Author's Note: To trulyanimelover06, All good points, though like I said at the end of the last chapter, I kind of moved away from the hurt Ino in the last chapter, but I have reasons for it. The soldier pills allow you to push your body past what you would normally be capable of without rest, however it does not do the same thing for your mind, and Ino didn't have to try hard at that point to not think of what happened to her because her mind was too tired to keep focusing on it, the reason they work this way is to allow the user to focus on and react in the moment (thus her blurting out the comment about Naruto looking like Minato)(Even if my explanation isn't canon, this is the effect they have in my fic). And like I said I will be bringing the hurt back. As for Jiraiya, obviously gotta be a bathhouse scene but not sure yet when I will introduce him. To LordHero yes my source says that Kotoamatsuki has a 10 year recovery rate if inserted into a person not of Uchiha descent, however this time can be dramatically reduced if one is implanted with Hashirama's cells, such as Danzo. There wasn't a given time limit, but I'm certainly not going to allow him to abuse it, I figure I will cut the time down to one-third so that by the time I get into Shippuden territory the Kotoamatsuki will be ready to use again. Thanks again for all the reviews.

OoO

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his desk looking solemnly at the blonde man standing on the other side. He had called him here as soon as he had gotten word of his return from his latest mission. Sarutobi put out his pipe before addressing Inoichi. "I called you here because I have some grave news for you. My ANBU collected evidence from last night's fire, it seems that it was purposely started to kill Naruto Uzumaki."

Inoichi stood passively wondering what this information had to do with him. He had been away on an intelligence mission for the past week and was eager to spend time with his wife and daughter.

"However for some reason we haven't discovered, your daughter was with Naruto at the time the fire started. Both perished in the flames, and their remains found." Said Sarutobi sadly.

Inoichi stood shocked in silence. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, his daughter who he'd last seen standing behind the counter at their family flower shop, was dead. Tears welled up in the Yamanaka man's eyes. "You're certain?" Hoping beyond hope they had made a mistake.

The elder man just nodded. "I will be calling an assembly of all shinobi who are not on missions to make an official announcement. I've sent someone to inform your wife, so you should go be with her now."

"Yes sir." Inoichi replied turning and leaving the Hokage's office, tears quietly streaming down his face.

Sarutobi stood and looked out over the village, the smoke and ash still hanging in the sky, making the morning sun a reddish color. He'd already sent word that the first round of the Chunin exams would be pushed back a day in light of last night's tragedy. He'd also sent word through the frogs, to Jiraiya, hopefully the message would reach him soon. 'I failed you Minato and Kushina. You're son was full of potential, even if few saw it, I certainly did. I hope you're at least together as a family now.' He thought as he got ready to make his announcement.

OoO

All active Genin, Chunin, and Jounin that were not away on missions had gathered and just been given the news that Konoha had lost two promising Genin. They all stood before the Third Hokage and a memorial table with a picture of Ino and one of Naruto. Many of the Jounin had lived through the third great ninja war and were accustomed to seeing young ninja cut down before reaching their prime, but the loss of ones so young struck the Chunin and Genin, hard. Once such Chunin, stood with his had on the head of one of his students. Iruka looked down allowing the tears to flow freely down his face as Konohamaru stood next to him, unable to contain his sobs.

Sakura and Sasuke were standing near Kakashi, both of whom were shocked at the loss of their teammate, and in the case of Sakura, her best friend. Sakura had had her share of fights with both of them, but she by no means hated them, in fact she had just started enjoying Naruto being part of her team, even if he was slightly annoying. And even though she was her rival for Sasuke, she didn't want to win him over by default, Ino had been her very first friend.

Sasuke stood stoically not allowing emotion to show on his face, but inside a storm was brewing. He by no means liked Naruto, in fact he was often angered by the blonde ever since the academy, but he was the closest thing to a friend he'd ever had. Even before they had been at the academy together, he had seen Naruto around town, always alone, just like he himself had been since his clan was wiped out. He wasn't sure why but it annoyed him anytime he caught Naruto staring, and would glare back, but inside he was a little glad that he wasn't alone in being lonely. Now once again he felt alone, and unconsciously his Sharingan activated, fully awakened.

Kakashi feigned a pained look for the sake of anyone who might be keeping an eye on him. He needed to be careful about giving away that fact that he knew they were still alive. He would have taken a glance around to see if anyone WAS watching him, but thought it wasn't worth the risk.

