Chapter 3: The Early Surge

"I had to touch you with my hands, I had to taste you with my tongue; one can't love and do nothing."

-Graham Greene, The End of the Affair


Ino attempted to focus on the swift speech of her friend, but that obstacle was becoming increasingly difficult to overcome. Sakura was currently telling her about another wonderful date with the deity named Sasuke Uchiha. The blonde took a sip from her iced coffee and allowed her roommate to guide her down the path of redemption that was Sakura's romantic interest. "And then when we were on the beach, he kissed me! I mean it was so picturesque, Ino!" Sakura's eyes were hazy and Ino felt her stomach churn sickly. "It was something straight from a romance novel. The tide was crashing gently and the moon was shining brightly on us and his lips were so smooth and firm…"

Ino dropped her cup and felt a rush of stomach acid surge to the back of her throat. The pleasant ambience of the quiet, little coffee shop did not seem to help her situation. "Are you serious right now? Do you have any idea how cliché you sound?" Ino did not mean for her tone to be so condescending, but then again, she did not really mind it that much.

Sakura was rather unfazed by Ino's disinterest on the subject. "I didn't think I'd like the whole cheesy thing, to be honest, but Sasuke just makes it work."

Ino rested her chin on the back of her hand. "So, then is it official?"

Sakura's back posture straightened in her seat. "Well, no. We haven't exactly talked about what we are yet."

Ino's eyes widened and her attention was completely focused again. "Wait, you mean you guys haven't had a DTR? Are you kidding? It's been almost two weeks since you went on your first date! What the hell have you two been doing this whole time?"

Sakura waved her hand dismissively and did not seem to be troubled about the ordeal. "We've just been getting to know each other. We'll determine the relationship when the time's come, Ino. We've only just had our first kiss, after all."

Ino scrunched her eyes and stared in disbelief at her friend. "That's my point. You guys have been taking this whole thing way too seriously. Most people at this point would have decided where they want to be and settle on it."

Sakura had a defiant crease in her brow that Ino was becoming more and more aware of every day she lived with the woman. "This isn't some casual affair, Ino. I'm fairly confident this is much bigger than that and this is how Sasuke and I have decided to handle it, OK?"

Ino knew her advice was unsolicited and was just pushing Sakura into a corner at this point. She leaned into her chair and exhaled slowly. "OK, OK. I see where you're coming from. Sorry, I'm being a little unfair. It's just not how I would go about it, but that doesn't mean there's only one way to handle it, I guess."

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Thank you." She took a sip of her cold brew. "By the way, have you thought more about my suggestion?"

Ino paused and recollected the suggestion her roommate was referring to. "Oh, you mean Sasuke's roommate? What about him?"

Sakura saw right through her and grinned with a glint in her emerald eye. "He's single and cute. What more could you want, Ino?"

The blonde felt like she had dug herself into a hole. She had just mildly chastised her friend for taking relationships too seriously and now she was getting internally flustered on the same subject. "All right, I'll think about it." Ino checked her watch and grabbed her work apron. Her gratitude for her work was never stronger than in that moment. "Well, my break's over. I should be done before seven and then we can go watch that movie, OK?"

Sakura blinked and her lips wrinkled in guilt. "Ah, sorry, Ino. Can we do a rain check on that movie? I kind of already have something planned with Sasuke tonight."

Ino did not show her disappointment, and instead she smiled at her friend. "OK, we'll watch it another time." She turned and walked across the lobby of the little café. As Ino moved around the other side of the counter and tied her apron on, she eyed her friend text on her phone. A few minutes later, Sakura left the shop and Ino felt a little hollow from her absence.


Naruto's chest heaved as he filtered air through his lungs. The early autumn sun radiated upon his shirtless frame as perspiration trickled down his body. He was ever thankful for the nice weather but at his current status, his debilitation easily exceeded his gratitude. Naruto's hands clutched his knees to lean his weight forward and stabilize his exhausted condition. He turned his head to his side as a much more composed Sasuke approached him with a water bottle. Naruto quickly snatched the living liquid and he drank from the bottle heartily.

Sasuke smirked at his friend's state. "Try not to drink too fast."

Naruto inhaled after the bottle left his lips and he wiped his mouth. "My lungs are killing me! When the hell does this get easier?"

Sasuke took a quick swig from his own bottle. "Give it another two weeks or so. At that point, you won't feel like complete shit, but it doesn't become easy until about two months in. Even then, you can still push yourself until you collapse since you'll just be able to handle more."

