AN: Good evening to you all Ahkiraa here!, I would like to thank the 16 people who have followed and favorited this story of mine. I didn't expect that my story will receive this much attention, the same goes for positive feedback (although there's still only 1 review and that's alright ^^). I would like to report that I am still working on the actual story, think of this as a sneak peek from the future per se. Anyway enough of my rambling and enjoy this chapter
(DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto hahaha, although I wish I did cause if that's the case there are a lot of things I wanna cover and expand such as forgotten characters with lots of potential to them. Regardless I will reiterate I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, cheers! ^^)
- - -[Sweeter Than Sugar: Part 2]- - -
(Forest Campsite)
"Naruto wake up..."
"ughhhh..., five more minutes..."
"Wake up..."
"just a bit longer..."
Ino then rolled her eyes at the sight of Naruto who was peacefully sleeping in his sleeping bag, all nice and cozy. 'what am I supposed to do with this knucklehead?..." Ino thought to herself as she turned her attention to her travel flask which she just filled up with cold water from the stream nearby, she unscrewed its cap and splashed cold water on Naruto's face, this then woke him up for good due to the water's freezing chilly temperature
"WHAAA!..., KAMI THAT'S COLD!..., What the hell was that for?..." Naruto asked Ino who was kneeling beside him, "get up it's time to go..., besides you're the one who told us to wake up early right?..." she reminded Naruto
'I did?..., OH YEAH! I DID!' Naruto thought to himself as he got out of his sleeping bag and began to prepare for their journey ahead to Tanzaku Quarters since today was the day the timer begins.
After a while of prepping the trio was all good to go, "is everyone good to go?..., be sure not to leave anything and whatnot..., starting from now we'll be taking fewer breaks and traveling for much longer..., is that clear?" Naruto asked to which the other two nodded in agreement. "YOSH! LET'S GET THOSE INGREDIENTS DATTEBAYO!" Naruto said pumping his fist up high, after which the group then began jumping from tree branch to tree branch to get to Tanzaku Quarters
- - -[The Present]- - -
(Outside The Uzumaki Household)
"AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED DADDY?!..." Kaguya asked
The trio was in front of a sizeable two-story house with beige walls and a wooden roof with an orange hue to it, "hold on a sec dear okay? daddy's gotta open the front door first" Naruto said to Kaguya as he dug inside his pockets in search of the key to the front door
"once we're back inside I want you to get into your jammies okay? while daddy and I tidy up our things, is that clear Kaguya?..." Ino asked her daughter to which she nodded indicating that she understood what her mother told her
"FOUND IT!" Naruto said since he was able to find the darn key, Naruto then inserted said the key to the keyhole, after a while of twisting and turning Naruto still wasn't able to open the damn door, "Is everything okay honey?..." Ino asked out of concern.
'damnit..., wrong key...' he thought to himself, he then turned to Ino and chuckled nervously and told her that he took out the wrong key, both and Ino chuckled at Naruto while he kept on looking inside his pockets for the right one
"Kaguya..., sweetie?..."
"Yes, mommy?..."
"Are you ready for next week?..., after all..., you'll be joining the academy, although a little bit late since your father and I wanted to teach you ourselves first before we enroll you in the academy," Ino said
"OF COURSE I'M READY MOMMY..., I'LL DO GREAT DATTEBASA!..., AFTER ALL, YOU AND DADDY TAUGHT ME FIRST!" she said enthusiastically while she grinned just like her father. Ino couldn't help but smile at their sweet daughter, like father like daughter. 'you certainly got your father's goofiness..., luckily you got your looks from me though' she happily thought to herself
"FINALLY!" Naruto exclaimed all of a sudden, "did you find it, honey?..." Ino said as she turned to Naruto, he then nodded and opened the front door. Naruto flicked the light switches on which then illuminated the entire house, it was quite spacious and has a homey feel to it since Ino was responsible for the decorations. They then took off their shoes and headed inside, "bring your things upstairs and freshen up, understood?..." Ino said to Kaguya
"but what about daddy's story?..." she asked
"daddy will continue where he left off once you finish freshening up..., now go on ahead upstairs," Ino said in a stern tone. Kaguya did as she was told and hurried upstairs and into her room as quickly as she can since she wanted to know what happens next
Naruto then came out of the bathroom and saw Ino sitting down on the couch whilst looking at a picture frame containing a photo of them, the photo was taken during Kaguya's second birthday party, a picture of the three of them with Kaguya in the middle wearing a dress with a darker shade of salmon pink whereas Ino and Naruto were wearing nice clothes with their typical color of choice. Naruto then sat down beside Ino and placed his arm around her shoulder. "do you think she's ready?..." Ino asked, "she's ready as she can ever be, what about you?..., do you think she's ready?..." Naruto returned the question, Ino then pouted at Naruto since he sent the question back her way, "I honestly don't know..., what if..., what if Kaguya gets hurt or worse..." Ino said nervously. It can't be helped since she was her mother after all, who isn't gonna worry that their child will one day be sent to missions that can be dangerous from time to time. Ino already asked this question to her parents who were also worried and nervous when Ino joined the academy in the past. Naruto then his hands on Ino's arms to comfort her, Ino responded and placed her head on his shoulder. "relax Ino..., that won't happen anytime soon..., besides we took missions that were far more perilous as compared today..., also she's our daughter, she's gonna be tough as balls, I just know it dattebayo!" he said while grinning. Hearing this made Ino feel reassured which then calmed her down as a response.
