Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Naruto sat on his couch, dejectedly eating a cup of ramen. It was October 10th, his birthday, and not one of his friends had wished him a happy birthday. Not even Ino.

Not only did it hurt because she was his best friend, it also hurt because he really liked her. He knew she knew when his birthday was, since Sakura had thrown him a party every year since the war. Last year she still threw one, despite barely having any contact in the past 2 months. This year she was really busy, and couldn't throw it, which he completely understood.

But even if Ino was busy, he felt she could've at least stopped by and said two words to him (Happy Birthday). Not even Shikamaru, Choji, or Sasuke.

He sighed again, and downed the rest of the soup in the cup. He got up and trudged to throw it away when there was a knock at the door. His heart soared at the thought that maybe someone remembered his birthday. He shoved his hopes back down, preparing for his landlord asking for the monthly rent as he made his way to the door. He opened it, and someone launched themselves at him. He stumbled back and looked down at who latched onto him.

Smiling up at him was the one person he was hoping would be at the door.

"Happy Birthday!" She said, reaching up on her tippy-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kind of thought you forgot."

"Of course not. How could I forget?"

"Well, it's 7 in the evening, so I thought you would've come earlier." He said with an edge to his voice. She ignored it, telling herself that he had a reason to be mad since he didn't know why she hadn't come over earlier.

"I was preparing your gift," She said as she patted around her pockets, pretending to look for it. "Which I forgot at home."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh, stop. Why don't you come back with me, and then my mother can cook dinner for us?" She asked it as a question, but she didn't give him an option. She latched onto his arm, grabbed the keys from the kitchen counter that she'd located when she entered, and practically dragged him out the door. She locked the door, handed him the keys, and they were on their way.

When they arrived, she fumbled with the key a lot, and even rammed her shoulder into the door thinking she unlocked it. She finally got it open, and she gestured for him to enter. After he did, she turned on the lights, revealing a decorated room. He had time to notice balloons and streamers before familiar faces popped out from behind furniture. His ears were met with a loud "Surprise!", and they all stared at him, waiting for a reaction. A smile slowly crept across his face, and only then did people think it was okay to leave their spots and talk to him.

Everyone he cared about was there. Even the Sand siblings and Fuu from Takigakure were there. He wondered who put the whole party together, and when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he knew it could only be one person.

"Did you do this?" He asked her. She nodded, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and hugged her into his side. "Thank you."

"Of course. How could I have forgotten my best friend's birthday?" She said.

He knew they were best friends. He considered her his, but hearing her say it out loud hurt. It was happening again: he was becoming a brother. Just like what happened with Sakura. He let himself get close to a girl, fell for her, and got screwed over in the end. Why did it always happen to him? What was he doing wrong? All of his other friends found girlfriends, even Shino. What did Shino do right that he couldn't seem to figure out. But it was too late to find out and restart his friendship with Ino. He'd have to restart with another girl. But it seemed like no other girl could beat Ino. She was perfect in his eyes, and he'd blown it.

In order to save himself from further pain, he decided he'd have to distance himself from her as soon as possible. After tonight, he'd start dodging her, and turning down her invites to places. He'd stop going out to eat with her, and he wouldn't go back over for dinner again. It worked when it was Sakura, so it would work with Ino as well, no matter how much it hurt. And once he got over her, he decided he'd never open up to another girl. If he never let himself be vulnerable to anyone in the first place, he'd never be in a similar situation again.

"You okay?" Temari asked. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize she and Gaara made their way over to talk to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Kankuro?" He asked.

"He's over there, trying to flirt with Ino. Key word: trying." Temari said.

His jaw tightened instinctively seeing Kankuro talking to her, something the two standing in front of him didn't miss. "Trying?"

Temari smirked. "Yeah, she already has her eyes locked onto someone. I think she secretly liked him for years."

It definitely couldn't be him then, if she liked this guy for years. Ino had barely talked to him, barely making the cut as his friend. Only in the last year did they become close. Besides that point, there was no way she liked him. He thought about her type: Moody, intelligent, skilled. Basically everything Sasuke was, and everything Naruto wasn't. His frown deepened, and Temari put the pieces together.

"You like her, don't you?" He simply nodded, his eyes downcast. She wanted to tell him that she liked him, but it wasn't her place to tell. She sighed. "Well. Happy Birthday, Naruto."

Gaara stepped closer to him. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe the person Ino is interested in is you."

"What? It can't be me, I'm the opposite of what she looks for in a guy."

"If you weren't what she was looking for, she wouldn't have started spending so much time with you."

"She said I was just her best friend though."

