of them. Not the kid in the tree, not Lee, not Naruto, and not the three ninja from the mysterious sound village. 

Wait, someone was moving. 

Sumaru sat up and looked around himself in bafflement. Sasuke stirred next to him and Ino wondered if perhaps Naruto’s chakra had woken them up. Maybe like her it had given them a handhold to drag themselves out of the coma like state that Dosu’s jutsu forced on her, and assumedly them. 

She struggled to look at them as they woke and took in their surroundings. It wasn’t because of Dosu’s mind melting attack though. She squinted and recognized her own chakra enveloping the boys. Right, she’d forgotten about that. She could feel the corners of the genjutsu still clinging to the ground. Blood dripped onto her hand from her mouth.  

She kicked Shikamaru in the head, lightly, and hissed, “Get your lazy ass put back together and follow my lead.” 

He grumbled unintelligibly but his arms started to twitch like he was fighting to get out from under a great weight. She could relate. She started crawling and the intensity of the chakra rolling off of Naruto made her shiver. Kin’s knees were wobbling. Naruto’s chakra grew even heavier and Kin fell to the grass with a muffled bell ring. 

Zaku said something cocky and it broke the silence but not the stillness. She reached Sumaru’s side, shoved him back down on his back and hissed, “Stay down.” Sasuke glared at her and remained half sitting. Sumaru mumbled something but she was literally pinning him down, so she didn’t worry about it. 

She jolted in place when Naruto moved. He was fast, faster than he should be. She couldn’t see his face but she’d bet her year’s allowance that his eyes were no longer blue. She struggled to keep up with the fight between Naruto and the other three so she stopped trying. Instead she took a corner of the chakra she’d cemented in the ground before and stretched it over herself. Then she pushed and pulled it until it covered a slowly crawling Shikamaru as well. Sakura and Lee were too far away to worry about concealing. 

Naruto stumbled and she froze as she stared over at him. But he shook his head violently and then sprung at Zaku. The sound nin were fighting for their lives, that much was obvious, and Naruto’s fingers were dripping with blood. 

Zaku couldn’t hit him because Naruto was never in one place long enough and there was no telling where he’d move next. Kin was getting tangled up in her own wire as she tried to keep up and Dosu was panting and holding his arm in front of him like a shield instead of a weapon.

But Naruto, as much as he was winning, was stumbling every other step, his head kept snapping back and forth and his strikes were wide and clumsy. She saw a flash of blue and then a flash of red and then a flash of blue as he shook his head once again. 

The only reason the sound nin were still alive was because Naruto was fighting to keep control. And the longer the fight went on… the more chance the Kyubi had to break through that control. She shivered again and brought her shaking hands together. She wouldn’t mourn their deaths, but Naruto was already scared of himself. He didn’t need to come out of the Kyubi’s chakra and realize he’d brutally murdered three people. It would set back the progress she’d made with him by months.

 She held the genjutsu she’d created in her focus and started to weave together signs. She zeroed in on Zaku. He would be the best candidate for so many reasons. Her fingers shook and made her signs sloppy but they were enough. Her chakra creeped forward and over to Zaku, enveloping him and she pinned it into his mind. Just a little suggestion, just a reminder. 

She reinforced the coverage of her and the others, just a little to the left. Just a little bit off . 

Zaku glanced in their direction and she smirked. Either he was no good with genjutsu or Naruto was distracting him too much to do anything about it. To notice it at all. 

Ino faltered when Naruto’s hand shoved all the way through Kin’s side. He laughed too deep for it to be his own and ripped his hand back out. Kin slumped to the dirt with a wheeze. Things were getting out of control. Naruto bit at Dosu’s neck and barely missed. He swiped at Zaku’s eyes and the only thing that saved the guy from permanent blindness was the way that Naruto’s eyes went blue and his arm purposefully pulled back and away. 

She flowed through more signs, pushed more chakra. She was panting and sweating and she ignored it all, because Naruto was fighting two battles and he was only winning one of them. His body wasn’t reacting to his own orders and she could only imagine the terror that must trigger. Her boy was hurting and scared. Unacceptable.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke demanded, though he mostly just sounded confused. She looked at him just long enough to catch the spin of tomoes in red eyes. She didn’t answer, she didn’t have the breath for it. 

Sumaru moved underneath her and she hissed wordlessly as she pushed her elbows further into his stomach. Both Sasuke and Sumaru started to move in earnest, Sasuke said something about the fight but she didn’t hear it. Sumaru’s chakra pulsed underneath her and she very nearly lost all concentration. 

There it was. That awful chakra. The chakra that made her insides recoil and twist. Wrong wrong wrong. It slid over her skin as Sumaru struggled and it left her feeling nauseous and like the ground underneath was swaying back and forth. Cool shadows slid past her and twined around Sumaru, pinning him to the ground. Sasuke grunted as they reached him as well and prevented further attempts of leaving.

Ino withdrew from Sumaru’s body and his chakra, grasping at her concentration. She shoved all other thoughts away. She’d deal with it if she lived through this. 

She picked up the signs where she’d left off. She just needed to push a little more intent . 

Zaku straightened and his gaze once again returned to them. Or where he thought they were. Awareness of the battle field was a heady advantage and it was all Ino would need. She smiled and pulled a kunai followed by a second. She pushed off of the ground and over Sumaru, ignoring the sounds of pain he made as she did so. She stumbled into a crouch, her every muscle was protesting and her ear was still bleeding onto her shoulder which just congealed with the rest of it already there. Her ankle was the worst though, as it threatened to give out or snap. It wasn’t just pain but a severe physical disadvantage. But she only had one chance at this. 

Zaku broke away from the other two, which left Dosu wide open for Naruto to rake his claws over his undefended side. 

Zaku almost tripped over upturned grass but his gaze never wavered, the wisp of the genjutsu she’d pinned to his mind held strong. He brought both his arms up and she felt the limbs condense with power. And he aimed just passed them, beyond them, three feet to the side. His face was half crazed and his eyes were burning with murderous intent. 

He kept moving and Ino bided her time, watching his every move as he got closer. She glanced at Shikamaru and he was tired looking and scared but when he met her eyes he looked confident in her. 

Her ankle rolled as she jumped forward at Zaku, but it didn’t matter, she’d already pushed off. Zaku didn’t notice her, too intent on where she should be. The tip of her blade met his arm and she tilted it at an angle and pushed. The kunai cleanly pierced all the way through the arm. The side of the blade glanced off of something hard, harder than bone, but it didn’t stop the weapon. She pushed under his arm and stood up directly in front of him, his chest to her back. She spun her second kunai point down and then stabbed it into the other arm, just below the elbow.

She turned, and like a puppet Zaku turned with her. She twisted the kunai and his arms followed her movements. She elbowed him in the stomach and his chakra released forcefully as his breath puffed out against her neck. Two blasts of chakra and wind and sound tore across the clearing for the last time. Dosu and the struggling to stand Kin were too focused on Naruto to see the forced attack from their teammate. They were blasted away from the blond boy and into two separate trees. 

Ino huffed out an approximation of a short laugh. It worked even better than she’d hoped. Neither Dosu or Kin got back up. The combination of the damage that Naruto had done and the violence of Zaku’s sound waves had proved to be too much even for them. It was almost anticlimactic. 

She grinned at Naruto whose eyes were now bleeding a deep red. “Naruto--” she broke off as blunt pressure hit the back of her neck. Her wound from the fight with the rock ninja flared pain up all the way through her head to push at her eyes until she cried out. 

Zaku’s breath was no longer brushing across her skin, but was pressed right up against her… he was biting her. It was a smart move, really, but his teeth only caught the gauze and bandages that Shikamaru had lovingly wrapped around her. 

It didn’t deter him as he pushed forward and bit down harder. Her ankle rolled again as she let go of her kunai and tried to shift out of range. She fell and it tore Zaku’s teeth from the wrappings with an agonizing pull. 

Zaku stumbled in the opposite direction and away from her.

She pushed up to her knees and steadied herself with a hand on the ground in front of her. Zaku’s heat was at her back again before she could take a full breath.  “What--” 

A hand slammed into the back of her neck and pushed until her face hit the ground with a jarring impact that made her teeth rattle. Blood welled up from where she’d inadvertently bit her cheek. “You think you can trick me like that?” Zaku hissed in her ear. His hand dragged the bandages down from where they covered the wound and his fingernails dug into the edges of where her skin split. She cried out and tried to pull herself away from it, from him. Her fingers curled into grass and dirt and pulled but he was heavy and she was tired. So tired. 

A growl so loud it made the ground tremble under her hands made her freeze in place. Then the weight of Zaku was gone and she scrambled to get away, to put space between her and the threat. Rocks slid underneath her fingernails as she pulled with all her might and then flopped to her back, unable to leave it open to another attack. 

Naruto was crouched over Zaku. One of the sound nin’s arms was splayed out pinned to the ground with Ino’s kunai, which he’d apparently not bothered to remove. Naruto slammed the second one into the ground as well, leaving Zaku spread out and defenseless. Her teammate’s small body was shaking and jerking and his fingers were bloody claws. His hair had turned coarser and she knew if she could see his face… 

Naruto lifted a hand and the claws gleamed a translucent red in the sun. He plunged the hand down toward Zaku. She didn’t know if the strike was to hit Zaku’s chest to punch out his heart, or to rip out his throat, or to… 

The blow didn’t land and she gasped as she saw the shadows at Naruto’s feet. Shikamaru crawled forward and stopped halfway over Zaku’s pinned arm. He looked up at Naruto and whispered, “Naruto?” 

The darkness twined around Naruto’s arm pulsed rhythmically in a sign of Shikamaru’s exhaustion. Naruto was straining against them and his hand was moving slowly and steadily toward Zaku. The blond didn’t even look away from the pinned man.

“Naruto!” she shouted and his body gave a minor jolt. His arm stopped shaking with the force he was pushing it forward with. 

“Hey, Naruto, bud,” Shikamaru said, pushing up to his knees so he could reach out with his hands. Zaku didn’t twitch as his arm was jostled, he didn’t seem to be conscious anymore. She couldn't find any relief in that though, not when Naruto looked so haunted. 

 Shikamaru’s fingers framed Naruto’s cheeks, his palms cupped just under his jaw. “This isn’t you.” 

Ino sat up and started to crawl once again. She hadn’t crawled this much since she was a child. She moved closer to Naruto as Shikamaru continued to speak in low tones. She saw Sasuke’s wide eyes fixed on Naruto’s face, saw Sumaru’s matching fear, still laying down on the ground even though no shadows held him there. 

She reached her teammate and she wanted to wrap herself around Naruto’s back but she couldn’t stand. So she settled for hugging his leg to her chest. 

Red eyes glanced down at her and stuck. She maintained eye contact and fought down the shivers that wanted to rip her apart. Naruto blinked a couple times and eventually his eyes faded to blue. Then his eyes closed and Ino watched him breathe. 

“You with us?” Shikamaru asked. His hands pulled Naruto’s face up to look at him. Ino pulled herself even closer, using his leg as a steadying point as she situated herself so she could see his face as well. The whiskers that had become thick and dark thinned out and closed to the scars she was used to. His hair went limp and ragged and she smiled happily. Her boy was back. 

“I’m sorry,” Naruto said, and Ino’s smile dropped when tears carved through the grime on his cheeks. 

“You saved us, Nar,” Shikamaru said. 

Naruto’s chakra was settling under his skin and Ino frowned as she realized once again, just like back on the bridge in Wave, that the out of control chakra didn’t feel that much different than the dormant buzz Naruto was returning to. It was the same, just on different levels, and she didn’t know what that meant. 

Her eyes flickered to Sumaru. She didn’t know what his chakra meant either.

“I did good?” Naruto asked, his eyes finally opening again to meet Shikamaru’s. Then down to look at her. 

“Yeah, Nar, you did,” she replied. “I’m proud of you. You were fighting two battles there, and you still came out the victor.” 

Naruto rolled his shoulders and he looked like he wasn’t sure what to do with the praise. She’d have to work on that later. He chuckled and wiped at his face causing the tears to combine with the dirt and dust and mud to leave muddy smears over his cheek bones. “Do they have the right scroll, do you think?” 

Ino laughed and slumped down to the ground in shock and relief and exhaustion. “They better.”

She and Shikamaru, in unison, looked at Sasuke and Sumaru in wary contemplation. Sasuke was standing and pulling Sumaru to his feet as well. When the Uchiha caught her gaze his sharingan flickered on and then off again. He turned away and pulled Sumaru with him toward Sakura. Sumaru picked the girl up and disappeared into the trees. Sasuke looked back at them once and then followed. Neither of them said a word.

“That chakra…” It was little more than a murmur but Ino’s hearing was sharp. Even exhausted it was easy to pick up. She jerked to look up at the tree where two figures now stood. The boy in white and a girl at his side. 

“Our teammate seems to have gotten caught up in something he shouldn’t have,” the mystery boy said once he realized he’d been spotted. Shikamaru and Naruto turned to them as well. 

A long silence dragged out between them all. Neji’s body language showed no fear. No curiosity or awe. His eyes, like most Hyugas, were unreadable. He was a blank slate. 

“We’ll take him now,” the girl said. She jumped down and to Lee’s side without ever turning her back to them. She took one of his arms and slung it over her shoulder. She struggled almost comically with the boy’s weight before she managed to get her legs straightened out. The boy in white jumped down and took the other arm and together they managed to lug Lee up between them. 

“Tell him…” Ino trailed off. She knew Lee had been there, knew he’d fought but she hadn’t even been aware enough to see it. It felt disrespectful. “Tell him thanks.” It wasn’t enough, but she didn’t know what else to say. 

The girl nodded tightly. Unlike her Hyuga teammate, she was easy to read. She was scared as well. The group jumped back to the trees and disappeared just like Team 7. 

Naruto huffed and then walked over to Dosu. The sound ninja didn’t react at all when Naruto fumbled through his robes until he found a pouch. It took him longer than she’d expected to stand back up. She realized why when he held up four scrolls. 

Her head slumped back in relief when she counted two heaven scrolls in the pile. 

“Finally!” Shikamaru said. “Now we can sleep.” 

“First we have to get to the tower,” Ino reminded him. 

His answering laugh wasn’t amused or even relieved. It sounded delirious. That wasn’t a good sign...

Naruto lay down on the ground next to her, scrolls dropped to the side, and she pulled him into her side with a weak arm. It was mostly Naruto moving in the direction that she poked him into. But it ended with him close to her so she wouldn’t argue. He smelled like blood or maybe she was smelling herself. Shikamaru settled on her other side and his hand came up to ruffle Naruto’s hair. 

“Thanks for stopping me,” Naruto said eventually. 

“You’re welcome,” Ino replied. 

“It wasn’t even…” Naruto hesitated. “It wasn’t the fact that I was killing them that was the problem, it was the fact that it wasn’t my decision. I would have killed them myself if they didn’t stop hurting you guys. I just couldn’t…” 

“I get it,” Shikamaru said. 

Ino hummed tonelessly and nodded her head. “It’s about control.” 

“Yeah,” Shikamaru agreed. “And after we get through this forest and the damn exam, we’ll work on a way to help you keep that control.” 

“Do you… do you think it’s possible?” Naruto asked. 

Ino thought about the similarities of the chakra and she said, “Yes. I do.” 

“I’ll believe you then,” Naruto said with an audible smile. 

Chapter Text

She woke up when pain bolted up her leg. When she tried to pull away from it she was stopped by a firm grip on her calf. “Cut it out, Ino,” Shikamaru muttered. 

She scowled and looked down at him. It was dark and the hollowed out tree they’d found to take a rest in was only softly illuminated by the moonlight that snuck in between the tree branches. It was enough to see that Shikamaru looked tired. Bone deep exhausted and his eyes were puffy from how much he’d been rubbing at them. He needed to sleep more than just a couple hours. “We need to keep moving,” Shikamaru said as if in response to her own thoughts. 

He finished wrapping up her injured ankle and gave the end of the wrappings a sharp tug to secure the knot. She hissed at the ache it caused and he patted her calf in comfort. 

“That should be my line, but are you sure you’re up for it?” Ino asked. “You look like you’re going to keel over.” 

“We need to get to the tower, I can sleep once we get there.” 

She leveled him with a hard look. “You can’t function without sleep, Shika.” 

“Naruto’s running a quick patrol, then we need to head North.” 

“Shikamaru! We can take the time for you to sleep. You need it. I know what happens when you don’t get enough of it.” 

He scowled and stood up a little shakily. “It doesn’t matter. We’re not safe out here. What if the grass ninjas find us again? What if Dosu wakes up and tracks us down? No, we need to get going. We’ve already risked a few hours of rest, we can’t push for more.” 

She stood with the help of the tree trunk and crossed her arms. Her whole body hurt like a deep bruise. Her head was pounding and she pulled out her water bottle to take a deep drink of musty water. “Okay,” she conceded. “But as soon as we get there…” 

He held up his hands and his mouth curled up on one side, “Don’t need to tell me twice, I’ll be out like a light.” 

She nodded but concern nagged at her nonetheless. She had been the one that had said they needed to get to the tower first, but then she’d really looked at Shikamaru, and she demanded that they rest. She didn’t like seeing Shikamaru pushed to his limits. Naras needed sleep like the Akimichi needed food. 

“How long?” she asked. 

Shikamaru almost shrugged, but it ended almost before it began. “Few hours.” 

“Is the forest really that big?” 

“No, but it is hard to navigate.” 

Naruto dropped from above to land next to them and he reported succinctly, “No teams within a mile in every direction. It all looks mostly clear but I heard some large somethings moving around on the ground. We should stay up and high.” 

“I hate this forest,” Ino grumped. 

“Eh, it’s not that bad,” Naruto replied with a grin. “The trees are even bigger than the ones outside the village. And the fish we caught yesterday were so big!” 

Ino snorted and shook her head, “Whatever you say.” She glanced at Shikamaru and then back to Naruto. “You good to take point?” 

He looked momentarily surprised but nodded. She gave them both a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Then let’s get going.” 

The first hour went alright. Ino’s aches and pains began to fade into the background of the repetitive jumping and running. Naruto continued to actually head North. 

She had her ears primed to pick up any signs of approach around them, but things were as quiet as a forest could be. It left her to her own thoughts, and there were a lot of them, all cramming forward trying to be acknowledged. Her life energies were wispy and tangled up from overuse and she kept seeing her own hands and not recognizing them. Her fingernails were dirty and cracked and all together her hand was too large. It should be small and fragile looking, like Sakura’s. 

And she should be a little taller, shouldn’t she? Or was that the grass ninja? She looked to her feet and felt no spark of recognition, yet she kept moving. Could she stop if she tried, or would she be doomed to keep running until her body gave out? Whose body was she in ? Her soul fluttered and her thoughts went even hazier. 

A flash of the memory of catching and holding a pale lithe body dressed in purple. Long blond hair and wrappings around the waist. That was her. Right? She clenched her fists but then they actually did look smaller, maybe they were Sakura’s? 

She shook her head fervently. She was getting phantom feelings of attributes she didn’t have. Her soul was grasping at things that weren’t there and creating a turmoil that she couldn’t unravel. She was a Yamanaka . She’d told the grass ninja that. She swallowed around the feeling of having a tongue too large for her mouth.

Then Shikamaru stumbled for just a moment and the utter surprise that flooded her helped her snap back to the present. To her own body. Or at least most of it. She kept her eyes locked on Shikamaru and didn’t look down at her hands despite the way she wanted to check one more time. 

Shikamaru stumbled once again, catching himself before his foot slid too far on the branch, but overbalancing forward so that his next step was too wide to be comfortable. He stabilized and Ino bit her lip in thought and uncertainty. 

She bounced a couple branches ahead of Shikamaru and looked at his face. His eyes were open but glazed over, like he was partially asleep. She knew for a fact that he could continue running or even talking while asleep for short amounts of time. 

“Shikamaru!” she said sharply. 

His eyes brightened every so slightly and he looked over at her. “What?” he asked with a monotone flatter than Sakura’s chest. 

“You’re doing it again.” 

“What?” 

“Your autopilot thing.” 

Shikamaru looked around him as if the trees had the answers and then shrugged. “Better than the alternative, I guess.” 

“Do you need to stop?” 

He shook his head and glared, “We already had this conversation like an hour ago.” 

“And we’re having it again! Because sometimes you can be even more stubborn than Naruto and I put together.” 

“It’s not like we have a choice, Ino!” 

“A choice about what?” Naruto asked.

Ino startled and came to a screeching halt on the branch her foot had just touched so she wouldn’t go barrelling into Naruto’s body. Shikamaru tried to do the same but once again overbalanced, he would have gone down to the ground if Naruto hadn’t hopped over and looped an arm around his waist to steady him. 

“Don’t do that!” Ino scolded. Naruto looked confusedly at his arm around Shikamaru. “Not that, the sudden stopping.” 

“Oh.” He let his arm fall away from their teammate anyways but Shikamaru continued to lean into Naruto’s space. “But you were starting to yell.” 

“So you had to join in, huh?” Shikamaru muttered. 

“We need to stop,” Ino proclaimed. She tried to stand in the best position for her aches, but every shift of any muscle prodded at a bruise or a scrape. 

“We can’t ,” Shikamaru returned. 

Naruto agreed with a somber, “He’s right.” Ino scowled and opened her mouth to disagree loudly when Naruto cut her off with a serious look. “Ino, I nearly watched you die. My body got broken to pieces. I remember that part, you know. We need to get safe .” He paused and she couldn’t look away from his blue eyes. “It’s like when I was lost on the streets and I got glass in my feet and people were yelling at me and all I wanted to do was curl up in one of the sewer pipes and go to sleep. Pretend it all wasn’t there. But every time I did that things only got worse. I know you’re exhausted, but I can carry you there if you need.” 

Ino’s eyes burned and she swallowed roughly. She pressed down the familiar sweeping rage that tried to bubble up inside her and let out a deep exhale. “That’s sweet, Nar, but you can’t carry both of us. Shikamaru’s the one that’s falling over his own feet anyways.” 

“Maybe, but you’re moving weird too, you know.” 

“I am?” 

“Yeah, you’re not loud, not really, but you’re loud er . And, like, stiff.” 

She glared at her toes, but the frustration quickly fell away when she noticed in relief that those purple painted toenails looked familiar. She rolled her shoulders and then gently rotated her hurt ankle. “Alright, fine. We’ll keep going, but we’re putting Shikamaru up in the front with you, so we can both keep an eye on him. I’ll take the rear guard.” She closed her fingers together in a violent gesture when Shikamaru went to object. “You’re a smart guy, Shika, you should know when you’ve lost. Also, I have the best ears of us all, anyway.” 

He slumped and sighed, “What a drag.” 

She grinned in victory and turned to Naruto. “Lead on, Nar.” 

He started and looked around them. “Which way were we going again? North or West?” 

“North.”  

Naruto pointed East with a questioning glance. Ino rolled her eyes and adjusted his arm to point the right direction. He gave a bashful smile and then bullied Shikamaru into moving with him. Ino was thankful to have something else to focus on as they continued to run. She fell into the rhythm of Shikamaru’s feet hitting branches and managed to push most of the intrusive thoughts away, though she knew she was just delaying. 

They traveled for a while more and Ino was starting to think that they’d get through the rest of the exam with no more difficulties. The tower had to be close, this forest wasn’t huge and they’d been making fairly good time. 

She let out an embarrassingly heartfelt groan of relief when she saw the tower. It wasn’t much of a tower really, wasn’t even as tall as the trees that surrounded it, but it was everything she needed at the moment. 

They dropped down from the trees to continue on foot into the clearing. 

A team from the Stone village stepped directly in their path. “Well look at this! A team ripe for the picking!” the largest member of the group said with a grin. 

“And it looks like you’re all tired out from your--” 

Shikamaru yelled in wordless frustration and whirled around to land a loud punch to the cheek of an attacking genin from Lightning, Ino wasn’t even surprised anymore. Naruto kicked the genin in the chest hard enough to break ribs. As the poor boy stumbled backwards Ino grabbed his wrist and pulled, spinning him around her to slam into the trunk of the tree she was standing next to. He slumped to the ground without another sound. 

“I don’t know what you were expecting, waiting for a team this close to the tower,” Ino chimed in while looking at her dirty nails. She’d need to brush the living daylights out of them to get the dirt and grime out from underneath them. Would the tower have showers? “Did you really think we would be easy pickings if we’d gotten this far?” 

“I mean, we are tired,” Naruto added. 

“And we all just saw what that does to Shikamaru.” She pointed unnecessarily to her life long friend.

The other team stood frozen for a few more beats. “Get out of the way,” Shikamaru ordered as he strode forward. The team scattered at his approach. 

Ino chuckled and darted forward to stop Shikamaru from walking directly into a tree. His eyes were glazed over again but still present, and she gently steered him the rest of the way to the door of the tower. 

 A nameless chunin collected their scrolls and directed them into a waiting room. It was an empty room, except for a couple of rickety stools. She fiddled with her clothes as she surreptitiously scanned the room’s edges for cameras. There were two of them, one on each side of the space. 

She cleared her throat and gave the sign for being watched . Shikamaru rolled his eyes and went to lay down in the corner. Naruto hovered in front of him in a touching display of protectiveness. Ino snorted and started to pace the edges of the room, cutting across the corner where her teammates were so as not to disturb them. Moving always kept her more focused. She carefully didn’t look at her toes or her fingers. She clasped her opposite forearms behind her back and quietly hummed as she moved. 

She shot Naruto a warning look when he opened his mouth to talk. He looked mulish and glared at her with annoyance but didn’t try to speak again. She silently apologized to him and increased the speed of her pacing. The shots of pain up her leg from her ankle were helpful in keeping her grounded. 

An hour later Asuma walked into the room, and he didn’t look happy. For a brief moment Ino was worried that he was upset with them for taking so long to get to the tower. But then he scowled at the door he came through and looked at her. “How long have you been waiting in here? No one told me you arrived.” 

Ino’s entire body slumped in relief and she walked over to her sensei and pressed her head into his chest. “Little over an hour or so, I think,” she mumbled into his vest. She felt Naruto slam into her back and loudly greet their sensei. She wheezed at the impact. 

She felt Asuma relax as well and she inhaled his smoky smell. They did it. They really were safe here. Finally. 

“I’m proud of you guys. I’m not sure what happened out there for you, but you’re all here.” His voice held a little too much relief. 

She pulled back, accidentally smacking her head into Naruto’s, and asked, “What do you mean? What happened? Why are you so worried?” 

Asuma blinked and shifted his cigarette to the other side of his mouth. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. 

“No,” Ino interrupted. “Tell me. What’s happened that’s got you panicked?” 

“You might as well let her know, it’s not like she’ll let it go,” Shikamaru said from beside her. She looked over to him and sent him a small smile that he returned. Asuma’s hand landed on Shikamaru’s head and the genin scowled up at the man. 

Their sensei sighed and then relented. “There’s been an unprecedented amount of deaths in the exam so far… A couple of teams found by the proctors in the forest were nothing more than blood smears.” 

“Oh,” Ino breathed out. “Anyone...anyone from the Leaf?” Horrifying images of the other rookies being strewn across the grass in pieces flashed across her eyes. Kiba and Akamaru reaching out for one another in death throes. Hinata curled up, lavender eyes duller than ever before. Shino’s blood darkened by the small twisted bodies of his beetles. Sasuke and Sakura, nothing more than a few strands of pink hair and smashed red eyes. 

“There was a team from Leaf, caught right before the tower.” Her heart stumbled and her soul quivered. “But they were a couple years older than you. I think Team 8 is already here, somewhere. Gai’s team was coming in when I finally got word you were here. Don’t know about Kakashi’s kids.” Ino relaxed once again. 

Shikamaru exhaled roughly beside her and she leaned back into Naruto’s steady presence. He spluttered when her hair got in his mouth but after some tugging he seemed to find a comfortable position. She let him take more of her weight. 

Looking up at Asuma it became clear just how affected he was. He was already on his second cigarette since entering the room. His fingers wouldn't stay still and he kept reaching out to lightly pat them on their shoulders or heads. She felt like there was something she was supposed to tell him. She scrubbed at her eyes. “Are there beds here? And showers?” Ino asked.

Asuma winced and she mirrored the expression. “I’m afraid the tower is bare necessities. There are rations out in the main area at the bottom, then empty rooms and a few rudimentary bathrooms on each level.” 

“I should have guessed,” Ino sulked. “Going by this room, the test hasn’t ended yet.” 

Asuma raised a brow. “What do you mean?” 

She exchanged a tired look with Shikamaru. She sort of understood his reluctance to explain himself now. “The empty room, the cameras, the free for all in the tower. It’s all designed to make us on edge, to keep us exhausted, and in the end- to make us interact with each other. This tower is a pressure cooker. There’s two cameras in this room alone, and I bet that every moment we’re in this building we’ll be observed. It’s pretty simple. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also tampered with the temperature regulation or scheduled loud unexpected noises. It’s textbook.” 

“It’s obvious. And gross,” Shikamaru complained. “I just want to sleep.” 

“I’m sure we can just grab a room and you can curl up in the corner again,” Naruto said. “It’s not that bad. I mean we still have a roof over our heads and everything.” 

Ino thought about glass in Naruto’s feet. “Yeah, you’re right. I think we should go high. Grab the farthest room from anyone else, and just lay low.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Asuma nodded. “But first, tell me what happened.” 

So they did. Shikamaru slumped back into his corner, Naruto following and leaning so far into his space he was practically in the other’s lap. Ino sat on Shikamaru’s other side to hold him up, and kept one hand on Naruto for the entire conversation. It was a long talk, and Asuma just got quieter as their explanation went on. 

It was mostly Naruto talking with Ino interjecting her analyses. Shikamaru had mostly zoned out but every once in a while he would add something. Just relaying everything that had happened in the last couple of days brought on a new wave of exhaustion. 

When they were done there were a few minutes of silence that Ino took solace in. She listened to her precious people breathe and soaked up the reassuring alive warmth of her teammates. Her eyelids got heavy and she leaned into Shikamaru as much as he was leaning into her. 

“Can you describe my chakra, Ino?” Asuma broke the silence. 

She rubbed at her eyes with her free hand and then squinted at him. “Why? It’s your chakra.” 

“Humor me.” 

She sighed and took a moment to feel for it. She had to dig for it a little bit underneath Naruto’s chakra energies, but it was familiar and easy enough to find. Asuma’s chakra felt like smoke on her skin that was a second from being set alight. If she concentrated really hard she could feel ash on her fingers and running down her arms. “You feel like kindling.” 

He blinked at her in surprise and then just gave a confused, “What?” 

“Like… I don’t know!” She gestured meaninglessly in annoyance. “Like gasoline but not liquid. Fire just before it erupts.” 

“Interesting, and Shikamaru?” 

She didn’t even have to pause for that one. “Like cold silk and there’s no edges to it at all. Everything about it is malleable and sometimes I worry it’s just going to break off into steam and disappear.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Not that that would happen, of course. Just...whatever.” 

Asuma was silent as he stared at the ground in front of her. 

“And Naruto,” she added, just to fill the quiet, “feels like boiling water in a hot spring.” 

“And what about you Shikamaru? What do you feel?” 

Shikamaru actually looked relatively awake when she glanced at him. She didn’t appreciate the assessing gaze he was throwing her way. “Nothing like that. I mean I can feel Ino when she’s close enough. And it’s familiar, but I couldn’t tell you how. And Naruto’s easy because...yeah. But Asuma? I can only really feel you if you’re really close and or really mad.” 

Asuma nodded while Ino bit her lip and tried to process. “I owe you an apology, Ino,” Asuma said somberly. “I overlooked your sensitivity to chakra completely. I mean I knew you were sensitive to Shikamaru’s and Naruto’s, but that’s not overly uncommon. Those we’re highly familiar with and spend a lot of time around, well, those chakra signatures can be picked up. Like being able to smell someone if you’re close enough and then immediately recognizing that smell anytime it comes up. The way you talked about the fights you went through during this exam… it goes well beyond that.”

“Sooo…?” 

Shikamaru snorted. “You’re a sensor,” he said. He shifted. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it! I just assumed it was because it was Naruto! Anyone can feel him!”

“But I can’t feel everyone!” 

Asuma raised a brow and lit a new cigarette. “Can’t you?” 

Ino frowned. Could she?  

Asuma stood up and brushed some of the ashes from his pants off to the floor. “Well, that’s just some food for thought while you three waste away in the tower. But now it’s time you got to medical and fixed your injuries up. I don’t know why they didn’t send you in to do that first thing.” 

Ino answered absentmindedly, “Interrogation 101.” What was a sensor exactly? How could she tell if she was or wasn’t one? 

Shikamaru groaned and went completely limp, almost falling into her lap. “No,” he pouted. 

She rolled her eyes and decided to focus on her idiot teammate instead of the existential crisis Asuma just sent her spiraling into. “Get your lazy ass up! I ran through the whole forest with my ankle all busted up. You’re not gonna delay me getting that fixed.”

Medical was really just a few cramped rooms with a couple of overworked medi nins sitting around. The only thing of note was the large filing cabinet in the far corner that the healers grabbed the medical files from. 

Ino was happy to get her ankle fixed up, just a little bit of swelling and tenderness left. The cut on the back of her neck was cleaned and closed but she was warned that it had scarred. Not that she’d be able to see it. The myriad of cuts and bruises that she and Shikamaru had collected were quickly dealt with and then they were sent on their way. 

Well, out of the fire and into the frying pan, right?

The hallways were turning and dark and dirty, but eventually they came out into a large circular room. It was the size of a small training field and there were some tables strewn about the area. A long table at the edge of the room farthest from them had several large boxes stacked on top of it. The symbols on the side of the box were easily read and recognized. Field rations. Yippee. A few unfamiliar faces were loitering around the rations and she tried to match faces with names, but failed.

A beetle landed on her wrist and she very nearly crushed it with her other hand, before she managed to grind her movement to a halt at the last second.

“You made it!” Kiba shouted. She whirled around to find Team 8 striding toward them, having apparently abandoned one of the circular tables to the side of where her team had just entered from. Once Kiba was close enough to see them he grimaced and asked, “Damn, what happened to you guys?” Did they really look that bad? Even after all their injuries were cared for?

Shikamaru chuckled and leaned his forearm on Naruto’s shoulder for balance as he swayed in place. “Ever heard of the Sound Village?” 

Hinata gave a confused shake of her head and Shino said, “I heard of it during the first exam. I was placed next to a girl with long hair and a headband with a music note, but before that, no.” 

“Yeah, we hadn’t heard of them either,” Ino replied. The mystery was starting to come back to her, but everything was sluggish. “But… they almost killed us.” 

“Speaking of impending death,” Kiba quipped. “Have you seen that team from the Sand?” 

“Wind country’s known for turning out highly powerful ninjutsu users,” Ino reported.

“This goes beyond just ninjutsu,” Shino said. “Why? Because ninjutsu is predictable.” 

Cold swept across Ino’s skin and she turned in unison with everyone else to watch a red headed boy enter the room from a different hallway. The boy with ‘love’ scarred into his head. She’d seen him before, but hadn’t looked too closely. She didn’t know how she hadn’t noticed though, his chakra was biting and cold and… there was a dark feeling of mania hiding in the ebb and flow. Maybe he’d been hiding it earlier, or maybe she’d just been too focused on the wrong things.

“Who’s that?” she asked faintly. 

“Gaara of the Sand. He turned a team into bloody mist,” Kiba whispered loudly. 

If Gaara heard it he didn’t show any sign of it. Drifting in behind him were two others who wore Sand hitai-ate. They were older than Gaara and any of the rookies. They moved like cats, eyeing everyone up and stepping like they were checking that each placement of their foot was on solid ground. 

Ino watched the trio move silently across the room and away from them. They picked out rations from the box and then meandered back out. None of them spoke a word and Gaara never spared anyone a glance. As the cold of his chakra receded with his exit Ino realized that the energy felt a little familiar. Naruto’s chakra was hot where Gaara’s was cold. Naruto’s held anger with every buffet of wind while Gaara’s scattered hysteria and frenzy with each wave of energy. But they were similar. Chaotic and strong beyond measure. 

She looked over to Shikamaru who gave her a grim nod. Apparently they didn’t need to be a sensor to feel that. 

Into the frying pan indeed. 

Ino rolled her shoulders and padded around the small room. She’d only managed to get a couple hours of sleep before her dreams turned to nightmares. She knew better than to drown in them.

“Hey, you okay?” Naruto whisper shouted from the window ledge he was perched on. 

Ino sent him a thumbs up and counted the seconds as she breathed in. She breathed out for twice as long. Then she responded, “Yeah, just bad dreams. I think I’m gonna take a walk around.” 

Naruto shrugged. “I’ll keep an eye on Shika, don’t worry.” 

She looked to her other teammate in the corner of the room, curled up and dead to the world, as he had been for the last several hours. The moment they’d closed the door to the dusty storage room he’d all but collapsed. “You should get some rest too.” 

Naruto gave another shrug. “Not tired.” She gave him a hard look and he sighed. “Okay, so I’m tired, but really I’m not. The fox is… bothered by something. It feels like chakra is trying to push out from underneath my skin.” 

“Does it hurt?” 

“As much as it ever does, I guess.” 

“Wait, it hurts?!” She only stopped herself from screaming the question because she feared waking Shikamaru. “It always hurts?!” 

Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck and pushed himself further into the window. “Yeah? I don’t know, it’s hard to tell.” He looked like he wanted to jump out the window he was pressed to and his fingers twitched toward his jacket sleeves. She squinted at him and reached out to feel his chakra, not that she had to reach far. 

It was hot like always and while it wasn’t like it had been in the fight against the sound nin, it definitely was hotter than it usually ran outside of battle. And she knew why the Kyubi was upset. Were the sealed beasts on friendly terms with each other or no? Did they need to worry about a fight between Gaara and Naruto? 

She rubbed her eyes for a long moment to make herself stop staring at Naruto. “Fine. But we will be talking about this later, got that? If you’re in pain, we should know.” 

Naruto gave a meek nod and Ino stepped over to give him a loose hug. “Stay safe, flare your chakra if you need anything, just like when we’re in the village, okay?” 

Naruto hugged back and nodded into her shoulder. “Got it.” A pause. “Thank you.” 

“Of course, Nar.” She brushed her senses over Shikamaru’s quiet chakra before she left the room. 

She soon found herself nearing the lower levels where sounds of life could be easily heard. She moved slowly and turned her thoughts inwards. A sensor. She was a sensor. Did that mean she could… she tried to reach out and feel the other individuals in the tower but it was like a bad radio connection. A bunch of overlapping signals that muddled everything together. 

Except for… something more familiar a little closer to her. It felt like… it was soft and warm but had a bite to the edge of it. She knew that chakra. It felt like…fur?

“Hey, bitch.” 

She opened her eyes and turned around. “Hey, mutt.” 

Kiba gave her a pointy toothed smile and asked, “Where you off to?” 

“Nowhere. Just getting antsy being cooped up.” 

He gave a low whistle, “We can agree with you on that part. Hinata and Shino are content to just sit around all day, but Akamaru and I are going crazy. You wanna spar or something?” 

“I think that might draw some unwanted attention, you idiot.” 

Kiba scowled and Akamaru gave a shrill yip. “What do they expect us to do in this shit hole then?” 

She smiled and gestured at the nearest camera. “What do you think? They want us to get paranoid and twitchy.” 

“I thought those were so that they could stop us from trying to kill each other.” 

“Why would they? They’ve been encouraging doing that so far. Speaking of, did Kurenai mention anything to you guys about the exams?” 

“When?” 

“Like when you got here. Did she seem sort of stressed out?” 

“She’s often stressed out,” Kiba said. When she sent him a questioning look he tapped the side of his nose and added, “Stress has a very particular tang. She hides it well but she’s under a lot of pressure right now.” 

Ino leaned against the nearest wall and turned her whole body toward Kiba in a silent expression that she was listening. She relaxed the muscles around her eyes to make them look large and sincere. When he shifted she mirrored him. “Pressure?” 

He gave an absent nod and scratched at Akamaru’s ears. “Yeah.” 

She stayed quiet and waited. Kiba was already an impatient individual and if he was as worked up by the forced downtime as he’d claimed then… 

He cracked. He asked, “Did you know Hinata was her student before she was assigned us as a team?” 

“Kurenai-sensei? Why would Hinata be her student?” 

Kiba’s face darkened rapidly and she’d never seen that look from him before. Kiba was vicious and sometimes accidentally cruel, but he was never wrathful or loathing. Akamaru barked and Kiba lost the palpable fury faster than it had appeared. “What do you mean, boy?” 

Akamaru jumped from the sweatshirt to land daintily on the floor. Another couple of barks and Kiba started to sniff at the air. He looked more than a little ridiculous, but she couldn’t drudge up any kind of amusement. 

Kiba and Akamaru began jogging down the hall away from her. She followed closely behind. “What’re you smelling?” she asked as she caught up with them. 

Kiba didn’t even glance at her, his eyes were sweeping over every inch of the floor in front of them. “Blood.” 

She asked frantically, “Is it coming from upstairs?” She reached out for Naruto’s chakra. It was right where she’d last felt it and still bubbling away. 

“No, it’s close.” 

They rounded a corner and Kiba gagged noisily. She pressed a hand to his shoulder and asked, “Are you okay?” 

He shook his head and wrinkled his nose, “I’m fine, just wasn’t expecting…” 

He started moving again, much slower now. Ino wrinkled her nose in sympathy but then she realized she could smell it. The iron bitter tang of blood, a lot of blood. Kiba pointed to a door and Ino, the closer one to it, pressed a gentle hand to the wood. She briefly thought of walking away, but she wanted to know. Her curiosity was bound to get her in trouble eventually, but she had a pretty good record so far. 

She pushed it open very slowly, every muscle tensed for an attack. 

Together they looked through the small crack she’d made.

Ino jerked away as she gagged and covered her mouth and nose. “What was that?” she gasped out after a long moment of uncomfortable dry heaving. 

Kiba had already put some distance between him and the door, and Akamaru was burrowed into his jacket once again, shaking like a leaf and whimpering. “I think we should tell one of the proctors.” 

“Shouldn’t they have noticed it already?” 

“I don’t know, blondie! Should they?” Kiba snarked. He wasn’t looking at her and his voice was too angry. 

“You know something!” she accused with a pointed finger in his direction. “What is it?” She matched every one of his backward steps with her own forward one. He bumped into a wall and glared at her. “Tell me!” 

“I already told you!” 

“What do you mean?” 

“It was that Sand kid! Has to be!” 

Dread curled up into her throat. “Gaara?” 

“Yeah, I told you when you got here, he vaporized some kid in the exams. We nearly ran into them but we watched as he crushed some poor team to death with his sand. All that was left was some splatter.” 

“You mean,” she gestured at the door that was thankfully several meters away. “That mess was because of a jutsu?” 

“What else would it be? Who else? It’s not like there are a lot of genin running around who leave rooms covered in blood stains and shit smears! The guy squeezes people like grapes.” 

“There weren’t even any bones?” 

“We should tell a proctor,” Kiba said once again. She just nodded her agreement. In a daze they made their way to the bottom level and snagged one of the chunins that were running around. When they reported what they found the man looked suddenly very pale and scared. And wasn’t that like a kick to the chest? Even their proctors were scared of the Sand kid. 

“What now?” Kiba asked after they’d stood in silence where the chunin had left them for a couple of minutes. “I was going to try and grab some more rations earlier, but I’ve lost my appetite.” 

She grimaced and agreed. Flashes of red and brown staining wood and gathering in puddles was all she could see. Where were the bones? Where had the victim’s headbands gone? Why was there nothing but that mess left? 

“Kiba!” Ino turned to see Hinata hurrying down the hall toward them. “Hello, I-Ino.” 

Ino gave a nod and a muttered greeting back. Where were the bones ? Sand couldn’t destroy even that, could it?

“Shino was looking for you,” Hinata said. She gave a glance in Ino’s direction and then started tapping her fingers together nervously. Ino forced herself to focus, because if Hinata didn’t want her to know something, then she definitely wanted to know it. 

“What’s wrong?” Ino asked, making sure to look concerned, using her still lingering fear to more easily do so. 

Hinata bit her lip and grabbed Kiba’s hand to pull him gently back to the main area. Ino followed curiously. 

She’d barely made it three steps into the cafeteria when her vision was blocked by bright green. “The most youthful Ino! I am glad to see you well!” 

“Lee!” Ino smiled and felt a weight drop away from her. “I’m glad to see you conscious.” 

His face went very red and his eyebrows scrunched together adorably. He was as cute as a puppy and she didn’t know people could do that. “Oh, yes, I apologize, Ino! I was unable to uphold my vow to you!” 

Her smile dropped and she shook her head. “No, Lee, that wasn’t on you. That wasn’t even your fight.” 

“But it was your fight, and therefore it was also mine!” 

How incredibly un-shinobi-like. Who was this boy and how was he real? “That’s not really how that goes. But I’m thankful for your attempt, Lee.” Leaf-hurri-- “It was very brave of you.” Someone so willing to step in when the odds were so overwhelming was a person worth keeping close. And if he reminded her of Naruto during his more obstinately honorable moments, then who was she to judge? 

Lee beamed bright enough to literally dazzle. Her eyes hurt from looking at it and she suspected a genjutsu of some sort but she couldn’t find it. A brunette girl with buns slid her arm around Lee’s shoulders and gave a smile, “Is Lee bothering you?” she asked. There was a quiet threat in the words that had Ino perking up. 

“No, he’s fine,” Ino replied with an artful shrug, keeping her eyes trained on the newcomer. 

New girl’s smile softened and her feet shifted out of their bracing posture. “Good, good. Your name’s Ino, right?” 

“Yamanaka, yes. And you are?” She’d been with the Hyuga boy in the clearing, but beyond being Lee’s teammate Ino couldn’t get a read on her. What family was she from? 

“Tenten.” A thumb over her shoulder toward a table to the side and Tenten added, “And that over there is Neji Hyuga. We’re Gai-sensei’s genin team.” 

Ino glanced at the Hyuga boy. White clothes and long hair, someone was making a statement. Ino dismissed Neji and went back to Tenten. No family name, interesting. Frustrating and unhelpful, but interesting nonetheless. Ino returned the introduction, “My team is Team 10. My teammates are upstairs: Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki.” 

“Yes, we saw you in action, a little bit. It was impressive.” Tenten’s arm around Lee tightened when the boy went to speak. He obligingly quieted. “And I believe you guys beat us to the tower. Looks like some of the rookies this year have some mettle.” 

“So youthful!” Lee cried out. 

“You don’t look that much older than us,” Ino pointed out. 

Tenten chuckled and shook her head, “No, we graduated the year before you. Gai-sensei was going to put us in last year but he decided to wait at the last minute. But this year is looking pretty interesting, so maybe it was worth it.” 

“Interesting? What do you mean?” Ino did her best to not let suspicion cloud her voice, but sometimes it was hard. And she was really tired. 

Tenten gave her a hard look that Ino couldn’t read which was a warning in of itself. Tenten seemed nice and friendly but it was clear that she wasn’t. She emoted perfectly and her body language was soft yet firm in a pleasant way, but there was a shield up. A very good one and Ino had to respect that. That took skill. “Neji was the rookie to beat last year, but it looks like he’s got some hot-blooded competition now. After all, who can fight like your teammates? Especially the blond.” 

Ino puffed up and she didn’t try to hide her glare. “What does that--” 

“I-Ino,” Hinata’s voice cut through Ino’s with bewildering efficiency. 

“What?” she hissed. She turned to glare at Hinata, who had apparently approached once again while she was distracted by Tenten.

Hinata flinched. “I was just-- we were wondering if-- and it’s okay if you don’t, but if you had any sort of leftover food from before or I mean from the exam, could I maybe have it? Shino needs some.” 

“Why not just eat the rations? Shino doesn’t come across to me as the picky type.” 

“No, it’s just, just that, the rations won’t help him exactly.” 

“I’ve got plenty!” Tenten said cheerfully, finally releasing Lee from her hold. Ino caught a glimpse of bruising around Lee’s collar bone where Tenten’s movement slid the fabric of his suit down. “Is Shino your teammate?” 

“That’s the spirit, Tenten!” Lee encouraged. “Share the power of our youth!” 

Ino snorted and looked at Tenten’s bright cheer. Those guarded eyes were on Shino already, bright and intent, like a shark finding blood. This girl was something else. Ino followed the group as they walked over to the table Shino and Kiba were seated at. After all, Tenten had the right idea, information was the most valuable currency to any shinobi. 

Ino did a genuine double take when she saw Shino up close. He looked exhausted. His picture perfect posture was gone to be replaced with a tired slump and his sunglasses were smudged heavily with fingerprints that he hadn’t bothered to clean. His white jacket was clean but wrinkled. His body was still too hidden for Ino to read, but his appearance spoke volumes. 

Tenten smacked a scroll on the table top and then efficiently ran a chakra coated finger down the fastening. “What do you need? I’ve got protein for days: fried fish, grilled fish, boiled chicken, nuts and beans with rice. I’ve got several different waters with energy nectars added, some powder for strengthening curry sauce for rice and meat of any kind. There’s--” 

“Fruit? Do you have any fruit?” Kiba interrupted. “Or sweets?”

Tenten rooted around blindly in the storage scroll for a moment and then slowly shook her head. “No, Lee and I are on a high carb, low sugar diet. To build and maintain muscles mostly. You shouldn’t focus on sugars if you want your energy to last, you know.” 

Kiba clicked his tongue in annoyance and replied, “You shouldn’t give unwanted diet advice, you know.” 

“Excuse me?” Tenten asked with a delicate placement of her hand on her chest. Ino rolled her eyes at that. 

Kiba ignored her and turned to Ino. “And you, blondie? Anything with sugar in it?” 

Ino held up her empty hands and replied, “We hunted all our food, sorry.” 

Shino shuddered. Ino tried to get a look at his face but he had most of it covered by the high jacket collar. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Tenten demanded. 

“There’s nothing wrong with him!” Kiba shouted. 

“Clearly there is!” 

“Clearly you need to get your eyes checked, you harpy!” 

“I’ll show you--” 

“Tenten, that’s enough,” Neji’s voice cut through the argument just like Hinata’s had with Ino earlier. Maybe it was a Hyuga thing. “I apologize for my teammates.” The apology was given to no one in particular and he wasn’t paying attention to anyone at the table. “This isn’t the place to make a scene,” Neji said quieter for Tenten and Lee’s ears, though Ino was close enough to pick it up. 

“Yes, Tenten, that was quite rude!” Lee exclaimed. “Shino, Kiba, Hinata, I insist you let us help you in apology! What service can we aid you in?” 

“They don’t need your help, Lee,” Neji said. Did his eyes go to Hinata? Damn those creepy lavender eyes and their difficult to track movements. Ino took a step closer, hoping to get a better look. 

“Thank you, Lee-san, it’s, well, we appreciate it,” Hinata stuttered. 

Neji’s eyes narrowed. Ino could feel the gears of gossip turning, and oh did she love drama. “Lee, Tenten, let’s go.” 

“Wait a minute,” Tenten said. “I agree with Lee. Maybe we can help.” She smiled at Team 8 and leaned over the table. “You need sugar then? Some sort of dietary restriction I assume?” 

Kiba huffed, “What of it?” 

“Well, we passed a lot of berry bushes and fruit trees on the way here, why don’t we just go get some?” 

Hinata nodded and turned to her teammate, “She’s got a good point, Kiba.” 

“We can’t leave Shino here alone,” he muttered back quietly. 

“You can stay here, he won’t be alone!” Tenten refuted, leaning closer still. “Hinata and I can go.” Tenten was like a hammer. All that precision with her expressions and words cast aside to bludgeon the others with her cheer. It was painful to watch and Ino almost wanted to laugh, except for the part where it was working.

“Do you know anything about the flora here, Miss Protein?” Tenten hesitated and Kiba laughed, “I didn’t think so. You’ll need me to sniff them out.” 

Ino saw an opportunity and took it. “I know my plants.” Gather information and get out of the tower? Maybe she’d even stop smelling blood everywhere if she got some fresh air. 

Kiba turned to her but he didn’t look as suspicious or defensive as he did with Tenten. Foolish, Ino was far more dangerous when it came to these things than some girl with no family name. “You do?” 

“My family literally runs a plant shop, dog breath. I’ve been taught about everything green and growing in Fire Country, not only to grow but to sell. I didn’t poison my team on the way here, did I?” 

“I don’t know,” Kiba mocked with amusement but no bite, “I don’t see them here.” 

“You wouldn’t want to, trust me.” 

He winced. “Shikamaru?” 

She gave an exaggeratedly weary nod. “Remember that week when Iruka-sensei was gone and we got that substitute that yelled everything and threw books around?” 

“That bad?” Kiba asked with a wince. “He nearly bit Akamaru at the end of that week.”

“It’s worse. Just leave him be to sleep, it’s the best for everyone in his vicinity.”

He held up his hands in surrender and then looked at Tenten. He bared his teeth at her and then shrugged in Hinata’s direction, “It’s your decision, Hinata.” 

She gave a decisive nod that made her hair fall into her eyes cutely. “I will get Shino what he needs.” 

“Great,” Ino said. “Lead the way then, ghost eyes. I’ll figure out what’s edible. And scroll-girl can store it.” 

Tenten smiled and gave Lee a friendly pat on the back that would have sent Ino sprawling on the ground. Neji and Tenten fell into a very brief hissed whispering conversation or argument. It was over before Ino could channel chakra to her ears to listen. Then Tenten linked her arm with Ino’s and started pulling toward the exit. “You coming, Hinata?” she asked cheerfully. 

“C-coming!” 

Ino pulled herself away from Tenten and brushed her clothes down. “Don’t touch me.” 

Tenten looked unrepentant. Hinata ignored them both and walked directly behind Ino, which made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Of all people here besides her own teammates, Hinata seemed the least likely to randomly attack her from behind, but it still grated on her already shot nerves. “Which way, Hinata?” she ground out from between clenched teeth. 

A wash of chakra told her Hinata had activated her byakugan. Ino reached for that flare and tried to follow it back to Hinata. Then the girl in question moved and Ino blinked out of her concentration. Hinata pointed and began walking toward the trees. 

Ino went back to her investigation. She searched for either girls’ chakra signatures. Tenten’s was loud. It moved around a lot, sort of swirling around her arms and legs, which was strange. Ino walked a little faster to get closer. There had to be more to sensing than this, right? 

It felt like she was trying to see through wax paper or something. Chakra wasn’t hard to feel for Ino. She felt flares anytime someone channeled it. She could feel the chakra that clung to people by reaching out for it, but she was grasping at mist. 

There had to be more. Ino reached farther and pulled harder. Tenten’s chakra was sharp, but then it slid away from her senses once again. Ino kept her face calm and collected but she allowed her fingers to curl into fists. 

She was missing something obvious and she did not like it. 

If pulling didn’t work, then maybe she needed to push? Like a genjutsu? Or like pushing her soul out through the window and into someone else. She stalled on that thought. It made sense, didn’t it? To use chakra to feel chakra. Instead of relying on her passive ability to feel general chakra usage, she needed to be active. 

