Truth Well Hidden

Ino's Experiences with Homophobia

"Kaa-san?" Yamanaka Ino, who was only five years old, called out.

"Hai, Ino-chan?" a brunette with pupilless reddish-brown eyes asks kindly.

"Girls are pretty, right?" Ino asked her mother.

"Yes, girls are pretty. You are pretty, Ino-chan," she says with a smile.

"Then why aren't boys pretty, kaa-san?" Ino asks in confusion, her big blue eyes wide with innocence.

"That is because boys aren't supposed to be pretty. Boys are handsome," she explained to her daughter.

"Handsome? What's that, kaa-san?" Ino wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"Did you ever meet Uchiha Sasuke-kun?" she asks her daughter.

"Eh? The weird boy who always does nothing but talk about his beloved nii-san?" Ino questioned.

"That's him. You should not be so rude! He's a cute kid. He would probably turn out to be very handsome!" she scolded Ino gently.

"If you say so, kaa-san," Ino said dubiously.

"You'll see, you'll see," her mother said knowingly, assuming that the hormones that come during puberty will make her adorable daughter see what it means to find a guy attractive.

>•<

Ino liked to help her mother out at the flower shop that she runs. She enjoyed being around flowers, arranging them to look pretty and making other people happy. She had developed a love for flowers.

Her mother taught Ino the meanings behind giving people certain types of flowers, what different colours represent, which flowers went well together and so on. Ino displayed a natural flair for flower arrangements and had made gardening her pastime. This made her mother swell with pride.

She had recently been taught one of her family techniques, the famous Yamanaka mind jutsu. It was the Shintenshin no Jutsu. She had noticed many disadvantages in this technique but decided to master it before considering a technique to use as a replacement without its weaknesses. The jutsu enables the user to project their mind into their target, gaining control over their body. However, the projection takes time and could be avoided if the opponent is fast enough. Moreover, the jutsu may be unsuccessful if the target has a stronger mental fortitude and more chakra than the user. On top of all that, any damage dealt on the body of the target whilst the user is in control will be projected onto the Yamanaka's own body. These disadvantages make the technique impractical in combat.

Ino had just registered for the academy about an hour or so ago, passing the entrance examination with ease and entering the class where all of the other clan heirs ended up. She had noticed a pretty girl with powder pink hair that barely reached her shoulders and gorgeous emerald eyes that glittered under the sunlight.

"Kaa-san, do you know the name of that pretty pink-haired girl?" Ino asked her mother while helping her out with moving a crate of seeds.

"Hm? That's Haruno Sakura. I knew her mother when I was in my academy days. We were classmates," Ino listened intently as her mother sighed wistfully.

"Do you think I should become friends with her?" Ino asked genuinely, slightly shy about approaching the other girl.

"Why not?" her mother questioned, mildly thrown off by her question.