Ino was by all means exhausted.
What was supposed to be a simple c rank delivery mission out of the leaf had turned sour pretty fast and then quickly shot back to okay. It was a lot to take in. To the north, on the outskirts of Fire country she had been surrounded by five thugs, two of which were chunin.
Although she had improved over the past few months, five opponents were still a lot.
Thankfully, Ino wasn't forced to fight.
No, the real reason for Ino's exhaustion came from her assigned teammate. The kid had more energy than the whole village combined.
With Shikamaru being promoted and Choji busy working with his father, Ino was was borrowed to another team, or at least that's what was supposed to have happened. Instead, what might've been a squad of three of even four with a jonin, had turned to two.
"BLEEEEEEEHHHHHHH" her thoughts were immediately cut by the loudest, nastiest, most disgusting thing she'd ever heard.
Her neck snapped towards her partner, eye twitching as she watched him cover his mouth as his face went red.
"S-Sorry" he chuckled as he hid his laugh, trying his best not to upset the already angry girl next to him.
"You're fucking gross!" she snapped as she waved her hand in front of her face and pushed the boy away, "IF YOU HAVE TO BURP, DO IT AWAY FROM ME!"
"I'm sorry" he winced as she pushed against his stomach, and now it was her turn to feel guilty.
She had to remember after all, the reason she wasn't tired from fighting is because Naruto had been so fast to jump into gear, she could barely keep up.
Sakura had been right in saying Naruto had improved drastically, and it looked like his win over Neji was no fluke.
She watched, holding their tiny cargo carefully as Naruto took on all five thugs by himself.
He'd taken one shot to the ribs, enough to break a few bones, but nothing he clearly couldn't take.
Two chunin and three morons later, they were on their way. Ino still quiet, but ultimately thankful for the boys much needed power.
The had managed to turn in their delivery on time without further delay. A small resort town just North of the Leaf. A place for the wealthy and those with more time and money than conscious. Ino couldn't help but take in the sites and attractions, amazed something so small and compact could hold so many things.
There seemed to be tons of resorts and spas. Some kind of festival was taking place. The streets bustled with people, and Ino couldn't help but take in ever inch of it.
"We should hang here for the night" Naruto had said suddenly, and almost completely out of the blue after they had finished the mission, "Granny will pay for our hotel since my ribs hurt. Plus, I wanna grab some food!"
"How do you know she'll pay?" She had asked, honestly curious as to why Tsunade seemed to favor Naruto so fondly. Sure, he was great and all, and she'd be liar if she said she wasn't proud of the guy, especially with what happened to Sasuke.
Neither Sakura or Naruto took it easy, but Naruto took it upon himself to promise to bring Sasuke back for Sakura. Of course things went south and one month later here we are. Sakura, while distant seemed to be getting better, or at least more accepting. Naruto was Naruto, so there was that.
She was somewhat thrown off by the smirk that had covered his face as he replied, "Don't worry. Granny wouldn't tell me no. You don't have to if you don't want to, but I'm hungry and tired, I say we stay".
And so here they were.
Naruto burping loudly as they walked away from the raman restaurant they had just eaten at, while she shook her head. She felt bad for reacting so badly, but decided to let it go for now as they continued.
"Gezz sorry I enjoyed my food" he laughed as he rubbed his ribs, "Think you threw away more than you ate".
Seeing he was okay, Ino fired back, "Is that what you called it? I just saw you shoveling food in your mouth".
"Psh" he rolled his eyes as he looked around, the two now walking aimlessly. They already had their own rooms courtesy of the leaf village at a nice little inn with a hot spring attached to it, "What would you know about food anyways, you're all skin and bone".
Ino looked at the boy and snorted, "Whatever you say shorty. Keep eating like that and you'll start gaining weight and next thing you know you tits will be bigger than that perverted jutsu of yours".
"So what" he shrugged as he skipped forward, a smirk appearing once again as he chuckled, "Little weight never hurt anyone, hell I think you could actually gain a little bit of weight if you wanted to".
Giving a smirk of her own, Ino asked, "And why are you paying so much attention to my body? I thought I noticed you checking me out earlier"
She had hoped to embarrass the boy, but to her surprise, that same smirk appeared as he responded, "Why wouldn't I?"