She slowly pulled her chakra together into her chest. Her fingers twitched to form a rectangle but she kept them curled into her palms. Instead of shoving her chakra out she began to feed it out toward Tenten. Like a light ripple of water her chakra washed across the small distance to the other girl and passed through her, surrounding her. 

Ino choked on nothing. 

Sensation flooded through her body and she forced away her resulting gasp. Tenten’s chakra was suddenly vivid. It felt like sunshine and reminded her of the glint off the edge of a kunai. The energy pulsed through Tenten’s body, but it was also built up in specific spots. Sticking like burrs. It didn’t feel natural. A little uncomfortable and achy. Ino had a twisted desire to press into the aches like testing a bruise. She wanted to see what would happen, but things were getting hazy. No, not hazy, they were getting too clear. Ino smelled rusted metal and she could feel calluses on her hands that she didn’t have. She hurriedly pulled her chakra back into her chest and allowed it to snap back through her body to remind herself where she was. Who she was. 

She breathed through the dysphoria of suddenly being free from Tenten’s chakra. She felt hollowed out and yet exhilaration pumped through her blood. It was a lot like pressing herself into someone’s mind and soul space. Easy to be overwhelmed by stimulus and information, but latent with potential. 

She reached for Hinata next, pushing another ripple into the cloud of unfamiliar chakra that surrounded the quiet girl. Hinata’s energy felt soft and yielding like moss and clean like cotton. It was soothing and welcoming. There was a large knot of it that pulled on the cloud, similar to Tenten’s burrs. Ino pushed a little more chakra out and followed that sensation. She found it at Hinata’s throat. A large build up of energy that sat like a heavy stone compared to the mist like quality the rest of the chakra took on.

The world took on a lavender tinge and Ino’s senses opened further. She could feel the grass moving under Hinata’s feet. It was like taking a blindfold off. Everything was so clear . 

“What do you think, Ino?” 

Ino shook her head a little and blinked back to reality. Where had she gone? When had she closed her eyes? “About what?” she asked. How had she kept moving? 

Tenten sent her a look over her shoulder and gestured at the bush they were all standing in front of. “Do you need a flower book guide or something?” she asked. 

Ino ignored the jab and crouched down to pull a berry and a couple leaves off. “These are berraberries, they’re not poisonous in small amounts but too many can build up a toxicity in your liver.” 

“Alright then, moving on.” 

Hinata pulled gently on Ino’s sleeve and then pointed at a tall tree with pear-like fruit growing. Ino shook her head, “No, those are viceroy pears. They look normal but the seeds are highly corrosive when added to stomach acid.” 

And so it went until they found a patch of pear-apples and a basket worth of blackberries. “Will this be enough for your friend?” Tenten asked. 

Hinata smiled and gave a small thumbs up. 

Tenten hummed and then with the grace of a wild boar asked, “And what’s the sugar for then? What’s he need it for, he didn’t look too good?” 

“Oh, well, uhm, you see…” Hinata failed to speak.

Ino almost wanted to cut in and defend her, tell Tenten to back off, but she was curious too. Hinata could fend for herself, or at the very least, she needed to learn how to do it. Ino gave a mental shrug. Either way, it wasn’t her problem. 

“Is he like diabetic?” Tenten probed. 

Hinata’s face scrunched up in thought. Her fingers, dirty from the juices of berries and grass, pushed and prodded at each other. “Sort of? It has to do with his Hive. His beetles need simple sugars to break down.” 

“Is that why he was always eating candy and sweets in class?” Ino asked. 

“Yeah,” Hinata affirmed. “He’s actually a really good baker too.” 

Huh. That was wholly unexpected. “I’ve never met an Aburame,” Tenten said. “There weren’t any in our class or anything. They’ve got beetles you said?” 

Ino was starting to understand why Tenten didn’t give a family name. She answered for Hinata, “The Aburame have a mutualistic relationship with a species of parasitic beetle. The beetles live inside them and attack on their command. It’s a well known fact in Konoha among the clans.” 

Tenten’s cheer didn’t falter in the slightest but something told Ino she’d hit a sore spot. “How silly of me then. I must have read about it somewhere and forgotten.” 

“Read about it? You could have just asked someone.” Tenten’s eye twitched and Ino smirked. “Unless, of course, you couldn’t.” 

“Are you trying to get to a point?” 

“Uhm, guys, maybe we shouldn’t…” Hinata interjected. 

“Just getting a feel for you, friend,” Ino said with a bat of her eyelashes. 

Tenten scoffed and behind Hinata’s back flipped Ino off. Ino chuckled which in turn made Tenten’s murder glare turn more annoyed than angry. The two of them fell into insulting squabbling for the rest of the walk back. Hinata tried to calm them down only to be ignored every time. Ino enjoyed it. She hadn’t gotten to bite so much since Sakura went off on her own. She missed it. And it was a good distraction from the desire to reach out once again and immerse herself in the girls’ chakras.

“Talking to you is like talking to--” Ino cut herself off and shuddered. They were only a few meters away from the tower and the waves of dark silken chakra that suddenly pushed down on them was painfully well known. She sprinted through the door and into the tower. Neji, Lee, Kiba, and even Shino whipped their heads over to her as she barged through and shouted for the way to the stairs. Kiba pointed her in the right direction and she tore through the hallways. She ran up the sides of the stairwells instead of dealing with the steps, and careened around corners until she stopped directly in front of the storage room she’d left her boys in. 

Shikamaru’s chakra dissipated all at once and she slammed the door open in a panic. 

Three terrified sets of eyes met hers. A quick glance gave her nothing to recognize and the hitai-ates around their upper arms were for the stone village. “What are you doing here?!” she demanded. 

They flinched violently away from her and then scrambled passed her and out the door. She let them go, already searching for her team. Naruto was still in the window, looking concerned but not concerned . Shikamaru was crouched in front of the window and looking livid. 

“What happened?” she asked. 

Shikamaru stood up and the shadows around him writhed and pulled at the sleeves of his shirt and the bandages around his ankles tying his pants down. “They woke me up,” he spat out. “They woke me up and for what?” 

Naruto mimed something to her but she was clueless as to what it was supposed to be. It would have been much easier if he’d just used sign language, but Naruto was Naruto. She just gave a vaguely questioning hum for Shikamaru as encouragement to continue. 

“To threaten me? Pathetic. To threaten Naruto? And you? They’d have done better to just spit in my face.” 

“So nothing happened?” she asked. “Naruto?” 

“Shikamaru just got crazy scary. I didn’t know he could get that scary?” Naruto’s pupils were large and his jaw a little slack. 

“You gave me a near heart attack, Shika! And all you did was put the fear of death into them!” 

“It wasn’t death they feared,” he replied. He sat back down and his shadows calmed a little but not a lot. She thought Naruto was doing the wise thing by keeping his feet up on the sill rather than chance them to the ground. 

She hesitated for a moment before she reached out for his chakra. She pushed her own forwards to meet his and was once again met with the vividity of before, like she was walking in a lucid dream. His chakra was heavy silk wrapped all around, pulling her in and down and forcing the adrenaline coursing through her to cool and slow. It felt like being out in thick fog in the middle of the night where everything felt too surreal to be part of the physical world. 

“Ino?” 

She gasped and pulled back, mourning the loss of the cool chakra on her skin. 

“Yeah?” 

“What just happened?” 

She blinked and realized Shikamaru was standing directly in front of her. “I think I figured out what being a sensor means.” 

His eyebrows went up in surprise and then slanted. “And?” 

She smiled. 

Chapter Text

“So when you say you get submerged…” Shikamaru asked without asking. 

“I mean it’s like I’m dumped in a vat of chakra, and it’s a liquid, but also not,” Ino replied. 

“Right, that clears up everything.” 

She sighed and gestured at Naruto, “It’s like when Naruto’s chakra gets really strong. You can feel it, right?” Shikamaru nodded. “Okay, now imagine wearing it like a fluffy coat so big it makes it hard to breathe. That’s what happens when I touch my chakra against someone else’s.” 

“Can you feel emotions?” 

She sawed her hand back and forth and replied, “Kind of? It’s not super clear, but yes.” 

“Fascinating.” 

“How is it different from before?” Naruto asked. He was propped up against the door, his back keeping it closed firmly. Ino was splayed out next to him and Shikamaru next to her in a sloppy semi circle. “Like when you described our chakra.” 

“I wasn’t actively reaching out for it then. I could feel the chakra coming off of you, but not the chakra that like… made you.” 

“So when you submerge yourself--,” Shikamaru started. 

“You should really move on from that metaphor, I think,” Ino interjected. 

“--you’re feeling the chakra inside their bodies rather than the chakra they’re letting off?” 

Her eyes widened and she pointed at him with zeal, “Yes! Just like that!” 

“But you said you sort of lost it, right?” Naruto asked. He was fidgeting with the zipper of his jacket and biting his lips hard enough to concern her a little. “Isn’t that bad?” 

She sighed and leaned back on her hands to look up at the ceiling. “Yeah. I don’t know how to control it.” 

“Yet. You don’t know how to control it yet ,” Shikamaru said. 

She smiled at the ceiling, “Yeah. If I can handle shoving my own soul energy into someone else, I’m pretty sure I can handle this. Somehow.” 

“You’ve totally got this, Ino!” Naruto cheered. “You guys are the smartest people I know! You’re the smartest in the whole village!” 

“The whole village?” 

Shikamaru said, “Maybe not yet . But we will be.” 

She let her head fall to the side to look at Shikamaru. Before she could say anything a loud knock on the door behind Naruto startled her into nearly falling over. 

After a moment a voice called out, “Yo, bitch! Open up!” 

Naruto shouted back, “What do you want, Kiba?!” 

“Open the door and I’ll tell you, idiot!” 

Ino and Shikamaru exchanged a look as Naruto jumped up to swing the door open. “What?” he growled out. 

Kiba stood just outside with his hands in his pockets. His team was behind him as well as Lee, Tenten, and a very disgruntled looking Neji. “What’s going on?” Ino asked as she quickly stood up and stepped up next to Naruto. 

“We need to hunker down, preferably together,” Kiba said with no bite or challenge. Akamaru was in his customary place in Kiba’s hoodie, but he was also trembling and pressing his small face into Kiba’s neck. 

“Why?” Shikamaru asked. He pressed up behind her, his chest pushing into her back. 

“They found another…” Kiba gave her a look. “Not to mention the fact that some team from Stone just went racing downstairs and begged the proctor to let them withdraw from the exams. Clearly this isn’t a safe environment no matter how many chunin are around.” 

Ino blinked and then huffed out something similar to a laugh. “Shikamaru? What did you say to those poor Stone nin?” she asked. 

He grumbled something unclear and moved on to ask, “Are you talking about the mess Ino was telling us about, with the Sand kid?” 

Kiba nodded. Tenten made a tsking noise and interjected, “Look, I don’t trust any of you, we’re competing after all, but I trust you all not to crush me to death with a terrifying jutsu. So let’s just all stay close by in case of a disaster.” 

“Yes!” Lee exclaimed. “The bond between fellow shinobi is a gift! We must--” 

“Shut it, would you?” Kiba grumbled. 

“We don’t have to be, well, right on top of each other,” Hinata said. “We could just, I mean, we could, I guess, try to…” 

“There are plenty of rooms in this section of the tower,” Shino said. “They are small and easily defendable, as well as being well within hearing reach of each other.” He pointed at the two doors on either side of the one she and her boys were standing in. 

“We think they used to be storage rooms,” Ino said. “But they have windows even though they’re small.” 

“Perfect!” Tenten grinned. “My team will take the one on the left. Dog breath and his two hanger-ons can take the other.” 

Kiba grit his teeth and glared at her. “A logical conclusion,” Shino said before Kiba could explode. “Standard SOS signals? Knocking would work well as a means of communication.” 

Ino rapped her knuckles against the door frame in the short memorized code from the academy. All clear . 

Hinata nodded and added, “It’s just one more night. We can just wait it out up here.” 

Neji rolled his eyes and stormed through the door into his team’s chosen room. Tenten just sighed and said, “Neji’ll keep an eye out for us, I’ll knock if he finds anything.” 

Ino shrugged and watched in bewilderment as the two teams disappeared into their respective rooms. She could hear muffled conversation from each side as she closed the door to their own. “That was weird, right?” she asked. 

Shikamaru collapsed back to the floor with a dramatic sigh. “Yes. It was.” 

“They’re scared,” Naruto pointed out. 

“So, safety in numbers and all that?” Ino asked. 

“Safety in the familiar,” Naruto refuted. “When someone’s scared, they go back to what they’re familiar with, you know? Even if it’s not good, at least you know what you’re getting.” 

“So we’re the lesser of two evils.” 

“It’s smart,” Shikamaru said. “Leaf ninja are the most team oriented of the elemental countries. We all know we won’t attack each other outside of the exams. We don’t know Lee’s team well, but we can count on that, at the very least.” 

She thought about the anger Neji held toward Hinata and wondered if that was strictly true. But it wasn’t like they were forcing the two into the same room or anything. “Right,” Ino mumbled. “It’s good enough for me.” Her skin still crawled a little with the knowledge that they were surrounded. Lee’s voice cut through the wall with exclamations of youth and fervor. Tenten’s voice cut him off and then silence. “It’s good enough,” Ino repeated. Naruto placed his back to the door once again and Ino relaxed a little. It was fine. They were fine. She rubbed at her nose as the phantom odor of blood and other less savory fluids washed over her. She laid down next to Shikamaru against the wall with the window and let herself fall asleep. She dreamt of bones and blood. 

She woke with a start at the sound of knocking next to her head. She snapped her eyes open and didn’t move a muscle. After a few long moments of waiting the knocking came again. Four short, three long, and then the shuriken pattern. New information, mission change . 

Ino looked at the right wall. That was Lee’s team. She stood up on shaky legs and stretched, lightly kicking Shikamaru awake as she did so. “What’s that mean?” Naruto asked. “I don’t remember the codes.” 

She eyed her friend, still sitting against the door, “Did you sleep at all?” she asked. 

He waved his hand noncommittally and asked again, “What’s it mean?” 

“Means someone over there has something they want to tell us.” She pointed at him and added, “And I’m not forgetting about my question.” 

She glanced out the window and frowned. It’d be dawn soon. They’d gotten through the five days, finally. But she didn’t know what came next. This stage of the exam had nearly killed them several times. 

She popped her back and rolled her head to try and get the kinks out of her neck. She was highly unsuccessful. “Alright, I’m gonna head over and see what’s up.” 

Shikamaru sighed, “What a drag.” 

“Yeah, yeah, we know.” 

Naruto rolled to the side so she could open the door a few inches, enough to slip out into the hallway. Tenten was already waiting for her. Ino cocked her head to the side in a silent question. 

Tenten leaned against the far wall and sighed heavily. She looked tired. “I was on watch the past couple of hours, I got third shift.” 

“Okay…” 

“That Sound team, from your fight, the one that Naruto…” 

Ino’s heart jumped and she forced her voice to be calm and smooth, “What about them?” 

“They just got back, I saw them come out of the trees and toward the front of the tower.” 

“How long ago?” 

“Just a few minutes. I knocked as soon as they were out of sight.” Tenten bit her lip and Ino narrowed her eyes. 

“What else?” 

Tenten sighed. “They were dragging the third member.” 

“Which one?” Ino asked, though she already knew. Judging by the look Tenten sent her, she knew it too. 

“Couldn’t see.” 

Ino frowned and nodded, “Okay, thanks.” 

Tenten gave a small smile, “No problem. You guys didn’t hear anything last night?” 

Ino shook her head. Naruto had the first watch, though clearly he hadn’t bothered to wake her or Shikamaru to take over the next couple. But he would have woken her if he’d heard anything. “You?” 

“It’s been quiet. Really quiet.” 

“Shinobi are a quiet type.” 

“Not this quiet.” 

The two of them stared at each other with matching apprehension. “Yeah,” Ino agreed eventually. “And Neji? Did he see anything?” 

Tenten’s lips pressed together and she shook her head. A lie, but Ino was too tired to bother calling the other out on it. “Okay,” she said instead. “Thanks for the heads up.” 

“Dawn’s breaking,” Shikamaru said from behind her. She turned to find him pulling his ponytail out and readjusting his hair. She hadn’t noticed him stepping out. “We should head down soon.” 

“Yeah,” Ino nodded, thoughts spinning around her head. “I wanna check something though. I won’t be long.” 

Shikamaru’s sleepy gaze sharpened. “Where are you going?” he demanded. 

Ino cursed herself, she shouldn’t have brought it up with Tenten nearby. Then again, the girl would probably guess where she’d go anyway. “Just some intel gathering.” 

“Why’s it important?” 

She shrugged. She didn’t know, but she itched with the need to move and look and calculate. “I’ll tell you when I figure it out.” 

He shook his head and his shoulders slumped in defeat and exhaustion. “I’m coming with you.” 

Ino wanted to protest. Someone needed to stay with Naruto, right? But of the three of them, Naruto was easily the strongest. “And Naruto?” she asked regardless. 

Naruto’s head poked out from the doorframe. He was still laying on the ground, but he’d shuffled around enough to look out. She met his eyes in amusement as he glowered weakly up at them. “You think I can’t handle things alone?” 

“You shouldn’t have to,” Shikamaru replied. 

Ino nodded, “It’s different.” 

Naruto’s glare softened and he just huffed and looked away, “I’m fine. I’ll make sure Kiba doesn’t do anything stupid.” She almost laughed at the thought but she choked it down and swallowed heavily. 

“Yeah, okay. You’re in charge,” she agreed. 

Tenten gave them one more lingering glance before she disappeared back into her team’s room, leaving Shikamaru and Ino free to slip downstairs via the far stairwell. “You know where we’re going?” Ino asked. 

Shikamaru nodded, “Infirmary?” 

Her silence was answer enough. 

Shikamaru blocked all the cameras they passed with his shadows but she left him behind just outside the medical area. He wouldn’t be needed any further in since cameras weren’t allowed in the treatment rooms due to paranoia and confidentiality. He would only slow her down. 

“I wish I could dig around a little more, I mean the kid had metal tubes in his arms instead of bones, that’s insane!” one of the medics said from just around the corner she had paused at. 

Another voice answered, “Too bad it would be seen as an act of war to dissect another village’s shinobi. Come off it, we’ve seen weirder things than that Sound kid, it’s not like we need to look into rival nin territory for horror stories.” 

The voices grew distant and Ino slipped around the corner, keeping absolutely silent as she ran behind their backs toward her final destination. 

“Speaking of, did you see that room where that red headed kid…” the voices abruptly cut off with the sound of a shutting door. 

Ino sniffed and smelled phantom blood. Bones . 

She stopped in front of a cot where a body was covered by a stark white sheet. They’d mentioned bones. Metal tubes instead of bones? She inched a little closer and wiggled her foot under the edge of the sheet. It had to be, right? 

Flipping it up revealed Zaku’s bloodied and bruised face. He was pale, paler even than the dead should be. Blood loss then, which meant she killed this guy. She knelt down to get a closer look at him, morbid curiosity getting the best of her. His soundwaves, were they even jutsu, if he had such intense physical alterations? Was he a shinobi at all? 

Eyes drawn to the headband still tied around his forehead she found herself reaching forward to trace the music note etched into the metal. Where did the Sound Village come from? How did an entire village exist without anyone knowing anything about it? She shook her head, that didn’t make sense. Someone knew about it, they had to. She just had to figure out who that was. 

She tapped a nail against the metal and frowned. There was a glimmer of something else underneath the plate, just barely sticking out between the cloth and the metal. She hooked a finger underneath and pulled. It was surprisingly heavy. She had been expecting a good luck charm or a small weapon of some sort. Instead she was looking at what appeared to be another headband plate. The symbol etched into it was… entirely unfamiliar. Not a music note, or any of the other villages.

A moment after she touched it, she felt a pull on her chakra, sharp enough to hurt. Then the metal began to violently twist and bubble and within seconds it had dissolved into heavy smoke that dissipated rapidly through the room. She shoved her collar to her nose and held her breath to stave off the sudden need to cough. She choked on a few inhales before she felt confident enough to remove the obstruction. 

After some deliberation she returned the sheet to its prior position over Zaku’s face. She wanted to keep searching him, but the file cabinet in the corner of the room was too big of a temptation. Besides, if all her evidence turned to smoke then she’d eventually end up giving her position away by violently coughing. 

So she left him behind, though the image of the second headband plate was burned into her mind, and approached the rickety cabinet. If the thing itself was sealed or secured efficiently then she’d be out of luck, but if it was like the ones at T&I then she had a chance. 

She reached out and felt for any chakra around the cabinet but found only the faint traces of residual energy from the touch of many shinobi. She slowly pulled the top drawer open, wincing when it squeaked at the movement. Chakra leaked out of the drawer and she smiled happily. Sometimes shinobi were too paranoid for their own good, and sometimes they were far too confident. 

The files were each stored in thin metal boxes with seals carved into the front. She flicked through the boxes looking for the right name. She snatched up the one with Zaku’s name scratched into the corner. She opened it without fear despite the heavy chakra surrounding it and quickly scanned the couple of pages inside. Besides the barely dried death certificate, there was nothing. 

Dead upon arrival

Severe physical trauma

Blood loss- cause of death

She paused and went back over the more rudimentary information. 

Zaku Abumi

Age 15 and 7 months

Sound Village, in the Land of Rice Paddies

That was to the East. She’d never been to the Land of Rice Paddies, and before just now she hadn’t thought there was anything of interest there. Just farmers and small towns made up of more farmers. 

A bang of a door in the distance made her hurriedly slide the file back into place. She hesitated as she looked at the dozens of files neatly lined up, just waiting for her to read. So much information and so little time and opportunity. The only thing she couldn’t do with these sealed boxes was leave the room with them. Same as T&I: if you tried to leave with even a scrap of paper then you’d get an unpleasant surprise upon the first step outside as well as a team of ANBU dragging you down to the torture rooms. 

Perhaps something worse would happen here, since it wasn’t just her own village’s information. What had the medic just said, could be seen as an act of war . She really didn’t think this all the way through, had she. But she was already here.  

She picked up another file, this one much closer to the front of the drawer. 

Gaara no Sabaku

Age 12 and 2 months

Sand Village, in Wind Country, Land of Lizards

Known affiliation with Kazekage Sabaku: third born child- son

The rest of the page was blacked out, but her eyes had frozen over the last line anyways. She never would have assumed, never would have even thought of the possibility. The Kazekage’s son here, during the exams, why? Why not wait until the exams were hosted in his own village, it would have been safer for both him and the village at large. He was pretty young to be taking part anyways. 

She forced herself to move on. Picking out the small lines of text that weren’t redacted over the next several pages, which was basically nothing. 

Threat level: Orange

Relations: father-Rasa no Sabaku; older brother-Kankuro no Sabaku; older sister-Temari no Sabaku

Mission success rate: 100%

Note: never before injured

She stopped again in her incredulity. Gaara was powerful, no doubt. Terrifying with just how much raw strength he had. But to never be hurt on a mission... Either his missions were catered to him due to his parentage, or he was even more dangerous than she had realized. 

She found nothing else in the slim file. No mention of jinchuriki status that she could see. No mention of his murderous tendencies. Not even a mention of his mother, though the rest of his close family had been listed. 

She slowly put the file back, careful to not let the metal corners scrape against anything. She visually scanned the drawer’s contents once again. Her hand paused above the file for Hinata, but she didn’t have the time to go through all of her curiosities. So instead, she snatched the one at the very back. It looked like it had been shoved back there with the intention of hiding it. 

Naruto Uzumaki

His file was thick as a textbook and as heavily censored as Gaara’s was. But the sheer volume of it meant there was far more to pick through. Still, the only things not blacked out were the basics and his medical history. Regardless, it was enough to turn her stomach. 

Age 13 and 2 months

Leaf Village, Fire Country

Relations: redacted

Date of birth: redacted

Threat level: Orange

Past injuries took up nearly three pages, and those were only the ones that were bad enough for the Hokage to drag Naruto to the hospital for. And worse than those was what followed. Malnourishment, chakra erosion, mental instability, inability to focus, aggressive tendencies…  

Her heart dropped when she read the last two words visible: Malleable and Isolated

The file threatened to fall from her shaking fingers as her vision went blurry with tears. She’d already known his treatment was purposeful, but to see it so blatantly laid out. The medi nin that were trusted with his health, all taking careful notes on him, dissecting his every nuance, and allowing it all to happen. Allowing Naruto to be used and abused . This village-- 

“I cannot wait until this part of the exam is over, I mean if I have to clean another room--” 

The file in her hand smashed into the edge of the cabinet with a loud clang in her startlement at the sudden voice so close to the room she was in. 

The voice cut off. Another said, “Did you hear that?” 

Ino threw the file back into the back of the drawer, slammed it shut, and sprinted for the nearest window. She wouldn’t be able to talk her way out of getting caught in here. She promised her father she’d never be in T&I as anything but a visitor or a worker. She really hadn’t thought this through . The glass shattered around her as she pushed through it with a burst of chakra. She allowed herself to fall a couple of stories, before she whipped her foot out to use the wall to slow her descent. She curled forward and hurled herself through the first window she saw. It was, miraculously, open already. 

She glanced up as she moved through the window frame to see the top of a head just starting to peer over the sill above. She grabbed the end of her ponytail, making sure to drag it inside with the rest of her body as she disappeared from sight. 

She sidestepped and pressed herself to the wall, taking the time to take three deep breaths before she slipped out of the random room she’d dropped into and skirted the cameras outside until she reached one of the main hallways. 

She shook her entire body to try and relieve some of the tense stiffness of her muscles. Then she affected her usual unbothered walking pattern. She needed to find Shikamaru. 

Finding him turned out to be rather easy. He was exactly where she’d left him, because of course he was. He was leant back against the wall with his head resting on the plaster and his eyes closed. He opened one of them when she stopped in front of him. He asked, “You good?” 

“Of course!” she chirped back as one of the chunin proctors passed behind her. The man didn’t give them more than a glance. 

Shikamaru reached for her face and his fingers tilted her head up slightly by pressing to the bottom of her chin. His thumb caressed the side of her face and his eyes turned as dark as his shadows. “Did someone give you problems?” he asked as he withdrew his comforting touch and showed her that his thumb was streaked with blood. 

She pressed her own fingers to the small bleeding cut high over her cheekbone. It burned slightly at the contact. “Just had a run in with a window,” she replied quietly. A medi nin hurried out of the hallway nearby with a quietly panicked expression. They walked by them with even less notice than the proctor from a moment before. Shikamaru and her watched in silence as they disappeared around a corner. 

Ino flashed 2 signals to Shikamaru the moment he looked at her next. Mission Change. Extreme Danger.  

She may not have all the pieces yet, but she knew something was very wrong.

He stood up fully and barked out, “Report.” 

Before she could react a chakra-enforced voice reverberated through the entire tower. “The second stage of the exams are done. Report immediately to the front of the tower where you will be escorted to the next location by your respective jounin-senseis.” 

Ino reached out for Naruto’s chakra and found him already rushing toward the lower floor. She grabbed Shikamaru’s wrist and started pulling him toward the exit too. As she was forcing him out the door she noted pink in her peripheral vision. She turned and spotted Sakura, Sasuke, and Sumaru all standing with scrolls still being handed over to a short chunin. They all looked worse for wear but not necessarily injured. Still, she hadn’t expected Sasuke to be scraping through this exam by the skin of his teeth. 

She wanted to talk to Shikamaru, wanted to hug Naruto and pull his hair and remind herself that he was here and whole. That she wouldn't allow others to hurt him anymore. She wanted to ask Asuma questions and demand the answers. 

But she couldn’t. The walk to the stadium was stifling. Chunin proctors milled throughout the smaller groups and shunshinned circuits around them. There were the tell-tale blurs of movements from ANBU who wanted everyone to know they were there. It wasn’t normal. Logically she knew this, but what really told her was the discomfort apparent in every line of Asuma’s body. The cigarette in his mouth wasn’t even burning anymore and he hadn’t noticed. 

“Sensei…” she said very softly. “How many teams died in the exam?” 

Asuma cleared his throat and didn’t look at her when he replied, “Two.” 

Shikamaru scoffed and she almost echoed the sound before she pressed her lips together. A lie within a truth. She narrowed her eyes and asked, “How many teams died?” 

Asuma’s answer was barely above the sound of a breath, “Six.” 

They didn’t talk for the rest of the trip. Naruto hooked his arm around Ino’s and pulled her closer to him as he walked. Even he wasn’t talking. Naruto may seem dumb, but he was far from it. He was clever and he relied a lot on instinct. He may not learn things all that fast and he had next to no natural talent, but his instincts were spot on every time. 

She had no idea what they were telling him now, but she pressed their shoulders together and gripped the edge of his orange sleeve. She didn’t let go until they were forced to line up in their teams at the center of a stone lined stadium. The corners of the room were dusty and a few cobwebs stuck to strange places, mostly places that would be easy to miss when doing a rush job at cleaning. 

Seven teams remained, four of which were from the Leaf. She didn’t know what that meant. It could mean that the Leaf genin were strong or… it could mean that the stronger teams from other villages hadn’t come this year… 

“...because of that we will be holding preliminary rounds and…” 

It could also mean that the other teams had been weeded out.

“...the finals rounds will be held at a later date, after…”

She didn’t pay more than the barest attention to what the Hokage was saying. If she did she would end up thinking about the rage that thrummed in her every muscle at the mere possibility of the man looking at or speaking to Naruto ever again. So instead, she looked at the shinobi present. The Leaf jonin-senseis were grouped together to one side. The Grass, Sound, and Sand senseis were scattered on the other side. At the far end of the room, behind the prattling old man, were several shinobi from T&I, as well as a few tokubetsu jounin from Leaf all seemingly lazing about in the corners. 

Ino’s senses strained just from watching them watch everyone else without giving away that they were. It was a skill she worked on everyday. She hoped she could one day make her observing and mental dissecting so nonchalant. 

She didn’t bother with any efforts to conceal her intentions now. She watched and calculated. Three things caught her attention. The first was that Anko and Ibiki weren’t talking to each other. The second was that the terrifying Grass nin with the soul genjutsu hadn’t glanced twice at her, but was instead avidly staring at Sasuke. And three, the Sound jonin-sensei’s feet were pointed straight in the direction of the Sand jounin-sensei.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Naruto shouted at her to get moving. She nodded dumbly and followed everyone to the stairs leading up to the raised viewing platforms. The four Leaf teams took one side, while the other three visiting teams took the other. Just as would be expected. 

It meant she could watch them more easily, but hearing them would be a challenge. She’s not sure which would be the most beneficial, but it didn’t matter. Things weren’t about to change. 

The board at the front and above the heads of their audience began to spin. She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Did they expect her to believe that the matchups were random? Really? She was really starting to wonder what the skill level expected of chunin actually was. 

Temari vs. Shiore

Ino didn’t recognize the name, which meant it had to be one of the Grass ninja. The genin with the soul genjutsu stopped staring at Sasuke long enough to glance over and see their name.

The first fight was between two of the visiting villages’ genin. Which meant, mathematically, more match ups would occur between the Leaf rookies. Would that be a pattern? It couldn’t be, it would be far too obvious. Then again, everything looked obvious from her viewpoint. 

She couldn’t make herself watch the Grass nin, even though they were one of the biggest threats around. Instead, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Temari of the Sand. 

Ino thought Temari was rather beautiful. Tanned skin and light hair, heavily lashed eyes and a strong figure. She looked like a kunoichi in all the best ways, yet her looks were undermined by the constant sneer she sported. Ino liked it. The curl of her lips was the first thing to be noticed upon looking at her and Ino imagined it was the last thing a lot of people had seen. The other girl made her way down the stairs with the same careful steps that Ino had witnessed in the tower. 

Ino finally forced herself to look at the Grass nin from their first fight and couldn’t contain the shiver that racked her body. Naruto pressed closer to her on one side and Shikamaru angled himself to face more toward her from where he leaned on the railing. 

“There’s no way she can win against that genjutsu, is there?” Ino asked him. 

He shrugged, “Unknown factors. But it’s not looking good.” 

“Surrender now and I won’t make you slit your own throat,” Shiore said. 

Temari raised one perfect eyebrow with envy worthy sardonic energy and replied, “There’s no way I’m going out this early in the exams, chump. Try again.” 

Ino caught movement behind the Grass nin. They were making one handed signs.

Hayate chopped his arm down with an incredibly imprecise movement and said quietly, “Match starts.” 

Temari pulled the fan from her sash and widened her stance. The Grass nin used the hand they weren’t currently using to make signs with to throw a series of kunai at Temari. The girl just laughed and deflected them off the side of her fan. Ino barely noticed, her eyes fixed on that hand. The Grass nin paused on one sign. 

“You’ve already lost, little girl,” they said, and then their hands came together in front of their chest to do three more rapid hand signs. Ino shook off the imaginary cold that settled in her chest.

Temari froze, hand gone rigid and tense where it clasped her fan. The Grass nin smiled and slid through a few more hand signs. Ino was fascinated and impressed by how obviously intricate the soul genjutsu was. Made her wonder how they’d pulled it off so quickly in the forest. Was she really so distracted as to not notice so many hand signs? Yet another mistake to add to her tally. 

Temari dropped to her knees, fan now clutched between both hands and the only thing holding her up from falling all the way down. Her body started shaking and Ino wanted to look away from the sight of the girl crying, but she couldn’t. What if she missed the Grass nin turning and attacking her own team? Looking away was a weakness she couldn’t afford.

Shiore pulled a kunai and started to slowly advance on Temari. “Just give in,” they crooned. “It’ll all be over soon.” They stopped just a couple feet from Temari’s shaking form and crouched down to hold out the kunai to her. “Here, let me help you. You can end it yourself.” 

Temari threw her head back and Ino was shocked to see the girl wasn’t sobbing anymore, she was laughing . It was edged with hysteria and desperation and painful to listen to. 

The grass nin startled back. 

“You think this is fear?” Temari rasped out between cackles. Her fingers twisted over her fan. The grass nin rushed forward. Too fast for Ino to see, but Temari knocked their feet out from under them with a precise sweep of her fan across the floor around her. 

“You broke it too?” The Grass nin shot a look in Ino’s direction. 

Temari showed no response to the question. She struggled gracelessly to her feet, using her fan as a leverage point to drag herself up. The Grass nin blew through six lightning fast signs and Temari’s knees buckled for a moment before she managed to steady herself. She was bowed over like a tremendous force was pushing her toward the floor and her laughing had died down completely. 

When she raised her head to glare forward, several feet to the side of where her enemy actually was, there were tears running down her cheeks. She didn’t look scared though, she looked absolutely furious. 

“How?!” Shiore demanded, strengthening the jutsu with a palpable use of chakra and intent. There was sweat carving paths down the side of their face and they were panting more than Temari was. 

Temari’s eyes snapped shut and she let out a pained sound. She trembled like a newborn fawn in the Nara woods. After a long moment she widened her stance further and grimaced. Her eyes opened and stared sightlessly across the arena. They were hazy and her pupils were the size of pin pricks. Every other second her eyes would dart around tracking invisible movement. 

Ino knew how heavy Temari must feel. She knew the terror that must be flooding her system, she’d felt it before. She’d only been able to tear away from it because she broke the genjutsu, but Temari clearly wasn’t doing that. 

“So how do I break it?” 

“You can’t.” Asuma gave her a very serious look. “But sometimes you can survive it.” 

“You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that,” Temari spat out. She smiled and though it was shaky it was full of violence. Ino’s heart pounded erratically at the sight of it.

“How are you--” 

“Is this what fear is in the Village hidden in the Grass?” Temari interrupted, clearly unable to hear the started question. “Happy to break it to you, but shinobi from the desert are made of stiffer stuff.” 

“You will die here!” Shiore shouted. Ino could feel the nin’s chakra rising and falling like a powerful wind, whipping around Temari and pulling at her soul. It was awful, it was gut wrenching, and still Temari stood. “Kill yourself!” 

Shiore stalked forward, kunai gripped in their hand. Temari’s eyes followed something to the right, her head jerking toward it and then back forward again. “Where are you?” she shouted. “Fight me like you mean it!” The fan left the ground and spread outwards to show one purple circle. The grass nin lunged at the same time as Temari whipped the fan around in front of her and a strong blast of wind blew her attacker away. They slammed into the opposite wall of the arena leaving a crater at the impact. 

“I refuse, I--!” Temari shouted, panting and once again leaning on her fan. “This isn’t how I’m going to die! Not you or any of this will take me down!!” Tears were still falling steadily, her cheeks glistened in the artificial light of the arena. 

“Surrender!” the Grass nin screamed, chakra doubling down with an impossible magnitude. As they got back to their feet, Temari fell to her knees. Her fan clattered to the ground next to her with a resounding echo against the corners of the building. 

She snarled and dug her fingers into the rock and dirt of the floor. “I don’t fear you or this. I only fear one thing and it’s not death or battle!” She lifted her hands and looked down at them with distant eyes. “What, you think you can scare me with my own blood? I’ve been covered in it since I was five.” She shook her head and flicked invisible blood from her fingers. “This isn’t fear, it’s an imitation.” 

Ino’s respect, which had been building throughout the fight, skyrocketed. It wasn’t fear? But it was, it was terror and horror and weakness boiled down and injected into a vein. She had been at the Grass nin’s mercy, completely and utterly overwhelmed. Temari laughed again and Ino jolted back from the sound, pressing her shoulder into Naruto’s harder. 

Temari rose with an effort that left her body vibrating with overuse and exhaustion, but she stood resolute and weathered it all. “You might as well give up, you clearly don’t understand what fear truly is. You don’t know real terror. You’ve never lived with it pressing down on you day in and day out. Waking to its weight and sleeping in its nightmare.” Temari bent and picked up her fan. She opened it further to reveal another purple circle. “Fear is in my blood, and both are soaked into the sand of my home.” 

The grass nin was trembling. Ino figured they had another minute or so before chakra exhaustion brought them down. Temari just had to live that long. 

The beautiful desert kunoichi laughed and stared up at the ceiling. “There’s a saying in my home: what should we fear when the desert is the greatest monster of all?” She lifted her fan. “But you? You’re going to fear me .” She swung her arm and blades of wind ravaged the arena floor. Ino closed her eyes and lifted her hands in front of her face as dirt and dust stung at her skin and eyes. Temari’s chakra swept over her and it was dry and hot. It left the back of her throat itchy and parched. It made fear skitter across her senses. 

Ino blinked rapidly as the wind died and she pushed her hair out of her face to peer down. Shiore was in two pieces on the ground, their face frozen in a rictus of horror. Temari stood sneering down at the body. Her fan was held in one hand behind her back and Ino had to wonder how heavy that thing was. The girl toted it around like it was nothing.

Temari’s sneer turned a little wobbly when she glanced up at her own team, her siblings and jonin-sensei. Ino glanced over to see Gaara standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest and staring down at his sister with an awful blankness. 

Temari closed her fan and slid it into her sash once again. Without wiping the tears from her face she turned to the Hokage and gathered shinobi at the side of the arena and gave a short sarcastic bow. Then she prowled back to the stairs and up to her team. Ino couldn’t tear her eyes away from Temari. They’d all just witnessed something earth-shattering, and no one but her and Shikamaru knew it.  

“Unknown factors, huh?” Ino whispered. 

Shikamaru sighed and she almost smiled at the familiar sound. “She’s dangerous, no doubt. But I can’t help but be glad that she was the victor, even if she does end up being the bigger threat in the end.” 

“Yeah, me too.” She stopped watching the Sand team and turned to check on Naruto, who hadn’t said a word since the fight had begun. He was standing stock still, which was never a good sign. She called his name but he stayed frozen, not even blinking. Once she got a better look at his face she sucked in a startled breath. His eyes were open but they very clearly weren’t seeing anything in front of him. His pupils were huge, nearly blocking out all hints of blue, and they weren’t nice neat circles. Instead, they looked more like ovals. 

The haziness in the stare was what scared her though. It was eerily similar to the way Temari’s eyes had looked. She reached out in a panic to shake his shoulder roughly. The Grass nin, Shiore, was dead, there was no way that Naruto could be stuck in the jutsu still. Right?

It took a few good shakes and shoves before Naruto’s head snapped to the side to look at her with surprise and confusion. “Ino, shove off!” He knocked her hands away and she couldn’t even find it in herself to be annoyed. 

“Are you okay, Naruto?” Ino asked. 

His brow creased. “Yes?” He looked over her shoulder, probably at Shikamaru who she could feel hovering just behind her, and shrugged. Naruto ran a hand through his hair and pulled at the tangles he found harshly. “So, when’s the first match start? Hope it’s a good one, we gotta start it off right, you know?” 

Shikamaru’s chest slammed into her back, or maybe she fell backwards into him. “Naruto,” Shikamaru said. “The first match is already over. What were you-- Where were you, just now?” 

Naruto’s eyes, always wide and blue and hiding mischief expertly, looked strange. His pupils had returned to nice even circles, but there was a shrewdness there that had never been present before. Naruto looked surprised. He acted surprised. He was surprised. Yet, when he chuckled and said, “Must have gotten caught up in my head,” it rang as untrue. She couldn’t peg any signs of a lie, no facial twitch or shift of the body. She reached out for his chakra to find it hot and simmering, hot as it had been for most of the exams. 

“Caught up in your head?” Shikamaru repeated. Ino’s eyes narrowed in thought, scanning her friend over and over again. 

“Yeah, thinking too hard about something, I guess.” True, but his eyes...

“What had you thinking so hard?” Ino asked.

“I can’t remember,” Naruto frowned. Lie, lie, lie. “Must not have been important, after all.” LIE. 

He smiled at them with genuine affection. His body was stiff in discomfort but not deceit. His chakra twisted, ever so slightly, as he spoke and Ino latched onto that. “I doubt that,” she said, half to herself. “You’re not one to get lost so easily.” 

“Maybe Shika’s day dreaming is contagious.” Laughter and a wide smile. But his eyes didn’t close like they often did, and staring into those familiar blue eyes she saw a stranger looking back. Because Naruto’s chakra had churned as he laughed. He was lying , and she didn’t know how she knew, but she was certain of it. 

Her hand grasped onto Shikamaru’s and squeezed. “Must have,” she agreed uneasily. 

The thing was, Naruto couldn’t lie, even when it was best for him. He couldn’t lie and he didn’t lie. But his eyes were proving her wrong.

Chapter Text

Ino wasn’t overly surprised to find that the Grass ninja that came down to fight Sasuke gave no reaction to the fate of his leader a match before. The blood staining the ground, a lot of it still wet, didn’t get so much as a glance from him. Instead, his eyes were locked on Sasuke. Ino got the feeling that gaze hadn’t moved from the boy since the line up where she’d first noticed it. 

A tinge of worry made itself known in her chest. Would Sasuke be beat? He did come in last in the second stage of the exam. Maybe he was injured or just not as advanced as she, and everyone else in their generation, had thought. 

Sasuke himself gave no indication of worry. His hands were in his pockets and he had the perfect combination of slouch and attentiveness as he stared at his combatant. He looked a lot like his jounin-sensei, without the book. What was up with those books anyway? She hadn’t spent a lot of time looking into the other jounin-senseis, so Kakashi Hatake wasn’t a well known player. Not that anyone in their village didn’t know who he was, but still. She was a detail person. 

Either way, she was pretty sure that Sasuke didn’t realize just how intently he’d been watched so far. Could be that the guy’s used to it by now. He always garnered a lot of attention. But the look in the Grass nin’s eyes was not idle hero worship. His eyes were shining with fanaticism, something she’d only seen in a couple of other places, almost all of those being in T&I. 

She reached out for Sasuke’s chakra, curious to see what he felt like. She had a pretty good idea, he always ran warm like Naruto, but much less humid. Naruto was like boiling water while Sasuke was like burning wood and dry heat. In the few moments they still had left before the fight began, she reached out with her own chakra to very carefully brush up against his. 

She was instantly covered in a heat that felt like flames, not painful but not comfortable. Those flames were cool compared to the two bright hot coals of energy that sat behind his eyes. She jerked back with a stifled gasp. Her attention was torn from Sasuke when, right before she pulled back, she brushed up against something else. Something much worse. She glanced up at Gaara, who was staring unblinkingly at Sasuke. 

That frigid cold was even more pronounced after being wrapped in Sasuke’s flames, but she was happy to have lurched back before she could feel anything beyond that slight tingle of delirium pulling at her fingers and arms. Did that mean that Gaara had been reaching out for Sasuke too?

She turned her attention instead to Naruto, anxious to both escape from the pressure of Gaara’s presence as well as get another glimpse of what she’d seen before in her teammate. Naruto was blinking and looking around, present, but he looked vaguely lost. His forehead was wrinkled in more than just confusion. The tightness around his eyes was more akin to agitation, anxiety, even anger. It was strange to see. 

Naruto’s hands never once twitched toward his jacket sleeves or the skin underneath, he didn’t even pull at his hair. She didn’t think the lack of his self-destructive habits was all that much of a good thing, though. Instead he looked like he was waking up after a long exhausting healing session.

Why had he lied to her? Why now, after everything? She suddenly remembered Naruto’s words in the tower.

“Does it hurt?” 

“As much as it ever does, I guess.”  

Maybe he was hurting. Having that much chakra inside him all the time couldn’t be comfortable. She didn’t know why she’d never thought of the possibility before these exams. Not even on the bridge with Zabuza had it occurred to her. All those times that his chakra hurt her, was he feeling the same?

A lot of things were just starting to show their true weight. She placed a hand on his shoulder and only marginally relaxed when he shot her a quick grin. His eyes were still off, but at least they were watching the arena in front of him. 

“Match starts!” Hayate shouted. 

She reluctantly turned her attention from Naruto to the fight. She leaned in closer to him though and monitored his breathing, which was thankfully relatively steady.

“Uchiha-san,” the Grass nin greeted with a wide smile that looked manic and thus fit on his face well. “We’ve heard rumors of the Uchiha clan's power. We are disciples of the forgotten arts that your family pioneered.” 

Ino cringed. Sasuke’s face did something similar but then it transitioned to anger. “We’re not here to talk, we’re here to fight,” Uchiha replied. His hands came out of his pockets and Ino felt something sharp in his chakra. At first she likened it to the edge of a kunai, similar to Tenten’s, but she searched harder for it under the chakra of everyone else present and she realized it wasn’t sharp, it was shocking. Like electricity.

“We came here for you . Among other things.” 

Sasuke’s anger ground to a halt. “What?” 

“Konoha, a graveyard of the family descended from the celestial ancestors!” the Grass nin continued, gripped in some sort of twisted passion. “Wasted upon a place such as this. A history that would forget them, tangled in their misconceptions and bigotry! Surrounded by people that do not give you the teachings and respect you deserve!” 

“What do you know of it?” Sasuke scoffed. “You come in here and talk about things you don’t understand!” The sharingan flashed to life in his eyes and the Grass nin gasped at it. Ino wanted to roll her eyes but it wasn’t worth the effort. 

“We know that your mind is sharpened by the sharingan, and that you’re covered in the blood of a clan that could have had the world at its feet.” The Grass nin took a step closer which made Sasuke’s stance harden in a moment. “Genjutsu is an art that’s been overlooked in society and history alike. The Uchiha clan was feared but never understood. If they had been, people would have done more than just fear them. They would have given them everything. The power of your eyes is incomprehensible. A leftover artifact of a world gone by.” 

Ino raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. She reached for the nin’s chakra but found an absolute mess of sensations. Impossible to read past the initial euphoria. He was a real piece of work. 

“Tell me, Sasuke Uchiha. What do your people give you besides secrets and chains? What does the village give you but mistakes? What is it that you want?” 

Sasuke glared, sharingan spinning, and spat out, “I’m here to get stronger! This exam is supposed to help with that, not whatever this is. I’m not interested, you idiot! I need to avenge my clan!” His eyes widened as if he hadn’t meant to say that last bit, but it wasn’t like it was a surprise to anyone present. 

“We would see you to that goal, Uchiha-san.” 

Ino glanced at the Hokage. He looked tense and many of the Leaf shinobi and ANBU around him looked outraged. The audacity to try and recruit one of their genin was… well it was almost impressive. But mostly it was just idiotic. That Grass nin wouldn’t be leaving Konoha. She’d see him again maybe, in the bowels of T&I. 

“Your people hold you back. My people hold secrets of genjutsu long forgotten by the world. It would be an honor to share them with you, Sasuke Uchiha. Let us protect your legacy !” 

Sasuke’s sharingan faded and he just blinked in apparent shock. Ino could relate. The shock morphed back into a glare as Sasuke crossed his arms and huffed. To Ino it was obvious he was uncomfortable. Crossing the arms was just an attempt to create a barrier between him and the other, and the glare was a blatant cover for how wide his eyes actually were.

It would seem Sasuke was actually capable of emotions other than brooding and disdain. Though shock and confusion weren’t much of an emotion, more of a reaction. 

The Grass nin held up his hand and said, “I forfeit!” 

Sasuke’s careful cover shattered into absolute confusion. “What?” he asked. 

“My village awaits you, Uchiha .” Then the Grass nin turned and walked back to the viewing platform. Sasuke stood, for the entirety of the other’s walk, and glared at his retreating back. 

“Sasuke Uchiha wins,” Hayate said. Arm waving half-heartedly. “Sasuke, go up to your team, you move on to the next round.” 

 Sasuke kicked at the ground, some of the leftover blood smearing at the action, and stalked away. Ino didn’t bother trying to listen in on the conversation between him and Kakashi. She didn’t want to get involved in any of that mess. She had enough problems of her own. Idiotic Grass shinobi who get their asses thrown into interrogation cells weren’t interesting to her. 

Shikamaru asked, “Did that really just happen?” He shot her a dry exasperated glance. “Can you imagine an entire clan of Sasukes?” 

Ino elbowed him as Naruto laughed. “He wasn’t always a sullen dick, you know. He used to be fun back when we were kids.” 

That sobered them up a bit, but the massacre of the Uchiha clan was an old wound on the village. One that didn’t impact their current confusing position and problems. She figured she could safely check off Uchiha drama as something to push aside and ignore to the best of her ability. She really didn’t see what Sakura saw in him. 

Speaking of, Ino watched Sakura try to cheer Sasuke up with no success. Sumaru punched Sasuke in the shoulder and said something she couldn’t hear. Sasuke scowled but the tension in his shoulders lessened a little. Sakura smiled and threw her arm around Sumaru’s shoulders, who bore it with ill grace but didn’t shove her away. 

They certainly weren’t any InoShikaNar, but maybe their team wasn’t as discordant as she’d assumed it was. She knew their team had taken some higher level missions recently, but she’d never heard any rumors about the results. 

“I hope I’m next!” Naruto said with a raised fist. “I’m ready to fight! Let’s go!” 

She snorted and patted his shoulder, “No one’s going to stop you from fighting, just hold yourself together until your name goes up, please. No interrupting other fights.” 

“I know the rules!” 

“You always know the rules,” Shikamaru replied. “I think it just gives you more power in your efforts to break them all.” 

“I do not!” 

“Yes, you do,” Ino said. “Like eight times out of ten you’re the reason we’re in trouble.” 

“And the other two are you,” Shikamaru pointed at her. She shrugged and didn’t deny it. 

“Wait, so Shikamaru just gets a free skate?” Naruto demanded. “He’s trouble!” 

“Really, Nar?” Shikamaru asked. “When was the last time I instigated a fight or a problem. When was the last time I tried to shout an enemy into being our friend or dragged us down into the basements of T&I for an experiment?” 

“You made us play shogi that one time!” 

“Oh, the torture.” 

“It was.” 

A loud click made them all turn back to the board. 

Ino Yamanaka vs Kiba Inuzuka

Interesting. A better match up than she’d allowed herself to hope for. Still not an easy target though. She sucked on her front teeth and leaned into the hand Asuma placed on her shoulder. “Just remember to keep your guard up, he’ll be getting up and close to fight. Hand to hand.” 

She grimaced but gave a nod. Shikamaru gave her a lazy head tilt and her lips curled in annoyance at him. He could keep his judgemental silent questions to himself, thank you. Naruto slammed into her for a hug that felt more like a sloppy grapple and almost knocked her over. “You got this, Ino!” 

“Thanks, Nar. I’ll give it my best, alright?” 

She quickly disengaged and walked down. 

Kiba stretched his arms out behind his head and smirked at her from across the small arena. “This won’t take long,” he said. 

She pushed down the nerves fluttering around uncomfortably in her stomach, or attempted to. They were persistent buggers. “You’re right, mutt. Ready to eat the floor?” 

He scoffed. “What are you gonna do? Criticize my fashion sense? Read my body language? Here, you can start now. Tell me if I’m lying when I say I’m gonna win.” 

“What would your mother say if she heard you disrespecting women?” 

“She’d say if I could beat ‘em they deserve it.” 

“Come on! Are you guys gonna fight or talk?” Naruto called out. 

“Shut it, Naruto!” she screamed over her shoulder, not dumb enough to take her eyes off Kiba to do so. 

“He’s right, let’s get this over with.” He sighed theatrically as he flipped his hands and claws appeared at the ends of his finger tips. “I was hoping for a challenge.” 

They both refused to look away from each other but they waited in suspense for Hayate to wave them into action. “Match starts!” 

He sped right at her and her heart flew to her throat. She grabbed a kunai just in time to spin it around and stop his claws a couple inches away from her face. She was surprised he would be that vicious, but also… Of course Kiba wouldn’t hold back, it wasn’t in his nature. Human or canine. 

He laughed and pressed forward with a swipe from his other hand. She used an open palmed blow to smack his wrist and attack off course and twisted around the new trajectory, narrowly avoiding slashing her stomach open on his claws. She pivoted to keep him in front of her and not at her side, which made Kiba’s kick at her knee go wide. 

She ducked another swipe and jumped over a low kick, using his knee to push off and gain distance. It didn’t even make him stumble. He closed in on her immediately, not giving her a moment to think. She was stuck in a holding pattern of dodging and weaving. He chased her down one side of the arena and up the other. 

His strikes were harsh straight lines with brutal strength behind them but his style lacked elegance. This wasn’t a dance like Shikamaru and Asuma’s spars with their knives, this was a tussle in a back alley against a dog protecting scraps. He aimed for soft spots of her body like her eyes, throat, groin, and the back of her knees. She didn’t have the strength to break through the attacks to attempt her own. A pattern that seemed to be forming for her during these exams. 

She regulated her breathing and pushed some of her chakra to her arms where her muscles were quivering from blocking and pushing kicks away. Her only consolation was to see him breaking a sweat trying to land a hit on her. 

He spat a couple of insults at her that she ignored. Kiba was brash and a loudmouth on the best of days, but he’d been a little right at the beginning. What did she need to do? Read his body language . And what she saw was that everytime she disengaged he would lead the next attack with a high and hard strike with his left hand and claws. It left his right leg weak. 

