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Heroes of War.
That’s what they called them now. Shinobi who saved them all, who fought an unearthly foe and rid their world of her destructive forces.
But for the people who knew them, who knew Konoha 11, they knew that these hailed shinobi were just... children, or rather, young adults who had to fight, see bloodshed, cause bloodshed, learn how to adapt to the brutality of their world by becoming equally brutal when the rest had failed in that particular endeavour.
For Konoha 11 themselves though, they were just the product of unfortunate circumstances and that was that.
Sakura didn’t care if she had to heal gruesome injuries one moment if it meant she got to sit and gossip about superficial problems with her friends after a shift. Chouji was content to have his fill of favourite food then go right back to pummelling someone on a mission because that was his duty and he understood it.
Sasuke was tucked deep in prison down the T&I building. But even so – away from the whispers and glares and wary glances, well, he hadn’t been more at peace.
Ino... she was fine. She really was, even though she spent hours too many staring at the new, carved out grave of her father most days. Because sometimes, she’d look to her left and Shikamaru would be right with her, cigarette in mouth and a hand turning over a shougi piece repeatedly.
She was fine, because at the end of it all, she could come back to her group of friends and shout about some mundane issue like the lack of orange-coloured flowers in Konoha’s fields and Hinata would nod along as if yes, that is such an outrage!
And then there was Naruto. Cheerful as ever, optimistic to boot. His teammate abandoning him hadn’t changed that. Losing his master hadn’t changed that. Witnessing death on a battlefield hadn’t changed that.
A war hadn’t changed that.
Or, atleast that’s what most people thought. They’d look at too-wide smiles and shining blue eyes and think that yes, that’s how he’s always been, that’s his reality.
However, for those who’d seen his small, soft smiles, the shade of his eyes just a touch darker than usual – they knew he wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed.
But one thing about him remained constant.
Naruto was, above all else, resilient.
He wanted normalcy and he wanted peace. He yearned for a chance at being Naruto – not Konoha’s jinchuuriki or even the Fourth’s son. And if he achieved that by dragging all his friends to the park and fitting his butt on the small swings – well that was how it was going to be.
“Put more force into it Sakura!” he called out behind him, gripping the metallic chains of the swing in a hard grip.
“This thing’s gonna fall off its hinges if I put any more power into it you fool!” came Sakura’s reply, voice tight with irritation. She had wanted to take a go at the swing but the blond had hoarded it the moment they’d entered the park.
“Want me to take over?” Kiba offered. Sakura looked at him and immediately spotted the semi-devious grin on his face.
“Ofcourse,” she stepped away, thumping his back. “Give him hell,” she whispered and the Inuzuka was more than happy to oblige.
“Hey bro!” Naruto greeted as the swing made a backward curve before momentum took hold and he shot ahead once more. “Good you’re here. Sakura’s lousy efforts were such a bore!”
“I know right,” Kiba replied, perfectly sympathetic. “I will give you a great ride, don’t you worry!”
And then the swing came back, just as Kiba’s hands took hold of the seat. Digging his foot in the soft dirt behind, he channelled as much chakra into his wrists and hand. The next moment, Naruto went launching off again, jerking on his seat, the swing one push close to falling off the rod.
Maybe because he knew Kiba would only continue to get worse or the fact that he was aware that his friends wanted a turn on the swing, Naruto let go of the chains and went hurtling towards the ground. Using chakra and his fairly good acrobatic skills, he landed safely on the solid earth with only a scratch to show for his stunt.
“Idiot!” Sakura yelled but she was already hopping onto the swing. “What did you do that for?”
“It seemed fun,” he replied, dusting off his hands that had landed on the dirt. “Besides, you two conspired against me so I could get off.”
At that, he was subjected to twin expressions of innocence and ignorance.
“Oh fuck off!” he shouted back and the duo high-fived each other before Sakura started her journey on the kid’s swing.
“Here,” Chouji nudged Naruto, extending a box of sweets. “Take a few. I made them myself.”
“Thanks!” Naruto grinned, taking three of the chocolate treats and savouring them by shoving them all into his mouth together. “Wow. Those were great.”
“Original recipe,” Chouji said, smiling. “I’m trying to make our clan’s food pills to taste better. As they are, it’s like eating dogshit sprinkled with pepper and honey.”
Naruto raised a brow as the two walked towards Shikamaru and Sai, seated on the benches. “That’s very specific.”
“Are you questioning my taste buds?”
Before Naruto could reply, he spotted Ino and Tenten entering the area, the blonde talking excitedly with the other girl.
She looks happy today.
The thought echoed in his head unbidden.
“Not again,” the ever-irritable resident of his mind replied.
“What do you mean ‘not again?’”
“You are such a fool, Naruto,” Kurama sighed heavily through his nose. “I’m tired of your commentary on the Yamanaka girl. ‘her eyes look like they’re glowing at night’ and ‘her confidence is so infectious’ and ‘her knowledge about flowers is admirable’. Ugh. You’re crushing on her. Hard. And I’m done with this nonsense.”
“I’m sorry – what?” Naruto’s sputtering response did not amuse the bijuu.
“Look at you,” Kurama said, a hint of teasing in his eyes. “Your face is redder than my fur. Sage, save me from this teenage love crap. I’m too old to witness your denial.”
“That’s enough!” Naruto declared, shutting his eyes close and doing his best to shut out Kurama’s smug face out of his mind. Ever since their chakra had synced, the bijuu’s involvement in his active thoughts had increased and conversations between the two had become easy. Way too easy, if one asked Naruto.
“What’s enough?” asked the person who was apparently the subject of Naruto’s affections.
Naruto’s lids flew open, and his eyes met Ino’s who was scrutinising his blood-tinted face with interest. He’d said that last bit out loud, it seemed and he was going to murder Kurama for it.
“Nothing,” he shifted on his feet. Everyone else was also staring at him. His outburst had been quite attention grabbing. “Was having a chat with, er, the kyubi.” He didn’t say Kurama – he knew how touchy the bijuu was about sharing his name with people.
“So are y’all like buddies now?” Tenten inquired, cocking her head to the side. For some bizarre reason, they all seemed genuinely curious about it.
“Sure. We’re buddies,” Naruto said, shrugging. Partly, because it was the truth and partly because he knew Kurama would have a fit hearing it. He grinned then, “Actually, I’d go as far as to calling him my best friend.”
“You filthy liar–” Kurama’s wrathful protest was shoved to the back of his head.
“That’s interesting,” Ino murmured, a thoughtful frown on her face and maybe, somewhere deep down, Naruto could admit to himself that he revelled in her attention.
“What’s interesting?” Shikamaru’s drawling question turned everyone’s head towards him.
“That the kyubi doesn’t have a hostile presence inside his mind any longer.” Ino ran a hand through her ponytail idly, still lost in possibilities. “I’d always wanted to enter your mind. But for some reason my father forbid me against it. Something to do with the fact that the kyubi could try and harm my consciousness. But...” she trailed off and Shikamaru picked up.
“But if Naruto’s friends with the kyubi, that danger goes out the window and you can venture inside his head risk-free.”
“Mh-hm,” Ino’s trance broke and she turned towards Naruto with an eager, excited smile. “Please, can I do it? It’ll be super fun. I wanna see what it looks like for you – having two sentient entities in one mind. Please, let me do it!”
Naruto rapidly blinked at her, failing to form a response.
Using her jutsu on him? No... no. That was totally the worst idea he’d ever come across. What if she could read his mind? She was capable of doing it, wasn’t she? His mind wasn’t the best place, he knew that. It still resembled a fucking sewer and he wasn’t going to expose himself like that.
But... but she was looking at him with such enthusiastic expectation, like this was all she really wanted, like this would be the biggest gift for her. And after a war, and dealing with the grief of losing a parent, Naruto was more than inclined to let her have this if it meant she’d still look just as happy when the night ended.
He had to be a bit smart about this, though.
“Fine,” he replied after a minute, reluctant and unsure. “But I need to know what exactly will you be doing? There’s no way I’m letting you poke and prod at my memories.”
Ino grinned. She knew she’d get what she wanted now. “Ofcourse not! I have principles. We Yamanakas don’t sift through people’s memories without consent, okay?”
“Okay,” Naruto responded, still dubious about this whole thing but ready to go through with it anyway. “So how do we do this?”
“Sit down.” Ino ordered, waving at Sakura and Kiba to join them.
