Wow. Apparently I offended some people with the last chapter. Of course, I kinda expected that to happen, though I didn't think people would complain about the OOCness (is that a word?) of Shikamaru. C'mon people! He was drunk! Do you really think people stay the same when they're drunk? Cause if you do, there are some people I want to introduce to you. And no one even tried to guess who wrote the song last chapter was named after! Well, you can still try, and you can even try for this chapter as well. Alright, with that said, on to the story!

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Chapter 5:

Let Her Cry

Naruto groaned as he tried to sit up, only to discover that he hadn't fully recovered from the poison yet. Gasping in pain, he collapsed back on the bed as Ino groaned as well and lifted her head off of his chest. As he smiled down at her he noticed the state of his shirt. It was almost completely see through. Holy crap. How long was Ino-chan crying on me before she passed out, or whatever? Or did someone just spill water on me?

As Ino threw herself on him again, apologizing as he groaned, and pulled him into a kiss, it was obvious that she had, indeed, been crying. Her face was red, her cheeks were streaked and her eyes were red and swollen. After a moment, Naruto broke the kiss and brushed Ino's hair off of her face. "You didn't think a little something like that would take me down, did you?" Ino shook her head as she dried her eyes, then hugged Naruto tightly. Suppressing a groan, boy was he ever sore, Naruto hugged her back. "What's going to happen to Shikamaru?"

At his question Ino suddenly pulled away from him and shook her head, trying not to cry again. "That bastard is going to jail where he belongs." Naruto frowned and gently touched Ino's cheek. "Ino-chan, don't call him a bastard. He wasn't in control of his actions." At this, Ino felt her heart lift. Maybe she had been completely wrong about Shikamaru! Maybe he was completely innocent! "You mean, someone was controlling him?" It was Naruto's turn to shake his head. "I wish. No, no one was controlling him." Ino was confused by this, and it was obvious. "What did you mean, then?" "Ino-chan, Shikamaru was drunk."

Ino gasped and buried her face in Naruto's chest. "He never got over it, then. He never got over the fact that we were going out, and not me and him." Naruto nodded and held Ino tightly. "I guess. But the fact that he didn't have anyone to turn to about it didn't help much." Ino frowned again as she stood up and brushed Naruto's hair out of his face, just like he had done for her moments before. "What about Choji, or Asuma-san? Or his parents?" "Well, Asuma's been on a mission for the past month, Choji isn't exactly the best for talking about girls, trust me on that, and his parents, well, saying his mom is strict is like saying that I like ramen, it just doesn't cover it, and his dad pretty much thinks women are nothing but a bother, except for the special someone that every has, somewhere." Ino nodded and kissed Naruto's forehead, then frowned again. "Wait a second. When did you talk to Choji about girls?" Naruto grinned. "I asked him and Shikamaru a bunch of questions when I still had that crush on Sakura-chan." Ino giggled at this, for some reason, then started to leave. "Well, I need to get home. Sakura-chan was worried about you and I promised that I'd tell her when you woke up. That, and I need to sleep. I'll be back later, Naruto-kun!" With that, she disappeared out of the door. Smiling, Naruto resettled himself on his pillows, and drifted off to sleep.

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At Sakura's house

Sakura sighed as she checked over her gear for the umpteenth time. She just couldn't take her mind off of Naruto. Poor Naruto, attacked by someone else he thought of as a friend, and hospitalized again for it as well. As much as she hated Ino at the moment for keeping her from Naruto, she couldn't wait for her to come home, because that would mean Naruto had woken up.

Just as she thought that, Ino poked her head through the door. "Hey! Forehead girl! Naruto-kun woke up, though the Hokage decided, after reexamining Naruto-kun, that no one is to visit him. Though you might still have a chance to see him, I'm not sure though. Anyway, I'm going to bed now." Sakura slowly stood up, ignoring the numbness in her legs and nodded. "Thanks, though don't call me forehead girl, Ino-pig!" Ino snorted and headed towards her room. "Stop calling me Ino-pig, and I'll stop calling you forehead girl." Sakura just shook her head and turned to leave as well, even though Inner Sakura was in favor of throwing everything that wasn't fixed in place at Ino.

