Disclaimer: I am not Kishimoto-sama; therefore Naruto doesn't belong to me. Got it? Good...

To my impatient readers: I'm in college. For those of you also in college, you know that exams are nearly here, so you've all been lucky so far that I've had the free time that I do to put one out every couple days so, which wont be so next week. I've never written anything before, especially not more than 10K words like this, so I never expected I'd have such an audience that I'd have to beat you off with the patience stick. If anyone complains about my "lack of update speed." I'm gonna sic Kyuubi on you and give everyone else tanuki cookies I blackmailed Gaara into baking. (If any of you have read my friend Saria19's narutofic, you know about the boxers...)

To my patient ones who leave their little nuggets of gratitude and insight: Keep it up and this story might have a sequel.

systemman: I'm going to assume that the Genin exam is semi-annually just like the Chuunin exam, therefore Naruto and Ino could have enrolled the same year as the Gai Team. Make sense if ninjas are the village's bread and butter, and if worst case all the genins pass in one exam, the leaf won't have genins to show at the next one, and its bad for business. Plus, it's in the interest of storytelling that Naruto learn path-defining things from Ino he would otherwise already learn if he entered the academy before she did. You'll see how I handle it in this chapter.

Takes place after the Sasuke retrieval mission, in the three months before Naruto leaves on his training mission with Jiraiya.

Bound Together

Chapter 4: Naruto's Dilemma, Ino's Rash Decision

"Speech" - talking

"Speech" – Naruto thinking

Speech – flashback

"Speech" - Ino's talking

"Speech" - Kyuubi talking

"Alright, now that everyone is present, we will begin the briefing. Naruto?" Tsunade gestured to the boy to stand up and tell his tale.

Naruto gulped as he looked around at his audience. Along with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Gaara stood Yamanaka Inoshi and Sarutobi Asuma, newly returned from their missions, and who both had rushed over once they learned of Ino's 'condition.' The stony looks they both wore robbed him of some of his resolve, although he was thankful Tsunade had ordered Sakura, Shikamaru, and Temari to wait outside and not to listen in. Gaara however had simply uttered "I know." and flashed him a strange hand seal as he remained. Kyuubi explained

"That's the demon seal for Kitsune. That mongrel Shukaku must recognize I am within you. Do not fear whelp, he is inferior to me, but his vessel seems trustworthy, if rather unbalanced."

"Yeah, don't worry Naruto-kun," his more attractive inner companion reassured, "My tousan has nothing against you either, and won't blame you for what's happening to me. I can read him like a book anyways; he's more worried than anything else. Just tell them the truth and let them figure out what to do."

His moment of hesitation vanished with those words as he launched into a complete and unabridged narration of everything that had happened within his mind. Ino's father appeared increasingly agitated at the mention of her acquiring some of Kyuubi's essence, but calmed at the mention of his daughter facing down the great demon with a look of paternal pride.

"That's certainly my daughter. Get on her bad side and she can stare down the Death God. What is your plan, Hokage-sama?" Inoshi spoke up once Naruto had finished.

"I agree with the demon's assessment actually, Yamanaka-san. We transfer her soul back to her body, and use a possession seal to force it to accept her now demonic spiritual energy. Her changes are most likely permanent, although that might not be such a bad thing," she nodded towards Naruto," however no one in the leaf has practiced such a sealing ritual for generations. Gaara, who else in your village is capable of such a feat, other than your late father?"

"No one at the moment. Only the Kazekage is entrusted with such knowledge. It is detailed in Suna's scroll of forbidden seals, which only he may study. I was made aware of this as his heir and favored successor for when the council deems me experienced enough."

"Fine then. You are still on retainer to the Leaf for another month, so as an official S-class mission you will return to Suna and acquire their scroll, and return with it. Jiraiya, go with him. I imagine they would trust no one less than a sennin to even handle such a document."

"S-class?" squealed Naruto. "Gaara gets an S-class mission before I do? And why an S-class, Obaa chan?"

"Because, brat, saving your girlfriend requires the use of a forbidden ritual in a scroll even jounins are forbidden to access. Most are punished with exile for even handling it without permission," Tsunade explained as she detailed the mission into an official Hokage level request scroll and sealed with the leaf sigil. 'You should know that better than most, I've read how you almost faced the same punishment', she added silently.

