Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
When they entered inside, they made a beeline to Teuchi, and Mirai told him she wanted to eat ramen. Teuchi, of course, was delighted to hear that the birthday girl wanted ramen, and agreed happily. He also said they could sleep at his house if they liked, and they could eat more ramen in the morning. Naruto and Mirai were very excited about this part.
They ate a bit, and split off to go and talk to their friends. At 8:45, Kurenai stopped the party and kindly asked everyone to go home, saying that Mirai needed to go to sleep. Everyone said their goodbyes to the birthday girl, wishing her one last time. By 8:55, everyone except Teuchi, Ayame, Naruto and Ino were gone.
And by 9, Kurenai was ready to go, holding a tightly bundled Mirai, with a duffel bag of nightly baby things. It had gotten much colder than they had anticipated, and the moment they stepped out, Ino felt the change in weather. She shivered a little, and wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to keep warm.
Naruto, being the gentleman he was, took off his jacket and placed it over Ino's shoulders. She appreciated his scent for a second, before acknowledging his gesture. She looked over to thank him and saw that he only had a t-shirt on.
"Aren't you cold?" She asked him.
"Nah, Kurama keeps me warm when I need it."
"Is Kurama the Fox's name?"
"Yeah. He likes it when I call him that."
"Did you think of it?"
"No, his creator did." he said. She nodded and made a sound of understanding. It was common knowledge now that the Sage of Six Paths created Tailed Beasts.
"Teuchi-san, I have to get my stuff." Ino told him.
"That's quite alright, just see where my apartment is and you can go." He said.
"I know where it is." Naruto chimed in.
"Oh, in that case go ahead." The old man said.
They split off as Naruto and Ino made their way to their houses. Ino wanted to move out but didn't think she should leave her mother in the house alone. When they reached Naruto's house she told him she'd meet him at his house so they could go together. He didn't want to leave her alone at night, but he had to remind himself that she was a ninja as well, and should something happen, she could definitely take care of it.
He entered his apartment and packed whatever he needed. He thought he'd bring his stuffed animals Gama and Kurama Jr. for Mirai to play with. He grabbed some clothes, his toothbrush, and his sleeping cap before heading out the door.
He thought he'd just go see Ino at her house since it didn't seem like she was done. He reached there just as she walked out of the flower shop and locked the door.
"Ready to go?" Naruto said from her side. She jumped at his sudden appearance and slapped him on the shoulder for scaring her.
"You scared me." She said.
"Sorry."
"I thought I was gonna get you?"
"Yeah, but you weren't there when I finished, so I thought I'd come get you."
"Alright. Let's go." she said, and they took off. "Are you excited?"
"Oh yeah, ramen at Teuchi's? It's like a dream come true." he said. A long silence passed before Ino broke it.
"Are you feeling better after tonight?" she asked carefully.
He turned to her with a genuine smile on his face. "Yeah, I am. Thank you."
She smiled right back. "Anytime."
They walked in companionable silence for another minute before arriving at Teuchi's compound. They trudged up the stairs to the third floor, and knocked on his door. Ayame opened the door and welcomed them inside. They were met with the smell of ramen and the sight of Mirai running up to them.
She ran up to them and Ino picked her up, carrying her to the table.
"Mirai, look what I have for you." He said, pulling out Gama and Kurama. She squealed and reached for the stuffed toys. Ino put her down and she ran to Naruto who was holding out the toad and the fox. She grabbed them and gave them both big hugs before running to her mother.
"What do you say to Uncle Naruto?" Kurenai asked her.
"Tank you!" Mirai said as the rest of them laughed.
Ino and Naruto took seats at the table, and joined the conversation between Kurenai and Ayame. Teuchi's dog came up to Naruto, and he put his hand out to let the dog sniff it. He started licking his hand, and Naruto gave him some pets in return.
"What's his name?" Ino asked.
"Kiyoshi." Ayame responded.
"Cute." She said. Kiyoshi noticed her, and left Naruto's side. Unlike his interaction with Naruto, Kiyoshi instead jumped up and put his paws on Ino's lap. She laughed and scratched behind his ears. Kiyoshi seemed to like it as he stuck his tongue out and closed his eyes.
"His owners were killed in the Kyuubi attack, so we took him in." Teuchi said.
Naruto's head drooped slowly, and she noticed his smile fade. She scooted her chair closer to him, and began rubbing his back slowly.
"It's not your fault, Naruto." She said softly. He didn't say anything, and kept his stare steady on his knees. "Why are you in a bad mood now? It's not your fault." she said, now with a little annoyance seeping into her voice.
"I know, but…" He started, before lowering his voice to barely a whisper. "I'll tell you later."
