Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Sakura was elated. She and Sasuke had been chatting nonstop (as close to nonstop as Sasuke can get with his brooding). It was quiet, and they were sitting by the fire they'd made at their rest stop. She was enjoying his company while he sat there and kept his gaze locked onto the fire. Wait. Why is it quiet? She realized Naruto wasn't speaking; in fact, he hadn't spoken for that whole trip.
"Naruto?" she asked him.
He looked up at her with blank eyes. This worried her a lot. She scooted over to him, and put her arm around him. He flinched at the touch and tried to scoot away but she kept a firm hold on him.
"Naruto what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Come on, tell me what's bothering you."
"Nothing is bothering me."
She sighed. Naruto was the most stubborn person she'd ever met, and she knew he wouldn't break no matter how many times she bothered him. She was still worried about him, so she gave him a peck on the forehead and went back to her spot, wondering what could have him so quiet.
—
Ino flipped to the next page of her book. She was sitting on her couch, reading to pass the time till she met up with Temari, Hinata, and Tenten to go to Ichiraku's again. Earlier in the day, she asked Tenten if she would join her, and she agreed, since she'd never tried their ramen before.
When they sat down in the restaurant for lunch, a woman with brown hair, maybe 10 years older than them, greeted them with a wide smile. It was contagious, and they couldn't help but return it. They exchanged names, and the girls took their seats. She asked them what she could get them, and they said they didn't know what to get.
"You're friends with Naruto right?" Ayame asked.
"I guess. How did you know?"
"He's talked about you before."
She looked down, so Ayame wouldn't notice her blush. "Oh. Yeah, I'm friends with him. What did he say about me?"
"He was talking about his friends. He said that he misjudged you, and that he thought you were… bitchy and annoying."
Ino gasped a little, hurt that Naruto used to think that about her. "He did?"
"Yes. He said it was because you were a Sasuke fangirl, and you hated everything he did." she said with a laugh.
Ino's mood was undoubtedly ruined. Naruto used to hate her and it was entirely her fault. Her desire to fit in and her obsession with Sasuke, two things she regretted, were what pushed Naruto away from her from the very start. If she had been nicer to him, maybe he'd like her and not Sakura. But Sakura treated him the same way; if anything she treated him worse. So, why did he like her?
"Would you like to try his special?" Ayame asked, bringing her away from her current thoughts.
"He has a special?" Tenten cut in.
"Yep. He's been coming since he was a child, and always gets the same thing. We don't even have to ask him what he wants when he comes."
"Wow. I'll try that." Ino said.
"That's not the only Naruto Special you wanna try though." Tenten muttered under breath. She laughed at the scandalized expression she received from her friend. She turned to Ayame, "I'll try shoyu with pork slices, please."
"Sounds great, I'll have that right out." Ayame assured.
Just then a man in his mid 50s came from the back of the stand. He saw them and also greeted them with a smile. He introduced himself as Teuchi, Ayame's father.
"Sakura said that you and your daughter had amazing customer service, and she wasn't lying. I feel like I'm part of your family." Tenten said.
Teuchi chuckled. "That's great to hear. I do try to treat every customer as if they were my family. You know Sakura?"
They both nodded, and Teuchi continued. "Then you must know Naruto too?"
"Yes. Life would be so dull if we didn't." Ino said.
Teuchi let out a hearty chuckle at that statement, nodding his head to signify his agreement with it. "I remember the first day he came in here with Iruka. It was the day before his graduation exam, and he'd painted over the stone faces. Iruka felt like he needed a pick-me-up, so he treated him here."
"Is that the first time you met him?" Ino asked.
"Oh no, not at all. I believe he was 6?" he said, turning to Ayame for confirmation, continuing when she nodded, "He looked upset, so I offered him a bowl."
They talked about Naruto's endeavors, and his rise from a failure to a candidate for Hokage until Ayame served them their food.
Ino grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and chose to take it slowly, unlike Tenten who was eating almost as fast as Naruto. Her first bite was like paradise in her mouth. "Now I know why Naruto likes ramen so much," she said.
Teuchi and Ayame chuckled as well, but they knew the real reason Naruto liked ramen so much: they were the first people aside from the Hokage to treat him like a human rather than a vessel, or the demon itself. He told them after the war that he associates ramen with spending quality time with his first friends.
