INO
It was well into the night when Ino walked into her home on unsteady legs, dragging her travel pack on the floor behind her.
"Honey is that you," Ino hears her mother call from the other room. Ino absentmindedly deduced her mother was in the kitchen, likely putting away any leftover food. At the sweet sound of her mother's voice, Ino wants to cry. A great pang of unholy contamination is crammed into her chest as her vision fills with fat globs of tears that don't shed. Unable to trust her voice not to share her inconceivably horrid ordeal, Ino clamps a desperate hand over her mouth, shaking the globules of tears to rush down her cheeks and hand, as she just hums, "Mm-hmm!"
To Ino, it felt like the entire story of her raw grief and debauchery could easily be detected in her tone alone. Despite how utterly filthy she feels, she wants to run to her pure mother for her solid protection and be told that everything was going to be alright. But she also wants to hide with just as much desire—to never let her mother know exactly how unclean her daughter has become. Her mother easily responds, "okay. Your father and I are going to sleep. If you take a shower, keep it down. There's food in the fridge if you're hungry."
Ino hears faint feet walk away, then silence. Crunching her appealing face in misery, the painful quiet of her home only aids the loud memories of her day, continually flooding her mind's eye and shaming her tears to fall faster down her semen-stained cheeks, dirty fingers, and button chin. She can already tell from the heat drowning her eyes, that she won't stop crying anytime soon.
Ino slowly makes her way to her bathroom, eager to wash off the crusty lust-covered insanity of the day. No matter how many hours it takes, she doesn't plan on leaving until the job is thoroughly done. Though deep down she knows no amount of water or anti-bacterial body wash will ever erase what's been done to her once innocent temple, it won't stop her from trying. With never-ending memories of her acting like a corner whore as her fuel, how could she not scrub and scrub until she bleeds?
In the bathroom and turned away from the mirror, Ino was struck with indecision. After everything she and Naruto did—how completely they satisfied their every animalistic desire—she's determined to decontaminate every millimeter of her well-used body, however, where to begin? Everywhere is her goal because he sucked, licked, or coated white every inch of her with such musky vigor, scrubbing one area of her anatomy meant not disinfecting another, and she just wanted it all off. Ino wants to feel new again—pure and innocent—but she isn't anymore and she never will be again; birthing a fresh batch of tears.
It was taking every bit of her clan's mental training to keep from breaking down. A daunting task when she simply considers the magnitude of losing her virginity at such a young age. It's an impossible task when she further considers how she also lost her anal cherry to the same idiot. In fact, any which way she's heard a woman can pleasure a man, Ino did it with Naruto... of all people.
'Oh Kami, I sucked him off!' Her mind yells, effortlessly reliving the greedy blowjob she gave him both in her mind and on the lingering sensation of her swollen lips. Giving Naruto her first kiss would've been bad enough but kissing, and licking, and sucking his fluid covered cock just didn't make any sense to her. The buzzing of her cock-experienced lips tells the story of how she returned the favor—happily and willingly—stunning her perpetually, asking herself, 'how? How could I have done that? With him? I'm not that girl. I'm not...'
Worse than her vivid recollections, her body is still humming with residual delight at the physical memory of him against her—of him in her. Ino's mind could not think of anything else. 'He fucked me. He fucked me like a dog... and I loved it... who am I?' Her mind asks, and her tears answer, 'you're sad.'
Tears mix with the water as she simply decides to start. She would have to wash everything his hands, mouth, and dick invaded, rubbed, sucked and pinched, thoroughly and repeatedly. She can easily feel the most tender parts of her body, and would deal with them, but the most sensitive issue is the copious buildup of sappy fluid still inside of her. He not only licked, sucked, and fucked her pussy, he erupted—deliciously she hates to admit—several large loads inside of her.
For the trek back she had to use her filthy bindings to keep the pool of man milk from constantly leaking down her legs. If anyone saw her walking with trails of semen running down her thighs, Ino wouldn't survive the shame. It made walking back extra challenging as she felt the shifting weight of semen if she swayed too much. Sadly it was nearly impossible not to as her legs were terribly weak, and the natural grace of her walk already adds a racy sway to her eye-catching hips—a favorite feature of hers that now has finger bruising from his strong grip.
Gripping the banister, she tries to stop thinking about all the vivacious activity that involved her nether region, already feeling herself growing warmer. "Stop it Ino," she warns herself, her tone almost pleading, but she can't; all the while wondering how her body can still feel so responsive after nearly eight hours of full-on intercourse, oral stimulation, anal play, or massaging exploration.
When she feels the heat of her tender folds grow slick with wanton anticipation, she rushes to the shower, turns the cold tap to full blast and stands under the shower head. The shock of its icy pain cascades through her system, doing what she doesn't seem capable of doing on her own; cooling down. The day started with so much hope and promise. Ino had not expected it to end with her crying under the loud shower head, wailing so loud she's certain her parents or at least her mother would rush in and check on her. No one does and there she stays.
NARUTO
"Ne, Naru-nii, why didn't you tell me I was going to have sex with Ino-chan?"