"G-Girlfriend! She's not my girlfriend!" sputtered the boy.

"Right...and you didn't enjoy the kiss either, huh?"

Naruto kept silent at that point, blushing scarlet, at a loss for a comeback as Inoshi and Jiraiya chuckled.

"For once you're a quick study."

"Shut up, Ero-sennin."

As the briefing adjourned, Naruto caught up with Sakura who was still waiting outside, an anxious look etched on her face.

"Is Ino going to be ok?" she asked the blond boy as she walked along side him out of the building, the two of them following Jiraiya.

"Of course! Gaara and ero-sennin just have to fetch a scroll from the Sand to put her back together."

"Thank Kami." said Sakura, as Inoshi approached and took Naruto aside as she continued on.

"I want to thank you for taking care of my daughter while she's in your 'care.' I know you will protect her with your life. " He said somberly, all the while having Naruto's shoulder in a viselike grip, "I also know that you and my wife have never really gotten along, but I will speak to her about showing more compassion for you in the future, should you and Ino become an item, Be careful with her in that head of yours, but don't mind her if she gets snippy. That comes from her mother's side." he said with a sly chuckle as he released Naruto and vanished in a puff of nin-smoke.

"Tousan! You take that back!" Ino silently shouted, as Naruto massaged his now sore shoulder and hurried off after Sakura.

"Oi, Naruto, this girl of yours had better be worth it. I'm missing almost a week of data gathering for this." Jiraiya complained as Naruto and Sakura caught up with him.

Aware of only one thing that could convince the old lecher of anything, Naruto replied, "Does this make it up to you? Henge!"

From a puff of nin-smoke appeared a true vision of beauty as Naruto's Sexy-no-Jutsu took shape, a lithesome nude beauty with enchanting sky-blue eyes, long sculpted legs which seemed to go on forever, rather bountiful 'assets', and a single long shimmering cornflower colored hair. Thin clouds of smoke hid her most intimate spots as always, though this one was obviously a modified version.

"Please save me, Jiraiya-sama.," 'She' pleaded in a husky voice, along with the deadliest puppy dog eyes known to the shinobi world.

Jiraiya on cue went berserk, as though having a fit. Even Gaara immediately put his hand to his nose and glared at Naruto as he saw it come away bloody.

"You didn't...You did not just turn into me! You better prey to all the Kami you know that those clouds don't dissipate, or I will remove your capacity to start a family, you hear me? You are dearly lucky my tousan wasn't here to see this."

"You have defeated me for the last time, Uzumaki Naruto...next time I will be the victor. Traveling as I do, we will return in four days." With that, the sand-wielder ambled off toward the north gate, with arms crossed once again, Jiraiya dragging along behind him, complements of the sand from Gaara's gourd.

"Sorry Ino-chan. But hey, you were kind of my inspiration for it in the first place, being the prettiest girl in class next to Sakura-chan, and its impossible to convince ero-sennin of the situation in any other way than with my new Sexy Ino-no-jutsu. The old one is starting to lose its effect on him." Naruto explained as he dispelled the henge.

"I'm flattered...You're lucky I'm helpless while you're in control out there, but next time you come in here…"

Sakura simply shook her head, whacked Naruto on the back his, and kept walking.

As they neared Sakura's house, Ino had a suggestion, hoping it would distract Naruto from continually glancing at the pink haired girl whenever she wasn't looking.

'His heart's in the right place, he just needs to work on his technique. With a little nudging in the right direction, he might become boyfriend material after all,' she decided, though she wasn't quite sure whose boyfriend that would be.

"Oi, Naruto-kun, have you asked Sakura out recently? With Sasuke gone, she might have a different answer now."

"Great idea Ino-chan! No competition for her feelings...She can't still be hung up on Sasuke-bastard this long, now can she?"

"You won't know until you try. Don't mention ramen though, she doesn't even like it."

"Ne, Sakura-chan, would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?"

"Sure Naruto-kun." Her response was so quick in coming he was caught off guard.

"That's ok the-you will?"

'Kun' was certainly a new development.

"Yes I will. Since Sasuke-kun gone, I've come to realize I'm just going to get hurt again if I give up on everyone else and he never comes back. I know he will someday, but I've been hurt enough. You've never hurt me though, Naruto-kun, and you've always been there for me when I needed it, and you've become...important...to me. I've actually been hoping you would ask me. You said you understood my feelings, so I wanted to give you a chance to prove it. Pick me up Friday night at seven, alright?"

