Oh, just a note on continuity - this is set around four months after Naruto and TXY graduated, just after the chuunin exam Gai didn't enter them in, and at the start of the new Academy year.
Kami, was she thristy! It had taken Ino two hours to compose the stupid review essay Iruka-sensei wanted on the theory and applications of bunshin and kawarimi before he taught them to combine the two so the object they swapped with would keep their appearance until it was hit, between the time spent actually coming up with what to write, and then copying it neatly onto a scroll to turn in. Massaging her wrist, the somewhat-less-chipper-than-usual blonde slipped out of the studdy and headed to the kitchen for a drink, pausing at the head of the stairs as she heard her parents' voices in the family room below.
"-omiai? Honestly, she's only eleven years old! What is he thinking?" her mother complained. Ino's eye twitched as she realized what they were talking about. Unless they meant arranging something with Sasuke-kun, there was gonna be hell to pay!
Her father sounded nearly as exasperated as his wife, replying, "I thoguht the old coot gave in too easily about teaching them, and now I know why. Grandmother and Uncle Inoichi are against forcing the issue, but even they would like to see such strong talent reinforcing the bloodline." He sighed, and from the soft sound of their movements, Ino guessed he'd pulled Mother into a hug. "She's the only one available for it, since Inoko married that Asagiri boy, and my sister only has sons. Ino, come downstairs."
Flushing slightly and wondering what had given her away - and when she'd get to learn it! - the youngest Yamanaka complied, picking up energy as she shook off embarrassment and remembered to be angry about getting fixed up with someone that didn't ound like Sasuke-kun at all. At least, she didn't think her father had ever taught the handsome Uchiha heir.
Her father cut her off before she could give voice to her displeasure, however. "Ino-chan, I've invited two of my old genin team over for dinner tomorrow so you can meet them - just a normal introduction, not an omiai - as a matter of keeping peace in the clan. You WILL be polite and gracious, understood?"
"But daddy!"
"Do you understand?" he insisted.
"All riiiight..." she reluctantly agreed, thinking, "but just because I have to be polite doesn't mean I have to like them, or make them like me!"
Her father's skeptical look warned that he probably understood what she'd left unsaid all too well, but he let it slide for now. "The boys are twins, Haruno Jinrei and Kenshiro, and instead of the normal Haruno bloodline they are very strongly psychic."
"What!? Forehead girl has a special bloodline? Maybe a bloodline for keeping her nose in musty old scrolls without choking to death, or signal flashes reflecting the sunlight off her oversized expanse of -" She cut herself off, staring angrily at the floor when her father cleared his throat threateningly.
"The Haruno bloodline is one of the very oldest, like our own, well established even before the first of the graet ninja wars, when shinobi began to change from specialists in infiltration and espionage to front line combatants." he explained. "Their ability is espescially suited for use by deep cover operatives, but more combat oriented uses have been developed as times changed, also. For one thing, their second self is a perfect defense against mind-controlling jutsu, including many of our own family jutsu. those techniques take considerable training to acheive, however, soo it's no suprise if the only thing your freind has shown is unusually good chakra control."
"The twins are different, however, as I said. Even without knowing any of our jutsu, their psychic ability would be very valuable to keep the Yamanaka bloodline strong, since abilities like our own are so rare outside the clan, and we are too small to marry within it the way the Hyuuga often do, and the Uchiha did." Inoshi's face softened, as did his tone, knowing that if he was too authoritarian his strong-willed daughter would disobey just to be contrary. "I'm not asking you to fall head over heels at first sight, or to do anything particularly romantic while the boys are half again your age. All I want is for you to give being friends with them a chance, and let anything more develop as it may."
It took a bit more grumbling on Ino's part, soothing on her father's, and few sharp words about manners from her mother before the conversation wound down, but Ino already knew she'd been licked. She was still dying of thirst, for that matter, and too much talking might damage her poor parched throat.
---=- + -=---
Edit: Yay dinner!
---=- + -=---
Dinner the next evening had come and gone without major difficulty, thoguh Ino had been a bit wierded out by the twins' tendency to switch off in mid-sentence when one or the other needed to take a breath or a bite of food. Then her parents had shooed the three of them into the family room while adults cleaned up, and an awkward silence had fallen.
Her family's marriage-minded maneuverings were absolutely the LAST thing she wanted to talk about, espescially if no one had told the boys - Please, by all the kami, let no one have mentioned any such thing! - but absolutely nothing else was coming to mind. Worse, she could feel a light blush forming as she continued to look them over, the open vests and tight skinsuit doing littl to hide the fit bodies of active ninja. *SASUKE-KUN, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun...* she chanted in her head, trying to purge any such thoughts,then admitted, "...wears that bulky jacket all the time, so I have no idea if he's really this hot under it." She sighed, and felt the strong urge to start fiddling with her hands like that Hyuuga girl was always doing.
Taking pity on her, the twins drew a breath, then one said, "Ino-san, your father told you a bit about us, right?" At her hesitant nod, the one on the left continued, "He said he'd told you that Harunos usual have a second self, but that we're psychic, like Yamanakas, instead. That's -"
"- not quite accurate," right-side-red continued. "We've kept it a secret so far, but your family probably wants you to think about dating one of us, sicne psychics are so uncommon."
