Chapter 9: I am Uzumaki Ino

She jumped, her senses suddenly very alert. She could hear and smell so many different things. The bustling of every day life moved around her. Ino stared dumbly at the wooden wall before her, her brows furrowed together. A sudden movement beside her caught her attention. A hand was shoved into her face.

"Ino?" a familiar voice asked. Ino slowly turned to face the source of the hand and came face-to-face with eyes so blue, the sky could be put to shame. The first thing she noticed was, that the person beside her was someone she knew very well. Her first reaction was to smile, but when she opened her eyes to give him another proper look, she noticed something was very wrong with him.

Uzumaki Naruto gave the blonde next to him a very confused stare, "You challenged me to a Ramen contest, yet you didn't even touch the Ramen!"

Ino, still flabbergasted quickly glanced at the large bowl of Ramen before her. She then glanced back at Naruto.

"How was the contest?" Teuchi asked as he stepped back into the shop. Ino looked up at him, amazed by how young he looked. Teuchi stared at her, then laughed, "You didn't even eat a thing! Too much for you?"

Ino opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She narrowed her eyes dangerously and concentrated on Naruto's chakra. Now, she wasn't Karin, but Ino did know a few things about chakra patterns, being a medic and all. Naruto's chakra was perfectly normal. Ino focused on Teuchi. His chakra was weaker, but was normal. So this clearly was not a genjutsu.

Worried, Ino jumped up, causing the two men to stare at her in surprise, "I have to go." And then she stormed out of the small stall as fast as her legs could carry her.

When she came to a halt, Ino noticed that Konoha looked different. Not new or unrecognizable, but it somehow...became its old-self again. Ino found this very vexing. She glanced up at the Hokage monument.

One...two...three...four...five...Five! Ino gaped, her eyes wide. There were only five faces! Ino suddenly felt her stomach churn wildly. She spun around and quickly sprinted to a flower bed. After puking her guts out, Ino collapsed on the ground in a heap. She lifted her hand and looked at them. No wrinkles. No blemishes. Her skin was silky smooth...like she was a teenager again. She touched her hair and gasped as she ran her fingers through the long locks. She had long hair! How did she not notice? She had hair practically covering her eye! Ino then looked down at herself. She was once again wearing the purple outfit she had loved as a teenager.

Suddenly, the realization hit her.

She obviously wasn't physically thirty-seven anymore. Someone used the Five Dimensions to Heaven...and whoever did it, knew how to use Mind Transfer jutsu.

Ino thought about approaching Tsunade (who was Hokage at this time), but decided against it. She was still unsure of the circumstances and did not want to bring danger to Konoha when it clearly isn't needed right now. So, she will just have to continue on as if nothing happened. Ino sighed in frustration.

'Sixteen all over again! How wonderful!' Ino mentally sighed. How she wished she knew the date, then she would be more aware of what schedule her sixteen-year-old self had for the day. She was with Naruto at Ichiraku before...so could it be the start of their courtship? Ino found this very annoying, for now she's back to square one with him. How fantastic!

"Ino?" a voice asked, causing the poor (old) woman to jump. She spun around, very alert, but relaxed when she met the lazy gaze of Shikamaru.

"Oh," Ino sighed, "it's you. Don't scare me like that!"

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow, "Right, sorry. Weren't you feeling sick earlier?"

Ino stared, "What do you mean?"

"At training – you said you were sick, so you went home," Shikamaru pointed out. Ino frowned. She certainly didn't feel sick now. Then again, she did puke her guts out earlier. Maybe it's Gastro? Ino shrugged and pulled her fingers through her hair. She still could not get over the fact that her long hair was back.

"Well," Shikamaru sighed, "don't come crying to me when you get worse. Troublesome woman."

Ino smiled weakly, "Right, thanks. By the way, Shikamaru...what's the date?"

Shikamaru ave her an odd look, but answered anyway, "It's July the tenth. Why?"

"Uh...mental blank. Maybe I do still feel sick!" Ino quickly covered up. Shikamaru didn't seem to believe her, but he didn't question her either. He merely shrugged, then excused himself. Ino stood by herself for awhile, wondering what she could do now.

