I've practically been working on this nonstop so here you go!

(Finding Love)

Naruto and Ino stood across from each other, the female of the two panting and sweating with her purple top gone to show a fishnet that was hidden beneath it. They've been like this for five months now, with the occasional breaks to allow Ino to go to the flower shop and be with her family of course.

It had at first concerned Inoichi that his daughter was staying in Naruto's house, but since the boy was once ANBU, and one of the few to maintain a certain training regime, he let it slide.

Over the five months, the two kept their relationship professional. However, what was seemingly an apprentice-master relationship to people was not the case for our two blondes. The silence that befell them during their time together when not training was like a searing heat that burned their hearts.

Ino wanted to talk to Naruto, but she didn't know how. Naruto wanted to talk to her, but he didn't know how. It was funny, in a way. One lost her sensei and still managed to smile, the other lost his chance to get the girl he was after, and so he shut the world away.

The two were almost opposites of each other.

"We're done for today." Naruto says making his training partner sigh in relief. "You have the day off tomorrow." He says before leaving.

Ino grit her teeth. She didn't want this. She didn't want to just stay silent in front of him. She needed to speak to him. She wanted to speak to him.

She needs to know if they were still friends, and not just a master and his apprentice.

Naruto, on the other hand, walks down the streets of Konoha with no real destination in mind. He could go home and rest, clear his mind even. He could go to Ichiraku and have some of the ramen he always loved. Or…

He could go back to ANBU.

The blonde Jinchuriki sighed. Ino was strong now thanks to their training, but he wanted to talk to her. Even after they apologized to each other, they still didn't talk outside of training. In fact, he saw Ino talk to many people; Ino even talked to Sasuke, the guy who broke her heart when he started dating Sakura.

On the other hand was him. Naruto Uzumaki, the loner, he gave himself a pitiful laugh. He might even be more emo than Sasuke was, but he didn't care. Or rather, he hoped he didn't. He didn't need social interaction back then, so why did he need it now?

The day passed quietly, however.

Naruto walks into his room, not surprised to see Ino already in bed. It was already 1:00 AM after all. The woman was dressed in his white shirt which was quite loose for her.

"So you're back."

Naruto's eyes widen as he gets pulled into the bed where Ino pins him down and unknowingly straddles him. "Ino?" He asks. He was taken by surprise, but what got him curious was Ino's teary look. "Did something happen?" He asks caringly as he felt Ino let go of his arms. "Hey, you can tell me."

Ino's hair shadows her eyes from her fellow blonde. She was hesitating again. She was hesitating…

On whether or not she should talk to him.

"Naruto…" She begins, finally letting go of all the things holding her back. "Are we… are we still friends?"

"Ino, you—"

Ino looks at him with tears now streaming down her face. Their eyes are locked as she speaks, practically shouting at him. "I can't take it! I lost Asuma-sensei! I can't stand the thought of losing you too!"

"Ino, calm—"

"You were there! You were always ready to help! If only I asked help from you earlier! If only… if only… I was stronger…" She pauses as tears drip down her face. She lowers herself, her face now on Naruto's chest. "I can't… lose another… I can't lose you…"

Naruto didn't know how to respond to this. He was so… foreign to these things after a long time in ANBU. But his body knew.

Ino's eyes widen as she felt Naruto's arms wrap around her. This felt so strange for her. Who was this man that she allowed to get so close that she would even let him hug her like this? Sure, she had her share of hugs, but no one even came close to hugging her like this.

"Why do you think I'd leave you?" Naruto asks. He frowns when he didn't receive an answer. "Let me rephrase…" This got Ino to lift her head from his chest and look at him. "Why do you think you'll lose me?"

"Because…" Ino doesn't continue. She gets off him and leans against the window sill.

"Ino… whatever the reason, I'll always be your friend." Naruto says as he sits up, his back against the wall of where his head pillow would be located if it wasn't on the floor.

"It's because we seem so distant."

Naruto sighs before he looks at Ino's moonlit figure. He rubs his temples as he looks at her when he accidentally saw her black panties. She wasn't wearing anything else aside from his shirt and her panties. "Ino… aside from Kakashi and Yamato, you're the only one I talk to outside of ANBU."