As Ino remembered the meal, she realized she wasn't going back merely because it was mouth-watering. Of course, that was a good enough reason to go back, but their attitudes towards customers made the food taste that much better.
—
Temari put on a little bit of mascara and some lipstick; she wasn't known to wear makeup, but it made her feel pretty. Her brother Kankuro walked in her room, and adopted a confused look when he saw his sister applying makeup.
"Got a date?" He asked.
"No, just going to dinner with the girls."
"Is Ino going to be there?"
"Yes, why?"
"She's hot. I was wondering if you could talk me up a little."
If Ino hadn't made it clear that she had a soft spot for the third blond in their group, she would've agreed; but she wasn't going to confuse Ino, and she certainly wasn't going to take a strong, smart, and beautiful woman like her away from Naruto, someone who deserved the world. The man definitely could use someone to make him happy, and she had a feeling Ino could fill that role.
"Sorry, bro."
"Aw, come on. Why not?"
"She already has someone on her mind."
"Who?"
"That's classified information."
He sighed. He bet it was the Uchiha. Of course it was the Uchiha. The Uchiha had everything: the looks, the broody persona, intelligence, skill, the name, the eyes. Great, now he was in a bad mood. It was these self-deprecating spirals he went down that led him to the bottle. He walked out of the room and wished her a good night.
—
Tenten was still hanging out with Neji. After their training session, they both went home to shower, and Ino came by at the perfect time to invite her to lunch. They ate, and after that Tenten and Neji went roller-skating. She was terrible at it, but of course Neji's balance was perfect. Neither would admit it, but it worked out nicely since they always had to be in close proximity so he could keep her upright. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and as much as she loved her girls, she was starting to regret agreeing to go to dinner with them.
She told Neji about her plans for dinner, and he offered to walk her to the stand. She didn't expect him to do that, but she wasn't complaining.
When they reached the restaurant, none of her friends were there. Neji said he didn't want to leave her without company, and offered to stay with her until someone came.
—
Kiba smiled as he breathed in the scent of his girlfriend. He opened his eyes and was met with a tangle of dark blue hair, not that he was complaining. He thought Hinata looked beautiful no matter how she presented herself. In fact, he thought she was prettiest when she woke up; she didn't seem to understand how, even though she thought he was cutest in the morning too.
"Nice nap." he stated when she stirred.
She just hummed and snuggled closer to him.
"Where are you guys going for dinner?"
"Ichiraku's."
Kiba's stomach dropped. Why was she going to Naruto's favorite restaurant? What made them choose his favorite? Did Hinata like him? He was certain Temari and Tenten had their eyes on someone else, and he thought there was no way Ino would ever like him, but he was quickly proven wrong.
"Ino likes Naruto, so we suggested she try and understand his love for ramen." she explained.
Despite how odd that revelation was, he let out a breath of relief, which Hinata noticed.
"What was that for?" she asked.
Should he lie? He didn't think she'd appreciate him not trusting her feelings for him, but maybe she'd understand considering she liked Naruto for so long.
"I was scared that you still liked Naruto, and I thought maybe that's why you chose Ichiraku's." he admitted. Instead of getting mad like he expected her to, she laughed. She looked up at him and cupped his face.
"Aww, you were jealous? Sweetie, you know I only have eyes for you. I can't see him that way anymore." she assured him, reinforcing her statement with a kiss. He couldn't help but smile. "Unfortunately neither can Sakura, so he's in for a nasty surprise."
"Damn." He said with a humorless laugh. "The guy just can't catch a break."
"Yeah. He's been through so much, especially as a child. It actually surprises me that he didn't turn out like Gaara was."
"He has every right to. I know I would've."
She got up, saying she was going to take a shower.
"Wanna join me?" she asked sultrily.
He didn't realize what she was asking at first, but the moment he understood he grinned and jumped off the bed before she could retract her offer.
—
Temari and Ino arrived, and they smirked at the sight before them. Tenten and Neji sat there, deep in conversation.
"Hey guys." Ino said.
They looked over, and Neji turned back to Tenten and wished her a good night. He nodded at the two girls at the entrance, who returned a smile.
"Bye, Neji," Hinata called as she approached the stand. He turned around and raised a hand.
Hinata stepped through the curtains, and greeted her friends. She shook hands with Ayame and Teuchi. As she took her seat, Teuchi asked them what they wanted.
