Captain Blues: Hey crew, here we are with a longer chapter. The last chapter was the first time I've done a mini-chapter. I'll try not to do them anymore but you never know.

Shinobi of the Dark Moon
Chapter Six: The Truth Revealed

"Oh-oh-oh-oh, Inuyasha, you absolute dog. Taking advantage of Sango like that," Sarutobi giggled with a blush on his face. "Who knew a Hanyou could be so dirty?"

The intercom on Sarutobi's desk dinged, which made Sarutobi fumble his Limited Gold Edition Icha-Icha: A Hunter's Hanyō, and a voice chimed, "Hokage-Sama, Yamanaka Ino is requesting a meeting."

Sarutobi caught the book, quickly tucked it into his desk, and cleared his throat, only to falter.

Yamanaka Ino?

Her father had been searching for her since yesterday afternoon. He had even come by his office to question him if Ino had been there.

Since Sarutobi was swamped with meetings all day yesterday, he was unable to tell him if Ino had stopped by or not.

What had she been?

"Yes, send her in, Kaede-san. And then go home. It's late and I'm sure your husband is waiting," Sarutobi replied with a smile in his voice.

"Samanosuke would still be waiting for me. He's far too patient with my late nights here," the secretary laughed. "Have a good night, Hokage-sama. I'll see you bright and early."

The door to his office opened and Yamanaka Ino stepped into his office. The joyful greeting he had planned died away when he noticed a few things. Her body language was dispirited, her expression looked lost, and with the red eyes and the tear streaks down her face, he knew she was upset.

The next thing he noticed was her arms and cheeks had various scratches on them, some of them deep enough to cause blood, and the final thing was the orange-tan fluff in her arms.

"Yamanaka-san, your father has been looking everywhere for you," Sarutobi told her with concern as he moved from behind his desk and escorted his Genin to the chair in front of his desk. "Where have you been and what happened to you?"

Ino sniffled as she rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "It's been a long two days…."

"It shows," Sarutobi agreed as he moved back behind his desk and sat down, concern in his eyes. "What brings you here so late? Why are you injured? Who's your little friend?"

"She doesn't have a name yet," Ino softly answered. "I found a bunch of jerks hurting this poor little fox. I wasn't going to let them do that on my watch. Honestly, I'm hoping for Naruto to name her…"

Sarutobi blinked.

"Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi questioned.

"I…" Ino drifted off for a moment and Sarutobi could tell she was trying to find the words she needed. "The day before yesterday, I found Naruto unconscious in an alleyway. I took him back home. He woke up screaming a person's name and when I asked him about it, he rightfully called me out on being nosy."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. "The person's name, what was it?" The Hokage questioned.

"Renna," Ino answered.

Sarutobi mentally scanned through his Rolodex of Konoha shinobi but came up empty at the name. He shrugged.

She must have been a civilian.

"Alright, continue please," Sarutobi kindly requested.

"Mom always tells me that I should always be kind to people because I never know what battles they are facing in private," Ino said. "And Dad always tells me that I can't judge people until I walk a mile in their shoes. So yesterday afternoon…I henged into Naruto, to understand him, I guess…"

Sarutobi noticed the tears in Ino's eyes had started to build back up. "And it was awful! I got kicked out of so many places and when I didn't, they overcharged for the littlest things! Not only that, I was chased by a group of Chūnin that called me a demon, was at the end of cruel stars and heartless words, and threatened with ANBU on three separate occasions!"

Ino then lifted the small kit in her arms and said, "And just on my way over here, I saw a group of adults attacking this baby! And they were calling it Naruto! Why is Naruto treated this way, Hokage-sama?! Why?! Because it can't be because of his pranks…"

Throughout Ino's speech, Sarutobi felt himself age at least two years until he finally let out a weary sigh. There was so much clean-up he was going to have to do come morning.

So many heads were about to roll.

But he had to admit, despite this being a precarious situation, he was pretty impressed with someone willing to go through so much. It also told him that she may have some skills in espionage. But that was for later.

For now, he had to face the emotional kunoichi before him.

But how would he approach this?

Due to his very own law, only he would be able to reveal the truth. However, her actions gave her too many clues to the point where he couldn't brush them off as nothing and she could come out with the wrong conclusion if she tried to put the pieces together herself.

A darker part of him brought up the option of having Inoichi wipe the memories of the event from her mind, but he couldn't. That would go against the ideals of Hi no Ishi (Will of Fire).

Wait…Inoichi…

"I just don't know what to do or even how to live with myself," Ino continued, unaware of the Hokage's thoughts. "I treated him so terribly and for what? For nothing. For fucking nothing. I added to his misery for nothing….I just need to know…"

"I understand," Sarutobi told her as calmly and kindly as he could. "Before I continue, you've yet to ask an answer where you've been since yesterday."