"Yes, but only because she can't outright tell you she wants to be more than that. That's the furthest she can go right now."

"Why would she like me?"

"Well, you're one of the most noble people I know. You turned me around, when nobody could get close to me. And that's just one of your many attractive characteristics."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so." Gaara was sure because his sister had confided in him, but he didn't want to outright tell Naruto, and take that chance away from Ino. "Happy Birthday, Naruto." And he walked away.

He stood there, looking out the windows across the living room, thinking about the possibility that maybe she did like him. His thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke.

"Happy Birthday." He said. Naruto smiled at the fact that his emotionless friend actually showed some sentiment.

"Thanks."

"You good?"

Naruto nodded absently.

"No you're not," Sasuke said.

"What do I do?"

"About?"

"Her," Naruto said, nodding his head in Ino's direction.

"What's the problem?"

"I'm going to get friendzoned."

"No you won't. Just keep doing what you're doing."

"Yeah, and have it turn out like with Sakura?"

"Sakura didn't act around you like Ino does."

Naruto stayed quiet. He didn't have an argument for that; it was true.

"Good luck." He patted Naruto's shoulder and turned to walk away, but looked back one last time. "Dumbass."

"Duckbutt." He shot back, and the two friends smiled before parting.

He walked around, people would wish him and chat with him a bit, and then go back to their conversation, allowing other people to approach him. After the last person, he planned to go sit down and talk to Shikamaru and Kiba, but Mrs. Yamanaka stopped him.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto." she said.

"Thank you."

"Are you enjoying the party?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's great. Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank me. Thank Ino, she did almost everything. I just helped a little with the cake."

"She did?" He asked, as he looked over at Ino. She was talking amicably with Sakura, and it made his heart swell knowing she went through all the trouble to put this together, and find a way to convince people from different villages to make the trek specifically for him.

"Yep." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your party." And walked away.

He made his way over to his two friends, making a mental note to thank her profusely later for putting it all together.

He had a lot of fun that night, and it was totally worth the sad day he had. Knowing they hadn't forgotten was already enough, but the party was icing on the cake. Speaking of cake, Ino smashed his face into a burner cake that she'd made, before they revealed the real one.

They took pictures of him with the cake on his face, and during Ino's picture with him, he was painfully aware of how her arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and how their cheeks pressed together when she put her head on his shoulder. Thankfully, both of them thought the heat on their cheeks were from themselves rather than from the other.

Naruto stayed until all the guests left, and Ino, her mother, and he talked for a bit before Naruto said he should probably take off. Ino followed him to the door, and he turned around.

"Thank you so much for today." He said. "You really didn't have to though."

"Oh come on. You mean so much to me; I was glad to do it." She said, reaching up on her tip-toes, and pulling his head down to give him a kiss on the forehead. There it was, the seal on the deal. He was a brother. She kissed him on the forehead, just like Sakura had. All the clues he got today, and the theory from Gaara that she liked him flew out the window. He knew he shouldn't have let himself consider the slight possibility that she liked him, and now he was suffering the consequences of letting himself like someone again.

She cupped his cheek, and wished him a happy birthday softly. He gave her and her mother a weak goodbye, and began on his long walk home. Ino walked back inside and plopped herself on the couch. "Today was a success, don't you think?" She asked her mother.

"Certainly. But I think you might be able to make it more successful." She said slyly. Ino narrowed her eyes. She knew by the tone that her mother was insinuating she do something relating to Naruto.

"What are you talking about?"

"Maybe you could give him his 'real birthday present.'" She said, making air quotations with her fingers.

"I thought the present was a surprise party?"

"You could say it wasn't that, and you still have to give him his real present."

"Which is?"

"Confess to him."

Ino visibly blanched at her idea. She leaned forward on the couch, resting her forearms on her knees. She needed to make this point very clear. "Kaa-san I cannot do that."

"Why not?"

"Because… he doesn't like me! He's going to get scared and I'll actually lose him!"

"That's a possibility… But you should've seen the way he looked at you when I told him that you made all this happen."

She thought for a moment. If she heard what her mother had to say, she might be convinced to adopt the plan, something she didn't want to do. But if she didn't hear it, she'd never get a glimpse as to how he felt about her. "How did he look at me?" She asked, letting herself indulge.

"Like you could do no wrong. Like you were perfect in his eyes. It definitely wasn't the way someone looked at their friend." Her mother said, rubbing her daughters back.

She trusted her mother's word, and if she said he looked at her like that, then she'd believe it. The bad thing now was that she actually was planning to give him his real birthday present. As she was heading out the door, she stopped to ask her mother a question.