"Two days...sure thing, Sakura-chan!"

"Great! Well, here's my house. Good night, Naruto-kun," she said with a shy smile, then hesitated a moment, gave him a tentative peck on the cheek, and disappeared.

"Yosh! Sakura-chan is mine!" Naruto shouted as he ran home, drawing starts from pedestrians.

"Great. I'm...happy for you. I was surprised, myself..."

"Ino-chan, will you help me?" the boy asked suddenly.

"Help with what?"

"Well, you see…I've never been on a real date before, and I want to make it special for her. Will you help me be the right kind of date for Sakura-chan?"

"…" His mental companion remained silent.

"Ino-chan…?"

"Fine, I'll help." Her delayed reply wasn't quite so filled with enthusiasm as it echoed in his head, but Naruto was in too high spirits to notice, as he reached his apartment.

As he unlocked the door and went inside, Ino was surprised to see it wasn't quite as messy as she imagined. It was only one room, but Naruto had undoubtedly learned to make use of space while living on his own his whole life. The only things out of place were empty instant ramen cups and some rolled scrolls left on the counter. They looked like they had been put too close to a fire.

"Naruto, how did your scrolls get burned?"

"You tell me, it was your fire."

"But sensei, I didn't mean for it to grow so big. It was only supposed to be little Katon jutsu..." explained a slightly singed Ino, trying to appear as innocent as she could muster, "Tenten-chan's not good at ninjutsu, and I wanted to show off."

"You destroyed two classrooms!" Mizuki-sensei bellowed from his desk, his white hair blackened at the tips from his attempts to put out the blaze with a Suiton jutsu, "I can not imagine how such a sweet young lady such as you gets the ideas for these nasty pranks, but they are going to stop right now. As of now, you are suspended for one year!"

"What! I'm going to be held back? But it's almost the end of the term!" Ino went wide eyed at the news of her punishment. She refused to tear up however. Naruto said never to let anyone see her cry ever again and she was going to stick to his words.

"We take the safety of our students seriously, and you've caused enough trouble here. Perhaps this will instill some discipline in you."

And with that, Mizuki got up, and stormed out of his office, followed by an irate Mrs. Yamanaka and a squirming Ino.

"Just wait until your father gets home!"

None of them noticed a slender cord just outside the open window.

"Sorry, Ino-chan." Naruto said to himself.

"That was not my proudest moment."

"It was better than any prank I pulled, except for that graffiti on the Hokage Monument..."

"Well you were my inspiration too in a way. I couldn't be your friend, but I could still be your rival when it came to troublemaking."

"Well I did miss the competition when you gave it up." said Naruto as he made himself comfortable and got undressed.

"I didn't give it up because I wanted to.. When I came back I was a different person almost. Everyone kept their distance from the 'troublemaker.' I was so desperate to be popular I had to change. You never crossed my mind again, not until the Chuunin exam. I'm so sorry."

Naruto remained silent at this, while Ino noticed in a corner by the window sat a flower pot. Growing in it was a lush looking foxglove.

"You kept it?"

"Of course I did, it was the first present anyone ever gave me, so I took up keeping it around."

"It couldn't have survived all this time."

"Of course not, but it took a while getting one to stay alive. I buy new ones from your shop."

"My shop? I've never seen you in there, and only Uzu Naruko-san buys foxgloves around here."

"I know. Didn't she ever look familiar? Whisker marks...?"

"That was you? Your sexy-no-jutsu girl actually wearing clothes?"

"Yeah. The flower was something that still kept us linked, if only in my mind, but I didn't want to remind you or risk angering your kaasan about us hanging out."

"Oh..."

He hesitated once he got to the bathroom, took one look at the shower, and realized right then the impact of having a girl in one's head.

"What's the matter Naruto-kun?"

"The shower…"

"What about the shower...oh! You don't want me to see you naked. And yet it's ok to show my naked body to pervy old guys in the street?"

"Well…"

"If you can clean yourself with your eyes closed, knock yourself out. Otherwise, I'm staying for the peep show."

"What! You're a pervert too?"

"D-did I just say that? Aww crap, you're rubbing off on me! Kyuubi!"

