Chapter 3
At Sakura's house, Ino played with her friend for a long while, until the clock struck eleven. She had showed up at nine, although Sakura's mother didn't like the idea of someone asking to stay over at such a late hour. The two girls had quietly played in Sakura's room while her mother went to bed.
Finally, at eleven, Ino decided to talk about boys. "Hey, Sakura-chan," she began, "is there anyone you like yet?"
Sakura blushed heavily. "Un. I like...Uchiha Sasuke!"
Ino frowned heavily. Uchiha Sasuke was the complete antithesis of Uzumaki Naruto. A thought struck her, bringing a smile to her face. "Really? That's awesome that you've finally found someone you like! You know, I've heard that Sasuke-san likes girls with long hair."
"R-really?" Sakura stammered, her eyes wide. "T-then I guess I should grow my hair out..." She took a strand of it between her fingers and studied it.
"Yeah, you should," Ino agreed with a nod. "I bet your hair would look really pretty long," she added as she grabbed a brush and gently went through Sakura's hair.
"Thanks. I think your hair would be beautiful if it were long," Sakura returned the compliment.
"Well, you're quite the blossoming flower yourself," Ino praised as she put the brush away. "Your hair is beautiful as it is."
Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when her mother knocked on the door and angrily ordered them to go to sleep.
Seven hours later, the two friends got ready for Academy. At six-thirty in the morning, they left Sakura's house, heading for the building.
Once there, they split to take their usual seats. Sakura stole the seat beside Sasuke, and Ino took one beside the smartest male in class, Nara Shikamaru. Together, they were the top students in class. Sasuke was the number one rookie, and Sakura came just beneath Ino. There was no way Ino would lose to someone like Sakura.
Just as Iruka-sensei began attendance, Naruto slipped into the classroom. The only empty seat was beside Sakura, and so he blushingly took it. She ignored him completely, instead attempting to intice Sasuke in conversation.
"Akimichi Choji," Iruka called.
"Hmphere." A fat male said, his mouth full of potato chips as he stuffed more inside.
"Haruno Sakura."
"Hai!" Sakura answered proudly, turning her attention to Iruka.
"Hyuga Hinata."
"H-here," a timid, violet-eyed and violet-haired girl answered.
"Inuzuka Kiba."
"Right here!" The male to her right answered loudly. He always wore his hood up and had red makeup of some sort on his cheeks.
"Nara Shikamaru."
To her left, Shikamaru sat, his head on the table, fast asleep. Ino smiled and shook him. "Huh?" he asked as he picked his head up. "Oh. Here." He lowered his head again.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Hn." Sasuke barely answered, as usual. Beside him, Sakura squealed happily.
"Uzumaki Naruto?"
"Right here, sensei!" Naruto called happily, waving.
"And Yamanaka Ino," Iruka finished.
Ino smiled. "Ohiyo, sensei!" she called.
Iruka nodded once and turned to face the chalkboard. "Wait," Ino whispered to Kiba, "did he call Shino?"
Kiba nodded. "Mmhm." He dropped his head onto the table and soon fell asleep.
For the remainder of the school day, Ino avidly paid attention, did all of her work perfectly, and was the first female able to manipulate her Chakra. She nodded her thanks to Naruto, who smiled back proudly.
Before she noticed the time fly by, school was finished. Everyone excitedly left the classroom, talking amongst themselves happily. Sakura followed Sasuke out, and so Ino decided to wait for Naruto and walk with him.
Naruto gave her a big smile as he caught up to her. "Ino-chan, Ino-chan! I got to sit next to Sakura-chan all day today!"
Ino smiled, happy for him. "That's awesome, Naruto-kun! So what are you gonna do now?"
He frowned. "Huh?"
"I mean, now that school's out, what are you gonna do?" She clarified with a chuckle.
"O-oh," her friend stuttered with a blush, "I-I thought you were talking about what I was doing with Sakura-chan..." His voice drifted off as the beautiful sun greeted them.
