Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Closer ❯ Chapter 13

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Ah the days when things in her life moved to slow for her. Shikamaru’s motivation, Choji’s appetite, they were simple things she had to deal with when training. Asuma had been patient and taken things slow on their account. He was a thoughtful sensei. One she really really really missed.

Ino hissed in pain as a shuriken cut across her arm, leaving a shallow scratch she deduced quickly, would not scar. She crouched from the other four hurled at her, rolling to her right as gracefully as she could before doing a quick back flip to get to her feet. She could feel blood run down her arm but kept her eyes on her new sensei who was preparing another attack.

Behind Anko, the wind kicked up, pulling at her tan trench coat and whipping her short black hair around her head like tentacles. Ino’s blood ran chill at the bright, crazed grin forming on Anko’s mouth.

“Cutting Rain jutsu!” Ino’s eyes widened and her flushed face paled. The raining kunais were coming at her to fast! Was this chick really trying to kill her? Ino gripped the only weapon she had been allowed this training session. She really didn’t want to be killed any time soon. Think Ino! She moved on instinct really, throwing her kunai down, kneeling and pouring as much chakra as she could muster into it. The earth beneath her hardened and she quickly grabbed the edged on the forming wall, barley having enough time to pull it up and over her head, shielding herself in its cup. Her temporary and hastily made mud wall shuddered under the assault of Anko’s kunais. Did she make it thick enough was the blonde’s only thought.

Ino’s panic quickly faded after the final shudder and she bit her thumb, painting a line down the uneven surface of the wall. She brought her hands together in a loud clap. Horse, Snake, Rat, Tiger and then placed her both hands on the rock. It crumbled under the force of her angry chakra and sent flying chunks before her like charging bees.

There was a chuckle and Ino whirled around to see an unharmed, smirking Anko leaning against a nearby tree. “It would have worked if there was someone in front of you, but you’re too slow.”

Ino glared. “What the hell was up with that attack!?” She yelled. “You could have told me you were—”

“Were gonna try and skewer you? Tch, an enemy would do no such thing. You have to think quickly at times.” Anko shot back at her. Ino jerked her special kunai from the ground trying not to let Anko know how drained she was. But Anko knew. “You need more chakra. You need more control.”

Ino lowered her head. How many times was she going to tell her that? “Not something I can do overnight.” She muttered, ignoring her temper and hurt feelings at Anko’s blunt, but truthful criticism.

“Of course not. That’s why you’re training with me.” Anko grinned, puffing up a bit proudly. Ino let her temper fade a little. “Is that kunai your only secret weapon?” Ino stared down at her kunai, worn and battered. She would be so lost if she didn’t have this. She knew she couldn’t always rely on it. “Where did you get it anyways?” Ino smiled, remembering Sasuke asking a similar question.

“I know people.” Then a light turned on in her head. “Himo! My scythe!” Ino suddenly spouted. “I totally forgot!”

Anko’s brows creased in annoyance. “What the hell are you babbling about? Who is Himo?”

Ino smiled apologetically. “He’s this amazing old guy in Old Leaf. He was the one who got me this kunai.” And the other four she had stashed away. Ino put a thoughtful finger to her full lips. “Or rather it was an extra after I bought a lot of stuff.”

Anko grabbed Ino by the front of her shirt. “What the hell Yamanaka? You’ve been holding out on me? How long have we been training and you’re telling me this now?” She demanded letting Ino go and charging off of the training field. Ino recovered quickly and ran after her.

Old Leaf still looked relatively the same. Because it was to the very back and east of the main village, it was unharmed by the invasion. The old people there had lived through countless war years so they knew what to do when the invasion started so Ino wasn’t surprised that all the old people there were still alive.

Himo’s shop on the outside had a slick new paint job and new windows. The door was brand spankin’ new as well and dinged merrily when both Ino and Anko entered. Inside looked like it was shaping up more. The grey withered floor boards were replaced by blonde bamboo slates, polished to shine. The display cases housed remarkable new weapons and utility supplies. The clothing section was still breath taking and the camping and food supplies had expanded as well.

She heard a cane tapping on the new floors and the old man came from the back sporting black and gold silk robes. His owlish eyes were framed by new, ivory glasses and his facial hair was trimmed neatly. “Ino! Long time no see young lady! It almost felt like you had forgotten all about me.” He greeted jovially, picking up his elderly pace.

