Grin and Bear It
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Chapter 4
Ino felt like she was in a cold war.
She and Naruto weren't actively fighting, but there had been an obvious tension between the two of them for the past four days. Unless it was absolutely necessary, they didn't speak. She still made him dinner as per her agreement, but much to her chagrin, he had stopped complimenting her and made sure to eat with as stony of a face as he could manage.
They didn't even study in the same room anymore, as Naruto would simply take some books and retreat to his own bedroom. Strangely, though, popping noises and smoke would seep from the edges of his closed door, making her curious as to exactly what kind of studying he was doing.
Ino sighed and rubbed at her forehead. The test was only a day away, and here she was thinking about a stupid argument that had started because of a stupid misunderstanding. However, there was no way she was going to cave first. No way in hell.
Shaking her head, she tried her best to focus on the words in front of her. The test came first. After she passed and proved to her father that she was more than capable, she could go home and never have to see Naruto's immature face ever again.
The sound of the kitchen faucet distracted her, and she tilted her head back to see the boy she'd been thinking about filling a large glass with water. His eyes stayed focused on the running water, and it was obvious that he was doing his best not to look up at her.
Which suited her just fine. He was just a distraction, and would probably hurt her chances more than he would help them. Still, despite her thoughts, she found herself watching him anyway. Naruto was a mystery.
It killed her to admit it, but she wanted to know more about him. Even though they'd had an amazing talk before this whole ordeal started, he hadn't really offered anything about himself or his past. What happened to his parents? Did he know who they were? Where did he live before he moved out on his own? How had he turned out so well without anyone supporting him?
There were dozens of questions that she wanted to ask, but couldn't. At least not now. Sakura could probably find these things out easily if she really wanted to, but somehow, she doubted that her friend would go through the trouble of coaxing the information out of Naruto for her.
Surprisingly, after finishing the cup of water, Naruto looked over at her. Their eyes met for an awkward second or two, and without uttering a single word, he shuffled back to his bedroom.
Her first reaction was to call out to him. Make him stick around for a little bit longer. She wasn't used to being alone, as at least one of her parents or teammates were always around to keep him company. Funnily enough, Naruto was the exact opposite.
Letting loose a short breath of air, she closed the book and stood to her feet, deciding that she'd crammed as much information into her head as she could. The test was tomorrow morning, and she'd much rather go to bed early and get up with enough time to throw together some breakfast for herself and Naruto. They may not be the best of friends at the moment, but she still wanted him to do well.
Nervousness didn't begin to describe what he felt at that moment. Sitting in the same exact room as the one he'd been in during that first Chuunin Exam all those years ago, Naruto felt less than confident. Sure, he'd studied his ass off, and sure, he only needed ten points less than what was needed to legitimately pass the test, but he couldn't help but feel as though this test would go the same as the previous one.
The room was filled with interrogation hopefuls. Most of them seemed to be trying to look like tough guys, exposing their arm muscles, tattoos, and scars for all to see. He almost laughed when he recognized one of the guys as an old classmate from the Academy.
This particular kid was possibly the biggest crybaby he'd ever met, and had only managed to become a genin after Pain had flattened Konoha. Even though the guy had shaved his head and gotten a bunch of tattoos, he still looked like a little bitch to Naruto.
Against his will, his eyes shifted to the girl at the end of his row. He was pleased to see that Ino looked just as nervous as he did if the way she was viciously biting her thumbnail was any indication. Then again, she did have a lot riding on this. If she didn't pass, her ego would be shattered and she'd have to crawl back home a failure. She'd be proving that her dad was right all along in that she wasn't cut out for the torture and interrogation department.
They weren't on the best of terms, but he really didn't want to see her so defeated. The way her eyes had sparkled when she talked about her dreams still haunted him, and the thought of her being unable to reach her goals made his chest ache.
As if she'd sensed him watching her, Ino turned her head to look at him. Just like the night before, their eyes met for a few awkward seconds. This time, though, the corners of Ino's lips twitched upwards.
Naruto found this small action to be comforting. He felt as if she was telling him 'Good luck!' or 'Do your best!' So, forgetting that they were feuding for the moment, he shot her a similar smile and a thumbs up.
At that moment, the door to the classroom shot open. In walked Morino Ibiki, followed by Ino's father and a group of relatively normal looking shinobi. They wore simple flak chuunin and jounin vests, surprising Naruto a bit. He'd expected them all to be trenchcoat wearing badasses.
