The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki
XVII. Ino strikes out
On the heels of Naruto's announcement, Ino found herself walking towards the front gate. She knew she should be heading home to rest before her shift, but she wanted to share Sakura's reaction with someone. She felt Kiba might be a kindred spirit. If nothing else, it at least gave her something to talk to him about. She was desperate to find a connection—some common ground between them.
She didn't know why she tortured herself by pursing Kiba. He hadn't shown the slightest interest in her, but ever since they'd been temporarily thrown together on the same team, she'd found herself noticing him, thinking about him, wanting to know more about him. She'd never had such an intense reaction to a guy since Sasuke Uchiha left the village.
Of course, she blamed Sakura for the fact that she was so desperately trying to find a guy at all.
She hated that Sakura had gotten engaged first, and to such a hottie—not that she'd paid Lee much attention before, but since he'd begun dating Sakura, she'd noticed plenty. He'd certainly improved with age. He filled out those green, spandex body suits quite nicely now. They didn't seem as weird now that they covered wide shoulders, a broad, lean chest, a washboard stomach, narrow hips, and muscular thighs. Not only had his physique improved, but he'd grown into his face becoming rather handsome as his face had leaned into attractive contours. Besides being easy on the eyes, he seemed totally unaware of his effect on the female of the species. That innocent, modest air was quite beguiling.
He had other appealing qualities as well. He was nice. He was considerate. He was honorable. And he was always exceeding courteous and polite to every woman—kunoichi and non-kunoichi, young or old alike. Being treated like a lady even when you could flatten a guy with one punch was very engaging.
No wonder Sakura had succumbed to his charm. What was not to like? Especially if her only other choice had been Naruto Uzumaki. That number one hyperactive, knuckle-headed ninja was hardly in the same category as Lee. But both of them had been stuck on Sakura since they were kids. At the time, Sakura's affections had been engaged with the same object Ino desired. They'd changed from friends to rivals over night because of it. The nature of their jobs fostered rivalry, too. They'd managed to overcome some of those childhood rivalries, but even now their relationship had never been able to achieve the same pure friendship it had in the beginning. The competitive spirit of the ninja was too strong in them.
Over the years Sakura had given up on her childhood crush, and began to appreciate the ever faithful Lee. Certainly she'd never given Naruto any indication that he stood a chance with her. Ino would never have thought Naruto would stand a chance with any girl. She had never considered Hinata. The bashful, retiring princess of the Hyuga clan was so easy to overlook and forget. Who would have thought that the brashest shinobi in the village would pair up with the shyest kunoichi? Who would have thought that they'd look so right together? Sakura's engagement was bad enough, but it made Ino disgusted to think that even that unlikely couple could make her envious.
Now that Naruto and Hinata had officially announced themselves a couple that made two pairings of the ninja from the magic twelve who went through the chûnin exams together over six years ago. Were there others she didn't yet know about? She listed the remaining seven in her head: Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Tenten and herself (Sasuke no longer counted). Only two kunoichi left out of the seven.
Tenten hadn't said anything during that teasing out of information between Sakura and Naruto, but she'd seemed just as interested in Naruto's announcement as any of them. Was she cherishing a secret romance? It didn't have to be one of their group. It wouldn't be credible that they'd all pair up among one another. Surely several would find romance outside of the magic twelve? Tenten wasn't close with any of the guys that she knew. Maybe she had someone older, younger or not a ninja that interested her. Could Ino be the only unattached kunoichi in their group? That would be horrible.
Despite her admiration for many of the older kunoichi, she didn't want to be alone and loveless. She wanted a good marriage like her parents—and children. She never thought she'd reach the advanced age of 18 without even a boyfriend. She'd been the prettiest most confident girl in all her classes (she didn't consider Sakura since she'd had absolutely no confidence in her billboard brow). Why hadn't she been the most popular with the boys, too? It just wasn't fair.
But it wasn't only the kunoichi that had been interested in Naruto's love life. Her own old team mates, Shikamaru and Choji had shown an uncommon interest in the romance. They'd teased Naruto not maliciously or immaturely, but almost as if they had relationship experience themselves. But how could that be? There weren't that many suitable females around. She'd have known if her own team mates were involved with someone. But both of them seemed to have more confidence than they'd had only months ago when they were still her regular team mates. What could have happened to make them seem so—so intriguing now?