Naruto leaned on his knees again and made a breezy sound from his mouth. There was a rigidity in his eyes suddenly and they sharpened with a resolve that laced the rigid structure founded in them. The blond stood up to his full height and gritted his teeth. "All right. So another mile then?"

Sasuke shook his head in admiration. His best friend had an affinity for overcoming challenges. His will was more than admirable and Sasuke had always been in awe of Naruto's capabilities. He was a little surprised when Naruto had asked him to accompany him on his daily runs, wondering if there was an underlying motive behind the request. While he was still uncertain as to why Naruto had asked to run, seeing his determination for breaking through his current limits was a pretty standard practice for the blond. If anything, Sasuke was astounded Naruto had not asked sooner.

The two roommates ran one more mile around the campus until they reached their dormitory building and the late afternoon covered the sky. Naruto's lungs, by that point, were deflated bags of dry dust and he was struggling to stand upright. When the blond student stared at the familiar stairs leading up to their floor, his legs quivered feebly at thinking about the inevitable pain. But, in the end, he managed to conquer his fatigue enough to get to the room.

Naruto toppled into his bed as he saw Sasuke begin to undress from his sullied clothes. Naruto glared at him with contempt. "You're enjoying this, aren't ya?"

Sasuke blinked and feigned innocence. "Why on earth would I? My best friend is suffering and you think I would enjoy watching him in such a pitiful state while I'm perfectly fine?"

Naruto did not buy it. "You're a piece of shit, you know that?"

Sasuke chuckled at that and Naruto joined in for a second. The dark-haired roommate pulled out his phone a second later and texted something on it. "Hey, make yourself decent. Sakura's going to stop by anytime now and I need to shower really quick. Could you keep her company while she waits for me?"

Naruto's demeanor changed then. His eyes dulled a bit and his mouth loosened. He averted his gaze from his friend as he felt a dense matter slide around in his chest. That was the last thing he wanted. The last two weeks had been difficult for the blond as he watched a girl he admired and his best friend grow closer without his presence in it at all. The odd part was that it was so unnatural. It was rare for Sasuke to be so fixated on a woman before and for him to be actually committed to her. The cold reality of his roommate actually having genuine affections for Sakura was not lost on the blond and he never wished more for ignorance. There were mixed feelings swimming about on the subject, and they were beginning to thicken and form a repugnant glaze brimming with resentment. Naruto did not look at his roommate when he answered him. "Sure, no problem."

Sasuke nodded his thanks and stepped into their little bathroom as he texted on his phone. The scant minutes before Sakura knocked on the door were laden with unnerving thoughts. Naruto put on a t-shirt before he answered the door. When he opened the door, the dense matter coagulated and weighed heavy in his stomach.

She looked beautiful.

She was wearing a loose, colored jacket with some leggings and Naruto was fascinated by how he could be so enraptured by such a simple outfit. Of course, the clothes were merely a tool for her beauty, accentuating her frame and natural refinement.

"Hi, Naruto!" she chimed.

Naruto sensed his throat dry up as he breathed in her pulchritude and charm. "Hi." He stepped over to the side of the doorway to let her in.

Sakura glided into the room, her blossom-colored hair flitting with her movements. This was the first time she had been in the boys' room and she swiftly took note of her surroundings. Her eyes focused on Naruto after her quick survey and the blond lost all moisture in his body at her gaze. "Kind of bare, isn't it? There's so much wall space!"

For some unknown reason, Naruto managed to summon some confidence for the situation. "Well, yeah. Do we look like interior decorators to you?"

Sakura blinked at the sardonic retort. She was certainly not expecting that response from the man. Oddly, neither was he. She further surprised both parties by giggling. Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the sweet, innocent sound of her suppressed laughter. "No, I don't suppose you do," she breathed out in between her snickering. "Sorry."

Naruto smiled. "On the other hand, you've got a point. I'll tell ya what, I'll go buy some posters soon and spruce the place up a little."

Sakura returned the smile. "Sounds good. I'm sure Sasuke will appreciate it." Noticing the implication from her recent statement, Sakura looked at the door leading to the bathroom with the soft sounds of falling water emitting from it. "Speaking of which, he's showering, right?"

Naruto nodded and lumbered over to his desk. He gestured his hand over to Sasuke's chair on the opposite side of the modest room. "Yeah, and he usually takes forever in there. You should probably take a seat because you might be here a while."