“Bossy,” Naruto spoke under his breath, even as he sat right onto the ground.
“Oh this is gonna be fun to watch,” Sakura commented as she joined their small huddle and took a seat beside Naruto. “It’s weird y’know? I still remember how it felt when she intruded upon my mind in the chunin preliminaries.”
“Stop scaring him!” Ino huffed, as she plopped directly opposite from the blond. “If he’s calm, this process will go much smoother.”
“Be calm then, Naruto,” Sakura said very helpfully, smiling sweetly at her friend.
“Thanks for the great advice,” Naruto said dryly, but he did work on his breathing and tried to clear his rapidly spiralling thoughts. He hoped Ino wouldn’t be able to read them or something. That would not end well.
“Ready?” Ino asked, forming a complicated handsign.
Nodding, Naruto replied, “As I’ll ever be.”
“Mind-walk Jutsu!” Ino’s whispered at the end of a series of signs and her body, now devoid of her consciousness, slumped. Shikamaru caught her before her body could fall unceremoniously on the dirt and sat behind her as support.
Inside Naruto’s head ensued a bout of disorientation for the both of them. Ino couldn’t see anything for a good while because something or someone was preventing her from doing so. She knew it was Naruto.
“Don’t resist,” she said as calmly as she could. “This won’t work well if you don’t allow me inside. If I get to breaking your mental barriers, it can damage your mind. I don't wanna do that.”
Naruto frowned externally, trying his best to let himself be eased into the process. It felt horribly disconcerting to feel a third presence inside his mind, gently probing to let it into his mindscape.
Ino felt a certain pressure from all around her before it diminished gradually. By the end of it, she stood blinking at the mellow light streaming in Naruto’s headspace from no apparent source. She felt somewhat cold and her feet were soaked with water that covered the entire surface in a thin layer. It seemed stagnant, unmoving, but that changed when she stepped forward causing tiny ripples to originate at the point of impact.
“Naruto...” she called out. She wasn’t about to admit it but Naruto’s mind wasn’t what she’d expected it to be like. It seemed distant, closed off – the total opposite of how the boy was, what his personality was like. It made her bite her lip in worry and confusion. “You’re here?”
And there – something shimmered a few metres ahead, yellow hair peeking behind the walls.
“Here,” Naruto’s voice echoed around and Ino wasted no time in approaching him. He looked just as he did outside, but like her own body, his was surrounded in a haze of light, blurring his existence a tad.
She glanced around and took a step back on instinct. Because there, right ahead of them was a huge – huge like a fucking hill – creature, red fur, sharp black eyes, glistening white teeth resembling biting amusement. It was the kyubi, completely unrestrained, looking at the two with utter boredom.
What surprised Ino the most, perhaps, was how relaxed the nine-tailed beast seemed – he was lounging, honest to Sage – lounging on the wet ground, tail moving back and forth in slow, light motions.
“–Ino?” the blonde blinked, snapping out of her focused observations and looked at Naruto whose eyes were bright with worry. “Uh, are you fine?”
“Ah, yes, yes. I was just...looking,” she answered lamely, eyes drawn to the bijuu again. Naruto followed her movement and a grin tugged at his lips.
“That’s my best friend – the kyubi! Isn’t he adorable?”
The some-thousands years old creature growled in annoyance and Ino had to commend Naruto’s stupid bravery for angering such a mighty being.
“I will burn your insides with corrosive chakra, Naruto. Then let me see how much more adorable you'll think I am.”
“Aww, this feistiness just adds to your cuteness, my fri–”
Ino stomped hard on his foot, making Naruto yelp.
“That was very rude of you,” he said hotly, scooting away from Ino.
“And you’re being very rude by endangering me through goading a fucking tailed beast!”
“Shut up,” Kurama spoke in a low rumble, like wood burning in a hot furnace. “I hate humans. Utterly manner less. Can’t you two see that I’m trying nap here?”
“Er...sorry,” Ino said, because she had more self-preservation instincts than her companion. And because she didn’t know what a softie the bijuu was in actuality. “I’ll just observe everything quietly now.”
Naruto threw Kurama a sour look, a little put out that he couldn’t interact with Ino any longer. Kurama caught the look, and to the blond’s utmost horror, smirked.
“Ah, Ino, is it?” the bijuu spoke, rolling the name off his tongue. “Come here, child. My myopia doesn’t let me see you clearly.”
Ino frowned at Naruto in confusion, looking for some clarification but the Uzumaki seemed just as lost as she was. She shrugged and walked towards the bijuu. He wouldn’t kill her. She was sure of atleast that much.
“Hmm... I see,” the bijuu said, shoving his snout in her personal bubble. Ino restrained from fidgeting with the fabric of her t-shirt.
“What do you see?” she asked instead, pinning the large creature under her own assessing look. She doubted she was very intimidating to Kurama, but she had to try.
“That you need more...” his clawed hand rose and one sharp nail jabbed lightly on her head, “honesty.”
And then she felt a stinging pain in her scalp, like something pointy and thin was being inserted right into her skull. Her chakra pathways felt hot and warm and full all of a sudden and when she blinked open her bleary eyes, she wasn’t in Naruto’s mindscape any longer. She was in her own body.
“Are you fine?” someone asked, too close to her ear and she realised she was held in her teammate’s arms. She slowly got up and looked at the Nara.
“Think so...” she frowned, gently touching her head at various places. She could feel dull phantom aches but no active pain like she’d felt moments ago.
What the fuck was that Kurama?
Ino blinked. That...that wasn’t her voice. Yet, it came from her own head. That couldn’t be right because the voice sounded a lot like Naruto’s.
She looked at him. The blond was still sat in a cross-legged position, hands fisted on his thighs and eyes shut close. There was a severe frown on his forehead.
Was that really Naruto’s voice I just heard?
She thought to herself, gaze flitting from one person to the next.
The blond’s eyes flew open, mild shock on his face.
Ino... she’s in my head?
Ino’s brows knitted in bemusement. That hadn’t been her own thought. She was damn sure it was Naruto’s voice that whispered in her mind. What the fuck was happening?
“Naruto...” she spoke out and she could see his own face was ridden with puzzlement. “Can you... can you hear me. In your head?”
“Yes,” came Naruto’s soft, unsure reply but another Yes resounded in Ino’s head, just as doubtful as Naruto’s verbal response.
And in that moment, Ino thought,
Oh shit.
And it seemed that Naruto agreed. Wholeheartedly.
“I merely exacted revenge upon you,” Kurama said as a way of explanation. His eyes were drooping and he seemed moment’s away from falling asleep mid-sentence. “This should teach you to not declare me as your ‘buddy’ or associate me with adjectives like ‘adorable’.
“You’re the absolute worst!” Naruto said, gritting his teeth. He really hated the bijuu at times like these. “I will strangle your stu–”
Stop yelling... it’s disorienting.
Ino’s tentative voice made Naruto’s mouth clamp up. It seemed that anything he spoke in his mindscape or thought in general reached Ino in whichever way he’d said it or planned on saying it.
Sorry. I’ll be more careful.
It’s fine. This is just weird.
Naruto exited his headspace again to look around him. It seemed Hinata and Shino had arrived a few moments ago and Kiba was filling them in about the occurrences of the previous few minutes.
“They can hear each other?” he heard Shino question. “In their heads?”
“Yeah. They’re all mentally linked,” Sakura chimed in. “Ino probably messed up her jutsu or something.”
“I did not!” Ino defended. “That asshole kyubi did this!”
“How can a bijuu perform mind arts?” Sakura countered. “Besides, even if he could, why would he bother?”
Ino fell silent at that. Her mind went back to what Kurama had said before she’d felt the pain in her head.
Honesty.
Her mind supplied and Naruto’s face took upon a contemplative look. He’d heard her thought then.
“Can you hear what he’s thinking right now?” Chouji asked, looking between the two blond-haired friends of his.
Immediately, there was a barrage of rushed thoughts in her mind that sounded like–
Don’tthinkanything, don’tthinkanything on loop.
“Don’t think anything,” she blurted, before she had the time to question it.
Naruto’s lips pursed unhappily.
“This is unfair. Why can I not hear you any more but you can hear me just fine?”
“Because I’m controlling my thoughts,” Ino gave him a taunting smile. “I know how to compartmentalise my mind. I think every one of your strong thoughts is reaching me... but not everything. Snippets and certain sentences. But only the ones that are at the very forefront of your mind.”
