Chapter 9

As the school day progressed by rather fast, the blonde couple were truly just happy to be in each others presence. They had gone through there classes and once again found themselves in their 4th class, Study Hall. Naruto and Ino had both decided that this was there favorite class because they could just spend there time together and not usually interrupted. Naruto decided to interrupt there silence.

"So Ino, how about we go to your house after school to work on our project. I don't want you to have to walk to my house again! Besides, I want you to be comfy at your own house to!"

Ino smiled and thought about how sweet her boyfriend always was.

"Naruto it doesn't matter were I go, as long as I'm with you I feel at home. If you want to go to my house then I'm fine with that!"

Naruto smiled and was about to continue talking until there teacher Anko walked to them and started speaking.

"Naruto Uzumaki, principal Tsunade would like to speak with you please."

Ino looked at her blonde haired boyfriend and questioned him.

"Naruto, what did you do? Why are you such a Baka sometimes."

Naruto scratched his head in thought.

"I don't know what I did Ino, I don't remember doing wrong. I swear!"

Ino looked at her boyfriend and then gave him a small peck on the cheek and sent him on his way. She heard Anko speak again.

"Please don't get all mushy gushy in class, it's disgusting. Hurry up Naruto."

As Naruto was walking down the halls towards the principals office, he took his time to notice all the things in the school. He liked how the school was quite nice and well kept for just a public school. The floors were kept clean and everything was relatively new looking. At least some places cared how they looked. As he found Tsunade's office, the door was open already and he was called in. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk and told the boy to close the door behind him and then spoke up.

"Before you say anything Naruto, no you're not in trouble or anything like that. I just wanted to bring you here to talk about Jirayia's funeral and what is going to be happening. First off you should already know that the funeral is at 11:00am next Thursday, and I was told that Shizune will be picking you up. I have faith that you and Ino will dress appropriately so I wont go I to detail about attire. I mainly brought you in her to invite you to dinner at my apartment complex this Saturday. I wanted to have a dinner with everyone close to Jirayia and I've already invited Inoichi and Shizune. You could bring Ms. Yamanaka if you wish. Would you be interested in coming?"

Naruto took a second to think about the offer and quickly came up with a decision.

"I'd love to come Tsunade, but I will be bringing Ino. I don't want to go with and and have her felt all left out. Is there anything else you wanted to call me up here for?"

Tsunade opened her drawer and pull out something that looked like a chain necklace until Naruto figured out what it was.

"Is that the locket Jirayia left to you? What does it have to do with anything?"

Tsunade chuckled a bit.

"I would like you to have this locket, I know the old perv wanted me to have it but I just think it would be better in your hands. If I were you I would give it to Ms. Yamanaka. I think she would really love it."

Naruto looked at the blonde principal.

"Thank you so much Tsunade, this means a lot to me."

Naruto and Tsunade both looked at the clock and Tsunade spoke up.

"Naruto go back to class and bring Ms. Yamanaka with you. I am going to be letting you both out a little early today so you can both get home and get some much needed rest."

Naruto nodded and sped his way to Study Hall. He was almost at a running speed when he passed Mr. Hatake. Kakashi stopped Naruto and started to talking to him.

"Well Naruto. What are you in such a hurry for? Shouldn't you be in class?"

Naruto caught his breath and replied.

"Actually I'm on my way to class right now to bring Ino back to the principals office. We're going to be dismissed a little early today and I want to hurry up! We've had a bad week and she is giving us a break."

Kakashi looked at Naruto and understood what the boy was going through. He had learned that Naruto godfather had passed away yesterday and felt bad for the young buy. He didn't have much in his life and always had a smile on his face. This boy was probably the strongest person he'd ever met!

"Naruto I'm sorry about your godfather Jirayia, he was a good man and passed on way to soon. I was very sad to hear about all of this. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to call me and ask."

Naruto thank the silver haired teacher and began walking fast towards the classroom. He got there and saw Ino pop up and begin to question him again!

"So Naruto, what did you do? How much trouble are you in? What am I going to do with yo!"

Naruto silenced her by putting his finger on her lips and began to speak up.

"It's alright Ino, I didn't get into any trouble. In fact I actually have something to give to you!"

He pulled out the locket that Tsunade gave him from his pocket and asked Ino to turn around and close her eyes. She did as he asked and shivered when she felt cold metal touch her neck and then heard Naruto say to turn around and open her eyes! Ino looked down and saw something she didn't expect to see. The locket that was left to Tsunade!

"Naruto were did you get this locket? I thought it was left to Tsunade."

Naruto smiled as he talked. She always thought that was the cutest thing.

"Thats what she called me down for. She wanted to give me the locket because she thought I was the one who should have it. She also invited me to dinner at her house tomorrow along with your father and Shizune. I want you to go with me! Will you?"

