Help?

[midnightdiddle]

I'm desperate for good fanfiction. Desperate. Very desperate. If you know of any great fics, please tell me? And I'll love you forever. Hmm... Extra points for fics about Ino, Jiraiya, or Shino. Preferably long fics, too. Good, long, engaging reads. Ah, that'd be nice.

In other news, I'm alive and well. I'm beginning to feel better! Yay! In more other news, the Shino's-family-is-evil fic I was writing was put on hold, for the Yondaime fic, which was put on hold for the KakaSaku, which was put on hold for two Ino ficlets, one of which I've finished, and put up here for you.

And I love Lee. So I'm now watching Naruto, bit by little bit, and I've hit the chuunin exams. I about died when I heard Lee's voice. Love. Much love. *glomp on Lee* It's official, I'm a Lee and Gai fangirl. But more Lee than Gai, because I didn't really like Gai's voice. And Lee's awesome when he fights! But enough blabbering.


Losing Ino

Out of all the ANBU, Ino was a favorite. She got the higher assassinations, the ones that would inevitably be looked into, because Ino was Ino. She was perfect in work, just like she was perfect in the rest of her life.

She stared between the box her fingers made, focusing on the body on the bed. A touch of chakra, and she pulled herself into the man’s body, wrenching his mind away from him. His body was large, clumsy, fat with age and a too opulent life. When she moved off the bed, his feet creaked on the floorboards, and she could feel his flesh weighing her down. She walked him across the room, ignoring her limp body in the far corner.

A knife was easy to find. A bejeweled and shining letter opener, lying carelessly on a table in the next room, next to piles of letters and papers. She leafed through the papers quickly, then grabbed the knife. It was dull from ripping open envelopes, but it would work. She touched the end of the blade to the side of the man’s neck, beneath his heavy jowls, and ripped.

Falling out of a dying mind felt a little bit like drowning. She never did get used to it, the way she lost herself, scattered and torn apart, or the way she had to push and pull so much just to get back into her own body. It was tiring and disorientating, and when she finally hooked herself back into her own body, she always had to lie still, waiting for her heart to work the right way, and for her mind to calm down and figure out where things went, and how things worked.

She rolled over, shoving her head against the cool floorboards. She was dizzy, out of control, and she needed to get out. She stumbled from the room, scrambling through the shadows until she was out of the mansion, and past the iron gates. When she was in the forest she ran, tripping and falling and running again, until she fell halfway into a stream. She tore off her mask, shoving her head under the water, and when she finally pulled it back out, gasping for breath, her wet hair stuck to her cheeks.

The forest was dark and cold, barely lit by the stars and sliver of a moon, and when she looked around, she felt small. There was something there, just on the edge of her sight, and on the edge of her mind, and on the edge of her reason, but she couldn’t reach it, no matter how hard she reached, or how fast she turned. And, this time, like every time since she’d said yes and they gave her that damn mask and she ran from a dead body, she wondered just how much she’d lost.


Because, you see, Ino would rock at assassinations, because she could make them look like suicides. See? See? Ain't it brillaint?

Comments

[luv-wiz.livejournal.com]

:D

What a coincidence ! I'm at the Chuunin exams now ! ^^

I'm about to watch the Gaara and Sasuke fight ... >__>

If I ever get around to watching it , cause I'm lazy like that . :3;;

* goes to read fic *

[luv-wiz.livejournal.com]

oh , wow ! ^^

I never thought about Ino's jutsu like that . :3

Hers is just like Shikamaru's , from that fic I told you about shadows and stuff ?? ^^

Good take on her and her jutsu ... >__>;

The only thing is , that while Ino's jutsu would be perfect for assassinations , I don't really think she's strong enough to become part of ANBU . >__>;;

Perhaps I'm underestimating her . I mean , look at Sakura ! She increased a lot in a few years ( after time jump ) , but she just doesn't seem the ninja type , like Ino . O__o;;

just my thought . ^^;

Liked this take on Ino ... very creative ~~ :D

[telosphilos.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can see it. It would take quite a bit of age and maturity to build her up to it. I can see her doing it, just a good while down the road. I'd recommend you read Kami no Vanilla's Seranade for another view of assasinations. It stars Shikamaru and is particularly apt.

