Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Flashback:
"Shikamaru, Choji, what are you guys doing?" Ino asked her friends.
"There was some weird guy up there spying on us." Shikamaru said. She looked up to where he was pointing, and only saw a man in an orange and black jumpsuit. He had familiar blond hair, and without even needing any more information, she knew who it was.
"That's not some weird guy, that's Naruto. Narutoo! You have to tell me about your trip later on!" She yelled.
He jumped down from the roof he was on, and came jogging back. As he got closer, she got to see his face up close. His huge grin no longer seemed too big on his face, instead fitting nicely within his matured face. His cheeks were still a little chubby, but it made him cute. His hair was a bit longer, and it drooped a little over his headband, giving him a sort of messy look. She couldn't admire the rest of his physical appearance yet, lest it look like she was checking him out, but so far she couldn't believe how nicely puberty treated him. "Hey Ino. It's good to see you again." he said.
Her breath caught in her throat for a split second, but none of them noticed. "Hey Naruto, it's great to see you too." She turned to Shikamaru and Choji. "I have to get going. I came down this alleyway because I saw you two." She turned back to Naruto. "We should catch up sometime." She smiled at him, which he returned, and ran off. She wasn't lying, as she really had to go, but she was glad she had that excuse because she didn't know how long she could talk to him without flustering a bit.
—
Ino had just gotten word that Sakura's team had just returned from their mission to get Sasuke. She and her team rushed over, asked the receptionist for their room, and made it there quickly. Kakashi was in a bed, and his 3 subordinates, including a new one who reminded her of Sasuke: stoic, broody, too-cool-for-you attitude, and not to mention the pale skin and dark hair.
Asuma said he needed to talk to Kakashi alone, and that they should go to the barbecue place, something which Choji readily agreed to. They walked out of the room and through the halls of the hospital. They made it to the barbecue place, and they gave them a table. There were 2 seats on either side, and one at the end of the table. Sai sat next to her, and midway through the meal, he called her beautiful. She laughed and thanked him for the compliment, trying to push the thought out of her mind telling her that she wished Naruto would've commented on her changed appearance after his time away.
—
[Twelve Guardian Ninja Filler Arc] They all sat around a yakitori grill, waiting for their food. The power had returned to the village, and they arrested the perpetrators. Sora had just left, and they wanted to spend some time with each other, especially Naruto, considering he'd been away at missions for most of the time he'd been back. They were chatting amicably with each other until Kiba drew attention to himself.
"Uh, Naruto?" he asked.
"What's up?" He asked, turning to his friend.
"What happened? With Sora?" he asked. The other people at the table nodded, and Naruto turned to his sensei.
"What do I do?" he whispered.
"It's up to you, Naruto. You're the only one who's legally allowed to speak about it." Kakashi said. "But I can guarantee that they will still accept you. They're your friends, and they're all good people."
Naruto looked down, and turned back to the group. He sighed audibly, and they all leaned forward, eager to know the story.
"I'm just going to get straight to the point. I have the Nine Tailed Fox sealed inside me." He said. Ino was shocked, but she wasn't at the same time. They already knew something was very different about him, and they had just seen him transform into some sort of beast with tails made of chakra. At this point, there was no reason to be surprised by any new revelation about Naruto, even if the revelation was that the beast that almost destroyed their village was sealed inside Naruto, struggling to get out. In a sense, she was relieved. If it had been sealed inside anyone else, the beast would have a much easier time trying to get out. But the Fourth's (or Naruto's father's, she should say) seal, paired with Naruto's obnoxiously strong head, seemed like a very daunting opponent for it. After all, just last night they'd seen him fight off the Kyuubi's influence on sheer willpower.
"This makes so much sense. Everything fits now." Shikamaru mumbled. Naruto stared at him with questioning eyes, so he explained.
"We always wondered how you were able to heal so fast. And why you had extra chakra to use against Neji. And how you can produce hundreds upon hundreds of clones. And how you can summon the Chief of Toads." Shikamaru said.
"How did you know I could do all those things?" Naruto asked.
"The day you left, we all started talking about the cool things you've done, and it all came out there." Neji said.
"I didn't know you were the so-" Kiba started.
"I got to talk about your accomplishments; I was so proud." Kakashi said, shooting the Inuzuka a glare when Naruto wasn't looking.
At his sensei's praise, Naruto seemed to forget about what Kiba was going to say. He smiled, until the question he'd been dreading was asked.
"So you have a demon sealed in you?" Shino asked.
