Sparrows in the Pigpen

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On her way to the battle arena to report in for the chuunin exams, Ino stumbles across three young shinobi training. One is clothed in a hideous green jumpsuit and sporting an equally repulsive bowl haircut, enthusiastically wreaking havoc on a padded tree. Another, a female with elegant twin buns atop her head, is using the third member of their team for target practice. Its is this third person that catches Ino's interest more than the other two.

His eyes are as pale as the moon, hair as dark as the night sky, and he springs and vaults away from the projectiles with all the grace of a feline. It's almost as if he glides on his feet as he moves himself out of the weapons' path.

The female hurls more weapons at him but not a single one connects; none so much as even nick his clothing, and Ino is impressed. She has never seen somebody (much less a boy!) move in a way that is not only agile but borderlining artistic. It's almost irritating. All she's seen him do so far is evasive movements but already she knows his taijutsu surpasses her own. And while she doesn't recognize him from anyone back in the days of Iruka's classroom, he can't be much older than her. Probably the top student from the year before her. As the top academy student of her own year, it's disgraceful to see the disparity between the two of them. Humans are meant to be progressive; each new wave of rookies is supposed to be better than the last. Maybe it was fate that she caught sight of him, here. Fate, like being born a day after Shikamaru and living right next door to Chouji. Fate, like finding the timid Haruno girl and helping her grow into an independent thinker. She has focused so much on her development as part of a team that she has neglected to develop her strengths as an individual; he has shown her this without uttering a single sound.

His gaze catches hers and she holds it a moment before turning away and entering the arena.

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As two gennin from other countries faced off in the battle area, Ino slipped away, taking a stroll around the place to size up the competition. As she navigated the hallway filled with nervous gennin, a dot of pink further down the hall caught Ino's attention. Sakura? Had to be, couldn't have been anyone else with that shade of carnation pink hair. How did she pass the written exam? Ino was sure that, after she'd Shintenshin'd her and did some comparative checking of answers, she'd erased everything Sakura had written. Had the girl really managed to redo all of that work before the testing time ran out? Here in the hallways of the arena, Ino could only conclude that she had. Oh right, Sasuke-kun had fought his match already, of course Team Seven had made it. She'd been so distracted by the Uchiha she'd almost forgotten Sakura was on his team. The beginnings of a frown formed on her face as she made her way to the bathroom in pursuit.

Her one-time best friend and current 'rival' was still washing her hands as Ino slipped in, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame.

"You're scared aren't you, Sakura?"

The pinkette glanced up to see her reflected form in the mirror, then promptly ignored her. Ino was not deterred.

"Even Sasuke-kun was carried away. Actually, he was able to get away with minor injuries because it was him fighting. If you fight in these preliminary matches, I can't imagine what will happen. You should quit."

Sakura smoothed her newly-shorn locks back and Ino watched, mentally praying she'd heed her warning and drop out instead of going onward just to prove something to her. Their 'rivalry' wasn't worth Sakura getting hurt; she was always her equal even if she couldn't see that for herself.

"Quit? Who's going to do that?"

Green eyes settled on her, defiant. She walked forward nonchalantly as if to go right by Ino, then stopped. Her challenging tone from seconds ago vanished, replaced with genuine anticipation.

"Actually, I can't wait for my turn."

She passed by and the blonde stared after her back. For Sakura's sake, she hoped her friend didn't get matched up with anyone as strong as the guy with the white eyes.

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In the scene below, two preteens struggled to get the upper hand on one another. One feinted right, then changed direction and charged with a left hook. The other dipped low in a sweeping attack, reaching for their kunai holster. As the other spectators hollered and cheered, Ino watched the match with limited attention. In her head she alternated between anxiety and excitement for her name to come up on the digital board so she could kick butt and hopefully impress the guy who moves like wind. Maybe she wouldn't even have to fight, maybe the random name generator would select a boy as her opponent and she could flirt until his guard was down and she could finish her match in one well-timed move.

The crowd volume rises suddenly and Ino focuses in on the match again, noting that a few matches have gone by because there are two girls in the pit now. The taller one, a slightly older looking blonde with unfashionable bushy pontails, has the brunette bent painfully over what seems to be a large fan. The latter has to be in agonizing pain with such a blow to her spine, and all around the room everyone knows the match is over. Ino's eyes dart impatiently to the digital board.

The characters of her name blink into existence and she nearly whoops with the premature taste of victory. This is her chance! She's pumped and oh-so-ready to start her match. She doesn't recognize the name that pops up beside hers

...but she does recognize the boy who jumps down into the pit.

Her cheer deflates. She looks down to meet his cold gaze and knows intuitively that he will show her no mercy.

Ino doesn't know the future, but in the back of her mind she knows it wasn't supposed to be this. Not with the only boy to hold more of her attention than Sasuke.

Her faith in fate shatters.

A/N : Because I'm still bitter Sky Full of Pigs got removed.