"Our Kaguya is growing up fast..." she said in a soft tone
"Well..., we'll be with her every step of the way" Naruto replied
"I love you Naruto," Ino said as she sighed with content
"I love you too Ino, both you and Kaguya..." he retorted
While they were sitting in silence they suddenly heard footsteps emerge from the stairs which then revealed a running Kaguya wearing her pajamas, "IM DONE!" she said as she rushed towards her parents knocking out the wind in both of them, "DADDY! DADDY!, CONTINUE THE STORY!, I ALREADY DID WHAT MOMMY TOLD ME!" she happily reported,
"let me see your teeth then..." Naruto said to Kaguya, it certainly did look clean but can the same be said with the smell of her breath, after taking a whiff, Naruto was able to smell a minty scent, "alright alright, where did I left off?..." Naruto asked
"YOU, MOMMY, AND UNCLE CHOJI WERE JUMPING FROM TREE TO TREE!" Kaguya said
"Ahhh..., well at that point in time we pretty much just traveled from there to Tanzaku Quarters, isn't that right honey? Or did I miss anything?..." he asked Ino, she then placed a finger on her chin as she racked her memory, "let me see..."
- - -[FLASHBACK]- - -
(Deep In The Forest Enroute To Tanzaku Quarters)
"I think we made pretty good time..., let's take five for a bit and after this let's continue traveling, Tanzaku Quarter's isn't that far off from here..., I expected that we'll arrive there before sundown but hey this is good," Naruto said as he sat down. Choji did so as well as he dug inside his backpack to grab a bag of chips, Ino who was the only one standing sat down as well, she then noticed Choji grinning at her, 'why the hell is Choji grinning?' she thought to herself as she looked beside her to find Naruto sitting down next to her, 'ohhh..., that's why..., I don't mind though, although I do wish Choji removed that stupid grin on his face...' Ino said to herself. Ino was feeling a bit thirsty, she set down her backpack and took out her water container and took a drink from it, "are you thirsty Naruto?..." she asked, Naruto then turned his attention to Ino who was offering him a drink, "yeah sure, I could use a drink, thanks Ino!" he said with a foxy grin as he took Ino's flask and drank from it as well, "wai-" Ino said but stopped all of a sudden to see Naruto put his mouth on flask's rim
'doesn't Naruto care about my..., saliva on my flask?..." Ino thought to herself as she somewhat blushed since she realized that what Naruto did was an indirect kiss so to speak, Choji picked up on what was happening and chuckling himself, Ino then glared at him which made him stop altogether, as Naruto finished drinking he then handed back the flask to Ino, "ohhh..., oops..., sorry Ino, I must've been that thirsty" Naruto said, Ino shook her head and said that it was alright, Ino took her flask and held it in her hands for a while thinking of what Naruto just did a minute ago
After five minutes or so the group continued their journey to Tanzaku Quarters before the sunsets. It was quite the trip for the three young shinobi but they have arrived safely at their destination. Despite the time, the place was still lively, a lot of people were still out and about minding their own business. Although it made sense since this place is known for its gambling dens and casinos (as well as its fine women...), the group then decided to look split up. "okay let's split up, two of us will find this Kazuki guy and the one left is in charge of finding an inn or a place we can stay for the night. So..., any volunteers?..." Naruto asked
"I'll come with you Naruto, someone has to make sure you don't act like an idiot in front of that guy..." Ino said and instinctively glared at Choji since she anticipated him to chuckle at her, which she was right. "First of all I don't act like an idiot..., and second that leaves Choji for the latter task..., does that sound good?..." he asked once more to which they agreed. "Now..., where is that note?..." he said aloud, 'oh no..., don't tell me you lost it Naruto..., I swear if you lost it-' she thought to herself until suddenly Naruto found it in his back pocket. "FOUND IT!, Come on Ino, let's go, let's meet up back here in a couple of hours," Naruto said as he and Ino headed off in search for the guy Shiego-san told them about.
"So Naruto..., how do we go about this?..." she asked
"well..., let's check the scroll again and see if we missed anything important," Naruto said as he opened the scroll once more and read it carefully to find the information they must've missed
After a while of reading and scanning, "So?..." Ino asked
"Nothing..., the scroll doesn't mention anything else about this Kazuki dude and where to find him..."