Damn! They'd figured it out, or someone had told them and they were trying to be politic. The blonde girl could feel her cheeks burn, but stubbornly brought her eyes up to meet the green orbs of... damn, which one was which again? She took a guess and said, "Well, yeah, Kenshiro-san. Mostly the elders, really."
The pink-haired boys smiled un eerie unison, before requesting, "What we have to say is a swecret even from our own family, but since you're now involved, we tink you should know. Will you let us use a psychic contact so no one can listen in?"
Still upset with herself and her parents. Ino thoguht for only a second - long enough to realise that in a telepathic link she could tell them off without her parents hearing - and agreed. The two boys shufled closer togehter on their cushions, then interlinked their near arms to each form half of the familiar, triangular hand seal used for Shintenshin, leaning their heads together to both look through it at her. There was the familier pull of contact, then the three of them were in her mental space. Ino smirked slightly, seeing that their mental images apparently hadn't adjusted to their recent promotions, since despite the proudly worn vests on their real bodies they had only the bodysuits in here, while her own mental self had a perfect replica of the outfit she'd chosen for the day.
The bodysuits weren't even accurate, she realized - one had a red pattern on both sides, and the other was inverterd, mostly red with black arms. Also, their facial expressions had lost that eerie unison, the one on the left wearing a confident smirk while his twin smiled warmly. Left folded his black-sleeved arms, while right introduced them and explained, "I'm Kenshiro, he's Jinrei... but the truth is, we're not really two Harunos with a strange blip in the bloodline. Actually, we're one normal Haruno who happens to have two bodies. Jinrei would have been Inner Kenshiro, and most of the time I run them both. When we're in combat, separated, or in some other situation where full attention is needed for each body, that's the only time he really takes over. Since my parents named the first body born Kenshiro, Jinrei decided to take the extra name."
===========================================
ARGH ARGH ARGH!! I hate it when this happens! The muse has fed while I was distracted, and now I can't even remember what was left, besides Jinrei being loud and somehwat obnoxious like any other Inner Haruno (like anyone who feels free to comment withoiut worrying what the people he's commenting on will think about it, really) and Ino being suprised because Kenshiro is the one she's been dealing with all evening, despite the names. There wasn't really any more story to go with it, just the one-shot here, to prosify what I outlined in the Haruno family profiles, but there was a LITTLE more than I have - or should have been. Oh well. opinions? I kind of feel like Ino should be a little louder herself, but it came out this way.
- CD
What, you think Samuel L. Jackson isn't going to survive the zombie apocalypse?
SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
Kami, was she thristy! It had taken Ino two hours to compose the stupid review essay Iruka-sensei wanted on the theory and applications of bunshin and kawarimi before he taught them to combine the two so the object they swapped with would keep their appearance until it was hit, between the time spent actually coming up with what to write, and then copying it neatly onto a scroll to turn in. Massaging her wrist, the somewhat-less-chipper-than-usual blonde slipped out of the studdy and headed to the kitchen for a drink, pausing at the head of the stairs as she heard her parents' voices in the family room below.
"-omiai? Honestly, she's only eleven years old! What is he thinking?" her mother complained. Ino's eye twitched as she realized what they were talking about. Unless they meant arranging something with Sasuke-kun, there was gonna be hell to pay!
Her father sounded nearly as exasperated as his wife, replying, "I thoguht the old coot gave in too easily about teaching them, and now I know why. Grandmother and Uncle Inoichi are against forcing the issue, but even they would like to see such strong talent reinforcing the bloodline." He sighed, and from the soft sound of their movements, Ino guessed he'd pulled Mother into a hug. "She's the only one available for it, since Inoko married that Asagiri boy, and my sister only has sons. Ino, come downstairs."
Flushing slightly and wondering what had given her away - and when she'd get to learn it! - the youngest Yamanaka complied, picking up energy as she shook off embarrassment and remembered to be angry about getting fixed up with someone that didn't ound like Sasuke-kun at all. At least, she didn't think her father had ever taught the handsome Uchiha heir.
Her father cut her off before she could give voice to her displeasure, however. "Ino-chan, I've invited two of my old genin team over for dinner tomorrow so you can meet them - just a normal introduction, not an omiai - as a matter of keeping peace in the clan. You WILL be polite and gracious, understood?"
"But daddy!"
"Do you understand?" he insisted.
"All riiiight..." she reluctantly agreed, thinking, "but just because I have to be polite doesn't mean I have to like them, or make them like me!"
Her father's skeptical look warned that he probably understood what she'd left unsaid all too well, but he let it slide for now. "The boys are twins, Haruno Jinrei and Kenshiro, and instead of the normal Haruno bloodline they are very strongly psychic."
"What!? Forehead girl has a special bloodline? Maybe a bloodline for keeping her nose in musty old scrolls without choking to death, or signal flashes reflecting the sunlight off her oversized expanse of -" She cut herself off, staring angrily at the floor when her father cleared his throat threateningly.