Teuchi took out 4 large bowls and a smaller one for Mirai. He poured the ramen in them and handed them out to his guests. He grabbed a treat and gave it to Kiyoshi before sitting down in front of his own bowl.
"Itadakimasu." Naruto said, now in a better mood due to the ramen in front of him.
Mirai took one bite, fed to her by her mother, and tried to grab the chopsticks from her. Kurenai held them out of her reach, not trusting her daughter to not make a mess. Mirai pouted but calmed down nonetheless.
"Do you like it?" Teuchi asked her. She nodded enthusiastically, and gobbled down the next bite her mother held in front of her. Teuchi laughed at her antics, and went back to eating his food.
"So, Naruto, does Sakura know?" Ayame asked.
He shook his head. "I asked Sasuke not to tell her. I don't want her to know she's the reason I'm feeling like I do."
"Uh, Naruto? She already knows." Ino said carefully. His head snapped over to look at her.
"How?" he said, his eyes narrowing. "You didn't tell her did you?"
"I didn't tell her. She figured it out."
"Oh. Sorry." He said lamely, poking at his noodles. "I guess she knows then."
"Wait, what's going on? I'm still out of the loop here." Kurenai said.
"I found out that Sakura sees me as her brother rather than as a romantic partner." Naruto said glumly.
"I'm sorry. I don't know why though. If I was 15 years younger, I'd probably like you." She said. He laughed at this, and the others felt a little relieved, seeing Naruto's spirits lifted.
"How does it feel now?" Ayame asked.
"I can bear it if I'm not around her. But the moment I see her, I break a little."
"At least you know you're healing." Teuchi said.
"Yeah." Naruto said. "It is what it is; I've gotten through worse."
"Definitely." Teuchi and Ayame said together.
"Your father was quite fond of Hiraishin, wasn't he? Are you planning to learn that?" Teuchi asked.
"No, the Jinchuuriki form gives me enough speed. But how do you know about Hiraishin?" Naruto responded.
"Uh, I used to be a shinobi. Ayame was supposed to, but I pulled her out." he said. He wasn't technically lying, just casually leaving out a certain part. The part about the reason that they quit was because his eldest daughter and wife died as ninja, and he wouldn't be able to take it if he lost his last family member.
"Oh, I didn't know that." Ino said.
"Yes. It was simply too dangerous, and she's my only daughter, so I wasn't going to take any chances."
They sat in silence, just enjoying their meals, until Kurenai broke it. "Shikamaru and Temari have gotten awfully close, haven't they? They always come by together."
Ino grinned at this. "I haven't talked to Shikamaru about it, but I know Temari likes him."
"The way they interact doesn't seem entirely platonic. I never thought I'd ever see Shikamaru flirt."
"Shikamaru openly flirts with her?" Ino asked eagerly. Kurenai nodded, and Ino tried to imagine the sight of Shikamaru trying to seduce someone. "I honestly never thought he'd take the time to like someone, much less actively pursue them."
"Love is unpredictable." She said. Ino nodded, and Kurenai, Teuchi, and Ayame smiled, knowing what the girl was hinting at.
"Kakashi-sensei says I'm unpredictable." Naruto said happily.
"Yes, you are." Ino said as she pinched his cheek. He got out of her grasp and rubbed his cheek, glaring at her playfully.
"Are we all done?" he asked looking around the table. "Ino you haven't finished." he pointed out.
"Oh, yeah, I'm not that hungry. Here, Naruto, you can finish it." Ino said, pushing her bowl to him.
"You barely ate anything," Naruto said.
"I'm full from the party."
"You didn't eat much there."
She huffed; she had no choice but to eat.
She was glad that her friends cared about her health, but sometimes they just didn't get it. Her ex-boyfriend always told her she'd look ugly if she was fat, so there was no way she could have any excess weight if she wanted to get Naruto. That's why she tried to diet. She thought if she had an amazing figure, Naruto would notice her. Clearly, she would have to rethink her tactics.
She finished, and Teuchi asked for the bowl. She handed it to him and thanked him for the food. Ayame got up and asked them to follow her.
"Kurenai, Mirai, you guys get the guest room. Naruto you get Dad's room, and Ino you'll have mine." She said.
"Wait, where will you guys sleep?" Ino asked.
"Dad will have the couch and I'll sleep on the ground."
"No, no, it's okay. I'm not taking anyone else's bed." Naruto said.
"Me neither." Ino said.
"But you're our guests." Ayame said.
"Yes, but I don't want to make you guys sleep on the floor." Naruto said. He knew Teuchi had back problems, and he was not going to rob him of his bed. He would gladly sleep on the floor if it meant Teuchi kept his bed.