Whatever caused this new maturity made the pair seem more attractive than ever before in their own way. If only she wasn't already well-acquainted with their many faults and idiosyncrasies, she might have been romantically interested in one of them. Even Choji looked impressive rather than fat since he'd grown to adulthood. But she really couldn't view either of them in that way. Her affections for them could only warm up to sisterly. She simply couldn't think of them in any other light no matter how much they improved. And she knew they only thought of her as their bossy, pert, and arrogant team mate. She wasn't given to lengthy introspection, but she had her unhappy moments of self-doubt. She was often forced to compare herself unfavorably to Sakura. That girl wasn't perfect either, but she did seem to attract the guys. Ino would love to have that ability.
She sighed as she thought of the other single, male ninja from their age group, and considered their possibilities in the romantic arena.
Shino was already spoken for in a family arrangement—besides bugs were just too creepy. Knowing that her boyfriend had a closer relationship with his bugs than he did to her would be too demoralizing. Despite his interestingly covert appearance, Shino was definitely out of the running.
Neji was the next single, shinobi under consideration. She quickly dismissed him as well. He was just too full of himself and unapproachable. Those eyes of his showed no hint of warmth or any other emotion. She'd never know where she stood with him. Naruto didn't seem to be bothered by those mysterious, silvery, Hyuga eyes, but Ino thought them too weird.
She didn't want weird in her life. She wanted someone straight-forward, approachable, and likeable. Her last and best choice was Kiba.
She'd originally been uninterested in him because he'd been part of that slacker group in school that consisted as well of: Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto. They were goof-offs, clowns, and generally unromantic figures in a girl's imagination. Sasuke Uchiha had been the only boy in the class worthy of romantic daydreams, but he'd been totally uninterested in anything except ninjutsu, genjustsu, taijutsu and revenge.
As the slacker group had gotten older, she began to realize that maybe they weren't really as lame as they'd appeared. Over the years, they'd all been put to extreme tests of their abilities, and had demonstrated skills that were truly awesome. Except for experience they were the equivalent of any ninja in Konoha. It was no wonder the Fifth felt confident leaving the village in their hands for this brief time when most of the jônin were absent. They were more than capable of handling even extraordinary circumstances.
Then, of course, Kiba had Akamaru.
Ino really liked animals. All her life she'd had pets of one kind or another. She was always bringing home stray or wounded creatures to nurture much to her parent's complaints. If she hadn't demonstrated an affinity for the family ninja skills, she would have been interested in veterinary science as a career. And she could have been happy with that, although being a shinobi was much more exciting.
So the Kiba/Akamaru team was a real plus in her estimation. Now if only she could convince Kiba that a girl from the Yamanaka clan would be equally as interesting to know and then some.
Once she came within sight of the gate, she slowed her pace to gage how busy he was before she interrupted his work.
Akamaru was sitting at alert beside the guard station. Kiba was talking to his genin partner sitting beside him behind the counter. His partner seemed to be hanging on his words so it either involved instruction or a story. Kiba had a wealth of interesting past missions to draw on for stories to illustrate instructional points. Since they'd all been put into training mode by being partnered with genin, it was most likely something like that. Ino hadn't even noticed her genin partner this morning. She'd had other things on her mind. She hoped the kid showed up on time when they had guard duty.
At any rate, nobody appeared to be entering or leaving Konoha at this time. It would be safe to talk to him.
Ino walked up to Akamaru, and stroked the side of his neck. He'd been aware of her approach, and he allowed her to touch him. He made a little sound of doggie delight at the caress which caused Kiba to turn his head towards them.
"Hey, no tampering with the guards," he said with a mock frown.
"I can't help it. He's so soft and silky," she said stroking him again.
"So you like dogs?" He moved over closer to the other side of Akamaru, and leaned against the counter so he could see her. He'd never had much to do with Ino until they'd become temporary team mates. In his mind, he'd always lumped her together with Sakura. They'd been silly girls with a sillier rivalry over that moody Sasuke kid. He hadn't any time or patience for either girl. Now things were different. Sasuke was gone. Sakura had become the Fifth's protégé, then she'd become engaged to Lee. The girls seemed to be friends now. Ino had no real identifying qualities that he could think of to make her stand out. She looked good. She was friendly. Her family was as old as his. But that was all he really knew about her. He wasn't sure what else to make of her now.
"Of course. Who wouldn't?"