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Three days later

Ino packed all of her things up as quickly as she could, thanked Sakura's parents for letting her stay, then hurried out of the house. Things had finally come to a breaking point the previous night, and both Ino and Sakura had decided that they could no longer live under the same roof as each other, as long as they both wanted Naruto. And since Ino had no intentions of going back to live with her parents, who had taken to ignoring Ino whenever they saw her in public, that only left her one place to go.

Several minutes later saw her knocking on the door of a rather beat-up looking apartment. Soon, a rather sleepy looking Naruto opened the door. It was obvious he hadn't been up for long, since he still had his pajama pants on, and his shirt was off. Ino blushed slightly at this last fact, then kissed Naruto quickly on the lips. Naruto had just realized who was at his door, apparently, and kissed her back. "Ino-chan! Why are you here? And why do you have those bags?" As he spoke, he stepped back to let Ino in, closing the door once she was inside. Ino smiled and set down her bags before replying. "Well, I was wondering if I could move in with you. Certain things have made it impossible for me to stay with Sakura-chan any longer, and I refuse to go back to my parents' house as long as they still hate you." She neglected to mention the fact that her parents pretended that she didn't exist, and the reason she couldn't stay with Sakura anymore was because she liked Naruto as well.

Naruto was shocked. Ino, move in with him? He hadn't even thought about anything like that happening. Naruto quickly came to his senses and nodded. "O-Of course you can. That is, if you don't mind the fact that it's a bit cramped here, and that I only have one bed." Ino nodded and hugged Naruto, who hugged her back. "That's fine with me. Just don't try anything funny while I'm asleep, okay?" Naruto blushed at the thought and shook his head. "I'd never do anything like that. You're too important to me." Fighting back a blush of her own, Ino poked Naruto's nose. "So, you only peep on girls that aren't important to you, huh?" "Hey, I haven't done that for a long time!" Ino giggled at this and kissed his forehead. "I know, sweetie, I know. I was just teasing."

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Two weeks later

Time had passed with no real incident. For a while the fact that Ino and Naruto now lived together was the talk of the town, some of the more daring and rebellious people even started calling her "the demon's bitch", but that talk quickly died down as people soon realized that Naruto and Ino's relationship was as chaste as an old married couple's. Of course, no one who had already started calling Ino "the demon's bitch" stopped, but they no longer drew laughs when the talked about her, and it was rare enough that Ino and Naruto didn't find out that that name even existed. If Ino had, though, it definitely would have made her wonder.

So, as Ino opened the door to the apartment, back from her "mission", as if you could really call walking dogs a mission, she didn't expect what she saw. The whole apartment had been torn apart. Dishes were smashed, the walls had gouge marks in them, and there was even blood spattered about. On the inside of the door, held in place by a kunai, were a note and a picture. The note read: "We have your precious little demon. As I thought, he was no match for me. You won't be getting him back unless Tsunade and her apprentice come alone, and unarmed, to the place specified on the back of the photograph. If anyone else comes, he will be killed."

The note was enough to freeze the blood in Ino's veins, and she had to fight to keep from fainting when she looked at the picture. There was Naruto, bound and gagged, tied to a chair and bleeding from several deep cuts. But the worst part was the person standing over him, leering. It was Sasuke. A very demonic and demented looking Sasuke, but Sasuke nonetheless.

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Okay, maybe I do like ending things on cliffhangers. Or maybe it's because, with the way I write, things don't break nicely right after something's been concluded. Either way, I'm not gonna waste my time trying to figure out the correct answer.

Coming Up in Chapter 6: Best Friends Part I

Tsunade and Sakura head to the place listed on the back of the photo, alone an unarmed. Tsunade goes with plans of how to end the conflict with as little fighting as possible, while Sakura goes with plans of tearing Sasuke limb from limb. Ino, having been forced to stay behind, is visited by her parents when it is made clear to the whole village that she has already decided to devote her entire life to Naruto. But can she take the truth about Naruto's past?