twilight gonrie NeverGoneJustUnoticed lazykunoichi Nuriel Nomme de Plume MeMe
Leviathan terranigma11 mE Reno'sLover Eiennoren AnA La Pana83 Missy airhead622 aria mikkie jnarusasuc Anon sadistickiss redtatsu pwnd pwnd bluegenjutsu
KinkySweetheart anony KyuubiGurl Nusku Zigana Gwyllion Mistress-Starfire Sage Jenniyah Midnight Shining Star DarkRavie Fic Slayr Sailor Epyon Calamus -Satans Devil Ragna- xXShadowedfateXx Pendulous Threads Lady Silverhawk kris Toki Mirage Tsumetai Taiyoukai maria Sqry XDC Harusume Shimo Ino Hiki-chan hink moonlover825 and A pimp named slickback – I'm really sorry for that!
There were a lot of names to mention and if I have forgotten anyone, I sincerely apologize, just as I apologize for the VERY late update on this story.
I have now finally updated and I leave it for you to try out. Please tell me what you thought and also please, no flames, just constructive criticism.
I also want to thank my Beta T.P (Tere) for the help that was supplied with this. I needed it
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An Interwoven Web Of Deceit
Chapter 18 - Finding Out And Understanding Yourself
A dark cloud had settled itself over Yamanaka Ino. So dense, that it was noticeable to everyone around her. Villagers on the street side stepped her in apprehension as she passed and dogs slunk away, tails firmly between legs. Her steps were steady and her mouth was set in a firm line, but her shoulders were slumped and her eyes strained with unshed tears.
Upon reaching and entering her house, she proceeded to walk past her mother and brother, ignoring them both and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She then went to her dresser and sat herself down, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
Nothing happened!
Maybe if she kept on telling herself this, it would end up being true.
She blinked. The motion of her eyelid jolted the water pooled at the edges of her eyes, causing a trickle to drip onto her cheek. As if this opened the floodgate that released the dam, tears began to flow from her eyes. Ino watched detached, as they hit the top of her dresser. She never cried silently, always with noise. She supposed it was an automatic response to show that she wanted and was asking to be comforted.
"Ino dear. Are you alright?" Her mother tapped on her door, concern clearly evident in her voice.
"I'm fine." The tears didn't stop but she managed to make her voice sound in a light enough tone as not to arouse suspicion. "I'm just tired." Asking for comfort at this time would ruin her 'nothing happened' statement.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I am."
Ino heard her mother move away and leaning back in her chair, she sighed.
"It wasn't consensual," she muttered finally. "Sasuke was forcing himself on him."
Denial had struck and struck hard. Ino wiped her eyes and stared down at the top of her dresser. On it sat a bracelet of small circular beads, bluish in colour and about the size of a pea. Ino smiled thinly and lifted the trinket up to eye level, staring closely at one of the beads. The blue tinge seemed to move in a circular pattern, white flecks twisting between the blue.
The bracelet itself just seemed like another piece of jewelry but was actually part of a jutsu that she had been working on with Naruto while training for the chunin exams.
xx
"Okay, hold out your palm."
Naruto sat against one of the training posts, legs bent at the knees in front of him. Ino sat between them, her back against his chest. Both of his hands were cupped around one of her own.
"Now concentrate," Naruto told her. "Imagine your chakra spinning in your hand, like a small tornado. Just focus on that and I'll do the rest."
Naruto had already informed her that to create the jutsu would be a combined effort. She had seen and attempted to mimic his rasengan but had failed miserably. She had only succeeded in exhausting herself. Making her chakra visible in her hand had taken all of her strength and she had only seen a small flicker.
Ino stared at her palm and concentrated her chakra onto it, imagining it spinning in a circle. Naruto moved his hands slightly and Ino felt his body stiffen as he concentrated.
A sudden flash appeared on her palm. Then, a mixed mist of blue and white began spinning in what looked like a confined space that from what Ino could see seemed to keep getting smaller.
"Keep focusing," Naruto said between clenched teeth. Ino felt sweat drip from her brow but kept on focusing her chakra onto her hand. She kept on until she felt like she was going to collapse and only then did Naruto tell her to stop.
A marble, or what she thought was a marble fell onto her hand, or what she thought was a marble. It was small, pea sized and blue.
"What's this?" she asked, carefully holding it between her thumb and index finger, and leaning back against Naruto's chest as she tried to regain her breath. "It's tiny."
"It's a chakra bead."
"This thing? Is this all that I can muster together?" Ino grumbled. "That's pathetic.
