Ocean Ripples

by Noriellie (N.A. Nery)

Summary: What would change if Ino had been put into Team 7 instead of Sakura? A lot of course, considering she doesn't even like Sasuke and tolerates Naruto.

Warnings: Slight AU, swearing, OOC-ness, character death, slight character bashing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Yamanaka Ino stared at the red ribbon in her hand, not fully comprehending the situation yet. She had offered her friendship to the pink-haired girl-she had helped her bloom and this was how she was going to be treated? Like some trash? Oh, she'll show her! She wanted a rival, she'd get one. It didn't even matter that she didn't like Uchiha Sasuke. This was war.

xxxxx

The young blonde skipped down the familiar streets of Konoha. Her team had just gone on another useless mission together. Genin were really looked down upon in the ninja world, she decided. Instead of the real ninja missions her Daddy went on, she was stuck in these stinking boring jobs. How was she supposed to get stronger if all she was doing was painting houses and weeding gardens? She sighed.

Ino brooded a bit more, pouting at the unfairness of it all. A familiar flash of pink hair caused her mood to brighten and a smirk quickly found its way to her face. Time to play Piss Off Pinkie!

"Nice forehead!" she yelled in greeting, attracting most of the crowd's attention. Sakura whipped around and glowered in response.

"What did you just say, Ino-pig?" she demanded, causing Ino's grin to widen.

"I forgot," she sighed dramatically. "All I can think about is how Sasuke-kun was being so nice to me today!"

Sakura growled as the two kunoichi stood incredibly close, glaring like there was no tomorrow. "I bet he just felt bad for the team so he decided to help out so you wouldn't keep dragging the team down because you're so weak!" All that was said in one breath and Ino couldn't help but feel impressed. It still stung though.

"You aren't any better!" she screamed. Damn it, she really hated this girl's guts!

Both glared at each other one more time before spinning around and huffing. Ino grumbled under her breath. She missed the old Sakura; the one who was kind and soft. She just wanted to be able to talk normally again, without all the shouting and the insults. the blonde bit her lip. Her pride would never let her apologize, especially since Sakura had started it all anyway.

Ah, whatever! She stomped into the empty house and into her purple room. Purple was nice and all but it also made everything so gloomy in the dark. With this in mind, she threw the curtains open and relished in the fresh gust of wind that surged throughout the room.

She sighed as she stood in front of her mirror. Dull azure eyes stared back at her own. Ino blinked owlishly at her own reflection before frowning. Was it true? Did Sasuke only help her during training because she was dragging the team down?

Ino tore through the village with fierce determination. She would consult with her sensei and then she'd work on whatever he said she needed work on. Hah! Sakura wouldn't be able to insult her about being after this!

She finally found the silver-haired Jounin chatting up a civilian. She raised her brow as a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "Hey there, Kakashi-sensei!" she called. "Who's this? Another one?" She'd purposefully left it vague, letting the woman fill in the blanks with whatever she wanted. Psychology at its finest.

Kakashi looked mildly amused at her antics. "This is Nadeshiko-san," he said. "I was just helping her find her way around the village."

"That's great and all but I really want you to train me," she deadpanned. It was always best to be straightforward with her roundabout sensei.

Kakashi nodded and excused himself, directing the woman to a Chuunin. They walked towards Team 7's training ground without much talking. "So, what's this about?" he asked.

"I want to know how I can improve," she replied. She braced herself for the flaws that the man was sure to point out.

"First of all, you need to eat," he stated in a way that didn't make it sound like he was insulting her. "You also need to work on your stamina and strength."

Ino nodded vigorously, hanging on to every word. "Will you help me?"

"I've already asked Sasuke to," he said. And with that, he teleported away. Ino rolled her eyes. Figured.

"I'm not going to rely on some Uchiha to get stronger," she declared. If Yamanaka Ino was one thing, she was determined. She'd get stronger for sure!

xxxxx

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his female teammate. What was she doing out here so late? Didn't she know about all the perverted men who wanted to get their hands on her? He sighed. He normally wouldn't care, but he knew that a team with only him and Naruto in it would fail dramatically.