Ino was a little shocked that he would ask her so suddenly but was ecstatic that he did.

"Yes Naruto I would love to go with you tomorrow, and thank you so much for trusting me with something so precious to you!"

Naruto smiled even wider and started to talk again.

"And she also told me to come and get you because she is going to let us leave school a little earlier today! She says we deserve a rest for the long week we've had! So get your stuff and lets go!"

Ino nodded happily and she picked up her bag and they began there walk back down towards Tsunade's office hand in hand with each other! Once they arrived at her office they were given a pass that lets them out early and they were on there way! They made there way to Ino's house and walked in surprising Inoichi a bit.

"You two didn't get kicked out of school did you? Why are you home so early? Were you two caught ding something?"

Ino spent the next 5 minutes explaining everything to her confused father all that had happened that day. He seemed to understand more once she mentioned the dinner tomorrow night as he already knew about that.

"So Ino your going to go with Naruto tomorrow as a date then? Well I'm fine with that as long as it stays appropriate. Say Naruto do you wanna meet up her tomorrow at around 5:30 so we can all go together, it would all be so much easier that way."

Naruto nodded eagerly and agreed!

"Hey Naruto, lets go up to my room so we can start working on our project! We'll see you in a bit daddy!"

Inoichi nodded as the two blondes made there way upstairs. Ino led Naruto to a door and they made there way through it. Naruto found Ino's room to be very "interesting". The color purple was everywhere and he had to say it didn't look to bad either way. He heard Ino speak up.

"So Naruto, what do you think our topic should be on? Remember that it has to be arguable topic so it needs to be good!"

Naruto thought it for a second and then spoke up.

"I have a pretty good idea, and that old perv is my inspiration. Can you consider graphic novels that include 'Love scenes' porn or are they considered art?"

Ino thought about the topic for a bit and she decided that she liked that topic. It could be tweaked a bit but it was a great basic idea and there was a lot to do from it.

"Naruto, that is a great idea! Were did you come up with it? Or was it random?"

Naruto laughed at her question as he knew it would come up sooner or later.

"I actually got into a lot of arguments with the old Perv about whether his trashy books were considered porn or what he considered art. It was a never ending argument between us and I almost never lost."

Ino smiled at her blonde Baka of a boyfriend and started to think of how lucky she was to have someone like him in her life. The time passed quickly and they soon found it was 6:30. They had been working for almost 3 hours! Naruto spoke up and broke her out of her trance like state.

"Well Ino, I think I'm going to head home. You probably want to eat dinner with your father and besides, I think I stayed my time. Bye!"

He went to leave to room but Ino grabbed his are and looked at him and smiled.

"Hey Naruto do you want to eat dinner with me and my father tonight? We would love to have you over! Please stay a little bit longer!"

Naruto knew he couldn't tell her no, he loved her to much to do that!

"Alright Ino, I'd love to have dinner with you and your father, if he will let me of course!"

Ino giggled with happiness and pulled Naruto into a passionate kiss. They both held the kiss until they were interrupted by Inoichi.

"Do you two want to come downstairs and have some dinner? I hope I wasn't interrupting something to important. Now hurry up downstairs, I made Chicken Alfredo, your favorite Ino! Don't let it go could. Come on Naruto, I made enough for you to have some too! I anticipated having you for dinner to!"

Naruto thanked Inoichi for his generosity and him and Ino made there way down to the kitchen table to see the plates were already set for them. They both sat down as Naruto pulled out Ino's chair for her like a gentlemen should. Ino blushed when he did this, earning her a slight peck on the cheek.

They sat down and ate with Inoichi on the other side of them just making conversation. They were all enjoying the dinner very much and when everything was finished, Naruto offered to do the dishes much to Inoichi's dismay. After all the dishes were done, it was 7:30. Naruto decided it was time for him to go home.

"Well Ino, Inoichi, I am going to make my way home now. Thank you so much for making me dinner and letting me eat here! I really appreciate it!"

As he said this, Inoichi said his goodbyes and made his way inside. Ino however wrapped Naruto into a tight hug and a great kiss. She didn't want to let go but she knew she had to. When she did he told her that he would see her tomorrow for the dinner. That made it a little better for Ino to handle. She said goodbye and they went there separate ways. As Naruto was walking home, he was thinking about how lucky he was and about his relationship with Ino. He had been with her for almost 2 weeks and yet he felt like he had known her forever! He had never felt like this before and he was glad it was with Ino. He just hoped she felt the same way about him! Over back at Ino's house, she was thinking the relative same thing as Naruto was. About how lucky she was to have him and how she was so stupid that she never talked to him earlier in her life or never tried to get to know him.