Naruto frowned. “Can I – can I relay a specific thought to you? By thinking, er, hardly about it?”
Ino shrugged. “Try it out. I’ve got no clue.”
Naruto nodded, his eyebrows scrunching up in focus and Shikamaru leaned ahead in interest. This whole situation was a major fuck-up but the Nara would be lying if he said it wasn’t entertaining.
The grass is green.
Ino gave out a short laugh on hearing the thought.
“Seriously? That’s what you’re thinking about?”
“I was making an observation!” Naruto defended, bristling. “Stop being so judgemental.”
“Okay, okay,” Ino raised her hand placatingly. “Good job though. You can control your thoughts somewhat. When I was trained in the mind arts, the first thing–”
Another thought reached her. It was much more quiet in its delivery. Abrupt in a way only honest feelings are.
She sounds so passionate.
Ino coughed, a little red climbing up her ears. She didn’t know why she’d reacted that way. Many people had told her that her passion was very forthcoming, at least when it came to her clan’s jutsus. Hell, she was sure Naruto had said those words to her face once or twice before.
Yet, she’d never really taken those compliments to heart. She didn’t know whether they were sincere. But this thought was. She knew it because she could actually feel it.
She let her barriers loosen for one thought to travel back to Naruto.
It's because I am.
The blond gave her a wavering grin, like he hadn’t known the thought had reached her at all.
“I think we should go home guys,” Shikamaru said, sensing that this matter wouldn’t be resolved right now. “We can figure this out tomorrow. Once we’re all well rested.”
“That’s a reasonable idea,” Shino backed him up, glancing at Sakura and Naruto who both looked a bit exhausted. They’d returned from a week-long mission just this morning. “My kikachu also need to sleep now.”
And so they all stood up, dragging their feet to the exits, saying their goodbyes with smiles on their faces. They promised to return tomorrow and find a solution to the whole mental connection issue.
As Naruto trudged towards his home alongside Shino and Tenten, he noticed some weight decreasing from his mind, a certain pressure reducing the farther he walked from the park. His only guess was that the connection’s effects were fading with distance. If distance was all it took to break it – well, that was mildly disappointing but he refused to think deeply about why he thought so.
Going... feels better... think the link’s looseni–
Naruto halted his walk for a second before continuing. That had been Ino. He wondered why she’d let her mental barriers down to let that message pass. Did she think he wouldn’t figure it out himself?
Soon he was outside his apartment, a parcel from Ichiraku’s in hand and the connection still lingering but its presence was much less potent.
He stepped inside.
Ino hummed to herself, a nonsensical tune she always seemed to come back to. Lying on her bed, she made sure her mental barriers were firmly in place before she let her thoughts wander towards the happenings of that day.
It felt bizarre to hear someone else’s voice in her head. She reckoned everyone would feel that way. She felt imbalanced by it, wary of someone sharing her mind with her – afterall, Yamanaka’s were rarely subjected to the treatment they dealt towards others. It made her feel itchy all over.
Soap’s over... groceries... hothothot!
Several drifting, incomplete thoughts were streaming towards her consciousness from Naruto. The distance made them all jumbled up and difficult to decipher. Nevertheless, she liked how domestic and trivial Naruto’s thought process was right now. She let his idle musings lull her into a peaceful state.
She allowed her mind to drift towards what she’d observed in Naruto’s mindscape. That place wasn’t welcoming at all. She was never stepping in there again – and if she did, it would probably be to skin that bijuu alive.
A benign urge, a pull, made itself known to her then. Confused and a little curious, she shut her eyes and let the feeling guide her.
She could feel something now. An emotion that was decidedly not her own.
«solemnity»
«a longing... for quietness»
She gripped her blanket and turned to her side. These weren’t her own emotions, she was sure of it. They felt like insertions, like someone was slowly letting these foreign feelings into her system and she realised with a jolt, that these feelings were Naruto’s. No other explanation made sense.
This mental link applied to their emotions too, somehow. She hadn't really felt anything before now though. Was it triggered by distance or something? She had no clue.
Ino felt more confusion pile up. Naruto was longing for... quiet? But why? He lived alone, didn’t he? He should have plenty of peace in his home?
Another feeling hit her, leaving her momentarily breathless. She knew that emotion all too well.
«grief»
Then, another.
«guilt»
Ino felt choked up even though she wasn’t really feeling any of it herself. The empathy was a little too strong, though, so she blinked her eyes open, letting go of the pull inside her head before she’d let the tears flow.
She had a wild notion in her head then – to reach out through the link and maybe, maybe comfort Naruto. But as soon as she had the thought, she banished it. She doubted the blond would feel comfortable knowing she could feel what he did. She felt like she was stepping over some boundary, or several, here. She didn’t want to risk angering or even disappointing Naruto.
She took a breath and cleared her head. Falling back onto her soft pillow, she hoped for sleep to come easy.
Naruto woke up to the mellow rays of the sun tickling the back of his eyelids. He felt oddly at calm for some reason. He was used to waking up, feeling jittery and restless after some half-nightmarish dream. But this morning was certainly different if the steady stream of pure placidity entering his system was anything to go by.
He felt a comforting serenity within himself, a serenity he was definitely not capable of evoking.
Ino, then.
His lips quirked up into a smile. He supposed that this was what she felt while sleeping. It was definitely an upgrade compared to the waves of utter confusion that came through the link towards him last night. He’d been alarmed by it – because he was in the middle of parsing through an album with Jiraiya’s pictures and–
So yes, confusion wasn’t what he’d ever feel looking at his late master’s smiling visage. Clearly, it had been Ino’s confusion reaching him and he, through a haze of panic, hoped his own feelings didn’t reach her. If they did, well, today was going to be abundantly awkward.
He sighed and stood up from the clutches of his comfortable bed. It took valiant effort to do so, but he’d been accustomed to it by now. After his normal daily routine, he exited his home. By the time he was hopping over rooftops, headed for the Kage Tower, the tranquility had drained from his system, indicating that Ino had probably woken up.
Time to control his thoughts again.
That day’s awake Ino was not a happy Ino. For one, some hooligan child from her clan had stomped all over her newly bloomed hyacinths. For another, she’d opened her eyes to a pounding headache and a constant reverberating presence of Naruto inside her head, once again giving her mundane narrations about the comfortablity level of the seating arrangements in the Kage Tower’s visiting rooms.
“Fucking brats,” she bit out, stomping up the stairs to her room again. “Fucking stupid Naruto.”
She swung open the door, movements still aggressive and rushed.
“Fucking mind jutsu–” she dragged a box of kunai to the edge of her desk and threw it down, uncaring of the clatter it made. “Fucking infuriating bijuus!”
Her hand reached what she was looking for and she pulled out the small medicine box tucked between two sets of books. Popping a pill to soothe her headache, she exhaled in a rush. Trying to get a grip on her emotions, she once again focused on the thoughts coming from Naruto.
Old lady Tsunade... I can be Hoka...
Training... Shikamaru... more responsible...
Am I good enough?
Ino blinked, plonking onto her bed. She tried to focus more on the blond’s thoughts even though she knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. Whatever. She was too curious to feel guilty about it.
Naruto’s foot shook in a nervous motion as he waited for Kakashi-sensei’s meeting to get over. The man had promised to go over his progress regarding his studies once he returned from the mission he’d been assigned last week.
Naruto knew he’d gotten better. Shikamaru was a right taskmaster when he wanted to be, but he was also a good teacher. A teacher that challenged Naruto into learning and the blond thought it was the best method to hammer information into his brain.
But he was still just the teeniest, tiniest bit apprehensive about actually looking over his improvement. Because he wasn’t sure it’d been enough. He also wasn’t sure why these people were putting so much time into preparing him for the post of Hokage either. Shikamaru knew all of this already, so did Sakura. And so did... Sasuke.
They were also strong. They were also capable. Hell, they had the sense of responsibility he often lacked. They had intelligence and they knew how to be diplomatic.
Naruto. Well, he could admit he was lacking in most of those areas and he couldn’t, for the life of him, understand why he was still a candidate for the next Hokage.
Did they feel obligated to let him have the position because he was a hero of the war?
He hoped not. He really only wanted that position on merit. He wanted it to always be able to protect his village, his home, his family and friends.
