Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"Naruto-kun, I hate seeing you like this. What's bothering you?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, hoping this gesture would soften his facade. He didn't hug her back, and she looked up at him. She could see the pain in his eyes. She pushed him towards the couch, put her keys on the counter, and went to his cabinet to find some tea.

"You don't have tea?" She asked.

"No. I don't drink tea." He said from the couch. She sighed, and went to his room, hoping for something to do. She was looking through his closet but couldn't find any games. She walked back out and asked him if he had any games or anything.

"Who would I play with?" He asked. She immediately felt bad for posing the question. She forgot he grew up with no family, and had asked such an inconsiderate question.

"Sorry." She said.

"It's fine."

"So what do you normally do at home?"

"Nothing, if I'm not here for something like a meal or to sleep, I'm in the village."

"Then get up, we're going out!"

"What?" He asked, sitting up straight.

"I said we're going out."

"Why?"

"Because you won't talk about it, so you need to cheer up. Sulking won't do anything." She knew that grieving was a very important part of life, but she just couldn't bear to see him like this.

"Yes it does."

"What does it do? When you were sad about Sakura, when did you start feeling better?"

"After I got back to the village." He said tiredly, knowing she had all the evidence she needed to prove her point.

"Exactly. You talked to Teuchi-san and Ayame, and then with Shikamaru."

"Hanging out with you helped a lot, too." He mumbled.

Since whatever advances she tried at the party succeeded, she felt a little bold in that moment. She sat down on his left leg and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt him stiffen a bit but pretended it didn't happen.

His mind clouded a bit when she sat down, but he quickly cleared it, and the first thought that popped into his mind was that a girl would never sit on her brother's lap like this. He was starting to believe his brother theory less and less. There was no doubt that she was flirting with him, but there was no way she liked him, of all people. He played it off as her personality, reasoning that she was simply a flirty person.

"See, sulking never made you feel better. Human interaction did." She said softly. She got up, and grabbed his arms. She pulled gently, not hard enough that she was forcing him up, but just to let him know they were going to leave. He got up slowly, and she held onto his hand as they headed out the door.

She couldn't think of anywhere to go, and neither could he. They passed bars, but weren't in the mood to get drunk. They passed restaurants, but they were getting ready to close. When they reached the Konoha department store, she decided to step in there.

The side they entered through was the makeup and fragrances side, and they stopped to enjoy that section. She picked up a cologne she thought looked cool, simply to try something on him. She sprayed the cologne on his neck, and leaned in to smell it.

Her nose made contact with his neck, and it raised goosebumps on his arms. Why did she do that? She had to know the kind of effect she had on men, but she still did it. It seemed like she was messing with him. She was definitely flirting more than usual today, and he felt a little irritated having his emotions played with. She had no clue how he felt, and it was like she was just acting this way with him for her own gratification. But perhaps that was just her personality. He learned on his training trip that sometimes girls are just flirty people.

She put the cologne back down, and walked across the way to the ladies fragrances. She picked one up at random and sprayed it on her own neck. She motioned for him to come over, and when he did, she tapped where she sprayed it without saying anything.

"Uh, couldn't you just spray it on your wrist and smell it?" He asked, trying to avoid getting that close to her at all costs.

"No, I want your opinion."

"I could just smell your wrist."

She huffed, and glared at him. "Smell."

Her glare was kind of scary, and he wasn't in the mood to challenge her right then. He leaned in to smell, and he could feel the heat radiating off her neck. It made his own cheeks heat up, and he lost track of whether or not he liked the smell. Thankfully, he regained his bearings and straightened himself. He nodded. "I like it."

"Great." She said, and put the perfume back down. Before allowing him a chance to think, she hooked her arm through his and whisked him away to the furniture area.

They stopped at an outdoor patio set, and she made him sit down on one of the couches. She sat down next to him, pulled his arm around her shoulder, and she nestled between his arm and torso.