"She is absorbing your traits as she becomes integrated with your personality, whelp. Soon she will experience your memories too. And it's a two-way process." explained the demon, slightly miffed at being ordered around by a female who was supposed to fear him.

"What! You mean I'm going to start acting like her soon?" Naruto shuddered at the thought of wearing makeup and nail polish.

"Nothing quite as drastic as you imagine, but to an extent, that is correct. However, you are the dominant personality in here, so you have more influence on her than she has on you. Not to mention you both are loud and brash as it is, so nothing much will change, although I do hope you will at least learn some manners from the female."

"Whew!" Both blonds sighed in relief as Naruto finished undressing while staring at the ceiling, started the water and got in, making lots of steam. It didn't cover everything however…

"Wait until I tell forehead girl about this! I didn't know you were so buff and…developed…under that tracksuit. Hehehe!" she sniggered.

"Shut up!"

Naruto spent the rest of his shower with his eyes screwed shut.

Later, as Naruto tried unsuccessfully to get to sleep...

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yes Ino-chan?"

"Why do you like forehead gi-Sakura?"

"At first I think it's was because she sought to be acknowledged by Sasuke -bastard, like I seek acknowledgement from everyone else."

"And now, after so many years of treating you like crap and ignoring you in favor of Sasuke?"

"I don't know…with Sasuke gone she wants something else I guess. She never even hugged me before so that kiss was...new."

"Oh…Could you...could you ever like someone else?"

"Maybe. There aren't all that many girls who put up with me long enough to like me, so I never really considered anyone else before."

"Oh...Naruto-kun?"

"Yes?"

"I acknowledge you."

"You do? Since when? The Exam Finals, right? When I used Kyuubi's chakra to beat Neji? People measure what they can see, and all they see is strength or idiocy when they look at me."

"Not me. For me, it was the prelims when you bit Kiba. I've never heard of anyone using Kage Bunshin and Henge together, and certainly not turning themselves into a dog. That was the first time you impressed me."

That's nothing! The day before they sorted us into teams, I taught the third's grandson Sexy no jutsu, and when his sensei tried to stop him from learning it, I combined Sexy no jutsu and Kage Bunshin. I call it Harem no jutsu!

"I'd call you a pervert, but now that starting to seem hypocritical. Any other tricks you have up your sleeve?"

"Well the closest Sakura ever came to kissing Sasuke was actually me while I looked like him."

"Did she?"

"Did she what?"

"Did she…kiss you?"

"Naw. Spoiled milk kicked in when she got really close, and I had to run."

"Oh…thank you."

"For what?"

"Nothing...Good night Naruto-kun."

"Ok…Good night Ino-chan."

"Good night Kyuubi-kun!"

"I should have attacked Tea Country instead. At least they sleep sometime."

As he drifted off to sleep, Naruto pondered the possibilities of liking someone else for the first time in a long time. Maybe someone like Ino he thought, remembering Yamanaka-san didn't mind him carrying his daughter's soul around. Iruka-sensei once told him that the first step in dating was to get in right with the girl's parents. Considering the chunin teacher was still a bachelor, Naruto doubted the veracity of his advice. Still, maybe it helped. Sakura's parents both hated him...what did mean for things?

At long last, sleep claimed him before could figure out the answer.

The next morning dawned strangely for him, as Naruto woke up with a disturbing memory of seeing a broken, bleeding Sakura being thrown to the ground by someone wearing a Sound hitai-ate and dark Kakashi-sensei hair. Ino sat down on the bed next to him and explained.

"You were seeing the Forest of Death from my point of view. You two were down for the count, and Zaku guy looked like he was about to kill Sakura. I was team leader, so it was my call. I had to do something if I didn't want her death and yours on my conscience and be known forever as Ino, the girl who let Team Seven die."

"Oh. Thanks for saving our lives then Ino-chan. If I'd known I'd have thanked you sooner."

"You're very welcome, Naruto-kun."

"Did you see anything from my mind?"

"I saw two, but they were related somehow, so maybe they were next to each other in your memory. Your Rasengan move is really cool! I saw you save Tsunade-sama from Kabuto with it. I think you're really brave and sweet to do what you did. That Orochimaru guy was really creepy though. I never saw him before, because I had been put to sleep along with everyone else when the war started, but he's the guy who killed the third, right?"