"Well…I didn't want to go home and since you were busy with meetings, I…" Ino's face took on a red hue. "I stayed at Naruto's home…"

Ah.

Of course, she did.

No one would have bothered to go to Naruto's home, which sat at the heart of Konoha's red-light district, to check for the Yamanaka Heiress.

"How did you get in?" Sarutobi questioned.

"It was unlocked," Ino sincerely answered. "I made sure to find his spare key, which was under the welcome mat outside in the hall, to lock the door before I came here to try and talk to you again…"

"Thank you for doing that…." Sarutobi thanked. "Yamanaka-san….I know that it's late, but are you able to retrieve your father for me? I'm not planning on brushing off your question. However, there is a lot regarding what you're asking and I wish to discuss it with him."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Ino replied. "Can I use your balcony for a moment?"

"Of course," Sarutobi answered.

Ino carefully placed the small kit in the middle of her chair, walked past Sarutobi to his balcony, and then opened it. Ino took a deep breath and shouted, "DADDY!"

Sarutobi blinked.

That was not what he was expecting.

"Y-Yamanaka-san. I don't think that will work," Sarutobi reluctantly told her with a hint of a chuckle but to his astonishment, Inoichi appeared in a swirl of leaves in front of Ino.

"Ino! Your mother and I have been absolutely worried about you!" Inoichi exclaimed. Sarutobi then watched as the man observed her and gently asked, "Why are you injured like this?"

"Inoichi-san," Sarutobi said, announcing his presence before Inoichi could get too far in his interrogation. Inoichi immediately stepped to the left to make himself fully visible to Sarutobi and bowed.

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi greeted. He then watched Inoichi blink and then look at Ino with confusion on his face.

"Forgive me for having your daughter summon you in such an….unorthodox way," Sarutobi apologized. "However, there is something I wish to discuss with you. Ino-san, would mind staying in my office while your father and I converse outside?"

Ino nodded and made her way back to her seat, where she plucked up the sleeping kit and cradled the small creature in her arms.

Sarutobi stood from his chair, walked out onto the balcony, and closed the door to his balcony, which not only separated father from daughter but also activated the seal of silence, which would leave Ino unable to hear anything that was talked about between her and Inoichi.

"You look ragged, Inoichi," Sarutobi noted after getting a good look at the haggard Yamanaka Clan Head.

"Forgive my appearance, Hokage-sama," Inoichi apologized. "I should have waited to teach Ino the Chakra Suppression Jutsu. It makes when she runs away that much harder."

"She ran away?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes," Inoichi sighed. "Yesterday, she explained what she changed into Naruto and experienced his life. She asked a lot of questions we couldn't answer and ran away. She sometimes does this to clear her head, but she was so upset after she said she was going to get answers from you, that she used that jutsu and we were left blind to her."

That explained a lot.

The Yamanaka Clan were skilled at espionage, which included both physical and chakra stealth. Once a Yamanaka went into hiding, it would take groundbreaking jutsus to flush them out.

Sarutobi clapped Inoichi on the shoulder with a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry you've gone through that…But I believe we need to talk about the reason she ran away…and what she knows."

Ino watched her father and the Hokage talk as the small creature in her arms slept. She had gotten so lucky to find this small little thing before those men could kill her.

The small kit felt so small in her hands and so skinny.

The poor thing must've not eaten for a while before Ino saved her.

"Don't worry," Ino softly cooed. "I'll take care of you…."

She hoped Naruto would like her…

A feeling of hurt washed over Ino at the mention of Naruto.

Why did people treat him like that?

How could allow himself to live under such people?

The balcony doors opened and both Sarutobi and her father walked into the room, their expressions gravely serious. "Ino-san," The Hokage began. "You are to return to your home and get some rest."

"I'm not going anywhere with him," Ino told the Hokage with a frown. "He and Mom had a chance to help Naruto from living with all the things he's lived through and they selfishly denied him of that! How could I go back to them knowing that they made such a selfish decision?"

"Ino-san," The Hokage said as he motioned for her to calm down. "I know you're upset—"

"Upset is an understatement!" Ino interjected, only to gasp and swiftly add, "I didn't mean to interrupt, Hokage-sama. I'm sorry."

"I understand that emotions are running high and that your feelings are haywire," The Hokage placated. "But this is your chance to learn the truth of the nature of what you've discovered. Tomorrow morning, you and your father speak regarding Naruto-kun, and then you and I will meet and talk again regarding what you've been told."