“Sorry old man. Missed me?”

Himo chuckled. “Come to get your newest toy? I’ve been keeping it polished and safe since it arrived.”

“Oh? What new toy did you get? Is he talking about that scythe you were insanely giggling over?” Anko asked, following them to the back of the store. Ino didn’t answer. She was too excited to see her imported goods.

The storage room looked like it to had been subjected to a make-over. Floor to ceiling metal shelves were added, each with the last name and first initialed name to accompany them. Most of the rookie nine, Asuma, Kurenai and Iruka had their own shelf. An unopened, long rectangular wooden box was pulled from her shelf and placed on the carved walnut colored table in the center of the room.  Ino eagerly pushed aside the lid and peered inside.

“Ooohh! Hey!” She didn’t even get a chance to fawn over the beautifully crafted scythe before Anko lifted it from his resting place.

“ Killer! I’ve never seen such great craftsmanship.” Her eyes glazed over in a loving manner. “Its balanced and the grip contours to my hand perfectly.” She crooned, backing away to swing it in graceful arches. Ino’s vampire fanged blade was almost the same height as she was, coming to her chin as Anko stood it on the floor.

“Hey! It mine!” Ino protested, not liking the greedy look on Anko’s face. She was ignored.

“How come I’ve never seen this kind of workman’s ship in the other weapon shops?” Anko demanded running a finger over the very sharp blade, purposely cutting her finger. She did that a lot. Ino couldn’t help but think that her scythe wasn’t the only vampire. Anko liked licking Ino’s blood off of her weapons. It was something the blonde was still trying to get used to.

“Because the shops in Main Leaf suck! That’s why!” Ino fumed, taking her scythe forcefully from Anko. Hey she was right Ino suddenly thought. It really did feel balanced. She experimented with it as Himo spoke.

“It’s made from the same metals in you kunais.” He said rather excitedly. “My friend decided to try it in bigger weapons and this is one of the first that actually passed test trials.”

“Really?” Ino eyes the blade, noting the familiar star stamped on the base of the blade.

“Hold those thoughts blondie.” Anko tsked. “This weapon might be uber cool and all but it’s going to suck a lot more of your chakra than those little kunais do.”

“Oh?” Ino asked with a frown, testing it by trying to push her chakra into it. It was a lot tougher than doing it with the kunai. It didn’t even make it past the half mark of the handle.

“She’s right.” Himo said with a wise look in his owlish eyes. “It’s because the metal is denser and has more mass then the kunai. Your chakra has to envelop the whole blade for the elemental jutsu to work.”

She gave up trying after the fourth time. “I’ll learn how to use it.” She told them with a stubborn tilt to her chin. She spent a small fortune to get this made and there was no way she was going to let her purchase go to waste.

“I don’t know.” Anko hummed skeptically. “Training with Ibiki takes a lot out of you. Add my awesome tutoring in you schedule and you still get worn out fast. Now this? Pushing yourself so hard will get you nowhere fast.”

Ino knew she was right. She had only been at this for a month or so. “I’ll learn.” She insisted. “But I guess I can hold off on using this until I’m ready.”

“Good girl.” Anko took the scythe from Ino and placed it back in its box. “Ibiki and I will have a talk about your schedule. You know, work out the kinks and such. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to work with this weapon before the year is out.”

Ino was a bit touched. “Really?”

Anko snorted. “No, but hey you can dream right?”

Training with Ibiki was much much easier than Anko, no doubt about it. When she was practicing her clan jutsus, she was in her element. Despite his reputation, Ibiki was a very patient man and teacher. He walked her step by step though the process of infiltrating someone’s mind. While he was stingy with his praises, he was generous with his lessons. He even commented on how quick she was able to master some steps.

When learning, Ino often found herself visiting prisons. The inmates there were used freely as canvases for her. Homework even. When she had first arrived at one of those scary, loud and intimidating places, no doubt she was scared. But after a few sessions of mind raping (that’s what Anko called it) a couple of inmates, she knew that this was her calling.

