By Alden Hawke
Chapter Four: Training
Sounds of fighting
could be heard from a small clearing as Kurenai's
three students fought. Kiba, Shino and Hinata were all jumping, attacking, defending...
And to the side, two figure were talking quietly. Ino
had come late from her team's own practice, which had fit Kurenai's
plans perfectly... She wanted to talk.
"You set us up,
didn't you, Ino? Don't lie, I know that you programmed
the whole thing..." Kurenai whispered to her
'student', sighing. "Ino, I'm really confused why you did this, set us up
to be together-"
"-I made sure you
had a chance to quit if you wanted to-" Ino interjected.
"-But I wanna
thank you or what you did. My lovelife wasn't a high
priority on my list to worry about, so you helped me out. I know it was an
extremely manipulating thing you did, but that only shows a ninja skill used in
it's own context. Ino... Thank you," Kurenai smiled.
"What? Really? What did happen, anyways? Did it turn out
alright?" Ino asked, leaning forwards, interest clearly showing on her
face.
"Go practice,
Ino... Hey, guys! Rest for a few seconds, Ino's gonna join the fight!" Kurenai called to her team, grinning at Ino. "You're
not the only one who can put people into awkward situations, Ino. Show'em what you got, maybe Kiba will stop calling you a blondie, ne?"
Ino's eyes blazed with
determination. "Yes, sensei!" She said,
smiling and jumping towards her 'group members', getting into stance. The four
got into position.
"This'll be
easy... Shino, I'll show who's leader today! Blondie,
don't even think of getting in the way. You too, Hinata, don't get yourself
hurt!" Kiba yelled, facing Shino (who declined to mention that he'd been
beating Kiba all day, and still had yet to be much impressed).
"GO!" Kurenai swung her hand down. Hinata hesitated, stepping
back. Kiba shot towards Shino, but Ino intercepted him.
"Where you think
you're going, puppy? Afraid you'll have to take a trip to the vet if ya face me?" Ino grinned, getting into her taunting
mode, something she enjoyed greatly.
"Blondie, if
you're ever a match for me I'll go kill myself," Kiba snarled, shooting
forwards with a punch, Ino dodged both the fist and a
bite from Akamaru, hiding in Kiba's
hood. Ino grinned.
"Your dog came
closer to hitting me than you ever will, Kiba. I think I should fight him
instead, probably get a decent fight..." Ino said,
throwing a kunai that Kiba lumped away from. Kiba blazed with fury - Sibling
rivalry, in a way. Akamaru was NOT a better fighter
than he was!
He shot forwards,
punching out at her. She jumped straight over him, kicking his back and
shooting him towards Shino. Turning his momentum to his advantage, he turned
the punch into a horizontal kick, shaking Shino's guarding arm. The two
proceeded to fight, ignoring Ino completely.
"Eugh, I won't be ignored!" Ino made a flurry of hand seals,
charged by adrenaline's surge of chakra. She completed the final seal, and
POOF! Not one, but TWO Ino's stood behind her. Ino turned, looking confused.
"Two? But I-"
"-Can only
do-"
"-One...?"
All three spoke at the same time. Ino just sighed and said, "Don't worry
about it. Let's just fight, alright? Try not to get yourselves killed too
quickly, alright?"
"Roger
that, Ino-sama!" The
clones yelled, saluting. Kurenai sat up, eyes wide
and staring at what she'd just seen - Two bunshins
actually talking and saluting? And why did Ino look so drained?
The two bunshins raced forwards, taking each boy by surprise with a
blow to the face. Both fell over, looking up in confusion.
"What
the hell!?" Kiba said,
jumping onto his feet. Akamaru barked from his hood
in surprise. "Ino, there's two of you!?"
"Three," Ino
said from right behind him. Wire wrapped around his torso before he could
react, as Ino fell backwards, grasping the back of his coat, pulling him with
her, and kicked the boy away from her. He rolled a few feet, before stopping,
and looking up, dazed. He pulled his kunai from his waist, cutting at the wire.
It wouldn't cut. He swore. At least it didn't restrict him, right?
Then she tied the other
end of it to a tree.
"DAMN!" Kiba
swore, trying in vain to remove his coat. "Akamaru,
you can get out, right?" Akamaru barked assent,
and jumping from the coat. "You can bite it, can't you?"
The two worked hard at
trying to get through the wire, cutting for a good two minute, dodging random projectiles
thrown his way.
Meanwhile, Shino had
been dodging attacks from both Kage Bunshin, until finally giving a blow to one. It disappeared
in a puff of smoke. He finally destroyed the second, just as a kunai
flew towards him. He dodged it easily, then looked
around for Ino.
