Hey guys, another chapter is up and kicking. I wanna thank you all for reviewing and basically following this story. It means a lot to me :)) I'm also planning another story but that one will be much bigger in length and more action packed and won't come out for at least a week or two. That's it from the author, enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: Naruto is still eluding my possession.
It was 5 am in the morning. Normally people wouldn't even dream of thinking of getting up at that time. Sadly one particular ninja didn't have a choice in the matter. The reason, one alarm clock from the deepest pits of hell was ringing out of control.
"WHAT THE HELL" shouted Naruto, the alarm scared the BEJESUS( something I heard in Top Gear) out of him.
" Who the hell set up my alarm to beep at 5 AM in the morning. I'm going to kill that idiot. Whoever he is, he's a walking dead man." Yelled in irritation Naruto, who was in the process of picking himself up from the floor of his apartment.
He walked towards his nightstand where the clock was, while rubbing his temples trying to clear all the morning fogginess. He saw a note behind it.
" Dear gaki, this is payback for before. Love Bachan." Said the note.
" Damn, I just got pranked by a 50 year old woman. I'm losing my touch. You may have won this battle Bachan, but the war will be won by me, dattebayo." Vowed Naruto.
He proceeded to Rasengan the clock repeatedly so that this never happens again.
He sighed. "There's no way I'll be able to go back to sleep now. I might as well make the most of it. Ramen time." Mused Naruto who pumped his fist in the air at his end remark but immediately regretted doing that, because the fogginess returned full force.
"But first, a long and relaxing shower." With that he strolled towards his bathroom to take a well deserved shower. After 20 minutes or so he came out of the steamy shower and changed into his ninja clothes. With that he left towards his destination.
"Ichiraku, here I come". He was nothing but a blur while jumping across rooftops towards his destination.
ICHIRAKU"""" a few seconds later
An old man could be seen yawning behind the counter, trying to wake himself up. The man, in his old age, wanted nothing more than to pass on his restaurant to his daughter but alas that was just a wish. His daughter while extremely capable is still just one man, eh woman. And that is not enough to run this place, especially now when the black hole a.k.a Naruto returned.
Let it also be known that Ichiraku doesn't like to be scared shitless. As would be seen in a couple of moments.
"OLD MAN" yelled Naruto at the top of his lungs.
And then it happened. It all happened so suddenly. The knife appeared out of nowhere, seriously it's like it came from the heavens themselves to aid their owner. Next thing Naruto knew something was flying past his head, inches away from his eyes. If it weren't for his insane reflexes, he wouldn't be ablo to see the finer things in life, like Ino's firm ass and long legs. 'Hmmmm, me like' thought both the narrator and Naruto.
'Note to self, don't EVER scare old man again.' Thought a very scared Naruto.
"Naruto, don't ever scare me like that again. I think I had a small heart attack." Said a painting Ichiraku, who had a hand over his heart area.
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to, I swear. Please, don't throw any knives, please. " said a pleading Naruto.
" Oh, sorry about that. Reflex I guess." Said an embarrassed Ichiraku, who took a play from Naruto's book and scratched his head in a very Naruto like manner.
" Reflex my ass. Not even seasoned ninjas have that kind of reflexes. Seriously, you are like a demon in disguise." Smirked Naruto playfully.
"Haha, very funny. Laugh all you want, I'm still the one that decides if you get any ramen or not." Grinned Ichiraku.
" Please don't take away my ramen. Don't take away the nectar from gods. I'll do anything, PLEASE" begged Naruto who got an all four and bowed his head in submission.
Ichiraku just laughed at his response. ' Ah, I missed this' thought the bemused old man.
" Settle down. While I would like to punish you, this place still needs money to operate and you do contribute a lot of it. So all is forgiven, for now." Said the old man, who was pleased with his witty remarks. ' Yup, still got it'
" Thanks old man. Now bring me my drug. 5 Miso ramens please." Said a now smiling Naruto, happy to escape Old man's judgment.
With that the old man excused himself and went to work. His place took an also yawning Ayame. She's clearly not a morning person, judging from the state of her hair.
"Morning Neechan. Sleep well?" teased Naruto.
