AN: Wow, I'm beyond relieved to find out no one hates me! Well, too much, anyway, grins, but it's not over! I would never end it like that, I'm a bit of a romantic sap if you haven't figured it out by now. Anyway, this chapter has a bit of a spoiler so you've been warned! If you don't catch it then no worries, I think I hinted enough for you get what I'm trying to get at, if you know what I mean! Lol, and so our story continues!

Chapter Twenty

Ino had never been so frustrated in her life! It had taken her days to track down Hinata! The savvy minx had hid in her clan house and had been indisposed for visitors. Normally, this wouldn't have stopped a feisty blonde such as herself, however, an ever vigilant Neji would and did stop her progress.

"Lady Hinata is not in any sort of condition to feed your addiction to gossip," Neji's eyes were cold with threat, daring to even think about trying to sneak onto Hyuuga property while he was on guard.

It was on chance that she had finally caught up to the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata had been running errands, but even that was a bust!

"Hinata! I heard what happened!" Ino was instantly at her side, "What happened?!"

Hinata gripped her basket so hard her knuckles turned white, "It didn't work-"

"How could it not have worked?!" The blonde was livid, "Everything was there! Looks, chemistry, status, compatibility, personality, communication . . ." She trailed off awkwardly as a tear made it's way down the other girl's cheek.

"We also harmonized perfectly on canvas. It was all my fault," she muttered miserably, "I should have told him how I felt."

Ino ended up with an armful of sobbing Hyuuga and found herself whispering, "It's all right, I am going to help you fix everything. I promise." She might not be as fanatical about keeping her promises as another blond she could mention but that didn't mean she would go back on her word if she could help it.

When Hinata had finally calmed down and was composed again, Ino found herself reluctant to question the other girl further. Damn it! She hadn't even got any good information to work with, which, led her to her current predicament.

Looking for Naruto.

He was the only person there and, since asking Hinata only made her cry, the only reliable source of information with an insight to Gaara's actions, feelings, and thoughts on the matter. He was the one she had to talk to and, yet, finding him was proving to be harder than cornering Hinata!

She had never really hung out with the other blond and didn't really know his favorite hangouts beyond the ramen stand so she had asked around to find out only to find no one really knew!

Sure, some knew other places to look besides the ramen stand but his usual training field wasn't that much of a stretch. Neither was his apartment nor was the bridge where his team used to meet. He wasn't in any of these locations, Ino knew since she had staked out these various locations waiting for him to show up.

He never did.

The longer it took to find him the more anxious she seemed to get. How was it that the most bright, loud, and arguably the most friendly guy in their generation had no one who could find him if he was upset? Even his own teammate Sakura didn't know where he'd be if he wasn't in those places though she did offer one other alternative.

"Did you check the Hokage tower?" Sakura shifted her weight uneasily at the lack of knowledge, "He likes to bug Lade Tsunade for missions."

Ino eyed her childhood friend hard, "He hasn't been at the tower, has he?"

"No," she ran a frustrated hand through her short pink locks, "Shishou has actually asked me to look for him. She's worried since he hasn't showed up at all in the past week. If you find him before I do would you tell him to report to the tower immediately? She has an S-Class mission only he can do."

Disappointed and more anxious than ever led her feet to the academy to visit the tree swing where Naruto used to sit when he was young.

It was empty.

She leaned against the fence in defeat.

"Ino?" A concerned male voice called out, "Is that you? What are you doing all the way out here?"

She glanced up to see a cheerful smile and worried brown eyes.

"Oh, hi, Iruka-sensei," her smile was lack luster at best.

He wrinkled his brow, "What's wrong?"

She shrugged halfheartedly, "It's nothing really."

He studied her and then shook his head, "Something's obviously bothering you, Ino, but I understand if you don't feel comfortable talking to me," his smile was warm and open, "It can't be all that bad so cheer up."

She felt a real smile creep across her face.

"There you go," he nodded approvingly, "There's the smile I remember." He waved a lazy bye and started on his way.

Ino shook her head a little, trust Iruka-sensei to make everything better without changing a thing. No wonder Naruto-

Wait . . .

"Iruka-sensei!" She dashed after her former teacher, "Have you seen Naruto?"

"Naruto?" He seemed honestly puzzled but the slight tenseness of his shoulders gave him away.

