Author's Notes -
Holy fuck life just consumed me for a hot minute there. I'll spare you the details and just say family, college, and work situations. I promise this fic isn't dead. There'll be more updates soon. Sorry if this chapter seems rushed because it was lol. I hope you'll be willing to stick it out with me for a little bit. Things have settled down, for the most part, but just know that life things can happen. With that said, hope you enjoy. And btw I promise Ino will be okay. ;)
Naruto was feeling good that morning. He had woken up early, took a shower, and had a big, delicious breakfast of Ramen with some of his special additions he liked adding. Today, he decided to add a boiled egg and some dried seaweed, and he was glad he did. He could still imagine the wonderful taste he had concocted spreading across his tastebuds.
Yup, today was gonna be a good day for Naruto.
As he waltzed through the street with a carefree look on his face, he couldn't help but wonder what was in store for him today. His Sensei, Kakashi, had been beating the basics of the academy into his team's heads for the past few days. Normally, Naruto would have been pretty pissed but the absolute joy he got out of Sasuke seeming bored out of his mind was enough to make up for it. Of course, it also helped that Naruto was learning things.
The number of bad habits Kakashi pointed out on their first day had astonished him. Even Sakura and Sasuke quietly giggling at him wasn't enough to piss him off or even make him look away from his Sensei. However, it did help to fuel the flame that drove him. For the past two days, Naruto had set in motion his first step toward becoming Hokage. He would master the basics no matter what and then he would efficiently move on to his not yet decided second step.
He was dragged out of his thoughts when he realized that he was at his team's meeting spot. Sakura had the courtesy to wave at Naruto, which he gladly reciprocated with a smile, but Sasuke was just as cold as usual. Of course, it wasn't a surprise that Kakashi wasn't there yet. Naruto had showed up around half an hour late, but Kakashi wasn't going to be there for at least another hour and a half.
Naruto figured a nap wouldn't hurt.
"Enjoy your beauty sleep, princess?" Kakashi asked, giving the tired boy an eye smile. Naruto grumbled something under his breath as he slowly stood up and yawned. Kakashi took that as his cue to continue.
"Now that everyone is awake and listening, I feel like you all are pretty much good with the basics for now. Make sure to practice on your own time when you get the chance. The basics are the first things you learn for a reason. They're easy to pick up and you can never master them. You can always be faster, stronger, smarter. You can always learn more. Understand?"
He got a series of three nods. "Good. Today we'll focus more on building raw strength and stamina. It'll help expand your chakra pools and will always be useful in a fight. So, I figured it would be a good step to take to help you build on your fundamentals. I hope you three are ready for a lot of exercise. 'Cause that's all we're doing today before we take our first mission."
Kakashi couldn't stop himself from smiling evilly as the three Genin in front of him cheered up when he mentioned the start of their missions. In his mind, he thanked himself for wearing a mask every day. ' If only they knew' He mused to himself. 'If only they knew...'
He giggled quietly to himself as he led the three of them to the training field he tested them in earlier that week. He called out to his three students and told them all to take 10 laps around the field to start. It was big enough to tire them all out so he could really get into building stamina by pushing them past their limits. He heard Sakura and Naruto complain a bit, but he shushed them by ignoring them. It was a tactic he picked up quickly to deal with the two loudmouths. While they began their run, Kakashi casually walked to a tree close to the middle of the field and sat down in the cool shade. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a favored book of his and began to read. His giggles filled the quiet field soon after.
After reading a few pages, he figured the three would be done soon so he took the chance to watch them interact as they ran. Sakura was, unfortunately, very far behind the other two and already out of breath. Kakashi thought that a better diet and more exercise would help solve that, but it was understandable considering she was from a civilian family. He made a mental note to ease up a touch on Sakura for today's exercises. There was no point in pushing her too much if it'll only hurt her more than help. His eyes trailed to Sasuke who seemed completely fine, but Kakashi could tell the boy was feeling winded based on his subtle body language. These exercises would do well for Sasuke.
And then there was Naruto... Kakashi sighed as the boy eagerly finished his last lap to Sasuke's great annoyance. But it wasn't until Sasuke passed by the finish mark and kept going that Kakashi realized the boy had lapped his two fellow students. Based on Sakura's pace, he might've lapped her a couple times. Yet the boy seemed like he could run a hundred more laps and still have energy to spare. It amazed Kakashi. This had to be because of the Kyuubi's influence on his body. There was no other explanation he could think of for the boy's impeccable stamina.
