A/N: Glad yall fw the story. I mean I wouldn't have cared otherwise but hey, I'll take it.

RyanMK666: I try man I honestly do, preciate the support!

Bryan Rivera: Thank u boss! If I'm being honest, I couldn't hold myself to a schedule if I wanted to lmaoo. Just know, if a chapter does good, you'll see an update sooner rather than later...maybe

Other than that, enjoy this 5.8k ball

R&R!

The bright morning sun filtered in through two large curtained windows, casting its golden glow onto the white walls of the apartment room. One window was positioned opposite of the bedroom door, while the other was to the left of the door, right above the bed Naruto was currently sleeping in. Despite it being summer, the cool crisp morning breeze silently moved the thin white curtains to and fro, like gently rolling waves. The song of the birds created an almost serene atmosphere to wake up to, but for Naruto, it was something akin to a blaring alarm clock with his sensitive hearing.

Upon hearing a particularly loud chirp, Naruto abruptly opened his eyes, pupils instantly dilating. He swiftly slid his hand under his pillow and grasped the kunai that resided under it. Naruto then stilled his body and slowed his breathing as he extended his senses, along with his chakra, throughout his apartment, ignoring any outside interference. After not picking up anything dangerous, he slid his hand out from under the pillow and relaxed, slowly sitting up in his full-sized mattress. He leaned his back on the wide maplewood bed frame, his orange comforter falling from his naked shoulders and pooling in his lap. Years of having to constantly be alert of his surroundings taught him that he just couldn't be too safe, even within the confines of his own apartment.

Naruto peered over at the small black and orange toad-shaped alarm clock, reading the bright green digital numbers that were displayed on it.

6:28

His eyebrows shot up upon recognizing the time. He slept in by quite a bit.

"…Interesting," he thought.

Normally during this hour, Naruto would already be up training. But when he thought back to how late he returned from his mission and factoring in the weird incident with Kakashi after the briefing, he figured he could excuse it. Especially considering he had nothing major on the agenda today, other than training that is. He found it strange that Kakashi didn't brief him about a new mission before he left the Hokage's office. The lazy Kage usually brought it up whenever he came back from completing his objective. For once, he didn't mind. Free time like this was a rarity for him. Naruto predominantly took an onslaught of missions to busy himself. To him, hard work was the best work. You didn't get stronger by sitting around after all. Finally recognizing the amount of free time he had, he moved the blanket off of him and swung his legs over the edge of his bed, pressing his bare feet onto the soft grey and black carpet.

Naruto took the opportunity to take a nice long stretch to get the blood flowing. He started to reflect on his most recent escapade. After coming home, he realized it felt good to finally relax. Two months was a long time to be on a mission, even by his standards. That's sixty-plus days of no real food, no showers, or even decent rest. Although, that wasn't the hard part for him, since that was the norm for the first twelve years of his life. No, he was exhausted because that was two full nonstop months of being under constant mental and physical stress. He had to be constantly aware of his surroundings, constantly covering his tracks, and constantly avoiding detection. He was no genius but he knew normally, that much stress to the regular human body on a daily basis could prove fatal. However, he was well aware that it was what needed to be done when doing recon in enemy territory since all it takes is one small blunder and the whole mission could fall apart.

Woe is the life of a ninja.

As Naruto curbed his thoughts, he glanced at his toad clock again.

6:33

Deciding it was about that time to get started with his day, he stood up and silently padded over to the bathroom in front of his bed to get cleaned up.

Feeling refreshed and awake, he left the bathroom and strolled towards his closet sporting nothing but his briefs, and prepared to search for something to wear for the day. If it were any other time, he'd merely don his regular attire and leave it at that. With him being off-duty, he was at a loss at what to wear that wasn't his uniform. Not wanting to think about it for too long, he sifted past the sets of Anbu vests that hung up on hangers and pilfered through the modest collection of navy blue and black turtleneck undershirts. Pulling out a sleeveless navy blue one, he held it to his body before nodding in approval. He pulled the shirt over his head and smoothed it over his body, ridding the fabric of unwanted wrinkles. Feeling something hard poking his chest, he reached up and felt the solid lump. Reaching through the collar of the shirt he pulled out the offending item; it was the necklace Tsunade gave him when he was younger. He situated it around his neck, allowing it to freely dangle on top of his chest, and then returned his focus to the closet. Almost instinctively going straight to where his black shinobi pants were, he snagged a pair from the hanger and pulled them on.

