Weaving wreaths was a more difficult art than one might think. Initially, it was all about picking the correct flowers and branches. Stems had to be supple, but not weak; petals needed to be blooming, but not fully open, so that when they were displayed for sale, they were at the peak of perfection.

There was an art to choosing colors as well. Bright colors had to be enhanced with softer, neutral tones. Just the right type of greenery was used to complement certain colors: fresh, spring green was used for pale pinks and yellow, dark ivy greens for creamy white and crimson.

Tempered by years of experience in her parents' shop, Ino had brought the art to a whole new level. Her fingers weaved deftly through rows, forming a circle of branches and leaves arranged to perfection. This morning's selection was lilies, with tiny clusters of baby's breath around the edges. Normally she would hum a little as she worked, but today she let the silence penetrate the garden. Even the gentlest of breezes didn't stir the shrubs and trees.

"Ino dear?" The rumbling voice of Inoichi Yamanaka floated down the pathway, followed by his imposing figure ducking around the corner of the garden path. "Are you out here?"

"Over here, daddy!" She called, putting the wreath aside to smile warmly at her father. The blond-haired man returned the smile gently, moving the wreath to take a seat next to his daughter on the bench.

Ino fought a grimace as her father sat down painstakingly slowly. He tried not to let it show, but she could see the lines of pain in his face. An injury sustained from the war had crippled him slightly. As the head of the intelligence squad, it simply meant that he wouldn't be doing much fieldwork; knowing the Hokage, it would do very little to affect his career, a fact for which Ino couldn't be more glad… yet it still pained her to see the man that had been her idol since she was just a child be subjected to such hurt.

She took the wreath out of his hands, pausing for a moment to admire the marked similarity of their fingers. Hers had once been smooth, treated with lotion and moisturizer to counteract the adverse effects of kunoichi training, but the older she got, the less she paid attention to vain things like that.

Now, her hands were covered in calluses and scars; not nearly as many as her father's, she noted with a little inward chuckle, but enough to prove that she'd seen her share of battles.

Ino must have spent too long in thought, because her father waved a hand below her chin to get her attention. She looked up, slightly startled.

"Hmm?"

Inoichi chuckled, releasing his hold on the wreath. "What's the matter, little one? You seem preoccupied today."

Ino smiled softly, a chuckle bubbling up in her throat. "Not so little anymore, daddy. And I'm fine. Just feeling thoughtful today, that's all."

She went back to weaving, then held her work out to examine it from a distance. "It's missing something. What do you think?"

Ino turned to her father, holding it out to him again.

"Hmm…" He turned it around in his hands, then his face contorted strangely.

"What is it?" Ino bit her lip. That kind of look from her father was never followed by anything good. "Am I losing my touch?"

"No…" Inoichi began slowly, lowering the wreath and turning to look at his daughter quizzically. "… but this looks like a wedding wreath. Your mother didn't say anything about supplying flowers for a wedding using those arrangements."

"Oh dear…" Now that Ino examined it more closely, the sinking realization of what her father had seen came into full view. The wreath was entirely white, and the ribbon she had wrapped around her wrist was one of ivory silk… the kind they used solely for wedding arrangements.

"Ino." The tone of her father's voice had suddenly become terrifyingly solemn.

"Daddy?"

"Is there something you need to tell me?"

Ino almost choked. "Daddy, no! What would you think…"

"Because you know," he continued in a tone that was gentle, yet still managed to maintain a threatening air to it, "I would be proud of any child of my precious daughter's, but if there's some low-life scum who thinks he can get away with getting my daughter pregnant—"

"Daddy!" Ino truly wasn't sure whether to burst out laughing or scream at the horror of what he was insinuating. "Daddy, I'm not engaged and I'm not pregnant."

"Oh…" Inoichi let out an enormous sigh of relief, lowering his face into his hands. "Thank goodness."

"Daddy, you know me better than that." She smiled to herself a little. "Besides, you think I could keep something like that a secret from you and Mom? Really, daddy, you're getting a little irrational."

Inoichi looked up at her a little sheepishly, which only served to broaden her grin. Ino was probably the only one, aside from her mother, who ever received such a look from the great Inoichi Yamanaka.

"Perhaps, a little…" he conceded.

Ino held out her arms, and her father handed the wreath back to her. They sat in silence for a few moments, with Ino continuing to weave baby's breath into the wreath and Inoichi staring at his hands.

As she folded each flower into its proper place, Ino could feel an uneasiness building in her gut. Perhaps this wasn't just a coincidence…

"Daddy?"

"What is it, dear?"

"I do have something I want to talk to you about." She laid the wreath on the ground next to the bench, shifting to face her father.

Now that she had begun to address the situation, nervousness got the best of her. Ino touched her earrings almost instinctively. Even now, with almost a year gone since his death, the sorrow of her sensei's passing sometimes felt as fresh as though it were yesterday.