'WH-Wait, what? ..What? ...What?' Naru-nii garbled as if coughing and choking at the same time. Naru-nii was coughing so hard, Naruto actually worries the prayer would cut off. With his hands clasped at the back of his blond head, the de-virgenized genin walks to the unpopular training area to continue his chakra control training. He finds it much easier to talk aloud than in his head, and continues. "Is this like when I asked if you knew who my- our parents are, and you said yes but there's a good reason you wouldn't tell me?"
'I never said I wouldn't tell you,' Naru-nii returns with a somewhat raspier voice. 'I said it's for the best if the only thing you know right now is how bad-ass they were. I said I'd tell you if you kept all this stuff about me and the future a secret.'
"I have!" Naruto throws back to no one in particular, as he's the only one traveling down the dirt road.
'I don't go back on my word,' Naru-nii passionately replies.
"Me neither!" Naruto returns.
Humored, Naru-nii continues, 'I'll tell you after you learn Fūton Rasengan, but trust me, it's just like keeping the Kyūbi a secret, the less people know the better. Now... what the hell is this about Ino?'
Twisting his face curiously, Naruto asks, "didn't you have sex with her too?"
'No!' he bellows. 'No! I haven't had sex with anyone! Plus, I only have eyes for Sakura-chan... not that I didn't notice how some of the other girls were... 'developing,' but still, you're saying you had- ...you actually had sex with Ino? Yamanaka Ino? Long blond hair, blue eyes, curvy, always wears a purple skirt and top? That Ino?'
Naruto was nodding his head with a big smile the entire time, finally finishing with, "yup!"
'How?!' Naru-nii yells in truly astonishing disbelief.
"Wait, how come you haven't?" Naruto asks, believing they must share the same experience if Naru-nii is from the future. Even someone as dense as Naruto knows that much. "You're supposed to be the Me from the future. Doesn't that mean that you know everything that's going on now, like, in the past?"
'No! Er, at least I don't think so,' Naru-nii slowly comments, as if trying to gather his thoughts at that moment. 'I'm in a complete seal, remember. I'm cut off from everything. It was the only way to ensure I could have an uninterrupted chance of fixing everything. I have the memories I came in with, but I don't know how different things are since talking to you. I mean, you're learning stuff faster so I gotta imagine that'll change things... but damn man, that's a hell of a change.'
"Oh," Naruto gripes, before nervously adding, "that sucks... for you, I mean."
'SHEUUT UPP,' Naru-nii yaps, easily recognizing his own smugness in his past counterpart. 'Wh-what about Sakura-chan?' the older Naruto asks.
"Ugghh," Naruto groans griping his heart, nearly tripping over in guilt. "I know, I know! I'm worthless! I'm shit! How could I say she's the love of my life, then turn around and have sex with another girl? I couldn't sleep at all last night. I couldn't even look at her today!" Naruto yells up at the skies.
'Hey, now, don't beat yourself up too much,' he mildly puts. It's a generalization with a hesitant tone that spoke to how out of his depth Older Naruto is in this conversation. 'And Ino... I'm sure she likes you just as much as you like Sakura-chan.'
"I thought you knew me?!" Naruto bellows. "I don't just like Sakura-chan. I love her!"
'I know,' Naru-nii sympathetically agrees. 'I couldn't even picture my life without her in it. Even now, the only reason why I pushing on is because she's one of my precious people I'm trying to save, and I won't let her down. It helps me, knowing training you protects her and keeps her safe. But, none of that means she'll love us like we do her, you know? Nor does it mean that Ino couldn't love us- well, you, like you love Sakura-chan.'
"But Ino doesn't love me!" Naruto returns still looking around as if there's someone there. Sulking at the memory, he plunges his hands in his pockets and kicks at stones while he walks.
'What?' Naru-nii asks clear confusion in his tone. 'Uh... I don't get it.'
"She told me so," Naruto asserts. "When we- ...after we, uh, finished, she shoved me with an Academy Double-Palm, yelled at me, told me she'd kill me with poison ramen if I ever told anyone, and then she left. Even though it was hard for her to walk she wouldn't even let me help her home. She yelled at me to stay away." Naruto can't help feeling like he'd done something wrong, or why else would she be mad?
'Okay, I need more details,' Naru-nii responded. 'Start from the beginning because this isn't making sense,' he said before quickly adding, 'if there isn't enough time left to help you train, than keep working on the first step. Now, what happened?'
The younger of the blonds explained to the older how she asked him to help her find a plant, how they met near the monument, how weird she was acting, then how she essentially jumped him. With a fair bit of trepidation, an embarrassed Naruto even admits he didn't do a good enough job stopping her, simply submitting to her demands.
'Wow,' Naru-nii gasps absolutely stunned before Naruto further explains, "I was kinda scared at first and tried to stop it, but... you know, she's Ino-chan, and she looks like she does, and- and it looked like she was hurting! I swear, it was like she needed my help... like, with her p-privates, which is totally bonkers, but I... I did it..." Naruto trails off lost in memory for a moment before exhaling a deep sigh then continuing. "When I realized she wanted to do that adult stuff, well, she's so pretty and Kami, did it feel good... uggh, but that shouldn't matter, should it?! I'm horrible, aren't I? I'm a sick pervert."