He suddenly looked
right at her. How had he spotted her? She shook herself, trying to free herself
of any bugs. It was of no use, though, as Shino leapt up into the tree she was
hiding. She dodged most of his hits, being hit more often than she enjoyed,
barely getting a hit in. Then she grabbed a kunai, blocking one of his attacks
with the handle, then leapt back down to ground level.
"Gotcha,
blondie!" Kiba yelled as she appeared from above. She twirled to avoid him,
dropping the kunai, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled, causing her to fall.
She twisted away from him, but not before...
"Oh no..."
Ino sighed, feeling the wire slip around her ankle. Kiba grinned, and pulled.
Ino fell, just as Shino came down from the trees, She
twisted away, landing on one foot. Kiba pulled her foot in the air, tipping her
balance, but she landed on one hand and pulled, hard, with her foot. The end of
the wire slipped from Kiba's grasp- But Shino
attacked Ino just as she regained the wire. She ducked the first attack, but he
hit her shoulder- and grabbed the end of the wire.
She swore, pulling out
new wire, and held the loop just as Shino aimed at her face. He kicked. She
went flying towards Kiba, pulling the loop taut and tripping Shino as she flew.
He flipped, reversing the momentum and bringing her flying towards him, landing
on his wire-looped foot... Then tripping on the fallen kunai.
Kiba fell to the ground, after hitting a tree. This was when Akamaru reappeared, flying from the trees and latching onto
the fallen Shino's arm, biting his wrist viciously as Shino tried to get up..
Ino flew into the trees
when Shino didn't stop her momentum by his planned attack, pulling the
awkwardly positioned (he was getting up) Shino and Akamaru
with her... right into Hinata.
---
"Owowow..." Hinata muttered, holding her sleeve up and
wincing as Kiba, shaking nervously, rubbed some of Hinata's
ointment over the bruise.
"It's okay, it's okay, Hinata... It doesn't hurt that much now, does it?" Kiba asked hopefully. "Just in case
those three get it in their heads to fly at you again..." He gestured his
head towards the three guilty ones.
"Hey, We SAID we
were sorry! Are you okay, Hinata?" Ino asked from a few feet away. She
didn't get any closer... She had a feeling Kiba was in one of his 'protective'
moods.
"We are sorry,
Hinata..." Shino said quietly, and Akamaru
barked.
"She can't
understand YOU, Akamaru..." Kiba muttered, rubbing a bit harder, as Hinata winced again. "Sorry, Hinata!"
"It- It's alright,
Kiba-kun..." Hinata murmured. "Thank you... for looking after me...
My wounds, I mean..."
Kiba almost blushed,
grinning. "It's nothing, Hinata! It's fine..."
Ino smiled at the two.
It was almost too cute to bear. She was surprised - Even dogboy
had a heart, after all. She looked around: at Shino, who was doing nothing; Kurenai, who was checking her nails; and Akamaru who was just sitting there looking annoyed. Finally
he barked, jumping up and glaring at Hinata. Kiba smacked him over the head.
"Akamaru!"
Kiba yelled, as the two glared at eachother. After a
few seconds of growling on both sides, the two faced the opposite ways. Hinata's eyes widened.
"Please don't
fight because of me!" Hinata waved her hands around. Kiba immediately
turned her way, tone softening. "It's not about you,
Akamaru's just got a stick up his ass about us not
using our jutsu..."
Akamaru barked, glaring at Kiba. This was an obvious lie,
but one that made Hinata stop stressing at least. Kiba smiled. "Don't
worry about Akamaru an' me. Worry about yourself! At
least if your IN the fight you have a reason to be
hurt! Why were you lurking there? Hinata..." Kiba sighed. "I worry
about you, idiot! Just... don't get hurt, alright?"
"A-a-alright,
Kiba-kun..." Hinata looked down. Kiba looked horrified with himself.
"No, no, no
Hinata! I just mean, don't get yourself in troublesome spots... You gotta get
out there, fight! I know you'd be
awesome if you worked a bit, right? Who
cares if you aren't the fastest learner? You've gotta be one of the best
strategists in the class! Just gotta go for the goal!" Kiba pumped his
fist into the air, grinning. "Try it, Hinata! Hiya!"
"Hi... Hiya!"
Hinata shoved her fist into the air, smiling. "Thank you, Kiba-kun!"
"No problem... We
gonna fight again? Hinata, you sit this one out. You've got bruises all over.
Let's go!" Kiba jumped up.
---
Ino wrapped the chain
around her fist, breathing a bit harder. The wire had worked, but it hadn't
moved as easily as thin chain would. Swinging it, she shot the weighted end
against the tree, pulled it back, shot it again by pulling
it back again, harder.