"Yeah. He gave Sasuke a cursed seal to tempt him with power, that's why he left. What was the other thing you saw?"

"The entire fight with Sasuke. I still can't believe he wanted to kill you just to upgrade his Sharingan!"

"Yeah..."

"Hey, cheer up, Naruto-kun. I felt everything you did, so I know exactly what you're thinking. Don't beat yourself up over it. You made a life long promise to Sakura, which means you have a lifetime to fulfill it. Don't waste that by wanting to rush off and get yourself killed. I'd never forgive you for it, even if I wasn't still inside you when it happened."

"You wouldn't?"

"You're growing on me, and that's not just because we're merging and feeling what each other feels. You're my friend, and they mean more than anything to me. Actually, I'll have to admit that you're starting to know me better than anyone else now, even better than Sakura. It may seem sudden, but then most people don't become best friends by sharing a body or starting to share a soul, so I think we're an exception. That also means you're important to me, so promise me you wont throw away your life just to please someone, Ok?"

"Gee thanks, Ino-chan. I promise."

"Good. And that's not all. I also felt everything you did when Kyuubi joined your fight. I bet I can help you pull off a Rasengan one handed."

"Really? Cool!" Then it dawned on him just who he was talking to: Ino, who was sitting on his bed. Ino was sitting...

"Ino! How did you get your body back?" he squealed.

"I didn't, I'm still in yours, but with you asleep, I can take control with very little effort, so I made a Bunshin. She's not me, she's really just you, henge'd into me and mouthing my words so you have someone to talk to." said Ino, as Naruto realized that indeed, the voice was still in his head.

"Cool! But you shouldn't use up your power like that."

"I know, but they're the basics, so they use like no chakra at all to do, and I wanted to do something neat for you. Now let's go work on your Rasengan." Ino said with a smile, as her Bunshin faded away, without the nin-smoke a physical Kage Bunshin would leave.

"Really? Yosh!" Without a second thought Naruto shot out of bed, dressed quickly, and took off like a shot to the nearest training field.

The rest of the time passed without incident day passed quickly for the pair. After spending the first day perfecting the Rasengan, Ino insisted they start the second day checking up on her body. (She insisted he make her more presentable if she didn't look her best.)She then convinced Naruto to change his wardrobe, at least for his date, and when he complained about the cost, she led him to her secret stash behind the Korean BBQ restaurant. After that, his wardrobe upgrade passed quickly, for Ino at least. For Naruto, like most guys, clothes shopping is akin to an afternoon of Morino Ibiki's Resisting Torture 101 class jounin hopefuls had to take. Naruto was not used to clothes being quite so pricey before either, he had lived frugally all his life.

"This must cost a bundle Ino-chan! I can't do this to you."

"It's clothes, Naruto-kun. What you wear, I'm wearing too, so we gotta look our best, right? I'll tell you what, to ease your conscience, when I'm back to normal, you can take me out for some ramen."

Naruto was about to jump for joy at the mention of ramen when he paused.

Ino had just kind of asked him out, didn't she?

In a flash, the conversation from their first night together came rushing back, as well as his musings about life with someone else, and it finally dawned on him, complements of gaining part of Ino's common sense.

Maybe, just maybe…she liked him. And maybe, just maybe…he was starting to like her back. This time he forgot to be cautious about not putting ideas into words...

It felt good, the idea of her liking him. It was a feeling he had hoped for, especially from Sakura, but instead in this case it was coming from Ino. As to which one made him feel more content, he was still unsure. He had wanted Sakura's affection since the moment he met her, despite her scorn until now, but what if he never stopped getting to know Ino? She could very well be right there next to him, with her arms around his neck, whispering things into his ear meant only for him, with a kunai up her sleeve, ready at a moment's notice to jump into the thick of battle at his side and he would feel like the strongest, bravest, craftiest ninja in all the Countries.

"Yes!"

"What?"

"Err...a sale!"

"Oh good grief."

As he finally left the clothing shop (the only one whose employees didn't give him cold stares.) wearing a rather less garish dark blue trousers and an dark orange collared shirt and a stylish dark blue jacket, he ran into Team 8 seated at the Ichiraku ramen bar. Kiba (and Akamaru) and Hinata had apparently got together after the rescue mission. Ino explained that taking care of Kiba during his hospital stay has got her interested in becoming a medic-nin, and helped them to bond.

