First off, I own nothing except my version of Naruto (I wish) and maybe a jutsu or two.
I am begging. Reviews tell me what is right, wrong, liked, and disliked. I love knowing people care about the story enough to say something, even if the review is simply "good job" or any other two word combination. Credit out to emilbootanimefreak, riosho, mattcun, hartman227, god of all, Uzumaki Crossover, shadow 12, CrystalBud, and NaruHinaAlways for the reviews. Especially emilbootanimefreak for giving an opinion and advice.
Edge of the Old World
Naruto half expected his body to be sore when he woke up, but, of course, that wasn't going to happen. Sure, he trained with Asuma sensei and his team for four hours each day and then with Aang for the equivalent of ten hours each night, but when you are the Avatar, a chakra beast, and contain a nearly literal chakra "beast," that kind of thing just didn't affect you as much. Especially since the meditation he practiced with Aang helped speed up the healing.
No, the boy was excited. Today was his last day before he left Konoha with Jiraiya on a highly important mission. The town was still weird without a Hokage, and the mission system had been temporarily screwed up. Other than rebuilding tasks, no real missions had been given unless they were pertinent to Konoha's survival. That's why, despite the fact that two weeks had just about passed, Asuma's team was never assigned any serious missions and why he was happy for the upcoming trip; he needed to stretch his legs a little bit.
Regardless, it was time to train. He left his dingy little apartment, the sun not yet visible over the Hokage monument, and traveled to today's training ground. He performed a harsh regiment of pushups, laps, leg lifts, and other cardio, all with weights to make it harder. Once he had finished his last set of leg lifts, he jumped to his feet, disregarding the weights still on them. It seemed that he had taken to wearing them permanently. With a drop or two of blood and a little chakra, a monk materialized next to him with a friendly smile on his face. "Now, Naruto, it is time to spar and see if what we learned last night can be put to use," the man said. He might have been genial but he was right to the point.
At the heart of all things, Aang couldn't bend elements anymore. In the mindscape where they practiced each night he could force the malleable world around them to make it appear he did so, but it wasn't true. He could demonstrate what it looked like, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't feel it. In this clone body, however, he gained some of it back. Some of Naruto's chi ran through the clone and, even if Aang couldn't pull out his landscape altering attacks, he certainly could sense the flow of chi with ease and help out his pupil while defending himself.
Naruto cut an impressive figure now, as Ino had dragged a "willing" Naruto out shopping the other week. Now, although orange was still part of his wardrobe, it was much more flashy and dashing (and not hazard warning orange but a dusky orange) than gaudy. "Yes, Aang-sensei!" Naruto replied and, after throwing his jacket – still orange but much more practical and, I'll say it again, not as damn gaudy as the old outfit – to the side, leaving him in only a tight black muscle shirt and the black Anbu pants he had started wearing since the shopping trip, their dance began. It was, seemingly, acrobatic and harmless. One could barely see the air as it was pushed between benders, barely feel the breeze as it was expelled from fists and feet. But, slowly, it seemed a draft blew through the clearing. Attacks gained intensity and the trees started to bend and sway in the gale force wind. Trees lost leaves and small branches as the two flipped and cartwheeled, exchanged volleys of fists and volleys of compressed wind. It all ended quickly, unfortunately, as Aang did not have the chi capacity that Naruto did. The blonde experimented, combining the cutting of wind chakra with the force of air bending, and sent out a huge gust of wind which Aang barely dodged. The tree to his right, however, was not so lucky.
The tree was cut right through diagonally before several smaller cuts, each leaving slice marks several inches deep appeared all over the tree. Finally, the slower moving air bending gust caught up to the wind chakra and all of the sliced wood flew away while what remained splintered. There was one less tree on the edge of their clearing.
As Aang surveyed the damage and started to clap, Naruto stood in place panting. It was an hour long give and take spar. It had been exhausting. "Amazing," commented the kitsune monk. "It took me years to gain this level you have right now. However," he added thoughtfully while his lone red tail languidly swayed from side to side, "you have a good teacher, a good motivator, and some of the best natural talent I have ever seen. The fact that you are actually very mature probably helps. I suppose it would be shocking if you weren't at this level already." At this, the blonde gave a beaming smile. "However, getting stronger only gets harder from here and your reason can no longer be a mere motivator. If you want to gain true strength you'll need your reason to train to become a reason to be."
At this Naruto looked at him with an uncomprehending look in his eyes, slightly upturned as if trying to figure it out. "But sensei," he spoke quietly, "you know my reason to be. How could I not follow it?"
Aang had to be careful with what he said next or it wouldn't mean as much when Naruto figured it out. "But that is your problem. You are not following it, you are following them." The blonde seemed stumped at what he meant. Who were they? He wondered. Aang just smiled as his pupil tried to figure it out.
"I must dispel, kit," he said, back to the affectionate names now that he was off of sensei duty. "Your friends draw near."
"Bye, nii-chan," the boy said as the fox monk left in a small poof of smoke. Mere moments later, Shikimaru, Chouji, and Asuma walked into the clearing, talking about dinner last night – one of the few nights that Naruto had not joined them. He had gotten to know this group well over the last two weeks, and was now quite friends with each of them. Lazy Shika, loyal Chouji, and sexy In- wait, where did that thought come from? And better yet, where was she?
Now, mind you, the hard part was getting up that early. She grabbed breakfast and ran out the door, even her seemingly omniscient mother not noticing. She was curious. Every day, Naruto beat them to training and, despite his nonchalance, he must be going at it every morning. If the grounds around him were any indication, he tore apart training grounds and trees, logs cut in half and deep grooves in the ground.
Sometimes when she came to practice, she could see the trees dancing to what seemed to be a localized hurricane. Once she even saw a mysterious figure puff into smoke when she entered the clearing, though she never got a good look at him. And today, she decided, would be different. She would no longer wonder who the blonde enigma was.
