By Alden Hawke
Chapter 3: Disconnection
He was gone.
Ino narrowed her eyes
in annoyance, and pumped herself higher. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke-kun had gone
off with their new sensei. They had a REAL mission, Naruto had crowed, not a
crappy D-class. While Ino, stuck with Chouji and
Shikamaru, was stuck with her loser of a sensei.
Yes, she'd met her
sensei - Sarutobi Asuma, high-class lazy-ass, only outdone
by Shikamaru. Those two lazed around constantly playing old-man games, while
Chouji munched. Ino wasn't the training-obsessing type, but some of Naruto's
determined spirit had rubbed off on her, she guessed. So, what did she do?
She usually left her
group, muttering darkly and stomping off to the forest to practice her secret
jutsu: the Kage Bunshin.
Yes, she'd finally mastered it.
At least, she'd
mastered performing it. How hard could it be to get more than one clone without
fainting? She pumped her feet, shooting herself back into the air. As she'd
found out earlier that evening, VERY hard. She almost fainted when she conjured
one, how would she get so many out like Naruto did?
She swore she'd have
two by the time he came back. If he got to parade off to Wave Country, then
she'd do something interesting too. Her feet touched the ground again, and she
pushed off again. Annoyance made this swing a common retreat for Ino. The only
place she felt at peace, now, was in the air.
How could HE have a
mission before her, without her? It just wasn't fair! It was her parents' faults, that's right! If they
hadn't...
Ino sighed. What could
she do now? Her team was lame, she wasn't talking to her parents, talking to
pretty much all of her friends would be awkward, since most of them didn't even
pass the sensei test. The rest would be with their teams of actually bearable
people. She had no place at her home, with her team, with her friends. Her best
friend in the world, her one true love, and the boy who she'd decidedly adopted
in her mind as her brother were gone, leaving the village boring.
The world had seemed a
lot brighter a month or two ago...
Well, all she could do
was work on her jutsu's. She couldn't spend her whole
time on Kage Bunshin, could
she? So she spent almost an hour working on a fire jutsu her father had showed
her, not coming any closer than when she'd started to making fire come from her
hands.
That was when she realized
she had screwed up one of the seals, using the Dragon seal instead of the Tiger
(resulting in her doing a completely different justsu,
which would require different chakra placement and focus to work anyway). This
resulted in her being severely annoyed and exhausted for the second time that
day.
Naruto had left
yesterday. Today, she'd almost not bothered waking up. Was it even worth it?
Everyone, everything was boring now. Sure, she'd dreamed of becoming a ninja
and impressing Sasuke for years... She'd had this dream for far longer than
that, though. Ever since her father had told her dashing stories of her
grandfather, her uncles, her father himself with his teammates. She'd grown up
on tales of bravery, courage, and good luck.
Meeting Sasuke had only
pushed her further to become great. He was so mysterious, so beautiful, so
strong... He was, in a nutshell, perfect. He had a tragic past, even!
Unfortunately, that
turned him into a major turn-off, because after his traumatic event he ignored
everyone. Including Ino.
No-one, not even Uchiha
Sasuke, was allowed to ignore Yamanaka Ino.
Ino had taken a hit to
her pride the day Uchiha Sasuke had shooed her away with a flick of his hand
and an annoyed glare. Most male genin, even despite their tender age, would at
least describe Ino as 'pretty'. Some also might say 'mean', 'scary' or even
'evil', but those are first-year academy students for you.
Now, Ino lay in the
middle of the forest, too exhausted to move, barely able to breath.
Her chakra was ebbing, and her head was throbbing. Her eyes focused high above
her, landing on fluffy white shapes. Watching the clouds... Damn, next she'd be
playing Go and having old boring men obsess over her.
Damn, now she was being
bitter. She hated being- No, she REFUSED to be bitter
over her sensei's blatant favoritism. But... how could lazy-ass Shikamaru be favorite? When she was prettier, stronger, sexier... Who needed
Asuma, though? She was fine by herself. Who needed
them?