Not far away from Team 7 were Asuma, Shikamaru, and Chouji, also mourning the loss of their teammate. Asuma shed a few tears for the young kunoichi while allowing the cigarette he had in his mouth to burn out without taking a drag. He was already planing to confront his father about the details he had uncovered.

Shikamaru and Chouji were mentally punishing themselves for not having insisted that they walk Ino home. Shikamaru especially was making his mind work overtime, he had actually been ok with not having to deal with the 'troublesome' task of walking her home, but now he cursed himself. And something else was bothering him, Naruto's place where the fire had been was near the opposite side of town compared to where Ino lived. 'What was she doing at Naruto's? And why haven't they said anything about how the fire started?' Things weren't adding up.

OoO

Later that day after the memorial service, the remainder of Team 7 stood at their usual training grounds, awaiting the arrival of Team 10. Kakashi had said he had something to tell them after the service, so now they waited in silence. Team 10 arrived fifteen minutes later looking just as morose at Team 7.

Now that they were all here Kakashi spoke up, "I had a discussion with Lord Third, and if you still want to, you've been cleared to form a four man team for the duration of the first and second tests of the Chunin exams." looking at the four Genin seriously. "It will only be for the sake of the exams, and at least three of you need to agree to participate at all. I would understand if you would like to wait for the next exams six months from now." He looked at them expectantly waiting for their decisions.

Sasuke nodded and pulled out his application and handed it to Kakashi. He needed to see just how strong he had gotten, and the recent death of his 'friend' would not stop him. Upon seeing Sasuke hand in his application, Sakura pulled hers out and did the same.

Shikamaru and Chouji looked at each other and then to Asuma, who just said, "It's up to you guys. The only thing I'm going to say is that I recommended you for the exams because I believe you're ready. What happens from this point forward is up to you." He finished off his current cigarette and stomped it out.

"This is going to be a drag." Shikamaru said with a sigh before handing his application to Kakashi. Chouji followed suit, deciding he wasn't going to let his best friend go it alone.

"Ok, the first test will be held later today, the location was in the application so I hope you all remember where you're going." said Kakashi as he dismissed them.

OoO

The combination of Team 7 and Team 10 arrived at what should have been room 201, but someone had used genjutsu to alter the appearance of the sign to read 301. While this had fooled a a fair amount of Genin, mostly from other villages and even some from Konoha, Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Chouji, moved past the altercation happening outside the wrong room, mostly being ignored. However they were noticed by a certain Genin team who was had been standing here gauging some of their supposed competition.

"Did you see those guys? Those were the teammates of the two Genin who passed away." whispered the brown haired girl to her two own team members.

"It must be very saddening to lose such youthful friends." replied the boy with a bowl-cut and bushy eyebrows.

"If they are gone, then so was their fate. Let's go you two, we've wasted enough time here." stated the cold boy with long dark hair and pale eyes. They nodded in response and followed the team of four.

Rock Lee, the boy with the bowl-cut stared at the back of Sasuke Uchiha's head. He was very eager to see how he stacked up against another ninja with a Dojutsu, but thought better of challenging him. 'He has just lost a teammate, it would be unyouthful of me to challenge him to a fight.'

All Genin who entered room 301 were given a random number that was their assigned seat for the duration of the first test. Inside waited several other Genin from many different villages. The last Konoha rookie team composed of Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, who had already arrived were joined by the combo team. Sakura could see Hinata's eyes were red and puffy, but decided not to say anything. In fact none of the rookies really knew what to say to each other, so they waited in silence with the rest of the Genin for the first test to begin.

Across the room the Genin from Otogakure kept a close eye on Sasuke Uchiha. It was their mission, given to them by Orochimaru, to kill the Sharingan user. "Do we do it now?" asked Zaku, while clenching his fists, itching for a fight.

"No, we need to wait. We can't risk having a proctor interefere, so be patient." replied Dosu, the man who looked like a mummy.

Another Genin was also keeping a close eye on the Uchiha boy. Kabuto watched him intently, he wasn't sure why, but he could definitely feel a sense of danger around the younger boy. This caused him to smirk. 'Perhaps losing a member of his team has pushed him to the edge. I'm eager to see how far you're willing to push yourself.' Thought the silver haired boy, a gleam shining off his glasses.