"What now?..."
"Well if there's one thing I learned from Ero-sennin, is that bars and taverns are great places to find information"
"Alright then..., THERE!, there's a bar over there," Ino said as she found one over at the distance
Ino and Naruto walked down the street but he halted for a bit which made her wonder as to why he stopped in his tracks. "look at the sign, it says no shinobi allowed..." Naruto said, they then went into an alleyway to alter their appearance so that they can blend in better and look like civilians. Naruto took off his Chunin vest, headband, and supply pouch and kept it inside his bag, and sealed said bag into a scroll for safekeeping. Ino did the same for she took off her headband from her waist as well as her supply pouch. To further sell the look Ino undid her ponytail placing a bang covering her right eye. Ino noticed Naruto looking at her as she was changing her look, "Yes?..., what is it Naruto?" she asked, this then caught Naruto off-guard, "OH!..., its nothing..., I just think your long hair looks good dattebayo!" he said while grinning
Ino blushed for a bit due to what Naruto said, 'did he just compliment my long hair?...' she thought to herself for a while. "so how do I look?..." Naruto asked, this pulled Ino out of her thoughts as she took a look at Naruto, after a quick look, Ino told him that he still looked like a sore thumb, making him stick out from the ground since he still looked like a ninja. "you look like an idiot..., you still look like a ninja you dummy..." Ino said, this made Naruto sigh in response, 'I tried though...' he thought to himself since he was no good with fashion. 'speaking of fashion..., maybe Ino can help, she's good at fashion, at least I think she is...' he said to himself, "any suggestions Ino?..." he asked, Ino then approached Naruto and helped him with his look
She unzipped his jacket and luckily Naruto had a black shirt underneath, she then rolled up his sleeves, after which she fixed up his collar to make it look like a typical jacket and not like a jumpsuit. After working on his jacket, Ino began working on Naruto's hair, she brought out her comb from her backpack and combed Naruto's hair down, it took a while due to how wild and unruly his hair was, but after a while, she was able to make Naruto's hair all nice and tidy. "There..., you're finished," Ino said, "uhhh..., there's no mirror..." Naruto replied, "are you doubting my fashion expertise Naruto?..." she asked, "W-WHAT?!..., N-No, that's not what I meant..." he replied, "good..., now come on and let's find this guy already," she said, "give me your backpack first," Naruto said, Ino did as she was told wondering why until she saw Naruto take out a scroll and sealed her bag inside and gave the scroll back to her, "there, so both our stuff is safe..., that scroll contains our stuff..., keep it okay? you're much better at keeping things," he said to herm, she nodded as they walked down the streets once more
Naruto and Ino were in front of the bar, they were then faced with a big burly man who was standing beside the entrance, "what are you two kids think you're doing?..." he asked menacingly, Naruto gulped due to not being able to come up with an excuse until suddenly Ino linked arms with him and came closer to him, "we're out on a date, isn't that right Naruto-kun?..." she said while looking at Naruto, this made him blush due to hearing what Ino said. It took a while for Naruto to pick up on what Ino was doing, "Y-Yes..., you're right Ino-chan" he replied, 'Kami you're slow Naruto..., but luckily you picked up on my plan' Ino said in her mind
The guard still didn't look convinced, "we met here a year ago, just celebrating our first anniversary, right honey?" she said, around this time Naruto was able to calm himself down, "yup!, you're right sweetheart" he said while grinning, the guard was about to speak until suddenly Ino made a move, "AWWW! How sweet of you Naruto-kun" Ino said as she pulled Naruto close to her and kissed him on the lips, Naruto was panicking internally since Ino was kissing him right then and there. 'INO WHAT THE HELL?!...' he thought to himself whereas Ino was hoping this would be able to convince the guard, luckily it did as the guard backed off and let them enter the bar. Ino then grabbed Naruto by his arm and dragged him inside the bar as quickly as she could. Since Naruto was behind her, he couldn't see Ino blushing like crazy due to what transpired earlier. They then sat at a booth at the back to keep a low profile, "so what now?..." she asked, Naruto was still in shock at what Ino did but he snapped out of it when Ino asked a question, "we then ask for questions, uhmmm..., I-Ino?..." he asked nervously, "W-What is it Naruto?..." she replied, "can you lend me a few ryo so I can buy two drinks so that it's not too obvious?..." he said to which Ino dug in her pockets to hand over some money to him. "Thanks Ino!" he said as he walked away from the booth to head over to the counter, as he walked away Ino couldn't help but touch her lips since the sensation was still there
As Naruto walked over to the counter he pocketed the money for a bit and looked for the bartender since that's the person who would most likely know a lot of things going on around these parts. He then walked over to the counter and sat on one of the stools between two men who were minding their own business. The bartender then turned his attention towards Naruto who just sat down moments ago, "two orders of sake please..." Naruto said, the bartender then took a glance at Naruto looking quite confused, regardless he placed two servings of sake in front of the boy, "say..., aren't you a tad bit too young to drink?..." the bartender asked, this made Naruto nervous thinking that he'll blow his cover if he doesn't drink the liquid in front of him, he took a big gulp and downed one serving as quickly as he could and tried his best to hide his disgust at the drink, 'how does Tsunade=baachan drink this stuff?' he thought to himself, after seeing the blonde boy drink the sake he decided to back off and retract his suspicions. Naruto then asked the bartender a question
"Uhmmm mister..., by any chance do you know of a guy named Okane Kazuki?" he asked
"Okane-san?..., you can find him at the blue building beside the entrance to this town"
"Ahhh I see thanks mister..., here's the payment for the drinks," he said as he left the money on the countertop
"Wait!..." the bartender said, this made Naruto nervous thinking that his cover was blown. "Aren't you going to drink the other saucer?..." the bartender asked, luckily Naruto was facing the opposite direction and was hiding his facial expression from the man, Naruto shivered at the thought of putting the damn liquid in his system but did so nonetheless. Once Naruto finished drinking the alcohol he thanked the man once more and headed back to Ino.
