Let It All Work Out

As soon as her ninja identification was handed back to her from the bored chunin, Ino sprinted off in the direction of her home and flower shop. "We have to go report to the Hokage!" Choji tried to call his teammate back, only to be met with no response.

"Women are so troublesome," The young Nara sighed, before grabbing his own id card and began walking towards the tower, "She's been bothering us about when we're getting back ever since she left."

"Yeah I wonder what she's so worried about?" The brunette pondered before he pulled out a bag of BBQ chips and followed behind his teammate.

"I couldn't care less, I just want to sleep." Shikamaru threw his hands into his pockets, but even he was confused as to what had gotten into his teammate.

Ino was left panting as she ran into the flower shop, she quickly ran around the store, not able to find what she was looking for. She checked the storage closet, ran by the many different rows of shelves filled with many different flowers but she was still left empty handed. She walked to the back of the flower shop and rested her hand on the door leading to the greenhouse. She blushed when her mind repeated to the last words she heard from him.

"Orange suits you." She couldn't stop her heart beat from increasing as those words began to repeat almost as a chant in her head. The platinum blonde took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Empty.

Ino's heart sank as her breathing also quickened. 'It's the middle of the day, where are you Naruto?' Her mind was racing trying to figure out where he could be. 'Tsunade-sama assigned you a mission to work here. You should be here.' Her hands began to tremble as different possibilities ran through her mind. 'Did you tell her…? Is she taking care of you in my place?' Ino's breathing only became more labored as she thought about Sakura coddling Naruto. Her Naruto. 'What am I thinking? He's not mine! We're only friends!' Ino told herself in an attempt at calming her nerves.

"He's not with Sakura." Ino jumped before spinning around.

"MOM! Stop doing that!" The older woman only waved off her daughters yelling, not even bothering to look up from the clipboard full of orders. After a brief moment of silence the brunette looked up to meet the pale eyes of her daughter, sighing as she placed the clipboard down.

"He's at the hospital."

Naruto glanced up at the fiery orange fur of the giant fox before his eyes went back to the murky water he was sat in. "It wasn't my fault. I don't even know what happened." He stole another glance at his prisoner, "I'm sorry…" The only response he got was a deep huff from the seemingly sleeping creature. Naruto could feel the heat from the breath which was a stark contrast to the otherwise cold, damp sewer. The Jinjuuriki let out a sigh of his own before looking back at the endless black water. "Can you atleast help me wake up? I don't want to be stuck in a coma forever." His voice was barely above a whisper but it still echoed off of the massive walls.

"Yet you tried to take your own life." The bijuu never opened his eyes but Naruto could feel the malice from his words. Tears threatened to spill as the blond's regret rose. He had nothing to say in response for the fox was right. The heavy silence made Naruto scared to make any noise. He felt that even one breath would unleash the Kyubbi's wraith onto him.

"You're not alone Naruto." As the words from his silver-haired sensei rang through his mind, he thought back to the days after that. Ino had been by his side every day, pestering him around the flower shop making sure he didn't accidentally kill them. She followed him around watching every move he made. After his first two days at the flower shop, Ino had started to trust him and left him to help her mother with customers and deliveries.

Ino's mother, Inoue, always looked at him with soft brown eyes. She reminded him of his surrogate grandmother in Tsunade. She was always watching him from a distance with a caring but curious gaze. Whenever Ino was out of the shop she'd spend some time talking with the blond about small things like the different flowers and they even spent some time laughing about the pranks he would pull around the village. Almost every day she would bring him and Ino a lunch, sometimes she'd go to Ichiraku's or Yakiniku Q. Most of the time their lunch was homemade. Naruto had never had a homemade meal before, it was only a simple bento box, but it made him tear up and he thanked her at least ten times before he ravenously dug in.

The blond smiled at his memories with the two Yamanaka women. On multiple occasions he would find himself smiling while doing the mundane tasks around the flower shop. It was something he looked forward to every morning.

Naruto stood up and looked at the sleeping fox, before bowing his head, "Thank you." The fox didn't acknowledge that he even heard the shinobi, "You saved me and gave me a second chance when you didn't need to, and now I've found people who care about me. I promise to not take advantage of this opportunity and I will never do something like that again." He felt a small smile form even as he held his bow.

When he heard the giant fox huff at him, Naruto looked back up, "We'll see." The deep voice sounded indifferent but the blond saw something change on the fox's face.

Ino rushed to the hospital, with speeds she didn't know she had. Taking a shaky step into the overly sterile building, her heartbeat louder than the many different voices in the lobby, she saw the village's jonin cyclops. A tired black void met a panicked river of teal, before the silver haired man spun on his heel and started walking down the hallway, the Yamanka heir only a step behind. Kakashi put his hand on the door handle and wordlessly opened it to allow Ino to enter the room.