"That was fast, Naruto. Are you sure you didn't miscount and run less than you should have?"
"What?! You think I'm stupid or something?"
"No, of course not. Just thought that maybe you were trying to get out of training early."
Naruto scoffed at the notion but before he was able to voice his counterargument, Sasuke showed up next to him, breathing a little heavier than normal but other than that he was fine. He still did his best to keep a cool and composed demeanor, but he was clearly pissed off over Naruto beating him like that. Sasuke glared off into the distance but didn't stop himself from glancing at the blond boy next to him. Kakashi could only sigh and hope Naruto wouldn't accidentally instigate him more.
Soon, Sakura joined the other two, but she was more focused on catching her breath than anything else. Kakashi decided to give her a couple minutes before clearing his throat to get their attention. "Alright, now we're going to move on to the strength building part for today. I'll keep it simple considering we don't have any equipment with us. Now, who's excited for some pushups?" Kakashi said with false enthusiasm coating his tone.
He relished their groans as they got started.
Naruto felt tired. Very tired. For the past hour and a half, Kakashi had the three of them doing pushups, sit-ups, squats, and whatever else he could come up with before they finished with their current set. Naruto was also feeling slightly pissed considering Kakashi was making him do more than Sakura and Sasuke did combined. For every ten reps they did, Naruto did fifteen. During their break between sets, Naruto had to do another before he could join them.
However, it did feel nice knowing that he was outpacing Sasuke by a mile. During their basic training, Sasuke had taken to shoving the fact that he was better than Naruto in everything directly into Naruto's face. So, being able to prove he was better than Sasuke in this was almost enough to make up for it.
Almost.
As Naruto finished his last set of reverse lunges, Kakashi clapped his hands together and smiled. Or at least, he did the weird eye smile that creeped out Naruto. "My Genin, I'm so proud of you for making it through strength training and I can't wait for us to do it all again tomorrow!"
Naruto nearly screwed up his last rep when he heard that. "All of it?..."
"Yup!" He said in a cheery voice before switching to a more menacing tone. "All of it. Although, I might make you all do more if you complain too much." Naruto got the message and quickly motioned a zipper closing over his mouth. "Good! Now, onto the next part of training! Seeing as you all are tired, I'll let you rest while we go over some things. I just want to make sure you know these very basic things they taught you in the academy." He said, looking directly at Naruto. The boy scowled but kept his mouth shut.
"Damn, thought I could get you to talk with that one." Kakashi said, chuckling. "Anyway... It's time for..." Kakashi imitated a lame drum roll. "Hand Seals! Now, who can tell me what hand seals are used for?"
Sakura seemed like she was on the verge of death, but she still was the first to raise her voice. "They're used to help focus our chakra when we use ninjutsu and genjutsu."
"Bingo! That's one point for Sakura and none for the boys. Hand seals are like focal points that are used to help us concentrate on the chakra we're molding inside of us. That's why harder jutsu normally require more hand signs. The more chakra you have to use, mold, and change, the more hand seals you would use to help mold that chakra in a specific way. Time for question two. Let's see if the boys can snag this one. True or false, certain seals are used more often for some natures than others."
Once again, Sakura chimed in before either of the other two could. "True."
"Ah, but can you give me an example? I'll give you an extra two points if you can."
"The Tiger Seal is most commonly used for fire techniques."
"Excellent job, Sakura! That's three points! But remember, just because you see a Tiger Seal it doesn't mean they're using a fire justu. Many Earth techniques also often use the Tiger Seal. But not all earth or fire jutsu have the tiger seal. For example, Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu doesn't use the Tiger Seal. Question three, how does chakra control affect your hand seals?"
Naruto and Sasuke didn't even bother to try and butt in before Sakura answered. "If you have really good chakra control, you can lower the number of seals you use, but it's really difficult to pull off."
"My goodness, someone's on fire today! I guess the boys have all but given up hope at this point. But perhaps they could still steal away the next one?" Kakashi's attempt to mimic an overly cheerful man was like nails on a chalkboard for Naruto and Sasuke. "Because hand seals help us focus to control chakra, we can lower the amount of hand seals needed by getting better at molding the chakra in that way. For instance, the second Hokage could use the Water Dragon Jutsu by forming a single hand seal. But because I don't have a water affinity, nor experience with that Jutsu, it would take me many more seals to use it."
Sasuke perked up at that and politely raised his hand. The gesture surprised Kakashi but he was glad the boy was being polite. "Yes, Sasuke?"