And so he watched over her.

xxxxx

Ino smirked in satisfaction. Her knuckles were bleeding and she was all banged up but she felt good. In fact, she'd never felt this good in years! She ran around screaming her lungs off before collapsing in a satisfied fit of giggles.

She'd finally been able to defeat the annoying animated dummy that Daddy got her. It was surprisingly intelligent as it learned from her and incorporated her own moves against her. After two weeks of constantly getting her ass handed to her by a mindless piece of wood, she'd finally done it.

She grinned and got up, heading back to the house. She could go rub it in Sasuke's face that she defeated the dummy two weeks earlier than he had predicted. That'd show the guy not to underestimate her, Yamanaka Ino! She wasn't the Top Kunoichi for nothing!

Humming to herself, she entered the empty Yamanaka household and began cooking her dinner. Daddy was out on a mission today. She thought back to the previous months.

She annoyed Sasuke everyday, taunting him so he would at least spar with her. He was stuck up and always brooding but he was still Rookie of the Year and she couldn't just pass up the opportunity to go against him.

Naruto was a nice sparring partner, too. He was unpredictable, especially with his clones and extremely large chakra reserves. He never seemed to be low on stamina!

Kakashi had given her a book on healthy eating, which was ironic. She'd been eating 'healthy' her whole life. It's just that she ate too little. She snorted at book. She knew what you were supposed to eat, she just didn't think it mattered more than keeping your body in great shape.

Naruto out of all people-which came as a shock to everyone-had told her off and said that she was kunoichi so she burned ten times the amount of calories a normal civilian did. She didn't have to worry about overeating when she'd just lose all the energy through training and missions anyway! Needless to say, she hadn't known what to say to the blonde after that.

Who else got lectured about their eating habits by the ramen loving idiot?

xxxxx

"When are we getting a real mission?" Naruto whined. Ino resisted the urge to hit him, like she often did to her childhood friends. This was the tenth time he'd asked.

"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke glared. She sighed.

"You shut up, you bastard!" Naruto shot back. She rolled her eyes. Couldn't the two even attempt to be civil with each other? This constant bickering was really getting on her nerves. Yes, she realized how hypocritical she was being but she didn't care. They were being worse than she was with Sakura!

"Could you two please shut up?" she barked. They gaped at her. "If you don't like the mission then hurry up and get it over with instead of whining like a brat!" she screamed at the Uzumaki. At Sasuke's smug smirk, she glared. "And you! Can't you speak without a single insult coming out of your mouth? Seriously!"

The shocked expressions on their faces were priceless. She inwardly smirked at getting such a reaction from the social recluse. She needed to blow up in their faces a lot more.

"Sorry," Naruto murmured. Her brow raised. She hadn't expected him to apologize without her asking him to.

Sasuke huffed and looked away. "Sorry," he sighed.

She laughed as she threw an arm at each of her teammates. They looked at her as if she was crazy. Heck, maybe she was. But who cared when you has such amusing teammates?

xxxxx

Ino grinned as she collapsed onto the grass. She loved this clearing; it was secluded, full of colourful flowers, and there always seemed to be a cool draft of wind blowing. This was where she would go if she wanted to escape her life for a while, and it always served to cheer her up. Yep, she loved this place.

Team 7 had been training again that day, and it was a total bummer. The boys sparred throughout the whole thing and she was left alone. Kakashi-sensei was sitting under a tree reading that ghastly Icha Icha book. What a pervert!

Left to her own devices, the girl had ran around the training grounds. She really wanted to improve her stamina so she wouldn't have to keep calling for breaks. She got up to four laps before she needed a water break, and it was a definite improvement compared to last week.

Realizing that it was almost sundown, she stood and stretched. Daddy would be wondering where she was. She hummed to herself. Maybe she'd convince the boys to go for a three-way spar tomorrow.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of black eyes were following her every move.

xxxxx

Team Seven was currently working on their teamwork. Wow this sucked. Who knew being tied together like this would make things so difficult? She groaned as they fell for probably the twentieth time that day.

"Idiot Sasuke! Stop moving too fast!"

"You're the one being too slow, Dobe!"

Ino felt her eye twitching. Had they forgotten all about the other day? Oh well, she'd give them a reminder. "Shut up!" she screamed. "If you two stopped arguing for once and actually cooperated then we wouldn't be stuck like this!" Both Genin had frozen at her outburst. "Now get us up!"