Ino sighed in content, smiling. "Why don't the three of us do something? You, me, and Sakura."
Naruto blushed again as they walked. "Y-you don't have to, Ino-chan. I-I mean...well...I uh..."
Ino giggled. "It's no problem, Naruto-kun! I like the idea of you and Sakura together." She resisted the powerful urge to growl and curl her lips like an animal. A very strong part of her hated the thought of Naruto with Sakura, but she wanted him to be happy. And if Naruto was happier with Sakura than Ino, so be it. She would make that sacrifice for her friend.
"O-okay, if you want to, Ino-chan..."
She couldn't help but smile at his tenderness. "Of course I want to! I want you to be happy, no matter what. I don't like seeing you cry."
There was a small silence between them, though large enough to coast them to her house. "Well, this is my house," she breathed. Her hand on the doorknob, she asked, "Do you wanna come inside?"
Naruto glowed, which made Ino smiled. She opened the door, and he followed her inside.
As usual, her father wasn't home. He was barely around, always volunteering to go on missions. When she had confronted him about this, he had ruffled her hair and replied, "I work so much because I love you and want you to have whatever you want, whenever you want it." He walked away, then, without giving Ino a chance to speak.
The reminder of always being along brought tears to her eyes, but she fought it down as she showed Naruto around.
At the door to her room, seconds before opening the door, Naruto turned to her and asked, "Are you okay, Ino-chan? You look like you're about to cry..."
Her eyes burning, Ino shook her head and looked away. "No, I'm fine...What would make you think that I - ?"
He cut her off. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you're fine," he said gently.
As soon as Ino's sight connected with Naruto's, she was in tears. Without a word, Naruto embraced her, whispering that everything would be alright.
This only made her breakdown worse. "N-naruto-kun..." she stammered, returning the embrace needfully. A part of her felt almost bubbly that they were so close, but it was overpowered by her sadness. Right then, all she wanted was a shoulder to cry on, an open ear. "Naruto-kun," Ino whispered, squeezing him tighter.
"Would you like to talk about it, Ino-chan?" He whispered.
Ino nodded vigorously, but didn't let go of him. After a moment of silence, she forced herself to let him go. Nodding once more at his question, she brought him back to her living room and sat on the couch. He sat beside her silently, waiting.
"M-my Daddy is never home," she began, fresh tears flowing. Ino pulled her legs onto the couch and held her knees close as she forced herself to continue, "I never get to see him. He's the only family I have left - everyone else in my clan died. I don't even have any real friends. Besides you." She looked to him and smiled weakly. He smiled back a little. "And so I'm always alone here, in this large, empty house. I never see him."
Beside her, Naruto gave a single weak chuckle. "At least you know what he looks like, that he's real and all. You do get to see him sometimes, and you should be thankful for that. Me, though...I've been alone ever since I could remember." Ino looked up at him with a little gasp of surprise. "I've never once seen my parents," he continued softly. "I don't even know what they look like. I know how you feel. Then lonliness...is like floating through a black abyss with no beginning or end. And the sadness...It's like a weight pushing down on you. It's freezing cold all the time, and before you know it, you're crying constantly, at the littlest things."
She heard the tone of his voice crack as she stared at him. A tear ran down his cheek. "Oh, Naruto-kun," Ino murmured as she hugged him once more. "We're not alone anymore. I have you, and you have me. I'll be your sister and your mother and your aunt and your grandmother. I'll even be your brother and your father and your uncle and your grandfather."
He hugged her back. "And I you. It feels so good to have a friend..."
"Y-yeah," Ino stammered, "I'm glad to have met you."
Translations:
Sensei - Teacher or doctor
Hai - Yes/right/here.
Ohiyo - Good morning
A/n
Short, I know. But the original Chapter 3 is really shoddy, and so I decided to post what was good of it and revamp the rest into a new chapter. Hopefully things won't be as messy this way. At least I finally updated! Anyway, please review X3
