Ino didn't know how much long she could take it. Nightmares plagued her mind every night since he committed suicide. The Interrogation and Torture Department Co-Captain was hard to frighten, but these dreams weren't dreams. They were his every moment of life. All the pain was too real, and that night, she reached the first year with the lying bastard, Itachi. Wiping away sweat, Ino went to get ready for the new day. Today was his funeral and hopefully the last of the nightmares. She didn't hear the feet shuffling away from the door.
Not a lot of people were present. All living members Rookie Nine except Sakura were all there as well as Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. A boy between eleven and thirteen was there with his mother and an old man. The kid couldn't stop crying. Iruka was there in the background with Anko and Ibiki. Naruto was an amazing person in his lifetime, but he took his own for what reason? Ino couldn't make herself shuffle through his thoughts, memories, and dreams that became a part of her.
"Ino, are you okay? You don't look so good," Sakura said. Ino knew she looked like crap. It was from crying and trying to avoid Naruto's mind coming in contact with her own. It was had work. Shikamaru walked over and looked at the two. They weren't fighting like usual. That almost caused him to turn around and never come back.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little upset over Naruto's death. I think I should be getting home," Ino said. She walked away with Shikamaru and Sakura staring at her back. If Naruto's memories were still there in her dreams, she would make them disappear. She couldn't keep living like this. It was too much for her to take.
The next week went by slowly for the blonde girl. She was grilled by Tsunade and Ibiki over Naruto's imprisonment and the Uchiha brothers' deaths. Every night, Naruto's memories persisted. She flew through his childhood up to his battle at the Valley of the End. She felt the pain of each wound during each memory. She felt the emotional pain he took with open arms.
"Ino, we're going to see Asuma's son, you wanna tag along?" Choji asked. Two weeks were gone since Naruto's funeral. Ino barely got out of the village, let alone her house. She was almost looking for ways to block Naruto out. "So?" Ino looked at her teammates. Shikamaru seemed to notice that her stare could be compared to Naruto's during his prison stay. "Ino? Earth to Ino?" Ino snapped back and smiled.
"Sorry, I've got things to do. Tell him I said hi though," Ino said. She folded her hands and looked at her teammates. They worried about her because she took on Naruto's mind. It was a burden now, and unlike the other minds she copied, this one wouldn't leave. "If you don't mind, I better get going. I've got someplace to be." Ino got up and left them right in her living room. Shikamaru looked over his shoulder and sighed.
"Something isn't right. I'm going to follow her," he said. Choji nodded, and they quickly left. Kurenai and Aki would just have to wait. They had a hard time finding her too. She would weaver through the crowds like an invisible person while they got stuck. It was their bad luck that it was Market Day. Merchants from all around come to sell their goods for special prices. Soon, Ino was out of sight.
Ino sighed as she walked up to the altar in the church. Normally, ninja had no use for God, but at that moment, Ino felt like this was the place to come. She gave her two shadows the slip as well. They would never look in the church. Looking up at the giant cross, she sighed. Why was she here? She briefly remembered that Naruto as a child found refuge here and was a bit religious. He believed in a god, but whether or not everyone else believed it was their opinion.
"Why do I feel like something is missing?" Ino asked the wooden cross. She almost laughed at herself for talking to a wooden object. She sat down on a bench and kept staring at the cross. A man died upon it for people's sins. Why would he do that? Because he loved everyone. Ino sighed once more and soon fell asleep. This time she didn't dream of Naruto's memories.
She dreamt of Konoha's forests before Konoha was in existence. Everything was strange and familiar to Ino. She saw a man sitting by a fire, cooking two fish. He wore no shirt for it was humid, and he seemed to be someone Ino really cared about. His face was shadowed until he looked up. It was Naruto! Everything was the same, even his whisker scars. She felt something flutter through her body.
"Ino, we're going to meet up with Nobu later. He had plans to build a village, you know. Konohagakure was the name, I think. We'll finally be able to settle down there. It's exciting!" Naruto said. He grinned and went back to the fish. "So, are you hungry?" Ino felt almost sick because she had a feeling something was going to happen. As he handed her the fish on the stick, a figure walked out of the trees. She could tell it was Uchiha by the dark hair and eyes. This man was dress in red armor too.
"Hello, Madara. It's been awhile," Naruto said. Madara nodded and disappeared. "What the hell?" A minute later, the Uchiha reappeared as something went off behind Ino. She looked around and saw a little tent going up in flames. "The baby!" Naruto ran to the fire and pulled out a burning bundle that was screaming. Ino reacted and brought water. Naruto put the child in the water, but sadly, Ino knew from being a medic herself that the baby was dead. "Ino, stay back. I'll avenge Taro. Don't you worry." Ino felt tears fall from her face. What was going on? It was too late to stop Naruto from charging with just a fishing spear. Ino watched as Naruto attempted in everyway to kill Madara, but the Uchiha was too fast. He finished Naruto off in an instant. Ino couldn't keep quiet like she was.
"Naruto!" Madara's eyes turned to her. They were the sharingan and kept her in place. As soon as the sword was to hit her, Ino blacked out.
She shot up and off the bench, covered in cold sweat. It felt so real to be just a dream. Sitting back down on the bench, she looked around. The only other person there was a man with brown hair and white clothes. He smiled at her, and she felt like he knew everything that was going on. She smiled back.
"That, Ino, was your fourth reincarnation. You and Naruto were supposed to come here with Taro, your son, and assist the First in building Konoha. Instead, Madara killed you against my plan. This is your fifth time being reincarnated. Out of all five, you've fallen for Naruto a total of four. This time, I wasn't so sure about your mindset. Do you love Naruto?" the man asked. Ino was too confused to ask what his name was and how he knew hers. She thought about it. She pitied Naruto since they were children. Friends wasn't right, and lovers didn't fit. What were they? Ino felt Naruto's memories flash quickly through her mind. He was crushing on Sakura for awhile, but he soon fell for her. She couldn't even begin to understand. For some reason, she would always feel connected to him somehow.
"I feel like I'm connected to him beyond the whole memory stealing thing," Ino said. She hoped that was good enough. Maybe this guy would think she was insane and leave. It didn't matter to her anyways because people were treating her like she was.
"Do you want to save Naruto for the first time and fallen in love all over?" the man asked. Ino found herself nodding and listening to his every word. "You need to go back to the interrogation. Once you left, he tied his ropes. You need to stop that. Don't let him die this time. I'm done reincarnation you two. Four strikes are enough, and you better hit the ball this time." Ino was slightly confused, but she wanted to save him. "There will be people trying to stop you from being with him. Don't listen to them. Goodbye for now, Ino." The world went black.
There's chapter two for you! One more to go!