"You know where he is, thank goodness, I've been looking for him everywhere!" She let out a relieved breath and then went still at the blank look he was giving her, "Iruka-sensei?"

"Why are you looking for Naruto?"

She blinked owlishly at the protective tone before she remembered how, despite the many stern lectures and detentions he gave, Iruka-sensei was always there for Naruto.

"Ino," the teacher took a calming breath, "Now is not the time to hound Naruto for gossip on Hinata and Gaara."

"Why does everyone assume I'm just out for gossip?!" She burst out in frustration, "Is that what everyone thinks of me?!" She was alarmed to find tears burning her eyes and immediately forced them back down.

"Ino, calm down," Iruka patted her shoulder a bit awkwardly, "Come on, don't be upset. How about I treat you to some ramen?"

She glanced up at him miserably, "Ramen?"

"Yep, nothing better than ramen to brighten your day," he smiled and everything was all right again, "We'll even discuss Naruto if you really want to but no promises."

Stunned, Ino could only follow him to the very ramen stand she had watched for two days straight. She sat and realized with sudden clarity as Iruka ordered for them that this was why Naruto liked ramen so much.

"All right," Iruka turned to her to give his full attention, "So tell me why you're so interested in Hinata's love life?"

She fought back the urge to squirm as he waited with his patented 'I'm calm so now is the best time to tell me the truth because if you don't and I find out later then you are going to be in ten times more trouble for lying to me!'

"I saw them together," she broke and answered truthfully, "At first it was to get more accurate details than the outrageous stories flying around. Usually, I'm the first to know all the ins and outs of every relationship from here to the outskirts of the Wind Country but they . . ."

She trailed off as her tone changed from panicked confession to troubled introspection.

". . .They managed to hide their relationship for months supposedly without anyone knowing," she smiled sadly, "And yet, when I saw them together . . . It was obvious they hadn't even had their first kiss. She's so shy and he respected her enough to not force it on her. He kissed her on the forehead instead."

She blushed surprising Iruka.

"Then the look he gave her, it just screamed 'Mine!' But . . .it was the look she was giving him. . . ." she frowned, "It was like she finally understood where she belonged, what she wanted, and then she ran away to hide in the bathroom."

"So you're concerned she's running away from her feelings?" Iruka inquire softly.

"No, that's just the thing," she shook her head, "When she came out of the bathroom she seemed determined, resolved, and she had her eyes on Gaara."

"Then what happened?"

"Some idiot girl ruined the moment by flirting with Gaara and got completely rejected," she smirked and then frowned, "Still, it was enough to make her second guess herself."

"Hmm," Iruka accepted his ramen with a nod, "That's why you were shocked by the announcement."

"They were perfect together!" Ino pouted and began to pick absently at her noodles, "She was already to confess her feelings to him and then she breaks up with him? It just doesn't make sense!"

"No relationship is perfect, Ino, especially with their backgrounds," Iruka took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, "They both have their personal demons to conquer before they can commit unless their partner is wiling to share the burden and, even then, it's hard. Have you asked Hinata?"

"Yeah, but then she started crying," Ino sighed, "She's so heartbroken it's like he broke up with her but according to all the witnesses Gaara was just as upset."

Iruka nodded, "And that's when you decided to look for Naruto?"

She nodded, "Yeah, he had a front row seat and he's the only one in the village who would know what Gaara could be thinking right now."

"He's just as confused as you are," he shook his head, "He thought they were perfect as well."

"Why is Naruto upset?" Ino arched a brow, "I mean, I'm not happy Hinata's relationship is over but I'm not devastated either."

"Oh, well," Iruka rubbed his scar self-consciously, "That's kind of my fault."

"What do you mean?" She blinked at her nearly blushing ex-teacher.

"Well," he fiddled with his chopsticks a bit before he gave up and faced her, "In a way, Naruto and I are the same. We both grew up alone as orphans. We were both class clowns and dead last in school-"

"No, you're kidding me," Ino was shocked, "You were a class clown?!"

"I didn't always walk the straight and narrow," he was defensive, "I'll have you know I was the worst prankster in the history of the academy until Naruto stole my title."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Does he know that?"

"Where do you think he got some ideas for his pranks?" He boasted before sinking into his seat, "Anyway, we share a somewhat similar past the way Naruto shares a somewhat similar background with Gaara."