And she was not disappointed. Only minutes after she had arrived at some God-forsaken hour, he arrived as well, bright and cheery as ever. After doing all manner of warm ups that she expected would have been a full work out for her, he more or less summoned a man with a tail. At first she was shocked, by the summoning, the tail, the muscle displayed on the man's bare chest, and then even more so when Naruto took of that jacket she had helped him pick out last week. The muscles he was starting to build were evident even through the tight shirt he still wore. She, of course, wouldn't mind examining them closer at some point in time, but now was not for focusing on that. However, that didn't stop the slightest bit of coloring from rising to her cheeks.
And then they started to fight. At first, Ino wasn't sure what they were doing. Everything looked so harmless and graceful. It was, almost, beautiful. It was calm and refreshing like a cool breeze on a hot day. And as she watched, the trees started to sway. And then twigs started to break. The fight escalated and now, though still graceful, it was strong and unstoppable. A few saplings were uprooted and dust flew through the air as the wind tore through the area. It was, quite simply, awe inducing. It all ended when Naruto, using chakra for the first time in the fight, shot out a nearly invisible blade of wind. The tailed man dodged, and Ino almost jumped out of her shoes when the tree she was hiding in was cut off right above her head and small slices appeared all around her on the trunk of the tree that she had ducked behind. A small strand of blonde hair fell in front of her face, only to be blown away with the cut wood as another gust came by, almost knocking her off of the branch she was standing on and certainly taking all structural integrity away from her hiding spot.
She dared to peek her head around the corner to see that the fight had ended. The man was talking with Naruto, and the normally upbeat boy seemed to become extremely thoughtful and almost sad when the tailed man said something. She wasn't close enough to hear it all, but something was said about true strength and a reason to be. She didn't hear what he was supposed to be, or what the reason was, but she knew that her favorite blonde was – wait, where did that thought come from? Anyway, Naruto was troubled about something. It was as the monk disappeared and her team emerged from the woods that she decided to appear in just a few minutes and give a good excuse for it. The one thing she couldn't get off of her mind was simple. Naruto only used chakra for one attack. So how was he controlling wind the rest of the time?
It was only a few minutes later when Asuma was having Shikimaru and Chouji spar while Naruto was tested on remembering his fuuton jutsu, Asuma had taught him. He had Fuuton: Daitoppa mastered and was good enough at Fuuton: Kazekiri no Jutsu, Reppusho, Hien, and Kazewo Suraisu to use in combat though, especially with Hien, he could not claim to be a master. It was upon Naruto finally managing to extend a kunai's length by five inches, though the length was constantly varying due to his inexperience with the technique, that Asuma declared Naruto's Hien passable and that Ino joined them for training.
Although his team wasn't bad, Asuma knew they still had a way to go. Especially when they were compared with a prodigy like Naruto. Their work ethic was improving, but still not excellent as was proved by Ino showing up late to training. And that's why he decided a three on one sparring match could be fun. InoShikaCho stood on one side of the training ground and Naruto on the other. As soon as the match started, it was over.
Chouji barreled in using the while Ino leapt into the trees to hide and Shikimaru prepared for a Kagemane no jutsu. Unfortunately, all it took was a massively over powered Fuuton: Reppusho from Naruto blow the boy back and into a tree trunk, knocking him unconscious from the blow. By the time Naruto had finished the jutsu, however, Shikimaru had caught him using the Kagemane no jutsu. Ino flashed through hand seals to use the Shintenshin no Jutsu on Naruto. As soon as her soul entered the blonde, however, it disappeared in a poof of smoke, showing that it had only been a shadow clone. The real Naruto appeared behind Shikimaru and used Fuuton: Daitoppa to take him out the same way Chouji had gone: headfirst into a tree. As soon as the first jutsu was complete, Naruto performed Fuuton: Kazekiri towards the tree Ino's body was in. The tree was cut through and the section the girl was in started to topple over.
But Ino couldn't move. Her soul was still in process of returning to her body. It was in a rush of concern for his friend that Naruto revealed his air bending. He charged his legs with chakra and pushed a gale of wind backwards to leap forward at drastic speeds. Her soul returned to her body just before she would hit the ground and a panicked feel swept through her body as she realized the tree would fall on top of her. But she needn't have worried as Naruto performed an aerial kick, air bending a giant blast of compressed air to kick the tree in a new direction as he used the force he gained from pushing off on the tree to leap forward faster through the air and catch Ino in his arms before she hit the ground.
Ino slowly opened her eyes, expecting a face full of dirt and immense pain, but instead finding two orbs of deepest blue examining her, checking if she was alright. They were full of care and concern, and she found herself blushing as he held her against her muscled chest. She subconsciously tilted her face down so that he couldn't see it and turned into his chest to hide. It worked until he called her name. "Ino?" he asked and she had to look up at him this time," are you all right?" The sun shone through his golden locks and his tone was genuine. She flushed brighter before nodding and fussing to be put down. He did so gently.
Naruto didn't believe her. Something was wrong with Ino. He noticed that she was brushing off her skirt and fiddling with her hair – something he found amazingly cute – but refused to make eye contact. Something had to be wrong if brash, confident Ino couldn't look him in the eye. He gently put one hand under her chin and lifted her face to meet his. "Are you sure you're all right?"
And this time she smiled, though the blush didn't leave her face. "Yeah, Naruto. I'm fine. Thanks," she said in a somewhat demure tone. As Ino reexamined Naruto, both body and soul, he found himself doing the same to her. Maybe, they thought, maybe this could be something-
Only to be interrupted by a wolf whistle. Chouji had, apparently gotten up from his slouch on the ground and was giving a stereotypical teenaged boy chuckle at the two. Of course, Ino being Ino and Naruto finding himself more chill than usual ever since the revelation about his true destiny resulted in the girl making the retort. "Hey! Quiet tubby!"
