Grin and Bear It
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.
Ino sat on the couch, staring straight ahead at the blank wall in front of her.
She was bored.
Ridiculously bored.
It had been almost two days since her 'revelation.' She hadn't really felt like cooking, so she'd been living off of nothing but takeout and Naruto's ramen. Sure, it was horribly unhealthy, but she was in far too much shock to care.
After hours of agonizing over it, she could now fully admit that she had a thing for Naruto. Granted, she didn't really know what that thing was. It wasn't love, but it was a weird sort of grey area where she wanted to both stick her tongue down his throat and beat his head in with a rock for making her want to stick her tongue down his throat.
Finally, the sound of a key inserting itself into the doorknob caught her attention, giving her a welcomed reprieve from her thoughts. She quickly pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't daydreaming, and since she didn't wake up, she felt reasonably sure that this was it. The moment of truth.
She was nervous, but also excited. Rather than pretend that she didn't like him, she was just going to lay it all out on the table. He might turn her down, but she'd be damned if she was going to go through the stress of trying to hide her feelings from him. It just wasn't who she was.
Of course, it'd be a little weird going out with her roommate. If they decided things between them weren't going to work out, it'd be really awkward getting back to where they'd been as friends. Still, she wasn't going to let that stop her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Ino bounced over to the door on the balls of her feet, smile already beginning to spread across her face. She didn't know how she was going to do this. Should she just ambush him with a hug? Or maybe she should just subtly flirt with him and ease him into the idea of a date? Both sounded like good ideas, so she decided to try them together for maximum effectiveness.
When the door finally opened and she saw who it was, her smile instantly dropped into a scowl. "What the hell do you want now, Sakura?" She expected an equally hostile response but her friend just stared back at her with a haunted expression, making her chest feel tight with worry. "Sakura?"
"Naruto's in the hospital."
The next ten minutes were a blur. She barely remembered throwing on some clothes and sprinting to the hospital, and the only thing she could do was pray that he was okay.
When they reached the hospital she practically flew up the stairs, taking the steps five at a time. Her lungs, legs, and eyes burned with unshed tears, and as much as she wanted to stop, she refused to rest until she saw his face.
The weirdest part was that she didn't even know why she was upset. Naruto was no stranger to the hospital. For awhile, Sakura had been threatening to charge him rent. But it was something in her friend's face–maybe it was the confusion, or the fear, but she knew it was different this time. Whatever was wrong with him was bad.
She burst into the hospital behind Sakura, eyes scanning the room for the telltale shade of yellow blond. Her eyes finally landed on Naruto's pale face, and a second later, a choked sob slipped out of her throat.
"What happened?!" she asked Shikamaru, noticing him skulking somewhat guiltily in the corner.
Shikamaru stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Why do you care?"
"Naruto's my friend, too!"
Seeing her expression, he sighed and crossed his arms, guilty expression returning. "This guy we were fighting did something to him. He was a rouge Yamanaka, the same one we encountered before. They knocked each other out at the same time, and I had to carry them both back to the village. Right now the bastard's with Ibiki in the interrogation department."
Ino felt herself become marginally happier. Ibiki was ruthless, especially if you hurt one of his. She was confident he'd have it figured out in no time, rouge Yamanaka or not. "What was it? A genjutsu?"
"We don't know yet, but like I said, he was a Yamanaka. He probably did something to Naruto's mind."
Ino's eyes widened. "Shit!"
"Is it really that bad?" Sakura asked, looking twice as afraid as she had before. She was well versed in medical ninjutsu, but when it came to issues of the mind, she was still somewhat of a novice.
The blonde nodded. "Mind jutsus are one of the most devastating kinjutsu in the shinobi world because we can't tell for sure what he did unless he tells us. If we try to force anything, it could make it worse."
Ino took the seat directly next to his bed, worriedly biting her thumbnail as she tried to think of a solution. Unfortunately, short of calling her dad which she really wanted to avoid, she couldn't think of anything else to do. While she racked her brain, a slight shuffle of the boy on the bed next to her caught her attention.
"Ino," Naruto mumbled quietly, barely moving his lips.
"Sakura! He's awake! He said my name!" the blonde gasped, hopping to her feet.
Sakura winced. "Ino..."
"No, really, he did!"
Sensing the urgency in her friend's voice, Sakura rushed over and began checking him over. "You're right! He's regaining consciousness!"
His eyes fluttered before slowly opening into thin slits. A moment later, a tiny grin spread across his face. "Did someone die?"
