Do I Have A Purpose Anymore?
Chapter 25: " Surprises Abound"
"Ino get out of there!"
Ino's head snapped up when she heard Naruto shout. It was then she noticed she had run directly into the middle of both Naruto and Sasuke's oncoming attacks. Hesitating she froze with fear, as she realized the attacks were about to hit her and dropping to her knees while throwing her arms over her head she screamed out in terror.
"NARUTO-KUN!"
A scant second later another shout was heard which cried out.
"Enkosen (Arc Shield) deflect!"
Ino heard an explosion and realizing she hadn't been hit, tentatively opened her eyes to peer out from under her arms. She was both relieved and surprised to see none other than Kakashi Hatake standing over her with a shield of condensed reiatsu formed on each of his arms. Looking around she saw both Naruto and Sasuke lying on the ground a great distance from where they had been at previously. The blonde kunoichi didn't know how Kakashi had done it, but apparently he had deflected both attacks back to their sources.
Namely Naruto and Sasuke.
"Well, this brings back some unpleasant memories." Kakashi stated panting from the exertion of fending off the attacks.
"Thank you for saving me Kakashi-sama."
"You're welcome Ino, but I have to say I'm more than a little displeased to see a trained Anbu operative go running out onto a battlefield like that."
Before Ino could respond Naruto had flash-stepped in front of her and gripped her shoulders from the sides. Looking down at her, he visibly trembled with rage and shouted at her.
"Ino-chan, what the hell do you think you were doing?"
"I, I didn't want you to get hurt Naruto-kun."
"So what you thought running in between two deadly attacks was the right thing to do to prevent that?"
"I, I…"
"Idiot, I don't even want to look at you right now! All of you just leave me the hell alone!" Naruto yelled out in a rage, before releasing Ino and flash-stepping once more, disappearing from the clearing.
Ino could only gaze at the ground and weep to herself before a voice she recognized cry out to her.
"Ino-chan!"
Looking up the blonde kunoichi could see an indigo-haired girl running towards her with lavender eyes, as Ino stammered out through her tears.
"Hi-Hinata-chan?"
Upon reaching her weeping friend, Hinata was suddenly enveloped in a hug, as Ino began crying even more and kept saying over and over to the Hyuga girl.
"He hates me Hinata, Naruto-kun hates me!"
"Shhhhh, Naruto-kun doesn't hate you, he's just upset right now. I promise he could never hate you." Hinata replied while holding onto Ino trying to reassure the girl.
"No you're wrong, you didn't hear him, he hates me I just know it! I don't want to live anymore if Naruto-kun hates me!" Ino cried out in hysterics.
Hinata could tell that the Yamanaka girl was on the verge of a breakdown, as she released her embrace of the panicked girl and activated her Byakugan before striking out and closing off some Tenketsu points on Ino's neck knocking the girl unconscious. As Ino slumped into Hinata's arms, another voice called out.
"Hinata!"
"Kurenai-Sensei!"
Laying Ino gently on the grass, Hinata leapt up and hugged her former Sensei and surrogate older sister in a tight embrace, as both women had tears in their eyes. While both kunoichi's were hugging and crying tears of joy at their reunion. Sasuke had risen and walked over to where Kakashi stood by Ino and said.
"It's good to see you Kakashi-Sensei."
"You don't have to call me Sensei anymore Sasuke. I haven't been your teacher for several years now."
"Force of habit Kakashi- Sens…..senpai."
"An interesting blade you have there." Kakashi commented quietly, as he watched his former student sheathe his zanpaktou. Sasuke forced himself to hold his tongue, lest his pride get the best of him.
"Yes it is Kakashi-senpai; it's called a zanpaktou and it uses…."
"Kido based attacks and defense." Kakashi finished for his former pupil before adding.
"Yes, I'm well aware of what that blade is and what it does Sasuke."
"How is it you know about Kido? In fact, that was a Kido spell you used to redirect mine and Naruto's attacks back onto us."
A weary look ran through Kakashi's visible eye.
"It's a long story Sasuke, I'll tell you about it later. First let's see if we can pry Kurenai and Hinata away from one another and all of us can sit down and catch up." Kakashi answered while kneeling down to scoop up Ino into his arms.