Ayame just flipped him the bird and sat down on the stool behind the counter and proceeded to fix her hair.
Awhile later she finished her morning routine and started chatting with Naruto.
" No girlfriend today. What happened? Did you do something to piss her off after 24 hours?" teased Ayame.
"She's not my girlfriend" yelled Naruto.
"Seriously! People need to stop saying that. We've just happened to have met at the memorial and went to lunch together. No big deal. Friends do that, you know. So what if she saw me naked, that was an accident." Said Naruto who realized his slip up and quickly put a hand over his mouth,while blushing.
"OH? Naked, you say. You certainly work fast, Naruto. Never thought you were such a ladies' man." Giggled Ayame.
" Oh, shut up. I had a towel protecting my manhood." Grumbled Naruto.
Ayame just continued to giggle which caused Naruto to give her one of his brotherly glares.
" You know, one day I will pay you back for all of your teasing. As soon as I find out that you are seeing someone, all hell will break loose. And that's a promise, dattebayo." Vovew Naruto.
That shut Ayame up. She was seeing someone, but they were keeping it a secret for now. ' Oh man, I had to go overboard with the teasing. I hope he forgets about this whole thing. Ah, who am I kidding, this is Naruto, of course he won't forget' thought Ayame who was regretting her actions, but not for long. ' Still, it was worth it'
" Yeah, yeah keep dreaming Naruto." Responded Ayame quickly. She went to the kitchen to get Naruto's dosage of ramen.
The duo returned and talked with Naruto about his plans now that he's back in the village. He said, he'll just go with the flow. One thing he will definitely have to do is become a freaking Jounin. Can't stay Gennin for life,you know.
With that he bid the duo goodbye.
" Well, time to burn of these calories. Some light training should do the trick" said Naruto to himself.
He went towards his favorite training ground, the one he and his perverted master used to use.
The Perverted Training Ground""""""""
As soon as he arrived, a wave of memories attacked his mind. The time when the pervert taught him how to water walk and summon. When they used to spar together, laugh together, eat the frozen popsicles or when he yelled at him for peeping on women at the waterfall.
'Ah, good times. I hope you are happy where ever you are, Ero-sennin.' Said Naruto who looked up to see a bright blue sky and saw a smiling Jiraiya looking down at him. He closed his eyes and smiled back and stood there for a few moments just letting the wind circle around him.
" Alright, time to sweat." He proceeded to do some light jogging and some strength excercises.
After that he focused on his elements. He made a hundred clones and divided them into 4 groups of 25. Each group would either take Fire, Water, Earth or Lightning to practice elemental manipulation while the original one would tackle Wind.
"I've already mastered Wind but there is a level beyond that. Kakashi told me once that there were some users who could control the air flow with their chakra. Well time to test that" said Naruto who took a lotus position on the ground and started to focus.
If someone were to be passing by, they would see a bunch of Naruto's practicing the elements. Some would be burning down trees with their chakra, some would form whirlpools on the lake,others trying to make a boulder and some trying to create small sparks of lightning on their fingers.
There would also be a lone Naruto meditating and be surrounded by a small twister.
Truly a remarkable sight.
After an hour or two Naruto finished with his light training, yes that was light.
There was some progress but not as much as he would like but still Konoha wasn't built overnight. He has time.
He decided to go back to the village and visit Bachan and see what's she's doing or visit some of his friends. 'Kakashi, maybe. I haven't seen him since I returned. I wonder what that pervert's doing' thought Naruto.
While he was jogging back to the village, he heard someone yell out in frustration obviously displeased with something. The sound was coming from one of the nearby training grounds. The ever nosy Naruto decided to investigate.
When he arrived there he saw a young blonde yelling at a leaf in her hands. He heard only bits of what she was saying like "Stupid" or "Why won't you work" or his favorite " Bite me". He snickered a bit and laughed at her frustration but decided to end her misery and help her out a bit.
He jumped down from the tree and walked towards her.
"Hey Ino" yelled Naruto. Ino was still yelling at the leaf but stopped when she heard Naruto's voice.
"Naruto? What are you doing here? Are you following me? " teased Ino.
" You wish." Smirked Naruto.