'You're neither a sick pervert or horrible,' future-Naruto responds. 'I honestly don't know how to explain that situation. It doesn't sound like you did anything to start it, but she seemed pretty upset at the end... I just don't know. That's a tough one.'
"Should I... tell Sakura-chan?" Naruto weakly asks, his face crumbling and on the verge of tears. "Uwah, I just feel terrible! I think about how much I liked doing that with Ino-chan, then I think about how I betrayed Sakura-chan, and I get so confused! It's crazy! It was wrong because I love Sakura-chan, but it felt so right, and that means- it means-"
'Stop!' Naru-nii commands, getting his younger self to stop. 'Listen carefully, because I only have a few more minutes. I don't think you should tell Sakura-chan. And I only say that because, well, she doesn't really see us that way... at the moment. It's super easy to feel how guilty you are over what you did with Ino, even when you have someone else you're in love with, but I think telling Sakura-chan is less about her, and more about you punishing yourself. And in our experience, we both know that never solves anything. The only thing I can say is try and focus on what you can control.'
"What do you mean," he asks, clearing the corners of his eyes of budding tears.
'I mean, you'd still protect Sakura-chan and even Ino-chan if you had to, right?'
"Yeah," he lamely answers.
'Of course you would, because they're still your comrades as shinobi of the Leaf. Despite everything, at least you can say you always want them to be safe. How about their happiness? Do you want them to be happy?'
"Of course," he responds as if that's obvious.
'There you go. That's another connection you share, right? They're still people that know you, and who recognize you. That's important. It means you can also, at the very least, be a good friend to either of them, because a good friend would want them to be happy. I can't tell you what's up with Ino, since that's way beyond my expertise, but if she's not acting normally, what do you think a good friend would do?'
Thanks to years of not knowing the answer to questions asked of him in the Academy, Naruto immediately responds with his go-to answer, "I don't know." Hearing Naru-nii's sigh makes Naruto take a moment to actually ponder the honest answer asked of him. "I guess... I guess I'd ask her if she's doing okay? No, I... I'd make sure she was okay, and that I didn't do anything bad I shouldn't have."
'If that's how you truly feel, than I'm sure you'll figure it out,' Naru-nii pleasantly tells his younger counterpart.
"Aww, can't you just tell me?" Naruto asks.
'Sorry, I can honestly tell you this is way outside of my wheelhouse,' his future self admit with a bit of a chuckle. 'Maybe find someone you can trust who knows more about that kind of stuff. I mean, I still can't really believe it. You and Ino. That's insane.'
"Yeah," Naruto nods several times in agreement. "Me neither. I use Kai or pinch myself like forty times a day just to make sure I'm real and that it happened."
'No doubt,' he says, though Naruto can hear his tone is fading. 'Just remember, whatever happens, you know in your heart you'll always protect them.'
"Damn right," Naruto returns, but his future counterpart was already gone. Feeling a little better, Naruto spends nearly three hours running around the village, looking for Ino while his clones practice the first step of Rasengan in his apartment.
He spent the entire week looking for her without success. His disappointment even masked all the positives that week had produced. Sakura-chan actually came up to him... to talk! He wasn't thrilled about the topic, as she only wondered if he might be a little more forceful in his spars with Sasuke so she can treat him; any excuse to touch him apparently. He didn't know if she was progressing well, but she seemed ecstatic about her study.
Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme remained as distant as usual, but he was starting to surprise them with his taijutsu. Suddenly it wasn't quite as easy for Sasuke to beat him when they sparred. Hell, his high spirits couldn't be denied when he finally got a chance to talk to Iruka-sensei.
He snuck into his room after visiting hours and fortunately for the young genin, his favorite sensei was still awake. He didn't say much since he was still recuperating and very tired, but the older man made sure to tell him he didn't blame him for what happened before sleep took him. Naruto stayed in the darkroom for what felt like hours and would've stayed longer if a nurse didn't need to check the monitoring equipment.
His most vital success was finally completing the first stage of learning Rasengan. Naru-nii happily congratulated him, wishing he could be there to give him a celebratory Popsicle. Naruto didn't understand it, but he knows he would've liked that. Having only just succeeded in bursting the water balloon, he felt it was perfect timing as it would give him an uninterrupted weekend to start on the second stage of the amazing technique: Power.
It had been one of the best weeks of his life, but it always paled when his thoughts migrated to Ino-chan. Naruto had to make sure she was okay, and if possible, talk about what happened. So every day, he'd search for hours. He ran into several people multiple times, including Team 8 and their sensei, but never Ino. Despite running into the team three times, she was never with them.
He immediately wanted to ask about her, but an image of her yelling at him, angry for asking about her frustratingly kept him from taking the direct approach to learning what he wanted to know. So, he ignored the impulse to ask them directly... until the third time he ran into to them looking for her. After days with no luck, he instead—in his roundabout way of trying to learn where's she been—jokingly asks, "Ino-chan finally got tired of dealing with you two?"