Some might have called her some kind of sadist; after all, ripping through someone’s private mind for the purpose of exposing weakness was an easy way to get someone to submit. It was a gift really, to destroy someone without the mess of blood. She was all for that approach.

Maybe in the back of her mind there rang a bell of guilt. But Ibiki had told her to ignore it and be her own judge on how far she was willing to go. It was a dark gift in a way. Things she had seen in someone’s mind and things they did always provoked her when she slept. Unwanted images would crowd out bright happy dreams and replace them with untamed nightmares. But it happened less over time.

When she was under Ibiki’s tutelage, she allowed herself to be dark and sadistic, but outside his training, she violently pushed out those things, relishing in the light matters. It was like she was beginning to live in two worlds. She would balk at the thought of ever using her clan’s mind jutsus on anyone other than those she deemed a “bad guy”, but then she anticipated breaking a prisoner down as soon she met up with Ibiki. It made her a bit worried. Would she ever find a balance?

“I don’t know.” Ibiki told her when she asked. They were back at Torture and Interrogation Headquarters, in a comfortable lobby with a peaceful fountain gurgling in the center, betraying the darkness and screams that were silenced in the back of the building. “It’s not something I can tell you.”

Ino sighed, absently rolling her cup of tea in her hands. All the people she had “practiced” on had been male. Dirty, shrewd, arrogant men who had yelled obscene and disgusting things to her when she had arrived at the prison. She showed them though. Maybe that was why she liked mind raping the prisoners because small, weak and vulnerable her was able to overpower them without laying a single perfectly manicured finger on them.

“I try not to be sexist, but I have to tell you, looking like a fragile little doll should be used for you advantage. Bat those pretty blue eyes and swish that long blonde hair of yours. It will surprise the hell out of your victims when they realize that there were taken in by a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Ino grinned, keeping that in her mind as they left the lobby to her next “lesson” waiting for them.

Even though she had been temporarily separated from her team she sometimes got to do missions with them if it was serious enough. She loved those times being with Shikamaru, Choji and Asuma. Those missions always ended too fast for her. And even though Shikamaru and Choji didn’t know why she was training with Anko and Ibiki, they knew that it probably had to do with Sasuke because Sakura and Naruto were in the same boat she was.

Times when she was free from training were rare. There wasn’t a day that went by when she had a break. Anko enjoyed harassing her and Ibiki would always come up with new things for her to learn. So when she had free time, she usually hung out with her equally busy friends. Sakura was always at the hospital, or at Lady Tsunade’s side but their nightly sleepovers gave them some time together. She would catch Kiba a couple of times when he was walking a restless Akamaru at night. Hinata was always in the company of her cousin Neji (whom Ino still disliked but was trying to be more open minded because of his part in the Sasuke retrieval mission) but she would usually catch breakfast with her. Shino would come into the flower shop in search of bugs and special pollen and they would chat. She saw Shikamaru and Choji more than the others but when they were on missions together they usually searched for a creek or river to hang out by. Like old times.

The only person she didn’t get to spend a lot of time with was Naruto. So when he asked her to catch dinner with him, she immediately dumped her plans with Sakura and went with him. She knew Sakura would understand so she didn’t worry much about breaking a sleep-over date.

“I’m glad you’re still here Naruto.” Ino said as she slid into a bar chair at Naruto’s favorite place. She stared at him wondering what was going through his mind. He had been on a barrage of missions these past months so between her training and his busy schedule, there hadn’t been much interaction between the two.

“Where would I go?” Naruto asked, slurping in a mouthful of noodles.

“Lady Tsunade told me that you’re going to be training away from the village with the peeper Sannin Jiraiya for a few years.” She said, looking into her own steaming bowl of pork ramen.

“Oh? You heard?” Naruto peered at her from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah. She said something else about some organization after you but she didn’t tell me more.” She carefully gauged his expression. She really wanted to know more about it but it seemed Naruto was as closed mouthed as the Lady Hokage.

“Training.” Naruto echoed. “Everyone is doing a lot of that lately.” He tipped his head and downed his ramen broth before asking for another serving.

“Yeah. After what happened at the Chuunin exams everyone is so serious.” She commented, taking a bite of her boiled egg. Hum, not bad.

“Yep. I’m getting serious. I have to if I wanna bring Sasuke back.” He said with a grin before digging into his new bowl of food.