Sakura smirked at that and took the proposition happily. "Thanks. So what have you two been up to today?"

Naruto clicked his tongue and tried to ignore the aridity that seemed to have moved from his throat to his lips. "We just got done running and before that, we had mostly been getting some homework done."

"I see," Sakura commented. "Do you like running, Naruto?"

The blond allowed the thankfulness for her interest in him swell some moisture back to his lips. "Not currently, but I think I will soon. I just got to push through the initial pain first, and then I can probably say I enjoy it." He shrugged and could not understand how calm he was being in front of such a captivating woman. He knew she was probably just being nice, but that fact only heightened his interest in her. She had a kind and empathetic demeanor that was almost impossible to not admire.

Sakura grinned. "That's good. It's always good to push yourself. I feel the same way about my classes. Some of them are a little rough, but I think they're starting to grow on me."

Naruto leaned forward in his chair. "Are they hard?"

"Not really. It's just the content can be a little dry sometimes."

"How's the homework?"

Sakura tapped her lips with her index finger and her eyes drifted up to the ceiling in casual thought. "Not too bad. I typically get my assignments done upfront, so I don't have to worry about them."

Naruto nodded with a grin. "Wow, that's rare! I've been trying to do that but years of putting off work can be a hard habit to shake away."

Sakura smirked wryly. "I'm not surprised. You definitely don't seem like the intelligent type, Naruto."

The young man actually felt his jaw loosen in bewilderment at her jab. This girl was an anomaly, he told himself. He formed an impish smirk. "Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit? You shouldn't underestimate someone, ya know?"

Sakura gave a smug expression. "Oh? Good to know. I'll be sure to remember that the next time I hurt someone's poor ego. Of course, the truth typically leaves scars."

Naruto's smirk widened to form a long smile. Who the hell was this woman? They barely knew each other, and yet here she was engaging with him so casually. He was becoming addicted to her natural charisma. "Believe me; I've got plenty of scars."

"I'm sure you do."

There was a lightness in her lips that made Naruto feel like he was floating. "Tell me: is this how you usually treat someone who has invited you into their home?"

Her response was swift. "Only when it's easy."

"And you think I'm easy?"

"Oh Naruto, if I thought you were complicated, I would be treating you with more respect."

"Do I need respect?" he asked. This was not good, he thought. He was starting to make a connection to her. She was building some aching hope in his soul and he knew it was corrosive to the stone walls he had erected there.

"I'm not sure," she stated. "I haven't really thought about it.

Naruto laughed., trying to cling to the false hope and neglecting his impending fate. "Are you implying I'm not even worth thinking about?"

Sakura laughed too. "If that's what you wish to infer, then maybe. But that doesn't seem funny or whimsical to me, so I wouldn't take it that far."

Naruto scratched his cheek and allowed the cheekiness of the banter to ebb away. It was not often he got to speak with someone so bright and aware. He also noticed a hidden temper with her wit and pondered what that would look like if set free. "I'm glad you know when to stop."

At that moment, Sakura laughed again with vigor. "I'm sorry! Sometimes I take my sass too far." Her tongue poked out from her teeth. "I've lost quite a few friends in the past because they didn't understand I was joking. Most of it had to do with the Japanese culture, but a large part of it was because I did it too often with people that didn't really understand me enough yet. It was particularly troublesome for me in middle school."

Naruto nodded with fervor. "Well, middle school was terrible for everyone. Everyone hated themselves and each other. Even the popular kids thought their lives were shitty."

Sakura giggled. "Getting them ready for adult life, it seems."

They both laughed uncontrollably at that. For one perfect moment, Naruto felt refreshed. The mirth of it all bubbled over the denseness in his stomach and forced it to wither from existence. Naruto enjoyed it all so much that when Sasuke stepped out from the bathroom with his hair wet and garbed in the nice clothes he had just changed into; the blond was left completely unaware of his presence.

Sasuke's voice cut through the laughter. "What's so funny?"

Sakura stopped her laughing and beamed up at her love interest. "Oh, hi, Sasuke! It was nothing. You ready?"

Sasuke smiled softly and brandished his open arm. "Yep, let's go."