Chōji immediately defends his teammate, spouting back, "no! She's just sick!"
"Oh," Naruto returns, genuinely unhappy to hear. "Sorry, I didn't know. Hey, do you guys want to train? I've been working on some killer new moves!"
They naturally turned him down, as he expected they would, and the moment he was far enough away, he raced to the Yamanaka compound. Having already explored most of Konoha as a neglected orphan, he knew exactly where he was going, and how to scout out the clan home. It wasn't as large as some of the other clan residences, like the Hyūga, Nara, Inuzuka, or Aburame. Aside from their large greenhouse, the Yamanaka didn't need quite so much space.
After thirty minutes of covertly surveying the perimeter, he couldn't spot her through any windows, balcony, or in their flower shop, leading him to debated his next move. It isn't that he couldn't think of a way. He was just worried about the fallout as it could easily lead to issues if he was found out. It had only been five days since their shared experience and everyday Naruto grew more and more worried, and so, after an agonizing over the pros and cons for several minutes, Naruto just shrugs and henge's into Shikamaru. The spiky-haired lazy-ass wasn't hard to imitate and as Ino's team member, it wouldn't be odd if he showed up to check on her.
Knocking on the main house door, a woman he wasn't sure was Ino's mother—as she didn't have blond hair or blue eyes and seemed very rigid—opened the door. Still, in a sweet voice, rich with familiarity, she instantly recognizes the bored expression of her daughter's teammate. "Shikamaru-kun, what a surprise. I had no idea you were stopping by."
After showing the perfect imitation of Shikamaru's unenthusiastic exhale, Naruto calmly responds, "I wasn't going to. I was just close by and wondered how Ino-ch- Ino was doing."
"Oh, isn't that sweet of you," she says, either ignoring the slip or not drawing attention to it. "That must be your mother's influence. I could never see Shika ever showing that level of concern. 'Too Troublesome,' he'd say. Unfortunately, dear, she's still unwell. Here, wait inside, and I'll see if she's up for a visit." she states, naturally moving aside and waving him in. Naruto nervously enters and Ino-chan's mom verbalizes her daughter's need to always look presentable. "I know the importance of always presenting your best face, but teammates and strangers are two different things, I feel."
Naruto only hums a bored agreement as the madam of the house retreats to her daughter's room. After five minutes, she returns with an apologetic face, and seconds later, he leaves their home. Deflated, Naruto returns to his apartment in failure. He spends that night wondering how he can see her without causing too much ruckus. Of course, he could break in, like he's been doing to see Iruka-sensei, but he didn't think that would turn out well on Clan property. It was the next day, with Naru-nii's help, that Naruto figures out what he can do.
INO
Ino sat in her bed, legs bent under her so that her butt rests on her feet, staring forlornly at a pictured frame in her hand. The picture within the regularly polished oak frame was of her graduating class—after they had passed the exam but before team assignments. There were twenty students in the picture but Ino was only staring at one: the raven-haired, onyx eyes of Uchiha Sasuke. Gazing at the pale imitation of his likeness, her mind is a mess of thoughts about him, about her, about what happened, about it all. Deep down, Ino knows she's destined to be with him, though it always irks her no one else could neither see or accept that. Not that it mattered. In the end, she knew they would end up together. Simply put, she had a critical advantage.
Unlike his other simple fans, she was heiress to one of the Noble clan's of Konoha. She couldn't claim to be the only heiress in their class, but that was yet another sign that fate favored her inevitable union with Sasuke-kun since Hinata-chan, the Hyūga heiress, was perpetually shy and showed no interest in the Rookie of the Year to begin with. No, out of all the girls that could be with him, she was the only one with the pedigree to be by his side, a fact Forehead always ignored.
On top of that, much like all the girls rate all the boys by looks—Sasuke-kun being the clear victor—Ino was officially voted most beautiful girl in their class. She may have just missed out becoming top kunoichi but that's always been more academic than practical. With beauty and clan alone, it was obvious she was the clear choice for Sasuke-kun's affection. And still, she had more to offer him.
Her clan are specialists of the mind—mind-walkers, therapists, councilors, healers. On multiple occasions, her father explained the many ways their clan serves Konoha, and one of them happened to be healing mental anguish after surviving traumatic events; a vital service in a military village. She recalls vividly how her father felt such sympathy for Sasuke-kun after the massacre of his clan and his family. Her father cared deeply for his well being, making her care too, but at the time, he worried more for Sasuke-kun's mental state, and what that loss will do to him.
Ino will admit she lacks the expertise to properly treat his trauma—no matter what form that took—but she knew Sasuke-kun needed her more than anyone to help him heal from his suffering. She was the only one that could understand him, that could save him. They were made for each other. That's why it brakes her heart every time her memory wanders to the event that took place last week. She's meant to be with Sasuke-kun, to help him, to be his strength, and yet, she thoroughly debased herself with another boy; the weakest, loudest, Dead Last of their class, and worse yet, she was out of her mind in bliss for every second of it.
