The Nara Oath

She had sustained a nasty gash to her right thigh. It throbbed like mad as the stitches were put into place. It had been a hasty job since their medic-nin had gone down for the count and was unconscious on a pallet across the fire from her. With a sigh, Ino stretched out on her back and laced her fingers behind her head. Her body ached in places that hadn’t hurt for months, but regardless, it felt good. She felt more alive the closest to death she got and yesterday had been a very, very close call indeed.

That night was the first night that she had been allowed to think of other things beside her mission and naturally, it fell on the two men she hoped hadn’t given up on her. The two men she had bickered with before she had left. She sighed and flopped onto her stomach, biting back a wince as her stitches tugged.

It had been stupid, what she had done with Hana but she was a true believer in regretting nothing if at all possible. What was done was done and there was no sense agonizing over it. Besides, it had been good and with that being said, it had also been the last action she had seen since beginning her mission a little over two months ago.

Things came rushing back to her with a startling clarity, as if it had only happened two days ago. She hadn’t wanted to drag Hana into her mess, the woman didn’t deserve it and also, her clean-cut conscience seemed to work against the idea of siblings even knowing about each other’s sexual prowess much less sharing the same sexual partners.

Then there was Shikamaru. “Goddammit.” She muttered under her breath as the agitation flooded her exhausted brain. Things had been inextricably altered the moment she had slipped into their bed—or couch. Now she was so submersed in his and Kiba’s world that there was probably no way of getting out of it without hurting someone—herself included. She couldn’t afford to lose her friendship with Shikamaru, not now when she figured she needed him the most.

Now that Ino had breezed by the caveat her father had uttered to her about getting in too deep with a Nara, she sort of had an idea of what he meant. Her imagination kicked in, filling in the blanks that made her realize something incredibly discomfiting about her father and Shikamaru’s. With a small noise and a grimace, she rolled over onto her side and tried to erase the idea of Shikaku and her father going at it in much the same way she had seen Shikamaru and Kiba. Definitely fucked up, she thought and closed her eyes, willing her body to relax.

--

After a day and a half of solace, Ino found Sakura at her doorstep. She was looking haggard and grey around the edges. With a soft moue of agitation, Ino let the woman inside and was immediately confronted by her bawling friend. Sakura flung her arms around the blonde and wept noisily and messily into the front of her shirt as she was gently ushered to a couch.

Ino drew her best friend into her lap, hugging her tightly as the last of her sobs ebbed and passed. She leaned back, gently wiping away the errant strands of bubblegum pink hair before asking her what the matter was.

“L-Lee.”

“What about him?”

With a wet sniff, Sakura answered, “I can’t take it anymore. I love him so much but I don’t know what to do with him!” She rung her hands, “I feel like a slut for being so discontented with our relationship because of-of… sex!”

“Honey, despite what you might think, sex is an important part of a relationship.” She said patiently, pushing away the hair that clung Sakura’s tearstained face. “Listen, I’m gonna put on a pot of coffee and while I do that, you go into the bathroom and clean yourself up, alright?”

Nodding, Sakura slid off of Ino’s lap and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

Fifteen minutes later, Ino had a full pot of coffee merrily perking away and a more level headed Sakura sitting at her kitchen table. She poured coffee, added the right amount of cream and sugar before joining her. They sipped at their drinks in companionable silence before finally, Sakura spoke up, “Do you think I’m a whore, Ino?”

The suddenness of the question made Ino choke on a mouthful of coffee, she set down the mug and shook her head. “No, Sakura. The thought never crossed my mind.” She smiled sardonically, thinking of her own sexual habits. “You are not a whore. You aren’t even close. And I don’t want you thinking that. You are a healthy young woman and it’s only natural for you to want more out of your partner—sexually speaking.”

“I can’t believe I’m ruining a perfectly good relationship because I want better sex.”

She wasn’t the one who in a week had managed to screw both the Inuzuka siblings and Shikamaru via her body exchange jutsu with Kiba. Not to mention, the countless other men she had had meaningless sex with before that fated week. Sakura had been a virgin when she had gotten together with Lee as far as Ino knew. If the woman ever found out about Ino’s sexual conquests, she would probably have had an apoplectic fit. Loosening her grip on her coffee cup when she realized that she had been clutching it tight enough to crack the porcelain, Ino smiled reassuringly. “Obviously it isn’t that good of a relationship if the sex isn’t that good.”

“The sex is good.”

Ino blinked, “Well then what’s the problem?”