The boy just snorted a little at that, patted his belly, and walked off towards Shikimaru. The blondes could just hear him say something under his breath about how "tubbies rule" before he was out of earshot. Even the small mumble made them both sweat drop. They turned back to each other, only to turn a subdued tone of red as they realized they had managed to grab for each other's hand during the exchange with the Akimichi. Naruto tried to let go, almost expecting to get pounded into the ground – something Sakura would do – only to be surprised when Ino tightened her grip just enough to stop his hand from leaving hers, though she turned her head just a little away from his when she did so, just enough so that Naruto couldn't see her beautiful gray-blue eyes from where he stood.
For a second, Naruto just stood there, shocked by her near admission that she was very interested in him. Then he put on one of his award winning smiles and gently squeezed her hand back to show he felt the same. The moment of silence was broken, however, as Asuma, who had been walking towards them ever since the fight ended, clapped slowly. He reached up, took his cigarette from his mouth, and blew a long stream of smoke from his mouth straight up into the air. "Good job, blondie."
Ino gave a slight snort. Asuma had tried to call her that when she was assigned to be his student. Needless to say, it only took one good threat of castration to stop that. Second, duh, Naruto had done a good job. In three moves, well, five with the Kage Bunshin and likely replacement, he had soundly defeated all three of them. And their squad was said to have the most flawless teamwork out of any of the genin teams.
"But," the smoker continued, "I was wondering if you could tell me what those sealless jutsu were that you used." Ino looked over to him. She hadn't seen him push off of the ground, but she had seen him blast away that tree. Come to think of it, it could be the explanation behind how he was fighting without chakra this morning.
The boy's smile dipped just a bit as his hand, the one not attached to Ino's, came up to rest behind his head. "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. It's related to why I have five elements to choose from, why I have found a new love for meditation, and even to my, well, tenant. However, I might have already said too much on a fairly classified subject."
As Asuma and the boy continued to talk, Ino pondered the growing mystery that was Uzumaki Naruto. Why did he have five elements when even some jounin only had two? Why was he so much more calm and collected than before the invasion? What did he mean by his "tenant?" And why couldn't she get him out of her head?
Every day after practice, they went out to eat. And she always caught herself drawn to him. She'd sit next to him, and hang off of every word he said. She'd laugh more at his jokes, and feel her own sorrow at his troubles. Little did she know that he felt the same about her. Her father had always told her that the life of the average shinobi is short. He said that if she found something equivalent to love and a great guy, then to go for it. Life moves, and ends, quickly. You just have to move that much faster.
Soon, however, Chouji interrupted the guys' conversation and her thoughts as he dragged back their laziest teammate. "Naruto," he said pensively, "I think you might have gone at it too hard." They all gave a concerned look at the Nara, only for a snot bubble to escape his nose and a snore to join it. The lazy bum was simply sleeping contentedly. On impulse, the platinum blonde haired girl jumped into bossy mode and started, in classic anime style, to beat the unconscious boy senseless for wasting their time.
Training continued, each of the InoShikaCho trying harder than usual to fix their mistakes made apparent by Naruto while the Avatar sparred with Asuma. Shika worked on his reaction speed by, more or less, playing chicken with Chouji who was in his bowling ball of doom form. It also helped Chouji who realized he needed more maneuverability in his jutsu. Ino simply practiced her aim, projection speed, and return speed of her mind switching jutsu. By the end of the day she had decreased return time by a good three seconds – a timeframe equivalent to life or death in a true fight between shinobi. Now, the family trio simply sat and watched the jounin and the blonde boy fight.
As the sun sat low in the sky, the first traces of a vibrant sunset visible over the horizon, Asuma blocked Naruto's Hien powered kunai with his Hien powered trench knife and, with a huge surge of what chakra he had left after sparring for hours, managed to cut through the boy's knife and set the blade against his neck. "Do you yield?" the tired jounin asked. He had gone pretty much all out and, despite always having the upper hand, he had been hard pressed to maintain the advantage.
Thus the cause of his surprise when Naruto simply responded, "Not yet!" and slit his throat with the blade. Horror was replaced with horror as a voice from across the field called out, "Bunshin Bakuha!" and Asuma was enveloped in a rather large explosion. A fairly uncut Naruto approached the beat up Asuma, only for Asuma to disperse as a shadow clone. The blonde could only give a slight grin as the real one appeared behind him. "Yes, now I yield." The knife was taken away from his throat.
"So, blondie, where did you learn that from? I've never seen Kakashi use it and I certainly don't use shadow clones too often," the man pondered aloud as he sheathed his blades and pulled out a carton of cancer sticks.
Ino was wondering something similar. The blonde, despite being only a genin (albeit a powerful genin), had been keeping pace with Asuma, an elite jounin. And she had thought that that clone explosion technique could have sealed the deal. The only person who had seemed nonchalant at the power of the close range jutsu was Shikimaru, and even then Ino had seen that little light in his eyes that meant he was paying careful attention, analyzing each move, and genuinely caring, even if it was troublesome.
Indeed, Shikimaru had been analyzing everything. Naruto may still be a knucklehead at strategy, but he was amazing at just going with it and managing to pull off great combos and moves. Not only that, but the Nara boy could tell Naruto was holding something, maybe multiple somethings, back. And that intrigued him.
Chouji, though fairly smart, was both the least intelligent member of the team, and the most expressive at the outcome of the fight. His mouth was dropped, bag of chips forgotten, as he wondered how the class clown not only beat their squad, but was on near equal footing with their sensei when just over a month ago he had struggled to defeat Kiba.