Ofcourse, he’d never let these insecurities show. Becoming Hokage was his dream afterall and if he was being pushed in its direction, was receiving support – who was he to look a gifthorse in the mouth?
No, he’d learnt to deal with self-doubt long ago and he wouldn’t let it stand in his way to achieving his childhood goal.
A searching sensation washed over him and Naruto stilled. The link was being... stretched open. There was no other way to explain it.
Was Ino trying to reach out to hear his thoughts better?
What the fuck was that all about?
Naruto didn’t let his annoyance overwhelm him. He wasn’t about to be vulnerable towards Ino, especially not like this. Fixing his gaze on the cream coloured wall opposite him, he set to thinking certain unfavorable sentiments that would surely deter Ino from poking her nose any further.
Ino, you’re absolutely annoying.
Ino’s mouth fell open as the thought went round and round her head. It wasn’t a broken, or idle statement either. Naruto was definitely thinking it actively, purposely letting it flow towards her.
And he called her annoying. The nerve of the guy.
You’ve got no sense of personal boundaries.
This one made her a little uncomfortable. She was usually very mindful of respecting other’s privacy because she respected her own personal space just as much. But something about Naruto – his supposed duality was too tempting to not uncover, to not dig her hands into and search every crevice of.
She blamed Shikamaru. Her damn teammate had made her too ready to follow along trails and unfurl mysteries.
After a moment of thinking, she let go of her hold on the link, and stopped purposely trying to drag thoughts out of the blond’s mind.
A rush of relief went through her mind, surging straight from Naruto to her.
Thank...
That bit was enough to piece together what Naruto meant. Ino bit her lip and in a split second, her barriers came rushing down and she directed one word towards the Uzumaki.
Sorry.
The sun was a scorching ball of heat in the sky when Naruto stepped out of the Tower, throat sore from answering a myriad of questions but overall content with how the meeting went. He felt a bit better about himself too, Kakashi-sensei had subtly complimented his efforts with a “your brain is still functional, that’s good to know.”
With a little pep in his step, Naruto made his way to the Hyuga compound. Hinata and the remaining members of team Gai would meet him there so they could go visit Neji’s grave together. For all the plan sounded morbid, Naruto’s spirits were high.
On his way there, he decided to experiment a bit with the link. All he could feel from Ino’s side were recurring bouts of irritation, concentration and then irritation again. It had been silent since the uncharacteristic apology.
He forced his thoughts to form proper sentences, sending it as a message to Ino.
Hey. What’s up?
«surprise»
He felt Ino’s suprise at that and grinned to himself. Catching the blonde off-guard was a bit too amusing for him. After a minute, Ino’s voice rang in his head. It was softer than the usual sharp timbre of hers. He liked it just as much.
Nothing. Why do you ask?
He turned the corner and slowed his pace to let the conversation go on for longer.
Your annoyance keeps returning again and again. Makes me wonder whom is it directed at.
It took a few moments again before Ino’s response came with a hint of complaint in it.
You. These damn books. This blasted link. Everything, actually.
Books? Naruto questioned. What are you reading?
The response came quicker this time.
Kazashi’s Comprehensive Guide on Mental Bonds and Telepathic Transmissions.
Naruto couldn’t stop the shock that went through the link. It wasn’t exactly surprising though. Ino would definitely have something on the subject, given her clan.
Wow. That’s quite the mouthful.
A hum was Ino’s reply and the link felt silent for a bit. Refusing to let the matter drop midway, Naruto let another thought through.
So eager to get me out of your head?
The same flow of annoyance flooded his head drawing a chuckle from the blond. Ino’s buttons were so easy to press.
Yes.
Her thought returned with a biting voice.
So I’d appreciate it if you would shut up and let me research about it. I’m sure you don’t like me in your mind either.
As soon as Ino’d let the words through, she regretted it. But she'd absolutely no idea why. Her emotions were all over the place and she let her psyche get barricaded with a snap. Naruto was thankfully silent thereafter though his idle ponderings returned. But they were quickly becoming background noise for her and she found she could still focus on her studying if she squinted a bit too hard at the words.
The day progressed in similar fashion. She found a few useful bits of information about psychological connections but none of them seemed to apply to their situation.
Except one.
She had to know for sure though, so she tucked the book back into her haphazardly categorized bookshelf and descended the stairs towards her father’s flower shop which was hers now and wasn't that a bittersweet thought?
She wanted nothing more than to curl up behind the counter, some mint tea and a good novel to keep her company. As things stood, she had to tend to her patch of flowers ruined by one of her cousins.
She sighed, pulled up her sleeves and got to work.
Halfway through the task, she tuned in Naruto’s thoughts still drifting in her conscious – much more softer and fragmented than that morning. He seemed to have moved even farther away, perhaps to the outskirts of the village.
Humid... sweaty... more walking...
She smiled to herself. Well, she could agree with Naruto. The weather was positively horrid today. Sweat trickled down her brow as she continued with replanting seeds and patting down the soil.
Hinata... sad too... I should’ve been...
A frown marred a features and she restrained herself from forcing open the link again so she could hear his thoughts better. She didn't think he’d appreciate it. For all that Naruto wore his heart on his sleeve, there were parts of him he kept carefully concealed and even knowing that fact felt like an intrusion already.
Why did Neji... because of me... I can’t...
Naruto’s sentences became even more scattered but his emotions were strong and weighty when they reached Ino. There was it again – the grief. The sorrow. The remorse.
And if Ino tried, really really hard to just feel better what Naruto did – she thought she experienced it herself.
The tiny traces of... self-loathing.
Tears stung in her eyes again and the annoyance returned. These weren’t her own sentiments but that bloody Naruto felt everything too deeply to not reach Ino. She dropped the bag of remaining seeds to the side, slipped out of her boots and ran up. Entering the shower, she stood under the running hot water and tried to forget, tried to unfeel everything Naruto was going through at that moment.
She didn’t succeed.
Naruto swiped a hand at his eyes, quickly drying them of the tears that had come out of their own volition. Lee and Tenten weren’t fairing any better but by far, Hinata was in the worst state. Not because she was a sobbing mess. Quite the opposite actually. She stood there, unmoving, eyes fixed on the gravestone carved with her brother’s name. Her hand clenched and unclenched and Naruto knew what was happening. Her grief was too much for her to bear – so much so that she refused to put herself through it at all.
It would take time and effort and a lot of work before she’d be able to hear Neji’s name and not freeze up.
“Hinata,” he swallowed and placed a grounding hand on her shoulder. “Let’s move out. We’ve been here long enough.”
That seemed to break her out of her anguished reverie and she gave Naruto a watery smile.
“Yes,” she nodded to herself and took a shaky step backward, as if increasing the distance between herself and the grave would lessen the hurt. “The park again?”
“Nah,” Tenten spoke up quietly. “Training ground nine. Kiba and Sai want to spar today.”
“I shall join them in this youthful endeavour!” Lee’s voice was just as enthusiastic as ever and maybe if there was a crack in it, none of them pointed it out. The group of four made their way to the grounds with heavy hearts but with different degrees of optimism to go with it.
“I’d say I won this round,” Sai said, smiling placidly at Kiba's prone form.
“You bastard!” the Inuzuku groaned. “Your dirty tactics never stop, do they?”
“I was merely being resourceful,” Sai responded and outstretched his hand in a mock-truce.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kiba rolled his eyes. “Sending your ink-made mice up my pants is what you call resourceful.”
“Precisely,” Sai blinked, as if Kiba was being particularly obtuse by repeating what was already obvious.
“Oi! You two – clear the area for us!” Ino’s shout made the two boys shuffle to empty the flat ground. Ino trudged towards the undrawn boundary, stance at the ready. Sakura took a position opposite the blonde.
Sitting by the sidelines, Shino adjusted his glasses and Chouji removed some snacks to munch on. Beside him, Shikamaru lay on the ground, hands pillowing his head and he kept one eye open to observe the fighting that occured before him.
“You can do it, Ino!” Chouji cheered, for old time’s sake. It felt like they were back to the chunin exams, two nervous yet determined kunoichis battling it out for a chance to prove themselves.
“Hell yeah I can!” Ino yelled back, a kunai gripped securely in her right hand and the left one tucked into her pouch, reaching for a paralysing senbon.