Ten, twenty, thirty
times she did this, until the tree had a significant dent in it. She grinned, proud of herself. Now, to try
something else. She pulled more chain out from her belt, swinging it
into the trees and snagging a branch. Then she jumped, quickly tying the other
end onto a kunai's handle. Swinging from the
makeshift swing-rope, she twisted in different contortions, trying kicks,
punches, seals and jutsu while swinging. She was going to master these chains,
and be the one with an unexpected fighting style at the Chuunin exams in just a
month. Naruto had been gone for two months, and she was worried whether his
team would make it back in time.
She swung, throwing,
kicking, punching in different directions, trying to find the perfect grip.
She'd bought chain gloves, too, from her weekly genin money. They could
withstand more jutsu, sword strokes, and they hurt like hell when someone else
got hit with them. They were some of the best on the market, too. Since her
parents still provided for her, she could buy pretty much whatever - Her
mother's shop and father's Jounin pay covered any expenses.
Then she practiced some
blocks with the short sword her father bought her as a graduation present - a
short sword, but useful. She knew she'd never master it by the exams, but she
could at least learn some blocks, right? She practiced these for another hour,
her mind becoming bored with it long before that. But what if she had to fight
Sakura? If Sakura had a sword, then she should be able to defend herself,
right?
Ino's training schedule
had become more rigorous, longer, tougher since Naruto
left. She hated it, but it was all she could do now. Sakura wasn't here,
Sasuke-kun wasn't,. Naruto wasn't.
WHY wasn't he there
with her? Why had he run off to to an important
mission while she got stuck with a team she never even PRACTISED with? Why?
WHY?
She punched the log
harder, and harder, muttering swear words under her breath. She was stuck here
with boring missions, boring training... At least she had an interesting team
to train WITH. Even dogboy was growing on her.
Speaking of him... He
was here? She turned around to see him and his dog walking towards her, with a
determined face. "Hey, blon-
Ino!"
Ino? He must want something, she decided, jogging
towards him. Her hand had started to hurt anyways. She finally stopped in front
of him. "What do you want, dog- Kiba? This isn't exactly your stretch of
the forest, is it?"
"Truce,
alright?" He said suddenly, shooting his hand out.
"What?" Ino
was taken aback. Was THIS what he'd come here for? A truce?
"I mean, Kurenai-sensei gets annoyed when we fight all the time, and
Hinata doesn't like it, and... well... I respect you now, okay?" Kiba
sighed.
"Damn, I didn't
want to tell you that, now you'll get all high and might on my ass. I don't
LIKE you that much, but... you are a better fighter than I thought.
"Same
here, dogboy. How 'bout a shake on mutual respect?" Ino
said, holding her own hand out. Kiba nodded, and took her hand in a shake. Then
the chains in the trees caught his eyes, both of which widened.
"Chains!?" Kiba looked horrified. "You're a sadist, you
know that, blondie."
"I do believe I
am," Ino grinned, then quirked her mouth. "You know, since Naruto's
gone, I have no-one to help me annoy Iruka-sensei for ramen. You like ramen,
Kiba?"
Kiba grinned. "You
kidding? It's gotta be my favourite
food, next to meat o' course. Need a hand, I'll go for it if ramen's involved..."
Ino grinned, and the
two set off on a journey: To annoy Iruka, and get some ramen!
--
"You know, I never
thought you and Kiba got along, Ino..." Iruka said, pulling out some money
and laying it on the counter of the ramen bar. Ino grinned, giving her order to
the waiter-person.
"Well, when it
came ti ramen, we finally agreed on somethin', ne, puppy?: She elbowed
Kiba playfully. He groaned.
"No wonder your
team shipped you off to us, you're a nightmare, blondie.
How long's the ramen take to come, 'Ruka-sensei?" Kiba leaned onto the counter to ask his
former teacher.
"About a minute...
They're fast, Ichiraku guys. They pre-prepare every
type of ramen for people who order it, and if any start getting cold, they eat it!"
Iruka grinned. "It's quite a good system, considering most days the waiters
still only maybe get a bowl each."
"I'm Ayame, and I'll be serving you for the evening. Two miso, one pork-beef-and-chicken, and
three pork and miso?" She asked, laying
it down on the table. Each grabbed their portions, eagerly digging into the
meal. Kiba was amazed at Ino's speed.
"Eating with
Naruto, you have to be fast. Otherwise any un-gotten-to ramen bowls are up for
the taking, ne, 'Ruka-sensei? Remember those THREE
pork ramen's he stole from you without you even
noticing?" Ino smiled, as Iruka sighed.
"I remember, yeah.