The two kunoichi's who had been hugging leveled a hard glare at Kakashi before they broke apart and Hinata stated.
"All of you can come with me back to the camp. Before you arrived, Naruto-kun and I were about to sit down and have lunch. If you're hungry, I can have something prepared for all of you as well. We can also let Ino get some rest while we talk."
"Thank you Hinata, that sounds lovely." Kurenai commented.
"And all of us do have a lot to talk about, including Naruto." Kakashi declared in a grim tone.
Upon hearing that, everyone else solemnly nodded their head in understanding, as they all began their trek back towards the Crimson Bandits encampment.
After Hinata had gotten Ino situated inside her and Naruto's tent to rest, she joined all of her former comrades from the Leaf village. As they all sat around a small fire after having lunch, it was Kurenai who finally broke the silence and asked.
"So Hinata, are you well? Has Naruto been treating you alright?"
"I'm fine, Naruto-kun has treated me very well." Hinata commented, while slightly blushing remembering some of her nightly activities with the blonde Jinchuuriki.
Suddenly, some explosions were heard off in the distance, followed by a faint tremor beneath their feet, which threatened to dislodge some embers from the fire. Kakashi and Sasuke jumped to their feet in response before Hinata commented.
"There's nothing to be worried about, that's just Naruto-kun letting off some steam. I'm afraid your arrival has upset him a bit. He's probably sparring with Yugito-chan right now."
Kakashi arched an eyebrow, but it was his fellow Jounin who asked the question.
"Who is Yugito, Hinata?"
"Yugito-chan is a friend of Naruto-kun and I Kurenai-Sensei."
"How can she spar with Naruto and survive, when he's gotten so incredibly powerful?"
"I wouldn't worry about Yugito-chan, she's a Jinchuuriki same as Naruto-kun and is quite strong in her own right."
"A Jinchuuriki!" Kakashi swore beneath his breath at the news and then asked.
"Wait, what demon does she contain and where on earth did you find her?"
"Yugito-chan holds the Nibi (two-tailed cat) and I didn't find her anywhere Kakashi-sama. Naruto-kun rescued her from being captured by Suigetsu and Deidara of the Akatsuki. So, when I was able to locate Naruto-kun, she was already with him."
"Those are two of the most powerful members of that organization, how was Naruto able to rescue her?"
Hinata quietly shook her head."I don't know the details Kakashi-sama; all I know is Naruto-kun killed Suigetsu and injured Deidara who ran off before Naruto-kun could kill him."
"Naruto killed an Akatsuki member… h-how?" Kurenai stammered in amazement, as she remembered all the Akatsuki were rated as S-Class missing nin's. In fact it was the Akatsuki member Hidan who had killed Asuma and was said to be immortal. Fortunately Shikamaru had found a way around that immortality and took care of Hidan forever avenging his sensei.
"Naruto-kun is very powerful and getting stronger every day." Hinata commented, while beaming with pride about Naruto.
Kakashi took all this in silently, before finally declaring in a strenuous tone of voice.
"Well, if nothing else, this proves that the remaining Akatsuki are still after all the Jinchuuriki. Naruto and this Yugito should return to Konoha as soon as possible, you as well Hinata."
A scowl spread across Hinata's face and her visage took on a determined look, as she said with defiance while activating her Byakugan.
"Naruto-kun doesn't want to return to the Leaf village Kakashi-sama and I will only go back if Naruto wants to. If you try and take us back against our will, we will fight you!"
"You'll lose Hyuga." Sasuke arrogantly announced.
A spike of killer intent filled those pale orbs.
"Just try it Uchiha-teme!"
"Alright, everyone calm down. No one is forcing anybody to go back to the Leaf village at the moment." Kakashi announced while putting a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to keep the young man settled after Hinata's reply. Frustrated, Sasuke lashed out at his former teacher and said.
"I don't think you understand, if Naruto won't return to the village, Hokage Tsunade has given me orders to capture or kill him as a last resort!"
"Those orders have been rescinded Sasuke."
"Wha, what, are you sure Kakashi-sempai?"