Ino pouted and turned away from his, faking hurt at his remark.
" Haha, you lost again Ino, sorry. But seriously, I was training nearby and I was returning to the village and I heard you yell at someone or something in your case. Seriously Ino, you've got a big set of lungs on you. I could hear you a mile away. You should use that and make your own personal Jutsu like The Screaming Jutsu. Man, imagine that. That would certainly be ranked as an S-ranked Jutsu." Laughed Naruto.
Ino hit him over the head using a small amount of chakra in her fist, just enough for him to stop laughing. She tapped her foot in frustration and glared at him while he was trying to pick himself up from her haymaker.
" Now is not the time to be charming Naruto. I'm losing my mind here. I've been doing this exercise for over an hour now and still nothing. It's like this damn leaf hates me or something." Growled Ino.
Naruto who recovered from the Smash from Hell said " Maybe I can help. Just tell what you want to do and maybe I can give you a few pointers." Offered Naruto.
"Really? You would do that?" questioned Ino, happy for his offer.
" Of course. I told you yesterday. If you need help with anything just use your newly named Screaming Jutsu and I'll come by running" said Naruto playfully.
" Shut up, idiot. I'm not that loud." Said Ino while pouting.
" But I do need some help. This thing is bugging the hell out of me. I found that I have a Water affinity and found a book where it says that the first exercise is to try and soak a leaf. It said I need to be silent and deadly just like water to perform this exercise, whatever that means. I've been trying this for an hour now but still no progress. I'm considering venting out my anger on something but this leaf won't do. I need a live target for that." Said Ino who grinned evilly in the end while looking at Naruto to see a red dot on his forehead and TARGET written over his head.
Naruto saw her look and thought of a quick getaway. He decided to distract her for the time being by helping her. Hopefully her anger will fade away.
"Uh, I can help you with that Ino." Responded Naruto with haste. Ino perked up at his response, her anger forgotten for the moment. "I've been in the same situation as you. I did this exercise while I was with the toads. Man, I must tell you, the exercise was a pain in the ass for me. It took quite some time to finish it." Said Naruto, reminiscing about his training.
"Well? How did you do it? Don't make me wait, idiot." Snapped Ino, desperately needing an answer.
" Alright Ino, no need to blow a gasket. The elder toad told me in order to complete this exercise you need to think like water, be water. I was like, WHAT?" This earned a laughter from Ino.
" Yeah that sounds like you, all muscle but no brains." Quipped Ino.
" Yeah, yeah moving on. As I was saying, you need to relax. The secret to this exercise is to remain calm and let the chakra flow through your body to your hand. Envelop the leaf, calm the leaf in a manner. When you do that, explode. Use all your chakra you can and speed up the process of enveloping the leaf. Here, let me show you. " Naruto demonstrated her on how to do it. A second later, the leaf was drenched in water.
Ino was astounded. What she was trying to do for the past hour, was done in a second.
'Wow, he's good.' Thought Ino with a renewed vigor.
Ino got to work. Naruto's voice was resonating in her head, guiding her. 'Okay, Ino, remain calm. Think of something peaceful' thought Ino. Images of Naruto's laughter and smile appeared in Ino's mind. ' Not that, idiot. Find something different.'
A clearing full of flowers came next.' Ah that's better'. But then Naruto could be seen running towards her carrying flowers in his lap. Ino sighed internally. ' This is going to take a while.'
Naruto was watching her focus, trying hard to complete this hellish exercise. ' She looks cute when she's focusing' thought Naruto but quickly shook those thoughts out of his mind. 'Bad Naruto' berated Naruto himself.
He saw that this is going to take a while so he suggested to Ino that she takes a set near the lake to help her calm down and at the same time find inspiration by listening to the sound of water.
She nodded and they both took a set near the edge of the lake. Ino took a leaf into her hands again and restarted on the exercise.
Naruto was bored. He couldn't look at Ino, because he would get certain images in his head so he was looking around the area finding nothing of interest.
He turned back towards the lake and got an idea. He smirked.
He stood up silently and walked into the lake till he was knee deep in the water. He prepared himself.
"Hey Ino" said Naruto with a hidden mirth.