Sakura stood up from her seat and interlocked her arm with his. Before they left, they both turned to Naruto and said their good-byes. Naruto waved to them as they made their exit, feeling the lonely atmosphere sink in when the door closed behind them. The previous refreshment of the earlier moment had eradicated the dense matter, but now Naruto felt something worse. A thin wisp of nothingness was located there now and he yearned for something, anything, to fill it. He was left hollow and he ruminated on the thought of anyone else ever knowing the feeling too. If they claimed it was as bad for them as it was for him, he would have called them a liar.


There has always been something rather odd about hollowness. To most people, it is a conglomerate concept to define or identify, and yet when in its most concentrated form; it becomes pure and solid to the bearer. It is as if the reality of the negative situation shrunk from an implosion and all positivity, if there ever was any, about that very situation disappears. Typically, all that is left afterwards is a numbed, throbbing impression. The hollow feeling normally dulls after that and becomes a fleeting memory that makes the bearer question its once potent presence.

Often, hollowness is equated with loneliness and many individuals have debated over the nature of its complexity. The truest characteristic of hollowness, however, is not congruent with the direct nature of loneliness. Hollowness is a hard, exhausting power that leaks and mourns its own existence. It contorts and morphs into what it needs to be, only for it to fall short and somehow still linger for great spans of time. Truly, hollowness is a pitiful and cruel sensation.

Ino could not have agreed more with that fact.

The young blonde stared at her laptop screen with a strong sense of cogitation, her philosophy homework forgotten. Her stomach was idle and her head was full. Was she overthinking all of this? It was not like Sakura was doing anything wrong. Ino did not bear any malcontent towards her roommate and was simply uncertain about what she should do to alleviate her current state. She wondered if it was even wrong to feel the way she did. If it was not, then why did she feel so unstable? She supposed brooding over her circumstances was probably not in her best interest and she decided to settle on that safe premonition.

Considering it was the weekend, the student life building was quiet with a few students roaming around its free space. Ino was seated at a little table in a far, tranquil corner of the upper story of the building. The blonde enjoyed many different environments. She could thrive at parties, one-on-one chats, intimate groups, parents, peers, and solitary situations; but there was one circumstance where her social prowess suffered: destitution. She had decided to work alone in her little corner that evening, but she desperately yearned for company. She wanted some form of intimate companionship. It was for no founded reason, but if she was being honest with herself, she knew she wanted someone to convey her feelings to. She wanted to be understood with intimacy and there was no one around to fulfill her request.

The curious part about Ino's situation was she did not want to ask anyone to give her some company. Because if she was to ask, then she would be openly identifying her problem which was extremely repulsive to her. She did not wish to sift through those problems then, and to do so would mean starting a protracted journey of unforeseen conclusions. It was not a journey she wanted to venture alone.

She felt her musings were miserably frivolous. Here she was: upset with grief because of her friend's absence and now she was moping around by herself. This was not her and it, frankly, felt pathetic. But this was her reality. It was how she actually felt and the sooner she realized that, the sooner she could probably settle it for herself. Unfortunately, courage was an arduous concept because it relied on action. All the knowledge in the world merely supported courage, but could not accurately define its nature. Ino knew this and fear gripped her heart. Courage was unattainable then and she was fine with that.

Although, another man was not.

Ino first spotted him on the other side of the wide room in between some computer monitors. He was standing still with a book, his ocean-blue eyes skimming its pages with increasing annoyance. His clear frustration resonated somewhere in Ino and she thought he looked familiar. She leaned forward over her screen to peek at him from afar. He flipped a page, scanned it, then sighed. He closed the book and casually looked in Ino's direction. Her eyes darted back to her screen where she prayed she had not been caught staring.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ino observed his tall frame wander across the room towards her. She felt her heartbeat race with the embarrassing thought of being discovered. She tried to tell herself it was perfectly normal to watch people, so she had done nothing wrong. Before he reached her, she had already convinced herself she was justified in her actions and was ready to retort on any critical comment he may make. Luckily for her, it never came to that.

"Hey," he greeted as he stood on the opposite side of the little table.

Ino soothed her emotions quickly and shoved everything down to appear as nonchalant as possible. "Hi. Can I help you?" She cringed on the inside because she knew her tone was sharper than she had intended. But, remarkably, the blond man gave no visible indication of being bothered by it.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think we're in the same philosophy class together. Is Dr. Nara your professor?"

Ino suddenly felt rather nonsensical because of her earlier assumptions. "Yes, he is. Let me guess: you have a question about the essay?"