"Yes Sasuke, Kurenai and I received a message via a messenger falcon a day ago. Lady Tsunade has cancelled the kill order and made our mission to bring Naruto back to the village…. alive. Apparently, she has something planned for Naruto, but she didn't say what it is."
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, but made no effort to hide the conceit in his voice.
"Well, I hope whatever the Hokage has planned will work in bringing the dobe back, because I really don't want to have to kick his ass just to bring him back to the village."
"As if!" Hinata snapped in an indignant tone before rising to go check on Ino.
Tsunade was doing her level best not to burst out laughing at the civilian Councilmember's faces, as she left the Council chamber after delivering her bombshell of news to the esteemed Konoha Council.
(Flashback)
"Thank you all for coming to this special session of the Konoha Council I requested. I know many of you are still in deep shock and mourning over the untimely and tragic death of Councilman Danzo." Tsunade stated while shooting a quick glance to her advisors who wilted under her gaze before the blonde Hokage continued on.
"However, we as a village must move on. To which by the power granted to me as Hokage, I name Teuchi Ichiraku to temporarily fill Councilman Danzo's seat until the regular elections for the Civilian Council comes up in a few months."
As Teuchi entered the Council chamber and took his seat on the civilian side of the Council once occupied by Danzo, one of his former lackeys on the Council stood up and declared.
"You can't do that Tsunade, that man is a known sympathizer to the demon Uzumaki boy!"
"Silence you ignorant fool! First off, you will address me as Hokage-sama! Secondly, I have the power to name whoever I wish to the Council in case of an untimely death to one of members! And lastly, you have broken the thirds decree about speaking on that subject! Anbu, take this man to Ibiki for some reeducation immediately!"
A contingent of two Anbu appeared in a swirl of leaves before grabbing the shocked Councilman and disappearing with the man. Leaving behind one very stunned and now very subdued Civilian Council in its wake.
"Now, if there are no more interruptions, I can get onto the matter of why I have called for this meeting today." Tsunade declared while staring intently at the Civilian Council waiting for any of those fools to open up their mouth and say something. Satisfied that no one else on the Civilian Council was ready to risk incurring her wrath by saying something the blonde Hokage then announced.
"As many of you have been pestering me for months to name a successor for the Rokudaime position of Hokage after I retire, I've reached a decision on who that will be."
"So you've finally decided to name Sasuke Uchiha as your successor Hokage-sama, that's wonderful news." Another one of Danzo's former lackeys of the Civilian Council piped up with glee.
"Shut up you idiot! I'd sooner name a fat fool like you to that position before I would name someone who once betrayed the village to the status of Rokudaime Hokage. No, the individual I shall name for that position is the sole heir of the Yondaime Hokage."
"What, that's preposterous! The Yondaime had no living heirs!" Shouts Homura before an icy glare from Tsunade shut up the ancient advisor.
Many Council members then begin to voice their protests, but are subdued by Tsunade's killing intent, before she says.
"Today's meeting has to do with the reading of the Yondaime's will and officially recognizing this young man as the heir to the Namikaze Clan. Most of you already know this young man, his name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the living Jinchuuriki who keeps at bay the Kyuubi no Youko and is the only child and son of Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage."
"Absurd, everyone knows the Yondaime used some random orphan to seal away the great demon years ago!" One Civilian Councilman shouted before he was overwhelmed by Tsunade's killing intent, as she said with venom.
"You stupid moron! Do you honestly think that the Yondaime would use an orphaned child to seal the beast away or even a child from a family? All of you sit there and shut-up while I read the last document the fourth ever wrote which happens to contain his last will and testament!"
If you are currently reading this, I the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze write this knowing that I shall soon be dead. At this moment many of our brave shinobi have given or are currently giving their lives to fight a horrible terror that has befallen the village. A few hours ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a Bijuu known as the Kyuubi no Youko. It is the most powerful of all the great demons and though we have tried valiantly, we are simply incapable of defeating it. I am now left with only one recourse to save the village and its people. I'm going to have to seal away the demonic beast using a forbidden jutsu which will cost me my life.
