Fearless

Chapter 4

Ino clenched her jaw against the pain coursing through her veins. She refused to cry out, refused to give the sadistic man before her the satisfaction of hearing her pain. Her eyes were screwed shut as the blunt edge of the blade was drawn down her collar bone. A hiss escaped her lips as her chin was jerked upward forcefully.

" You're certainly a stubborn Bitch, aren't you? I would expect nothing less from one of the members of the Yamanaka Clan. You're father was Inoichi, correct?" Ino only glared with venom at the pale man as he paced in front of her, refusing to speak.

" Of course he was. He was the only dog I ever faced who could withstand my torture. He had impressed me, lasting three days under my blade. Let me see how long it takes before I break you, little girl," He tossed the knife between his fingers, dancing around the cold room before pressing the blade against the side of Ino's simple black tank top.

Blood slowly escaped the wound he had made, pooling beneath the black clothe. The metallic tang filled the air, yet Ino wasn't afraid. Fear was a weakness, and she needed to prove to this manic, to Ibiki-sensei, to herself, that she wasn't weak. Ino allowed her ice blue eyes to open, the cold, calculating look, could only be described as deadly. A smirk began to curl the edges of her lips as she straightened her body, resting her full weight on the soles of her feet.

" Is that the best you can do? My father used to tell me stories about you. The pitiful dog that hid behind a knife. I always thought you were just some scary story he had thought up to make me stay in bed at night. I can see now, I gave you to much credit as a girl," Ino bit back a wince as the blade of the knife cut between her breasts, drawing more blood.

Something warm was touching her. Something heavy rested against her hip. Groggily, Ino pulled herself from her nightmare plagued dreams, twisting her body to see what was holding her to her mattress. Her confusion twisted her features as her ice colored eyes landed on Naruto's form. His head was resting on one of her spare pillows, his golden spikes falling over his forehead in just the right way to make him appear almost angelic. His bronzed skin was bare of his shirt, showing her the expanse of his board chest. Black sweat pants rode low on his narrow hips, barely staying in place as he pulled her closer to his body. His nose nuzzled against the column of her throat as he inhaled her scent deeply. Ino remained relaxed, allowing her hand to drift towards the one on her hip, laying it on top before she closed her eyes, drifting back to sleep, this time only to be engulfed by a warm black void.

A low growl forced Ino from her peaceful slumber, Naruto's grip tightening against her waist informed her they had visitors once again.

" Why the hell is Naruto in her bed?" Sakura's screech was one thing Ino silently prayed wouldn't wake her again.

" Gee, I don't know hag, why not ask since you rudely woke us up?" Ino grumbled, pushing herself into a sitting position, Naruto following after her. Ino noted how his grip remained on her waist, refusing to let her go for even a second. She pushed the thought away for now, narrowing her ice blue eyes towards the rosette, the Uchiha, Sai, and Shikamaru.

" Is there a reason the four of you are in my apartment? More importantly, why you're in my bed room?" Ino questioned with a delicate quirk of her eye brow. Shikamaru breathed a sigh, muttering his favorite word under his breath as he scratched the back of his head.

" I think this is going to be a daily thing Ino. They wanted to check on Naruto's progress," Shikamaru answered, watching the blonde mutter a few curses under her breath.

" By the way, why is Naruto in your bed?" Sai, the only one civil to Ino besides her childhood friend, questioned, watching as Sakura seethed in anger and Sasuke glared at her. Ino chewed her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment, thinking over her words with care before lazily shrugging her shoulders.

" I'm not entirely sure. Last night, we were both sleeping in our own rooms. I was having… I didn't sleep well and when I woke, Naruto was here," she watched Shikamaru's eyes narrow fractionally as he processed her words, obviously understanding what had happened.

" You need to remember Ino, Naruto views you as his mate. He must have sensed your distress and wanted to comfort you," Shikamaru watched as Ino nodded in understanding, arching her back as she stretched from her upright position.

" What's wrong with dickless?" Sai questioned, watching Sakura's eyebrow twitch before turning his full attention to the Yamanaka. Ino leaned back, relaxing against Naruto's warm chest as she thought over how to explain just what was wrong.

" This reaction, it's a primitive mind set. It's his defense mechanism when dealing with trauma," Ino watched as Sai nodded, glancing towards the normally hyper active ninja.

" I want to paint him," Sai commented, drawing everyone's attention. Sakura rolled her eyes while Sasuke scoffed.

" Why would you want to do that?" he questioned, disgust evident on his face. Sai shrugged, watching the scene before him. Ino felt the tension in Naruto's muscles, the slight twitch of his fingers against her waist. He was feeling anxious. Ino breathed a sigh, slowly pulling his hand away and sliding off her futon mattress.

Naruto refused to allow that much distance between them, following behind her and allowing his hand to wrap around her hip once he was standing.

" Look, he's fine for now, however he might lose his temper. Give him some space, alright?" Ino pushed, watching as both Sasuke and Sakura opened their mouths to argue, only to be quieted by a look Shikamaru shot towards them.

" You need to hurry and sort through Naruto's mind, Ino. Anko and Ibiki are losing their minds dealing with the prisoners," Shikamaru informed her, watching the ghost of a smile curve her lips before she nodded. He was just as worried about the blonde shinobi as the rest of the Rookie Nine. Ino breathed a sigh as she shut the door behind them, turning until her back rested against the frame. Her eyes were shut as she attempted to formulate a plan to help Naruto when she felt a slight weight resting against her own body.

Her eyes flickered open to see she was caged between a wooden door and a well muscled body. His fists rested on either side of her head, his forehead resting against her own. Ino could smell his natural scent, musky, spicy, and woodsy. His hair tickled her forehead, his breath warmed her cheek. She wasn't nervous, because, even when he wasn't acting as himself, this was still Naruto. This was still the loud, boisterous, goofy shinobi she had gone to the academy with. He couldn't scare her, she was fearless. She had been so lost in her thoughts she had noticed as he lowered his face closer to her own, his pink tongue darting past his pale lips until it grazed the skin of her warm cheek. Ino's eyes widened as she realized what just happened.

'He just licked me' She watched carefully as he did it again, his wet tongue licking her cheek. She couldn't help the giggle that bubbled past her lips, just the thought alone seemed oddly adorable to her. Slowly, as to not startle him, Ino lifted her arms from where they hung limply at her sides, wrapping them around Naruto's neck.

'What the hell' was the last thought she truly processed as she lifted herself onto her tip toes, her own tongue peeking out past her rose colored lips to lightly lick his own cheek.

A/N: I know this one is a bit shorter, however I thought it was kind of cute. I would like to thank Ruskibraat for all the suggestions. I like the last idea you offered and I might play around with it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I love feed back people