"Sorry I didn't stop by earlier in the day." She said, desperate for anything to talk about.

His face brightened a bit, still happy about the surprise she planned for him. His mood dampened once again when he remembered that he was just her best friend, and that's why she went through the trouble. "Oh that's okay. The party was awesome."

"I put a lot of work into it. I'm happy you liked it."

"I appreciate everything you do. Even if you brought me a small present from a street vendor I would've been happy."

"Oh, please. You know I wouldn't be that thoughtless with your present." She said. He smiled at her words, doing his best to pretend like she meant it in a romantic way.

"Thanks." He said, and he voiced the question he'd been asking since the party. "How did you get Fuu to come?"

"I just wrote her a letter and she agreed since she knew it was for you." She said. He simply nodded. "Why, do you like her?" She asked playfully, but inside she was terrified that he'd say he did.

"No, it's just that it's kind of far, so I didn't think she'd come."

She let out a sigh of relief internally, and turned her head to look directly at him. "Naruto, your friends love you. I know some people would travel across the Elemental Nations just to speak with you."

He searched her eyes for any kind of insincerity, but to no avail. They stared at each other for at least 3 seconds before Ino rushed to find a new topic before it got extremely awkward. She got up and dragged him up from the couch, saying they should visit a different part of the store.

"Why are we just walking around the store?" He asked. "It's almost 1 in the morning."

"Well what do you suggest we do?"

"I don't know. I kind of want to just go home."

"So you can sulk?"

"No, I'm just tired."

At the mention of being tired, she yawned, and he looked at her triumphantly. She sighed, and looked down dejectedly. "Fine, let's go."

They made it back to his apartment, and she went for the couch, immediately laying down on it.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" She asked.

"Sure, but what about your mother?"

"She'll be fine. She knows I'm probably tired from all the running around today."

"Why did you come here tonight?"

She hadn't anticipated him asking that question, so she yawned and stretched, hoping to buy some time for her to think. Thankfully, growing up as the daughter of an Interrogation and Torture specialist, she had to perfect her ability to lie to get away with some of the things she did.

"Oh, Kaa-san wanted me to come get you so we could talk with each other over some cake." She said. It was a pathetic lie, but it didn't seem to take much to fool him.

"Oh." He said, not knowing how else to continue the conversation.

"She loves you, you know?"

"Really?" He asked. His spirits lifted upon hearing this. If her mother liked him, maybe she'd convince Ino to give him a chance. Jiraiya told him that having her parents like you is always a good thing.

"Yeah, she thinks you're adorable."

"Why?"

"I guess maybe your facial expressions? Those are cute, especially when you're curious."

"You think they're cute?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of the couch, effectively trapping her, not that she minded. She trusted him with her life, especially because he'd already saved it before.

"Yeah." She said as she pinched his cheek. She watched a faint blush reach his cheeks, and it reminded her of Hinata. "Did you ever like Hinata?"

"Uh, kind of. I mean I thought she was pretty, but I'm loud and annoying and she's sweet and quiet."

"That doesn't mean you guys wouldn't fit."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. But it doesn't matter now."

She nodded her head, scanning the room. Her eyes landed on a picture across the room that looked like it was drawn by a child. "Who drew that?" She asked, pointing to it.

"Oh, that was me. I was 8 I think." He said. He got up, giving her a way off the couch. She got up to look at it more closely, and she was able to make out what it was. It was a picture of a little boy with yellow hair, holding hands with 2 men with white hair, and a woman with brown hair. From their clothing, it seemed to be the Sandaime and the Ichiraku's.

"This is cute." She realized he'd never talked about his childhood, and she became curious. "What was your childhood like? You know, living alone?"

His face fell, and he looked down. "I don't- I don't really want to talk about it." He said quietly.