Still... Ino hated that
life sucked now. How did life start being so un-fun? Her mother was even more
distant, and worse, her father was trying to pry into her life even more; Her
teammates had seemed to lose all sense of life, preferring Shougi
and BBQ respectively more than her; The village, which seemed to have become
more enclosing than before if possible; and her own personal life, which had
shriveled up into nothing. She was just another kunoichi, another genin to most
people. That was almost worse than being an academy student.
All she could do now
was train... And her sensei, who was supposed to help, just told her to 'go practice
your Shintenshin, Ino...'
What the hell?
She hated it so much...
She needed to take matters into her own hands. She needed a real sensei. A kunoichi, someone who didn't dislike kids, one with some time on
her hands and wouldn't mind. Someone who was probably
training genin anyways.
Hinata mentioned a
kunoichi teacher...
---
Ino bit her lip as she
strode towards the field she knew Hinata's team used for
practice. She hadn't paid attention to her team members, or met their sensei.
She just hoped the woman was forgiven, and the guy were
bearable. This was usually too much to ask, but Ino hoped, just once...
All hope of this
escaped Ino in an instant: Inuzuka Kiba. Not exactly a hateful sight, but
undoubtedly a nuisance. She'd 'benefited' from his remarks the numerous times
she'd been to Sakura's house.
Oh yes, the two were
well acquainted.
The others were unrecognizable,
other than Hinata of course. She'd met pretty much every Jounin in the village
through her dad, so she guessed the one with the really nice red eyes was a new
Jounin. The other boy was the quiet one in the corner of the room... Shino? Shiro? Anyways, if the woman allowed her to study with them,
she'd learn about them quick enough. Ino was willing even to bear Kiba every
day to actually -learn- something.
She gripped her hands
to her sides, her body filled with tension, wondering whether she'd let her
train with them. Why not, it was just another genin, a chance to test her
students on someone she wouldn't have to teach later, right?
Of course, Ino would
only appear in training, and only if... the sensei... allowed her to. Ino
wondered about the sensei - Kunoichi either went for genjutsu
or ninjutsu. Either way, Ino could learn something
from her, if she were willing to teach. She just hoped that was the case - What
teacher could turn away a willing student?
Ino's breath quickened
as she came closer to the group. The woman was watching all three of her
students spar together, and it was interesting, though Ino could have predicted
two-thirds of the fight: Kiba rushing in to fight, Hinata backing off more, but
the other guy... He was just blocking Kiba's strikes
almost effortlessly. Kiba had the fire in his eyes of a fighter. Ino saw it all
the time in Naruto - Kiba had a formidable spirit.
"Ummm... Excuse me..." Ino approached the Jounin,
feeling awkward. Ino always was awkward in front of adults, it was something
good children did, and that's how Ino had been raised. She damned this fault,
it unfitting her normal personality... She hoped it wouldn't ruin her chances.
The Jounin looked at
her, unsurprised. Even if Ino had tried stealth, the woman would have
pinpointed her easily. Ino was slightly mollified that she didn't embarrass
herself trying to 'sneak up' on the Jounin. Hinata's
sensei spoke suddenly.
"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai... And you
are?" Kurenai had a nice voice, Ino decided. Her
clothes were a bit mismatched, but with a pulled together look. She took a
breath in, and spoke. "Ummm... Kurenai-san... I was wondering..."
"Yes?" Kurenai asked, almost impatiently.
"I was wondering
if I could train with you and your team sometimes... I mean, my sensei and
teammates are useless, and I know I might be a burden but just give me a chance
and besides I'm the only one who can spur Hinata into doing anything
plus-" Ino's magnificent run-on sentence was stopped as Kurenai shifted her position. She sighed. Ino feared the
worst.
"Name?" Was she going to report her for annoying her team?
"Yamanaka Ino, Yuuhi-san..." Ino bowed her head, closing her eyes
shut.
"You... You say
you know Hinata?" Kurenai asked, and Ino nodded
her head. Kurenai
called Hinata over, and Ino raised her head to look.
"Ino? What are you doing here? What about..."
Hinata seemed confused. Kiba and the other boy continued to spar behind the
three.