Ino opened her eyes and saw Naruto crouching with his hands in the water. ' He wouldn't' thought Ino.
But he would. Naruto moved his hands and splashed water all over Ino's body. Ino yelled in surprise.
'How dare he. I'll show him' thought an angry Ino. ' Nobody messes with a Yamanak and gets away with it'
She tackled him and they fell into the water with Ino on top of him. Underwater, Naruto could be seen smiling, his idea worked. Ino took the bait. Ino was also smiling. She didn't know why but she couldn't stay mad at Naruto for long.
They emerged a couple of moments later, still laughing.
" Sorry, I couldn't help myself. But hey it worked. You are more relaxed and calm now, right?" said Naruto through his laughter.
Ino who was laughing had to admit he was right. This certainly helped with her tension.
" You are such an idiot Naruto but thank you. I do feel better now. But don't think you can do this every time you know. Next time, there would be hell to ?" grinned Ino.
Naruto gulped and nodded furiously not wanting to anger the blonde.
"Yes ma'am" saluted Naruto.
"Good" said Ino.
"Hold on Ino, let me do something about our clothes." Said Naruto. Ino didn't have time to ponder on his words, she was suddenly attacked a by small gust of warm wind which felt damn good in her opinion.
A few moments later they were dry and warm. She thanked him for his help. With that she went back to work. Naruto took a seat by her side and watched her try to perform th exercise. They stayed like that for an hour with Naruto giving Ino tips and Ino trying to soak the leaf.
At the end of the training session Ino managed to partially wet the leaf. It wasn't much but it was progress. Ino thanked him for the help saying she will pay him back somehow.
"No need Ino. You've done enough in the last 2 days to last a lifetime." Responded Naruto with kind smile showing appreciation for everything she's done for him.
Ino smiled in just sat there for a while striking a conversation. Ino wanted to use this opportunity to find out something about his parents.
"Naruto. What were your parents like?" questioned Ino in a humble tone, not wanting to bring out any bad memories.
Naruto smiled and looked up at the sky. "They were everything I could ever hope for in a parent. They were heroes in every sense of the word. They sacrificed their lives in order for me to live. They did it without hesitation proving how much they loved me." Said Naruto with a sad smile and a few tears escaping his eyes.
Ino smiled at him and also shed a few tears at his story. She took his hand and squeezed it gently, showing her support and telling him it's okay.
Naruto nodded in appreciation.
" So did that answer your question Ino? Any closer on finding out who they are?" quipped Naruto with a grin on his face.
"Well, it's a start. I'm still nowhere close to finding out but I've got time. I'll just follow the clues and solve the puzzle. No problem!" exclaimed Ino.
"Good. I'm looking forward to next week." Responded Naruto. Ino smiled and nodded.
"So, do you have any plans for the afternoon?" questioned Ino.
" Not really. I was thinking of visiting Kakashi. I haven't seen him since I returned. I want to see what he's been up to while I was gone." Said Naruto.
" Oh. Well usually he's at Kurenai's house in the morning helping with the baby." Said Ino.
Naruto raised an eyebrow obviously surprised.
"Huh? You mean Kakashi, the pervert, spending time with Kurenai, the pervert hater?" said a surprised but amused Naruto.
" Haha, yeah. Ever since the war, Kakashi's been helping out with all the baby stuff. It's actually very sweet of him. I know Kurenai's very grateful for his help. And so am I. Kurenai needs all the help she can get. Being a single mother is a tough job. She needs some alone time for herself. Although I have suspicions about the two, they've been very comfortable with each other lately." Said Ino with a narrowed gaze in the end not liking the idea of not knowing something juicy.
" Man. Kakashi, a babysitter. How about that?" smirked Naruto.
"What about his reading habits? I'm pretty sure Kurenai doesn't like the idea of a pervert being near her baby?" questioned an interested Naruto.
" Oh, you don't have to worry about that. She took care of that early on. You should have seen Kakashi's punishment when he walked in one day with his book in his hands while the baby was in Kurenai's hands. She used a Yaoi Genjutsu on him. Kakashi didn't stop twitching for a week. After that he only reads that stuff when he is alone and nowhere near Kurenai." Answered an amused Ino, who could barely contain her laugher while remembering that particular event.