"Oh. Okay. I'm sorry." She said, as she went back to her seat on the couch. He followed her, and after a moment his head lifted, slightly faster than normal, and his mouth opened and closed, not unlike a fish.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Uh, you could look if you wanted. In my memories."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Wouldn't you be scared? People are usually terrified of mind jutsu."

"Well, yeah, but I trust you." He said, as he lay down on the couch. She let his words sink in for a moment. He essentially trusted her with his life, since once she had access to his mind, she could do whatever she wanted, not that she'd even think of doing something like that to him.

"Okay. Are you ready?" She asked, getting her hands into the proper seal.

"Yes." He said.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu."

—

Ino was struggling to keep her emotions at bay. She'd lost so many people so far. She had to fight her old sensei, heard her father's last words, and watched one of her friends sacrifice himself for Naruto and Hinata. And in turn, his death somehow led to them holding hands and facing the Juubi together.

She was feeling terrible, and she just wished the day would end. She felt tears stinging at her eyes, but she wasn't going to cry, especially not in front of the Naruto clones. She took deep breaths, trying to keep her composure. Unfortunately, the clone behind her caught what she was doing. He put a hand on her shoulder and leaned around the other side of her, so that he was almost immediately behind her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She said, turning her face so he couldn't see it. He leaned even further forward, and caught a glimpse of the tears welling up.

"It's okay to cry, you know?" He said.

"I'm not going to cry." She said, but she couldn't even keep the quiver out of her voice. "I have a job to do."

"Speaking of which, tell the ranks to hold their hands out so the boss can come around and give them chakra."

And she closed her eyes, putting her hands in the necessary seal. Some tears rolled down her face, and one of the clones wiped them as she told the Allied Shinobi Forces what to do. In that moment, she felt a tad bit better, though it wasn't nearly enough to wash away her sadness altogether. Nothing could do that.

Everyone got the memo, and Naruto's job was made easy. She looked around at the astounding amount of people that he gave chakra to. He sent out a clone to their battlefield, which could only mean he sent some to other battlefields as well. He said it used up a good amount of chakra since the Kyuubi takes his chakra in exchange. He'd already been fighting before they came to his battlefield, he created 4 more clones just to protect her, and now he'd given chakra to the entire Force. It was unbelievable how much chakra he had.

"How much chakra do you have?" She asked the clones.

"Not much left." The one on her right responded.

"But you still gave it to everyone?"

"These people are fighting to protect me and the thing inside me. It's only fair that we give them some protection too."

"So what will you do when you run out?"

He simply shrugged his shoulders. He'd done so much for everyone, and was still so modest about it. She wanted to help him, but how could she help him when she was so far from him, and so weak compared to him?

He noticed the worried look on her face, and asked her what was bothering her.

"I wish I could help you." She said glumly. The clone to her left and the one behind her conferred for a couple seconds.

"I think you can." The one behind her said. "Boss gets whatever training we do, so it might work if you heal one of us."

The clone in front of her knelt down so she could keep her eyes forward. She knelt down and started her medical ninjutsu. She kept a steady flow for 5 minutes before she stopped.

"I can't do anymore without dropping below what I need for my telepathy."

"Thank you, Ino. You did more than enough." The clone in front of her said, before bursting into a puff of smoke.

Naruto was hit with a rush of memories, along with a small burst of chakra. He looked back at Ino, who gave him a thumbs up in return. He gave her a small smile, and turned back to face the beast in front of them.

—

Ino watched as the Juubi regurgitated a red ball. She was afraid it'd be another Tailed Beast Bomb, and turned to ask Naruto if he knew, but at that moment, his clones dispelled. She spun around, looking for him, and found him kneeling a little ways away from her. She was about to go and heal him, but Sakura beat her to it.

She didn't have time to dwell on it, as Shikamaru asked her to link him to someone. She linked him to Kitsuchi, then with Killer Bee, and finally with the entire ranks.