She decided to go home.

Ino stared at the alley way in shock. Of course her house wasn't here anymore! Ino slapped her forehead, then sighed. She scanned her surroundings, amazed by how industrial the area of her future home was. She has already forgotten what it looked like before their home was built. Ino suddenly felt her heart clench. If her home doesn't exist, if she's sixteen, if she's not married...then that means Kaguya and Minato were never born. Not yet at least. Ino felt like crying, how could she possibly live without her children?

Ino turned around and slumped her way through the streets, her mind was not set on a certain location, but she only knew one place to go now. Her parents home. That's clearly where she lives now.

Her home stood on the same old spot it used to be before the war. It somehow made her homesick, despite the fact that technically she was home. She clutched the cold doorknob and stepped inside into the family shop. She was greeted by the fresh aroma of flowers. Ino smiled. At least this place was still somewhat the same.

Her mother was stationed behind the counter, where she was organizing a variation of flowers. She looked up, her red hair tied up in a bun on her head and her eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Oh," Mrs Yamanaka exclaimed, "welcome home, Ino! How was training?"

Ino quickly said the first thing that entered her mind, "Great."

"Was it only Shikamaru and Choji? Or did you have another Jounin help you?" Mrs Yamanaka asked. Ino frowned, not quite understanding what her mother meant. What other Jounin? Asuma would have helped them, wouldn't he?

"Um..." Ino trailed off, "Just us." Better save than sorry she decided.

Her mother smiled weakly, "It must be so hard for you. Asuma's death affected all of you, after all."

Ino's widened. Asuma was...dead? She could not believe it! But just as quickly as the sadness wanted to take her, she realized that this was another dimension...and alternative universe to the one she came from. In her world Asuma might be alive, but here he was dead. What other surprises like these would she encounter?

Ino shook her head. She wasn't going to encounter other surprises like them. She was going to find a way to undo the transfer and return herself and her other self to where they belong. After all, the jutsu might have a lot of negative side effects that she wasn't aware of yet.

"I'm tired," Ino quickly evaded further investigation, "I'm going to bed."

Mrs Yamanaka looked worried, but nodded, "Alright, I'll call you for dinner."

Ino nodded slowly and disappeared upstairs where she collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes. She might know the cause of this accident, but she did not know the source, the risks or the outcome. In fact, she wasn't even sure how to reverse it. Why did this happen? Was someone out there looking for trouble? Of only Ino could warn Naruto...he would have known what to do, but now the Naruto she knows is far out of her reach. How she wished she could hold him once more.

Ino closed the door behind her and glanced at the Hokage monument. The morning son shone brightly. It was a beautiful day. Ino sighed. So she didn't experience a nightmare last night – she really did transfer into her younger-self. There were still only five faces on the mountain. Naruto wasn't Hokage...yet.

Ino knew that she couldn't keep in the dark for too long. People will notice her personality change. She was thirty-seven after all, a mature woman. She was married and had two children. She wasn't little Ino anymore. She had to tell someone. Someone with responsibility. Someone she could trust. Her only bet at this time would be Tsunade. Of course, she trusted Naruto above anyone else, but she highly doubted dense, sixteen-year-old Naruto would believe her. Tsunade it is.

Tsunade was signing paperwork when she arrived at the Hokage office. Ino was welcomed inside warmly, but did not receive the bows that she got back home. Ino waited patiently for Tsunade to complete signing and look up.

Tsunade finally did, "So, Ino, what brings you here today?"

"We have a problem," Ino stated, decided to try and get right down to the point.

Tsunade frowned, "What kind of problem?"

"Well," Ino trailed off, "the best way to describe this would be...that...I'm not Yamanaka Ino."

Tsunade did not move. Ino knew she was taking a gamble, Tsunade could after all claim that she was an intruder and summon the ANBU. Ino hoped the Hokage would do something more sensible. "What do you mean?"

"I am Uzumaki Ino."

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A/N: Dun dun dun! Bet you didn't see this coming, did you