Ino found herself stumped, not expecting that response.
"I thought you always prided yourself on how good you looked" he said as he patted some dust off his pants leg, eyes looking around as he tried to avoid her stare.
"I do, I mean look at me" Ino joked, a blush dancing across her face as she turned away from the blond, her eyes now wandering as she crossed her arms, "Not that that I mind, but I just didn't know you knew you would openly admit to checking me out".
"O-Oh" Naruto blushed as he waved his hands in front of his face, "I wasn't checking you out".
She shook her head as she looked around the streets once again. It was late. They would need to turn in to their hotel soon, and yet she wasn't tired.
Something odd about being in a village she'd never been before,with someone she usually wouldn't hang around left her feeling more wired that she had when they'd arrived.
"Hey look" Naruto said pointing through some buildings, Ino noticing the large vendors and amount of people on the other side.
"Most be the festival everyone was talking about inside the ramen shop" she said as she looked back towards the boy.
Naruto gave her a grin, and suddenly she was being pulled by her fellow blond towards the alley.
"Let's go" he said dragging her with him as he made his way through the narrow alley. They both popped out on the other side of the buildings, both immediately engulfed in the large amount of people.
"Don't you think you'd have enough fun for the day" she joked as she followed him through the crowd, Naruto's childlike wonderment for the festival somewhat contagious, "There's huge events like this in Konoha all the time".
"Yeah" he said with a shrug, "But I'm not really welcome at any of that stuff, so the only time I really get to do these things is when I'm on a mission or in disguise".
Ino couldn't help but frown as reality came crashing back down.
Of course Naruto would be excited for something like a stupid festival. While Ino and most children under times of peace were allowed such things as a festival, Naruto hadn't. She knew he had been a trouble maker, but now that she was thinking about it, he had never appeared at any events around Konoha. Even if he had, it didn't seem like anyone wanted him around. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. He didn't deserve half the trouble he seemed to actually get around the village.
"Watch this" Naruto was playing a game already, a ball in his hand as he lobbed it towards the mark and actually nailed it dead center.
"That's one" the man in the booth cheered as the crowd watched, Naruto holding two other balls as the man knocked down the wall and the target dropped to reveal another smaller and further back target.
"Ino check this out" he slug the ball and like any good ninja, hit it once again dead in the center.
Ino chuckled as she stepped forward, putting herself next to the boy as she said, "Not bad".
The man behind the booth chuckled as well as he rubbed his hands together and said, "Oh my. Two adorable love birds. How bout this boy, you hit my master level target and I'll let you pick out the best prize I have for your little girlfriend".
Naruto didn't even bother to correct the man, leading Ino to turn somewhat red from the crowds noticeable stares on the two. He simple slapped his down on the table, holding his last ball held high as he nodded, "YES! I'LL DESTROY YOUR MASTER CHALLENGE".
The man, quick as a jonin snatched the ball from Naruto'a hand a left him with a bead.
"W-What" Naruto noticeably gulped as he held the bead between two fingers, the man laughing as he suddenly hit the wall once again and the wood panel shifted and left what appeared to be a completely solid piece of wood.
"What is this" Ino couldn't help but ask, staring at the wall in confusion, "There isn't a target?"
"This my dear is the target" the man laughed as he slapped the wall.
"There's no hole!" Naruto pouted, squinting in the low light of the evening.
"There is" the man pointed and sure enough, not even the size of a pea, directly in the middle of the wall.
Now seeing the hole herself, Ino shook her head and roller her eyes, "The games rigged. Nobody can do that".
"Not true at all, I've seen some ninja capable of it" the man laughed.
"Yeah maybe a specialist, not even regular jonin could actually do that" Ino frowned, crossing her arms. The man simply laughed.
Suddenly, the wall behind the man exploded, sending the man and the crowd ducking as splinters flew threw the air.
"Oh shit" she heard Naruto mutter as she waved the dust from her face, a small grin taking over as she noticed Naruto standing in front of the now destroyed wall, hand still outstretched from throwing the bead.
"WHAT DID YOU DO" the man screamed in horror as he ran towards the younger man, grabbing him by his collar, "YOU DESTROYED MY BOOTH".