Satisfied with his apparel, Naruto went to finish getting ready by going to his desk. He pulled out a drawer and took out a large roll of bandages to begin wrapping his right arm. Starting from his fingertips, he worked his way down his hand and finished wrapping just past his elbow. Once he finalized the tedious chore, he put the bandages back and closed the drawer. Yanking another drawer open, he grabbed one of his kunai holsters and fastened it to his left leg. Naruto stared at the drawer full of weapons for a couple of moments, trying to decide what to take. Finally ending his inner turmoil, he took a few senbon and stashed them in his bandages. One could never be too prepared.

Foregoing his mask and headband, he left his room and closed the door, going down the hall past the living room to reach his kitchen in search of something light to eat. He didn't have much of an appetite, but he knew that training on an empty stomach sucked, he knew that from experience, since it was one of the first teachable moments he learned starting fresh out of the academy.

As he rounded the corner leading into the kitchen, he picked up a foreign, yet familiar chakra signature prickling at the edges of his senses. Naruto knew for a fact he wasn't expecting any guests this early in the morning. Hell, he hadn't had a guest in the past six months and that wasn't including the time he was gone on his most recent mission. However, Naruto didn't know if they were headed to his apartment or not, but he knew not to play it too safe. Extending his senses for the second time this morning, he quickly deduced that the stranger was roughly about 150 from his place of residence, giving him around 35 seconds before they reached his door, or close to it. And that didn't factor in the walk up the stairs that led to his floor.

Ninja instincts kicking in, he lowered his chakra signature, making it seem as if no one was home, and undid the button on his kunai holster that was located on his thigh. Mentally keeping track of the time in his head, he focused all of his attention on the task at hand.

33…

Eyes flitting about as he checked his surroundings, he inwardly made notes on possible exposure points, "Patio? No, that's locked. What abou- no, they're both secure. I guess… No, only I know about that…the seal would trigger before they even got close…"

26…

Looking back towards his room he rapidly came to a conclusion, "Not gonna risk it." Refusing to dwell on it much longer, he focused a small portion of his immense chakra reserves and created two shadow clones in front of him without any hand seals. Not needing to explain what had to be done since they were physical extensions of him, the clones took off towards their respective positions. One was hidden away in his room and the other used a camouflage jutsu and hid in plain sight next to the patio window.

"That leaves the door."

22…

With Naruto's mind at ease knowing that all the other access points were blocked off, he stalked towards the door and waited for the possible assailant to continue their frontal assault.

18…

17…

16…

15…

Suddenly the chakra signature cleared the rest of the distance in an instant, possibly using chakra to jump near his location judging from the burst of energy he felt and the sound of sandals roughly impacting the wooden deck.

Now, he felt the stranger's chakra right in front of his door. In the time it took to blink, he wasted no time pulling the door open slightly and vanishing in a shunshin as the door was still moving. He reappeared behind the blissfully unaware assailant who had their attention on the moving door. The kunai in his left hand was held in a reverse grip as it streaked for the right side of their neck, only to suddenly stop a mere inch from the carotid artery. He had identified at the last minute who he was about to send on a one-way trip to Kami.

Recognizing the long platinum blond ponytail, and the purple clothing that fit snugly on their curvaceous figure, Naruto mentally sighed, sporadically dispelling the shadow clones in his apartment.

In the life of a shinobi, it was "always kill first, ask later", however, he almost just murdered one Ino Yamanaka. Yeah, he was definitely stressed.