Naruto gave a foxy grin, eyes slanting slightly, teeth showing, head tilted slightly to one side. "Let's just say that I've learnt techniques from you, Kakashi, and one very old teacher who only asked I provide lodging in return."
"Ah, that would make sense. If it's who I'm thinking of, I'm sure he's picked up a technique or two along the way, huh?" The man thought about it for a second, not sure what to think about the fact that a demonic fox was teaching his student. But, well, he didn't really care. He was told by the elders, Danzo of all people included, that the fox was on good terms with the boy and didn't really hate Konoha all that much, well, except for a righteous anger at some of Naruto's worse persecutors. "Well, where do you all feel like going tonight?"
And that got Chouji bouncing up and down yelling about his family's barbeque joint while Shikimaru nodded consent. Naruto relented as they had gone to Ichiraku's yesterday, but the boy noticed his fellow blonde seemed, well, not as outspoken as usual. When they all got up and went into town, he took her hand in his. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Well," she started, finding it odd how easy it was to ask Sasuke out and how hard it was to make a move with Naruto. "Would you be interested, maybe, in not eating with the team tonight?"
"Maybe," said the blonde, wondering why she wouldn't want to eat with the guys. Only with him. And then it hit. Was she asking him to- no way. "What did you have in mind?"
Ino's face turned just a little pink in the smallest of blushes. She freed her hand from his and turned to look him in the eyes. His beautiful blue eyes. And then she looked at the ground instead. It was less embarrassing if he didn't get it or said no this way. "I thought that maybe you could meet me at my house in an hour and have dinner with my family." She looked up, worried about his response, only to be struck with sadness as he had run forward to catch up with the guys.
Maybe he didn't feel the same way about her. And then he ran back. "I told them we were going to eat somewhere else tonight." And a smile lit up her face. He did feel, at least somewhat, the same way.
"Okay," she said with a small giggle that he found he really liked. "So, you know where I live. Be there in an hour and dress up a little." With that she ran off towards home and, staring after her for a second, he started walking home. It was just a few minutes away, after all, and it wouldn't take him too long to get ready.
As he leisurely walked home, he felt an inconsistency somewhere around him. It was a technique Aang had taught him – detecting chi. People in this world, Aang claimed, knew all about disguising and hiding chakra. But no one even knew about chi, so no one would bother to hide it. This, Aang said, would be a great surveillance technique on missions and, well, everywhere. Naruto practiced it nonstop and now it was slowly becoming second nature. And the chi he felt was odd. It was indecisive, and pained. Longing, even, though what for he didn't know.
With that in mind, he stealthily made a shadow clone a ways off and replaced himself with it. The clone continued to walk down the road, appearing as if nothing was wrong, while the real Naruto quietly approached the source of chi only to find Hinata behind fence, activated Byakugan focusing on the clone and tuning out everything else.
"What was that spike in chakra?" she mumbled aloud. "I could always ask hi- no, no I couldn't ask him. I can never ask him anything." The veins around her eyes receded and her normal, lavender eyes closed as a single tear leaked out. "I can never talk to him. I can't approach him without a blush, or talk to him without a stutter. And I'll never be able to tell him that I admire him, that I think he's the most amazing guy ever." Her tears started to increase, falling faster down her smooth, porcelain cheeks. "And it's all because I'm so weak."
"Well, now I know. Actually I've known for a while, but I've always been waiting for you to say something. And you do know you're not weak, right?" She whipped her head around so fast that Naruto feared it'd snap, but it didn't. Her eyes went wide in realization before she bent up into a slight sitting fetal position, face hidden behind her folded up knees as if she could hide. However, it didn't hide the sounds of sniffling and tears.
"D-don't pity me, Naruto. I k-know how hard you work, how poorly you're treated. And here I am, crying because I'm afraid. H-how could someone like you like a failure like me?" She sniffed once more before her head raised from its position and she found blue eyes staring into hers, concern shining through.
He placed his palm against her cheek, and wiped away a tear that was still dripping down her face. "Hinata, I don't care for worthless people or worthless things, and I don't have pity for anyone. You are not worthless, and I do care for you." He gave a smile. "I've known you for years, and I've seen you always try your best. You are not a failure. I just don't know you well." He backed up a little. "If you want," he continued, "we could change that."
He watched as the girl shook her head yes. "I-I would l-love to know you better, Naruto-kun."
"And I would love to get to know you better, Hinata-chan."
He just called me Hinata-chan she squealed in her mind before her Naruto levels reached max capacity and she fainted.
"Um, you okay there?" he asked. On inspection, though, the girl was just peacefully passed out with a smile on her still tear-streaked face.
"She'll be alright," came a voice from around the corner of a nearby house. Neji stepped out from and bowed. Naruto already assumed fighting position, assuming the boy to be after Hinata for some reason. "And I won't harm her. I've actually come to be her friend in the past week," he continued. Naruto looked unsure, but dropped his stance. "She really does like you, you know," Neji said, giving a smile that seemed less smug and more genuine than those he gave at the exams. He walked forward and picked her up piggy back. "I'll take her back to the complex." He started to walk off until Naruto called out.
"Hey, what were you doing out here anyway?" the blonde asked.
Neji turned back to face him. "To guard her as is my responsibility in the branch family. And to find you. I want say thank you. I owe you very much, Naruto-san, and I wanted you to know that I am sorry for the exams and, well the way I have always treated Hinata." The boy turned away again. "I am in your debt." And with that he jumped to the rooftop of the nearest house and took off towards the Hyuga complex.
Naruto smiled at the scene before taking off himself. He had a date – well, at least a dinner – to get ready for and he had to shower and change before he showed up at Ino's. 'I wonder how dressed up she meant,' he thought as he took off towards home.