"Daddy… I think it's time for me to start facing my responsibility to the clan… and as such… Well, I know it's kind of tradition for marriages to be arranged in our family. You and Mom got married when she was only 16, and I'm nearly eighteen. I think it might be time to start considering my marriage."

Inoichi sat back, the puzzlement showing through clearly on his face. He raised a hand to Ino's forehead, then lowered it.

"No fever… dear, what's brought this on?"

Ino opened her mouth, but she found herself at a loss for words. How could she honestly explain to her father the complexity of the situation in which she now found herself?

It was true enough that she wanted to take on more responsibility within the clan; the last battle with Asuma in the Fourth Shinobi War had taught her that much. She was an adult now, a kunoichi who had seen the horrors of war and lived to tell about it.

Even her comrades were moving on with their lives. Sakura had been named head of the Konoha Hospital and rumor had it that she was soon to be engaged to a certain savior of Konoha… actually, Ino considered wryly, it wasn't just a rumor, considering that the pink-haired kunoichi had been about to burst with the news when she came to visit three days ago. Quite honestly, Ino was ecstatic for her best friend, but it was also a loss of sorts. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of nostalgia for the days when they had competed for Sasuke at the academy and poked fun at one another like children were wont to do.

Choji had already accepted his role with the Akimichi clan. Even despite the fact that Choza had sustained few injuries during the war, he had already pre-determined that Choji was ready to take on the task of becoming clan head. Choji had been reluctant at first, but with a little bit of pep talk from his team –and quite a bit of barbecue—he had decided it was time to step up to the task before him. The announcement of his impending marriage had arrived not even a week later. Which, Ino remembered, she had to shop for a dress for soon and find a date… She stopped herself. Well, maybe not the second. She was sure that the only person she truly wanted to go with probably already had a date so what good was it to…

No. She corrected herself. I'm not going down that road again.

And of course, there was the future of the other member of her team. Ino's gut clenched up at the thought. Truth be told, she hadn't even spoken to the lazy Nara boy in what felt like ages. Even at the dinner with Choji, it had been mostly just the cursory small talk between them that she expected from someone like Kiba or Lee… not from Shikamaru.

Maybe they were just growing apart. After all, Shikamaru was one of the Hokage's most trusted advisors. And that didn't even take into consideration the fact that Shikamaru was constantly gone on diplomatic missions to Suna…

Diplomatic missions my ass. A small voice in the back of her head chimed. Everyone knows he's just going there to see that tra—

"Ino dear, are you sure you're alright? You look like you're about to burst into tears. Maybe we need to take you to see someone over at the hospital. You're not acting like yourself." The feel of her father's hand on her shoulder brought Ino back to reality.

"Huh? Oh…" She shook her head as if that would clear away the unpleasant thoughts that had settled over her. "No, I'm just fine, daddy, honestly. It's just been such an adjustment these last few weeks. I'm seeing all of my friends moving on and becoming adults…"

She finally found some confidence in her voice and managed a smile that could have charmed the coldest of hearts. "I just don't want to be left behind."

Ino stood, brushing stray leaves and flower petals from her skirts. "As for looking teary-eyed, I think I've just spent too long with all these flowers. The pollen is getting to me, but I think I'm going to take a break for a while. Sakura wanted to meet me for lunch today, so I have to go get cleaned up. Can't let her look better than me!"

Ino grinned, skipping over to lean down and kiss her father on the crown of his head. "I love you, daddy. I'll see you at dinner tonight!"

With that, she scampered off into the house, doing her best not to let her cares reflect in her eyes.

Inoichi watched his daughter go, frowning slightly.

"Oh, Ino dear. You think your old man can't see when something's wrong, but I know there's more behind this than what you're telling me…"

Inoichi shook his head, standing gingerly to take a circuit around the garden path. Yes, there was some deeper layer to this sudden decision, but he hadn't been made the Head of Intelligence for no reason.

He'd find out what it was soon enough, one way or another, but he thought he might have an idea of what this was about. Ino, as good as she had become at hiding her emotions, still couldn't hide everything from the man who had raised her.

Inoichi stop decidedly, looking over toward the forests that formed the border of the Nara estate. Perhaps it was time to pay a little visit to his old friend Shikaku…

A/N: Hello everyone! If you've read Stuck in the Clouds, you're probably well aware of how much I adore the ShikaIno pairing. :) I came up with the concept for this story about two weeks ago after the chapter with InoShikaCho's last battle with Asuma was published. It occurred to me to wonder what Ino might think about the "taking responsibility for the clan" aspect of the story, and it blossomed into a ShikaIno. This will be a multi-chapter fic (Gah, I can't believe I'm starting another one!) so be on the lookout for updates. I'll try to be prompt. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy!

- Senka Hitomi