Ino hugs her legs as she heard that. "But it's all in training. The last time we had a talk like this… was before… that happened."

Naruto remains silent. That was true. It was as if they were strangers to each other. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he speaks. "Ino…" he looks up and frowns.

Ino was already fast asleep.

With a sigh, Naruto gently pulls Ino over to him before he hugs her against him. He didn't know why he did this, nor did he care. He just knew that this felt right. It was alien, yes; but it also felt like the right thing to do. "Oyasumi." He mutters before placing a blanket around them to keep them warm. His head subconsciously rests on Ino's shoulder, and leans against her head.

And so the next day came. The sun was already out and the birds were chirping.

It was then Ino woke and felt warm. It was a comfortable kind of warmth, not something she would want to get away from. She also felt soft breathing against her neck which tickled her a little, but not enough to make her make her giggle. She turned to see who it was and blushed as she saw Naruto's face. As if all her senses woke up because of that, she could feel his arms around her. "This… might not be so bad." She mumbles to herself as she turns her body so that now she was leaning her side against him.

Not much time passes when Naruto stirs awake. He grunts after feeling like there was someone missing. He blinks his sleep away and looks around his room. Ino wasn't there. "She must have gone home." He muses before going over to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. He went over to his garden area to check on his plants and water them. Once done, he goes to take a shower.

Once finished, Naruto gets dressed in his Jounin attire and goes to leave to get a mission from Tsunade. He opens the door and stops to find Ino just about to grab the knob. "Ino?"

"Shimata!" Ino curses in her head before smiling, albeit awkwardly. "H-Hey! Oyasumi!"

Naruto blinks. "Oyasumi?"

"Oh! Ahh… I meant Ohayo! Yeah! Ohayo, Naruto!" She says and finishes with a nervous laugh.

"You're acting really weird today." Naruto comments before he shrugs and walks out the door. He didn't notice Ino's dejected look at that comment. "I'm gonna check if there are any available missions. You're free to do what you want today." He says as he walks away and waves.

"Actually!" Ino manages to say just before Naruto could leave her sight and use the Shunshin. "I did have something in mind! For both of us!"

Naruto stops. He turns with a face that matched his next words. "You're joking, right?"

Sometime later, Naruto walks down the streets of Konoha beside Ino. The blonde woman beside him had somehow managed to convince him to go with her to her flower shop and help out. He wasn't against it, but he wasn't for it as well. Ah well, better just get things over with.

That being said, the two arrive at the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Ah! Naruto-kun! How good to see you here again!"

Naruto smiles and bows with a hand on his chest. "Likewise, Inoichi-sama."

Inoichi laughs before he brings Naruto to the back room to help with their supplies of plants. Ino goes to help her mother with the selling, not knowing that Inoichi needed this time to speak with her blonde friend.

"Naruto…" Inoichi starts as he and Naruto work with the boxes of plants. "You should let your walls down. It's been nearly three years since that happened with Sasuke and Sakura." He pauses to see Naruto stop moving for a moment before going back to work. With a sigh, Inoichi adds, "Kid… I know foreign things like these are hard for you to notice, but from I can see when my daughter gets back to me after a week of training with you, she seems worried about you."

"Your point, Inoichi-sama?"

Inoichi grunts after hearing Naruto's immediate question, but he answers anyway. "I'm no expert on this, but from what I can see, my daughter seems to like you more than just a friend."

"I don't—"

"What I'm trying to say is that if you hurt my little girl's feelings, I will hunt you down, and turn your mind to mush."

Naruto chuckles before laughing, unknowingly drawing attention to himself. "While that doesn't sound appealing, we both know who would come out on tome, now don't we?"

It was Inoichi's turn to laugh. "Yes, but I'd make sure you pay dearly."

Naruto nods with a smile on his face. "Very well, Inoichi-sama. I'll let my walls down for now."

(TBC)

There ya go! Oh, and if you've noticed, I've replied to your reviews in PMs. As for the guest reviewers, thank you for reviewing.

Until next time!