  She ducked a swipe and rolled under his next kick, scrambling a couple meters away. Just as she expected, he chased her without pause and his left arm went up high, his right leg taking most of his weight. She dropped to a crouch and snapped her left hand out to curl around the back of his right knee, and pulled hard. Digging her fingertips and nails into the soft nerve in the pit of his knee to make it hurt. 

He yipped and fell backwards onto his ass. She spun the scratched up kunai between her fingers and swiped at his face. He yipped even higher and kicked out at her arm just in time to get just a shallow scratch under his right eye rather than potentially losing it. She retreated to the other side of the arena and allowed herself to pant a bit and shake out her arms. 

“You’ve gotten better since the academy,” Kiba said as he stood up and did the same as her. 

“A lot has changed since then,” Ino replied. 

Kiba’s entire demeanor turned grim and serious. His pupils contracted and dilated in rapid succession. “You can say that again.” He unzipped his hoodie and Akamaru dropped to the ground with a bark. “Time to get serious.” 

She swallowed roughly and bent her knees, ready for whatever attack he came at her with next. She needed a strategy but she couldn’t find one. An all out brawl like this wasn’t exactly her best stage. It was rather short-sighted and prejudiced in her opinion, that this section of the chunin exams was so heavily combat oriented in such confining ways. At least in the forest she had the environment to work around and with.

Kiba tossed a pill to Akamaru who crunched it between pointed teeth. His white fur rapidly turned red. “Human beast mimicry!” 

She swore under her breath. She could barely keep up with one Kiba and now there were two? Well, one was still Akamaru obviously, but which one? And would it matter in the end? They both had two hands with five clawed fingers each. 

“I think we’re in for a change of scenery,” Kiba said. The real Kiba, since she figured Akamaru probably still couldn’t actually talk. Though they were Inuzuka, so who knew. Kiba pulled out two dark balls and threw them to the ground. Smoke erupted and expanded to fill every inch of her vision. Panic made her freeze up.

A body slammed into her side and she nearly fell over but was knocked back the other direction by another body slam. 

All she saw was smoke, she’d been in this situation before. The smoke was darker, but it looked too much like mist. All she could feel was Zabuza’s heavy killing intent from the bridge. All she could hear was Shikamaru screaming in pain and Naruto’s panicked shouting. The smell of burning flesh from Asuma’s fight clogged up her nostrils and all she could do was stand in front of a man she detested with a single kunai to protect him against something she had no chance of fighting.

She gripped the kunai in her hands tighter, hating that she couldn’t even see it. She almost called out for her boys but she didn’t want to draw attention to the location of the bridge builder. She shuddered and choked on a sob when pain lanced down her rib cage. Blood dripped down her side and she couldn’t see it . She couldn’t see her friends either. 

“INO!” 

She jumped in place and swung her head toward the sound of her younger teammate. Naruto needed her help. He and Shikamaru must still be stuck in the ice dome. She only knew low level katon jutsus though. 

“INO, KEEP FIGHTING!” 

The kyuubi would be lashing out soon. Wait, that was right, Naruto didn’t need help, he had the kyuubi. It would take over soon, for just a minute, just long enough to break free from Haku’s jutsu. So why was she…? 

“This is pathetic,” a voice rumbled behind her. She flinched away from it and then doubled over when what felt like a fist slammed into her solar plexus. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This didn’t happen. Because this had already happened? She shook her head and pressed her weaponless hand to her side where the blood was hot and sticky. She didn’t get injured on the bridge. 

This wasn’t the bridge. 

“INO, YOU CAN DO THIS!” 

Ino felt Naruto’s chakra lash out and quiver from behind her. Naruto was here. She dug under it for Shikamaru and Asuma. They were there too. And this wasn’t the bridge .

A flare of chakra came from her left and then a punch hit her in the side of the temple making the world spin in place. Kiba was here too. Kiba was attacking her, this was the chunin exams and she was an idiot. A flare directly in front of her and she threw herself to the side. A body flew by her with a small sound of surprise. 

She spent the next minute dancing around the sudden spikes of chakra and intent in the smoke, but it wasn’t enough. A couple lucky hits and she’d go down hard. She pulled on her ponytail and debated. She was scared to push herself too far and get lost in someone else’s chakra but if she could just tell where Kiba was then she could fight. She could sense him if she tried, but would she be stuck if she did? She could feel Gaara’s cold chakra off to the side without stretching her own out. She didn’t know if she could stand being any closer to it.

She didn’t have much of a choice. She pushed her chakra out just a couple of feet and then paused to listen. A couple soft steps from behind and she spun around the incoming kick. She felt her chakra lap at the foot as it got within her range. Then the limb withdrew again and left behind little more than a burst of heat across her senses. 

She needed more. She pushed out a couple more feet and stopped once again. Gaara’s chakra was like a bruise she couldn’t stop feeling but he was still half an arena away. Why was she being so weak? With a flash of anger she let her chaka spill out farther, nearly ten feet around her and she caught two signatures circling her. 

Fur and sunlight and the breeze of a clear day in a flowering meadow. Underneath that was blood, teeth and claws, honed and sharp and ready to tear into flesh. Stitching it all together was warmth and community. 

It was overwhelming. Her head felt like it was full of cotton and she tasted blood. She couldn’t let this happen. She needed to fight. She needed… she needed her team, and they were right behind her. 

Naruto’s chakra was like stepping into a too hot spring of water and it helped wash away the feeling of fur on her skin. She kept one half of her mind on Naruto and the other she turned towards her attackers. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to listen. 

The faint sounds of feet and loose stone helped her know where to focus within her range. She pulled on the two signatures and they became more defined. One was wilder than the other. More blood and claws. The other was softer and swifter and toothy. 

She slipped her kunai back into her holster and instead grabbed the last of her ninja wire. She couldn’t fight Kiba and Akamaru like this, not without an environment she could manipulate. She’d need to win this a different way. 

She spooled the wire loosely around her fingers. 

Then she hesitated. Kiba wasn’t dumb no matter how much he didn’t think before he spoke. If he figured out she was adapting then he would switch tactics, which she couldn’t allow. So she did what she did best. She let out a harsh breath that stunk of fear. She let the next hit against her shoulder knock her to the side and stumbled with a hitch of a half sob. 

She cried out in exaggerated pain when she was knocked to the ground. She settled on her knees and breathed heavily, ignoring the need to cough from the smoke sneaking into her lungs. She laid in wait. 

The wilder signature charged at her, chakra spilling with victorious intent. She spun and deftly hooked a couple loops of her wire around Kiba’s ankle. She fell back to avoid the punch at her temple and wound more of it around his wrist. She stood with a sharp tug to the wire. She couldn’t see it but she could hear Kiba’s shout of dismay as his ankle and wrist were forced together by the sudden tightening of the wire. She heard him fall and she ran in a few tight circles around him, keeping the wire taut as it curled around him. 

Akamaru growled and moved toward her side. She took the last couple feet of wire and twined it around her fingers. A kick at his side sent him sprawling onto his back. She flicked out her wrists and settled her fists near the sides of Kiba’s face. The wire rested on his bared throat with lethal possibility. 

Akamaru’s chakra stopped and the growling took on a plaintive tone. Kiba cursed and wiggled in the wire but when she pulled the wire tighter across his neck he stopped moving. 

“Hey, proc!” Ino yelled. “Call it!” 

A wind from some jutsu or another blew across the arena and cleared the smoke away. She looked out at the audience of her peers and superiors. Shock was written across nearly every face, or showed in the stiffness of their shoulders and loose jaw muscles. She glanced down at Kiba to see him looking resigned but not angry. They made eye contact and Kiba held it for a moment. Then he turned his head to give her more access to his throat. Fascinating. 

“The winner is Ino Yamanaka!” 

She smiled and let the wire fall from her fingers. Her hands were bleeding in several places but she couldn’t feel the sting of it. Asuma was giving her a big grin and a thumbs up and she felt strong. Off to the side Akamaru’s human form disappeared in a small puff of smoke. 

Naruto was shouting something encouraging and ridiculous. A weight on her skin made her look down to where Kiba’s hand was curled around her forearm loosely. He let go and then reached to knock the bones of their wrists together, “Good show, Ino.” He picked up the approaching Akamaru and gave him a pat on the head. There was a small line of blood on Kiba’s throat. “How’d you do it?” 

She smirked and flipped her hair over shoulder with practiced ease. “It was your fashion sense, it’s all wrong. Fur trim is so warring era.” 

Kiba chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll figure it out.” 

“Sure thing, mutt.” 

He didn’t snap back and she studied him more closely. He was clearly disappointed but not upset at her, which was novel for a boy his age. He craned his neck toward his team and then with one last lopsided smile in her direction, loped off toward them. 

Something had just changed between them, she knew that much. She was confident it wasn’t a bad change though.

She looked at her own team and saw Shikamaru openly smiling at her and Naruto jumping up and down and pulling at Asuma’s vest as he chattered. Maybe she was closer to chunin level than she thought. 

The names were already spinning for the next round when she reached the stairs. She hummed and took the steps two at a time, racing over to her team once she hit the top. Asuma intercepted her and swung her up into his arms and a crushing hug that she savored. She giggled into his shoulder and he said, “Good job, Ino, I’m proud of you.” 

She didn’t know she could feel so light. She’d never been bad in combat, never been bad in the academy at much of anything. But she felt like she’d really started to find her own once she was placed on the team with her boys and with Asuma teaching her to trust herself. “Thank you, sensei,” she said. Her voice came out with a painful earnestness that would have made her wince in any other situation, but she was too light to care. 

Naruto’s hands grabbed the wrappings around her waist and pulled down. He was jabbering so fast at her that she couldn’t understand what he was saying, despite the fact that she and Shikamaru were fluent in Naruto muttering. Asuma set her down and she spun around to be immediately pulled into a hug by Naruto. His chakra was tempered by Shikamaru’s cool as her other teammate slipped up behind her as well. He didn’t join the hug but he supported her when she fell back into his chest at the force of Naruto’s enthusiasm. 

“We couldn’t see a lot of what happened, but the wire was smart,” Shikamaru said into her ear. She smiled and let her head fall back onto his shoulder so she could smile at him. 

“You’re so cool, Ino!” Naruto shouted, the first comprehensible words he’d said since she got there. “You were all like, ‘Oh no, Kiba’s gonna kill me, but you tricked him! Then you were like whoosh whoosh slam, and you smashed him into the ground!” 

“Wait, you could see that?” Shikamaru asked. 

Naruto shrugged. “Sort of. I could also like hear and smell it though? I think? I didn’t have a great visual of it, but I could tell what was happening.” 

She pondered that for a moment in the silence that fell after he stopped talking. He’d always had good senses, but not that good. “That’ll come in handy later, Nar,” she said with a pat to his head. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she set to combing it into some semblance of order. It was a lost cause, but she was a sucker for those anyways. 

Chatter erupted around the arena and she looked up to find the cause. 

Tenten vs. Kin Tsuchi

Kin. Was that the Sound team? Naruto stepped back from her to excitedly look around and point at the matchup. The girl from the Sound team started walking to the stairs. Ino looked to the right to find Tenten. She may not necessarily like the girl, but she didn’t want her to die. It had been fun to swap insults at the very least, even if Tenten didn’t know what subtlety was. Wouldn’t know even if Ino taught her. Tenten was the kind of in-your-face and proud of it person who sneered at the idea of subtlety. Ino didn’t understand those people. 

“You want boosted?” Neji asked. Ino snapped her gaze to him and back to his teammate.

Tenten nodded and replied, “Couldn’t hurt.” Then she stripped off the green jacket she wore to reveal that the high collared shirt underneath was sleeveless. And her muscled arms were covered in bruises of varying shades of age. The bruises were mostly small and set in what looked to be a neat pattern. But why?

Neji’s byakugan activated and Ino flinched when he struck Tenten in repeated precise movements. New bruises blossomed on her arms, and the old ones deepened. Neji didn’t stop at her arms though, he was targeting every part of her body. Tenten barely moved with the impacts even though Ino could feel the power of the blasts of chakra from where she stood.

Ino felt for Tenten’s chakra in confusion and could feel pinpricks of elevated power blooming in her signature. Similar to the hot coal feel of Sasuke’s eyes, but to a much lesser extent. Neji stepped back, eyes fading back to lavender, and Tenten rolled her shoulders. “Thanks,” she said with a grin and then threw herself over the railing to the arena floor. 

“GO, TENTEN!” Lee shouted. “LET THE POWER OF YOUTH FUEL YOU!” 

Ino sidestepped around Asuma and walked a few meters over to stand next to the green bean. She asked, “What did Neji just do to her?” 

Neji, clearly within hearing range, didn’t acknowledge her question. Lee answered, “He hit Tenten’s tenketsu points to open them up! It allows for her chakra to rise up with more ease and speed!” 

She chewed on that for a moment as the girl from Sound made her way to stand across from Tenten. “So he used gentle-fist on her?” she asked. 

Lee gave a thumbs up and smile. “Yes! You are, as always, very clever, Ino!” 

“I didn’t know it could be used like that.” 

Neji interjected coolly, “Most do not.” 

“But you just did it in front of everybody here, why would you reveal it?” 

A ghost of a smile graced his features. “Secrets are inevitably revealed.” 

“Remember, Tenten!” Naruto shouted, “Watch out for bells!” 

Tenten gave a thumbs up and bounced on her feet. Ino couldn’t see her well due to the angle from where they stood on the second level, but she was pretty sure Tenten was grinning. The girl was wearing a holster over her top, brown leather stretching over her back and shoulders and nestled two thick scrolls under each arm. Her billowy pants had pockets covering them. If she had storage scrolls why would she need so many pockets? 

Once Kin reached her spot, Hayate gave the signal to start. Neither girl moved. 

“You’re on a team with that green spandex wearing clown, right?” Kin asked. “My teammate put him down with ease, or don’t you remember? Don’t worry, I’ll give you the same treatment.” 

“From what I remember,” Tenten replied brightly, “you were the one carried out of that fight, not me.” 

“You didn’t even fight! You’re a coward!” 

Tenten shrugged and spun a couple shuriken through her fingers and across her knuckles with inspiring dexterity. Ino didn’t see her pull those out. “You just weren’t worth my time.” 

Ino knew that was nonsense. Tenten had been scared of Naruto. Then again, she couldn’t really hold that against her. 

Kin scoffed and finally threw several senbon at Tenten, who unrolled a small scroll and with a controlled burst of chakra that Ino could barely feel, the scroll swallowed all but two of the senbon. The two left were dangling from Tenten’s other hand. Ino squinted and realized that Tenten had somehow managed to catch the bells connected to the needles between her knuckles. She waved them at Kin who scowled when the bells made no noise. 

Kin threw more senbon, dozens in quick succession. Some of them were aimed for Tenten, but most were aimed for the air around Tenten. It didn’t matter though, Tenten’s scroll waved and curled around her arms as she danced through the projectiles. A majority disappearing into the scroll’s storage and the others being plucked from the air by the bells. 

Tenten made it look easy. It continued like that until Kin stood fuming and panting in place. Tenten jerked her fingers and the scroll rolled itself up. She tucked it away into one of her many pockets. The scrolls under her arms remained untouched. “Are we done playing catch?” A devilish grin. “Good, then it’s my turn.” 

Tenten flashed two hand signs and then tapped at her left inner elbow where a small smudge of ink was. Ino couldn’t see it but when a bo staff popped into Tenten’s hand it became obvious it was some sort of seal. Was that permanent? Did Tenten have storage seals tattooed into her skin? Seals like that weren’t easy to do or without consequence. She pressed her shoulder into Naruto’s. Seals like that weren’t just on skin, they were etched in bone. 

Bones . Ino looked over across the arena at Gaara. He still stood with his arms crossed, like he hadn’t moved. She wouldn’t be surprised to find he wasn’t breathing. Temari was leaning against the railing a good few feet away from the redhead and staring down at the match with disinterest. 

Ino jerked her eyes back to Tenten when she charged Kin with a cry. Kin’s hand went to the packs at her legs but scowled when fingers brushed over nothing. She’d used all her senbon already, a beginner’s mistake. 

Tenten smacked the end of her staff into Kin’s chest and then spun it to hit the back of her left knee. Kin fell. Tenten’s staff kept spinning, curving around her back to appear in her other hand. The weapon slammed into Kin’s shoulder with a loud crunching noise. Kin stifled a shout of pain and rolled away from Tenten’s next strike. 

Tenten hopped back and stood in wait with her staff balanced across one shoulder and loosely held with just a couple fingers of her left hand. “Looks to me like you’re all talk,” Tenten said. Then she attacked once again. 

Kin blocked the blows she could with an increasingly bent kunai, but most of them got through her guard. She didn’t look nearly as intimidating as she had when Ino was wearing Sakura’s body and collapsed at her feet. Ino smiled when Tenten’s staff smacked into Kin’s side, exactly where Naruto’s hand had punched through. She approved of a kunoichi willing to take advantage of weaknesses. 

A few more solid hits and Kin was forced to the ground. She coughed and small splatters of blood hit the dirt. Tenten tapped the end of her staff to the back of Kin’s neck and said, “Give me the match.” 

Kin spat out more blood and glared up at Tenten. Her bloodied hand tugged something from the wrapping around her left leg. “I won’t lose to a leaf ninja,” Kin hissed out. “You’ve given me exactly what I need.” 

“And what’s that?” 

Kin’s smile was red and ugly. “You got too close.” She grabbed the staff where it was laid on her neck and slipped something onto it. Kin rolled to the side and pulled a length of wire taut before cutting it with her kunai. 

Then she dove at Tenten kunai first. 

Ino saw it happen in what felt like slow motion. It was clever. 

Tenten brought her staff up to block Kin’s attack and the sound of bells cut through the air. 

Tenten stumbled back. She’d successfully blocked the kunai, but she’d lost the fight. Ino winced as Tenten was forced to block again, swinging her staff and making the bells tied by wire to her weapon chime even louder. 

Tenten threw the staff to the ground and raised a foot to stomp on the bells, but she missed. Comically stumbling and losing balance the moment she raised her leg up. “No, it can’t be. I took all your bells.” 

Kin just smirked and kicked Tenten in the chest making her fall to the ground with a grunt. “I made you think I’d used all my bells.” 

Tenten tried to stand up but she kept leaning too far in one direction and falling back to the ground. “What’s happening?” 

“Don’t ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee.” Kin picked up the staff and spun it. Ino felt a little faint at the sound and by the slight shifting of those around her, they did too. But Kin’s chakra was tethered to Tenten, no one else. 

“This is what happened to Lee!” Tenten made a couple of hand signs and tapped her inner elbow but nothing happened. 

“Almost! Dosu prefers paralysis, but me? I’m a little less aggressive. He’s a brute force strike, I’m a poison in your blood. My bell’s vibrations are attacking your inner ear, allowing my chakra to interfere with your brain’s signals to your body. It affects balance, vision, strength, thoughts.” A spin of the staff and Tenten groaned and slumped all the way to the dirt. 

“My favorite part? Pretty soon you’ll start hallucinating. Your mind can no longer keep up with your surroundings. You’ll start seeing double, then triple, then dozens of me.” 

Tenten started to crawl away from Kin who just watched in amusement. “Your center of gravity and equilibrium are destroyed. You can’t tell up from down.” 

Tenten struggled to a kneeling position and listed heavily to the right. She used her arms to brace herself as she gasped in air. “You haven’t won yet,” Tenten said. 

“You can’t attack me!” Kin gloated. “You don’t even know which one of me is the real one. Forfeit the match and maybe the damage to your ears won’t be permanent.” Ino felt her eyes widen and she looked over at Lee and Neji. Lee had a frown on his face and his fists were clenched as he looked at his teammate. Neji’s byakugan was activated and his breathing was uneven. 

Tenten pulled one of the scrolls from her holster and said, “You’ve forgotten something.” 

“And what’s that?” 

Tenten hunkered closer to the ground so she could bring her hands together without face planting. Kin waved the staff and Tenten’s hands shook violently but they came together in a quick series of signs. The scroll settled between her hands and she smiled. Kin raised the staff over her, ready to bring it down in a brutal strike. “I don’t need to tell which one of you is the real one.” 

She threw the scroll up and it unraveled in concentric circles. It looked like a still image of cascading water caught in the wind. Then the scroll exploded. 

Kin jumped back and out of the way of a strange blade that was bent at 90 degrees. Kunai filled the air. Weapons whistled in every direction, most of which Ino didn’t recognize. Kin weaved and dodged but there was barely room for all the weapons themselves, she was just in the way. She batted away a large heavy sword with Tenten’s staff but it cracked the staff to pieces. The bells fell to the ground with one last chime along with the splinters of wood. 

A fuma shuriken sliced into Kin’s leg. She stumbled into the path of a patch of senbon that buried themselves in her side. Kunais cut through her hair and the hitai-ate was torn from her head. A tanto stabbed through her gut and she fell to the ground unmoving. 

The scroll fell into the dirt in large curls around Tenten, like a molted snakeskin. She was panting and there were several scratches on her arms from the explosion of weapons, but other than that she was untouched. 

Kin groaned and Hayate went to her side. A quick glance down at her and he announced, “Kin Tsuchi is down.” Everyone turned their attention to Tenten. 

She tried to stand. She almost made it. 

Then with a soundless sigh she collapsed on her side, eyes sliding closed and muscles going limp. 

“Tenten is down.” 

Lee jumped the railing and raced to her side. Neji’s hands clamped on the railing and Ino noted that the metal was bending and collapsing under his grip. She returned to her own team’s area.

“No family name,” Shikamaru said softly. 

Ino gave a nod. “No family name.” But one hell of a fight.

After they announced Dosu’s fight with Sakura they were given a quick break as the arena was cleaned of Tenten’s armory. Ino hesitated a moment before following Sakura to the bathroom. Dosu wasn’t an easy opponent, and he’d identified himself as an enemy of her team. Getting him down for the count during these prelims would be a blessing. 

Sakura had hidden talents, Ino knew they were there. Sakura just fought herself on the wrong things. Always had, no matter how hard Ino tried to change that. But she had learned how to direct the girl, sometimes. Didn’t always work, but it was worth a try.

She leaned against the doorframe and gave Sakura a dismissive look. The girl’s chakra was unreadable as always. Her energy didn’t pulse like Naruto’s, wind around like a snake as Shikamaru’s did, or even hover in a cloud like Hinata’s. Instead it just felt tight and hard. It was held so close to Sakura’s skin it was like a smooth protective shell. The control used to anger Ino, but Sakura was so easy to read in everything else, that it didn’t really matter. Ino scoffed. “Surprised you got to the tower, billboard brow,” she sneered out. “Sasuke carry you through the test?” 

Sakura whirled around, redness already creeping up her neck toward her face in an angry flush. Ino felt a ripple of satisfaction. Sakura had always been so out with her anger, it was a little intoxicating to play with. “Like you’re one to talk!” 

Ino raised her eyebrows and gave an honestly incredulous look, “What does that mean? My team would be dead without me. Several times over.” 

Sakura stomped her foot and sneered, that anger wasn’t nearly so satisfying now, “You expect me to believe that? You may have stepped in to save my team, but the boys say that it was Naruto who actually did anything.” 

Ino grabbed onto the topic with hyper focus. After anger she needed guilt and shame, get Sakura vulnerable. “You weren’t awake for most of that fight, so you shouldn’t talk about things you don’t understand. I’m the one who killed Zaku in the end. And I’m the one who got my team involved in the first place,” both of which were only partially true, but Sakura didn’t need to know that. “And it was me who saved your ass in the beginning, not to mention your broody teammates. All you did was cry and give yourself a haircut. You didn’t even use any of the tools or weapons at your disposal. How do you expect to win against anyone here with that sort of behavior?” 

Sakura’s angry flush disappeared in a few heartbeats as she bit her lip and looked down to the dirty tile of the bathroom. Perfect. Emotional vulnerability laid the groundwork and created a world of possibilities for Ino to manipulate. She needed to get Sakura in the right mindset while also laying out a very simple idea . Dosu had one huge weakness after all, and while Ino and her boys weren’t able to take advantage of it, Sakura could. She was one of the only people present who could. 

Ino let out a constructed sigh and slumped into the frame. Sakura’s eyes flickered up to hers and back down to the floor. Ino mapped out her next step. Indignation, followed by self-righteous determination would work best. “You may be strong and smart, billboard brow, but you don’t use that to your advantage. The real reason you’re not a real kunoichi is that you rely on others to make your problems go away. It’s pathetic. A true ninja is a weapon and is always willing to use that to their advantage.” 

“We’re more than weapons, you slag!,” Sakura shouted, her flush returning. And responding in a way that Ino had not expected. Damn Sakura. “We’re people!” 

“We’re ninja before we’re people, the village is the hand that wields us!” Ino snapped back before she could think better of it. The rage she’d banked earlier swelling once again. She took a quick deep breath and returned on topic. “Our minds are honed to be weapons, our bodies twisted into weapons, and our training focused on using weapons. But a true ninja is a weapon even when you take their tools away. You cried because you lost your kunais and your hair, you cried because you gave up! You gave up on your team, but more importantly you gave up on yourself! When the time came, you crumpled!” Ino panted at the end of her speech and berated herself for getting so caught up in it. Her emotions were all over the place, ever since the damn exam began. 

Sakura’s indignation softened and Ino nearly groaned. She’d undone her own work. Sakura was so easy to build up and crush down. A razor thin line that Ino always had trouble walking. When in doubt, go with anger though. Sakura was swimming in constant fury, Ino just had to aim that. Metaphorically, and as of the coming fight, quite literally. 

Ino took a couple steps toward Sakura, just inside the girl’s personal space, but still far enough away she could dodge one of those hyper-strong punches with ease. “You had everything taken away from you in that fight,” Ino prodded. Sakura just gave a quick, no doubt unrealized, nod. “But you still had blood in your veins and chakra in your coils, so you had no excuse!” Sakura’s head snapped up, her green eyes glaring into Ino’s. “What?” Ino mocked. “You disagree? You are the weapon, Sakura, not your tools . Take away your kunai, your hair, your smoke bombs, paper bombs, shuriken, all of it, what are you? What do you have left?” 

Sakura straightened up and looked both incensed and intrigued. “Where do you get away with lecturing me?” she demanded. 

Ino ignored her. She still had a point to drive home. The fight would begin soon, the timing would be perfect, if she could just get it to stick in Sakura’s oversaturated mind. “You’re upset because you know I’m right. You should have fought back . You should have broken through .” Ino leaned in further, eyes boring into Sakura’s furious gaze. “Until you get that through your thick ugly head, you will never be a real kunoichi!” 

“And you think you are?!” Sakura screamed back, a sloppy punch punctuating her shout. Ino dodged back easily, the air around Sakura’s fist nearly whistling with the force of the strike. 

Ino smiled and put her weight on the front of her toes. “ Yes .” She backed toward the door again, watching with delight as Sakura’s chest heaved with the emotions Ino had forced out of her. Finally, the perfect combination: a dangerous cocktail of inferiority and superiority softened only by shame and strengthened with determination. Sakura was ready for a real fight. “You’re strong , Sakura, and you’re smart. But you always fight your enemy’s fight, not your own.” 

“I’ll be a kunoichi on my own terms! Not yours! Not the village’s!” Sakura all but screamed. Ino found herself grudgingly admiring the words. “I’ll show you that I’m a better ninja than you ever could be!” 

“By all means, flat-chest, shatter my expectations.” Ino turned and walked out the door, but paused just before leaving Sakura’s view. A piece of Ino wanted Sakura to succeed. A leftover remnant of a long-term project, perhaps. “And Sakura? It shouldn’t matter what I think.” Ino didn’t wait for a reply, she left without saying another word and returned to her team. 

“Are you scheming without me?” Shikamaru asked, turning away from what looked like a strained conversation between him and Naruto. Shikamaru’s chakra was curling around him like a living thing, a cool agitation that felt like worry and concern. She looked up to Naruto whose gaze was distant but still vaguely present. Her own concern rose. 

“Just pushing a few buttons. Passing on an idea,” she replied. 

“What idea is that?” 

Ino watched Dosu make his way down the stairs as the break was called to an end. “That pinky down there,” she gestured at clearly nervous Sakura, “is strong enough to do what we couldn’t.” 

“Sakura?” Shikamaru asked with doubt. 

“Well, she really packs a wallop with those punches of hers, doesn’t she? The chakra control she uses with her muscles is impressive, almost one of a kind.” 

Shikamaru squinted first at Ino and then down at Sakura. Ino felt proud of herself for stumping the genius, it didn’t happen all too often. Especially when it came to something so painfully obvious. 

Naruto rubbed his head and said, “They do hurt. She’s awful strong.” 

“And sometimes, strength like that, is exactly what you need to hit certain pressure points,” Ino said. “Let’s hope she doesn’t disappoint.” 

“Match starts!” Hayate shouted. 

Ino turned rapt attention to the fight. 

“If it isn’t the scared little girl from the forest,” Dosu taunted. “This fight was over the moment it began.” 

Sakura wasn’t listening to the taunt, she wasn’t even looking at Dosu, she was looking at his arm. He raised it in reaction to the attention and stroked his other hand over the metal. “Beautiful thing, isn’t it? My village is pushing the limits of jutsu combined with technology. We are the future, not this archaic Village Hidden in the Leaves.” 

Sakura finally showed an interest, which Ino mirrored, “Specialized weaponry?” she asked. 

“Weapons are only one facet of technology, you fool.” Dosu charged forward, his weaponized arm held in front of him. Sakura threw a kunai over his shoulder and when he was within a couple meters of her, she flew through the short hand signs for a substitution and switched places with the kunai. 

Dosu struggled to plant a foot and pivot around to glare at her. “I remember this from before. You’re good at running away, I’ll give you that much.” He steadied his feet underneath him and dropped down into his normal crouch. He tilted his head in a way that felt neither human nor animalistic. Almost robotic or alien. “I don’t think you ever actually used any jutsu but the substitution one. What are you here taking the exams for if you’ve got nothing to show?” 

Sakura’s back straightened and her forehead wrinkled up in irritation. Ino couldn’t tell if she was starting to get flushed but the tautness of the girl’s muscles was enough to see the signature fury. Ino tapped her nails against the railing. It was now or never. Ino pretended that she didn’t notice the glance Sakura shot in her direction. 

Sakura adjusted her headband to keep some of her newly shortened bangs out of her face. “You know what, scarecrow?” Sakura spat out. “I’m sick and tired of people looking down on me! I’m tired of losing! I’m tired of people like you who think jutsu is everything. You want something big and bold?! I’ll give it to you!” Sakura raced toward Dosu who just raised his braced arm in response. 

“This didn’t work out so well for you last time, girl.” 

Ino reached for Sakura’s chakra and smiled. The protective shell around the other was strengthening. Pulling even tighter to her skin, sinking all the way to the muscle and creating what felt no longer like a shell, but like an iron mold. 

Ino gasped as Sakura’s fist slammed into the metal brace on Dosu’s arm. The meeting of flesh and metal and two chakras forces was like a hit to the chest of power. Sakura’s face was stretched into a grimace of effort and rage. Dosu’s visible eye was wide and manic. 

Sakura let out a scream of effort that was overshadowed by the screeching and popping sound of the metal brace shattering into pieces. A moment later both fighters were blown backwards by the release of Dosu’s chakra and the backlash of Sakura’s powerful blow. The displaced air and energy kicked up a dust cloud in the middle of the arena but two slumped bodies were easily made out on the ground. Neither of them moved. 

Hayate watched as the dust settled but didn’t move or speak. After another few moments of nothing he approached Dosu. The Sound nin twitched in an aborted movement and Ino could see his eye was open but he didn’t get up. Couldn’t get up. Hayate moved over to Sakura, who was in the same condition. 

Hayate stood up and announced, “Double knock out! Both combatants will be dropped from the bracket!” Sakura’s head tilted a little to the side, her face becoming visible to Ino. They met each other’s eyes and Ino gave Sakura a nod of acknowledgement. She’d done good. Sakura closed her eyes but she was smiling as the medi-nins carted her away on a stretcher. 

Ino turned her attention to the Sound jounin-sensei. The ponytailed man was looking between Dosu and the Sand jounin-sensei. Not even trying to hide his reaction of fear and disappointment. His feet were still planted facing the Sand team. It left her feeling uneasy. The only reason they wouldn’t hide that reaction is if it didn’t matter if it was seen. 

She looked over at Ibiki and Anko, still not talking to each other, but both sneaking glances to the same place Ino was. She bit her lip. Ibiki and Anko were well-known factors to her. She knew their behavior and their specialties. So she knew that the quieter the two of them were in each other’s presences, the more important it was to pay attention. 

“The Sand and Sound teams are allied,” Ino said softly to her teammates. It didn’t sound right though. Because the Sand jounin-sensei wasn’t even looking at his ‘ally’. Alliance assumed some sort of equal standing between members. “What’s worse, is that they’re not hiding it.” 

Shikamaru closed his eyes and cracked his neck to the side. Naruto asked, “Isn’t it normal to have alliances between villages though? We’re allied with Sand too, I think?” 

Ino nodded, “We are. But… I guess it would be more accurate to say that they’re allied for these tests. We’re breaking their script in some unknown way.” 

Shikamaru sighed, “That’s a problem. The Hokage and ANBU have undoubtedly already realized, so this becomes a question of: is the Hokage waiting to act in an advantageous moment, or waiting to see what we’re up against?” 

She forced herself to not look over at Gaara. “It begs the question of why they brought the Kazekage’s son.” 

Shikamaru winced but nodded. “He’s a big variable. The Sound team has become a highly different variable than it could have been though. Good work with Sakura, by the way.” 

Naruto looked over in confusion. His body was trembling but his eyes were blue and awake. “What did you do?” 

“I gave her a suggestion, sort of.” 

“And?” Naruto asked, an irritated pout making his lip jut out. Ino wanted to pat his head a little bit, but she refrained. He looked frustrated more than he should be, and she didn’t want to press that.

“I knew her strength would be enough to break Dosu’s weapon, which seemed to be his biggest crutch. Did I know it would explode like that? No, but it worked out in the end!” 

Naruto gave her one of those wide eyed awed looks that made her feel as tall as a Konoha tree but also as fragile as an ant. She gave Naruto the pat on the head she’d resisted before and his awe quickly turned to irritation. Though he never pushed her away. He never turned down physical contact that wasn’t aimed to hurt. Not yet, at least. 

His pupils looked a bit elongated again. 

Chapter Text

Ino pinched her arm and leaned on the railing. She was tired. She wanted to lay down and get some actual sleep, but she couldn’t afford to not be at her best right now. Her fight was over, thankfully, but she was standing in a room full of information. She just needed to catch the signs that were being advertised. 

Ibiki and Anko still weren’t talking, it made her antsy. The Hokage was having some sort of whispered conversation with his guards and she made herself look away before she threw a kunai at the old man. Naruto… 

She turned and laid her head on his shoulder. His frame was vibrating with tension or energy or something else entirely. She looked up at his face. His expression was blank but his eyes were burning with emotion. But when she asked him questions he answered. He was aware and actively looking around himself and interacting with Shikamaru and Asuma. It was better than before. 

Hinata Hyuga vs. Neji Hyuga

She startled as the names were announced. She’d gotten lost in her thoughts, which was pretty common for her, but not something she should allow in a setting like the exams. A growl shattered the tension in the air. Kiba’s teeth were bared at the names displayed on the board, his hand gripping Hinata’s bicep with alarming strength. 

Ino looked on in interest, channeling chakra to her ears to try and hear the fall out of the matchup. 

“You do not have to fight, Hinata,” Shino said. 

“Fuck that bastard, you don’t--” Kiba snarled. 

Hinata interrupted him, which Ino didn’t know she was capable of, “Yes, I do. This is…” 

Shikamaru grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to the side. Her concentration broke and she glared over at him. He nodded his head toward the front of the arena and she bit her tongue in order to look over. Anko was staring right at her. Ino straightened up in alarm and cocked her head in question. 

Anko’s hand twitched and Ino just barely made out the number sequence the kunoichi flashed at her. 32-4-512-3. Ino’s breath caught. That was Ino’s code. That was the code her father had made for her, when did Anko learn it? 

Ino glanced back at Anko’s face and answered her own question. Anko had no idea what she’d just communicated. Flee. Flee at first sign.  

It was meant for instances of tragedy. For moments where Ino would be overwhelmed and she was to leave immediately and withdraw herself from the situation. It was meant for times of war. She spent enough time at T&I that her father couldn’t barr her from entering, but she was ordered to follow that code the moment it came up. It was the only way he’d allow her to stay. T&I was the breeding ground for village disasters. It was the focal point of societal collapse. 

But. The code wasn’t flee immediately. It was flee at first sign. Anko was well aware something could happen, was likely to happen. She must have been given the instructions to give the code as a warning. Did she know just how dire of warning she’d given Ino though?  

Ino gave a nod and turned back to the arena. She tried to isolate the biggest threats in the room. The Hokage to the right. The Sand jounin-sensei from across the way. And Gaara. Dosu and Kin were both gone, the Sound jounin-sensei was following the example of the Sand. 

The Sand team would be the catalyst. They would be the first sign. 

She leaned into Shikamaru and whispered, “Orders have been given to run when things go bad.” 

He didn’t look at her and he kept his face impressively passive. His chakra was roiling in a way it never did though. “Understood.” 

“Hello, brother,” Hinata said. Ino kept her attention partially on the Sand team, but settled in to watch the match. Hinata had been showing interesting signs of an actual personality. Color Ino intrigued.

Neji’s upper lip twitched up in an aborted sneer. “Forfeit the match, cousin. I do not wish to anger your father by hurting you too badly.” 

Lie. Ino’s body nearly twitched with how strong of a lie it was. There wasn’t an ounce of regret in his body or voice. 

“You can’t pick my battles.” 

“You can’t win, Hinata.” His fingers curled loosely and he allowed the sneer from before to manifest fully. “You always were a disappointment. The clan heiress, an embarrassment of the Family. Or did your father take even that from you?” 

Hinata shook her head harshly and brought her hands up in open palm positions. 

Neji didn’t follow suit, he continued his verbal assault, “That’s why you keep your hair short. You’ve been cast aside and you try to distance yourself from the clan, but you can’t. They will always know you for what you are. Nothing .” 

Ino gasped. Drama to the extreme. She’d read about the Hyuga but there was very little on the structure of the clan. She eyed the hitai-ate and bandages over his forehead. Were the rumors true? 

Hinata attacked first, to Ino’s astonishment. The fight was a blur that she couldn’t follow. Grunts were punctuated by bursts of energy. Both of them moved with the same practiced grace, but other than that there was little similarity. They struck out with open palms and pointed fingers but Hinata moved like water and Neji moved like a tumultuous wind. 

Hinata gasped and fell back two steps to cradle her arm to her chest. The fight paused. 

“Forfeit.”

“No!” 

They clashed together again in a flurry. Ino had no idea Hinata was so fast. She was keeping up with Neji with admirable ability. Her eyes bulged from the kekkei genkai and remained unblinking despite the dust they kicked up. 

“You’re in over your head,” Neji snapped, palm slamming into her thigh and making her fall forward into his next palm hit to her other elbow. She pivoted on her uninjured leg and lashed out at his side. He easily evaded it and kicked her in the stomach. 

Hinata fell on her side and panted. 

“You’re punishing yourself,” Neji said. “Whether you realize it or not. Our clan need not step in, not when you’re so willing to do it yourself.” 

“I’m not,” Hinata managed to force out. 

“Denial gets you nowhere, little cousin. Your father--” 

Kiba shouted, “Her father and everyone else in your damn clan has a stick shoved so far up their ass they’re coughing splinters!” 

Neji’s eyes widened and his hands fell a few inches. Ino could empathize. Kiba didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, but insulting one of the Great Clans so brazenly? When she looked at Kiba she wasn’t entirely surprised to find that darkness settled around him that she’d been catching glimpses of the last couple days. He looked incandescent with anger and hatred. His teeth were bloody from where he’d bitten through his own lip. 

Hinata stood up and raised her hands. “I’m not punishing myself. You are,” she said. 

Neji nearly swept her legs out from under her but Hinata hooked her ankle around his and used him as a counterbalance. Then she twisted in close and aimed for his chest with her elbow, her other hand curled into a fist and aimed for his cheek. 

Neji knocked her elbow aside but the punch landed. It didn’t hold much force behind it, she’d been too off balance and close to be able to pack much power, but he froze in place. With his head turned to the side and cheek slightly red, he looked the picture of shock. 

Hinata backed up and braced her hands on her knees and breathed heavily as she looked at her cousin from underneath her bangs. 

“What was that?” Neji asked. His hand came up to touch his cheek. He whipped his head around to glare at her, “What was that ?” He advanced on her and she retreated, matching his pace. “Fight like a Hyuga!” he snarled. 

Hinata froze and her eyes raised to meet his. Ino held her breath. 

“She’s not a Hyuga in anything but name!” Kiba shouted. 

Shino added, at a normal volume, “And that can be easily changed.” 

Hinata’s hand came up to touch the choker at her neck and her resolve visibly hardened.

Neji’s whole face was turning red to match his cheek, and the veins around his eyes pulsed obviously enough it looked painful. “What? You’ll never be free of them. Your eyes will always tie you to our clan. You can’t change who you are or who you belong to! You can’t run from this!” 

“I did…” Hinata raised her chin, which made the beads of her necklace catch the light. “I am.” 

“You’re delusional!” Neji jumped forward and Hinata met his strikes with her own. Their hands slapped into each other as they continuously knocked attacks aside. Feet shifting in unison in perfect gentle-fist style. They mirrored each other with eerie accuracy. 

Ino had never seen the Hyuga gentle-fist style up close. Her father had told her several times that he thought their style was one of the hardest to counter. The precision and speed that was necessary to even keep up was something most shinobi never managed. 

“Tenten said Neji was the rookie to beat last year,” Ino said. She looked at Lee in question. 

He gave a tight nod. “He is the strongest genin here.” 

Hinata coughed and fell to her knees. Ino didn’t see the hit that made it happen, but she couldn’t keep up with any of their blows really. “You’re wrong,” Hinata said, forcing herself to her feet again. “You’re blind, despite your eyes.” 

“You couldn’t begin to understand the mastery I have of our doujutsu.” 

“I don’t doubt your ability. But you can’t see what’s right in front of you. You have to look with something other than your byakugan sometimes.” 

Neji’s hands were shaking but his precision was unaffected. He brutally stabbed his fingers into Hinata’s upper left shoulder, just above her right knee, and low on her right side in rapid succession. Her body jerked with each hit and she fell. 

“You’ll never be able to escape your own weakness,” Neji said. He turned to walk away but Ino continued to watch Hinata. “This match is over.” 

There was a buzzing in her ears and Ino swallowed harshly once she realized the source of it. Shino’s beetles were chittering so loudly she could hear it from where she stood at least twenty feet away. His body language still hidden by the coat, and his face tucked away, he remained unreadable, but Kiba looked one more comment away from throwing himself over the railing to attack Neji. 

“The clan is weak, not me,” Hinata said. Neji stopped. 

Hinata stood up on shaky legs, one of her arms hanging uselessly at her side. The beetles that were twined around her bicep were starting to break their circuit to climb into her hair and disappear under her grey vest. Shino’s Hive buzzed louder. 

Neji turned. He’d lost the angry flush from before and he looked calmer, it sent a cold alarm trickling through Ino. He didn’t speak. Hinata raised her one still functional arm and Neji attacked. 

The fact that Hinata could keep up with Neji, with one of her arms useless and several of her chakra points already blocked, was incredible. Was this the same girl that stuttered over every word and hated loud noises? 

Neji spun on his heel, feet turning and sliding with him. Hinata’s feet mirrored his at first. Then she planted her left foot in place and put the weight of her other foot on her toes. She rammed her shoulder into Neji’s stomach and disrupted their dance. She threw an elbow for his face and a punch for his gut. When he twisted away from both, she scratched at his arms and kicked for his groin. Hinata bared her teeth and struck out at his neck. 

It was a hodgepodge of styles and none of them fit together, but it was enough to startle Neji. She landed a solid punch to his sternum that made him heave out a harsh breath and curl forward. He shoved her away and took a couple deep breaths. 

He recovered faster than Hinata, who was showing the wear and tear of the fight. He stalked toward her and with a merciless single mindedness beat her defenses away. 

The way he was fighting wasn’t the same. The wind that he reminded her of had turned to a typhoon that was barely being kept at bay. Yet his chakra didn’t spike at all, no more than what was needed for the gentle-fist hits. 

Hinata cried out when Neji jabbed her injured shoulder again. He pressed forward as she tried to retreat. He kicked her ankle with bone breaking force and pushed in close to her. He grabbed her wrist when she tried to ward him off, holding it down and to the side as he raised his other hand. 

Hinata’s eyes were wide and her byakugan deactivated. 

Neji’s open palm slammed into her chest, just above her heart and then rested there for a moment. Until Hinata regained her breath and coughed up blood. Then he used the hold he had on her wrist to throw her to the ground. “Proctor, call the match,” he said, still staring down at his cousin. 

Hayate hesitated. 

“Hinata!” Kiba shouted in fear. “Is she okay?”

Hinata twitched at the sound of his voice. She pushed her chest up off the ground and supported herself on her elbows as she coughed harshly into her hands. Ino didn’t have to try very hard to spot the blood that covered those stubby fingers. 

“You’re wrong ,” Hinata said. Her voice was stronger and clearer than Ino had ever heard it before. There was no airiness in the words, no high pitched whine or stutter. Her voice was low and smooth like a rock at the bottom of a river. 

“You’re a fool,” he replied. “And a disgrace, you can’t even fight like a Hyuga.” 

Hinata pushed herself to her knees with slow painful looking movements. Her chin was bloody and there was dirt caked into her hair and dusting the side of her face. “I’m not a Hyuga,” she said. “I told you, brother, the clan is weak.” Her voice grew strained and it wobbled as she continued, “I don’t need them, I found a new family. Two actually.” 

She stood up, nearly overbalancing several times as she did so. She coughed more blood into her hands and then held her head high. The blood was curving around her chin to drip down her throat. She raised a shaking hand in what Ino thought was going to be a fighting stance. It wasn’t. 

She pressed bloody fingertips to first her left cheek and then her right. Leaving behind vague bloody smears. Her hand fell back down to her side and the beetles in her hair began to fly and buzz around her head. Hinata bared her teeth like a dog.

Kiba cheered her on and Ino looked back and forth between his cheeks and Hinata’s in dawning understanding. Shino called out, “Careful, Hinata.” 

“You can’t leave the clan behind!” Neji shouted, swinging his head between her and her teammates with a worrying amount of disbelief and zeal. “It’s your own burden, no one else’s! Whatever you think you’ve found or are looking for isn’t real! Our fates were written by our fathers!” 

Hinata took in a deep breath. “Your cage is--” her voice was no longer smooth but ragged. Like there was glass in her throat. “My father said--” she cut off to cough more. One hand came up to her heart but the other cradled her throat. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” 

Hinata’s chakra was doing something strange. Pulling inwards and folding. Ino didn’t dare reach for it to get a better sense despite how much she wanted to. 

“Open your eyes,” Hinata gasped out, fingers going tight around her neck. Her chakra pulled harder. Ino winced in secondary discomfort. “And you’ll see another way to--” Hinata bit off her next words and made a low pained noise. 

“Shut up, Hinata!” Kiba shouted. “He’s not worth it!” 

Hinata shook her head and kept speaking, voice dying as she did so. “You’ll find your own way, brother, if you just look .” 

“Not.” Neji hit her in the chest once again. “An.” He kicked her knee. “Option.” A backhand to the side of her face that sent her sprawling. 

“Neji,” Hinata whispered near silently, Ino could read the name on her lips though. “I’ll see you fly and--” both hands came to her throat to squeeze. 

“STOP!” Kiba shouted, both feet braced on the railing to jump down. Ino was surprised to find Shino’s left foot already raised as well. Kurenai’s hands on the back of their jackets was the only thing stopping them from disrupting the scene. 

Neji dove for her crumpled frame. Kiba and Shino screamed something Ino couldn’t hear.

There was smoke in the arena. 

When it cleared every Leaf jounin-sensei had one hand on Neji to keep him in place and prevent him from moving forward. Hayate tugged Neji back with the hold he had on the boy’s shoulder. “Neji Hyuga is the winner of the match.” 

Neji scoffed and turned away, ignoring all the hands that had been on him a moment ago. Ino watched him be pulled aside by Gai-sensei, but the man was turned away from her and Neji wasn’t saying anything she could read from the distance. 

She looked at Hinata being loaded onto a gurney. Kiba and Shino were on either side of her and hovering. They were a good team, those three. Kurenai ordered the medics to take Hinata out. But why was Hinata Kurenai’s student so early on? When had the Aburame and Inuzuka adopted Hinata into their clans so wholly?

The arena was quiet when Team 8 left. Neji returned to the viewing balcony, Gai-sensei’s hand on his shoulder for the short trip up. Neji looked, not regretful, but chastened. There was a fury in his shoulders that Ino could see from a mile away. His chakra was curling wildly around him, making him the center of a cyclone that she didn’t have to reach out with her own chakra to feel. The intensity made her eyes water a little. 

Neji stopped a few feet from Lee and a new tension traveled from his shoulders down into his spine. He was a proud boy, so to see him, even just infinitesimally, curling forward as if to hide, was painful. His back bent and she almost looked away. But Lee was walking toward his teammate and she couldn’t make herself ignore him. 

Neji’s fingers curled into fists at his side, tighter with each step Lee took toward him. The fists were surreal to see from a Hyuga. Open palms were their weapons, so what did it mean that Neji was putting so much effort into taking that away? 

Lee reached out for Neji and Ino wanted to step forward and stop it. To pull Lee away from the boy who’d nearly killed his cousin. But it wasn’t her business, was it? And she was curious to see what would happen. Her desire for knowledge outweighed her concern, so she stood still and watched as Lee’s scarred hands touched Neji’s shoulders. 

After a moment, his hands slid down Neji’s arms to stop at his wrists. Then he expertly began unwinding the wrappings around Neji’s forearms that had been pulled loose during the fight. Without a word Lee began rewrapping Neji wrists, revealing mottled bruising on the skin beneath. As Lee continued his wrapping Neji’s spine lost its unnatural slouch and he stood tall once again. His fists remained curled tight but his shoulders grew less so. 

Lee tucked the end of the last bandage into place and stepped back. Neji didn’t say a word and Lee stayed just as silent, yet the agitation between them had fallen away. Lee was far from pleased going by the little frown on his face, but his chest and feet were turned toward Neji, not away. 

They were a good team too, weren’t they? In a different way than her team or Team 8, but strong nonetheless. She was reminded of her and Shikamaru’s loyalty to Naruto even through his kyuubi possessions. Neji didn’t have a chakra beast in him, but he was haunted by something. The bandage around his forehead… she’d have to ask her dad. Or peek around in places she shouldn’t be in T&I. 

Ino jerked painfully into the banister when Naruto let out a delighted growl. She looked up into time to see 

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Sumaru 

before Naruto jumped straight over the banister. He landed in a perfect crouch on the ground and then stomped over to the center of the arena area. The grin he threw in Sumaru’s direction was wide and toothy but she let out a breath of relief at it, because it looked like Naruto. Delighted and a little blood thirsty, but not overly aggressive. Naruto just loved a good fight. It was one of the reasons he made such a devoted shinobi. 

Sumaru was much calmer coming down but his eyes flashed with a rage that Ino didn’t understand the cause of. His dislike of Naruto couldn’t have possibly concreted into something so severe in the couple instances they’d interacted. 

“Look at his leg,” Shikamaru whispered to her. “Under his holster.” 

She squinted and did her best to do as asked. It wasn’t until Sumaru came to a stop a few feet from Naruto that she finally figured out what she was looking at. It was a hitai-ate. She leaned over the banister in a vain hope that the few inches would help her make out what was carved into it. She thought briefly of the metal plate she’d found on Zaku, but Sumaru’s didn’t look anything like it. It was a star. 

“A star?” she mumbled. 

“Must be his old village. We already knew that it wasn’t one of the official seven, but I’ve never heard of a Star village at all.” 

Naruto started hopping slightly in place, cracking his knuckles and grinning like a loon. “Come on!! Let’s do this!!” he shouted at Hayate. 

“You know who would?” Ino asked, eyes still on her other teammate. 

“No, but I’ll figure it out.” 

“Narrow down the unknown factors, right?” 

Shikamaru slumped onto the railing. “Yeah. It’s a drag, but things are really starting to get complicated, aren’t they?” It wasn’t a question that asked for an answer. So instead she leaned back over the banister and shouted encouragement. Naruto turned and gave her a sunshine smile and a thumbs up. 

“Match start!” Hayate shouted. 

Naruto darted forward, tackling Sumaru to the ground in a sloppy but powerful collision. Naruto threw punches with concerning abandon and strength. Sumaru did well with blocking them but the sounds of the impacts showed Naruto wasn’t holding back. 

Sumaru bucked upward and forced Naruto to stumble to his feet and away from him. Sumaru sneered and said, “You’re an embarrassment of your village, you idiot.” He threw his hands to his sides and Ino felt chakra build up inside him. “This is what a true village can cultivate!” Ino’s stomach turned as that same wrongness from before washed through her. 

A visible gathering of chakra appeared above Sumaru’s head. It quickly formed the head of an animal, though Ino couldn’t make it out through the sudden blurriness of her vision. Her knees trembled and she fell sideways into Shikamaru’s side. It was awful, corrosive, rotten . Waves upon waves of something that crawled under her skin and bit like ants. The animal roared forward toward Naruto and Ino gagged as the chakra twisted and tore itself apart to claw at Naruto. 

“--o? Ino? What’s wrong? Ino!” 

Ino wanted to claw herself apart. To tear Sumaru apart. She wanted it to stop . She brought up trembling hands and formed the rectangle of her family jutsu. She heard Shikamaru inhale sharply but he held her up as her knees gave out entirely. She hesitated as she thought of actually pushing herself into Sumaru’s body. Would it be so much worse inside him? Would the chakra destroy her?

A growl so low and familiar made her fingers jerk apart as her head turned to look at Naruto. He was on all fours as he dodged and jumped out of the way of the chakra construct attacking him. She reached for his chakra, like she had during her fight with Kiba. Naruto was familiar, he was strong, he could… 

Naruto gave another growl and she gasped as his chakra exploded. It blanketed the entire room, enveloped her in a hot hot relief. Sumaru’s coiled and rotten chakra was forced away from her and she nearly sobbed at the sudden absence. The boiling feel of Naruto had never been so welcome. She gripped onto it and tried to focus her eyes on what was happening in front of her. 

Naruto had a faintly visible ring of orange chakra surrounding him. He stood from his crouch and glared at a stunned Sumaru. “What did you do?” Sumaru shouted. Naruto only bared his teeth and took a few slow steps toward the boy. Sumaru threw his hands back up, the chakra animal starting to form once again, it felt like painful static on the edge of her awareness. Drowned out by Naruto but not entirely absent. 