"Then why can my clan copy the jutsu we see with ease?"
"That's a part of your Dojutsu. The Sharingan is an incredibly powerful tool because of how much it reveals to a user. Use of the Sharingan to imitate and learn a technique is done through your perception of chakra when you unlock it. You can see the way the chakra is being molded and you can see the hand seals your opponent is using. All you have to do is just copy it. What makes a Jutsu so tricky to get down is that everyone's chakra is different, and it does different things in different ways. However, the Sharingan allows the user to gain a form of 'insight' on the jutsu they're trying to copy. Allowing them to officially copy the jutsu they see. Even some forms of Taijutsu can be copied in this way. However, it cannot copy Kekkei Genkai, nor can they copy any abilities that the user simply cannot pull off due to chakra restrictions, physical restrictions, or even mental restrictions."
Sasuke nodded as he seemed to go deep in thought for a minute. Kakashi decided to continue. "Anyway, there are some jutsu that don't even require forming hand seals. One of the most famous ones is the Rasengan. It doesn't need hand seals because the focal point is no longer the hand seals. The focal point becomes the Rasengan itself. However, the jutsu is incredibly difficult to pull off because of that. There are few who have managed to master it. Most jutsu that don't require hand signs are externally based. The chakra starts on the outside of the body and becomes molded externally. But since molding and gathering chakra without using some form of external tool, aka a physical focal point, is incredibly difficult, most ninja stick to learning hand signs. Question four! If one of you boys can get it right before Sakura, I'll give you three points for it. What can be used as an external focal point?"
Naruto blurted out the first thing that came to mind before Sakura had the chance to respond. "Weapons!"
"Close..."
Sasuke frantically did his best to get Kakashi's attention. "Uh- Special objects and weapons!"
"Closer."
Finally, Sakura perked up and answered. "Well, I tried to let you guys have it..." She said with a sad smile. "Pretty much anything can work as an external focal point."
"And we have our winner! Sakura completely wipes out the competition! You have earned yourself an extra ten minutes of break time when before we start exercises again!" Sakura's mood visibly improved and she cheered. Both Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other before dejectedly letting their gazes fall to the ground. "Sakura was correct. Virtually anything can be used as an external focus of chakra. You were partially correct Naruto. Weapons are the most common external focal points that can be used when molding chakra. One of our Jonin, team ten's sensei, uses trench knives that he enhances with his own wind chakra, sharpening the blades and extending their reach. Sasuke, you were a little more correct. There are certain objects that a Shinobi can use and generate chakra through much more efficiently than any standard, run of the mill object. For example, a lot of puppeteers do use chakra strings to control their puppets, but they also cover the puppet in their chakra while the puppet is being made. This makes the puppets much easier to control and use as the physical object is already accustomed to their chakra and works very well as a focal point.
"However, you can still use anything as a chakra focal point outside the body. Take, for instance, the Substitution Jutsu. You don't need to coat the item you use in chakra beforehand. You can use the hand signs as a focal point first, mold the jutsu and then reach out with the newly molded chakra, before quickly making the object your focal point and swapping yourself with it in an instant. There's a hell of a lot more that goes into that but that'll be for the advanced training we'll get into once we start doing missions. Essentially, the takeaway is this: Pretty much anything can be used as a focal point to help mold your chakra externally. However, the more the object is coated in your chakra, the easier it becomes to use that object as a focal point. That's why weapons and puppets are so commonly used, but you don't see ninjas running around and swapping places with everything they see."
His three students nodded, although Kakashi couldn't help but notice that Naruto was a little slower on the uptake than the other two. He couldn't blame the kid for it. Naruto was sitting next to two geniuses. Especially Sakura. That girl was unrivaled in book smarts. Kakashi was proud of him for keeping up and not interrupting the whole time. However, there wasn't much time left to be proud of him as his students had plenty of time to rest during his pop quiz/lesson.
"Alright, it's time for more exercise! Sakura, you get your ten-minute break as promised. Sasuke, get started on some crunches. Keep doing sets until Sakura's break is done and make sure to take your own short breaks between each set. Naruto, I want you to run around the field again. I want you to go at full speed the whole time. If you slow down, I'll follow you to your home and do something so drastic that it will be permanently burned into your memory as a reminder to listen to me." Kakashi's eye curved upward.
It was a very peaceful evening. Ino was smiling and slurping at the food she loved and hated at the same time. Ramen was so far away from being good for her, especially with how much she ate, but she couldn't resist that heavenly taste.