Thank Kami, the idiot wasn't in the photo she was desperately clutching at. He hadn't passed the final exam, and despite the oddity of him showing up to team assignments, no one cared. However, after what happened—what they had done—Ino didn't need his photo to accurately picture him. It had been seven days to the day, and she can still picture everything about his strong body so perfectly. Just thinking about him, undressed and on top of her made her chest tight and her mouth water as much as her loins.
Biting down hard on her plump lower lip, this was the burden she'd been dealing with all week. Thinking about him lights a fierce fire inside her and since her debauchery, it's been a constant penalty Ino was frightened would last the rest of her life. She would wake up in the middle of the night to heart-pounding wet dreams, her sheets soaked with sweat and vaginal fluid, and more often than not, her practically useless fingers between her perspiring legs.
Her body quite simply craved him, to feel his thickness inside her, to feel his steaming man-milk flood her... To Ino, it was the very definition of a drug. A schedule I Stimulant she was forcing herself to quit cold-turkey by taking it upon herself to relieve her body's frequent cravings. If she didn't orgasm several times a day, she was afraid her fragile resolve to avoid him would break and she'd run to the loser for a full night of being gutted and buggered by his weird dick.
After much thought and a lot of memory diving, Ino knows the way his penis ejaculates is most certainly not normal. It's not even common among humans. It's not even a medical condition to have. What Ino does know, is it's an extra layer of spice to her depressing shame. Somehow the penis that deflowered her—that ruined her—has a bulbous gland at the base that expands during ejaculation... 'exactly like a dog!' her mind screams.
'Why would he have that?' she would always yell in her mind. 'Is he part dog?' Ino is fairly well informed by many of the older kunoichi in the bathhouse and the workers in the Yamanaka shop. If the Inuzuka clan had a feature like that, she would've heard about it months if not years ago. The fact that she, Yamanaka Ino, heiress to their clan was knotted like a bitch by a blond idiot dog-boy is the greatest shame in her young life. 'Why did he do this to me?' she mentally whines.
Ino knew she was supposed to be with Sasuke-kun, but her body can't seem to forget Naruto. It's why she stayed in bed, cried often, and shut the world out. Her parents were obviously worried. Her mother, in particular, tried to connect with her detached daughter, guilting Ino into lying to them, assuring them that she's just sick and will feel better soon. She's not sure they buy it. She knew her team was worried as well. Asuma-sensei and even Shikamaru have come by to see her, but she didn't want to see anyone; she couldn't.
Somehow, in the back of her mind, she expected them to know the moment they took one look at her. She somehow believed they would see his thick semen caked on her face and know it was from Naruto—which she's aware enough to admit was idiotic. Clearly, if her own mother couldn't see how excessively deflowered her only daughter now is, then Ino doubts anyone else will. It may be an irrational fear, but still, how could she just return to the world as if nothing had happened?
'A woman always has at least two masks,' Ino recalls her mother telling her some time ago as they were arranging bouquets. It was an extension of the lessons given only to kunoichi in preparation for the specific dangers women face as well as methods of coping; in other words, how to compartmentalize.
'Some women need more than two, but one mask is for the world, and the other, if you're lucky, is for the one who accepts all of you.' At such a young age and with more spirit than most, Ino never liked that concept. Masks were meant to hide, and Ino felt far too pretty to be hidden. 'You wouldn't hide a flower,' her mind at the time reasoned. Ino understands far more now.
It's another layer of her week's torment, as Ino's nearly certain Naruto has seen both her faces. She can't be sure, but every time she remembers his words, pleading to let him see her, to connect with her, she's fairly certain she had allowed what has to be her greatest moment of weakness. Through their eyes, souls connected and it was the highest peak of pleasure Ino's ever felt, more still, the strongest orgasm her body won't allow her to forget.
At the perfect recollection of his infinite sky-blue eyes peering into her very soul, her breath becomes shallow and quick. She grips the frame harder as she feels her body heat up with a searing focus between her legs, and her hardening nipples. She can feel moisture begin to dampen her panties and she clenches her teeth to fight it. After a full week of this, none of this is new, but fortunately, with every episode, she has an easier time managing the urges than the day before, to the point she doesn't need to masturbate in order relieve her of her spontaneous lust.
Eventually relaxing, her eyes slowly open to the photo in her hand, looking at herself beside Sasuke-kun, happy and proud. It feels like a lifetime ago, and she longs to return to that time, but slowly she's coming to the disheartening conclusion she'll never be the girl she was in that photo, beside her love, posing beautifully for the camera. It's a depressing thought. Her innocence is gone. It was enthusiastically taken from her repeatedly, and she'll never get it back.
'No,' she hates to admit. 'It wasn't taken. I gave it away.' Ino would honestly blame that Dead Last idiot if he wasn't so stupid, or more specifically if she hadn't been the one to initiate it... to push for it. She's not so horrible as to accuse him of rape simply because she momentarily went crazy for him and he eventually became very willing. Additionally, it would only cause her irreparable shame if it became public knowledge. How could she show her face once everyone learns who her first time was with?