Naruto shouted in frustration and sprinted for Sumaru. The purple animal swooped down from above to intercept the attack, but Naruto’s chakra pulsed and rippled and pushed . Sumaru’s chakra slowed as it came upon a wall of power, then it was blown apart like a dandelion in a storm. Naruto slammed back into Sumaru and landed several harsh punches to the side of the boy’s face. 

Sumaru fought back but by the third punch his movements were uncoordinated and jerky. His chakra, still visible, roiled around him with no intent or action. Naruto raised his fist and with one final grunt of anger, slammed his knuckles into Sumaru’s temple. Sumaru’s arms fell to the ground and he stopped fighting. 

His eyes were still open, Ino could see them staring sightlessly up. His expression was stunned but also mournful. Like her cousins at her aunt’s funeral last year. An awareness that something had been lost and eventually would be forgotten. 

Naruto raised his fist once again, his chakra still boiling and strong, there was blood trailing down his wrist from where his fingernails must have cut into his palm. She lurched forward and shouted, “Naruto!” He froze in place. “Come back!” 

His chakra grew and grew and then suddenly snapped back into him like a rubberband. She gasped at the loss but smiled when Naruto’s fist unclenched and fell to his side. He stood up and shook his hands out, blue eyes meeting hers. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to her but she just shook her head with a gentle smile. His eyebrows darted down and his upper lip twitched to show a fang the moment before his head whipped around to stare up at Gaara. 

“Naruto Uzumaki is the winner,” Hayate announced. 

Ino couldn’t feel Gaara’s chakra through Naruto’s, but Temari and Kankuro both looked sick. They were standing straight but with a resigned slump and a stiffness to their torsos that spoke of measured breathing. Gaara himself looked like he was trembling, his eyes wide and stuck on Naruto. Ino didn’t know what emotion he was showing, but it wasn’t fear.

“Kankuro no Sabu and Shino Aburame!” Hayate’s voice once again interrupted her thoughts. 

“Naruto!” she shouted. When he sluggishly turned back to her she waved him up. He gave a slow nod and then trudged over to the stairs, looking as if he’d been the loser of that fight. Sumaru was being carried out on a stretcher by the medics but Naruto didn’t spare them a glance. He seemed focused on each individual step he took. 

When he made it up to them Asuma was the first to reach him. A hand rested on Naruto’s head, lightly ruffling the blond hair. “You did good, kid,” he said. Ino didn’t need to look at him to know that he was nervous. His voice was thin, like he didn’t put enough breath into it. 

Naruto gave a single jerky nod. “I’m hot,” Naruto said. Ino, still caught up in the after effects of Naruto’s chakra, had broken out in a sweat herself. She chuckled and lightly punched him in the shoulder. 

“I’ll get you some cold tea when we’re done here, how about that?” she said. Food was always a great motivator for him, for reasons she refused to think too much on. 

He gave a small smile that grew steadier when he looked at Shikamaru. “And what about you? What are you getting me?” Naruto asked. 

“Troublesome,” Shikamaru mumbled through a smile. Ino absently reached for his cooler chakra to help her regulate Naruto’s second hand heat. “What about those sticky rolls my ma makes?” 

Naruto’s eyes widened and his smile followed. “Really??” 

Shikamaru shrugged, “You did good.” The weight of the words felt both out of place and perfectly right. They meant a lot. Naruto had done good. He’d struggled, that was obvious, but once again he proved himself strong enough to fight back against himself. 

Naruto’s smile softened and Ino had to look away from the soft grin Shikamaru returned. She turned her attention to Asuma as Naruto said a few soft things to Shikamaru. Asuma’s jaw was stiff and he was in the middle of some sort of silent battle with the Hokage. Their gazes burned into each other and Ino didn’t like it. She always forgot that Asuma was the man’s son, but it showed in times like this. No other shinobi could look the Hokage in the eye like that with such obvious discontent. 

“Shino Aburame is the winner!” Hayate announced. 

She turned slowly to look down at the arena. That had been fast. Kankuro looked furious, a puppet in pieces between the two boys. Beetles were still crawling all over the wood, and several clumps were disengaging from Kankuro’s body to return to Shino. She shivered and thanked whoever was matching them up for not putting her up against Shino. The idea of so many legs crawling all over her made her want to burn alive. 

“You haven’t gone yet, right, Shika?” Naruto asked. Ino mentally flipped through the remaining genin. She froze as the math hit her. She whirled around to her friends, Shikamaru already looking at her with a serious downturn of his mouth. 

“If it’s him…” Ino whispered. Shikamaru blinked heavily and nodded. She relaxed. Shikamaru wouldn’t be stupid enough to place himself in that situation. Better to stand aside and plan for a fight where the variables were known, were in their favor. 

The rolling slats of the fight board made her head pound in rhythm with it. A quick glance at Gaara showed he was watching avidly as well. 

Shikamaru Nara vs. Yuki 

The Grass ninja with the mask. She grinned uncontrollably at Shikamaru, part relief, part anticipation.

“You got this, Shika!” Naruto said, most of the life returning to his voice and face. “Kick their ass!” 

Shikamaru gave a weary theatrical sigh and cracked his neck. “What a drag.” 

“It’s time to hit back!” Naruto said with a little too much seriousness for her comfort. She remembered his stunning entrance to the Grass nin fight during the second stage. Growling and snarling and protecting Shikamaru and her with everything he had and more. Shikamaru looked to be remembering the same. His mouth thinned and his chakra rolled up his limbs in waves. He left for the stairs.

Ino placed a soft hand on Shikamaru’s arm and the boy stopped in place, half turning to give her a lazy acknowledgement. She cocked her head a little to the side in a question and he dipped his chin down in a partial nod. 

She let him go and smiled when she heard a few comments from the other teams from Leaf, the ones whose members were familiar with the lazy Nara work ethic. She knew that Shikamaru was misleading at first glance. He was both easy to underestimate and overestimate. The way he moved was like no other shinobi around. The Nara fluidity to each step spoke to hours of training and dedication. But the gracefulness also hid many of his more aggressive qualities. Fighting someone who’s quick on their feet is one thing, but quick, brutal, and clever? 

The Grass nin was on the backfoot the moment the fight began. Shikamaru didn’t wait for his opponent to move first, he was in front of the other in a single blur of movement. Trench knives in hand and narrowly missing their target. The Grass nin was nearly as fast as Shikamaru, but was clearly taken aback by the intensity of the attack. Shikamaru would not be left behind when she and Naruto were both moving forward. Not with things the way they were. 

A tug on her chakra awareness warned her of the incoming genjutsu. A wash of energy that clung to Shikamaru’s skin. His shadows, which had begun to lash out at the combatant - pulling at their feet and hands, moved to cover Shikamaru’s eyes as well. She frowned as her teammate chose to blind himself rather than break the genjutsu, though it made sense. They didn’t know just how easily the Grass nin could recreate it. 

Pride welled up in her chest and left her feeling giddy as Shikamaru effortlessly avoided the clumsy stabs of the other’s kunai. Someone who worked in shadows had to know how to work through darkness. The shadows that had previously been pulling and fighting began to intertwine around limbs, in a light, almost invisible, lattice around the grass nin. A web of awareness that Shikamaru could follow and sense better than actual sight or senses. A genjutsu held no chance against him, at least not one of a magnitude less than the soul. 

The slight murmurings and whispers of those around her were gratifying in their shock, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from her teammate to fully appreciate the depth of the confusion. Shikamaru’s face had taken on that blank focus that was so familiar. Not cocky but confident, and not removed but still giving off the impression of being worlds away from any current problems. The way his eyes were covered by darkness gave him a demonic look as he fought on. 

Asuma gave a quiet rumble of amusement from behind her and her own lips twitched at the sound. Kiba was whispering loudly off to the side and Lee was shouting about something or another. 

Shikamaru’s left knife sliced through the mask on the Grass nin’s face with such precision that the skin underneath wasn’t touched. The mask fell in two desiccated husks to the floor and the other’s face was finally revealed. The sight of it was anticlimactic in the man’s normalness, but the wide eyed shock was enough to alleviate the disappointment. 

Shikamaru slid his left foot forward, placing it between the other’s feet, then surged to follow through with a knife strike. As the Grass nin dodged, Shikamaru twisted his body to the side with the movement, ankle hooking around the leg holding the opponent’s weight, and shoved. The sound of the body hitting the floor was loud through the ever increasing whispers. 

Shikamaru, movements still as fluid as ever, knelt and placed a knee on the Grass nin’s chest, one knife coming up to settle over his throat, the other returning to its thigh holster. A one handed sign from Shikamaru’s newly freed hand had the genjutsu shattering. The shadows around the Grass nin bled out from their lattice shapes to thicken and squeeze around the wrists, neck, and legs. The shadows over Shikamaru’s eyes lightened into nothing revealing his dark gaze.

Shikamaru leaned down toward the other’s face. The battle blankness abruptly fell away to show an anger of feverish intensity. His eyes were narrowed and blazing and his lips pulled up into an uncharacteristic sneer. There, on display for everyone, was Shikamaru’s inherent mercilessness.

Ino’s breath caught at the rage that was telegraphed through the tension in her friend’s body and the white knuckled grip he had on his knife. “Come anywhere near my team again and I’ll let my shadows rip you to pieces.” The shadows in question tightened even more, the Grass nin’s face going a worrying shade of red as his air was cut off. “Your friend with the soul genjutsu, they were a challenge, and they’re now in two pieces. You are little more than a hanger-on compared to them, and if you ever forget that, you’ll wish you could get off with as quick a death as they did.” 

Then Shikamaru’s anger vanished. He leaned back, shoulders and muscles loose and the movement of his head to look at the proctor was lethargic and cat-like. “I think this ties it up, yeah?” 

The proctor, Hayate, started in place. Then held up a hand and announced, “Shikamaru Nara wins!” Shikamaru stood with a quick roll of his body. He cracked his neck to each side and turned to look up at them. She gave a quick smile to him but his eyes snapped to the side of her and she instantly followed his gaze. Naruto was smiling and clapping and the sight almost made her relax. But his hands, once he was done cheering, gripped onto the railing with a white knuckled strength. The tightness of his grip still couldn’t hide the way his fingers were trembling. 

She barely noticed that Hayate called for a small intermission between the battles. Shikamaru appeared beside her and he reached out to place a hand on Naruto’s shoulder. The blond turned and smiled, “That was awesome, Shika!” 

“Are you okay?” Shikamaru asked. 

Naruto’s grin faltered and his eyes moved to hers, the blue sparkling and shining with bitten back tears. She moved without thinking, sliding her hands around his sides to his back and pulling him into her for a hard hug. She inhaled his sweaty and spicy scent before she pulled back. She kept one hand at his side and the other reached for Shikamaru’s hand, which was easily given. Naruto’s chakra was boiling, but more concerningly it was being tamped down with brutal pressure. It was a hot pot, about to explode at any time. She wasn’t sure any of them could afford a detonation like that.

“Naruto, tell me, what’s wrong.” 

He shifted, but it wasn’t out of her grip or away, just a nervous gesture. “I don’t know, I feel weird.” 

“In what way?” 

“I’m…” he clenched and relaxed his hands in a senseless rhythm. “I’m just angry.” 

Ino’s tongue refused to move. Platitudes stalled in her throat as she took in the details before her. The tremble, the hardness to his jaw, and the way his eyes didn’t just shimmer with tears but shone with indignation. An emotion she’d never seen on her friend. One that she’d searched so hard for, for so long, but to her dismay had never found. Naruto had every right to be angry. Furious with the village and everyone around him. Yet he never was… until now? The pressure of his chakra pressing in on himself was making it extra hard for her to focus. 

“About what?” Shikamaru asked the question she should have asked. 

“I don’t know,” Naruto shrugged again. It was a jerky movement and his eyes didn’t stay on either of them, but strayed to the other side of the room and scanned their surroundings. She chanced a glance at Asuma. He was watching them carefully but didn’t move to interrupt. She gave him a quick thankful nod and focused back on the important subject. 

Naruto rubbed at his lip, pushing it into his teeth and worrying it back and forth. She lifted her hand from his side and pulled his fingers from his mouth. The movement pulled his upper lip up slightly to show elongated canines. She swallowed down her worry and smiled at him. “You’re allowed to be angry, Nar. And you don’t have to know why. Most of us don’t truly know why or where our anger comes from.” 

Naruto nodded and scanned the room once again. She looked across the room to where Naruto kept pausing. Gaara was staring straight back at them. Naruto’s body went entirely taut and a steady but heavy exhale from him made her skin pebble with goosebumps. “Who is he?” Naruto asked suddenly. He spun around to pace in a small circle, never getting out of hands reach from her or Shikamaru. 

Ino cleared her throat and leaned forward to whisper to her boys, “He’s the Kazekage’s son. He’s a year younger than us.” 

“Why would the Kazekage send his son to the Konoha chunin exams?” 

“That’s exactly my thought,” Ino replied. “And on top of that, I found something else. That Sound team we went up against? I found--” 

“Sorry to interrupt, but could I talk to you, Asuma?” 

Ino turned to see Hayate tilting his head toward the nearest door, eyes on her sensei. Asuma sighed out a small cloud of smoke but nodded. Ino clocked the way Hayate very carefully avoided looking at the three of them. Her eyes narrowed as they disappeared through the door. That wouldn’t do, that wouldn’t do at all. Adults could try to talk around them all they wanted, but if they treated them like adults in everything but this… No. 

She used Shikamaru’s body as a shield behind which she signaled sloppily to Naruto. Draw Attention . Naruto turned without question and marched over to where Kiba and Shino were visibly fretting. Naruto launched into an argument that quickly had Kiba screaming back at him, no doubt happy to have something else to turn his attention to. 

Shikamaru bumped her shoulder and she felt a spot of shadow slide to her feet and pull her to the door. She smiled and darted away through the frame and into a wide antechamber cluttered with old couches and tables. She shook the shadows off and expertly channeled her chakra to deaden her presence and footfalls. She moved to flank the two men and hid herself in a shadow of the corner. 

It took a few moments for her to catch up with the conversation but she realized they were talking about Shikamaru. Well, Shikamaru and the Nara clan jutsu. People didn’t ask about clan jutsus, that was the whole point of clan jutsus. 

“I don’t help Shikamaru with his clan jutsu,” Asuma said not for the first time. 

“You have to have done something .” 

Ino marched up to them and demanded, “Why are you so interested in it?” 

Hayate covered his surprise well and turned to her with a skeptical expression. “What are you doing here?” 

“Listening to you two talk about my best friend, now let’s get back to you. What are you doing here, asking these sorts of questions?” 

Hayate sighed and ran a hand over the back of his head. A glance at Asuma made him wince and Ino knew that feeling intimately. Asuma had the ‘disappointed and annoyed’ look down to perfection. “Look,” Hayate started, “The Nara medics are the ones who help remove the liquid from my lungs every month.” 

Ino’s body went loose with acceptance. “You must be a Friend then.” 

“One of my genin teammates was a Nara. Shikaku ended up sponsoring me during my early days.” 

“Was?” 

“She died in the Kyuubi attack.” 

Ino didn’t catch any malice or bitterness in his voice and she relaxed even further. His chakra was a little tattered around the edges, assumedly from his sickness, but it wasn’t hot with deception or anger. Shinobi in Hayate’s generation who didn’t hold the Kyuubi attack against Naruto were hard to find. She’d need to place hooks in early to keep him on their side. She softened her stance and her expression and was happy to see his own posture loosen up in response. A good start. 

Hayate glanced back toward the door they’d all come through before gesturing emphatically and saying, “My point is, I’m familiar with the Nara clan styles and jutsus. The shadow manipulation is a powerful jutsu category and it’s only kept from being exceedingly dangerous because the Nara clan have small chakra coils. It helps with control, which is the biggest challenge for them.

“What Shikamaru just showed in there was signless, pure , shadow manipulation. The control necessary for that is so complete that I think, or at least thought, that Shikaku was the only one who could possibly do it.

“Now, maybe your kid has prodigious ability, but I’m talking Itachi-level skill here.” 

Ino caught the widening of Asuma’s eyes. He switched his cigarette over to the other side of his mouth and Ino swallowed. Itachi Uchiha? Was Hayate implying Shikamaru would go insane? 

“It’s possible, but not probable,” Hayate concluded. 

“Or?” Asuma demanded. 

“Or, his chakra levels are higher than they should be.” 

A long pause and then Ino asked in bewilderment more than accusation, “Are you saying that Shikaku was unfaithful?” 

Hayate snorted in amusement, which lent his claims to being familiar with the Nara credence, and replied, “Of course not, he worships the ground Yoshino walks on. I think it has to do with whatever way you’re training him.” 

“You make it sound like a bad thing,” Asuma said. 

“Just watch him. I don’t want him to get hit with any sort of… lash back.” 

“Why would there be?” Ino asked. 

Hayate shrugged. “Clan jutsus are infamously volatile. There’s still the occasional death in the Aburame clan from their hives, even in adulthood. Powerful techniques have powerful consequences.” 

Ino struggled to keep her breathing strong and even. The three of them just couldn’t catch a break, could they? Hayate raised his hands in surrender, “That’s all I wanted to say. I never meant offense, I’m just concerned. I owe the Nara family a lot, and Shikamaru is the future of their clan.” 

She vaguely heard Asuma give a thanks and maybe some other platitudes of some kind, but Ino was stuck in her head. Shikamaru was talented. He was a genius, smartest Nara in history in her opinion, but did that really mean he’d have such perfect control? Was there something else at play? Was her best friend in danger?? Shikamaru had always been a rock for her and everyone around him. He was stable, sensible, and safe . A flash of the expression he’d worn when threatening the Grass nin just a few minutes before played across her vision.

She startled out of her thoughts when Asuma laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. “It’s time to get back for the last fight, Ino.” She nodded and followed him out in a daze. When she met Shikamaru’s eyes he looked alarmed. She quickly schooled her own expression into one of disinterest, not sure what it had shown before then. He reached out for her and she placed her hand in his, happily moving to him when he pulled. 

“Report,” he said. Naruto returned to their side and gave her his whole attention. 

Ino shook her head, “Not here.” She had too many things to say here. And not just about that last conversation. She needed to sit down with them and talk things through. Put all the evidence on the table and see just what kind of equation they were looking at.

Naruto scowled but seemingly got distracted a moment later with staring at Gaara again. Shikamaru just took a slow deep breath before sighing, “Troublesome.” 

She chuckled and felt a little of the weight on her chest let up. He was still her rock, that wouldn’t ever change. 

Her stomach dropped when she realized who the last pairing was. Shikamaru was lucky to have been spared, but… Lee . The boy in question didn’t look bothered in the slightest. In fact, he looked delighted. 

“A strong opponent!” he shouted. Neji grabbed his arm before he could jump over the railing. He stepped up directly into Lee’s space and whispered something to him that she couldn’t hear. Lee just gave a grin and nodded but Neji’s face was tense. She imagined it looked a lot like her own. 

She believed Lee was a strong genin, though she wasn’t entirely sure what he did. The way he moved, however, showed his awareness of his own body. It was similar to Shikamaru actually, just on the opposite end of the spectrum. But up against Gaara? 

That cold slick sensation rolled over her as Gaara stepped off his sand platform and onto the ground of the arena area. Gai-sensei and Lee exchanged a few more words and then Lee was jumping over the edge and landing with perfect form. 

Naruto’s voice was half a growl as he said, “Kiba told me that he heard that green kid beat Sasuke.” 

Shikamaru replied, “Honestly, I’m not surprised. Sasuke’s taijutsu and katon jutsu are strong, but he’s often blinded during an actual battle. He doesn’t fight like himself, he fights like what’s expected of his clan. It holds him back.” 

She hummed in thought. “And Lee? You have any data on him?” she asked. 

“Lee, no. But my dad is familiar with Gai-sensei.” 

“Really?” Naruto asked. He gave Gai a quick once over, the man was shouting encouragement at Lee who was shouting back, and said, “He looks real goofy.” 

“They call him the Blue Beast of Konoha,” Shikamaru said with a slight mew of distaste on his face.

Naruto predictably lit up. “That’s so cool!” His grin showed off his enlarged teeth and didn’t travel to his eyes. His hands were still gripping the railing so tight it was starting to crumple. 

A wave of Gaara’s chakra lapped over them and Naruto’s grin froze in place leaving him looking stricken and unbalanced. Ino shivered and looked down at the two new fighters. Unease made her throat click as she swallowed. She didn’t want to be here. She really didn’t want Naruto to be here. 

“Don’t count Lee out, young warriors,” Gai-sensei boomed. He gave them a violent thumbs up to them that almost made her flinch. His grin was even brighter and scarier than Lee’s. “Lee is one of the strongest genin here, without a doubt. His youthful power will surprise you!” 

Ino bit her lip and said nothing. Gaara was the biggest threat here. Gaara was… 

Flee at first sight. Was this what she was being warned of?

“Begin!” Hayate said. 

Ino watched in trepidation and disbelief as Lee started to move . He was so fast she couldn’t track him. His punches were so hard she could feel the displaced air from where she stood. But all that was a distant observation. Because Gaara’s chakra was growing. It was slowly unfurling and rippling out over the building to fill every available space like water in a canyon. It was slow and cold but dripping with a contained energy that made her jittery. 

She pushed it back and watched. It was awful but it was bearable. 

She reached for Lee’s chakra but couldn’t feel it through all the sensation. 

Until it blew up. 

Gai-sensei explained the chakric gates and Ino, had she been slightly more aware, would have been fascinated by the concept. As it was, she was fascinated by the raw feeling of the energy that Lee was releasing. It wasn’t chakra exactly, it was more human. It felt like he was releasing something essential, rather than using a resource. He was bleeding life energy all over the arena and it scared her. It wasn’t natural. But, oh, was it powerful. 

She was awed by the vast well that had erupted inside Lee. Enamoured with the way the energy compounded upon itself the farther into the battle they went. It was a heady, reality-defying effect on her senses. She looked at Lee and felt, heard, and saw the very epitome of zeal . She thought the Grass nin had seemed determined and fanatic, but it held nothing to Lee. 

Her awe lasted for only a minute, as it quickly became apparent that Lee wasn’t winning. He was landing hits but not real blows. He was pushing the bounds of possibility but Gaara was an impossibility himself. 

Kiba shouted, “He’s tearing himself apart!” She tore her eyes away to look at Kiba. He was watching in horror, with his hands over his ears. 

Gaara’s shout of frustration made her whip back around. His sand finally moving to attack in earnest. She inhaled heavily, having not realized she’d held her breath, and smelled blood that wasn’t present yet. She blinked and saw the mess of a room she and Kiba had found. She looked at Lee and thought of bones and missing hitai-ate. Just how much pressure did it take to grind metal and bone to dust?
Gaara’s change from defense to offense meant his chakra awakened as well. She struggled underneath its weight and vibrated in place from its feverish madness. The railing to her left splintered into jagged pieces as Naruto’s fist shattered it. She couldn’t look away from Gaara to check on Naruto. Her whole body was frozen. 

Lee limped around, dodging for his life, and Ino could still only see determination and vibrancy in his eyes. He was in pain, agony most likely, yet he moved faster than she could ever hope to. He was a marvel and it broke her heart. 

She flinched when he hit the floor harshly after getting slammed in the side with sand. He struggled to stand and she wanted to shout at him. To give up, to surrender, to stop fighting until he broke himself. Please . 

A green body in front of her, between her and Dosu. Leaf hurri- . 

Not again. Not this time. 

Lee managed to get to his feet but his eyes were hazy, he was no longer present. Gaara’s chakra roiled with euphoric glee as it shot forward. Gaara’s body hunched over and his eyes gleaming with the same delirium as his chakra. Bones. Blood. Lee . 

She choked when she realized her protector wasn’t even conscious anymore. His body was pushing itself, no doubt an ingrained reaction. A dedication so complete it transcended conscious thought. 

Like a katon jutsu, her rage ignited. This was wrong. It was all wrong. Lee was only a year older than her and the others. He was still a child. Yet no one called the fight off. No one looked at him and saw a loss, merely a casualty. The difference made her blood boil. 

The sand reached for Lee, curling around his leg and arm, his body still trying to escape and fight. Ino had never moved so fast in her life. Her hands came up, fingers tapping together to make a rectangle. She slammed her soul through it sloppily. Bones. Blood. Lee . 

The sensation of her life energy moving through Gaara’s chakra was the worst thing she’d felt in memory. It didn’t hurt, but it was like being dropped in ice while something clawed at her mind. Thoughts became scattered and she buzzed with so much pent up energy she was half scared she’d vibrate to pieces. The second that it took for her jutsu to hit Gaara felt longer than the entire exam so far. It felt endless and cold and lonely. 

Bones. Blood. Lee . Her jutsu locked onto Gaara’s mind and she sank in. But it was all wrong. Something had gone so very very wrong. 

She wasn’t looking out of Gaara’s eyes, she didn’t feel his body or his actions. She was standing in darkness deeper than Shikamaru’s most potent shadows. She shifted and felt sand under her feet, her skin crawling at the memory of what sand was capable of. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, smelling desiccation and dried blood. 

The energy pressing down was inescapable. This close to the source it felt less manic and more agitated. It wasn’t rage making her shudder, it wasn’t that organized of a feeling or thought. It was like listening to a half-lucid rant that wanted to tear at her until she gave an answer. But she didn’t understand the question. 

The sand rumbled underneath her once. Then again. And then she realized it was the result of a fathomless dark sound. It became louder, like something bigger than life was creeping closer to her. She panicked, wanting out, wanting away from whatever was coming. But her chakra frayed from the pressure around her. She couldn’t pull back, she needed to get out . 

A light blinked to life in front of her. And then another. Two yellow orbs seared into her vision. Diamond’s at the center of them. The sound became clearer and the sand jerked underneath her at the proximity. 

It was laughter. 

The eyes in front of her blinked and she stared into them, lost to the ferocity and sadistic joy she found there. The left eye flickered a little and through the diamond pupil she saw something green. The figure of Lee looked back at her, eyes wide and faded. Leg and arm in the sand’s clutch, muscles bulging in panic. 

How long had she been in here? Merely a moment? It felt like so much more. 

She rooted her chakra in place, and pulled. She wasn’t sure what she was pulling on but she did it anyway. Because Lee was worth more than being a casualty to an exam that men made children take to prove themselves worthy of dying for a village that looked down on them. He was someone she promised to protect, and she wanted everyone to know that they may be young but they weren’t toys. Lee wasn’t a toy. She wasn’t a tool. Naruto was more than a weapon. 

She yanked so hard she felt something in her soul tear just a little bit. 

The image of Lee flickered out of sight and she screamed in frustration, or at least she tried. The sound was caught in her throat, and what did make it out was drowned out by the laughter. She sobbed and gathered her chakra back into herself. Shaky and slow, losing awareness as the laughter pulled something up from deep inside her gut. A violent desire. A blood thirst she didn’t think herself capable of. An aggression that made her want to tear first the world and then herself into bloody chunks. 

She reached back and away, searching for anything. She was lost in darkness and sand. The grains starting to move and swallow her feet. It worked its way up her legs and the laughter never ceased. The two eyes stared back at her, wide and cruel, and then they too blinked out. Leaving her in darkness. 

She sobbed and fell, her back slamming into the harsh grains of sand. She closed her eyes, the darkness easier to bear that way. 

Then out of the cold darkness came a warmth. She shivered at the feeling. Wary but desperate, she reached out for it. Wrapping her soul around it she hummed in relief. 

The sand was pushing down on her now, her chest and arms submerged and starting to ache. The warmth bloomed forward and she gasped as she realized what it was. 

She grabbed it and began to fight the weight of the sand. She pulled it to her, wrapping herself around it, wrapping it around her. She wanted to leave the ocean of sand, she wanted to step into the hot spring being offered to her. The familiar sensation of boiling that she’d grown to associate with safety and family. 

She grabbed on and she pulled herself out. 

She opened her eyes with a gasp so deep it made her cough. Her lungs fluttered along with her heart and she wrenched her eyes open. Shikamaru and Naruto were the first things she saw, were the first things she wanted to see. 

“Ino!” Shikamaru all but shouted. He looked frantic and terrified. His hand was cupping the side of her face and she leaned into it. The warmth of his touch was an anchor she used to start to feel the rest of her body. She was in her body now. Hers. She raised a hand and looked at the nails. She wished she could see her feet. 

Naruto pulled her blond ponytail forward and placed the strands in her outstretched hand. She pulled on it to feel the tug on her scalp. She ran her fingers through the soft strands and was reminded of texture beyond sand. She breathed deep and smelled Naruto’s spicy scent and she reached out to feel Shikamaru’s velvet soft chakra. 

She was back. She was away from that awful darkness and weight. She was a person, she was alive, she was Ino Yamanaka. 

Bones. Blood. Lee.  

“Lee?” she gasped out. Her muscles were too shaky to do more than try and turn her head. “What happened?” 

Shikamaru shifted her to the side so she was resting on him but turned toward the arena. Hayate and Gai-sensei stood between the prone Lee and a seething Gaara. 

“Gaara wins!” Hayate shouted directly at Gaara. The sand moved and quaked but reluctantly pulled back and disappeared into the gourd. Lee didn’t move. He was collapsed to the ground but she didn’t see any blood. 

“Did it work?” she asked. 

Shikamaru exhaled in what might have been a chuckle in a different world, “I don’t know. Whatever you did… well, don’t do it again.” 

She squinted up at him. “What happened?” she asked again. He looked tired and haunted. And what had she done? 

Shikamaru laid her on the ground instead of answering and quickly maneuvered himself between Naruto and the view of the arena. Naruto was pacing in a small three foot square, his eyes fixed on Gaara. His nails were claws and his whiskers were deep set. She had no doubt his eyes were red and his teeth bared. 

She stood up with Asuma’s help. “Don’t ever do that again,” he hissed at her. His grip on her arm was tight and bruising and she looked at him in apprehension. His cigarette was nowhere to be seen and he was curled over her smaller frame protectively. “Promise me, Ino. Right now. Don’t ever do that again. You don’t understand--” he cut himself off. He grabbed her other arm and made her look at him full on. “Promise me, Ino.” 

She swallowed and tried to pretend like it didn’t feel like she was swallowing sand. “I promise.” 

He nodded and pulled her into his side where she leaned against him and shook. She was so tired. She was… she didn’t really know. Numb? 

Shikamaru was pulling Naruto into an embrace, his dark eyes on her as he did so. She’d never seen Shikamaru look like that. She hated it. 

She weakly reached out for Naruto’s chakra. It was all around her already, warm and welcome, but she reached and searched within it. It felt strangely calm. Not a true calm like a placid pond, but the calm at the eye of a storm. Destruction in every direction and an inevitability to it. She withdrew and wiped away a few tears that had escaped. She buried her head in Asuma’s chest and shut her eyes tight. She didn’t want to see Shikamaru so shaken anymore. She didn’t want to see anyone. 

Behind shut eyes she saw two yellow ones staring back. Her bones shook with the laughter she’d left behind. She hoped she’d left it behind. 

Bones. Blood. Flee at first sign.

Chapter Text

The door to the hokage’s office had barely swung shut and Sarutobi was already behind his desk and pinning Ino with a disappointed gaze, which did nothing but piss her off. She didn’t like this, and not for the reasons the hokage probably thought. She wasn’t sure she could stop herself from hurling insults or kunai at the old man if he kept looking at her like that. Like she was the one in the wrong here somehow. 

Shikamaru would normally have helped reign her in, but he and Naruto hadn’t been allowed to come. Shikamaru had barely managed to get Naruto to not sprout claws and fangs at even just the mention of them being separated and honestly she felt the same. Having them out of sight was throwing off her equilibrium more than she’d anticipated. Maybe it was the fact that they’d been in each other’s space for the last week, or maybe it was the fact that they survived too much already. She wanted out of the damn office and back with her boys. 

“Do you have any idea what you just risked, Ino Yamanaka?” Sarutobi asked, his voice gravelly with age and too much love of his pipe, and his face dark with an anger that made her immensely happy to have caused. “Of course, you do.”

Asuma, standing next to her and angled toward her smaller body, huffed and replied, “Give her a break, she’s been through a lot in these exams.” 

She contemplated mentioning the sound team and the way they’d talked like they were more than genin, but she figured the hokage wouldn’t believe her, would already know, or wouldn’t care. Maybe all three, she wouldn’t put it past him. She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest.

Baki, the only other person in the room, was off to the side leaning against a shelf with a distinct air about him that the entire meeting was a waste of his time. Which she agreed with. 

“She should never have interfered with the preliminary fights,” the hokage said. His tone was as solid as granite and hard as kunai steel. He was so sure of himself that it made her teeth ache with how hard she was gritting them. This was the man that had buried so many secrets and left Naruto to rot. Yet here he was trying to scold Ino for stopping one of her fellow ninja being killed in an unneeded battle. Wasn’t Konoha’s secret their teamwork? When Iruka said things like that it felt honest and strong. She couldn’t even imagine the man in front of her managing to choke out the words at all. “She put the village’s standing at risk.” 

“And Hayate should have called the match the moment it became obvious Lee was no longer conscious,” Asuma defended. “He was slow on the uptake, that’s not on Lee or Ino.” 

“Hayate is one of the fastest ninja in Konoha he--” 

“He’s not the fastest anymore. Hasn’t been since his respiratory system got infected by a poison jutsu gone wrong.” 

“I think we’re getting off track,” Baki said with a perfectly neutral expression.

“Yes, of course,” the hokage said. “Ino acted out of turn and interfered with your student’s match. It is up to you what happens to her position in the finals, that only seems fair.” 

Ino glowered and dug her nails into her biceps. “I didn’t affect the outcome of the fight, just the result,” she said. “Gaara won and would have won if I hadn’t done anything at all. I don’t see why I’m being punished for doing your job for you.” Asuma inhaled sharply but she continued staring at the old man. 

“Your actions could have greatly damaged inter-village trust.” 

“It’s obvious these exams aren’t about the genin at all, are they? They’re just a show of power to the other villages. Well, Lee showed immense power in your talent show, yet you would rather he--” 

“Ino,” Asuma cut her off and she shied away from the look he sent her. He rarely showed much authoritorial energy or tried to force his control on them, but his expression screamed for her obedience. It was a warning and an order in one. She shut her mouth and stewed. 

Baki said, “I fail to see any deceit in her actions. She may have acted rashly but it wasn’t without purpose.” 

Rashly? Maybe, but it was to preserve a life. Can an automatic reaction to protect really be called something as simple as rash? This Baki from the Sand Village could eat bark for all she cared. “Gaara was going to kill Lee,” she said. Her voice wavered a little and she saw Asuma’s frame shift in response to it. He took his cigarette in hand and flicked the ash off the end. She watched it fall to the expensive carpet and burn an inconsequential hole in the weave.  

“She had an emotional attachment to the boy. A conflict of interest from the start,” Asuma said. There was a forced casualness to each word and Ino understood immediately. She widened her eyes and willed a sheen of tears to the front. If they wanted to think of her as an air headed girl with a crush then so be it. It was a weapon and tactic she’d used many times without shame or regret.

She didn’t look directly at Baki, but she could see him out of the corner of her eye. The crocodile tears made it sort of blurry but she got the feeling he was amused by the act. It could be worse, though it could be better. She didn’t like when people could see through her, especially people she knew next to nothing about. 

Baki was the sensei of the Sand Village’s jinchuriki, which meant he was important and trusted in that land. The sensei from sound had looked to him for leadership but Baki had done nothing with it. He could have her kicked out from the exam final yet he didn’t look inclined to do so. She couldn’t get a read on him. 

“She did no real harm,” Baki said. 

The hokage hummed in what could have been agreement or something else entirely. His face had gone stone-like. She didn’t know what that meant but by the tension in Asuma’s body she guessed it wasn’t anything good. The hokage placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward, his eyes drilled into hers and she blinked the tears away. “You know the full risk of what you did,” he said. Baki straightened up though the hokage paid him no attention. “Of all the genin in that room, you know the forces in play around you and what potential ramifications could have unfolded today.” 

She thought of that file with the lists of Naruto’s injuries. The line that stated he was an orange level threat level, just like Gaara. She bit her tongue to stop herself from revealing just how much she knew. She needed to get this meeting over so she could go find her orange level threat and protect him from men like Sarutobi. 

Asuma cleared his throat and the hokage finally looked away from her. 

“Regardless,” Baki said into the loaded silence, “I maintain she did no harm to my team, their chances, or the relations between our villages. It would be foolish to place such ties on the backs of genin, would it not?” Her lips pulled up a bit at the corner at the intended slight. It wasn’t at her, even if she was the genin in question, and everyone in the room knew it. Maybe Baki wasn’t so bad. “Let her fight in the finals, I would like to see her in action once again. Her fight with the Inuzuka was unfortunately hard to see.” 

The hokage gave no indication that he’d let the jab bother him but he still looked displeased. Studying her once again. She wanted to claw out his eyes. Shove the papers from the medical files down his throat until he choked. She wanted to take Naruto far away from all this nonsense and let him be who he wanted to be. 

“She may participate, but…” he paused and she fought to not roll her eyes, “she may not advance to chunin regardless of the outcome of the finals.” 

A hundred different reactions ran through her head as options. She knew she should be disappointed or angry. Righteous, maybe? But she wanted to be dismissive and mocking of the punishment to stick it to the hokage. Conversely, she knew that being devastated could give her an advantage in the future, lull the old man into thinking he had something on her, but really giving her the power of the situation. She was so caught up in trying to pick the best act for the moment that she didn’t know how she really felt about it at all. One thing was for sure, the hokage’s views on her priorities were laughably off target. 

Asuma came to her rescue. “As you say, hokage.” The response was just on the wrong side of flippant but Asuma didn’t stay to see the consequences. He ushered Ino out, her head still reeling. She heard something about the hokage having a meeting with Baki about his students’ stay for the month. She could have sworn Baki had actually looked irritated by the hidden order, but Asuma closed the door before she could really tell. 

“You need to work on knowing when to keep your mouth shut,” he scolded as he pulled her through the halls of the hokage tower. “There’s a time to duck your head and take cover,  you know.” 

“Why should I hide from my village’s leader? He’s here to protect us, right?” she snapped back. 

He pulled her to the side of the empty hall and turned to face her. “Ino, enough. What you did was stupid. I get why you did it, but the hokage’s not entirely in the wrong here. It could have gone much worse than it did. And going in there with that chip on your shoulder was asking for trouble.” 

Ino had a couple retorts on her tongue but she swallowed and instead asked, “What exactly happened? When I… you know.” 

He sighed and ran his hand down the side of his face. The bangles on his wrists caught the lights above them and reflected off the metal. They looked a little bit like smooth shackles actually. “You collapsed, as I’m sure you realized, but you also… screamed? That’s not the right word, but it was scared sounding.” Asuma looked haunted by the memory. “Then Gaara’s chakra pressed down so hard I was scared it would break my bones. It only lasted a moment but it felt like a long time.” He looked her in the eyes and raised a hand to pull lightly at her ponytail. “It felt like for a momentary eternity I was an insect pinned to the ground. And the last thing I saw before it happened was you falling.” 

“Everyone felt that?” she asked. 

“Everyone but Naruto… and,” he hesitated and subtly scanned their surroundings. 

“Who? Who else?” Anko? She had a dark history she only knew parts of. Ibiki? He’d withstood torture on multiple occassions. The hokage himself? Maybe Baki?

“Shikamaru,” Asuma barely breathed the name out. 

She blinked and recalibrated. Shikamaru. Shika?

“And Naruto was going to throw himself over the railing at Gaara, and no one would have been able to do anything about it. Then you came back and it was all lifted.” He flicked his burnt down cigarette into the trash down the hall. “It’s lucky that it was mostly leaf nin there, and those who weren’t didn’t know what was happening. Or rather, they didn’t realize you were happening.” 

She rubbed her hand down the left half of her face in a mimic of her sensei. Her eyes fell shut and she saw two yellow orbs with diamond pupils staring back at her. She forced herself to blink and swallowed heavily. Asuma’s large hand came down to cup her shoulder and she looked up at him, suddenly uncertain of everything. 

He smiled and said, “You did good, Ino. Shitty timing, but your heart’s in the right place. It always is.” 

Her throat grew tight and she felt a warmth in her face and chest. She wasn’t sure that was true, her heart was rarely the thing leading her unless it came to her boys. But the faith he was showing her made her feel like she could face down Gaara herself, while also wanting to do nothing but cower underneath Asuma’s power. She sniffled and forced the heat in her cheeks away. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “After that dumbass move of yours. Your head okay?” 

Ino nodded and then paused. She took stock. She felt fine. But also, something did feel a little off. Like she’d forgotten something somewhere and that fact was stuck in the back of her mind. She was tired too and sporting bruises and scrapes from Kiba. She couldn’t tell how she felt, what was mental or physical, she could barely think straight. “I don’t know.” 

Asuma leaned back, blatantly surprised.

“Hey, sensei?” 

“Yeah?” 

“What’s the point of these chunin exams, really?” 

Asuma’s lips quirked into a shape that wasn’t quite a smile but also didn’t pretend to be one. “It’s about protecting the village with a show of strength.” He patted her shoulder and added, “You and the boys take the next couple days to recuperate, alright? Get back your strength, then I’ll track you guys down to start the training for finals.” 

He turned and pulled out a new cigarette. Lighting it with a signless flash of flame from his finger. He hummed as he ambled off, looking for all the world like a man without a care. 

Ino was rooted to the spot. Because once again someone had lied to her face, and he hadn’t tried to hide it at all. She mulled it over as she began her descent to the bottom of the tower. Asuma rarely did things without a reason, and despite appearances he was smart with his words. All his time at the daimyo’s court meant he knew the value of each question or piece of advice. 

It’s about protecting the village with a show of strength . 

She drew up short when she saw a group of medi-nin pass by her on their way to a group of rooms that was sectioned off from the rest of the tower. She meandered a little closer, keeping her gaze wandering and unfocused as to appear lost in thought. Sloppily written papers were taped to some of the doors. It took her a bit but it finally hit her, she was looking at the medi-nin center for the foreign shinobi. Separated from the hospital for safety and ensconced in the base of the tower for security. 

One of the doors had a sign with Kin’s name on it. Ino clocked the three cameras in the room and wished Shikamaru was with her. One was a rotating camera… with a blind spot. She leaned against the wall and watched in detached shock when a medi-nin exited Kin’s room muttering about supplies, leaving the door ajar. 

She could go for it, but was the risk worth it? A group of assistants walked by, talking loudly. Intercepting one of the cameras, the other camera rotated revealing the beautiful blind spot. Ino’s body moved before she even consciously made a decision. 

She slipped through the door of Kin’s room. It was barely bigger than a large closet inside and Ino almost smacked into the bed that had been rolled in. Kin was laid out unconscious. One of her legs was in a temporary chakra enforced cast while the rest of her was mostly healed. Her side bore a huge thick scar and Ino had to hand it to TenTen, she’d done a good job with this one. Ino grabbed some of the left over hardening plaster from the cast and flattened it into a small rectangle. She unwrapped some of the bandages from around her waist and cut a segment off with a kunai. 

She used the bandages as a makeshift glove as she slipped her fingers underneath Kin’s hitai-ate metal plate. Just like Zaku there was one hidden beneath. The chakra reaction was slowed thanks to the bandages but she could already feel it pulling on her. She slammed the front into the plaster and a moment later the metal shriveled up into nothing but smoke and a bad smell. She waved the smoke away from her face and squinted through it to try and see the plaster. 

An imperfect but presentable impression of the plate sat dead center of it. She breathed a gust of low heat fire over the back of the plaster to harden it, then slipped the copy into her thigh pack. She smiled when she spotted the window that led directly outside. She slipped through it right as the door to the room began to open once again. 

Once she was outside and clear she shook her head harshly. She really needed to stop doing things like that. Shikamaru would have her head. 

“Ino!” She spun around in time to catch Naruto’s hug with her front instead of her back. She wrapped her arms tightly around his chest and breathed fully for the first time since they’d separated. She could feel Shikamaru’s chakra behind her and she leaned backwards into his chest. He grunted in annoyance but moved closer to support her better. 

“You okay?” Shikamaru asked. She shrugged.

Ino contemplated what she’d learned on their way back home. At this point all three of their feet were automatically taking them to Naruto’s little apartment and she had no problems with that. It was the only place where the three of them could really be alone. And right now, they needed to sit down and digest everything that had happened in the last week. 

Shikamaru had given his own brief recollection, “When your body fell, Naruto nearly dove over the rail to attack Gaara. I’ve never seen him like that. The amount of energy that pressed down on the whole room between those two was enough to crush a city. Even the hokage was struggling to stay upright.” He failed to mention that he was the only one unaffected, but Ino would force it out of him later. Still, his words looped in her head along with Asuma’s. 

She could imagine it so clearly too. Naruto would have seen it as a threat, and she knew how he responded to those when he was in that headspace: teeth bared and claws out; ask questions later and annihilate the threat now. She hadn’t thought about that before she’d done it. She’d just been thinking about Lee, and how she didn’t want to see him in pieces on the ground. Not even pieces, if Gaara had gotten his sand around the kid then there would have been nothing left but blood. No bones, no hitai-ate, and no green spandex in sight. 

She glanced at Naruto and swallowed harshly. She couldn’t say she regretted it, because she was sure that Lee would not have been okay if she hadn’t done something, but at the same time she was stewing in shame. She’d put someone else above her team. Her first instinct should always be to protect those two, no one else. The fact that Lee had burrowed his way into her automatic responses so quickly was more than a little worrying all things considered. There was just something about his wide eyed enthusiasm that she wanted to protect. Maybe because she’d never been like that. 

But still. She felt like she’d betrayed her boys inadvertently and whether she meant to or not, she’d endangered them all. If Naruto had attacked with the hokage right there to see it, she didn’t want to think about what the consequences would have been. Not to mention the probable massacre that would have occurred between Naruto and Gaara. Or rather, whatever was inside those two. She doubted she would have lived to regret any of it, and all because she acted without thinking. A disgraceful action for a Yamanaka. 

“Get out of your head,” Shikamaru muttered quietly as he held the door to the apartment open for her. Naruto was already inside and jumping onto the bed with a groan. “You messed up, but also you did something good.” 

“What?” she asked, craning her head to keep looking at him as she passed by. 

“I’m not an idiot, Ino. That Lee kid was toast, but you stopped that. I hate that you did it, I hate what it caused in Naruto, but it’s already done. Lee’s okay, and so are we. So stop obsessing over it.” 

“But I--” she cut off and looked at Naruto who was still collapsed face first on the blankets. 

“He’s fine,” Shikamaru replied with his own glance toward their teammate. “I mean, not fully, but he’s never been okay. And now we have some things to work on which could be a real help. It’s better to have an idea on what needs looked at and worked on than to be grasping around in the dark.” 

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” 

“Have I literally ever done that?” Shikamaru sighed and locked the door before heading over to the small kitchen area. He put the water on to boil and leaned on the counter. She followed him, feeling more than a little like a kicked puppy. “Look, none of this is ideal. It never was and it never will be. Naruto is a ticking time bomb and we’re stuck in a place that wants to weaponize that. There was never going to be an easy way to do this. And complications will always come up. This time, those complications came a little sooner than expected, but maybe that’s a good thing. It gives us time to come up with some sort of a plan.” 

“A plan?” she scoffed. “There’s nothing we can do against any of this. We’re just a couple of genin.” 

“Maybe,” Shikamaru shrugged and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “But we’re a good team, Ino. Maybe we can’t affect a lot of what’s happening or what’s going to happen, but we can always help each other. Right?” 

She smiled and nodded softly. “Right.” 

He leaned closer to her and she echoed the movement without thought. His eyes were fiery as she stared into them and it made her shiver a little in anticipation. She’d never seen this side of Shikamaru. She couldn’t say she didn’t like it. His intensity made her want to do something incredible, something world defying and to laugh at everyone who doubted them. “Let the village burn, Ino. But you, me, and Nar? We’ll make ourselves fire proof.” 

She smiled and snapped her teeth together with just a hint of her chakra, a few sparks sailed up between them and lit up the darkening room for a second. The embers reflected off of Shikamaru’s teeth that were bared in a subdued but feral grin. 

She never could have foreseen this. The way her team would become her everything. The way that Shikamaru would boil over with protective rage or how Naruto would be such a world stopping force. Or how she herself would push against every boundary she’d thought would stop her, just so she could keep Naruto and Shikamaru smiling. She thought for the second time that day about Iruka’s impassioned speeches about how the leaf shinobi thrived on teamwork, but she can’t imagine that he’d been talking about something of this caliber. 

Then again, she thought of Hinata and Kiba and Shino. Their bond was close as well. Gai’s team wasn’t a group of strangers either. So maybe Iruka did know, but she had the feeling that even he’d be surprised by some of the outcomes of his newest genin graduates. 

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said. 

Shikamaru took the kettle off the burner before it began screaming and nodded with a frown. “Yeah. Troublesome.” 

She laughed and grabbed the cups. She called Naruto over to get his tea, bribing him with a promise of Ichiraku for dinner. Her smile was painfully fond when he jumped from the bed and across the small room in an instant. His smile still showed long canines but his eyes were clear and happy. Shikamaru was right, Naruto was fine. And he would continue to be so until Ino took her last breath. 

Ino rolled over and rubbed at her eyes. There was a sound rolling around in the back of her head that sounded a lot like laughter. She swallowed and focused on the feel of the bed underneath her. No sand, just soft sheets and Shikamaru’s elbow in her ribs. She shoved him aside with a grunt. Shikamaru didn’t stir or twitch at the treatment and she rolled her eyes. Her other side was cold though, and she knew Naruto had been there earlier because she’d had to stop him from pulling his hair several times before she fell asleep. 

She sat up and crawled over to the window, unsurprised to find him sitting out on the edge of the roof and looking out at the village lights. A shinobi village never rested, but its shinobi definitely should. She pushed through the window and out into the night with a shiver and sigh. “Come on, Nar, you should be resting. You’ve had a long week.” She wasn’t even sure he’d slept at any point during the exam. 

He didn’t answer and she frowned as she approached. He was sitting oddly, now that she looked. His feet and hands were both set on the edge of the gutters, and his back was arched over as he looked down. He looked like a predator about to pounce. Like a cat or… a fox. 

“Naruto?” she asked, closer now, but reluctant to reach out. 

His head turned, haltingly and unnaturally sharp, to look at her with squinted eyes. He said nothing. She swallowed and sat down on the edge, her legs over the side and swinging with restless energy. “How you doing, bud?” she asked. 

Naruto’s back relaxed marginally, but he still remained hunched. His hair was wilder than normal and his eyes were burning an almost purple color. “I’m… tired,” he growled out. The words were barely understandable and his voice was deeper than it should be. 

“Okay, then why’re you out here?” She inched herself a little closer to him and he showed no sign of aggression or even awareness of her movement. 

“Loud. It’s loud,” he said. A clawed hand pulled roughly at his hair and she was reaching out to smack it without conscious thought. Her breath caught when Naruto snatched his arm back and bared his teeth at her. But it lacked any intent. If anything, it seemed almost apologetic, and he cradled his hand near his chest. It opened and closed but he didn’t attempt to reach for his head again. 

“What’s loud?” she asked. 

He pointed at his temple and her stomach sank. “Kyuubi then. Is it… saying something to you?” 

Naruto shook his head and his back hunched further over until she was nervous he’d fall head first off the roof. They were silent for a long time and Ino was struggling to keep her eyes open. She was beyond exhausted and wanted almost nothing more than to curl up under the covers again. Maybe kick Shikamaru a couple times in retribution. But she wanted Naruto happy, safe, and healthy more. 

Eventually he broke the silence. With a haunted tone he said, “Ino, I’m scared.” 

All exhaustion left her for a moment as the words set every nerve in her body to high alert. “Of what?” 

“I’m…” he swallowed loudly and looked over at her. She hated the expression of fear there, but what she hated more was the underlying shame. Naruto had nothing to be ashamed of, more than anyone in the village he was free from all blame. He was a victim and a survivor and the most loveable goofball in existence. It was her job to convince him of that. “I’m just so angry .” 

She sat up straight and tried to dial back her shock. She knew it was coming, he’d mentioned it while in the arena, but it was still so foreign. Naruto got situationally angry sometimes, more like a deep irritation, but he never showed true fury or indignation or even righteousness. Ino had assumed that such emotions had been beaten out of him a long time ago. 

Naruto continued, “I’m angry at it all. Even the things I love. I look out at this…” he gestured to the village, “and I want to tear it to pieces .” His voice held a hatred that couldn’t be all his alone. His words held weight not even Naruto could create. They were heavy with something that could only be age, and Naruto’s near thirteen years wasn’t enough. 

Her thoughts brought back the articles she’d read on the Kyuubi attack. How many people had died. How much of the village had been destroyed in the fight. How whole clans had been wiped out of existence. It had taken two of the most powerful shinobi in the village to stop it… and trap it in Naruto’s unsuspecting body. 

“You’re allowed to be angry, Naruto. Like I said before. You have plenty of reasons to be angry,” she replied. 

“I don’t want to be angry.”

Naruto looked on the verge of tears and she reached out a tentative hand to rest on his arm. When she wasn’t shaken off she took heart and steadied herself. She’d been waiting for a conversation like this for so long. She’d expected to have it so much sooner, but she was just glad to have gotten to it at all. “You know better than anyone that we don’t get what we want. But that doesn’t mean we can’t turn things around. That’s what we’ve been doing for a while now, isn’t it?” She waited for his nod before continuing. “You, me, and that lazy bastard inside, we’ve been working to reclaim what’s been taken from you. And now, maybe it’s just too easy for you to see all that was taken in the first place. You were wronged from the moment you were born. You’ve been purposefully isolated and weakened. You’ve been left in the dark and given no help.” 

“Until you helped me.” The smile she got from him felt less primal and more human. “You stood up to Sakura for me. Do you even remember?” 

“Of course I do.” And she did. Every moment of it. Every word. She had no idea at the time what she’d done, but she was so glad she had. 

“That was the first time I’d ever been… defended like that.” 

“It shouldn’t have been.” Ino leaned into his side and was happy when he slung an arm around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t have been left the way you were. It was wrong and cruel. End of story.” 

“The kyuubi,” Naruto said. “The kyuubi wasn’t treated well either.” 

Ino paused. She knew little about the monster inside him. But monsters were rarely created as one. “How do you know?” she eventually asked. 

“I can feel it.” He sighed and settled back into a sitting position rather than his uncomfortable looking crouch. She looked up at the stars with him and waited. Counting his breaths as a way to keep her patience. “I’m angry, I think I always was. Am. Whatever. But it’s so consuming. It’s hot and cold and everywhere all at once. But I learned to push it down. It had never brought me anything good, you know? I never really got to do anything with it and that was almost as painful as the reason it was there in the first place. Does that make sense?” He didn’t wait for her to respond and she mentally chuckled in fondness. “But it builds up. Like… like one of those big fire jutsus that Asuma can do. Where it just gets bigger and bigger and you can feel it.” 

“Like a pressure pushing down on you,” she said. 