Luckily it was on half-off day, ne?" Iruka smiled back, laughing a little.
"Naruto eats a lot..."
"Naruto... He was
dead-last, right?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow. "How'd you become
his friend, blondie? You must be a million times
better than he is..."
"Not really. Just
because he got low marks doesn't mean he's a bad ninja, he just... wasn't a
good school-ninja. He could beat you, probably, Kiba."
"He could not! I'm
a lot better than he is!" Kiba said, annoyed.
"He could beat you
any day, pup-face!" Ino roared back, eyes aflame.
"Stop it, you
two," Iruka said firmly, putting a hand between them. "Naruto is not
here to prove anything, so... This is a useless argument."
"Eugh, I give up..." Kiba said, before returning to his
depleting ramen. Iruka, seeing that Kiba had almost finished, ordered another
of the same kind, and seeing that Ino was also on her last bowl, called for
another for her.
"So... Ino, what
was this about you not training with your own team? That could be disastrous,
seeing as in the Chuunin exams, teams have been known to be grouped together.
You'll have to start training with them more..." Iruka said, poking Ino in
the arm with the chopsticks. She rubbed her arm and pouted.
"Ow...
Iruka-sensei... How about every other day? Is that better? It's not like I don't
already do missions with them..." She asked, checking for a bruise. Iruka
chuckled inwardly, then nodded.
"Much
better. You only have a month
until the exams, right? Work, study, and try your best! That's what I always
say, ne?" Iruka smiled. "You have to be nominated by your sensei's
first, and that'll be hard. The Chuunin exams are rough on first-year genin...
some die, some are permanently injured... maybe you guys should skip this
one..."
"NOT IN
HELL!" Both genin screamed, then looked at each other and grinned, sort of
awkwardly. The 'friendship' between them was growing more sincere every moment.
"Hell yeah, Me,
Shino and Hinata can make it through that thing!" Kiba said, cheering.
"The InoShikaCho
never fails, right, Iruka-sensei?" Ino asked rhetorically. "My dad and his team
passed as rookies, why should we be any different?"
'I can think of a few
things...' Iruka thought, before shaking the thought away and smiling.
"I'm sure you'll be fine!" He lied through his teeth.
They'd never make it.
They'd die, or be maimed, or traumatized. The teachers wouldn't nominate
rookies, though. They were safe. Let Ino and Kiba think they'll make it in...
"Well, if you two
have eaten your fill, I have a few things to pick up, and a bath at home with
my name on it. Then, papers with my students' names on it,
which will last me all afternoon and night. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow,
you too. Good night," Iruka smiled, and stood. He paid the bill, and the
three split their separate ways.
---
Ino woke up two weeks
later, the sound of voices in her ears and a grin on her face. Jumping up, she
looked out the window. The Chuunin Exams were in the air! Though it was still
dark in the sky, the village had fixed that long ago with a large amount of
streetlights, giving it the air of around noon instead of the early hours of
the morning. Foreigners had been appearing for almost a week; first those from
Stone and Waterfall, then their allies from the Sand. She loved the exotic
feeling in the air, an air of danger and excitement. It wasn't only
participants coming, spectators from all of the countries came daily.
The world was great.
Ino stood, gathered some clothes, and raced into the bathroom. There she got
ready: Staring into the mirror, undressing, staring in the mirror some more,
showering, drying, changing, back to staring in the mirror as she applied her
small bits of makeup.
She'd decided a long
time ago she was gorgeous. Others had started just after that.
She made her way
downstairs, slipping on some indoor sandals (one simple formality her mother
had decided on). They were comfortable, worn-in after two years of slipping in
and out. She 'slipped' downstairs, into her family's kitchen set up behind the
flower shop. Her mother was making
pancakes, and her father was sitting at the table, looking
as tired as always.
"Good morning,
Ino-chan! Sit down, have some pancakes before your mission!" her mother
smiled at her. She and her mother had an awkward relationship, her mother not
approving of most things in her life and Ino disliking her mother's nosy tendencies
- But they still loved each other. They were pleasant enough, when not
slighting each other in small ways.
"Good morning,
princess..." Inoshi said tiredly over the table.
He was always like this before her mother pulled out the coffee (She didn't
drink it, though, swore it murdered your insides. But she knew what a ninja's
life was like, so permitted her family to drink it).
Ino grinned as her
mother brought over the coffee. Her parents allowed her a tiny cup in the
morning, to keep her awake through the day. Then, she wolfed down her pancakes
(her unhealthy food for the week) and raced out to meet her team... And bumped into Shikamaru.
"Uzumaki's back, Ino," he said lazily. "Uchiha and Sakura too."