"Lots of people. Especially since Akamaru grew so big. Some people are afraid of him."
"That's a shame. Who could be afraid of this big, cuddly, sweetie?" she raised up on her toes, and scratched Akamaru behind his ear. He really seemed to love that. He bent his head so she could reach his ear much easier. If she wasn't careful, he'd be flopping on the ground to have his belly rubbed. That would really be considered guard tampering.
Kiba watched her caressing of Akamaru, and almost wished he were a dog. He'd love to have a pretty girl stroke behind his ears. Wait! No, he wouldn't. He was interested in Hinata, he had to remind himself—not just any pretty girl.
"So what happened after I left?" he asked. With that reminder of Hinata, he remembered all that stuff about Naruto and his girlfriend. If Sakura, his team leader hadn't ordered him to his post, he would have stayed around to hear the end of it. He wanted the satisfaction of hearing Naruto back out of that one. He expected Naruto to ungracefully back out of it.
Ino shrugged. "Oh, nothing much. Naruto made his announcement then everybody took off."
"Yeah? Who is she?" he asked with deceptive nonchalance.
She gave him a sideways glance. "Don't you know?" After all, Hinata was his team mate.
"No," he said sharply.
"I would have thought you'd have a clue. She's your team mate," she told him pointedly watching for his reaction.
He stared at the ground not giving anything away—yet. "So he told everyone Hinata was his girlfriend?"
"That's right." Ino laughed. "I was totally shocked, but you should have seen Sakura's face. It was priceless. I've never seen her at such a loss. It was more than surprise or shock. She looked totally dumbfounded. She couldn't think of anything to say to them. Gotta go was the best she could manage. Lee was far more gracious and complimentary. He was happy not surprised for them. He's really a class act."
"What about Hinata? How did she look?" he asked impatiently. Who cared about Sakura and Lee's reaction?
"You should know that better than anyone. She was blushing, of course. That girl blushes at everything, doesn't she? But she looked very happy. So did he. They make a cute couple."
"What are you talking about? I don't see the attraction at all," he scowled.
Ino looked at him curiously. Why was he so angry? Didn't he want Hinata happy? Or was it something else that bothered him? "They say opposites attract," she said lightly.
"I would think having things in common would make for a better couple. Hinata and Naruto have absolutely nothing in common. He'll lose patience with her shyness and her blushing. He'll grow bored with her lack of conversation. Her family will never accept him," he grumbled darkly.
"Are you worried about her? Do you think Naruto will dump her?"
"Why not? Isn't he just settling since he can't have Sakura?"
Ino took his doubts about the relationship under serious consideration. She didn't think Naruto was that kind of guy at all. He'd always struck her as honorable and sincere despite his other less admirable qualities like loud, obnoxious and brash. "I think you've got it all wrong, Kiba. Naruto's not like that. I don't think he ever seriously thought Sakura would look twice at him. His crush on her had become a habit from childhood. He hasn't shown any signs of jealousy over Sakura's engagement. No, she's his first real girlfriend. I think Hinata's the real thing for him."
"What do you know about it? You're wrong. Totally wrong. She's his rebound girl. He'll dump her as soon as he finds someone better," he told her angrily. "This is just practice for the real thing. He will hurt her."
Ino had been ready to get angry right back at him, but then the realization of where his anger was coming from hit her. She studied at him sadly. Wouldn't you know the first guy she's liked since Sasuke would be already interested in someone else? "You like her, don't you?" she asked carefully. She didn't really want to know, but she had to know.
"Shut up! Mind your own business! Go away! I'm working here," he flushed, and growled at her.
She gave Akamaru one more pat. It wasn't his fault his partner was a thick-headed, jealous, idiot. First Sakura had two guys who liked her, and now Hinata did. Why couldn't even one guy like her? It wasn't fair.
"You don't have to bite my head off, Kiba Inuzuka. Akamaru has better manners than you do." She turned to leave. This had been one big mistake. If only she'd known about his feelings for Hinata, she could have approached him more carefully. But she didn't want to be a rebound girl either.
"Wait! Ino! I'm sorry. I'm not angry with you." he apologized uncomfortably. He had been unconscionably rude. It wasn't her fault that Naruto's announcement hadn't gone his way. It wasn't her fault Naruto had her snowed, too.
"How could you be? I don't mean anything to you," she said matter-of-factly then walked away. She didn't even want to look at him anymore. It made her want to cry, and she wouldn't do that in front of him.
