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Background History: Ino was the only child born into the Yamanaka family, the product of an American father (who had been adopted by a nice Japanese couple, hence the last name) and a Japanese mother. The two of them had met, oddly enough, at the Yamanaka family flower shop, and on Valentine’s Day no less. Ino’s mother had been helping one of her male friends in selecting a rather rushed banquet for his girlfriend, and at the time, Ino’s father believed that the two were dating and was a bit disappointed since they had both been flirting heavily with each other. He might have lost his nerve to ask her out on a date if the man’s girlfriend not shown up, convinced that Ino’s mother and her friend were less than platonic. In a series of events that wouldn’t be out of place in a whacky drama, the two lovers reconciled and Ino’s father managed to ask her mother out for dinner. And the rest was history, and quite possibly the reason that Ino has such high (and rather unrealistic) standards when it comes to romance.

Ino’s family on her father’s side were first generation immigrants, and had never taught their children the language, fearing that they might not integrate as easily into the community if they had thickly accented English. Perhaps because of this fear that was passed onto her father, whenever Ino’s mother attempted to teach Ino her native language, the lessons were cut short. Ino can only barely understand most Japanese and can only make random or vulgar sentences, though at least that’s more than her father could ever manage.

The Yamanakas were an average middle-class family nestled safely in the South, and living in such a small town where everyone knew each other, Ino grew up with no sense of the word ‘stranger’ and knew only popularity since she was a rather smart, if mischievous, child who liked to welcome anyone and everyone into her domain. Her parents were active members of the community, often donating flower arrangements from anything from weddings to funerals, and as soon as Ino could walk and talk it seemed like she was being primed for the family business. She also grew up spoiled, coddled, and loved, as well as popular amongst her peers. Ino was the sort of girl most of her classmates looked up to, if only because she was adventurous and opinionated. She also didn’t believe in excluding people, and often went out of her way to befriend everyone, earning her the attention and popularity she liked.

However, as good as things were in the small town, they could have been better, at least finances wise. While Ino grew up not wanting for anything, her family were a sensible bunch, already thinking about retirement and how much college would cost. So when their business had the chance to expand, the Yamanakas seized the chance.

When Ino was fourteen, they moved to Henderson, Nevada and she was devastated. Starting high school in that place seemed like being planted into a foreign country, and one where Ino was no longer the most popular girl in school. It was a combination of homesickness, having few friends, and anger that her family had moved her to this new horrible place seemingly without any concern for her that got her down for the first few months of school, before she realized she was Ino Yamanaka, and if she wanted to be popular, she would be.