"N-Naruto?" she nervously asked, unsure of who was holding the blade to her neck. Naruto chose to say nothing, opting to smoothly slide the kunai back in his holster before walking around to meet her face.

"Are y- is everything okay?" Ino asked, anxiously looking around before settling her bewildered gaze at him, ponytail swishing about. Naruto impassively nodded, scrunching his eyebrows at her in a questioning manner. Ino, belonging to a clan that is well-versed in body language and the psychology of the human mind, quickly understood what he was asking—or trying to at least.

"Oh…Right! Well, um, I just wanted to see how you were doing, you know? It's been a while. No one has seen hide nor hair of you since, like," Ino paused and furrowed her brows, glancing to the side, presumably trying to remember when she last saw him, "the end of the war now that you think about it," she finished, focusing her attention back up at him. At the mention of the war, Naruto's face smoothed over and he adorned his expressionless mask.

"I'm fine," he stated, staring directly into her cornflower blue eyes. His raspy voice sounded deep and gravelly. The low baritone timbre and intense eye contact caused Ino's skin to form goosebumps. She didn't understand why she had gotten them, but she didn't pay too much attention to it, she did have somewhat of an attempt on her life after all.

"Well Uzumaki…, are ya gonna let me in?" Naruto blinked at her, his face devoid of any emotion. Ino, not being one to back down, took it as a challenge and returned his stare with an intense look of her own. They continued their "battle" for a few drawn-out seconds, then without any warning, he turned heel and strolled through the already open door, pausing a brief moment to cast a glance over his shoulder. His piercing cerulean blue eyes locking with Ino's, he turned his head back around, briefly pressing his hand to the wall before resuming the walk into his home.

"Interesting…," he thought as he walked away. It wasn't every day he almost killed someone and they asked to be invited into his home afterward.

Ino's brain, however, finally recuperated from the shock.

"Wha…What just happened?"

The blue-eyed bombshell didn't quite know what to make of the situation. She hadn't anticipated Naruto to react in such a way, but at the same time, she honestly didn't know what to expect from him in the first place. It had been years since they even interacted. For Naruto to be so nonchalant about the whole ordeal and keep calm after really threw her for a loop. It wasn't…him. This didn't necessarily prove to be a bad thing to her whatsoever; it had sparked her curiosity to know what else has changed about the now mysterious shinobi. Hesitating a brief moment, she took off her sandals and headed inside, closing the door behind her.

"Who...is he? And when the hell did he get so damn cool?"

The sun beamed through the twin patio window doors. The curtains were now parted for natural lighting and illuminated Ino as she attentively watched Naruto's muscular back from the dark grey loveseat in his living room while he made tea in his kitchen. The focused blonde noticed that his movements were silent and deliberate, making no unnecessary noise. This caused her features to morph into a small frown, this wasn't anything like the Naruto that she grew up with.

Unaware that she was idly swaying her feet on the soft floor, Ino finally took notice of the material and couldn't help but ask, "How the hell do you have carpet? My apartment doesn't have anything this nice." Ino continued sliding her feet across the wonderfully made material for a bit, "Mine just has wood floors and all I have are tatami mats to cover it," she added ruefully.

Ino was well aware that carpets were a rarity in the Land of Fire, as only the wealthy had them. For him though, it was just another gift he received from a side quest during a mission a while back.

Naruto had protected a small caravan—which consisted of merchants and carpenters traveling from the newly rebuilt Hachō Village—from a gaggle of rogue-nin; one of many that he was supposed to dispose of at the time. As a token of their gratitude, the merchants of the caravan took it upon themselves to gift him with the finest wool they had from their village. With Naruto having no real use for it, the carpenters offered to split from their group and travel to Konoha to install it inside of his home since they were already headed in that direction. To reinforce their decision, the carpenters assured him that they would ask for an escort from the neighborhood village after they finalized their self-proclaimed project. Naruto decided not to drag the situation out and created three clones with enough chakra for a few days to escort them to Konoha. When Naruto had returned to his home, he had fresh new grey and black carpet throughout most of his apartment. It was a good thing he knew Sasuke was off-duty. Nauto had enough forethought to send a messenger toad to the fellow Anbu Captain asking (more like telling) him to watch his place since he knew about his security seal.