"You know this
girl, Hinata? Is she a worthwhile fighter? You think she should train with
us?" Kurenai asked, and after all of Hinata's nods and praises of Ino, she stopped.
"Alright,
Ino. I met your father, he's a
good guy. And Hinata gives you a good review... I only just met my team, but I
know they're trustworthy. I just need to know a bit about you..."
---
"Bye, Kurenai-san... May I call you Kurenai-sensei?
I mean, because..." Ino asked, trying to smile. Kurenai
smiled.
"Sure... Ino. Are you coming back tomorrow?" Kurenai
asked.
"Mhm, yeah... Unless my sensei and
teammates actually start training- Which I doubt. You don't mind me
training with your group... Do you?" Ino asked hopefully. Kurenai shrugged and turned to her group.
"You three
mind?" Kurenai asked. "I mean, we've only
been training for two weeks anyways, so we don't have a concrete training
schedule, so..."
"I... I would like
Ino to.. to join us in
training, if it's not too much,
Kurenai-sensei. She's a really good fighter... And if her team isn't helping
her..."
"I don't want HER
here!" Kiba shouted, acknowledging their acquaintance for the first time
since the practice started. "She's... well... Eugh,
alright..."
Ino was definitely
confused. What would make Kiba suddenly change his mind- Ahhhh... Hinata, Ino decided, must be the reason. She'd noticed
what the
others hadn't. the subtle clues
that even many ninja would be hard-pressed
to spot... But Ino, who had spent her whole life with
kids her own age, knew
the secret signs when even the person themselves
didn't even know for sure.
"Shino?" Kurenai turned her head
to look at the third member of their team, someone even Ino hadn't gleaned much
from. Mystery boy...
Shino just nodded, and
Ino smiled. The three had been good at practice today, and if she got that kind
of workout even every few days she'd improve a lot.
"Bye, Kurenai-sensei! Bye Hinata! ... And Kiba,
and Shino!" She called, as
she headed off down the path back to the village.
Hey, she couldn't be
the only one left alone without Naruto. Someone hadn't treated them to ramen in
a while... She had a stop to make at Iruka-sensei's house... And
some ramen to eat...
---
"Iruka-sensei...
When's Naruto getting back? I mean, he left two days ago, so he won't be too
long, will he?" Ino asked, annoyed, swirling her ramen
around the bowl.
"Ino... Wave
Country's a while away. He may be gone for as long as three months..."Iruka
said quietly, raising some ramen noodles to his mouth and curling them around
his tongue.
"What do you MEAN,
three months!?" Ino screamed, grabbing Iruka's
shoulder. "They're gonna be gone for three months!?"
Iruka swallowed,
unfazed by Ino's screaming. "I said, up to three months. They could,
possible, be back in two months... If they got back in one, it wouldn't be
good, Ino."
"What do you mean
by that?" Ino asked, calming down, but still annoyed.
"Because that
would mean they never made it to Wave Country, and that they failed. No-one can
make it to Wave Country and back in a month, especially with a client."
"Oh... That
sucks..." Ino muttered, looking down into her ramen. "And they're
going with a client?"
"Mhm. Tazuna, a bridge builder.
Can't be that hard of a mission... Just a long one.
Don't worry so much, Ino... Naruto Sasuke and Sakura are in the hands of a
Jounin. I doubt anything will happen to them..." Iruka sounded anything
but secure in this belief. If anything, he was more worried than she was. That
was believable - He treated Naruto like an adopted son, and Sasuke and Sakura
had only just graduated. Only weeks after they graduated, they were heading out
to another country.
Poor
Iruka-sensei. He needed
something to keep his mind on. A mission, a project, a relationship... Ino was
determined to help Iruka get through the next few months, unscathed and better
than he'd been before Naruto had left!
It wasn't like she
didn't have time on her hands, right? She was sure, by
the end of three months, Iruka would be a happier man!
---
"Hoy! Asuma-sensei, Shika, Chouji!" Ino yelled. "I'm gonna go
train, alright?"