The young mind walker found herself leading the team towards their goal; the training posts about twenty feet away from their starting position. She could feel the sweat forming. Just a little more…

A vein throbbed as they fell once again. "Get off! You're way too heavy!" she cried. Why did she have to be at the bottom? Naruto grunted as he pushed them up off the ground. "Now you better not trip again or else!" Threats like that always had Shika and Chouji scared. Then again, those two knew what she was capable of. She began planning her revenge when they fell, again, with her on the bottom, again. She groaned. This was going to be a long day of training.

"Sorry Ino-chan!"

"You'll be even sorrier one we're free from this thing!"

"Whatever."

"You wanna die, Uchiha?" was heard throughout within a ten mile radius.

xxxxx

"Hurry up, Yamanaka," Sasuke called. They were chasing after the Daimyo's wife's cat and it was faster and craftier than they thought it would be. They'd been at it for two hours now and she was getting really tired. Her legs already felt like jelly!

"I'm trying!" she growled back. The two were monsters, she decided. Who could run around the village at this speed for two hours? Man, she felt like she was going to die.

Surprisingly, the two seemed to slow down and kept pace with her. She scrunched up her eyebrows. What were those two planning?

"Get ready, Ino-chan!" Naruto grinned. Her eyes widened as they each took an arm and started half-dragging, half-boosting her. She felt like she was going to fall any second but she knew they wouldn't let that happen. They had faith in each other.

"Thanks," she whispered. Naruto kept on grinning and Sasuke shot her a small smirk. Her team was turning out to be a lot better than she thought it would be.

xxxxx

The team was eating together at a BBQ restaurant near the Hokage tower when Ino spotted a mane of pink hair. She smirked and started shouting about how great and amazing Uchiha Sasuke was, and how glad she was to be his teammate. Naruto started laughing into his bowl of whatever, and Kakashi hid behind his book of porn. Sasuke just looked murderous and tired.

As expected, Sakura popped up with her teammates in tow. Ino shared a look with the Uchiha before practically throwing herself onto him. "What're you doing here, Forehead?" she sniffed. "You're putting us off our food."

Naruto twitched, but he knew that Ino didn't really mean it so he just continued eating. He knew not to get involved in Piss Off Pinkie. "You're the one who's strangling poor Sasuke-kun and not letting him eat, Ino-pig!" Sakura hissed. "Look at how horrified and disgusted he looks because of you!"

Ino bristled. "Excuse you," she growled. "We were having a great time before you came and ruined our lunch!"

"Why you!"

The two girls jumped at each other, knocking Kakashi-sensei over. Ino gasped and picked up his Icha Icha book. She blinked as she read the contents. These wasn't a porn book, it was a secret Bingo book! She stared at her sensei with renewed respect. The book was obviously handwritten and designed so it would look like any other book if you didn't read it properly.

She smirked at the apologizing kunoichi and handed back the book to its rightful owner. "Now you have to pay for our food," she said.

Sakura paled. "O-Of course," she stammered. "It's on me! I'm sorry again!" With that, she left to go back to her own table.

Ino burst out laughing. "Did you have to do that?" Sasuke grouched. She rolled her eyes at him. Of course she did.

"Why? Feel sorry for her?" she teased.

He glared. "Never."

"If you say so," she laughed.

xxxxx

Sasuke groaned as the man shoved him against the alley wall. The man was obviously civilian, but he was still really strong. He hissed in pain as the man punched his gut. Damn, he was strong.

He'd been walking around the Uchiha Estate when he spotted the guy following Ino, so he decided to trail them. Why she even out at his time? He shook his head at the antics of his teammate. Girls; he'd never understand them.

He followed them until the mysterious stranger seemed to be speeding up, his arms ready to grab. Sasuke growled, not on his watch!

He freed himself with a kick to the stalker's crotch. Dirty, but effective. He then proceeded to place him under a genjustsu and knocked him out. His eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for familiar blonde locks. He had to make sure no one else decided to snatch the troublesome girl.

xxxxx

The blonde kunoichi aimlessly walked around the village. It was dark and the sky was pouring but she didn't mind. She smiled sardonically. The sky was the only thing that understood her, it seemed.