It wasn't long before the proctor for the first test, Ibiki Morino entered the room and took the Genin to the room where the test was to be held.

OoO

The sun was setting as Naruto and Ino reached the town on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. They had finally left the large forests of the Land of Fire behind and now before them stretched miles of rolling hills and fields. Natsui, a town of commerce, lay nestled in the valley of the surrounding hills. Even from a distance one could see travelers coming and going from the town, a clear hot spot for merchants, and a rest stop for those passing from one nation into the next.

The solider pills that they had taken were finally starting to wear off, and both young ninja were beginning to tire. By the time they reached the entrance to the town, night had fallen, but the town was still bustling. They hadn't done much in the way of talking on the way here, mostly just allowing their bodies to move them forward towards their destination, on top of their minds being too tired to bother with conversation.

They entered town and found an inn to stay at so that they could finally get some much needed sleep. Naruto spoke to the man behind the counter, "Hello, we'd like to get a room."

The gray haired, balding man looked down at the two children skeptically. "Aren't you two a little young to be off on your own?"

"Oh right." Ino said pretending to facepalm before she transformed into and adult woman version of herself only with light brown hair and eyes. Naruto saw what she was doing and did the same, transforming into an adult version of himself, with dark spiky hair and dark eyes.

"Oh my apologies, you're shinobi. Well then, would you like one bed or two?" asked the man, all suspicion gone.

"Two." Ino said. She didn't mind Naruto's presence, but sharing a bed was another thing all together.

Naruto put the money on the counter, took the key, and followed the mans' directions to their room. It was a decent sized room, with two single beds. Both young ninja undid their transformations, and flopped down on their respective beds. Ino fell asleep almost instantly, letting her mind and body get much needed rest.

Naruto watched as Ino passed out not long after laying down. He remembered when she used to give him a hard time when he messed around at the academy, but now she was his friend. It felt nice to have someone know what he had sealed inside of him, he wondered how Sakura and Sasuke would take the information. 'Maybe I'll tell them when I get back.' He thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling until his eyes got to heavy to keep open and he let sleep take him.

OoO

Kakashi had heard that the team composed of his and Asuma's students had passed the first test. It had been a test in information gathering, one he was sure would have been difficult for Naruto, as the test questions were designed to make you cheat. Sakura had apparently be smart enough to answer the questions on her own, as was Shikamaru. Shikamaru had used his Shadow Possession Jutsu on Chouji who had been sitting two rows ahead of him, to force Chouji to write down whatever he wrote. And Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the hand movements of one of the planted Chunin who already knew the answers.

The final question had been the real test, forcing the impossible decision of taking the question and remaining a Genin forever if you got the answer wrong or quitting and failing your team, but being allowed to take the Chunin exams again at a later time. This got a lot of the Genin to give up in order to have a chance to try again when they felt more confident, however some remained including the Konoha rookies. Those who stayed to take the question passed the test. The number of Genin that made it to the first test had been cut down due to the genjutsu at room 201, now less than half that had made it this far had been eliminated leaving 18 teams to continue to the second test.

Kakashi was certainly proud of his Genin, but the next exam would test their skills in survival and combat, the Forest of Death would be unforgiving. The second exam would take place the next morning and last for five days, but for now he put that out of his mind. He double checked his apartment for any bugs or devices that could be spying on him. Once he was convinced there was nothing there, he summoned Pakkun. Hopefully he could get some more info about where Naruto and Ino were.

The ninja hound appeared out of a puff of smoke with a paw raised. "Yo." he said looking up at the Copy Ninja.

"Pakkun, I have some questions I need answered. First off when I summoned you before, what did we find at the scene?" he asked in a serious tone.

Pakkun raised an eyebrow but answered anyway. "I got the scents of everyone who'd been at the scene previously, Naruto, a girl, and the ANBU who discovered the bodies. Why? What's going on Kakashi?"

"Something happened and I've lost memories from that night, for some reason I believed that Naruto and the girl had been killed in a fire. I had no recollection of summoning you and investigating the alley, and I'm not sure what else. But after my shadow clone dispelled I recalled summoning you and why, on top of that he spied on one of the Hokage's ANBU speaking with Shimura Danzo. He mentioned something about a team from ROOT being able to 'handle two Genin.' So I have to believe they are still alive. What else can you tell me?"