Ino punched him lightly on the shoulder, unable to stop herself from smiling back at him. "That's not funny." She then leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, the tension she'd been feeling since she heard the news leaving her body.
Naruto closed his eyes, deciding to just enjoy the contact. He took a deep whiff of her hair, and as usual, she smelled like wildflowers.
A strong hand fell onto Ino's shoulder, and she was abruptly pulled away by Sakura. "I need to check up on him. Wait outside."
They glared at each other for a tense few seconds, neither wanting to be the first to look away.
"Make me."
"Fine, go get Tsunade-sama, then. Do you want Naruto to slip back into a coma?"
Ino frowned. Though she was reluctant to leave them alone she was more concerned for Naruto, so she turned on her heel and ran out of the room to head towards the Hokage's office.
"What happened?" Naruto asked once she left, taking a few sips of the water Sakura offered to wet his throat.
"We're not sure. Shika said the shinobi that you were fighting used some sort of jutsu and you just passed out. You managed to knock him out too, though." Her fingers gently pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm glad you're alright. You really scared us."
Naruto grinned. "Of course I'm alright! I'm gonna be the next Hokage!"
Sakura laughed as Tsunade strolled into the room, Ino hot on her heels. "I brought the Hokage," she said, staring directly at Sakura as she spoke. She'd noticed that the medic-nin had moved just a little too quickly away from Naruto.
The kunoichi bit her lip. What the hell was going on? A few days ago Sakura was taking the piss out of Naruto and now she was all over him? It was like she knew she liked him, like she could sense her feelings even though she tried to hide them.
Tsunade walked over to Naruto's other side and looked him over, going through the set of tests that she couldn't perform while he was unconscious. After checking to make sure that he wasn't suffering from anything dire, she stood up and frowned. "He seems to be fine. At least physically."
Sakura sighed with relief, but Ino instantly understood the implications of her statement. "What did he do to his mind?" Both Shikamaru and Sakura turned to stare at her, a little surprised that she'd picked up on something they'd missed.
"He made him…happy. I don't know how to explain it, but for some reason, his dopamine levels seem to be higher than normal. I'll have to send his blood work up to the lab to be sure," the woman grumbled more to herself than to the other occupants of the room. She began scribbling something down on Naruto's clipboard, still muttering every now and then as she thought out loud.
Ino took a step forward, biting her lip worriedly. "Is it that bad? Should I try to take a look?"
"I've already called your father, so he should be down shortly." As if just realizing that she was there, Tsunade fully turned around to stare at Ino with her eyebrows raised. "Why are you here?"
She started a bit at the question, not sure if she should be insulted by the woman's disbelieving tone. "Well, uh, we work together. You know, in the department. The interrogation department. And I'm a medic-nin." When the woman's face remained unchanged, she averted her gaze and put on a hesitant smile. "And we're friends."
Tsunade didn't get a chance to comment as her father came rushing into the room followed by her mother. Ino groaned. Of all the rotten luck. She knew it had to be coincidence that her mother had tagged along, but it didn't make her feel any better.
"Ino, I haven't seen you in weeks! Where have you been?!" her mother shrieked, wrapping her up on a tight hug. She released her daughter a few seconds later, taking note of her less than stellar appearance. "Are you alright, dear? You look a little..."
The younger blonde rolled her eyes and lowered her voice, not wanting anyone else to hear too much of their conversation. "Yes, mother. I hurried down here so I didn't have time to do anything."
The woman's hazel eyes glanced over at Naruto, a look of realization spreading across her features. "I see," she whispered, watching as her husband ran through hand seals.
"See what?"
Her mother slid her eyes back over to Ino and leveled her with a serious gaze. "Ino, are you living with Naruto-kun?"
Ino bit back her shock. How the hell had she known? Did Sakura tell her? As soon as the thought entered her mind, she dismissed it. Sakura was a lot of things, but she was still her best friend wouldn't snitch unless her life was in absolute peril. It was probably just a combination of mother's intuition and the Yamanaka clan's ability to read other people. Still, she wasn't about to admit it if she didn't have any concrete evidence. "Why would I live with Naruto of all people? Seriously, that's so gross!"
The older Yamanaka hummed. "Just checking. If you were, though, I know you'd be responsible, right? Not dancing around his home in those ridiculously short shorts you like to wear?"
It was a struggle to keep herself from wincing. She couldn't wait to be a mother, if for no other reason than for the psychic abilities that they apparently gained. "If I was living with Naruto–which I'm not–nothing would happen. He's Naruto."
"He's also a young man." A small smile appeared on her face. "Though I'm certainly not adverse to having a few grandchildren."
