Grin and Bear It
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Chapter 3
Pen poised readily over her notebook, Ino quickly scanned the lines of a particularly thick book, looking for the things on the list sitting on the coffee table in front of her. Thanks to the Godaime giving Naruto a cheat sheet containing most of the things that would be on the test, her study time had literally been cut in half. Her eyes quickly shot from her book to the blond studying on the other end of the couch.
The night before, she and Naruto had had a surprisingly long conversation about, well, everything. People they knew, missions they'd been on, dreams, nightmares––everything. The two of them had talked well into the early hours of the morning, and the only reason it ended when it did was because Naruto's words had begun to slur and run together. Apparently three in the morning was his cutoff point, and it was amusing to watch his chin fall into his chest every few seconds as he tried to stay awake.
There had been almost no awkward silences. When one of them stopped talking, the other would jump in immediately with an opinion or story of their own, keeping things going at a frantic, feverish pace.
She idly rubbed at her jaw, a bit surprised that it was actually sore from talking so much. She could gab with the best of them, and this was the first time she could remember this ever happening. Her eyes wandered to the clock on the wall, and eyes widening, she realized that it was two forty-five.
"Oh, shit!" she yelled, hopping to her feet.
Concerned, Naruto snapped his head up to stare at her. "What?!"
"I'm supposed to meet Sakura at three. She said it was important."
Naruto frowned and threw his book on the coffee table, visibly pouting at the fact that she was leaving.
Noticing this, the kunoichi raised her eyebrows. "You can keep studying." Ino said, tidying up her area.
"It's no fun studying by myself," he grumbled, poking out his lower lip.
"I won't be back for a few hours. What're you going to do with yourself until then?"
He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on the couch, eliciting an exasperated sigh from his temporary roommate.
"Oh, quit moping. I'll be back in time to make you dinner. Okay?"
When Naruto didn't respond, she rolled her eyes and walked into her room to change. Just when she was starting to see him a new light he reverted back into the same, immature Naruto she'd always known. After cleaning up and getting dressed, Ino hurried to the door and opened it, glancing over her shoulder to look at him.
"Later," she said, waving her hand in his direction.
Predictably, Naruto didn't say anything, preferring to simply stare blankly at the wall. Rolling her eyes one last time, Ino walked through the door and closed it behind her, leaving him to stew in his own irrational anger.
"Sai asked me to be his girlfriend."
Ino choked on her tea, nearly spurting the warm liquid all over the table. She and Sakura were currently sitting near the window in the same new cafe they'd been in earlier that week, enjoying a cup of black tea and a plate of cookies. Or, at least they had been enjoying them until the Hokage's apprentice dropped the bombshell of all bombshells. "W-what?! That Sai wants you to be his girlfriend?! What did you say?!"
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we had fun on the date, so...I agreed."
The blond stared at her friend in complete and utter shock. "But...he's Sai. The one who called you an ugly bitch. Remember that?"
"Oh, come on, Ino. That was like two years ago. He wasn't used to human contact back then."
"Maybe so, but..."
Sensing that there was a bigger reason behind Ino's reluctance to accept their relationship, Sakura went on the offensive. "Why are you so against this, anyway? Are you sure you don't still have feelings for him?"
Shocked by the accusation, Ino quickly opened her mouth to defend herself. "It's not me, but Naru––" Shit. She'd almost given up Naruto's secret. Not that it was much of a secret to everyone else but Sakura, apparently.
"What?" her friend pressed, leaning forward as if she smelled blood.
"I just think that you need to put a little more thought into this. Sai is not good for you. I don't know why he's taken such a sudden interest in you, but you will regret this decision."
Sakura leaned back and frowned, crossing her arms indignantly. "Just drop it. I thought you'd be a little happier for me, but I guess I was wrong."
Ino sighed and tiredly placed her palm against her forehead. "Sakura..." She honestly couldn't understand her friend's thought process. There was no possible way that she didn't know about Naruto's crush on her, and for her to completely ignore his feelings was just, well, low. Especially given their history together. Still, it wasn't her problem, and there was no sense getting Sakura upset when it didn't even concern herself. "Whatever, you're right. Let's just drop it."
From there the conversation fell into the usual gossip about who was screwing who, but all Ino could think about was the boy sitting at home alone, oblivious to the news she would impart on him later that evening.
Slowly opening the door, Ino hoped against hope that Naruto had somehow gotten tired and decided to go to bed a few hours early. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't.
"You're back! What did Sakura want? How did her date with Sai go? Did you ask?" Naruto asked, hopping around her like a puppy greeting its master.
Ino winced. Watching him wag his tail made her even more reluctant to tell him, and knowing his personality, she smiled and headed for the kitchen first. She figured the news would be easier to swallow on a full stomach. "I'll tell you about it after dinner."