"Hey dog boy! Hey Hinata, is he treating you right?" he inquired as he joined them, ordering only five bowls of miso ramen this time.

"Shuddup, you loudmouth!" Kiba shot back.

"Arf!" added Akamaru.

"Kiba-kun's been really nice to me, Naruto-kun. Thank you for asking." Apparently Kiba's influence was indeed a positive one; her stutter seemed to be gone, although she was still rather quiet.

"What're you all dressed up for?" asked Kiba, looking the blond boy up and down.

"I've got a date with Sakura-chan!"

"She must be really lowering her standards…Hey, I heard you made out with Ino, isn't she still in a coma? I thought I was the dog? Ahahahah!"

"Arf Arf!"

"See, I told you you're no good for my reputation."

"That was an accident! I fell!"

"Sure…anyways I hope Ino wakes up soon. It's too quiet with you being the only loudmouth."

"Hey! Bring it on, dog boy! Once I learn the Shinranshin, I'll make you eat Akamaru's turds one by one!"

"That's not nice Kiba-kun. We're all worried for Ino-chan, Naruto-kun. I heard you're helping to take care of her, that's very nice of you."

"Gee thanks, Hinata. Well, I gotta go if I don't want to be late for my date. See ya!" as he paid for the meal and set off for Sakura's home

"You know, she had a crush on you for the longest time."

"Really? I never noticed."

"Everyone else did. Hero worship like nobody's business, but looking up to you is probably why she survived her bout with Neji."

"Well I'm glad I could help her prove herself. She's really nice, kinda like the little sister I wish I had."

"And what about me?"

"You?"

"What am I...to you?"

"Well, let's see…You were my first friend until your kaasan split us up. For a long time we barely knew each other. Now we're friends again and I'm sort of getting used to you being a part of me, and I'm starting to forget what it's like without you always around. You're a precious person remember, and I would do anything for them, and for you."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. You know I would do anything for you as well." she said, with a feeling that could only be translated as a blush.

"You're welcome, Ino-chan. We're here!" He said as he knocked on Sakura's front door.

Facing Sakura's parents had certainly been an ordeal. Naruto had made the mistake of arriving somewhat early, which meant a longer period of time waiting for Sakura to get ready, which translated into a longer time seated in the Haruno's living room, facing Sakura's father and the dreaded 'Intentions towards my daughter' interrogation the ANBU would be hard pressed to imitate. Sakura's mother wasn't much better. She was still frustrated things never progressed with her daughter's crush on the smarmy Uchiha heartthrob, and for Sakura to lower her standards to date the demon boy was an affront to her sensibilities.

At least it was worth it, Naruto thought, as he saw his crush descend gracefully in a gorgeous pink Chinese style dress much her normal one, with her namesake stenciled on it.

"Wow..." was the only thing he was capable of uttering at that moment.

"She only bought that because I have one too! Mine's purple with fox gloves, I bet I could wipe the floor with her." Naruto dared not respond to that, instead he just smiled as took Sakura's arm and led her out into the warm night.

A few hours later, after a lavish dinner at a fancy restaurant Naruto never even heard of before, the pair (trio?) walked home in silence, content with each other's presence, yet each lost in their own thoughts.

Sakura was as committed as ever. All through the meal, Naruto seemed to know just what to say and how to act like the perfect gentleman, although she had the feeling he was being coached by her rival. It only strengthened her resolve to win his heart fair and square. If she couldn't have Sasuke-kun, Naruto was the next best thing, with Lee a close third if he shaved his caterpillars. Deep down she knew that Naruto wasn't a prize to be won, and she really did care about him as a brother, but when Ino-pig was involved, everything was a competition, no matter what she truly felt for him.

Naruto was getting more confused by the moment. Sakura felt more like a sister these past few days, with Ino's memories seeping in little by little and coloring the way he saw the girl, while Ino seemed to be the kindred spirit he had always yearned for, as he saw more and more of who she was. It's not like ramen, where he could order a bowl of each flavor; this was a choice he would have to make, and it would hurt one of them, he was sure of it. He didn't know what he wanted, but he kept coming back to his daydream, of a partner Ino who wanted nothing more and nothing less than to be with him through anything. It was as much a direction as anything else, but it hinged on whether she felt the same, and all he had to go on were hints.