"Tomorrow?" Ino repeated. "I'd rather he just tell me now."

"And he will," The Hokage promised. "But for now, you must get those wounds looked at. No matter how small they are, even a seedling can grow and splinter a mountain with time."

Ino sighed and said, "Okay…But first, we need to pick up some food for this little one….I'm not big on animals but I think she's starving…"

"That, we can do right now," Inochi said with a tiny smile.

Ino's eyes opened up briefly as she felt something rise and fall beneath her body. She opened her eyes and found herself lying beside Naruto, her head resting against his chest. And at the corner of their bed, a small fox slept curled up in the middle of their feet.

She blinked in surprise and let a small blush appear on her face.

How did this happen?

Naruto and Ino returned to their home where they watched the more recent Fūun-hime movie on DVD. Ino recalled that after hours of teasing, Naruto finally admitted that the movie was fun and the actress was very beautiful.

However, during their movie marathon, she and Naruto had fallen asleep.

'I guess during that time we snuggled up,' Ino thought to herself before she moved her head off his chest and reached down to pet the sleeping fox. How domestic. Ino noticed that he had a small smile and that filled her with relief. Ino then turned her head to see the time, which read "6:35 a.m." and immediately panicked.

Naruto had a mission today!

Ino turned back to Naruto and began to shake him up. "Naruto-kun. Wake up," Ino urgently whispered as she continued to shake him.

"I don't want to…" Naruto sleepily mumbled.

"Naruto-kun! You need to get up!" Ino screamed.

Naruto's eyes snapped open in alarm and asked, "W-What's wrong Ino-chan?"

"Your mission. It's already six in the morning," Ino said.

Naruto turned his head and looked at the clock before his eyes bugged out. "Awww hell!" he yawned as stretched out his limps. Ino then watched as he leaned back on his shoulders and flipped up to his feet only to see Ino's blank face staring back at him.

"That was a little extra," Ino noted with a grin.

"Hey, we have super awesome agility. Might as well use it," Naruto said before he picked up a bundle of his fresh clothes and rushed to the bathroom to get ready.

Meanwhile, Ino switched off her TV and began to straighten up her room before she came across Naruto's hiate-ite resting beside hers.

A soft smile formed on her face at the sight and her fingertips grazed the steel of both of their headbands.

Naruto rushed out of the bathroom, now dressed in his regular attire, and began to slip on his orange jacket as he said, "I can't believe I slept in late. I bet Kakashi-sensei is looking for me at this very moment."

"I doubt it. You know how late he can be," Ino grinned. "So I don't think he's going to hold you being late against you. Asuma-sensei didn't when both Shikamaru and I were late for our first assignment," Ino said with a supportive grin.

"Awesome," Naruto said as he stood on his now-covered feet. "I'm ready to go."

"Oh wait, before you go," Ino rushed over to her desk and pulled out a picture of herself, and held it to Naruto. "To get you through the next few weeks. I know how much you'll miss me," Ino said with a cheeky smirk on her face.

"Such an ego," Naruto laughed. "I'll see you in a few days…weeks…whenever I get back," Naruto stated with a small smile.

"You better. Now get out of here," Ino told him.

"Alright, alright. I'm outta here, Come on girl," Naruto said with a grin as he called out to the small orange-tan fox with bright blue eyes and a Konoha Hiate-ite hanging from her neck. The little Diva, as Ino often joked, raised her head off of their bed and yawned.

She had taken that spot since the very day Ino had saved her.

The small fox shook her fur and stretched for a moment before she hopped down from the bed and trotted behind Naruto as he left the room…but not after Ino gave her several pets. Ino shook her head with a fond smile and murmured, "Baka," before she smacked her forehead in annoyance when her eyes gazed upon Naruto's hiate-ite.

Ino quickly grabbed Naruto's hiate-ite and ran down the stairs as she shouted, " Naruto-kun!"

She managed to catch Naruto at her front door, hopping on one foot as he slipped his right sandal on. "You forgot your hiate-ite," Ino told him as she watched him slip on his right sandal and then start to work on his left one.

"Thanks, I knew I was forgetting something," Naruto said as he hopped on his right foot to get the other sandal on. Just as he put it on, Naruto grabbed the hiate-ite form Ino and began to tie it but he kept fumbling with it, being unable to tie it.

"Damn butterfingers," Naruto muttered.

"Naruto-kun. Stop and give it to me," Ino said after another minute passed with her watching him fumbling around with it. Naruto stopped and handed her the headband and she placed the headband against his forehead and reached to the back of his head to tie it.