"I wonder if he cares about me as much as I care about him. I think I'm starting to fall in love with him. These past two weeks have been some of the best of my life! I hope they honestly never end."

And with that thought she fell deep asleep.

Saturday Morning

Naruto woke up and looked at his clock instinctively. It was only 9:30, so he decided to just sit back and relax for a bit.

"I wonder what Ino is doing right now. Maybe I'll go see her before we go to dinner. I bet she would like that a lot! Actually, I have seen her a lot in the past two days, I think she might be pretty tired of me for a bit. I think I'll just relax until I'm supposed to go."

Naruto got up and put a clean pair of sweatpants on and sat down on the couch and just stared at the wall. He didn't know why but he found it quite calming and peaceful to just sit there and be quiet, he might have to try it more often. His peace and quiet was interrupted by a knock on the door. It wasn't like he was irritated by the sudden disturbance, he was just surprised because of the early hour. He walked to the door and answered it. Who he opened the door to was a big shock to him.

"Hello Naruto, I want to ask you a favor."

Naruto looked dumbfounded as Sasuke Uchiha. Him out of all people was at his house in the early morning and asking for a favor. This morning was going to be very interesting.

Over at the Yamanaka household, Inoichi had just finished making breakfast and looked at the clock and it read 9:45. He guessed now was a good time as ever to wake up Ino.

"INO WAKE UP IT'S ALMOST 10:00! I MADE BREAKFAST ALREADY. PANCAKES AND STRAWBERRIES. HURRY UP!"

Ino turned in her bed as she heard her father's screams for her to get up. She knew she had to get up but she was still sorta tired and wanted to stay in bed. She knew she had to get up sooner or later though. She decided sooner.

"I'm getting up now daddy, calm down! You don't have to yell for me to get up."

Inoichi scoffed at her remark.

"Sweetie if I didn't yell at you to get up you would never leave your bedroom. Not sit down and enjoy your breakfast, we have a pretty big day today and you'll need your energy. Besides, I made something you like either way."

Ino guessed her father was partially right. She did have a tendency to be a heavy sleeper and probably sleep a lot longer than she did if he didn't wake her up in the morning. She was a little thankful for that then. But still he was a little harsh.

"You could at least be a little softer then, your yelling gives me a headache in the morning. It's really annoying either way."

Inoichi looked at his daughter carefully.

"Ok Ino, I will try to wake you up a little easier in the mornings."

Ino smiled widely!

"Thanks daddy! It really means a lot to me! You have no idea!"

As they continued eating there very well made breakfast, they just had small talk and conversation between them. It usually ended up around Naruto and the dinner at Tsunade's later that day. They were both very excited for tonight. More Ino because she got to go as Naruto's date and she loved the idea of them being in public together!

"Well daddy, thanks for breakfast! It was really good!"

Inoichi looked pridefully at his daughter!

"Thank you honey! Go back upstairs and relax for a bit. We will start to get ready in a couple of hours!"

Back at Naruto's house, him and Sasuke were sitting inside on his couch after finishing a well deep conversation. Sasuke had a crush on Sakura and wanted Naruto's help with asking her out. That wasn't what he wasn't expecting to hear in the morning.

"So let me get this straight Sasuke, you act moody all day in school and your make people think you don't care about anyone except yourself and you developed a crush on Sasuke? You are the most confusing person I have ever met. Why do you want my help again exactly?"

Sasuke grunted and looked at Naruto.

"Because I'm basically scared to ask her out myself, I'm not the toughest person in the world you know."

Naruto took some time to think about it.

"Then why do you expect me to help when you've 'hated' me all of your life? Doesn't make much sense does it?"

Sasuke was stumbled by the question but answered whole heartedly.

"It's because your obviously doing something right if you started going out with Ino. Besides, you've been a lot less annoying since you've started to go out with her and I've even started to enjoy your small antics."

Naruto's face grew with a big smile as he basically had just been told that the Uchiha doesn't hate him and considers him a friend now! How could he not be smiling?!

"Alright Sasuke, I think I'll help you out for this. What do you want me to do for you?"

Sasuke grinned.

"I want you to give Sakura this note for me. It has everything I want to say to her and that should be it. Naruto you have no idea how much I appreciate this. I will owe you one after all this is over."

Naruto's grin grew even larger!

"No problem Sasuke, I will tell you that I can't give her the note until Moday at school. Are you alright with that?"

Sasuke nodded his head.

"Yes, that's perfectly fine. I was going to ask you wait a little bit before you gave iit to her either way. I need some more time to think everything over and how I'm going to do it as well."

As Sasuke finished speaking, he got up and headed towards the door.