'Would Sasuke-kun ever look at me after that?'
'No, he wouldn't,' she honestly answers. Ino knows the only way forward with the boy of her future is to put last week permanently behind her, and ensure not a soul ever finds out. That starts by returning to her routine, acting normal, meeting her team—her new mask—then finding the right time and public place to make sure that idiot takes this secret to his grave. Naruto may have lavished in her most intimate constitution, physically and spiritually, but that doesn't mean she won't kill him if he breathes a word of it to anyone. It'll be hard to look at him when they do meet, but she has to make sure he's aware that his life is forfeit if he ever talks.
'Hell, even if he inadvertently draws any unwarranted attention, I may just kill him,' she mentally declares, enthusiastic for his murder.
"Ino!" she hears her mother call fearfully urgent from downstairs. "Come down here, now!"
Quirking a suspicious brow, the platinum-blond didn't want to leave the sanctuary of her room, but her mother's tone was frantic and was soon followed by her father's with just as much alarm. "Ino! Get down here!"
Making a silent prayer to her raven-haired love in the photo for strength, Ino sets the frame back on her nightstand, before moving to her bedroom door. Ino grabs her silk robe on her way out because she knows her father doesn't appreciate her love of short-shorts and tight tops. Making her way downstairs, she calls out, "where are you?"
"Front door," her mother calls out.
Huddled outside the front entrance of their estate is her father, mother, and two of her distant cousins—likely on their community watch patrol. They were bunched around a large chunk of dug up earth the size of a large picnic basket, easily poking at her curiosity. Apparently, the large, heavy looking square of freshly cut out earth with its roots sticking out the bottom, was left for them to discover. While certainly unexpected, she couldn't understand why call her so frantically or why her father was leaning over and inspecting the top.
Ino began to wonder about enemies the Yamanaka clan may have incurred when her mother turns to her, absolutely thrilled by the large box of dirt with vibrant green grass on the top. Her father was inspecting something on the top as her mother joyously tells her, "Oh! My, beautiful, wonderful, amazing girl! Someone out there is extraordinarily worried for you!"
Ino is exceptionally confused until she steps around her father next to eager mother and her pupil-less blue eyes bulge. Her father confirms what she instantly knows. "It's a genuine Fire Slipper Orchid," he chuckles in disbelief, then turns to his daughter.
"Here," her mother says, holding out a simple white paper board one might use to get an actor's autograph. "It came with this!" she finished exclaiming. Ino understood all three of them knew what the orchid was worth, but she didn't understand her mother's excitement until she read the note in surprisingly uniform characters.
FOR INO-CHAN. I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER.
Though normally very reserved, her mother is sashaying from one foot to the other, before asking her daughter the pertinent question that seems to be on all their minds. "Soooo, who's it from?"
"Yes," Inoichi added, clearly uneasy about the gift and dreading what it could mean for his little girl growing too fast for his liking. "Please, tell us his name. I'd love to know who'd bring you quite the gift."
"To thank him," her mother exclaims, looking at her father warningly. "Not interrogate him." Her father's face grimaces, ready to argue yet, wisely picking his battles and remaining silent.
"What makes you think it's from a boy?" Ino hotly asks, quirking her brow in suspicion at her father as his overbearing fatherly instincts are already triggered.
"Honey," he plainly returns. "That block weighs at least fifty pounds and this type of orchid doesn't grow anywhere nearby. Someone quite strong carried this a great distance to bring it here. So..."
Ignoring the pleasurable pulse between her legs as her body agrees Naruto is quite strong, Ino can't help but think, 'I'm going to kill him.' In front of the man that raised her, his all-seeing eye staring at her, Ino falters desperately for a believable explanation, as the anger of her mind and arousal of her hot body interrupts her ability to lie. She wants to ease her father's suspicions, but lying to him has always been difficult; nearly impossible. It's why Ino generally speaks her mind because if lying doesn't work, than it's a waste of time to try. But she can't exactly tell him, 'Daddy, this is definitely a thank you gift from Uzumaki Naruto, you know, the worst student in our class, because I fucked him every which way I could for hours.' It's likely to give him a heart attack.
An errant thought in her mind wonders if this gift makes her a prostitute, a terrible yet somehow thrilling idea that awkwardly makes her blush at the worst possible time.
Her father's eyes easily picks up on her blush and judging by how his shoulders tense and how deeply he inhales, he didn't like it. Her mother mewls happily in her throat, then quickly rotates the teen by her shoulders, forcing her to march forward and away from a protesting head of their clan. Her mother leads them away as she tells her husband, "Ichi, be a dear and store the orchid in the greenhouse. I'll examine it tomorrow."
Being bypassed didn't help his fatherly anxiety as he calls out, "Wha- wait! Ino, I demand you tell me who's it from?"
His demand had no real heat to it and her mother easily returns, "if you can clear the table and do the dishes, I'd appreciate that," before they make their way up to Ino's room. "Now," she starts once they've both settled on her bed. "Ino, I know this is a... meaningful time in your life. You're just starting your career as a kunoichi, you're growing into a very beautiful woman, and making sense of the balance between the two will be challenging. So, even if you don't tell me everything, I'd rather you not lie, okay? Say what you can."
