Ino sighed happily as she waved goodbye, leaving Naruto's apartment. It was ten at night and she was heading back home. After she exited the building, she frowned. There was something wrong with Naruto. They weren't dating, but they had been sleeping together for the last few weeks. Regardless she was his friend and she was worried about him.

She needed to talk to someone about it. She had, in a roundabout way, asked Naruto what was wrong, but he gave no indication of what was wrong. He just acted cold, and sidestepped the question. She found it odd since whenever they talked, such as on missions, he was the same idiotic, fun loving guy that he had always been.

As she thought about it, she wondered who she could ask. She thought about Sakura, but she doubted Sakura could really guess what was wrong with him. Ino knew that Sakura and her were alike for a long time, so Sakura probably wouldn't know those deep rooted troubles that Naruto had.

Tsunade hadn't been around long enough. She might know, so Ino filed that thought away if she ran out of options.

The third Hokage and Jiraiya were both dead, which obviously counted both of them out. As she thought of Jiraiya she remembered Kakashi used to be Naruto's teacher. Ino promised herself that first thing in the morning she would find Kakashi and ask him.

She might not be dating Naruto, but Ino knew that she cared for him.

sssss

It was morning and Ino went looking for Kakashi. She figured she'd probably ask Tsunade first, then ask her if she knew where Kakashi would be. It would be pointless to look for Kakashi if he was out of a mission. She knew Tsunade had marked Naruto as next in line for Hokage. He had more than proved himself over that last several years.

After a few minutes, Ino found herself at Tsunade's door. Ino knocked.

"Come in." Tsunade said.

Once Ino walked in, Tsunade looked up, slightly surprised to see her. "Ino, what is it you need?"

"Well, I think there's something wrong with Naruto. I figured I'd ask you before I asked Kakashi."

Tsunade looked concerned. Naruto had become dear to her. She thought of him as a son or a grandson. "What is it?"

"Well, I, we um," Ino paused. Neither her or Naruto had told anybody that they were sleeping together. It had just happened when they were on a mission. They were drinking, and Naruto was warm and passionate, and it had just happened.

"We started sleeping together a few weeks ago." Ino said quickly. Tsunade was surprised to say the least. "Anyways, I tried asking him about it once, but he just ignored me. We aren't dating so I didn't want to force it, but I'm worried."

Tsunade sighed. She honestly didn't know what was wrong. She wished she knew more about Naruto, but she hadn't been around for a long time, something she personally viewed as a large failure in her life. She knew Jiraiya had felt the same way when he was alive.

"Kakashi should be here quite soon. I was about to put him on a mission I'll have him sent over once I brief him for the mission."

"If it's okay, I'd rather just wait for him here."

Tsunade nodded. "Ino. You said you two aren't dating." Tsunade commented, and Ino nodded. "Why not? You seem to care a great deal for him."

Ino was taken aback by the question. She hadn't been expecting something like that. "I don't know. We just aren't. I mean..." Ino tailed off. She couldn't give a real reason.

Tsunade smiled. "Why don't you. I may be a bit biased, but I doubt you can find a more compassionate and caring person than Naruto. And you should be able to get him to open up more."

Ino smiled and nodded.

Both Ino and Tsunade looked at the door as it opened.

"Am I interrupting?" Kakashi asked.

"Not at all. In fact, Ino here needed to ask you something."

"I'm worried about Naruto. He's been acting kind of cold whenever I'm at his place. He's fine if I meet him anywhere else, but..."

"You two are dating?" Kakashi asked.

"Friends with benefits." Tsunade replied.

"My best guess. It probably has to do with his childhood. I would talk to Iruka. He was the one person that knew Naruto the best back then."

"Thanks." Ino said, rushing out of the office.

Kakashi tilted his head. "Why isn't she dating him?"

Tsunade chuckled. "I asked the same thing. I think she's going to ask him out afterwards."

Kakashi shrugged. "I hope she figures it out. Anyways, about the mission."

sssss

Ino stood outside Iruka's class waiting for a moment when she could talk to him. When the class went on break, Ino stepped in.

"Ino, it's nice to see you. What do you need?" Iruka asked.

"I'm worried about Naruto, and Kakashi said I should ask you."

Iruka nodded and Ino explained the situation to him. Iruka sighed as he thought about it.

"I think I understand, and you seem to care for him, so why aren't you going out with him?"

Ino groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't know why I'm not, but I'll get around to it after I figure out what's going on with him."

"I wanted to make sure. I'm guessing that this is left over from Naruto's childhood."

Ino tilted her head "What do you mean?" It seemed like Kakashi's guess had been correct.

"Naruto was alone for the much of his life. Everyone pushed him away and he was lonely. The third Hokage told me once that people don't change easily. He was referring to the villagers, but this also applies to Naruto. If I had to take a guess, there's a hole in Naruto's heart that even with the respect of the villagers, hasn't been filled. In his heart he still feels lonely and I believe when you and him started sleeping together, it brought that to the surface. I think you just have to be there for him. Because you are not dating, he may feel as if you don't truly care for him, and it reminds him of his childhood when no one did."

"S-so, it's my fault?" Ino asked, her eyes starting to water.

Iruka didn't respond immediately, choosing his words carefully. "You are the one that brought these feelings out in him, however they were already there. If you truly do care about him, you can be the one to heal him as well."

"You said it was the loneliness in his childhood that caused this, so if I'm there for him, it should help right?"

"I believe so. Just take good care of him. He was always one to try and keep his feelings to himself. It might not seem that way, but he was always sad as a child, and pain like that doesn't just go away. The Third Hokage definitely knew what he was talking about. Naruto was always thinking about the family he never had. He probably still is." Iruka said with a smile.

Ino nodded. She remembered Naruto as a prankster when they were little. He always seemed to be laughing. but knowing what she did now, it made sense now that Iruka said it. It was a cover for his loneliness. He was an orphan who was alone and hurting inside, and they had all pushed him away.

Ino smiled. Naruto wasn't going to be alone for a long time. She was going back to Tsunade's office to explain what she had planned. She wouldn't leave Naruto's side.