"Need... Ramen..."
Ino perked up from the bar stool she was sitting on and turned around only to be horrified by the sight of her friend. Naruto had collapsed on the ground in front of the restaurant, either passed out or too tired to lift himself off the dusty road. As much as she wanted to help, she couldn't help but be discouraged by his stench. The boy stank. Badly. His clothes and hair were caked in sweat, and she couldn't even imagine how bad it was under his jumpsuit.
"I got this." Ayame walked past the bar and Ino, grabbing Naruto by the back of his collar and dragging him out to the side of the restaurant. Ino winced as she heard a hose turn on followed by a loud yelp.
As the two walked back in, Ino had to stifle a giggle at the sight of a drenched Naruto. Somehow, his hair still spiked in every direction, despite the water doing its best to weigh it down, and Ino couldn't help but think he looked kinda cute. She quickly forced that thought to the side and gave the stool next to her a few pats. Naruto shivered and shambled over before sitting down, drenching the stool and dripping water all over the ground beneath him. He still didn't smell the best, but it was a lot better than a few minutes ago.
While Naruto ordered, Ino went back to slurping on her fifth bowl. Soon, the two simply enjoyed their noodles and each other's company. It wasn't until they both had finished about three more bowls that Ino decided to fill the contented quiet. "So, Naruto. What had you so burned out?"
Naruto grunted before slamming his fist on the bar, making Ino jump slightly. "That bastard, Kakashi. I like him because of how much he teaches me, but he has to hate me or something. There's no other reason for it."
"What happened?" Ino said, keeping her voice soft.
"He made me do, like, twenty times the amount of exercise Sakura and Sasuke had to do! Combined! I didn't mind it at first 'cause I was able to prove that Sasuke wasn't better than me at everything. But then, he went and tripled how much I had to do! And then he made me do all of it again after Sakura and Sasuke got to go home!"
Ino gawked at the boy. How long had he spent exercising? It was no wonder he was drenched in his own sweat when he showed up. Ino felt her respect for him go up a notch. "How the hell are you not dead?"
Naruto looked up in thought for a moment before his eyes widened slightly. He furrowed his brow and nudged Ino, causing her to turn away from her ramen and look at him. She was confused at first but then realized what he was doing when he held up nine fingers. "Oh... I gotcha." Ino said with a soft tone.
"You both know?" Teuchi asked, his eyes wide in surprise. Ino panicked internally and saw that Naruto had a similar face to hers. Teuchi quickly realized his error and fixed his tone. "Oh no, it's okay. It won't change my opinion of you Naruto. I've known ever since you turned up here for your first bowl. At first, I was worried but... I couldn't turn down a hungry child. No matter what the rumors said."
When both Naruto and Ino had calmed down, Teuchi looked through the doorway to the kitchen before continuing. "Unfortunately, we lost her mother that night, but Ayame doesn't know about you. She was too young at the time to remember anything. I was just surprised that you two knew before my daughter."
A quiet, hollow laugh escaped Ino's lips. "We knew of each other for a long time, but we didn't really become friends until very recently. It's funny though, the first night that I 'met' Naruto was crazy. It was when he found out about the fox for the first time, and I was there to hear it too." Ino sighed. "It feels like such a long time ago... Things have been so confusing ever since then."
"I think things are always confusing for you, Ino." Naruto quipped.
Ino stuck her tongue out at him but was thankful for the shift in tone. She used the opportunity to get back to eating her ramen and Naruto decided to follow suit. The rest of the evening was rather quiet and Ino wished she could spark a conversation back up, but she didn't know how to follow such a somber tone without seeming rude in a way.
Eventually, she decided enough was enough and decided to just go home. She had eaten her fill and there wasn't much left to talk about, so she didn't see much of a reason to stay any longer. She said her goodbyes to Naruto, giving him a fist bump at his request, before leaving him to his Ramen.
The streets of Konoha were always busy during the day. The hustle and bustle of a civilian's daily life was simple on its own but chaotic when thrown together with the rest of them all at once. Thankfully, the streets were very peaceful during the evenings and nights, letting the ninja of the village roam about with each other, eat, get drunk, and whatever else their heart may desire without the civies getting in the way.
Ino shivered as the cool night air blew over her. Investing in a light jacket was quickly placed on her to do list. Ino gazed around the street she was on, seeing only a few ninja out and about. All of them were alone like her. The rest of the ninja she was able to see were all in restaurants or bars, chatting away with the other people in their group or laughing at the even the dumbest of jokes being told. Ino felt something cold spread through her chest, and she knew it wasn't related to the wind.