Naruto nodded glumly, knowing his friends would see him differently now. He had a good run with them, and he'd never forget the memories he made with them.
"And you can draw on its power?" Kiba asked. At Naruto's nod, he remarked that it was cool.
"It's not cool. It's not cool at all. He talks to me. Tells me things I don't want to hear," Naruto said cryptically. "Not to mention the village hated me."
"The village hated you?" Tenten asked.
"Yeah." He responded, his lack of explanation signifying that he didn't want to talk about it. The atmosphere had become tense, and nobody seemed to be making any sign to lighten it. Ino decided she'd do it herself.
"I for one am glad that it's sealed in you and not someone else. We'd be fucked if it was any of us." She said. "You're like our constant protector."
"Yeah." Choji joined in. "You're the reason the attack was stopped, and the rest of the village was spared."
He looked up at his two friends with a small smile on his face. They were glad that they made him feel better, and they didn't lie one bit. "Thanks, guys." he said.
The two nodded, and as if right on cue, the chef said their food was ready. The atmosphere was significantly lighter than it was 30 seconds ago, and it made for a great environment for eating.
The three of them stood there, facing Kakuzu. Kakashi had taken a heart, and Shikamaru just took a heart, but they were nowhere near done. They hadn't even taken half of them, and Kakashi was tired. It was starting to look like it wouldn't work out for them, and they'd be meeting Asuma soon.
Kakuzu seemed to be getting impatient, and pulled out the mask with a fire affinity. He sent out a wall of fire, and in all their heads, they thought it was the end. The heat started to engulf them, and they looked for a way out, but the fire was too large to run around, and too fast to outrun.
But then, a typhoon emerged from nowhere and collided with the fire, effectively nullifying it. Steam clouded the clearing, and as it faded away, she saw Team Kakashi/Yamato.
They joined them, stepping in front of them.
"More strange people. And this one's pretty messed up already," Kakuzu said, looking at Naruto. She and Choji looked at him, and saw that he was covered in dirt, and his clothes were tattered a bit.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Choji asked.
"Where's Shikamaru?" he asked back.
"He's a little ways away, fighting the other enemy."
"Two of you go to help Shikamaru. Preferably a long range fighter and a medic." Kakashi said. Sai and Sakura agreed to go, and they followed Pakkun.
"This one is mine." Naruto said, stepping in front of them.
"Naruto…" Ino said, scared that he'd put himself in that kind of danger.
He created 2 shadow clones and sent them out to attack Kakuzu. He easily beat them all, and Naruto determined from that attack that he'd need another one. He created three, and one of them stood guard as the other two created a jutsu she'd never seen before in his hand. A loud and painful ringing sound was being emitted from the jutsu, and that sound alone told her it was dangerous.
"Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" He yelled. The three clones ran ahead of him, forcing the masks and Kakuzu to tend to them, taking their attention away from the real Naruto. The real Naruto ran at him while he was occupied by the clones, and found an opening to land the jutsu. He was about to hit Kakuzu, when it suddenly died out.
Naruto tried jumping away but Kakuzu's string grabbed him. He threatened to take Naruto's heart, and he would've had it not been for Yamato's wood style coming from the side, en route to decapitate him. He had to duck to avoid the trunk, and Kakashi used that distraction to cut the strings binding Naruto and take him back.
She was actually scared for him, but now that he was safe, she decided to poke a little fun. "Gee, acting all tough… That is so Naruto."
"You called it Rasenshuriken, so I thought you'd let it fly," Choji said. "Do you have to run and punch?"
"Hey, when it hits the target it does some serious damage!" Naruto yelled.
"It's a point blank jutsu, that's why it needs shadow clones as a diversion." Yamato said.
"The jutsu is too short. It only lasted a couple seconds" Kakashi observed.
"You'll never hit the target like that. Not against someone like him." Choji said.
"Please let me try again. I'll finish him with my jutsu." Naruto requested. Ino thought it was ridiculous. This man had fought against the First Hokage. There was absolutely no way he'd fall for the same thing again.
"You're going up against the Akatsuki." Ino said. "If you do the same thing, he'll just dodge it."
"If he detects the diversion, we're done for." Choji said. "Let's fight him together."
"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said. "Do you remember what you told me during my training? You said you believe I'm the only shinobi who can surpass the Fourth Hokage. I know teamwork is important. And I know this is a risky path. Even so, I want to take that risk alone. If I can't do this, I'll never grow up. So please… Please… Don't take this path away from me."