"Yeah well" Naruto couldn't believe he had done it either. Must've added some chakra to the bead or something. He looked around nervously, face turning red as he began to stumble, "I-I still made it through the wall, you gotta give Ino a prize!"
All Ino could do was laugh, for the first time in a long time, genuinely happy with how her night was turning out.
Ino watched the pinwheel slowly twirl in the wind, the small flower pedals twinkling in the dark.
"I'm surprised you didn't pick me on of those big stuffed animals" Ino said quietly, as she watched the wheel spin slowly, fluttering above the lake.
Chewing the bite of dango he just took, Naruto frowned as he said, "You don't like it?"
"No" Ino laughed as she put the toy down next to them, leaning back on the pier as she closed her eyes for a moment, "I just figured you'd pick the biggest prize around though. I thought guys always went for the biggest and best. Isn't that supposed to be how you impress girls".
Naruto picked up the pinwheel with his free hand and began to examine it.
Naruto had been stubborn about her getting her prize, and with the man trying desperately to get rid of them, he told them to hurry up, pick one, and get away from what remained of his stand.
It hadn't taken long, Naruto seemed to pretty quick to decide.
It was a small wooden pinwheel with paper curls. The paper was a dark beautiful shade of purple and across it danced flowers in bloom.
It was such a simple toy, but when Naruto looked around, his eyes looking over the multiple prizes he could chose from; he almost yelled as he pointed at it.
"That's it" he had told the still angry man as he he plucked the pinwheel from the top of the booth and looked it over.
Ino watched him inspect if for a moment, before he fully turned towards her, with the still present crowd watching.
"Here" he held it out like it was nothing more than a simple gift,which it was; but with a crowd of people who think you're a couple watching, it felt like more.
Against her will she felt her face begin to heat up as the crowd seemed to enjoy the show, and with a frown she had grabbed the boy and run off.
Now they sat above a small lake in the center of the village, their naked feet dangling above the water. Naruto of course had stopped for more food along the way, and Ino had decided to just enjoy her night.
As she listened to the noise from the village disappear as the crowd began to return top their hotels, she felt a sense of stillness come over her.
She shuffled as she took a deep breath.
"I picked it cause it reminded me of you" Naruto finally said, still looking at the pinwheel in his hand.
"H-Huh" Ino's voice broke as she quietly replied, her eyes opening to take in the boys form.
"I don't know" he said as he looked back at her, putting the toy down, "As soon as I saw it I just knew that it was for you. Maybe it's flowers or something. I don't know, it's just pretty".
Ino couldn't help the feeling in her stomach as she looked away, hiding her face from the boy.
"T-Thanks…" Ino all but whispered. She honestly couldn't believe this kid next to her was the same annoying brat from the academy, and she couldn't believe the way he was making her feel.
"You know" she said, her eyes looking across the water, trying her best to avoid his gaze, "You keep giving me all these compliments and I might have to let forehead know she's got some competition".
And just like that the mood changed instantly. She could see out the corner of her eye Naruto's smile drop as he put his food down.
Ino, realizing she must of said something wrong, tried to fix the situation, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad".
Naruto shook his head, looking over the water deeply. His eyes sparkled as he muttered, "It's fine… I'm not mad. Just…"
Ino was unaware that she had scooted closer to the boy, and as as she looked him over she couldn't help but feel a pit in her stomach begin to grow. She hadn't realized she was holding his hand until she was already grabbing it. She didn't entwine their fingers, she simply placed her small hand over his much larger.
Giving him the most comforting squeeze she could, Ino asked,
"What's up with you and her anyways… I mean I know things are different now with what happened, but…".
Either cause he didn't notice of simply found nothing odd with it,
Naruto didn't move to remove her hand from his own, and with a sigh he said, "I… It's nothing… Sakura's…".
Naruto wasn't a quiet person, and he certainly loved to talk, so when she found him unable to answer she couldn't help but feel bad.
"Things are just weird is all" he didn't say much else, but he kept his hand under her own and Ino suddenly felt her stomach heat up.
The heat turned to flame when she felt Naruto turn his hand around, and locked his fingers around her own as he gave her a squeeze,
"Thanks though. I know you and Sakura are friends".