'I'm going to kill him,' Ino thinks, nodding her head since she didn't trust her voice at the moment. It's the only thought she could agree on as her mind desperately tried to think of a way out of this.
"I won't ask too much, because I want you to feel you can trust me with anything. But I do have to know, did a boy send you this?"
Recalling several countermeasures ninjas can use when engaging in duplicity, Ino felt the best way out of this was mixing omission with truth and letting her mother form her own opinions, because after all, there's no way they would believe the truth without sufficient time and proof. Ino takes a deep breath and asserts, "you know I have my heart set on Sasuke-kun."
"Is that who sent it?"
As much as Ino wanted to sing to the high heavens, 'yes,' if her parents—especially her intelligence gathering father—ever decide to investigate her claim, that lie could make things far worse for her down the road. Ino shakes her head no, her long blond hair flowing freely with her sway. "I... don't want to say who, mainly because the person who sent the orchid, just isn't my type, like at all! My heart is set on Sasuke-kun, so, in the end, whatever he was hoping for by bringing it here was for nothing."
"Oh, I don't know if it was for nothing, sweetheart. What does psychology tell us about this gesture?" Her mother asks. As a former psychologist, she's highly observant of behaviors, beliefs, feelings, relationship concerns, and even somatic responses. It's a very good reason, Ino's always felt more mature than many of the other girls from the Academy, though Forehead always manages to make her act like a child. "Come on, Ino. We may not be geniuses like some of those Nara men, but we know the mind rather well, and there's quite a bit of information we can deduce here. His card, for instance?"
Ino's shoulders slouch at having to suffer through this because of that idiot. "...I don't know, he has neat handwriting."
"Well, that's true," her mothers agrees, looking it over again. "Someone who possibly deals with seals on a regular basis?" Ino can tell her mother's fishing, so just shakes her head to deny the suspicion. "Can't blame a mother for trying. Anyway, let's consider the message. All he wrote was, 'I hope you feel better.' No elaboration, not even his name, which denotes caution to reveal too much, but concern enough to go this far for you. There's also the possibility he doesn't care about credit. He used, Ino-chan, which implies informality due either to his upbringing or he's simply that close to you. He's more than likely an engaging person, which is reinforced by the fifty-pound block of dirt he carried-"
"We don't know if he carried it all the way here," Ino interrupts. "He could've used a cart or something."
"No," she returns. "You don't know he carried it all the way here. Had you checked underneath, you would've seen hand prints. A young person's hand print, likely around your age."
Trying to give nothing away, Ino stays quiet long enough for her mother to say, "Listen, sweetheart, I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you into telling me something you'd prefer to keep to yourself—so long as you're not in any danger, of course. You've always been a headstrong girl, and your decisions, good or bad, have been your own for a long time now. I just don't want you to dismiss facts because they don't align with your beliefs. I know how you feel about the Uchiha boy, but life is full of unexpected challenges and it's always worth the time to consider if these challenges are hazardous traps or fortunate opportunity. You know your father and I'll support whatever makes you happy."
Ino stays quiet, unsure of how to think about her mother's caring words. They make a lot of sense, making her feel proud to have a mother like her, but of course, the older woman has no idea who the boy is or what they've done together. Maybe in another situation, she'd devote a fair amount of thought in the advice, but in this case, it's Naruto and there's no need for further reflection.
"Do you want to tell me more or would you like to be alone?" her mother gently asks.
"I'll think about it for a while, thanks, mom. I'll let you know if I do anything."
"Okay, goodnight."
"Night," Ino says, offering her mother a decently sized smile, while mentally thinking, 'he's dead.'
KURENAI
"How long have you known him for?" Kurenai asks her student and ward. The dishes were clean and put away and they were settling down on Kurenai's living room's couch sharing a portion-healthy tub of orange sherbert ice cream—Hinata's choice, to Kurenai's unexpected delight. Hinata avoids any eye contact as she tries to burrow deeper into the couch cushions. "Hinata-chan," Kurenai starts with a small smile. "In this house and with me, you never have to worry about what you say. You're safe to express yourself however you like here. I won't judge or belittle you for it and it will never be shared with anyone; from your father to the Hokage himself."
The girl nervously asks, "w-why are y-you asking me a-about Naruto-kun?"
"Well, I noticed how you reacted when we ran into him," Kurenai easily points out. "As a woman and your sensei, I could see that you're more aware of Uzumaki-kun than any other boy."
Kurenai didn't think it was possible for the girl's cheeks to get redder but they blush another shade brighter as she quietly answers, "I-I wouldn't s-s-say I k-know him. H-he... we w-w-were in the same c-class."