"Hmm not much more unfortunately, I took you to Naruto's apartment where he and the girl had gone, but by the time we got there, the ANBU that had been at the alley had already been there. Oh and apart from her scent there was no evidence that the girl had been in the alley, so we concluded that either the ANBU destroyed it, or it was someone I couldn't detect. From what you've said it seems like we were right on the money about that ANBU." replied Pakkun.

"Yes that seems to be the case. I have a feeling I helped Naruto and the girl, Ino, get out of the village, and I have a few ideas where I might have sent them, but I'm not certain. I need to make sure I get to them before Danzo does. I'd have accounted for them being tracked by scent, and I'd have had Naruto use his clones to throw them off." said Kakashi mostly talking to himelf.

"Sounds like you covered the bases then, not sure how I can be of assistance then."

"Unfortunately I can't act freely just yet in case I'm being watched. So the next time I get sent out of the village on a mission I'll need you and the other hounds to scout out the possible locations I would have sent them. You'll mostly be going blind though, hopefully they will keep their identities as hidden as possible."

"You're not making this easy Kakashi, do you have anything to go on?" asked Pakkun exasperated.

"I'm missing the kunai that Minato sensei gave me. If it was in Naruto's pack it's likely still got my scent. It's not much but it's something."

"Got it. Call us when you're ready to begin the search." said the hound before vanishing.

OoO

Ino opened her eyes, she could see the night sky beyond the roofs of the alley. Suddenly panic set it, she tried to move but found herself unable to. Then two faces came into view, she recognized them instantly. Her mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. The two men staring down at hear seemed to laugh, but she couldn't hear them. She could feel as her clothes were forcibly removed and peering down she could see her own nakedness. Once again she tried to move, but nothing happened, it only seemed to make the men laugh harder. Soon their hands were upon her, and she could feel their touch over every inch of exposed flesh. Ino wanted to scream, cry, close her eyes, anything, but all she could do was look on in horror as they ran their hands all over her.

Ino saw as once of the men exposed himself, and positioned himself at entrance to her womanhood. 'Are you ready Ino.' she saw his mouth move.

"INO"

She tried to scream again, to struggle against her attacker, but her body refused to obey, and voice unable to be heard.

"INO!"

She felt the pain as he thrust into her and his face came towards hers. Suddenly her hand shot out and slapped the man across the face.

OoO

It was dark all around, there were no stars above her. She could feel her heart pounding inside her chest, a cold sweat all over her body, and tears streaming down her face soaking the pillow beneath he head.

"Ouch Ino." said Naruto as he rubbed the side of his face. She had been flailing and crying out in her sleep, so Naruto went over in an attempt to wake her from her nightmare, but ended up paying the price as her hand came out of nowhere and landed solidly against his cheek.

Ino bolted up right and pushed herself as far back on her bed as she could at the sound of his voice. The man who had just been raping her was standing right in front of her. "NO STAY AWAY." she shouted trying desperately to get away, but her body seemed numb and wasn't responding to her orders.

Naruto didn't move, hopefully she just didn't realize where she was, cause if this was a delayed reaction to him...well he just hoped it wasn't. He slowly stepped backwards in an attempt to allow Ino to calm down. "Ino it's okay. It's me, Naruto. I'm not going to hurt you I swear on my life, yaknow."

Ino watched terrified as the bearded man backed away, and his face began to warp and shift into that of Naruto. It took her a minute to register what he had said, and she stopped struggling to get away and pulled her knees to her face and started balling. She could feel the stinging in her hand from when she slapped him, her sheets were wet, but she was so absorbed in sorrow to feel ashamed.

Naruto was once again at a loss. He wanted to comfort her, say something to her, but he could think of nothing. He wished he could bring those men back to life and kill them in the most heinous way he could think of.

"A goal worthy of my container." Said a familiar voice in his head.

Naruto didn't waste a second responding, he wanted advice and he would take it anywhere it came from. He would do anything to help his friend. "What should I do?" He could feel his heart ache at each of her sobs.

"Sit next to her, and don't touch her." Replied the Nine-tails.

Naruto thought about it for a moment, before slowly making his way to the bed. Ino didn't react to him sitting down beside her, so he took that as a good sign. Her sobs continued for several more minutes, slowly dying down, while Naruto sat in silence next to her.

