More Than A Family Bond

Summary: Naruto's life has never been more different than it already is. However, he gets more than he bargained for when his widowed mother Kushina falls in love with and gets remarried to her more recent beau, Inoichi Yamanaka, who has a daughter named Ino. Naruto is none too pleased with having to share a room with her. But it would soon turn out that Ino is interested in more than just getting to know her new stepbrother, characterized by her affectionate behavior towards him. Can Naruto find a way out of this awkward predicament?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs exclusively to Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's Note: This is an AU story, it's set in modern day Japan. So there will be no ninja, no jutsu or any of that stuff.

Note: I made a few small edits in the story based on some constructive words from some reviews

Chapter 1

Naruto's New Stepsister

Naruto Uzumaki, a young 16 year old, blonde haired teenager. The only child of a single mother named Kushina Uzumaki and her late husband Minato Namikaze, whom had passed away two years ago. Since then, Naruto had to help his mother make ends meet by getting an after school job working at a convenience store. Even though the pay wasn't as good as he had hoped at first, it was the least he could do to chip in now that his father was gone.

For a time, Kushina took her husband's death quite hard. She could barely even maintain her composure, which often led her to start drinking and smoking in secret while her son was out at school, work or even hanging with his friends. When Naruto eventually found out about this, he refused to let her destroy herself any further with her addiction and tried to convince to get help. While she frequently refused to do so, Naruto's persistence and concern for her health soon made her have a change of heart.

Naruto on the other hand had his own personal problems following Minato's death. Such a loss had made him act depressed, bitter, antisocial and distant, which put him at odds with his friends for a while. He was also prone to losing his temper on occasion, snapping at almost anyone near him. But overtime, he managed to overcome his internal pain thanks to some therapy sessions.

Back when he was alive, Minato was the main head of the household. He handled all the bills, made sure that his wife and son were well taken care of and always looked out for them both, showing just how much he cared for their well-being. But thanks to the life insurance that Minato had gotten, their financial problems were slowly beginning to disappear.

So far, it seemed like everything was gonna be fine.

Or at least that's what Naruto believed. But he would soon begin to feel uncomfortable, especially since his mother decided to start dating again, which he felt was unnecessary. Fortunately for him, Kushina hasn't been so lucky in the dating biz, as the few guys she went out with proved to be incompatible with her interests. Despite all her bad dates, she refused to give up. Even though Naruto tried to talk her out of dating, she simply laughed at him and called him silly, playfully accusing him of being jealous, despite his many protests. While she was aware of her son's disapproval over her decision to date, Kushina stayed true to her choice.

After two more disastrous dates, to Naruto's dismay, Kushina finally found a potential boyfriend. And he came in the form of a man named Inoichi Yamanaka, whom his mother had met one day while shopping at a grocery store. And the interesting part is, he's a single parent too, with a beautiful daughter named Ino Yamanaka, who was about the same age as Naruto.

While he was none too keen about the idea of his mom having a boyfriend, Naruto knew he had to cope with it, even though it was really difficult. At this rate, all that mattered to him was keeping his mother happy, even if he disagreed with her decisions from time to time.

But pretty soon he was going to learn a shocking discovery. One day while Naruto was watching something on TV in the living room, his mother soon came walking in through the front door with a happy smile on her face after coming back from another glorious date with Inoichi, claiming she had wonderful news. At least that's how she saw it, but what Naruto had just heard from her made him almost want to pass out from shock.

"YOU'RE GETTING WHAT?!" screamed a shocked Naruto.

"*sigh* For the last time Naruto, I told you that Inoichi and I are getting married." said an annoyed Kushina. This was the fourth time he had asked that question.

"But how-, when did-, where did this hap-, how did this happen?"

"Well, we were having a nice and romantic dinner. We talked and laughed the whole night, we pretty much had fun. But then, when I came back from the restroom later, I went to take a sip of my drink and before I knew it-"

"Let me guess, you found out that he put a ring in your drink." Naruto said while rolling his eyes.