Sakura gave her a challenging smirk, green eyes sparkling with a thrill that Ino readily returned. Kiba shouted for them to begin and Sakura came forward in a burst of speed, drawing up a curtain of dirt and small pebbles as she approached Ino.
The blonde angled her body out of the way of the first punch, ducked as a kick whooshed past her head and swiped her kunai at Sakura’s leg. The pinkhead hopped in a graceful motion and landed with her back to Ino’s crouching form.
The senbon plucked out of her pocket, Ino made to jam it in Sakura’s exposed foot but her friend’s fist was hurtling towards the solid ground. It was either move or bear the consequences of a mini-earthquake and Ino knew when to retreat.
She body flickered a few metres away, panting slightly with exertion. Her mind was sharp even though her head was plagued by Naruto’s useless commentary. She took a breath and marched forward, senbon hidden between two fingers. Sakura met her halfway and the two girls engaged in an intense taijutsu bout, fists flying, hair dancing around, kicks and shoves exchanged like free candy.
And there.
There it was. The opening Ino’d been looking for since the start of the match. She dug her sandal into the dirt, bracing for impact, fingers entwining so the senbon popped by the tip, her arm working towards the attack and then she –
Her hair is pretty amazing.
Ino faltered, the thought too loud, too heartfelt, ringing in her head and she looked to her left – by the entrance and four people were walking towards them. Her eyes, though, landed straight on Naruto. His gaze was fixed on her and the moment they made eye-contact a series of curses flew in her mind and she wasn’t sure who spoke them.
A bone-shattering pain shot up her ankle and she was falling down, Sakura’s kunai pressed firmly on her neck, her friend’s body pinning her down – leaving no room for movement.
“Yield?” Sakura asked, a smile on her lips.
“Yield.” Ino said grudgingly and then she was being hauled up by Sakura and dragged towards the sides, next to Kiba and Sai.
Ino wasn’t listening to her chatter though. She was too busy stewing on her rage for that dolt Uzumaki. Him and his fluctuating emotions and his fucking sincerity and aching openness and very weird thoughts and genuine compliments that came completely out of left field.
Ugh. She wanted to punch his goddamn face.
Against her better judgement, she let her anger through.
I want to punch your goddamn face.
A smirk took hold of her lips and wouldn’t let go when she noticed Naruto had suffered a punch to the gut in his spar against Chouji and kami, that must’ve hurt.
Why?
His thought came muffled, in between half-cooked strategies on how he could trip Chouji with a kick.
Because you distracted me.
She could see him frowning even as he blocked an incoming attack and replied back.
Distracting?
Before Ino could reply, a wave of playfulness caught her off-guard, filling up the link.
Is my presence distracting to you, Ino?
What? No!
Ino glared at Naruto’s moving figure, leaping and jumping and darting here and there – not one sign of fatigue.
Not in that way, you fool!
She added for good measure and didn’t miss the grin on Naruto’s face. Kami knows what the guy was thinking – well, technically, she knew most of what he was thinking but she wanted to know even more.
Sure. His voice was flippant with a hint of sarcasm. If I wasn’t distracting then I guess we’ve got no problem here?
Ino’s teeth gnashed together. Naruto was good at this – getting her riled up and lose sense of herself. She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. Chouji was making a run for Naruto, fisted hand coiled back to build momentum. The blond looked prepared to dodge and retaliate with his own strike.
Ino smiled.
Your hair looks pretty amazing too.
Naruto froze. Chouji’s punch landed yet again and Naruto went skidding back, colliding with a tree with a painful thud.
When he looked up, Ino felt his eyes boring through hers. Bewilderment remained on his face but his thought was clear.
Did you mean it?
And the Yes that went out was wholly involuntary but when Naruto’s entire face visibly brightened – well, Ino couldn’t say she regretted the compliment.
“Did you speak to the kyubi about it?” Shikamaru asked. “From what Ino told me, it seems to be the bijuu’s work.”
“I tried twice last night,” Naruto said, sipping water from a canteen. “He won’t respond.”
“Try again then,” Ino said. “I need to confirm a theory.”
Nodding, Naruto placed the water by the side and shut his eyes. He found himself in his sewer-resembling headspace again.
“Oi! You stupid fox – get up!”
Then, remembering that insulting Kurama had landed him in this mess in the first place, he tried again.
“I mean, dear Kurama – my wonderful and mighty strong bijuu frie... er, acquaintance, please wake up.”
One of Kurama’s eyes flew open and lazily fixed on Naruto’s sheepishly smiling face.
“I’m so very flattered,” Kurama drawled, tail swishing this way and that lazily. “But this isn’t earning you any favours and you’re not getting any answers from me. Go away.”
Naruto jutted his chin out stubbornly, like he always did before a difficult argument and pointed accusingly at the tailed beast.
“You linked our minds – we all know it.”
Kurama did his own equivalent of a shrug.
“As you said, you all know it. I don't see the need to add anything to it.”
“Which means you know how to reverse it too!”
“Of course I do,” Kurama snorted, both eyes covered behind his lids again.
“Then go ahead and undo this shit.”
“No.”
“No? What do you mean no?”
“No means no. Not doing it. Not interested. Nah. Nope. Nu-uh.”
“I liked you better when you were behind bars y’know,” Naruto said sullenly, resigned to the fact that Kurama wouldn’t be providing any relevant or helpful information.
“I never liked you at all,” Kurama said dryly. “So no harm done. Now leave and let me nap in peace.”
A moment later, Naruto shrugged at the small audience eyeing him.
“He did it but he won’t say how or why.”
Ino hummed in thought for a minute. Her eyes turned sharp with resolve and she pinned her gaze on Naruto.
“Chakra,” she said. “He’s linked us with chakra.”
Naruto blinked, playing with some blades of grass absentmindedly.
Chakra. So Kurama passed on his bijuu chakra to Ino?
Yes. He did.
Ino’s response surprised him even though he should’ve been used to it by now. He frowned again as another thought struck him.
Does this make you a sort of pseudo-jinchuuriki?
“Maybe,” Ino muttered out loud. “Point is – mental bonds as strong as the one we have need a powerful cause. We lack the, well, emotional connection for it to work so effectively. Only I’m adept at mind arts, you aren’t so that can’t be the reason either. We didn’t consent to the connection. So the only remaining option is a strong chakric link. And that’s what created the bond and made it work so well.”
“So...” Naruto worried his lip between his teeth. “So you just have to waste away his chakra, right?”
Ino blinked, as if that solution hadn’t come to her before nodding slowly.
“I think so. I mean it should work. In theory. I don’t know how much chakra he passed onto me.”
“How does it feel?” Shino muttered his question. “Do your reserves feel full?”
“More than full,” Imo replied. “Overwhelming. It’s kind of flooding my systems, I’d say.”
“Perform some justu,” Sakura gave her an encouraging nudge. “Let’s see what happens.”
Ino acquiesced easily because she was curious about this too. If performing a jutsu till all of kyubi’s chakra flowed out of her system was how the link broke – well, she would have it done by tonight.
She performed a simple transformation. It wasn’t taxing in anyway but she kept changing her form. After about ten different transformations, she felt for her chakra.
“Fuck,” she spoke out. “This is a problem.”
What is?
The question rang through her head and she met Naruto’s concerned gaze.
“I can’t harness the bijuu’s chakra. I don’t know how to. This process just drained on my own reserves.”
“Which means,” Shikamaru picked up with a sigh, “that unless you’re completely out of your own chakra, the bijuu’s chakra won’t be utilized for anything – sustainment or jutsu.”
Wide-eyed, Naruto asked, “We can’t do that. Draining all her chakra puts her at risk. There’s gotta be some other way to solve this shit, right?”
“Probably,” Sakura said, leaning towards Naruto. “You’re sure the kyubi won’t help?”
Naruto shook his head. “He sounded pretty certain about it. But... but I don’t think he did this to harm Ino. He’s not bad like that.”
“The kyubi’s still gonna get it from me,” Ino said with fisted hands pressed firmly to her sides. “Who the fuck does he think he is to do this shit to us?”
On one side, Naruto agreed with her. On another, Kurama was kind of his friend, in the loosest sense of the word, even though the sentiment wouldn't be reciprocated by the bijuu anytime soon. He settled for a sympathetic smile, “Yeah, he is a bit of an asshole.”
“Bit?” Ino raised a skeptical brow. “That’s the biggest understatement I've ever heard.”
It’ll be fine.