The tall blonde had not indicated that he heard her, or that he even had the intention to reply since his back was still turned away from her. With Naruto quietly tending to the tea, Ino began fuming to herself, frowning deeply at his carpet. She despised being ignored. Her temper flaring from the continued silence, the irritated woman started to give him a piece of her mind. The cloudiness in Ino's eyes cleared and the fog of thoughts in her brain ebbed away as she prepared to unleash a violent tongue lashing onto the disrespectful bastard. However, before Ino could utter a single word, she balked; her eyes wide with surprise. The anger she felt dissipated from the shock of suddenly seeing Naruto standing in front of her

"W-when did he even move?!"

He held a small white teacup on a matching ceramic plate out towards her and a silver kettle in his off-hand.

"A gift," he finally answered, waiting for her to take the tea. Reaching out slowly, she sheepishly took the plate. Naruto placed the kettle on the black rectangular chabudai tables and sat down on his knees opposite of her with his hands in his lap. Ino studied him questioningly before crossing her legs and taking a small tentative sip of the tea. As the tea saturated her tongue, she looked up in astonishment.

"Wow Naruto," she exclaimed, savoring the unique grassy flavor, "this tea is pretty good. What is it?" Naruto said nothing, instead, he pointedly stared at the tag that hung on a string outside of the silver kettle. Ino followed his line of vision, instantly picking out the name that resided on the side of the tag.

"Oh. Sencha leaves huh," meeting Naruto's sharp blue eyes again, she lifted a thin eyebrow and bluntly asked, ''You're not much of a talker are you?"

The handsome man in front of her showed no intention of replying, just sitting there with no expression on his face. When Ino's analytical mind thought deeper into it, she realized that he showed absolutely nothing unless he wanted to, or it pertained to a question. Other than that, he was completely unreadable, almost as if he had a mastery of all body language. Derailing her train of thought, she re-crossed her legs and hunched forward, resting her arms on top of his legs, "Right… So whatcha been up to?"

Just like she thought. Nothing.

Or so she thought. Naruto didn't say anything, instead, he simply looked at his shoulder and crossed his muscular left arm in front of him, displaying the tattoo that was inked into it.

"You've been in the Anbu?!" That news was shocking to her. Now that she thought about it, he was listed as S-rank in the bingo book with a "flee on sight" order issued on him. She finally knew why no one had seen him in all these years, he practically lived in the shadows now. That also explained why Naruto reacted the way he did. The mind invader idly wondered how that tidbit of information slipped past her.

Recalling the smoothness of his movements, and how silent he was being, Ino took a moment to give the other shinobi a once over. She had to admit, Naruto definitely grew up, joining the Anbu Corps did him justice. The way his shaggy blond hair slightly covered his frosty blue eyes along with his sharp jawline and the nonchalant air around him, coupled with his height and build… If she were to be honest, it made him look hot. (Gag me)

"Who else knows about this? Outside of Rokudaime-sama that is," asked leaning in towards him.

"Classified," he rumbled out, his voice sounding deeper than she remembered. Ino's eyebrows just about shot into her hairline after realizing she heard an actual reply come from the seemingly mute man.

"So you can speak! That's the most you've said this entire time!" The Anbu Captain chose to stare at her.

"Despite the fact you've hardly said a word, it's surprisingly easy to keep a conversation with you," she admitted, "I don't even know how that's even possible."

"You talk a lot."

"Oh my gosh, Naruto!" Ino suddenly exclaimed. The quiet man slightly frowned, befuddled at what she meant.

"We're having a conversation!"

Subconsciously, she knew she was only able to have the "conversation" because she was adept at reading the body language he chose to show, but hey, a win is a win.

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Naruto's face and his eyes, although borderline unnoticeable, slightly sparkled with life. Ino, who had been analyzing his expressions throughout the exchange, jumped up from the couch in disbelief.