Naruto joined her. He could already see the scene playing in his head.' Man I wish I've been there to see that' thought Naruto clearly amused at Kakashi's situation.
" If you want we can go there together. I wanted to visit Kurenai for awhile now. You should see her son. It's the cutest little thing, he looks just like his father." Smiled Ino.
" Man, you must really like the little bugger. " remarked Naruto with a smile.
" I do. And you will to, trust me. Just one laugh from him and you will be his slave forever." Winked Ino.
Naruto laughed. "Alright, lead the way to my new master." Teased Naruto.
They walked back towards the village and towards Kurenai's house while chatting about random things that happened during the 2 years that he was gone. Ino tried to gain additional information about his parents but Naruto wouldn't give any conclusive answers.
Kurenai's house"""""""""""
Kurenai was in the process of making a late breakfast. She had the luxury to sleep in a bit today courtesy of her now regular guest Hatake Kakashi. Some would wonder what is an A-class ninja doing at 10 AM in the morning taking care of some kid that isn't even his own. And so did Kurenai frankly.
' The change happened so fast. One day we are nothing more than acquaintances the next he's volunteering to watch little Asuma.' Mused Kurenai. ' It must be the war. This was his second. Perhaps he realized something during the war.' Thought Kurenai.
But she decided not to squander this gift from the heavens and just go with the flow. She liked his company. When he is with her and Asuma Jr. it's like he's a different person. He is no longer the ninja that strikes fear into the enemy's hearts but a thoughtful friend.
In the last 2 years or so she got to met the real Kakashi. Kakashi who went through 2 wars, who lost both of his teammates and his sensei. Kakashi who lost his father at an early age. And she has to admit, she likes this Kakashi.
She found out that he can be quite loving, kind and sincere when he wants to be. They spend a lot of time together actually. They had lunch together regularly and sometimes even dinner. Breakfast was a regular thing. She can't even remember when he wasn't over for breakfast.
' And those late night walks around the village' sighed Kurenai dreamily. ' Wow, don't go down that lane Kurenai.' Thought Kurenai to herself. ' Can't start dreaming about Kakashi now, can we? Right?' thought an insure Kurenai.
To be honest with herself, she wouldn't mind going out with Kakashi. She likes his company, he's thoughtful, great with Asuma Jr., he makes her laugh. What more could she possibly want?
Kurenai sighed. ' I need a second opinion.' Thought Kurenai.
She was woken up from her thinking by a knock on the door. ' I wonder who that is' thought Kurenai.
She went to open door passing by Kakashi who was keeping little Asuma company and playing with him with some cubes.
Kurenai opened the door and saw twins. Seriously, they look so much alike.
"Ino. What a surprise! I haven't seen you in a while." Said a surprised Kurenai, while in the process of hugging Ino.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Work was killing me. I had to work double shifts because some staff members took vacations. But it's over now so I decided to visit my favorite nephew." Smiled Ino.
Kurenai smiled and nodded. She looked towards Ino's twin brother who was just standing there with a happy smile on his face.
As soon a she saw those whisker marks on his face everything clicked in her mind.
"Naruto" yelled Kurenai who gave him a small hug."You've returned. About time if you ask me. This village was lost without you." Remarked Kurenai with a small smile.
" Hi Kurenai-sensei. Long time no see. Looking good, by the way." Winked Naruto playfully.
Kurenai nodded in appreciation, thankful that he noticed she got rid of the baby fat.
" Alright already. Enough with the flirting. I want my Asuma dosage, right now." Said Ino.
Kurenai just laughed a little and shrugged their shoulders and proceeded to enter the house.
They walked into the living room where they saw a laughing Asuma Jr. and a happy Kakashi who was holding some cubes in his hands.
The trio smiled at the scene, Kurenai more so than the other two.
Ino noticed her smile, her suspicions were proving to be right on target. She would have to talk with her later about their 'relationship'.
Kakashi finally noticed the additional company and turned around to come face to face with a smiling Kurenai, Ino and Naruto. 'Wait, Naruto' thought a surprised Kakashi.