"How did you know?"

"Dad told me that's what he did when he proposed to you."

"Oh, I see."

"But that's not the point. Look, I'm not being negative or anything, but don't you think it's a little too soon to get married again?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kushina.

"You've only been dating for three months, I just think that maybe you're rushing into this a little too fast. It's been two years since dad died, and this is all happening so quickly. I'm just not too sure about this, mom."

Kushina placed a hand on her son's shoulder as she looked into his eyes.

"Naruto, you know that I will always love your father no matter what, and I'll always miss him too. But there comes a time where I have to move on with my life, and pretty soon you will too. I know you're a little troubled by this, however, I would really love to have your support."

Naruto had to admit that although he did feel rather disturbed by this notion, he couldn't really disagree with what his mother told him. He missed his father just as much as she did. He was like his hero, someone he could look up to, someone he could rely on for advice and spend quality time with. All in all, he had to let go of the past.

"You're right mom. I'm sorry for freaking out like that, I guess I just wasn't expecting you to bounce back into marriage. It just came as a surprise to me." he said while hugging her.

"It's okay Naruto."

"I know mom, I know. All that matters to me is making sure you're happy. And if you really want to get married again, then I suppose I can get used to it. "

Kushina gave him a kiss on the cheek before pulling out of the hug.

"Aw, that's sweet. And I'm sure you'll be happy when you meet your new stepsister."

"Well I'm looking forward to- WHAT?!

"You heard me."

"Did you just say that I'll be getting a new stepsister!?"

"That's right. After all, you always said you wanted a sibling."

"Yes, a sibling like a younger brother, or even an older brother."

"*giggles*Oh come on Naruto, don't make such a big deal out of it. Inoichi's daughter Ino is really nice once you get to know her. I guarantee that you'll love her."

"Just because you say it like that, doesn't mean I'll get used to it." he remarked sarcastically

"Well I hope you wise up soon, because you're gonna be sharing your room with her."

"My room, as in my only getaway from the outside world!?"

"Yes."

Naruto became as still as a statue. He just couldn't stomach the fact of having to give up his room just because he was being forced to share with a girl.

He soon did the next thing that came to mind.

"NOOOO. NO NO NO NO NO, NOT THAT, ANYTHING BUT THAT. I'LL DO ANYTHING, I'LL DO EXTRA CHORES, I'LL EVEN DO THE DISHES EVERY NIGHT. PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME LOSE MY ROOM, PLEASE PLEASE." he screamed while falling to his knees with his hands clasped.

Kushina started to become irritated. She always disliked how Naruto would frequently throw tantrums whenever something didn't go his way. While Minato usually gave in to their son's behavior, Kushina was always able to resist. And right now, she was at her limit.

"Oh stop being such a baby. You're 16 years old for crying out loud, so you need to start acting more mature. Honestly, I don't see what's so wrong about sharing your room with a girl."

"Hello, you're missing the big picture. If I share with a girl, then soon I'll be smelling perfume in the air, there will be girl magazines all over the floor, not to mention a mirror stand with a bunch of nail polishes, lip gloss, hair spray and so on. And all I'll be left with is just very little space."

At this point, Kushina decided to try something drastic.

"Naruto?"

"Yes, what is it mom?"

"Do you like eating ramen?"

"Of course I do, I love ramen more than any other meal." he replied with a smile.

"That's nice. But, I'm thinking about having you cut back on it."

"WHAT, YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS."

She looked at him with a sly facial expression.

"Oh I'm serious alright. The bottom line is if you don't learn to behave, then I'll cut you off from ramen entirely."

"You're bluffing." Naruto countered.

"Am I?"

Naruto knew all too well that he couldn't win this round with his mother. She knew how much he enjoyed eating ramen for lunch and dinner every day. And the thought of being cut off from it made him feel uncomfortable. There was no way around it, and he was sure of it.