Moments ago, I just witnessed my wife of one year sacrifice her life to protect our newly born son, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. The pain and grief from her death is shattering to me, especially with what I now have to do with our only child. I am sorry my son for I'm going to have to seal the Kyuubi no Youko into you, so it can't escape. It pains me greatly to place such a heavy burden onto you, but I cannot ask another family to give up their child for the act, if I wasn't willing to give up my own. I just hope the people of this village treat you Naruto with the respect you deserve. You should be viewed upon by all as a living hero, for you are the vessel that keeps the great beast from escaping and wreaking his vengeance upon the village once more.
To my beloved son, Naruto, I leave to you every possession I have and I also leave to you your mother's will which you will find at the clan compound. Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina, the daughter of the Daimyo of the Land of the Whirlpool. She was a beautiful woman, and she loved you very much. There is so much more I want to say to you, but time grows short. My son I have copies of every jutsu I've ever created with instructions on how to learn and use the hidden at the compound. Also, if you ever meet my Sensei Jiraiya the Toad Sage and one of the legendary Sannin, he is your Godfather. I leave it to him to teach you my two most prized jutsu's that I ever created, the Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
Naruto, grow to be the splendid Shinobi I know you will be. I entrust your care to Hiruzen Sarutobi to ensure that happens.
I love you my son!
Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage.
After Tsunade finished reading the document, a pall of silence fell over the Council chamber like a shroud. After a moment, Hiashi Hyuga asked to examine the document with his Byakugan to attest to its validity. Upon scanning the document for any sign that it was a forgery, he deactivated his famous Kekkei Genkai and announced for everyone to hear.
"This document is genuine, it was written by the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze."
"Hmm… his father truly is the Yondaime." Shikaku Nara commented in afterthought.
"Hai." Tsunade replied.
"So, Hokage-Sarutobi lied to everyone, I can't believe he would do such a thing!" Inoichi Yamanaka shouted out in anger and frustration.
"Hai, he did Yamanaka-san, but Sarutobi-Sensei did that thinking he was protecting the boy. That's why Naruto was given his mother's maiden name and not his fathers." Tsunade stated with remorse to the angered clan leader.
"I guess that means that Naruto is the rightful heir to the Namikaze clan." Chouza Akimichi declares with certainty.
"Hai, he is, which is why I now call for a vote for this Council and the village to recognize Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, as the rightful heir of the Namikaze Clan and my chosen successor to be the Rokudaime Hokage. All of you, who approve of this measure, raise your hand."
All members of both the Civilian Council and the Shinobi Council raised their hands in support. However, both Homura and Koharu were a little hesitant before a sharp glare from Tsunade informed them of what their vote should be if they wanted to continue to live.
"Then by the power as the Godaime Hokage and of the Konoha Council it shall be announced and is official that Naruto Uzumaki has been granted his rightful heritage and title of Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, the heir to the prestigious Namikaze clan and our next Hokage!"
Applause breaks out among many of the council members, with the exception of one, who was engrossed with his own thoughts about the news he had just learned.
"I can't believe this has happened! I'm such a fool, I could have had the sole heir of the Namikaze clan and the Leaf village's next Hokage tied to my clan through marriage to my daughter Hinata. Now, I have nothing!" Hiashi silently lamented to himself.
(End of Flashback)
The next day when the news of Naruto's true heritage as the living legacy of the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze had been announced, it had thrown the village into an uproar. While a few die-hard Naruto haters refused to believe the news and said it was a trick. They were quickly silenced when the proof of the Fourth Hokage's last will and testament had been authenticated by the Konoha Council. And when Tsunade read the will to the people of the Leaf village it left a profound effect upon the villagers.
The majority of the villagers were now dealing with a wide range of emotions within themselves when the truth about Naruto was revealed. The most prevalent emotions being happiness and joy upon learning that the last living legacy of their beloved Fourth Hokage lived. And the emotions of guilt and remorse at how they had treated the boy growing up.