"The Haruno bloodline is one of the very oldest, like our own, well established even before the first of the graet ninja wars, when shinobi began to change from specialists in infiltration and espionage to front line combatants." he explained. "Their ability is espescially suited for use by deep cover operatives, but more combat oriented uses have been developed as times changed, also. For one thing, their second self is a perfect defense against mind-controlling jutsu, including many of our own family jutsu. those techniques take considerable training to acheive, however, soo it's no suprise if the only thing your freind has shown is unusually good chakra control."
"The twins are different, however, as I said. Even without knowing any of our jutsu, their psychic ability would be very valuable to keep the Yamanaka bloodline strong, since abilities like our own are so rare outside the clan, and we are too small to marry within it the way the Hyuuga often do, and the Uchiha did." Inoshi's face softened, as did his tone, knowing that if he was too authoritarian his strong-willed daughter would disobey just to be contrary. "I'm not asking you to fall head over heels at first sight, or to do anything particularly romantic while the boys are half again your age. All I want is for you to give being friends with them a chance, and let anything more develop as it may."
It took a bit more grumbling on Ino's part, soothing on her father's, and few sharp words about manners from her mother before the conversation wound down, but Ino already knew she'd been licked. She was still dying of thirst, for that matter, and too much talking might damage her poor parched throat.
---=- + -=---
Edit: Yay dinner!
---=- + -=---
Dinner the next evening had come and gone without major difficulty, thoguh Ino had been a bit wierded out by the twins' tendency to switch off in mid-sentence when one or the other needed to take a breath or a bite of food. Then her parents had shooed the three of them into the family room while adults cleaned up, and an awkward silence had fallen.
Her family's marriage-minded maneuverings were absolutely the LAST thing she wanted to talk about, espescially if no one had told the boys - Please, by all the kami, let no one have mentioned any such thing! - but absolutely nothing else was coming to mind. Worse, she could feel a light blush forming as she continued to look them over, the open vests and tight skinsuit doing littl to hide the fit bodies of active ninja. *SASUKE-KUN, Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun...* she chanted in her head, trying to purge any such thoughts,then admitted, "...wears that bulky jacket all the time, so I have no idea if he's really this hot under it." She sighed, and felt the strong urge to start fiddling with her hands like that Hyuuga girl was always doing.
Taking pity on her, the twins drew a breath, then one said, "Ino-san, your father told you a bit about us, right?" At her hesitant nod, the one on the left continued, "He said he'd told you that Harunos usual have a second self, but that we're psychic, like Yamanakas, instead. That's -"
"- not quite accurate," right-side-red continued. "We've kept it a secret so far, but your family probably wants you to think about dating one of us, sicne psychics are so uncommon."
Damn! They'd figured it out, or someone had told them and they were trying to be politic. The blonde girl could feel her cheeks burn, but stubbornly brought her eyes up to meet the green orbs of... damn, which one was which again? She took a guess and said, "Well, yeah, Kenshiro-san. Mostly the elders, really."
The pink-haired boys smiled un eerie unison, before requesting, "What we have to say is a swecret even from our own family, but since you're now involved, we tink you should know. Will you let us use a psychic contact so no one can listen in?"
Still upset with herself and her parents. Ino thoguht for only a second - long enough to realise that in a telepathic link she could tell them off without her parents hearing - and agreed. The two boys shufled closer togehter on their cushions, then interlinked their near arms to each form half of the familiar, triangular hand seal used for Shintenshin, leaning their heads together to both look through it at her. There was the familier pull of contact, then the three of them were in her mental space. Ino smirked slightly, seeing that their mental images apparently hadn't adjusted to their recent promotions, since despite the proudly worn vests on their real bodies they had only the bodysuits in here, while her own mental self had a perfect replica of the outfit she'd chosen for the day.
The bodysuits weren't even accurate, she realized - one had a red pattern on both sides, and the other was inverterd, mostly red with black arms. Also, their facial expressions had lost that eerie unison, the one on the left wearing a confident smirk while his twin smiled warmly. Left folded his black-sleeved arms, while right introduced them and explained, "I'm Kenshiro, he's Jinrei... but the truth is, we're not really two Harunos with a strange blip in the bloodline. Actually, we're one normal Haruno who happens to have two bodies. Jinrei would have been Inner Kenshiro, and most of the time I run them both. When we're in combat, separated, or in some other situation where full attention is needed for each body, that's the only time he really takes over. Since my parents named the first body born Kenshiro, Jinrei decided to take the extra name."
===========================================
ARGH ARGH ARGH!! I hate it when this happens! The muse has fed while I was distracted, and now I can't even remember what was left, besides Jinrei being loud and somehwat obnoxious like any other Inner Haruno (like anyone who feels free to comment withoiut worrying what the people he's commenting on will think about it, really) and Ino being suprised because Kenshiro is the one she's been dealing with all evening, despite the names. There wasn't really any more story to go with it, just the one-shot here, to prosify what I outlined in the Haruno family profiles, but there was a LITTLE more than I have - or should have been. Oh well. opinions? I kind of feel like Ino should be a little louder herself, but it came out this way.
- CD
What, you think Samuel L. Jackson isn't going to survive the zombie apocalypse?
SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows