Prompt:I’m fine, I prom…(passing out,vertigo, collapse) Fandom:Naruto Pairing/Characters:Sai and Ino (from Healing Hands) Rating:T Words:926 Notes:Requested by @cinlat . All the background stories from Healing Hands are getting to me XD they need their own place!
Ino stared at the papers in front of her, rereading each line to make sure that she understood. A headache nagged at the back of her mind, but she probably hadn’t drank enough water today. She’d been pouring over her father’s notes on mental health evaluations and the expectations of shinobi for hours. Inoichi cared about the men and women in the village, but he’d been more focused with getting information from enemies than protecting his own.
An uncomfortable feeling like disappointment tugged at Ino’s stomach. She hated to think anything less of the man for not enforcing tighter protocols. Her father had lived in a different world, one that was at war as often as it was at peace. They’d turned out child soldiers without batting an eye, and Ino knew they would do it again. But, she remembered the fire in her father’s eyes when she’d been nominated for the chunin exams, and the way he’d held her against his chest until her body spent its sobs after Asuma died. There was a tenderness to Inoichi as well.
The life of a shinobi wasn’t black and white; it was filled with contradictions. Ino understood that, now more than ever. Sakura had raised a lot of good points when she’d dropped by T&I the other day. So much so that Ino couldn’t stop thinking about it. She wondered about the Anbu who needed help and never showed up in her office, and the regular shinobi who thought it was a weakness to need help. They’d all been taught the same things.
Sakura was onto something with the idea of making T&I more friendly and accessible. Ino needed to talk to Osamu about the way he handled intakes, for starters. He’d always been a bit of standoffish—
“You’re working late tonight.” The words startled Ino from her thoughts. She jumped when hands came to rest on her shoulders. “Easy,” murmured a soft, familiar voice.
A smile slid onto Ino’s lips before she could stop it. “You’re back early.”
“Yes,” Sai agreed, removing the white mask that hid his features from the world when on mission. He must have just gotten back into Konoha to still be in uniform. “We didn’t encounter any resistance.”
Ino laid her head against the back of her chair, humming softly when Sai brushed his lips against her inverted forehead. “You should have given me some warning,” she chided, fussing over the hair she hadn’t bothered styling that morning. “A woman likes to look her best when she sees someone special.”
“You’re implying you don’t always look your best.” Sai’s pale features scrunched in confusion. He moved to sit on the edge of Ino’s desk, studying her face with dark eyes. “You’re a bit paler than normal perhaps, are you—”
Raising one hand, Ino cut off the words. “We’ve talked about this. I wasn’t speaking literally.” The start of a smile pulled at Sai’s lips, and she rolled her eyes. “Annnnd, you knew that?”
“I did.” The smile softened the sharp edges of Sai’s features. “I’m learning.”
Ino sat forward, resting a hand on Sai’s knee. Black fabric tensed beneath her fingers then relaxed. She glanced up through her eyelashes, watching the delicate blush play across his cheek bones. Her second hand came to the opposite knee, squeezing the muscle as she grinned. “What else have you learned?”
The blush on Sai’s cheeks shifted toward crimson, but his smile never faltered. “A few things, but you’ll need to come closer so I can show you.”
“Hmm,” Ino purred. She stood and leaned in. “Tell me more.”
The edges of Ino’s vision grew indistinct, stars bursting across the edge of her vision. The room tipped underfoot, and her stomach leaped into her throat. Ice washed through her body, numbing it entirely. She saw herself standing, saw Sai bring a hand up to her cheek, but couldn’t feel anything. Darkness swallowed the world.
Some time later, Ino opened her eyes to the familiar ceiling of her office. Sai had moved them to the floor at some point. He cradled head in his lap,and worry creased his brow. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Ino pulled herself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the way the room swam in and out of focus. “I just stood up too quickly.”
“You’ve never fainted before.” Sai didn’t move from his spot on the floor, wrapping an arm around Ino’s back. “I could go find Sakura and have her check you over. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
Ino shook her head. The room steadied, leaving only a vaguely nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach. Another inhale stilled the panic that fought to rise toward the surface. “I’m okay, really,” She squeezed Sai’s forearm. “I stood up too quickly, and I haven’t eaten much today. I’m fine.”
After watching Ino for a moment, Sai inclined his head. “Then, it’s my duty to take you to dinner.” At her frown, he laughed softly and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “My duty, and my pleasure, always.”
Sai stood, then offered his hand to help Ino back to her feet. She wobbled for a moment, then forced herself to stand firm. She took one step, then another. Sai nodded. “If it happens again though, I’m taking you to Sakura. Even if that means I have to carry you there myself.”
“Fair enough.” Ino brushed her lips lightly against Sai’s jaw before hooking her arm though his. “Now, tell me about your mission.”
Prompt:Touch and Go (bruises, touch starved, hunger) Fandom:Naruto Pairing:Sai/Ino Rating:T Words:941 Notes:This wasn’t a request, but I wanted to write these two. This is a background piece from Healing Hands (a YamaSaku story that’s in progress)
Candlelight danced on the wall, throwing the room in shades of shadow and soft light. The highlights on Ino’s cheek bones were lovely, shifting as she continued to tell her story. Sai tried to focus on the words, but the sound of her voice was like a lullabye. She was talking about her day, and he only managed to make snippets of the conversation fit into his memory. There was something about Sakura, but that wasn’t unusual. The women had become friends in the past few weeks.
After a minute, Sai sat up straighter and forced his mind back to the task at hand. “Wait, what was that about Anbu?”
“Sakura said she’d referred a couple to T&I for counseling,” Ino continued, tipping her head to the side. She caught her crimson lip between perfect white teeth, then managed a weak laugh. “I was afraid that you were one of them since you hadn’t been around in a while.”
“It’s been two weeks,” Sai amended with a shake of his head. “I’ve been on a mission.”
Ino hummed and took a sip of the wine that she’d poured them hours ago. Sai’s remained untouched on the table beside him. “I know,’ Ino sighed, placing her glass next to his. “But, it could have been you.”
“Unlikely, Sakura didn’t say anything at my physical,” Sai reasoned. He shifted position and kept his face carefully impassive. “I’m sure she would have said something, if she was worried.”
Another soft hum left Ino’s throat, but the woman didn’t seem aware of it. Her head was tipped to the side, studying Sai through the fall of blond hair that covered one eye. “You’re right, but I was worried all the same.”
Something warm and foreign opened in Sai’s chest, a light feeling of giddiness that he’d never experienced. “I’m sor—” Sai lost his words in the soft brush of Ino’s lips against his. He sat stunned for half a second, then his mind caught up with his body. Oh. Ohhhh.
Sai let out a shallow breath, suddenly aware of Ino in a way that he’d never been cognizant before. Her hands splayed on each side of his hips, and her pale eyes inches from his, waiting for a response. He exhaled in a nervous chuckle and continued his earlier thought. “I’m sorry to worry you. It wasn’t me.”
“But, it could have been,” Ino countered without moving away.
The woman’s presence made it difficult to think of a response, but Sai wasn’t sure that Ino wanted one. The expression on her face was foreign and dizzying. He found himself wishing he’d drank the wine without knowing why. The second kiss lasted longer, trapping Sai’s breath in his lung to the point of pain. When they broke apart, he realized that Ino had moved closer. One hand rested against his chest when she blew out a soft breath. “I don’t want to lose you too.”
Sai wanted to assure Ino that she wouldn’t lose him, that he was right there, but the words tasted false. He’d seen enough people die to know that tomorrow wasn’t promised, especially in his line of work. Ino knew that too; she’d lost more than most. Carefully, Sai raised one hand to brush across Ino’s cheek. “You won’t,” he answered, suddenly understanding why people lied.
Weight settled on Sai’s thighs and his arms closed around Ino’s back with a familiarity that left him reeling. If her mouth was warm against his, her body felt like an inferno. He lost track of time, of anything but the flutter light kisses that brushed over his jaw. It could have been seconds or hours when Ino shifted and pain exploded from Sai’s side. He grit his teeth and tried to smooth his features, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Ino pulled away, chest rising and falling distractingly as she caught her breath. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Sai answered, a heartbeat too fast to be honest.
Ino’s lips slid into a frown, brought her hand back to the position it had been moments before, and pressed. Sai hissed through clenched teeth. Frowning, Ino sat back and undid the first four buttons of his shirt. She pulled the fabric aside and his name left her mouth in a chiding gasp. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine. It’ll heal in a few days.” Sai watched the horror dawning on Ino’s face with a sort of morbid fascination.
Ino traced across the bare skin with more tenderness than desire, following the angry red and black marks on Sai’s pale skin. The bruise covered almost the entire left side of his chest, a deep purple blotch that centered just below the pectoral muscle. Angry streaks sprayed across the skin in every direction, fading the further away from the point of impact. Ino traced one that wrapped around his back. “Have you been to the hospital?”
“I’m fine,” Sai repeated, catching Ino’s hand and guiding it away from the mark. “In a week or two, you won’t even know that it happened.”
The woman frowned and moved to sit beside Sai on the couch. The loss of her weight and warmth left him feeling disoriented. “You should still get it checked out.”
“I will,” he said, and was surprised to find that he meant it.
Ino brushed her hair behind one ear, then nodded toward the movie that they’d been planning to watch. “It’s getting late, we better get started.”
The woman spoke as if the past fifteen minutes hadn’t changed everything between them. Sai didn’t know what to say, so he nodded and tried to figure out what happened and why.
The Yamanaka clan is one of the oldest clans, being among the very first clans to reside in the newly-founded Konohagakure village along with Uchiha, Senju and Hyūga. This is proved because despite being ninjas, members of the Yamanaka clan are also skilled Botanists who runs a flower Shop in the village, which existed since Hashirama’s era.
Though not battle-type by nature, Members of the Yamanaka clan are Sensors & Telepaths with mind altering/reading/controlling abilities, making them experts at Information gathering, Tracking, Interrogation, Communication, Spying etc. Yamanaka clan techniques were one of the most widely used techniques in the Fourth Shinobi World War, especially the Mind Transfer Technique which was used to overtake Obito’s control over Ten-tails twice and Mind Transmission Technique which was the only source of communication within the Alliance.
Yamanaka clan is a part of the Legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the second strongest trio, along with Nara & Akimichi Clan. The 3 clans uses combination attacks in formations in such a way each member’s abilities complements the others’ in the best way possible with high accuracy in battles.
Members of the Yamanaka clan lead the Analysis Team of Intelligence Division and the Sensory Division of Konohagakure. With Sai now being a part of the Yamanaka clan, Konoha ANBU is also currently lead by a Yamanaka, hence the clan having a very high authority in the village.
Members of the Yamanaka clan often wear their hair in ponytails which appears to be traditional in order to be easily recognizable within the community, and earrings in order to demonstrate their representation in the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
Yamanaka Clan was acknowledged by Tobi/Obito Uchiha in his fight against Fū Yamanaka, Members of the Kara Organization, Danzō as he chose a Yamanaka from the Root to be his bodyguard, and the God of the Shinobis Hashirama seeked aid specifically from a Yamanaka clan member in the Fourth Shinobi War.
After Inoichi Yamanaka’s heroic death, Ino became his successor and took over the lead of the Yamanaka Clan in the Fourth Shinobi War. Currently in the peace era, she carries all her father’s duties- continues to lead the Clan, serves as a medium of the communications across the Five Great Shinobi Nations, leads the Sensory Division and the Analysis Team of the village while also running the clan’s flower shop and raising a new heir of the clan.
After Ino’s marriage to Sai, Sai took over the Yamanaka surname, officially becoming a part of the Clan. Hence the Yamanaka blood now has the potential to perform Sai’s exclusive Super Beast Scroll Technnique. Ino & Sai gave birth to Inojin Yamanaka, a promising heir to the Clan - who is also able to combine the sensory powers he inherited from Ino and the Super Beast Scroll he inherited from his father Sai.
Trivia: The name “Yamanaka” means “in the middle of mountains” or “in the mountain range”, and Yamanaka Clan’s customary prefix “Ino” is the short form for “Inoshishi” which means “Boar”. It is known that wild boars are heavily associated in the mountain ranges of Japan.
The Yamanaka Crest is a Bush Clover flower which represents “A positive love who treasures bonds”. Inoichi Yamanaka, the late head of the clan raised his daughter Ino Yamanaka to embody this title, and believed that she had bloomed into a beautiful Bush Clover before his death.
“Everyone in a clan plays a part in passing on the clan’s legacy to the next generation, & the new generation will always surpass the previous one. It’s one never-ending cycles in life.”
