Chapter 2: Black-eyes, Spa's and Mudbath's

One Year later...

"I can't wait to see In-er. Miss Yamanaka again mother!" The twelve year old Kakaru said, looking around furiously for any sign of his friend.

"Well Kakaru, we will be off again, you go look for her. And don't forget that gift you got her!" His mother shouted as he shot off into the distance. "Ahhh...Kids. Its moments like this you don't regret bringing them into this world" She said, smiling and placing her hand over her heart.

The twelve year old youth scoured the city in search for the blonde haired kunoichi. He stopped by where he remembered the flower shop to be, but it was gone. His heart sank instantly. He asked a passerby about the flower shop. "Oh, The Yamanak's saved up and bought a bigger store on the other side of town" he said, pointing him in the right direction.

"Thanks sir!" he said, bowing, and then running in the direction. He got to the flower shop and walked in.
"Welcome, can I help you?" Ino's mom said.

"Misses Yamanaka! Its me, Kakaru!' He said, bowing respectfully to her.

"Wow! You've really grown Kakaru! I suppose you are looking for Ino, hmm, let me see...Oh yes! She's out at the moment practicing with her kunai! Just outside of the forest!" Mrs. Yamanaka said, pointing to the edge of the forest.

"Arrigatoo Mrs. Yamanaka!" He said, laughing as he ran out toward the forest.

There stood the young blonde kunoichi, hurling kunai at targets that had been pinned on trees.

"Hey! Ino-chan!" The youthful boy yelled as he approached her. He tripped and fell upon reaching her, causing her to burst out in laughter. He looked up at her, his face glowing bright red, and he smiled. "Its me!"

"K-Kakaru-kun!" Ino squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He wasn't prepared for this, so he ended up falling back with her on top of him. They both blushed intensely for the moment their faces were less than an inch apart, and then she lept off of him, sitting about two feet away and looking away, still blushing. Kakaru sat up slowly, brushing the dirt off of his shirt.

"I-I'm glad your back...Karu-kun..." Ino said shyly, the redness not fully cured from her face.

"T-thanks...I missed you Ino-chan" he said, looking over at her, still red in the face.

"Really? I missed you too Karu-kun!" Ino said, shaking the blush off and smiling at him.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Karu-kun said, ruffling through his pockets until he finally produced several slips of paper. "We bartered these off of a trader from here! Mom said I should give them to you!" He said, handing them to her.

"OH! Kakaru-kun! These are for the best Spa in town! I've always wanted to go there! Arrigatto!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around him tightly again, this time squeezing him until he couldn't breathe.

"U-h---Ino-chan..."He choked out "Can't...breathe!"

"Oh! I'm sorry Karu-kun!" She said, blushing yet again as she released him.

"Its...fine...Ino-chan..."he said, catching his breath. He smiled at her brightly. "I'm just glad that you like them! I was afraid you'd hate them..."

"Oh! Never! Lifetime passes! I thought they were one time use!" Ino exclaimed.

"Yeah, I got one for each of your family. I know your father and mother must need it from all of the work they do, and you must get tired from all of the ninja training you do!" Kakaru said proudly.

She felt a pang of guilt He probably thinks I do this everyday...instead of once a week. Darn it! I hope he doesn't find out I spend most of my training time trying to impress Sasuke-kun. Sasuke. The mention of him in her thoughts almost seemed to be a passing remark. Like his name should have been preceeded by a by the way, or oh yeah, him. She would have wondered why Sasuke seemed less important to her now, had Kakaru not stood up and walked over to her, offering her a hand. She took it and he helped her up.

"I managed to get enough extra so I could get a day pass to there...do you want to go there Ino-chan?" he asked, smiling.

"Hai! Come on, I'll show you where it is!" She said, tugging his hand and running off toward the city, pulling the youth along.

They recieved a warm reception to the Spa. Kakaru parted from Ino, waving happily as he went to the male section of the hot springs. Ino went to the female side, and they reunited seven relaxing, blissful hours later.

Kakaru had apparently fallen asleep during a mud bath, and so it took him an extra 20 minutes to scrub himself. He dressed in a hurry and went out to the lobby where Ino was waiting with a complimentary towel wrapped around her head.

"Hey Ino-chan! Sorry I'm late, I had to---" he was interrupted by Ino giving him a peck on the cheek. He blushed so deeply that it looked like his head was a nuclear reactor going critical.

"Kakaru-kun...thank you so much!" she said excitedly. "After that hotspring, I got a manicure, and a peticure, and a facial..." she gave him the play-by-play of her entire spa expierence, giving every detail of how the cucumber things felt.

Kakaru tried to listen, but he was preoccupied with the peck. He tried not to think too much of it, but his mind raced with hopeful's and what-ifs. Eventually she noticed he wasn't really paying attention so she whacked him in the head, before realizing what was obviously distracting him.

"Umm...I'm so sorry Kakaru-kun!" she said, throwing her arms around him again and hugging him tightly.

Kakaru didn't seem to mind, becuase he figured out that she must have figured out why he was distracted. (:P Thats right...I went there)

She released him and blushed. "Umm...hey do you wanna have dinner with my family like last time when you were here?" she asked, her eyes diverted and her face growing less pink.

"Of course Ino-chan! If I'm not intruding on anything that is" he said, remembering his manners with a wince.

"Don't be silly! of course you can come! Mom and Dad will be thrilled with your gifts!" Ino said, clasping his hand in hers and leading him swiftly to her home.

And of course, they were thrilled. Inochi apologised for the rapid fire inquiries he had asked him the last time he was there.

They spent more and more time together, and by the second to last day, Kakaru had developed the habit of waiting outside of her house for her in the morning.

The day finally came for Kakaru to leave, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had been told specifically to leave and catch up with them, but he was caught in a trap he could not escape, no matter how hard he tried: The Sun was setting, and Ino was resting her head on his shoulder as they watched it together. It fully went down and he looked deeply into her eyes as the pain shot through his body. He flinched terribly and ran off, leaving a very shocked Ino behind.

She recieved this letter two days later: Dear Ino...

I regret that I had to leave you so abruptly...I had stayed too long and the Wanderer's Mark had activated...XI just barely made it outX (this part was crossed out several times) I am fine now though...I will write you whenever I get to a town with a post office!

Sincerely, Karu-kun.

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111That's it! Chapter 2 complete! Hope you Enjoy!