"Alright,
Ino! We'll see you
tomorrow!" Asuma replied from the picnic table he
and Shikamaru were seated at. She'd been going to train with Kurenai-sensei and the rest of the team for just over a
week now, and no-one had noticed.
Her training was
flourishing with the other team. She sparred with Hinata usually, though Kurenai sometimes set her up against Hinata. It seemed easier
for the sensei to arrange four into fights of two, instead of one three-person
spar that was happening before. Ino had helped Hinata with her Gentle Fist,
showing her possible dodges and moves that might work. She and
Kiba were the best
matches, being almost completely equal in skill, though the battles were
sometimes too personal for comfort. Kurenai had even
showed them a new genjutsu, even though none of them had mastered it (Shino had come
close). it was obvious Kurenai
was just beginning, not sure what was above them, or below them. She was trying
to find an equal ground for all of them.
Shino's and Kiba's strengths were taijutsu,
Ino's ninjutsu and Hinata's
was more in the support jutsu's. So all the battles
were interesting, though Shino usually overpowered any of them in single spars. Kiba,
apparently taking Shino's strength for an attempt to take leadership,
challenged him almost every day. He seemed to avoid fighting Hinata, or hitting
her too hard, unlike fighting with either Shino or Ino.
Ino had only fought
Shino once. They'd mostly traded blows, neither seeming to know many potent ninjutsu well enough to throw them out effortlessly during
battle... Or maybe, Ino suspected, Shino only didn't because she couldn't.
She hated being
pity-fought, so she avoided fighting Shino. She suspected he thought she was
afraid of fighting him, and disliked him. He was very quiet, however, and Ino
couldn't understand quiet people. She couldn't make him speak, at least not at
length. He answered most point-blank questions briefly, at least. Ino would
drag him out of his shell some day.
For now, though...
Chouji was jogging after her. This certainly was odd - Not
that Chouji didn't jog, but it was rare after a mission. "Ino! Ino!"
Ino turned, looking at
Chouji questioningly. "Yeah, Chouji? What?"
"Can I train with
you, today? I mean, Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei are
playing Shougi, and..." Chouji caught up with
her after a few minutes. Ino sighed.
"Chouji... I
really can't- I mean... Come over here for a second..." She led him over
to a bunch of trees away from the other two group members, then
whispered into his ear.
"YOU'RE DOING WHAT,
INO!?" Chouji yelled, as Ino shushed him. "But, but...
you're in our team..."
"Yeah, but OUR
team doesn't ever TRAIN!" Ino said, annoyed.
"Oh... That's
right too... Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then, Ino! Can you train with us
tomorrow, though? I'll get Asuma-sensei to get us to,
I promise!" Chouji said quickly.
"Of course, of
course, Chouji... I gotta go now. See you!" Ino said, running off and
waving. Chouji sighed, making the loooong trip
back...
---
"Kurenai-sensei!
I'm here!" Ino called, walking towards them and waving.
"Hey,
Ino!" Kurenai
waved. "Hurry up! Hinata wants us to try some of her ointment!" Ino
could see Hinata mumbling something self-deprecating, like 'It's not that
important', and Kurenai comforting her. The girl
needed a kick to the ego...
Ino jogged the last few
steps before stopping and sitting with the rest of them. Kurenai
passed little bottles of ointment around.
"Hinata says this
can make bruises stop hurting for a bit, even if they're almost a week
old..." Kurenai said, rubbing some on her arm.
"This does work, Hinata! Good job!"
Ino tried it on her leg
(she'd bumped it earlier). It worked! It had been annoying her all day, and it
was gone! She grinned, and thanked Hinata (who only blushed and muttered
something like 'It was nothing, Ino...')
"Now,
Kiba, Shino, you guy's train.
Hinata, Ino, you two.. I wanna test you guys on your
chakra levels. That's why I need you two alone - There's a separate one for
each gender. So, both of you, sit down and focus your chakra into your feet.
First, though, take off your shoes and socks..."
The two sat down and
outstretched their legs. Kurenai sat between them, reached
out and yanked her sandals off. Her hand caught Ino's eye.