"I did it…," she muttered, pacing in front of the sofa with her hand holding her chin, "I made him show emotion." Naruto looked at her with scrunched eyebrows.

"The hell?" It wasn't often he got confused nowadays.

Ino abruptly stopped her pacing and looked at his confused visage. They held a very brief staring contest before Ino abruptly took off towards the large glass door, unlocking it. She hurriedly slid the door open and ran out onto the patio yelling out at the top of her lungs, "I made Naruto Uzumaki show emotion!"

With a shit-eating grin plastered on her face, Ino looked back inside to see Naruto's reaction and found that he was gone. Sliding the door back closed, she headed inside to look for him.

"Kami, that man is quick!"

Not a moment later, she saw something in her peripheral near the hallway by his door. Assuming that's where he was, Ino strolled over to it. What she saw caused her full lips to stretch into a genuine smile.

"So he hasn't completely changed," she thought, amused at the scene in front of her.

There he was, holding his door wide open, looking directly at Ino with an unexpressive look on his face. However, even though he was standing in the shadows, the small sparkle in his eyes was clear as day to her. She preferred them that way, rather to the dull lifeless void they looked like moments prior. He looked more…human.

"You're right Uzumaki," Ino chirped happily, "I'm famished. Let's go eat." She walked past him with a little sway in her hips. Naruto hadn't fully watched her leave, instead opting to eye her movements until she passed him. When he turned his head to look at the woman, he was graced with the sight of folded arms, a hip cocked to the side, and a beautiful, confident face.

"Well, Naruto? What're you waiting for, I'm hungry! Get a move on!"

A tiny smirk displayed on the corner of his lips as he studied Ino, mildly entertained at her behavior.

"Interesting indeed."

What is that catchphrase Shikamaru always says?

Troublesome.

The two blondes walked side by side in the warm weather down a street lined with clothing stores, food vendors, and restaurants. It was still fairly early, but they still garnered attention judging from the constant stares and whispers they received from the civilians they passed. Naruto knew that the attention wasn't negative per se, but he couldn't help but feel the bittersweet nostalgia. Ever since the war, he avoided pointless strolls in public like this—it always garnered unnecessary attention. He only went out into the masses unless he needed to; even then, he often preferred to be unseen, usually using a henge to disguise his appearance. It wasn't like he hated people or anything, he just never felt the need, or had the time, to bother himself with them. However, Ino was different and he couldn't figure out why. Hardly anything interested him enough to earn his attention, but something about her just…intrigued him.

"Jeez, you'd think we're celebrities or something with the looks we keep getting," Ino mumbled to no one in particular. She thought about it for a moment before speaking again, "Well considering you're Mr. Hero and the fact you've been M.I.A. for the past four years, I guess it's justified."

He hadn't looked her way but she was sure that he heard her. Looking up at the tall Anbu from her position on his right side, Ino studied him again. Naruto's face was impassive as ever, but his shaggy hair was swaying in the breeze and the necklace Tsunade gave him glinted in the sunlight as it dangled across his sturdy chest.

She appreciatively eyed the sun-kissed skin that stretched around his muscles, "This man isn't even trying and he looks like some bad boy supermodel!" Ino thought exasperatedly. Must be how everyone felt about her.

Ino wasn't ugly by any means. She knew, along with the entire village, that she was easily one of the prettiest women in Konoha. Her long, toned legs, shapely hips, and modest bust size attracted almost the entire male population, even some women. Her fierce cornflower blue eyes, long platinum blonde hair, and supple pink lips further drove the metaphorical stake through the heart. Hell, even standing next to Naruto, they looked like a supermodel power couple of sorts. Only one thing bothered her…

Why hadn't he cast a single glance at her?! It wasn't like she craved attention, but an appreciative glance would be nice!

"Ino," the girl he addressed looked up at him startled, she hadn't expected him to speak first, much less at all.

"Y-yes?" Ino was so caught up in her thoughts, she was immensely unprepared for any form of conversation.

