Title: Fighting All Odds.
By: Kaara
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.
Summary: Naruto and Ino made friends, with the Chuunin exam coming. Training together, constant disagreements and more yelling were just several things that they had to endure about each other. Can this odd alliance last a day?
-!-
Chapter Three: Arguments Galore.
"Well, where are we going?"
Naruto sighed wearily at the question. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde kunoichi who was staring expectantly at him. "Ichiraku Ramen. I'm starving."
Ino mouth shot wide open at once. "But ramen makes you fat, all that carbohydrate and stuff! I read about it, you know!"
Her voice sounded thoroughly agitated as she stopped walking and glared accusingly at Naruto, as if he had just asked her to do the most horrible thing he could think of. But at that time, the blonde genin could really think of nothing but a steaming bowl or two of delicious, delicious ramen. Ino kept on ranting about several other health and beauty articles she had come across in her endless plight to impress Sasuke with her beauty, all the while obviously unaware that Naruto had stopped listening.
"If you don't want to go, don't then," the said ramen stand came into view and a wide grin crept its way onto Naruto's face, effectively clearing the cloud of fatigue that loomed heavily above him just a few seconds ago. "I just fought a giant snake and a terrifying Pretty Boy's fangirl. I need proper refreshment."
"Who're you calling 'terrifying', spike-head?!"
Naruto just rolled his eyes in response, parting the Ichiraku's curtain with his usual air of hunger. He paused and turned to face Ino. "It's up to you whether you want to go in or not. But you really should try eating ramen first before complaining. After all, we'll need loads of energy for practice."
"There's always vegetables and something else," the kunoichi hotly retorted, showing no sign of budging from the spot where she stood glaring at Naruto.
While the genin had disappeared into the stand, Ino could make out a reply that sounded suspiciously like, "Rabbit food." The blonde kunoichi narrowed her eyes but said nothing more; torn between leaving and staying. After a couple of minutes of hard thinking, Ino opted for the second choice. She followed Naruto into the stand, huffing and complaining loudly all her way in. Sitting next to the blonde boy, Ino eyed the huge bowl of ramen that Naruto was currently ogling at with an awful mixture of disgust and curiosity.
She had never really tasted ramen before.
And the smell was... very enticing.
The owner of Ichiraku greeted her with a warm welcome, face foggy from all the steam that was coming from a huge container. "And what will you have, young miss?"
Naruto grinned at her through a mouth full of ramen.
The owner was smiling at her, patiently waiting for an order.
Yamanaka Ino swallowed her pride and with that, her prejudice towards certain foods.
"I'll have a bowl of ramen, please."
Slurping down the broth and the last of his ramen, Naruto wiped his mouth and grinned cheekily at the kunoichi. "I thought carbo-something makes you fat."
"Oh, shut up," pink patches coloured Ino's cheek as she defiantly stared at the steaming bowl that the man had just placed on the counter in front of her. Hesitating, she stared at Naruto, who had already started on his second bowl. Picking up her chopsticks, the kunoichi muttered, "Here goes nothing."
Needless to say, Ino was reminded of the beauty of eating proper food by a simple bowl of ramen.
And the vegetables and her other diet resolutions that she had religiously devoted herself to for the past years bade their sweet, tear-filled goodbye to the blonde kunoichi.
-!-
Heading towards the bridge where Team Seven usually had had their meetings, Ino couldn't help but to frown darkly at the genin besides her. "You can stop looking so pleased at yourself, Naruto. You're starting to really irritate me."
"Can't help it," the blonde boy chuckled mischievously, sky blue eyes glinting. "You chowed down three bowls of ramen. Man, that's one big of an appetite for someone like you."
"For your information, I've been on a vegetarian diet for a year," the kunoichi gruffly snapped. "And believe me, Brussels sprout is one heck of a nasty veggie."
Naruto raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Trying to impress Mr. Stuck Up, huh?"
"His name is Uchiha Sasuke and he is NOT a stuck up," Ino huffed in annoyance but her eyes glazed over in an instance. "He's the coolest, cutest, most adorable-"
"Cut it out already. I don't need a long list on that," they had arrived on the bridge and the blonde genin leaned on its railing, looking extremely disgusted at the kunoichi. "You girls are making me sick. Sasuke this, Sasuke that. Gimme a break."