Frowning, Naruto followed. "Why can't you tell me now?" Ino didn't answer, so he sped up until he was walking side by side with her. "Ne, Ino, what did she say?" Again she ignored him, and again he sped up until he was standing directly in front of her, backtracking as they walked into the kitchen. "Ino, why are you––"
Annoyed, Ino turned her head to glare at him. "Fine. You really want to know? Sakura and Sai are going out."
For a few seconds, Naruto didn't move. His face was oddly devoid of any emotion, scaring her a little. Normally, this was the point where a person snapped. She'd seen it happen at least half a dozen times on missions, and while she was almost certain that he wouldn't do anything stupid, one could never be sure when it came to a shinobi.
Swallowing roughly, she pasted on a grin. "So, what do you want for dinner? You can name anything you want, but I can't guarantee it's taste if it's something I've never made before."
His face finally changing, the young man frowned and turned his head away. "No thanks. I'm not that hungry."
Ino sighed loudly. "Come on, Naruto, it's not the end of the world," she said, reaching her hand out in an attempt to comfort him.
He backed away from her and glared down at his feet. "Forget it, I don't care anymore."
"Naruto––"
"I said forget it!"
A tense silence followed his outburst, both of them equally shocked by his tone. Gritting his teeth, Naruto stalked off towards his room, slamming the door behind him.
Ino frowned. She'd tried to be nice. She'd tried to hold back her temper. However, his passive aggressive bullshit attitude was really starting to piss her off. Being yelled at and disrespected were two of the few things that she didn't tolerate, and the only reason he was still breathing was because she knew exactly what he was feeling at the moment.
It annoyed her, but in a sick, twisted sort of way, she was happy to see that he could feel something over than happiness. Naruto had always come off as an incorrigably chipper guy; a person who didn't have any worries and wasted time chasing after impossible dreams. He actually seemed like a human now.
Unable to believe what she was about to do, she walked into the kitchen and began to look through the cupboards for some flour. Since she liked to eat her favorite foods whenever she was feeling down (Ice cream, fried beef, cake, deep fried pickles), she figured Naruto would be the same. She'd never tried making ramen from scratch before, but hopefully, the gesture alone would be enough to cheer him up. At the very least, she could try to take advantage of his current mental state to suit her own selfish needs.
She spent the next hour measuring, cutting, chopping, and cooking the dish, actually putting some effort into making him some ramen. When she finished, she smiled and placed the steaming bowl on a tray before walking towards Naruto's bedroom. Rather than knock first, she simply twisted the doorknob, unsurprised to find it unlocked. The effect of slamming a door was significantly lessened if a person paused long enough to lock it behind them, after all.
Ino used her shoulder to push the door open all the way, flooding the dark room with light. Giving her eyes a few seconds to adjust, she was eventually able to pick out Naruto's shadowed form on the bed. She sat down next to his head and put the tray down beside her.
"Eat something. I made you ramen," she said, hoping the mention of his favorite food would be enough to get his attention.
The young man murmured something that sounded suspiciously like 'Get out' and rolled over, turning his body away from her.
Unperturbed, Ino grabbed his shoulders and rolled him back over until he was facing her again. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me." Their eyes met in a fierce staring battle, both too stubborn to be the first one to back down. Realizing that the kunoichi wasn't going to leave until he spoke, Naruto sighed and averted his gaze.
"Why Sai?" he mumbled after a few seconds, deciding to get what was bothering him off of his chest.
Pleased by her small victory, she decided to share a little bit of her knowledge with him. "I'm going to tell you something that very few guys know, and even fewer women are willing to admit. Women are illogical."
Naruto almost laughed. It was the exact same thing Jiraiya had been telling him for years. "No shit."
Annoyed by his interruption, she shot him a scowl. "Just listen to me for a second. Sometimes, even we don't understand the things we do or why we feel the way we feel. But isn't that true for men, too? Why do you like Sakura? Why don't you like Hinata instead? Or Tenten? Or even me? What's so special about her?"
When he turned his head away to stare up at the ceiling, she knew she was getting through to him. Before he could come up with something else to say, she quickly continued.
"There's nothing you can do to make her look your way. All you can do is become the best man that you can be, and do it for yourself. If it's meant to be, she'll turn around and see you. If it's not, she won't. That's how life is. And remember, I used to chase after Sasuke, so I know what I'm talking about."
She let her words soak in for a few seconds, carefully watching his face for any sign of change. This was the turning point. Either he would listen to her and cheer the fuck up, or he would completely disregard her argument and continue to mope.
"I'm hungry."
Happy that she'd gotten through to him, Ino smiled and placed the tray on his lap as he sat up, removing the lid of the bowl for him so that he could eat. She watched him slurp down a few mouthfuls of noodles, eagerly studying him for his reaction. Sure, she could make katsudon or grilled fish and he'd like it since he'd probably never eaten that much of it, but this was ramen. If there was one thing Naruto knew about, it was ramen.