"Where are we going?" She stopped. The bridge of her nose and her cheeks flared red as she blushed in embarrassment, she had completely forgotten what they were doing, simply enjoying her walk with the mysterious man.

Ino surveyed the surrounding area and rested her attention on a quaint little red restaurant nestled in between two larger buildings, "Let's go there!" She wasted no time speedwalking to the establishment, leaving Naruto standing there with a quirked eyebrow. After watching her rush to the shop, he followed the embarrassed woman's tracks, albeit at a much slower pace.

"What a drag…"

Eventually, he met up with Ino inside the noodle shop and looked around. The lighting was warm and inviting, giving off a subtle cozy vibe. His eyes panned over a peculiar clock, various pictures containing people he'd never seen, and posters of food items that were hung on the cream-colored walls. Lightly worn red stools lined up in front of the wooden counter where a silver-haired elderly woman stood, her eyes crinkling from the small pleasant smile she had on her face.

"Ohayou gozaimasu (good morning)," the elder greeted, "Welcome to Momo Miso." Naruto and Ino bowed and took a seat next to each other, "My name is Aiko, what can I get for you two today?"

Ino looked at the white menu board that was displayed on the wall behind the lady, "Um… I don't know what to get," she said sheepishly, "If I'm being honest, I've never been here before. I kinda randomly picked out this place."

"No worries, at least you're here now. I believe it's the first time the Hero of Konoha has dined here as well! May I suggest the Couple's Breakfast Special?" Naruto paid the old lady no mind as he panned over the options on the menu. Ino, however, flushed red from the suggestion.

"O-oh, we're not a couple," she said bashfully. "Although, that doesn't sound like a bad idea…"

Aiko bowed deeply, "My apologies. I assumed that you two were together."

"No, no. Don't worry about it-"

"Miso soup. And steamed rice." Naruto nonchalantly said, making eye contact with Aiko. Both of the women looked at him bewildered, neither had expected him to bypass the assumption.

Then, the older woman smiled, her friendly visage returning, "Of course dear. And for you, miss?"

"Oh, uh, I'll take the yakizakana." Aiko bowed and then walked away to the back, presumably to tend to their order.

"She has a very pretty name ne, Naruto?" Ino asked, turning her head towards him. He hummed slightly in return as he resorted to propping his arm on the counter and leaning his head on his hand, placing his other arm in front of him. She frowned and puffed her cheeks out in a very childlike manner, "Is the idea of hanging out with me that boring to you?"

He cut his eyes at her for a bit before speaking, "You intrigue me." Ino balked at his reply, not knowing what to say.

"What do you mean intrigue?" He lazily turned his attention away from her and closed his eyes. "Goddammit Uzumaki! It's so hard to talk to you sometimes!"

"You said it was easier inside my living room."

Ino blushed furiously at the remark, turning her head and tucking her hair behind her ear, "N-not like that!"

A pregnant, yet comfortable silence engulfed the two as they waited for the food. Even though Naruto made any conversation with him difficult, his overall presence seemed to calm her, as if she had been with the man her entire life. She couldn't quite understand it. Sure they grew up together, even fighting in a war alongside one another, that didn't quite explain what she was feeling. Ino glanced over at Naruto and stared at him deep in thought, "I wonder what else he's experienced for him to go through such a personality shift…"

A plate interrupted her train of thought, "Here you go dear." Startled, she peeled her eyes off of Naruto and peered down at the food now in front of her. The sight and smell of the grilled fish on a bed of rice and vegetables obscured her senses.

"Wow Aiko-san, this looks amazing!" Ino exclaimed, picking up and breaking a pair of chopsticks that were sitting on the plate.

"Thank you, dear," she smiled, "please enjoy your meal." Aiko bowed and left for the kitchen once more. Before she began to devour her meal, she glanced over at Naruto who had still been sitting in the same position.

"Ne, Naruto, where's your food?" Not bothering to open his eyes and answer, he resorted to lifting his other hand resting on the counter and pointed at the kitchen. Ino looked to where he was pointing and saw the elder lady walk out with a bowl and plate in either hand.

