Characters: Ino, Tenten (Ino POV)
Summary: Ino, waiting for word on her teammates after they leave, gets an unexpected visitor. Not a whole lot of action or drama, just some calm chit chat between a couple of girls.
Timeframe: 185ish, again.
Note: Tenten may or may not seem out of character here. She's not featured in the manga much at all, and the Anime doesn't elaborate much on her either. A lot of my idea of how to portrayer comes from the interpretation of my semi-beta.
Background Music: None for thsi one. Mou.
"Ino... You have a visitor."
Ino glanced up into the weary face of her father. He didn't look so well. She wondered if he was to be going on a mission too. She barely was able to talk with Chouji's father to get the details on why she couldn't find her teammates before he took off on a mission. She knew Shikamaru's father was on one as well. She wondered when her father was going to leave. She didn't want him to leave. Not while Shikamaru and Chouji weren't here to be with her. "You can send them here, Papa. I don't feel like going down to the shop."
He nodded, and then turned away. She wondered if he didn't tell her his plans because he felt she already suspected. She paused, and then hopped up from her bed, moving to quickly embrace him. "I'll miss you, Papa." She murmured into his clothing. She felt him sigh, the action in itself letting her know that he was indeed going to leave. His arms moved around her, tightening for a moment, before he let her go.
"I'll miss you, too. Take care of your mother." He flashed her a smile, but he looked worried. She knew not to ask about the missions, but that look only came around when he had a particularly rough one ahead of him. She gave her affirmations to his wishes, then returned to her room to wait for this visitor.
She wondered who it could be. She expected it to be Sakura, either to apologize for her behavior (attempting to be mature or something), or to grill her about Sasuke some more. The name brought a strange, bitter taste to her mouth, and she closed her eyes. Sasuke won't be an issue anymore, she decided. She never really did like him much. Not as much as she made it out to be. She just wanted to annoy Sakura with it. Revenge for what she had done to her. The hurt and all that. She sighed quietly, and laid back on her bed, her eyes opening. She almost wished she could be outside. The clouds looked so pretty earlier.
The knock jarred her out of her thoughts. "Come in," she offered as she sat up to greet her guest.
She blinked when she saw it was the kunoichi from Gai's team. Ino realized she forgot her name. "Uh... hi."
She looked nervous for a moment, perhaps sensing that Ino had come to the realization that she had absolutely no connection to her. Even going as far as forgetting her name. "Am I bothering you, Ino-san?" She still looked nervous when Ino shook her head, and began clearing off her bed of her things so she could sit down.
Ino didn't like keeping her room a mess, but she didn't feel like cleaning it right now. Her bed had the outfit she normally wore, but she couldn't bring herself to wear it. Shikamaru and Chouji both commented she was too young to dress like that, anyway. It was that thought that spurred her to dress in the outfit she wore during Shikamaru's chuunin match. Besides, orange was a happier color than purple, and she needed to stay optimistic. Even if she didn't feel like it. "There... you can sit down." She watched as the girl still debated on whether or not she wanted to stay, and Ino flashed her a bright smile. "I'm not going to bite. Though, I got to be honest... I can't remember your name for the life of me."
The older girl blinked for a moment, sort of stunned. Perhaps it was the lack of interaction, or because all the times they'd seen each other, she was acting Sakura-ish in behavior regarding Sasuke. It was rather immature, and the other girl seemed pretty old for her age. Ino honestly believed the look was because she wasn't expected to be so honest with her shortcoming of memory. "Ah... Tenten."
Ino flashed her another bright smile, this one bordering on impish. "Alright, then. We're even. We know each other's names now. You can quit hanging out in my doorway, and either leave, or you can come to do what you came here to do. You can just sit here while you do it. My chair's sort of crowded." She indicated the chair to her desk which was piled high with books.
After a moment, Tenten finally accepted the invitation to sit down. Ino noted that she made sure she closed the door to her room before she did so. There was a moment of awkward silence, and Ino took the time to look outside. Her eyes drifted skyward.
"So... that was your father."
Ino smiled. It sounded as good as a conversation opener as any. "Yeah."
Another pause. "His... His name's Ino? I've heard that you and your team aren't the first to take up that name for your formation."
"Inoshi." Ino clarified. "Yeah. He, Shikamaru's father, and Chouji's father were the original Ino-Shika-Cho." She chuckles here, "And here I was actually surprised when I was put on a team with the guys." Her expression faltered, and she figured Tenten caught it, because she was suddenly regarding her as if she wanted to say something. Ino was normally one to push people to speak their mind, but considering that this was the first time they ever really talked to each other, Ino decided to keep it toned down this time, and let Tenten come around on her own time.