XXXXXXX
The Yamanaka house was busy. Ino's mother hadn't made dinner for a guest for a while and she had decided to pull out all the stops. Ino's father was picking up the place and, ever since she had informed them that she had invited a friend over to dinner, Ino had disappeared upstairs to get ready. Ino's father, Inoichi, laughed at the situation. It was obviously a boy that was coming over and he wondered how much threatening he could do before the boy ran off or his wife smacked him. It wouldn't do for their little girl to get into a bad relationship.
The doorbell rang just as Inoichi had finished cleaning up the area and his wife, Akiko, had just finished with putting the food out. "I'll be down in just a second! Can you get it, Daddy?" called Ino from upstairs, no doubt putting on her finishing touches and checking herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time.
"Yes, dear!" he called up the stairs before going to the door. He opened it and found, as expected, a dashing young man. However, he didn't even recognize who it was at first. The boy was dressed in a subdued dark orange long-sleeve sweater that easily showed off his improving musculature without being showy or inappropriate, black pants and black shoes finishing off the look. Wait, was that Naruto? "Naruto?" he voiced aloud, the question seeming stupid to even him.
"Ohayo, Yamanaka-san. How are you tonight?"
And instantly, Inoichi was alright with the kid. He had read his file, knew his life story, knew his potential, hell, he had even walked through his mind. He knew this was a good kid. Still, he was a father. "If you hurt Ino then I swear that you'll be using your backend to breather while you use your front end to-"
"Daddy!" a feminine plead, bordering on an embarrassed whine, interrupted him. "It's not like Naruto-kun and I are dating," she said as she reached the bottom step, just in front of the door and just behind her father who stepped aside to allow the boy entrance and gave Naruto his first glance at Ino. His breath left his lungs as he saw her.
She wore her hair down and fairly straight, though still teased just enough that it was flirty, several strands framing her face. She wore a purple dress with the thinnest of straps that revealed her back and the little cleavage she could have at her age. It cut off mid-thigh, short enough and formfitting enough to leave little to one's imagination, but modest enough that it appeared dressed up and flirty rather than trashy. Her arms and legs were smooth, creamy, with just the lightest of tans, and she wore short heels that left most of her feet exposed, one small purple band around the ankle and one over the toes, her toenails painted a matching light purple, the same shade that she had applied to her fingernails. She wore two small silver stud earrings with very small diamonds set in them. Her makeup was minimal just enough to draw attention to luscious lips and gorgeous eyes that popped just that little extra bit due to her purple eye shadow. All in all, she was drop dead gorgeous. At least, Naruto thought she was.
"Well, at least not yet," she added in a quieter tone. Then, looking at Naruto and noticing how he was staring as if transfixed, she spun around once to showcase her figure for him. "Like what you see?" she asked while batting her eyelashes at him as expertly as a fifteen year old girl can.
He nodded, still in awe of the goddess in front of him, before shaking his head once to get out of his funk. He gave a genuine smile, as did Inoichi, before responding. "Yeah, Ino. You're beautiful." And despite the fact that it wasn't the first time a boy her age had said something similar, for some reason it meant so much. Maybe because it was so pure and so genuine.
She blushed and turned her head aside for a second. "Thanks. You look nice too." And seeing her all flustered just caused Naruto to smile brighter.
"Well," Inoichi said, interrupting the two, "you might as well be dating the way you two are acting." He was pleased at the fact that Naruto, though he did blush, did not deny his statement. Inoichi let out a small laugh at their experience before Naruto came in and Ino, just barely shorter than Naruto now that she was in heels, grabbed his hand. "Let's introduce him to the missus." The teens followed the jounin as he walked towards the dining room where his wife was waiting.
"Oh! So is this the boy you were telling us about the other day?" her mother started off and, between her bubbly personality and the way she instantly approved of Naruto, the blondes all knew this would be a good night. And it was. The teenagers sat side by side and would periodically get lost looking at the other, Naruto experiencing something relatively new as he admired Ino's beauty. It was a good feeling, almost possessive, and definitely desiring something, though he couldn't figure out what. Ino, on the other hand, just loved the look in his eyes, a look he didn't always have. Although he always appeared happy go lucky and chipper, this look in his eyes was gentle and genuine. And there was something else in it too, a trace of protectiveness and possessiveness that made her feel safe with him.
Ino's parents caught the teens in their shy game and smiled, remembering when they first met. Inoichi remembered meeting his wife at a fairly formal occasion, her dressed up just as Ino was for Naruto. And Akiko remembered a similar look in her husband's eyes when he asked her for a dance that night. It was after dinner that Naruto and Ino decided to take a walk. "Take care of her, Naruto!" Inoichi hollered after the couple. For once, Ino just let herself be taken care of instead of shouting out how she could take care of herself. It was nice to be able to rely on someone that way for once. Naruto just gave a nod and a smile as he closed the door.
The older couple stared after them for a second. "She's growing up so fast, isn't she Inoichi?" commented Akiko.
"Yeah, almost makes me feel old. She's not allowed to grow up already," he said, a slight frown on his face, only to be replaced by a small smile a few seconds later. "But at least she found a good guy to grow up with."
"You keep talking like we're old fossils." She stood up from the table, circling around it before sitting across his lap. "I think I know a way to make you feel young again," she said, running a finger along his cheek.
"I wonder if we're thinking the same thing," he teased, shivering a little at the contact. "I guess there's only one way to find out." And with that he picked her up bridal style, carried her to the bedroom and closed the door with his foot.
All that could be heard from outside in the hall was a delighted feminine squeal of, "Ooooh, Inoichi!"
XXXXXXX
Ino and Naruto weren't being quite so physical. In fact, they were almost too embarrassed to even hold hands as they walked. Not quite, but almost. It wasn't that they didn't like each other or that holding hands was new to them. In fact, they liked each other very much and holding hands was something they had done earlier that day. But now, despite knowing the other liked them, it wasn't just two friends. It was something more, something that neither had experienced before.