Ino was about to retort and defend her precious Sasuke-kun but did otherwise as she was smart enough not to piss Naruto further, noticing an unfamiliar glint of anger that danced in his sapphire orbs and that the genin was the one that would help her to improve herself. So, the kunoichi just gave her head a magnanimous toss and placed her hands on the railing, looking forward into the distance horizon, where the golden sun was setting. They enjoyed the comfortable silence for quite a while until Naruto remembered something.
"Ino, didn't you guys have a mission or something?" he asked, looking sceptically at the blonde kunoichi. "If you were there when Shikamaru talked to me, then you must've known about it."
The kunoichi gave out a long, suffering sigh. "Yeah, I knew bout it already. But it's so boring and Asuma-sensei keeps on nagging us about teamwork. Don't you even get me started about his lecture on shinobi etiquettes."
"Mine's just as bad," Naruto frowned when an image of a certain always- late, perverted, silver-haired jounin suddenly popped into his head. "Kakashi-sensei is kinda okay, if you minus his obsession over that Icha Icha Paradise books and that he's always late for our team meetings."
Both chuckled at the same time. Their almost similar blue eyes met and both ducked their heads down hurriedly, turning red without any apparent reason. Ino coughed deliberately, dusted her shirt and mumbled something about it was getting late and going home before being scolded. Naruto nodded absently, his eyes trained at the slow flow of the river beneath them. The blonde kunoichi opened her mouth, closed it again and opened it again before deciding against whatever she was about to say and settled on punching Naruto's shoulder playfully.
"I'm going home," she stated, which was quite the obvious.
Naruto waved a hand, grinning at the kunoichi. "I have a team meeting tomorrow so maybe we can practice later. Okay?"
"Yeah, I guess," Ino yawned and turned to leave. But that was after she smiled her own version of grateful smile towards the blonde genin. "Thank you."
Waiting until Ino's lithe form disappeared amongst the row of houses and apartments, Naruto looked up at the early stars that had already dotted the night sky. A grin found its way onto the genin's face as he leaned fully against the cold metal of the railing. Sakura rejection didn't feel so awful after all and Sasuke's superior behaviour didn't even bother him at that moment. He had found another person that he could channel his efforts to and perhaps; they could both be stronger together. And then, he could have his sweet, sweet revenge.
How very convenient.
TBC
A/N:
-cry continuously- Aah!! Gomenasai for the short chapter. I hadn't had much time to write nowadays and my Neko seems to be deserting me of fresh ideas. Blame her, not me!
Here's a question and I really hope you can answer it as it is crucial for the plot (when I managed to figure out one, that is);
Should Ino learn Kage Bunshin?
Because you know, she'll be very curious and as curiosity often leads to learning new techniques, I suddenly have a vision of a hundred 'Ino's assaulting Sasuke. -snickers evilly- That'll be pretty interesting indeed. But another part of me insisted that Kage Bunshin is only for Naruto, so what d'ya think? Should I or shouldn't I?
Thanks a bunch to the reviewers. You guys are great people. If I can cook, I'm going to make ya all a big bunch of cookies but alas, I do not wish to poison such wonderful, wonderful people. Then, I won't have any review! -blinked innocently- And I love them, ya know! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! -breathes deeply- ONEGAI!
I'll be thanking these brilliant people for their reviews;
Ice Dragon XXI : Thanks for your encouragement! -offers cookies- Make sure you have antidote to every poison that ever existed before you eat these cookies.
Xoni Newcomer : Yeah, Ino certainly look kinda depressed but that's not her fault. Imagine if you're in the same team as Shika and Chouji... -imagines herself fondling... uh, talking to Shika- I wanna be in that team!
S-Wanderer999 : Ah! You have so many too write! -starry eyes- Hm, I'll just assume that everyone in Konoha already know that Naruto's carrying Kyuubi in his belly button (I love the way you put it!), that's why he sounded more miserable and vengeful than in the real anime or manga, ne? Naruto and Hinata? That's pretty common but Ino and Gaara?! Kyaa!! That's absolutely adorable! Now I just have to figure out how Gaara's going to fall for Ino...- rubs her hands in evil fangirl glee-
Ah yes, it's time to say another goodbye. And I hope I'll be seeing you again in the next chapter. And the same ol' routine; Read, enjoy and review, minna!