He nodded enthusiastically and nearly knocked her from her lean on him. “Exactly. It’s pressure. A very specific kind of pressure though. A fire jutsu feels different from an earth one, and this anger feels different than, like, Sakura’s, you know? And ever since the bridge with Haku… there’s been that same sort of pressure in my chest. But it’s not mine. But it’s the same?” 

She jolted in place at the confession. “Since the bridge? Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“I wasn’t sure it was real, I guess. I didn’t even realize I’d channeled something different than normal until you and Shikamaru had told me. It just felt more than usual.” 

She shook her head and took two deep breaths before she spoke again. “I noticed something similar back then and again during the exams. When you’ve tapped into the kyuubi’s chakra, it doesn’t feel any different from your own.” 

“But I thought you said the kyuubi chakra burns?” 

“It does, but so does yours. When you use it on that level it just feels hotter. A little more wild, but it still feels like you.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“I don’t know.” She smacked his leg when he sighed in disappointment. “Shut up and listen to me. I don’t know, I don’t think anyone could, but I think it might be kind of like that pressure you were talking about. How it’s the same as yours. I think… maybe you and the kyuubi just have a lot in common.” 

“You think I’m like a centuries old giant flaming fox?” 

“I think you’ve grown up with that thing inside you. I think you’ve grown up with no one on your side. I think you’ve been used and abused, and you’re here telling me that maybe the kyuubi was too. That’s too much of a coincidence to be nothing.” 

“I don’t know if this is making me feel better,” he griped. 

“It wasn’t meant to. I’m not here to coddle you, Naruto, you know that. I’m here to help you figure this out.” 

“Right, right, sorry.” He pointed out at the darkness beyond the village. At the trees they both knew were there. “Do you ever think about just leaving?” 

“The village?” she asked in surprise. 

“I guess, yeah.” 

She pulled back to look over at him. He refused to look at her, but his eyes were blue in the starlight. “Yeah. Of course I have. Not as much now, because we didn’t think you’d ever entertain the idea in the slightest.” 

“We?” Naruto jerked to meet her eyes. 

“Of course. Shikamaru wouldn’t leave you for all the shogi boards in the world.” 

Naruto grinned and laughed. His head fell back and he closed his eyes. She watched him in silence. There was an air about him still that she didn’t understand. It felt honest though. Maybe it was the anger in him, but he seemed different. Even smiling and relaxed there was an edge there. “I’m not angry at you guys, you know. Never have been. Everyone else, it’s there. Like a pot boiling over, but when I look at you guys I just feel warm, safe maybe.” 

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair roughly. “Of course, brat. We’d always protect you.” 

He smiled again and said with complete belief, “I know.” 

Ino felt a pang through her ribs and she lost a breath at the admission. She wondered what Naruto would have been like if she hadn’t defended him that day. No, she knew what he’d be like. More volatile, less angry. He’d be confused and sad and scrambling for attention. He’d be easy prey for the village and any others who wanted to take advantage of his power and past. He’d be powerful, but ignorant. The thought made her skin crawl. Naruto shouldn’t be anything but supported. Protected from himself and others. 

“Good,” is all she managed to say. The emotions surging through her were overwhelming in their complexity and intensity. Vindication, Righteousness, Fury, Joy, Hope, the glimmer of far off but shining Dreams. Shikamaru’s words burned through her mind. That same protective and uplifting energy that had filled her in the kitchen pushed at her insides. Naruto was finally coming into his own. With the three of them it felt possible to actually strike back at any who would try to pull them down. 

He pulled her back to lay down on the tiles. She pulled her legs up from the edge and laid them across Naruto’s. They traded a few more whispers of fragmented ideas and hopes. It was painful and freeing. Like tearing off the scabs of a burning wound to find that was exactly the first step needed to heal. Naruto was starting to understand just what his wounds meant and Ino was going to be there to help keep the infection away. It felt like a new beginning. 

She fell asleep with her mind abuzz with potential. Naruto’s warmth at her side and his hope nearly suffocating her. 

“Alright, it’s time you told us all the little pieces of information you’ve been collecting and hoarding,” Shikamaru said over brunch the next day. They’d slept like the dead for fourteen hours and had woken generally at the same time. Most likely because Naruto was the first one to wake up and he was always loud even when he was trying to be considerate of them. 

“I’m sure you have your own little filing cabinet of details as well,” she snarked. She was still tired and she was more sore than she was yesterday. Must have finally hit her body that she was done and could relax. Sort of relax, at least. “But you’re right.” 

She found her kunai pack on the ground by the bed and took out the plaster she’d made of Kin’s plate. She placed it at the center of the table in between the takeout boxes of ramen and barbecue pork. Shikamaru leaned forward to get a closer look but Naruto had already picked it up to bring it close to his face and squint at it. “What is it?” he asked. 

Shikamaru sighed and held out his hand for it. Naruto reluctantly handed it over and Ino explained where she’d gotten it from and how she’d originally found it on Zaku. “Do you recognize it?” she asked. 

Shikamaru softly placed it back on the table and Ino stared at it. It was a simple symbol but she still wasn’t sure what it was of. Two overlapping triangles with an X tying them together. “No, I don’t,” Shikamaru said. “Even less so than the sound village one.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I have so much stuff to figure out, what a bore.” 

Ino gave him a chastising glare that he either didn’t see or easily ignored. She sat down and laced her fingers together and set them on the table top. She took a moment to get centered and get her thoughts straight. Then she began to talk. She started with the sound village genin that she suspected weren’t genin, though she knew Shikamaru and Naruto had probably come to the same conclusion. Then she moved onto Gaara and what she and Kiba had found. “I get why you panicked so hard then, with the Lee kid,” Shikamaru said after that. 

Naruto gave an enthusiastic nod and smile. “Yeah, Ino, you did a totally good thing!” Naruto exclaimed. “Bushy brow seems to me like a good ninja, you know? And it’s weird that the adults were just gonna let him be crushed up like that.” 

“Not that weird,” Ino argued. She felt lighter for having Naruto praise her though. Maybe it wasn’t such a terrible thing that she’d done. After all, she wasn’t really prioritizing Lee over her boys, was she? She had just reacted to a threat. Then again, she knew she was pushing herself into a highly unstable jinchuuriki. She shook herself out of those thoughts. “The whole point of the exams is about showing power to the other villages, apparently. So it would make sense that no one would step in during a show of strength like that.” 

“I thought the chunin exams were about the pride of our village?” Naruto said. “Isn’t that what the okage said in his speech before the preliminaries?” 

She shrugged, “I don’t know, I wasn’t listening to him.” Which reminded her of Anko and Ibiki’s weird behavior, as well as the sand and sound jounin-senseis. She shared her observations with the boys. 

“So you think the sound and sand are allies,” Naruto paraphrased. 

“No,” Ino disagreed. “I think the sand village is calling the shots entirely. And on top of that, I mentioned earlier, but it bears repeating, Gaara is the kazekage’s son. And their jinchuuriki. Here in the leaf village for a chunin exam?” 

“No wonder T&I is so restless,” Shikamaru groaned. 

“How did you find out about Gaara’s parents?” Naruto asked. 

“Parent, no mention of the mother in the files.” 

Shikamaru jolted in place. “That’s what you found in the tower’s medical wing? You looked at medical files ?” His face scrunched up in a rare show of rapid rage. Usually his anger built and built up. Not this time. “I can’t believe you, Ino! Do you have any idea what would happen if you had been caught looking through other village information?” His hands slapped down on top of the table making Naruto’s plate rattle and Kin’s faux village plate clatter. “I would have been waiting forever, I would never have seen you again! You would have been killed on the spot or squirreled away in some hole deeper than the tallest tree in Konoha!” His breathing went uneven as his eyes flicked back and forth as he made invisible connections and his chakra began to grow cold. The shadows oozed out from underneath him and pulled her chair forward a couple inches so she was stuck staring directly into his eyes. 

“Sneaking into Kin’s room to get at the plate is one thing. But to actually root through high confidential files is literal treason.” He’d stopped yelling and was now speaking quietly but with a deepness to the tone that came from deep in his chest. It was almost gravelly, completely unlike his normal smooth voice. “Your father would have had to watch you get tortured or bartered off to another village’s mercy just to keep the peace. You thought Gaara’s execution of the other teams was harsh, at least their deaths were quick.” 

Shadows curled around her ankles and she felt a true moment of fear as Shikamaru’s cold gaze sunk into her. Her skin burst out into painful goosebumps and her soul energies quivered, trying to pull into themselves. Her chakra shifted and then stuttered against itself. A wave of nausea rushed through her and she gasped quietly, still unable to look away from her best friend. Behind the anger she could see his fear. She knew what she’d done was reckless, but she’d never seen Shikamaru like this and she never wanted to again. His hands were clenched to the edge of the table and gripping with his full strength. His pupils were just pinpricks and his entire torso was bent toward her. He looked one second away from jumping across the table at her, not as an attack, but rather to hold her still and make sure she was safe. 

Her fear melted away, barely lasting more than a moment, and she gave him a tired apologetic look. The shadows around her ankle instantaneously softened and brushed across her calves like a kitten looking for attention. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth relaxed and he sat back in his chair. He cleared his throat and said, “Just because you can pull something off doesn’t mean you should try. Sometimes, things are better left untouched if it means the possibility of you having to be…” he trailed off but she got the picture quite clearly. 

Naruto released a deep breath and both of them turned to him. “That was scary,” he said. Shikamaru winced and she reached across to give his hand a quick squeeze. 

“Everyone is capable of being scary,” she said to both of her hard headed boys. 

Naruto gave an almost identical wince as Shikamaru’s and just nodded. She thought about the file she’d found on him. Malleable and isolated . She hesitated but then internally scolded herself. She couldn’t baby him now, it would only hurt him in the end. Besides, Naruto didn’t need the village, he had her and Shikamaru. 

“I saw your file too, Nar,” she said. Shikamaru stiffened and turned his complete attention to her again. His shadows slowly backed off and his chakra returned to its normal silky cool. 

“Do tell,” he said. 

Naruto gave her a wide eyed uncertain look that stabbed through her chest. “Hey,” she said, reaching out for his shoulder, “it doesn’t matter what they say, you’ll always have us. Got it?” 

He smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck, “Yeah, right. Believe it!” 

She gave him a soft smile before she sobered. Then she told them what she’d found. They sat in silence for a while. Naruto absently ate a few pieces of pork and Shikamaru was staring very hard at the inside of his teacup. She tapped the table quietly and he glanced up at her. She tilted her head and snapped her teeth together to create a spark. His shoulders loosened and his lips curled up a little on one side. He nodded shallowly and turned to Naruto. 

“We knew they were setting you up, Nar. We knew that since the beginning,” he said. Naruto gave a glum nod, looking like he was barely listening at all. “Hey, idiot, listen to me.” Naruto looked up and Ino panicked a little when she saw a sheen of tears over his eyes. “Just because the village tried to screw you over doesn’t mean we’ll let it happen. They have a very clear idea of what they want to do with you, but we’ve already changed the board of the game.” 

“How so?” Ino asked. “I know he’s the jinchuuriki, but what does that mean for the village?” 

Naruto said, “I’m a weapon.” 

“All shinobi are,” she said.

“No, I’m something else. I’m a… what’s it called, when you’re playing a card game and it wins every time?” 

“Trump card,” she answered.

“Yeah, I’m that.” He turned to Shikamaru, “Right?” 

Shikamaru sighed and placed his hands together, fingertips to fingertips, in his thinking pose. He bowed his head a little but when he spoke it was easily heard. “You’re more than a trump card, Nar. A trump card would be something like a crucial piece of information that could force someone’s hand. Or a mission that changes the daimyo’s loyalties. You, you’re bigger than that. Which is exactly why they worked so hard to break you down. They can’t afford for you to not fall into place for their plan.” 

“What plan?” Ino asked, irritation growing at Shikamaru’s avoidance of the question. 

“It’s simple,” he said. Ino opened her mouth to chew him out, but he cut her off, “It’s a cold war.” 

Ino looked at Naruto, but he looked as confused as her. “A cold war? Like a stalemate?” Naruto asked. “Didn’t Iruka-sensei say something about that between the Uchiha and the Hyuga back at the beginning of the village?” 

Ino would apparently never not be surprised about the weirdly random but significant details Naruto’s mind clung onto. Because what? He couldn’t remember how many hidden villages there were, but he remembered a detail about the Uchiha and Hyuga conflict that no one ever talked about? Iruka most definitely hadn’t given a lecture on that ever. How could he? The politics of it would be like hanging himself. 

“No,” Shikamaru said, shooting a confused glance at her in matching disbelief. “The Uchiha and Hyuga conflict is more similar to a policy disagreement than an actual cold war. A real cold war depends on one thing: mutually assured destruction.” 

She licked her lips. “Gaara and Naruto?” 

Shikamaru nodded. “The other villages have jinchuuriki as well. Did it never occur to you to wonder why they were so evenly split?” She scowled, because it hadn’t. She was good with people and even politics, but more of the minutiae of them, not overarching elemental country kind of conflict. “But Naruto and Gaara are unique. Gaara because of the way he’s being used so forwardly, and Naruto because he’s being used so manipulatively.” 

“The others aren't like us?” Naruto asked. “How many jinchuuriki even are there?”

“I don’t know,” Shikamaru said, which Ino spotted as a half lie. One that she was pretty used to since Shikamaru didn’t like to explain things fully until he understood them fully. “But I’ll find out.” 

“If we’re talking destructive weapons,” Ino said, “then we should talk about the thing inside Gaara.” 

Naruto looked at her with wide eyes and asked, “What do you mean?” 

“I saw it. Or something. When I was in his mind, I wasn’t actually in his mind, I don’t think. Not fully. I was with that thing.” 

She shuddered and Naruto scooted his chair around the table’s corner to be next to her. She leaned into his shoulder and continued, “It was sand. Just sand everywhere, and these golden eyes and laughter. But it felt… horrifying. Nothing like Naruto’s chakra when the kyuubi’s energy bubbles over. It wasn’t sane, like, at all.” 

“So Gaara?” Shikamaru prodded. 

“I don’t know if there even is a Gaara,” Ino said. “I didn’t feel him at all, just that thing inside him.” 

“No, Gaara’s real,” Naruto said. She swallowed harshly at the seriousness of his voice. “You can see it when you look at him, you know? His eyes don’t match.” 

Ino jerked in place and barely managed to not shoulder Naruto in the head. She remembered Naruto’s eyes when he’d lied to her. “His eyes?” she asked. 

Naruto shrugged and waved a hand around his face. “You know, when he looks at you, sometimes his eyes are different.” 

“Like yours with the red and blue?” Shikamaru asked. 

“No,” Naruto huffed in irritation. “Like his intensity. Or maybe his chakra, I don’t know! It’s different though. He’s different.” 

Ino really wanted to ask what that meant. Different from what? When? But Naruto often had trouble actually communicating things that he perceived with his instincts, and pestering him would just make him defensive and clam up. She ran a hand through his hair and decided to leave it. If he had more insight she could drag it out of him later. Besides, she thought she might already know what he meant. 

She picked up her chopsticks and made herself eat some more. Her stomach was rolling but she knew they’d all need their energy for the coming month. 

“I think we all know what we need to look into,” Shikamaru said after a few minutes of quiet eating. “But just in case you two are falling behind…” She scowled at him and Naruto stuck out his tongue. “Ino, you’ve got sand and sound inter-politics. I’ve got the cold war. And Naruto, you’ve got Gaara.”

They nodded at each other and Naruto thankfully distracted them with a complaint about not getting a vacation. She laughed and shoved him in the side which made his chair nearly topple over. His shrieks of indignation hurt her ears but calmed her heart. 

Asuma was at the apartment door the next day with a grim face. “What happened to having a few days off to relax?” Ino griped, not fully awake. Asuma didn’t seem the slightest amused and her back straightened up as her senses came flooding into focus in a small rush of adrenaline. “What’s wrong?” she asked. 

“Where’s Naruto?” Asuma demanded. 

Chapter Text

“What do you mean, where is he?” Ino asked. She spun around to look at the room behind her. Shikamaru was slowly rolling toward the edge of the bed in his normal lengthy morning habits. But Naruto wasn’t burrowed under the covers like normal. 

She turned back to Asuma and said, “He’s probably just going for a run. You know how he is when he gets too much energy.” She tried her best to make the words as confident as she could. But it was morning and she was scared because Asuma looked angry.

“Find him!” Asuma all but yelled into her face. She jerked back and suddenly Shikamaru was there behind her. His hands clamped down on her shoulders and she could feel his chakra moving quickly around him in his agitation. 

“What’s wrong?” Shikamaru asked. 

Asuma sighed and Ino noticed he didn’t have a cigarette in sight. Her stomach dropped. 

“Look, just find the kid, okay?” 

Her fear became tinged at the edges with rage. “No, not okay!” she snapped back. 

Shikamaru’s hands squeezed harder but he backed her up with a simple, “Tell us what we’re dealing with, sensei.” 

Asuma looked and sounded impatient, “There’s someone in the village that wants to meet Naruto, but I need to talk to him first.” 

“The stranger or Naruto?” 

“Either.” 

Ino just nodded and took a couple steps back into the apartment. “We’ll get changed and start looking.” 

“Can you feel him?” Asuma asked. 

Ino frowned, “What?” 

“With your sensing!” 

She paused and gingerly probed around her awareness but didn’t find the torch of sensation that was Naruto. “No.” She debated opening up her sensing further, but with so many people in the village and her inability to fully use that ability, she was nervous to even try. “If he flares his chakra I’ll be able to sense him anywhere in the village, but if he doesn’t, then I won’t be able to tell unless I’m closer to him.” 

Asuma gave a tired nod and waved his hand. “Alright, just get going as soon as you can, I need to find him. Give the standard smoke signal if you do.” 

“Who’s the other guy?” Shikamaru asked. “The one you want to talk to as well?” 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

Ino bristled and she watched Shikamaru’s bottom lip compress a bit into the top one as he forced down the first retort on his tongue. “Clearly it does. If we found him we could alert you too.” His chakra grew chillier and it helped her cool down from her own temper. 

“We don’t have the time right now,” Asuma said after a second of hesitation. “Get going.” A rush of wind and leaves and Asuma was gone from the doorway. Shikamaru stepped around her and slammed the door shut. “Well that’s a load of bullshit,” he muttered. 

She stood frozen as he started to pace around the apartment, grabbing his gear and clothes and beginning to get ready for the day. She didn’t get pulled out of her momentary shock until something smacked into her chest with a ‘snap’. She looked down at the bright orange hair tie that she’d instinctively caught after its rebound from her chest. 

“Ino?” Shikamaru asked, strangely gentle. She looked up at him and exhaled slowly, allowing herself to just feel for as long as her breath continued. On her next inhale her reprieve was over and she started to finger comb her hair up into a ponytail as she walked over to the foot of the bed where her chest of clothes and wraps was. 

“I’m good,” she said.

Shikamaru was at the window by the time she managed to get halfway ready. “I’ll go east, you go west.” Ino gave a nod and then he slipped out onto the roof without a sound. 

She rushed to force her way into her gear and secure her weapons in place. Her hand hovered over the plaster indent of Kin’s hidden village plate. Would it be better to leave it or take it? She couldn’t be caught with it either way, but which was more the risk? She had no idea how close of an eye anyone was keeping on them. 

She glanced around and wished she’d thought to ask Shikamaru before he’d left. Then she chuckled quietly, she didn’t need him here to ask, she already knew his answer. She flipped the plaster around and through her fingers a couple times as she focused her chakra into her palms. She focused until they became blazingly hot, just on the edge of too much for her to handle. Then she clapped her hands together with the plaster flat between them. It ignited within a moment and crumbled to pieces. She rubbed her hands together to get the ash flaked off and then she spun and jumped through the window. 

“West,” she whispered. She turned west and tried to think of anywhere in particular Naruto would go. She frowned. There were two problems. One, there was really nowhere Naruto couldn’t get or didn’t know intimately. The kid had every inch of the village memorized. Other than the clan compounds and the wealthier neighborhoods, it was all up for consideration. The second problem was that she didn’t know his state of mind at the moment. If he was angry, he’d go train. If he was sad, he’d go somewhere with good memories. If he was hungry he’d go to Ichiraku. 

She sighed and decided to just start with the basic grid search. She at least knew a couple of places she didn’t need to search, but other than that, she’d just need to be fast and thorough. 

She’d gotten just a few streets down when she spotted dark blue hair out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t look when she saw the figure give a tentative wave. She didn’t want to deal with Hinata at the moment. Although, it was surprising she was out of the hospital already. She shifted to start another sprint, she had to be fast even if she was basically working blind to find Naruto. Blind. She spun on her toe and sprinted over to Hinata. 

“I need your help,” Ino said with no preamble. She could ask how Hinata was doing, perhaps gain a higher degree of empathy from the other if she showed a couple of nervous tics… but the truth was she didn’t need to. Hinata was already eager to please and that would be doubly certain since Naruto was involved. 

Hinata’s mouth opened slightly but no noise made it out at first. “Okay,” Hinata choked out as Ino debated what to say next. 

“Perfect,” Ino gave a little smile, one calculated to be conciliatory but also confident. “Can you use your,” she gestured at Hinata’s eyes, “to find Naruto for me? It’s important.” 

Hinata nodded and looked around at the busy market street they were standing in. “I need a better vantage point. Too many bodies here.” 

“Would someplace higher up be better?” 

Hinata gave a nod and Ino pointed to the astronomy tower in the next district over. “How about there?” Hinata was hesitant as she nodded. Ino didn’t have time for hesitance. She grabbed Hinata’s hand and began dragging her toward the tower. For the first street Hinata kept up fine, her chubby fingers actually curled more securely around Ino’s own, but the girl quickly started to lag, and her breaths were coming out uneven and shaky. 

Ino stopped and turned to find Hinata’s cheeks flushed and her free hand pushed to her chest. A surge of irritation and impatience nearly had Ino lashing verbally out. Hinata was a shinobi, how could she be out of breath? 

Then she remembered Neji’s open palm slamming into Hinata’s chest, just above her heart. Repeatedly. And that was just a couple of days ago, if that. Ino bit her lip and withdrew her hand from Hinata’s to uselessly hover it in front of the girl. “Are you okay?” Ino asked. She looked around, half concerned that Kiba or Shino would pop up from behind a stall or from an alleyway and attack her for hurting their teammate. “Should you even be out of the hospital?” 

Hinata gave a shaky thumbs up and said between deep breaths, “Hyuga have a… separate medical ward… they were going… to send… me there… so I left-t.” 

“But is that safe?” Ino asked again. She was debating leaving Hinata behind entirely in order to finish her search for Naruto, but she felt weirdly responsible for the girl. She thought of Kiba tilting his head to her, baring his neck. Her eyes stopped on the choker around Hinata’s throat and the two fang marks on the first bead. Ino squinted at a small dark smudge just barely visible and peeking out from the edge of the choker. Maybe a bruise? A beetle?

Hinata took a steady step forward and then, after a moment of what looked like determined calibration, she started slowly but steadily walking the way they were headed. Right for the astronomy tower. “I’m fine,” she said. And she even mostly sounded fine. 

Ino, seeing no reason to baby the girl or turn her away from what she herself wanted, quickly fell into step with her. The silence was weirdly heavy between them. Hinata was focused on breathing and moving, but Ino had nothing to focus on but her worry about Naruto. And the images of Hinata and Neji’s fight that kept flickering through her mind. Hinata standing tall despite her injuries. Her words to Neji, most of which alluded to dark secrets that were entangled too intimately and severely with each other to be excavated by Ino even if she had the drive and time to do so. Yet the mystery pulled at her. 

Ino took a deep breath and ever so lightly brushed her chakra across Hinata’s. It was barely any contact at all, as unwilling as she was to risk being caught up in the sensation again, but she felt enough. Hinata’s chakra was out of whack, not as welcoming or gentle as it had been when she first really felt it. Soft moss had turned to rough crabgrass and the clouds were heavy like a thunderstorm brewing. 

The thing that really caught her attention was Hinata’s throat. It had that same tight and constricting sensation that she’d noticed before, but now it felt hot and sore on top of that. Like a deep fresh bruise and the slight fever of an infection. 

She chanced a glance over at Hinata, her eyes automatically going to her forehead. The girl had always had bangs, in fact Ino had never really seen her full forehead, but she knew it would be blank. Flawless like the rest of her skin. She wasn’t one of the members of her family that wore bandages to hide something. Like Neji. 

The Hyugas weren’t popular in the Yamanaka clan, but she’d never gotten the full story. Maybe it was about time she asked. Or she could root around in the files her dad kept around and thought she didn’t know existed. But again, this wasn’t her problem, was it? Unless it gave her an advantage to know. A way to better keep track of Hinata and Neji, both of whom were more of a threat than she’d expected. 

“You did good, you know,” Ino said. Hinata’s next breath was short and shallow. Not quite a gasp, but close enough. “Your fight against Neji, I mean.” Not that either of them really needed the clarification. 

“Thank you,” Hinata said, barely louder than a whisper. The emotion in that one word was nearly enough to have Ino’s skin breaking out into goosebumps. It’s not like it was news that Hinata would react well to praise, but clearly that need for validation went deeper than Ino had realized. 

“I’m sure Kiba and Shino already told you that though,” she said. Hinata winced, which immediately had Ino’s full attention. “What’s wrong?” 

“They were… less than pleased with me,” Hinata said, breathy and unsure. Her fingers folded together and twiddled like they used to any time Iruka-sensei called on her in class. The sight almost made Ino smile with nostalgia. Simpler times. 

“They didn’t like that you fought back?” Ino asked, not able to make that statement and the two boys in question match up. 

Hinata shook her head almost violently. “No, no, that’s not it. But... I took it too far. I pushed Neji too much.” Hinata bit her lip and Ino wanted to pry her mouth open and let those hidden words free. Hinata wouldn’t respond to force though, which was in many ways impressive. If inconvenient. 

“Wouldn’t it be fair to say that he pushed it too far?” Ino asked. She tried to make Hinata feel comfortable by not looking directly at her, but Ino’s every sense was tuned into Hinata’s minute reactions. 

“He doesn’t know any other way!” Hinata replied, nearly before Ino had even finished speaking. “He’s lost.” Hinata glanced around them, as if there were eavesdroppers around who cared enough about what two tween kunoichi would be whispering about. “I just want to help. I just want to tell him ,” Hinata broke off to cough harshly into her hands. Ino was half expecting there to be blood, but when Hinata lowered her hands they were clean. Her eyes were Hyuga through and through, which made her difficult to read, but Ino could tell that Hinata’s thoughts were far from the market street they were walking down. Ino had to shove a rolling pot out of Hinata’s way so she wouldn’t trip. 

Ino stifled a smirk, she wouldn’t be a Yamanaka if she didn’t take advantage.  “Tell him what, Hinata?” she asked gently. She couldn’t risk breaking the sort of meditative mind set the other had fallen into. 

“That I want to help. That I know.” 

“Know what?” 

Hinata only let out a breathy whine. And Ino frowned. A different tactic then. “Why don’t Kiba and Shino want you to help Neji?” 

“Don’t think he deserves it. But that’s just the point, he doesn’t deserve it, no one does.” Hinata’s left hand came up to cup her throat, palm pressing the choker into her skin. Ino felt sore twinges of chakra tightening around Hinata’s throat. Her voice grew strong and smooth as she forced out, “He has to listen. Not see.” Then she coughed harshly again, the force of it rattling her small body, and Ino could all but feel that distant contemplation ebbing away. 

Hinata cleared her throat and pressed a couple fingertips to her temple. “I’m sorry, the chakra healing left me a little spacy.” Ino knew what she meant. Having so much energy pushed into your cells and through your soul was exhausting. Generally, the worse the wound the worse the effects. And Hinata had been coughing up blood. 

“Should you just be wandering around by yourself then?” Ino asked. 

Hinata still looked a bit out of it but she gave a delicate shrug. The girl may have adopted some of Kiba’s posture and Shino’s calculative look, but there was an inherent grace in her every movement. She was high-born and it was easy to see, she couldn’t erase that. “Kiba will be looking for me soon, once he realizes I’m no longer in my room.” 

“And he’ll find you?” 

“He always finds me,” Hinata said like a prayer. She raised a hand to brush the back of her knuckles across the beetles still marching in a loop around her bicep. “Both of them will.” 

Ino forced herself to look away. The way Hinata had said it reminded her of Shikamaru in the kitchen, declaring that the village could burn. It was too similar, it made her stomach knot up. “Ah, here we are!” Ino exclaimed once she realized they were right at the base of the astronomy tower. 

There was a rickety staircase that wound around the outside and Ino hesitated. Maybe Hinata shouldn’t be making that climb right now, but before she could voice the doubt aloud Hinata passed her and began working her way up. It was impressive how Hinata’s breathing never faltered. She was clearly in pain, but her steps were fluid. Purposeful and timed with her breathing, which Ino suspected was paced with her heart. It was a little too calculative to be comforting. Only the highest clans had such control, and only those who were pushed to their limits had control at such a young age. 

Stuck behind Hinata and her slow upward progress, embroiled in the implications of every detail she couldn’t help but notice, Ino thought Hinata looked a lot like a lonely haunted doll. A cracked porcelain one, held together with glue and desperation. At the mercy of those around her, and gravity, that wanted to break her open on the floor again. 

A beetle buzzed and flew from Hinata’s hair before disappearing down her shirt. A reminder that Hinata wasn’t entirely at the mercy of others. Shino and Kiba now held her fragile presence in their hands. The two had shown they took that responsibility seriously. 

They reached the top faster than Ino expected. Hinata took only a few moments to reorient herself by rubbing at her chest and breathing deeply with her eyes half closed. Then Ino felt the pulse of the byakugan activating. She stepped to the side for a better angle to see the byakugan in action. Hinata’s pleasant face was transformed into something sinister. The veins around her eyes were bulging and the needed concentration for such a high level technique pulled her features taut. She looked much less breakable like this. Ino, feeling scolded despite the privacy of her thoughts, rescinded her comparison. It was insulting to liken Hinata to anything as fragile as porcelain. Or as unemotive as a doll. 

She’d shown true grit during her fight with Neji. She revealed the passion brimming inside her. A selfless kind, one that Ino didn’t understand. But just because she didn’t understand it didn’t mean it was weak. She could imagine Asuma scolding her about assumptions and underestimation. Still, it was hard to think of Hinata outside of the cowering and feeble child she had been at the academy. How much of that burning passion had she been hiding back then? Yet she hadn’t burned out, not yet. 

Hinata blinked and the veins receded, her eyes returned to blank lilac, and she turned to Ino with a small smile. “He’s right over there,” she said while pointing with a shaking hand. “Over by the hot springs.” 

“Was he with anyone?” Ino asked. 

Hinata shook her head with a small frown. “Should he be?” 

“No, no, I was just checking.” 

Hinata relaxed and turned back to the stairs. Ino was almost uncomfortable with how much Hinata trusted her. It should be foolish, it should be embarrassing for her as a kunoichi, but Ino found herself unable to dig up any resentment or pity. After all, it’s not like Hinata was wrong, was she? Ino had no intentions of shoving the girl down the stairs or trying to intentionally hurt her. Ino followed, deep in thought. 

Once they’d reached the bottom, Ino headed in the direction of Naruto. She checked with Hinata, barely a glance, but Hinata understood and gave a nod. “He’s still over there. He’s surprisingly still, actually.” Ino tensed and Hinata quickly went to clarify, “He’s not actually still, he’s moving quite a bit, he’s just staying in one small area.” Ino relaxed a bit, though it was still strange behavior for her wayward teammate. 

Ino was across and through the nearest alley in a flash, thoughts occupied by Asuma’s expression and tone this morning. Who was it that Naruto couldn’t meet? Who did she have to bring low before they could do too much damage? With her and Shikamaru combined, not many would hold much of a chance. 

Hinata was following, slowly, but Ino couldn’t not track her progress. She wasn’t concerned by it however. The Hyuga castaway may be naive and trusting, but it also meant that she wasn’t a threat. It was one thing that Ino could always appreciate about the other. 

She spun around a speeding cart without the driver even noticing and slid under a couple of vegetable stands to get around the corner faster. She was about to take to the roofs to avoid the crowd when a gust of hot air blew across her skin. She froze in an instinctual need to suddenly be invisible. An urge she didn’t fully comprehend until it became glaringly obvious. 

There was no hot air, it was a chakra signature that she’d never forget. One that she had subconsciously reached out to check on.

Ino pivoted on her heel and placed her back to the nearest building, eyes not needing to scan the crowd to find the owner of that blustering energy. Temari’s eyes caught hers the moment Ino found her. Temari didn’t freeze or react as outwardly as Ino had, but the older girl paused. Ino, in a small rarely listened to part of her mind, was happy that Temari knew who she was. 

Ino breathed deeply and felt around for the signatures of Temari’s brothers. She found it hard to believe that she could ever miss Gaara, but the other one, maybe. Ino tore her eyes away from Temari just long enough to do a visible sweep as well. But Temari seemed to be alone. Which was strange, considering she was a foreigner of high status in a village of high political instability at the moment. 

Shikamaru would have killed her if she left the group in a situation like that. Then again, maybe Temari was safer as far away from Gaara as she could get. 

Hinata stepped into the street next to Ino, disrupting her focus for a moment. Ino watched as Temari gave the Hyuga a brief look over before turning away from both of them. Didn’t that just rankle? Ino felt her top lip curl up in a silent snarl she probably picked up from Naruto. Speaking of. She glanced in the direction of the hot springs. They weren’t far off now, but having Temari alone in a public place like this could be an invaluable opportunity. 

She sighed and with two flashes of hand signs she felt the chakra of smoke billow up in her throat. She spat out small clouds in a short code and let it rise up and away. “Hinata,” Ino said, voice pitched low and serious. She couldn’t see Hinata, but she could hear the minute shuffling of feet, and Ino could picture the girl straightening up to attention, maybe her small hand hovering over her chest. 

“Yes?” Hinata said, softly. 

“Can you go find Naruto?” Ino asked. Hinata was the only person she could even imagine taking over for her in this situation, other than her own team. But if Naruto wasn’t in danger, which Hinata believed he was not, then Ino needed to keep her goal in mind. Figuring out the mess between the sand and sound shinobi was her assignment in this whole mess.

“Find him?” Hinata asked, as if there was a hidden question in the two words, though Ino hadn’t intended for one.

“Bring him here, please. I would really appreciate it.” Ino, though she felt anything but, softened her voice and sent a distracted smile to accompany the words. Hinata inhaled and without another word, disappeared down the alley they were standing at the mouth of. Ino couldn’t help but be impressed by the brevity, though perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised for someone of so little words. 

Ino looked up at the smoke signal she sent, it was just starting to dissipate, but Asuma and Shikamaru would have seen it and be on their way. She pulled herself up straight, tugged on the end of her ponytail and then strode over to the food stall Temari was waiting patiently in front of. Presumably waiting for her turn to order.

When she stepped up next to Temari the two civilians in line behind her loudly voiced complaints. They were easily ignored. Until one of them made as if to reach out to touch her. Likely to grab her arm and shout his complaints in her face. Unacceptable. It was continually baffling to her how entitled civilians felt in touching each other. Men especially, like they had a right to force her attention by physically dragging her to them. Shinobi didn’t do that, touch was something special. Something for the trusted, the tried and true. 

Keeping most of her attention on Temari, she whipped her head to the side and sent a glare towards the upstart. The man froze and then let out an awkward chuckle as he backed away from her, the hand he’d been reaching out with now held up in a surrendering pose. Though his chuckle and discomfort made it seem like she was the unreasonable one here. Typical.

He smacked the other onlooker’s shoulder with the back of his hand and mumbled something about actually getting a craving for barbecue pork instead. Soon, the two were walking off at speed and she flicked her hair over her shoulder as she turned fully back to Temari. Distraction gone, she zeroed in on her target.

Temari’s mouth was slightly upturned on the left side, pulling her expression into something akin to amusement, but the rest of her face was still harsh enough it looked more akin to disdain. But Ino wasn’t fooled. 

Ino spent a couple moments just looking as Temari continued to ignore her and look forward into the line to the sticky bun stand she was standing at. Though when the line moved forward Temari remained where she stood. A couple people paused by the stand only to spot them and decide to go somewhere else. Ino would feel bad about it if she didn’t already know this was a common occurrence in a shinobi village and also that this was important. 

This was an opportunity, but she had very little schema to work with on Temari or the sand culture. She couldn't start out with anything too in depth, especially given the time restraint she was undoubtedly working with. 

Temari’s fingers were twitching and her eyeliner was ever so slightly smudged on one side. She was nervous, and not because of Ino. She did one last sweep of the area to try and spot either of the brothers or Baki maybe. But it was just Temari.

“Why is it that the Sand Village decided to send the kazekage’s family to the chunin exams in a different village?” Ino asked, timing her blinks so that her eyes would be wide open to catch Temari’s response. 

Temari’s left hand twitched toward the fan on her back and her lips pressed into a thin line. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give some light. Ino pushed on, “And why is it that Gaara is being pushed to take these exams so young?” 

Temari’s left foot pivoted a little to face away from Ino, who blinked in total shock. That was a threatened response, which was great, Ino should be seen as a threat. But that was a flight response, one foot out the door, so to say. The exact opposite of what Ino would have predicted. 

“You have a big mouth for a girl who barely scraped by the exam,” Temari said, finally looking over at Ino, an admission of interest or aggravation at her presence. Her pupils were small but her haughty yet blank expression was firmly in place. There was a cut at the corner of her lip that Ino hadn’t seen from her view of Temari’s profile. It was self-inflicted judging by the placement. Nervous tic? Nightmare? Keeping her opinions quiet? Either way it pointed to discontent in some form. It was really a question of how deep that went and how much it was entwined with everyone else in sand. 

“How would you know?” Ino asked. “You were at the tower for nearly the whole time. Normally I would just assume you’d talked to someone, but that’s not really your style, is it?” 

Ino shifted a couple inches closer to Temari while maintaining eye contact, blatantly threatening her space. Temari flashed a view of her teeth, gritted in annoyance and mirth. The foot that had pointed away from Ino, swiftly slid forward, encroaching into Ino’s space in turn. They were closer now, which served Ino’s goals just fine. The air between them buzzed with possibility and potential violence.

“Besides,” Ino continued as she played with the end of her ponytail to force a nonchalance to her posture despite her position, “The only people that the sand seems in any way close to is the sound team.” 

Temari sneered and Ino was puzzled over whether it was at her or the mention of the sound team. Which meant she needed another data point, another button to push. “But you’d know all about that, right?” she pressed. Temari’s lips curled into her mouth as she pressed them together harder, but this time it looked like she was keeping in a laugh rather than a comment. Ino mentally nodded, the wrong button then. 

“Are you always this forward?” Temari asked, that amusement shining through with intent as she leaned a little closer to Ino. Her eyes were a dark color but this close Ino could pick out flecks of green and hazel. She had a small mole under her left eye that Ino found herself lingering on. 

“Only when testing the waters,” Ino replied with a baring of her teeth, one that could in no way be mistaken for a smile. Temari’s eyes hardened but Ino spoke before she could get in a snippy comment, “The sound team was pretty pathetic compared to yours, you know.” Pause. “Zabu, was that his name? With the windpipe arms.” 

Temari swallowed at the name though she maintained eye contact and silence. Ino had to bite back a snicker. For people like Temari, sometimes the best trap was giving incorrect information and watching them try not to correct her. “It was my kunai that bled him dry,” Ino said. It felt like boasting, in a way that’s exactly what it was, but she wasn’t proud, she was making a point. 

“Is that so?” Temari asked with little interest. Her eyes were flickering over Ino’s shoulder, like the conversation was once again beneath her. Ino needed to recapture those dark eyes. “What a kunoichi you are,” Temari mocked. 

“I wasn’t acting as a kunoichi, and you know it,” Ino snapped. Emotions were weapons and Temari seemed to be a maelstrom of them, all compressed into her hard lines. Ino reached out for her chakra and was met with that never ending wind. Everything was too fast and too intense for her to make any sense of it at all. It was the most changeable and thus static chakra she’d ever experienced. 

Temari looked back at her with one brow raised. Ino ground her teeth and turned her head to the side to make sure Temari could see her jaw shifting. “He threatened my team.” 

“Leaf shinobi and their teamwork strikes again,” Temari drawled, but her tone was darker than it was mocking. Her hands came to her hips in a display of trying to suppress some reaction. What it was, Ino wasn’t sure. 

Ino noticed the owner of the stand glaring at them since they were blocking his customers. She flashed him her best ‘kunoichi’ smile which made him blush and look away. 

“We’re protective of our teams. I think of my boys as siblings,” Ino shrugged and gestured at Temari’s chest, a little faster than necessary. Temari almost managed to fully suppress her flinch away from the motion but both of them saw it. Ino smiled as Temari scowled. A small win, but it was the little things that could add up.

“But you’d know all about that, right?” Ino said, once again. Open-ended questions didn’t work well on taciturn people like Temari, but she felt like she was blindly throwing darts at a board she didn’t understand at the moment. Temari was a hard read. She reacted too much to too many things. 

Ino let the silence stand, but as would be expected Temari wasn’t bothered by it. They stood and stared at each other for a while, until Ino started counting the seconds. It was starting to make her fidgety but she brutally pushed any physical tell down. Yamanakas didn’t have tells, or she would never have survived in her own household. 

A new chakra encroached across her senses. It was humid, much like Temari’s so it was hard to pinpoint, but it was strong . Temari stiffened a little and Ino flashed her a brief questioning look. Temari paused in an internal debate before she gave a small nod of her head. Ino twisted her ankle out and popped her hip in a casual stance, that also opened up her peripheral vision wider. They were in the middle of the civilian sector of the village, it should be easy to spot any anomalies. 

Temari adjusted her hair, turning her head in the opposite direction. Ino wondered how Temari could sense it. She hadn’t shown any signs of being sensitive to chakra like Ino. She doubted a sensor could survive long around Gaara, Temari was far too sane for that to be a real possibility. So what triggered her instinct? 

Ino cocked a brow at Temari who echoed the action. Ino let her hand drop from her hip to her kunai pouch at her thigh. She slowly drew one out, while maintaining an open body language with Temari who took the silent reassurance with another miniscule nod. 

Ino linked her pinky through one of the kunai loops and pulled it out, spinning it between her knuckles. Then she scraped the metal against the handle of one of the others in her pouch, the quiet sound too distinct to be anything but a threat to those that would recognize it. A quick spike in the chakra had her turning slightly more to the side, until she spotted red. As she carefully scanned the nearby stalls without pausing on her spot of interest she clocked the slightest twitch in the man in red’s left shoulder. Got ‘em.

Ino backed up a step and turned her side to Temari, who made room for her. Temari was focused on Ino’s find. A large man, though little could be seen of him where he was facing into a deep stand selling books. His fingers ran over the covers and tapped absently. Stalling most likely. 

A pretty young girl walked by and the man’s head turned to watch her. On his forehead was a shinobi plate, though it was oddly shaped. And there was a scroll on the ground leaned into his thigh. The scroll was massive, which meant it was important if he was going to be dragging it around. 

His shoes weren’t the shinobi sandal style but stilted. So he had good balance and speed. There were markings on his face though they didn’t match up with any of the known clans of her village. 

He caught her gaze and gave a sleazy smile. She forced herself still and nonreactive, but Temari’s form stiffened slightly. Ino didn’t get the feeling it was out of outrage though, more like defensiveness. His gaze was sharp as it ran over first Temari then her. His expression turned a bit goofy as if he was a child seeing his first racy magazine. His eyes lingered on their dominant thighs where their kunai pouches rested, and their hands. Ino’s on her hips and Temari’s arms crossed over her chest. 

He could be checking their weapons, capabilities, or he could be assessing their other…assets. There was genuine interest in his body language, but in what she was unsure. Then she realized she didn’t know how long he’d been there. How long had he been stalling at the books or maybe the tent over? And what had he done that put Temari on edge and allowed his chakra to be felt?

She jolted in place when he smoothly shouldered the scroll and strolled over to them. Temari’s arms came down from her chest to hover closer to her weapons on her thigh and back. Ino didn’t move her own hands, though she had no doubt this man was a threat. She also doubted he would do anything in a public space. If he was rational enough to eavesdrop he wouldn’t be rash in his combat. 

“What are you two lovely ladies doing here, without someone buying you a drink or treat?” he leered. His voice was deep but jovial. It lilted, as if he hadn’t spent much time in the village for a long time and was getting used to the specific dialect again. She couldn’t place the details though. She didn't have a great ear for language. “I could fix that,” he added. “And maybe a few other things too.” 

For a second she thought he meant what she and Temari were talking about earlier, but then he followed it up with another goofy grin. She hated that look. She’d seen it enough on other men. Aimed at her, her relatives. Had seen the more feral version of it in T&I, though her father had tried to avoid it. It wasn’t a surprise and she wouldn’t allow it to cow her here. 

A flash of hot chakra and the familiar rhythm of hurrying footsteps. The man’s head tilted in the direction of Naruto’s incoming presence. She wanted to snap at him, drag his attention back, but she wasn’t sure how. She paused, hesitating as she cycled through the options. She exhaled as she tried to switch her focus from Temari to this guy, but it was hard. A few key moments passed and Naruto got closer. Her mind got too crowded to think fast and she spent all her control keeping herself neutral. 

Then Naruto rounded the corner and his head cocked around unnaturally swift to snag his eyes on hers. Naruto had an ability to find her and Shikamaru quickly when he needed. Like he was attuned to them, but it wasn't usually that rapid. He was too far away for her to see his eyes properly but she was uneasy at the show. Then as fast as Naruto locked onto her, his attention turned to the man in red. 

Naruto’s teeth bared as he pointed an accusing finger at the man. “You were peeping at the women’s bath and you threw me in a well!” 

Hinata stepped into view after Naruto, visibly straining but maintaining her breathing with that same expert awareness. Hinata’s eyes dropped at the comment and she responded in no other way. A habit formed most likely, to look away from similar comments or actions. A conditioned response to prejudice, though there was nothing visceral to her at the words. No surprise, but no experience, Ino surmised. Not surprising all things considered, and easy to read. 

Temari’s response was far more interesting though. Defensive in an abrasively physical way. Her mind must have gone through every option possible and landed on the worst ones. Ino would bet all of her orange hair ties that Temari had dealt with far far worse than peeping toms. The most interesting and shocking detail was that Temari’s body, while creating a shield between her and the man, had opened up to her. So either Ino was no longer considered a threat, which was doubtful, or Temari had included Ino in her defensive maneuvering. It was a protective instinct. 

“Iruka-sensei says that a true shinobi’s intent shows in his every action!” Naruto shouted, stalking closer to the man. Ino almost wanted to grab him and pull back, but that would give too much away. It was better to watch and wait. “Ino says that a man who can’t respect a woman is impotent in some way and trying to hide it!” Ino almost laughed out loud as Naruto mispronounced the word impotent. She knew he didn’t know what that word even meant. She didn’t know if it was a show of idiocy or trust for him to use it like that. “Asuma-sensei told Shikamaru that--”
Ino knew Naruto would just keep yelling things he thought were relevant until someone stopped him. It was adorable, and she was happy to see him so worked up over something like this. 

“Naruto,” Asuma said as he jumped from a nearby rooftop to land between Naruto and the man in red. Asuma’s cigarette was still missing and his movement to push Naruto behind him was overt. Ino was moving before she realized. Darting away from Temari’s side to get her hand on Naruto’s jacket sleeve. To pull him further behind Asuma’s large frame. Asuma’s hand ghosted over her side as he blindly reached behind him for reassurance they were where he wanted them. She pushed into the touch and he kept his hand over the wrappings around her abdomen. She kept her grip on Naruto’s jacket. She was tempted to peek around him but the hand on her side stopped her from pushing. 

“Jiraiya,” Asuma said, finally giving a name to the man. “The hokage said you were around, though I thought you’d check in at the tower before you jumped into your research .” 

Temari gasped lightly and Ino jerked her attention back to her. The sand kunoichi was looking at Jiraiya though with wide eyes. Jiraiya perked up and pointed at Temari with a grin. “You know of me, don’t you! The great Toad Sage!” he bellowed with a ridiculous pose. She couldn’t see him very well around Asuma, so she focused on his voice. It had the same jovial quality as she’d noted before, but it was louder. Could be a distraction, could be a front, could be he was just an enthusiastic idiot like Naruto. 

“You should check in with the hokage,” Asuma said, not distracted in the slightest. He probably knew what the Toad Sage stuff was about, though Ino didn’t. Familiarity with the hokage pointed to him being of the Leaf Village though, and someone important to boot, so why hadn’t she heard of him? Why did Temari recognize him before her? 

“The old man can wait a bit, can’t he?” Jiraiya replied. “I’m not doing any harm.” 

“That’s what you always say, isn’t it?” Asuma bit back with vehemence. 

There was a pause. Ino still didn’t peek, but it was hard. Jiraiya was most likely changing gears since Asuma wasn’t hiding his dislike of this man. Belatedly she realized this must be the person he was looking for along with Naruto. Why else would he immediately turn his attention to Jiraiya instead of Naruto who he’d been desperate to find earlier? 

“Sarutobi,” Jiraiya said with a far more serious tone. 

“Asuma,” her sensei corrected. 

Another pause. “Asuma, forgive me if I’ve stepped on your toes somewhere along the line, but--” 

“You haven’t. Yet. But you will.” 

“I don’t see how--” 

“Stay away from my kids,” Asuma said with so much emphasis on each syllable that they felt like slaps to Ino’s chest. She pressed further into his hand until she could feel the bangle on his wrist biting into her ribs. How badly had she misread this guy? How much of a threat was he?
Naruto was weirdly quiet behind her so she let go of his jacket to grab for his hand. She pulled him so he was standing next to her, but still hidden behind Asuma. He looked confused and a little spooked. So about the same as her. She pulled him closer and felt for his chakra. It was hot and raw and bubbling with agitation. Though Naruto himself seemed pretty calm. 

She tipped his head back so she could see his eyes, but they were blue and wide and trusting. Nothing there then. Her hand almost dropped to his stomach though she would feel nothing from the seal. It would give away too much to the discerning eye though. 

Asuma’s voice made her skin crawl, an itch to move forming and rapidly building to something nearly unbearable. The clack of those sandals of his had her head jerking up. The itch was too much and she peeked around Asuma’s side to see Jiraiya reaching for her sensei’s shoulder. Threat , her mind screamed at her. Her hand dropped to her kunai but paused as cold silk swept through her. Thick ropes of shadow passed underneath her, Naruto, and then Asuma, headed for Jiraiya. 

Shikamaru’s chakra was a balm to that terrible itch. A reminder that she was supported and protected. 

She heard Jiraiya take a hurried step back, she shifted so she could see his feet where the shadows were licking at his toes. Asuma cleared his throat loudly and made a slicing motion to the side. The shadows stilled in place. It was strange to see them so static. Like they’d been captured in a photograph rather than being present in real life. The itch returned with a vengeance. The longer the shadows lay still the more restless she became.

The shadows stayed put, stopped just shy of Jiraiya’s feet, as Asuma’s hand hovered in the air from where he’d gestured. After a few poignant seconds the hand fell and the shadows receded with the movement. She expected Shikamaru to appear behind her. She was ready to rest her weight on him for a moment, but the cool chakra didn’t move closer. Instead it began a slow circle around them. 

She looked but couldn’t find her best friend in the crowd. Maybe he was sticking to the shadows. His presence stopped nearly exactly opposite where it had been before. Hovering behind Jiraiya. She reached out with her own chakra to try and track Shikamaru’s presence. It was muddled with everyone else’s, but it was high. She pulled her senses back and squinted at the roof of the building they were standing in front of. Shikamaru was leaning against a chimney and peering down at them. He looked relaxed but intent. His eyes flickered to meet hers for a second before returning to Jiraiya’s back. 

“Your kids?” Jiraiya finally said. He didn’t try to get closer this time. Ino pushed against Asuma’s hand until he relented and let her step to the side so she could see. Naruto echoed her on the other side. She felt a lot like a baby duck lagging behind the mama, but Asuma looked like he wanted to snatch them back, so she stayed put. 

Jiraiya looked over the two of them. His right shoulder was pulled taut, where Shikamaru hovered behind him. “A Yamanaka,” he drawled looking at her hair. “A Nara,” he said with a point of his thumb over his shoulder at where Shikamaru lounged. “And then Naruto.” Ino blinked as she glanced at Naruto. Did he know him? Naruto gave her a shrug and she sighed. 

“And they gave him to you?” Jiraiya asked in disbelief and confusion. It was lazy, giving away that much in one question, but she got the feeling he was genuinely off balance by the realization. “I swore they were going to give him to Hatake. With their history it would be--” 

“You’ve been gone a long time,” Asuma interrupted. Ino was thankful for that, Naruto didn’t need his history spilled all over the market, even if the only person listening would be them and Temari. Ammunition was ammunition. 

“Not that long!” 

Asuma grit his teeth with a worrying amount of force. His jaw looked like it might crack under the pressure. “Not that long?” Asuma asked. His voice was getting gravelly. Like when he’d been talking to Zabuza on the bridge. His chakra was brushing up against her and pushing down. Killing intent building as he stared at Jiraiya. It didn’t feel so much like kindling now, but roaring gasoline. 

Jiraiya wasn’t affected though. Instead he was giving Naruto a calculated look. She reached around Asuma to grab at Naruto’s wrist but held her ground. Waiting. This was Asuma’s battle, whatever it was. 

“You’ve been gone long enough .” Asuma ran a hand through his hair and procured a cigarette from whatever magical spot he kept them. He lit it with a flame entirely too big for the action. As he took a drag his killing intent lessened dramatically. “What are you really doing here?” he asked, a thick plume of smoke accompanying the words. 

Jiraiya shifted and his eyes fell back to Naruto. Her grip on her boy’s wrist tightened. She felt his fingers wrap around her wrist in return. 

Asuma growled and took a step forward. A couple strands of shadows whipped out like restless tentacles, just barely visible past the line of shadows the stalls behind Jiraiya created. Ino wasted a moment to check on Temari. She had moved further away, into a more unobtrusive spot, but she was watching intently. Listening to everything they said. Ino wanted to chase her away. This was clearly personal, whatever it was.

“Just because you’re…” Asuma paused before settling on the word, “ you , doesn’t mean you get to make assumptions. Especially when they’re about my kids. Naruto is my student, he’s under my protection. From any and every threat.” 

Jiraiya’s face went blank. She was suddenly looking at a statue. She squinted at his chest to see if he was even breathing. “I’m hardly a threat to the boy!” Jiraiya heatedly said, an explosion of noise and indignation. An emotion the man must have felt deeply, but the question was whether it was justified.  

“How would you know?” Asuma snapped back, before Jiraiya had even finished the sentence. Jiraiya’s mouth snapped closed. The red lines on his face wrinkled as he scowled. 

The two stood staring at each other, much like she and Temari had. She doubted this was anything similar to that though. A look at Temari showed awe, raw and unfiltered. At first, Ino trailed her gaze to Jiraiya, but after a second check it became obvious Temari was staring at Asuma. 