"Naruto, you're back." Said a very happy and surprised Kakashi. Kakashi gave him one of his eye smiles to show him how happy he is to see him favorite student again.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei. It's been too long. But you've certainly been busy." Quipped Naruto while sending a look towards Kurenai and the baby.
Kakashi scratched his head and eye smiled. That was everything Naruto needed. He understood perfectly.
Asuma Jr., who was looking towards the new arrivals recognized his favorite Auntie.
"Auntie, Auntie!" yelled Asuma Jr. in delight who jumped into Ino's arms and hugged her.
"Hey there Asuma. Missed me? I certainly missed you. Have you been good while I was away. Did you listen to your mother and Kakashi?" questioned Ino in a playful manner while untangling Asuma of her body and put him on solid ground again.
Asuma nodded with a big smile, happy to see Auntie Ino again. Asuma turned towards the other blonde guest who was watching the interaction with a happy smile.
Asuma pointed towards Naruto and asked "Who's that Auntie? Your, uhm, boy,boy…" asked Asuma who was struggling with the last word. Kurenai decided to help him.
"Boyfriend, Asuma. Is that you wanted to say?" helped Kurenai.
Asuma nodded which caused the blondes to blush at the boy's remark.
"Seriously, everywhere I go it's always the same question. Do you have Ino written on my forehead or what?" said a blushing Naruto. Ino nodded in understanding and answered Asuma's question.
" No Asuma, this is not my boyfriend. This is my friend Naruto. He's a ninja like your mother and Kakashi. He's really strong." Said Ino who got rid of her blush while talking to Asuma Jr.
"Coool. Do you know any jutsu? Can you show me some?" said Asuma Jr. bouncing in delight and with stars in his eyes.
Naruto laughed at his happy expression. He reminded of him. Always full of energy and wanting to see cool jutsus.
" Yes, I know a couple. I'll show them to you some other time but only if you will be good and do whatever your mommy says. OK?" answered Naruto while smiling towards Asuma Jr. who calmed down a bit. But not by much.
"I promise. I'll even eat all my vegetables." Answered Asuma.
Ino, Kakashi and Kurenai smiled at the two. They couldn't help but notice how good Naruto is with little Asuma. It's like he has this aura around him that seems to calm and relax everybody around him. Then again this is the man who befriended all the Kages and so many other things.
"Naruto would you and Kakashi mind watching Asuma for a bit while me and Ino finish making breakfast. You are welcomed to join us, of course." Asked Kurenai.
Naruto nodded, seeing no problem with her request. He liked the little gaki.
' It's no wonder Ino likes him so much, he's just so likeable.' Mused Naruto.
Kurenai nodded in appreciation. With that the two ladies left the room to finish up breakfast.
When Kurenai arrived in the kitchen, she immediately turned around and asked the question that's been plaguing her mind.
"Alright, talk. You two look very comfortable near each other. And I saw the blush. Don't try to avoid the question. Now, speak" said Kurenai while giving a stern look obviously wanting some information.
"Sheesh, talk about sneak attack. What's up with people obsessing about me and Naruto? He's right, it's like our bodies are saying that we are dating or something. But to answer your question, there is nothing between us. We met yesterday at the memorial stone, we talked, had lunch, laughed, then had dinner with the rest of the rookies and he walked me home after that. We met again in the morning, when he helped me with my training. We talked some more after that and now we're here." Answered Ino who was panting after that long explanation.
In the other room Naruto was in the situation. He was currently being interrogated by Kakashi who saw the same thing as Kurenai.
Kurenai wasn't completely satisfied with her answer.
" And? There is still something between you. I can feel it. How do you feel about him?" asked Kurenai not wanting to drop the subject.
"Man, you won't let this go, huh. Alright I admit, I do feel something towards him but I don't know what it is yet. It could just be friendship or could be something more, I don't know yet. He's just so kind and considerate. He always takes the extra mile just to make you happy. And the best part, he doesn't want anything in return. I mean, for the love of God, he saved this village on countless occasions, he saved the world and he's still so humble. Nobody could be that perfect, seriously." Answered Ino honestly.
Kurenai nodded, finally happy with Ino's answer.