Today was the day Sakura had called off their friendship. Really, she shouldn't have been so hung up over something like that, but she was. She was bitter and she wasn't going to deny it.

She'd teach the pink haired girl a lesson. No one tossed her aside so easily! She didn't care about Sakura; all she cared about was her reputation!

…Was what she'd liked to say but she knew she couldn't. Sakura was her best friend so naturally it hurt when that relationship was so easily discarded; and over a boy too!

You couldn't blame her for crying.

"Shinobi don't show emotions," Sasuke's voice wafted over to her. It, however, lacked the steel that would usually come with such a sentence.

"Am I not allowed to be a girl for a little while?" she asked, her voice wavering. Thunder cracked.

She could feel the frown in his words. "Go home, Ino; you'll get sick."

She observed her surroundings. She'd somehow found her way to the training grounds. "You're one to talk," she sniffed. "Besides, it's on the other side of town."

"Hn." was all she heard before she was half-carried, half-dragged towards a cave of sorts. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her teammate. Seriously.

The two stayed in peaceful silence for a while before Ino was overcome with another sobbing fit. One great shinobi she was, she thought. She couldn't even control her own emotions. She hated her weakness.

What's worse was the fact that she had no one for comfort. She knew the Uchiha wouldn't give her that. Even though she'd finally gotten him to talk a lot more and they could finally be classified as friends, they weren't exactly was just no way. She cried harder. He was too stoic to offer anything, even after all that, and she knew this. Really, she expected it.

Imagine her surprise when Sasuke pulled her into a hug. She wasn't so insensitive so as to decline his offer of comfort; this must have been awkward for him. So she hugged back and cried until her eyes ran dry.

xxxxx

Ino awoke in her own room. Funny, she didn't remember—oh. She smiled to herself. He must have carried her all the way here. She smiled to herself. He wasn't bad at all.

The girl quickly got dressed. They were finally going on a C-rank mission. She definitely would not be late for that. She had to set an example after all! Not like her lazy, perverted sensei. She smiled fondly. She'd long ratted the silver haired nin out. She'd had a good laugh after she found out that the books he read weren't even Icha Icha. Shaking her head, she headed down for breakfast.

"Morning, flower," her dad greeted.

She flashed him a bright smile. "Morning, Daddy."

"My little girl's growing up so fast," Inoichi wistfully said. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Of course I am, Daddy," she said.

The older of the two smiled sadly. "Yes, you are."

"I'm going on a mission today."

"You go on missions everyday, darling."

"Yes but this one's C-ranked, Daddy. It's the first one we've ever gotten!" Ino chatted excitedly. "And it's out of the village too!"

Inoichi raised a brow. He had a faint idea of what was going on. They were being sent on one of those missions. He hid a frown. What was Kakashi thinking?

"Then you'd butter hurry. It's almost eight," he suggested. Ino's eyes widened. She was supposed to meet the team at the gates soon!

With a chaste kiss to the cheek, Ino dashed out into the street. "See ya later, Daddy!"

The blonde jumped onto the roofs, heading towards the meeting place. She refused to be late! Yamanaka Ino was always on time.

She sighed as she gracefully landed beside a bored looking Naruto. She raised a brow. Was he really the first one here? Her thoughts wandered to last night. Sasuke hadn't gotten sick, had he? She hoped not.

"Hellooooooo? Earth to Ino-chan?" Naruto yelled as he waved a hand infront of her face. She quickly swatted that away.

"Sorry, Naruto. Ayway, are you the first one here?" she asked.

The other blonde nodded. "Yeah. Wonder what happened to Sasuke…heh. He probably chickened out." Ino chuckled at that. Yeah right, and she was Hokage.

The two waited for a while. Where were the remaining two? She gritted her teeth. They'd receive a lot of scolding when they got here. Except maybe Sasuke. He could be sick because of her. She shook her head. Was she going soft? No, definitely not.

"Change of plans guys," Kakashi said as he landed next to them. Ino raised a brow. "Sasuke's missing."

Ino's mind reeled. Sasuke was missing? Why? How? What? "But—" she began. "I saw him last night!"