"Mother! I am not living with Naruto, and there is nothing going on between us!" The look on her mother's face remained skeptical. She knew she didn't buy any of it. The jig was up, but strangely enough, she didn't seem like she was planning on telling her dad anything; at least not yet.
"How is he?" Ino asked her father, noticing that he'd finished with his jutsu.
The man grunted. "He appears to be fine. I checked his mind, and Tsunade's analysis seems to be correct. His dopamine levels are abnormally high, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We'll just have to wait and see how this develops." He fully turned to look at Ino, almost as if just noticing that she was there. "Why are you here?"
Ino let loose a frustrated sigh. Was it really so odd for her to be visiting Naruto in the hospital? Yeah, they weren't the closest of friends as far as everyone else knew, but they were still friends. She had a right to be concerned about him.
"Because I care about Naruto!" she said a little louder than she'd intended to. She could feel everyone's eyes on her and had to struggle to stop a blush from rising to her cheeks. "He's my friend."
Inoichi narrowed his eyes. "Is that right?" An uncomfortable silence settled in the room as he stared down his daughter. He turned to look at a stupidly grinning Naruto, and just as quickly, he shook his head as the suspicious look on his face dropped. "Well, it's nice that you're concerned for your comrades."
"Ino can be surprisingly serious about that sort of stuff," Shikamaru said from the corner of the room. He looked much better after hearing that Naruto was going to be okay. "Well, I need to write up the mission report. Maybe I'll think of something that can help. I'll be back to visit you tomorrow morning." With a lazy wave towards Naruto, he slipped out of the room.
Ino's father also moved to leave, nodding towards the Hokage on his way out. "I'll head home and see if I can find something in our family scrolls that might be of use. Are you coming back with us, Ino?"
"No, I'm going to stick around here to see if there's anything else I can do."
The man frowned, obviously displeased with her answer. "But–"
"Come on, dear, we need to do some shopping for dinner," her mother said, pulling him out of the door despite his protests. She shot her daughter one last smirk before leaving and closing it behind them.
Ino let loose a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. That was close. If it had been any other guy, the jig definitely would've been up. Luckily, Naruto was so immature and unassuming that most people didn't see him as a real threat to their daughters.
Which was really stupid, since girls actually liked a guy who could make them laugh. Including the fact that he was pretty cute and was known as one of the strongest shinobi in the known world, she couldn't understand why more girls weren't into him. She frowned slightly as she thought about that a little more. Actually, it was more likely that Naruto was too set on Sakura to give any other girl the time of day. He was very single-minded, a fact that frustrated her to no end.
"I'll watch over Naruto for the night to make sure everything's alright," Sakura said, motioning for her friend to leave.
"No, I will. I'm sure you have other patients to look after, and the issue is with his mind," Ino rebutted, not moving an inch.
Sakura's mouth formed a thin line. "That's really not necessary, Ino. You just go on home."
"I have all the time in the world. I'm staying."
Tsunade looked between the two girls, eyebrows raised curiously. Her first thought was that they were fighting over him, but she knew that Sakura was dating Sai and Naruto wasn't exactly Ino's type. Then again, according to Shizune there did seem to be some sort of weirdness between the two blonds, and they both seemed awfully concerned about the other's well-being. Perhaps there really was something between them.
The Godaime sighed, wondering why she even cared. True, she thought of Naruto as family, but she still wasn't interested in teenage drama. At least that's what she told herself.
"I'm fine, really! You can both leave!" Naruto chimed in, grinning from the hospital bed.
"Now there's an idea that makes sense. There's nothing either of you can do for him right now." Putting her hands on both of their shoulders, she not so gently pushed the girls towards the door. "Go on, now. I'll let you know if anything happens."
Both looked like they were going to put up a fight initially, but reluctantly, they did as they were told. Getting on the bad side of Tsuande's temper was never a good idea as they'd learned the hard way.
Immediately after leaving the room and shutting the door, Ino turned to her childhood friend and crossed her arms. "What are you trying to pull, Sakura? You're dating someone, remember?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'm not allowed to be concerned for my friend and teammate now?"
The Yamanaka blew out a frustrated breath. She had to admit that from the outside Sakura's actions looked normal, but unfortunately, she wasn't on the outside. She knew Sakura better than she knew herself sometimes. "Look...haven't you done enough?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm just saying that maybe you should give the guy a little time to get over the fact that you turned him down for Sai." She tried to be as straightforward yet delicate as possible, knowing how easy it was to set Sakura off. She could say the same about herself, but at least she could admit it.