"Well, what's it gonna be?" she asked.

The blonde teen hesitated to make a reply. As much as he didn't want to share his room, there was no delaying the inevitable. He always hated it when Kushina would threaten to take away his favorite food if he refused to cooperate.

"Fine, I'll do it." he muttered.

"Sorry I didn't hear you, what was that?" she asked as while putting her hand to her ear.

"I said I'll do it!" he said more loudly.

"That's better. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go take a nice and relaxing shower."

She then turned and headed off for the stairs. Just as Naruto got back to watching TV, his mother glanced her head back to say something else.

"And if I recall before, you previously had a girl in your room. And I believe that her name was Sakura Haruno." she said with a smirk.

Naruto's eyes went wide after what he just heard.

"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" Naruto screamed.

"Hmm, I'm pretty sure it does. And I also remember you sharing your bed with her."

"That was her idea, she was uncomfortable in the guestroom!"

"Hahahaha, oh Naruto. There's no need to get embarrassed, you're already at the age where you've begun to-"

"MOM, PLEASE DON'T SAY THAT!"

"I'm just teasing you Naruto. You don't have to freak out so much."

Once she was upstairs in the bathroom, Naruto shook his head in annoyance. He was fine with his father doing the teasing, but whenever his mother did it she usually got carried away, usually ending with Naruto being embarrassed. He just had to get used to the fact that things in his life were about to change.

And they would change very soon.

The next day...

"Thanks for coming along with me to the mall you guys. I really appreciate the company." said Naruto who was sitting in the food court with two other guys while drinking some orange juice. He was wearing an orange t-shirt, white jeans and some tennis shoes.

One of them had spiky, jet black hair and black eyes. He was wearing a buttoned up short sleeved white shirt and a pair of black jeans, along with white shows. His name was Sasuke Uchiha, but at school he was known by some of the girls as *Prince Sasuke*, courtesy of his charming good looks. As obvious as it sounded, Sasuke was the main babe magnet of the school, with girls practically throwing themselves at him almost everyday. Sometimes Naruto even wondered how he could attract girls so easily without even trying. While Sasuke didn't mind the attention, he was not interested in a relationship at this time.

The second guy was known as Kiba Inuzuka. He had messy brown hair, sharp black eyes and he was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and some sneakers. Kiba was more of the rebellious type of teenager. He often had a habit of ditching classes, mocking the teachers and even joking around just for the fun of it. Despite this, he still had a good heart.

"Eh, no problem Naruto. I was bored at home anyway." said Kiba whom was leaning back in his chair.

"I just didn't feel like staying at home all morning." said Sasuke.

"I didn't really have much reason for coming out, other than to have something to do since I got the day off from work this weekend." mentioned Naruto.

"You sound like you're not in a good mood, what's up?" asked Kiba.

"Nothing much, except that I'm about to lose my room to some girl."

"Whoa, seriously?"

"Yeah. My mom's getting remarried to this guy she's been dating named Inoichi Yamanaka. He and his daughter Ino are gonna be living with us, and my mom is forcing me to share my room with her."

"Wait, you're gonna be living with Ino Yamanaka?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Dude, you should consider yourself lucky. Ino is one of the most beautiful and popular girls in school, guys would chomp at the bit just to ask her out."

"Well I don't know her that much, I've barely even seen her around school. Although I know her name, I'm not sure if I know what she looks like."

"Aw man, you are shallow. Every guy in school practically drools over her. Some of the girls even get jealous because of her good looks."

"Correction, not every guy in school has the hots for her. You don't see me worship the ground she walks on." Sasuke remarked.

"Oh that's right. You aren't the type of guy who shows interest in girls at first glance, despite being the man of their dreams."

"It's not that I don't like girls, I'm just not into all that lovey dovey stuff. Besides, most of them aren't even my type."

"Figures."

