intraspective | The Preserve, Sunday Evening

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The Preserve, Sunday Evening

Her forehead protector was actually on her forehead, for once. She'd brought her kunai, her wire, and with reluctance left her gun behind. Ino had considered bringing a spear, but she doubted it'd do her any good and so hadn't.

She was... ready to get her ass kicked.

Ino resisted the urge to tug at her bangs. This was stupid. She knew it, Temari knew it, but she hadn't been able to stop it. She wasn't worthless.

That had to be proved even if what she turned out to be worth, in Temari's eyes, was still 'not much'.

Leaning against a tree, she had her eyes closed and was trying to see if she'd sense Temari's approach. Probably not, but she had try.

[For a certain fan-girl.]

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A faint flash of movement as Temari moved out of the way of the legs, but stayed where she was.

"The other brats from Konoha turned out to be pretty strong," She commented idly.

"I'm not listening to you," Ino said, even though she was. The other brats? What did that mean about her?

Don't think about it.

Another kick, this one higher.

Reaching up to grab the foot, Temari spun suddenly to throw her into a tree.

"Shikamaru was a pleasant surprise. Even the Akimichi."

Her eyes narrowed, and she swore mentally as she went flying, managing to twist so that she wouldn't crash and injure herself badly. It still hurt though.

Ino powerfully suspected that everything was going to hurt by the end of this.

Wincing, but still in the 'fight' Ino, rather than heading back out to attack full on again, melted into the trees.

Camouflage was a good thing, yes.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Temari didn't bother to look around.

Shikamaru was right. How troublesome.

"Still waiting," She remarked dryly.

Ino's eyes narrowed as she thought about what to do. Clearly full out wasn't going to do anything, not that she'd really thought it would, but...

"Bunshin no Jutsu," Ino murmured, hands forming seals, and three other 'Ino's' appearing around her. She sent them after Temari, and settled in to watch--worriedly--what Temari would do to the illusions.

Staying where she was, Temari's eyes moved once toward the ground around the feet of the clones.

Of course.

"Playing with illusions?" She asked, going through the handseals herself. "Suna bushin!"

There were three more Temari's as well, nodding at the original before moving out into the forest to find the errant brat.

Oh, crap.

Ino considered her options. She... should... hopefully be able to take out the suna bunshin, if she could take them on one by one.

Weren't they supposed to be only ten percent of the strength of the original? Or was that just mizu bunshin? Well, whatever. Ino tugged a kunai free and slid down and over towards one of the bunshin.

Moving easily through the brush, the clone didn't glance her way. It headed slowly toward a spot just to the west of her.

Ino closed in on the clone, flinging the kunai with sharp precision and pulling out another and letting fly with that one as well.

And she'd have to hope that that would do something.

The bushin turned suddenly at that, whistling sharply before dissolving into a small pile of sand as the other two bushin ran to join their fallen comrade and Ino.

"Think it'd be that easy?" One of them asked, smirking at her as the other moved to keep her in place.

"Can't blame a girl for trying, right?" Ino snarked, lashing out quickly at one of the clones with another kunai.

The clone dissolved as well, laughing as the other one followed suit without a hit landing.

Tapping her from behind with the tessan, Temari just raised an eyebrow. "Bushin are a tool. If you wanted to fight one, try Uzumaki."

The kunai? Got flung in Temari's direction. "Any other words of wisdom?"

The fan barely moved, but the kunai was suddenly in the tree nearest to them, still shaking from the force. "I haven't taken a team for a reason, Yamanaka."

She moved forward fast, fan up to smack Ino away.

Ino managed to get her arms up to at least block the fan from her face, but that didn't change the fact that the fan? Fucking hurt.

She hit the ground, hard, and had to pause a moment to orient herself.

Temari simply held the fan out straight, still closed. "I didn't break you so soon, did I?"

Ino got to her feet. "I'm tougher than that," she said.

"Hn." No comment about how likely that was should Temari try just a little more. "Are you going to keep me interested anytime soon?"

Ino didn't bother to dignify that with a verbal answer, channelling chakra to her feet and flinging a kick at Temari's torso.

Spinning lightly on her toes, Temari moved back just enough to slam the fan down against the ground.

Hn. Might have needed to use less chakra judging by the damage to the ground between them.

She looked over the fan, mildly impressed at how well it handled.

Ino noticed that too late to change her direction, so she, using the fan as a landing point quickly twisted off of it, rolling--hopefully out of immediate range of reprisal--and flinging another kunai quickly at Temari.

Another quick movement with the fan, reflex mostly.

"Boring. So boring," Temari remarked, finally grabbing for kunai of her own to throw.

Ino rather wished that she'd brought her gun along. She doubted it would've helped much, but it might have given Temari a moment's pause at least.

Boring, was she?

Rather than continue to move away from Temari, Ino shifted gears and darted towards her.

Tossing them close enough to actually wing her, but not connect, Temari didn't move away. Backing down wasn't really in the plan.

She moved the fan slightly, preparing for anything.

Two kunai in quick succession were flung. They weren't meant to connect, just hopefully give her long enough to get close enough to have a chance at this.

Her plan was crazy. She knew it. Shikamaru would probably be facepalming over her again, and Chouji would be wincing. Ino couldn't help it, this was the best she could come up with for now.

She flashed her hands through the seals, faster at them than another other jutsu she knew simply through long familiarity. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

There was the faintest rolling of eyes as the fan snapped open and swung up to knock the brat back.

Over-kill, sure. But that was a dumb move.

Ino didn't even have a chance to even try to move out of the way, her body gone slack and unresponsive as her mind was separated from it.

Her body went flying through the air, landing heavily and just missing a tree.

"Was that really your best idea at the time?" Temari asked fluttering the fan once to get a good feel for the chakra flowing through it.

Cable knew his weapons.

Ino?

Would so bitch at that, if she'd actually heard it. But by the time that her spirit found its way back to her body, what Temari had said was long past.

She blinked, nose to the dirt, and tried not to hiss in pain as she came back to herself.

Temari sat down on her back, fan resting across the brat's shoulders.

"Are you done proving your point?"

The brat had a name, and would so totally prove that...

Eventually.

Once Temari stopped using her as a seat--and oh, damn, that just made everything hurt worse, not just her pride--or something. Eventually. When she could move again.

"Didn't seem to prove much of anything," Ino said, staring determinedly at the ground in front of her nose and trying not to sound like she was in any pain.

Temari examined her nails. They needed to be trimmed. "Then why did you even accept?"

She laughed, a bit raggedly because it hurt to do so and it wasn't funny besides. "Because I couldn't help it."

"And?"

"And what?"

Temari thumped her on the head. "Figure it out, brat."

And stood, brushing her dress off.

Right. Because she wasn't in enough pain or something. Ino rolled over onto her back and stared up at Temari.

"I have a name."

Because that was totally the thing to insist upon right now. Totally.

"Yamanaka-brat."

She started off, out of the woods.

Ino... couldn't find the energy to protest that. Good enough, she supposed. It did have her name in it.

As Temari left she just stared up at the sky, not really seeing anything.

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The Preserve, Sunday Evening

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