"Not that great of friends" she thought as she felt a small pit of anger towards her friend at the moment deep inside, especially since she could probably figure what the real problem was between the two.
"What's so great about forehead anyway?" she suddenly asked, surprising both of them as she looked down at their intertwined fingers.
"H-Huh?" he asked as a small blush covered his face, "I don't know…"
"You don't know?" she smiled, really liking that answer, "I don't either…"
"Sakura's a good person… she's really pretty, smart too" he said as he bit his lip.
Ino was selfish, something she accepted a long time ago. She'd work on it, eventually, but as she felt jealousy grown in her stomach she interrupted,"And I'm not?"
"No you are" Naruto said quickly, looking over her too.
Ino felt weird. It wasn't like the crush she had on Sasuke in class. After spending one day with this kid, Ino knew what she felt for
Sasuke was nothing. Naruto was a good person, who although a little dumb, only had the best in mind. He was strong, funny, and thoughtful. Things Ino had never really considered.
She looked him over, watching moonlight dance off his tan skin as she felt the heat grown stronger.
Turning back towards the water, she let her foot dip into the cool liquid as she said, "yeah… well maybe she's not the one for you Naruto".
"What?" Naruto asked, turning back towards her, "What do you mean?" a smile came to his face as he suddenly squeezed her hand even tighter and chuckled, "Why do you keep asking me about Sakura?"
"I just think you should quit going after her" Ino replied honestly as she kicked some water, waiting a moment before she said, "Plus… there's way better girls other than forehead".
Naruto gave her a sideways glance and did something she wasn't expecting he gave a sideways smile and asked, "Is that right?"
"is he teasing me" Ino wondered as she felt him let go of her hand and stand up.
"It's getting pretty late…" he said as he looked out over the lake, "We should probably head to the hotel".
Ino felt a chill come from the lake, Naruto's larger body no longer sitting next to her to share some warmth. She couldn't help the giddy feeling she got from the disappointment that she felt knowing their little adventure was almost over for the night.
"I like spending time with him…" it felt stupid thinking it, her body feeling a bit warm as she thought about her night. If she was being honest, she could go for a few more of these. Leaning back on her elbows as she closed her eyes, a small smile drifted across her face, "Now that I think about it… that wouldn't be so bad".
"Ino" his voice brought her back, and as she let her head fall back looking up at him, she noticed the still present tinge of pink across his face, "You okay?"
She chuckled as she reached up and took his outstretched hand. Allowing him to pull her up she couldn't help but question just how much Naruto had changed since the academy.
"No" she thought sadly as they began to make their way back up the pier, looking him over once more, "Naruto's probably always been like this… I was the one who needed to change".
The walk back didn't take long, both quiet as they walked closely to their hotel.
Once the entered the lobby Ino suddenly felt the night hit her, and felt somewhat relieved she'd be able to get some rest even if she was still a bit sad the night was coming to an end.
"I had a lot of fun tonight" Naruto said as he stopped in the lobby. The desk was empty and they were the only ones present. Ino stopped next to him and replied, "Of course you did. Ever night with me is the best!"
Ino wanted him to smile and return the play but instead he said, "I'm serious Ino… thanks for hanging out with me tonight. I know how much you didn't like me as kids. It means a lot that you were still willing to just hang around".
Ino gulped as she felt her heart swell.
"I don't hate you, you know" Ino said as she looked anywhere but those fucking eyes, "I just thought you were loud as a kid… plus, I kinda like hanging out with you too…"
"You do?" he asked, as he rubbed the back of his neck, "That's great".
Ino nodded as she brushed some hair behind her ear.
"Cool…" he was turning redder under the bright lights of the lobby as he said,"We should… like hang out again".
Ino could feel the chill run up the nape of her neck as she froze.
He wanted to hang out again. "Does he mean like in the village" she thought as she felt her hands begin to clam up.
As she looked at his nervous face, she couldn't help but bit her lip as she thought about what she should say.
Of course she wanted to hang out more, but she didn't know if that was gonna be enough. The way she had been feeling for the last couple hours were strange. Something she'd never experienced.