It had been a few days since the announcement, as Tsunade stood on her balcony gazing over the village with disgust. It galled the blonde Hokage to no end at looking upon the very same people in the village, who use to shun or treat Naruto poorly in the past, were now going out of their way to heap praise and kindness about him merely for the fact of who his father was. Even worse than the behavior these pathetic hypocrites of villagers were the masses of people at the Hokage Memorial praying and begging for forgiveness to Minato for the sins they committed against his son in the past.
And finally the most pathetic of the villagers were the ones who couldn't live with the guilt of what they had done in the past to Naruto and took the easy way out by committing suicide. When the villagers learned that Naruto was no longer there, it had created a general atmosphere of shame, guilt, and sorrow rampant throughout the village. As Tsunade continued to stare across the village and it's people she thought to herself.
'Damn it, I..…no everyone need Naruto to return home. Because if he doesn't, I'm not sure the Leaf village can survive, as I fear the people are just going to wallow in their misery and guilt forever without him.'
After watching Hinata march off to go and check on Ino, Kakashi sat in muted silence as he pondered his next move in getting Naruto to return to the Leaf village. Suddenly an idea emerged that he thought might have a chance in helping to facilitate Naruto's homecoming. Turning to Sasuke, he ordered the Uchiha male to follow him, while the two of them went off in search of Naruto.
"What?" Naruto snapped at both his former sensei and comrade with an incredulous glare, pausing only to wipe a bead of sweat from his brow.
After deciding that his ferocious rage had ebbed somewhat from their spar, he'd let Yugito go back to camp and was about to follow his fellow Jinchuuriki, when Kakashi and Sasuke showed up. Now, as he carefully wrapped Zangetsu back in its cloth sheath, he contemplated what his former sensei had just said and was curious about the silver-haired Jounin's sudden offer.
"That's right, the second and final stage of Bankai you've been working so hard to reach, I can help you and Sasuke achieve it much faster." Kakashi's smile could both be seen beneath his mask and in his cheerful demeanor.
"What's the catch?" Naruto snarled in skepticism.
"Catch?" Kakashi tilted his head to the side comically before asking.
"Now why would there be a catch? Is it really so wrong of me to lend my students a hand in their training?"
"Yes, it is." Naruto countered, sparing Sasuke a heated glare before continuing on.
"Because the most you ever taught me was how to walk up trees. And if I recall, you were never too eager to teach me anything of significance only to the teme over there including your prized jutsu the Chidori."
Kakashi's head lowered a bit in guilt, the sting of Naruto's words hitting their mark, as he couldn't deny what he said was the truth, while his former student's glare spoke volumes.
"That was in the past and I deeply regret some of the choices I made back then. I can only ask that you trust me now when I say I wish to atone for my past actions and I honestly want to help you Naruto." Kakashi replied, in a penitent tone of voice.
"Words are cheap, actions speak louder and you still haven't said what the catch is?"
"I wouldn't call it a catch per-se, just a...condition."
Naruto's scowl deepened.
"What kind of condition?"
Hinata quietly entered the tent she shared with Naruto so as not to awaken Ino, but to her surprise, the blonde kunoichi was already awake and looking around the tent.
"Ino, are you feeling better?"
She started in surprise, but seemed to relax a bit once she'd recognized Hinata.
"Hai, I am Hinata, other than a sore throat I'm feeling much better."
"I'm sorry about doing that to you, but you looked like you were about to have a nervous breakdown."
"Yeah, maybe I was, I guess it was just the pain in knowing that the man I love hates me."
Hinata paused, as she recalled the look of indescribable fury that Naruto had leveled at Ino only a few hours ago before trying to assure he blonde friend.
"Naruto-kun doesn't hate you; he's just having a difficult time dealing with his feelings."
"I don't know, he seemed pretty certain when he said he couldn't even look at me anymore. I suppose he's forgotten all about me and has moved on to this Yugito girl I overheard you talking about outside."
"Umm, well Naruto-kun does have feelings for Yugito-chan, and she for him, but they haven't acted upon them."
"Really, I figured this was Naruto's tent when I saw some of his stuff lying around. Then I noticed some female clothing in here and assumed Naruto was sharing this tent with this Yugito."
"Uhhh, well Naruto is sharing the tent with someone, but it's not Yugito. He, he's sharing the tent with…..me." Hinata stated sheepishly, as her eyes darted to the ground.