How incredibly disappointing! He'd looked so cute even in his anger. What a shame he was stuck on a girl who was stuck on someone else. There was no point in even trying with him. It would be too humiliating to watch him seethe over it. She didn't want to hear any more about Naruto and Hinata from a jealous idiot. What did he know?
She sighed. Maybe she should check out the older jônin when they returned. Maybe there was a cute, single, attractive ninja a bit older that would be interested in her. As long as he wasn't too old, that would be all right. The guys her age were just too immature. She was through with him—er—them.
After his big announcement, everyone had high-tailed it out of there so quickly, you'd have thought the Fifth was standing behind them. Naruto had actually looked around to make sure that wasn't the case, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Shikamaru said, "We can't stand around here gossiping any longer. We have work to do. Choji, Etsu, Kiyoshi, follow me. I'll brief you on your duties along the way."
Choji said, "See ya' later, Hinata, Naruto."
Tenten said, "I'm tired. I guess I'll head home."
Shino simply left.
Sakura didn't smile. "Okay. I—ah—better be off myself. Good-bye." She gave them a strange look, before she turned away. "Lee? Are you coming?"
Only Lee had stuck around long enough to offer them more than a vague smile. "I am happy for you both. I will talk to you later, Naruto," he said, before hurrying after Sakura.
Ino didn't leave until after Sakura and Lee, but she smiled widely not at Naruto and Hinata, but at Sakura and Lee as she walked away.
After all that teasing and questioning, Naruto was a bit disappointed by the response following his big announcement. It was completely anticlimactic—a complete letdown. He thought everyone would have been more excited or happy for him than that. He stood still with his arm around Hinata, and watched everyone leave except for their genin. Finally, he removed his arm, and said ruefully to Hinata, "Don't feel too bad about everyone's reaction to our news, Hinata. I guess we just took them by surprise."
"I don't think you were the surprise element, Naruto. I think it was me. No one could picture you with me. They were too polite to say anything," she said unhappily.
He took her hand and squeezed it. "No way. It's got to be the other way around. I'm the one who doesn't rate a great girl like you. Oh well, they'll just have to get used to seeing the two of us together. We aren't going to let their reaction mess us up, are we?"
"No, no, of course not," she told him in surprise, and gripped his hand firmly in return. She didn't care who disapproved. She wouldn't easily give up Naruto—her dream for most of her life. She just didn't want Naruto to feel any doubts about their relationship based on other people's reactions. She was grateful Kiba wasn't here. She didn't know if he'd reveal his true feelings before everyone or whether he reserved that for her alone, but she wouldn't want to put it to the test. She didn't want Naruto hurt by what Kiba would have to say.
"Good. I guess we'd better get on with our job as well. Why don't we spread out and tackle the businesses first? Then we can meet up, and visit the theater and that weird order together. The Fifth seemed more worried about them than anything else so it might be best if we covered them together."
"I agree. Akira and I will take the North end of town."
"Botan and I will take the South. We'll meet back here when we're done. We can have lunch at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar."
She smiled. "Of course we can. You like ramen, don't you, Akira?" she asked her genin. She'd almost forgotten they were there, they'd been so quiet.
"Unh? Yeah." Akira and Botan had tried not to listen in to what their elders had been discussing, but they couldn't help themselves. It had been so fascinating to watch the interactions of older jônin. Maybe his crush on Etsu wasn't so juvenile after all.
The most fascinating part was watching everyone's behavior with Naruto. Everyone knew who Naruto was by reputation if not by acquaintance. He was the most talked about young ninja in the village. Iruka sensei held him up as an example of how even the least academically inclined in the class could still be a first rate ninja. Every other teacher had some story about Naruto personally or that they'd heard to share with their students. From his friendships with the sannin to his pursuit of and by the Akatsuki, the stories were legend.
They'd been relieved after meeting him to find he was just a regular guy. His appearance wasn't impressive at all. It was even hard to believe the stories they'd been told. But after seeing the way everyone just homed in on him, gently teased him, and just seemed to like him, they were still impressed but in a different way.
"C'mon. Let's go, Botan," Naruto said after squeezing Hinata's hand once more.
Botan and Akira exchanged an excited glance before splitting up to join their jônin partners. They could tell their group was the envy of all the others. They had an important mission today. This would be so cool. They couldn't wait to get started on real ninja work.