Nursing her drink, she watched as her fellow teammates and friends laughed heartily at the stories being shared around the group. She was tempted to down every single glass of alcohol on the table, hopefully blacking out in the process. She sat back further into her seat, listening to Kiba exaggerating another tale about one of his missions gone awry. She glanced over to her right to see Lee chatting away with Tenten about different fitness programs to level up on their training. They were such nerds. Adorable yet powerful, always looking for a good fight, set of nerds.

As the voices got louder, Ino's will to stay got shorter. She turned to her left to see Sakura sitting across from Naruto, flirting bashfully in the farthest corner of the room; away from the group. She groaned out her annoyance, getting up from her seat and moving to the bar to order another round. When she reached over to the bar, she was playfully nudged by her lazy companion.

"Why do we come to these things?" He huffed out.

"Because we love our friends." Ino replied back, taking the drink the bartender offered her and sipping at it's contents.

"Doesn't mean I have to tolerate them." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, to amplify his annoyance even though there wasn't a hint of it in his words.

She laughed at the comment. "Shika," Ino reprimanded. "Be nice."

Shikamaru grunted. "Troublesome."

She walked back to the group, dragging Shikamaru along with her. She sat him down next to the only person she thought could hold a sensible conversation at the moment, Shino. After a few more minutes passed, she looked back over to her star crossed lovers, laughing away at something Kiba had shouted out loud. She caught Naruto's gaze, his blue eyes shinning bright and mirthful. Ino waved over to him and he smiled in response, signalling for her to come over.

She hesitated at first, before walking up to their booth and greeting them with a false bravado, something Naruto caught on to quickly. For a man that hardly spent any quality time with her, he seemed rather quick to pick up on her distresses. She assumed it was the hero in him that looked out for the injustice in the world.

"Hey Pig," Sakura started, leaning in closer to Naruto. "Having fun?"

The action provoked her. "I thought they'd be dancing but I guess there isn't enough room," Ino responded. "You think we could rent out your forehead instead."

"Ooo, touchy this evening aren't we?" Sakura snapped back.

She hadn't meant the outburst but the anger she'd been feeling for the past few weeks had been bubbling out. Ino glared at the pinkette before walking away, not wanting to start an argument. She hadn't even moved a foot away before someone grabbed her wrist and she was pulled back into the booth. Her back slamming into the upholster as she cried out in pain. She looked up to see it had been Naruto, surprising even Sakura at his aggressive behaviour.

"What the fuck, Naruto?" She groaned out as she rubbed her wrist, checking for any bruising.

"What's up with you," Naruto asked. "You're starting to piss me off."

"You're starting to piss me off." She silently retorted to herself.

Naruto's eyes darkened at the comment. "Sakura. Leave." Sakura nervously looked between the two before doing as she was told.

"You want to repeat that," Naruto demanded. "Maybe, even a little louder."

She daringly looked him in the eyes. "What do you want, Naruto," Ino responded angrily. "You're wasting your precious time with Sakura talking to me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned, his tone softening at the look on her face.

She paused, dragging her hands down her face. "Nothing…"

"Ino, what the hell's going on?"

"It's nothing, forget about it." She answered back.

"Ino, you think I don't know how to pick up on your little subtleties," He explained. "So you can either tell me now or I force it out of you later."

She shook her head as the tears began to form in the corner of her eyes. She didn't want to have this conversation, not in the same vicinity as all her friends. She looked him dead in the eyes as her mouth started to quiver. His expression unreadable, but the frown on his face giving away some emotion. He didn't sit well with crying women, it brought up unwanted feelings. He felt powerless, something he thrived so hard through out the years not to be anymore. It also made him feel responsible, the idea that he was the cause of anyone's suffering stirred up undesirable memories.

Before he had the chance to act, Ino got up from her spot in the booth and proceeded to walk out the back door of the bar, hoping the fresh air would do her some good. She almost slammed the door in Naruto's face as he followed her out, looking for answers. She paced around the dark alley, coming up with excuses to tell him before she stopped to take notice of her surroundings.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" She shouted.