Unsurprisingly, Ino's dad instantly picked his daughter out of the crowd of potentials, and Naruto noticed with a wince that the man didn't look too pleased to see her there. In fact, he looked downright furious.
Naruto glanced over at Ino to see that she too seemed to notice her father's glare by the nervous frown marring her face. He sure as hell didn't want to be in her shoes at that moment.
"Listen up!" Ibiki bellowed, instantly grabbing Naruto's attention. The man waited a few seconds for things to quiet down before continuing. "At each aisle, a member of the torture and interrogation team is passing out your tests. Take one and pass it on to the person next to you. Do not turn your papers over until you are told. You will have two hours to complete this test, and cheating of any kind will not be tolerated." Naruto noticed that he stared pointedly at both Ino and the lone byakugan user in the room, not so subtly implying that he'd be watching them much closer than anyone else. "If you speak during the test, you will fail. If your handwriting is unreadable, you will fail."
He looked around the room one last time. "You may now turn your papers over and begin the test."
Without wasting a second, Naruto flipped his packet of paper over to start the test, figuring that he'd need every second he could get to finish. The test mostly consisted of short answer questions, with a few long answer and multiple choice questions popping up every five questions or so. He took a deep breath and grabbed his pencil before carefully reading the first question:
'What is the correct procedure for processing and detaining a foreign prisoner?'
The blond blinked. What the hell? He actually knew this one! Heart thumping, he quickly filled in the answer and moved on to the second question:
'When performing a strip search of a prisoner, what areas of the body need to be examined?'
He knew this one, too! If things kept going at this pace, he may just be able to pull it off!
A quick glance over at Ino showed that she was also flying through the test, face tense and focused as she scribbled down answer after answer. Every now and then she would flip her hair over her shoulder and sigh, and he noticed that she had a nervous habit of chewing on the eraser of her pencil.
They had just come upon the one hour mark when the first person stood up and walked to the front of the room, placing their paper face down on the desk in front of Ibiki. The way he carried himself suggested that he was certain he'd pass even though they wouldn't get the results for another few days.
Shaking his head, Naruto looked down at his own paper. He was around seventy-five percent done; pretty damn good considering his track record when it came to tests. Then again, he had secretly used shadow clones to help him study, figuring that if they could help him learn S-ranked jutsus, they could help him learn three week's worth of material in five days. Luckily, his theory proved to be correct as he found most of the questions to be fairly easy.
Barely ten minutes since he'd last looked up, he watched Ino walk down the stairs to place her test face down on the desk with the others. As she was leaving the room, her father, Inoichi, stopped her at the door. He couldn't clearly see nor hear what he was fiercely whispering, but he did manage to pick out the words 'home', 'mother', and 'selfish.' Coupled with the frown that appeared on Ino's face, it wasn't hard to figure out the gist of what he'd said.
His heart stopped when Inoichi glanced up to look him straight in the eyes, and not wanting to seem overly suspicious, he casually lowered his eyes back to his paper. Inside, his stomach was doing backflips.
Did he know about them? The fact that the two of them were living together? Inoichi's glance hadn't been malicious or anything, and since he was still currently living, he figured he was safe; at least for now. While he'd initially been trying to finish the test as soon as possible, he found that he was suddenly in no rush to walk to the front of the room.
Inevitably, however, he finished, and with a heavy sigh, he stood to his feet and moved to place his test with the others. Just like he'd thought, Inoichi pulled him aside to talk.
"You're a friend of Ino's, right?" the man asked, staring straight into Naruto's eyes.
"Uh, well, sort of. More like a friend of a friend," he lied, hoping the conversation would end there. He tried to maintain eye contact so as not to seem suspicious, but fuck; Ino's dad was scary.
While they may not be the best fighters when it came to hand to hand combat, the Yamanaka clans' skills were dangerous. Unless you had a mind of absolute steel, they was capable of sucking any piece of information out of you that they wished. There were also rumors that the clan was behind the 'suicides' of certain Wind Country officials shortly after the joint attack by the Sand and Sound on Konoha. Needless to say, nothing had ever been proved, and unless someone in the clan suddenly decided to confess, nothing ever would be.
Inoichi, apparently not sensing Naruto's nervousness, nodded his head and continued. "That's good enough. I wanted to know if you'd be willing to talk some sense into Ino's head. She left home a couple of weeks ago and refuses to tell her mother and I where she's staying."
Resisting the urge to ask 'why don't you just find herself?', the young man swallowed roughly and averted his gaze. "I, uh, think Sakura would be a much better choice." From the way Inoichi frowned, he could tell that he wasn't too keen on the idea of asking Sakura.