However, she also knew it was too late to go back for Naruto at this point. He was probably already done eating and had already went home too. The best she could do was just get home quickly and go to sleep as soon as possible. Ino wondered if Naruto would be willing to walk her home at night. Or would he reject the notion, angry that she would want him to walk in the opposite direction of his own home. Maybe she shouldn't ask about it after all.
"Tomorrow is another day." She said to herself. "I won't make the same mistakes I did today."
She could only hope that she wasn't lying to herself.
She felt alienated from her family's store. Ino loved the flowers and the nice customers. No, it was the family that lived in said store that she felt estranged from. When she had reached the store, she could hear the two of them arguing inside the house, even from the street. She debated not even going inside, perhaps Shikaku would've been willing to take her in for the night. But in the end, her desire to sleep overrode her logic and she quietly walked in through the door, trudging up the stairs and walking to her room.
"I'm not talking about last month, I'm asking why our daughter is talking to that boy!" Ino stopped. "You know what he is! You know what he can do! Do you not care about our daughter's wellbeing?"
"Of course, I care about her! Sometimes, it feels like I care about her more than you do! When was the last time you checked on her, huh? I've seen the way you two act around each other! You're like her taskmaster or some shit! Got her scared to death of pissing you off!"
"So, what if I do? At least I'm not a coward who refuses to punish her when she fucks up!"
There was a second of silence. Ino tried her best to stay quiet, but she couldn't stop herself from sniveling.
"Do not . Bring that up again. Do you hear me, Petunia?" Ino heard her mother and father practically snarl at each other.
"You're not the boss of me, Inoichi. You're lucky that as the Hokage's little bitch you were able to get special treatment. Otherwise, Ino and I would be out of here before you could say jackshit." Ino's eyes widened.
"Ino is not something for you to show off. She's not some toy that you can just play with and throw away when you're done. I will always remember what you did to my precious little girl. I would betray this village before I let you get ahold of her."
"You're getting onto me for holding onto her as an item and yet here you are, clinging to her like she's some kind of prize! You're such a hypocritical piece of shit! Just like you always have been!"
"Well, look who's talking! I may have done some fucked up things in the past but I'm practically a saint compared to you!"
"Oh, just resorting to insults, are we?"
"You're one to talk! But fuck it! You're a manipulative psychotic bitch! You're lucky we had Ino or else I would've left your ass a long time ago! My father had terrible taste in women, and you only help to prove that! I always knew that arranged marriage was such a terrible idea!"
"Well, if you want to leave me then why don't you already?! The papers have been ready for a long time! You're just scared that Ino will go with me, aren't you? That she'll pick the 'psychotic bitch' over the father that was never even there for the first 8 years of her life!"
Ino felt a pain in her chest as her breathing grew erratic.
"... Sign the papers. I'll be staying with Shikaku. I don't know who will get Ino in the end, but I know I can rest confidently. She'll pick me over you any day of the week."
"Fine then. Consider it done. We'll see what the court has to say when they see how good of a father you've been... For only, what, three? Four years? Out of her entire life? Not to mention how much trouble you got into that night. I might've fucked up, but you did too. Consider Ino to be my daughter now. I'll let you see her on the weekends. If I feel like it, of course."
The sound of rapid footsteps could be heard by the two adults as they whipped around at the sound. Inoichi quickly opened the door, only to see a familiar blond ponytail before it disappeared down the stairs.
Ino felt like puking. She didn't know how long she had been running for at this point. All she knew was that everything was wrong. She wasn't stupid. She knew what was happening. Her parents were splitting up. From the way they were talking, it sounded like she wouldn't get to see her father again. While it was true that he wasn't around when she was younger, his actions in the past couple years had easily made up for it all. She had told Naruto her bond with her father was unbreakable. Was she going to lose him?
Ino felt the bile rise up in her throat and she couldn't stop it. She ran over to the side of the road, clutched her stomach, and leaned over as she emptied her stomach into the alleyway. She choked on the vile taste as tears streamed down her cheeks from the burning sensation in her throat and the horrible, awful emotions swirling in her head. She gasped for air, only to suddenly start breathing weirdly. She tried to take a full breath only to not be able to. Her chest shuddered and quivered as she desperately tried to breathe. Her stomach growled at the sudden movement, and it took its revenge on her. Ino couldn't help but try to shut off her brain as she was overwhelmed with emotions and burning pain as she heaved up stomach acid.