"There," Ino said as she finished. "See? All you needed was a bit of patience…" Ino found her voice dying down as she found herself staring into Naruto's eyes.

Surprisingly, Ino had forgotten how beautiful Naruto's eyes were up close like this. It reminded her of the ocean her parents had taken her to when she was little.

Her arms rested on his shoulders, their eyes locked on one another's. "Ino-chan…" Naruto murmured. His voice was inquisitive but it was so soft, she could barely hear it. "I…I have to go…" Naruto told her, his face turning red.

"R-Right!" Ino said as she pulled away from him, her face just as red as his. "Have a good mission and come back safely, Naruto-kun," Ino told him.

She watched as Naruto smiled before he left her home, leaving her standing by the front door.

Ino lurched out of bed with a gasp, her heart pounding in her chest as the birds chirped outside of her window.

For a split second, she thought she would find herself back in the room she slept in with Naruto, which she realized upon reflection, was his bedroom.

Instead, she was back at her home, in her bed, with the only thing that transferred from her dream to real life being the small orange-tan kit that slept in her doggie bed at the corner of her bed. Like her dream, Ino reached down and petted the sleeping fox before she got out of bed.

Just what in the hell was that dream?

She wasn't surprised that she dreamed of Naruto. He had been the lingering shadow in her head for the last few days since their talk. But to have such a domesticated dream was…Weird.

"Ino?" Her mother's voice called from behind her door. "Are you awake?"

Ino immediately had to tamper her anger down at hearing her mother's voice and replied, "Yeah!"

"When you're ready, your father and I will be downstairs," Iila told her.

"Okay!" Ino shouted.

Time to find out the truth.

After freshening up, Ino made her way downstairs to the kitchen, where Inoichi and Iila sat, grim expressions on their faces. "Good morning," Ino said with a polite smile. She could feel the tension immediately hit the roof.

"There is a lot we need to talk about," Inoichi told her. "Regarding you running away and suppressing your chakra to leave your mother, myself, and our clan members, to be unable to find you…But that will come later. For now, we need to talk about Naruto and your questions regarding him."

Inoichi then sighed and asked, "I want you to do me a favor, Ino. Do you remember what you learned about the Kyūbi no Kitsune?"

Ino nodded, unsure as to why that monster was being bought up.

"I want you to throw out him actually being able to defeat him," Inochi said.

Ino was surprised by this.

Her father often touted that the academy's teachings were top-notch. For him to tell her to throw it away meant something serious was about to be dropped on her.

"That lie was perpetuated by the village and the Hokage to wave away how the Kyūbi was sent away. The Yondaime, as great as was, and believe me, he was a good man, he wasn't strong enough to defeat the Kyūbi. So, he made a choice and sealed it away within a small boy," Inoichi continued.

"Wait…He sealed the Kyūbi away into a small child?" Ino asked. "Why would he do that?"

"We don't know why he sealed that child away," Inoichi answered. Ino often knew when her father was lying to her. He had a noticeable tell, which was his left ear. It would give a little wiggle whenever he lied. Why was he lying to her? "All we know is he sealed the Kyūbi away into a small child, and we know who that child is…"

"Well, who was the—" Ino swiftly silenced herself as realization hit her. "Naruto…He was the child?"

Inoichi and Iila nodded. "After the Kyūbi was defeated and sealed, The Hokage told us of the Yondaime's dying wish for Naruto to be seen as a hero to be honored, but the people who had lived first-hand the devastation that the Nine-Tails could bring forth were unable do this," Iila explained. "And though most of us shinobi obeyed the law — with those who didn't being severely punished — the civilians and the future generation were never supposed to know. However, Someone leaked the secret to the civilians and things got…bad….So bad…"

"After the news came out, and a near civil war occurred, The Hokage made a law forbidding anyone from talking about what was sealed within Naruto…."

"So that's why Naruto is treated so poorly…" Ino whispered. "Everyone sees him as the Kyūbi and not even as a person…" The anger she had been able to temper down swiftly broke out of the prison that was in her heart and she screamed, "You two knew this and still told me that excuse?! The Yondaime asked for him to be a damn hero! And this village did the opposite! You both did the opposite!"

"I know you're upset," Iila told her. "But there is so much more to it than that."

"For Kami's sake, I would hope so!" Ino raged.

"Please, tamper your anger, Ino," Inoichi said. "Because this conversation is far from over…."

Ino let out a harsh breath but took a deep breath, sat down at the table, and said, "Good. Because all I'm seeing right now are two selfish people. So please help me see otherwise..."

Captain Blues: I did not expect Ino to become a full chapter. But here we are? The next chapter will have Teams 7 and 8 reaching Taki. Until then, time to set sail!