'damn that guard outside being all nosey and whatnot' she thought to herself, although she had to admit that kissing Naruto all of a sudden wasn't so bad, she thought that if she kissed Naruto all she would taste is ramen, she kept on thinking how warm and soft Naruto's lips were as she kept on caressing her lips. Ino was then pulled out of her thoughts as Naruto sat down across from her in the booth
"So what'd you find out?"..."
"He said this Kazuki guy works in a blue building beside the entrance to this town"
"is that it?..."
"seems like it..., he didn't mention anything else so..."
Ino didn't question Naruto further although noticed how red Naruto's face was
"Naruto are you..., okay?" she asked
"Huh?... Oh!, yeah I'm fine, why?..."
"Nothing..., you look a bit red though..." she said to Naruto
"where are the drinks Naruto?..."
"About that..." he said to which Ino raised her eyebrows out of curiosity
"I had to drink both to keep my cover, I swear that bartender is on to me..." he said to Ino who was chuckling at Naruto's misfortune, "come on and let's get out of here" she said. Both of them then got up from the booth and walked out the exit, Ino quickly grabbed Naruto's hands with her own as to keep up their cover
Because Naruto was quite intoxicated from the sake he drank earlier it took him a while to notice that Ino was still holding his hand even though they were far away from the bar now
"uhhh..., Ino?..." he said
"what is it Naruto?..."
"you can let go of my hand now...", "huh?..." Ino said, after which she looked down and saw that she was still indeed holding his hand, she immediately let go of his hand in response. Ino began berating herself in her mind for forgetting
"before we head to there I think we should meet up with Choji first, hopefully, he has found an inn by now"
Ino silently nodded due to feeling embarrassed earlier, Naruto took notice of Ino's behavior and decided to tell her it was alright, "Hey it's okay Ino..., for what it's worth holding your hand felt nice, they're pretty soft dattebayo!" he said while grinning. Ino blushed at what Naruto said and thought to herself that this was not how she imagined this mission would go.
- - -[Present Day]- - -
(Living Room)
"WHAT?!... MOMMY KISSED YOU FOR THE MISSION?!..." Kaguya said
Ino slightly blushed and answered her daughter, "it's not like I didn't enjoy it sweetie, at the time I had to" Ino said
"Was that your first kiss mommy?..." she asked to which Ino nodded
"What about you daddy?..." she turned to her father, hearing this made Ino burst into a laughing fit
"Why is mommy laughing daddy?"
"well you see dear..., your mommy wasn't my first kiss..." Naruto reluctantly said as he had hoped never to mention this to her daughter ever
"Who?..., was it another girl?..." she said
"uhhh..., it wasn't a girl dear..., it was a boy..."
"WHAT?!..., DADDY KISSED A BOY?!..." she said in a surprised tone, "WHO?!..." she asked
Naruto chuckled nervously as that's territory he doesn't want to go into ever again but Ino had other plans as she spilled the beans to Kaguya, "wanna know who it was sweetie?" Ino said while grinning, Kaguya came closer to her mother as she landed her ear to her mom, Ino whispered to Kaguya who it was, this made Kaguya's eyes widen in shock
"YOU KISSED UNCLE SASUKE?!..., HOW?!..." she asked
"it's a long story dear, so..., do you still wanna hear the story or not?..." he said to his daughter, "OF COURSE DATTEBASA!" Kaguya said enthusiastically
"okay then..., where was I?..., ahhh yes!"