Predictably Sakura crossed her arms, looking very much like her twelve year old self. "He didn't seem to mind me being there."
Ino breathed through her nose. God, she wanted to strangle Sakura. Could she really not see what she was doing to him? "You heard Tsunade-sama, he can't be upset right now. Of course it won't bother him that you're around."
"And you think that he wants you around instead?"
"Considering that I don't make it my job to break his heart, probably." At the stricken look on her friend's face, she sighed. "Sorry."
"Don't be. You obviously seem to think that you know more about our friendship than I do." With that, the pink-haired kunoichi turned on her heel and walked off down the hall, shoulders stiff and held high in a pose that Ino was more than familiar with.
She knew Sakura wouldn't back down and leave Naruto alone just because she'd asked, but that's not what she was aiming for to begin with. At the very least she wanted her to be more mindful of how she acted around him and hopefully not mention Sai as much as she had been. Even she was starting to get annoyed by it.
Being as quiet as possible, she slid the door open and poked her head inside to get one last look at Naruto. Luckily Tsunade had her back to her, but she could clearly see Naruto sleeping in the small bed. Despite saying he felt better, he was apparently much more exhausted than he'd let on. Ino nervously bit her lip. Just what else was he lying about?
"Careful," Ino urged, flitting around Naruto as he stepped through the doorway. She rested one hand on his back to support him in case he needed it and frowned when he lightly pushed it away.
"Ino, I'm fine! Really!" She looked so worried that he felt a little flattered.
"Are you hungry? I can make you some ramen. Here, sit down, you're still recovering. Do you want something to drink? Or maybe you just want to sleep?"
Naruto rolled his eyes, amused smile still plastered on his face. "Ino."
The girl sighed. "I just don't want you to push yourself too hard. We're still not sure what he did to you."
"I don't know, but I've never felt better!" To emphasize his point, he raised his arm and made a muscle, one that Ino found herself staring a little too greedily at.
Still, she narrowed her eyes, remembering the last time he'd said that to her in the hospital. "So you've said." A knock at the door interrupted them, and frown deepening, Ino walked over and opened it to reveal the person she least wanted to see at that moment. "Oh, hey, Sakura."
"Is Naruto around?" Sakura insisted, ignoring her friend's unwelcoming tone.
"Where else would he be? You heard Tsunade tell him to stay home for the next week just as well as I did."
"I wanted to come by and check up on him. You know, make sure he's getting settled in alright."
"I've got it. I trained under Hokage-sama too, you know." Her body was fully blocking the doorway, and both hands rested firmly on the door frame, obviously telling the medic-nin that she didn't want her to enter.
"Not for as long as I have." She easily pushed Ino backwards using barely an ounce of her strength and stepped into the small apartment, removing her coat as she did so.
"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked, sitting next to her teammate on the couch. She grabbed his chin and forced his eyes to stare into hers.
Sighing loudly, Naruto pulled himself free of her grasp. "What is it with everyone? I'm great! Never felt better!"
The girls exchanged glances. Even though they were at odds with each other, both were beginning to notice that he was saying 'I've never felt better' a little too much. "No, you're not," Ino ground out.
"Ino's right," Sakura affirmed, scooting herself closer to Naruto. "You're not better yet."
Still in the doorway, Ino struggled to calm herself down. For as long as she'd known her, Sakura had never been this nice to Naruto before and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she had an ulterior motive. She refused to believe that she was being unreasonably jealous this time. "Sakura, can I talk to you outside for a second? About Naruto?"
Sakura paused for a second, peering into the Yamanaka's impatient blue eyes in an attempt to figure out what she was up to. Reasoning that she didn't have anything to worry about since , she sighed and jumped back to her feet, following Ino's ponytail out of the door.
As soon as the cheap wooden door clicked behind her, Ino reeled on Sakura. "This is just like you! You want everything you think I want!"
The pink-haired girl raised an eyebrow. "So you want Naruto?"
"No!" she lied, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "You just think I do."
Sakura laughed at that, further angering her. "Naruto's my best friend, so I'm going to make sure he's okay whether you like it or not. Sorry," she added with a shrug. Shaking her head slightly, she opened the door and headed back into the apartment.
The blonde sighed as she watched her go. Maybe she was overreacting. Sakura was his best friend, so she did have the right to be there...
Watching the medic-nin lean over him in the low cut shirt that she reserved for showing off what little cleavage she could manage to squeeze together, she was once again unconvinced of her innocence.
"All done. You look good, but take it easy, alright? No strenuous activity," the green eyed girl warned, leaning back to glare at him.