Ino smiled, her mouth full of noodles. “Naruto.” She began, swallowing. “I never got to say this to you at the hospital.” She stood, Naruto keeping a close eye on her as she moved behind him. She climbed on the bar of his stool and slid her arms around his warm shoulders. He stiffened in surprise. “Thank you.” She murmured resting her cheek on his back just listening to his breathing and rapid heartbeat. “You did your best. Even if you didn’t bring him back you risked your life for him. Sasuke is so lucky to have you as his best friend.” She murmured, closing her eyes to keep her tears in.

“Ino…”

“I’m glad you’re still here.” She repeated. “Seeing your determination makes me and Sakura stronger.” She slowly let him go, running her fingers through his soft, spiky hair in a friendly kind of way. “So thanks.”

Curse them! Ino crumpled the note in her hand. “Curse them!” She yelled making flower worker Mai and flower worker Tinsu glance up at her as she stormed down the stairs in righteous anger.

“Woah girl, what are you pissed about?” The periwinkle haired girl, Tinsu asked, sitting her pert ass on the counter and crossing her impossibly long, shapely legs. Dressed in a black mini skirt and body hugging red vest, she looked like a viper sunning herself, a perfect species of feminine sexuality. Even more than Anko usually displayed when they were chilling at one of the snake mistress’s dango shops. Anko loved the dark, burning gazes she received from passing ninja when she had her tan trench off of her. That almost see through fishnet bodysuit never showed anything, but it gave the teasing illusion that it did.

Mai was a bubbly, cheerful redhead, dressed today in a short white dress offset with a sorta tie-dyed looking grandmotherly buttoned sweater with awesome black calf boots. She was a lot more laid back and used to Ino’s screams.

“This was the mission I had been looking forward to and they knew it! Why did they have to leave? I wasn’t that sick!” She cried, tossing Asuma’s note in the nearby trash as she stalked around the checkout counter. Tensi held out one of her smooth, shiny legs, stopping her. “What?” Ino demanded.

“If you’re going out, then can you take this to a waiting client?” She motioned to a bouquet of flowers in the glass refrigerator. “That dumbass Yuri hasn’t come back yet.”

Ino glowered at her a bit, but remembered that Tinsu and Mai had been carefully watching over her since they heard about what happened with Sasuke. They, along with the other two workers, Saiyuki and Michi usually ate dinner with her when her father was gone. They would stop over time to time with lunch or dinner and make sure she ate right. It was like having four really hot moms looking out for her. “Fine. Give me the address.”

Outside in the cool afternoon, she met up with Sakura who was on her way to the hospital for some reason. “So unfair.” Ino moaned after telling Sasuke what the boys had done to her.

“Ino! Sakura!” They both turned to Naruto, running to them with an unlimited supply of energy.

“Hey.” They both chirped. Naruto frowned.

“Whenever I see the both of you, you’re both already doing something. When can we hang out? Where are Shikamaru and Choji?”

Ino instantly pouted. “On a mission. I wanted to go too.”

“Huh?”Sakura smiled at Naruto with a little shrug.

“They left on an urgent mission while Ino was out sick with a cold.” She explained.

“I wasn’t even that sick! They could have waited!” Ino protested, clutching the flowers a little harder in her arms as she fumed. She didn’t like being left out. Especially when with was mission with her own team. Her cold wasn’t even that bad! She even trained with Ibiki during that time.

Behind Naruto she saw someone quietly approach. “Naruto.”

The blonde jumped a mile before spinning on his heel. “Shino! Don’t scare me like that!”

Shino was unreadable as usual. “Naruto Uzumaki. Ino Yamanaka. The Hokage summons you to the tower.” He said quietly, but firmly. Ino lifted a brow.

“Me too?”

Shino led them to the tower with quiet authority. Shino…she wished she knew a little more about him. But he was always gone, or always busy. Maybe this mission can change things Ino speculated happily. At least she was going on a normal mission. It beat training with Anko.

She should have kept her thoughts on that quiet, because she had jinxed herself. As soon as the door to Lady Tsunade’s office opened, she saw that it would be Anko serving as their leader. Anko turned, a little surprised to see Ino. Her gazed was taken away by Naruto’s loud gasp.