He nodded with a sheepish grin. Ino suddenly felt comfortable by seeing that grin. "Yeah, do you think you could help me out? I'm trying to find a good resource to use for research on Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy." He held up the thin book he had been reading from earlier. "But this one doesn't cover what we need."

Ino held out her hand. "Sure. Let me see it." He gave her the book and she quickly scanned the cover. She had a hypothesis concerning his problem from that and after a hasty glimpse at the first few pages, she reached her conclusion. She shut the book and shot him a friendly grin. "This book is mostly about Boethius' translations on Aristotle's works and barely covers The Consolation of Philosophy." She began to type something on her laptop. "If you give me your email address, I can send you a link that covers pretty much everything we need for the essay."

He smiled with relief. "Sure! Thanks!"

Ino's voice sounded airy when it left her lips. "No problem." He gave her his email and she swiftly sent the link to him.

When his phone vibrated to indicate he got the link, he grinned brightly at her. "You really saved my ass! I really appreciate this."

Ino smiled sweetly. "I'm happy to help." She paused as she realized an important pleasantry she missed. "My name's Ino, by the way." She stretched out her hand.

The young man grasped her hand and shook it politely. "I'm Naruto. Pleased to meet you."

Ino straightened in her seat. "You're Japanese?"

"Yeah. You?"

Ino nodded. "My father is. My mother's from Norway, though."

Naruto tilted his head with curiosity. "So you're not a local?"

Ino ran a hand through her long hair. "No. I'm actually from the East Coast, but I have some family in LA."

"And you're a freshman?"

Ino took a scant moment to subtly check the blond's frame. He did not seem to be much older than her, if it all, and his laughing blue eyes divulged a large quantity of vitality in the young man. His physique was tall and wiry, like a limber willow capable of moving with the flow of disaster. When Naruto's eyebrow lifted to signify she was taking a little too long to answer, she spoke in a slightly rushed manner. "Yes! I moved here just over a month ago."

Naruto's eyebrow dropped back to its neutral state. "So you're still pretty new to the area?"

Ino side glanced and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. I got a job at a coffee shop downtown really quickly from the get-go, so I know the basic layout."

The blond man grabbed a chair next to him and sat down. Ino was only slightly surprised he did not ask for permission to do so, but something told her he was not a man that was mindful of such behavior. "That's good," he said. "I've been here my whole life, so if you ever need to know where anything is, let me know and I'll help ya."

Ino smiled at that gesture. Normally, when men said something like that to a new woman, it probably involved attraction or some trace of ulterior motive. But there was a healthy glow in the blond's eyes that conceded a genuine expression of altruism and Ino knew how rare that was. "Thank you. I may take you up on that sometime."

Naruto blinked. He was not expecting such sincere consideration on the matter but was left pleasantly surprised by the young woman's candor. "Cool."

Ino remembered some tips she had once read online about keeping conversations interesting. The fact she was relying on those at this moment made her brain scream at her, but she was rather skilled at silencing her mind when it was being nettlesome. "What's it like living here, Naruto? What kind of memories do you have of this city?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at the question. Ino could almost see the pleasant memories flood there in his orbs before he could even confess them aloud. "Well, it's a great place! I have a lot of memories of the ocean and the people here. There was one time where…"

Ino allowed herself to concentrate on his words and drift away into his happy stories. She discovered he was a fantastic story teller, entertaining her with ludicrous pranks and jokes in his youth. He spoke of fun weekends and sandy nights on the beach; of stories rich with green things and adventurous escapades suffused with wonder and risk. By the time he was finished, Ino felt as if she had experienced all of the wonderful memories herself. Not once during Naruto's talking was she bored or disinterested. To put it simply, she could have listened to him all night long; her imagination forever swimming in the images he illustrated for her.

Ino realized her eyes must have been closed during his spiel because when she opened them, he was silent and staring straight ahead. There was a protracted moment of reticence between the two of them. They both thought of some other matter or thing to discuss, but they were both having difficulty focusing. The moment dragged on with both parties feeling the awkward tension rise steadily. Finally, Naruto grabbed hold of something and questioned himself for many years to come because of the ramifications of what he said. "So why are you all alone out here?"

For one extremely small second, Naruto witnessed something flash across the blonde's pale blue eyes. It was something that revealed an emptiness Naruto could empathize with, and the only reason he could remember such a quick moment from ever happening in the first place was because of that lingering empathy. But the moment passed and Ino's cheery smile replaced any negative connotation. "I just wanted to get this essay done. I don't work very well unless I'm by myself, I guess. Other people distract me easily."