"Sasuke, let me ask you something. If your mom got remarried to some guy who already had a daughter, would you share your room with her?" asked Naruto.

"I wouldn't know, me and Itachi have had our own rooms since we were young. But since Itachi moved out, his old room is empty. So if I were to get a stepsister, I'd still keep my room while she would get Itachi's."

"When did he move out?"

"Three weeks ago. He's living with his girlfriend in an apartment."

"Aw that's too bad. Do you miss him?"

"A little, but not a lot. But he still keeps in touch every now and again."

"Well good for you."

"Come on Naruto, having a sister isn't so bad once you get used to it." said Kiba.

"You would say that, you already get along well with your older sister Hana."

"I will admit she can be a pain sometimes, but I still love her enough to spend time with her."

"You have a good point."

"But look on the bright side, Ino's gonna be living with you. You should try and get to know her better."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that. I wouldn't be surprised if I were to see her now."

"Well well well, hello there." greeted a female voice from behind Naruto.

Naruto turned his head around to look up at the person who was behind him. It was a young, beautiful girl who looked like she was about Naruto's age. She had blonde hair like Naruto, only hers was more pale and smooth looking. She had it tied up in a ponytail, which was down to her waist. Her eyes, one of which was covered by a single bang, were bright blue, even brighter than Naruto's. She was wearing a purple belly shirt, matching shorts and sandals.

Not wanting to sound rude, Naruto returned the greeting.

"Hello, uh Ino" he replied, albeit hesitantly.

"So you know my name, very good. Because I know all about you, Naruto."

"How did you know my name?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Oh, right."

"Anyway it's nice to finally meet you. I originally paid a visit to your house earlier, but your mother said you had left for the mall. So instead of waiting there for you to come back, I decided to come and find you."

Seeing what was going on, Kiba decided that now was the time to make a hasty retreat.

"You know Naruto, I just remembered that I had something to take care of elsewhere. So I gotta get going." Kiba lied while getting up from the table.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" asked a confused Naruto.

"I just have to, that's all. It was nice seeing you Ino, later Naruto."

After that, he left. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, only to discover that he was long gone, leaving him and Ino all alone.

"Sasuke left already, how did he do that without making noise?" thought Naruto.

"Well, now it's just you and me." said Ino after taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah, quite the surprise, huh?"

"All that aside, I just want to let you know that I'm really excited about getting to know you better."

"You are?"

"Well of course silly. When I learned that I was gonna have a stepbrother, I was so happy. Though to be honest, I never thought it would be you."

"Why?"

She giggled in a somewhat flirtatious tone before speaking up.

"Because the truth is, I've known about you for a long, long time." she said softly while scooting closer to him.

"O..kay." Naruto said while feeling uneasy.

"In fact, I've always had sort of a...crush on you."

Before long, she started rubbing her hand on his leg, causing him to shiver. He was obviously starting to get uncomfortable with Ino's sudden change in behavior. She went from being cheerful and kind to being flirtatious and affectionate.

"I-I-Ino, are you...hitting on me!?" he asked with a mixture of fear and dismay.

Ino merely ignored his question and kept on rubbing his leg, all the while continuing with what she was saying.

"You see Naruto, I've had my eye on you from the moment I saw you. But since we had separate classes, I could never meet you face to face. It's true that I've had plenty of admirers, and you could say that I also had a thing for your friend Sasuke. But you know what I've realized?"

"*gulp*N-no, w-w-w-what is it?" asked a now frightened Naruto.

She grasped the collar of his shirt with her other hand and pulled him in closer until their faces were only two inches apart. Naruto was under the assumption that she was going to kiss him, but he was quickly proved wrong.

"You're much more cuter than him."

Naruto was on the verge of sweating like a nervous patient. Being this close to Ino made him more uncomfortable than ever. Never before had Naruto ever been so intimidated by a beautiful girl, especially his soon-to-be stepsister.

"And you know what else?"