" I thought you felt like that. I could see it in your eyes. There was a small twinkle every time you looked at Naruto. I'm happy for you, Ino. It may not be love yet but you are getting there. Just spend some more time with him and get to know him more and you'll get your answer." Said Kurenai with a kind smile.
"Yeah, about knowing him more. We are actually playing a little game. You see, he found out who his parents are and he won't tell me. He gave me a week to find out the identity of at least one of them. If I win, I get to learn one of his techniques and if I lose he gets something he wants." Said Ino.
Kurenai nodded indicating that she's still following her.
"So what I need from you is information. Do you happen to know who his parents were? I know they were heroes, at least to Naruto, they sacrificed their lives to save Naruto but that's it. It's not enough to solve the puzzle." Raged Ino.
"Hm, sorry can't help you with that. I always thought he was just an orphan who was born at the wrong time. I think Kakashi might know more, if not the whole truth. Wait here, I'll go get him." Said a retreating Kurenai.
A few moments later Kakashi walked in with a an eye smile on his face.
"You wanted to talk to me about something, Ino." Said Kakashi.
" Yes. I was hoping to talk to you about Naruto's parents." Said Ino surprising Kakashi a bit, not expecting that question.
"Now, why do you want to know about that?" questioned Kakashi who turned very serious.
Ino proceeded to explain Kakashi about the whole bet with Naruto. Kakashi nodded, liking the answer. He will tell her something but not much just enough to help her along. If Naruto thinks she deserves to know the truth then so be it.
"Well, actually I do know who they were but it's not my place to tell you. That is Naruto's choice and not mine. But I can give you some clues to help you along." Eye smiled Kakashi.
Ino was a bit saddened to hear the first part of the answer but contended herself with minor clues.
"Well here goes, pay attention. His father had blonde hair and was born in this village. His mother had red hair and was from a different village and from a prominent clan." Answered Kakashi who decided to end it there not wanting to give out too much information.
Ino was seen in deep thought contemplating if she knew anybody that fit that description. She came out empty.
'It's still a work in progress. I'll ask around a bit or visit the Register center to see if there are any Uzumakis in the village.' Thought Ino.
Ino thanked Kakashi for his help. Kakashi said it was no problem, anything for Naruto's future girlfriend. Ino glared at him for that last remark, a small blush on her cheeks.
Kakashi smiled with his one visible eye and went back to the living room. Kurenai returned a bit later wanting to finally finish breakfast.
A couple of minutes later, the company could be seen eating breakfast while conversing with each other. If anybody saw them right now they would see a picture of a loving family. They laughed, smiled and just enjoy life. This is what a ninja family looks like.
After the meal Ino and Naruto said their goodbyes, while telling Asuma Jr. they would visit him tomorrow again.
The blondes could be seen walking towards Yamanaka flower shop. Ino is helping her mom around the shop today and Naruto, the gentleman, escorted her.
They stopped in front of the shop's door.
" Thanks for the company Naruto and thanks for the help with my training." Said Ino thankfully.
" Anytime Ino. Listen, I've been meaning to ask you something." Said Naruto who was slightly nervous.
Ino waited for his answer intrigued what has him so worked up.
"Uhm, would you like to go out tonight, as friends of course? I want to hear all the juicy details about the stuff that's been happening around the village and who better to ask than the Gossip Queen of Konoha" said Naruto a bit shyly.
Ino disregarded that remark about the Gossip Queen but instead focused on the real matter, the date. ' Is he asking me out?' Thought Ino.
" Are you asking me on a date Naruto?" asked Ino who was hoping it was.
"Uh, if you want it to be ,then yes. I'm asking you on a date." Answered a smiling Naruto.
" I would love to. Who know, I might have some fun. It can't hurt to try, right." Smiled Ino.
" Great. I'll pick you up at ya Ino." He gave her a slight peck on the cheek and ran away after that.
Ino blushed, loving the feeling of Naruto's lips on her cheeks. She went inside the shop to see her mom behind the counter with a knowing smirk on her face.
Ino sighed, knowing what is to come next. This is going to be a long day.
And that's a wrap. I decided to end it here. I hope I'm improving with my writing, so please tell me what am I doing wrong so that I can correct in the future.
Anyway see you in a couple of days.