"It's pretty good. Not as good as Ichiraku's, but pretty good."
Relief flooded through her. In truth, it had only been her second time making ramen, and the first time, her mother had been there to make sure she didn't mess anything up. Still, she couldn't let him know that. "Of course it is! You think you'd learn by now that there's nothing I'm not good at."
Naruto lifted his head and shot her a wide smile. "Thanks, Ino."
Staring into his happy, cerulean blue eyes, Ino felt her chest tighten. The feeling wasn't new to her, but for her to feel it while looking at Naruto didn't make any sense. She shook her head and pushed it to the back of her mind.
"So, I guess this would be a bad time to ask if I can stay another week?"
Despite all she'd said a few days ago, Naruto was still moping around the house. It wasn't blatant, but he still refused to go outside unless absolutely necessary, preferring to stay inside and study. Not that she minded. In fact, she liked having him around as a study buddy, if only because watching him concentrate helped to keep herself focused. The only complaint she had was the fact that he insisted on sighing every few minutes.
Unable to take it any longer, she slammed her book shut and looked up at him. "Naruto, if you're still upset about Sakura and Sai––"
Before she could finish, Naruto hopped to his feet and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. "I'm hungry. You want some ramen?"
Ino rolled her eyes. He wasn't even trying to be subtle about the fact that he didn't want to talk about it. "Yeah, I'll take a cup. Shrimp if you have it."
"The test is in five days. You feel ready?" Naruto asked, grabbing a couple of ramen cups from the cupboard and putting the kettle on the stove.
The kunoichi nodded her head, a small grin appearing on her face. "Thanks to the study guide from the Godaime, I might even be able to get a hundred on it. Do you think I'll get in trouble if she finds out? I mean, I kind of have an unfair advantage over everyone else taking this test. It's only alright for you since you're not actually trying to join the department."
"Nah, Baa-chan knows you're capable of passing on your own. Besides, it's not like we had the answer key or anything. We still had to study our asses off to be ready for this test. I mean, most people have probably been preparing for months to take this thing."
"I guess you're right," she murmured, feeling a little bit better about it. He seemed to have that effect on people.
"Have you spoken to your parents?"
"Trying to get rid of me?" she asked, smirking in his direction. Shortly afterwards, Ino's face soured. "I talked to my mom a couple of days ago. Apparently, she's been looking everywhere for me, and she demanded to know where I was staying."
"You didn't tell her, did you?" Naruto asked, face taking on a nervous frown.
"Of course not! What would I say? 'Oh, don't worry mom, I'm living with this young, cute guy you know almost nothing about.'"
"Cute?" Naruto asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Ino tilted her head and looked him over. "Well, you're sort of cute in your own way, but I'm just exaggerating to illustrate my point. It wouldn't go over too well if I told her truth."
The whistling from the teapot interrupted their conversation, and Naruto quickly turned away to remove it from the stove. He poured the water into the two styrofoam cups and set them on the counter between them, glancing at the clock on the wall so that he'd know exactly when the three minutes it took to cook ramen were up. Looking back at Ino, he continued their conversation. "If your dad really wanted to find you, he could."
The Yamanaka rolled her eyes. "I'm aware of that."
"Why hasn't he come looking for you yet? It's been almost a week since you've been staying here."
She shrugged her shoulders. "That's how he is. Even if he's worried sick, he's way too stubborn to give in and come looking for me. Which works out in both of our favors, because he'd probably hop into your mind and make you jump off of the Hokage Monument if he found out we were living together."
Naruto noticeably blanched. "Why am I putting you up again?"
"Because you like to watch me prance around your house in short shorts and a tanktop?" Ino teased.
"Wait, you knew?"
Ino paused, unsure of whether or not he was joking. His face looked completely serious, further piquing her curiosity. Unable to take it anymore, she ignored her common sense and asked. "Really?"
An awkward silence settled over the both of them. Had she simply laughed his question off, things would've continued as usual. They'd both have continued on joking and eating, neither one of them dwelling on his words.
As it was, Naruto's face took on a surprised look, and his mouth opened and closed a few times as he fought to think up something to say. There was no real way to answer her question.
While he didn't actively stare at her, he could admit that his eyes had run over her legs, chest, and butt a few times. After all, he was a man; his heart may not have been particularly interested in Ino, but his body was. Still, he couldn't tell her that. Grabbing and swallowing his ramen in a few long gulps, he tossed the empty cup into the trash can and walked off towards his room as casually as he could manage.
"I'm gonna go take a nap."
Ino watched him leave with a frown. What was that? Had he really been checking her out without her noticing? She'd never caught him staring, but then again, she hadn't been trying to catch him. If that made sense.