Instead, the Yamanaka placed a large, heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder, leveling his gaze on the younger blond. "Tell you what; how about you just help me keep an eye on her?"
Naruto paused. What the hell? Was Ino's dad trying to buddy up to him? While he liked the thought of having the mindwalker on his side rather than against him, he really didn't want to get any closer to the man than he had to.
"With...with all due respect, sir, I really don't think I should get involved in this issue between you and your daughter."
Inoichi looked disappointed, but he nodded anyway. "I respect that."
Now, Naruto's head was reeling. The way Ino had described her father made the guy seem like some kind of unreasonable monster, but he had yet to make a threatening move towards him at all. He was imposing, yes, but not threatening. Then again, he also didn't know that Ino was currently living in his apartment and hopefully never would.
"Thanks, Yamanaka-san. I'll just..." Naruto trailed off, inching towards the door.
"Sure, go ahead."
Bowing slightly to Inoichi, he pulled open the door and closed it behind him, relieved that he'd somehow managed to survive with his sanity intact. As soon as he stepped out of the classroom, though, Ino pounced on him.
"What did my dad want?" she asked, cornflower blue eyes searching his for answers. Apparently, she'd been watching them talk from the doorway.
Deciding it'd be too much trouble to come up with some bullshit story, he decided to just tell her the truth. "He wanted me to keep an eye on you."
"Are you serious?! He's trying to use my friends to spy on me?!" Ino exclaimed, fury evident in her tone.
Naruto raised his eyebrows. "We're friends now?"
Looking at him as if he'd just asked the stupidest question in history, the girl furrowed her brows. "Well, yeah. Aren't we?"
"I wasn't sure, since you were ignoring me and all."
Ino snorted. "You weren't trying too hard to talk to me, either."
"I thought you hated me."
"Well, I don't."
The two of them stared awkwardly at each other for a few seconds, both feeling more than a little stupid about how they'd acted towards each other.
"That test was kind of stressful, and I'm ready to let loose and have some fun. What do you think?" Ino asked, breaking the short silence.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders, zipping up his jacket in the process. "Sure. What do you want to do?"
"I hear the lake in the park's frozen over. How about we go ice skating?"
Almost immediately, Naruto's face stiffened. It was the exact same thing he'd suggested to Sakura the night Ino showed up on his doorstep. It almost seemed like too much of a coincidence, but he doubted Ino would suggest they go ice skating just to spite him.
Forcing a smile, he nodded. "Sure."
Ino's face momentarily lit up before dropping into a frown. "Oh, shit, I forgot. My skates are at home."
"Well, since your dad is here, you should be able to sneak by your mom, right?"
Ino snorted. "You'd think so, wouldn't you? My mom has some kind of daughter sensor that goes off whenever I'm within twenty feet of her. She'd notice me right away."
"What if I get them for you, then?" Naruto suggested.
Ino paused. Allow Naruto to go into her room without her there to monitor him? Every one of her senses were telling her that it was a bad idea. Even if he was more naive and innocent than most, he was still a guy, and all men seemed to have the uncontrollable urge to raid a woman's underwear drawer.
Still, though, ice skating had been her idea. Besides, she could see his movements from the opposite rooftop. She wouldn't be able to see everything, but hopefully the fact that she'd only be twenty feet away would be enough to deter him from swiping a pair of her panties.
"...Fine. But if you touch anything, I'll kill you," Ino spat, crossing her arms over her chest.
Confused as to what she meant––he'd have to touch her skates to get them, right?––he shrugged his shoulders and nodded, following her as she led the way to her home.
Naruto landed on the roof of the Yamanaka flower shop, looking around to make sure no one was watching. It'd be hard to explain why he was essentially breaking into the house of one of the members of the Yamanaka Clan.
He glanced back at Ino, noticing her frowning at him from the opposite rooftop. She raised her hand and deepened her scowl, reminding him that he only had five minutes to go in and out of her room. It was painfully obvious that she didn't trust him, but he really didn't understand why not. What was so important that she didn't want him to see? Or did she think he was going to steal something?
Shaking his head, he opened her window and slipped through it, being as quiet as humanly possible. Before he even had the chance to look around he could tell that this room was Ino's. The strong scent of wildflowers immediately punched him in the nose, almost causing him to cough and gasp for air. He normally liked the smell, but not when it was this...suffocating. It took a few seconds, but his nose eventually adjusted enough for him to begin looking for her skates.