She moved her mouth over to his ear and whispered into it.

"I'm gonna enjoy getting to know you, big boy."

After that, she pulled back until she was face to face with him once more. Noticing the look on his face, Ino pulled away entirely and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Naruto with confusion.

"Hahahahaha, I was just teasing you silly. I was testing you to see how you would react to my advances, and clearly from what I can see, you're easy to toy with."

His confusion soon changed to frustration.

"I am not, take that back!" he snapped.

"Calm down, there's no need to get sensitive."

"Don't tell me to calm down, what you did just now was uncalled for and you know it."

"Well excuse me for trying to be playful. I just wanted to have a little fun with you and see if I could make a good impression by just teasing you. But apparently, that was just a waste of time."

"Oh gee, I guess I must have missed the memo when you were rubbing my leg and sweet talking me a few minutes ago."

Ino crossed her arms and glared at the blonde male in front of her. She was obviously none too pleased with how he was being so rude to her.

"You are such an idiot, you know that!?"

"Please, I've heard that insult so many times that I've grown used to it. You're far too late."

Ino once again grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, only in a more aggressive manner than before.

"Say something else, go ahead!"

"What are you gonna do, hit me?" Naruto taunted.

"Don't tempt me, smart ass!"

"What's the matter, you don't wanna hurt me because of how cute I am?" he quipped mockingly.

"I'll show you!" she snapped while raising her fist.

"Yeah right, you couldn't possibly lay a hand on me."

"You're asking for it!"

Naruto just grinned and closed his eyes as he prepared to brace himself. He was about to get punched out by an angry girl, which was the one thing that scared him the most when he was younger. He thought back to all those times during his middle school years when Sakura Haruno, a childhood friend and crush, would violently punch his lights out whenever he pissed her off. This, coupled with her monstrous temper, made Naruto remember to be on his best behavior when in her presence. But now that he was in high school, Naruto had gotten over that intense fear. Even though Sakura could still startle him, he was able to shrug it off like it was nothing.

But what happened next was not what he expected. Instead of feeling the brute force of a fist to the face, he instead felt a light thump to his forehead. Opening one eye, he saw Ino staring at him with a large, cheerful grin forming across her lips.

"Gotcha." she chirped while giggling.

"What was that, you had me bracing myself for nothing!" he yelled out.

"I'm sorry. I love teasing you, you're just so cute that I couldn't resist." she replied while ruffling his spiky blonde hair.

"Now she tells me."

"But anyway, it was good to finally meet you. Sorry about making you so uncomfortable."

Naruto put on a gentle smile.

"It's okay, I know you were just trying to make a first impression."

With one last smile, she got up from the table and went walking away while Naruto went back to sipping on his juice. But she stopped short and turned back around to look at him one more time.

"Oh, and Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to let you know one last thing."

Walking back up, she grabbed Naruto around his neck and waist and dipped him back, causing him to make a look of surprise.

"What are you doing!?"

He suddenly noticed her leaning her face in. Knowing what she was about to do, Naruto tucked in his lips to keep her from kissing him. Once she was close enough, rather than kissing him directly, she moved her lips to the side of his face and gave him a lick on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, handsome."

After letting him go, she once again went walking away. After she was gone, Naruto did the next thing he could think of.

"Ew, she licked me. That was disgusting." he grimaced while wiping his cheek.

"I can't believe that this girl is gonna be my new stepsister. How am I suppose to live with someone like that?" thought Naruto.

Well folks, here's my second Naruto story.

To be specific, this is an AU story.

Well anyway, Naruto's mother has decided to get remarried. And because of that, he's gonna be getting a stepsister. However, it seems that she's more than interested in living with him under the same roof, if you get the point. He's gonna have his hands full for sure.

I understand that some of you may find this story to be somewhat odd and unusual. If so, I sincerely apologize for the embarrassment.

But anyway, I hope you check it out.

Until next time, later folks.