Hidden in the tree's canopy, squirrel-Ino cracked the nut between her teeth and glared down at the camp.
Three tents, a fresh fire, and many traps set around the perimeter. Shinobi traps, not bandits. She'd been stalking them for hours, watching how they moved, how they didn't talk, unless they had to. She recognized many of her own training in their actions.
The accent gave them away: Iwagakure. A three-man shinobi cell dressed like common raiders, attacking caravans, travelers, and any convoy on the road. Good enough to fool civilians or the careless ninja.
This definitely wasn't a C-Rank mission.
Ino looked at the camp again. Or maybe that was the enemy plan all along: pretend to be bandits and kill any shinobi squad sent to investigate.
The last of the nut broke between her tiny jaws, and she released the jutsu. Ino blinked awake in her body, still sitting cross-legged by the fire.
Choji looked up from the half-eaten rice ball in his hand. Shikamaru didn't even pause his move on the go board.
"Well?" Shikamaru asked, lazily placing a stone.
"I found the bandits," Ino said, her voice flat. "Three of them. Small camp. North ridge." She didn't blink.
Choji frowned. "That fast?"
"They were loud and lazy. Barely tried to hide the fire."
She stood, brushing dust off her pants, hand instinctively finding the black kunai strapped at her waist: sleek, matte, almost weightless. It pulsed under her fingers, warm to her touch.
"We can take them."
"You sure?" Choji asked. "Our mission is just to investigate."
Ino shrugged. "Just bandits," she said, checking the pouches and her supplies. She didn't have many of the 'good' exploding kunai left, only about half a dozen. She'd need to grab a few more with Karin, even if Karin's seals weren't as good as Hinata's.
Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," but he got up, packed his go board. "Same strategy as usual. I'll tie them up. Choji, you go big if needed."
The chunin looked at Ino for a long while, like trying to decide what to say. "You," he scratched his head.
Ino didn't let him finish. Her hands flashed with seals, and out popped two other Inos.
"No," she said, looking at the shadow clones. "I'll send in the clones to subdue them."
"Ino, I don't think–" Choji started, but clamped up when three Inos glared his way.
"What? I can't use clones for what they're meant for? Is that it?"
Shikamaru raised both hands in surrender. "Calm down, Ino."
Ino just turned around and dashed away. Her clones followed.
It didn't take long before Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino waited some distance from the camp, while Ino's shadow clones dealt with the situation. In theory, it was a good use of the jutsu. What Ino hadn't told them was that her clone was the one that she left behind.
They were treating her like she might break. Boring missions. Constant supervision. Always kept from anything dangerous, like she'd forgotten how to bleed. Ino had trained for years to kill people, and now she wasn't fit to be a ninja anymore, Shisui even grouped her back with Shikamaru, for some inexplicable reason.
Ino missed training with the girls. She missed Hinata. That made her even angrier.
Strength was the one thing Ino lacked, and everyone wanted to keep her from getting stronger. What uses were having a stronger body, unnaturally fast regeneration, and an almost inexhaustible fount of chakra when she couldn't use it?
Ino shook her head, then looked at the clone. The clone nodded back.
She passed out a few of the remaining explosives, the last set of barriers, and then it was time to put her training to use.
Bypassing the ninja traps wasn't difficult, since she'd seen them doing it. That was just the first step, of course. As soon as she was inside the camp perimeter, there was some sort of alarm, and the bandits scampered up, already ready for a fight.
Ino grinned, full of teeth and malice.
Outside the camp, 'Ino', Shikamaru, and Choji waited until the clones captured the bandits. It didn't go as planned, of course. First were the explosions, then the sounds of a battle.
Shikamaru's head snapped to the clone, who was grinning.
"Shit!" he cursed. "Let's go, Choji!"
Both dashed toward the battle to help, and the clone followed. She wouldn't need it, of course.
They arrived to find one Ino standing above two unconscious shinobi trapped inside one of Hinata's weight barriers. The trapped shinobi had trouble moving and seemed to be barely breathing. The Ino there looked a bit ruffled out, but unhurt.
Another 'Ino' was still in a fierce fight with the remaining Shinobi.
The man blasted lightning at her face. Ino raised her hands to defend, which gave the man a chance to flicker closer and stab her stomach. Ino grunted, but instead of retreating, she grabbed the man's head, whirled, and slammed him into the dirt.
She didn't give him time to recover. She was on top of him faster than anyone could react, slamming his face, all the while screaming through her teeth.
Shikamaru took in the situation, then dashed closer to Ino.
"Ino," he called out, but she didn't answer. "Ino!" He called again.
When it was clear she wouldn't stop, Shikamaru's hands flashed, and his shadow laced with hers. Shikamaru buckled, the jutsu nearly slipping from his grip. Ino wasn't just resisting, she was fighting it.
"Ino, stop!" Shikamaru croaked out.
Even trapped by his shadow, Ino turned around and glared at him.
"If you hit him more, you're going to kill him."
It took a while, but Ino finally nodded.
"I'll release you."
Ino nodded again.
When he did, Ino got up, kicked the downed shinobi, then pulled the kunai out of her stomach. Blood seeped out of the wound. With a quick flash of hands, Ino placed a glowing palm on the injury. Whatever Hinata had done in the mines had given her supernatural healing, but she was still trying to keep that a secret.
Ino dispersed the clones, then walked away, back toward Konoha. Shikamaru and Choji could deal with tying up the enemies and signaling a patrol to ferry them back to be interrogated.
When the team crossed the gates, it was almost evening. Ino immediately veered off.
Shikamaru called out. "Ino, wait!"
Ino stopped, turned toward him. They hadn't spoken since the battle a few hours ago. Choji looked on from afar, his face troubled.
"What is it?"
Shikamaru scratched his head. "Where are you going?"
Ino just looked on, saying nothing.
"We need to report the mission at the tower," he said, then added. "And after, meet at Yakiniku Q to celebrate. Asuma-sensei will be there too."
Ino turned around and dashed away. Shikamaru's invitation hadn't worked the first time, or the second. It was annoying that he hadn't stopped trying yet. And now he had even involved Asuma-sensei.
That only made Ino angrier.
She moved along the rooftops, the same path she always took. The one she'd named in her head 'Hinata highway'. Rooftops took her toward Konoha's hospital. She entered, moving through the now familiar corridors. A few nurses gave her a small nod. Others just smiled sadly at her passing.
Footsteps echoed the path until she stepped through a door on one of the upper floors.
Inside, Hinata slept peacefully on the bed. Ino walked around, made sure Hinata was comfortable, that the water was clean, and the fruits were fresh. Then she adjusted the bed sheets and Hinata's body, so she wouldn't have a crick in her neck when she woke up.
She sat in her chair, the one she'd smuggled in months ago.
"Today I got to fight a few Iwagakure shinobi, Hinata-chan," Ino said, then recounted the entire mission. The fight, lying to her team, almost losing control, and killing the enemy. She liked to think Hinata would also understand and not judge her for it.
When the tale was done, Ino slumped forward, face pressing against Hinata's sleeping form.
"Why won't you wake up, Hinata-chan?"