“Ah! That scary Chuunin examiner!” He screamed in, pointing a shaking finger at her.

“Oh my. You sure do say sentimental things.” Anko mused.

“Why are you here?” Naruto choked out with a slight trace of fear in his voice. Ino put a hand on his shoulder. She could totally sympathize.

The mission was to find some kind of half fish, half human creature called a kamia. Like those things existed, but a mission was a mission. They also had to protect some ships carrying monies to Water Country for protection since Sea Country didn’t have a hidden village.

After the quick journey to boarders of Sea Country, Ino felt an uncomfortable feeling spark to life. Her heart began to beat at the familiar feeling of dread. She hadn’t felt that feeling in such a long time. The feeling of a Cursed Seal throbbing to life. She was behind everyone looking at their backs. Shino and Naruto were chatting (more like Naruto was talking and Shino was forced to listen), and Anko…her left shoulder was twitching. If Ino wasn’t watching her so intensely, she wouldn’t have noticed. Actually come to think of it, Anko was unusually subdued. Frighteningly quiet and serious. It made her worried. Really worried.

Anko told them to secure a boat and she would meet them later. Ino silently watched her go, not feeling very good about the way Anko was acting like nothing was the matter. Naruto didn’t notice, but it looked like Shino was a bit suspicious. He didn’t say anything though.

When they reached the coastline, they entered the small populated village harbor and each separated to get information on where to get a boat to go to the islands. It was hard though, the people there were so freaked out, the thought of lending them one of their precious boats was a disapproving one. Each fish venue she entered was pretty much the same. It was discouraging. That was until she came to one in particular. There was a tall girl there, pale, plain and quiet. She had dark hair and dull dark eyes with bandages on half of her body. The fish she gave the vendor were worth more than what he was giving her and Ino butted in and told him so. But the girl took the money without saying anything and left like a floating spirit, down the cobblestone road.

“A lot of people don’t do business with her since she was the only one who came back.” The middle aged vendor told she, Naruto and Shino quietly, watching the girl disappear down the little sloped hill.

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked with a troubled expression on his face.

“A lot of people were spirited away. Gone without a word to never come back. The village is small so everyone revolted. She lives alone at the edge of the village.” He told them.

The story was really familiar. People disappearing, and Anko’s strange behavior. She would have to think about it some more. In the mean time, she and Shino left to a ferry post. Naruto had run off somewhere but she wasn’t very worried about him. She saw the look in his eyes when the fisherman told them the girl’s story. Naruto knew best of all, what it felt like to be an outcast. He probably went to talk to that girl.

“The last ferry left to the islands.” A stubborn ferry man said, not even standing from the low stool next to the oar shack. Ino gritted her teeth.

“But it’s still bright out.” She told him. He scowled.

“There’s no one who ferries around sunset here.” He told her, crossing his arms defiantly in front of his chest. “Sorry. Come again tomorrow.”

Ugh! So frustrating! Everyone saw the headbands on their persons. Didn’t they knew they were trying to help them? “Then is there any way to get to Haha-jima without a ferry?” Shino asked calmly. Ino was glad he was there or she would have punched the old man for being so uncooperative. The old man sighed, seeing as he would be getting no peace until he helped.

“I don’t suggest this, but I can lend you one of my boats.” He paused. “For a small fee.”

“Of course.” Ino said with an irritated look, tempted to mind rape him right then and there. She should have been more patient, but this whole place was getting on her nerves. Maybe it was because she was tired, or maybe it was because Anko was acting so weird. Whatever, the sooner they got to one of the islands and dealt with this so called kamia, the better she would feel.

She and Shino waited by the boat for like an hour before Naruto showed. She snapped at him for disappearing for so long without telling them where he went and he carelessly apologized and asked where Anko was.

“You and Anko-sensei are so alike. Disappearing without saying a word.” Ino said with a raised brow. Naruto looked insulted.

“That’s really annoying if you think I’m the same as that crazy lady!” He huffed.

Ino didn’t say anything as the woman in question came down the stone steps to the empty harbor. Anko pulled a kunai and playfully held it at Naruto’s throat. “Who is crazy?” Anko purred, touching her cheek to his.

Naruto gulped eyeing the sharpened kunai that was stroking his cheek. “Sorry.”