"It's compressed chakra," Naruto chuckled. "I made it as small as possible without it exploding. This is all of your chakra in its smallest form. If its hit's a solid surface, it will cause a large explosion, like a grenade."
"You made me a chakra grenade?" Ino asked dubiously. Naruto shook his head.
"No. This is a smaller, solid form of the Rasengan. Your aim is not to explode it on impact, but to make it stay in the same form. That is harder."
Ino stared at him while he took out a length of string. Taking the bead from Ino's fingers, he pushed one end through the bead so it hung like a piece on a necklace.
"You are going to get your chakra levels back to normal again, then we're going to make another one, then another. In between these times we have to practice throwing these."
Ino had only a vague idea on what he had meant by that.
"You want me to throw this, as hard as I can at, let's say a tree and make sure that it doesn't explode?" Ino stared at her boyfriend. "Can I ask what the point of that is? Would it actually do anything?" She picked up a stone and then threw it at a large rock. "My aim is good, but throwing a tiny bead isn't going to do anything."
"You'll be surprised," was the reply, "and besides, you aren't going to throw it with your hand, but with your chakra!"
"Explain!"
xx
After weeks of training, Ino had a new move which she was extremely proud of, but Naruto commentedif she ever tried to use it on him, he could release her chakra from its seal and make it dissipate or explode on her. A double edged knife!
He had never said however, that she couldn't use it on anyone else and she had the perfect target in mind. Her lips curved into a smirk.
"Ino," her mothers voice echoed up the stairs and pulled her out of her musing, "there's someone at the door to see you."
"Okay."
Ino put the bracelet down, then checked in the mirror to make sure her eyes weren't all puffy and red, as she wiped her lightly damp cheeks. She looked fine, maybe a little bit tired, but mostly fine.
While walking down the stairs, she heard her mother making polite conversation with whoever was visiting. Upon reaching the door, she stared questioningly at her visitors. Neji and Hinata. Hinata smiled at her warily. This was understandable, Ino thought. Hinata's feelings for Naruto had been obvious for everyone but the boy himself. It was the cold look that Neji was directing at her what she didn't understand.
"Can I help you?" she asked politely, regardless of the odd looks that she was receiving.
"I am here to relay a message," Neji replied. Ino noted that even his voice was cold, "Hinata just wanted to see how you were."
Ino turned back to the other girl, who blushed and looked away, her shoulders sagging slightly. A quick poke in the ribs by Neji however, had her standing straight again and looking back. "I'm sorry to impose Ino-chan, but Sakura-chan asked me to check and see if you were okay."
"Why wouldn't I be?" The words came out harsher than she had intended, but suspicion was beginning to rise in Ino. Hinata stepped back slightly at the tone of voice, but replied to the question.
"You were supposed to meet her an hour ago at the BBQ restaurant. Choji-kun, Sakura-chan and Shikamaru-kun are all there waiting for you."
"Oh, right," Suspicion deflated and she sighed. She had forgotten about meeting with them after working herself up. Instead she had gone straight home. "Could you tell her that I don't feel too good and I wont be meeting her today. I'm sorry."
Hinata nodded. Ino gave her a small smile in return, then turned back to Neji.
"What's the message?" She was rather blunt with him but she had never got on with the older Hyuuga. In fact, part of the time he gave her the creeps.
"The Hokage wishes to see you as soon as possible."
"Did she say why?"
"I do not ask about things which are not my concern," was the toneless reply.
'No, of course you don't,' Ino muttered to herself. "No problem," she said aloud, "I'll go in a bit."
Neji nodded and turned to leave. Hinata smiled and turned to follow after her cousin. Ino sighed and closed the door after their retreating figures.
It was a day of hell!
xx
"So, what's troubling you Naruto?"
Iruka broke apart his chopsticks and began stirring around the noodles in the bowl in front of him. Naruto sat on a stool beside him, his own bowl of Ramen in front of him. The owner of Ichicaku Ramen smiled at them both, and then turned to serve another customer.
The blond haired boy had turned up on his doorstep an hour earlier, an expression on his face that Iruka couldn't remember seeing before. Concerned, he had put down his paper grading and had then proceeded to drag Naruto to their familiar haunt to question him.
Naruto stared down at his bowl, chopsticks in hand. He hadn't taken a single bite yet. Iruka couldn't see his eyes, shrouded as they were by his hair
"Well?" Iruka blew on the noodles that he had wound onto the chopsticks, balancing them steadily and then ate them. "You can't keep problems bottled up inside."