- - -[Tanzaku Quarters]- - -
(With Naruto, Ino and Choji)
"THERE I SEE HIM!" Naruto said whilst pointing to Choji who was standing over at the distance
"OI CHOJI! OVER HERE!" he yelled to catch his teammate's attention, Choji was able to hear Naruto from afar and began heading to them
"So..., we're you able to find an inn?..." Ino asked
"Yup, it's that building over there" Choji pointed to a fairly sized building beside a store
"what about you guys?..., we're you able to find anything about the guy we need to find?..." he asked
"according to my source, this guy works in that building over there by the entrance"
"I see..., well then go on ahead and I'll check us in" Choji said to Ino and Naruto, they both nodded and proceeded to head to the blue building the bartender mentioned to them earlier. Both of them didn't waste any time as they ran to said building and saw the sign above the front door which has the acronym C.S.D.S. and underneath was the meaning 'Courier Shinobi Delivery Service'. It was a three-story building which was painted blue, luckily it was still open at the time being
"I didn't know ninja postmen existed..." Naruto said
"Someone clearly didn't listen in classes," Ino replied to which Naruto rolled his eyes in response
Both of them then entered the building to see quite a few people inside all minding their own business
"Good Afternoon! Welcome to the C.S.D.S., how may I be of service to you in this fine day?" the man asked, he was a fairly tall man who wore a green uniform, green hat, and gray goggles that covered his eyes
"hello there! uhhh..." Naruto stammered since he doesn't know the man's name
"I am Courier Ninja 596-03!" the man said energetically
"right..., anyway we're here to claim a package from a guy named Kazuki Okane" Naruto said
"Ahhh you must be the shinobi Shigeo-san sent"
Ino and Naruto nodded to the man's statement
"hold on for a second while I go get Okane-san here"
"thank you mister," Ino said as the man walked away to fetch him
"once we get this package we'll be leaving first thing in the morning," Naruto said to Ino
Ino scoffed at what Naruto said making him wonder why that was her reaction
"What?..." he asked
"first thing in the morning huh?..., be sure to wake up by then" Ino chuckled at Naruto
"If I'm not able just wake me up, but please..., no cold water this time..." he pleaded
"Alright, warm water it is then," she said whilst grinning, Naruto glared at her in turn
Before the two were about to bicker the man returned saying that Okane-san will be with them shortly, After a while, a man emerged from the door and approached the two, this man was taller than the other guy by a few inches, his build is much more pronounced than the average person but most important of all is that he was bald. Seeing this made Naruto laugh since the man's name fitted him since it also meant 'shining man'
Ino elbowed Naruto once more which interrupted his internal laughter, 'what is up with bald guys lately...' Ino thought to herself
"I heard from Hiroyuki that you two were sent by Shigeo-san, is that correct?..." he asked, this made the man behind the counter stammer in response, "O-Okane-san! P-Please refer to me as 596-03"
"fine fine..., anyway I heard the there were supposed to be three shinobi to claim the package, how am I sure that you two are telling the truth?..." Okane-san said whilst raising one eyebrow
Ino elbowed Naruto again, "Naruto the note you dummy..." she reminded him
"Oh! right..." he said as he dug inside his pocket to reveal a folded note which he handed over to Okane-san
Okane-san then inspected said note for a minute or so and looked back at the two blondes
"Alright..., all things are in order then, please come with me" he gestured to them as he walked back inside the door he came from earlier
Naruto and Ino both followed him only to head upstairs to find lots of shelves filled to the brim with different boxes containing all sorts of items, "kindly wait for me here while I retrieve your package" he said to both of them after which he left and began his search
"I can't wait to taste that pudding," Ino said aloud
"you love pudding don't you?..."
"you don't even know" Ino chuckled
"as for me, I can't wait for this mission to be over and eat some ramen"
"didn't you eat ramen during one of our breaks?..."
"yea but that doesn't count..., that was cup ramen..., I'm talking about Ichiraku Ramen here..., those two are very different things, Ichiraku Ramen can't be beaten, you can think of it as food from the gods dattebayo!" he grinned at Ino
"aren't you excited to taste your share of the pudding?..." she asked
"I dunno..., I don't really like sweets that much..., I'm more of a savory type of guy you know?..."
"you seriously have got to try it Naruto, you won't regret it I swear"
"Alright..., just one and if I don't like it I'll probably just give it to Choji"
"WHAT?!..., WHY HIM?!..." she retorted
"why not?..."
'damn that's a good point...' she thought to herself as she tried to come up with a reason as to why Naruto should give her his share of the pudding in the case he doesn't like it. But after a while she was stumped and couldn't come up with a reason, it then hit her. Ino looked at Naruto with puppy eyes as she pouted at him, 'this would surely work, I just know it' she said in her mind
Naruto saw Ino pouting with her blue puppy dog eyes, he sighed and rolled his eyes and gave in to Ino's games, "fineeee..., you can have it" he said. "OH COME ON! GIVE IT TO- WAIT WHAT?!..., did you just say yes?..."