Ino suppressed a grin. “Where were you at?” She demanded of Anko who had released the subdued blonde.

“Oh, just went to gather some information.” She said elusively and then grinned in that annoying fake way that was making Ino become cautiously curious. “Let’s go.”

The ride to Haha-jima made her more sleepy. The rocking of the boat and Naruto chatter made her eyes drift close. “It’s already dark. Where does your energy come from?” She asked Naruto with a little yawn, tempted to rest her head on a nice smelling Shino.

“The mood is what’s important for these times.” He said with a grin. He always looks on the bright side of things, Ino thought with a small smile of admiration. Then all of the sudden, the winds pitched and the small boat began rocking.

“I must have hit a rock!” Naruto exclaimed, gritting his teeth to gain control of the back oar.

“I’ll help.” Shino bolted from his seat. But even then, both boys were unable to move it. Water splashed in the boat, filling it until it reached the top of her toes. Ino’s internal alarms went haywire when she heard something shoot from the water and wrap itself around her slender waist.

“Ino!” Anko called out to her. The slimy tentacle whipped her in its grasp like a rag doll, before forcefully tossing her to the waiting water. Wind whipped around her like a hurricane. She swallowed her panic, killed her fear and righted her careless flight in the air with a backwards air summersault, landing on the surface of the sea with learned grace. Her legs felt a little rubbery, but she slapped her thighs with both hands, forcing some chakra in them before taking off across the water as Naruto was pulled under by a whirlpool.

The two men who were upsetting them looked really familiar, but she was unable to place them at the moment. Anko’s fire attack was really something, but even that didn’t tip the odds. The two men disappeared in the fog and left them alone. Then the frantic search began.

“I can’t find him.” Shino told them as they met on the water after searching for two hours. Everyone was soaked to the bone. Anko looked angry, but resigned at the same time. Her shoulder was twitching, but she didn’t make a move to touch her cursed seal. Ino wanted to do something for her sensei, but Anko was very independent and didn’t like other feeling pit for her. She was tough like that.

“Let’s sleep for now. We’ll continue in the morning.” Anko told them reluctantly.

Early the next morning, she and Shino were in a new boat, in the same place where Naruto went missing. She was cross legged, in sensor mode. Shino was sending his little bug everywhere in search. Her senor skills were a lot better these days. Anko had her practicing before they began training, and after they finished.

“He’s nowhere close.” Shino’s quiet, dark voice pierced the serenity of the soothing waters.

“I can’t sense him either.” She opened her eyes. “He’s okay, right Shino?”

Shino turned to her. “He won’t die so easily. He’s a Leaf Ninja.” He assured her.

They got their first break on the kamia after interviewing a widower and her mother. She and Shino told Anko and together, the three of them left to the girl’s house at the edge of the village. Through the trees, Anko led them, stopping the party when they saw the girl in question cautiously slinking on a secluded beach next to a tall flat mountain side.

“Let’s follow her. Carefully.” Anko instructed them. And they did just that, entering the wedge cut in the mountain. It led into a small cove. The girl she recognized as the pathetic outcast the other day wasn’t aware of their presence. When she shook her arms her bandages ripped and her skin changed into green scales. Ino was taken back, but she quickly refocused. She and Shino confronted her.

“I was so totally sure that kamias didn’t exist.” She muttered to herself. The girl, what was her name? Isaribi? She hissed at them and dove into the water with a big, distracting splash. She wouldn’t let her escape. Ino took off across the water, keeping a sharp eye on the girl’s shadow below the water. She took out one of her kunais and wrapped an exploding tag around the hilt. With a cry, she hurled it at the top of the opening the girl was trying to escape out of. Huge rocks tumbled down, sealing off her escape. Shino was right behind her and tossed some restraining wires around the girl, holding her in place. It was that time when Naruto had finally come. Ino was relieved to see that he was unharmed.

“You missed out.” She told him, motioning to the girl floating in the water with down cast eyes. “We caught the kamia.”

“Oh? That’s her?” Ino looked past the blonde at a frozen Anko, staring at the girl with a pale face and wild eyes.