"Naruto, thanks for doing this for me. I know I don't deserve it and you hospitality. If you ever need a favor or you need any help, just let me know and I'll be there for you. Now I've got to get going, I've got to talk to that lazy bastard Shikamaru. We had a bet and I want my money soon. Bye Naruto."

Naruto said his goodbyes and looked at the clock again. It was only 10:30. He decided to take a shower and go pick out some clothes for him to wear later. He took his time in the shower doing various things. He got out with the towel wrapped around his waist and he made his way into the living room. He put the same pair of sweatpants he had on earlier on again and started to look through his drawers and decide what he was going to were to dinner. He had decided that he would wear a nice polo shirt with a pair of blue jeans that are custom fit and are rather expensive. Jirayia had bought these pants about a year ago and thankfully Naruto hadn't grown that much in the time. He laid all of the clothes out evenly on his bed and remembered one last thing, his fathers necklace. He was going to start wearing it all the time as a reminder of how much he had of his parents left. He wondered what Ino was doing right now.

Over at the Yamanaka household, Ino had just finished her shower and was walking around her room getting everything ready for later. She had already decided that she was going to wear a mid sized purple skirt with a blue and white tank top, with a coat obviously. She had already come to the conclusion that she had looked good, all she had to do was put on her makeup and she would be ready to go. To bad it was still pretty early or she would be done.

"I still have some time before I have to get ready. I think I'll just read a book to pass some of the time. I wonder were The Invention of Hugo Cabret is. I haven't read that in a while, besides it's one of my favorites!"

As she shuffled around her room she finally found her book and she was pleased to just sit down and to start reading. After about an hour and a half, she put down the book and noticed she had been almost three fourths the way though with it.

"Wow, I must've gotten lost in that book. I always did like to read a lot. I guess that's a trait that won't go away for a while. Well there is no shame in that."

Ino started to get dressed and was almost done but was interrupted by her father.

"Ino try to start getting ready soon, I want to leave in a couple hours. Please don't take forever."

Ino laughed as her father knew she always took her sweet time.

"Alright daddy, I won't take forever to get ready. I'll be done in a little bit!"

Inoichi went downstairs himself and started to get ready and was finished within ten minutes. He was worried because if his daughter was anything like his ex wife, which she was, she will be another hour at the very least before she is done.

"What was I thinking when I believed her when she said she would be quick. I need to use my brain more don't I?"

Over at another location, Tsunade was at the store buying groceries for dinner she would be cooking tonight. She had decided to go fancy and grill a pork tenderloin with some french cut green beans and some baked potato, she was going to make sure everyone would be having a great dinner. As she was in the check out line, her phone started ringing. It was Shizune.

"Hey Tsunade, I was just wondering if you wanted me to bring anything extra to dinner tonight. I was about to stop by the store so I thought I would ask."

Tsunade thought for a second and replied.

"Well we could use a couple of rolls and maybe some champagne if it's not to much. I want everybody to have a happy occasion"

She could her a small chuckle on the other side of the phone.

"Alright, I'll bring some dinner rolls and a nice bottle of Champagne, is there anything else?"

Tsunade thought one more time and replied.

"No that's fine sweetie, I can handle the rest."

As they finished up there small talk, her groceries were loaded up into the cart and she headed out to her car after telling Shizune goodbye. The drive home was quiet. She was mainly thinking of how she was going to cook everything and what they were all getting in to. She decided she would be doing this in Jirayia's honor.

"You hear this you old perv, I'm doing this for you so you should be happy ow. I hope you don't mind that I gave Naruto that locket, I though he deserved it more."

With that she stopped talking and just drove quietly. When she got home she took the groceries out and started to cook. Everyone wasn't going to be here for at least two more hours so she should be alright on timing...She hoped..

Author's Note: Well guys this is the longest chapter yet I think. I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I'm so sorry if this chapter came out later than everyone who reads this thought it would. I was just a little confused on how I would like to right this chapter. I have decided to do one big-ish sized chapter every week with two on occasion. I just find this much easier to do and people seem to like the longer chapters. I have a couple questions for you guys. Would you guys want me to do sort of like an Omake chapter in the near future? For comic release obviously, and since it's coming up on Christmas time I thought it would be nice. Another big thing is do you guys wanna see a lemon later in the story? I am genuinely 50/50 on writing one and you guys opinions will tip the scale in the way you want it. If I do right a lemon I'm just going to let you guys know I'm going to change this story to "M" rating. One last thing guys, please review! I love to see people review and don't be shy! I am going to start going to reply to all reviews so please don't review as a guest! I wanna talk to you guys too! Remember the more you guys review the more motivated I might be to post and write more (Hint Hint), and if you wanna give an answer to either of the questions abovr then please leave a review! Sorry for such a long running AN, just had a lot to say this chapter :P. Have a great day guys and thanks for reading!