“The sex is great but it’s getting boring. I mean, he’s great in bed. All that stamina and enthusiasm makes him go for hours.” Her eyes were starting to glaze over, Ino realized. She inwardly cringed, not wanting to hear the elicit descriptions that Sakura was about to launch into.

“But he just wants straight sex and you want to experiment?” She asked, trying to steer her friend into a topic that didn’t involve sexual descriptions of the spandex wearing taijutsu master.

Brought back down to earth, Sakura nodded sadly. “I’m going crazy. I want to try other things and I hate the thought of doing it with anyone else but Lee.”

“Listen, you’ve gotta step up to the plate, forehead girl. Why not give into that freaky-ass dark side and let it do whatever it wants?” She shuddered, remembering that scary part buried deep inside of her best friend’s otherwise pleasant psyche.

“But I don’t want Lee thinking I’m a whore.”

“Trying new things doesn’t mean you are a whore, Sakura. God, if that were true I don’t know what word you’d use to describe me.” She couldn’t help but laugh self-depreciatingly.

Sakura pulled a face, “Ino-pig, I wouldn’t say that about you.”

“Anyways, let’s finish this conversation over drinks.” She stood up and dropped her empty mug in the sink. “You look dressed for the bar. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready, alright?”

“Sounds fine to me,” Sakura suddenly grinned, “Who knows, maybe you’ll spot Kiba at the bar.”

Her face fell as she leaned heavily on the counter as if she had experienced a physical blow to her body. She murmured softly, “Let’s hope not.”

There was a pregnant pause before the other kunoichi asked, “What’s wrong, Ino-pig? What’d you do?”

“Why is it always my fault?” Ino asked softly, all of the questions she had asked herself a million times echoing in her brain.

“Because it’s you,” She said simply, setting her mug in the sink and standing silently beside her friend. Suddenly the roles had changed and it wasn’t Sakura that was on the verge of tears, but Ino. She rubbed furiously at her eyes, which felt hot and wet beneath the heels of her hands. “Hey… spill it, sweetie.” Sakura said, rubbing her shuddering back.

“Stupid Kiba. Stupid Shikamaru.” Ino said childishly, hating the fact that she was now crying. Chocking it up to the exhaustion that had been a constant factor for the past few months, Ino tried to put to words what she had been feeling parallel to the grogginess that wrapped her brain. “Kiba loves Shikamaru. Shikamaru loves Kiba. Neither of them knows it.”

“You are jealous?”

Ino glared at her best friend, “I’m not!” She answered a little too quickly before dropping her head, defeated. “Fine. Maybe I am a little.” She relented. “I screwed around with Hana. Got caught.”

“Sweet mother of god,” Sakura exasperated, “You are such a fuck-up, Ino.”

“I know!” Suddenly Ino felt hysterically giddy. She threw her head back and gave a hiccupping laugh.

Wrapping strong arms around her friend’s shaking body, Sakura smiled against her shoulder. “You are such a crazy lady.”

“Absolutely nuts,” Ino agreed, hugging her back. Pulling away, she wiped at the corners of her eyes, “So how about those drinks, huh?”

--

She was holding on to the bench for dear life, lest it float away on her. She had too much to drink, having her seat leave her would have been a very bad thing. She couldn’t trust her knees to save her right now. Ino swallowed thickly, trying to recall the last time she had been so completely out of her mind drunk. The masochistic side of her had been disappointed that Kiba and Shikamaru were nowhere to be seen. But then, it was only eleven and the nightclub was hours away from full swing. People were just starting to arrive, whereas she and Sakura had arrived at nine to avoid paying cover charges.

Sakura had disappeared in search of drinks and seemed to have been gone for hours when she finally appeared, sliding into the adjacent bench with a bottle of water in each hand. Ino took it, not really caring if it were alcohol, Javex or water, as long as it would get rid of the sour taste in her mouth. She downed half the bottle before resurfacing with a less than ladylike belch.

“Where’s Kiba?” She moaned before doubling over and resting her head against her forearm. She felt a twinge of embarrassment for being this smashed so early in the night, but as the room tilted and swayed threateningly, she found that all she really cared about was finding a bathroom—and fast.

The pink haired kunoichi wrestled her friend out of her seat and dragged her to the bathroom. Throwing open the stall, she shoved Ino inside just as the alcohol vaulted from her stomach and into the toilet bowl she was bent over. After purging her stomach, another water bottle was thrust into her hands. She washed out the sour taste in her mouth, spitting the water into the sink she was leaning heavily against. With a moan, she glanced up at her harried reflection and saw only an ugly, too skinny woman that looked more like a piece of old beef jerky than an actual female. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw up and in the long run, the latter won out and she found herself bent over the toilet bowl again with Sakura rubbing her back soothingly.