"well yeah..."
"is that it?..."
"what do you mean?..."
'damn that was easy..., I thought I needed to put up a fight for the pudding..., turns out that wasn't the case
"Ino?..., are you alright?..."
"huh?..., oh!, yeah!, I'm fine"
"Okay here is your package," Okane-san said as he arrived with their package in his hands, Naruto took the package from Okane-san and thanked the man as he and Ino headed out of the building and went to the building Choji was in
The two walked to the inn and saw a middle-aged woman behind the counter who was reading a magazine minding her own business, Naruto rang the bell to grab the lady's attention, *DING*
"Hello there!, how may I-, Oh! you must be the friends of the boy who just checked in here a while ago" she said
Naruto nodded as they headed to where the lady pointed to the room which was theirs, Naruto then opened the door to reveal Choji who was already asleep on one of the beds laying spread eagle.
"looks like he beat us to it..." Naruto said to Ino, It can't be helped since all of them were pretty tired from all the traveling they did earlier today. "Should I wake him up or..." Ino asked
"Nah..., I'll just sleep on the floor, you take the bed Ino," he said to her
"Are you sure?..." she asked, this then made Naruto glance down at the wooden floor and back at the bed. Naruto then thought to himself how the bed looked so soft compared to the cold hard floor, he then thought to himself if Ino would mind if he slept beside her, "are you fine with sleeping together in the same bed?..." he asked
Ino blushed and replied quickly, "I kissed you earlier..., I'm pretty sure sleeping next to you is something I can handle..." she said. Naruto then remembered how Ino kissed him earlier which made him blush too
"A-Alright then, I-I'll just head to the bathroom for a bit"
"S-sure" she replied as Naruto went to the bathroom
- - -[Moments Later]- - -
(Inside The Inn)
Naruto and Ino were both laying on the bed next to each other whereas Choji was in deep slumber on the other bed
"Goodnight Ino-chan"
Hearing Naruto add chan to her name made her quite happy and feel a tad bit warm on the inside 'Ino-chan huh?..., that does sound nice...' she noted to herself mentally
"Goodnight Naruto-kun"
Both of them then began to sleep so that they'll have the energy to travel back to Shigeo-san's cookhouse
- - -[Early in the Morning]- - -
(Inside The Inn)
Choji suddenly woke up due to the urge to pee, he silently got out of his bed and proceeded to head to the bathroom to relieve himself, as he was in the bathroom he then thought to himself that Ino and Naruto didn't wake him up, making him worry about them, he quickly headed back to the room only to find Naruto and Ino all snuggled beside each other. He chuckled to himself at what he saw and thought that they indeed looked cute together although she probably shouldn't tell Ino he saw them all hugging and stuff since she would kill him if she knew what he knew. He smiled at the thought and went back to bed for they have a big day tomorrow
- - -[The Next Morning]- - -
(Inside The Inn)
Ino considered herself to be an early riser since she always wakes up early in the morning so that she has plenty of time to groom herself before leaving the house. She was able to feel something warm beside her and something wrapped around her, at first she thought she was in the comfort of her bedroom but then she realized where she truly was. She opened her eyes only to find Naruto so close beside her with his arm around her all snuggled up. She blushed like crazy as she did her very best to get out of Naruto's embrace
Despite getting out of Naruto's clutches, Ino was still blushing like crazy, 'pull yourself together Ino..., that's just Naruto...', she then looked back at Naruto who was still peacefully dozing off on their bed. Ino smiled thinking that once you get past his goofiness he's not so bad after all and also that fact that he's kinda cute too. Ino rid herself of these thoughts and went straight to the restroom to freshen up and begin to wake up both her teammates.