No sooner had the thought reached her than Ino brushed it off. “No, it won’t be. I have to go on missions again and I can’t focus on my job with your incessant mumblings in my brain.”
“Er... sorry about that,” Naruto actually looked apologetic about it so Ino didn’t snap back. “I’ll try to, uh, think less?”
Ino snorted, “As if. You need to learn how to strengthen your mental barriers. But that’ll come later. First, we need to figure out how the fuck do we break this link.”
“Our best bet would be to consult another Yamanaka,” Shikamaru supplied, scratching at his ponytail. “I’ve got an inkling though...”
Naruto stared at the Nara. “Don’t leave it at that. What’s your gut telling you?”
Shikamaru gave an indifferent shrug, “You asked for it. So, I think this link won’t go away till the kyubi decides it’s time.”
“Well, shit.”
Ino ground her teeth.
After another hour, Sai and Sakura managed to somehow corral Ino into their little huddle and drag her home. She’d stopped seething a while back but anger was still hot in her veins as she trudged towards her house.
Tree... looks calming.
She let out a breath. Naruto’s weird and random thoughts had returned once more.
“Just weather this maddening storm, okay Ino?” Sakura gave her an understanding glance once they reached the Yamanaka compound.
Ino harrumphed, wrenched her hand free from her friend’s grasp, nodded in goodbye and went straight to her room. She should be better than this – she knew it but those heavy, suffocating feelings were returning and she feared she’d do something crazy like run up to Naruto’s apartment and ask what the fuck was wrong with him – why did it feel like he was drowning in distress?
Slapping her cheek so it smarted, she lay on her bed, clothes unchanged and an exhaustion that only doubled and she knew exactly why.
Naruto pulled up his blanket, then off, then on again. This pull and push went on for a minute before he gave a frustrated sigh and stared at the ceiling, unblinking. He couldn’t sleep and another attempt to get Kurama talking had failed. The link remained eerily silent apart from the tiredness he could feel from Ino’s end adding to his own.
Without questioning it too much, he let a thought go towards Ino.
Awake?
No surprise or shock came through but after a considerable amount of time, Ino replied – resigned and quiet.
Yeah. Your loud thoughts won’t let me sleep.
Sorr–
No, don’t be. It’s not your fault.
But I–
It’s alright.
There was some force behind those words, something that assured Naruto and he stopped his efforts to apologize. Besides, the blonde was right. This, atleast, wasn’t his fault.
Thanks.
He felt some sort of muted happiness at that and he had this image in his head – Ino, lying on her bed, messy hair and tired eyes, lips quirked into the tiniest of smiles just because Naruto thanked her. It made the blond giddy and ridiculously pleased.
Y’know... this isn’t so bad.
Really? Ino’s response was laced with amusement now. I had to take two pills to get my headaches under control. This is pure misery.
Hey, how many people get to say that they’re capable of performing telepathy, huh? That counts for something right?
Did you forget I come from the Yamanaka clan? Performing telepathy is our bread and butter.
Naruto let out a childish huff, and decided to change the topic now that they’d got a proper conversation going.
How’s work at the flower shop going?
Awful.
Naruto let the mirth he felt to the forefront of his mind.
Why? Dirty work doesn’t appeal to you?
Okay, that wasn’t how he’d meant it. Before Ino could comment on it, Naruto set to rectifying his mistake.
I mean... er, working in the dirt. Not – not what I thought before. Erm.
He could practically see her laughing at him but even if her mocking was at his expense, he couldn’t begrudge it. The warm tingle of fondness spread through him and he couldn’t tell who was the source of it – probably him. Ugh. Kurama was right, wasn’t he?
No, Naruto. As a matter of fact, I enjoy ‘working in the dirt’. Just, some stupid brats keep ruining my hard work.
Kick their asses then, Naruto closed his eyes letting a grin split his lips. You’re more than capable of it.
Can’t. Ino’s grumpiness was palpable. They’re from my clan – if I even touched them, dad would...
The sudden bout of mournful remembrance sent Naruto reeling. He’d felt it too many times but coming from Ino – it was just odd.
Goodnight, Naruto.
It came abruptly and Naruto had half a mind to make a bad joke and dissipate the tension. But he didn’t want to make light of her feelings so he sighed and thought back.
Goodnight, Ino.
The next day, Ino felt blanketed in a morose mood. She went about her day as per usual, but ended up reading some books only to feel disappointed at the lack of information on mental bonds. By the time afternoon rolled around, she was ready to barge into her uncle’s office and get some answers. Yesterday, they’d planned on consulting the Yamanaka’s interim head – Inoichi’s second cousin, Inoikema. But Naruto was late and she could hear his panic and muffled apologies in her head, asking her to wait for just a minute.
She tapped her foot on the tiled floor, positioning herself in such a way that she had unhindered view to the entrance. She could feel the link grow stronger and the thoughts became louder, surer, complete.
Just two seconds!
She snorted, counting to two in her head. She let pass:
Done. You’re still not here.
Shit! Uh, another 10 seconds then!
Feeling decidedly childish, Ino began her count again, this time channeling it all towards Naruto.
One...
Two...
Three...
Oh come on!
She smirked, continuing.
Four...
Five...
You're going too fast, you cheater!
Ino picked up the pace even further.
Six...
Seven...
Eight...
Here!
Naruto stumbled into the store, a merry jingle of the bells overhead announcing his presence.
“Here, here,” he repeated with slightly laboured breath. “Kami, you’re brutal.”
Ino shrugged, quickly removing her work apron and throwing it behind the counter.
“I have to be when people forego punctuality to stare at themselves in the mirror.”
“I wasn’t staring, alright?” Naruto offered a weak defence. “I was just appreciating my beauty?”
“And people call me vain,” Ino snorted, not minding the exasperated nudge Naruto gave her in return.
Speaking of – she didn’t mind alot of what he did for some reason. Didn’t mind his pointless chatter as they walked down the long corridor towards the Head’s quarters. Didn’t mind the easy smiles he gave her – as if nothing was wrong, nothing had changed. It used to set her teeth on edge but now she knew better than to take Naruto for some blindly optimistic person who saw not the perils they’d been through.
She didn’t mind this, this conversation they’d just had. They’d never particularly got along during their genin days – Naruto was the annoying, boastful boy with nothing to show for his confidence. He was in her rival’s team and the direct opposite of Sasuke, her childhood crush. She could admit she was well over that silly infatuation now. Had been for quite some time. But even that hadn’t motivated her to form some super close relationship with Naruto. They were friends, or friendly acquaintances and she was content with that.
Now though, looking at his playful grins and silly jokes, the calmness he exuded despite his larger-than-life kinda existence – Ino had to wonder what it was like to properly be his friend, a close one at that.
She shook her head of that absurd idea and knocked on the door of the office.
“Get in,” came her uncle’s reply.
“Wonderful. This is absolutely wonderful.”
Naruto could agree with that statement without any of the sarcasm that came with it.
“You gotta do it though,” he told Ino. “Unless you want this to go on for months.”
“I hate this,” Ino bit out.
“So you've said. Twelve times now – yes, I’m keeping count.”
He was subjected to a scathing look before Ino let down her mental walls and lo and behold, he could hear her thoughts, most of them, now. He blinked at her.
“Wow. That’s alot of curses.”
Ino didn’t respond, opting to stomp towards the shop area.
“I can’t believe this,” the blonde muttered, tying the apron round her waist again. “The only bloody solution is burning off chakra by using the link? Really? I hate this.”
“Thirteen!”
“Oh fuck off! I hate you too!”
“No, you don't!”
“Whatever,” Ino pointedly ignored Naruto and his teasing eyes. “Get lost. I've got work to do. I'm sure you can find better use of your time than pestering me.”
“People are always so rude to me,” Naruto sighed dramatically before walking to the door and throwing Ino a two-fingered salute. “Later.”
Constantly monitoring her thoughts lest they expose too much, Ino learned, was woefully difficult. She kept herself under constant vigilance, afraid that some weird notion would reach Naruto through her.
But as the day went by and night approached, her handle on her mind kept slipping and she had no clue what Naruto could hear and what he thought about all of it. The blond’s incoming messages remained laughably mundane and normal and Ino's nervousness increased.
Yes, she did dislike being out of control and this whole situation was testing her way more than what she’d be comfortable with.
Sometimes though, getting shoved out of one’s comfort zone is for the better.