"I'll get what I got last time." Ino said, too embarrassed to call it the Naruto Special. Unfortunately, Teuchi and Ayame picked up on how she left out his name, and they wanted to have some fun with it. They looked at each other and Teuchi spoke.
"Oh, the Naruto Special right?" He said, smiling.
Ino groaned and put her head in her hands.
"The Naruto Special huh?" Temari said. "I'll take that as well; Ino isn't the only one that thinks Naruto's special, is she?"
Ino faked a smile at Temari.
"I'll have what I had last time." Tenten said.
"And I'll do the miso with beef, please." Hinata said.
"Ino, since Sakura's not here, what do you honestly think about him liking her? We promise we won't tell anyone." Tenten asked.
Ino sighed. What did she think about it? "I guess I feel bad for him, objectively, but jealous, subjectively."
Temari nodded her head. "That's a much better answer than I was expecting. I was under the impression that you just held hatred towards her."
Ino shook her head sadly. "It's not her fault, and I certainly can't blame him for liking her."
Hinata used to think the same thing, but she didn't want to discourage Ino by implying that she'd have to give up on him as well, so she kept her mouth shut. After all, it wasn't like she was forced to give up. It was her own decision to let him go.
"Well, I think you can make your way into his heart. At least he doesn't think you're a bitch anymore." Tenten said, and she immediately realized her mistake. "No, no that's not what I meant—"
"No, you're right." Ino interrupted. "You remember what he said." She turned to the other two girls. "He used to think I'm bitchy and annoying. And he's the savior of the shinobi world; he can have almost anyone he wants, so why would he pick me?"
"He used to Ino. Key word: used. Not anymore." Tenten said.
"Naruto isn't the type to hold grudges, especially not over something that happened in the academy." Teuchi added.
"I think you're missing a couple things Ino." Hinata said. "Naruto spent almost the entirety of his ninja career trying to bring back a man who flat out refused to, tried to kill him for it, and stole all of the attention of the girl he liked; but he never gave up, and never once did he hold a grudge against him. He greeted Sasuke with open arms, even during their last fight."
"He told us about Obito." Ayame chopped in. "Obito is the reason that his parents are dead, and he's the reason that Naruto was stuck with the fox; Obito is the reason the rest of the village loathed him. He threatened the existence of our world, and he tried to kill Naruto by taking his tailed beast. But what did Naruto do? He forgave him without Obito wanting it. He convinced Obito to see reason, to come back. And he doesn't hold a shred of animosity towards the man."
"Looks like you're in the clear." Temari said.
"Thanks guys." Ino felt much better, but it didn't erase her guilt. "I'm still going to apologize to him."
"And you should. That'll probably get you a lot of brownie points with him." Tenten said.
Teuchi handed out Ino's, Temari's, and Hinata's ramen, and they asked Ayame about her own life.
"What if you started a new branch of Ichiraku's?" Temari asked. "It would be a success in Suna, I can guarantee that."
"Father says he wants to keep it local. I personally think everyone should be able to experience it, but I don't know if we'd be able to find anyone who could cook it as well as him."
"Are you an only child?" Tenten asked.
"No, but my sister died in the Kyuubi attack."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But that really says a lot about you guys. The fact that you befriended Naruto after all that… does he know?"
"No. If he knew he would never forgive himself."
He handed out Tenten's, and she dug in. Of course, she was the first one done. As they ate, Ino regaled them about the time she got lost in the Cloud Village.
Once again, they had a lot of fun, going as far as drawing up a plan to make Ichiraku's the best ramen chain in the world. They all went home and fell asleep peacefully, glad that they had the friends that they did.
—
Flashback:
They arrived at the hospital, and received news that everyone involved in the mission was recovering, and that their lives were not in danger anymore. They went to see Choji and Shikamaru since his room came first.
Sakura felt Shikamaru was being too hard on himself. It was his first mission, and those people seemed a lot stronger than them, yet everyone came back alive. Ino explained that if things aren't executed perfectly, he considers them failures. It was a side effect of always doing well on intellect-based tasks. He expects himself to take care of everything since that's the way it's been his whole life.
Choji was sleeping, but Tsunade assured them that he would make a full recovery.
They went to visit Naruto next, and she half-expected Sakura to yell at him for failing. But when they caught sight of him laying in his bed, covered from head to toe in bandages, her mind went blank.