A hand gently rested on her upper back, the sudden touch making her flinch which made her stomach angry at her again. She gagged and spat out a measly amount of bile. She slowly turned her head to look at who was there to comfort her, only to be met with a shadowy figure barely illuminated by a cigarette. She thought he was a spirit at first, only to recognize him a second later. She chided herself for thinking like such an idiot.
"Just let it out, Ino. Unfortunately, there's not much else you can do. I won't judge." Asuma said, giving her an understanding smile.
Ino turned back around and took a few breaths, quickly regretting it as the smell made her feel sick again. She just wished it hurt more so she couldn't think while it was happening. Her legs began trembling and she was silently thankful as Asuma slowly lowered her to the ground and onto her knees. She rubbed at her eyes, only for more tears to replace the ones she wiped away. She hated crying. She hated how often she seemed to be doing it recently.
"I heard what happened." Asuma said softly. He took his cigarette out of his mouth and put it out, tossing it to the side after. "Someone was needed to check in on a disturbance. I was one of the few willing to do it since most are out at bars with friends or asleep this late at night. I heard what they said. I'm sorry, Ino."
Ino couldn't stop herself from breaking. She tried. She tried so hard to hold it together. But she couldn't do it. She slowly turned around and whimpered before faltering. Asuma caught her and helped brace her as she crawled into his lap. She rested her head on his chest as she wailed in sorrow. She was a mess. She knew she was. She hated how ugly she must have looked. She knew Asuma hated this too. He must be pissed that she's getting snot and tears all over his uniform. She wanted to go home. But she didn't know where home was anymore. Her heart pounded in her chest hard enough to cause her pain. What was the point of anything anymore...
Ino punched the ground and screamed out the anguish in her soul. She was so focused on her own anger and desperation for it to go away that she didn't feel Asuma flinch. Her hand shook as she balled up her fist again and slammed it into the ground. A raw, searing pain hit her brain, distracting her for a moment. Something warm slid down her knuckles and dripped to the ground at her fingertip. She struck the ground again, the harsh pain worsening and distracting her more. Her wrist and upper arm felt warm and tingly. She was about to do it again before Asuma stopped her. His voice was shaky with apprehension.
"Please... Stop... You're hurting yourself. It won't fix anything." He said soothingly, his voice dripping with grief.
Asuma tightened his arms around Ino, pulling her into as comforting a hug he could make. Ino thought it was pointless. She just wanted to die. She couldn't sleep. Where would she sleep? She had no home anymore. At least, not a home she wanted to go back to. There was nothing left for her there. There was nothing left for her anywhere. She had no friends. No one to talk to. She was all alone until-
"...Naruto." Ino whispered between sobs and shallow breaths. "Take me... To Naruto..."
Asuma nodded and slowly cradled Ino in his arms. He stood up, careful to make sure Ino wasn't disturbed too much as he looked around for someone. "Hey! Who's the ANBU guard watching me tonight? I know my dad always has someone watching me as a just in case." In a moment, a shinobi appeared before Asuma and bowed. His animal mask blocking his facial features. "Show me the way to Naruto's house. You know where that is, right?"
The ANBU nodded before taking off at a moderate pace, allowing Asuma to keep up easily without jostling Ino too much. Asuma thanked the Kami for their mercifulness, as it seemed that in Ino's goal to run away far away from her home, it brought her close to Naruto's apartment, allowing their journey to end quickly and efficiently.
Asuma followed the ANBU up the stairs and past a few apartments that looked like they hadn't been lived in for years. Knowing what lived inside the boy, Asuma didn't doubt that theory was wrong. Finally, the masked shinobi stopped in front of a door with a hanging, crooked sign that read "Stay Out". Asuma knocked on the door before nodding to the ANBU who disappeared in an instant.
Asuma could only wait as Ino hyperventilated and choked on her spit in his arms. His heart ached for the poor girl, but he knew there wasn't much he could do for her. He silently wished that Kurenai had come with him. She would've known what to do. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the sound of a lock opening hit his ears. He instantly perked up as he listened to more locks being moved and unlocked. Asuma's brow furrowed. How many locks did this kid need?
"What do you want?" Naruto asked groggily, swinging the door wide open so he could get a good look at whoever was waking him up from his sleep. It took only half a second for the boy to recognize Asuma and even less time to see Ino shaking in his arms. His eyes widened as he ran to his couch and quickly cleared as much of it off as he could, giving Ino just enough space to lie down comfortably. Asuma was quick to respond to his actions, swiftly lying Ino down and resting her head onto a soft pillow. He was about to thank Naruto when he heard the boy audibly growl at him. The sound was harsh and filled with malice. Asuma felt the hairs of the back of his neck stand on end.