"I don't know what to do Iruka-sensei," Naruto finally spoke. His voice sounded shaky, nothing like his normal, exuberant tone. "I don't know what is right anymore."
"In what context do you mean?" Iruka asked, puzzled by the cryptic answer.
"Relationships," Naruto finally scooped up some noodles and began to eat them. "I need to know what the right thing to do is."
Iruka stared at the young man sitting next to him in surprise. Of course, he had heard that Naruto and Yamanaka Ino ware dating. He had been surprised at first, knowing of his obvious crush on Sakura but, in the end he was happy for his former charge. This was not something that he was expecting. Maybe asking for help and pointers on a smooth flowing relationship, not this confused comment.
"Naruto," Iruka put his chopsticks down beside his bowl, and then turned himself slightly so that he had a better view of the boy sitting beside him. "I can't help you if you don't explain to me what the problem is. I'm assuming that it has something to do with Ino."
Naruto sighed and threw his chopsticks into his half eaten bowl of Ramen. "Kind of, I mean, yeah, partly." He then turned to face Iruka, a worried look in his eyes. "What do you do," he began, "if you are dating someone but have strong feelings for someone else?"
Iruka relaxed his tense shoulders in relief. Was that all it was? "Well…" he began, but stopped when Naruto held up his hand
"Wait Iruka sensei. I haven't finished yet," he lowered his hand and stared down at his lap. "What if the other person was a… a… a guy?"
Iruka, who had just taken a sip of tea when Naruto revealed this eye opener, choked on the hot liquid and immediatly had a coughing fit.
"Iruka sensei?"
"I'm okay Naruto," Iruka said between coughs, "it just went down the wrong way." Getting control of himself, he stared back at the other boy. Naruto was once again staring down at his lap, his eyes hidden.
"Let's start from the beginning," Iruka placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "so I can understand this."
Naruto nodded. "I'll try. What do you need to know first?"
"Who is it?" Iruka rushed out, "that you are telling me that you have feelings for?" He had an idea, but verification would be nice.
"Sasuke."
The name was whispered and Iruka had to strain to hear it, but hear it he did.
"Sasuke huh," Iruka leaned back on his stool. "So when did this start?"
"What are you implying? When did what start?" Naruto growled. "He's been following me, changing himself into Ino and kissing me and outright kissing me," here Naruto blushed. "Sasuke made me get these feelings and now they won't stop. Aren't you supposed to have your girlfriend on your mind all of the time? Not your rival and best friend. I want the pain to stop damn it!"
The last sentence was yelled out, with Naruto slamming his fists down on the counter. He stood up when he did this, his stool falling over behind him.
"Naruto," Iruka leaned down and picked up the stool that Naruto had dropped. "Calm down." When the stool was placed back where it had fallen from, he guided Naruto to sit back on it. "I want to help you but its hard when you loose your temper like this."
"Sorry," was the quiet response. Iruka smiled.
"It's fine. Let's just discuss this, okay." At Naruto's nod, he continued, "When did Sasuke begin following you?"
"I think it was when I began to be friends with Ino," Naruto mused. "He began to gripe at me for spending all of my time with her and not with him. He became very nasty to Ino, when he used to just ignore her presence. I knew then that something was going on but I had no idea what."
"Then what happened?"
"Ino found out about the Kyuubi," here, Iruka gave his old charge a concerned look but Naruto didn't notice, "then I told Sasuke. He took it rather well, considering I was expecting the worst. It wasn't long after this that Sasuke transformed himself into Ino and kissed me. I only know it was him because he kissed me again on the tapestry corridor of the Hokage tower."
"You were on the Fourths floor?" Iruka questioned. What were you doing up there?"
"I was exploring. I liked the picture's there, that's all." Naruto grumbled. "Anyway, a few days later, Sasuke practically molested me in my apartment and just a few hours ago, he did it again, just outside the shopping district." He leaned down so that his head rested on the counter. "What do I do Iruka sensei?"
What could he say? Iruka was at a loss. Naruto did not want to hear what was painfully obvious to Iruka, but he wasn't going to lie to the boy either.
"Iruka sensei?"
Being blunt was best, Iruka decided, otherwise Naruto wouldn't get it.
"Who are you in love with Naruto?"
"Huh? What does that…."
"Who?"
"Ino, I guess," was the boy's less than enthusiastic reply.
Iruka stared at him. "What do you mean, you guess?"
Naruto scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "I'm not sure I know what it entails to love someone. Sasuke mentioned it too. He told me I loved Ino, but I wasn't in love with her. Do you know what that means sensei?" He turned his questioning eyes towards Iruka.