"Oh I see, I guess I really am the idiot Naruto-kun called me. Congratulations Hinata, it looks like you've won." Ino stated the hurt evident in her tone as she spoke, before turning her head away to keep from crying in front of Hinata.
"Ino, I want to talk to you, about me and Naruto-kun to try and explain." Hinata replied nervously, as she sat down on the ground across from Ino.
"What about him?" Ino spat bitterly before continuing.
"There's nothing to explain, I should have guessed Naruto would be with you Hinata, you were always his first true love. I was nothing more to Naruto than the rebound girl after you married the mutt!"
A resounding smack echoed through the air. Stunned, Ino could only hold a hand to her face as a red hand-print throbbed angrily upon her left cheek, her ears cringing as a very, very angry Hinata yelled at her.
"Look Ino I know you're hurting right now, but that gives you no right to speak such lies about Naruto-kun! You know very well that he loved you deeply and you were never the rebound girl to him as you put it after I got married. So stop being a spoiled jealous bitch and talk to me!"
Ino gazed towards her friend, shocked that Hinata had actually lost her temper like that and called her a spoiled jealous bitch. The Yamanaka girl was still rubbing her cheek when she heard the Hyuga girl stammer.
"I'm, I'm sorry I didn't mean to call you that, it's just I know how much you meant to Naruto-kun during the time you two were together. And though it hurt me deeply seeing you with Naruto-kun, I was happy for the both of you that you had found one another. I'm sorry for striking you, but I just got angry at hearing you denigrate the time you shared with him."
"It's ok, I guess I deserved that. This is just hard for me, knowing I've given up everything to try and find and be with Naruto only to learn that I'm too late, he's yours once again."
"I understand what you're feeling. I remember feeling jealous every time I saw you two together, even though I had no right to. I was married to Kiba which was my own fault due to my weakness, but even though you're my friend, I was still jealous because it was you with Naruto-kun and not me."
Ino just sat there stunned and stared at Hinata. It never occurred to her that the Hyuga girl could sympathize with what she was feeling. Ino realized it must have been torture for Hinata seeing her true love with someone else. Ino was about to respond when the Hyuga girl spoke once more.
"But I won't apologize for being with Naruto now. I too have given up everything to be with him. My home, my family, my clan, everything! I have nothing left for me back in the Leaf village other than hate and scorn from everyone, but I don't care. Naruto has taken me back into his life and I would rather die than to be apart from him ever again! I hope you can understand that?"
"I understand, I'm sorry if I made you feel guilty in being with him. Do you still love him like before?"
"I never stopped loving him." Hinata answered with no hesitation and absolute certainty in her voice."
"I see I'm happy for you Hinata." Ino stated while looking back down towards the ground.
"Do you still love him Ino?" Hinata nervously asked, a little scared of what the answer would be. Ino could only laugh to herself, as she wrapped her arms around her to keep from collapsing in tears.
"Yes, I still love him! I love him more than I have anyone else in my entire life."
Hinata could only gaze down, as she had no words to say to help ease the pain her friend was feeling. Before the Hyuga heiress could think of anything to say, she heard Ino declare with remorse.
"But it doesn't matter that I still love him, he hates me! I have nothing left anymore, Naruto-kun was one of only two people I had in my life that I truly cared about more than myself. And now knowing that he's gone from me forever, I'm just alone and the worst part about it is I can never replace him. Because no matter how long or hard I try, nothing can change the fact that I stupidly threw away best guy in the world." Ino shouted to herself in frustration.
"I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell out like that. You must think I'm pretty pathetic right now." Ino stated with embarrassment, bashfully avoiding eye contact with Hinata.
"No, I don't think you're pathetic. You could never be pathetic in my eyes." Hinata replied with sincerity, as she pulled the Yamanaka girl into a hug.
"Th, thank you Hinata, that means the world to me." Ino stated as a tear rolled down her cheek while hugging her friend a little bit tighter when she heard the Hyuga girl ask.
"Ino, can I ask you something? You mentioned someone else that you care about as deeply as Naruto-kun; can't you find happiness with that person?"