The beast was building up another Bomb, and almost every ninja on the battlefield began to go through the hand signs for the weak stone jutsu they were just taught. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough, and it broke through every single wall they put up. After it broke the last wall, however, it stopped. When the smoke cleared, Killer Bee was in his Eight Tails form holding the Bomb in place.

It didn't look like he could hold it for much longer, and they all knew that something of that size and power would surely decimate their surroundings, and, by proxy, them. She thought about how she'd at least be able to see her father, and that she'd at least die fighting for what she believed was right alongside her friends. She closed her eyes, ready to die, but she never felt the impending explosion.

She opened her eyes, and the bomb was nowhere to be seen. She looked around, and saw a man in a white cloak appear out of thin air. He had shockingly yellow hair, and the cloak read Fourth Hokage on the back.

She couldn't believe her eyes. He was supposed to be dead, so who reanimated him? There was no way the Akatsuki did, and she knew of no one on their side who knew how to use that jutsu. But there he was, in the flesh.

Her musings were cut short when she felt an enormous amount of wind pushing against them, and water spewed out onto their battlefield.

"What is that?!" She asked.

"Stop complaining!" Shikamaru shot back. There he went again, ruining her mood. She looked over at Naruto and his father, and heard him say something about "girlfriend" and watched Naruto nod a bit as he replied. Sakura didn't seem very happy with this response, and headbutted him.

The old man she knew as the Sandaime landed beside the Yondaime, and a man with short white hair, and a man with long black hair stood next to them. She couldn't see their faces, but based on context clues, they were the Second and First Hokage.

They vanished, and appeared way on the other side of the battlefield, surrounding the Ten Tails. A large red barrier surrounded it, and wooden gates fell from the sky, binding all the moving parts of it. It was truly marvelous to see all of the Hokage, who'd never worked as a unit before, working in such perfect harmony.

And it was ruined by the next appearance. Sasuke landed in front of Naruto, and their group migrated towards them to get a closer look.

"What are you doing here?!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Why are you here, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked

"I see you're all noisy as ever." He said coolly, barely turning his head to speak to them; it was something that she used to find insanely attractive, but now it irked her to no end.

"A lot of things have happened. I've decided to protect Leaf Village now. And then, I'll become Hokage."

She was baffled. Was he stupid, in all actuality? There was absolutely no possible way he could become Hokage. Firstly, he was a rogue ninja for more than 3 years. Secondly, he may have been strong, but she doubted he'd be able to beat Naruto in battle. And thirdly, there was nobody more fit for the job of Hokage than Naruto. He was the most noble person any of them had ever met, and despite the fact that people didn't like him for being what he was (including her own parents), he would give his life to protect them. The rest of the group seemed to be on the same page as her, and they voiced their opinions. She decided she would, too.

"What?!" Sakura screamed.

"I don't know what's happened to you, but that's not possible." Shikamaru said.

"You can't just come back all of a sudden and crack a lame joke like that, you Rogue Ninja!" Kiba shouted, seemingly the most furious.

"What makes you think you're a better option than Naruto?" Ino asked, doing her best to keep the venom out of her voice. Just hearing him stand there, and say he was going to become the leader of their beloved village as if he didn't betray it infuriated her. Sakura gave her a quizzical look, but didn't say anything. Shikamaru on the other hand, looked at her thoughtfully for a second, before it turned into a triumphant smirk. He'd figured her out.

"It doesn't matter what you all think of me." Sasuke said. "All of the previous Kage created these current circumstances. So I will become Hokage and change the village."

She was afraid of how Naruto would react to the latest proclamation, as was everyone else. But to their relief, he simply stood next to Sasuke and claimed the same thing his ex-teammate did. He seemed so confident in himself, and any doubt she had that Naruto wouldn't get the job faded away.

"Thanks for healing me, Sakura-chan." He said. "Now it's your turn to get some rest. Let's go, Sasuke!"

They leapt away, and Sakura muttered "blockhead" before also jumping in their direction. They all snickered at the team's antics.

—