[telosphilos.livejournal.com]

I don't know. After the time jump Sakura has a lot more tricks up her sleeve, but most of those seem to be medical or related to Tsunade's teachings. She lets Obaa-chan guide her with the charkra strings while fighting a guy who is admittedly way out of her league so we can't quite really judge the true level of her fighting skill. I'm not saying that she isn't good. She certainly has learned a lot as a medic and gained a lot of new tricks, we just haven't really gotten a chance to see them yet. She does have far greater determination as well. With both Sakura and Naruto what I see is that they have gained a lot of techniques, but they don't necessarily know when to apply which one yet. That takes practice and experience which is why Kakashi is still far more dangerous an opponent then either of them dispite his lack of charkra reserves compared to Naruto and control compared to Sakura. He still has a lot that he can teach them.

[midnightdiddle.livejournal.com]

I see Ino as the most likely girl to go into ANBU out of the Rookie Nine and Gai's team. Out of them all, I think she has the most potential as a ninja. Sakura has chakra control down pat, but Ino's just...

Well, let's see. First of all, when she's still a genin, she's noted as being exceptional amongst kunoichi. She's not stupid, she's not airheaded, she's not weak. The only time she acts her age, really, is when Sasuke is involved. Other than that, she's brilliant.

She knows how to fight, and when to fight. Also, she was raised to be a ninja. We don't know much about Sakura's parents, but I always get the feeling that her parents aren't ninja. Ino, on the other hand: her father is a jounin, and he's part of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio. I mean, being a ninja is practically in Ino's blood.

And when she fights Sakura in the chuunin preliminaries? Sakura's smart, we all know that. Sakura's one of the smartest rookies. But, Ino still outsmarts her, with the hair, to hold her in place. If Sakura didn't have Inner Sakura, she would have lost then and there. That just shows, Ino can think quickly and calmly under pressure. In that regard, she really quite a bit like Shikamaru. No matter how ditzy she may act, it's all really just an act.



But yeah. Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. And the ironic thing is, this idea's been in my head long before I read that story. How minds think alike...

[luv-wiz.livejournal.com]

XD

I found that one and read it a few days ago , then showed it to Kiki ! :3

That is such a good fic and has an awesome take on Shika ! XD

[luv-wiz.livejournal.com]

I agree with what you wrote about Sakura after the time jump . ^^

She gets super strong ( i.e. when she kinda makes the earth shake on her second bell test part ^^;; ) , but to me , I don't think she'll be able to make it into being a Juunin . Who knows ? We haven't seen how stronger she has become , but she just doesn't seem to me like the type to be able to kill someone ... althoughg , she is a ninja . >__>;;

She seems to me like she'll become one of the bezt medical nins ever , but not a real fighter ... >__>;; Am I making sense ?

I'd say it'd be kind of like a new Sennin group ( is that the sp ?? ) , with Sakura = Tsunade , Naruto = Jiraiya , and Sasuke = Orochimaru ...

[luv-wiz.livejournal.com]

haha , good point about the Chuunin exam . ^^

I had forgotten about that ... >___<;;;

I also think Sakura's parents are " normal " . =P

I mean , she just doesn't seem to come from a nin family like Ino , just like you said ...

but , we'll have to wait and see . ^_____^

[marmaladecat]

Sakura the muggle-blood.

(Sorry, Kiki, I hate Ino with a passion, but that's a very interesting look at what she could potentially be. I don't think she'd last long sane if she had to do that regularly.)

[midnightdiddle.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

But...hmm, a link? Do you mean an lj-cut? Or something else? But I'll look around, and see if I can figure it out. :)

[midnightdiddle.livejournal.com]

Thank you thank you thank you! Can't thank you enough. I'll look into all of them.

[midnightdiddle.livejournal.com]

And one of them will fade. *shifty eyes* I have a continuation thing planned, now if I can just get myself to write it...

[telosphilos.livejournal.com]

The new Sannin group is forshaddowed heavily to the point of obviousness that a 13 year old would spot immediately. There are questions however about just how closely they will parallel the originals.

Sakura will make Jounin, she just won't make it quickly. Break down the chuunin exam and what were they really looking for? They were looking for confidence and strength of character in the information gathering test to a much greater degree then they were even looking for information gathering skills. In the survival test, they were testing their survival skills and basic abilities as nins. The final tournament had an even simpler purpose, to demonstrate their fighting skills and their judgement abilities. There was really never any doubt that all of the gennin could fight, but could they make the judgement calls. In that sense, Iruka-sensei was exactly right in his objections. The kids did not have the maturity to handle the judgement calls for the most part. While many of the fights were spectacular, there was little to no evidence that they understood what was being asked of them.

Sakura may never be a brawler, but I think she will learn to hold her own. If nothing else, Kakashi will teach her when and how to do that.

[nezumiko.livejournal.com]

Oh it is brilliant. It would be perfect for assassinations, and it would undoubtedly rob you of your sanity to experience death from the inside over and over again. I love how you think!