Naruto was slightly taken aback by the outburst, but stayed quite.

Ino screamed. "I end up back in the same spot that started this whole fucking mess in the first place?!"

How did she forget that it happened behind this bar, even for a split second, how could she have forgotten such an important piece of information. Her blood crawled as she looked around the area.

"Why do I feel like I'm always being punished?" She cried out silently.

"What do you mean?" Naruto had decided this was the best time to get her to talk, when she was angry.

"You…Sakura…everything. You're all just planning on destroying me, aren't you?"

"Ino, why would we want to do that?" Naruto asked, looking for any slight change in behaviour, trying to figure her out quickly before the possibility of Sakura barging out to find them happened.

"Because you hate me." She whispered out. If the wind hadn't carried her words, he might have missed them. His eyes narrowed, his body tensed, but he stayed silent.

"I'm right aren't I," Ino yelled out. "That's why you and Sakura don't include me in anything anymore."

Ino started to walk away but Naruto caught her wrist. "That's why you won't say anything!" She proclaimed, pulling her hand away.

"Why won't you just man up and tell me Naruto," Ino raved. "Just tell me that you don't want me!"

"Because that's not true," Naruto yelled back. "When have I ever said that I didn't want you?"

"When the hell have you ever said you did?" Ino snapped back.

He clenched his mouth shut. His response wouldn't do him any good when he knew she was right.

"I've showed it." He tried.

"When," She questioned him as she looked over his face. "In the last three months where I was set aside as you gave Sakura your undivided attention, did you show it to me then?"

Wiping away her tears, she could feel the desperation slipping out and her anger flared up at the thought. "You're a weird guy, Naruto Uzumaki," She continued. "If you wanted a spectator, I'm sure you could have found a better candidate than me."

Naruto never steering away from her gaze, slowly walked up to her. "If I didn't want you," He began. "I wouldn't have taken you."

Naruto emphasising on the word 'taken', before forcing Ino to slowly retreat into the wall, trapping her there with his body. He leaned his right arm against the surface, his face mere inches from hers.

"You don't get to tell me how I feel, Yamanaka," he began to explain. "You don't get to assume shit. If you want me to fuck you up against this wall, all you gotta say is please."

Ino's face turned a deep shade of red at Naruto's declaration. He hadn't spoken to her like that before, so she hadn't a clue on how to respond. She was tempted between egging him on further or kneeing him in the crotch, both sounding oddly satisfying. Though she opted for a more rational and honest approach.

"I think it'd be best if I just stopped being a part of this…this thing, we call ourselves."

"And I'd love it if you used your mouth for something other than talking," He confessed. "But we don't always get what we want, do we?"

Naruto had lost his patience. He wasn't about to let her off the hook for accusing him of things that hadn't been true. He clenched his fist to his side, looking irritably into her eyes. If she wanted a fight, he'd give her one. He eyed her as her mouth opened in a gasp at his comment. He could see the fire behind her eyes. This he could deal with, he could handle angry women.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. She hunched forward to poke him in the chest repeatedly. "You are such an asshole," She screeched out. "If you want a quickie so bad, go find Sakura."

"Why do you constantly bring her up?"

"Cause you prefer spending time with her over me." Ino said as she aggravatingly hit him harder against his chest.

"You know what I'd prefer," Naruto questioned. "I'd prefer to be balls deep in you rather than have this argument."

"Stop making this about sex." Ino yelled.

"How can I, when that's all I think about when I see you," Naruto confessed loudly. "I can't touch you without Sakura having a fucking conniption lately and now your doing the same thing." Naruto groaned out, the night turning into an event he wasn't looking forward to having.

"You think I didn't sense your chakra that night," He continued. "You think I didn't want you to know it was me?"

Ino froze, stopping her hands from continuously pounding into his chest. She blinked, finding it hard to process his statement, not believing her ears, she closed her eyes and tried to piece together another explanation, one that made sense.

"Stop that," Naruto said. "Stop trying to figure things out, there's nothing to figure out. I knew you were there." He grabbed her chin, shaking her eyes open. "You're a curious kitten Ino, and I was counting on you to stay."