Ino disagreed vehemently.
Full bloom... beautiful yellow ones...
Cold shower... warm tea... I like...
Can someone make them... ugh, so much...
Such scattered bits of musings eased Naruto out of his slumber and he yawned against the prickly rays that invaded his room. He entered the bathroom and set to brushing his teeth.
You’re up. Morning.
The thought made him smile through a mouthful of foamy toothpaste. He replied in kind.
Good morning. You’re up all early today. Why?
Had a patrol at five am. I feel like a zombie.
I can relate. Naruto spit out the remnants of the paste left in his mouth and gargled some. My patrol got done at two last night.
I know. Could hear your complaints about drunk men tripping over trash cans, loud and clear.
Did I wake you up then?
No. Ino’s response came after a delay. No, I was up already.
At two in the morning? What for?
Couldn’t sleep... anyway, did the kyubi budge at all?
Naruto let the topics change, and snorted.
You think? That bastard is more stubborn than me when motivated. And right now, he’s plenty motivated.
Worth a shot.
There was a comfortable silence then, despite the indolent ponderings that returned for the both of them. Naruto made a plateful of scrambled eggs and ate them in silence.
He was well on his way to the Kage Tower when he let the question slip,
We’re meeting this evening in the park, right?
Can’t. Ino’s reply was instantaneous and she could feel Naruto’s pang of disappointment. It was bizarre how she wanted to make it disappear – to not upset her fellow blond.
Oh. Okay. Tomorrow then?
Yeah. Ino thought back quickly. Tomorrow.
If you are fine with it...
Naruto’s voice was soft, asking for permission.
Can I ask what you’re doing tonight?
Ino’s answer came back with a bulk of hesitation, somewhat unwilling to let this information pass by.
Visiting my father’s grave.
The universe had a sick sense of humour, Ino thought, as she stood in front of Inoichi’s gravestone. Rain poured down heavily, assaulting stone and skin alike. She shuddered as a wave of chill travelled down her spine.
Atleast my tears get a cover this way.
She thought and immediately bit her tongue as if said it out loud. It was like that, in a way – Naruto must’ve heard that thought and knowing that her emotions were going to him was fucked up enough. She didn’t want her upsetting thoughts to reach him as well.
Surprisingly, the thoughts from Naruto’s end were scarce right now. As if he was suppressing them, which Ino didn’t mind. She needed the quiet.
Dad. Look at me. Aren’t I a mess?
She knew this wasn’t healthy. This fixation she had with talking to her dad beyond the living world now. But she didn’t know how to cope otherwise, didn’t think there was a better way.
My green thumb’s still working, y’know? The shop looks so colourful – you’d love it.
She got no response. Her lids closed shut tightly and she bit on her lip.
I miss you, dad.
Naruto pressed his back against the cool, wet stone of the grey wall. He was two blocks away from the cemetery, heavy water droplets beating down on him with vigour.
It was the first time he felt such gut-wrenching grief so similar to his own. It felt so wrong coming from Ino – the girl who always had a mocking grin and a witty word to throw at him, no matter the day, no matter the circumstances.
“You two are more similar than you realise.”
For the first time in weeks, Kurama’s voice was soft, devoid of the wicked humour he always spoke to Naruto with. Naruto stayed silent, taking in the periodic pitter-patter around him.
After half an hour, the link had gone back to the plain static, random thoughts buzzing in and out. Naruto exhaled.
He should go home. He should let Ino deal with her problems at her own pace. He shouldn’t invade in her life more than he already was.
But as he walked purposefully towards Ino’s home, narrow-minded determination setting his nerves on edge – nothing could talk him out of it.
Ino returned to her house in a daze. Her mother wasn’t there to comfort her today – still staying at her aunt’s all the way in the Land of Stone.
Her feet padded on the warm wooden panels and she slipped into the living room, heading straight for the kotatsu. She knew this leftover numbness would soon pass. It always did. She just had to wait a bit.
She edged under the table and let the warmth of the thick blanket soothe her some. Tuning in on the thoughts coming her way, she was surprised at the clarity of them.
Hope she won’t get angry... don’t wanna step on boundar–
She probably knows I’m headed... can listen maybe.
Ino’s brows furrowed. By she, did Naruto mean Ino? Where was he headed?
Even as the questions bombarded her mind, she could feel the connection grow stronger and Naruto’s voice was sharp and too comprehensible for him to not be in her close proximity.
Ino...
She held a breath and let her thought go forth with as much doubt as she felt.
You’re here, Naruto?
A beat.
Just outside your door.
Ino licked her lips, gripping the blanket close to her chest.
Why?
Felt like it.
She could feel him shrugging in his I-don’t-care-but-I-totally-do kind of way. A ‘go away’ was her first instinctive thought and the blond heard it but before Naruto could reply back, Ino amended.
Stay.
She didn’t think too much about why she wanted Naruto here. Maybe this grief was driving her crazy. Why the fuck else would she actually want the blond’s company?
Okay. I will. Okay.
Slowly, she got to her feet and walked to the door. Opening it up, her eyes met Naruto’s – so very blue, pinning her under his concerned gaze.
“Can I come in?” Naruto asked and Ino realized the fool was without a raincoat or umbrella, soaked to the bone.
She simply side-stepped and accepted Naruto’s weak grin as he got inside, instantly wetting her previously dry flooring.
“Sorry... about that. I, uh, I’ll run a rag over it.”
“Don’t bother,” Ino waved a dismissive hand, walking back to the kotatsu. “It’ll evaporate by the morning. There’s a towel on the hooks by your right. Dry yourself.”
“Yes ma’am!” Naruto replied but it lacked the cheek he wielded so well otherwise. Ino could feel the sombre mood the both shared and she wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. It was discomforting, plain and simple.
When the blond walked in again, a considerably less amount of droplets were falling down his frame and he took a seat opposite from Ino, giving out an ‘aah’ at the hearth-like warmth of the blanket.
“Fancy a cup of tea?” Ino asked, just to be formal.
Naruto shook his head, sending sunflower-yellow hair flying this way and that. “No. Let’s just sit. If that’s fine with you?”
Ino nodded uncertainly. This was way too odd. She didn’t know how to react to a serious-looking Naruto sitting under her kotatsu, looking at her with silent compassion and a promise of empathetic companionship.
Because that is what this was, wasn’t it?
You okay?
Naruto’s question rang in her head and she looked at his eyes, worried inquiry reflecting back.
She could reply out loud. It was stupid not to. But something about this moment felt different – it was too intimate, too precarious and she felt like one word, one disquiet moment would ruin it, would send this setting tumbling down and against all odds, she didn’t want that.
Do I look okay?
A bitter laugh reverberated in both their minds.
No.
Naruto kept staring at her, and his voice returned with a hue of hope.
Will you be okay?
Ino shrugged outwardly.
Who knows? Maybe. Maybe not.
Naruto’s lids shut, and he scooted further inside the table, the side of his folded leg mere inches from hers. The warmth of his body radiated and she let herself be soothed by it, just for a moment.
I want you to be okay.
Ino’s eyes stung again.
I want to be okay, too.
A smile forced its way on Naruto’s lips but his eyes remained closed. Ino went ahead then,
Are you okay, Naruto?
The smile turned into a forced grin. Her own words echoed back to her,
Do I look okay?
And it was silly, it was frankly sad, but Ino couldn’t stop the short laugh that erupted from her throat.
No. You look like shit.
Naruto just nodded and then his closed eyes opened and their staring match renewed.
Ino...
The hesitation was back again and Ino let her questioning gaze encourage Naruto to think openly.
He.
Naruto stopped then and his eyes turned intense. When it came back, his voice in her head was utterly honest and genuine.
He would’ve been proud of you. He is proud of you.
And she didn’t need to ask who ‘he’ was. A lump was already forming in her throat but there was no way she would break into sobs here – not in front of Naruto.
You think so?
She hated the fragility of her question but she didn’t stop it. Couldn’t stop it. The thought left her involuntarily but Naruto didn’t look like he’d mock her for it.
I know so.
Ino gave him a wavering smile, somehow controlling the dam of tears from bursting forth. Instead, she returned his burning gaze with her own.
I didn’t really know Jiraiya or your parents, but I reckon they’d be proud of you too – despite your fatal idiocy.