Heat flashed through her chest. A pleased sort of smugness that was a welcome relief from all the anxiety and confusion of before. One thing was obvious, Asuma was punching above his pay grade, and he was doing it for them. Her and the boys. 

Asuma snapped his fingers and all three of them snapped to attention. He gave the signal for regroup . Ino paused but Asuma grunted and she started moving. Shikamaru was mirroring her actions as she began to run down the market lane, away from the two men. 

“Hold up!” Jiraiya called. Naruto hesitated, almost stumbling but Ino whistled lowly and he sprinted to catch up with her. Ino felt crabgrass and thunder clouds flash sharply across her senses. She startled but quickly found Hinata, still standing nearby. Damn, she’d forgotten about the girl entirely. Hinata’s eyes were wide though anything else about them was impossible to see. Her hands were clenched together and she was watching Ino and Naruto run. Then she ripped her hands apart to give an academy regulation signal to Ino. Fight. Ino almost missed it, but the second was clearer. Back up.  

Ino doubted Hinata would be very good backup in a fight right now given her condition, but she could use the other girl as her bait or even-- Ino shook her head, both at herself and Hinata. They weren’t in a fight. Asuma told them to regroup, not fight. Not even flee, but regroup. 

Hinata’s hands snapped back together as if magnetized. She dropped her eyes to the ground. 

Shikamaru landed with quiet feet next to Ino as they left Hinata behind and neared the end of the market lane. 

“Hey!” Jiraiya shouted once again. Shikamaru glanced back over his shoulder so Ino kept her eyes forward. 

Asuma said something, voice rising in anger, but she couldn’t hear it. He had the tendency to slur his words together when he got worked up. 

Shikamaru gestured for them to keep running, so she did… for a few more steps. Until Naruto growled and spun back around, momentum skillfully redirected and taken advantage of to fully launch him back the way they came. Ino slid, nearly losing her footing, as she tried to follow faster than her body could manage. Shikamaru wasn’t any better. She grabbed his wrist and pulled up to keep him on his feet, using his weight to center her as well. 

They fell into a rapid pace with each other as they followed after that orange jacket. Naruto was moving so fast, too fast. Ino’s hands trembled as she tried to piece together what the threat was. 

Asuma was the first thing she saw. Then the hawk on his shoulder. A shoulder that was hunched forward. He looked defeated, and her muscles were starting to cramp from the tension of not knowing. They’d barely been gone a few seconds, what could have happened?
Naruto reached Asuma’s side and showed no signs of stopping, though who or what his target was remained unknown. Asuma ordered, “Hold.” Naruto skidded to a stop, weight shifting back and forth repeatedly, but holding in place. 

She stopped beside Naruto, panting despite the short distance. Naruto had been moving so fast . And even now, his knees were bent and ready for action. It wasn’t his usual stance. Not the shinobi loose limbed readiness. His fingers were curled up toward his palms. She cocked her head as she looked at him and was reminded of his hunched position on the roof as they talked about rage. She swallowed around the heavy pressure that suddenly squeezed at her lungs. 

Shikamaru’s shadows twined around her ankles but it was Asuma’s chakra she was focused on. The gasoline had gone out, and his kindling was burning low. It was the least amount of presence she’d ever felt from him. Was this what defeat felt like? Had they lost something? There was a scream stuck in her chest that would force its way out soon if she didn’t get some answers. 

The shadows around her shins tightened and then one tendril reached past her shoulder to grab the small stamped and official message scroll in Asuma’s hand, who let it go without a fight. 

Shikamaru’s hand snatched it from the air right behind her and read in a monotone, “You and your team are to report to the tower, directly to the hokage. Mission precedence.” 

Jiraiya gave Asuma a look. She wasn’t sure what it was communicating but she bristled at how patronizing it was. Overbearing and knowing . Everything she hated more than anything. Shikamaru’s hand touched her lower back and it was shaking. His fingers curled around the wrappings and began pulling mindlessly. It wasn’t comfortable but it didn’t hurt, and she knew he needed something to pull at to distract from the violence that thrummed under his skin. Shikamaru was careful but he was more inclined to resort to lashing out than she was. 

“I think I’ll follow your suggestion to report to the hokage, Asuma.” Jiraiya said. It was matter of fact and though it held no curl of mockery or laughter, it still came across as distantly amused. It felt familiar somehow. A strange combination of idiosyncrasies and covers that was maddening in a very distracting way. It was effective too, she felt her blood pressure rise. It was also a clue though. Jiraiya, whoever he was, was more calculating than she’d realized. 

“We’ll meet you there,” Asuma said. His chakra had regained some of its potential energy but it was still low. “We need to stop and get some stuff though. I’m sure the hokage will understand.” 

Ino doubted that, and Jiraiya just snorted. “Sure thing,” he said before he clacked away with a faux casual swagger. He swayed with each step, almost like a drunkard, but his weight was always perfectly centered if you looked from a distance. It was yet another affectation. An automatic one. The kind that ANBU or the shinobi working at the capitol had. 

Shikamaru stepped around Ino to place himself in front of Asuma. He handed the message back and asked, “Where are we going?” 

Asuma had barely touched the message before he’d turned the thing into ashes. Ino sidestepped the debris and watched Naruto. He was breathing with a stilted rhythm. His fingers were only just starting to lose that animalistic curl. “How did you know?” Ino asked. The meeting wasn’t her priority here. Naruto was, he always would be. 

“What?” he asked, wide eyed, breathing still erratic. 

His chakra was starting to bubble again. His pupils were almost circular, but not quite. “You turned. You…sensed something?” she asked, prodding for something, anything really. 

“I just… Asuma… something changed?” he tried to answer without anything to give her. 

She swallowed some thick disappointment that had her throat closing on itself a little. She cleared her throat and tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Hey, it’s fine, you were right, I think. I just wanna know what you felt.” 

Naruto relaxed in reaction to her but he still looked confused. And on edge. Asuma and Shikamaru weren’t speaking, just listening. She tapped Shikamaru’s thigh in a silent thanks. 

Naruto stuttered and ran a hand over his chest, akin to Hinata earlier. “I got…angry. I felt something that was… bad. Made me…I don’t know.” She ducked her head to maintain eye contact when he tried to look at the ground. 

“Naruto,” she said with as much authority as she could. She needed to snap him back from wherever his mind was stuck. “ Report .” She’d try to draw him out with his reflexive obedience. 

His teeth clicked together and his chin lifted. His eyes bored into hers and he said, “I don’t know.” She kept careful control of her face. Refused to blink or let her eyes widen in shock. She kept her mouth from twisting or her teeth from clacking together. Didn’t let Naruto see her, not as he was. Not with the lie hiding in his eyes again. 

Ino considered her options. She clicked her tongue and cocked her head to the side as she stepped forward into Naruto’s space. She watched him bristle at the action and she stared him down. “ Naruto ,” she said, mimicking Asuma’s tone from before as best she could. It wasn’t as deep or as commanding, but it worked. Naruto’s eyes widened. “ Snap out of it. Report .” 

He trembled as she placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed down. Like she could squeeze out whatever was swimming around inside his chest and head. She thought of Gaara’s squeezing sand and shivered. What would she see if she met the Kyubi inside Naruto’s head? Would its eyes be like Gaara’s monster? 

Naruto sagged under the pressure. He bit his lip and shook his head like a dog. “Right, right, I, uh, I’m okay. Believe it!” 

Asuma clicked his tongue like Ino, and commanded, “ Report .” 

Naruto’s spine snapped straight. “I don’t know,” he pleaded. 

Ino squinted at him, but that lurking presence behind his eyes and in his chakra had diminished. She gave an accepting nod and Asuma took the cue. “That’s okay, kid, let’s just take a moment for us all to calm down.” His voice had lost all the grittiness of before. He sounded like they were at a training ground and Naruto was just frustrated by his inability to get results from the jutsus he was learning. 

Ino felt safety settle into her bones. 

But it didn’t relieve the tension in her muscles. The kind that came from inaction and uncertainty. A shinobi’s truest weakness was always what they didn’t know.

And right now, she’d never felt weaker.

Chapter Text

Asuma brought them to Ichiraku, as if he was compelled to complete his regroup order for them. Naruto was as excited as he ever for food, but once he got his bowl he ate it slowly. Ino was restless but now that the danger, whatever the danger was, had passed she felt more balanced. More willing to allow Asuma his time and space to figure out how to open up to them. 

Shikamaru, apparently, was less willing. 

"Was that who I think it was?" Shikamaru asked. He was methodically and intently shredding a napkin in front of him into miniscule but almost perfectly even pieces. She thought of his shaking hands grabbing at the wraps around her stomach as he suppressed his need to lash out earlier. This was the opposite of that. A low festering sort of aggression that must have made his mind snap into a higher gear. He was sitting back and taking stock now, like a player of shogi ruminating on their next move. 

"You know who he is?" Ino asked, sitting up straight on her stool and leaning around Naruto get a better look at Shikamaru's face. 

"Jiraiya the Toad Sage." Shikamaru allowed the last piece of napkin to fall on the pile atop the counter. Then he pressed his palm over the shreds and crushed them all down, grinding his hand in place as he added, "He's one of the Sanin." 

Ino struggled to place the title, but it flooded back to her in Iruka-sensei's voice. The Sanin were the strongest team Konoha has ever created. Experts in their forms of combat, all having a specialized intelligence, and all of them contracted with the three great species: Snake, Slug, and Toad . Kiba had asked if they'd died on a mission. They're all outside the village now . Iruka-sensei had quickly moved on, never answering the question. At the time she'd just assumed he wanted to get back on track to stay on his curriculum schedule. 

What had Asuma accused Jiraiya of? Being gone for too long?  

"Why's he back?" she asked, turning to Asuma on her other side. 

Asuma sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure, but it was always in the plans to have Naruto trained by him, at some point. I didn't expect it to happen at such a young age, I guess."

Shikamaru cleared his throat and her attention snapped back to him. "The Sanin were mentioned in class at the academy." Ino nodded in agreement. "But I couldn't care less. Until I ran across that name a few times when I was digging into anything and everything about Naruto, trying to figure out why he was treated like less than dirt and the things crawling inside it. Jiraiya was always mentioned in conjunction with another name." 

"What's conjunction mean?" Naruto asked. The question made Shikamaru pause. He'd been staring at nothing and grinding his palm harder and harder into the counter. It was unnerving. Like a predator that if not given prey, would start raking its claws against its own body instead. 

Ino nudged Naruto and said, "It just means connected with something." Naruto nodded and Shikamaru's face softened into a small smile as he tipped his head toward her in agreement. 

"So who was the pervy sage connected with?" Naruto asked as he picked out the pork pieces of his ramen and set them to the side so he could eat them all at once. 

"Minato Namikaze." 

Naruto went still, chopsticks holding a small piece of meat aloft as he stared at the broth in the bowl. 

Asuma sighed and took over, "Jiraiya was Minato's sensei after the academy."

Ino struggled to make that fit in place. Naruto was an orphan, he had no extended family. He had no family friends to rely on. No one to take responsibility for his finances, housing, education. Only the hokage, Jiji . 

"Were they close?" she asked, barely above a whisper. 

"Very," Asuma answered without pause. "Like family." 

"They couldn't have been," Naruto said. Chopsticks lowered and now forgotten as he looked at Asuma and Ino. On Naruto’s other side, Shikamaru shifted closer to him. "Maybe you heard wrong or something, sensei. If he was that close he would have--- I wouldn't have--- I don't have any family..." Naruto's voice thickened as he struggled with the words. Tears gathered in his eyes before being blinked away with a frown of confusion. 

"Just because they're family," Asuma said as he tried to catch Naruto's eye, "doesn't mean they're good for you." It hit the air the same way his instructions about shuriken handling did. Gained by years and years of experience. Of trying and failing, succeeding and moving forward to harder challenges. Each instruction was proof of a climb up a mountain. And today's was just the same. 

"Sensei," Ino said, with nothing in mind to follow it up with. Asuma didn't look at her, but instead stared harder at Naruto. 

"Naruto," Asuma prodded, hand reaching passed Ino to rest a couple of his fingers on the inside of Naruto's elbow. "Your worth isn't measured by those who leave, but by those who stay." 

Who had stayed for Asuma?

"And the ones who stay are precious." 

Right there, right then, sitting on an uncomfortable but familiar stool in the iconic Ichiraku ramen with her team, she felt precious. She mimicked her sensei's and placed a couple of her fingertips to his inner elbow, resting on the counter right in front of her. 

"And what about the ones who come back?" Naruto asked. 

Shikamaru twitched, hands curling into fists and Ino fought the urge to do the same. 

Asuma's only physical reaction was to press his fingers down harder into Naruto's arm. "The ones who come back always want something. Whether that's a thing that you want to give, or that’s good for you to do so, well, that’s up to you.” 

Shikamaru must have reached the end of his rope because he placed a hand on the small of Naruto's back and said, "You don't have to give him anything. You don't owe him anything. He doesn't get to waltz in and make demands of you or your time. It's all up to you, you're the one with the power here, even if the toad bastard doesn't know that." 

"Shikamaru is right," Asuma agreed, pulling his hand back which gently dislodged Ino's contact with him. "A lot of things are out of our control. The weather, the passing of time, and how those around us will react." Ino thought that was pretty poetic for a guy who usually talked in shogi analogies and facts. "But we do control what we give up to them." 

She agreed to an extent, but also Jiraiya had looked so smug when he left. Completely assured despite Asuma's posturing. And it was word from the hokage that had been the catalyst for the change in dynamic between the two of them. That was a lot of power to go up against. She didn’t see how they could control what they gave up to men like that.  

"You said he was here to train Naruto," Ino said, crunching through possibilities as fast as she could. "If he is, can Naruto refuse?" 

Asuma pulled out a cigarette and lit it, but he didn't put it in his mouth, just stared as it burned. "No," he finally said. "No, he can't. Orders aren’t something we have control over either, but you can try and create the best situation you can.” He finally took a drag from his cigarette.  “And I stand by what I said. Training and village orders are different from, say, forgiveness or affection. " 

"The hokage's going to let Jiraiya take Naruto away, isn't he?" Shikamaru said more than asked. The only reason he would have brought it up at all was due to a desire to be proven wrong. "Jiaiya isn't a person who would stay in the village for longer than he has to, or we would have seen him before. It's not like he doesn't stand out. He’s going to take Naruto with him." 

"The ongoing exams mean that he can't take him far," Asuma hedged. Ino's eyes snapped to the shadows pulling at her sandals. A look at Shikamaru showed his eyes flicking here and there but focusing on nothing in sight. Scanning mentally through options, plans, and contingencies. He didn't look to be having much success. 

"I don't wanna go," Naruto whined, though it wasn't an uncalled for pout. He looked scared. She grabbed his hand and he immediately squeezed back. Shikamaru's hand at Naruto’s back started rubbing soft circles. 

"What about that stuff you said about us being your kids?" Ino asked. "You're our sensei, we're your responsibility. Can't you just say no?" She wasn't stupid, she knew that wasn't how it worked, but Asuma had always seemed bigger than life. His presence was stronger than the old man's and he'd stood up to one of the legendary Sanin without hesitation. If anyone could pull off the impossible, it'd be him. 

Asuma sucked on his cigarette as he thought hard. He flicked the ash into one of the trays that had been placed on the counter a long time ago when Naruto started dragging Asuma around for ramen nights. He rubbed a thumb along the rim of the ash tray. 

"I will say no. I will always say no, but it doesn't mean much. In the end, I can only promise you one thing." He scrubbed the end of the cigarette into the tray to kill it, even though it was barely used. He turned so he could look at all of them at once, making eye contact with the three of them one by one. Though his eyes returned to Naruto's at the end, as he said, "I promise you that I will never leave you to be alone. You may have to leave but I will follow. We may be apart at times, but I won't leave you behind. That no matter what happens or what you do, you're my kids and under my protection. Okay?" 

Ino shuddered and felt tears well up, she tried to blink them back like Naruto had earlier, but they spilled over. Her breathing remained steady as the tears trailed down her cheeks, unstoppable. They weren't pained tears though, it didn't feel like the cauterizing of a wound that hard cries usually did. She wasn’t sad or enraged or much of anything, it was all just... too much for her. She, Shika, and Naruto made one hell of a team. They were strong as a unit as well as with individual skill. They'd been a team since the academy and before they even met their sensei. 

But it was Asuma that had become the steady ground they stood upon, that supported them as they grew. Helped them when they grew frustrated, scolded them when they were reckless, and celebrated with them their successes. And yet again, he was there to catch them. 

Naruto, surprising everyone, burst into laughter. She pulled her hand back from him as he leaned against the counter and closed his eyes tight as his body shook with the force of his laughter. She exchanged a concerned glance with first Asuma and then Shikamaru, both of whom were looking to her for an answer. 

"Uh, Naruto?" Ino started, hand hovering by his shoulder. 

He calmed down and gave her a bright grin, tears at the corners of his eyes from the force of his sudden mirth. 

She asked, "What's so funny?" 

He chuckled and replied, "It's just that, why was I so worried?" He picked up several pieces of pork and shoved them into his mouth, feet kicking through the air as he hummed in delight. "Asuma-sensei didn't have to say any of that, I already knew it. Just like I know you guys have my back too. So what if the old men think they know better? It doesn't mean nothing, right?"

Asuma bellowed out his own much more strained laugh. She grinned in reflex at his amusement, now that she knew Naruto wasn't having a mental breakdown. Asuma looked relieved. And when he smiled at them again, it was toothy and wide. Like Ino had just cracked a mission open with the perfect question, or Shikamaru had beaten him at shogi, or Naruto made friends with their enemies and negated the need for violence. It made her face heat and she tried to hide both her blush and the smile being dragged out of her that was getting embarrassingly soft.

Shikamaru huffed and shook his head, but he was happy. His muscles had loosened significantly and his shadows were gone. "Only you, Nar, only you." 

Naruto slurped the last of his broth down and smacked the bowl back to the counter. "There's only the one of me, so there's bound to be some things that are only for me!" Naruto shouted, zeal and enthusiasm mixing to create his Naruto energy of unbreakable positivity. "Now, let's go get this meeting over with. This morning before I found the pervy sage peeking at the women's bath I reserved training site 76 for us. That's my favorite one and it's never open! It was a good omen, I'm telling you!" 

Ino, finally, had to laugh herself. The idea of having to look Jiraiya or the hokage in the eye was sickening, but Naruto’s faith in their team was like a soothing tea on her throat and stomach. He'd always be himself, no matter what, wouldn't he? She'd realized that just weeks after knowing him. An oxymoron of sunshine and trauma; unbreakable, unmovable, and yet so soft and earnest. The perfect friend for a Yamanaka. 

"Fine," Shikamaru groused as he stood up. Asuma paid for Naruto's ramen and stood as well, cracking his back as he stood with an over the top groan. Ino rolled her eyes and brushed her hair over her shoulder as she got to her feet as elegantly as she could. Shikamaru side eyed her with a little grin and she winked. 

"Team 10 back at it again, huh, boys?"

Naruto cheered. 

Ino hated the tower, since she hated the man who ran it. Every time she entered the building it felt like something was pushing down on her, trying to crush her into obedience. It was similar to T&I that way.

As she and her team passed through the front entrance, it occurred to her that maybe it was just like T&I. She brushed her fingers across the door frame as they walked through and reached out with her chakra to try and get a feel of it. 

The seals where her dad worked were confining, but in a protective way. Like a bunker. The tower felt very different. It was overpowering in a very subtle way. It was the old man's chakra, ingrained into the wood and stone, pressing it all down and holding it all in place at the same time. She'd never felt intention from a building before but this one held plenty. 

It was a non-offensive energy, but it pushed through her own chakra toward her, as if it had the right to touch and pull and prod. She felt like it was going to use her as clay and form her into the shinobi she should be, instead of a hidden rebel with too many skills to be anything but deadly. 

She grit her teeth and tried to shrug off the feeling, but it persisted and clung to her as she walked behind Asuma. She was barely paying attention to where she was going, too occupied with the chakra invasion. The feeling got stronger the farther up they went, which made sense. Because they were getting closer to the source. 

A shadow curled around her ankle and pulled gently to maneuver her around a hurrying paper ninja that ran by. It was a soothing touch and it jolted her back into her body a bit, enough that the muffled yelling caught her attention. She peered around Asuma's large frame, just to make sure it was coming from where she thought it was. And yes, the hokage's office door was firmly shut but behind came the distinct sounds of two deep and enraged voices going back and forth. It was relatively quiet to them on the outside, but any noise that made it through the seals in the walls here would have to be nothing short of screaming. 

Asuma stopped awkwardly in front of the door, and for a moment he looked young. Then Ino blinked and she was once again staring at her unflappable sensei. Asuma tilted his head to the side and flicked his eyes to a high corner of the hallway ceiling. A moment later an ANBU dropped down beside him and the two had a quick muttered conversation she didn't listen to. 

When the ANBU disappeared she decided to ask, "Is this normal?" 

Asuma shrugged, which was answer enough, she supposed. Though she had assumed the two men she knew were on the other side of the door would be on better terms with each other. 

The ANBU reappeared and gestured toward the now quiet office. Asuma sighed and pushed the door open with a little too much strength, though she couldn't tell if that was on purpose or a show of nerves. 

Jiraiya was half sitting on the far corner of the hokage's desk. His cheeks were a little flushed from the shouting match but other than that he seemed just fine. The hokage was huffing and puffing on his pipe as if it was water in the desert, as he sat in the regal but beaten up chair behind the desk. To a casual observer they might have looked like they were a united front. 

But hardly. Jiraiya had turned enough that the old man was entirely out of his line of sight, even his peripherals. Which in the average shinobi would be a sign of trust, but here just felt like a dismissal. And the hokage’s right side of his body, the one closest to the sage, was stiffer than the other. She wondered who set who off. They both seemed like they’d be able to get under someone’s skin with unerring accuracy. Though Jiraiya had the air of someone who’d be more purposeful about it, while the hokage was someone who would say what he wanted when he wanted regardless of how it affected those around him. 

Which made her think of Baki and the last time she was in this stifling office. Was it easier this time? She couldn't tell. She wasn't brewing in rage after such a raw discovery, but she felt readier to defend if necessary. Tension was thick either way, and she eventually pushed the errant thought away. She needed her full attention for the mess that was about to come.

The hokage glanced at them, though it felt dismissive in its brevity. He looked exceptionally old today. Perhaps it was the way the sun was coming through the window and highlighting every wrinkle. Or maybe he was just particularly tired. How long before he finally died? 

“Team 10, thank you for your prompt response,” he finally said. Even his voice was frail sounding, though the chakra pushing into her from all around was a good reminder of the power the man held. She’d never actually seen him in action, but hokages aren’t weak. Or rather, weak hokages die. 

Minato died too though, and she doubted he was weak. She’d bet Naruto’s dad could wipe the floor with both the hokage and Jiraiya. Probably wouldn’t hesitate to do it too, once he learned of what they’d done to his son. Then again, Minato was the one to seal a giant chakra fox into his newly born son. She mentally batted the hero worship away, she had neither the time nor the inclination for fantasy. She preferred to think of reality. It felt more stable, more malleable to her actions. 

“The delay was necessary, we had to get something,” Asuma replied evenly. His voice was strong. Just the right volume to say, listen to me, without saying, listen to me . “Thank you for your understanding.” 

A stagnant silence followed as father and son stared each other down. As it dragged on, Naruto began to fidget. Shikamaru would never fall to fidgeting but his eyes were going over the room in precise lines, taking everything in. Or maybe he was thinking of something grandiose and complicated. Ino couldn’t tell, since didn’t think like him. She did the details which left him in charge of the big picture. 

What did he see? She attempted to look and think like him, but quickly found herself distracted by the Sarutobis. It was still strange to her to think they were related. They looked nothing alike. Their skin tone and voice timbre were similar, but other than that… 

Their speech patterns were completely different, they shared no idiosyncrasies or habits beyond their love of tobacco, and they held their bodies in opposite fashions. In fact, a lot of their details were opposites. How much of that was chance and genetics, and how much of that was Asuma looking at this man and saying, No . Asuma did promise he’d always say no, maybe it was a little more pointed of a comment than she’d realized. 

The hokage eventually broke their staring contest as he looked over the group without ever staying on any one of them for long enough to actually see anything. It could be that she was underestimating him, but she’d burn that bridge when she got to it. 

“As those closest to Naruto, your insight into his situation is invaluable,” he said stiffly. Like he wanted to be saying something else, and Ino could relate to that feeling. “Jiraiya, I’ve heard you met a little while ago, is an expert on the seals that maintain Naruto’s power over the beast inside him. You will work with Jiraiya as a sort of damage control council.” 

“Damage control?” Shikamaru asked with disdain. “What’s he damaged?” 

Naruto’s chakra was burning. Asuma’s chakra was flint hard and fire hot. Her own chakra was starting to heat up in a way she’d never experienced before. Only Shika’s was cool. Though maybe it was her imagination, but she could have sworn it was warmer than usual. 

Ino pressed her palm to Naruto’s side and let his chakra burn her skin. Like it had in the clearing when he’d been a crumpled mess after saving her life.  

The old man gave her a look over his pipe and she felt nothing from it. When she was younger she may have quaked in her shinobi grade sandals. A year ago she may have felt cowed. But now? She was looking at an old man out of his depth.

And she pitied him. 

“I am aware that you see the situation differently, but your view is biased. You’re too close to him.” 

Her pity evaporated as she snarled out, “Because we support him?”

Naruto shifted and she realized the hand she had on his side was pushing harder and harder into him. She moved to take her arm back but he made a small noise, barely audible, and she snapped her hand back to its place. He was quivering underneath her fingers. His chakra was doing something strange but she couldn’t focus on it thanks to the crushing energy of the building and the man in front of her. 

“Your judgment has already proven to be dangerous, Ino.” 

Another scolding for stopping an unnecessary death. 

Shikamaru scoffed, just on the right side of respectful disagreement, but pushing it. The way he eyed the hokage after that undid that balance though. “The situation at the preliminary fights got out of hand, but Ino didn’t instigate that. The whole room was slow on the uptake.” He paused and his eyelids fell to half closed, giving him a tired look. “But, of course, that was the point, right?” 

Ino’s fingers curled into Naruto’s jacket, nearly tearing the material, as she picked through that. It’s about protecting the village with a show of strength , Asuma had told her after the prelims. But it wasn’t about their own strength, they weren’t showing off or creating a shield.

The exams were a box in which the higher ups would move them around in order to pull out as many secrets of the other villages as possible. Use strength to force out the others’ strength in turn. They were dolls and puppets and sacrifices . No, that word wasn’t quite right. Lee wasn’t just a sacrifice, he was bait. For Gaara, so the sand jinchuriki would show his power.

Lee, with no family name and no chakric ability, wiped out by the sand. 

Sand and golden diamond eyes. Lee dragged under the granules as that laugh shook his body apart. Until his bones were nothing but more grains of sand for Gaara to manipulate. Until the next victim. 

She exhaled slowly as she forced the thought away. She tried not to blink so she wouldn’t see those giant eyes looking back in the flash of darkness behind her eyelids. She pushed harder into Naruto and concentrated on his chakra. The burning. So very different from Gaara’s cold quicksand. 

Jiraiya, when she finally remembered to look over at him, didn’t look surprised. He didn’t look moved by it either, and yet she felt like her world was sliding six inches to the right. Everything a little blurry and unreal. She should have figured it out earlier than this. Had she been unconsciously avoiding that epiphany? Did that make her weak? 

A wisp of shadow brushed up against the inside of her calf and she exhaled once again. This wasn’t the time. Right now, they were in a different kind of battle. 

“Each of the four of you will sit down, one on one, with Jiraiya and compile what we know. Naruto’s molding with the kyubi was unconventional, we don’t know the consequences of it all yet.” 

“No,” Asuma said. “You wanna talk to us, we work as a team.”

The hokage sighed like Asuma was an unruly child, “They’re fully fledged genin, Asuma. They’re perfectly capable of--” 

“Of course they’re capable,” Asuma said with utmost confidence. “That’s not the problem.” Asuma pointed at Jiraiya with nearly as much force as he’d opened the door earlier. “ He is .” 

Ino shifted a little so she could have all three men in her direct eye line. She wasn’t quite sure what angle Asuma was going for, and she needed to figure it out quick. 

“You can’t let your personal feelings get in the way of your work,” the old man scolded with a frown. He puffed on his pipe and peered at his son through the smoke like he’d just won a debate. 

Asuma crossed his arms and scowled, “So you’re willing to let a preteen girl go into a room alone with a man known for perving off of women?” 

The pipe froze half way down to the old man’s lap. Jiraiya shifted in his first sign of discomfort or affectedness. He shifted toward Ino, what did that mean? 

But Asuma’s angle was suddenly crisply clear. She made sure to harden her edges into ones of discomfort. Namely, discomfort towards Jiraiya nearby. It wasn’t even overtly faked, the idea of being alone with him sent her skin crawling. 

“That’s an outrageous accusation!” the hokage bellowed, but his voice was weak from his too deep puff off the pipe a moment before. And his eyes kept flicking over to Ino. 

“Naruto literally ran into him sneaking into the women’s hot springs just this morning,” Asuma deadpanned. He didn’t need proof anyway, the hokage already knew. His reaction to the news was too focused on Asuma rather than Jiraiya. Ino scowled. “Do you expect there to only be women his age there? Does that somehow make it okay? And the likelihood that there was someone there around Ino’s age is high. Would that have made a difference to him?” 

“It’s harmless,” the hokage and Jiraiya said in unison. 

“It’s a blatant violation of civilian privacy, of the people you’re sworn to protect. And a violation of trust of any ninja that you take advantage of,” Asuma said, his eyes on Jiraiya once again. “Your self-proclaimed ‘research’ is a thin veneer for a vice that you’ve allowed to overcome your awareness. And for a shinobi of your former caliber, that’s shameful.” 

“Former?” Jiraiya puffed up, his eyes narrowing. His hair looked a little more bristly. Kind of like Naruto’s did sometimes. 

“That’s what you’re focusing on?” Shikamaru asked. 

“That’s enough!” the hokage exclaimed. They all turned to him and he sighed. “Jiraiya wouldn’t hurt Ino.” 

“But he would hit on her,” Asuma replied. “He already has.” 

When the hokage turned to the man in question, Jiraiya wouldn’t meet his eyes. The hokage scrubbed at his cheeks. “Fine, you can sit in with Ino’s interview, if you must.” 

“I must. I must also be there for the boys’.” Asuma placed a large hand on Shikamaru’s shoulder. “Who knows what other research the legendary toad sage has been taking part in. What proclivities he has. He’s a shinobi through and through, and we’re trained to take advantage of any situation.” 

“This is ridiculous,” the hokage huffed. Jiraiya was staring at Asuma with his head cocked slightly to the side. Was he listening to something? Looking for something? Was it a show to get her on the defense? Concentration like that was a form of intent. 

“You really don’t like me,” Jiraiya said with a grin. 

Asuma shrugged, “I’ve barely met you. Dislike is a very…emotional word.” He shifted to look Jiraiya head on. “I simply don’t respect you.” 

Jiraiya laughed and she hated the sound. Shikamaru’s chuckles were like a soothing caress to her back though. Her tense muscles loosened slightly and she cracked her neck to the side. 

The hokage announced, “Have it your way then, we’ll cater to your sensitive sensibilities.” Asuma wasn’t bothered by the slight and she watched in satisfaction as the hokage’s cheeks bulged out as his temper spiked. “Once we’re through with that, Jiraiya will take the boy for training.” 

Asuma sighed and said, “No.” 

The old man’s cheeks looked like a squirrel before winter. But his chakra swelled and pressed down harder. Was this what everyone felt from Naruto’s chakra when she pushed into Gaara’s mind? Her knees trembled slightly but she locked them straight and forced her spine to stay unbent. She wouldn’t show weakness to this man. 

“It’s always been agreed that Jiraiya would take on his training when he became of an age capable of keeping up.” 

Naruto spoke for the first time since they’d entered a room where the topic was his own future. Where they all talked like he wasn’t there. “I didn’t agree,” Naruto said. “I didn’t even know this guy was, like, a person, until today.” 

“Naruto,” the hokage said with blatant disappointment. Naruto’s shoulders quivered and Shikamaru’s hand shot out to cup the back of the blond’s neck. Thumb brushing over the nape where his hair was fine and silky. “You have a responsibility to the village to gain as much control over your abilities as possible.” 

Ino opened her mouth to snap out how the village could burn, but Asuma’s knuckles brushed across her elbow and she snapped her lips back together. Pressing them tight to each other in an effort to keep the words in. She almost choked on the intensity of her need to show this man up. To tear him down and force him to eat his own lies. To make him drown in never ending sand as she watched impassively. 

She wanted him to suffer . 

She cleared her throat, uncomfortable with that line of cruelty, because she knew Naruto would disapprove of it. He would look at her with guileless eyes and tell her that she couldn’t expect to stop violence with more violence. Or something like that. Even though that exact thing was sort of the basis of shinobi life and wars. Then again, Naruto was kind of a terrible shinobi. 

“You’re a walking bomb,” Jiraiya added. “That seal on your stomach is the wall between you and everyone you hold dear.” 

Naruto’s hand went to his stomach and Ino’s hand almost followed it, but she kept it at his side instead. Moving to cover it would make it seem like she was concerned about it, which she wasn’t. She was concerned about Naruto. 

And she couldn’t help but think that Jiraiya was wildly off base. The seal was what shoved the kyubi inside, but was it really what kept him in? Or was that Naruto? 

“He’s fine,” Shikamaru said, thumb still gentle on Naruto’s skin, while the rest of him was like a live wire. “He’s in control. Messing around with the seal now would just be more of a risk, wouldn’t it?” 

“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing,” Jiraiya replied. 

Shikamaru whipped around and spat out, “Don’t pretend like that seal is yours. Naruto’s dad is the one who made it, and you never could keep up with your student, could you?” 

Jiraiya’s eyes widened and his fingers clenched around the edge of the desk, nails biting into the wood. He looked to the hokage and asked, “How does he know that?” He sounded haunted. 

Shikamaru clicked his tongue and said, “Because you didn’t hide it. You can force people to say as little as you want, but that’s only one facet of a mystery.” He shrugged, and he looked alarmingly like Asuma had when telling Jiraiya he didn’t respect him. “You were careless. Or maybe, you just didn’t think anyone would care.” Care about Naruto , remained unspoken. 

“And you think he’d be in better hands with you?” the hokage asked. “You may be Nara smart, but you’re a genin and you don’t know what you’re talking about.” The words were too forceful to be as simple as the old man wanted them to be. 

“At least we wouldn’t abuse him,” Ino said without thinking. 

The hokage turned, ever so slowly, to look at her. His face lost his irritation and superiority. It was merely considering. Her chakra started to heat up again, though she hadn’t noticed it cooling back down. The longer he looked at her the harder it was to keep herself from baring her teeth in threat. She wanted to jump forward and dispatch with the threat here and now. Shikamaru could paralyze him, right? Naruto could--

“So what you’re concerned about here is risk?” Asuma asked, with his eyebrows raised in a silent but dubious question. 

“What else?” the hokage asked, turning his focus back to his son. 

“Fine then, let’s talk risk.” Asuma said. “Naruto is a bomb, according to Jiraiya. He’s a weapon, according to you. And yet he’s neither. He’s a boy who’s only just recently made any real connections to other human beings. He has a team.” 

“As poetic as this is,” Jiraiya said, “you can’t paint over reality.” 

“I’m not the one trying to do that,” Asuma replied instantly. “I’m telling you something, if you’d listen. This boy,” he patted Naruto’s head, “has a support network now. It’s the sole reason he’s doing as well as he is. Can either of you prove that wrong?” Pause, no answer. “So what do you reasonably expect to happen when you rip that away?” 

“It’s just training, a month gone and --” 

“If this was just training, then it could wait until the exams were over.” 

Ino’s mind stilled. Asuma’s words dropped into the center of the calm and rippled out like a stone in a calm pond. This seal thing should wait, until the sand and sound shinboi were out of the village. Unless they were trying to cause something that would…what? Was this another baiting like Lee? Or maybe it was part of the cold war? She leaned around Naruto to look at Shikamaru, one eyebrow slightly raised. He nodded and her lips pursed as she went back to her position. So Shikamaru knew what was happening, that was good at least. She just hated that it was going over her own head. 

When she leaned down to get a look at Naruto’s face that had turned toward the floor, she was expecting anger, frustration, or even sadness. Instead, he just looked confused. This wasn’t the kind of confusion he got when big words were used or a chakra exercise failed. It took her a minute to place it. 

When she did, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her lungs were spasming in her chest.

Asuma and the other two were still talking, but she couldn’t hear them. 

She ran her palm over Naruto’s side and to his stomach, just over the seal. It was hotter than the rest of him. She tapped his stomach and he slowly looked up at her. Blinking a few times. 

She bit her tongue hard enough she tasted blood. 

She’d seen this exact face once before. The very first time she’d defended him to Sakura. Lost and intimidated. Wonder and caution twined together. A painful hope and a brutal suppression of it, all wrapped up in raw incomprehension. 

And she knew exactly what he was thinking. Despite his laughter at the ramen stand a part of him had still been scared. And yet here he stood, being fought over. 

Her mouth was dry, which was funny considering the amount of blood welling up behind her teeth. The first time she’d seen this look, she’d felt off put. Uncomfortable being at its center. No idea what she was supposed to do with it. 

Now, she wanted to erase it. For good. He shouldn’t doubt, he shouldn’t fear, he shouldn’t be so awe filled at their support. A small piece of her felt betrayed that he would be so surprised, but she shoved that away. Trauma couldn’t be rationalized. She knew that. 

Naruto’s eyes shot over to Jiraiya when he said something, Ino still couldn’t hear it. But she clocked Naruto’s focus on the sage and her thoughts spun in a different direction. No, it wasn’t that Naruto was surprised, he had believed in them and their team. He was just surprised that they were fighting against a Sanin? That Asuma was fighting his dad? It had something to do with them standing their ground here and now. That’s what had him overwhelmed. 

“Naruto,” she said, barely a whisper, barely any air getting past her throat at all. But his eyes flashed back to her. “You shouldn’t be surprised, you’re worth fighting for.” 

Naruto’s eyes flashed a deep deep red. A darker hue than she’d ever seen them. His chakra flared harshly but barely left his skin. The argument was still going on around them, no hesitation at the explosion of energy, so it must be something only she could detect. 

Then he smiled and his eyes were blue and his chakra was as calm as it could be in a situation like they were in. The flare had just been more heat, perhaps an edge of wildness to it, not unlike Kiba’s. But not monstrous. The feel of it didn’t match the shade his irises had gone to. 

She leaned back and tried to control her expression. She threw her arm over Naruto’s shoulder because she wanted him close but also because the combined weight of the old man’s chakra and Naruto’s sudden surprise was making her lightheaded. She leaned her weight into him which he accepted without flinching. 

“You don’t separate my team,” Asuma argued, the first words to percolate through her haze in a while. Jiraiya was watching her and she maintained her neutrality as their eyes met. 

“This isn’t--” the hokage said, cheeks starting to flush with exertion from the words she hadn’t heard. She’d always pay attention to Naruto over petty old men fighting though. 

“How about this,” Jiraiya said, interrupting the argument without hesitation or doubt. “You come with us. But just you.” His eyes were on her again, she could feel it, but she didn’t look. “However, that would leave your other two kids all alone in the village, sensei .” 

“Deal,” Asuma responded without pause. The pressure of Jiraiya’s gaze left. 

“Just like that?” Jiraiya asked. 

“Just like that,” Shikamaru and her said in unison. 

Jiraiya laughed again but his eyes were drilling into her once again. 

She wasn’t sure what he’d spotted in her, but damned if she was going to give him anything else to work with. 

Asuma had told them to go ahead, but they’d said they would wait for him out front. It felt weird to leave without him after he’d fought so hard for them in the office. Well, for Naruto, which meant for all of them. 

“How much longer is he gonna take?” Naruto complained as he threw himself over Shikamaru’s back. Shikamaru scowled but didn’t push him away. Instead he shifted to support him better. 

“Ino, go drag him out here,” Shikamaru said. “He’s probably caught up yelling at the old man or something.” 

Ino capitulated easily because if Asuma was yelling at the hokage, she wanted to know. And it seemed pretty in character of what they’d seen from their sensei so far today. So she retraced her steps back to the office. No one stopped her, likely because she’d just been up here. 

The office door was cracked open and Jiraiya stood just outside it, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. She stopped a few feet away and they stared at each other. He angled his head toward the crack in the door and she narrowed her eyes, but came closer. 

Asuma’s voice came through, “--eeting was really about?” 

“Not everything is a political game,” the hokage replied, sounding both temperamental and too tired to hold onto the actual anger. “Your time at the capitol turned you bitter.” 

Asuma laughed. “It wasn’t the capitol that did that.” 

“I thought that giving you a team like this, your own genin to look after, would shed some light on our family. But it seems to have only stoked your fire.” 

“What are you on about?” 

“Life is a game of priorities, son. This, what you’re going through right now, is the beginning of a whole new level.” 

Asuma didn’t speak for a moment and Ino continued her stare off with Jiraiya. Why did he want her to hear this, exactly? 

“I find, at this level , as you say, that things are pretty clear. We’re not the same, you and I.” 

“Always finding blame, you’ve barely grown.” 

“What’s a son for but pointing out the sins of his father,” Asuma said, the words rolling off his tongue like they’d been recited rather than spoken. 

“Asuma, I--” 

“The real reason you gave me this team was because of your guilt. Guilt that comes from the kind of regret that can’t form without full comprehension of what you’ve done to that child.” Asuma took a deep breath. “And you knew… you knew this would happen, that I would…” 

“Yes. I’ve pushed a great weight onto you, and as your hokage I will continue to do so. Because I trust you with it.” 

Ino bristled, eyes swinging over to the crack, abandoning her fruitless study of the infuriating pervert. Placing familial obligation and national pride together into one statement of guilt tripping and expectation… it was crafty. It was effective. And Asuma--

“A weight ?” Asuma asked, scathing as if the word disgusted him as much as the person who said it did. “No. No, you don’t get to call my kids a weight on me.” A deep inhale for the beginning of a speech. Then a matching exhale. She could hear the fight leaving Asuma. A dry laugh she didn’t like and never wanted to hear from her sensei again. “You and I, we’re nothing alike.” 

Ino glared at Jiraiya as Asuma’s footsteps came closer to the door. She lifted her top lip enough to show off her very human teeth and then on silent feet she fled before Asuma got through the door. 

Some things should be private. And while they never would be, she could at least give him the space to pretend that it was. He deserved some mercy after the hell he’d just waded through. 

She buzzed with energy as she descended through the tower, gladly leaving the heavy chakra behind. With Asuma at their back she felt like they could do anything.

Chapter Text

 Ino eyed Jiraiya with equal disdain and confusion. The first because he was awful, and the second because she was still struggling to see how this man could be something even approaching as powerful as the Sanin were purported to be. It just didn't make sense to her. Yet just standing near him made the hair on her arms stand up and it's not like that was something she could just ignore. 

Asuma cleared his throat and looked at her and Shikamaru who were standing protectively in front of a nervous Naruto. "Naruto and I will go with Jiraiya to the outskirts of the Leaf territory for the next couple of days,” Asuma said, fingers twitching like he wanted to light a cigarette. “We'll be back, at the latest , three nights from now, got it?" 

Jiraiya looked as if to protest but silenced when all three of them turned to glare at him. He held up his hands in surrender and replied, "Three days, got it." 

Far from feeling comforted, Ino just found herself more pissed off. Jiraiya was treating this like a game. He was amused by their actions, by their blatant mistrust of him. He wasn't even trying to gain their favor. She doubted he took them seriously in any capacity. 

Who would he take seriously though? If he truly was as powerful as the people around him thought, then who out there could make him listen? 

"I'll be sending a summons over for each night, to check in on you guys, got it?" Asuma said.

"Got it!" She and Shikamaru barked in unison. 

"Focus on your clan training for now, got it?" 

"Got it!" 

Asuma smiled and placed his huge hands on their heads in an action somewhere between ruffling their hair and patting their heads. She'd gotten used to his awkward affection but it didn't mean she liked when he messed up her ponytail. When he pulled away both she and Shikamaru scowled and adjusted their hair ties. 

Jiraiya laughed at them and she felt Shikamaru stiffen next to her. In a creepy, and entirely accidental but advantageous, unison they slowly turned to glare at him. Shikamaru's chakra was creeping forward like a snake ready to lash out. Her own chakra was starting to billow up around her. 

Shikamaru clicked his tongue in disapproval at the old perv and snarked, "You should keep something in mind, while you're gone." Jiraiya cocked his head to the side in a show that he was listening, a patronizing lift to the side of his mouth. "You're a pathetic old man and we'll be around a lot longer than you. Maybe we can't hurt you now, but keep in mind that we'll be responsible for your legacy."

Asuma stifled a chuckle poorly as Jiraiya stared at Shikamaru as he processed the threat. Ino laughed and waited for his eyes to flick to her. "I've already got enough gossip on you for a near coup of the Yamanaka clan, you know. They don't take kindly to someone threatening their clan heir." 

"You're the clan heir?" Jiraiya asked. "Aren't you a bit old to be Inoichi's daughter? What is he, like thirty?" 

"Our fathers," Shikamaru said, "had us young. Inoichi at seventeen, and my own at sixteen. It's not like they could guarantee their own survival past any age, had to get started on the clan future early." 

"You're the Nara heir, I presume?" 

Shikamaru nodded and she crossed her arms over her chest. The man still didn't look affected, and that needed to change. Well, maybe she could add some pressure, "If I bring a formal complaint to the board, people will look at me and see a kunoichi in over her head. The Yamanaka and the Nara bring it forward and people will wonder, what are those conniving clans up to? But if we, and the Akimichi, with the full power of the Trio, lodge an official complaint, people will listen." 

The Yamanakas were manipulative, the Nara were conniving, and the Akimichi were honest. If they all agreed on something... it held true weight. And for smaller clans like theirs, that made all the difference. 

She hadn’t visited the Akimichi recently, but she knew they’d have her back in this. She smiled at the thought of Chouji. She missed him, last she'd heard he was doing just swell though, and the idea of him being on the front lines had never sat well with her. Any Akimichi on the front lines actually rubbed her the wrong way. Sure, they were terrifying, yet each and every one of them was also gentle. They were the least cut throat clan around, and she loved the energy they put off, even when it made her skin crawl from the oddity of it all. 

Jiraiya gave them a crooked smile, but his chakra was spreading out around him. Sort of like how a man sat with his legs far apart, like the more space he took up the more power he had. She rolled her eyes and turned around to face Naruto. 

"Hey, Nar," she whispered and pulled at a strand of his hair. "He's a jerk, no doubt about it, but you can probably learn something from him." 

Shikamaru bumped his shoulder to hers and adjusted Naruto's kunai pouch from where it was strapped on crooked. "She's right. We have to take every advantage we can get. The village wants to put you on the back foot, fine, you know how to attack from that position." 

"And you'll have sensei with you the whole time. He won't let anything happen to you." Ino was well aware that Asuma couldn't uphold impossibilities. The world was dangerous, but Naruto could take care of himself when it came to pain and violence. It was his heart that needed protecting, and Asuma understood that better than anyone other than her and Shikamaru. "He'll watch out for you, you know that."

Naruto nodded and gave a lackluster grin. "Believe it! Sensei and I will be back before you know it."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he looked away from the false positivity. 

"Nar," Ino scolded. "None of that. If you're uncomfortable you tell sensei, okay? I don't care what it is, you tell him."

Naruto hesitated but with a look over her shoulder at the man in question, he gave a sharp nod. "Got it!" 

She pulled him into a hug and desperately wracked her brain for any reason to make them stay. The problem was that she had plenty, but none of them would make a dent in the hokage's mind set. Still, this whole thing was a bad idea. 

Shikamaru pulled Naruto into a hug next. His left hand cradled the back of Naruto's head carefully while his right rested on the small of Naruto's back. Ino stifled a chuckle when she saw that Shikamaru was glaring at Jiraiya over Naruto's head. 

Asuma reluctantly stepped forward and herded Naruto away from them. Her fingers itched to pull a kunai, to grab onto Asuma and refuse to let him and Naruto leave. But she wasn’t a child, she knew the stakes here. 

A strand of Shikamaru's shadows, nearly undetectable in the sunlight of the early morning, clung to Naruto's jacket. Naruto gave them one last nervous glance before Asuma's hand came down on his shoulder and the three disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 

Shikamaru abruptly pivoted and began speed walking towards their clan lands. She winced at the surplus of energy that must be stuck inside Shikamaru thanks to his agitation but easily caught up. Shikamaru, quickly tiring of his pace, fell back to his normal lackadaisical walking. Ino fell into the familiar rhythm with gratitude. 

"They'll be fine," she said. 

Shikamaru grunted in acknowledgement. 

"We just need to make sure when he comes back, that we've gotten stronger too." 

"He'll be back in three days," Shikamaru complained. 

"A lot can happen in three days." 

They spent the rest of the walk back in silence, and she never tried to dislodge Shikamaru’s fingers from the bandages around her waist. She just walked and allowed him whatever comfort she could give him.

It'd been a while since she'd trained with her father. She'd sparred with others in her clan, discussed strategies and observations etc. Gossiped, of course. But genuinely trained? That had always been with Asuma ever since she was assigned to him. And she’d thrived under his hand, she knew it. They all had, they’d grown so much. And she couldn’t stand the idea of that changing. Of the three of them being split up for any amount of time. It was unacceptable . 

Still, it would be a good chance for her to focus on her individual abilities a little more. Sometimes they would have to work apart. Mostly because, apparently, creepy old men take them away from the group, or genjutsu wielding fanatic bastards paralyze her team, or snakes eat them, or whatever reason. 

Regardless, the bottom line stayed the same. She needed to be able to protect with her own power. No backup, etc. And what better way to do that than to take advantage of her heritage? 

Yet, her father looked at her sideways when she skipped up to him in the yard and asked, “So, where do we start?” 

“DId you really think you could just skip over the part where you used the clan jutsu to slam yourself into the most dangerous and volatile mind currently in the village?” 

Did that mean that Gaara wasn’t the most unstable person to be here in history? Made sense, she guessed, considering how old the village was and how insane most shinobi were… but still, it was hard to imagine someone more on the edge than Gaara. She didn’t even like thinking about it. 

“I saved Lee,” Ino said, being careful not to spread her feet apart to brace herself against whatever else her father would say. It was a futile effort to hide her defensiveness from him, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying. 

“I don’t care about Lee,” he said slowly, like he needed each syllable of each word to sink through her skin and stay there, like the ink of a tattoo. Her first thought was a rageful mess, because wasn’t that the point? That no one cared about Lee, the symbol of the unattached shinobi? That the genin, her own team , were being used as bait , of all things. 

But then she paused, because this didn’t feel like Hiruzen and the others watching idly. 

“Ino,” she narrowed her eyes as he got closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t give a damn about anyone but you.” His hands pressed down harder and it was comforting to be reminded of her own human solidity. “If you think I would put anything above you, then I’ve failed as a father.” 

She bit her lip and shuffled her feet, wanting to both back away from the partial embrace and push herself forward into his chest to take whatever comfort he could give. Instead of either, she maintained eye contact and asked, “What about the village?” 

Inoichi winced and hung his head slightly, though not enough to make his eyes leave hers. “Look, baby girl, I get it. You don’t trust me entirely. You haven’t ever since…” 

Ever since she’d met Naruto and realized what had been done to him. What everyone had done to him. What they’d allowed to happen as they stood by. Hokage’s orders or not, it was strictly unforgivable. 

He sighed and squeezed her shoulders before skimming his hands down her arms to intertwine their fingers. He pulled their clasped hands up between them and gave her left one a quick kiss. “I can’t undo the past, that’s the hardest part of being a shinobi, but I know my priorities. And you’re it. You’re not just the top of the list, you are the list. 

“Naruto didn’t have anyone to fight for him, and none of us stepped up to the plate, it’s true. But you’re not Naruto, there’s no world where you would be left behind like him.” 

She opened her mouth to argue…something. She wasn’t sure, but even the idea of Naruto being left behind, no matter how aware of the truth she already was, always stoked a flame in her chest. 

Her father pressed on, “So you put your life up next to anyone else, I will always choose you. Every goddamn time, you hear me?” 

She wanted to snip back, to push him a little further. See just how much he would admit to or if he would back himself into a corner. Ask about the hokage or a hypothetical chakra fox attack. But she was staring into the pained eyes of her father, one of the few people she did trust. And maybe that feeling had been fractured a little when she’d learned of his inaction, but he’d never done wrong by her . It was selfish, probably, but she wanted to trust him the way she used to. Without doubt or pause, without even full awareness of it. 

“Yeah, dad, I get it,” she said automatically, though it wasn’t a lie, was it? He needed to understand where she stood though, so she added, “I’d do it again.” And she would. The old man and the others, even Ibiki and Anko, needed to see that they weren’t expendable. The visiting nin needed to see that the new generation of leaf village shinobi wouldn’t be easily knocked over, individually or together. And yeah, the sand team probably didn’t fully understand what she’d done, but she was confident some message got across. 

She hadn’t necessarily meant to make some huge pronouncement, but she sure as hell would take advantage of it now. Especially with how tense things in the village would be getting soon. The exams were about making a show of strength, right. Well, she’d done that. Just not the kind that the hokage wanted. 

Her father sighed but said, “Yeah, I know.” He let her go and turned to face the house. She pushed aside the guilt that wanted to brim up, because she was right and they both knew it. She refused to be cowed, even by her father. 

She followed as he started walking, not sure what else to do. He led her to the courtyard of the main house, where they usually went for training. She went through her normal stretches off to the side and stared at her father as he sat himself in a low wooden chair to the side and lost himself to his thoughts. She approached him once she finished warming her muscles up and he gestured for her to sit in the chair across from him. She sunk down into it a bit cautiously. 

“Ino,” he said, blue eyes suddenly staring through her. “What did you see?” 

She suppressed a flinch and debated the merits of pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about. After that whole display from before though, it didn’t feel right. “Not a lot,” she responded after swallowing around a dry throat. “But it felt awful.” She shuddered and brushed phantom grains of sand from her arms. “He wasn’t in there, dad.” And that was perhaps the most distressing part, wasn’t it? She’d felt the beast inside Gaara, but where was he? 

“Who?” 

She groaned and pulled at her ponytail. She wished Shikamaru was here, he always knew what she was talking about. “Gaara! I felt the sand monster in there with me, but that was it. Just sand and laughter and…” she trailed off, as she blinked heavily. Golden eyes with diamond pupils stared back and she wrenched her eyes open. She stared at her toes and flexed them hard. No sand, she was fine. 

“Ino?” 

She shook her head and looked back at her father. “Yeah?” 

He looked concerned, and honestly she got it. She wasn’t feeling herself lately, so how could she act like herself either? “Are you okay?” 