Kakashi glanced at her. "We've been sent on a search and retrieval mission," he said. "Follow me."

They arrived at the Hokage tower where they'd be receiving their briefing. She frowned. Why would Sasuke suddenly go missing?

"As you probably know, Uchiha Sasuke—" the Third began.

"Is right here," came the interruption. Ino almost leapt for joy.

"Never mind then," the Third said, his eyes twinkling.

Sasuke stood in his usual attire. Now, where had he gone off to? Something nagged at her but she ignored it.

"We'll call Tazuna-san back," an ANBU that had appeared out of nowhere said. Kakashi nodded, still eyeing Sasuke.

"Well? Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped out the window. She sighed. The boy was an endless ball of energy. She had to wonder where it all came from. She shrugged. Some things you can never understand.

The five walked in silence towards the Land of Waves. She sneaked a glance at Naurto. Now why was he being so quiet? One look told her everything. The boy looked constipated. She sighed. That's what he gets for eating instant ramen all the time. Really, how could anyone eat that without getting tired of it?

Ino had to admit the scenery was amazing. She'd never been this far out from the village. It made her feel slightly edgy yet excited all the same. The trees swayed in the morning breeze, as did their hair, and birds flew overhead. It was really peaceful out here. But of course it had to be broken.

They watched as Kakashi-sensei was torn to shreds right in front of them. Such young children shouldn't have to witness such a thing. Sure they were ninja now but they were still children!

Ino shook her head and leapt in front of Tazuna. She would protect their charge if it cost her her life. She watched as Sasuke leapt into action. If only she could be like him. A frown marred her delicate features. She would be like him, just he wait! The girl snapped back into attention when she saw the two ninja running towards her. Gritting her teeth, she formed the hand seals she never thought she'd use during this mission.

"Mind Disturbance Justsu!" she called out. She now had free reign on one of the ninja. The kunoichi smirked. With a slash, the other ninja was taken down with a kunai. She briefly wondered if she'd killed him. Blinking, she refocused on the task at hand. She'd have to incapacitate the other ninja somehow.

Swoosh!

A kunai was lodged inside the remaining opponent's neck. She glanced back and saw Kakashi-sensei walking up to them. He seemed pretty calm for someone who'd just murdered another person. She frowned. If only she could achieve that level of apathy. She scoffed. Hah, yeah right.

"Sorry I couldn't come earlier," Kakashi apologized.

Sasuke was openly glaring at her. What had gotten into him? "Why didn't you use that technique earlier?" he accused.

She felt a vein throb. "Oh, I'm sorry for thinking you guys could handle it," she spat. That hit a spot and they all knew it.

"Guys, stop," Kakashi warned. He turned to Naruto. "Naruto, we need to do something about that poisoned hand."

Naruto's eyes widened. "P-Poison?" he said meekly. She wished she knew the Mystical Palm Jutsu right about then.

"Anything you haven't told us, Tazuna-san?" Kakashi asked.

Turned out that their mission was under-ranked. This was way out of their league. They had to go back. Then Naruto surprised them all again. "This mission is still on!" he announced as he stabbed his hand with a kunai. Ino promptly smacked his head. What an idiot!

"You idiot!" she screeched, voicing her thoughts. Kakashi chuckled before growing solemn.

"That was great Naruto but you should stop that blood flow or you'll die," the Jounin said. Naruto paled.

She sighed but smiled all the same. "You're lucky I have bandages on me," she scolded. She unwrapped the ones on her abdomen and began covering his wound. Sasuke's barely audible snort was not lost on her.

Ino tended the campfire as her teammates slept. Her first A-rank mission, she thought with pride. And it wasn't a complete disaster too! She hummed a happy tune.

"Ino-chan," Naruto's drowsy voice interrupted. "You have a nice voice."

She grinned. "Thanks, Naruto!"

The other blonde fidgeted in his sleeping bag. "Can…can you sing it again? I don't know why but it reminds me of my mother," he murmured. Her gaze grew soft.

"Of course," she said. The boy instantly relaxed. She smiled, resuming her humming.

Naruto wasn't all that bad. In fact, if anyone made her maternal instincts go berserk, it was him.

Edit: 14/4/2014