"What did you do to her?" Naruto glared at Asuma.
The man put up his hands in defense and cleared his throat. "I promise I had nothing to do with it. I was just simply there to help her in the aftermath."
Naruto seemed to take that answer as good enough, as he immediately turned to check on Ino again. Asuma noted that the poor girl was still having a breakdown. It had already been around ten minutes since he found her and that was much too long for this amount of emotional distress. Naruto knelt next to her and simply wrapped his arms around her into a hug as best as he could.
"It's okay, Ino. Try to calm down. Just listen to my voice and breathe. You're doing great, Ino." He soothed, trying his best to keep his voice from faltering.
Ino rolled onto her side and tightly held onto Naruto. "I-I'm scared. It-... hurts." She choked out.
"It's okay. You'll be okay. I'm here for you, Ino."
"Am-Am I going to die?"
Naruto panicked and failed to keep his voice steady at first, but he managed to recover quickly. "No! No... No, you'll be okay. It'll be okay."
"I'm scared." Ino whimpered. Naruto lightly shushed her.
"You'll be okay, Ino. Say 'I'll be okay'."
"I-I'll be okay."
"Good job, Ino. I'm so proud of you. Say it again."
"I'll be okay."
"Very good. One more time. I'll say it with you."
" I'll be okay. "
Ino's breathing slowed a little bit as she repeated the line to herself. She focused on how Naruto's arms around her. His arms were so warm. The couch beneath her was so soft as well. "Breathe Ino... Just breathe with me." Naruto said to her. Ino nodded before listening closely to his breathing. It was so much slower than hers. She felt scared because she wasn't breathing right. Was she going to be okay?
She felt something tight ball up in her chest, as she tried to breathe properly. Although, her efforts only seemed to make it worse. She felt her body shift downward in space, even though the couch didn't move. It was a strange feeling that made her stomach upset. She had to focus on not puking again.
'I'll be okay' She mentally repeated. She listened in to Naruto's breathing again and did her best to match it, slowing her own down quite a bit in the process.
"You're doing great, Ino. Just keep breathing like me."
'Keep breathing.' She thought. 'It'll be okay. Just keep breathing. Breathe. Breathe... Breathe...'
It took a while, but Naruto felt himself unwind when Ino calmed down enough to breathe properly. He stayed with her, humming a familiar lullaby as her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off into sleep. He didn't know how long he had sat there holding her, but it was long enough for Asuma to pull out another cigarette and almost finish it. Naruto scowled at the man and pointed to a small, homemade sign behind him.
"No smoking. Can't you read?" Naruto grunted, causing Asuma to narrow his eyes at the disrespectful tone, but the man listened nonetheless, putting his cigarette out and throwing it away. He knew the boy was overwhelmed so he let it slide. "It was originally meant for the Hokage. That old bastard smokes his pipe way too much."
Asuma chuckled and shrugged. "Well, I can agree that me and my old man might smoke too much, but it helps calm us down. A habit we've picked up to cope, I guess."
"Your old man?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You mean the dashing good looks didn't give it away?" He softly laughed at his own joke. "But yeah, the big Hokage is my dad."
Naruto's eyes widened in recognition. "So then... Do you know about me?"
"Well, who doesn't know about you? You are the little prankster that runs around screaming your name all the time. But even if you didn't, my father would make sure that I knew you with how much he talks about you. It's funny, really. I haven't given him any grandkids, but it seems like you might've just filled that spot in his heart already. He worries about you constantly. Always checking up on you through people he sends to watch over you. But every time he's able to offer help, you've got things pretty much under control. You're surprisingly self-sufficient for your age. You should be proud of that."
Naruto took a moment to absorb this new information as a small, cute smile spread on his face before he could stop it. Asuma's own smile broadened as he made himself comfortable in a nearby chair and slipped off his sandals.
"Hang on, I'll get you a drink." Naruto offered. Asuma thanked him as he jogged into the kitchen/dining room area. "Hey, what's your name again?"
"It's Asuma. Nice to meetcha, kid."
"Well, Asuma, the best I got is tap water, so you cool with that?"
"It's fine, just get in here so we can talk. I'll tell you about what happened to your girlfriend."
