MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE

(on a completely random note, who reads the comic Thinkin Lincoln?)

It was a lovely day, perfect for Ino to walk through the park... so she did. Idly inspecting the flowers she came across (those little fluffy dandelions were so much fun to blow on and have all the little seed-things drift off), she found a shady spot under a tree and was just about to take it when she discovered it was occupied.

"Ack-!" she exclaimed, tripping over him when he stretched out as she tried to walk past him. "Oof."

"Hey, who're you?!" yelled the person defensively. He jumped up and turned away, almost as if to hide his face.

She made a small "hmph" noise. Like there could be any mistaking who it was.

Who else had bright yellow hair and a bordering-obsessive penchant for the color orange?

"Sorry, Naruto," she said, turning to walk the other direction.

He flopped back down and nodded.

Hey, wait. This was Naruto. Shouldn't he be... yelling at her, or something?

Shrugging it off, she continued (maybe Sakura had just rejected him again, or something mundane like that), and found herself following the circular path around the park... and ending up back there again. He didn't notice her.

But... this time, she couldn't mistake it. She heard a small sniffle and saw him frantically swipe at his eye with his sleeve.

Should she stop?

She almost didn't, but he looked so forlorn, just sitting there...

His eyes were closed and his face was buried in the long grass, so she crouched by him. "Naruto?"

A short jerk of the head. "That's my name."

"Are you okay?"

When he looked up, he had the most brilliantly plastic smile on his face- but his eyes were tellingly red and puffy. "'Course I am, Ino-chan. Why'd you ask?"

The smile was heart-wrenchingly fake, and she exhaled sharply- it was like a blow to the stomach.

"Naruto, you are not okay. I'm not that stupid. I mean, I get it, if you don't want to tell me... but..." she trailed off. "I'm really sorry for whatever it is."

"You wouldn't understand."

It was a mutter directed toward the ground, only barely intended for her ears, but she heard it.

"And why not?" It was an indignant reply.

"You're not me."

She scowled. "I would too understand. Tell me what's wrong. If it's Sakura, I might even be able to help." Anything to get that fake smile off his face...

He snorted. "Much worse than Sakura."

"What, then?" She was absolutely sincere.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "I'll tell you... but it's kinda a secret, Ino-chan."

Secret was fine. Real secrets she could keep... not silly things like who-likes-who.

"Go on, Naruto."

"You know Akatsuki is after me, right?"

She nodded, remembering missions. Remembering Asuma... the day Shikamaru had killed Hidan...

"Do you... know it's because I'm the Kyuubi vessel?"

She gasped. "No... I never knew... Naruto, I'm so sorry." Thoughts whirled in her head. That's why...

Stunned, cold silence filled the warm summer air.

"Ino-chan?" he asked after a long while.

"Yeah?"

"You don't hate me now... do you?"

She blinked at him. He was absolutely sincere, sitting up and staring at her pleadingly.

"Naruto... " She almost breathed out his name, getting a crystal-clear view of his life. That's why...

She hugged him, awkward as it was since she hardly knew him. "Only morons and stupid people could ever hate you," she said in his ear. "You can trust me, Naruto," she added, trying to reassure him.

He returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her. Footsteps from far away reached their ninjas' ears and they jumped back awkwardly. It turned out to be a jogger who was paying no attention to them, and Naruto went back to his explanation as the person left earshot.

"It just catches up with me sometimes," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "That- that I'm hunted... That's all."

She nodded. "I'll protect you!" A promise, rashly made but absolutely sincere.

He smiled just a little bit. "Don't worry about it, I can protect myself," he said. "I'm going to be Hokage, after all!"

Ino suddenly realized that she would (like so many others that she hardly knew about) give her life to protect that.

"I don't need a woman to protect me!" he exclaimed further, and the mood suddenly lightened.

She punched his head, just hard enough to hurt. "Baka."

"Okay. Maybe if she punches like that I need a woman to protect me... AHA! SAKURA-CHAN WILL BE MY BODYGUARD!"

Ino grinned. Naruto was back to normal, not that terrifyingly fake smile. But the seriousness returned briefly.

"Thanks, Ino-chan."

"INO! GET BACK HERE! LUNCHTIME IS OVER!" Ino's mom called from the shop.

"You're welcome, Naruto. I better go."

She waved and watched him sit up and catch ladybugs.

Aw. The NaruIno fluffyness.

They can go be loud crazy blondes together. :D