Even though he burped, ate like a pig, and could come off stupid sometimes, he made her feel like she was drowning, but not in the dying kind of way.
Her only question was on what to do.
She had asked Sasuke out everyday during the academy, and although it had hurt to be rejected; it didn't compare to the amount of fear she suddenly felt when she thought of Sakura.
"What would even happen?" she thought, wondering if Naruto had actually felt anything like she had all night. Maybe he was just that nice, she had to remember she wasn't supposed to be a narcissist anymore and needed to think about this rationally.
He still liked Sakura, even if it looked like he was in pain while thinking about it. He'd choose forehead over her any day of the week, and that alone made the usually confident girl falter. She hated feeling like second place.
"I don't want to hand out again" she said, feeling an ache in her chest as she watched his face drop.
"O-Oh…" he took a small step back and scratched his cheek slowly as he nodded, "That's cool too… we don't have to hang…"
"That's not what I meant" she stopped him as she felt her chest seize.
"Do it bitch!" the voice inside her head screamed, and she bit her lip once again as she thought, "Fuck it…"
"I don't want to just hang out with you again…" she began watching his grim look darken as she repeated what probably sounded really bad.
She stepped forward to close the distance he had made and noticed he was now actually a tad bit taller than her, looked up into his deep blue eyes with her own, she said, "I want you to take me on a date when we get back to the leaf. Something good too to top tonight!"
The look of confusion that took over his face was funny. He took a deep breath as his face was now beet red. She could feel warmth on her own face, but at this point she didn't care.
"A d-date" he asked, his voice quiet as he too gulped, "Like an actual… date date?"
"Yeah" she replied, keeping her shaking hands at her side, "I wanna dress up for it too".
His face turned even redder and she felt her self laugh.
He began to laugh too and then he did something she wasn't expecting.
His body was hard, and the his scent was overpowering. She realized he was holding her as she felt his arms embrace her.
"It'd like that too" his voice was so quiet it was hard to make out, yet it exploded in her head loudly, his heart beat keeping her focused as she felt her body melt into his own.
He pulled away and and once again scratched his head as he coughed.
"So it's a date" she felt like she had died just know, and Naruto had been the one to bring her back. She hoped she didn't smell or look bad at the moment, especially with how he had just held her.
He nodded as he grinned, "Yeah, it's a date".
Ino, suddenly feeling the wind get knocked back into her grinned, "Good". She turned way quickly and began making her way to her room.
She waved behind herself as she rushed off, trying to keep her legs from shaking.
"S-See you in the morning" she struggled to keep her voice calm, feeling the usually excitement rush through her body.
Naruto simply watched the girl run off, a stupid happy grin across his face.
Ino was wide awake.
Turning in her bed she noticed it was almost three in the morning and she couldn't sleep to save her life.
After leaving Naruto, she had rushed to her room and squealed in excitement for what seemed like hours. The angry banging on the wall from her neighbor had been enough to quiet her though. Even
while showering she couldn't help but grin as she thought about what was to come.
"He said yes" Ino thought as she washed her hair, "Maybe he doesn't still like forehead".
She wondered what Sakura would say, not that anything she could say would be valid, but it was certainly going to be interesting.
"They've had sex though" she thought somewhat disappointingly as she recalled the last conversation she'd had with Sakura. If what she had said was true, she wondered if the two teammates were ever actually going to be able to be normal again. All ninja were told not to let what happens on missions with your teammates effect your teamwork, but clearly it was harder than it looked.
"He said yes though" she thought, which meant he must be at least trying to forget about Sakura.
"Will she be able to get over him?" she recalled the look Sakura had gave her that night, and it brought heat back to her face.
Ino was not afraid to call herself sexy. Hell, she even called herself the sexiest kunoichi in the leaf village (Her age group!), but sex was something Ino had never really thought about.
Choji had been the first and last penis she'd actually seen, and hadn't really thought much else about it… until she saw Sakura's face that night.
"She looked fucking crazy" Ino thought, wondering just how good the the sex between the two had been for Sakura to give such a lewd look while just recalling the night. She didn't even think Sakura noticed she did it.
"I wonder what it's like" she said aloud as she felt her stomach begin to flutter, "… being with him… like that".