"Here's your food Hero-san," Aiko said warmly as she placed the dishes in front of the man.

"Please, Aiko-san, enough with the 'hero' talk. I don't deserve any special treatment. I'm no different from any other customer." Naruto asserted, his tone even and steady. Aiko hurriedly bowed.

"Gomen nasai, I didn't mean to upset-" Naruto held up a placating hand, effectively cutting her off.

"You are perfectly fine, Aiko-san. No need to fuss. I am grateful for your food, it looks wonderful." Aiko had an appreciative look glued to her features, the warm smile on her face seeming to warm up the room.

Ino had been keenly watching the altercation beamed happily, "You big ol' softie," she thought.

"Arigato gozaimasu! Please, enjoy your food, Naruto-kun." With that, the silver-haired elder bowed and returned to the back. Whispering a small "itadakimasu", Naruto and Ino began to munch on their respective meals in comfortable silence. However, the silence didn't last for long, Ino's mind wandered to the real reason she visited Naruto in the first place.

Sighing, she looked up from her plate and looked over at the resident demon host, "Ne, Naruto." The man lifted his head from his soup and glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Train me."

Ah, straight to the point.

"Why?" Naruto had placed his spoon down in the bowl of soup and gave her his full attention, a rare occurrence for him.

"To put it simply; I'm weak," Ino also placed her eating utensil down on her plate and held her hands into her lap, "I'm nowhere where I want to be. Everyone has done something with their life, and I feel that I've only plateaued after the war."

After pausing to collect her thoughts, she clenched her fists and continued, "Sakura's a lead doctor at the hospital, Shika's a Jōnin Commander, and hell, even Kiba is playing his role in the village by leading one of the best tracking team the village has ever seen." By this point she was shaking, borderline on the verge of tears, however, Naruto paid close attention to every word she spoke, "Where does this put me?! I'm the leader of the S&I Department that barely has anything worth my damn time outside of war, whoopty-fucking-do! Do I have no real worth in my village? Is that all I have to offer?!" Ino wiped the tear that threatened to fall from her eye and sighed, "After seeing how people treat you after everything just… I'm envious of it ya know? I want to actually be somebody, not just another shinobi to die in vain and not be remembered."

Naruto understood exactly what she meant, it was similar to how he felt when the war ended. That feeling of complete worthlessness and that no matter what you did, it wouldn't be enough… There was only so much she could do without a teacher, much less a father. He knew all too well how that felt. It was strange, he never even realized how similar, yet so different they were. It was almost disconcerting.

Fully realizing her potential, with the right amount of training—with her sizable reserves, precise chakra control, and diverse skillset—she'd make the perfect student.

"You will."

Ino's eyes widened in shock, the tears had long since fallen down her face. Standing up, Naruto made his way to leave before stopping at the door and turning his head to lock eye contact with Ino, searching her eyes ostensibly, "Forest of Death. Two o'clock. Don't be late." With that, he disappeared. Ino stared at the space he occupied, then looked at his seat. That's when she noticed he left a stack of ryo bills that was more than enough to cover their meals, along with two empty dishes.

"Asshole," Ino smiled, "thinks he's so cool." She glanced at the white and red cat clock that hung on the wall.

7:42

"Seven hours from now huh? Wonder what the hell he has to do… No matter, I'll give it everything I have. Count on it, Uzumaki!" Ino punctuated her thought by pumping her fist close to her body with a confident grin. She picked up her chopsticks and went back to eating her food when suddenly she paused mid-bite and looked at the door again. She felt like she was forgetting something…

That's when Ino bolted out of the restaurant hollering, "Wait! Dammit Uzumaki! Where inside of the forest did you wanna meet up!" She was not trying to wander around in that place for too long, who knew what type of monsters camped out in there.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain someone was hidden away, leaning on the opposite side of the wall with a nostalgic grin on their face.

"Ah, young love…"