It was still late in the night as Ino's crying finally subsided. She glanced over at Naruto who was quietly watching over her. His face was one of concern and anguish. In the dim light coming through the window she could see the slight outline of her hand on his face and she mentally cringed. "Sorry...about slapping you." she said hoarsely.

Naruto shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It probably looks worse that it feels." He said joking lightly. "You okay Ino?" he asked tentatively.

"I am now, thanks Naruto." she said. Her eyes, ribs, and lungs burned from crying so hard, and she felt gross in her damp clothes. She sighed heavily and moved to get off the bed. "I'm going to take a shower."

Naruto nodded as Ino took her pack into the bathroom to get clean. He moved his stuff away from his bed, to allow Ino to use it once she returned. He would sleep in the chair. 'Can I ask you something?' he questioned in his head. The Nine-tails didn't respond, but he felt like it was listening. 'Why do you want to help Ino?' He asked genuinely curious.

"Why do you care stupid boy?" It replied.

'Because, I just didn't think the Nine-tails would care what happened to anyone.'

"I'm female."

'What! Really!?' Naruto asked stunned. He'd never really thought about the Nine-tails being male or female. It definitely wasn't something that had been discussed at the academy, or he probably would have remembered...probably.

"Don't act so surprised, stupid boy." It was hard for Naruto not to be surprised, he could picture the voice belonging to either a man or a woman, now that he thought about it, but he'd only ever pictured the demon fox whenever he heard it. It was slightly deeper than a young woman's voice, but much smoother than a man's voice.

'Do you have a name?' Naruto felt a little guilty that he hadn't asked that before, it just seemed strange that he kept referring to her as Nine-tails in his head.

"...Maybe I'll tell you when you've earned the right to know my name." The Nine-tails replied.

Naruto was about to argue, but Ino emerged from the bathroom now in clean clothes again. "You can take my bed Ino." He said, letting his previous conversation drop.

Ino gave him a small smile for being so considerate. "Okay, thanks." She said as she laid down in the still warm bed. She turned so that she was facing Naruto who was relaxing in the nearby chair. She had calmed back down, the shower helped a lot, but now she was afraid to fall back asleep. "Have you ever had a really bad nightmare?" she asked.

Naruto adjusted himself into a more comfortable position in the chair before answering. "I used to have them a lot." he replied. "Before I entered the academy I sometimes got beaten by the villagers. I sometimes didn't sleep because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up. Sometimes I hated them so much, I wished they'd all just die. After I got into the academy things got better, and the nightmares eventually stopped. But I still think about those days, and sometimes it frightens me, what I might have been like if Iruka sensei hadn't saved me that night." He was glad that he had someone to share this with, it already felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "But I don't have anymore nightmares, ever since I've been part of Team 7. Me and Sasuke argue and fight a lot, but I still think he's my best friend. And Sakura calls me annoying and always talks about Sasuke, but she's smart, and does her best to keep me and Sasuke in line."

Ino felt a little better now, knowing Naruto had gotten past his nightmares, hopefully hers would pass with time too. Ino nodded. "I know how you feel. Shikamaru is lazy, but he always comes up with a plan, even when things look rough. And Chouji eats a lot and doesn't have much self confidence, but he's always kind and he's stronger than he gives himself credit for."

Naruto smiled warmly. "I know it hasn't been long, but I miss them already, yaknow. I was really looking forward to going through the Chunin exams together. Ino nodded in agreement. "Anyway, you should get some sleep. I'll wake you up if you start to have a nightmare okay?"

"Okay...Thanks again." she replied as she allowed her eyes to close and sleep to take her once more.

"Anytime Ino." Naruto said as shifted again in the chair and listened to Ino's even breathing as she began to fall asleep. He stayed awake to make sure that she was going to sleep peacefully, but his eye got too heavy to keep open, and soon did the same.

OoO

There you have it. I'm glad I've gotten out five chapters this soon, and I hope I can keep updating often. I am however a little disappointed in the lack of reviews considering how many people are following my story. Oh well any review is nice. As always if you have suggestions I'm willing to hear them. Next chapter we will venture into the forest of death and see how our four man team handles Orochimaru, as well as possibly introducing a new teacher for Naruto and Ino (if you can guess who I commend you.)