Ino's face went beet red and she pulled away from Hinata's embrace and turning her head away said with a tinge of sadness.
"I wish I could, but that other person has recently found someone else. Not that it matters, I wouldn't dare think of revealing my feelings to this other person for fear of ruining our friendship."
"But, even if this other person is in a relationship, you should still tell them your feelings and let them decide."
"I, I don't know, I'm scared of what they might think or do if I reveal my feelings."
"You said this person is a friend of yours, so if they are I'm sure everything will be alright."
After taking a few moments to contemplate what Hinata had said, Ino mustered up her courage and said.
"Well, like I said, there is someone else that I care for as deeply as I do Naruto-kun, and that person is…...you Hinata-chan."
Time seemed to stand still for Ino as she stared anxiously into Hinata's eyes waiting for her response. For her part, Hinata just sat there wide-eyed and with a blank expression on her face before she stammered out in bewilderment:
"Wha, what did you say?"
Ino smiled a bit at Hinata's confusion before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Hinata didn't move, as she was sure she was going to die from shock right then and there. In fact when she felt Ino's moist lips press against her own, without thinking, she opened her mouth in disbelief, which Ino took advantage of by sliding her tongue into the Hyuga girl's mouth.
Hinata's eyes widened in shock, as she felt Ino's tongue snake its way in her mouth and playfully tease her own. Hinata then felt Ino's hands on her hips and by then she had already pressed herself against Hinata gently lowering the practically frozen Hyuga girl to the ground.
Hinata wanted to stop her, wanted to break away, but the pleasure she was feeling from the kiss and from Ino's hands caressing her body was proving a difficult adversary to fight against, and she could feel herself losing the battle. Ino now had Hinata pinned under her making escape virtually impossible for the girl. Hinata moaned lustfully into Ino's mouth, as she felt the Yamanaka heiress squeeze her ass, while her other hand swept itself up Hinata's shirt to fondle the soft skin of her breasts. Hinata finally regained enough control and strength to move, as she turned her head around sharply to the side to break the kiss and cried out while panting in desire.
"S-Stop it Ino, I can't do this! I love Naruto-kun and I would never cheat on him, I couldn't do that to him, I'd rather die first!" Hinata said while hurriedly extricating herself from underneath the blonde kunoichi.
Tears started falling from Ino's eyes, as she buried her face in the palms of her hands and stammered out in sorrow.
"I'm, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to take it that far. I was only intending on giving you an innocent kiss. I don't know what came over me! Pl-please don't hate me Hinata, I don't think I could stand it if you did!"
"I-it's ok," Hinata replied, still quite flustered herself, as she tried to soothe the distraught Yamanaka heiress.
"I don't hate you, I was just taken by surprise, but I just don't know what to say now? I'm so confused; I thought you loved Naruto-kun?"
"I-I do love him Hinata, but over the years as we grew closer as friends, I also started developing feelings for you while still being madly in love with Naruto-kun." Ino replied in quiet earnest before continuing on to try and provide a better explanation.
"Hinata, I know it's hard to understand and I really don't know how to explain it either."
Ino fidgeted a bit, trying not to blush and upon failing to do so, reluctantly continued.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to you, but I still love Naruto-kun and I think I love you too. Because you and Naruto-kun are the only two people whose feelings I care about more than my own. I know it's hard to believe, but you and Naruto-kun are the two most important people in my life."
"Are, are you saying you're bisexual?"
"No, at least not in the way you think. Because as I know Naruto-kun is the only man I can ever truly love, I also know you're the only woman I can truly love as well. I've never had these feelings for any other man or woman, because I know I would never find anyone else as beautiful, kind, and as loving as the two of you." Ino replied with sincerity before a soft sob escaped her lips, as she sat on the ground and pulled her legs up to her chest, arms wrapped around them with her chin resting on her knees and in a pain-filled voice asked.
"I've ruined our friendship haven't I?"
Hinata had been listening intently to everything Ino had been saying and now gazing at her sullen friend, she made a decision that seemed totally outrageous and impulsive, but it also seemed to make total sense, as she stated while stuttering.
