Konohagakure no Sato, Thursday Evening (Fandom Time) / Jan. 4th (Konoha Time)

[intraspective]

Ino laughed.

Perched up on a wooden fence, elbows on her knees and her chin propped up in her hands, she watched with bright, rested, eyes as Zack was walked again through the basic steps to walk up a tree.

It was a skill, truly, that wasn't usually taught to those who hadn't gone through the Academy, but her father had decreed that he was going to learn a few things, or so help him, and while she was supportive in the sense that she'd give him theory…

Well, when it came to watching his practical attempts, Ino tended to dissolve into giggles. (Truly, he wasn't doing so badly for someone who, a week and a half ago hadn't known chakra from dirt, but…)

"You've got to keep your eyes open while moving," she called helpfully, before cracking up again.

[NFB, for ze puppy, mmm gratuitous timewarpiness.]

Comments

[intraspective]

"Me?" she blinked at him. "Probably 'bout ten or eleven--all shinobi learn it by thirteen 'cause it's a skill generally taught by our sensei, but those from shinobi families tend to learn it sooner."

It was, after all, a very basic skill.

[puppy_fair]

Zack nodded a little, sighing, though he was still wearing a small smile. The smile, of course, was a fixture. But the fact that it was there... hey, that was nice.

"So, I was a little kid messing up my alphabet," he laughed. In all fairness, he wasn't a little kid anymore, and he still messed that up, though. "It figures, I guess."

[intraspective]

Ino gave him an almost apologetic shrug. “You’re still doin’ pretty good for someone who ain’t been trainin’ in this stuff since they were five.”

She offered him a grin. “Walk with me?”

[puppy_fair]

Zack laughed and shrugged too, before holding out his hand to help her down from her fencepost.

"Sure," he replied. "To anywhere in particular?"

[intraspective]

She didn’t take that hand—though she tried to soften that with a quick kiss to his cheek—and hopped off the fence.

“I was thinking over by the Hokage Monument,” Ino admitted.

[puppy_fair]

"The big heads in the rock?" Zack blinked, glanced up toward the mountainside (it was difficult to miss), and then grinned. Hey, he was easy. "Well, you're the one who knows how to get around this place, so lead on!"

Zack was kidding nobody. He picked up on the ways that the streets and walkways wove about as if he'd been given a map or something. What he lacked in walking-up-trees ability, he at least partially managed to make up in half-decent directional sense.

[intraspective]

“You know they’re more than heads on a rock,” she said, but she was laughing as she started that way. “Besides, if the little birdie that gave me a tip today is right, we might see something iiinteresting that way.”

And that little birdie would have accurate information in this case…

[puppy_fair]

Zack kept easy pace with Ino, stretching his arms out and then clasping his hands behind his head.

"I didn't know you could talk to birds, too," he chuckled. "Do I get any hints about interesting things, at all?"

[intraspective]

“Figurative birds,” she said, with a laugh. “And nooope. No hints at all!”

[puppy_fair]

"Oh, so they're interesting and surprises, then?" Zack couldn't help but grin even more. It was good to hear her laughing again. "Did your figurative birds say that too, or were you the one who wanted to do the surprising?"

[intraspective]

“…Maybe me,” she admitted, ducking her head sheepishly. “Do you mind?”

[puppy_fair]

"When do I ever mind surprises?" Zack laughed softly, and then leaned over to kiss her cheek. So there! "Bring it on!"

Those words were so multi-purpose.

[intraspective]

She hummed at the kiss and led them on a quick path through the village.

Well, truly, it might have been called a city. But you didn’t hide cities. Villages were what you hid.

“You sure?” she teased.

[puppy_fair]

"If you keep asking, I might just have to change my mind," Zack announced, with all the solemnity of a... a really, really solemn thing!

... Yeah, he wasn't going to change his mind just yet.

"Is it really far?"

[intraspective]

"Not stupid far," Ino replied, which wasn't much of an answer at all. "Why? Did you want to go somewhere else?"

[puppy_fair]

"Nope," Zack decided. "Now that you've mentioned there's a surprise, you're stuck doing the way we're going. Curiosity would kill me if we didn't!"

It was true. And an anxious, distracted puppy was a dangerous, dangerous thing.

[intraspective]

"No dying," she ordered and then, with a laugh, sped up her pace. He was it! Or something!

Catch her if he could!

[puppy_fair]

Oh, it was on! Zack didn't even need to tap into that chakra stuff to give her a run for her money! At least, not so long as she stayed on the ground.

She was planning on staying on the ground, right?

[intraspective]

Maybe she was!

For the moment, at least, Ino was content to wend her way skillfully through crowded streets, blonde hair glinting in the sunlight and trying to make sure that she stayed just ahead of where he'd be able to reach her.

It would ruin the game, after all, if she got too far ahead.

[puppy_fair]

It would! And really, Zack was trying too hard not to simply plow through the crowd to catch her so easily as he otherwise might.

Running into people in Midgar was kind of expected. People knew to sidestep if they saw a SOLDIER uniform barrelling towards them. Here in Konoha, he was the outsider. Running people over wasn't just bad form, it was... Well... Okay, all Zack was really worried about was the bad form bit. He was way too nice to just stomp people over.

[intraspective]

It was definitely more polite, the care he was taking. Ino approved.

She also approved of how it made her job of staying ahead of him easier. And then, there was a turn and Ino slipped down it fully expecting him to figure out where to go.

He was watching her after all.

[puppy_fair]

The only reason that Zack nearly skipped on past that turn was because there was somebody between him and the corner that he'd wanted to round, and tripping people over? Still in bad form. And so he was a few extra steps behind by the time he managed to backtrack to take the proper turn, glancing around momentarily before catching the familiar bobble of blonde hair ahead, grinning, and taking off at a run all over again.

"Wait up!"

[intraspective]

Ino laughed, glancing behind her.

"Never!"

Or, more seriously: always.

[puppy_fair]

Oh, that would just encourage him! Zack laughed, crouching down the moment he found a bit of spare roadway, and then launching himself up and forward, maybe showing off a little with a flip in the air before landing in another (very conveniently) bare patch of road up ahead.

"Then don't," he called back, starting on his careful run again. There was something about their winter break vacations that seemed to always end up with a race through the crowd, wasn't there? "But I'll totally catch up anyhow!"

[intraspective]

... Possibly. Yes.

Ino's only verbal response was a laugh as she picked up a bit more spend and, with a jump of her own, fled up to the rooftops.

Would he follow her here?