Moments passed and Ino headed out of the bathroom all freshened up and ready to go, all that's left is to wake up both Choji and Naruto, "Naruto-kun wake up..." she said as she patted Naruto on the back, this took a couple of times before she was able to wake Naruto up, 'Kami he's such a heavy sleeper...', "I-Ino-chan?..., what time is it?..." he asked in a groggy tone, "it's almost six in the morning Naruto-kun", "I see..., I'll just freshen up, you go and wake up Choji" he said as he got out of bed and went to the bathroom
- - -[Moments Later]- - -
(Enroute Back To Shigeo-san's Cookhouse)
The trio was jumping from tree to tree to travel back to Shigeo-san's cookhouse as quickly as they could since time was running out for them to finish this mission. The group decided to take a much shorter route to ensure that they make it there as early as possible but little did they know they were about to run into some monkey business for the route they have taken was known to be inhabited by monkeys
"I didn't expect this package to be this big..." Choji said
"yeah me too" Naruto chimed in
"I mean..., it kinda makes sense that this package would be this big since the ingredients must be that special, after all..., this is royal pudding we're talking about," Ino said adding her two cents to the conversation
Choji huffed since he's been carrying the damn thing for a while now, "this pudding better be worth it though, royal or not..., Choji time to switch, my turn to carry the package" he said to Choji while the rotund boy nodded and handed the package to Naruto's hands
Once the switch has been done Choji then took a bag of chips out of his bag and began munching on it whilst moving, the three continued their journey back to the capital. But after a while of traveling they began hearing sounds from afar, "do you guys hear that?..." Ino asked
"hear what?" Naruto replied as he listened carefully to his surroundings, "is it just me?..., or is the sound getting closer" Choji said until suddenly one monkey swung by them and yanked Choji's bag of chips from his hands, "HEY THAT MONKEY TOOK MY CHIPS!" he yelled as more monkeys came swinging by them trying to yank and grab their things from them, "NARUTO THE PACKAGE!" Ino said implying that Naruto should protect the package, Ino wasn't going to let monkeys stand in her way from getting a taste of that royal pudding. They did their best to protect their possessions without harming the monkeys whatsoever, the trio kept on moving in an attempt to get away from the chaos until one of them grabbed onto the package Naruto was holding, Naruto pulled back in response preventing the monkey from snatching it from him, Choji and Ino saw this and helped by pulling on the package as well but the monkeys were intelligent enough to do the same. At this point, it became a numbers game and a war of attrition of whoever got tired first, Naruto and Choji were against the odds since they were quite outnumbered by the monkeys
"CHOJI USE YOUR JUTSU! I'LL GRAB ON TO IT!" he commanded Choji, "Bubun Baika no Jutsu (Partial Expansion Jutsu), Choji yelled as his arms began to swell up and increase in size granting the boy more strength after which he resumed helping Naruto, "HOLD ONTO IT CHOJI! NOW IT'S MY TURN!" Choji nodded as Naruto let go of his grip and performed his jutsu, "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multi Shadow Clone Technique), in an instant a dozen copies of Naruto appeared and latched on to Choji's back helping in this tug of war. 'this is getting us nowhere...' she thought to herself, she then began to analyze the situation and saw the vine the monkeys were latching onto, she then let go and grabbed a kunai from her supply pouch and aimed for the vine, the kunai hit and cut through the vine, they may have won the battle but they haven't won the war just yet, due to the monkeys letting go, the strength of Choji and the group of Narutos caused the package to be launched into the air traveling at high speeds, "CRAP! I DIDNT THINK THIS THROUGH!" she said, luckily both her teammates quickly picked on the situation and acted accordingly with a flip of a hat.
"NARUTO GET ON!" Choji yelled as he deflated his arms and did another jutsu, Konoha-Ryū Taijutsu: Nikudan Sensha (Leaf-Style Taijutsu: Human Bullet Tank), Choji began to blow up and quickly tucked in his appendages inside of his body and began rolling, Naruto quickly got onto Choji and started rolling him. This left Ino alone but that didn't stop her from assisting her teammates, lucky for her she saw a bird up in the sky, she sat down on the ground and aimed at it with her jutsu, Shintenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Switch Technique), after finishing the seal her consciousness was then inside of the bird, she quickly flew to the direction where the package was sent flying to, after a quick scan she was able to see where the package was, it was lying on the ground not too far away from Naruto and Choji, although on the other hand, another wave of monkeys was coming for the package opposite of them. Ino released her jutsu and began to contact her teammates telepathically, Shidenshin no Jutsu (Mind Body Transmission Technique), using this jutsu put a strain on Ino for she was still getting used to this technique but she did so anyway
"Naruto!, Choji, can you guys hear me?..."
"Whoa..., was that Ino's voice?..."
"Yup!, this is Ino's long-distance communication technique, she just learned this from her father not too long ago" Choji replied
"Cool..., anyway what is it Ino?..." he asked
"The package is up ahead although you'll be facing a ton of those bastards on your way..." she said
"YOSH! THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP INO! LET'S SHOW THOSE HAIRY BASTARDS NOT TO MESS WITH US DATTEBAYO!" he yelled as he and Choji increased their speed
"ONCE WE GET CLOSE I WANT YOU TO UNCURL AND COVER THE PACKAGE WITH YOUR BODY CHOJI!"
"YOU GOT IT!"
Both Naruto and Choji were now much closer to the package, up ahead of them were dozens of monkeys aiming for the package too, Naruto glared at the monkeys in response
"ON MY SIGNAL WE'LL DO THE PLAN," Naruto said
"wait for it..."
"wait for it..."
"WAIT FOR IT!..."