“Anko-sensei? What’s wrong?” She asked, noticing the chakra around the still woman. She looked like she was going to faint. It was then that she clutched her shoulder, falling to her knees in pain. Ino leapt to her side, pushing Anko’s coat back and putting a hand on the burning marks. She could feel the cursed seal’s chakra pulsing strongly. “How long has it been like this?” She whispered harshly, leaning close to Anko.

“It only happens when I remember…or I’m close to…him.” She said through labored breathing, groaning loudly with a trailing whimper. Ino’s heart thumped painfully in her chest. But what was it? Was Orochimaru really close by? Was Sasuke…

“Naruto let them go.” Shino’s calm, strong voice brought her attention back to what was happening with her other two teammates. She missed the appearance of one of the men they faced yesterday. The tall, pudgy guy had his arm draped around the fish girl’s shoulders and was disappearing in a whirlpool of water.

“But—”

“Don’t be stubborn. You’ll be repeating the same mistake you did yesterday.” Shino told him, halting the furious blonde. Ino stuck close by Anko’s side, watching the sad fish girl be taken. She felt Naruto’s pain and guilt strongly permeate their environment. She knew it took a lot of restraint on his part to just let her go.

Anko was trembling in her arms. Ino glanced down in sudden worry. “Anko-sensei?”

“It hurts too much.” She hissed before her eyes rolled back in her head and she lost consciousness. Ino shook her sensei a couple of times, but to no avail. With the help of the boys, they managed to get Anko to the shore. They talked quietly about what they should do, all the while, keeping a concerned eye on their unconscious leader. Ino smoothed back Anko’s bangs and placed a cool wash cloth on her forehead to help bring Anko’s fever down. The cursed seal glowed ominously in the dark night, finally turning black after an hour. Shino told them that they would most likely find Isaribi at Kikai-jima. Naruto had asked why. That’s when Anko finally woke up.

“Sensei, are you alright?” Ino asked in concern, quickly darting a look at her cursed seal.

“I’m alright.” She said with an unreadable expression. She turned to the boys. “There is something I should tell you about the kamia. Those things called kamias were once human who bodies have been modified.”

“What? What do you mean?” Naruto demanded angrily.

“Those spirited away incidents didn’t occur because of a monster. Orochimaru was kidnapping people for the research he was conducting at the time.”

Ino had felt like this mission was a bit familiar. It was like that mission, where the children went missing. Anger sizzled inside of her, matching the fire in Naruto’s eye. Anko had told her when they first began training what Orochimaru had done, what kind of person he was so Ino didn’t pay attention when she told these things to Shino and Naruto. Instead, she focused on her scanning chakra. She was hoping…

“Stop Ino.” Anko ordered her, somehow knowing what Ino was thinking. “We have to go to Kikai-jima.”

It was the middle of the night when they arrived. As soon as they landed, they had to separate. Shino was off, doing his thing with the man who took Isaribi, shooing she and Naruto on their way. Down the corridor of wet stones, Ino stopped all of the sudden. Her blood warmed when a familiar flood of chakra hit her. Naruto stopped a few feet in front of her with a confused face.

“Ino? What’s wrong?”

She could feel him here, just down the hallway on the right. But then she could feel Anko, on the left and she was struggling with her cursed seal. Tears welled in her eyes. She never felt so torn, if she went to the right, she would be able to see him again and Naruto, he could too, but if she left Anko, who knew what could happen.

Sasuke was so close, her heart was beating so fiercely. Her hand pressed against her chest, between the valley of her breasts where the cedar leaf necklace pressed against her naked skin.

Sasuke, if I ran into your arms right now, what would happen? If…if I left everyone behind and went with you, what would happen? You’re so close I can feel your chakra mingle with my own…

“Ino?” Naruto voice seemed so far away. She closed her eyes, letting her probing chakra reach out to meet his.

Are you tempting me? Do you know I’m here? Can you hear how loud my heart is pounding right now?

His charka was like smoke, wrapping around her possessively. Naruto felt the charge in air and he turned his head to the right in mild curiosity. Even if it wasn’t his fingers touching her, Sasuke’s chakra had the same affect. She closed her eyes again, relishing in his strong power. Her breathing quickened.

“Naruto.” Ino murmured, slowly opening her eyes. Her insides quivered. Her feet shuffled to the direction she knew was the right decision. “Let’s go.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her…