She hesitated, sucking in her breath before huffing it out onto his face. He blinked at her action, she couldn't believe this. Her legs began to shake nervously. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? What the hell was she supposed to do? She hadn't expected this when she decided to come out to the bar with her friends tonight. She hadn't meant to make a scene inside the building, she had just been so angry and now she was out back, spilling her guts out, then he goes and tells her this. She was stumped.

"Ino?" Naruto questioned, poking her in the face. She had frozen on the spot, her eyes staring dead ahead. He questioned whether she was still with him or off in the body of a near by animal.

After a few seconds, she blinked back down to earth. "So…is it safe to assume that you, could possibly, like me?" She questioned, her tone hopeful but reserved.

He wanted to laugh. He wanted a strong scotch and a good long laugh. Of course this is how she would respond. "Ino, I've always liked you."

"I mean like, like me," Ino continued, her eyes wavering away from his. "Maybe? Possibly? I don't know, I'm just asking for a friend."

Naruto's lips turned up in a smirk, gently cupping Ino's jaw, he drew her into a deep kiss. She jolted in shock, not expecting his lips to crash onto hers. After a few seconds, she relaxed into the embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. Naruto grabbed her hips to draw her closer, wanting to feel the heat radiate off her. After drawing out the kiss a little longer, he released her mouth, littering her jaw and neck with butterfly kisses.

She revelled in the attention. After months of neglect and frustration during their meetings, she had finally gotten a piece of Naruto. She had truly wanted to end it, thinking that she no longer fit into the puzzle. She hadn't thought that either one would put up a fight, but here was Naruto, nipping at her skin with his teeth. He had declared some feeling for her. It was a start, one she was glad to witness first hand.

"What about Sakura?" Ino asked nervously.

"Who…I mean, what?" He replied back feverishly, his mind blanking at the heated interaction.

She nudged him with her knee, her hands too preoccupied with playing with his hair. "We're not allowed to have any physical contact outside the group," She concluded. "Wasn't that part of the rules?"

He sucked at the nape of her neck, causing her to cry out in pleasure. "I don't get you enough in the group," Naruto confessed. "So I'll have you outside of it as much as I want."

"But what do we tell Sakura?" Ino continued nervously. She didn't want to have to deal with Sakura's anger, she could be scary enough without the strength enhancers.

"We tell her nothing," Naruto concluded. "It'll be our secret." He bit her lower lip before capturing them one last time for the night, pulling her flush against him. After a few minutes, she pulled away for some much needed air, her hands encircling around his waist, and resting her head against his chest. She didn't like the idea of keeping more secrets, it didn't bode well for her but this one she was willing to over look momentarily. He rubbed her back gently, leading her to the back door to reenter the bar. He had been surprised when Sakura hadn't come out to look for them, assuming his tone scared her away, and allowing him and Ino to settle their differences.

"We've been out here for a while," Ino said, checking the time. "They might suspect something."

"Everyone's drunk," Naruto said nonchalantly. "They're not going to know their asses from their elbows."

Ino laughed at the saying before she was gently nudged into the building, Naruto walking right behind her. As true as Naruto's statement, the gang hadn't even noticed their departure. Tenten running up to Ino, wildly giggling at something Lee had whispered to her. Ino looked over to Naruto as he walked over to Sakura, her smile in place as soon as she saw him. She saw as Naruto whispered something into Sakura's ear causing the girl to smile wickedly. Ino continued to stare as Tenten pulled her back to the group table to hear the ending of Chouji's story. She watched as he spoke to Sakura, their voices inaudible but the looks on their faces showed content. She turned to the group to catch Shikamaru staring directly at her.

She cursed Shikamaru's perceptive behaviour, while at the same time praising it. He would ask for answers, and she would ask for assistance. He was an incredible friend, one of the greatest loves in her life, and she'd need him soon enough. She looked back over to her duo, Sakura playfully sticking her tongue out at her and Naruto laughing at the action, winking at Ino instead. She felt a wave of unease pass through her, but with it, came excitement. That was something she hadn't felt in ages and it passed a delicious thrill through her body.