Sakura rushed over to him, and gripped him in a hug. He started apologizing to her, which Ino found absurd. Sakura told him it was okay. She walked to the door and stopped.
"Wait for me. I'll be ready next time." she said, and left.
Ino walked over to Naruto, determined to find out what just happened.
"Ino, aren't you coming?" Sakura asked. Ino turned around and saw Sakura standing in the doorway.
"No, I'm going to talk to Naruto for a bit. You go on ahead."
With a frown and furrowed brows, Sakura left. Ino sat down in the chair next to his bed, and got right to the point.
"Why were you apologizing to her?" she asked.
He thought for a moment. He couldn't think of any reason to lie, and he couldn't think of any reason to lie with.
"I made a promise to her. I promised I would get Sasuke back."
"But don't you like her?"
"Yeah. Wait, how do you know?!" he asked.
"You're not very subtle about it. Everyone knows."
He pouted, and Ino continued, trying to ignore the thought in her head saying it was cute. "If Sasuke is gone, then wouldn't that leave room for you?"
"Yes. But I wouldn't want her to settle for me. She wouldn't be happy with me even if she was stupid enough to date me," he said, not meeting her eye.
Her heart broke at his admittance. He liked her so much that he'd sacrifice his own happiness for hers. She felt a whirlwind of emotions: pity that the boy had already accepted that she'd never like him, anger that her friend/rival couldn't see just what she had, and something that she didn't want to acknowledge: jealousy that Sakura had someone who was willing to risk his life and his own happiness so she can be happy.
"That's not the only reason I went after him, though. He's like my brother. He's blinded by hatred for his brother. I need to pull him out of his darkness. He needs to see that he can get strong here, and he doesn't have to go to Orochimaru. I'm the only one he can relate to."
It hit her like a truck. Under that happy facade was a broken and lonely boy. A boy who had to grow up without parents. That's why he was the only one who could bring Sasuke back. "He can get strong here." She agreed.
He nodded his head, and continued. "He said I was his closest friend. I told him he was the brother I never had, and he said that was exactly why he had to break our bond. If he stayed tied to me he could never become strong enough to take on his brother."
"So he's technically better than Gaara. And that's still not good enough to take on Itachi."
He raised an eyebrow at this. "What makes you say he's better than Gaara?"
"Sakura told me that you beat Gaara. And if he beat you, then he could beat Gaara."
"Sasuke used his curse mark this time around. And no, Itachi took out the entire Uchiha clan by himself, so it'll be a while before Sasuke can match him."
She disregarded his second statement in favor of the first. The curse mark. She remembered the marks on the left side of his body in the Forest of Death, and murder in his eyes. It seemed that despite how cold Sasuke usually was, the look in his eyes then made his normal self seem as jolly and happy-go-lucky as Lee. Naruto faced that? And the nurse said he was stable? That all he was left with was a scar?
"How are you still moving?" she asked.
"I heal fast. Like really fast."
"The nurse said you have a scar."
His face fell. He nodded his head slightly and murmured a confirmation.
"He used a Chidori on me."
She audibly gasped at this.
Ino was starting to lose feelings for Sasuke. She'd already dropped the -kun in his name. In the time she spent with her team, he barely crossed her mind. Maybe since they were in the same class, he was always there, and that made it hard not to fawn over him?
Now this incident: he had left the village, essentially branding himself as a rogue ninja, in search of an S-class criminal who could give him power. Sakura told her why he did it, and although his motives were noble, it was a selfish move.
Why couldn't he have become strong in Konoha? He had the talent to do it, and he had the ambition. Konoha had produced many of the most powerful ninja in history; after all, the man he was hunting and the man he was seeking were both former Leaf ninja. He was a traitor, plain and simple.
If there was one thing that she hated, it was traitors. When the Hokage taught them about the Will of Fire, she was inspired. She knew her dad was very important in the village, and she wanted to be a great ninja like him. She vowed to become strong and do her share to protect Konoha. The Will of Fire burned bright within her, but not within traitors, so she didn't hold them in high esteem.
To top it all off, she knew what a Chidori could do. It was extremely dangerous, and it was said that Kakashi created that one himself. Sasuke used that on a Leaf shinobi? He used it on his own teammate? A boy he'd bled for, and a boy who'd bled for him? It was absolutely despicable.