Kaara
By: Kaara
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't think I'll ever own them.
Summary: Naruto and Ino made friends, with the Chuunin exam coming. Training together, constant disagreements and more yelling were just several things that they had to endure about each other. Can this odd alliance last a day?
-!-
Chapter Three: Arguments Galore.
"Well, where are we going?"
Naruto sighed wearily at the question. He narrowed his eyes at the blonde kunoichi who was staring expectantly at him. "Ichiraku Ramen. I'm starving."
Ino mouth shot wide open at once. "But ramen makes you fat, all that carbohydrate and stuff! I read about it, you know!"
Her voice sounded thoroughly agitated as she stopped walking and glared accusingly at Naruto, as if he had just asked her to do the most horrible thing he could think of. But at that time, the blonde genin could really think of nothing but a steaming bowl or two of delicious, delicious ramen. Ino kept on ranting about several other health and beauty articles she had come across in her endless plight to impress Sasuke with her beauty, all the while obviously unaware that Naruto had stopped listening.
"If you don't want to go, don't then," the said ramen stand came into view and a wide grin crept its way onto Naruto's face, effectively clearing the cloud of fatigue that loomed heavily above him just a few seconds ago. "I just fought a giant snake and a terrifying Pretty Boy's fangirl. I need proper refreshment."
"Who're you calling 'terrifying', spike-head?!"
Naruto just rolled his eyes in response, parting the Ichiraku's curtain with his usual air of hunger. He paused and turned to face Ino. "It's up to you whether you want to go in or not. But you really should try eating ramen first before complaining. After all, we'll need loads of energy for practice."
"There's always vegetables and something else," the kunoichi hotly retorted, showing no sign of budging from the spot where she stood glaring at Naruto.
While the genin had disappeared into the stand, Ino could make out a reply that sounded suspiciously like, "Rabbit food." The blonde kunoichi narrowed her eyes but said nothing more; torn between leaving and staying. After a couple of minutes of hard thinking, Ino opted for the second choice. She followed Naruto into the stand, huffing and complaining loudly all her way in. Sitting next to the blonde boy, Ino eyed the huge bowl of ramen that Naruto was currently ogling at with an awful mixture of disgust and curiosity.
She had never really tasted ramen before.
And the smell was... very enticing.
The owner of Ichiraku greeted her with a warm welcome, face foggy from all the steam that was coming from a huge container. "And what will you have, young miss?"
Naruto grinned at her through a mouth full of ramen.
The owner was smiling at her, patiently waiting for an order.
Yamanaka Ino swallowed her pride and with that, her prejudice towards certain foods.
"I'll have a bowl of ramen, please."
Slurping down the broth and the last of his ramen, Naruto wiped his mouth and grinned cheekily at the kunoichi. "I thought carbo-something makes you fat."
"Oh, shut up," pink patches coloured Ino's cheek as she defiantly stared at the steaming bowl that the man had just placed on the counter in front of her. Hesitating, she stared at Naruto, who had already started on his second bowl. Picking up her chopsticks, the kunoichi muttered, "Here goes nothing."
Needless to say, Ino was reminded of the beauty of eating proper food by a simple bowl of ramen.
And the vegetables and her other diet resolutions that she had religiously devoted herself to for the past years bade their sweet, tear-filled goodbye to the blonde kunoichi.
-!-
Heading towards the bridge where Team Seven usually had had their meetings, Ino couldn't help but to frown darkly at the genin besides her. "You can stop looking so pleased at yourself, Naruto. You're starting to really irritate me."
"Can't help it," the blonde boy chuckled mischievously, sky blue eyes glinting. "You chowed down three bowls of ramen. Man, that's one big of an appetite for someone like you."
"For your information, I've been on a vegetarian diet for a year," the kunoichi gruffly snapped. "And believe me, Brussels sprout is one heck of a nasty veggie."
Naruto raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Trying to impress Mr. Stuck Up, huh?"
"His name is Uchiha Sasuke and he is NOT a stuck up," Ino huffed in annoyance but her eyes glazed over in an instance. "He's the coolest, cutest, most adorable-"
"Cut it out already. I don't need a long list on that," they had arrived on the bridge and the blonde genin leaned on its railing, looking extremely disgusted at the kunoichi. "You girls are making me sick. Sasuke this, Sasuke that. Gimme a break."