Ino was likewise hesitant. Last night while dreaming she had seen for herself what her friendship with Naruto had meant to the boy from his own point of view, and how painful it felt whenever she had joined in the taunting. She also saw how becoming a ninja gave him a purpose, and renewed his faith in himself, even if no one had any in him. Reliving every morning that team seven had met on their favored bridge, she remembered greeting Sakura-chan with exuberance, and how getting nothing in return hadn't stopped him in the slightest as he continually became stronger with every put down from Kiba...from Neji...from Gaara...from Sasuke. While Ino was happy for him finally getting Sakura's attention, and had enjoyed helping him win her, she kept coming back to her own developing feelings for the fox-boy, and the images that flashed through his head while shopping, especially his fantasy vision of her as his equal, his partner.

She realized right then that was exactly what she wanted to be. It was nothing like her Sasuke faux-fan girl craze for the sake of pushing Sakura, or pining for a Shikamaru who was just too lazy to see what he was missing. This was a boy who was more like herself than anyone she had ever met, and who for once was starting to like her for a change, and she would regret yet another thing if she didn't do something in own interests for once. Hopefully this would in time develop into something truly special, but she would need to act soon or lose her chance.

Sakura suddenly spoke up as they neared her front door, "Thank you Naruto-kun, I have a wonderful time."

"Me too, Sakura-chan."

They both stood and stared each other unsure of what to do at this point..

"Well...? Aren't you going to kiss me? Technically it's our second date you know."

"Err…Well" Naruto was still at a loss for a solution.

"It's Ino, isn't it? You're falling for her, right? Need reminding who your crush has always been?" Sensing his resolution waning, Sakura took the initiative and kissed him.

It was powerful, to say the least. For Sakura, it was her first kiss, and she congratulated herself on her audacity as she leaned into it and felt herself carried away by it.

'Take that, Ino-pig!' was pretty much the only thing she was capable of putting into words at the moment.

For Naruto, it was everything he had dreamed it would be like, except...

He didn't see fireworks this time; it was more muted, as though spring had snuck up on him unbidden. It felt wonderful, of course, but something was missing that he had enjoyed most about the first one…with Ino.

Something shifted in his mind as he pulled away suddenly, although it was not his idea. Neither was pushing Sakura away.

"I can't let you take him from me!" he heard and felt himself shout out to the night.

"Ino?" Sakura was puzzled. Could she have finally taken control of Naruto?

"Sakura, I'm sorry..."

With that Naruto fell to his knees, dizzy for a moment, as Sakura moved to help him stand back up.

"What happened, Naruto?"

"It's Ino-chan, she took control and it probably cost the last of her chakra," he explained.

"Ino-chan!" he called into his mind.

"I'm s-sorry, Naruto-kun, I just couldn't...I don't feel so good..."

"She's fading fast whelp. I can give some her some of my chakra. It's a permanent gift, not like our loans. There will be initial changes until she can adjust..."

"I don't care. Just save her, we'll deal with the consequences later."

"You got it runt."

Naruto felt a surge go through him. It felt like he was being lent chakra, but it was being diverted elsewhere.

"Ino-chan?"

"...need…want…kill!" The rest of her speech was incomprehensible growls and barks.

This was not a promising improvement.

"Um...you better get in here runt, she is...'different.' It is as I feared."

"She's in trouble Sakura-chan. She needs me. Get us to the hospital," he ordered before slumping to a prone position on the ground, his brow knitted in concentration..

"Naruto-kun...Ino-chan...Please be ok," she whispered as the hoisted the blond boy on her back and made a beeline for the hospital.

So ends chapter 4 with cliff-hanger no jutsu. I've decided to split the original chapter 4 into this and chapter 5 to make the chapters roughly the same size. I hope it piques your interest, despite being written exclusively in 4 am moments.. Whew. 17 pages on this chapter alone. I may be rushing the relationship development here, but Ino explains it rather well(I pay her the most.) and the Sakura relationship was minor mainly to be a catalyst for what comes next chapter, when she comes to terms with what her actions have wrought.. Hold on your seats sports fans, Naruto's got good reason to be worried, considering what happened to him in wave country the first time he experienced Kyuubi chakra...