She felt a rush of excitement, and gripped her blanket as she wondered what all these new feelings were.
"I bet I could be better" she whispered as she tightened her grip, "I bet I could make him forget about her so quick…"
If she was being honest, she really didn't know that much about sex. She'd never even touched herself in that way, yet she felt deep inside that Sakura wouldn't be making that face anymore, not if she could help it.
"Man" her hushed voice rang as she kicked the blanket away, her body hot as she continued to think about the boy she had just yesterday not even considered her type, "I feel so weird".
Biting her lip she looked at her clock once more and frowned.
"M-Maybe he's still awake…" she didn't know what she was doing, but as she began to cover herself with some pajamas she stopped caring.
"I'll just see if he's awake. Maybe he can't sleep either" She was crazy, knowing any normal person would be asleep.
"What if he is awake" she questioned as she finished dressing, and slipped in some slippers. What would she do if he did answer the door.
He was only a few doors down anyway, it wouldn't take long she decided as she opened the door to the hall way of the hotel and turned toward the direction where she knew Naruto's door was at.
As she slowly made her way down the hall, her mind completely blank, she didn't notice that a man with cleaning supplies was making his way down the hall.
She stopped in front of Naruto's door, and knocked quickly.
"What now?" she thought, realizing she hadn't any clue what she was gonna do.
She waited and waited wondering if she should run.
Before long she let out her breath, realizing Naruto must be asleep.
She couldn't help but frown as she began making her way back towards her room.
Feeling a bit dejected and foolish, Ino failed to notice the man now watching her.
"Girl" he called out, looking at her with a sideways glance, "You uh… get locked out of your room?"
"N-No" Ino was surprised to notice the man and felt embarrassed as she realized she was in her pajamas.
"I'm sorry" she said as she bowed, "My bo… my teammate is in there. We're on a mission and he was feeling a little hurt earlier so I wanted to check on him".
"Oh!" the man smiled happily as he nodded towards her, "That's very nice of you. He the one with blond hair?"
"Yes" Ino replied, figuring he must've seen them enter the hotel earlier.
"Don't worry about him then" The man sounded assuring as he nodded and said, "He came out of his room not too long ago, Looking for help with some 'Ninja' problems. I directed him towards the hot springs. We got some of them Uzine treatment room downstairs you ninja seem so fond of".
"Oh" she said as she began bowed once again, "Thank you".
It only took her about thirty seconds to snap her head towards the still walking man and scream, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
The man turned slowly, his face reeling in horror as he noticed the girl who he had walked away from had cleared the gab instantly.
"Uzine treatment room? What the fuck is that?"
The man's brow began to sweat she glared up at him.
"Woh lady" he waved his hands slowly as he backed up, "I don't know what you shinobi do down there. We get a lot of ninja here on
missions so we have some special rooms for something called Uzine treatment. I don't know what goes on down there though" he looked around for a moment before he bent forward a placed a hand to his mouth and whispered, "Do you know what happens down there?"
Ino stared at the man, her mouth hanging open as she processed everything she heard.
"WHAT THE FUCK" she screamed as she took off down the hall, scaring the man even more.
She made her way towards the lobby, wondering why Naruto was going to a Uzine treatment room. He hadn't even used up that much chakra, so why would he need to go get Uzine removed.
She felt what was like a punch to the chest as thought, "If he had Uzine built up… why didn't he ask me for help".
Anger quickly filled her head as she pictured Sakura's smug face in her head.
She dashed through the lobby and into the hot springs. She noticed a stair well and quickly made her way down.
She was stopped by a large red door that read 'Employee and Shinobi Only'. She looked down the hall and noticed there were more than one, but this was the only one closed, and a sign hung on the door that said 'Room In Use'.
She cursed as she stomped her foot. She couldn't just barge in could she? He wasn't doing anything wrong?
Even if he didn't ask her…
She snapped back towards the door and practically ripped at the door knob.
"HOW COULD HE NOT ASK ME?" she screamed as the lock kept the door shut, but it wasn't long before she felt the handle begin to shake as someone from the other side began to unlock the door.
She took a step back and prepared herself, swallowing her nerves as the door opened.