Ino frowned, not getting the connection, and then realization dawned as she remembered the whole fiasco with Sora. No one had come right out and said it but everyone who had been there could put two and two together.

Iruka continued when he saw she caught his meaning, "He looks to me as an example that a dead last can achieve his goals if he's stubborn and works hard enough. Gaara is interesting since he obviously takes Naruto as proof it is possible to live like everyone else while Naruto looks up to Gaara for being he same and beating him to his dream."

"So . . .the fact that Gaara got dumped . . ." Ino trailed off, troubled at the picture he was painting.

"Especially by someone as smart and understanding as Hinata . . ." Iruka rubbed his neck tiredly, "Well, it's a bit of a blow to his dreams and expectations."

"But they're completely different people!" Ino pointed out, "What works for Gaara is not going to work for Naruto."

"Yes, well, that's where I failed him," his smile was weak at best, "Girls aren't exactly knocking down my door."

Ino opened her mouth to dispute the statement only to close it as she realized she couldn't remember a single rumor, hint of speculation, or even just a bad sex joke about him with anyone since she had known him.

"It doesn't have to be that way," she started off slowly and began to build speed, "You're actually very good looking. In fact, if you weren't a former teacher, I would be hard pressed to keep my hands off you-"

"Ino!" Iruka was blushing, "Please, this is highly inappropriate, besides, if I wasn't your former teacher then I doubt you'd even notice I was alive."

"Oh, I would have noticed," she winked at him, delighted when his flush darkened, "Did you know you're cute when you blush?"

Iruka pouted and took a huge bite of ramen, which made his cheeks bulge out comically.

Ino laughed and earned a baleful glance which only made her laugh harder.

He swallowed, "Anyway, that's why Naruto's upset. If two of his precious people failed at romance then what chance does he have?"

All her mirth faded from her face, "Yeah, I guess I can see where's he's coming from."

"It's too bad," Iruka sighed, "He's turned out to be a great shinobi despite his perverted teachers."

"Yeah, he can be really deep for being a pervert," Ino nodded as she took a bite.

"He's not a pervert, Ino," Iruka was puzzled by her declaration.

"Yeah, right, Iruka-sensei, we're talking about the guy who invented a jutsu that transforms him into a naked woman."

Iruka just smiled bemused, "Yes, he did but he was just a hormonal preteen at the time. Thank you for proving my point, though."

"Point?"

"That no one marries the class clown," Iruka drank his broth, "Can you tell me, honestly, when was the last time he performed that jutsu?"

She racked her memory for a single instance before she shook her head.

"We all did things in our youth that we regret," Iruka's eyes twinkled mischievously at her, letting her know he hadn't forgotten about her days as a fan girl even if he was too nice to mention it. "And some of us are still paying the consequences for it."

His tone turned sad and his expression became distant.

She fidgeted, "You're really a nice guy, Iruka-sensei, former class clown or not."

He chuckled suddenly, "That's even worse, isn't it? Nice guys always finish last . . .dead last."

He grinned at her and she was suddenly reminded of Naruto's grin the other day.

"Don't play around like that, Ino, I couldn't even get Sakura to agree to go out with me. What chance do I have with you?"

I'll find you someone, Iruka-sensei, Ino vowed to herself as he thanked the ramen stand owner and paid, You're not allowed to smile like that if I can help it.

"Have you ever seen the view from the Hokage Monument?" He smiled, "It's quite breathtaking at his time of day."

She blinked, "Isn't it restricted?"

"Only if you get caught," he winked and sauntered off.

She frowned and turned back to finish her bowl only to find it empty. Huh, she hadn't even noticed eating it, though, it was good.

"Here's your order to go," the man set a covered dish in front of her with a smile, "Hopefully, he's calmed down enough to eat."

She stared at the bowl blankly before her eyes widened and she swung her gaze back to her teacher.

He was nowhere in sight.

A cleared throat brought her attention back to the ramen stand owner, "Better hurry before it gets cold."

"Oh, yes," she took the bowl, "Thank you."

The man smiled warmly, "You're welcome anytime."

Ino stepped out of the stall with barely restrained excitement and made her way to the monument.

Iruka-sensei had just shown her the way to Naruto.

End Chapter