"Same here." Ayame argued.
"We'll just go home, then." Ino said. Naruto nodded his head, and Ayame sighed.
"Fine. But just remember that the offer still stands, so if you do want them, just come and ask."
"Will do." Naruto said. Ayame told them she'd get their spots ready, and left them alone. He held out his fist for her to bump. "Teamwork."
She bumped his fist. Hearing him say teamwork reminded her that Sakura was his teammate. If Ino was on his team, maybe he would've liked her instead of Sakura. Being treated like shit by Sasuke on a daily basis certainly would've sped up the process of her falling for Naruto. She liked Sasuke because he was mysterious, but knowing he was a dick was a huge turn off, regardless of how cool he was.
During her musings, he walked to the living room to help Ayame. She didn't know he'd left, and when she realize, she decided to not go look for him. If he wanted to spend time with her at the time, he would've stayed next to her. She went to the guest room to see Kurenai.
When she entered, Mirai jumped into her arms, and Ino carried her over to the bed, where Kurenai was unpacking their bag.
"Hey." Ino said.
"Hey." Kurenai returned. Ino didn't say anything, not even trying to play with Mirai. Kurenai stopped unpacking the bag and turned to face Ino. "What's wrong?"
"Before, I thought he didn't notice me because he was so obsessed with her. But now I know he has noticed me, but still likes her."
"Who?" Mirai asked.
"Nobody, sweetie. Why don't you go play with Uncle Naruto?" Kurenai said, hoping that would get her daughter out of the room. She had an awfully loud mouth, and needed to take precautions. Mirai ran out of the room happily, excited to play with Naruto.
"Who?" Kurenai asked.
"Naruto." Ino said, sighing internally. Another person she was telling about her secret.
"You like him?"
"Yeah." She said, nodding defeatedly.
"Who told you he noticed you before?" Kurenai asked.
"He told me I was really pretty." Ino said. "If he was aware of that, he's probably noticed me before."
"Well, that doesn't mean he can't ever like you." Kurenai said. "For example, I'm sure you're aware of how hot Kakashi is," to which Ino answered "duh". I used to like him back in the day. But I still ended up with Asuma. People rarely end up with their first crush."
"He's liked her for 8 years. I was right next to him the whole time, and he never stopped liking her."
"What does it matter if he considered you after her? She's way closer to him, so it's understandable if he didn't give you much thought." Kurenai said. "What matters is if he realizes you're better for him than she is."
"How am I better for him?" Ino asked.
"Well, for starters, you don't hit him for saying stupid things. Instead, you find it cute. Secondly, you have the patience to deal with difficult boys. Your entire team consisted of difficult boys, including your sensei." Ino snickered before Kurenai continued. "He's been through a lot of trauma in his life, much more than he's told us about. I'm sure you have more than enough love for him, so you can help him through it. You have the knowledge to understand what he feels, and why he feels that way; and you have the jutsu to assist you even further. You can help him feel like he's worth what he is. I know that under that boisterous persona, he doesn't think very highly of himself."
Ino considered all of these things. As much as she tried to deny it, in order to keep herself from hoping, Kurenai was right.
"That's just the essentials. Your temper probably challenges him. He can't have a pushover, and that's why I think he'd never work with Hinata. When he's being dumb, he needs someone to tell him outright. Hinata was too shy to ever stand up to him."
These were all great points, but there was one more problem. What if he never felt attracted to her romantically? All of these good points would go to waste if he could never see her as a partner.
"I have one more reason: Would you say that you and I have similar personalities?" she asked. Ino nodded her head. "I see a lot of Asuma in him. That's why I made that comment about being 15 years younger. He reminds me so much of him."
She had to admit, Naruto and Asuma did have similar defining traits. They were both fun-loving, honest and loyal to a fault. If Kurenai said she and Naruto reminded her of her own relationship, who was she to argue? She cracked a smile, feeling much better about the situation. "Thank you Kurenai-sensei."
"You're welcome. I'm always here for you. And drop the sensei."
Ino smiled and opened the door when Kurenai stopped her. "Could you get Mirai back in here please?"
The rest of the occupants of the apartment had already gone off to bed, leaving Ino awake on the couch, and Naruto awake on the living room floor, right next to her couch.
"Did you have fun?" She asked him.
"I did." He responded. "I think today was the first time I smiled since the first day of the mission. Thank you."
A blush crept up to her cheeks, and a grin stretched across her face. She was so thankful it was dark, and he couldn't see her face. He saw her as the main reason he smiled today. She kept repeating his words in her head, even as she spoke.