"Neji's with him." It came after a long pause. Ino sighed quietly, and waited again. She looked at the girl, but was rather shocked to find what she saw. She expected her to actually be fidgeting, or something along those lines. Something she would do in private, or with someone. Perhaps it was because Tenten didn't know Ino that well, but she sat on the edge of Ino's bed, perfectly poised, with tension running through her posture. The tension wasn't the nervous kind of tension, but the kind that one would have when expecting a fight. Ino turned to look out the window again.
"Why?"
Ino blinked and looked at Tenten, a brow raised in question. "Huh?"
Tenten turned a scowl on her. "Why did Shikamaru take them, and not any of us?"
"Uh...?" Ino was suddenly lost.
Tenten snorted and looked forward. "He took his teammate, Chouji, Naruto, Kiba, and Neji. He never once approached you or me. I can understand not going to Hinata or Sakura, but you and I are both capable of such a mission, and he didn't even approach us."
"He had a time limit," Ino offered quietly. Or that's what she told. She didn't really care. Well, not much. "I'm sure he had his reasons, Tenten. No need to be up in arms about it."
Tenten thought for a moment, before she turned on the bed to regard her. "He seems sexist. I've heard him talk before. Doesn't he think that we can't handle ourselves?"
Ino wondered what this was all about. She knew Tenten wasn't the type to see gender lines, but this was sort of out of no where. Ino thought for a moment, then recalled how Tenten started this conversation. She's worried about Neji. Ino wanted to call her on it, to quit dancing around it, but this didn't seem quite like dancing to Ino. It was something genuine that was bothering Tenten. Ino decided to just carry on with the topic at hand, and wait to see if Tenten would actually come out and talk about being worried for her teammate. Of course, Ino was curious to know if it was more than just concern for a teammate that Tenten felt.
"He is, sort of," Ino offered. When she agreed, sort of, with Tenten's statements, she seemed somewhat surprised, but not in the gaping way. She just sort of blinked and relaxed a little in that same "battle ready" posture. She did pull her legs on the bed, and crossed them. Ino wanted to ask her if she wanted to look at magazines or something, but she had to stop herself. Tenten likely wasn't a girl like Sakura. Tenten had ambitions of being a great Kunoichi... ambitions that Ino shared, but sort of got distracted from. Tenten didn't seem like the girl that wanted to look at girly magazines. "He... his views are confusing if you don't know him well." She waited for a cue from Tenten to stop or continue. She half expected the other to cling to the "sexist" thing, and not want to listen to Ino's opinion on the matter. She seemed to be giving Ino her full attention. "He doesn't think we're any less capable then men. He just thinks they have a... place." She sighed, knowing that isn't the right wording. "He's old fashioned. Not really sexist... just old fashioned."
She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. Tenten looked lost, and annoyed, a clear sign that Ino wasn't proving her point. "I can't explain it. I just know he's not sexist in the way you're thinking. He hates fighting women. He doesn't think it's proper. Does that make sense?"
Tenten thought about it for a moment, then she nodded. "That whole sentiment that it's wrong to hit a woman?" Ino nodded, and Tenten seemed to be calmed a little by that. Who wouldn't, really? Most men who thought like that tended not to be abusive in relationships. It was more common than anyone cared to admit, especially given the stressful tendencies of a ninja lifestyle.
"That's the gist of it. If... if girls were on the mission with him, he'd feel like he'd have to protect them, regardless. It has nothing to do with our individual skill, it's just that's how he feels." Ino sighed quietly, "Besides, I don't think that's the only reason he left us out of the equation."
Tenten snorted. "We shouldn't need protecting. I don't care how he feels. We should've been considered, regardless. We could've been an asset." She sighed, though, then frowned, regarding Ino. "What other reasons do you think caused him to not approach us? You actually think he considered us?"
Ino felt compelled to correct her. "I think he considered me. I can't assume he considered you, but I'd think he would. You're gaining quite the reputation with your weapons." Tenten regarded her for a moment, trying to decide if it was an honest compliment or idle flattery. Ino didn't hang around to press the issue. "Out of all the teams, yours included, ours had the best teamwork. The famous, or infamous, depending on your point of view, Ino-Shika-Cho. Taking Chouji would've caused him to consider taking me, as well, so we were together." She thinks for a moment, "I'm pretty sure he considered you, if he went to Neji. You're the only one out of the teams that survived the second Chuunin exam that is actually becoming a Weapons Taijutsu specialist. You don't concentrate on one thing, you know how to use practically everything, he would've thought about that."