Ino was about to retort and defend her precious Sasuke-kun but did otherwise as she was smart enough not to piss Naruto further, noticing an unfamiliar glint of anger that danced in his sapphire orbs and that the genin was the one that would help her to improve herself. So, the kunoichi just gave her head a magnanimous toss and placed her hands on the railing, looking forward into the distance horizon, where the golden sun was setting. They enjoyed the comfortable silence for quite a while until Naruto remembered something.
"Ino, didn't you guys have a mission or something?" he asked, looking sceptically at the blonde kunoichi. "If you were there when Shikamaru talked to me, then you must've known about it."
The kunoichi gave out a long, suffering sigh. "Yeah, I knew bout it already. But it's so boring and Asuma-sensei keeps on nagging us about teamwork. Don't you even get me started about his lecture on shinobi etiquettes."
"Mine's just as bad," Naruto frowned when an image of a certain always- late, perverted, silver-haired jounin suddenly popped into his head. "Kakashi-sensei is kinda okay, if you minus his obsession over that Icha Icha Paradise books and that he's always late for our team meetings."
Both chuckled at the same time. Their almost similar blue eyes met and both ducked their heads down hurriedly, turning red without any apparent reason. Ino coughed deliberately, dusted her shirt and mumbled something about it was getting late and going home before being scolded. Naruto nodded absently, his eyes trained at the slow flow of the river beneath them. The blonde kunoichi opened her mouth, closed it again and opened it again before deciding against whatever she was about to say and settled on punching Naruto's shoulder playfully.
"I'm going home," she stated, which was quite the obvious.
Naruto waved a hand, grinning at the kunoichi. "I have a team meeting tomorrow so maybe we can practice later. Okay?"
"Yeah, I guess," Ino yawned and turned to leave. But that was after she smiled her own version of grateful smile towards the blonde genin. "Thank you."
Waiting until Ino's lithe form disappeared amongst the row of houses and apartments, Naruto looked up at the early stars that had already dotted the night sky. A grin found its way onto the genin's face as he leaned fully against the cold metal of the railing. Sakura rejection didn't feel so awful after all and Sasuke's superior behaviour didn't even bother him at that moment. He had found another person that he could channel his efforts to and perhaps; they could both be stronger together. And then, he could have his sweet, sweet revenge.
How very convenient.
TBC
A/N:
-cry continuously- Aah!! Gomenasai for the short chapter. I hadn't had much time to write nowadays and my Neko seems to be deserting me of fresh ideas. Blame her, not me!
Here's a question and I really hope you can answer it as it is crucial for the plot (when I managed to figure out one, that is);
Should Ino learn Kage Bunshin?
Because you know, she'll be very curious and as curiosity often leads to learning new techniques, I suddenly have a vision of a hundred 'Ino's assaulting Sasuke. -snickers evilly- That'll be pretty interesting indeed. But another part of me insisted that Kage Bunshin is only for Naruto, so what d'ya think? Should I or shouldn't I?
Thanks a bunch to the reviewers. You guys are great people. If I can cook, I'm going to make ya all a big bunch of cookies but alas, I do not wish to poison such wonderful, wonderful people. Then, I won't have any review! -blinked innocently- And I love them, ya know! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! -breathes deeply- ONEGAI!
I'll be thanking these brilliant people for their reviews;
Ice Dragon XXI : Thanks for your encouragement! -offers cookies- Make sure you have antidote to every poison that ever existed before you eat these cookies.
Xoni Newcomer : Yeah, Ino certainly look kinda depressed but that's not her fault. Imagine if you're in the same team as Shika and Chouji... -imagines herself fondling... uh, talking to Shika- I wanna be in that team!
S-Wanderer999 : Ah! You have so many too write! -starry eyes- Hm, I'll just assume that everyone in Konoha already know that Naruto's carrying Kyuubi in his belly button (I love the way you put it!), that's why he sounded more miserable and vengeful than in the real anime or manga, ne? Naruto and Hinata? That's pretty common but Ino and Gaara?! Kyaa!! That's absolutely adorable! Now I just have to figure out how Gaara's going to fall for Ino...- rubs her hands in evil fangirl glee-
Ah yes, it's time to say another goodbye. And I hope I'll be seeing you again in the next chapter. And the same ol' routine; Read, enjoy and review, minna!
Kaara