"Of course. I'm always here for you." She said, borrowing the line from Kurenai.
"Thank you. Until you brought up Sakura, and until she came to the party, I didn't really think about her."
Her grin stretched even wider somehow, and she bit back a happy noise.
"I'm glad I helped you feel better." She turned to look down at him, and placed her hand on the side of the couch. She felt a finger loop, and played with it a little. She pulled on it, and realized that the part it was connected to was loose.
She swung her feet over the edge of the couch and asked Naruto to move. She pulled on the loop, and a second half of the couch appeared. Now, it was the size of a queen sized bed, enough room for her and Naruto to comfortably fit on.
She turned to him and grinned. "Now you don't have to sleep on the ground."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because we'll share this bed, silly."
He frowned. "Are you sure? I'm totally fine with sleeping down here."
"I wouldn't suggest it if I wasn't okay with it."
He carefully moved towards the couch, and placed his pillow on it. He was taking way too long, so she grabbed the blanket from him and put it down on the couch. He seemed reluctant to get on the couch, so she told him that if he didn't want to, it was okay.
"I want to, I just don't want to disturb your space."
"You're not going to disturb my space, Naruto. I'm the one offering you the spot."
He nodded and she got in first, so that she was closer to the back cushions. He got in after her, and lay down awkwardly on his pillow. He kept his hands clasped on his stomach, and stared straight at the ceiling. She almost laughed at the sight, but kept her composure. She lay down as well, putting her blanket over the both of them, forcing them closer.
"Are you okay?" She asked him.
"Yeah, yeah." He said with a wave of his hand.
"You seem nervous."
"Well, it's the first time I've ever been in the same bed as a girl before."
"Oh, let's get you caught up, then." She said before she scooted even closer to him and wrapped her arm around his torso, laying her head on his chest.
"Is this okay?" she asked. He simply nodded, fearing his voice would fail him should he try to use it. She lifted her torso a bit. "Give me your left hand." He gave it to her and she slid it under her torso and laid down on it. "Now just wrap your arm around me." He did so, albeit reluctantly, and she nestled into the crook of his neck. "Are you comfortable?"
He wanted to say that he was very comfortable, but he didn't want to seem weird, so he settled for "Yeah".
"Goodnight, Naruto." she said, though it was slightly muffled against his shoulder.
"Goodnight, Ino." He whispered, not trusting his voice. His stomach was still in his throat, and an hour after she'd fallen asleep, he was still wide awake, trying to relax about his current position. After all, she was the prettiest person he'd ever seen.
Flashback:
Ino was holding the lifeless, cold body of her Master's most trusted apprentice. They had watched one of the Pains suck her soul straight out of her, and watched her fall off the roof, unable to preserve her own body.
Adding to the stress, their entire village was in shambles. She started worrying more when she heard that Naruto was fighting Pain, but she stopped worrying when she learned he destroyed 4 of them, and there were only 2 left. Unfortunately, the strongest one was still left.
A cylinder of red chakra ran from the ground all the way to the sky. She felt how dangerous it was, and knew it could only be one thing. Smoke and dust obscured the battlefield, but she heard the chaos. The battle moved outside the village walls, and the clouds of dust eventually cleared, revealing Hinata, who was impaled with Pain's chakra rods.
They all rushed over, and pulled out the rods. Sakura immediately began healing her. Seeing her fellow Kunoichi come so close to death, just to save Naruto, Ino realized that the way she felt about him paled in comparison to the way Hinata felt. She vowed that although she did want him, she would back off. She wouldn't be able to take the guilt if she competed with Hinata. She knew if she tried to pursue him, Hinata would accept it, and silently beat herself up. That was the worst part: Hinata would never blame her for it. She would be happy for Ino for taking her shot at the boy they both liked. Hinata was much too sweet for Ino to do that to her.
This decision proved to be much harder than she expected when she found out that not only had Naruto defeated Pain alone, he convinced the real one to see reason. Just like Sakura had said all those years ago: "Only Naruto can fight someone to the death and then befriend them." Thanks to him, many people she cared about were brought back to life. The happiness she felt for him was threatening to burst, but she couldn't just run up and hug him like Sakura did. He was much closer to Sakura, and it would violate her new vow. But she had to let it out somehow. "I could almost fall for him."
Shikamaru and Choji looked at her like she'd grown a third head. "What?" They asked. Ino sheepishly looked away, missing the narrowing of Shikamaru's eyes.
Her respect and admiration for him only increased as the war progressed, but she didn't let herself break her vow. Well, until Hinata indirectly gave her the O.K. when she made the decision to give up on him. But at that time, she was dealing with the after effects of her last relationship, so she had to put it on hold.
—