“Whoa, what’s going on in here?” A familiar voice called out after a door swung open with enough force to slam against the wall.

“Hanaaaa.” Ino grinned, flushed the toilet and lurched out of the stall to hug the newcomer.

Hana giggled and kissed her forehead, “Hey sweetie. You smell.” She pushed her against the counter and grabbed her waist, hoisting her up to sit. Sakura handed Ino the bottle of water she had washed her mouth out with. She gargled again and spat noisily into the sink before looking up at the female Inuzuka.

“How are you doing?” Ino asked, fidgeting with the bottle before taking another drink. That last bout of nausea had left her feeling refreshed and somewhat sober. With more water to fortify her curdling stomach, Ino was feeling much like her old self.

“I’m fine… Just got off of a short mission. You just got back from yours, huh?” Hana asked, pushing away the hair that strayed across Ino’s sweaty forehead.

“Yeah.” The blonde nodded, “two days ago.” She watched in a degree of confusion as Hana wetted paper towel beneath a tap and started to wipe gently at her flushing face. “What choo doing, Hana?”

“Cleaning you up,” Hana shared a knowing smile with the pink-haired kunoichi. “There is someone out there and he is all too eager to have you tonight. I figured that it wouldn’t do to have you come out drunk as a skunk and reeking of puke.”

“Oh.” Despite the alcohol induced stupids that Ino was suffering from, she felt her stomach plummet and her heart jump into her throat. Swallowing back the urge to be sick again, she said, “I don’t wanna see him.”

“No time to be a coward, Ino-pig.” Sakura chimed happily.

Lip gloss was applied to stunned lips and gum was pressed into her mouth, “Chew.” Hana ordered as she rubbed away the running mascara beneath Ino’s eyes with the soft pads of her thumbs.

Obeying mostly because of her state of drunkenness, she watched with detached interest as Hana turned to Sakura. “You gonna do it?”

Sakura’s grin broadened and then it occurred to Ino that her friend had never been drunk to begin with. “Bitch!” Ino snapped, almost choking on her gum. “You aren’t drunk at all!”

“No.” The pink haired woman said as Hana moved away and she stepped forward, pressing her hips against the counter between Ino’s knees. She clapped her hands together before executing a very intricate series of hand gestures. There was a burst of chakra that made Ino’s pale skin crawl before the palms of Sakura’s hands pressed against her temples.

“What are you doing?” Ino asked, reaching up and grasping her friend’s right wrist.

“Alcohol is a depressant caused by the ethanol. Ethanol is produced by the fermentation of sugar by a certain culture of yeast. Ethanol gets into your brain, via the bloodstream and triggers a wonderful cocktail of dopamine and endorphins that cause that wicked euphoric feeling you had before you puked your guts out. What I am doing is burning the ethanol out of your system to keep you from being hung over in the morning.” Sakura frowned in concentration as she moved one hand down the side of her face and the other one to the center of her chest where her heart was. “I am leaving the dopamine and endorphins in your system because quite frankly, it’ll keep you from thinking too much.”

She hadn’t the foggiest idea what the medic-nin was rattling on about but suddenly, she felt her upset stomach and her dizziness were gone. “Your blood alcohol concentration should be around…” The green glow intensified beneath her palms as she continued, “Around 19% to keep you nice, relaxed and a bit stupid. You can kick my ass later for it.” Sakura said, removing her hands as the chakra flow sputtered and finally died. “Drink that water.”

Ino obeyed, swallowing all the bottle’s contents before handing it over to Hana who had been standing silently at her side during Sakura’s confusing explanation. She seemed to have understood it and was looking at the medic-nin with respect. “You betcha I’ll kick your ass later, girl.” Ino slung an arm around her friend and yanked her roughly towards her, kissing her on the forehead. “But I love yah.”

Sakura pried the woman’s arm from around her neck and smiled, “Alright well, I’m going home. Lee is expecting me and I have a few things I want to tell him.” She grinned wolfishly at her friend before exiting the bathroom.

“Gotta pee.” Ino mumbled and lurched off of the counter towards the bathroom stall. A subtle flick of her wrist and she had executed her own sequence of hand movements. With a quick blast of chakra that seemed to itch across her skin, Ino blinked as the euphoric feeling dissipated. She sat down on the toilet seat, feeling the after affects of the jutsu. She hated using it and that was usually enough of a hindrance to keep her from drinking. It was useful, especially when being ANBU meant being called away at any possible moment. Bugging out at the most inopportune times seemed to give her superiors a vast amount of amusement.

