The sound of a battle could be heard for miles, though no one was there to hear it. The land had once been beautiful, but was now corrupt with the blood of a war that had destroyed much of the land. Their were growls and howls, whimpers of pain, all the while, 3 lone survivors of said war were fighting to stay alive, fighting to make it to the next day, fighting so that they could finally have a chance at fixing the past, at saving the world from the clutches of war, fighting to be able to see their loved ones, once again. The fight seemed like it would never end for the three shinobi, as endless more of Them came into the fight. Their strength and stamina, however high it may be, was dwindling to a spark, as finally, one last wave of Them charged at the group, instantly being slaughtered by the 3's swords, already covered in blood.
"Naruto! We have to use the jutsu right now! There's no telling how many more will arrive. It's our only choice, so long as we hope to see our friends and family again!" Ino shouted, slicing through the last of the monsters.
"Alright. Stand in a circle, and copy my hand signs, quickly !" Naruto shouted as the three formed a circle. When the 3 were done with the hand signs, a blinding flash of gold, blue, silver, and red could be seen throughout the wasteland the 3 once called home. When the flash cleared, the group was gone, and a group of wolf looking humanoids was seen, gathered at the sight of the flash, all of them confused as to why they had sensed chakra, when there was nothing there.
"Ino honey, it's time to get up!" came a voice that the platinum blonde hadn't heard since she was 16. I no opened her eyes quickly to realize that she was still dressed in her clothes from the future.
"I'll be right down mom!" Ino yelled, stashing her stuff into a sealing scroll and getting changed. She wore a long-sleeve purple shirt with black shinobi pants. She kept her hair back in a ponytail, which she was saddened to see hadn't reached down like it used to.
"Come on Ino! You're going to be late!" her mom called to her, while the blonde was trying to decide whether or not to keep her sword on her. 'I'll keep it on me, it'll surprise the hell out of the class,' Ino thought, strapping it onto her back. She walked hurriedly down the stairs, hoping her mother wouldn't notice the sword. "Ino, honey, when did you get that sword?" her mom asked as Ino mentally swore to herself.
"I got it from a friend a while back, and I decided I would show it off," Ino said, holding off emotions from how she really got it.
—Flashback—
3 years after the war
"Ino, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Naruto said, holding out a package. They were sitting in a dark cave, waiting patiently for Kakashi to return with supplies.
"H-how'd you know it was my birthday?" Ino questioned her blonde campanion, confused because they had never told each other that information.
"Hey, I wasn't a complete knuckle head back in the academy," Naruto said, giving his signature foxy-grin. "Now go ahead, open it." He handed the package to Ino, who was shocked, none the less. She opened the package, finding a gleaming sword that was sharp as a razor. The blade lead down and ended at a beautifully shaped hilt, which resembled that of the 2 tailed demon Nibi's head.
"W-wow, Naruto, it's beautiful," Ino said, pulling Naruto into a tight hug. She let go when she heard somebody clear their throat.
"Umm, am I interrupting anything?" Kakashi asked, standing at the entrance to their temporary home. He just chuckled when he saw the blush on Ino's face.
—End Flashback—
"Well, it's a very beautiful sword honey," Ino's mother said, pulling her daughter to a seat at their table. "So, who was the boy that gave it to you?" her mother asked, causing Ino to gag on the orange juice that she had started drinking. She got her answer when her daughter started blushing a deep crimson color.
"I-it wasn't a boy that gave it to me!" Ino lied, though unsuccessfully.
"Come on honey, you can't hide it from your mother. Who's the boy?" Ino's mom asked persistently.
"N-naruto Uzumaki," Ino said, stopping herself from saying Naruto's whole last name.
"Ahh, the Uzumaki. He's a good kid, though he'll be trouble if he ends up like-" Ino's mom stopped herself from saying the rest.
"If he ends up like who?" Ino asked, curious as to what her mother was hiding.
"Umm, nobody. Now go on, you have to get to the Academy for your big test," her mother said, acting entirely to nervous. She pushed her daughter out the door, sighing as she did so. 'That was entirely too close, I almost revealed who his parents were,' Ino's mom thought, walking back to the table.