"You're not
married?" Ino asked suddenly. It was odd, because ninja married young,
maybe in their twenties - Because it might be their only chance. That a woman
like Kurenai, unmarried and still young,
meant she would be looking at least. Though, she might still be taken...
"No,
not really. I thought you'd
notice that, Ino. I haven't even had a real relationship in a while... Now,
focus as hard as you can, I'm going to try something..." Kurenai said casually, as the two girls closed their eyes
and focused. Ino suddenly heard her 'sensei's' voice above the roar in her ears
of her chakra burning in her mind. "Now, lock your chakra to your toes,
then try to pull the chakra, all of it, up to your neck. When you can't pull it
any further, tell me where it stops..."
Ino turned her mind to
the task, first locking then pulling her chakra further and further. She pulled
with all her mind's might. In spite of all her effort, the chakra finally
stopped around her knees. She swore as her eyes shot open.
She looked over at the
other two females. Both were still pulling. Ino bit her lip, annoyed. Did that
mean she had barely any chakra? Yeah right, she didn't believe THAT.
Hinata stopped
suddenly, then Kurenai almost immediately after. Both looked at Ino expectantly.
"I got to my
knees, alright?" Ino asked, irritated, looking at them. "That's
it..."
"Ino, that's
alright! That's where most genin get... It's really great,
it means you have no lack of chakra. Hinata?" Kurenai turned to her official kunoichi student.
"I got just above
my knee, a bit into my thigh, but-" Hinata waved her hands in front of her
at Ino's disappointed sigh, "Only because my father's been training me in
Hyuuga chakra techniques since I was three! Honestly, Ino... To the knees is
really good!"
"So... How does
the technique WORK, Kurenai-sensei? I mean, there's
gotta be a reason it shows us our chakra levels..." Ino asked, after a
reflective moment. At least I got this far... Still... I wonder how far Naruto gets? He's got a lot of chakra...'
"The legs are a
hard place to use chakra flow. Using your whole base of chakra, and stretching
it through the legs, shows how much you have in proportion to your age and
gender. The average non-ninja can only just get to their ankles, if there.
People like your mother, with limited ninja training, might get it to halfway
up their calves. Ninja should have it to their knees, and above that is very
good," Kurenai said, smiling. "It's good that
we did this. I myself can only get to my knees, Ino, so don't look so disappointed."
Ino froze. "Really? But... those complicated jutsu..."
"That's what it is
to be a ninja... And a jounin.
I don't have great chakra, I just use it well - Genjutsu, after all, isn't too
exhausting, just
complicated."
"
I see," Ino said quietly,
slightly mollified. She wasn't deficient, she was just... average. It was a
blow to her pride to be below Hinata, however, even though Ino wanted the best
for her friend.
"Kurenai-sensei, how do you increase your chakra
supply?" Ino asked.
"Increase your
stamina," Was Kurenai's simple answer. Ino
nodded.
"Now, You two...
Kiba! Shino! We're going to learn a new jutsu! Come on over here!" Kurenai gestured the two boys over.
Suddenly, Ino
remembered her promise to Chouji. "Kurenai-sensei...
Is it alright if I train with my team tomorrow, but still come every day?"
"Sure, sure,
Ino... Now, let's get into stance..." Kurenai
nodded, then proceeded to teach her four students. And
in the midst of a lesson, Ino had an idea.
It involved a very
important ramen bar...
---
"Iruka-sensei? This is Yuuhi Kurenai, the Jounin leader of Team 8. I've been training
with her group for the past few weeks. Kurenai-sensei,
this is Umino Iruka, my academy sensei for basically my whole life. Because I
got my week's salary today, I wanted to do something nice for the two people involved
with pretty much my whole growth over the years. So, both of you order, I'll
pay the bill," Ino said, nodding and leading her two sensei's to the Ichiraku stools.
"I... I don't know
what to say..." Kurenai stammered. Iruka just
nodded.
"Don't worry, it's just ramen- Oh! Iruka-sensei! I forgot, I
promised Chouji I'd help him and Shikamaru with the InoShikaChou! I'm sooo sorry..."
