Ino was Sakura's sister, a sister born from tears and laughter and turmoil. Ino was important to Sakura. Sakura was important to Naruto. So Naruto decided that Ino should be important to him as well. He decided to befriend Ino, and looking back, he was glad he did. Because Ino had turned out to be much more than a friend, she'd turned out to be a sister to him. Not like Sakura. No, Sakura was the younger sister, the one he worried about and protected. The one he wouldn't fight with because she was just so sweet and young and pure.
Ino was the proverbial older sister. The sister who was a little bratty sometime, who you fought with but somehow admired, the one who had your back no matter what. Naruto remembered the first time Ino had stuck up for him. When he was 16, some non-shinobi village brats had started taunting him. They had viewed him as nothing more than the Kyubi container, a danger to the village. Ino had arrived in time to hear some of the more colorful things they were saying to him. Her fury was a sight to behold, both dreadful and awe inspiring. Naruto had honestly never believed a woman could swear like that. She'd thrown insults at the punks that Naruto himself would be too bashful to say or imagine. Yes, Ino was his sister, his friend, his protector.