"NOW CHOJI!" he yelled as Choji uncurled and launched himself onto the package while making sure not to squish it in the process. Naruto jumped off Choji grabbed a smoke bomb from his pouch and threw it on the ground creating a barrier of smoke allowing them to escape and regroup with Ino, after the smoke has dissipated they were nowhere to be found causing the monkeys utter confusion
"did we do it?..." Choji asked while looking at Naruto, both were running like hell to get away from the monkeys
"YOU BET CHOJI! WE DID IT DATTEBAYO!" he yelled, "now let's get back to Ino and away from those bastards," he said as he and Choji returned to Ino
Once the group has united they began to head back to the capital as quickly as possible due to the fiasco earlier
- - -[Hours Later]- - -
(Shigeo-san's Cookhouse)
"I hope we're not too late..." Naruto said
"I sure hope so as well..." Ino chimed in
Naruto then knocked on the door, *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Oh! Welcome back Naruto-kun, Akimichi-san, and Yamanaka-san, it's so good to see you all again, I see you have collected the package, please come in while I go get Shigeo-san" Menma said as he went to get Shigeo-san
After a while of waiting the same bald man emerged and greeted the group, "welcome back Uzumaki-san, I am glad that you came here early which provided me enough time to make this pudding, so..., how was the trip?..." he asked
"It was fine Shigeo-san," he said, (it wasn't), "does this mean our job here is done Shigeo-san?" he asked
"Technically yes, but I have yet to make the pudding, and that would be finished by noon tomorrow, in the meantime please enjoy yourselves and whatnot by visiting the capital if you'd like," he said
"Oh okay then, thank you Shigeo-san!, we'll be back tomorrow," he said while grinning, the bald man then nodded in the response
- - -[The Next Day]- - -
(Shigeo-san's Cookhouse)
"One for you, and you, anddddd you," Shigeo-san said as he handed each one of them a cup of pudding for their hard work
"Thank you again Shigeo-san!, we'll be heading off now," Naruto said
"Sure thing Uzumaki-sanl, thank you as well, I sure hope to see you again next time"
"Sure thing Shigeo-san!" he said with a thumbs-up as they walked out of the building
"See you next time Naruto-kun" Menma said, "You bet Menma! Take care!" he said while waving goodbye
Naruto and Choji put the cup of pudding in their bag whereas Ino opened hers right then and there, "FINALLY! I CANT WAIT TO DIG IN! ITIDAKIMASU!" she said but as she was about to dig in a monkey quickly snatched her pudding away
All of them were shocked but Ino was devastated, Ino couldn't believe what just happened
"Ino?..." Choji said, "let's just go back to Konoha..." she said
Naruto and Choji looked at each other thinking the same thing, Ino was walking up ahead of them whereas the two boys walked behind her, "do you think Ino will be alright?..." Naruto asked, Choji just shrugged "I dunno..., never saw her like that though, let's just give her some space for now..." he said to which Naruto nodded
Their journey back to Konoha was silent and dull but after quite some time they were able to get back home. The group was standing in front of the gate, "I'll head back home now you guys! take care!" Choji said as he went on his merry way back home. This left Ino and Naruto, "I'll see you tomorrow Naruto... ' she just in a gloomy manner
"Wait!..."
Ino stopped in her tracks and looked back at Naruto to see him holding out his share of the pudding, she was shocked to see Naruto do such a thing
"No..., it's okay Naruto it's yours..., it's my fault after all..."
"Oh just take it Ino, it's alright, I don't mind," he said while rolling his eyes
"Are you sure about this Naruto?..." she asked
"OF COURSE DATTEBAYO! NOW TAKE IT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND" he said with a foxy grin, this brought a tear to Ino's eyes, she took the cup of pudding and hugged Naruto, "thank you Naruto, this means a lot" she said to his ears. Naruto was shocked but hugged her back as well, "there's no need for that Ino" he replied but she didn't respond to what he said.
"Well, I'll be off now Ino! See you tomorrow! take care Ino-chan!"
- - -[The Present]- - -
(Living Room)
"That's pretty much it dear," Naruto said to see Kaguya yawning, he then glanced at the clock to see that it was way past her bedtime, "it's already late dear, go upstairs and sleep okay?..."
Kaguya rubbed her eyes and nodded in response, she then hugged both of them, "I love you mommy, you too daddy, goodnight" she said as she kissed both of them on their cheeks, "we love you too sweetie now go on ahead and sleep" Ino said after which Kaguya got off them and went upstairs and into her room
Ino and Naruto were not left alone in the living room, Ino held Naruto's hands and squeezed tightly, "I love you Naruto"
"I love you too Ino" he said, Ino then kissed him on the lips, "and for the record..., you're sweeter compared to that pudding, let's go to sleep too honey," she said, Naruto nodded as he followed Ino into their bedroom to rest as well
- - -[End]- - -
AN#2: Wow! That took longer than I expected haha, I got busy lately which gave me less time to work on this continuation. I think I will be uploading one or two chapters each week just to give myself some leeway and whatnot. Thank you for reading this story once again, it means a lot to me and I hope that you would continue to support me and whatnot. Kindly review if you'd like, that would be all see you again next time, cheers! ^^