And so they walked in silence, basking in each other's company, though wishing they had the nerve to speak. Ino looked over at Naruto, appraising the boy. Loyal, honest, hardworking, and now good looking were all words she could use to describe him with. She could really like this boy. Her head turned to the side, a small, shy smile on her lips. And he turned to see her.
She was confident and had the potential to be strong, just like Sakura-chan. In fact, he had already heard the story that Ino was who helped Sakura become that way in the first place. Yeah, she used to argue too much about Sasuke and all, but he was starting to see that it was only so she could have some form of relationship, even if it was competition, with her old friend. Ino-chan really was loyal. And, let's not forget, she was drop dead gorgeous in the eyes of our young jinchuriki.
They were walking through a more open area of town now, walking on a small classical bridge that ran across one of the small streams that made its way through the village. Without so much as a signal, both stopped halfway across and stared at the full moon. Ino's mother, always with a wistful tone in her voice would call it the Lover's Moon as it allowed a couple to stay out later and well, at that point her mother would just give a perverted giggle.
"It really is a beautiful moon tonight," Naruto said, catching where she was gazing.
"Yeah," she said, slowly inching closer to him.
"Whenever I see the full moon, I feel something inside me, something ancient, rise up. Almost like the moon is an old friend." Ino just gaped at the inflection in his voice. It sounded mature, wise. He saw her face and put on a smile. "Silly, huh?" Inside his head, Aang gave a small chuckle.
"Whenever I see the full moon," Ino started, "and everything is bathed in a different light, everything is that much more beautiful. It's a selfless thing, sharing its gift with everyone."
"It really does make everything that much more beautiful," Naruto said, unaware that he was getting closer and closer to Ino until he realized that he wasn't looking at the night sky anymore, but her dark blue eyes. And he found them much more beautiful than the view before them.
Ino's free hand slowly snaked up to feel his chest, though she had no recognition of telling it to do so. She stared into his bright blue eyes, hardly caring as his free arm slowly wrapped behind her head and brought their lips together. And then she closed her eyes, giving into the care filled, gentle caress of his lips against hers. They stayed that way for several minutes.
XXXXXXX
It was the next morning that was the hardest. He met with his perverted sensei near the gates, only to see several others there. Kakashi, Asuma, Chouji, Shikimaru, Hinata, and, not surprisingly his (now official) girlfriend were standing around talking while Sasuke brooded against a wall and Sakura, like usual, tried to get a date. However the surprising part was that the Elders had shown up as well.
"Uzumaki Naruto," said Danzo when the boy came a little closer. "I must have you know that we are enacting the clan restoration act upon you. We just passed that bit of litigation yesterday, but I felt you had the right to know as soon as possible."
Naruto scrunched up his nose in confusion. "What does that mean, Shimura-sama?" asked Naruto, trying to be as formal as he knew how. These people were both powerful and, currently, supportive. It would not do to change that.
"It means," said Asuma with only a bit of a lecherous sparkle in his eyes, "that you're legally going to need to have at least four wives by the end of your eighteenth year."
"What?" was the instant response by Naruto, Hinata, and Ino. Shikimaru just patted his friend on the back.
"Good luck, man. It was nice knowing you."
"Shika," Ino growled threateningly.
"Just, kidding," he said cautiously as he slowly back away, hand up as if surrendering. "Troublesome woman," was just barely heard, muttered under his breath.
"But," Naruto said, not sure what to say, "but, what if they don't want to? I only know one girl I really like a lot right now, even if I have a couple of friends who are girls. And what if they don't want a relationship if they have to share me?"
"Well, if all fails, we will assign you a list of wives that you will have to pick from if it takes you too long," Koharu input and Naruto's attitude dropped a little farther at the thought of having little choice in his wives.
"But we will not bother you until your nineteenth birthday about that," Homura finished quickly. "Until then it's all your decision."
"I think you're forgetting the most important part, oh so honorable elders," said Jiraiya in a slightly mocking voice. They were getting better, but he still didn't trust them all the way. Now he looked at Naruto, a hard, serious glint in his eye. "If you don't have at least one child by age twenty-one, the elders will be able to have you attempt to impregnate women of their choice."
"That doesn't mean we will," Homura quickly added, "just that we could."
Naruto really didn't like that idea, even if it was only a potential to happen and not a guaranteed thing. "I guess I'll just try to do it before then." He sighed and looked a little down until Ino came up to him and kissed him full on the lips.
"I think you've already got one girl," she said with a slight giggle in her voice. "And," she looked at Hinata appraisingly, though she did blush slightly, "I don't mind sharing."
With that Naruto's smile returned and he grabbed Ino around the waist. She gave out a slight delighted, "Eep!" as he had not been quite so forward last night. He then gave her a gentler kiss on the lips, though, as both Hinata, Sakura, and (of course) Jiraiya noticed, he seemed to teasingly nibble just a bit on Ino's bottom lip before pulling away. "You don't know what that means to me," he told her quietly, thanks and love thick in his voice. Both of them knew they were moving fast, but both knew that the other had what they had always wanted. Why wouldn't they quickly fall in love with the person who had all they could love about a person?
They continued staring into each other's eyes for a second, Naruto's gaze protective and possessive while Ino's was both fulfilled but, possibly because of Naruto's teasing kiss, a little needy. In fact, she would have gone in for another if she hadn't noticed someone scribbling down in a note pad, mumbling gently to himself.
Although she couldn't make out everything Jiraiya was saying, she made out enough words to realize that this would be the perfect chance to try out that new Katon jutsu that Asuma had shown her, the most basic of all Katon and not even requiring a hand seal. "Katon: Ryuusui," and a blew a very small, though quick gout of fire at the old pervert's notes.