"Yamato, what do you think?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah… After all, you haven't seen it yet." Yamato said. "You haven't seen that he's a completely different Naruto now."
Kakuzu's hairs extended a great deal, to the point that his headband flew off. It seemed like he was switching to a long range attack style. None of them knew how Naruto could get his jutsu to hit.
Naruto created his shadow clones, and created the jutsu. They didn't know why he'd do the exact same thing again, but they had to trust him. After all, he was the most unpredictable person they knew.
The clones charged at him, but Kakuzu knew what they'd do. He jumped over the diversionary clones, and actually flew over them, targeting Naruto.
"Oh no! He's reading him!" Ino screamed.
"I knew he'd go with a long ranged attack." Kakashi said. Kakuzu's hairs launched themselves at Naruto, created a huge cloud of dust, obscuring their vision of the battlefield. When the dust cleared, they saw Kakuzu standing over Naruto, who was impaled in multiple spots by the hairs.
Her heart broke. She knew they shouldn't have let him go, but they trusted him. They trusted him too much. He literally did the same attack again. Who in their right mind would do that on a Kage level shinobi? It was absolutely idiotic. It was idiotic of them to trust a moron like Naruto, and it was idiotic of Naruto to think that could possibly succeed.
Her thoughts were cut short when the Naruto that Kakuzu stabbed burst into a cloud. The sorrow she felt was replaced by confusion. Where was the real one?
Her question was answered when she heard the tell-tale ringing of his new jutsu. They all looked above Kakuzu, where they saw the Naruto clones flanking the real Naruto, who was holding another Rasenshuriken.
Genius, Ino thought. He hid among the other clones, knowing Kakuzu would forego them. It was so simple! So simple, that nobody thought of it!
In the next moments, however, her admiration and respect for him increased at a much higher rate. The jutsu hit Kakuzu, and he was sent flying over their heads. When it was ready to detonate, it stopped, along with him, in midair, and created a huge blue explosion. The force of the wind that accompanied it was so immense that it pushed them back a few feet. When it subsided, Kakuzu fell lifeless in a crater, the size of which was unprecedented to her. She had no idea he had that much power within him, and it scared her a bit.
She and Choji turned around to look at the person who made that attack. He lay on the ground next to the huge trunk that Yamato made. She and Choji rushed over to him, and she quickly started healing him.
"You had me scared for a second." She whispered into his ear.
"Why, you don't trust me?" He responded cheekily.
"We thought you died." She said as she gave him a little slap on the head.
"Well, it's nice to know you care." He said.
"Of course I care." She said, putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing herself up. She offered her hand to him and pulled him up as well. She gave him a small smile, and he gave her one as well.
She learned from Sakura later that he had combined a Rasengan with his wind nature, something that even the Fourth couldn't accomplish. She also learned that he created it in a week, and it was so dangerous that he was forbidden from using it again. She never would've imagined one of her friends, especially not Naruto, being capable of using an S-rank jutsu at their age.
The more time they spent together as a group, the more time she spent focusing on Naruto. When someone else was speaking, she would sneak glances at him; when someone cracked a joke, she'd look over to see if he was laughing; when he was speaking, she found herself listening intently, reveling in the sound of his voice. She kept thinking about him at random times in the day, and it was starting to unnerve her. Was she falling for Naruto? No, it couldn't be. He was definitely not her type. If he wasn't her type, then what was? She broke it down logically, all feelings and subtle glances aside.
It wasn't dark and moody, since she didn't like Sasuke or Sai, despite their pretty faces. It wasn't portly and cute, nor was it mature and cunning, like Choji and Shikamaru, since she saw him as brothers. Sure they all had admirable characteristics, but they didn't fit her nature. She definitely wasn't into Shino, Lee was too… youthful? And definitely not Neji; he seemed way too formal and philosophical for her. That left Kiba and Naruto, since they were very similar. She liked the combinations of qualities they had to offer, but she favored being around Naruto more. She enjoyed his presence, and his smile was contagious. She couldn't help but be happy around him, and she always felt inspired. It was as if he had the power to lift up everyone around him by just being himself. He always saw the good in people, and he never treated anyone like less than a friend, even if they tried to kill him (Sasuke, Gaara, and Sora).
I am falling for Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, the kid who I used to hate; the kid who I thought would amount to nothing; the kid who now might actually realize his pipedream of becoming Hokage. My entire world has been turned upside down, she thought.