Naruto let out a bright, broken laugh and just like that, the heaviness enveloping them lifted and the blond was back to passing insults towards Ino that held no real heat and Ino replied with playful barbs of her own.
And if the two pretended like they weren’t crying through the bickering – well, there was no one there to make them feel bad for it.
As it turned out, a night of shared vulnerability was more than enough for the two blond-haired ninjas to feel comfortable with each other. The link became their source of communication, their shared little secrets increasing in number as they met up time and again to discuss the issue of their mental bond with their friends.
Thing was, it didn’t feel like an issue any longer.
Sakura noticed ofcourse. How could she not? If someone knew Ino the most, apart from her mother, it was Sakura – no contest. She hadn’t thought much of her friend’s lingering gazes on Naruto at first. Had brushed it off as a side-effect of the link.
But then there were those smiles, and open, cheerful laughter that Ino rarely let out after the war had been over and done with. Now it was all back. The life that had seemed to have been sapped out of her dear and oldest friend was back and as things stood, Sakura had Naruto to thank for it.
But then there was Naruto himself. The tightness around his eyes was slowly chipping away, leaving behind carefree grins – not too wide, not too fake – and those sudden moments of profound sadness that Sakura sometimes glimpsed in him had stopped altogether.
He seemed so much more comfortable in his skin now. Like he’d actually found a way to be himself and it had happened only after that accidental linking with Ino.
Now there they sat on the bench together. Their lips didn’t move but Sakura knew they were talking to each other. Now and again, Naruto would huff out a soft laugh and Ino would stomp on his foot, a glare to go with it. Then they’d dissolve into a fit of giggles like gossipping genins and Sakura could only think:
Huh. How did I not see it before?
You’re almost out of it, aren’t you?
Ino was strolling through the market when Naruto’s voice came in. He’d gotten much better at controlling his thoughts but they both kept the link unobstructed at all times anyway.
Yup. I think I should be out of his chakra by the end of the week.
Fuck. How will we cheat in our card games now?
“Could I get a dozen of those?” she asked politely to the vendor selling fresh lemons. A smile graced her lips as she thought back to Naruto.
Oh, we won’t. Shikamaru’s gonna kick our asses once we’re not telepathically conspiring against him together.
That’s sad.
Naruto’s grumbles drew out a chuckle from her and the vendor, an old, kindly looking man gave her a confused look. She tried to keep her expressions neutral but failed when Naruto started listing ways in which they could continue cheating.
Use mirrors? No, that won’t work. Er... we could like distract him with something like ‘look – a rainbow-coloured bird!’ and then swap cards? Or like, speak too loudly to distract him and stop his annoying strategizi–
Naruto.
Ino didn’t know what made her ask it, but as a pattern of the previous few days, she just rolled with whatever wild thought that came to her.
Do you like lemonade?
Er... sure? I guess?
Ino smiled again.
Perfect.
Open the door.
When Ino's half-commanding, half-requesting thought reached him, Naruto fumbled with the lock for a good few seconds before the door was swept open by an impatient Ino.
“Hey,” Naruto greeted with a smile and let Ino wander into his home. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Ino merely lifted the paper package in her hands and Naruto could make out the vaguely lemon-shaped somethings in the bag. He grinned.
“Kitchen’s to your right,” he supplied as he went back to watering the small plants he had on his balcony. “There’s ice shoved at the back of the freezer, if you move around the fish pieces.”
“Cool,” Ino replied, walking straight into his kitchen and depositing everything she held onto the counters. “Naruto –”
Why the fuck do I see a spider web in that corner?
Naruto’s chuckle went through the small house and he replied back.
Probably because you’ve got eyes and they see stuff that’s there? Vision or sight – it’s called, I guess.
“Ha-ha,” Ino let her voice raise enough to reach Naruto before thinking back with an abundance of sarcasm. So funny.
Thanks. I do try my best.
For the next two minutes, the only sounds heard were the sharp chopping clacks of the knife meeting a wooden board as Ino sliced straight through the lemons and squeezed them into a mixing bowl. She added a good amount of water and an even greater amount of ice. Sprinkling in pepper, salt and sugar, she mixed it all thoroughly before pouring two tall glasses with the drink.
“Thank you,” Naruto accepted the offered glass with a bright smile and plopped onto the couch, Ino joining him shortly after. He took a sip and let out a satisfying smack of the lips to express how much he enjoyed it.
Just what I needed in this heat.
Ino gulped down half of the lemonade before looking at Naruto, responding with a:
Me too.
Then feeling a bit bold, she added.
I do quite enjoy squeezing ball-shaped fruits.
Naruto coughed, the drink catching in his throat and he turned away to get it under control. When he looked back, he was met with a teasing grin on Ino’s face and even though he was certain his face was turning a shade darker than it usually was – he felt happy, not embarrassed.
Oh? He raised a challenging brow. Only fruits?
Ino huffed, placing her glass on the table and scooted closer towards Naruto, their feet touching, her hand besides his thigh.
Maybe... something more, too.
She let go of that thought and when Naruto grinned, leaning towards her – she leaned in, too. Halfway, they met. Their lips centimetres apart, Naruto’s breath was hot against Ino’s skin, sending a pleasant warmth down her spine. Their lips touched, slow and soft at first before Ino’s hands entangled with bright-blond locks and she pulled Naruto closer.
Naruto’s hands found her wrists, inching towards her shoulders and then her neck, till they finally ended up cupping her face, framing it with tenderness – but also an urgency that made Ino's breath hitch.
Citrusy.
She thought and Naruto smiled through their kiss, pushing further in, deepening the sensation. Ino let herself relax into it and kissed back with all the emotions she felt for this guy – affection, care, want.
When they pulled apart, both with swollen lips, dazed eyes and sped-up heartbeats, Naruto grinned his silly, goofy grin and thought.
Yeah. That was awesome.
Ino could only nod in agreement before they leant in again for another round.
Three days later, Naruto woke up devoid of the sounds of Ino’s thoughts running rampant in his head. It was just him again. Well, him and Kurama.
He wanted to feel disappointed by it, and maybe he did, just a little bit, but he had things to look forward to today so he got up and started his day.
Reflexively, his thought went out – good morning, Ino.
No reply came back and he sighed. The link had faded away. It was over.
He kept up his pace, doing chores and taking up a D-rank for the day and it was already four in the afternoon by the time he was done with his job.
He made a beeline for his destination then, and when the shop with a flowery exterior came into view, he smiled and went right in.
The jingle alerted Ino of another customer and she looked up, a little surprised (but not) to find Naruto walking up to her, a ready smile on his face.
She smiled back and leaned towards the counter. It was good to see him again, without knowing every thought that went through his head, because now she got to guess what his mind was upto and that was a thrill all on its own.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” Naruto said cheerily. “It’s a neat little shop you've got here.”
Ino raised a brow at him even as she played along, “Afternoon, sir. Yes, it’s lovely, isn’t it? Thank you. Anyway, how can I help you today?”
“Hmm,” Naruto made a considering sound at the back of his throat before sweeping his gaze across the hundreds of bouquets displayed neatly on white-stone shelves. “I need to buy flowers. For a girl.”
“For a girl, you say?” Ino inquired, walking around the counter to beside where Naruto stood. “How old is this girl? Is she your sister or friend...?”
“My age,” Naruto replied, grinning again. “And more than a friend.”
Ino let the pink climb up her cheeks, because Naruto wasn’t fairing any better.
“Is that so?” Ino walked up to pick a light pink coloured bunch. “How about tulips then? Or those purple roses?”
Naruto frowned in thought for a moment before approaching Ino, blue eyes staring so bloody intensely at her.
“How about red?” he asked softly, walking down the aisle to to pick up just one sprig. “A red rose.”
Ino’s eyes watered, but she gave out of mirthful laugh. “A red rose? Seriously? How much cheesier can you get?”
Naruto was already approaching her, lips stretched into a permanent smile it seemed and he outstretched his hand to give the rose to Ino.
“I reckon not much,” he said. “But I am kind of a hopeless romantic, as you like to point out.”
“Good for you then,” Ino took hold of the offered flower, “that so am I.”
Then in one quick motion, she pulled the blond towards her, embracing him tightly and Naruto returned the hug, eyes closed shut.
And Ino knew the significance of this moment, knew what this meant for the both of them – without any mental link to come and tell her.
Red roses.
They symbolise love.
“I think I love you, too,” she whispered.