She shrugged and had so much to say that she decided to just keep it all locked up behind her teeth. He’d just tell her to stay out of it all, and she was already too far in. The whole mess with the village invariably meant Naruto was involved, which meant she wasn’t going anywhere either. 

He sighed and rested his elbows on his knees. He looked down at his hands as he clasped his fingers together. “Look, some people can’t be hit by our mind jutsu transfers. It’s not a matter of ability or learned defense against it. Some people just have chakras that are too radically different to our own.” 

She frowned and tried to remember that ever happening to her. Some people were easier to shove her way into, but she’d never really struggled to do it before. 

Her dad continued his explanation, “And we have to be careful, always, because we’re not just pushing out chakra, are we?”
She shook her head and replied, “We’re pushing our life energies out as well.” 

He nodded. “Right, and chakra is a life energy in many ways, but not everyone has chakra, yet everyone is still alive. Everyone has a soul.”
She nodded a bit impatiently, she already knew all of this. 

“ Pay attention, Ino ,” he scolded and she pouted but straightened up a bit to show he had her full focus. “Chakra is something that we generate, if someone is chakra depleted, they can gain their previous levels back with rest. Sort of like how eating food creates energy for our bodies to keep going. Chakra can be created and funneled into our tenketsu points. But us? What we do? That’s different. Life energies aren’t exactly…finite, but they’re far more restrained than chakra. There’s a reason that after our jutsus are done the energy always rebounds back into us.” 

Ino chewed on that for a moment and asked, “Why are you telling me this? I know this, I’ve known this since you first taught me how to do it. Our awareness and ability to harness the power of our souls is what makes our clan special. We call it a jutsu because that’s what everyone expects it to be, even if it’s something a little different. It’s the reason no other clan has come close to replicating our style.” 

“That’s not exactly true.” 

“What do you mean?” 

He pulled out a thin handbound book from under his chair. “There have been studies done on other individuals we’ve come across in the past who can do similar things to us.” 

“Other clans?” she demanded. Since when? Where? 

“No, just the occasional person from here and there. People that we’ve run across on missions to other nations and villages. They can’t do what we do, because they don’t have the technique, but they can manipulate their soul.” 

She grabbed the book and began flicking through the pages. “That’s so cool, have we brought them around to discuss what--” her sentence cut off as what she was looking at caught up to her brain. 

Seven. Seven sparse files on these spectacular individuals. And each one had the same red stamp over the first page. 

Deceased . 

She flicked back to the beginning of each one and looked at the dates and ages. The first three had died well before her time. The next two had died around her father’s genin team time. And the last two had died before her eighth birthday. But each and every one of them had died before they hit eighteen. 

“What?” She skimmed the entry of the most recent one. 

Name: Ishi, no family name given

Age: 16

Origin: Capitol Samurai Corp

-- Annotated by Biki Yamanaka --

I came across Ishi during a mission I ran in the capitol. He was assigned to me as a guide, though we both knew it was just so someone could keep an eye on me. No one trusts a Yamanaka around information, especially not in a place like the capitol. 

At first, I found it curious. He was so young and of low standing in the corp. So why was he assigned to someone like me, a Jounin of the Leaf Village. A feared and respected one, at that. I figured it out at the end of my first week with him. 

I’d managed to shake him off after a pleasant evening debating politics during a banquet. I dipped into the coffers deep in the capitol vaults and began the audit that the hokage requested before I left for the mission. It took little more than an hour. I was on my way back to my room long before the banquet had ended.

But Ishi was waiting for me when I got to my door. He wasn’t upset but his affable personality had fallen away to reveal a far more serious young man. “What were you doing?” he asked me. 

“I was visiting the library--” 

“Don’t lie to me.” His eyes had taken on a brightness to them, and I myself had started to feel rather peculiar. Similar to when an enemy knows where you are, but you don’t know where they are. “You were doing something, I know you were.” 

My words got caught in my throat as I tried to laugh and brush it off. I had nothing to say, I didn’t know what to say. The excuses should have come easily, as they always did. 

“Tell me the truth,” Ishi said, eyes flashing with literal light. 

That’s when I felt it, as familiar as a Yamanaka jutsu, wisps of Ishi’s souls were tethering into me. They were targeting my own soul, a laughable attempt really, but I was stunned. His soul was quite literally attempting to pressure my own into compliance. To force the truth from me. 

I decided to play along. I wanted to know more of this curious creature…

Ino skipped forward a couple of pages in impatience. 

… Ishi had grown exponentially under my tutelage, but he had grown too much. He refused to learn the Yamanaka way. Told me it was too stifling, too old fashioned. I warned him of going outside the boundaries of what a soul could handle. 

He scolded me for thinking so little of him. Claimed that I was looking down on him because he couldn’t mold chakra. I’d scoffed and told him, not for the first time, that anyone with chakra can mold it to some extent, but very few can make their own soul malleable enough to actually use. 

It came to a head when Ishi reported what we’d been doing to his commander. We were both dragged away during the night to some antechamber underground. There were only a few of them to keep the both of us there, so I wasn’t too worried. Those in the capitol never truly understand what a shinobi is capable of. It also meant that whatever interrogation we were to go through was only trusted to be witnessed by a few. That interested me. 

Yet it fell short of my expectations, what little of them there were. They wanted to know what Ishi could do in the long run, what use he could be to the capitol. Ishi was beaten when he claimed grandiose things. I answered more honestly, in hopes that Ishi would be once again looked over. I feared what would happen if they took his claims seriously. 

“He can do little but small tricks,” I answered. “He’s limited by his inexperience and stamina. What can he do for the capitol? He can force truths from the weak willed.” And it was true. I could train him to be stronger, but as he was, he was akin to a child learning fine motor skills. 

Ishi looked at me as if I had betrayed him. I wondered, at the time, what he thought I had betrayed. We worked for different rulers in vastly different political climates, so I knew there was always going to be some disconnect. But I didn’t understand that look. 

Ishi forced himself to his feet and strode to stand in front of me. The others let him, and I scoffed internally. This was no longer interesting, it was a waste of my time. 

I quickly dispatched of the three men holding me in place and stood to face Ishi as he came to a stop in front of me. There was blood on his face now, from the last throat I’d cut. He looked startled. Like a rabbit before a fox. 

“Come, Ishi,” I’d said. “Come with me, I can teach you still.” I knew the clan would welcome him, even if just as a test subject. A house pet. 

He’d grown enraged. When he made to strike me, I stopped him. The remaining samurai in the room attacked me. 

I dealt with them, even Ishi’s commander. He died under my boot. 

Ishi looked at me as if I was a monster. I offered him a hand, my dominant one, my kunai hand. But he smacked it away. He attacked me, despite knowing he could not have possibly won. 

I did not wish to kill him, but perhaps it would have saved him suffering if I had. 

When attacking me up front did little, he began to reach out for me with his soul once again. His eyes shown a sickly blue as his desperate attempts began to tear his own soul to pieces. He looked pained, terrified, yet he kept pushing. He was panicking. 

I tried to stop him, but his mind was no longer in the room with us. Yet I could not bring myself to strike down such a fascinating specimen. So instead I hit him with the mind transfer jutsu, but I blacked out from the pain it caused. 

When I woke up, Ishi was dead next to me. A massive hole over his chest, the exact place I’d held my hand many times as I taught him how to condense his soul. Under my palm, into a ball, the Yamanaka way. There were small splinters of bone throughout his entire chest, however, like he’d tried to force it all out at once, without finishing the first few steps of the process. 

Ino gagged and skipped the last couple of paragraphs. She looked over the pages of notes that her uncle had taken on Ishi. Graphs of his base abilities and clusters of results that could be used to find patterns. The graphs were familiar, she knew what her own looked like. 

Her uncle was right, Ishi’s level of ability was low, but his power was moderate. 

He’d died a horrific death at sixteen, and why? Because he got cocky? 

She bit her lip and discarded that unbecoming thought. While it wasn’t entirely false, it was too narrow of a view. Ishi had died because he didn’t understand, and he didn’t understand because he didn’t have a clan. Ino knew what could happen if she rushed through her jutsu. She understood the deaths of her family members who’d experimented too sloppily. She grew up with awareness of every ounce of her soul. Ishi didn’t have that. 

“Why are you showing me this?” she asked, looking up at her father who was staring down at her with a crumpled brow. 

He gave her a sardonic smile and replied, “You already know.” 

“You think this could have happened to me?” she asked. “Just because I went into Gaara’s mind.” 

“I’ve told you to be careful what you do. If possible, always go into familiar targets. Never rush. Always be aware of where your real body is. Don’t push if you’re too tired.” 

“And I’ve always lived by those rules!”

“Until recently,” he snapped back. “You’ve been taking risks you don’t need to.” 

“Don’t need to?!” she shouted. “My team almost died a dozen times during those damn tests! I broke a soul genjutsu without even straining my own!” 

Her father, in contrast to her, calmed considerably. “But tell me, Ino, how do you feel now?” 

She bit her lip and wondered what he wanted from her. She felt fine. Tired and scared and… She sighed. Closed her eyes. She did feel off. Like something was missing, or she’d forgotten something. Ever since the exams. But surely that was just exhaustion, right? 

“I feel fine,” she said. She felt hollow under his gaze. 

Her dad sat forward and gestured for her to do the same. Once she did, he said, “Use it on me. The transfer jutsu.” 

She hesitated but brought her hands up in the rectangle in front of her chest. She slowly and carefully, with paranoia after reading about poor Ishi, condensed her soul into a tight ball. It was as easy as ever, but nerves ate at her. Not because of the book though, it was deeper than second hand paranoia and fear. This was an instinct. Telling her to stop, but it was a mere whisper. Barely audible really. A tickle, nothing more. 

She slowly pushed her soul out, framing her father’s chest with her hands and using that window as a guide. She just felt the familiar edges of his chakra and soul brushing across her own, relief began to melt the tension in her body. It was fine, she was fine. 

Stabbing pain shot through her body as every molecule of her being was electrified. 

She cried out as her soul whipped back into her chest and expanded to fill her body again. She fell backwards, unable to stop, unable to even open her eyes. Her fingers felt cold. Her toes were entirely numb. This was all too familiar. 

A slow rolling vibration shook her to the bones. The numbness in her toes spread up her legs. Pressure beginning to build.

The sand . It was back. The laughter, the sand, the cold. 

Her chest hurt as she gasped, trying to keep track of herself, to find a way out. She couldn’t be back here, it wasn’t possible. Where was she? Where was her dad? Where were Nar and Shika? 

Two luminous eyes flickered before her, staring down at her as if she were an insect. Diamond pupils dilating at the sight. The rumbling grew harsher and louder, as the monster’s amusement grew. 

She struggled to move any part of her body, but all she felt was cold, shaky, and… her chest. Her chest hurt . She couldn’t breathe. Was there sand in her throat? Was she going to drown here? 

She reached out for something in the darkness, anything to help her. She flared her chakra to try and find Naruto’s hot spring signature, but all she felt was cold . 

She flailed as the sand began to squeeze. Bones and blood , that’s all she would be.  

Then her hand hit something. 

It grabbed her back and she almost screamed except she had no air to do so. 

The grip on her hand was firm but warm, and it felt amazing. She reached blindly with her other hand, and by some miracle that one was also caught in the warmth. 

A pressure on her chest , different than the sand’s around her legs. Then something was tapping a rhythm into her breastbone. And it drew her immediate attention in the freezing vacuum where there was nothing else. 

It took her too long to decode the rhythm, a simple message. Not Alone . It was being repeated, without pause. How long had she spent trying to understand it? How many times had it been repeated? 

The warmth around her hands intensified and it reminded her of when she would squeeze Nar’s hand when his desire to scratch at his skin was too strong to resist. 

-- no. Ino… eathe…aby girl…. 

Was that a voice? Here? There was no voice in the sand, just that laughter. Though, where was the laughter? How long had it been gone? And the eyes, where were they? 

Wait. Were her eyes even open? 

She tried to take a breath and choked on it. “Take your time, baby girl. Breathe with me,” said her dad’s voice. It was distant but so familiar it hurt, the kind she would take over the one in her chest any day. 

Her father began to recite a breathing exercise. She’d learned it when she was a little girl, to help with chakra control, but it worked well to pull shinobis out of nightmares. She’d done it once for her father years ago. She’d been scared of the sounds he’d been making in his sleep. She thought he was going to die, because he wasn’t breathing . 

She started to force her chest up and down with his words, and as the pain in her chest began to lessen, her awareness also started to creep back in. Her muscles starting to twitch as her instincts  to flee broke out. 

But first, she needed to know where she was. 

With far too much effort, she squinted her left eye open. Sunlight burned at her pupil but she didn't close her eye, even when it teared up at the onslaught. It was better than seeing that inhuman mocking gaze. The sunlight disappeared and panic made her next breath catch agonizingly. 

“Ino, honey, look at me, please.” 

She blinked as quickly as she could and squinted the other eye open as well. The tears made it difficult to make out, but her father’s face was hovering above her. “Daddy?” she asked, garbling the word around her panting. 

A warm hand pressed into her cheek and she leaned into the touch. “Yeah, it’s me. I need you to keep breathing, okay?” Her hand was placed against something that was slowly and expanding contracting. She looked down to her fingers pressed to her father’s shirt. She worked to move her lungs in pace with his. 

Her fingers and toes were still buzzing and her head was pounding, but she remembered where she was. And what she was doing. “That’s it, Ino, just keep that up. You’re okay.” 

She had tried her clan jutsu, the one she could do easy as breathing. And she’d failed . 

“Tell me where you are, Ino.” 

She shook her head, that couldn’t be true. If she couldn’t do that then… who was she? If she couldn’t use her clan abilities, then how was she supposed to protect her team? She’d saved Shikamaru from the genjutsu with it, how would she do that again without that tool? How could she help Nar? 

Her feet were moving. She knew it, in a distant sort of way. Her eyes were open, she knew. But she was separated from that by her own mind. 

Disassociation. 

She knew the word, knew the connotations, the context, and yet it felt like nothing. 

All she could feel was… 

She didn’t know. 

“What’s wrong with her?” 

“What can we do?” 

“Is she--” 

“Where’s --, or Inko --, I need them --” 

“They’re both -- missions, Inoichi-san, we --” 

“Damn it! I need a sensor, are --?” 

“No, they’re--” 

“We could take her to the Hyuga.” 

“And let them see her like this? Are you mad??” She flinched away from her father’s enraged voice. 

There was a hushed apology whispered into her ear. 

Slowly, things began to filter back to her. The senses came before comprehension. 

The ground was firm underneath her feet, interrupted by the occasional patch of grass. She focused on that for a bit. Then she took a deep inhale, and parsed through the different scents. Wildflowers and honey. The whole clan grounds smelled like that though. She breathed in again, looking for something else. And there! Smoke. Like the grills from the community center. 

She moved on to something else. What else could she feel? The breeze around her, whipping her hair over her shoulders with a particularly forceful gust. The warmth of the sun on her face. Her father’s arm around her shoulders, both holding her in place and guiding her forward. 

She blinked and cocked her head to the side. She stared at the worried faces of her clan around her. They weren’t approaching, weren’t even speaking. Just watched them walk by with their eyes on her and her alone. What did she look like? 

She tripped slightly on a pebble or some grass and her dad caught her with a low curse. Her head fell back and she spotted the clouds. White against pure blue, and maybe this was why Shikamaru loved them so much. They were so simple compared to the faces of her relatives. Her dad nudged her head to face forward once again and she saw Auntie Mitsuki’s house. She frowned, because that was on the back edge of the clan grounds. Where were they going? 

Sound was the last thing to come through, and all she could focus on was her father’s voice mumbling to her. He was speaking softly but with intentional rhythm. Enough to draw focus but not overwhelm. She couldn’t pull each word apart, but it was enough to understand they were going somewhere. Somewhere to help. That she was okay. 

She wanted to feel more though. She wanted to pull herself back all the way, she was a kunoichi, she couldn’t allow this vulnerability. 

Her chakra spilled out from her without real intention and she was instantly comforted by her father’s somber and dark chakra. It was coiled around them like a shield and it felt good. Strong and stable. Everything she wasn’t at the moment.

They came to a stop and she blinked at a wooden door. 

“Dad?” she croaked. She pulled her chakra back into her when she began to lose herself to the feeling of his chakra. That wouldn’t help anybody. 

She felt a bit better though. Enough to look around and start to churn through the details. 

She didn't know where she was. 

Looking over her shoulder she spotted that back border of the clan grounds. Not many people lived on this edge of their clan, it was cut off from the rest of the village. Most of the houses around were safe houses for the paranoid or small gardens that the Yamanaka would come by to maintain. 

The door in front of her had a symbol carved into it. It was subtle but the lines were sure and smooth. She didn’t recognize the symbol. And it must have been carved by something impressively thin. A kunai could never make such perfect strokes. 

Her father reached past her to knock heavily on the door.

Right, where was she? 

She took a step back and looked at the house. It was two stories, which was a rarity this far out from the center of the village, where the apartments complexes and village towers were. It was painted a dark brown with a light trim. And there were flowers everywhere. 

A small patch of them next to her foot caught her attention. It was a mishmash of species and not ones that she would have put together herself. They all had different needs, it’d be a pain to maintain. But whoever’s house this was clearly put in the work. They were flourishing. 

The petals danced in front of her. Stark purple, dark red, a lavender so light it was nearly white, royal blue, and a bright bright orange. Naruto orange. 

It didn’t smell like flowers here. She tried to place the smell. It was coming from somewhere upwind but it was caustic the way poisonous plants often are. 

Where was she ? 

“Dad?” she asked again. 

“Yeah, Ino?” 

The door began to open and she panicked. Her chakra flared out as she tried to identify the stranger. 

She gasped at the same time as the man opening the door did. 

Water, sunlight, and sand. That’s what he felt like. But warm sand from the beach, nothing like Gaara or the thing inside the boy. 

“Ino?” the man asked. 

She sighed heavily in relief. “Iruka-sensei?” she asked. 

Iruka fell to his knees in front of her and reached his hands out for her face. His face was crumpled with anxiety and concern and confusion. But sensei was here, so she knew it was okay for now. 

Her shoulders sagged and her chakra began to ebb and sink back under her skin. 

Iruka, in unnatural synchronicity with her, relaxed his shoulders and his face lost its deep creases. They stared at each other for a moment, his hands turning gentle as he smiled up at her. 

“You’re a sensor!” she shouted into his face. If she had the energy, she would have pointed too. As it was, her fingers were still pretty numb. 

Iruka blinked and he looked sort of like a shocked puppy. It made her giggle, like she was ten years old again in Iruka-sensei’s class. 

He smiled again and said, “Why am I not surprised it’s you who figured it out first?” 

The relief made her a bit hazy and she lost time. But the next thing she processed was her sitting on a comfy couch as her father and Iruka spoke urgently to each other.

Iruka turned to her almost immediately upon her gaining awareness and it made so much sense. How did she not realize it before? He was the one person she could never lie to. He always knew how to help the kids in class best, who needed the most attention and when. The days Sasuke needed space. The days Naruto was too distracted to stay seated. 

“Hey, Ino,” he greeted softly and sat down on an equally comfy looking chair across from her. “First things first, you’re fine.” 

She tilted her head back into the couch and let the words run through her for a moment. “You promise?” she asked. 

He chuckled but confirmed it with a confident voice. “I did a scan of you while you were out of it, and it’s nothing permanent. Though it is serious.” 

Her head snapped up. “What is?” 

He scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I’m not super familiar with Yamanakas and I know you guys use something that’s not chakra, but from what I can feel… you’ve injured yourself. Like a piece of you frayed from overuse, something not physical.” 

She remembered that feeling of being torn apart by Gaara’s mind. “Like a tear?” she asked. 

Iruka snapped his fingers and pointed at her chest, “Exactly like that. Like a muscle tear, it can heal over time.” 

“ If given time,” her father added. 

Shikamaru Interlude

“You can’t refuse me,” Shikamaru said. 

His father tilted his head and sighed. Then said, “I damn well can.” 

Shikamaru took a deep breath to try and stay calm. If you can’t control your own feelings, then focus on someone else’s , whispered Ino’s voice in his head. He glared at his father and wondered what the hell Ino meant by that. She said stuff like that all the time. 

He shook his head and leaned back, his palms on the floor behind him to hold himself up as well as keep his hands busy. “The clan jutsu is my right,” he said. “I’ve been raised to wield it. I’m good at it.” 

“You’re not just good at it, you brat,” his father said. “You’re the best of this generation and any other.” 

Shikamaru blinked in shock and leaned back harder, his palms grinding into the ground. “So what’s the problem?” he spat out. “The elders are always talking about how I have to be a strong clan leader when I take the mantle, shouldn’t you all be happy about this?” 

“We are.” 

Shikamaru didn’t need Ino around to know that was a blatant lie. His father was looking at him like he was a stranger sat at his table making unreasonable demands. “You have a funny way of showing it then.” 

“Concerns have been brought up--” 

“By whom?” Shikamaru demanded. He leaned forward, and his hands snapped up to grip the edge of the table, knuckles white and straining. “No one in the clan --” 

No one in the clan. Eliminate them, then who else is there? The hokage would order Shikamaru to stop, not his dad. Inoichi would never say a word about it, he’d just watch. Who else? Another clan, perhaps. But clan politics didn’t move this fast. 

No clan affiliation meant it could be anybody. If he had to look at individuals alone, it’d be impossible to narrow down the options. Except that no one had seen him use the shadows until recently. And only one person had raised any concerns about it. 

The calculations over in a second, he finished the sentence, “-- would dream of stopping me, which means you’ve taken an outsider opinion into account. You’ve ruled in their favor instead of mine. I’m clan heir, I’ve dedicated my life to this!” Damn Hayate, what was his angle? Pressuring his father into refusing to teach him the next steps of the clan jutsu, what did that get him? “And now you’re blocking me out?” 

“Calm down, Shikamaru,” his father said with a half assed gesture that Shikamaru didn’t pay the slightest attention to. Calm down? 

“Don’t you think you’ve insulted me enough in one sitting?”

“Shikamaru,” his father scolded. “If you’re clan heir then act like it!” 

He ground his teeth together but took a moment to get his temper under control. It didn’t used to be this hard. He used to be a calm person. But that was before there were threats to him and his in every direction. Before it felt like everyone was against them no matter what they did. 

And now, being cut off from the clan? He couldn’t fathom why. 

“You’re not being punished, Shikamaru. You’re not being pushed out of the clan. Just listen.” 

Listening is what Naras were good at. Listen, learn, implement. That’s the Nara way. If what he’s hearing doesn't make sense, then he’s supposed to listen longer, harder. Listen to learn. Learn to act. 

“Okay, then why?” Shikamaru asked, hands coming down to fold together in his lap, as his need to lash out was temporarily abated. He couldn’t help but be curious. 

“I’m refusing your request for training in the shadow jutsu because you don’t need it.” 

Shikamaru scoffed and then laughed. His father watched impassively and Shikamaru’s shadows began to writhe along the floor. Reaching for something, looking for the threat. His father looked down at the shadows with a frown and gestured at them. 

“You want the reason? That’s the reason.” 

“Because my control is too good?” 

One of the shadows smacked the table leg and left a small gauge in the wood. 

“Is that what you call control?” 

Shikamaru stood up, shadows wrapping around his limbs, and walked out of the house. 

Shikamaru didn't have to look as hard as he thought he would to find the man. Or rather, Hayate found Shikamaru. He hadn’t been there a second before, Shikamaru was confident in that. Yet there he was now, leaned casually against a light pole with his eyes on Shikamaru. 

"So you talked to my old man," Shikamaru said, continuing his walk past Hayate. Who, sure enough, fell into step with him. 

"I asked for a hearing from him." 

"A formal one?" Shikamaru asked in surprise. Those were generally for the meetings between clans, important ones at that. 

Hayate shrugged, "Eh, politics isn't my forte, but I wanted to get his attention. Make sure he knew I was serious." 

"You did something right," Shikamaru groused as he kicked a pebble out of the path. Hayate's foot struck out at just the right time to make the pebble ricochet from his foot to his knee to his chest, where he snatched it out of the air with his hand. 

As he rolled the pebble over his knuckles he said, "Good. I wanted him to stop before he taught you the shadow strangle technique."  

Shikamaru shoved his hands further into his pocket so the shaking wouldn't be visible. But he was buzzing with aggression he didn't know what to do with. Hayate didn't come from a clan. He didn't have a name or jutsu he was entitled to. He knew nothing of the Nara clan, not really, he couldn't , and yet he had the audacity to interfere in clan business? Who the hell did he think he was?

"I knew you'd be angry. Hell, I knew Shikaku would be too." He shrugged and tossed the pebble over his shoulder. His dark eyes swung to the side to look at Shikamaru who tried to tamp down the glare that he knew he was sporting. "But I also knew that you'd both listen. If what I have to say was worth it, at least." 

"You seem to think you know a lot about the Nara clan."

"I've been looking for a way to repay your clan for a long time. I'd be dead without them, and that's not an exaggeration." 

Shikamaru looked at the guy and had to agree. Even if his clan was keeping him alive, he still looked like he was one step away from the grave. His skin was gray tinged, his eyes laden down with heavy bags, and his posture was curled, most likely from the pain in his lungs. "So say what you had to say then." 

"Alright, here's my pitch." Hayate paused to cough into his elbow for a few long moments. It sounded brittle and painful. Shikamaru didn't pity him, but he was impressed that despite his handicap the guy was still an active shinobi. Every day must be torture and yet he kept going, it was allowed. He must be very very good at whatever it is he does. 

When Hayate finished coughing he breathed as deep as he could for a few more beats then continued on as if he hadn't stopped. "Come train under me for the break. I know Asuma won't be around anyways, so you're going to need a mentor. And by the end of the first week, if you still think I was out of line, I'll go to your father and admit my fault." 

"It's not like that would change his mind," Shikamaru argued. 

"No, but it would be shameful for me." 

Shikamaru stopped walking and turned to look at Hayate, finally fully facing him head on. "You're really willing to dirty your name just to prove a point?" 

Hayate sighed and it was an unpleasant wet sound. "No, I'm trying to protect you. And make you stronger at the same time. Because what better way to repay your clan for my life than to help their clan heir survive?"

“And why are you so obsessed with paying us back? If we’ve kept you alive, it’s for a reason.”

Hayate’s face twisted in a way that Shikamaru was sure Ino would have a textbook worth of information about, but to him it just looked… unhinged. Not scared or pained, not even angry. Hayate said with a perfectly even voice, “I refuse to be indebted.” 

Shikamaru raised a brow and shrugged it off. He couldn’t care less about it. As long as his motivations were targeted, Shikamaru could factor it into the equation easily. "And what makes you so confident you can help me?" 

"I have a very specific expertise," he said. "One that’s exactly what you need." 

Shikamaru huffed and crossed his arms, but it wasn't like he had a ton of options going forward. And Hayate was a curious guy, Shikamaru wanted to know what he was going on about. "Fine. We start tomorrow." 

Hayate nodded and started to back away, "Sure, first light, I'll find you." 

"What--" 

Hayate was gone. 

"Damn it," Shikamaru sighed and continued his aimless trek. 

There were too many factors in play right now. The village was a mess of politics and individual greeds. The hokage was playing his cards against them and Naruto was being treated as a piece of property. 

It was high time that Shikamaru balanced things out. And if Hayate’s ‘very specific expertise’ was along the lines of what he thought it was, then maybe this mentorship could be of use. 

Chapter Text

Iruka looked troubled though his chakra felt tranquil as it surrounded her. Like gentle waves hitting her toes and warm sun on her skin. It was almost like it was trapping her in place, but it was welcome. As long as it continued to feel like this. 

Still, their topic of conversation wasn’t all that calming. “How bad is it, though?” Inoichi asked, hands on his knees where he sat at a low but comfortable looking chair. 

Iruka tilted his head, eyes closing and she felt his chakra shift and curl closer around her. She sighed at the feeling and contemplated reaching her own chakra out, to feel it all better. But she worried about losing herself in it. The idea made her heart rate spike for just a moment as she remembered what got her brought to Iruka in the first place. 

Iruka’s eyes snapped open at the same moment and she blinked at him. He’d responded so fast, it was alarming. But his eyes held only a question and concern. She shook her head just once and he gave her a single nod. Then he said, “It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it’s not going to be an easy heal.” 

She blinked a couple more times as she tried to catch up to him. What were they talking about again? The dread hit her before realization did, which was a peculiar and unenviable experience. Made her a little sick to her stomach. The catastrophe from before began to sink in once again. She’d crippled herself. How could she be a Yamanaka if she didn’t have the jutsu? How could she be a shinobi if she wasn’t a Yamanaka? What could she really do? 

Iruka clapped his hands together once and the sound echoed around the small living space. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not as bad as that,” he said. Ino took a deep breath and tried to focus on just Iruka’s eyes. Keeping her mind blank was easier said than done though. She was thankful when Iruka began talking again. “It’s like you’ve broken your arm, but no chakra healing is going to do anything about it. It has to be a natural process.” 

“Which means slow,” she said. 

He nodded, “Which means slow. But not forever, far from it.” 

“Will it be done in time for the exam finals?” Inoichi asked. He looked more perturbed than she did. Was that a comfort or not? She shrugged and figured it didn’t matter either way. 

Iruka pressed his lips together and hummed. Eventually he gave a delicate shrug and answered, “Hard to tell. Everyone heals at different rates, and this isn’t just a physical or even chakra injury. It’s something deeper. That said, it feels like it’s already trying to piece itself back together. Rather remarkable.” 

Remarkable? In what way? She’d overextended herself, which meant she’d done so in front of everyone. Did everyone know that she’d been injured during that show down? Was she going to make her team a target?

Beach chakra pressed down on her slightly and she took a deep breath. She ignored the ongoing conversation and instead tried to find something else, anything else to think about. She turned her focus outwards. She’d barely registered anything beyond the front door, Iruka, and the couch since they'd stepped inside.

The house felt warm and comfortable to her, even having only been inside it for a few minutes. It was lived in, cared for, and full of love and devotion. On the kotatsu there were half graded papers of Iruka’s newest class. Each one of them with detailed notes on what they’d done wrong. She remembered the encouragements he’d written on hers. Though now she had a better idea of just how much work that must have been. 

The coffee cup set next to the papers was chipped to hell and back, but it was the one she’d helped Naruto paint near the end of their last year. He’d be ecstatic to know Iruka still used it. 

The floors were hardwood and pitted with age and use. Several scrapes and dents were identifiable as weaponry marks. Heavy steel dropped on the floor in the groggy morning or tossed to the side during a hard day. Tripped over during the night. 

The kitchen was clean and sleek, a drying rack next to the sink showed two bowls and sets of chopsticks. An expensive looking coffee maker took up half of the counter space available. The front of the fridge was covered in magnets holding up cards from kids and parents. She squinted and could make out a couple of mission schedules as well. 

It was the walls that really captured her attention though. She thought there might be light blue wallpaper under all the paint and seals, but it was impossible to tell. From the wooden trim of the floor to the edges of the low vaulted ceiling was a mishmash of chakra laden tags and art. Not even the wooden beams above were free from the sprawl. 

She didn’t know anything about seals beyond the basic idea that the characters used to build them were an entirely independent language even if some of the symbols overlapped. So she couldn’t read any of them but she could recognize the brush strokes as Iruka’s hand. As far as she could tell, every seal in sight had been drawn up by him. His chakra permeated the entire building, similarly to the hokage and his tower, but this felt uplifting rather than expectant and overbearing.

Was Iruka an artist too? He’d never mentioned it before, never showed the skill in class. The style of the paintings around her was sketch heavy in design but realistic with the details. And there were simply so many of them. 

There were landscapes stretching over large sections of the wall inside drawn rectangles, creating the illusion of windows opening directly into the forest. One even showed a white city on an ocean. 

There were several sketches of Iruka himself. Smiling out at the room, or bent over a seal in concentration. Her favorite was of him eating ramen at Ichiraku. Pictures of many others she didn’t recognize, or couldn’t name. There was a small framed painting near the kitchen of Kakashi Hatake, one eye glowing red and his body wreathed by lightning. The mask over the bottom half of his face made him more intimidating than if she’d  been able to see a scowl or a bloodthirsty smile. She’d heard a lot of rumors about him, but not enough to figure out which were true and which were fantasy or defamation. 

Many of the seals scattered everywhere were used as a focal point to abstract geometric charcoal drawings and splatters of subdued colors. A dolphin curled around the frame of the side door in the kitchen and ocean waves were carved into the cabinet doors and filled with what looked like blue glass. Interspersed throughout were several stark red spirals to match the shinobi vest. 

It was overwhelming to try and take it all in. Each sweep of her eyes had her noticing different details. Like the outline of the village-scape delicately carved into the top of an end table next to the couch. She ran her fingers over the indents of the portrait and knew she could sit here for a month and never see it all. But it didn’t stop her from trying. 

She allowed Iruka and her father’s voices to lull her into a state of calm, or at least closer to it. She looked her fill. The art style was grittier than she expected of Iruka-sensei. She pegged him as more of a clean lines kind of guy. Like his perfectly crafted seals. 

Her body was starting to lose its tension as she sunk into the couch. There was a seashell on one of the window sills, and it looked like the inside had been filled with something, though it was too far to see what. 

Her fingers twitched for a kunai. 

Something was different. Something was off. 

Iruka and her father’s conversation hadn’t paused but something had definitely changed. 

She felt a little ridiculous to be so uneasy in such a comforting position and location. She was safe here, even the invisible threat couldn’t convince her otherwise. Yet…

One of the papers at the kotatsu fluttered against Iruka’s mug. One corner turning up in a slight breeze. She tilted her head back toward the window behind her near the hallway. She flinched as a lithe stranger slipped through the frame. She had only turned in time to see him drop silently to the ground. 

Still, Iruka and her father didn’t react to the man’s presence. 

But how could Iruka not know he was there? He was a sensor, right? Then again, she hadn’t picked up any chakra at all. In fact, she reached out to try and feel this man, but only got wisps of power from him. Like steam off a bath. Nothing concrete or usable, just a small outlet. Where was this man’s chakra? 

Iruka turned to her and reached out to touch her shoulder, “Are you okay?” he asked. Absently Iruka reached out for the stranger as well, who responded in kind. They brushed fingertips to the inside of the other’s wrists and then pulled away. 

“Who are you?” Ino asked. 

Iruka looked surprised, like it hadn’t occurred to him that Genma wouldn’t be a known factor. 

Father cleared his throat. “That’s Genma Shiranui.” He had remained sitting after Iruka greeted Genma, but his feet were planted on the ground in the perfect position if he needed to surge up. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction to her. 

“Pleasure,” Genma said with a mock salute. He had a senbon in his mouth and his words were unaffected by the object. His hitai-ate was tied around his head like a bandana. In every other regard he was rather average. Not that she believed that was anything but purposeful on his part. 

“I won’t interrupt,” he continued, holding up his hands in surrender. She frowned and wondered why he looked so submissive. Genma was acting like he was a dog that had accidentally intruded on another's territory. But Iruka clearly welcomed him here. It was Ino and her dad who were the trespassers. 

“Yes, let’s get back on topic,” Inoichi said, dismissing Genma like he would one of the individuals who worked for him at T&I. Genma disappeared down the hallway without another word. She barely saw the back of his vest before he was gone.  

“Does he live here?” Ino asked. 

Iruka paused but nodded. “Yeah, all these paintings are his, actually. I don’t think we could move if we tried at this point. Not like we could sell the place now.” He didn’t sound put out by that fact and he was smiling fondly at the room at large. She could see why. 

“You were talking about the last person you’d seen with a condition similar to Ino’s,” Inoichi prompted. Ino’s lungs seized and she swallowed down the panic. She focused on Iruka’s chakra. Without Naruto around to anchor her, this would have to work. 

Iruka gave her a kind smile and said, “Why don’t you go clear your head, Ino? It’s a lot to take in.” 

Her eyes watered and she gave a small nod. As a child he would send her out to the meadow behind the school to pick flowers when she got overwhelmed. Would make a project out of it just for her. 

She stood up and approached the wall with the painting of the white city. Closer, it looked more worn down than she’d realized. And the sea itself was choppy in a storm. She took a few steps further right and brushed her knuckles over a carving of a tiger’s face with six eyes. It felt more whimsical than most of the rest of it. It also looked relatively new. No dust or chips in the lines. She leaned closer and inhaled the earthy scent of newly scored wood. This house was a work in progress still, despite how complete it felt. And Genma was the hand behind half of that. She’d never heard his name before.

 She hummed under her breath as she continued to roam, trying to fit what she was seeing with what she thought she knew of her old sensei. The house felt undoubtedly strong, and she’d admit she didn’t think Iruka could create something this concrete. She’d underestimated him, despite his many lessons on how that could get them hurt. It was easy to forget that Iruka was a shinobi too, not just their sensei.

Strolling down the hallway showed lots of framed portraits of what she assumed were friends. She recognized a couple, but not many. The first door she came to was ajar and she stepped through it into a side room. A look around at the minimal furniture and many bookshelves implied it was meant as a reading nook. The walls in here weren’t as laden down with pictures, though it boasted the same amount of seals. There was a strange scent in the room. Cloying and sickly sweet. It took her only a moment to find the source sitting on the window frame. Two large jars filled with unknown poisons and bursting with senbon. Must be Genma's. Any other day she would have investigated further. 

She thought about curling up in the big chair in the corner. She could hear Iruka and her father talking in low tones back in the living room, as if they could hide the fact that they were talking about her. Curling up sounded so nice.

She froze a few steps into the room. Next to the chair was a low cabinet, part bookshelf, part end table. Everything else faded away from her awareness as she stared. 

Sitting proudly on top of the cabinet was a wooden triptych. Each of the three panels was about the size of a book, the one in the middle standing a little taller than the hinged pieces on either side. All three looked like they’d been painted earlier that day but it was clearly a long-time tenant of that spot. The whole room, now that she looked, was centered around the piece. So the works must be lovingly and painstakingly maintained. 

Her head felt too full as she looked at each segment of the triptych with care. 

The panel on the left showed a young woman with bright red hair holding a paintbrush between her fingers like Asuma liked to hold his cigarettes. She was smiling so hard her eyes were squinted shut and golden paint was dripping from her brush without a care. The gold shone in the light of the room making it look still wet. As if she could reach forward and catch warm metal on her fingers if she just tried. 

The panel on the right showed the same woman mid-combat, her face scrunched up in both concentration and rage. Her face and clothes were liberally splattered with blood just a few shades darker than her hair, and her lips were pulled up to show her teeth. Out of her body exploded chains, golden and thick linked, looking like they could hold a world down, nonetheless an army. 

The middle and largest panel was easily the most captivating. It showed her from the waist up. Her hair a mess, the collar of her combat vest torn, and bruises forming around her right eye. The background was a mess of violently harsh lines of grays, blacks, and vague oranges and reds. She had her arms wrapped around a baby bundled up in rags who had one tiny fist upheld and curled around a knotted lock of red hair. She looked down at him with a small loving smile. 

The mother wasn’t happy though. Nor was she scared or proud. Her face was slack with a newly realized regret, something unexpected and as strong as the chains she must have fought with. There were thick tears welling up in her eyes and running down her cheeks, leaving shining gold tracks that were as vibrant as blood on sand. And even more than the ink from the paintbrush, the tears looked fresh and wet. And painful. It made Ino’s eyes burn with held back frustration and sorrow, just as they had several times for that same boy. 

Because the baby could be no one other than Naruto. With barely there scars on his cheeks and ink on his belly.

Which meant the woman was Kushina. 

Ino had seen a few photos in the documents she and Shikamaru had managed to dig up, but they were nothing like these. She’d never seen a photo hold as much life and movement as these paintings. 

Kushina’s smile was just like her son’s. Ino stared at the picture and could see it forming the same way his did. From left to right, a little slow at first and then all at once. The entire act dripping with sincerity. 

The chains she was fighting with were unfamiliar, but the way she bared her teeth was a mirror image of what Ino had seen happen time and time again when Naruto and their team were faced with a threat. 

Again, helpless to fight the pull, Ino’s eyes returned to the center. The sunlight from the window reflected off the tears, and she could only hope that she never saw that expression on Naruto. 

The fingers she had propped on her hip tightened and she scowled. She could do a lot more than just hope . It was a mindset like that which allowed terrible things to happen, wasn’t it?

Lukewarm chakra brushed over her senses. It made her think of a small swamp in the spring, teeming with life and barely warmed by a rising sun. Though this chakra also had a stringent feeling to it. Like a subtle poison. 

She didn’t know if her focus, that had been arrested by Kushina, had suddenly returned or if Genma was giving her a wordless signal. Most likely, it was a test. At least she had a chakra signature for him now, though it was unsettling that he could hide it so well.

“Are you sure this is something you should just have out?” she asked, turning toward him. 

Genma was leaned against the wall a few paces away with a senbon spinning between his fingers. It was moving so fast she couldn’t track its movement. A long-held habit, no doubt. 

He gave a lazy shrug and she ground her teeth. She had to fight the urge to look back at the pictures and keep her eyes on him instead. “You must have known her well.” Someone didn’t paint like that without serious affection. 

He gentled at the words, eyes straying behind her to the triptych. “Yeah,” he said, voice just as soft as his face had turned. “I did.” She didn’t see his eyes switch back to hers, but she was suddenly staring straight into his gaze. He reminded her of a sinkhole. Like the floor could open up underneath without warning, and she wouldn’t even have the time to be surprised before she sucked down into oblivion. Similar to Jiraiya, however, she couldn’t pinpoint the reason why . 

“I could tell you all about her,” he said with a tilt of his head. “And not the sort of things everyone else would say.” 

Ino scoffed and pointed out that, “They wouldn’t tell me anything, so whatever you say would be new.” 

He gave her a grin, conciliatory in the way he angled his head to hide it if anyone walked down the hall at that moment. “True, true.” 

“What did you mean by it?” she asked. 

His grin got meaner. “Oh, just that everyone said the same thing at her funeral, sorry their funeral. Didn’t even get separate services.” 

“Which was?” 

“She was a good wife.” He scoffed and the senbon in his hand disappeared. “Every single one of the bastards who deigned to speak, said that.”
“Was she not?” Ino asked, not sure if she wanted the answer to be yes or no. 

“She was, I just don’t think it was ever her priority, so I don’t see why we insist on remembering her only for that.”

Ino shifted her feet so she could see both down the hallway and Genma. She didn’t want to be interrupted right now, but even more so she didn’t want to be interrupted without realizing it. “Was she a good kunoichi then?” 

He hummed and the senbon appeared in his other hand. Where had it gone before? Was that even the same senbon? “Kunoichi implies subtlety. Of which she was not.” He paused and stared at her as if he could drag out answers to questions he hadn’t yet asked. “I imagine,” he said, the words rolling over his tongue as if tasting each syllable, “that she was the same sort of ninja as Naruto.” Ino’s breath shortened, her chest grew hot. “Like mother, like son.” 

The warmth in her chest exploded, scalding her ribs and making her next breath burn. How dare he? She glanced at the triptych and considered grabbing it and dashing it against the wall. To splinter the gold and regret and strength that Genma had immortalized.

Genma twitched, grin falling a fraction, and Ino smiled. She took a threatening step closer to his masterpiece and cocked her hip, hand resting on her waist. “If Kushina was anything like her son, you wouldn’t have painted her like that,” she pointed viciously at the center panel. Her nail stopped an inch shy of jabbing into the paint and Genma stutter stepped closer to it and her. “And I find it funny that you think I’d care about her at all. My loyalty is with the living, not a ghost.” 

Genma forced himself to a stop and placed his senbon between his lips. He shoved his hands in his pocket once again, a silent confident threat. “You know, the village didn’t treat her all too good. Not until her shiny husband came along and suddenly she was a saint.” 

“And? Are you implying the same thing will happen to Naruto? That it’s okay because of that?” 

His eyes narrowed and Ino shivered. “I’m a lot of things. Most of them are questionable or straight up bad, but I’m not a coward. I never have been.” 

She had to admit that someone who wouldn’t hide a painting like that and instead showed it off proudly… she couldn’t claim he was anything but ballsy. 

“The only reason that I’ve kept my mouth shut all these years,” he said, voice intense and sticking in her like fishing hooks holding her captive, “was because I wouldn’t be the one punished for it.” His hair caught the sunlight as he leaned closer to her and caught on a few strands of auburn. “Your boy may have been isolated, but there’s no way in hell he was fully abandoned.” 

She sneered, not sure where her next metaphorical step should be. She hadn’t been ready for this, no idea what the ground under her feet at the moment was made of. “And you think that makes it okay?” 

Genma sighed and stepped back to lean against the wall again, though this time he seemed more resigned than confident. “None of it’s okay, Ino,” he said. “I never said that it was. I never will.” He nodded toward the triptych and she glanced back at it, the gold catching her eyes just as forcibly as the first time. “Just keep in mind that Kushina wasn’t all that old when she died.” Nineteen, Ino’s mind supplied. Kushina and Minato had only been a little older than her father. And even waiting that long was surprising, considering how much demand there would have been for the hokage and his powerful wife to create an heir. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” she demanded. 

“Kushina was powerful, in more than just a chakric way. She demanded attention from even those who tried their best to ignore her. She never bothered to reign in her temper, she saw it as everyone else’s problem, not her own. She knew seals like the back of her hand, yet used that expertise to teach Minato rather than expand on it herself. She loved ramen, children, and setting things on fire. She was a fully realized person.” Genma looked proud of this dead woman Ino wanted to hate.

She looked away and glared out the window. She didn’t want to know this. She didn’t want to think about this. It was unfair. 

“She was also reckless and an idiot. She thought she could win any fight, if she just tried hard enough. Thought she could save anyone, as long as she cared more than everyone else.” 

Ino looked over at Genma with wide eyes. 

“She was a brashful fool,” he said.  

“Why are you saying these things?” she asked, genuinely puzzled. Genma clearly loved this woman, he must mourn her every day. 

“I did tell you I wouldn’t say what everyone else would.” 

“But I hadn’t expected you to spit on her grave.” 

“Shinobi don’t get graves,” Genma rebutted. “Kushina didn’t.”

“But still, it--” 

“Do you really think the only reason the hokage put out that gag order about Naruto was because of tactics?” Genma asked, and her words died in her throat. His eyes were alight with a fury she felt deep in her own bones. It was also the softest he’d spoken all afternoon and the least care he’d put into each word. “Isolation creates a dependence, yes. Makes him crave acceptance. Can even create a blindness to abuse that’s easy to take advantage of. But they did it, deep down, purely because they feared him.” 

“It’s not him, it’s the Kyuubi,” Ino said. 

“The Kyuubi was a different matter,” Genma waved it away. “If anything, the Kyuubi being beaten by Minato's seals made it less sinister. Hated, of course, but not feared the same way. Otherwise no one would have dared lash out at the boy.” Genma looked at the paintings over her shoulder, before once again staring her down. “No, they blame the fox, but it’s the child that terrifies them. Because Naruto would be just the same as Kushina.” 

Ino didn’t know what Genma was telling her here. Didn’t like the way he was looking at her, waiting for her to catch up. Shikamaru would do it sometimes too, and it made her skin feel dry and raw. Too open and slow, like a wounded animal. She pressed her lips together to make sure she didn’t bare her teeth like Naruto would. 

A senbon appeared between Genma’s teeth and he clicked it loudly on a molar as he turned and walked over to one of the shelves. He pulled out a small box from behind some books and dug through a few pages inside. Ino couldn’t see it well, but they looked like more drawings. Genma finally drew out one piece and returned the box to its place. When he crossed back over to her, she was already holding out her hand without realizing it. Genma placed the sketch there carefully. 

Unlike the triptych this one had no color. It was hard to imagine Kushina without color though. But this man, Minato, looked stately. Adding color to this picture would have been garish. 

She squinted at the picture and tried to pick apart as much of it as she could. He wasn’t doing anything really, he just stood with his arms crossed over his chest and looking off the page. His body was relaxed but aware, just like a shinobi should be. His face was drawn out in painstaking detail. Sharp cheeks and a handsome nose. Light eyes and unruly hair that framed them on each side. There was the slightest pull at the space between his eyebrows, his eyes squinted ever so slightly as they stared intently. 

The things she’d dug up about Minato were unclear. He was a genius, the notes always said. Reports extolled his strategies and seal manipulation. Seals were a smart man’s weapon, and a wise man’s battering ram, as it was said. So she knew Minato was smart, but this looked different. The recognition hit her and she felt a little faint. He looked like Shikamaru.

Shikamaru wasn’t just smart though, he was analytical. Was Minato the same way? 

But no, she brought the sheet closer to her, though it didn’t actually help her see anything better. Shikamaru’s eyes were darker and less focused when he was stuck in his head. Shikamaru didn’t see the minute the same way she did. Minato’s eyes looked like…hers. 

She forced that thought away and instead tried to figure out how Genma could draw a man so well that she could even feel that connection. 

“Minato was an ignorant prodigy,” Genma said. “I trailed behind him, you know. I was training to be part of his protection detail. It was an uncharacteristic decision to make someone so young an integral part of the future of the most powerful shinobi in Leaf. But protecting Minato was difficult, since he didn’t know how to wait. He was fast, faster than anyone. To keep up took everything we had, which is exactly why I was chosen. There’s only one man faster than me still alive,” Genma said without a boast. “And he fell behind a few years ago.” 

“So he was fast and smart, why do I care?” Ino asked, her temper was cooled, too confused and off balance to maintain it. 

“He was fast and smart and blind ,” Genma corrected. “He could read people well, could read battles even better. But when he wanted something badly enough, he just forced it to be true. That’s how a no-name like him became hokage.” 

“Yet you followed him,” she pointed out. 

“We all did. I’ll admit, at the time, I didn’t know this about him or her. I realized a lot of things after they were gone and I was painting from memory and stolen photographs. But that’s the thing about looking back too hard. You start to see where it could all have gone differently.” 

“And what would you have changed?” Ino asked, genuinely curious. Genma was a thoughtful guy, rational and no-nonsense, as far as she could tell. 

“I would have fucking leashed them.” 

She blinked and her mind went eerily and almost pleasantly blank. Genma grinned and she wondered what kind of stupid face she was making. 

“You heard me,” he said. “Minato saw too little and Kushina felt too much. The Kyuubi isn’t what killed them, they burned out well before it escaped.” 

She took a deep breath, not knowing when she’d started pulling in breaths so quickly again. “Why?” she asked, sounding as young as she was and hating it. 

Genma stepped to her and lifted her chin up so that she couldn’t look away from him. It should feel violating but she found comfort in it. Genma didn’t feel like Jiraiya, despite them having the same unnerving intensity. Genma felt safe. Even when he was dissecting her with words she didn’t understand. Maybe it was because she knew he was so connected to Iruka. Maybe his chakra was speaking for him. It didn’t matter. She could feel it. 

He refused to let her shy away from him, and as stubborn as she was she wouldn’t allow it either. “Why?” she insisted. 

“Because people like them ,” Genma said, grave as the hokage speaking about responsibility but with none of the hypocritical weight, “don’t know how to function in a world that isn’t as good as they are. Minato lost sight of what he wanted versus what was real. And Kushina fell victim to the hurricane inside of her. Some things can’t be maintained. Some things fail, not because they should, but because they must . And some people are willing to go too far for something that can’t be fixed.” He let go of her chin. 

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked. She was so damn tired. Her chest hurt from the abuse her lungs had taken in the last couple of hours. Like a heartburn that went deeper than should be possible. 

“It’s a warning.” He gestured to the triptych and she gazed at Kushina’s tears. “Like mother, like son.” 

The words didn’t bring that same heat from before. Instead she felt cold. The heartburn remained, but felt disconnected from the rest of her frozen body. Some people are willing to go too far for something that can’t be fixed . There were so many things she couldn’t fix. 

“And Ino,” she snapped her attention back to him. “Sometimes leashing your power is more important than the alternative.” 

She averted her eyes and suddenly it all felt like too much. She was too small for this. She still had the picture of Minato in her hand, and he didn’t look any older than maybe eighteen. He was too young and too powerful. She could see it now. His posture wasn’t just confident it was daring. But his face held stubborn refusal. It was an oxymoron. 

She shoved the paper back into Genma’s hands and turned away from him. She looked down the hall, where a shadow was approaching. Her father maybe? 

“Shouldn’t you be more careful?” she asked once again. “Cowardice can keep you alive, and the hokage won’t be happy with you about this.” 

Genma laughed and the sound grated on her ears. “The hokage doesn’t come around here, anymore.” He was closer behind her than she’d realized. “Not since our sweet Iruka scared him off.” 

The shadow at the end of the hall lurched around the corner and Iruka pointed accusingly at Genma and shouted, “It wasn’t me, it was you!” 

Genma slunk around Ino towards Iruka and shook his head, “Sweet, sweet Iruka, you hide that oni inside you so well. But we both know it was your words that made the old man tuck tail and run.” 

Ino watched closely, unable to fully pindown their relationship dynamic. Loving and deep, but didn’t seem carnal. Their chakras melded together in a beautiful vigor though. It was distracting. 

“And to answer your question,” Genma said turning to smile at her, “I don’t have to. The seals on this house keep even ANBU from overhearing. In fact,” his grin grew larger, “this might just be the safest and most secure building in the nation.” 

Her father joined their strange group in the hallway and he gave Genma an uneasy side glance. Ino flicked her eyes between them as Genma shifted to keep Iruka between him and her father. 

“Ino, time to go,” Inoichi said, holding out a hand for her as if she was still a toddler. She bristled at the disrespect, but it faded as fast as it came. He’d been a good dad today. He was only concerned and she knew that. 

She took his hand and allowed him to pull her towards the front door. Iruka tagged along and she clung to his chakra while she still could. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help, Ino,” Iruka chastised gently, just like he told her back during the lessons she got stuck in at school. Mainly the more calculative studies, the kind that Sakura excelled at. She hadn’t asked for help back then, not even once. She looked back at him and smiled. 

She was grateful for him. She didn’t understand him. 

Iruka leaned into Genma’s side as the other man threw an arm over his shoulder and waved goodbye to Ino, who waved back. Her father stepped to block her vision of them both and she almost shoved him out of the way. “Come on, Ino,” Inoichi said, glancing around a little nervously. As if ANBU were about to drop down on them. “Let’s go home, you can rest.” 

She didn’t want to rest, she felt like a live wire. But she couldn’t deny she was exhausted. If she was a wire, it was a frayed and failing one. Wasting most of the energy that passed through her so it never reached its intended target. 

The mature thing was to agree. To take a step back and recalculate. 

She sighed, and followed her father. 

One of Asuma’s summons was waiting for her in her room when she got back. She tiredly filled the small monkey in, who gravely listened. She knew Asuma would be reported to as soon as the summons returned. Her eyes were slipping shut near the end of her story and the monkey was picking at her hair with slow comforting movements. She was asleep before she knew it. 

Early the next morning, when Iruka opened the door she’d just knocked on, he looked down at her in sleepy surprise. Genma, however, laughed and waved her in. He handed Iruka a large cup of coffee in Naruto’s painted mug, and told Ino to sit down. 