The room was in perfect order, everything seemingly in its place. The walls were a light lavender, and her bedspread was a darker, redder violet. If there was any doubt in his mind before that this room was Ino's, it was gone now. It was surprisingly plain considering the girl's loud and flamboyant personality, but perhaps she was like him in that she preferred to live more simply.
Naruto walked around her room in slight awe, realizing that this was the first time he'd ever been inside of a girl's room. He ran his hand over the dozens of perfume and makeup bottles sitting in front of her vanity mirror, and he even leaned down to smell a few of the ones that looked interesting.
He then moved over to her bedside table to look at the pictures perched neatly on its surface. There was the obligatory picture of Asuma, herself, Shikamaru, and Choji as genin. Next to that was a picture of them as chuunin, and on the opposite side of the first picture was a photograph of the Konoha twelve (minus Sasuke, plus Sai) standing in front of the Hokage Tower after the Akatsuki had been decimated.
He also noticed a picture of a toddler Ino and her parents, all three of them smiling widely at the camera. It was hard to believe that the young, hip blond guy in the picture was the same large, overbearing bear he'd exchanged words with barely half an hour ago.
Remembering his mission, Naruto floated over to her closet to begin looking for her ice skates. According to Ino, they were on a shelf in the top left corner next to some old stuffed animals. He spotted them within seconds, but just as he was about to reach for the shoes, a flash of bright purple poking out of her dresser caught his eye. Curiosity getting the better of him, he grabbed the purple cloth and pulled––only to be smacked in the face by the item.
"Ack!" he said, rubbing at his stinging eye. "What the hell?" He stared at the object for a few seconds before realizing exactly what it was; her bra. Resisting the urge to throw it across the room (Ino would definitely notice), he quickly stuffed it back into the dresser––but not before glancing at the tag sticking out of the back.
"34C," he mumbled appraisingly, a bit surprised that they were that large. She was more than a full cup size larger than Sakura. Nevermind how he knew how large (or small) the medic-nin's breasts were. Suddenly feeling a little too much like his perverted former senseis, Naruto reached up and grabbed her skates before he did something that would get himself killed. Without so much as a second glance, he slipped out of the window and hopped over to where Ino was waiting.
"You got them!" Ino cheered, a bright smile flashing across her face. Just as quickly, her face fell into a menacing glare. "You didn't touch anything, did you?"
Naruto almost choked––almost. However, reasoning that there was no way she could've seen him from the window, he decided that bullshitting would be the best course of action. "I was only in there for a few minutes. Would I have had time to touch anything?"
She eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds before sighing. "I guess not." Not noticing the relief that poured into Naruto's face, she turned around and sped off towards the park. "I'll race you!"
"Cheater!" he yelled after her, quickly giving chase. As he ran, he felt the smile on his face grow wider and wider. This was going to be fun.
"When was the last time you went ice skating?" Naruto asked, looking down at Ino. The girl was currently holding onto his arm for dear life, struggling not to fall for the hundredth time.
Ino poked out her bottom lip. "Hey, it's only cold enough to ice skate a few weeks out of the year, and I'm a busy girl."
"Well, you'll never get any better if you keep clinging to me like this. Here." He removed himself from her grip and skated away, leaving her to fend for herself. Predictably, she immediately lost her balance and began to topple towards the ice. Just before she fell, however, he appeared behind her and caught her by the underarms, hoisting her back up into a standing position with ease.
She looked over her shoulder and glared at him. "Asshole!" Her anger was quickly replaced by surprise when his cool hand found hers in a comfortable grip.
"Relax, I've got you. We're just gonna skate like this for awhile until you get the hang of it. Okay? Remember, don't look down. Just keep your eyes straight and concentrate on using the sides of your blades to push."
Still in a mild state of shock, Ino slowly nodded her head. She quickly glanced around at the other people skating and hanging out near the lake, wondering how they looked to everyone else. Not that it mattered, but she wouldn't want any strange rumors getting back to her friends or parents. Especially not her parents.
Luckily, it seemed as if no one was paying them any attention, so she sighed and relaxed like he'd suggested, deciding to just enjoy being led around the makeshift rink. His calm demeanor was rubbing off on her, and before long, she didn't even have to think about pushing the sides of her blades against the ice.
"You're doing great, Ino!" Naruto yelled from behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She hadn't noticed, but sometime within the last few seconds she'd been skating on her own. Fully realizing what that meant, she suddenly and promptly fell on her butt. "Why'd you stop? You had it!" he asked, skidding to a stop in front of her.
Annoyed, Ino leaned back on her hands and frowned up at him. "Thanks for letting me fall. How did you become king of the ice, anyway?"