Naruto's brow lowered in slight concern for the earlier flash, but he picked up on the fact that it was probably better not to dwell on it. If he was only a few years younger and back in his bolder days, he would have thrown basic civilities aside and blurted out a strong: 'The hell was that?' but he refrained from doing so. Still, the whole incident made him rather curious. "Yeah, I can relate."

Ino wanted to believe something when she heard that. She wanted to believe he actually could relate with what was reallygoing on and due to some unfathomable reason, she somehow knew he did. She could feel his innate, intentional manner and decided to hope for what must have been impossible. He could not read her mind and she was aware of that. But the way his eyes focused in and his jaw loosened like some withering cloud, gave her some piece of mind.

Ino wondered if she should add something to the conversation but before she could make a decision, Naruto beat her to it. "Do you ever feel alone?"

Ino blinked. No fucking way, she thought. The blond quickly tried to rectify himself after noticing her obvious perplexity. "Sorry, I know that's kind of out of the blue, but I'm just curious."

The young woman had managed to allow the initial shock to pass by enough for her to respond. "Well, yeah. Doesn't everybody?" She knew that was a weak answer, but she certainly was not going to be vulnerable to this man; even though she knew there would be no fault in doing so.

Naruto pursed his lips and glanced up at the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess. But that doesn't mean it should be treated as something small, right? I mean it's a huge deal, right?"

Ino gave him a quizzical expression. "What do you mean?"

Naruto scrunched his features, analyzing the truth of his thoughts. "I'm not talking about that feeling where you wish someone was with you or you are by yourself and want some company because you can feel lonely in a crowd." His eyes softened and the tone in the surrounding air lowered. "No, I'm talking about that feeling where you believe people don't care about you as much as they actually do. It's like when a person cancels an appointment and you think it was because they didn't like you, but it turns out they were just busy with something else. It's like a gnawing feeling in your chest that reminds you of your own self-pity. I think that feeling is true loneliness."

Ino did not think she could be more astounded by this man, but he was quickly exceeding her expectations. The words escaped her lips before she could fully register what she was saying. "Do you have people in your life like that?"

Naruto nodded slowly. "Yes. Everybody does and it's for that reason why it's a big deal. We should all be aware of loneliness and stop ourselves from thinking about it so much. I mean it's just self-deprecating. I don't want to be so angsty and depressed to where I miss anything, you know?"

Ino could not believe this guy. She had never heard of someone being so self-aware and so honest about their findings. The other notion pertaining to the knowledge that they had just met that evening was also rather apparent to the blonde. It was so bizarre and against normal standards that she found herself drawn to it. She wanted to find some answers to these questions that kept popping up in her head. "Then do you think it's wrong to have those emotions, Naruto?"

The young man thought about that for a moment. "No, I wouldn't say that. It's fine to feel like that, but when your emotions begin to control you and prevent you from reaching your true potential, I would call that a waste."

Ino nodded and leaned back in her chair. "I think I agree."

Naruto beamed at her and she started to question if the room had actually brightened from the gesture. The blond man sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Good. Sorry, I just laid all that on you like that. I sometimes do that to people. I hope you don't hold it against me."

Ino smiled tenderly at him and shook her head. "No, I would never. Thanks. I think I needed to hear all that."

Naruto laughed with relief and slapped his palms onto his thighs. "Awesome! I'm glad I could help then. Consider it a thanks for the link you sent me."

"OK, I will," Ino added with light inflection.

Naruto stood up then and stretched out his arms above his head. "All right. I should probably go start writing now that I have some resources. It was nice talking to you. Hopefully, I'll see you around."

Ino showed her teeth in the next smile she gifted to him. "Hopefully."

"Bye, Ino," he said as he shuffled away from the table.

"Bye." She watched him exit the large room and she realized something. There was a smooth matter placed in the emptiness that was now no longer empty. She knew it was a temporary feeling, but that did not stop her from relishing its existence. Maybe her current sensation of being filled was made sweeter because of her earlier hollowness, but it was probably better for her to not worry about such things.


Now that I've finished my other story, I can now focus completely on this piece. I love being able to express myself like this, and I would love to hear what all of you guys have to say about it. So please, tell me your thoughts. It helps me a lot to know how I'm doing and I think there is a lot of mutual benefit behind reviewing stories. Thank you all for reading. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

-CM