Tenten glanced down at the blanket, and she began to trace an idle pattern of the patchworked pig on it. Her family had a thing for pigs. It wasn't hard to expect, considering the naming habit. "So... why are we sitting here?"
With a sigh, Ino closed her eyes. She didn't know who to address first. Herself or Tenten. "He knew about Lee's injuries, and the surgery he was to undergo. I guess he figured that Lee-san could really use the support of a teammember, instead of having him sit around and worry himself silly about both of his teammates while dealing with that pressure as well. A person's mentality has to be well in order for them to expect to pull through such a thing, y'know? You got to be strong. That surgery doesn't have a really encouraging success rate, you know. It's either succeed or die. Not good odds." Ino smiled here, though the entire explanation sounded to her ears, like she was just pulling at strings, considering she never really knew Tenten, and she's certain her teammate didn't either. But in a way, it was still plausible, and likely something Shikamaru had thought of at the time. "It's probably good for Lee-san to know that he has one of his teammates nearby. He seems to care for his team a lot, and while he'd rather protect them, I think he'd be encouraged by the presence of one nearby. Shikamaru also likely felt you could help with his recovery too. He often commented about how you woke him up in the Forest of Death. Fondly, I might add," she finished with a flourish to her tone.
The words actually caused Tenten to smile, and when she started giggling slightly, Ino joined in. "That was pretty funny, wasn't it? He just sort of flopped around like some sort of broken doll. I thought I was getting funny looks about it." But she didn't care. She just did. But the confession let Ino know that she wasn't all tough girl. Ino felt a little more comfortable. Well, until she regarded her with an expectant look. "Okay, I guess I can buy that. It is a logical reason, after all. But what about you? You yourself said that you guys had good team work... why are you here?"
Why is she here? "Because... he wouldn't let me fight," Ino said quietly. She'd been contemplating that very question ever since she found out about the mission. Her eyes went past the window to the sky again.
"Now that is sexist," Tenten insisted. "He won't let you fight? Because you're a girl, right?"
"Yes," Ino offered, then she closed her eyes. "But I don't think it's because I'm a girl. It's because I'm Ino." She gave a weak smile here. "Out of all them, he would feel compelled to make sure I didn't get hurt. He'd protect me. He never let me fight by myself. Even when I insisted I could do it myself. Even when I proved that I could, he still stood by the notion that he had to protect me. He's always more anal about that stupid thing when I'm involved." She paused then sighed. "He left me here because I'd distract him."
Tenten followed her eyes towards the window, and she actually smiled a little bit. "You're really worried about him, aren't you?"
"I'm worried about both my teammates."
"But you're more worried about Shikamaru."
"No more so than you are about Neji."
Stalemate.
Tenten blinked at her. Other girls would've darted their eyes away, or blush. Or somehow deny it. Tenten just regarded her with a cool, collected expression, her eyes searching Ino's distracted expression. "How do you figure that?" She asked calmly, succeeding in keeping her tone along the same lines as the rest of the conversation. Nothing gave her away to Ino being right save that initial, startled blink.
Ino turned to meet her gaze, and she gave her an impish smile. "Shikamaru's really big into playing games like Shougi. He even went so far as to try to teach me and Chouji how to play so we'd have something to do. Chouji didn't grasp it at all, and it moved to slowly for my tastes, but I remember something he said. A lot of times, your first move shows how you'll play the game. If you start off offensively, you'll tend to play an offensive game."
Tenten smiled faintly, "So, how'd you know? I don't think I made the first move."
"You did. You started this conversation." Ino smiled, the impish expression returning, "'Neji's with him.'. That's what you said. You wanted to talk about Shikamaru's choice of squad, but you started off with a statement about Neji. While you were actively thinking about the fact you didn't get approached, the thoughts in the back of your head influenced you to comment with Neji first."
That got a stare, and a slight gape from the older girl. "I..." Then, "What kind of 'idiots' are you people? Your team has a powerhouse... a genius... and someone who thinks a little too quickly for her own good."
"I'm one of a kind." Again, the impish smile. "And I'll take that as a compliment, if you don't mind. Thank you."
I think that the girls of Naruto are often ignored, both in the series and in fanfiction, so it's nice to see one that concentrates on the gals! Nice job! 