"We'll do this
some other time, then-?" Iruka started to rise, but Ino pushed him back
down.
"No, no! I'll just
leave some money, the rest can go on my tab and I'll pay it tomorrow. You two
just sit here and enjoy yourselves! Oh, and since I didn't have a chance to
give you guys these, here!" Ino slapped something on the counter of the amen bar before running off before either could speak. Iruka
and Kurenai glanced down.
It was two tickets for
The Lonely Fox, Konoha's biggest (and most expensive) club. Forget one week's salary, Ino must have used
a whole weeks salary on EACH ticket! Iruka and Kurenai just stared at the tickets.
"Do you think
she's hinting at something, Umino-san?" Kurenai
looked into Iruka's face.
"Well, it would be
extremely rude to refuse the tickets, especially when they were so
expensive..." Iruka said, glancing at them. "What do you think, Yuuhi-san? I haven't been to a club in years..."
"Neither have I...
Though, let's eat a bowl of ramen to seal the deal. Ino offered it, and she'd
be disappointed if we didn't eat, I think..." Kurenai
said, glancing at the man waiting for their order.
"One shrimp and miso for me, then," Iruka said the the
man. "Yuuhi-san?"
"One pork and
vegetable, please," She ordered, then turned to
Iruka. "if we're doing this, we should call each
other by our first names, right... Iruka-san?"
"Alright... Kurenai-san?"
Clunk! Their two bowls
hit the counter...
---
Daylight filtered in
through almost-closed curtains, flickering across the floor. The small
apartment had seen cleaner mornings than this, as there were clothes and random
objects scattered about the bedroom. A pair of eyes fluttered open, and the
woman turned to the man, waking him with a kiss, surprised at her own
initiative. "Wake up, Iruka-kun..."
Iruka's eyes flickered open, and a small, awkward smile
crept onto his face as he looked up into Kurenai's beautiful
crimson eyes. His head was pounding, but he could barely notice. The most
beautiful woman he had ever met had stayed with him for a whole night, without
leaving or sighing... It had been awkward first, knowing each other only
barely, but as the night had continued they'd grown closer.
He hadn't expected it.
She hadn't expected it. The most unique feeling in his chest, the music
pounding, one or two light drinks, nothing major... It had been beautiful. She
was beautiful.
He was struck silent, then sat up. Kurenai kissed him on
the cheek, and said, "Where were we?"
Then both of them realized...
If the sun was shining...
"I only have half
an hour before class! Iruka said, horrified.\
"Forget that, I
have to meat my team in ten minutes!" Kurenai
said, shocked. The two leapt out of the bed, hurriedly pulling on their
clothing. Not sure whose apartment it even was, they stumbled around the room
gathering odds and ends from each others' pockets. Iruka pulled Kurenai's head-protector from inside his pant leg and threw
it to her. She gave him back his wallet.
"Is this your
apartment?" They both asked each other at the same time.
"I... live in a
house," Iruka said.
"I have a nicer
apartment than this," Kurenai said.
Iruka checked his
pockets, and found a key with a note. 'Kakashi's spare key - Apartment 23a in
the Mitsubochi building. Naruto gave it to me.
Enjoy!'
He just sighed and
smiled, handing it to Kurenai. "Just like Ino,
ne?"
"Iruka... I know
this is a bit to ask, but... You wanna do this again, maybe somewhere not so
hectic? Sometime soon... Maybe
tomorrow night?" Kurenai threw her arms
around his shoulders.
"Maybe... dinner
at Hokage Place, I hear the buffet is worth the price. My treat, this
time," Iruka said, smiling.
"Then. See you tomorrow, Iruka-kun..." Kurenai kissed him lightly on the lips, then
disappeared into smoke. Iruka stood, looking at the ground for almost five
minutes. It was the first relationship he'd had in almost a year, and the last
one hadn't ended well either. Were he and Kurenai
jumping into something too quick?
Well, there was only
one thing he could do now. Take it from Hokage Place, see how it spun out.
Then, he jumped out the
window. All on his mind now was getting to class before the bell!