The young man laughed, turning around to skate backwards in circles around her. "It took me three winters of hard work and falling on my ass to get this good. You're smarter than me and have better balance, so you'll be able to pick it up much faster. Plus, you have an awesome teacher."
"Wait, you mean no one taught you? Did you learn together with your friends?" she asked, furrowing her brows.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't really have friends. I just spent a lot of time watching other people, so after awhile, it eventually sunk in."
"Sorry," Ino murmured, not sure what she was apologizing for. She'd known he was an orphan, but she figured that he at least had some form of a support system. After all, how could a child raise himself? The thought of a child cooking, cleaning, and buying his own things was unfathomable. Naruto had to have had some help from someone.
The young man shrugged again. "It's okay. I mean, when I finally got it, it was the best feeling I'd ever felt in my life. It taught me that you could do anything with hard work and a strong will."
Ino smiled and raised her hands to him. "Help me up. I'm going to get this even if it kills me."
"Ahhhh," Ino sighed, leaning back in Naruto's bathtub. After three straight hours of falling on her ass, skating, and falling on her ass, she had finally gotten the hang of basic skating. While she wasn't nearly as agile or fast as Naruto, she could now skate comfortably at his side with little to no effort.
She was amazed by the patience he'd shown in teaching her. Though he laughed at her every now and then, he never got upset or frustrated whenever she did something wrong, and even encouraged her every step of the way. His attitude had been completely different than what she'd expected of him.
Ino dunked her head under the water. The more she learned about Naruto, the less she understood. Sakura had always described him as loud, brash, and impatient, but the man she'd been living with for the past couple of weeks had been almost the complete opposite. Which Naruto was the real one? The one that only she apparently knew, or the one that everyone else knew? Did anyone else even know that he had two sides?
Reemerging from the depths of the bathtub, she sighed and pulled her wet bangs out of her face. God, he was frustrating. Her natural curiosity and his unwillingness to say much about himself were a horrible match, and if she spent another week with him, she was worried that she may drive herself crazy trying to understand him.
She pulled the stopper out of the tub and stepped out to dry off, deciding that she'd taken long enough. Naruto was probably more tired than she was since things like tests weren't his strong point, and he'd spent a lot of energy teaching her how to ice skate.
"Bath is free," she said, dabbing at her damp hair with a towel as she walked into the living room.
Naruto downed the rest of his cup ramen in one gulp and nodded, standing from the couch and throwing a towel over his shoulder as he strolled to the bathroom.
Ino claimed his recently vacated spot on the couch, finding the heat he left behind to be extremely comfortable. Since she was too exhausted to really fuss with her hair, she decided to simply braid it up into two pigtails. Her fingers nimbly separated and entwined her hair, using the skill that had been taught to her years ago by her mother. Just as she was finishing up, Naruto opened the door and emerged from the bathroom.
"Done already?" she asked, using a piece of ribbon to tie off her braid. When he didn't answer, she lifted her head to look at him, only to notice that he was staring at her blankly. "What?"
"Pigtails," he said, expression remaining the same.
Mistaking his statement for an insult, she frowned. "They're convenient."
"No, I mean, I like them."
"Oh." Feeling as if she should say something else, she averted her gaze and shrugged. "They only took like two seconds." When Naruto continued to stare, she found herself rambling. "It keeps my hair from getting frizzy, but I don't like to do it all the time because it gives me split ends."
"They look nice."
"Thanks."
Naruto stared at her for a few more seconds before coughing and finally looking away. "Since it's been a long day, I think I'm just going to turn in."
"Yeah, me too." She stood up and yawned, shuffling over to her bedroom. "Goodnight."
"Night," he replied, doing the same.
Just as she was about to enter her room, Ino paused. There something that still bothered her, and she felt that if she didn't say it now, she'd never work up the courage to say it again. "Naruto?" When he turned his head and shot her a quizzical look, she continued. "Next time...I mean, if we do ever fight again, let's not do this. Not talk, I mean. It's stupid."
"Yeah." He opened his mouth as if to say something else but promptly shut it, piquing Ino's curiosity. "Night," he said again, entering his room and closing the door behind him.
Ino watched him leave with a frown. What was he going to say? The look on his face had been one of confusion and uncertainty. Even though it had probably been nothing, she couldn't shake the feeling that he'd had something important to say. Something that would give her a little more insight into who he was as a person. It was at that moment that she decided.
She would figure out the puzzle that was Uzumaki Naruto.
AN: Always, I want to be with you, and make believe with you...