His look was almost comical as he began to writhe around on the ground like destroying his notes caused him intense physical damage. If one listened closely enough they could hear him talking about how the "talent shouldn't question the director" or about "his precious." Luckily, no one cared enough to listen.
Ino and Naruto parted slightly, a smile on their face at the old man's "pain," and the others came up to wish Naruto luck. Chouji and Shikimaru made fun of the couple a little until Ino's glare promised pain. Asuma just said a quick farewell while laughing at his boys' expense and Kakashi gave a similar, "Good luck!" with an eye smile included.
Next the Elders approached him. "Naruto, although you have been on one higher ranked mission before, you need to know that this mission is even more important. Not only that, but you need to keep in mind that you are traveling with one of the great Sannin," Homura said. At the words of praise, the Toad Sage leapt to his feet and was about to join the conversation, likely to brag. At least until Koharu finished. "Please try to keep him in line, Naruto." And the white-haired man face-faulted on the ground before retreating back to his corner to cry.
Danzo decided to have his say as well. "Boy, you will one day have to power to take the Hokage's seat. This is your first chance to prove you have the responsibility as well." He graced those present with a rare, yet genuine, small smile. "Good luck."
But none of that meant as much to him as what Sasuke and Sakura added. "You're still just a dobe," Sasuke started, "but you beat someone who beat me. You're not allowed to lose to anyone, or you'll make me look bad." He also gave a small smile to show he was, at least partially, joking.
Sakura added to it as well, "You've always been strong, Naruto, stronger than I ever gave you credit for." She paused before looking him in the eye and getting back that strong, louder tone she usually had. "And now that I've said it, don't screw up!" She smiled at the end of it though.
"Be s-safe, Naruto-kun," Hinata called and Naruto flashed a reassuring smile at her.
"Come on, brat," Jiraiya called and started walking out of the gate, assuming the boy would follow.
Naruto let go of Ino, though he did give her one last peck on the cheek before leaving all he knew behind. He was being trained by a Sannin, a bijuu, and an Avatar. He was going on an important mission for the village. He was in love with a beautiful girl and had a couple others interested. It was definitely beyond the edge of his old world.
Asuma and his boys decided to go for lunch before training, while the Elders left and Kakashi said he'd give his students the day off as Sasuke was fresh out of the hospital. Ino grabbed Hinata's arm, flashing her a look that said 'We need to talk' before pulling her along on a walk. Sasuke and Sakura were left alone now, staring as their former teammate disappeared in the distance. "Hey, Sasuke," Sakura started, "do you want to go-" And then she realized it. He didn't ever accept her approaches when she asked him out. Maybe though, if she asked him instead to… Well, only one way to find out. "Would you mind helping me train? I've been working on some genjutsu, but they're hard to do unless you have someone to practice with and on."
Sasuke thought about it for a second before giving an affirmative, "Hmm," and a slight nod and the two walked off together towards a training ground. Sasuke just happy that she didn't ask him out and was, for once, trying to get stronger while Inner Sakura was jumping for joy that Sasuke-kun had agreed to do anything with her. After all, once he got better if they still trained together, one on one, who knew what kind of steamy situations they could get into while sparring. And for once, Sakura didn't even try to suppress her inner thoughts. It was definitely going past the edge of her old world.
XXXXXXX
It was a lively sight for the morning, seeing a smiling Ino dragging along a Hyuuga girl, the blonde running forward, confidently, a smile on her face and Hinata stumbling on along behind, a tad confused but overall caught up in Ino's infectious attitude. Still dragging her along without slowing down the blonde looked back and caught Hinata's gaze, giving her a smile and getting one in return. "I'm just taking you to a good place to talk – a place Naruto likes a lot too." Hinata started to wonder where Ino was going after the third corner they turned. It was only ten minutes later that she started to recognize the area. Of course they were going to Ichiraku Ramen.
When they reached the outside of the stand, Ino let go of Hinata and let the girl regain her balance after she fixed her outfit for a second, she looked up and flashed Ino a small smile before the two walked into the Ramen Bar.
Ayame was just putting the first batch of handmade noodles in to cook when the girls walked in. "Ino! It's good to see you again!"
The blonde raised a hand in greeting. "It's good to see you again, too, Ayame-chan! No Naruto, today, I'm afraid. He's off on a mission. I brought a friend by, though, her name is-"
"Hinata-chan!" Ayame called in a loud, happy voice. She actually ran around the counter to give the Hyuuga girl a hug that was quickly returned.
"Hi, Ayame nee-chan," answered the girl, still quietly but not uncomfortably or with hesitation. "I'm sorry I haven't stopped by recently, but ninja stuff has been getting in the way and father doesn't want me to make ramen too much of my diet."
Ayame gave a small giggle, hidden behind her hand. "That's what Naruto used to say when he was little, that Iruka and… well… Sarutobi-sama, always told him he was going to have more ramen than blood as much as he ate. Didn't stop him though, nothing ever did." Ayame wiped away a quick tear. "I still miss Sarutobi-sama." She sniffled again before shaking her head. "Ah, jeez, why I am I trying to ruin good memories?"
Throughout everything, Ino was watching on, having taken a seat halfway through. "You two know each other? I didn't think that many people knew about Ichiraku, even if more people should."
Hinata nodded her head yes. "Yeah, I've been coming here on and off for four years or so."
Ayame nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's always come in here right after Naruto leaves." She leaned over towards Ino, putting her hand up to whisper a conspiratory secret. "She's too shy to tell him she likes him, and she made me promise not to tell him, but in the end it doesn't matter. I'm nee-chan to both of them and they'll get together some day." The girl's eyes closed as she gave a pleasant smile.