“We’re making breakfast,” Iruka said with a gesture at Genma who was making breakfast. She didn’t really see how Iruka was involved, other than being in the general area. 

“I can see that,” she said with a grin. Iruka looked soft and she was privileged to be allowed the sight. He rubbed at his left eye with a long sleeve that had fallen over his knuckles. 

“Did you come for breakfast?” Iruka asked. Genma chuckled and winked at Ino, who just rolled her eyes. 

“No, sensei, I didn’t come for breakfast.” She made sure he was meeting her eyes before she said, “I need you to teach me to be a sensor, Iruka-sensei.” 

“I’m not your sensei anymore,” Iruka protested weakly. His eyes were flicking around the room and she had no doubt he was already putting lesson plans together. The man truly enjoyed teaching. 

“Well, do you still have things to teach me?” she asked. 

“There’s always more to teach. In fact--” 

“Then you’re still a sensei. My sensei.” 

She grabbed the plate Genma handed her and set it in front of Iruka. She happily accepted a second one for herself. As Genma sat down with his food he gave her an expectant look. She took a bite and asked, “So where do we start?” 

Chapter Text

“Remember to breathe through it, and--” 

“If you tell me to breathe one more time,” Ino bit out as she tried to keep her breathing even. The only thing stopping her temper from fully boiling over was the calm of Iruka’s chakra surrounding her. Without that she would have stormed off at least an hour ago. 

“The breath connects your senses together, which allows you to focus only on your chakra sensing,” Iruka explained for the hundredth time that afternoon. 

“It’s like blocking out the sun so you can see what’s in front of you, yeah, I get it,” she said, slumping further into her pathetic slouch. 

“That’s a very good analogy,” Iruka replied. 

Ino kind of wanted to smack him, but also who would ever do that to Iruka, of all people? “Thanks, sensei, that’s not really the point of this exercise though, is it?” 

“Understanding something is the best way to master it.” 

“How trite,” she said, her elbow resting on her knee and her cheek pressed into her hand. She was tired, and she hadn’t even done anything for the past three hours. Besides listening to Iruka talk about breathing and trying to follow his instructions even though the more she tried to breathe the more her chest felt like lead. 

The back of her neck prickled, but before she could tense up Genma was already walking past them to sit down next to Iruka. They were outside in their backyard next to a surprisingly deep pond full of lovely silver koi. The sun was bright and the air a little too musty for her tastes, but these were Naruto’s favorite kind of days, so she tried to appreciate it in his stead. 

She lost the cadence of her breathing again at the flash of Naruto through her thoughts. It’d only been one night, and she couldn’t stop worrying. Though she had every right, really. Didn’t she? Asuma was with him though, he’d be fine. Right? 

Genma bumped his shoulder to Iruka’s and whispered something in his ear that she didn’t bother trying to listen to. She glanced at Genma’s left hand that was swirling through the grass in lieu of his usual senbon fidgeting. He had true artists' hands and long fingers. The fact that he could capture those snapshots of character that he’d shown her wasn’t surprising. Minato’s picture was still heavy in her mind. That arrogance imbued in each line of the drawing was… hauntingly familiar. 

Where had Minato learned something like that? From what little information she had on him, he was an orphan. Or at the very least his family was no one of importance. Perhaps he learned it from Jiraiya? She doubted it though, Jiraiya carried himself differently. More conniving than anything else. 

Genma laughed at something Iruka said and she squinted at him in the sun. Genma must know Jiraiya. What could he tell her about him? And would he say anything in front of Iruka? Best not to bring it up now, she could catch him later. 

He spoke so harshly of people whom he wholeheartedly loved, so what would he say about those he hated? She couldn’t imagine him being on Jiraiya’s side for any of this. A cold wave of disgust washed through her at just the thought of the legendary sannin. 

Iruka looked to her with a concerned frown which made Genma raise his eyebrow at her. He said, “I think it’s time you two took a break. I don’t need to be Iruka to feel your frustration right now.” 

She frowned. “What do you mean, feel my frustration?” 

Iruka and Genma both blinked a bit blankly at her. Her shoulders tightened and she raised herself from her slouch. “What?” 

Genma laughed and smacked Iruka on the shoulder, “How many times have I told you that you need to focus less on your breathing and more on the problem at hand?” 

Iruka’s scar flushed a little darker and his eyes scittered away from either her or Genma. Embarrassment looked good on him, made his big eyes even wider and earnest. She couldn’t appreciate it though as she was rapidly spinning back out into frustration. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

Iruka cleared his throat. His chakra washed over her again and she instantly calmed against her will. “Just that I may have jumped into things without a proper check in,” he answered as he rubbed at the back of his neck. 

Genma tilted his head and there was inexplicably another senbon between his teeth. “Umino here forgets sometimes that not everyone thinks like him.” 

Iruka shoved Genma again and Ino smirked a little at it. Genma just rolled his eyes and settled back into his spot with ease. 

Iruka said, “Sensors are rare. Well, that’s not true. Everyone can sense to some degree. Some people can even sense a lot, but they’re not aware of it. To be a true sensor is to be able to sense chakra at will. It’s an ability that we can tap into when we need it, but every sensor feels differently. The most common type of sensing to manifest is a sort of empathic ability.” 

Genma added, “Chakra is directly related to emotion, I’m sure you know. When we’re angry or threatened we create killing intent through our chakra, right? We do the same basic thing for every emotion. Our chakra is reactive to our mental and emotional state.” 

Ino squinted and said to Iruka, “So, you’re saying that you can sense my emotions?” 

He nodded and after a moment she shrugged. It made sense. She should have figured that out from the start, but she hadn’t thought too hard about it. She blamed Genma for filling her head full of thoughts she didn’t like. The bastard laughed as if he knew what she was thinking, so she returned to glaring at him. 

Iruka asked Ino, “What about you, Ino? If you had to explain your sensing, what would you say you’re feeling?” 

Ino pulled at the end of her ponytail and studied her fingernails. They were pretty ragged, she’d need to sit down and fix them soon. And deep condition her hair. Sharpen her kunai. She groaned quietly as she moved from her cross legged seated position. She stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her hands.

The sun felt good on her skin. Warm but not too warm. Sort of like Naruto’s chakra when it wasn’t being affected by the kyuubi. Which led back to the question, didn’t it? What was it she was sensing, exactly? She’d just thought of it as a chakra signature before, but was it more than that? She didn’t feel emotions, she knew that. At least, not directly. Not the way Iruka was talking about. 

Honestly, she was glad she didn’t. It wouldn’t be overly helpful for her, considering she almost always knew what everyone was feeling and thinking at all times, just from watching them. 

Emotion was transient for all intents and purposes. What she felt was far steadier. When she reached out with her chakra she got sucked into others’ energy. Into their chakra, their body, their character. How do you describe that? What was she feeling? A feeling intrinsic to who they were…

“You’re thinking too hard about this,” Genma said. 

Iruka shook his head, “No, she’s just thinking too quietly. Talk us through it, Ino.” 

“I feel people at their…basest,” she said, stuttering through the sentence like a child. She bit her lip and pulled at her ponytail. “Like I’m touching raw…” she didn’t know how to finish. 

Iruka tilted his head like a bird. “Like their tenketsu points?” 

She shook her head. “Nothing that precise.” 

Genma was no longer smiling and she met his gaze evenly. His eyes squinted ever so slightly as he pursed his lips in thought. Eventually he looked over to Iruka, “She is a Yamanaka.” 

Iruka startled and whipped around to look at Genma and then Ino, before he asked quietly, “Soul?” 

She leaned back on her hands and tilted her face up into the sun. It wasn’t an inaccurate description, she supposed. But also not quite right. Souls thrummed with life and they weren’t so refined as what she was feeling. She’d described it more akin to steam coming off of their life energy. But, for all intents and purposes… “Yes.” She smiled and added, “I suppose so. Is that uncommon?” 

Iruka looked a bit stunned but quickly shook it off. “Yes, it is. Though, I’m not sure why I’m so surprised by it.” He smiled at her hard enough to scrunch the corners of his eyes up and she felt a sudden pang of loss from Naruto’s absence. “There’s not a lot of documentation about sensors in the archives of our village. Most sensors don’t realize they have skills beyond the normal, so they don’t record it. But there is one who, I believe, could feel something similar to you.” 

“Who?” Likely another Yamanaka. Like the book her dad showed her. 

“Well,” Iruka faltered and her eyes narrowed as he avoided her gaze. “I don’t want to pressure you, see…” 

Genma rolled his eyes and sent a long-suffering look toward Ino which she returned with a frosty stare. “Umino is talking about the sensor above all sensors. But if anyone were to live up to a name like that, it’d be you, right?” A challenge and encouragement in one. Ino could work with that, but who were they talking about? Who was the sensor above--

Her eyes widened. “You don’t mean…” 

“Tobirama Senju,” Iruka said gravely. 

Genma abruptly stood and Ino suppressed a flinch with admirable grit. “Where are you going?” she asked. 

He gave her a grin that sent chills down her back. “I’m just gonna borrow some things real quick. I think you’ll find it very helpful.” He disappeared in a swirl of leaves and wind almost before he finished his last word. 

Iruka sighed and she looked over to him in confusion. He gave her a little shrug, too fond to be truly disapproving of his friend’s actions. “He’ll be back. He tends to get overly involved when it comes to people he wants to protect.” 

“Why would he want to protect me?” she asked. 

Iruka sobered and visibly debated saying anything. If it was Genma or Shikamaru she would have pressed him, but this was Iruka. Insisting would only get his disapproval and he’d clam up. So, instead, she loosened her joints up and tilted her head back toward the sun, careful to make everything about herself soft and trusting. It wasn’t that hard, she did trust him. One of the only people she didn’t remember ever not trusting. 

“He feels he owes you something,” he said finally. 

“Why?” She knew why. She’d seen it yesterday, but what would Iruka say? That intrigued her more than the truth. 

“Well, to be honest, it has very little to do with you at all.” Iruka’s scar darkened once again and it still looked very pretty. “He was very close to Naruto’s parents, and you’re the one who’s stood by Naruto for the past couple of years.” 

Iruka had never spoken of Naruto’s parents or past before. What else could he tell her? She hesitated though. She wasn’t sure how much more truth she could take in such a short span of time after Genma’s nightmarish discussion. She huffed and crossed her arms, she refused to accept such weakness in herself. Shikamaru would be furious if he heard her thinking like that. 

All that aside, knowing Genma was interested in her for reasons that had nothing to do with her was nice. 

“You’re relieved,” Iruka said in surprise. “Why is that?” 

“Selfish motives are preferred,” she said without thought. “They’re easier to trust.” 

Iruka frowned and shook his head. She wasn’t sure if he was shaking it at himself or her, maybe Genma even. He asked, “Does it bother you?” 

“Which part?” 

“That he’s getting so involved.” Iruka looked at the koi in the pond instead of her but she could feel his chakra wrapped tighter around her. Iruka was a lot of things, but nonchalant was not one of them. What answer was he looking for? “You’re a clan head’s child, Ino.” There was a strain in his voice that she didn’t like. Iruka was trusted with every important clan child at the academy, he knew the politics of it inside and out. “If he inserts himself too forwardly,” Iruka finally looked at her, “he could get in a lot of trouble.” 

It was a surprising thing for Iruka to say for a lot of reasons, the biggest and most disappointing one being that it sounded mistrustful of her. Though his chakra felt the same as before, so maybe he was just overly cautious? Genma was clearly an important person to her sensei, so it made sense. 

“And Ino,” Iruka said, pulling her from her muddled anxieties. “You should be careful too.” 

“In what way?” 

“My sensing is different which means I won’t be able to help you as much as I’d like. And I don’t know much about Tobirama beyond the basics, so just make sure you take your time. There have been instances of strong sensors losing too much awareness due to their abilities. Of getting lost, you could say.” Iruka paused. “Like the way you were when you came to me with your father.” 

“That wasn’t my sensing, that was--” 

“I know, and you don’t have to tell me anything more. That’s clan business, I understand. But sensing is also a dangerous ability. I trust you understand that better than I could ever teach you, I just wanted to remind you.” 

For some reason, it made her think of a different conversation. The one during the preliminary exams between her, Asuma, and Hayate. What had he said, again? Powerful techniques have powerful consequences. 

Hayate was about the same age as Genma, wasn’t he? Iruka a little younger than both. Would Iruka have any information for her about him and his apparent connection to the Nara clan? “Are you familiar with Hayate, sensei?” 

Iruka’s chakra flared, colder than she’d ever felt it. She felt a little dazed by the sudden shift, and when she swallowed her shock she found a taste of brine on the back of her tongue. 

“Hayate Gekko,” Iruka said, eyes flat and hard. “You should stay away from him, Ino.” Iruka chakra unfurled from around her and retreated back toward her sensei. She missed it instantly, even cold and salty it was comforting. 

To know that his chakra was capable of doing that was eye opening. She’d once again underestimated her sensei, shame on her. That really would get her in trouble one day. Then again, that’s why she had Shikamaru. 

Hayate had seemed fixated on Shikamaru and Ino hadn’t really bought his claims of wanting to repay the clan. He hadn’t come across as dishonest during that conversation, but he’d definitely been withholding information. She’d thought at the time it was because it was his own personal background and history. He was in no way obligated to share that with her.

Iruka cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic smile. Why would he be sorry? She could think of three reasons. One, he was sorry for dragging her into ‘adult’ matters, which sounded like him but if it had to do with her safety he wouldn’t hold back. Two, he felt embarrassed by his own brazen claim, but his scar hadn’t flushed and his eyes hadn’t moved from hers. Or three, he was about to tell her something she didn’t want to hear, though she had troubles thinking of what that could be. He cleared his throat once again and said, “Ino, I--” 

Her hair was blown into her face as the wind whirled around them. She pushed the long strands out of her eyes and found Genma sitting cross legged in the grass once again. He and Iruka had some sort of silent conversation, though she could feel part of it as Genma’s chakra blipped in and out of her senses while Iruka’s twisted around both himself and Genma. Stagnant pond and ocean breeze mixing together incomprehensibly to her. Was Genma also a sensor? Wouldn’t they have told her if he was?

Genma turned to her and held out several books and scrolls, all of which held the stamp of the restricted village archives. Not to be taken out of the tower by any means. He handled them carelessly, dumping them in the grass when she didn’t immediately take them. “You should read some of these, they may help.” 

She glanced at Iruka as she reached for the first book. His eyes were trained on her, not giving the stolen literature an iota of his attention. She had no idea what he was thinking. Was he focused on her, her sensing, or Hayate? Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked the closest book up clumsily. A name was scratched in the leather cover at the very bottom corner: Tobi Senju. 

Shikamaru Interlude - The Night Before

“What do you mean I can’t talk to her?” Shikamaru demanded, arms crossed over his chest as he looked up at Inoichi. “Where is she?” 

“Ino’s resting,” Inoichi said, face entirely blank and body loose. When it came to Yamanakas, it was their biggest tell. One of the only ones he could spot with any consistency. Even Ino did it. It was his cue to step forward and take attention away from her, because a Yamanaka that wasn’t carefully crafting everything about their appearance was someone too far into their own head. 

He bit his tongue to keep himself from throwing out a quip. “Let me check on her, I won’t wake her up.” 

Nothing in Inoichi shifted, his lips barely moving as he replied, “I appreciate your concern, Shikamaru, but now’s not a good time.” 

Which was exactly why Shikamaru needed to see her. What had happened to her? Was she injured? Nothing could keep Ino down for long, not even the sand monster inside Gaara. Ino was genuinely and sincerely the strongest person Shikamaru had ever met. Terrifyingly so at times. She was absolutely exhausting. 

His eyes drifted over to her window on the second floor. He could sneak in, the wards up around the house were relatively simple. Easy for his shadows to slip through. And if his shadows could get through, so could he. He sighed. As close as the Nara and the Yamanaka clans were, forcing himself into the clan head’s home would be an invasion of their territory. Even if Inoichi would look the other way, the clan elders would be furious. 

He looked down at the ground and slipped his fingers over the nape of his neck, pressing down hard to try and give himself something to focus on. Strands of darkness were pulling at the straps of his sandals and he looked away hurriedly, hoping Inoichi didn’t notice. Normally there’d be no question of him noticing, but when Shikamaru looked up Inoichi wasn’t even looking at him. He was staring hard at the space over Shikamaru’s shoulder. 

Alarm festered in his gut and he wanted to push past the man. Who was he to stand between him and Ino, anyways? 

“Shikamaru,” Inoichi said. “Go home. She’s fine, she just needs to rest.” 

But why? What was he not being told? Why couldn’t he know? Was it clan business? Ino’s clan was his own. No, they were their own clan. Ino, him, and Naturo, they were something beyond this. Beyond territory lines and politics. Untouched by the elders and expectations. Freer and far more complicated than their parents could understand. His nails dug into his palms as he turned away and trudged back toward his own clan territory lines. 

A few steps away he turned back to look at Inoichi but found the man already gone. The front door snipping shut and locking. His teeth ached from being grit together so hard. He looked at Ino’s window again and reached out toward the pool of shadows under the eave of the frame. The shadows at his feet twined harder around his ankles. 

The window opened ever so slightly and he froze. A small monkey slipped from the frame and jumped to a drain pipe, sliding down to the ground. Then it looked up at Shikamaru who was already holding up an arm for it. In moments it sat comfortably, like a hawk, upon his arm. It listened attentively as Shikamaru spoke. Rambling about his worries, quietly so those he passed on his way back home didn’t hear. 

He was losing steam by the time he got to his clan grounds and the monkey squeezed Shikamaru’s thumb before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He sighed and walked through his house up to his room. At least Asuma would know something was up too. If things got bad, Asuma would come. 

Still, he laid in bed and couldn’t fall asleep. He pondered going to the roof to watch the stars and the black spots of clouds in the night, but it was too much effort. Shikamaru covered his eyes and tried to stop thinking. 

A laughable idea. But exhaustion did take its toll and he passed into a restless slumber. 

He dreamt of a black that he couldn’t touch or manipulate. It wasn’t shadow or darkness, it was a lack of anything at all. A fathomless emptiness. It grasped at him and pressed at his skin like killing intent, but without an ounce of maliciousness to it. Rather, it was indifference and inevitability made physical. 

Shikamaru had never feared the dark. He felt more comfortable at night, actually. He was stronger since there was more for him to work with. But this… this made every muscle in his body tremble with exertion and terror. A coldness seeped through the empty, piercing through him and clinging to his ribcage like the soul genjutsu had. Sticky and expanding to fill his whole abdomen, moving up into his chest until breathing became harder, like static was stuck in his lungs. 

His body was too heavy to move. Was this what his own clan’s jutsu felt like? The inability to defend oneself or protect anyone. 

Shikamaru gasped and woke with a jolt. He was immediately greeted with the feeling of power from the surrounding darkness. Real darkness this time. It was pulsating around him, grasping at the air as he breathed heavily. It must have been a cloudy night since no star light was making it in through the open window. The curtain blew gently in the breeze. 

Shikamaru bolted upright. Why was his window open? 

“I told you we’d start at dawn, did I not?” a voice said from behind him. 

Instinctually shadows struck out toward the sound, but the man chuckled and his voice came from the other side of the room, “This is how you treat your new sensei?” Hayate appeared at the foot of Shikamaru’s bed and he coughed quietly into his elbow, eyes staring through Shikamaru. 

“You can’t be in here,” Shikamaru said. 

“It wasn’t hard.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” Shikamaru leapt from bed and directly into his sandals. He cocked his hip and tried to stretch the crick out of his neck. “You spoke so confidently of clan business yesterday, yet you’ve snuck into the clan grounds. Into the clan head’s house? Through the window?” 

“Well, it only matters if I get caught, right?” Hayate was gone. Shikamaru tried to feel his presence with waves of darkness but it was like he was alone in the room. “A good spy doesn’t get caught.” Shikamaru whirled around to find the man leaned up against his dresser holding Shikamaru’s kunai pack. Hayate threw it over to Shikamaru who caught it and fastened it around his leg. “And bad spies don’t live as long as I have.” 

“So that’s what you are.” 

“Are you surprised?” 

“It’s not dawn.”
Hayate paused. “What?” 

“You said dawn, it’s still dark out.” 

A shrug. “Dawn, give or take a couple of hours.” 

“Hours?!” Shikamaru demanded. “I should be asleep!” 

“Do you want to lay back down?” Shikamaru glanced at the bed. “I understand, as a Nara you need lots of sleep.” Shikamaru shivered. 

Hayate’s voice came from the window as he said, “But you weren’t sleeping when I got here.” 

Shikamaru turned to glare at the man. He couldn’t sense him moving, how was he so fast? Then his words caught up to him. “What do you mean?” 

Hayate was half way out the window. “Your eyes were open.” 

Shikamaru flinched. He distinctly remembered waking up. From that…place. That nightmarish space of… 

Shikamaru rubbed at his eyes and yawned. What had he been dreaming of? Foreboding pricked at his skin but the harder he tried to remember, the fainter the feeling got. He moved toward the window, he didn’t want to be in this room any longer. 

Slipping out the window and dropping to the ground felt good. Like shrugging off a weight, or stepping into the sun after being cold for too long. 

“Shall we get started?” Hayate gestured toward the front gates of the clan grounds. 

“How did you get in?” Shikamaru asked. 

“The same way I’ll get out. By walking through the front gate.” 

“But the sentries…” 

“Think of this as a demonstration. From a sensei to his pupil.” 

Shikamaru shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. If Hayate wanted to get caught and detained for trespassing that was his choice. 

The sentries on duty that night gave Shikamaru a confused but respectful nod as he passed through. Hayate had disappeared the moment the gates had come into view, but when Shikamaru looked to his side once outside, the man was there once again. Was he simply too fast to be seen passing through? Or did he lie about going past them? 

They walked in silence for a long time, Shikamaru allowing Hayate to lead the way. Until they finally stopped at a largely secluded training ground. It wasn’t one that Shikamaru had used before. It was largely flat and very few trees were around. Hayate coughed and then said, “Show me your basics.” 

“Basics of what?” Shikamaru leaned against one of the only trees and stared at his toes. He was tired and his limbs felt heavy, his eyelids scratchy with the desire to close. He could climb the tree and find a comfortable place to sleep rather than deal with this pain of a shinobi…

“If you disappear right now, then we’re done,” Hayate said, voice hard. 

Shikamaru blinked heavily and had to fight to get his eyes open again. He turned to look at Hayate who stood like a statue at the center of the training area. “I don’t even understand what you want to teach me here.” 

Hayate sighed, choking on a cough, and he sat down. “I thought you were smarter than this.” 

Shikamaru bristled and belatedly noticed the little smirk Hayate was throwing his way. “A smart man wouldn’t instigate a fight with me,” Shikamaru retorted. 

“I’m the strongest swordsman in the land of fire,” Hayate said. “I can teach you a lot, especially about those knives of yours.” 

“But?” 

“But that’s not why I wanted to mentor you. You’re too hotheaded for a Nara. It’ll get you in trouble soon. Very soon.” 

“Enough of your cryptic bullshit, what do you want?” 

“I want you to stop acting so childish!” 

Shikamaru sneered and took a step closer. 

“You have no idea what kind of mess you’re in right now, do you?” Hayate said. Shikamaru was towering over him since Hayate was sitting on the ground, yet, Shikamaru didn’t feel in control of the situation at all. “Your little Yamanaka friend, she’ll get you killed.” 

Shikamaru froze. His face fell slack and his trench knives were whirling around his knuckles without conscious awareness. “Careful what you say next, Hayate.” 

“I had a friend like her once too. Ready to burn the world around him for change. Passionate beyond what I could dream. He was like a light I was drawn to. But ideals like that are dangerous, and people like that bring trouble to those around them.” 

“You sound like a coward.” 

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone’s told me that.” 

“So you’re not denying it?” 

Hayate laid back in the grass with his hands behind his head. Shikamaru wanted to strangle him, and his shadows pulled at the grass near Hayate’s feet, who just gave them an unimpressed glance. 

“Did you know spies are far more likely to die in their own villages than on the job?” 

Shikamaru hesitated. This conversation was like trying to predict where one drop of a hurricane would fall. 

Hayate continued, “Not getting noticed isn’t the hard part of the jobs, though it does take tremendous skill. It’s to who and how you report information that makes the work dangerous.” 

Shikamaru could only assume this had to do with the earlier accusations. “Yamanakas are naturals with secrets and subterfuge.” 

“Sure, but they’ve also got this drive to push . They like to watch, you know. Want to see all the pieces to complete whatever puzzle they’ve created in their own heads. Ino has that desire too, more so than normal, even. Otherwise, she never would have stepped in for that green kid.” 

Shikamaru took a deep breath as he thought. His shadows calmed as he came to a rapid realization. Hayate was concerned about Ino’s brazen behavior, or perhaps more accurately worded: her Yamanaka tendencies. But the guy was drawing all the wrong conclusions from all the wrong hints. 

So he laughed. Knives spun around his fingers and back into his holsters, he looked up at the dark cloudy sky and laughed for a long time. Hysteria, he could call it. But that didn’t sound quite right, this feeling was too focused. Still, his mind was working too fast and too sluggish at the moment. He hadn’t slept well, and he was tired. His eyes were gritty and heavy. The slightly unhinged way his brain was stringing things together was one of the first signs of caution a Nara could have. He needed to sleep. 

He could do that, after this wreck of a conversation was over. “I won’t lie and say that I’m not interested in what you have to teach me, and you’ve screwed me over when it comes to my own clan teachings. So I’m still open to your mentorship, but this conversation is idiotic,” Shikamaru said. He shoved his hands in his pockets and retreated back to the tree he was leaned against earlier, propping his shoulder up against it. 

His eyes fell to half lidded as he got to the meat of the issue, “I can’t say I was happy with Ino’s decisions in the prelims, but that’s because she scared me. I thought she got really hurt. You keep talking about clan politics as if you know anything, but you’re only highlighting your own ignorance.” Shikamaru stood straight and walked toward the edge of the training grounds. “If you want to bring up concerns about Ino being a Yamanaka, then bring valid arguments. Ino didn’t get in trouble that day because she was acting like a Yamanaka. She was acting like Naruto. 

“And Naruto is the best of the three of us. Her acting like him isn’t a downside to me. Troublesome, yes. Exhausting, extremely. But I’d never discourage those kinds of actions. If you ask me, you’re getting too hung up on our families, so you’re losing sight of us altogether.” 

Hayate speaks from behind him, closer than he should be considering Shikamaru still didn’t sense him moving at all. “You’re missing the point, she’s dangerous.” 

He looked at Hayate over his shoulder and shrugged, “And I’m not?” 

“You’re acting like a child.” 

“Yeah, maybe. But I’m starting to get the feeling that us ‘children’ are the only ones who can see things the way they actually are.” Shikamaru stopped and turned to face Hayate. “Asuma says that intentions are important but so are consequences. I think you need to re-evaluate where those two things meet.” He pivoted on his heel and started walking again. “I’ll find you when I’m done sleeping. If you still want to help me, then I’d suggest you make yourself findable.” 

Chapter Text

SHIKAMARU INTERLUDE

Shikamaru didn’t remember most of the walk back to his house, it was like he was trekking through a fog. His thoughts kept circling back around to Ino and Naruto, and how he couldn’t get to them. Couldn’t prove they were alright. Then he would remember what Hayate had said and his muscles would tense up. He didn’t know, until he met Naruto, just how much fury one person could fit inside their body. 

Despite the anger giving him steam, he couldn’t get anything to make sense in his head. Things were too convoluted to even start to unravel. Hayate’s warnings were inappropriate, but his ignorance wasn’t as complete as Shikamaru would like to think. Inoichi had failed to recognize his need to know Ino’s safety, and he wasn’t sure what that meant in the long run. Naruto was gone with a man that didn’t have his best intentions in mind, and there was nothing he could do about it. Things were getting out of hand, and without Ino or Naruto around, he felt small and vulnerable. 

Shikamaru almost didn’t notice the whispers as he passed around the edge of his house so he could leap up to his window ledge. He might not have at all if Inoichi hadn’t raised his voice as he said, “This is about Ino, you have to understand.” Working slowly, his mind stalled on the matter of Inoichi being there inside the Nara clan house rather than with his daughter. Did that mean that he left Ino behind when she was vulnerable? 

He rubbed his fingers together and reminded himself that she was ensconced at the center of her clan grounds and could hardly be safer, even without her father doting on her. But still, he wouldn’t have left her side. The fact that he still didn’t know what was wrong made his eyes twitch. 

Shikamaru pressed himself up against the side of the house and pulled the shadows around him until they hugged every inch of his body. He pulled them so tight it was hard to breathe, but the focus needed to keep his chest moving was enough to help him regain some clarity. His exhaustion eased from his shoulders and muscles as he listened intently. They were whispering again, the sound barely escaping through the kitchen window that was cracked. He strained his ears, channeling chakra to them, but he’d never been as good at that as Ino or Naruto were. 

He could make out Ino’s name a couple of times but that was mostly it, though Inoichi sounded panicked. Then his father spoke, and his voice, so very familiar, was slightly easier to pick apart, “You know how the investigation is ongoing, it has been for years. As of right now, Shiranui Genma is someone the village will keep an eye on, but there’s no solid evidence against him.” 

“He’s a threat to the village,” Inoichi said firmly. 

“That has yet to be proven.” 

More whispers and Shikamaru bit his lip to stop himself from groaning out loud. Couldn’t they make this any easier for him? 

Inoichi was mumbling through his words, “—no prior—-Ino isn’t—-Uzumaki.” Shikamaru nearly smacked his head into the wall when he startled at the last name. Naruto? Or were they speaking of Kushina, maybe? 

“Go home, Inoichi,” his father said at a normal volume, his tone tired and uncharacteristically short. “Didn’t our children teach us anything?” 

Shikamaru’s heart thumped and it echoed in his ears. 

Then a deep sigh. “You’ll tell me if anything comes up though, right?” 

“The hokage couldn’t stop me if it came to Ino and Shikamaru, you know that.” 

Shikamaru swallowed around his dry tongue and scrambled away, careful to suppress any noise with his shadows as he made his way back to his bedroom. He laid down and sighed. Nearly as deeply as Inoichi had, though he couldn’t deny the traces of satisfaction in it. Perhaps his father was paying more attention than he thought. Still. Shiranui Genma? The proctor? What did he have to do with Ino or Naruto? 

He blinked at the ceiling and felt so very heavy. Not like being compressed, but rather more similar to sinking into water like a steel kunai. Every time it felt like they could finally catch their breath, something else happened. His eyes were gritty as he blinked again, unsure how much time had passed since the last one. 

He woke to the crackle of fire and opened his eyes in time to see Ino’s message floating above him before it went up in flames. Regroup. He smiled and rolled over, slumping out of bed. Glancing down he saw he hadn’t even taken his shoes off last night. Grimacing he pulled his ponytail out and redid it as he hopped out the window. It was late in the day, he slept too long. Grimacing, he ran toward the village center, in a hurry to see Ino in one piece and as snarky as ever.

Ino sat there eating her ramen as if what she said wasn’t life threatening, career ending, or heart breaking. He could see the fear in her eyes as she spoke of the tear in her soul, yet there were no other signs of it. Her posture was as perfect as always, her lips in a little smirk daring him to say something about it all. He didn’t. She wouldn’t get anything out of it, and he didn’t want an argument. Not here and not now. 

Besides, something else had caught his attention. “You spoke to Genma?” he asked. He looked away when her eyes shone with relief at the topic change. Was it weakness to allow her to hide away? Or mercy? He couldn’t fix what had happened, and Ino wouldn’t do anything differently no matter what he said, so it felt like starting an argument would just exacerbate the situation out of hand. 

“Yeah,” she said with a shrug, though her chopsticks paused as she stared over his shoulder. “He didn’t talk down to me, you know?” 

Going off what she had said about their conversation, Shikamaru would agree. At least, in some definitions of the saying. He didn’t like hearing about Naruto’s parents, yet they intrigued him in a distant sort of way. He can’t imagine the images that Ino had tried to describe, but it doesn’t really matter. It was the message that Genma passed on that they’d need to keep in mind. 

“Inoichi thinks he’s a threat to the village,” Shikamaru said, careful to keep his voice low, though the ramen stall was busy and crowded enough to make that easy. 

“The village as a whole?” 

“He mentioned you and an Uzumaki too, but I’m not sure in what context. All I know is he doesn’t like Genma.” 

She frowned. “I noticed that, he was tense whenever they were in the same room. But Iruka-sensei clearly trusts him. Speaking of which, Iruka doesn’t like Hayate. Have you heard from him?” 

Shikamaru nodded and gave her a quick rundown of their conversation the night before. 

“The arrogant bastard,” Ino snipped, shoving more noodles in her mouth and chewing angrily. 

Shikamaru couldn’t disagree, yet the man intrigued him. It would depend on how he reacted, but there was obviously a lot he could learn from the man, if he’d just get his attitude straight. “I can’t believe Iruka-sensei would hold a grudge.” 

“Perhaps it’s a well-deserved one.” 

Shikamaru sat back and ran his hands over his face. “I’m so tired of only having bits and pieces of what’s going on around us. “Genma’s a threat yet the close friend of the most trusted man in the village. Hayate is disliked by that same man, but respected by my father. My father wants to help us but won’t explain anything to me. What do they expect us to do?” 

“Train.” 

“How are we supposed to do that?” He can’t learn his clan jutsu and Ino can’t manipulate her soul. It just highlighted how much they needed their new found senseis. But how were they to trust them if they all kept secrets? You don’t know what mess you’re in the middle of, Hayate had said. He hated how often those words repeated in his head. 

“What if we…” Ino paused, which immediately grabbed Shikamaru’s attention. 

“What?” 

“What if we forced their hands?” 

“How would we do that?” 

“Well, if they won’t tell us anything, then we put them in a situation where they can’t help but react, right? How someone reacts tells you everything, after all.” 

“So, what?” Shikamaru asked, resting his head on his palm, “Interrogate them?” 

“Why do it ourselves, if they could do it for us?” Ino’s smile made shivers erupt on his arms and he shook his head in automatic denial. 

“No, that’s a terrible idea.” 

“Is it though?” Ino insisted, pushing her now empty ramen bowl aside to lean closer to him over the table. “What other options have they left us? Every other avenue leads to more risk and less reward. What would you suggest? Ransack your father’s office for secret missives? Break into the village archives and look for mission histories? Try and tail one of them when they’d all notice us before we could start? Seriously, Shika, what options do we have?” 

He chewed his lip. It’s not like the idea of tricking Hayate was particularly concerning at all, not after what he’d done to Shikamaru. If Hayate could interfere, then he had the same right. But Iruka-sensei? He pointed out as much, “Iruka-sensei would be mad.” 

“Why would he be?” Ino asked with a toss of her hair. “He knows who I am.” 

“You can’t use your personality as an excuse.” 

“Why can’t I?” 

“It’ll get you in trouble. Yamanaka trouble.” 

She frowned and squinted her eyes at him. “What does that mean?” Shikamaru couldn’t help but think of Hayate’s warnings. Then hated himself for it. She was only suggesting this as a way to protect themselves. Her point was true. If Naruto was here he may say something else, but he wasn’t. Shikamaru pushed away the wave of anxiety over that thought and simply nodded his head. 

“Fine. How do you want to do this?” 

“More like where and when. We just need to get them all in one place.” She twirled a lock of her hair as she thought over options. Shikamaru tried valiantly to not think at all. He looked down at his ramen but couldn’t feel his stomach. Were things always this complicated and he’d just now realized, or had something changed? And if it had changed, when had it? 

“Dinner,” Ino announced. “I’ll just ask Iruka-sensei to dinner, he’ll bring Genma, of course. Then you can have Hayate meet you at the same place and time. Simple!” 

He didn’t think simple was the right word, but it would be easy to create. 

Ino asked, “Do you think you can find him?” 

Shikamaru shrugged. “Won’t know until I try.” 

“No time like the present then.” 

He sighed and stood up. “I’m going, I’m going.” 

Ino smiled and leaned back in her seat. “Good, good. I’ll send a message to Iruka once you’re done. Meet me back here?” Shikamaru nodded. A new customer entered the stall, pushing the curtains to the side and the light hit Ino’s face in a new way. Suddenly she looked gaunt. Shadows under her eyes, cheeks a little too thin, and her pale skin turning from ivory to grey. It lasted only a moment as he shifted from his seat, but it was enough to make a hole pop up in his gut. He’d nearly forgotten about her injury. 

He wanted to ask more about it, but she’d been up front about the details. “I can’t allow you to think I can do something I can’t. My jutsu is off limits until I heal.” How terrible of an injury would prevent her from doing her own jutsu? He’d trust Ino with anything… but this. Her own health. She was exactly the kind of person to put him or Naruto first, and that terrified him every day. This was like a living nightmare scenario. 

He needed out of that ramen shop. He needed air, just for a moment. He pushed his bowl of ramen over to her, she clearly needed to eat more. “I’ll be back.” 

He strode away before she could accuse him of babying her or something else as ridiculous. Once outside, he stopped short, suddenly unsure. Where would he even find Hayate? He’d told the man to make himself findable, but would he? Had Shikamaru been so disrespectful that he wouldn’t come back? 

Despite Hayate’s annoyances and misplaced self righteousness, he clearly had a skill set that Shikamaru wanted. Shadows could hide him well, but not the way Hayate could pass unseen. The information he could get out of a skill like that could turn the tide. He could finally get ahead of the problems they were facing rather than playing catch up like they were right now. Not to mention his swordsmanship. Asuma had some skill with blades, he used them himself, but he relied more heavily on his jutsu than his hand to hand. 

“What has you thinking so hard?” came a voice from beside him. He jerked around to find Hayate leaned up against the side of the barbecue restaurant Shikamaru had come to a stop at. 

“You,” Shikamaru said honestly. It wouldn’t hurt to play to his ego, after all. 

“Hmm,” Hayate said with an infuriating tilt to his head. He was wearing ANBU blacks and a tattoo on his shoulder showed the ANBU insignia. It wasn’t something to wear in public without a mask. Shikamaru glanced around but saw no one looking their way. 

“They can’t see us,” Hayate said with a smile. 

“How?”

“A combination of things. I can teach you.” 

“Have you thought of what I said?” Shikamaru asked, wary. 

“Hmm, yes.” Hayate straightened up and Shikamaru saw the hilt of a sword peeking out from over his shoulder. The handle was anything but fancy, the leather of the grip was worn with age but lovingly up kept. It was probably smooth as butter and soft as silk. “Frankly I disagree with you, but I understand how strongly you feel on the subject. You’re too young to be untaught and I want to help you. So, I’m willing to put aside our difference and instruct you as neutrally as I can.” 

It wasn’t what he wanted to hear at all, and Shikamaru’s teeth clenched together to stop himself from spitting out his first reaction. Of it not being enough, of it being prejudiced and cruel. He felt a little warm and forced himself to take a deep breath to cool down, eyeing the man up. Hayate continued to smile with a mischievous tilt to his head, like he was enjoying himself. Shikamaru’s hands shook and he shoved them in his pockets to hide it. 

He needed this man. No one else would be able to mentor him on such short notice. And as he’d just been thinking, his knowledge could be invaluable. Still, it stung. To not be taken seriously. “Keep your opinions to yourself,” Shikamaru warned. 

Hayate held up his hands in surrender, fingers curled inward into fists to show his lack of fight or threat. “As you wish—” 

The conversation was cut off as a hawk swooped between them and dropped a small message into Hayate’s suddenly extended hand. He had it unfolded and read by the time the hawk had gotten over the next building. It all happened stunningly fast but Shikamaru, who happened to be looking in just the right place at the right time, caught two words in the message. Sand and Sound. 

Any qualms he had about the plan he and Ino had cooked up went up in smoke. Hayate knew more than he let on, and though his warnings were inappropriate they must be rooted in something. If this man knew more about the sand creature inside Gaara, the one Ino probably pissed off, he needed to keep him close. Shikamaru glanced at the shop next to them and said, “Buy me dinner too,” as Hayate shifted his feet to leap away. 

Hayate paused, looking him up and down, his smile turned even more amused. “As you wish. Tonight, here. Seven.” Then he was gone. 

Fool. Naras can’t be bribed the way the Akimichi and Hyuga could. 

He turned back to return to Ino. 

INO POV

After Shikmaru left she dragged his bowl closer and pulled out a worn journal from her thigh pouch. It was small and beat up and she’s not sure why Genma included it in the books he gave her.  This one was different though. A personal journal rather than a textbook of mostly incomprehensible terms she didn’t recognize. 

It was written with terrible penmanship, they all were, and some of the symbols were from an unfamiliar dialect, so translation was slow, but it was obviously from a young man’s hand. Musings over war and family. It was a journal from the Warring Era and was instantly captivated. The other texts were interesting enough, but made little sense to her. But this… emotion and devastation and longing… that she understood. 

Hashirama ’s chakra has been getting more stringent lately. The war with the Uchiha is wearing him out. Sometimes I wish my sensing could tell me what he sees with his ideas of peace. But all I can feel is… Him. What does that mean? 

She hummed and continued on, just skimming for now. Seeing if anything caught her attention. 

Ever since my eyes started to fail, I’ve relied more on sensing than ever before. It’s surprising what can be felt, I think I’m more aware of what’s around me than when I could see clearly. But battlefields are the clearest. They’re hauntingly full of chakra. 

Ino paused. And thought, for just a moment, how unshinobi like the clan wars were. Brute force rather than finesse. War rather than sabotage. Then again, Tobirama outdated the hidden villages. Was what they had now better? Her eyes paused on something written in the margins… 

No more small graves. 

A shiver went down her spine. As she flipped further into the journal she found the phrase written nearly every page. His handwriting was getting increasingly terrible as well. Splotches of blood and most likely tears littered each one. She wondered what it meant that they no longer buried their dead. How many small graves would they have now, if they still did?

Then she got to a section that was all but pristine. Characters shaky but highly legible. 

Mito brought me to visit the ocean today. I never knew water could be so… big. 

The white city on the sea that she comes from is perhaps the most beautiful place I’ve ever felt. It puts our Senju home to shame and I have to wonder why a woman like Mito would agree to give up a place like this for the forest. The water here teems with energy and life. It reminds me strongly of chakra itself. Eddies and streams, whirl pools and riptides. Chakra is never still, it’s always waiting for the next action, the next thought or emotion. It’s as much alive as we are, just like the sea.

Her father had taken her to the sea once, on a low-risk diplomatic mission. It was a section of the shore that was carefully calculated to not belong to any clan. Sun dappled and littered with small shells. 

That’s how Iruka felt, after all. Like that sunny stolen snatch of memory. One of her best ones with her father. 

The sea was alive, in a way she didn’t understand. Her element wasn’t water, she burned too hot to use anything but fire. But Tobirama must have seen, or rather felt, something she couldn’t. 

Mito says that the sea lost something a long time ago, that it’s never stopped looking. That it eats away at the land with every moment in search of it. The tide is the sea calling something home. 

The tide. Ino tilted her head and let out a deep breath. The tide. 

“Hayate said he’d buy me dinner tonight at the barbecue place at 7,” Shikamaru said, startling her out of her revery. 

“What? Oh, right. Good!” She had current problems to think of, rather than the sea which she was likely to never see again. “I’ll send Iruka a message then.” 

Shikamaru’s eyes dropped to the journal she was reading and his brows went up. “You’re really reading that out in the open?” 

“What? You think someone will just come up to me and demand to see what I’m reading because they suspect I took a forbidden journal out of one of the most guarded places in all of the village? I think it’s made obvious how much the adults around here expect of us, and it’s not that.” 

“Still.” He sat back down and she suddenly remembered that he’d given her his ramen. She dug in, shoving the journal back into her thigh pack. “We shouldn’t take unnecessary risks right now. The Leaf Village may not be the only people watching us.” 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Just a feeling. Have you seen Gaara or his sensei around since the prelims?” 

She shook her head. “But we saw Temari.”

“And I saw the Kankuro kid at the market last night on my way to your house, but not Gaara.” 

“He is the kazekage’s son. Maybe they’re keeping him inside for his protection.” 

Shikamaru scoffed and silently she agreed. If they were keeping him away, it wasn’t for his own protection.

Shikamaru and her trained until it was nearly seven. No matter how long she fought, she couldn’t shake a feeling of anxiety prickling at her skin and bones. And now that she was standing outside the restaurant as it came time for everything to actually happen, she wasn’t feeling so confident. It was one thing to manipulate Hayate, but Iruka? Even Genma? They’d been nothing but welcoming to her. 

“Ino!” a warm chakra ensconced her gently and she turned with a grin to Iruka. 

“Thanks for coming, sensei!” 

Iruka frowned and immediately asked,“What’s wrong?” 

She couldn’t do this. 

“Sensei, maybe you should leave.” 

“Why, we just got here?” 

And sure enough, Genma loitered just behind him, but when she met his eyes they were dark and serious in the way she’d seen when they were talking of Kushina. “Maybe the kid’s right, Umino. Let’s go.” 

“Iruka?” 

At the voice her sensei’s face did something she’d never seen before. A crumpling of sorts that made her heart twinge. This wasn’t anger or hatred. She swallowed harshly and forced herself to look closer.

Betrayal. And you can only betray someone with something on the line. What had happened between those two?

This was such a bad idea. 

“Sensei—” 

“Quiet, Ino,” Iruka reprimanded, perhaps for the first time in her life. “What are you doing here, Hayate?” 

“Buying dinner for my new student,” Hayate said. She glanced over to him but couldn’t make out much from his expression. She wished she’d seen it when he’d first seen Iruka. She reached out just a tad with her chakra and felt for him. She jerked back when all she felt was a blank emptiness. Even more so than Genma his chakra signature was nonexistent. Had he been like that when she’d first talked to him with Asuma? She cursed herself for not checking back then. 

“Yes, I heard from Ino that you’ve taken in Shikamaru. Why is that?” Iruka demanded. His chakra felt like the coming of a tsunami, though she’d only read of those. Waves crashed against her forcefully, a deep tide pulled at her organs. 

Hayate grit his teeth for a moment before he answered, “To teach him.” 

“What could you teach him?” 

Genma held up his hands and said, “Let’s calm down.” 

Ino finally noticed Shikamaru standing a little behind Hayate, and their eyes met. His were wide and astounded and she’s sure hers were matching despite the fact that she wanted to stay contained. Seeing Iruka like this… Didn’t sit well with Ino. 

“Maybe we should go,” Ino said to Iruka. Who ignored her. Well, not quite. He was slowly moving between Hayate and her. The thought nearly brought tears to her eyes and she’d never felt so guilty over manipulating a situation. She shouldn’t have done this. Iruka’s chakra should never feel like this. 

She reached out to feel for Genma but she only got a slight moist feeling from him before it disappeared entirely. Just like Hayate. Was it a coincidence that the people who were so clearly involved with Iruka, a strong sensor, could clamp down on their chakras like that? Or was it a more common skill than she’d realized? 

“Let’s all just take a step back,” Genma said, pulling Iruka physically with him a couple of steps away from Hayate. Ino finally caught a glimpse of Genma’s face. It was tight and controlled, his shoulders were curled toward Iruka in a protective stance. Yet, there was something about the way Genma would glance at Hayate that spoke of sorrow. 

Genma didn’t hesitate to put his back to Hayate to say something low and quiet to Iruka. That’s not how enemies interacted. 

She searched Hayate for signs of something and found him hard to read. The sickness and exhaustion that hung off his frame felt like it was dampening his reactions. His shoulders were already curved from pain, his posture held pressure away from his lungs, and his feet were planted firmly to hold him up. It muddied the changes she catalogued, making her unsure what affected what. 

His eyes were trained on Genma’s back though. Hayate’s hand twitched toward his kunai pack and Ino switched her stance almost before she realized, sliding into Hayate’s peripheral vision, her own hand hovering by her kunai pack. Hayate glanced at her and then gave a small pained smile. He took a step back, almost running into Shikamaru, who sidestepped to stand next to the man instead. Ino watched him and wondered if the desire to strike had been genuine or if it was sign of uncertainty. Shinobi tend to draw blood when on the off foot, after all. Would he have truly done anything? She sensed no true maliciousness coming from him.

She flashed a sign at Shikamaru for reassess and then directed her eyes very shortly to Genma. His own eyes narrowed as he looked at the two men quietly bickering. Soon, though, Genma stepped to the side and a prim looking Iruka was left staring at Hayate. 

Genma cleared his throat and Ino noticed his senbon was nowhere to be seen. She swallowed around a dry throat. “Perhaps we should all sit down,” Genma offered with a quick glance at her. She looked away. She could count on one hand how many times she’d done that before. Her gut felt like it was shrivelling up and her fingers twitched toward Shikamaru who shifted a step closer to her. 

“Right,” Hayate agreed, spinning on his heel and stalking into the restaurant they were in front of. Shikamaru gave her a quick look before turning to do the same. Genma placed his hand on Ino’s shoulder and gave a soft squeeze before he walked after the two. Iruka didn’t move so she didn’t either. 

After a couple of long moments she forced her head up to look at him. “I’m sorry, sensei,” she said quietly. She wasn’t sure what she’d drug up from the past, but she was sure she shouldn’t have. Iruka had never done anything to make her doubt him, it was the other two. But this seemed to have hurt Iruka far more than she’d intended. Shikamaru was right. Perhaps she was getting into Yamanaka trouble, whatever that meant.

Iruka gave her a small smile and asked, “Why’d you do it?” His chakra was still tumultuous but some of the warmth of it had returned. 

She wanted to say that she did it for protection, but the half truth got stuck in her throat. Why had she done it? To protect, yes. To force Hayate into a corner, but Genma too. Even Iruka, she’d wanted to root out his past so she could pick it apart. She was mad that so much was kept from them. Her reasoning before was that they deserved to know, that it would help them stay safe, but looking at him now she wasn’t so sure. She hadn’t intended to wound.

Iruka sighed and placed his hand on the same shoulder as Genma had. It burned through her clothes and tears welled in her eyes. “Some secrets are meant to be left in the past, Ino. Not because they’re secrets, but because they’ll do more harm than good. Do you see that?” 

She desperately wanted to ask what secrets. What was he hiding? Why must someone like him hide anything at all? Instead, she nodded. His hand came up to brush over her chin and she looked up at him again, blinking furiously to keep the tears at bay. “I’m your friend, Ino.” 

She almost wanted to protest. Yamanakas were hard to be friends with, and Iruka was anything but difficult. He wasn’t a friend, he was something else. Something more similar to what she had with Shikamaru and Naruto. A little tribe within themselves, a family of choice. A clan of a new creation. “You’re not my friend,” she insisted, unsure how to communicate what she meant, but filled to the brim with appreciation and adoration of this kind man. 

His eyes gentled and his smile grew to its normal size. Not Naruto big, but enough to squint up his eyes. Her heart felt like it had finally started beating again since the moment he’d said her name. She knew how fickle people were, how easy it was to lose things irrevocably. Remembered, for a flash, the look of betrayal on his face. A fierceness exploded in her chest. What had Hayate done? And how did she make sure she never put that expression there either?

“Now, let’s go do this,” Iruka said. “But, remember, Ino, we’re all flawed.” 

With those damning words he headed into the restaurant, leaving her head a little floaty and her mouth pulled between a smile and a grimace. She schooled her expression and adjusted her hair and clothes. Then moved to follow after him. 

There was a displacement of air behind her as she stepped past the threshold of the door. She spun on her heel, hands up and ready. The first person she saw was Naruto, and her chest went warm. Then she saw his face, and that warmth iced over.

Naruto looked lost. His shoulders were hunched forward and his eyes were downcast. 

Her eyes tore away from him to look between Asuma-sensei and Jiraiya who stood a little behind the boy. Asuma was trembling with a fury deeper than even her own and her mouth fell open. She was across the space in a second, hands on Naruto’s shoulders and desperately trying to catch his eyes. “What’s wrong?” she demanded. 

Jiraiya scoffed and her eyes flicked to him for barely a second. It was enough to see the way he held his body stiff, his eyes flinty and hard. But he’d also angled himself away from Asuma, like he was acknowledging some sort of wrong done. 

She sneered and pulled Naruto to her chest. “What did you do?” she demanded of the perv. 

“Nothing!” he insisted, eyes not meeting hers. She felt hot, a sweat breaking out on her forehead as she gnashed her teeth. Naruto was trembling in her arms. Unacceptable. Unforgiveable. What did he do? What did he do? What did he do? 

“Ino, take him inside,” Asuma-sensei said, tone brokering no argument. She spun on her heel only to nearly run into Iruka-sensei. Once again, she saw an expression she never expected on Iruka. He was glowing with it. A fury root deep and sky high. Her teeth unclenched and she quickly swerved to be behind him, peeking out from over his shoulder. 

“This is ridiculous,” Jiraiya insisted with a wave of his hands that Ino flinched away from. Asuma’s shoulders tightened and his fingers curled into fists. 

“Ino, get him inside,” Asuma repeated. She turned to do as he said. She had no other option, nor did she want to do anything else. She wanted her boy as far from Jiraiya as she could get him. She stopped short when she saw Genma at the door, face unreadable. 

“I think it’d be best if we all went inside,” Genma said without a smile. He didn’t even blink. He didn’t look at her or Naruto, or even Iruka. His eyes were on Jiraiya. She was reminded that he knew the man. Perhaps better than anyone else here. “Iruka, take the kids in.” 

Iruka turned and put a shaking hand at the center of Ino’s back, pushing her forward. She didn’t remember the trip through the restaurant, she could only feel Naruto’s small hand in hers, shaking like Iruka’s. From an entirely different emotion, no doubt. His chakra was small, warm but not heated. It was banked as if doused with a waterfall. It was impossible, it was awful, it was wrong. 

Shikamaru and Hayate were sitting at the table in the corner and both of them rocketed to their feet when the three of them came into sight. “What happened?” Shikamaru demanded, already trying to slide out of the booth to get to them. 

“Sit down, Shikamaru,” Iruka and Hayate said at the same time. He sank down to sit, but only after she nodded at him. Ino squeezed Naruto into the booth between her and Shikamaru. Iruka slid to sit near Hayate, their apparent disagreement forgotten as their eyes were both fixed on the other group walking inside. 

Ino watched Asuma hold Jiraiya’s bicep as he was all but herded towards them. Genma walked behind them, eyes fixed on where the two connected. Despite how monumental it all felt, the rest of the restaurant was full of civilians and no one noticed anything out of place. The ignorance was shocking to her. She reached out for Jiraiya’s chakra and found a small suspended explosion of energy hanging around him. It felt like a massive wind storm and an avalanche suspended in time. A coldness to the edges that made her skin crawl. 

The three men sat. Genma next to Iruka, Asuma next, and finally Jiraiya at the edge, nearly hanging out of the booth. It would have been comical in any other situation. Silence took over the table. She didn’t dare tear her eyes away from the men at the table with her team. She even prolonged her blinks, she didn’t want to miss a single facial twitch. 

The waiter walking towards them must have sensed something, because he paled and turned around to walk back to the kitchen. 

It was Iruka who started. 

“Let’s start from the beginning.”