“We got a long night ahead of us, sweets.” Hana spoke, “Are you going to be alright?”

She stepped out of the bathroom and as she washed her hands, she looked at Hana through the mirror’s reflection, “I’ll be fine.”

“You aren’t drunk, are you?”

“She’s not the only one who knows a jutsu to dispel the affects of alcohol.” Ino snorted, “But she meant well.” She spat the gum into the waste basket and smiled.

”You really are an amazing woman, Ino.” Hana laughed, dropping a soft kiss across her brow.

“ANBU actually, but close enough,” She winked before moving towards the door. “Now I’m going to go. I don’t want to see neither of them.”

“You think it’s wise to run away? You are gonna have to face them sooner or later.”

Ino’s smile turned sad, “I’ll be alright.” She suddenly felt weary to the bone, “I just want to sleep. I’m so tired.”

Hana nodded and watched as the blonde slipped out the door without another word.

Ino left through the backdoor of the place, leaving behind the smell of sex, alcohol and the thudding bass. The lingering affects of her jutsu and Sakura’s still made her skin want to crawl off her body but other than that, she felt whole and hale in body. Unfortunately, her mind still felt scattered to the four winds and she hadn’t the alcohol to numb her against it. She wanted to go back into the club and hug them both, tell them things were going to be fine. That it didn’t matter who called out whose name as long as they wanted her there.

Had they wanted her there? Another question that had surfaced more than a dozen times during the past two months. Ino pulled out the elastic from her hair and let her wheat coloured hair fall around her face. All she had wanted when she had consented to sleeping with Kiba was to finally have Shikamaru. It had merely started out as a sexual conquest but unfortunately, it had brought up feelings she had harboured for her team mate since she was old enough to know what it was to like boys. Sure, there had been Sasuke--- but who hadn’t lusted after the Uchiha at one point or another? But he had been different and her attraction to him had, of course, been enhanced by the fact that Sakura had liked him.

With a sigh, she wandered down the back street and onto the main drag. Konoha Boulevard was lit up with neon signs of business that were the other heartbeat of the city besides the elite Ninja army that populated it. Passing her family’s flower shop, she pressed her face to the window to see if anyone was home. Her father was sitting on a stool behind the counter, poring over the account books. She tapped on the window and smiled at him as he got up and let her in.

“Ino what are you doing up? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Dad, I’m 20 years old.” She reminded him as she followed him back to the counter after locking the door.

“My little girl’s all grown up.” He said as he slid onto his chair and leaned over his books, already immersed in the accounting.

“Why are you looking at the accounting books? You never look at them unless you got into a fight with mom.” Ino asked, leaning on the counter with her elbows, her face planted in her hands.

Inoshi regarded his daughter with identical violet eyes before dropping them to the comfort of black numbers across the pristine surface of the accounting book. “When did you grow up, little girl?” He asked quietly, flipping the book shut.

She grinned, “I dunno, dad.”

“Yes, to answer your question, I did have a fight with your mother.” He said suddenly, sitting back on his chair and taking a sip from the coffee cup on the counter.

“Oh? And?”

Their fights were often loud and chaotic events that were inevitable between two people who loved one another and were so completely dissimilar. Sometimes Ino wondered how the two of them ever met, her mother being a teacher at the local civilian college and her father being a ninja-slash-florist. From the attitude of her father’s family, the Yamanaka clan, she often got the feeling that their wedding had been shotgun and something of an act of defiance against her grandfather’s absolute rule.

“It was about you.” Her father leaned back, arching his back until vertebrae popped back into place.

“Oh?” She asked, the warning bells going off in her head.

“She said that she overheard one of her students talking about you.” The man sighed, looking much older than his 45 years. “You know Ino, the reason why I told you to avoid the Nara boy was not because I wanted to be mean or tell you what to do.”

“I know that—“

“Well then, why the hell are their rumours circulating that you are messing around with that boy. Do you know if his father has heard them, and most undoubtedly he has, Shikamaru could be cut off from his clan?”

“What?”

“If his father even suspects that Shikamaru has broken the Nara Oath he could be excommunicated from the clan.”

“But we haven’t…”

“I know you haven’t. You wouldn’t do anything as stupid as that.” His hand fell on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, “Shikamaru is going through the same stage any other Nara male has to go through. He’s experimenting and pushing the boundaries of that goddamn oath.”