He heard a sharp yelp and the sound of glass hitting a counter and smirked to himself. When Naruto was back in the living room, he handed Asuma a chipped mug filled with water. Asuma couldn't stop himself from giggling.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"And yet, when she was at her lowest, she wanted you. She clearly cares about you, and you obviously care about her. It's only time before you two put the dots together. Although, usually kids wait at least a little longer before they start getting together like that." He mused to himself.
Naruto did his best to not shout at the man. The only thing stopping him was Ino sleeping on his couch. "Will you just tell me what happened?"
Asuma's mood switched quickly, like a switch being flipped in his mind. "Her parents got into an argument and from the way it sounded, it was not their first one." Naruto sadly nodded. "I thought so... This one seemed to be particularly bad as well, considering the outcome."
"What happened?" Naruto asked. His voice felt tiny and quiet.
"To put it bluntly... They're getting divorced. And it sounds like Ino's mother is going to try to take her away from her father." Naruto paled as he felt a wave of nausea course through him. "I was called in by my father to check on the noise disturbance and caught the ending of their argument. When they had quieted down, I saw Ino run out the door and down the street. I tried to follow her to see if she was going anywhere but I don't think she was. She was just running to get away. When I was about to call out for her, she turned into an alleyway and puked her guts out. That's when I managed to step in and help with the situation. Poor girl started having a panic attack. And a brutal one at that."
Naruto couldn't help but notice the tone of voice Asuma used as he talked. It was cold, emotionless, like he was telling Naruto about his completed mission. In a sense, Naruto realized, he was. He felt anger boil in him at the man's uncaring tone. But what Asuma told him... What Asuma told him destroyed any chance of Naruto calling the man out or lashing out in some way. His friend, hell, his best friend was going through so much...
"I know that face." Asuma said faintly.
Naruto looked up at him with a distant look in his eyes.
"It's the look of someone who thinks they can't help." He spoke gingerly. "I won't sugar coat it for you, Naruto. You're right. You won't be able to help with the situation between her and her family so don't even try. However, there is something you can do for her. You're doing it right now, actually. Just give her a safe place to... exist. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"A little..." Naruto said softly.
"I guess..." He sighed. "I don't mean literally make your apartment safe. What I mean is don't push her to act. Don't spend your time trying to fix her or however else you want to put it. Just be there to help when she asks for it and just let her be herself around you. Let her relax. If she has somewhere to just 'exist', it'll make things easier on her. Because she'll know that if she ever needs somewhere to go, to get away from all the stress and everything else, she can come to you."
Naruto nodded as he felt his mood lighten a little. "I can do that."
Asuma nodded as well, reaching for his box of cigarettes before remembering the sign. He sighed before fiddling with his thumb. "I'm going to warn you in advance, Naruto. If Ino's life has been as stressful as I can surmise, what happened tonight might not be a one-time occurrence. Panic attacks could become a regular thing for her. Although, the opposite could also be said. For all I know, she might never have a panic attack again. Just make sure to let her know that it's okay. Let her know that it happens to a lot of people, that she's not alone, and that she will be okay. I'll talk to her about seeing a therapist. Take the day off with her tomorrow. I'll tell Kakashi about it. He'll understand."
Asuma sighed before standing up, taking a swig of his water, and carefully setting the chipped mug on the coffee table before heading to the door. He reached for the doorknob but hesitated, looking back at Naruto. "Take care of Ino but get yourself some sleep and make sure to take care of yourself too." He said, giving Naruto a sad smile. "You can only help someone so much if you aren't in the right state of mind."
And with that, Asuma turned and left the apartment, an air of tension settling over it, like a blanket of dust. Naruto's heard soft ringing in his ears from the heavy silence, the only sound cutting through being Ino's soft breathing. He turned to her and thought for a moment before ultimately deciding that he would take the couch.
He gently picked Ino up, expecting her to wake up from the movement, but she stayed asleep to Naruto's convenience. He slowly carried her to his room, gingerly placing her on his bed before covering her with the blankets. He figured it was good enough. After all, she seemed to be comfortable, which was the important part.
Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned, his own exhaustion catching up to him. Enough was enough. He grabbed a spare blanket he would use during the cold season and walked to his couch, flopping onto his back and snuggling up under the thick blanket. He heard something lightly hit his window. Then it was followed by a similar noise. Then another and another and soon they were overlapping with each other. Seems like it was raining. The distant rumble of thunder confirmed his suspicions as he let the constant, calming sound of the rain lull him to sleep.