"Actually, Ayame-chan, that's what we came here to talk about."
"Really?" asked the waitress and the shy girl at the same time.
"Yep."
Hinata looked mortified at having to talk about her secret – well, almost secret in her mind – crush on the blond, but sat down anyway. Ayame spoke up. "Well, let me take your orders so I can start on your food and I'll let you two get talking." Then her smile changed to one that was both creepy and very threatening. "Just don't crush his heart or you'll be crushed yourself, okay?"
Both girls earnestly nodded and Ayame's smile went back to normal as she took out a notepad and pencil from seemingly nowhere. She wrote down the girls' orders, vegetable ramen for Ino and miso for Hinata – she'd never admit it was only her favorite because it was Naruto's – before leaving to make the meals.
"So, Naruto's favorite, huh?" Ino asked in a knowing tone, the smallest of smug smiles on her face. Hinata let loose a loud "Eep!" She'd been found out. "I always like the vegetable because it's not too bad for you and, well, I like the taste." She let loose another smile, larger though, and dreamy. "But that's not why we're here. We're here to talk about, well, a shared taste," she winked at the end.
Hinata nodded. She had seen how Naruto and Ino were and was scared she had lost her chance until the Elders spoke about the CRA being enacted for Naruto. Her clan couldn't even make a stink about it because, as long as the wife willingly agreed to it, even clans, clan laws, and any rulings of the council could not prevent a marriage made between the subject of the CRA and his or her desired spouse. They couldn't even make a stink about it without making reparations. And that was only one of the many useful laws Hinata had learned as the daughter of the Hyuga clan's head.
But now was not the time for backing down. Though she would allow herself to blush a little. "Y-yes. I've liked Naruto-kun for a l-long time now," she started. 'Good job,' she thought to herself. 'Don't let yourself stutter.' "And, in fact, he's known about it for a while, he t-told me." She smiled to herself a little, despite being nervous. "He's just been wanting to give me the chance to work up the strength to tell him on my own, and I blew it. But he said he'd still like to get to know me more." And at this she looked up at Ino, a small fire in her eyes. "And I'm not going to pass up on that offer, no matter what anyone says." She was gaining momentum now. "I know you're his girlfriend now, but I'm not going to let anyone, even you, stop me from-"
"Okay," Ino said.
"No! I'm not going to-" she continued on, oblivious.
"I'm fine with that."
"Well I'm going to- wait, what?" asked the confused Hinata.
"Yes, what?" added a rather calm Ayame, leaning on the counter with two bowls of ramen in front of her. "Did I hear correctly that you two are both going after Naruto and that you, Ino-chan, are fine with sharing him?"
The blonde snorted. "Well, it's not like I have any choice anyway. He has to have four wives by age nineteen now and I figured that since Hinata's nice, likes him, and has a rockin' body," this causing the Hyuga to blush a deep red and sit back down, "I should encourage it. I'd rather end up being co-married with someone who I could get along with, really loves Naruto, and would be fun for, um, certain activities, than some stranger. So yeah, I'm still not in love with sharing him, but if I have to share him to have him at all, I'm going to do it. It's something daddy and I talked about this morning because he had already heard about the decision at a meeting and I told him the same thing." The blonde smiled back at the still blushing Hyuga. "And I'd have to guess that you feel the same way, right, Hinata?"
Hinata nodded her head vigorously. "Yes. I'll do anything as long as I get to be by his side."
"But that's the one thing I don't get, Hinata. If you love him so much," Ino pondered, "then why do you never talk to him?" Hinata's gaze dropped to her lap. "I get that you're shy, but you can't have a relationship if you don't talk to him." She gave a slight chuckle. "Hey," she said in a gentler tone, "don't worry. You're getting another chance. But first," she started off and Hinata looked up to her, "if you're going to join the proverbial harem of Naruto Uzumaki, I want to get to know you."
Hinata blushed at the idea. Was this really going to become a- a harem? Then again, Ino was really pretty. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the two of them were to- No Hinata! No bad thoughts! she said to herself, though she couldn't help her blush. "Yeah, I'd really like that."
"Plus," spoke up a still eavesdropping Ayame, "I heard that it still feels good to do it with another girl." She winked at Hinata, only for the girl to have a slight nose bleed before passing out.
Ino just looked at the poor girl, ramen halfway to her mouth. "Wow, never would've guessed she was a pervert, though that doesn't sound bad." She shrugged her shoulders and kept eating her ramen. Hinata would wake up soon or she'd wake her up. But first, ramen. Then, hanging out. Dating Naruto? And sharing him with other girls? This was going past the edge of her old world.
XXXXXXX
Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind: Great Breakthrough) Only a few hand seals, blasts a giant wind through the area.
Fuuton: Kazekiri no Jutsu (Wind Cutter) Requires more hand seals than Fuuton: Daitoppa, expels a single blade of air from the mouth towards a target.
Fuuton: Reppusho (Gale Wind Palm) Only a few hand signs, forces a focused blast of air the direction the palms are facing, not unlike the blasts of air created by air bending.
Hien (Flying Swallow) A high level technique in which wind chakra is sent into weapons, allowing their length to effectively increase and their cutting and piercing strength to become monstrous. Originated by Sarutobi Asuma.
Kazewo Suraisu (Slicing Wind) A bastardization of Hien and the Kazekiri no Jutsu, made by Naruto. One sends wind chakra through their limbs and releases it in a cutting arc. Requires no hand seals. Used in this chapter in the fight with Aang.
And that is where I stop for the night. The chapter has been slightly edited, though not so much that one really needs to reread it.
Yet again, I am begging. Reviews tell me what is right, wrong, liked, and disliked. I love knowing people care about the story enough to say something, even if the review is simply "good job" or any other two word combination. Good night, beautiful and not so beautiful people of the interwebs.