“You mean, what he’s doing is normal?”

The elder Yamanaka ran a hand through his dark blond hair, “Sweetie, for a Yamanaka to get mixed up with a Nara can prove to be a bad thing. Especially since you and he are not of the same gender.” He said delicately, unable to meet his daughter’s eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“The Nara clan has been looking for a reason to meld our two clans together for years. The last time they got close enough to do it was when your great grandmother was caught kissing Shikamaru’s great grandfather.”

Rolling her eyes, Ino snorted derisively, “You can’t be serious, dad. That’s so stupid. And I have to say, cliché.” The smile melted from her lips as she caught the dead serious look on his face.

“I’m serious, Ino.” He said flatly, “Shikaku himself is not to be feared. Quite frankly, I’m sure the man doesn’t give a damn seeing as the oath has caused him a lot of troubles in the past. The one that is particularly mindful of the oath is the old goat.”

“Old goat?”

“The old dowager, the last surviving daughter of Shikamaru’s great grandfather, Shikako,” The name was said like a growling curse, the man’s face twisted up in anger. It was obvious to Ino that he had had a brush with the Dowager and it hadn’t been a pleasant one. “To Shikaku she’s an aunt who had been married off to a distant cousin of our branch. Shikako-dono resents the Yamanakas because the man who she was married to was not the greatest human being, to be exact.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was a florist and as docile as a doe.” He chuckled at his own analogy, “Standards hardly acceptable for a woman who wanted a powerful ninja. I don’t like to speak ill of a blood relative, but his preferences ran… entirely to males. Honestly, I’m surprised he could even get it up for a woman”

”Gay?” She asked blankly and then it occurred to her what he meant. She broke out into an identical grin, “A florist and as docile as a doe. I can understand why she’s so bitter after swallowing one disappointment after another.”

“Yes, well needless to say sweet great auntie Yamanaka, who refused to be called by her marriage name, resents all men and all Yamanakas as well. I’m not sure who she hates more.” His grin broadened, “I won’t even go into her personal vendetta against me once she found out that Shikaku and I—“

“I don’t even want to know about that one.” Ino interrupted. First Sakura and now her father left her wondering why people felt it necessary to share such disgusting details. “Honestly, if I hear even a word about your sex life I think I might lose my lunch.”

Looking crestfallen, the Yamanaka said, “Well I’m human too, Ino.”

“No you aren’t. You are my dad… which means that you are a little bit above human but far, far below angel.” She pushed away from the counter, pecked her father on the cheek and strolled to a glass fridge where her favourite flower was stored. She opened the door and plucked a bloom from a glass vase. “I’ll pay you back, pops.” She said, grabbing a stalk of sweet pea and twirled in around her fingers.

Out on the street, the air was significantly cooler than it was inside the shop. She wandered the streets a bit before finding herself back on her doorstep. Setting both flowers in a small vase, she set the vase on her nightstand and peeled off her clothes before getting into bed. Turning over, she stared at the flowers and found herself smiling over the irony of each of their meanings when combined. Her favourite flower, the Aster had always meant patience where as, what she thought was a random picking of a pretty flower had meant ‘delicate pleasure’. Putting the two together, Ino finally found clarity only brought on by a sudden epiphany.

Her phone rang, the shrilly sound of it jolting her out of bed on pure instinct. She picked up the receiver, thankful that the loud noise had stopped and she barked, “What?”

“You got back alright, huh?” Kiba asked.

“Yeah,” Despite her earlier revelations, she was in no mood to deal with any drama it might have conjured and so she remained silent until the man spoke again.

“Just to tell you, Shikamaru came back later the same day you left only to be called away on a mission.

“Where is he?”

“Sand country with Sasuke and Naruto.”

She grunted in acknowledgement before asking, “When’s he gonna be back?”

“Not for a while. He’s helping put together a trade agreement with sand country. They think he’ll be away for at least six months.”

Sinking down onto a chair, Ino sighed, “I see.”

Another painful lull in the conversation filled the strained atmosphere and then Kiba said softly, “Can I see you, Ino?”

“Fine.” She said without really knowing why. All she really wanted to do was sleep for a hundred years. It seemed that although she was convinced of its imperativeness, her subconscious had other plans.

“I’ll be right over.” He said and then the line went dead. Ino turned off the phone before setting it down in its cradle and with another sigh, went in search of something decent to wear before the dog-nin showed up on her doorstep.

TBC