Kurenai could easily detect the omission in the girl's averted eyes, tone of voice, and flustered face. She was too easy to read, yet another part of her skills they needed to work on. Having lived with the heiress for over two weeks now, running into Uzumaki-kun is about the only time Hinata-chan reacted differently. They had run into him as their team exited Hokage Tower, and while Hinata blushed stunningly from face to neck as the orange-clad ninja greeted them, Kurenai noticed the girl's beautiful white eyes focus unlike any time she'd ever seen. They were sharp, sure, assertive.
The raven-haried kunoichi isn't sure why, but it was clear the girl had a crush on him. She easily recalls looking over the other team's profiles, discovering like everyone else, that the young blond was the Dead Last of the class. Furthermore, he was an orphan with no exceptional talent. While she heard he defeated the traitor Mizuki with Kage Bunshin, she also heard he can't produce a single Bunshin, leading most to the conclusion that it must've been sheer dumb luck the boy brought down the traitorous Chūnin.
Still, it's more than possible Hinata's interest in the blond stretches beyond clan or talent. It's feasible there's something that Kurenai is missing that could be a key driving force for the shy girl's future. Kurenai needs to learn if Naruto-kun is something she could utilize to help drive her ward, or if it's another dead end. Honestly, Kurenai hoped this panned out. She was eager to prove Hiashi wrong, but more than anything, she didn't want to fail Hinata-chan.
As things stand, the Hyūga heiress was timid to a fault. While manners, kindness, and consideration of others were good traits to have, Hinata-chan takes it to a detrimental level, adversely impacting her own growth simply to avoid any kind of confrontation, a fact Kiba-kun is starting to take notice of and unfortunately, enable. Kurenai needed to break her meekness, and if possible, light a fire under the girl's belly.
Testing a theory, Kurenai gently asks, "he was the Dead Last of your year, wasn't he?"
Kurenai was happy, no, thrilled to see that it had the desired effect when Hinata-chan looks directly into her red eyes and somewhat sternly tells her, "T-that wasn't his fault. The instructors were mean to him." As quickly as the girl's confidence appeared, it had departed.
Slowly sliding a moderate helping of ice cream passed her red lips to her lapping tongue, Kurenai can't help but be happy by the small bit of progress. It wasn't much, but it was something, and like the fragile light of an ember, she'll slowly coax it into a grand fire. Eager, yet gentle with her young ward, Kurenai follows up by asking, "what do you mean it wasn't his fault? He did the work, didn't he?"
Kurenai didn't really care to know one way or another, knowing what the boy contained within him always made her recall how her father died that night. However, for her ward, her student, she would happily hear about Uzumaki-kun's educational ineptitude.
Again, the girl's determination was back, making Kurenai feel a swell of triumph in her chest, as Hinata-chan answered, "he- he did do the work, b-but you can't blame him for his results. Many of the assignments th-that he did turn in deserved passing grades, but every sensei besides Iruka-sensei, failed him. He was never treated fairly by nearly all the staff, but even still, he kept on trying. He didn't quit. Even though he failed many times..." Hinata seemed to realize how much she said in that short moment, as did Kurenai. It's the most she's ever heard the timid girl speak at one time.
"How did you know his answers were correct?" Kurenai is genuinely curious to know.
"...B-Byakugan," Hinata answers ashamed for how she abused her clan's unique talent, and Kurenai smiles inside.
If this girl is willing to use her clan's ability for this boy, than chances were good he would be a vital part in helping Hinata. It's quite clear by now, Naruto is the key to motivating this girl, and with that revelation, Kurenai only needed to figure the method by which to take advantage of that. "So you mean to say 'Dead Last' is not an accurate assessment of his ability." Hinata-chan nods. "That would make sense. Being made Genin despite most of the sensei's treating you unfairly... he doesn't give up easily, does he?"
"He doesn't," Hinata strongly offers.
"Is that why you like him?" Kurenai gently asks. She doesn't want to push the girl too much but it's already been two weeks and there were little other options. Hinata turns bright red, and Kurenai could feel the warmth emanating from her. "It's okay, you don't have to answer," quickly easing the indigo-haired girl's anxiety. "Do you know why I asked to be your temporary guardian, Hinata-chan?" The light-eyed kunoichi shook her head, no. "One of the hardest decisions life will constantly challenge you on, is choosing to walk away, or try harder. We're not so different, you and I, and you even remind me of myself when I was younger. The point is, I believe in you Hinata-chan, and I'm going to help you see that too, so the both of us can always choose to try harder."
Hinata nods one strong time, and Kurenai can easily see the tear at the corner of her eyes.
"One of the first things I'd like to remedy is your reaction to Uzumaki-kun," Kurenai tells the girl, who squeaks at the prospect. "How would you like to act normally around him?"
"I-I-I-I-I c-c-c-c-c-couldn't," Hinata stutters impressively.
It would've been cute to Kurenai if it wasn't a set back for their ultimate goal. Still, it's in the right direction and Kurenai just needs to continue pushing on. "Let me ask you a simple yes, or no, question. Would you like to act normally around Uzumaki-kun?" Not trusting herself to speak, Hinata shuts her eyes and just nods her head vehemently. "Than that means you can. Don't worry, Hinata-chan, and trust your sensei. I think I know a way to help."