Once Ino was in the room she ran to Naruto's side only to see his forehead wrapped in bandages and his eyes closed. Various machines beeping and multiple tubes connected to his arms. She gasped and her hands went to cover her mouth. "Your mother said that he was leaving the flower shop the same day you left for your mission and when he got to the door he just collapsed, hitting his head. Tsunade-sama also mentioned that his scar had started to open and he's been in a coma ever since." With that Kakashi shut the door, leaving Ino alone as he thought that's what she would want.

Ino couldn't stop the tears from falling as she stared at the Jinchuuriki. Her hands were holding one of his as she fell to the ground sobbing. His cold hands only served to make her cry harder. 'Wake up Naruto! The village needsyou, the flower shop needs you, Tsunade-sama needs you so she can retire… I need you. I won't let you stay like this,I couldn't do anything for you then and I made a promise to always be by your side. I'll wake you up myself if I have to!'

Ino placed a gentle kiss on Naruto's cheek before whispering an apology. Ino dove into his mind and when she opened her vision was filled with glowing red eyes surrounded in orange fur. Kurama snarled, "DON'T EVER BRING YOURSELF HERE!" Opening his wide maw before letting out a roar that shook her ear drums, forcing the mind walker out of the sleeping shinobi's subconscious . Ino's pale eyes shot open as she stared at the object of her terror. 'What in Kami's name was that!' She couldn't help but take a step back as her whole body began to tremble. Ino wanted to hold Naruto and help him wake up in any way possible, but now she couldn't even take a step towards the comatose blond.

Ino takes a seat, her hands still shaking. The blond's heart and mind were racing trying to figure out what she just saw. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear when another blond walked in.

Tsunade walked into the hospital room, and as expected saw Ino sitting next to the closest thing she has to a grandson, having received the mission report from Shikamaru and Choji only a few minutes prior. She raised a thin eyebrow at the distance between the two, last time Naruto was here the young kunoichi would always hold his hand or be laying across his legs. The Hokage shrugged to herself as she walked to the other side of the hospital bed, her back to the window, before setting her hands above Naruto as they took a faint green glow. A few minutes pass and she is again distracted by Ino's behavior. She has yet to make a sound, instead allowing Tsunade to work in peace, the complete opposite of last time.

After finishing her task she began walking out of the room. Before she could walk past Ino spoke,"Hokage-sama, what happened to the Nine Tails?" The older woman took her first look at Ino and saw the crease on her brow, adorned by a slight glen of sweat. Tsunade also noticed that the Yamanaka's leg was bouncing at a rapid pace, when she looked a little closer she could see that her hands were shaking.

Despite talking to Tsunade, Ino's pale eyes never left the floor, the image of the giant fox still present in her mind. There was silence, until Ino noticed the green glow disappear from the reflection in the tiles, she then looked up to meet the chocolatey pools staring down at her. "Come with me." Ino stood up quickly hearing the seriousness in the busty Hokage's words.

The two blond's were quick in their exit of the room and soon the hospital. Ino's eyes were glued to the back of Tsunade's legs, not wanting to see other people stare at her shaken state. They picked up the pace once outside of the hospital. A brisk walk later they were shooting through the Hokage's tower. Tsunade sat in her chair almost hidden behind the stacks of paper piling up around the desk. Ino awkwardly stood only a few feet away as she kept playing with her nails, unsure of what else to do with her hands.

"Did you try to go in his mind?" Ino only nodded, causing the Hokage to say. "16 years ago, on October 10, the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails was placed under a genjutsu that forced her to open the seal, unleashing the Nine Tails into the village. As you know the village was scrambling to defend against it. The Fourth Hokage was a master in Fuinjutsu and knew that the only way to stop the fox was to seal it again but the problem was it needed to be sealed in a newborn. If he tried to seal it in anyone as old as an academy student it would disrupt their chakra network, killing them. Kushina was probably against it and would've told the Fourth Hokage to seal it back within her but she was pierced with a claw from the Bijuu protecting the newborn and Minato was forced to seal it into the newborn as he was also struck by the claw." Ino's eyes widened as Tsunade gave a moment for the teal eyed kunoichi to process the words.

"The newborn that was chosen was Naruto." Ino couldn't stop the gasp from escaping her mouth in time. "Hiruzen-sensei became the Hokage again in place of Minato. He thought that telling the village who the new Jinchuuriki was, that they would see him as a hero. Instead they treated him like the demon who killed their beloved Fourth Hokage, mobs beating him whenever they found him out on the streets. Shops would either close or charge him many times above their normal price for anything. Children were told to stay away from him. Almost the entire civilian population, along with some of the clans, ostracized him. Naruto's parents were killed during the attack and he was alone his entire childhood. I'm certain this is what led to him acting out all of the time and causing him to pull the pranks he did. All of the teachers in the academy refused to teach him instead of Iruka, meaning he was always behind you and your classmates. The only place he could get food was at Teuchi's ramen shop. They often gave him the food for free so that he wouldn't starve to death. I assume he thought of Sasuke as a close friend or even a brother which would explain why he wants to bring him back."