"No, you haven't ruined anything, I'm glad you told me. I, I care a great deal about you to and I know you love Naruto-kun deeply. S-so I wouldn't mind sh-sharing him with you."
"Do, do you really mean that Hinata?" Ino exclaimed in astonishment when she heard the Hyuga girl's suggestion.
"Yes, I want us to remain friends and I don't want you to see you hurt. You're my best friend, I couldn't have survived these last three years without you there to support me. And I couldn't stand to see you in pain because I'm with Naruto-kun. Plus, I feel really guilty for feeling this way and saying this, but I enjoyed our kiss." Hinata stated sheepishly while looking away from her blonde best friend.
Ino moved over and sat next to Hinata and put an arm around her shoulder in comfort. Hinata turned to face Ino once again who said with assurance.
"Don't feel guilty, if you know that you love Naruto-kun more than anything else in the entire world than you shouldn't feel ashamed. Thank you Hinata for making such an offer, but it doesn't matter, Naruto wants nothing to do with me, so the three of us being together in such a way is just a fantasy."
"I told you before Ino, Naruto-kun doesn't hate you. In fact just the opposite I think he still loves you because the only times I've ever seen him get that upset, it's usually with someone he cares for very deeply. Let me talk to him, but I'll need some time ok?"
Ino nodded her head in understanding, before both women rose to their feet. As they made their way to the entrance of the tent, Hinata turned around and with a mischievous spark in her eye stated.
"You know, Naruto-kun is many things, but he's also still a man. So I think he would find it totally hot if he knew I wanted to be with you and him at the same time."
Ino grew wide-eyed in surprise upon hearing Hinata's declaration and even more shocked when the Hyuga girl leaned in to place a passionate kiss upon her lips. After a moment the initial shock wore off and Ino fervently returned said kiss with eager enthusiasm before both girls finally broke away from one another and exited the tent giggling.
Authors Notes: I present to you chapter 25 for your enjoyment. Not an extremely lengthy chapter, but an important one to the story. I added about another 1000 word count to the chapter, but with no major changes from the original, there were quite a few subtle ones throughout the chapter that required a bit of rewriting. Most of it was to help the flow of the chapter and some grammar issues. Kudos to all of you who recognized at the end of chapter 24 that scene being eerily similar to a hospital rooftop from the manga many years ago. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'm anxious to see what your reviews will be for it.
I do wish to thank everyone both old and new readers who took the time to review my last chapter. For those of you who did review, you all had a lot to say about it and I'm pleased that this story has such a strong fan base with readers who actually write out well thought-out reviews. Because of that, I enjoy reading many of your reviews, so please leave lots of them, as they do help a writer get a sense of the thoughts and opinions of the fans of a story. They also can help lift the spirits of an author as well. Also, to any readers who are staff members to any C2 communities, please feel free to add my story to your community if you feel it is worthy of it. I won't mind, I swear. I'll even pinkie swear if I need to?
News:
Recently, I've alerted my readers to a couple of polls set up on each of their accounts by the fine authors brown phantom and Zentary asking the question.
Who is the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site?
Zentary's poll has remained open and is still active.
Regrettably, brown phantom has ended his poll on this question. However, he has started a new poll asking,
Which is the best Naruto fan fiction story on this site?
So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 author picks to please place a vote for me in Zentary's poll. And if you feel my story "Naruto vs. Sasuke: The Aftermath" or any of my stories are worthy of being voted for in brown phantom's new poll, please place a vote for them. I thank you in advance for your support and normally I would provide you the links to the profile pages for both brown phantom and Zentary. However, one of the "oh so wonderful" changes FFnet has recently made is making it more difficult to list a link anywhere even if it's a link on their own freaking site. So just do a quick search for the authors, brown phantom and Zentary.
*Of note, brown phantom recently informed me that "Naruto vs. Sasuke The Aftermath" currently sits in 13th place on his poll. Now I'm not so arrogant to think I should be number one, but I do believe that my story is at least deserving of a Top 10 ranking. So please help me out if you can by voting for it.
Sadly, this story was in 43rd place.
End of News:
Thanks for your support of this story and take it easy!
Kingkakashi