"Yes, ma'am," Naruto drawled. Still, he rolled his eyes with a smile. He slowly stood to his feet and wandered towards the bathroom, causing both girls to turn and watch him.
"Where are you going?" they demanded simultaneously.
"To change clothes. I promise not to trip and crack my head open."
"That wasn't funny!" Ino called after him. Shortly afterwards, she turned a glare on Sakura. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Maybe a boyfriend to hang out with?" The smile that appeared on her friend's face made her wonder if she wasn't just trying to annoy her on purpose.
"As a matter of fact, I don't."
The blonde groaned. "Sakura, seriously, let's not do this. Neither one of us is interested in him that way, and I know we always have this weird rivalry thing going on, but it just feels pointless this time. You know?"
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I wasn't fighting over Naruto to begin with."
Ino grit her teeth. That smug, conceited look on Sakura's face was beginning to piss her off. She loved the girl to death–with emphasis on the death part–but she was being a major pain in the ass.
"Naruto's fine now, so you can go. I've got it from here–unless there's some reason you're hanging around?"
Naruto emerged from his bedroom before she could answer and cocked his head at Sakura. "You're still here?"
Ino noticed with some annoyance that Sakura's eyes had run over his torso before raising to meet his eyes. "I thought I'd hang out here for awhile."
He tilted his head curiously in the other direction but eventually shrugged and pulled on his shirt, plopping back down next to Sakura on the couch. "I was just gonna watch TV and go to bed, so if you find that exciting.."
Not wanting to be left out, Ino moved over and sat down on Naruto's other side. "Sounds fine to me."
They watched TV in relative silence, only every now and then saying something about what they were watching. After a somewhat tense hour Naruto yawned and stood up, stretching his arms high above his head. "Well, I'm going to turn in."
Ino also stood. "You go ahead. I'll see Sakura out."
Nodding, the jinchuuriki grinned and waved, closing the bedroom door behind him.
As they walked towards the front door, Ino couldn't stop herself from saying one more thing. "You're not making any sense, even for you. Why are you being so clingy with Naruto two days after you turned him down?"
"I'm not being clingy. I just wanted to make sure he's okay, and Tsunade-sama did originally ask me to look out for him."
"Fine, whatever." She was tired of arguing over this, especially since the girl seemed completely unwilling to admit that she was being unreasonable about the whole situation.
Sakura glanced towards Naruto's door and let out a breath through her nose. Lowering her voice, she took a step closer to the taller blonde. "Ino, I'm only going to say this one more time. Do not. Get involved. With Naruto."
"Or what?"
"You really don't get it. Look, he has problems that we can't begin to understand, and I'm not sure if you'd be able to handle Naruto when he's at his lowest. I've been there, and trust me, it's not something you want to put yourself through. I'm saying this as your friend."
Ino scowled. Sakura was being awfully evasive about her point, but she was too angry to ask any further. "I don't need to understand. Naruto's a sweet guy. He gave me a place to stay when I had nowhere else to go, he taught me how to ice skate, and he spoke up for me to Tsunade-sama when I was too miserable to. I don't care what his past is like; the present Naruto is better than all of us."
"You really don't get it, do you?" the medic-nin implored, voice raising slightly.
"No, you don't get it. You can't hold onto Naruto if you don't want him. You can't stop him from having a life and keep him as your backup plan. It's stupid and incredibly selfish." By now she was seething. She couldn't imagine what her face must have looked like at that moment, but she knew it wasn't pretty.
Sakura grabbed her coat and slipped it on over her shoulders. She glanced back at Ino one last. and shook her head one last time before leaving.
Still hyped up on her emotions, she felt the sudden need to thank Naruto for being such a good friend to her. She hadn't fully realized until her argument with Sakura how much he'd done for her when he didn't owe her anything at all. She carefully pushed open his door and walked into his bedroom, hoping he wasn't asleep yet. "Naruto?"
"Mmhhmm," he mumbled incoherently.
Ino winced. So much for not waking him up. Stepping a little more into the darkness, she quickly thought over what she wanted to say. "I just want you to know that...I appreciate what you've done for me these past few weeks. I really regret the way I treated you when we were younger."
"S'okay." He sounded more awake now, though just marginally.
"No, It's not. It was never okay. I'm going to make it up to you, I promise, and I'm going to start by making sure you get better no matter what I have to do." Conviction firmly in mind, she eased back out of the room and closed the door.
AN: I literally forgot I had this done! I think I was proofing it and just...got bored. Let me know if you like this new direction. Hopefully it's not too obvious what's about to happen.