"I do, but I can't explain it exactly." Iruka decided to leave the Ramen stand. Any revelations revealed to Naruto would be better in a deserted area to prevent damage. He placed money on the counter to pay for the two uneaten bowls of Ramen and then gestured to Naruto to follow him. "Let's do it this way. Explain to me, exactly what your feelings tell you about Ino."
"Ino," Naruto mused. "Well, she's fun and nice. She listens when I talk. She worries about me and doesn't like it when I'm upset…"
"No Naruto," Iruka sighed. "I don't want you to tell me about her. I want to know what you feel. What do you feel when she is near. When you hug her and when you kiss her."
"Oh," Naruto tried again. "I like her hugs. They make me feel accepted. Being around her makes me happy and her kisses are sweet and warm, but.."
"But?" Iruka led them both into a small field with a children's playground situated in the middle. He gestured for Naruto to sit on one of the benches and then sat down beside him.
Naruto drew both legs up onto the bench and looped his arms around his knees, resting his chin on them. "It feels wrong somehow, like what I'm doing should not be happening. I can't explain it but it feels like there is something missing."
"How about Sasuke? How do you feel when you are with him?"
"Scared!" Naruto didn't even pause to think, the answer ready. "He scares me. The way that he claims he feels about me. What I see in his eyes when he looks at me. It draws me in and I can't look away. I start off refusing his advances but I always end up inviting him for more."
"Just scared?" Iruka was shocked at Naruto's explanation. "Nothing more?"
"It's hard to explain Iruka sensei," Naruto pressed his eyes into his clenched fists. "When he kissed me, I felt like I was being swept away. It felt so right, but also wrong. All I could think about was how much this would hurt Ino. I couldn't do that to her. I can't do that to her."
"Naruto," Iruka spoke gently. "Are you happy?"
Naruto raised his head and stared up at him. "Am… I… Happy?" he repeated hollowly.
"Are you?" Iruka asked again. "I'm not asking you if you are happy making others happy. I'm asking if denying yourself something is making you happy. Is playing Ino's boyfriend making you happy?"
"I… er…"
Iruka stood up and moved to stand in front of Naruto. "Is Ino constantly on your mind? No. Is Sasuke? Yes. Do you feel for Ino, but not romantically? Yes. Do you enjoy kissing her? No." Iruka was on a roll, ticking things off on his fingers.
"Iruka-sensei. Don't…"
"I'm just reviewing what you have told me Naruto," Iruka interrupted. "You asked for help and I'm giving it to you."
The blonde haired boy stared up at him from where he was seated and Iruka noticed that tears had actually welled up in his eyes, his expression scared.
Sasuke was right Naruto," Iruka drew the boy towards him, hugging him gently. "You do love Ino, but you're not 'in love' with her. You care about her but that's about it. You say that you can't hurt her, but by withholding the truth you are automatically hurting her and yourself. You have to tell her."
"But I can't…" Naruto loosened himself from the hug and looked pleadingly up at his ex-sensei.
"You must Naruto. It is the lesser of two evils. It may hurt Ino to hear it but it will hurt more later on when she realised that you have been lying to her. Pretences don't last forever and sooner or later you will be found out. You must stop lying to yourself and to both Ino and Sasuke." Iruka felt like he was monologing but he couldn't help himself. He had to get it through to Naruto. "If you have feelings for Sasuke, explore them. Don't run away from them. He obviously feels something for you and from what you've said; you return those feelings, if just a little bit."
Naruto was silent, just sitting on the bench with a look of contemplation on his face. At least, Iruka thought, that was a more promising look than the teary eyed fear from a few minutes earlier. The silence lasted for a few moments, and then Naruto looked back up at Iruka.
"So, I have to break up with Ino?"
Iruka sighed. "First of all, you need to explain things to her about yourself. She needs to understand the situation that you are both in. If between you, you decide that a breakup is necessary, then you will break up." Here, Iruka paused and rested both hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Also, be aware of Sasuke's feelings. Don't trample on them as if they are nothing. If anything, he's probably just as confused as you are, only he doesn't have anyone else that he needs to worry about."
"Would you… " Naruto paused, his fingers gripping tightly onto the material of his trousers, near his knee's. "Would you be disgusted with me sensei, if I decided that I wanted to have a relationship with Sasuke?"
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And here I will end it. It was so hard writing Naruto and Iruka's conversation but I felt that Naruto needed to vent and Iruka is the one person I feel that Naruto could talk to.
I hope you enjoyed. Please read and review
Rie
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