Ino was paralyzed. Her stomach felt unimaginably heavy, her skin tingling as she became dizzy. All of the pieces falling into place. Her friends always avoided Naruto but never said why. He was always being annoying and trying to fit himself into other's friends. He was always by himself after class on the swing, never eating lunch like the other kids. 'I am so stupid, I always made fun of himfor his clothes being dirty or not fitting. I constantly gotmad at him for always yelling. My parents tried to tell me to play with him but none of my friends wanted to. Now Idon't even know if he'll wake up and I won't get to apologize to him and-' She dropped to her knees and began to sob, the revelation of who Naruto was and her guilt being too much for the young blond to handle.

"Ino, don't blame yourself. You were only a kid and like everyone else you wanted to fit in. Naruto doesn't blame you or anyone. He considers you and the rest of your class his friends and he wouldn't want any of you to cry because of him." The tired Hokage got up and placed a comforting hand on the sobbing girl's shoulder, "He'll be okay and I'm sure he will wake up soon. You just have to give him time." Tsunade went back to her chair to continue her paperwork. "I don't mind if you go visit him but don't forget to take care of yourself. I'll put you on temporary leave. Do not tell anyone of this talk, you're dismissed." She buried herself back in the endless paperwork.

After a moment, the Yamanaka picked herself up, wiping the tears from her face. She gave a brief bow before walking out of the Hokage's office with only one place in mind.

Kakashi stopped by only a few minutes ago to check on Naruto. Ino walked in shortly after. He tried to talk to her only to be met with the buzzing of the fluorescent lights and the beeping of the heart monitor as she pulled a chair next to the bed and rested her hand in his.

The silver haired cyclops noticed Ino's high cheekbones were sunken. Her normal teal eyes were terrifyingly dim, dark circles staring out aimlessly at the ceiling. He decided he would do as much as he could to take care of her. While she wasn't a student of his and he wasn't much of a friend to her father or even Asuma, he didn't want the young girl to fall into a similar pit of despair as he himself was once stuck in.

Everyday for the last couple of days he would stop by to check on his sensei's legacy and he would find Ino in the same spot. A heaviness seemed to prevent Ino from lifting her body from anywhere but the chair, a statue instead of the proud kunoichi and heir to the Yamanaka clan. He tried bringing food for her but after seeing the bag go unnoticed everyday he finally decided to act.

"You can't stay like that forever. You're just going to end up starving yourself." He wasn't expecting a reply, many times the jonin would start a conversation only for it to fall on deaf ears. The only sign he ever got that Ino was alive was the small rising and falling of her chest.

"I'll sta-y here as lon-g as I need to. I h-ave t-o apo-logi-ze and m-ake it ri-gh-t." Although Kakashi was barely able to make out the words as she crocked them, he wouldn't pass up the opportunity he now had.

"Naruto is strong. He has been put through a lot, and had to deal with it all alone. Just seeing you here when he was in the hospital last time was more than he ever had before. I know that it meant more to him than either of us can understand. He also hates hospitals so I'm sure he will wake up soon so that he can get out of here."

"Then I will be here when that happens." The words were coming out easier for the blond now.

"I'm sure your parents are worried about you." Kakashi replied simply.

"They will be fine." Ino remained unmoving. Her hand still holding onto Naruto's as if he would float away if she let go.

The masked Copy Ninja heaved a heavy sigh, "At least take a shower so that when he wakes up so that you don't knock him out again with your stench. Or who knows that might just wake him up instead" Kakashi smiled to himself when he saw the blond react for the first time. She glared daggers into his unwavering eye before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ino lifted her other arm to her nose and sniffed. A blush came on her now almost translucent complexion. She leaned up slowly, placing a quick, gentle kiss on the sleeping blonde's cheek. "I'll be back soon, don't you dare wake up until I get back." Ino then disappeared in the same way Naruto's sensei did.

[A/N] Hey guys sorry for the late update I've been pretty busy getting ready to move but I promised to get this chapter out before I moved so I am.

It's a lot shorter than I was hoping but I know a lot of you have been waiting on this chapter for a while.

Unfortunately I'm not sure when I'll be able to start writing as writing on my phone is just too difficult for me. I tried to leave this chapter off at a decent spot to not seem to rushed but if it feels that way to you please let me know and I'll try to fix what I can

When I go to publish the chapter from my phone it's not formatted correctly and I've tried multiple times to fix it. I'm not sure if it's going to fix after I post it, if not then I will fix it as soon as possible from my computer, again I apologize for the problems this chapter may have.

Anyways, thank you all so much for the support and as always feel free to leave your comments and criticisms. Until next time, ja ne.