They were walking towards the park, when Sakura led Ino to a
huge house surrounded by large red pines. Sakura walked up the
winding path, and rang the doorbell.
The door opened to reveal a robed Naruto with wet hair. He
seemed to have just come out of the shower.
"Hey! It's Sakura, and... And, uh, hold on... Sorry, I know this... Ino
right?" Ino nodded. "Hey! Come on in! Come in, come in!" Ino and Sakura
walked into a beautifully carved front hall, and Naruto ushered them into
a large room, with huge windows facing the sun. The room was warm,
not because of the sun, but because it looked lived in.
"Ah, sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting visitors," Ino saw a
piece of paper with what seemed to be very complicated numbers and
complex symbols on it. Ino asked as Naruto swept it up, "What was that?
It looked like astronomy," Naruto turned towards her, papers and pens
jammed into his arms.
"Nah, it's astrology," Naruto said. He carried the papers over to his
desk, where he deposited them. "I have a thing for things like that.
Anyways, enough about me, why are you two ladies here on such a short
notice?" He asked happily.
"Well," Sakura started out. As she explained why she had brought
Ino over, Naruto's happiness seemed to edge away a little.
"And so, that's why I brought her here. You're the only one that I
know who has more authority than the police."
Naruto nodded. He looked at Ino. "Alright," He said, no sign of his
happiness gone from his voice. "You can stay here until they clear you,
and find the real criminal."
Ino's face brightened. "Really?" Naruto nodded. She was grateful.
"I think I've done all I needed to do here," Sakura said as she stood
up. Naruto caught her arm, and led her to the entrance hall. He closed
the door slightly, and Ino stood up to here what they were saying.
"Look, even if she gets caught, under my protection, I'll have no
more authority than you would," Naruto said, in a low voice.
"Well, then," Sakura said, in an equally low voice. "Don't let her
leave." She turned and gently closed the door on Naruto. He turned, and
Ino ran back to the couch. He walked in, hitching a cheerful smile on his
face.
"Come on, follow me, I'll lead you to your room," Ino stood up, and
Naruto led her up a oak stairway, with little windows all around, so it
looked as though there were thousands of little lights surrounding them.
She studied the paintings on the wall, and noticed that some of
them were, to her astonishment, originals. She saw a painting that
looked nothing more than a few black lines, and read below it on a brass
plate, Brushstrokes At The Whitney.
She looked around at more paintings and saw some she even
recognized. Wow, she thought. I never knew Naruto collected art.
"Where did you get all of these?" Ino asked, surprised at the
mature Naruto now walking in front of her. "I guess you like art alot,
right?"
"Actually," Naruto said, stopping. "I hate it. I don't like collecting art,
but I was pressured into it. My friend bought all of them, and gave them
to me. I couldn't do anything but display them."
Ino nodded, knowing what he was talking about.
Naruto brought her to a elegantly carved door, and opened it. Ino's
jaw dropped.
Inside was a gigantic window facing her, showing off a park-like
backyard that had a hidden door connecting to the real park, and nearer
to her was a carved canopy bed that matched the door and chairs. The
bed was probably King sized, and it had white silk-like material draped
lazily over it.
Ino walked in, studying the Tiffany lamps, and the delicate hand
sewn embroidery on the bed sheets and pillows. The walls were a rich
dark red, with a white roof and the floor was a highly polished hard wood
mahogany floor.
Ino saw another door, and walked through it. When she walked it,
she shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun coming through the
window that was over the bathtub. Polished smooth rocks were in the
floor and steps leading into the tub. There was also a glass corner
shower, for those Oh-crap-I've-got-a-meeting-in-five-minutes showers.
The rocks continued up the wall, but slowly faded away to olive
green walls with little jewels scattered around it. The roof was, like the
bedroom, white. The triangle wall lights were on, and towels were on the
racks as though Naruto had set it up for her.
He walked in after her and asked, "So do you like it? Besides me
and you, no one else has seen it. I just finished it."
Ino turned around, breathless. She looked up into Naruto's eyes
and replied, "Like it? I love it! It's wonderful! Who did you get to build
such a beautiful house?"
"Me," He answered, smiling. "I built the whole thing from scratch. No
other builders. Just me, and my blue prints," He led Ino back to the
bedroom. "But, you want to see the wildest thing I put in this house?"
Ino nodded, excited.
Naruto grabbed a book, and Ino looked on, confused, until the shelf
that the book was on, opened.
"Secret passage ways," He said. He motioned Ino to follow him.
When she walked inside, the whole corridor seemed to be glowing with a
soft gold light.
Ino followed Naruto down some stairs, an they came upon a door.
Naruto opened it, and they ended up in his study. Naruto closed the door,
which from the outside looked like a painting.
Ino turned to Naruto, and asked, "How did you do all of this on your
own?"
He replied, "I'm good with my hands."
"How many passage ways do you have in this house?"
"I'd say, seventeen," He said. "But if you want to find them, you're
going to have to do that on your own, it's more fun to find them by
surprise then being showed them."
Ino agreed. "I think I should go to bed, I didn't get too much sleep
last night."
"Okay," Naruto said. He led Ino back to her room from a different
stairwell. "Well, good night, I mean, good morning. Oh, well, have a good
nap."
"I will, thanks," She said as she walked into the room. Naruto
closed the door, and Ino slipped beneath the down covers.