"Kaa-san, if I can't work up the nerve to do it today, can I sleep over?"

"What about your toothbrush?"

"I'll just come home in the morning. After the present."

Her mother simply nodded, and gave her daughter a wave and a wink.

—

He reached his apartment, and went to his bed. He belly-flopped onto it, and lay there staring at the wall, thinking that this was the worst birthday present ever.

After half an hour of wallowing in self-pity, he sat up, wanting to look out his window at Konoha, and his eyes landed on the flower on the sill. It was the same color as her eyes. That was probably why he liked the flower so much. He always admired the color of her eyes, even when he didn't allow himself to accept his feelings for her.

But now he had to see that flower every day and be reminded that he once again lost an amazing girl because he didn't go about it right. It may not even have been his fault since he was simply being her friend until that day where they talked about that exact flower. The day he acknowledged his feelings for her. The day he couldn't fight them anymore.

That day he was mesmerized by her smile, knowing that what he said was the reason behind it. The best part was, he didn't have to lie about what he said: he meant every word. He tried to think of a time when she made him feel better, and he remembered Mirai's birthday party.

She told him that any girl would be lucky to have him, and that if Sakura didn't recognize how "amazing" he was, then it was her loss. It didn't make sense. She said this about him, and she always wanted to be around him, yet she saw him like a brother. Was he wrong? Gaara didn't believe him when he brought it up, but Gaara could be wrong too.

But what was he going to do now? He had to move on, but he didn't know if he could do it. Ino wasn't just any other person. She was beautiful, smart, caring, bold, and so much more. She possessed qualities that he admired greatly. She was irreplaceable, and he couldn't imagine someone else making him stray from her.

He heard a knock at the door, and he gathered all his willpower to get out of the bed. He opened the door without vigor, and Ino immediately knew something was wrong. She looked at him with concern and entered. She stepped up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. He looked at her with lifeless eyes, and her panic began to grow. He looked like he did when he found out about Sakura. His expression couldn't be about her; she did her best to flirt with him. It had to mean there was another woman he had his eyes on. She didn't dwell on this thought for too long so as to not break down in his apartment, especially not when she had to take care of him.

—

Flashback:

They were standing in circles, waiting for whatever plan to differentiate headquarters had come up with. They could have used the questioning method, but it was possible that the enemy knew information about them somehow. They needed a way to just know which one was which.

And their plan came in the form of a glowing person. He was lit yellow, and he had black patterns along his body. He was killing people seemingly at random, and when he got close enough, she realized it was Naruto.

"What's up with you?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm using Kyuubi's chakra." He responded. "I mastered it with the help of Kumo's jinchuuriki."

"Nice." Shikamaru said lamely.

"So you have insane powers now?" Choji asked.

"Yeah, but I can only use it for a short while. As I use his chakra, he starts eating away at mine."

He was just talking to them as if there weren't spies lurking around, attempting to catch them off guard. He was treating his job as a contingency plan so lightly. "Hello? Aren't you supposed to be checking us to see if we're not the enemy?" Ino asked, with enough edge to make sure it got through to him that she wasn't happy with his lollygagging.

"Huh? Oh yeah, everyone's good here."

She sighed, and allowed her eyes to look over his new appearance. He looked very cool, and she felt the raw power emanating off of him. She understood then why jinchuuriki were treated like military weapons, though she still didn't agree with it.

"I'm definitely glad we don't have to fight you." She said.

"I'm only one tailed beast. Madara has 7 others. We're screwed." He said. They all sighed, knowing they still had a long road ahead of them.

—

Since her father passed from the Tailed Beast Bomb that hit headquarters, it had been Ino's job to relay all information to the rest of the shinobi. She wanted more than anything to just break down and cry, but she knew she couldn't at that time. She was a ninja, and she had a job to do.

Obito knew there was only one way everyone could be receiving their orders at once. He scanned the field, looking for someone not in a fighting stance like everyone else. His eyes then landed on a heavily guarded girl with her hands in a seal and her eyes closed. Bingo. He activated his Mangekyo and immediately tried to Kamui her.

But just as he started, a blur of yellow sped across the field, and she disappeared. She quickly opened her eyes, startled by the sudden movement. She was being carried by Naruto at a nauseating speed, and after half a second he put her down in a different spot.

He created 4 clones that surrounded her, and asked her if she was okay. When she confirmed that she was, he ran back, leaving her to try and push thoughts about him out of her head to prevent the rest of the alliance from knowing the way she felt about him. Obito didn't waste another Kamui on her knowing it wouldn't work with Naruto around, even with just clones.