15 minutes later, Academy classroom.
Everybody had just been seated save one blonde male who was rushing to get there. He burst through the doors to the academy. The class of which the room he broke into was staring at him in shock. He still wore his black cloak, with his jonin vest on underneath, and his Kyuubi katana. He still had on his headband, too. Everything about him was the same, except he was shorter and looked younger, but still with his cold, blue eyes.
"Naruto! What's the meaning of the attire you're dressed in!" Iruka yelled at the blonde, who only just realized that he was still in his clothes. Ino face palmed. 'He's still the number one knuckle head,' She thought.
"Umm, trying a new look?" Naruto said, trying to think fast. Iruka frowned even more at this.
"Do you think becoming a shinobi is a joke!" Iruka half asked, half yelled at Naruto, who just shrunk in fear of the chunin.
"No! I just thought I better start dressing like a real shinobi, instead of dressing in that neon orange that just said 'come and kill me'," Naruto yelled back, gaining some confidence. Ino sighed in relief, happy that he found a better excuse.
"Take a seat, ok? And where did you acquire the headband and vest?" the chunin asked, pondering how in the world he would've gotten them.
"They were my father's, he died in the Kyuubi attack while helping the fourth to defeat the demon," Naruto said, not completely lying.
"Alright, just take a seat. Aburame Shino?" Iruka said, starting to call attendance. Naruto just sighed in defeat as he took a seat next to Ino.
"what the hell was that about Naruto?"Ino asked in an angered whisper.
"Sorry, I woke up late, and I didn't realize I was still dressed in this," Naruto said, making Ino sigh. "Ok, should we show off, or should we do like we did on the original?"
"Show off. I want to see the reactions on Sakura's and Sasuke's faces when we beat them. Ready?" Ino asked, saying here quickly as Iruka called out her name. 3 hours later and a shocked class later, our two favorite blondes walked out of class together.
"Ha. Did you see the look on Sasuke's face when I wiped the floor with him?" Naruto asked Ino, barely controlling his laughter.
"Or when I wiped the floor with Sakura in every part? It was priceless!" Ino said, bursting in laughter.
"Hey! Dobe! I need to talk to you!" A voice said coming from behind the two blondes.
"Ugh, what do you want, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto said, groaning at the thought of Sasuke ruining this moment.
"I wanted to say, I'm sorry. I never meant to treat you the way I was. I only did it to try and show off in front of the others," Sasuke said, startling the blondes from their moment. 'Well, he certainly didn't ruin the moment,' Naruto thought.
"Umm, thank you. I understand, and if there's anything you need help with, let me know, ok? I'll try to help you as best as I can," Naruto said, startling Ino, who thought he would've said something completely different.
"Thank you, Naruto, for accepting my apology," Sasuke said, bowing in front of the blonde.
"Hey, Sasuke, how about I help train you, you know, so you could defeat Itachi?" Naruto asked, receiving an eager nod from the black haired boy.
"Thank you, again. You don't know how much this means to me," Sasuke said, tears starting to fall from his face.
"No problem. Now go home, training starts tomorrow, 8 o'clock sharp. Meet me at the training grounds nearest the Hokage monument," Naruto told the boy, who seemed over pleased at the information. The now happy, non brooding boy ran off, in pure joy.
"Naruto…." was all Ino said for the blonde Jinchuriki to understand.
"I know, he's up to something. But to be honest, I don't think that it's anything bad. I saw the look in his eye, he's up to something for the good of stuff," Naruto said, gaining himself a smile from his blonde companion.
"Ok, I trust you. Now, I know you want ramen-" bad mistake, because as soon as Ino said ramen, Naruto could be seen speeding at abnormal speeds to his favorite ramen bar, dragging Ino with him.
AN: So, yeah, I know I kind of made Sasuke a bit O.C., oh well. It'll all fit into my story later on. Just had to let you know that in case anybody wanted to complain. R&R