The worst part was that she really had no choice but to keep wearing the shorts. She'd only brought one pair of sweatpants with her, and she couldn't exactly wear those every single day. Besides the fact that Naruto would undoubtedly notice, it was also just plain gross. She could go home to grab more clothing, but she wasn't that confident in her ability to sneak into her room unnoticed by her mother and father.
Ino sighed and took a bite from her ramen, leaning back against the couch. What was the big deal? She was used to guys checking her out. Hell, she liked it when they checked her out, and found it strange if their eyes didn't linger on her legs or ass for that extra second or two. Besides giving her a small confidence boost, it also assured her that she was still the hottest shit in the village.
Shaking her head, she attempted to smile. She was being stupid. This was Naruto. Knowing him, this whole thing was a big, elaborate joke just to make her uncomfortable. Pranks were what he was known for, after all. Besides, he only had eyes for Sakura if his behavior every time she was brought up was any indication. This would all blow over within a couple of hours tops.
"Dinner's ready," she called, trying to put all of the afternoon's awkwardness behind her.
Remembering that he was supposed to be taking a nap, she hung her apron over the handle of the oven and walked over to his room door, knocking on the thin piece of wood with the back of her knuckles. "Naruto, dinner's on."
She heard a slight shuffling behind the door before it opened to reveal a groggy and slightly red eyed Naruto. With him standing so closely in front of her, she for the first time realized how much bigger he was than her. She actually had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes.
"Thanks," he yawned, running his hand through his sleep ruffled locks.
Ino stared at him for a few seconds before abruptly turning around and heading towards the table. It was no use. The awkwardness was still there and seemed to be growing with each passing second. Although she'd tried to forget about it, she still couldn't help but wonder if he was staring at her ass as she walked in front of him.
She seated herself at the table and grabbed her chopsticks, waiting for Naruto to sit down before she put her hands together and bowed her head. "Itadakimasu."
Naruto tiredly mimicked her actions, exaggeratedly bowing his head until his forehead almost touched the table.
They both began to eat at the same time, quietly chewing their meal. She'd been too tired to make anything complicated, so she'd thrown together a simple stew made of leftovers and rice. After a few awkward minutes, Ino glanced up from her food to look at him. "Hey, about this afternoon..."
As if he'd suddenly been given a shot of caffeine, Naruto straightened his back and grinned excitedly at her. "This is awesome! What's it called?"
"Naruto. I am not Sakura. You can't dangle a compliment over my head and expect me to lose my train of thought."
The slight widening of his eyes amused her. Apparently, he hadn't expected her to call him on his bullshit. Leveling her gaze on him, she put down her chopsticks to show him that she wanted his full attention. "About this afternoon."
Continuing to eat, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It was a joke. I didn't think you'd take it seriously."
A relieved sigh slipped past her lips. Either he was better at lying than she thought, or he was telling the truth. Since she really didn't want to picture him staring at her ass, she decided to believe him. "That's all I wanted to know. It's just that, it'd be awkward if you actually did have the hots for me since we're living together and all."
Naruto frowned, obviously displeased with something she'd said. "I can admit that you're pretty, but that doesn't mean I'm attracted to you or anything. Not every guy drools after the first pair of legs that walks by."
A bit taken aback by his sudden scathing remark, Ino's eyes hardened in anger. "Are you saying that's all I am?"
"Take it how you want."
Normally, his words and attitude wouldn't have affected her. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to pass her off as a mindless slut due to the clothing she wore, and while she wasn't happy about it, she was certain that it wouldn't be the last. However, coming from Naruto, the words seemed to rip a gaping hole in her chest––probably because he was supposed to be her friend.
She usually had impeccable self control over her emotions, but it was all she could do to keep her eyes from moistening and her lips from trembling. So, glaring him straight in the eyes, she uttered one simple phrase:
"Fuck you." Ino abruptly stood from the table and turned around, heading towards her bedroom before she fully lost her composure.
She didn't get it. Just when they were getting along. Just when they'd found some common ground. It was always one step forward and two steps back with him.
Of course, he wasn't the only one to blame. The two of them both had aggressive, belligerent attitudes, and it was inevitable that they'd clash viciously and frequently. However, she never in her wildest dreams imagined that they'd fight over something so...pointless.
"Thanks for the food," Naruto mumbled to her closed door, standing to put both of their dishes in the sink.
Although she heard him through the door, Ino refused to reply. As soon as she passed the test she was out of there, and there was nothing anyone could do nor say to make her stay with that pompous asshole.
Ignoring the hollow ache in her heart, Ino burrowed herself into her sleeping bag, hoping her dreams at least would keep her from thinking of Naruto.
AN: Geez! Time sure flies! I originally wanted to update every two weeks, but it seems like that's going to be a lot more difficult than I'd previously thought.